Kim Nanoha: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it! :)

Brick88: Thank you for reviewing! Not sure I understood it clearly, so I'll answer the best I can. When it comes to Serena and Lorenzo, I omitted the duel Jaden had with him. But maybe I can find a way for him and Serena to run into each other accidentally or something like that… ;) Concerning Yubel and Haou… They do have a role in the story, so does the Light Of Destruction… ;) I like your predictions, but I don't want to spoil anything… When Viper shows up, things will definitely get crazy! Now, about the relationship between those two… I have a lot planned for them, especially once Season 3 kicks off, that's the only thing I'll say. I'm not quite sure what you meant by talking about the driver, but when it comes to Serena's cards… It's planned! ;)

Mike3000jr: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked the chapter and the story! :)

This chapter and the next one take place during 'Rah, Rah, Ra!'.

I only own my OC's!

"Wait, what happened?" A female voice spoke up in confusion. "Maria hasn't told you yet, has she?" A male one spoke up. "No, I haven't. I've just got here, just like you." A second woman pointed out the obvious. "Will someone tell me what the deal is?" The first woman asked, trying not to lose her patience.

"Well, you saw what was written in the news yesterday…" The man trailed off. "Yes, but you two work there! I want to hear it from the source, not some newspapers." The woman argued. "Fine, Naomi, just calm down." The second woman chuckled. "I will, as soon as you or Hiro tell me." She responded.

The man let out a sigh. "I'm going to be quick, since I'm not sure Aster will want to stay longer than ten minutes in here…" He trailed off. "The thing is, you know what Pegasus claimed in those newspapers yesterday." "Something about that space thing…" The woman nodded.

"Precisely. Well, historians, astronomers and scientists didn't like that claim of his. So, they sent him a letter." The second woman spoke up. "A letter?" The first one asked in curiosity. "There, they told him to stay out of areas for which he doesn't have a degree. They told him to go back to creating cards, because that's 'the only thing he's good at'." The man explained.

"That's harsh..." The first woman trailed off. "I'm not surprised." The man frowned. "Why?" She looked at him. "You saw what was written in there yesterday. He claimed everything in history happened because of that… He doesn't even have logical proof. Just some observations from his astronomers." "Historians have right to object, since that's pretty much rejecting the history as we know it. By that logic, everything they've learned is irrelevant because of his newfound interest in astronomy." The other woman added.

It was quiet for a few moments. "What do you think about that?" The first woman then asked. "I don't want to take sides in that scandal. My job is designing cards, and looking after my son." The man replied neutrally.

"I honestly don't know what to believe…" The second woman trailed off.

"Another win for me." Jaden grinned, pinning my thumb with his own one. "Fifth one already." I rolled my eyes. "I guess I'm just better at this game." The grin on his face became even wider. "Want another one?" He then looked up. "Something else, please." I replied. "So that means it's boring to you already."

"No," I shook my head. "It's just obvious you'll win every time." "Doesn't have to mean that… But fine." He shrugged.

It's been two days since my stupidity landed me in the infirmary with broken ribs and bruises. I spent whole time on bed. Mrs. Fontaine refused to let me out of her sight until the third day passed. Thankfully, my time in here wasn't boring at all.

Jaden visited me, and even kept me company for a few hours. It happened either before, or after his tournament duels. We spent that time talking, or playing simple games. Yesterday, we played Tic-tac-toe dozen times. Then, we played slaps (slap, since I couldn't use my left hand, which left out usage of one hand).

At one point yesterday, he even suggested bringing Pharaoh in (knowing my obsession with animals). However, Mrs. Fontaine strongly objected to that ("Jaden, this is an infirmary, not a vet clinic where you can bring in animals! Bring that cat in, and I'll give you a detention!").

That wasn't the only thing she objected to though. So we could play those games better (and for the sake of a more comfortable position), both Jaden and I sat against the bed next to each other. The bed wasn't large, but it was certainly big enough for two of us.

The problem, however, according to Mrs. Fontaine's words, was lack of hygiene. She was strongly against people sitting on someone else's bed. People would then soil bedsheets with their dirty clothes (again, according to her).

While she was partially right about that, I couldn't care less. Stupid of me, since I've been taught to be tidy, while my whole family was pretty much opposite of that (with Uncle sometimes being an exception) … But, again, I didn't care. I wasn't going to stay in here for long. If it were my house, I could just change bedsheets. Besides, how could I lean my head Jaden's shoulder if he sat in a chair like usual?

Since we agreed to pretty much ignore Mrs. Fontaine's order, Jaden had to jump back into his chair every time she entered the infirmary. It was fast, and effective, from what I could see. She never suspected anything.

"Tic-tac-toe?" I suggested. "We've already played that." He reminded. "Yeah…" I remembered.

That was when Jaden took one of Tic-tac-toe papers and crumpled it, making it look like a ball. "Or maybe we can just throw ball to one another?" He suggested cheerfully. "You can count my left arm out of it." I reminded. "One-hand only." He agreed with a nod. "Tennis with paper-ball, then." I mused.

The moment I said, Jaden looked up at me. "Please, don't remind me of that thing. This is not even close to it!" He pleaded. I raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What did tennis do to you?" I spoke up in amusement. "It has nothing to do with dueling," He folded his arms. "Well, obviously," I rolled my eyes. "But," "It got me in detention with a crazy guy Harrington, who then wanted a duel to see who would become Alexis'…." He stopped for a moment. "What's that word again? Yes! Something called fiancé." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Wait, wait, wait… Fiancé? What the hell was all that about?! Judging by his words, he didn't even know what that meant…

"Do you know what that means?" I spoke up. "Well," Jaden rubbed the back of his head. "Alexis said that meant 'friends, for now'…" He then looked at me. "Why are you asking? Does that mean something else?" He tilted his head curiously.

"No, no!" I quickly shook my head. "I was just curious." I then added.

Frankly, I was surprised he had no idea what 'fiancé' meant. However, he was clueless about some things when we were kids… Even now, he could be naïve when it came to some subjects. That was just Jaden… I had no intention of telling him what the word really meant. Explaining that would make me embarrassed… I mean, he would have to know eventually!

"Throw that ball!" I then shouted, wanting to change the subject. Jaden did so. I hit it with my right hand, sending it flying back. He hit it with his hand, and sent it back to me. "Try to catch this one!" I cheered, hitting the paper-ball towards him.

Jaden did hit it. It just didn't end up well. Since he didn't really look where he was going while backing away, he accidentally fell over a chair. During that fall, he did manage to send the ball towards me… Except that he ended up on the ground with a yelp and a chair beside him. My eyes widened to the side of saucers as I let out a gasp (with a bonus pain).

"Goodness, what happened in here?!" Mrs. Fontaine suddenly ran in. Her eyes looked between us back and forth, taking everything in. Finally, she frowned. "Jaden, this is an infirmary, not a tennis court." She let out a sigh. "I never said it was." Jaden let out a laugh, sitting up.

She offered him a hand, which he took immediately. He was then on his feet again. "Thanks." He smiled sheepishly. The woman shook her head in disbelief. "First she breaks her ribs," She looked in my direction. "Then Mindy burns her hand, and now you'll end up breaking something in the infirmary where people are supposed to recover. Incredible…." She let out another sigh and hurried towards one cupboard.

"Mindy burned her hand?" Jaden asked in surprise. "It was an accident." Mrs. Fontaine nodded.

At that moment, the girl with pigtails came in. Her brown eyes landed on me, and then Jaden before she walked to Mrs. Fontaine.

While the woman was tending to her hand, Jaden lifted up the chair and sat next to my bed. "Are you alright?" I asked him. "No biggie, everything's fine." He smiled back. "Then does that mean I win?" I lifted up the paper-ball with a smirk. "You didn't hit the ball back." He reminded. "Because you knocked the chair and fell down." "That still doesn't change anything." He responded mischievously.

That was when he lifted up his hand. My eyes widened once it suddenly landed on my hair. Then, he started ruffling it. "Hey, hey, hey!" I exclaimed in surprise, trying to get hair out of my face to no avail. "It's been a while since I've done this." I could hear him saying.

What I heard in his voice was both amusement and pleasure. He literally couldn't wait to get his hands on my hair again… He hasn't changed at all!

"A while? Nine-year period would like to have a word with you." I replied, still trying to get hair out of my face. That was impossible, since Jaden would just ruffle it over and over.

Finally, I decided to try to do the same to him. So, I reached out my hand, and grabbed something… "That's my chin, Serena." I could hear Jaden laughing. "Dio santo…" I trailed off with a head shake, before reaching out with my hand again. "Can I please have my nose back?" "Well, how do you expect me to see?!" I started laughing.

Unfortunately, that caused me to feel pain from my left ribs. I let out a groan and quickly grabbed my left side.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jaden stopped with messing up my hair immediately. Instead, he got it out of my face so he could look at me in concern. "It's nothing," I waved it off. "I shouldn't have laughed. You know that causes me pain." "She's fine, that's what happens to people with broken ribs. Once she's free to get out of here, I'll give her painkillers." Mrs. Fontaine explained while putting ointment on the girl's hand.

Jaden kept looking at her for a few moments. His eyes then turned back to me. My hand immediately landed on his hair. I started running it through it, ruffling it in process. "Hey!" He exclaimed with a laugh, trying to grab my hand. Since he saw that was impossible, he set his sights on a better target… My hair.

So we were sitting there and messing up each other's hair (without seeing a damn thing, due to hair covering our eyes). Jaden's laughing was contagious, but I didn't allow myself to laugh as well, since laughing meant more pain in my case…

"You two are acting as if you're from kindergarten." I could hear the girl's voice. "Who cares?!" We chorused before Jaden burst in laughter again.

"Alright, that's enough," Mrs. Fontaine spoke up. "Serena needs to put ointment on her wounds." I let go of Jaden's hair. He did the same thing with mine. I quickly got it out of my face.

Mrs. Fontaine offered the ointment to Jaden who took it. He then walked over to my back, while I lifted up my jacket and shirt so he could put the ointment on the bruise. Once that was done, I took the thing and put it on both my left side and arm.

At that moment, Mrs. Fontaine ran out of the infirmary. Jaden grabbed that chance to sit on the bed next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and I could feel his head landing on mine. I closed my eyes, feeling a bit tired. The last night's sleep wasn't exactly the best after all… "Are you two dating or what?" I could hear the girl asking.

I quickly opened my eyes and looked up at her in surprise. "Are we what?!" I looked at her as if she were crazy. Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Jaden tilting his head to left with a completely clueless look on his face. "Are you two dating?" The girl repeated the question with a frown.

Honestly… I really wanted to know where she got that insane idea from. 'Are you two dating'? What in the world?! Jaden was my best friend, and I didn't give a damn about things like… Dating

He and I looked at each other for a few moments. While I was surprised by that statement, he looked incredibly confused… My bet was he didn't know what 'dating' was either. I was sure of it. "No." I then replied firmly. "Why are you even asking that?" I then demanded with a frown. "It just looked like that to me…" She shrugged. "Well, you got the wrong impression." I replied a bit harshly. "Yeah, we're not… Whatever that was supposed to mean…" Jaden agreed, or should I say, tried to agree.

The girl kept eyeing us for a few moments. "Sorry." She finally said, and made her way out of the infirmary. "What's dating?" Jaden turned around to look at me in confusion.

There were many ways I could have explained that to him. But I chose not to. I chose to avoid that embarrassment (my own one, not his). Me explaining it would look really stupid (and, again, embarrassing for me). He didn't even know what 'fiancé' meant. I definitely wasn't a person who should explain the whole thing to him. Firstly, because I wasn't interested in it, and secondly, because he was my friend… Besides, again, he would have to learn what that meant eventually in his life!

"It's not important." I tried to shrug it off. "But you still said 'no'. Judging by your reaction, it must be something bad…" Jaden trailed off curiously. "No, no, it's not!" I quickly shook my head. "Then why won't you tell m…"

To my huge relief, Mrs. Fontaine ran into the room. She headed towards her cupboard. "Jaden, I just heard Maximilion Pegasus arrived at the Duel Academy with Chumley." She spoke up. "Really?" He stood up excitedly. The woman nodded. I looked up curiously.

Pegasus was the head of company where my Aunt worked, I knew that… But I didn't know who Chumley was. Never mind that. Maybe Pegasus had some information about Aunt Maria's whereabouts!

"Can I go too?" I asked, feeling excited. "You have to stay at least one more day." Mrs. Fontaine reminded. "But…" "I can ask about your aunt for you." Jaden offered. "Could you?" I pleaded, earning a nod from him. "Grazie!" I grinned and got on my feet to hug him. He hugged me back for a few moments, before Mrs. Fontaine gently pushed me back on bed.

"I'll come to see you once I see Chumley." He promised. "I'll hold you to your word." I said. He let out a laugh and then ran out of the infirmary.

Third Person's POV

"Then I'll equip it with 'Aether Shield'!" A female voice under the white cape shouted. The Ra Yellow student's eyes widened as the monster's Attack Points rose to 4000. "Now, Earth Stag, attack him directly!"

The student's eyes widened as a huge stag which looked as if it were made of rocks and soil charged at him. The monster hit him from the back, taking away the rest of his Life Points. The student fell to the ground, still barely being conscious from the strength of the attack.

The person under the cape scowled at the duelist before turning away. Another fool had just seen the Light… She had more important business at the moment though. She had no time to worry about foolish things.

She quickly started walking towards a huge, white building.

Sartorius was in front of it, looking at the approaching figure. "You have it?" He looked at the woman under the cape expectantly. She stopped in front of him and nodded. "They're all in here." She then offered the man an envelope. He took it in his hands, observing it.

"I take it the bandage is from that incident you had mentioned?" The woman presumed, looking at Sartorius' bandaged left hand. He nodded while still looking at the envelope. "She tried to steal the satellite." He then reminded, looking up. "You can always accuse her of attempted theft. You had mentioned there was some damage done to it." She suggested.

"If I accuse the foolish girl of that, then I'll draw attention to myself." The man shook his head firmly. "Then getting rid of her will be harder. I'll handle her, Jaden and Aster in another way." "I heard Pegasus is on the island, so it would be better to keep that out of his sight." The woman warned while pointing at the envelope. He simply nodded.

Serena's POV

I was sitting on the bed, and looking through my deck. Waiting here was boring without doing anything. I forgot to ask Jaden to bring me my herbarium, and it would be pointless anyway since I was here for only one more day.

I was dying to know what was happening with Pegasus. What was he doing here? Did he have any information concerning my aunt? And why wasn't Jaden back yet? Suspense was killing me right now!

Suddenly, the door opened. I looked up in surprise to see… Aster walking in. To make it even worse, he was heading right towards where I was.

Nervousness washed over me. The last time I saw him, he was pretty upset about what I had done, and he told me to stay out of the whole thing… Rightfully so, but I still didn't understand why he wanted to see me…

As soon as I got that grey stick out of my backpack, I showed it to Jaden. I told him to take it and talk to Aster about what to do with it. The next day, Jaden told me he gave it to Aster, and he didn't mention it again. Not mentioning it felt like huge burden was lifted off my chest… But I had to wonder whether that was the reason Aster was here right now…

Finally, the professional duelist walked over to my bed. His dark blue eyes looked at me for a few moments. Then, he sat in a chair next to the bed, putting his right leg over left one. "Can we talk?" He asked with a cold look, folding his arms.

"Can we what?" I gaped at him in surprise, while still feeling nervous. "I asked whether we could talk." He repeated firmly, his dark blue eyes looking right into my light blue ones.

A cliffhanger, I know… But yeah, that's right. Serena and Aster are so having a conversation in the next chapter. In the meantime, the mysterious duelist and her deck should appear more in the future… I hope you liked it and until next time! :)