Kim Nanoha: Thank you for reviewing! Oh really? Then I'm glad I managed to make Serena at least a bit relatable! :)
I only own my OC's!
"What are those Ojan monsters supposed to look like anyway?" I asked while grabbing one tree branch to move it out of the way. I then walked under it, and held it so Jaden could pass as well. Pharaoh was right behind him. "Ojama." He corrected me, just as I let go of the branch.
"Ojama." I repeated after him more quietly, trying to memorize the name. "There are three of them. One is yellow, and there are also green and black one." Jaden explained briefly. "A trio." I mused thoughtfully, looking around the forest. Pharaoh was now a bit ahead of us.
For some reason, the cat decided to come along with us. Actually, once he saw us in front of the dorm, he jumped into my arms. When I tried to put him down, he started meowing in protest. Jaden found the whole thing amusing. I liked Pharaoh, and adored cats… But I didn't exactly plan to go hunting for cards with a cat in my arms! Plus, he wasn't exactly light for carrying all the time… Thankfully, as soon as we were in the forest, Pharaoh allowed me to put him down without protesting. Since then, he'd just stick near us, running around.
It hadn't been long since we started looking for those monsters. Even though Chazz said he had got rid of them, Jaden was convinced they were still somewhere on the island. That was why we were going through the forest right now. Jaden had more advantage when it came to searching, though, since he had already seen those monsters before. I only heard stories about them, and knew their brief description.
"Are you sure they're still here?" I raised an eyebrow after we looked behind one tree. "The less you want them around, the more they stick around," He nodded. "They must be somewhere on the island." "Watch out for that branch!" I warned, pulling him by his hand away from the branch and pointing at it. "Thanks. That was a close one." He spoke up sheepishly. "I nearly got hit by that same branch while looking for you, that's why." I shook my head in amusement.
"Where did you end up anyway? How did you get away from the island?" I then spoke up in confusion. "I took a boat, and ended up in outer space." Jaden spoke up sheepishly. "What?" I stared at him in surprise. "Yeah," He nodded with a smile. "And I got some awesome new cards for my deck, even chilling out with three extraterrestrials!"
I still didn't know what to think about the whole 'being in space' thing… Especially once he brought up extraterrestrials. As far as I knew, only astronauts could go to space like that! But Jaden never lied. I decided to believe him. I've come across more insane-sounding things… Such things shouldn't even surprise me by now, yet they still did!
"What was it like? The space, I mean." I asked. "Pretty cool. I don't know much about space though." He shrugged. "I don't know much either. Aunt Maria told me something about it a few times, and I came across a few things in an encyclopedia, but that was it." My eyebrows furrowed, as I tried to remember what she used to tell me about.
Memories about that were quite blurry… I must have been quite small back then.
"She did?" "Yeah." I nodded, still trying to remember at least something.
Unfortunately, it wasn't much. Aunt Maria mentioned stars and black holes, I knew that… I couldn't remember what exactly she said about them though. I only knew she mentioned them… There was also something else… However, I couldn't remember what!
"I can't remember much though," I frowned. "Stars, and black holes." I folded my arms. "She always had some interesting stories." Jaden smiled. "She did," I nodded and smiled back. "The problem is once you forget it." "I don't remember them in particular, but I do remember they used to be interesting." He shrugged. I simply nodded yet again.
I already knew what stars were, and I knew the same for black holes… Maybe that's what Aunt had told me before I read it in an encyclopedia back home. Black holes sucked everything in space, while stars were balls of gas like helium…
"What's that you drew?" Aunt Maria asked curiously while taking a paper out of my hands. "Those are stars," I pointed at the paper. "Then that's black hole," My finger moved to another place on paper. "And that's white hole!" I finished proudly. "I can't see it?" She asked in confusion.
"That's the point! It's white, just like paper!" I exclaimed. "Fine, fine." She started laughing.
I put a finger on my chin with a frown while processing the memory I just managed to recollect. It wasn't a clear one… I couldn't even remember what was on the paper I had used for drawing. One thing was for sure though.
I had quite an overactive imagination as a kid… Just where did I get that 'white hole' nonsense from?! There was no such thing… Right? My encyclopedia sure didn't mention any white holes back then… I would have remembered it!
"MEOW!" Pharaoh's sudden, loud meowing made me turn around in utter shock. My heart rate increased as well. "Pharaoh?!" Jaden questioned with his eyes wide.
The cat hissed and started running in one direction. He didn't even seem to pay attention to us… "Where are you going?!" I shouted and started walking as fast as I could in that direction. Jaden, on the other hand, ran after the cat. I would have done the same if it hadn't been for my ribs…
By now, both Jaden and Pharaoh were out of my sight. I tried to walk faster, but it didn't work. I was already feeling tired… Thankfully, I didn't have to go further because something else happened.
Pharaoh came running back before jumping right into my arms. "Pharaoh!" I exclaimed, barely managing to keep my balance and not fall down. The cat meowed yet again, sounding rather upset for some reason…
"What's got into you?!" I demanded, seeing the cat was still tense in my arms. "He just ran, and then bolted back past me!" Jaden explained in confusion, running back to us. "Just like that?" I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, apart from hissing…"
He stopped in front of me. His eyes glanced at me, and then at the cat in my arms.
"I don't understand what could have got him so upset…" I trailed off perplexed. "Maybe he saw something." Jaden suggested. "Most probably, but I wonder what exactly…" I started petting the cat to calm him down.
After a few moments, I felt Pharaoh relax in my arms. "Maybe some sort of an animal." "Maybe." I nodded to his suggestion. I looked in the direction Pharaoh came from, trying to see whether there was something at the end. However, everything appeared to be normal…
Then why did Pharaoh react so strangely? I knew cats could sense some things in a similar way to dogs, but this was getting a bit ridiculous… There was absolutely nothing in here apart from three of us! He was acting as weird as the day he jumped into my arms, completely upset about something I couldn't fathom!
At that moment, a yellow ball of light suddenly came out of the cat's mouth. I dropped Pharaoh from my arms in utter astonishment, earning a loud and angry 'meow' from the cat in process. "Sorry, Pharaoh!" I apologized frantically.
"Free at last!" I could have sworn I heard a male adult's voice coming out of it. I looked up at Jaden slowly, who was staring at both the ball and the cat. "Did you hear that?" I asked slowly, wanting to check whether I was hallucinating or not. "I did." He nodded, still in shock.
"You did! Jaden, it's me!" The male voice spoke up yet again. "Professor Banner, are you in there?" Jaden asked, eyeing the ball of light. "Unfortunately." "But wait. Didn't you turn to dust?" He demanded, confusing me even more.
A ball of light appeared from Pharaoh's mouth just like that, and Jaden seemed to know this 'Professor'…
"My body was destroyed, but my spirit survived. I was actually looking forward to resting in peace, but Pharaoh had other ideas…" The ball of light explained. "That's the last time I skip his breakfast, I'll tell you that!"
Wait, wait, wait… This ball of light here was actually a person's spirit?! That was technically impossible… I wasn't hallucinating, I knew that… It still sounded crazy nonetheless!
On the other hand… I've come across more unbelievable things this year…
"Who's the girl with you?" The ball of light suddenly flew to the rock next to me. It suddenly took form of a man sitting on the rock. I looked at him from head to toe in surprise.
The man had long, black hair tied back in a ponytail and square glasses. He was dressed in a white shirt with a brown necktie, black pants, and shoes.
From what I could see so far, he seemed like a nice person…
"That's Serena. She's Ben's cousin." Jaden introduced me with a smile. "So that's his cousin he mentioned a lot of times." The man's ghost looked at me curiously. "I guess so…" I trailed off, a bit surprised that Ben had even mentioned me to this unknown person.
"If he really did mention me so much…" I then trailed off a bit bitterly, remembering how he now refused to talk to me. "Yes. But only good things!" He smiled. I blinked at the ghost in surprise.
Ben seemed to really like this person if he mentioned me to him so many times… Then who was he?!
"And you are?" I raised an eyebrow. "Lyman Banner." The ghost smiled yet again. "He used to be head of Slifer dorm." Jaden explained. "Oh." I nodded. "Banner…" I repeated to myself, trying to keep the name in mind.
Then I realized I had actually heard that name before… Ben had mentioned Pharaoh used to be this man's pet! Bastion even said that man was dead now… They were referring to him all along!
"Ben mentioned you when I asked about Pharaoh." I admitted to the ghost, kneeling down to pet the cat. The cat started purring against my left leg, meaning he forgave me for dropping him like that recklessly. "Pharaoh seems to have taken quite a liking to you." The ghost, Banner, noted. "He's much friendlier than other cats I've come across. Any cat I tried to pet would run away before I put my hand to pet it!" I responded with an eye roll.
"Weren't those usually stray cats?" Jaden asked me in amusement. "Si." I rolled my eyes once more. That earned me a laugh from him and a chuckle from Banner. At that moment, a frown appeared on the latter's face. "I can hear those voices again." He spoke up. I exchanged glances with Jaden before looking around in confusion.
I couldn't hear anything… "I don't hear anything." Jaden spoke up. "I've been hearing them for a few days now. They're coming from this direction…" Banner took form of the ball and started flying forward. We started following him, with Pharaoh right behind us.
Banner led us to some sort of a well, deep inside the forest. "What is this place?" I asked curiously, stopping to look how deep it was. From what I could see, it was pretty dark down there…
"This old well is a burial place of forgotten cards." Jaden explained briefly. "Listen closely." Banner urged. I frowned but got a bit closer. After a few moments of absolute silence, I could finally hear some voices down there. They sounded distant, but were definitely loud enough to be heard.
"Please, don't hurt us!" One voice shouted. "For the last time, we're not shrimps!" The second one could be heard this time. "This is bad!" The third, squeaky voice shouted.
Jaden looked up at me. "Those voices definitely sound familiar." He said cheerfully. "It's a good thing you recognize them." I replied. "I'm going down there to see whether it's really them." He said. I looked down for a moment.
"Then I'll wait for you here. I need to take a break from walking if I want to make it back to the dorm." "I could always carry you back there." Jaden let out a laugh. "Not sure that's a good idea, considering my ribs are still broken." I pointed out seriously. "I hope you're joking." I then added. He simply let out another laugh and started climbing down the ladders. Banner flew down, right after him.
I slowly sat on grass in front of the well, and started petting Pharaoh. About ten minutes passed before Jaden finally emerged from the well with Banner.
"Were those the cards we were looking for?" I asked. "They were." He replied cheerfully, showing me three cards in his right hand. I looked at them more closely.
They definitely looked like Jaden described them. One key detail was they looked like some sort of mutants in bikini briefs… The green one had only one eye!
"Thanks, Professor Banner." Jaden looked up at the ghost. "It's nothing." He waved with a smile, making Jaden smile back with a nod. Then the ghost was suddenly swallowed by Pharaoh who had just jumped up. I stared at the cat for a few moments before looking up at Jaden. He offered me a hand, which I took with a smile before he helped me up.
"Thanks, Jaden, you're the best!" The spirit of Ojama Yellow suddenly appeared. "Tell me, does this mean you're going to adopt us?" "Actually, I have a better idea. I'm going to reunite you with Chazz. He and I are dueling tomorrow." Jaden replied.
That was when spirits of other two Ojamas appeared. "Thanks for the gesture, but it doesn't matter…" Ojama Yellow spoke up. "Yeah, ever since he joined that club, Chazz won't even look at us!" Ojama Black spoke up. "He'll probably just throw us away again…" Ojama Green trailed off.
"You do know Chazz is not exactly himself?" I reminded with a frown. "Serena's right, he's brainwashed." Jaden added. Three monsters looked at him, and then at me. "You can see us?!" Ojama Yellow spoke up in surprise. I nodded.
The three of them stared at me for a few more moments. "Do you happen to remember when Chazz started acting different?" I then asked. "Yeah! It all happened when that crazy man beat him in a duel while he was searching for Jaden!" Ojama Yellow exclaimed.
"You're talking about Sartorius?" I presumed, already knowing what kind of answer to expect. "Yes!" Ojama Black nodded. "That creepy man even managed to prevent us from helping Boss." Ojama Green added.
That happened the night before Chazz turned up in white clothing. That basically meant that while I was figuring out Sartorius was on the island, he was off, brainwashing Chazz in another part of the forest… I may have had full picture of what had happened, but it didn't help me feel better at all.
"Not to mention he had this weird aura around him all along!" Ojama Yellow then shivered. I looked up at the spirit. "What did you say?" I raised an eyebrow. "The creepy man had a weird aura around him!" The spirit repeated.
That statement definitely piqued my interest… I didn't know Duel Monster Spirits were capable of sensing people's auras!
"What do you mean by 'weird'?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing. "It was quite sinister, and dark…" Ojama Black frowned. I was staring at the spirit for a few moments.
Sarina described the card Sartorius was offered had ominous aura too… What the Ojamas sensed was definitely that force. Ominous and sinister fit with each other like a pair of gloves… I didn't understand one part though. How could that aura be dark?
All the Society Of Light wanted was for everyone to 'see the Light'… So what did 'dark aura' have to do with it?!
"Was there anything else you had sensed about that aura?" I asked hopefully. "We've already told you." Ojama Green responded. I tugged at my hair with a sigh (earning me a bit of pain from my ribs, since I forgot it still hurt when I did that).
And I thought things couldn't get more confusing… Just when I thought I had some clues, one part didn't fit in, and made everything worse. The force was obsessed with Light, it was sinister, yet also dark at the same time… How could light and dark even go together?! At this point, nothing made sense…
"What you sensed is the same force controlling Chazz right now." I then spoke up.- "How about you duel in my deck tomorrow?" Jaden suddenly suggested. "What?!" Ojamas gaped at him. "Maybe if we work together, we can bring Chazz back to normal."
They kept staring at him for a few moments… "It sounds dangerous…" Ojama Green started, only to be cut off. "Listen to yourselves! This is a chance to do something with our lives! We'll be heroes, you know, like Jaden's monsters!" Ojama Yellow declared.
Thankfully, that got other two Ojamas to agree, before they somehow caused a lot of green smoke to appear…
I started waving it away while coughing. "Alright, but no costumes…" Jaden grinned sheepishly, waving away the smoke with his hand as well.
"So that's the only plan you have? Using Ojamas?" I asked Jaden while we were walking back to the Slifer dorm. He put the cards in his deck box. "For now, that's the best plan. I do want to go through Chazz's old things though…" He trailed off while I ran a hand through Pharaoh's fur, carrying him in my other arm.
"If there's anything left…" I mused. "There must be." Jaden replied optimistically. "If I can find his jacket…" He then trailed off. "Why?" I asked. "He used to use it to wipe up food from the table." "Really?" "Yeah. Ben and I noticed it a few months ago." I smiled a bit in amusement. "Ben's no better…" I trailed off.
Jaden gave me a curious look. "He may keep his hair tidy, but he usually leaves his room in a mess. Aunt told me that herself, and then I saw it too." I explained. "He did leave his bed like that while he was with us in the room…" He reminisced.
Nearly everyone in my family was known for not being tidy in some sort of way. Mum and Dad always left mud all over the house by refusing to take their shoes off. Ben left his room in a mess, or even stained his clothes sometimes during meals. Aunt Maria was an excellent cook, but she rarely washed dishes she had used… Uncle Luca or I would wash them instead. Uncle somewhat took care of house.
I probably would have been equally messy if Sarina and Sartorius hadn't looked after me… They couldn't stand mess, especially Sarina. They preferred everything to be neat and tidy. That way, they could find what they needed in the exact place where they had left it before. I got used to the rule pretty quickly, which stayed with me. I just couldn't imagine my room being in complete chaos…
"Do you need help with looking through those things?" I offered. "Thanks, but I think I can handle it. Maybe you should talk to Ben." Jaden shook his head with a smile. "I appreciate you care… But I won't." I shook my head as well. He let out a sigh but walked upstairs. "I'll see you later then." He walked into the renovated part of the dorm. I frowned while putting down Pharaoh.
If he didn't need any help, then I could use the chance to look through the remaining books in my room. Even though I knew I wouldn't find anything in them. Because, honestly, what were the chances of that in two or three books after looking through more than five? Equal to zero…
As expected, there was nothing in those books. Since I couldn't carry ten of them at once, I decided to carry five of them each to the library.
Once I put the remaining five on the desk, Mrs. Fontaine looked up at me. "You weren't pleased with the content?" She raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, but no. I didn't find what I was looking for." I replied truthfully.
"Well, what exactly are you interested in?" The woman took one book and started looking through it. "Something concerning light." I spoke up. "Something? You're not sure yourself?" She frowned. "I don't know what exactly it is." I folded my arms with a shrug. "Then I'm afraid I can't help you much." I resisted the urge to sigh once I heard her words.
How was I supposed to find out what that force was if not even books could help me?!
"Is there a problem?" Bastion's voice made me spin around in surprise. The Ra Yellow student was standing at the entrance. Ben was peeking from behind his shoulder, now dressed in his Obelisk Blue uniform.
I had to admit, not seeing him in white was so relieving…
"It's nothing, I'm just trying to help Serena find something." Mrs. Fontaine tried to wave it off. Bastion walked up to two of us. His grey eyes then landed on books I had borrowed earlier, before moving to me. "Those books haven't helped you at all?" He raised an eyebrow.
I shook my head. "Well, what are you looking for? Maybe I could help you." He offered. I bit my lip for a moment, observing the taller guy.
I wasn't exactly willing to spill everything to him… He was an acquaintance, and I didn't trust him that much… But what choice did I have? Here I was, completely clueless about what I wanted to find. If Ben trusted him, then he couldn't be so bad… Besides, he offered to help!
"I'm searching for something connected to the light." I explained. A brief frown appeared on Bastion's face as he took one book in his hand. "Those are books concerning magic?" He raised an eyebrow. I nodded. "And you didn't find anything?" I nodded yet again.
He then closed the book. "Maybe you're going in the wrong direction." He suggested. "What?" I stared at him as if he were crazy. "You were convinced whatever you're looking for has something to do with magic," He clarified. "What if that isn't the case?"
Quite frankly, I found it hard to believe in that… That force possessed people. White light glowed around its victims. Sarina herself described it as an 'evil force'. Hell, logically speaking, it wasn't supposed to exist at all! How couldn't it be magic?!
On the other hand, I looked through all books concerning magic, and found nothing. I doubted Mrs. Fontaine could somehow get more, since the library was quite limited. Even though I found it impossible… What if I tried looking for it in a different direction? I had nothing to lose, with the lack of books…
"You think so?" I raised an eyebrow. Bastion nodded. I frowned.
I was looking for things about some sort of force obsessed with Light… What else was connected to force in general?
"For example, physics has a chapter about light." He then pointed out. My eyes widened slightly.
Light wasn't what interested me so much. I already knew what to expect from those chapters. It was about lenses… However, Bastion had just reminded me of things physics studied. One of them was force… Finding something about that force in physics still seemed far-fetched, but it was worth a try.
"Thank you." I nodded to him. A small, brief smile appeared on the guy's face. That was when` Ben grabbed him by his arm, pulling him out of the library. I turned towards Mrs. Fontaine. "Could you give me all books about physics?"
Since Ben pulled Bastion out of the library, Mrs. Fontaine had to help me carry all the books to my room. There were fifteen of them in total. After I thanked her, I turned my attention to the books on my table. I then walked over to the chair and sat on it. As soon as I grabbed one book, I started looking through it…
Unfortunately, looking through five of those books made me fall asleep. To make it even worse, I didn't find anything there…
As soon as I opened my eyes, I could see Sun rising. That meant Jaden would have his duel against Chazz today…
Suddenly, I could hear knocking on the door. "Who is it?" I asked while getting off my bed. "Me!" Jaden's voice said from the outside. I walked to the door and quickly opened them. He looked at me from head to toe, his eyes widening slightly. I frowned for a moment, before realizing why he was looking at me like that.
I was still in my dark blue sleeping top and capris… My hair was in even more disarray than usual. All in all, I looked like a total mess.
"Sorry for seeing me like this…" I let out a yawn. "I just woke up." "You still look tired." He noted. "It's because of yawning, isn't it?" I asked, trying to suppress the urge to yawn yet again. "I think you have dark circles under your eyes too." Jaden pointed out. "Most probably…" I started rubbing my eyes. "What were you doing last night?" "Reading…" I replied, letting out another yawn.
"Anyway," I then looked up, trying to keep my gaze focused. "Did you find what you were looking for?" "That's what I want to talk to you about, after you get dressed." Jaden responded. "Alright, then…" I trailed off in a bit of confusion. "I'll be ready in ten minutes."
I was about to close the door, only for him to stop me. "Oh, and Serena?" "Yes?" I looked up, my eyebrows furrowing. A mischievous smile appeared all over his face. "Red suits you much better." "Oh, give me a break!" I tried not to laugh. "This is my only chance not to look like kaki fruit!"
By now, Jaden started laughing. "Now I'll close the door before your laughter becomes contagious." I warned, making him burst in even more laughter just as I closed the door.
If it weren't for my stupid ribs, I would allow myself to laugh… I couldn't wait for them to heal completely.
I quickly drank one of painkillers along with water. I then grabbed my uniform and started getting ready.
Once I was outside, Jaden was waiting with… Ben.
"What is he doing here?" I frowned while walking downstairs. "I could ask you the same question about her." Ben gave Jaden an expectant look. "I know you're not willing to talk to each other," He rubbed the back of his head. "But I need help with finding Chazz's jacket. It wasn't with his old stuff." "You still have time before the duel." Ben reminded. "No, I don't. It's in ten minutes."
"You couldn't have told us you needed help sooner?" I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Well, no…" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
He did it on purpose to try to get Ben and me to talk to each other. I was sure of that.
"Now I'm asking you to help me find it. I can't look anymore, since Chazz is waiting." "You're not asking us to help you. You're asking us to find it ourselves." Ben corrected him with a frown. "If it will get you two to talk to each other, then call it that way." Jaden was looking at us back and forth sheepishly.
"Jaden…" I trailed off in a bit of annoyance.
I appreciated he wanted to help… But I didn't want to talk to Ben at all!
"I'd better get going. See ya!" Jaden then started running away from us. "JADEN!" Ben shouted after him to no avail. His green eyes then moved to me.
I couldn't resist the urge to smack the back of his head. That was why I did just that. "Ow!" My cousin shouted grabbing his head with hands. "What was that for?!" He glared at me.
I pursed my lips. "Sei stupido, that's why. You and Sartorius treated me badly for a while, and now when I have you back, you decide to be angry and ignore me." I growled. "Your attempt to steal his satellite didn't make you any smarter." Ben noted icily. "But I realized that. Now you're just repeating it over and over again." I retorted.
"I don't remember anything since I was brainwashed." "Well, during that time, I was convinced all of you hated me. I…" I stopped myself from saying further. "You know what? Talking to you about this is pointless. I don't want Jaden to get in trouble because we spent time arguing instead of looking for Chazz's jacket, so let's just go." I frowned. "And where do you think his jacket could be?" Ben raised an eyebrow expectantly.
I stayed quiet for a few moments. "Sartorius dueled Chazz while he was looking for Jaden. If I remember correctly, you told him to look through a part of the forest." "The northern part." He nodded. "Maybe he left it there, or somewhere along the way. I mean, why would he need it, since he wanted to wear only white..." Ben nodded yet again with a frown, but followed me nonetheless.
"There's nothing in here." I frowned while looking through another bush. "Same over here." Ben's voice came from the other side of the trees.
It's been nearly fifteen minutes since we started looking through the northern part of the forest. So far, we had no success. Apart from asking each other whether we found it, Ben and I kept looking for the jacket in silence.
I stood up in annoyance and started looking behind a few trees. "I didn't know it hurt you so much." Ben suddenly spoke up. I spun around to see him slowly walking up to me with an uncertain look. "What are you talking about?" I demanded with a raised eyebrow.
"I didn't know mine and Sartorius' behavior hurt you that much." He elaborated. A frown appeared on my face at the mention of that subject. "Well, now you do. Can we continue looking for Chazz's jacket?" I was about to turn around, only for Ben to grab me by my arm. "You do know I didn't mean it?"
"It looked like you did. You called me a wretch, wench, you always pushed me away… Want to hear more?" I demanded sarcastically. "Bastion told me how I had treated you earlier. I just didn't know it had such impact on you…" Ben let out a sigh.
I looked away with a frown. "Until Sarina told me everything, I was convinced all of you were insane… I couldn't find any other reasonable explanation for your different behavior. Then Sartorius appeared too, and it only became worse… I felt completely alone." I admitted a bit more quietly.
"I'm sorry for hurting you like that, cuzo…" Ben trailed off, giving me a sad look. "It wasn't your fault," I looked up coldly. "It's that stupid force." "I know, but I don't remember anything, and knowing that I still hurt you, and you got hurt after that…" "It wasn't your fault." I repeated more firmly. "In fact, I should be apologizing for doubting you and Sartorius like that!" I then exclaimed.
"You couldn't have known what happened to us. You reacted like a normal person would." Ben frowned. "That doesn't mean I don't feel bad. I'm so, so sorry for thinking you had gone insane…" I looked up at him with tears brimming in my eyes. "Of course, I forgive you." He looked at me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You saved me after all!" A grin appeared on his face. "I never thanked you for that."
I nodded, not knowing what else to say. "I'm also sorry for getting mad at you. It's just that, what you had done surprised me so much…" "It's okay," I cut him off. "I shouldn't have got mad either. I really missed you, but I guess what you said made me overreact too… I'm sorry."
I just had to apologize, thousand times if I had to. He had told me he wasn't aware of how much the whole thing hit me. I missed my cousin…
"How about we stop with apologizing now?" Ben suggested with a smile, pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back, feeling happier than I've felt in quite a while. "I'm all for it." I smiled as well.
"We'd better continue the search for Chazz's jacket." He pointed out once we finally pulled away. "The forest is huge…" I trailed off, tugging at my hair. We continued searching nonetheless.
It was about ten minutes later that I could smell something unpleasant. In fact, it was coming from a nearby bush… I sat next to it. Then I reached my left hand inside, and could feel some sort of fabric. I pulled the thing out. It was a black jacket, and the unpleasant smell was coming from it… I clogged my nose with my right hand.
This was Chazz's jacket, alright. But why did it smell so bad?!
"Dio santo…" I trailed off in disbelief. "You found something?!" Ben ran to where I was, holding Chazz's shirt, shoes, and trousers in both of his hands. I nodded. "So did you." I then pointed out. "Just now, in a nearby bush." He nodded as well.
A frown appeared on his face. "Why are you clogging your nose?" He asked in a bit of amusement. I offered it to him wordlessly. He sniffed the jacket for a moment and then immediately clogged his nose too, pushing the rest of clothing in his left arm. "That thing reeks of both tuna fish and soy sauce!"
"Any idea why?" I asked. "Because Chazz had used that jacket to wipe up both the sauce and fish off the table before he was brainwashed, that's why." Ben responded in a 'that's obvious' tone. "Jaden has already told me about his habit. I just didn't expect it would leave this smell…" I trailed off, standing up with the jacket still in my hand.
I then sniffed it for a moment as well. It definitely smelled like both soy sauce, and tuna fish… But there was also something else, which smelled suspiciously like salmon.
Ben rolled his eyes. "I didn't expect that either. Only Jaden and I saw him doing that… He thought we weren't looking." I smirked in amusement while folding the black jacket.
We then made our way out of the forest as fast as we were able to.
"I hope we're not too late!" Ben shouted as we walked towards the field in front of the main building. Bastion, Hassleberry, Aster, and Syrus (who for some reason was hiding in a bush) turned their heads in our direction with looks of surprise and confusion (not that I could blame them, we were basically carrying Chazz's clothing).
From what I could see, Jaden and Chazz were already dueling. "About time!" Jaden looked in our direction with a grin. "What should we do with this?" I asked, lifting up the jacket. "Leave it there." He pointed at a white stone near them. I nodded.
"What do you think you're doing with that?!" Chazz demanded in what seemed to be annoyance. "Leaving your jacket there so we don't have to sense its smell anymore." Ben smirked at him. He and I then walked over to that stone. I left the jacket hanging over it, while Ben left other things next to it.
"I hope you're done with this nonsense, so I can finally beat this loser and continue with cleansing the world with Light." Chazz glared. "Well, you'd better take care of your jacket first." Ben frowned. "Say what?!" He glared at him. "Your jacket smells like tuna, soy sauce, and salmon, that's what he wanted to say." I spoke up, clogging my nose while backing away from the stone. "Reeks." Ben corrected me.
Jaden let out a laugh of amusement. "I told you that you used to wipe up food with your jacket!" He pointed out. "What are you waiting for?! You know you want to try it!" Ojama Yellow, who was on Jaden's side of field, shouted. "Black is your color. You know why? Because the dirt doesn't show!"
Chazz's eyes went from the monster, to Jaden, then me, and Ben, before finally landing on the black jacket.
"But I'm always clean!" He shouted before suddenly lifting up his left sleeve. There was something black over it, which looked suspiciously like a stain… "Is that a stain?!" He gaped at it before suddenly grabbing his face with his right hand.
Ben and I exchanged hopeful glances, hoping that something would happen. It was quiet for a few moments, until…
"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" Chazz shouted, snapping his eyes open in shock. "I'm not like those geeks, always prancing around in their clean, white clothes! I hate wearing white! I'm not perfect and I don't care!" "Thank goodness." Ben muttered from next to me as Chazz continued his speech. I rolled my eyes in amusement.
It was good to know he wasn't brainwashed anymore, I guess… Now I could see why he and Ben got along. They were quite similar to each other… They both hated white, and were messy in some sort of way!
But then, Chazz finally noticed Jaden had Ojamas on his side of field, and accused him of stealing his deck. Of course, just like Ben, he didn't remember anything about the time he spent in the Society. In fact, the last thing he remembered was Sartorius beating him in that duel they had had…
A growl came out of Chazz's mouth as he suddenly took off his white blazer and threw it in the air. "GET THESE RIDICULOUS CLOTHES OFF ME!" He roared, suddenly taking off his white shirt as well.
I let out a scream and quickly covered my eyes. "Chazz…" I could hear Ben muttering from next to me. "Tell me when it's over." I told Ben pleadingly. "Cuzo, don't you think you're overreacting?" I could hear him asking quietly in amusement. "No. I've been through this before, and I don't want to see it again." I replied firmly, feeling my cheeks turning a bit red.
And I was serious. Walking in on Syrus and Hassleberry was bad enough, and seeing Jaden without his shirt as well. I didn't need to add Chazz to my list of seeing naked guys!
"You can look now." Ben told me. I took hands off my eyes in utter relief. "Man, I love that smell…" I looked up to see Chazz looking at his jacket, now dressed in his usual clothing. His former clothing was on the ground, further away from the scene. "Alright! You know what time it is?!" He then asked, lifting up his right index finger.
"No idea!" I could hear Syrus saying. "I do!" Ojama Yellow shouted. "Me too!" Jaden agreed. "So do I!" Ben grinned from next to me. "TIME TO CHAZZ IT UP, GUYS!" Chazz declared, just as I could see a brief thunder appear in front of the building.
I looked up at Ben. "What's this all about?" I asked in confusion. "I'll explain it to you later…" He trailed off with a chuckle.
At that moment, Chazz and Jaden decided to finish their duel. But not before the former activated a card which apparently destroyed all monsters on the field and made them swap their graveyards…
"We swap them?" Jaden demanded in surprise. "You heard me," Chazz replied while walking up to him. "I'm taking back the deck you stole from me before the duel started!" He lifted up his hand, expecting Jaden to give him the cards. "I told you, I never actually stole it…" He replied a bit exasperated. "Yeah, whatever." Chazz grumbled.
"He didn't steal the cards. We found them in the old well after you had thrown them away." I spoke up with a frown. Chazz looked in my direction for a few moments and then walked away without saying anything. "I can't believe it…" I trailed off. Ben glanced at me for a moment before turning his attention back to the duel.
Once he was back to his side of the field, Chazz activated 'Infernal Transaction'. With it, he got to remove one Spell Card from his graveyard, while Jaden had to summon a monster from his that had at least 2000 Attack Points.
I had to admit, seeing White Knight Lord appear on Jaden's side of the field looked odd. It wasn't his deck, plus Sartorius gave that card to Chazz…
Chazz then activated a Spell I never heard before, named 'Ojamandala'. It let him summon all three Ojamas to his side of the field, while paying 1000 Life Points. Before I knew it, all three monsters appeared.
"We didn't want to fight ya!" Ojama Black then told Chazz. "Yeah, it was all Jaden's idea!" Ojama Yellow added, making me frown.
True, they didn't want to fight at first, and Jaden did suggest that… But they agreed to it after! What was the point of telling Chazz all of this?
"Thought so." Chazz folded his arms. "That bully stole your deck!" Ojama Green suddenly spoke up. "Even worse! Jaden and his girlfriend threatened us with violence!" Ojama Black then added.
The moment those words came out of its mouth, both embarrassment and anger washed over me. Did those little traitors have any conscience?! How could they lie about us like that?! And where did that 'girlfriend' thing come from?!
"We did?" Jaden wondered in what seemed to be a mix of both surprise and confusion. "Girlfriend?!" Ben shouted in surprise, looking at the monsters, Jaden and me back and forth. He then looked at me again, this time as if I were some strange creature he had seen for the first time in his life. My face must have been as red as my hair by now.
"You are crazy!" I shouted to Ojama Black who folded its arms. "You're his friend, and you're a girl." It pointed out with a smirk. "Well spotted." I replied acidly.
However, I didn't feel as embarrassed anymore. In fact, Ojama Black making it clear he was referring to me as a female friend made everything easier. Even better, Jaden didn't seem to get what the deal about the whole thing was.
"Enough with your drama, we need to tear this deck-stealing guy apart!" Chazz stopped us from saying more. "You've got it!" The Ojamas agreed. "What? No fair…" I turned my gaze towards Jaden once I heard his voice. "That's what I get for trying to help a guy out? Figures…" He seemed to be in disbelief as well.
I shook my head while we walked over to where the other guys were. "Never trust three mutants in bikini briefs!" Hassleberry commented decisively while folding his arms. Syrus, Ben and Aster briefly looked at him before turning their attention back to the duel. "Jaden, kick those little traitors' butts!" I shouted to him.
"Sure thing." He looked in my direction with a grin before drawing another card from his deck. He then ordered White Knight Lord to attack Ojama Yellow, which dealt Chazz 300 points of damage.
Chazz then activated a Spell which let Jaden draw a card from his deck while he had one of his monsters immune to damage. Jaden then summoned a monster I hadn't seen before, named Glow Moss. It used its ability, and once Chazz showed a Spell Card in its hand, it attacked him directly. White Knight Lord's attack then failed due to the effect of Chazz's card.
That was when Chazz activated another spell, which brought Ojama Yellow back, and another one which let him bring a third Spell Card named 'Ojama Delta Hurricane'.
I had to admit, I was surprised how much Chazz actually used Ojamas, since they didn't exactly have much Attack Points… But if given a proper card, they could cause effective damage! This 'Hurricane' card literally made them form a hurricane, and destroy White Knight Lord…
Once smoke cleared, I could see Jaden still standing with Chazz on his knees. "Wait, I'm confused. Shouldn't have Chazz won?" I spoke up. "No. Once White Knight Lord is destroyed; the opponent loses 1000 Life Points." Aster explained. "Oh."
It seemed that Chazz had known that…
"Then why did he attack anyway?" Ben wondered aloud. "I guess he was less interested in winning and more interested in defeating that monster." Aster replied. "Makes sense…" I trailed off. "Some monsters you just have to beat." He agreed.
Sartorius brainwashed him, and gave him that card. It was only logical he wanted to get away from the Society completely, and even get back at him in some way by destroying that thing…
At that moment, Jaden started walking back to us. "You get to take his medals." Hassleberry reminded once he stopped in front of us. "It just doesn't seem right. Chazz wasn't really himself, so the duel doesn't count, right?" Jaden replied simply with a smile. "If you say so."
"You're more of a pushover than I thought." Aster mused. "He's been through enough." Jaden waved it off. "Oh, I forgot." Ben suddenly took something out of his pocket. "Here, cuzo." He offered me something.
My eyebrows furrowed as I looked at it. "Ben, you can't be serious." I then frowned, seeing medals in his hand. "Why not? You got me out of there, and you won." He shrugged. "You weren't yourself." I reminded. "But I am now, and I insist you take it." "Only if you keep one." I finally said. "Deal." He grinned, putting one medal in his pocket and offering me the rest. "I can't believe I got to see my cousin participating in something like this…" He then trailed off excitedly. "Thank the circumstances for that." I rolled my eyes, just as Jaden walked up to two of us.
"You two are talking again?" He smiled. "We are, Jay." Ben nodded. "Thanks for helping us make up." I added. "No biggie. You helped me with that jacket." He grinned sheepishly. "And you kicked the little mutant's butt for selling us out like that." I added, folding my arms. "That too." He let out a laugh while I grinned.
"Serena," Ben spoke up while we were on our way to the Slifer dorm. I looked in his direction. The rest of the guys were already inside the dorm.
"Did something else happen while I was brainwashed?" He asked curiously. "Why are you asking?" I tilted my head a bit to left. "You hadn't talked to anyone else earlier, and now you seem to get along with Jaden…" He pointed out in confusion. "Even Ojama said you were friends." He then added. "I mean, not that I'm not happy you're socializing with others, it's just that… It's unlike you." "Oh."
In the midst of all this, it completely slipped my mind that Ben didn't know about some of my memories coming back.
"Well, I…" "Shouldn't she be friendly with her former neighbor and friend from school?" I quickly looked up to see Jaden walking down the stairs with a sheepish grin. Ben's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he looked between us back and forth. "Wait… You… You…" "Me." Jaden nodded with a laugh. "You're that boy?!" "It's him." I nodded.
Ben's jaw dropped to the floor. "You're not joking?!" He demanded. "Nope." I shook my head. "But, you said that boy had a bracelet, and Jaden never…" "He has it." I told him, just as Jaden lifted up his blazer's right sleeve to show the bracelet to him. Ben got closer to look at it, and then gaped at us.
"That would mean Mum had known about you all along…" He trailed off before frowning. "Why didn't Bastion tell me about this discovery?" He folded his arms. "Maybe because of your current reaction?" I suggested. "But he told me about everything else! He even told me Sartorius is after you like a hunter after a boar!" Ben was obviously losing it.
The moment the last sentence came out of his mouth, I frowned.
He was aware of that… But did he really have to compare me to a boar someone was hunting?! The comparison didn't help at all.
"And then you complain about my lack of tact." I pointed out acidly. "What?" Ben blinked at me. "Benjamin, you've just compared me to a boar." I replied, folding my arms. "Sorry, but the way he told me about that, and that prediction involving you…" He trailed off.
"Well, I'm still whole, and alive." I grabbed him by his shoulders. "You told me he had predicted my loss against you, and I won." I then added. He looked at me with a sigh. "You owe me a lot of explanations…" "Bastion had already told you." I reminded. "I want to hear it from you, including your and Jaden's unusual reunion." He looked at him and then at me.
I opened my mouth to tell him 'fine', only to be stopped by someone slamming the door open. All of us looked in the direction of the noise.
Chazz was standing in front of the renovated part of the dorm, and was staring straight at me. He then glanced at Ben and continued staring at me.
I wasn't going to lie, it made feel uneasy… Why was he looking at me like that?!
"What's wrong, Chazz?" Jaden asked. Chazz walked down to where we were, still looking at me. "What's the deal?" I frowned. "Is it true?" He demanded, frowning as well. "What?" I was confused. "Your former babysitter brainwashed me?!" He glared. "Oh…" I trailed off, feeling my face turning red. By now, Bastion, Hassleberry and Syrus had come out, and were staring at us.
I was feeling so embarrassed… 'Former babysitter'?! Sartorius and Sarina may have looked after me, but I never called them like that, nor did the others from my family…
I managed to clear my throat. "But I would appreciate if you didn't call him that." I spoke up. "But he did look after you, didn't he?" "He did." I nodded. "Then that is babysitting." Chazz pointed out. "Serena doesn't like that word. Anyway, she didn't even know what happened to you." Ben jumped in to rescue me.
Chazz kept staring at us for a few moments. He then returned to the room he had come from. I face palmed.
"Don't worry. Chazz is not such a bad guy." Ben smiled at me. "If you say so…" I trailed off with an eye-roll. "No, really, he's not." Jaden agreed. "If you two say so…" I repeated, pulling both of them towards the dorm.
To quote Sartorius, 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship', lmao…
Well, finally done with this chapter! Thank goodness I managed to fit in all I wanted in here… Can't wait for things to finally get going in upcoming chapters. I have a lot of things planned... I hope you liked it and until next time! :)
