As we're all aware by now (either through reading the announcement in Chapter 80: Live Bait or through news reports) Kazuki Takahashi died in July this year. At the time, it was reported that he had likely died in a snorkelling accident. More recent updates have shed new light on the story.
On 4th July, a 9 year-old child was caught in a riptide at Mermaid's Grotto in Onna which was sucking her and a U.S. soldier out to sea. There, incoming waves created a whirlpool effect against the riptide and threatened to drown the pair. Her mother called for help and a U.S. army scuba diving instructor was nearby to respond. Major Robert Bourgeau and one of his students entered the waters where Major Bourgeau was able to rescue the child, and then her mother after she was also sucked into the current. At the same time, Mr Takahashi attempted to save the U.S. soldier awaiting rescue. Unfortunately, he was dragged under by the waves and swept out to sea. The soldier was eventually rescued under the direction of Major Bourgeau who had been exhausted by his two prior rescue attempts and unable to personally pull him back to shore.
Major Bourgeau was unaware that he had been accompanied in the rescue efforts as Mr Takahashi had entered after him and was witnessed primarily by Major Bourgeau's students in his attempt to save a life. Ultimately, he embodied the bravery that was imbued into the characters and world that he created and was, as Major Bourgeau later reported, "a hero".
"Dr Mutou, good morning!" Looming portents of despair cannot be kept at bay indefinitely. Even with poor weather, unfortunate delays and Alexis pulling strings with Morton to fake helicopter problems, Dr Vellian Crowler had been looming bright and fawning outside the Slifer Red dorm that morning. A decade had added a few lines around his eyes and more ruffles from every possible angle. Jaden might have cracked a joke or two but it was Yugi's first time meeting the man and all he could see was the endless waves of ruffles.
"Dr Crowler, no." Ruffles on the shoulders, ruffles on the cuffs, around the hems of his trousers, around his waist and drooping gently around his breast pocket. Where some lecturers might have elbow patches, he had a cresting pile of material to act as a pad. At least a third of the outfit and nearly two-thirds of his personality were ruffles. "Chancellor Crowler. It's a pleasure to see you." He gave a low bow out the door. "I apologise for asking but would you mind waiting for me to wash before we talk?"
"Of course not, I shall prepare a scrumptious breakfast for whenever you are ready!" Yugi took advantage of the breath at the end of the sentence to quickly shut himself back in his room. If Crowler and Pegasus ever joined forces, their combined foppishness could conquer China before teatime.
"Look Hashi, it's not the point if you've got the greatest backstory for any monster in Duel Monsters ever." Suzuki was trying his hardest to break through the overflowing creativity of his shorter counterpart as they headed down for breakfast. "There's only so much frame on the card – you have to keep the word count small enough to fit in."
Swinging over the handrail, Hashi rolled inelegantly to his feet with a flourish (or a random scrambling of his arms). "But what's the point of cutting out all the good bits? The backstory, the treachery? How about the betrayal of the" He opened the dining room door and instantly closed it again. "Suzuki." He said calmly. "Chancellor Crowler is making breakfast."
Suzuki fiddled with his hands as he nervously examined the door. Analysing his opponent was a noted weakness in his grades. True enough, Hashi had attempted the same joke before and been serious. However, that would make it more likely for the joke to succeed the first time he actually performed it. And the odds that Crowler would come to the Slifer Dorm were infinitesimal. "Nice try." Then he shut the door. There was the distinct impression of pink frills and lace doilies but nothing else since reaching for the handle. His mind had evidently closed itself off from the horror on the other side of the door.
"Told you." Reckless wasn't stupid and Hashi was lurking outside the door as he evaluated the situation. Crowler coming to the Red Dorm was a sure sign of imminent doom. Having him making breakfast was indiscernible to the point of nonsense. "I know." Tiptoeing his way along the row of doors, he knocked on the room under the stairs. Though closer to the dorm facilities, Steve woke up later than he and Suzuki. Hearing them come down the steps was like a natural alarm clock all his own. "Steve!" Hashi hissed into the keyhole. "You awake?"
Stumbling noises sounded behind the wood. "I am now." Cracking the door open, he kept himself out of sight. "What's the big idea?"
"Your dad's in politics. What's it mean that Crowler's making breakfast for us?" Obviously, Hashi had gone insane. Craning to look at Suzuki only brought more insanity.
"It means that I've still not learned Japanese humour." He slammed the door hard enough to leave it hanging in the frame. Part of the frame was skewed at the top and prevented the door from closing properly even if he put his mind to it.
"What's going on?" Taking a quick shower had earned Yugi the time necessary to mentally prepare himself for a proper introduction. However, any issue regarding his students would always take priority. The longer the better.
"Crowler's in the dining room." Hashi surmised the problem efficiently.
"Yeah." Okay, that was enough to deal with the problem of shock. "Does anyone have any ideas?" A series of confused looks met him from all angles, Steve opening the door to peer in on the conversation. "You know what I mean." They did. Crowler was a professional and the best at what he did but his personality was something special.
"I did a mountaineering course once." Steve had pulled on his clothes out of sight and had already prepared a dramatic escape plan if the ongoing war against Obelisk Blue turned ugly. "We can escape down the cliff. From there, the harbour is walkable during low tide or a short swim during high. There's a boat for evacuation located,"
"Dr Mutou!" A slamming door cut short the intriguing proposition and closed the avenue of escape. "Are you ready for breakfast yet?" Footsteps hurried to the bottom of the stairs. "Oh my, what's this then?"
"Just having a conversation with my students." Being a brilliant player rarely failed Yugi in the game of life but he had no strategy to escape the intense personality penning him in from the bottom of the staircase. At least, none that would be able to provide a satisfactory explanation. "Would you mind if they joined us? There is precious little time left and I like to use breakfast to discuss the plans for the day."
"It would be impolite of us to intrude on your dining." Steve had spent too much time in political environments to not pick up on a few habits. Yugi was attempting to subtly introduce his students as a barrier between himself and the head of Duel Academy. "Please, don't worry on our account. We'll get something from the shop in the main building."
"Nono." Yugi waved an admonishing finger. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I'll not hear a word against it." For the love of all that was good in the world, he could only handle so much of Crowler. He had to find a way to be certain of their attendance. He couldn't think of the point for Crowl... Surely it couldn't be so easy. "Of course, I'll be willing to grant fifty points to each person who can contribute to the day's planning – as always."
"What a wonderful idea! Letting the teachers learn how to teach their students best!" Crowler was probably sucking up because it was Yugi. Duel Academy used a complicated points system usually granted through Duels but also through prize lotteries and solving puzzles with each student's score was used in a ranking at the end of the year. The results were a solid indication of talent but there existed irregularities in the system, such as Jaden or Zane. One was the second King of Gamer and the other had fallen so swiftly after his graduation that some wondered if a body swap had taken place.
"Come on then!" Yugi threw his students a look that could have been widely interpreted as 'look, you don't want him here, I don't want him here, but this is my boss and your bosses boss and too much enthusiasm for any one person this early in the morning and possibly ever, please do not abandon me'.
"We'll be right down." Hashi said while looking 'Honestly, fair chance that we never show up (and you're not to hold it against us if we don't) but I'll do my best to get the others involved as long as you remember quid pro quo and sprinkle us with a few easy marks later on'.
"Don't take too long." Yugi begrudgingly forced himself to walk down the stairs as the set of his shoulders declared 'fine, easy marks if you show and a lot stricter markings if you ditch me'. Shuffling amongst themselves, the young men shifted private glances amongst themselves. There was no need for emphatically detailed facial expressions because they all knew the moral high ground consisted of going to help their collective hero and surprise dorm leader, regardless of the fact that he was currently trying to curry favour with their head teacher.
"Well then." Steve thought that living on three different continents before he hit double-digits would have prepared him for the tortured cuisine awaiting them downstairs. He was wrong. There were things involving cream and overripe cherries that no normal person should have been forced to consume. Thankfully, students undergo a rare metamorphosis which allows them to eat anything.
More wonderfully, Yugi had spotted a coffee pot and had taken advantage of his student's delay to inform Crowler of the detriments of young people drinking too much caffeine. More than one sullen glare demanded extra marks before the day was out.
Exactly how he'd made it to the doors of Duel Academy was still a mystery. Yugi had some vague recollections as to mentions of a faculty meeting and collecting files before he was suddenly staring up at the vast building as his students went on their way to the art studios and he was practically dragged upstairs by the incarnation of flounce. Clearly, the walk had been too traumatising for his mind to process and he had suppressed all knowledge of the event. Inevitably, boredom kicked in and performed a similar action for most of the meeting. While they were debating adjustments to the school uniforms and arguing the merits of expanding the clubs to allow a greater variety of sports instead of forcibly accommodating them into the regular gym sessions, Yugi's brain gently pushed his consciousness to one side and operated on auto-pilot.
As with all great evils, the meeting was eventually cancelled with words along the lines of "If there is no further business, let's get this over with." Weary grumbling sounded as people rose and stretched. Meetings were an unfortunate necessity of all businesses and everyone was ready for them to be over.
Yugi's brain, realising that the danger was past, let normal functionality resume and instantly regretted the move. "I have a question." Groans were internally stifled. Only the King of Games could extend a meeting and not risk a riot.
"Dr Mutou, what can we do for you?" Unlike the rest of the faculty, Yugi had come equipped with folders full of documents. There was a substantial backlog of material to learn before he was on the same level as the rest of the faculty and he was doing his best to shorten the transition.
"I've been going over the budgets set out for each dorm." It was staggering how much money Kaiba was pumping into the institution. "Why is Slifer Red receiving so little?" After the immense fortune keeping the island afloat, the rickety dorm on the shore could have been dismissed as a rounding error.
"Dr Crowler, if I may?" The polished blue jacket seated opposite Yugi cut across the fop before he could launch into another fawning expression. "Mr Mutou, the Slifer Red dorm is meant to serve only as a temporary living accommodation to students currently working their way towards full acceptance into Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue. It's simply not practical to assign a similar budget for a building which is meant to be empty for half the year."
"But there are students currently living there." Yugi protested. "Health and safety guidelines prevent them from cleaning and they were living in squalor. Why hadn't an inspection caught it sooner and something been done about the situation?" The slight about 'full acceptance' into a higher rank hadn't gone unnoticed. Worse, nobody else at the table seemed to have noticed.
"Mr Mutou, as I'm sure you're now aware, it is the responsibility of the head of each dorm to inspect and report any damages." Maybe it was the slight gleam of product in his hair or the overly simplistic explanation style but his opposite number was failing to make a good impression on Yugi. "Your predecessor, Arnold?"
"Arla." Or 'Arsehole' as he would pretend not to know what the other Reds referred to him as.
"Arla should have filed proper requests to have maintenance and janitorial staff attend to the dorm. As I understand the situation, you have personally undertaken much of the necessary work yourself." A round of impressed mutters slid along the table and Crowler himself bawled with overflowing sympathy for the strains of manual labour. "Under normal circumstances, I would personally be seeking Arla's immediate suspension following a full investigation but," The rest of the sentence was suspended in a shrug. Arla was gone and never to return, Yugi had repaired the damage long enough that the new intake of students could be accepted, and then it would simply be a matter for the next dorm leader to deal with.
"I see." While Obelisk Blue had necessitated the retention of their full budget by repainting the entirety of their building and having every possible pipe and machine serviced, Jun had sat on a chair so riddled with rot that it had simply collapsed beneath him.
"Dr Mutou, if you have time after the meeting," Diverting both the impatient wait for the meeting to end and the growing hostile atmosphere, Alexis broke Yugi's stare. "I would like to have a word about something."
"Of course," Closing a folder drew audible sighs of relief. The staff were used to a certain level of flamboyance but the meeting had dragged on twice as long as usual with Crowler stopping to ask for Yugi's decidedly lax input on every possible issue. The conference room quickly filtered clear as the other staff fled to safety. Even Dorothy kept her niceties to a minimum as she bustled away.
"Carry your books?" At least one member of staff was genuinely on his side and Yugi smiled his gratitude to Alexis.
"Thank you, it's much appreciated." Tucking the bundle higher into his arms, he gratefully allowed her to take half. It was worse than being at school again. At least he hadn't been in charge then. "Now, about that matter you wanted to discuss." An extremely sensitive and private matter, of course.
"Of course," She replied gravely. "I think it would be more suitable to talk a bit more privately." Behind them, Crowler nearly chewed through his jacket trying not to let envy break free from all restraints and launch him down the corridor. Waiting until they were a bit further down the hallway, Alexis soon let out a deep sigh. "Don't think nobody noticed you zoning out in there." Yugi instantly felt guilty. "Don't worry about it, we've all done it once or twice." His guilt lessened by the barest fraction.
"Who was that at the end?" He was still trying to absorb dozens of new faces from around the campus but that one was going to stick with him.
"Dr Ziesmer, head of Obelisk Blue." Ah, Crowler's replacement. Or was it his replacement's replacement? Yugi couldn't quite remember. "He's been pushing for the Slifer Red to be relocated to the mainland. Says that their exposure to a wider range of Duellists and strategies might be able to get them prepared for Yellow faster."
"Hmm." Yugi instantly didn't like Ziesmer. On the surface, it was an acceptable proposal. In reality, it limited their opportunities to learn from the best, curtailed their access to materials, and isolated them from the other students to make them further outcasts than they were already. And trying to establish a second branch on the mainland would only last a couple of years before Kaiba dismissed it as an unacceptable expense and cancelled the entire endeavour. "Anything I should know?"
"He's a good dorm leader, and his teaching has improved the average grades by two points." Alexis' tone indicated that her professional feelings didn't reflect her personal ones. "But his stance is that those on top shouldn't have to care about anyone beneath them. The rivalry between the Blues has never been worse."
"I was told Crowler had a change of heart about the Slifer dorm years ago." Four years of Jaden might even be able to crack the cold exterior of Kaiba, presuming he didn't snap and murder him first. "What happened?"
"Nothing." Having people holding doors open for him was a pleasant reminder of the unpleasant reality of how these people saw him. Yugi was carrying barely half his books and Alexis was still trying to pick up more of his work. "The problem is, Crowler only really respected the dorm while Jaden was in it. Since the grades kept dropping, there was no real reason to increase the Slifer budget."
"Maybe the reason the grades keep dropping is that they're not getting funding." Any number of circumstances can affect grades. Bad nutrition, poor sleeping conditions. Not keeping the dorms in good enough condition to live in could easily explain the constant deficit.
"It's a business decision, not personal." Such sentiments had, did, and would cause misery to thousands and millions of people over centuries. "Slifer gets enough funds to keep everyone fed and sheltered. It's not as if Duel Academy is simply throwing money away."
"No." He begrudgingly agreed. Kaiba would never make a bad business decision. "Of course not." Inspiration struck in a flash. Yugi had taken a leaf from Jaden's playbook already. It was time he borrowed one from Yusei's.
"Would you mind if I check up on your student's progress?" Pushing a button for the elevator, Alexis checked her watch for the time. Though her remaining students only needed a few extra credits to pass their year, she was otherwise occupied by planning for the next intake and was in the midst of adjusting the curriculum to accommodate the latest Duel Monsters cards. Still, she was curious to see how Yugi was faring as the interim Slifer Dorm leader.
"Of course not." Truthfully, he was feeling more than a little out of his depth. Teaching professionally was a far cry from sharing a new insight with Joey but he was noticing some alarming similarities among the children. Having Alexis visit would provide a valuable example he could borrow from.
Seeing solid days of Basic Card Design had appeared to be overkill when Yugi first took over his job but he was starting to understand why his predecessor might have been tempted to do so. "And Botan here is my star pupil." Not to turn the class into a competition but he needed to put up a strong defence after what Alexis had seen on Hashi's canvas. Only the mitigating influence of Suzuki gave him any chance of passing the class and Dr Rhodes had pointed out as such.
"Really?" Ice queen on a rampage, she looked over the best sketch in the room with an emotion nearing dismay. "This is only half-finished, at best. Do you really think that it's going to be good enough to get a passing grade?"
"I only started yesterday." Botan said defensively.
"Yesterday?" Alexis finally snapped at hearing the sure signs of a lax student. "Why haven't you started sooner?"
"Because I asked them to start again." Yugi crushed the argument in a single move. "They had been forcibly assigned projects they had no interest in and the work was unbalanced as a result. Botan has an interest in entomology and has presented an interesting card design. Botan?" Waiting as his student fetched the design brief from his drawer in the cabinet, Yugi straightened up and sorted out his stacks of paperwork.
"It's called 'Grasschopper'." Holding out the scribbled paperwork, the bug collector was short with his answer. Being picked on by a teacher meant he couldn't use any of his choicer words responses. "Level 5 with 2350 Attack Points. I want to give it an ability to attack all enemies after it's been on the field for at least a turn."
"And you've done all this since yesterday?" As abrupt as his tone was, Alexis forced herself to recover her composure. Since Yugi had told them to abandon their previous work (and she treated him to the same type of chilly glare that would have frozen Jaden) it was impressive that they had managed to put together work of this calibre in such a short time frame. "How did you get such an outline so fast?" Returning the accompanying information, she gestured to the outline on the canvas. "Did any of the other students help you?" From the lack of progress on the other canvases, she could assume that they had focused entirely on this one design to try and wrangle for shared credit.
"Insects move faster than people think. I can do a quick enough sketch but more detail takes time." All the others barely had the rougher shapes of their designs down. Botan had done enough already that he could afford to spend some time doing finer details across his monster to add depth. But that was for later, now he was focusing on the mechanics of his card and verifying that it was balanced enough for the extra marks.
"Based on his output, I'm willing to grant Botan a passing grade on his artwork as it stands." A jealous air stirred through the rest of his students at the declaration. Ignoring the reaction, Yugi swiped through the data on his PDA to check the current progress of the other works. "Jun and Steve have submitted decent enough proposals for their monsters. I've already spoken with Zaw regarding his plans. Miguel," He scrolled. And kept scrolling. "Miguel needs to learn when enough is enough." Both teachers glanced across the room. "What happened to the character limit?"
"Draft submission." Miguel punched the air triumphantly. His description of the card was close to three pages long and would normally have earned him a week of derision from Arla. Yugi simply gave him an understanding look and moved on.
"Regardless." A single despairing look communicated to the rest of his students that they need to join forces and help Miguel truncate the card description, except you Hashi, we'll deal with yours next. "My students have been progressing faster than I anticipated. We'll be focusing on this subject for the next few days but I think we'll be ready to submit for marking by the end of the week. Unless you disagree?" Keeping his tone level, he dropped the burden of responsibility directly in her lap.
Taking Botan's design under consideration and rereading the essay entry which should have topped out at a hundred words, Alexis begrudgingly accepted the unorthodox approach Yugi was employing. "I would appreciate the opportunity to examine the work before your final submission. Ensure you have followed the curriculum properly." On the surface, she would pretend that it was nothing more than professional curiosity but they all knew it was so that Yugi didn't miss anything and risk failing his students.
"Of course." Slinging the bag over his shoulder, Yugi adjusted the straps on his jacket to let it hang slightly looser. "We'll be calling an end to the lesson for today. I've planned a small field trip for the students."
"What field trip?" She said sharply. "All trips have to be pre-approved by the faculty and students have to get permission from their guardians first." KaibaCorp had taken every protective measure when it came to absolving themselves of legal responsibility. If the child of a wealthy benefactor so much as scraped a shin without signing away that right first, they'd look for the first responsible member of staff they could find to fire and a suitable cannon to fire them from.
"It's only a short walk near the forest to discuss environments, recycling, and social responsibility." Yugi responded soothingly. Alexis squinted intrusively as she searched his face for any sign of deception. Nobody would want to put together a field trip on an island when the native environment could be covered in detail on the normal walk back to their dorm.
"Fine." Still, he showed no signs of lying. Probably just the new guy trying his best to show off for the students – that would last a few more days, at most.
"We'll pick up again tomorrow." Putting away the portraits was a lengthy process. Each student was assigned a large drawer on one side of the room to store their artworks where they could lie without concerns about being smudged or having paint run. Since he had told them to start afresh, Yugi had also set aside fresh drawers to put their new works in while keeping the originals where they were to use as additional material for marking.
"I'll walk you out." Once the last of the drawers had been locked in place, she joined the group for the short journey back outside.
"So," Yugi broke the uncomfortable silence. "How do you think their work is going?" Eight people instantly tried to hide behind one another, resulting in nothing more than a desperate huddle and several trodden toes.
"Considering what I've seen today," She glanced pointedly at where Suzuki was failing to shrink himself by two feet of height to hide behind the much smaller Hashi. "I'd say that this pace of work gives them a good chance of passing the year. Not with high marks, but definitely a pass." Botan's overnight artwork had done his class a real credit. If the group could weaponise Miguel's latent hyperactivity to help with their backstories and descriptions, they'd be done with the subject by the weekend.
"I'm glad to hear it." The group were already striding across the empty hall as the stragglers realised that Dr Rhodes was unlikely to be as dismissive as the rest of the faculty and became comfortable enough to unbunch enough to breathe normally again. "Would you care to join us? I'd love to hear the opinion of someone who's lived in such a diverse environment as long as you have." She gave him a steady glare on the sweeping avenue that lead to the main entrance.
"Enjoy your walk." Alexis knew he was up to something. Yugi knew she knew he was up to something, same as he knew that there was no official reason that she could think of to prevent him and his students from going for a short walk around the island. And she knew that he knew that she wasn't going to force the issue because if anything went wrong – which was not to happen if she was going to let him do whatever mystery adventure he had planned – the last trace of Yugi Mutou on the planet would be a plume of lava after she threw him into the volcano. "Try to stay out of trouble."
"Of course." He agreed. "This way." Waving over one shoulder to follow, he split off from the main avenue and circled a much less used footpath that bordered the building and headed up a gentle incline towards the edge of the forest. After a few minutes, as they approached the treeline, Yugi lowered his voice and quietly as a question in his serious voice. "Can she still see us?" As an authority figure, he would pretend to scour the immaculate path for any sign of trip hazards but his students were free to look around at anything they pleased.
"Only if she's got binoculars which can see through stuff." Jiro had the sharpest eyes and could dimly see the flowing blue coat heading back into the main building. From that distance, they would only be a formless blob of colour on the mountain.
"Great." Turning on the spot, Yugi branched off up the hill. "Follow me!" While their original path had been only faintly trodden in, the trail he was beating was barely recognisable by the marginally bent grass growing between two rutted tracks. Their fearless leader seemed to know precious more than they did, stumbling just as often and often looking deep in thought. Eventually, they arrived at a decidedly underwhelming destination.
"Why are we here?" Ahead of the group was a triad of cargo containers and a couple of rusty trolleys. Hardly the stuff of legend. Botan's earlier bout of happiness finished fading at the sight. "Is this part of your talk about the environment?" Like Alexis before them, the group hadn't been fooled by his little speech. Well, most of them.
"Absolutely." Sliding off his jacket and bag, Yugi dropped them in the corner of the larger cart. A hole in the mesh at the rear of the loader indicated it was more likely a candidate for recycling than a tool for the long haul. "Found out about this place trying to catch up with you guys about Duel Academy. Thought we might be able to find a few bits that we need." Pulling open the first set of doors revealed a towering pile of unusual treasure.
"What are we doing here?" Jun might have been Chinese but he was fairly sure that this wasn't a local custom he was misinterpreting. Piles of wonky chairs and broken tables had been carefully stacked into the container with cracked screens and rusty machines piled high in a distant corner. There was barely enough room for a human to squeeze down the side to reach the far end if every pain was taken to reduce the waistline.
"Salvage. Grab a screwdriver and help out." Reaching into a narrow crack, he wrenched a table leg free and slung it over one shoulder. "What?" There were only doubting looks to turn back to.
"Doesn't this count as stealing?" Student rumours were amongst the most overhyped nonsense in the universe. Legend had it that Seto Kaiba had personally thrown a man from his helicopter for trying to steal from him. As with all stories, it had a grain of truth at the heart which had been blown way out of proportion.
"At the end of the day, all this stuff will be headed to a recycling plant or a landfill or scrap heap or I don't even know where. We're just getting a few spare bits before it does." Tossing the table leg from the container, he turned back to his work before it landed in the trolley. "If you're not going to help, you can go. Take the trailer with you once it's got a bit more in it." Reaching into his bag again, he pulled out a handful of screwdrivers and a pair of hammers. Armed with his new weaponry, he was able to turn and begin making real progress in gathering supplies.
The young men behind him shifted uneasily and looked around at one another. Dr Mutou had promised a lesson in environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and recycling. They just hadn't expected him to dump it all on them in such a hurry. "We'll need more nails for the new wood." Zaw was the first to break the silence. Myanmar had a thriving society where nothing went to waste. Everything was invariably handed down until it met someone who could use it in some way. "We'll also need more wood." A lot of the Red Dorm furniture was easily repairable if they were being given blanket permission to do so. The authority of their dorm leader was probably good enough.
"My chair could also do with some new legs." Suzuki looked carefully at the prop already in the cart. His chair only had three legs left and all of them wobbled precariously.
"A lot of people leave the fuses in the plugs when they throw out old electronics." Jiro was oddly resourceful and a jack of all trades. Being told that the family business was never going to belong to him had led him to prepare for a wide variety of future careers. "And a faulty light fitting can make it seem like the bulbs are blown – we can check the filaments to see what's still working."
With the group splitting up to gather various supplies – not that they were stealing, this was only to help their dorm leader after he told them he needed them to do it – steady progress was made and the cart rapidly began piling up spare bits and pieces with astounding efficiency. Yugi's coat and bag were used to cover the hole at the back of the cart in case any screws tried rattling loose while a sturdy piece of timber kept them pinned in place. Hashi received twenty points for realising that a mouldy piece of wood would be perfect for holding the screws and nails they were rescuing while Botan was awarded only ten for suggesting they used an empty computer tower to carefully transport the probably working bulbs back in.
Dusk was setting in by the time they had made a repair list, found everything they needed to complete it, and then loaded all the materials plus spares into their squeaky wagon for the precarious journey down the hills that lead to the Slifer Dorm. "Not too fast now, that's the key." Suzuki was an expert at not being noticed in plain view. Trying to rush past the main building would have drawn any amount of eyes from those with a window view. Creeping would have been exactly as noticeable with the squadron of red jackets flaring up against the greenery like signal fires. Keeping a firm, steady pace would subtly imply that they knew exactly what they were doing and had full authority to do it.
"I can't believe this is working." Yugi had been sure that Alexis would come striding out to tell them off but it was dead silent as they crept past. There was no way to bypass the array of security cameras but it wasn't as if they were doing anything wrong. Besides, anyone who wanted to watch the footage of them sneaking past would have to bother investigating their activities in the first place and nobody cared enough about the Slifer Reds to do so.
"You should see me at parties." Suzuki wilted at the thought. "Nobody else does." He'd once asked his parents to host his entire class for his birthday party. Everyone turned up for the invitation to free cake but three different people had asked him what he was doing there.
"Cheer up, big guy!" Hashi slapped his friend on the shoulder as they passed the final corner and came within sight of their destination in the far distance. "We've finally got enough slats to put on the beds!" Each room came with a set of bunk beds but age, student life, and a series of hearty infestations had removed most of the wooden planks keeping them in place. The end of Hashi's mattress drooped alarmingly into the cubbyhole Suzuki slept in and he was always one roll away from a crash landing.
"I'm looking forward to fixing the benches in the dining room." Only one solid bench remained and it maxed out at half the group. Zaw was tired of having to eat standing up or risking plunging through the floor to his doom. "After the old floorboards are removed, I want to take a look at," He suddenly fell to the floor with a cry.
"What was," Then Yugi was scrambling on the ground as something smashed above an eyebrow and bowled him over in shock. Scrabbling behind the trolley with the rest of his students, he saw a bloody rock lying a few inches under the transport. The dusty path they were on was around fifteen metres away from the undergrowth in the forest, easily enough for people to throw rocks from hidden vantage points. "How far are we from the dorm?" Tenting jackets over their heads would provide enough cover if they were close enough to make a run for it.
"About another ten minutes." Jiro crushed that hope in a hurry. A ten-minute run while being pursued by rock throwers was a deadly game and they knew it.
"What if we use the handle to steer the trolley and ride it back?" Even under fire, the group paused to examine Miguel's suggestion and realise that he was genuinely serious.
"We'd probably flip taking a corner or fall through with all our weight." Botan glanced at Miguel's pudgier frame. "No offence."
"Does anyone have any other plans?" Another rock bounced off the pile of rescued parts and rolled to one side. The attackers were getting better aim without a moving target. "Ones that don't involve us getting stoned to death?"
Grabbing a thick plank (due to assume duty as a replacement table leg once it reached their final destination) Steve stepped out from behind the cart and measured out the distance. When the next volley of rocks headed directly for them, he smashed two directly back to the concealed attackers. Muffled yet distinctly profane shouting preceded the rustling bushes falling silent as the attackers fled from a suddenly even battlefield.
"Baseball?" The famous American past-time was certainly an unexpected rescue as Yugi dabbed the cut by his hairline.
"Cricket." Pulling at the collar of his shirt, Steve grimaced where a rock had hit his pectoral. "England was a bad posting but the flat bats made it easier." He'd been quite good by the time his father had received a new position, good enough to hit the less amusing bullies and make it look like an accident. Steve might have enjoyed the stay if his boarding school hadn't strictly served traditional English 'cuisine'.
"How often does this happen?" Being pelted with rocks was unpleasant enough but Yugi was no fool. The only real difference in this journey back wasn't the trailer of trash but the lack of his distinctive red coat. From a distance, he could have been a member of the support staff at the Academy. Whoever had been throwing the rocks had been sure enough of their escape from retribution that they had risked hitting an adult. It didn't take a genius to realise that the Obelisk Blue coats would hide better in the dark twilight than Ra Yellow.
"More lately." Zaw spoke up first. "Term is done, Blue is boring." And the strong were free to pick on the weak. What apathy Yugi had held for Ziesmer dissolved into plain dislike. His attitude that the Blues were above reproach had spread like a toxin. Kaiba might be arrogant but he was also no fool – just because a Duellist was weaker than him didn't mean they had no strength. He didn't crush anyone out of malice but because he treated everyone who crossed his path – weak as Joey or strong as Yugi – with the same level of power. It wasn't wise to assume that anyone was lesser as being wrong and unprepared was far more dangerous than being right.
"Come on," Yugi said darkly. "Let's get back to the dorm." It looked like he had more to worry about than Yliaster. Something was rotten at the Obelisk Blue dorm and it seemed he was going to have to remind them what had happened between him and their progenitor.
It's amazing how much information can be conveyed in a single look such as a look at a review.
