Yuuna stares up in awe. "So you're… like my big brother now?"

"You could say that." Brron cackles. "I can handle your kingdom until you're old enough to rule Dark World yourself!"

Yuuna smiles and hugs him tightly. "Thank you, Brron! Thank you."

Brron chuckles and pats her head. "Yes, well, a Mad King can't be seen going soft, so you need to go back to your own dimension soon!"

Yuuna blinks and looks up at him. "But I don't know how."

Yubel sighs behind her. "I don't think I have the energy to take her back where she belongs."

Brron scoffs. "Fiddle faddle. I guess I'll just have to get Mr. Egg-Head on the case."

Yuuna blinks and tilts her head. "Egg-head?"

The door swings open and Gren walks in. "You called, your Majesty?"

"Yes, yes, get these two home!" Brron snaps his fingers twice. "They need to go back to the human world!"

Gren nods. "Very well then. Come along you two."

Yuuna smiles. "Coming! Let's go Yubel."

She drags her guardian through the Dark World castle and soon enough, they're home.

Alexis wanders to the lighthouse that night, her head swimming. It's a calming place for her, somewhere to breathe and relax when it all gets too much.

She's not surprised when she sees a figure through the mist. "Zane?"

Zane turns to her slightly, an acknowledgement and permission to come closer. Alexis walks until she's at his side and the two of them look out at the ocean, as the light spins overhead, landing on whatever it finds.

The two are quiet for a while, but Alexis can't help herself.

"Did you hear the rumours about the Supreme King?" She murmurs.

Zane nods. "He'll be out of Duel Academy within a week, where we can't reach him. Or he'll continue to wander Duel Academy while you hesitate to take him out."

Alexis flinches. "I already defeated him, what more do you want from me? You sound like White Night Queen."

Zane turns to her. "Because she's right."

Alexis looks up at him.

"You're the Princess of Light Alexis, you're the only one who can stop him and bring back Atticus." Zane scowls at her. "I don't understand why you haven't yet."

Alexis bunches up her shoulders. "I'm still learning about his powers and investigating Atticus' disappearance properly. I know in my gut there's more to it."

She isn't stalling on taking out Yuuna.

"We don't want any trouble, okay?"

"We don't have to fight."

"Will you let me help you, Alexis?"

Alexis curls her hands into fists. Lies. It's all lies, why is she letting this bother her?

"At this rate, I may just Duel him myself." Zane declares.

Alexis stiffens up and turns to him. "What?!"

Zane shrugs. "You've yet to make sure the Supreme King isn't a threat or found out from him where Atticus is. You'd have told me if you knew."

Alexis curls her hands into fists.

"So either I Duel him soon…" Zane looks out at the ocean. "Or you make him tell us where Atticus is."

Alexis nods stiffly, turning out to the sea. "I will."

She has to Duel Yuuna again soon.

The two are so engrossed in their conversation, they don't notice the small row boat that parked behind the cruise liners.

Yuuna yawns as she walks down to breakfast. "Morning."

Syrus waves. "Hey Yuuna, morning Blair."

Chumley narrows his eyes. "You look really tired, did you two stay up all night to Duel?"

Blair shakes her head, sleepily clinging to Yuuna's arm. "Noo…"

"That's not a very convincing no, girls." Chumley smirks.

"Pipe down, koala man." Blair groans and face plants into the table.

"Come on Blair, don't be rude." Yuuna giggles, rubbing her back.

Though she can understand why Blair's feeling grumpy. They were up late talking Duel Monster strategies. And then they were up late again after Blair woke up from a nightmare. It took two hours for Blair to calm down enough to go back to sleep, but Yuuna had taken another hour and Yubel's help before she could join her in dreamland. If they didn't still have class despite their threat of expulsion, Yuuna would've convinced Blair to sleep in.

But she wanted to go to class and just forget about the night, so what was Yuuna to do? Force her to nap like Yubel planned to do that day?

"It's okay, she can call me that." Chumley chuckles. "I mean, I do love my koalas."

"In other news." Syrus has a small bite of his food and swallows quickly. "You've got 6 days until that tag Duel now. Any idea what you're going to do today to prep?"

Yuuna hums, holding her chin. "Well, I know we have plans to Duel Jasmine and Mindy after class and then we're going to work on our Decks to put them more in sync with each other."

Blair groans. "Sounds good."

Yuuna looks at her and smiles gently. Poor kid's had a rough night.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Chumley calls. "Cause I could go and get it for you guys if you want."

Yuuna blinks in shock. He'd really do that for them?

Blair whimpers softly. "Thank you. Just whatever cereal is there and a lot of it."

"I second that." Yuuna grins. "You're the best Chumley."

Chumley stands up and nods. "Yeah, I know."

He walks off and Yuuna takes a moment to breathe.

They've already had a pretty bad morning. So that means the day can only get better.

Yuuna nods to herself.

It has to.

Syrus does his best to listen to Banner's lecture and take good notes. He'd felt better after breakfast with Yuuna, Blair and Chumley, but what happened last night is still on his mind...

Syrus was looking through his Deck and his spare cards, critically analysing each one. Ones he knew only worked for Machine Types went into one pile, others that could target any monster went to another pile and finally a pile of maybe cards that had specific targets.

"Whatcha ya doing, Sy?" Chumley leant down over the top bunk.

"I'm trying to find if I've got any cards that could help Yuuna and Blair in their tag Duel." Syrus said.

The Machine Types pile was his because he knew they wouldn't work on Yuuna or Blair's Decks. The general pile had any type of card that might help Yuuna or Blair's Decks. Finally, the maybe pile had cards that targeted Dragon or Dark monsters since that's what Blair and Yuuna had in their Decks. He was drawing all the cards from a Deck in his lap that had his actual cards and his spare cards.

"Whoa, that's a lichious idea." Chumley climbed down from his bunk bed. "I'll find my cards too, see what we can give 'em."

Syrus smiled at him. If the two of them work together, they're bound to find the right card for Yuuna and Blair. He's so glad that he got to room with Chumley, even if he was a little prickly at first. He's a good dude.

Syrus drew the next card from his Deck. And felt like he was punched in the stomach.

Power Bond.

The card his brother gave him.

The same brother who said he couldn't use the card.

The same brother who said he didn't belong at Duel Academy.

Syrus's good mood crumbled into dust and his mouth felt like it was full of ashes as he remembered that day in elementary school and then that night outside the Abandoned Dorm.

"Sy, you good?" Chumley called as he sat next to him.

Syrus jumped and laughed nervously as he hid the card under his butt. "I'm good!"

Yuuna snores a little louder and Blair rubs her eyes as she writes notes, leaning on Yuuna and looking sleepier and sleepier. The two of them must have worked all night honing their Decks.

Syrus sighs and hides his face in his hands.

He's not worthy of Power Bond and he knows it. But he can't give it to Yuuna or Blair…

Oh, what can he do to help them? They're like sisters to him and he wants them to stay at Duel Academy. He's too weak to help them though. Why should he even try?

Blair yawns as she walks out of the Duel Academy main building, trying not to fall asleep on her feet. Maybe she should have listened to Yuuna and slept in when she could.

"You sure you're up for Duel practice?" Yuuna says at her side.

Blair looks up at her, blinking. Why wouldn't she be?

"There's no shame in taking a nap or a break before we go into this." Yuuna smiles. "It just means I'll be texting the girls to hang out with us later."

Blair groans, rubs her eyes and shakes her head. "No."

She has to push through. She has to do this. She wants to stay here at Duel Academy more than anything else and she has to be strong enough.

That means practice, so she's going to do that.

"Okay then, if you're sure. But we're having an early night." Yuuna declares positively.

Blair stiffens.

Oh no. Please no. An early night means more nightmares with golden eyes and black vomit and blood-

"Blair?"

"I'm okay." Blair shakes herself off.

She can't afford to think about these things right now, her nightmares can't get her in the real world. Why does Yuuna keep showing up in her nightmares anyway, when she's done nothing but protect her and help her?

Blair has to stop this. She can't afford to keep having these dreams.

Yuuna is quiet for a while and then she smiles and offers her hand. "You ready?"

Blair smiles and nods, taking her hand. The two walk out of the building.

She doesn't know why, but she already feels better holding onto Yuuna's hand. She doesn't know why Yuuna still shows up in her nightmares, but she isn't afraid of Yuuna. Blair knows this in her soul. She'll be okay.

The two of them make it out the halls of Duel Academy and find Chumley, Syrus, Mindy and Jasmine waiting for them while leaning against one of the pillars, along with Bastion.

"Oh hey, Bastion." Yuuna calls. "What brings you to these parts?"

Blair's curious too. She doesn't know Bastion, but Yuuna likes him well enough.

"I'm here to help you with the preparation of your Tag Team match. The whole campus knows about it." Bastion declares with a friendly smile. "So I'll be watching your match with these young ladies and giving you all tips."

Mindy giggles, holding her cheek. "Oh Bastion."

Jasmine scowls gently.

Blair holds back a giggle. Someone's jealous.

"Speaking of, we forgot to mention this at breakfast." Chumley starts rummaging through his backpack.

Yuuna blinks at him, but Blair notices how Syrus nervously shifts his feet and looks to the side.

"We looked through our Decks and spare cards last night so we could find something that'd help you guys get your Decks more in sync!" Chumley pulls out a few cards and offers them to Yuuna. "I hope they help."

Syrus blushes and looks at the ground, kicking his feet more.

"You guys did that for us?" Yuuna says in awe, her voice soft and surprised.

Blair knows that feeling. It's so… hard to believe they really did that for her and Yuuna. That they'd go that far for them.

Syrus nods and lifts his head. "I, I know my cards are weak-"

And Blair won't let him say another word.

She rushes forward and hugs Syrus tightly, stopping his rant before it could begin.

"You're not weak." Blair says firmly. "You're kind. And strong. You're amazing, Syrus." She hugs him a little tighter. "Thank you."

Syrus stammers and flusters, but Blair only holds him tighter. She's not letting him go. He's done nothing but help her and be kind to her since she arrived, even after everything. Blair doesn't deserve it. But she won't refuse it.

"Yeah, you both are great!" Yuuna cheers, hugging Chumley. "Thanks so much you guys!"

Chumley smiles and hugs her back. "Ah, it was nothing."

Syrus gulps and hesitantly hugs back. "Yeah, nothing."

Blair shakes her head. This means everything to her and she has no idea how she'll ever be able to repay them for this. So she has to stay at Duel Academy and win the Tag Duel with Yuuna. There's too much at stake and she's not leaving.

"We ready to Duel then?" Jasmine calls.

Blair pulls back from the hug and nods.

She refuses to leave her friends at Duel Academy. Not until she can thank them for everything.

"Let's go!" Yuuna laughs. "To the beach!"

So the group makes their way to where they're planning on having their practice Duel.

Bastion, Syrus and Chumley sit on a small pile of rocks next to the cliffs, where they'll be able to get a good look at the Duel. Right before them, Mindy and Jasmine stand together with their Duel Disks raised, while Yuuna and Blair stand together staring the Obelisk Blue girls down. Yubel floats next to Yuuna, their arms folded as they look over the Field.

"Here are the rules." Bastion calls to them. "Each team will have 8000 life points and if one member of the team doesn't have a monster, they can be attacked directly even if their partner has a monster. You can't tell your partner what's in your hand or what's in your Decks and no one will attack on their first turn. You will share a Graveyard and use each others' cards on the Field for summoning, but you can't have each other's monsters declare an attack. Are you ready, ladies?"

"I am!" Jasmine calls.

"I'm so ready." Yuuna grins.

"Don't be cocky, Little Princess." Yubel shakes their head.

"Let's do this!" Mindy pumps a fist.

"Ready when you are." Blair gently punches her chest.

"DUEL!"

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 8000

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 8000

"I draw!" Jasmine calls.

Yuuna resists the urge to bounce and giggle. Her first tag Duel at Duel Academy! And it's with her friends! Friends! She has them and they're tag Duelling and Jasmine is playing something, focus Yuuna!

"I summon my Elemental HERO Clayman in DEF Mode!" Jasmine calls.

On the field appears a huge stone warrior, with a round brown body and a redhead. He kneels on his card with 2000 DEF points.

"I'll play a face down." Jasmine's card appears. "And it's over to you, Yuuna!"

"My turn!" Yuuna draws and looks out at the field again.

"It looks like Jasmine is starting off this Duel with a defence game." Yubel murmurs. "And you have nothing in your hand that can defeat 2000 DEF points in a battle."

Yuuna grins. "That's fine. I'll summon my Renge to defend me, just to start off with."

Renge takes to the field with his own 2100 DEF points and a grin. "Ohh, looks like some pretty interesting competition out there, Coach."

"Oh you bet, Renge, this is gonna be awesome." Yuuna laughs. "But for now, that's my turn. Let's hope you got the moves to back this up, Mindy!"

"Trust me Yuuna! You ain't seen nothing yet!" Mindy winks as she draws. She looks over her cards, then turns to Jasmine. "Is it okay if I use your monster for a Fusion summon?"

Jasmine grins and winks. "Clayman's all yours, Mindy."

"In that case!" Mindy holds up a card. "I activate my Dark Fusion spell card!"

Yubel's eyes widen. "Dark-"

"Fusion?!" Blair and Yuuna gasp.

Syrus gasps. "What's Dark Fusion?"

"This allows me to Fusion Summon an Evil HERO monster and I know just the one that comes from Jasmine's Clayman and the Burstinatrix in my hand!" Mindy continues. "Evil HERO Infernal Sniper!"

A new bulky warrior takes to the field, doning dark red and dark yellow armour, with long dark hair around their head. One hand is covered in claws and the other is some kind of blaster with spikes like an axe, pointed right at them. The creature has 2500 DEF points.

"Whoa." Blair murmurs.

"What do you think of my Infernal Sniper?" Mindy grins.

"She's amazing!" Yuuna gasps, giggling on the spot.

Syrus gulps. "Amazingly scary."

"Be wary Yuuna." Yubel murmurs. "The Evil HEROs may be on the side of good, but they're not as kind as their Elemental counterparts."

Renge growls. "Big, pretty monster isn't gonna defeat me!"

"Mindy was able to use Jasmine's monster to summon out a more powerful creature for the benefit of the team." Bastion murmurs, taking down notes. "That's Tag Duelling."

"She's very impressive, Mindy." Blair admits. "But that doesn't mean we'll let you defeat us!"

Jasmine nods. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Here I go then!" Blair shouts. "I'll start by playing the spell card Dragonmaid Welcome!"

The card shows up on the field and Yuuna smiles at the sight of it.

"For every Dragonmaid monster I have on my Field, all monsters gain an extra 100 ATK and DEF points. And I'll show you this by summoning my good friend-" Blair grins. "Parlor Dragonmaid!"

Parlor takes to the field in her usual flurry of smiles and light, holding her teapot and cake plate, with her ATK points rising from 500, to 600 at her arrival. "Would you like some tea?"

"Sure thing, sweetheart." Renge's points also rise to 2200.

Yubel smiles. "Good to see you've learned some manners."

"I'll also activate Parlor's ability and send one of my Dragonmaids to the Graveyard." Blair discards a card from her Deck. "And it's all back to you, Jasmine!"

Jasmine smiles and draws. "Alright then!"

"And so the battle truly begins." Bastion nods sagely.

Chumley grins. "This is the part where it gets licious."

"Be careful Yuuna, Blair!" Syrus calls.

Yuuna's heart swells and she waves to him, smiling. "Don't worry Syrus, we're going to be just fine!"

"No you won't!" Jasmine grins. "Because I'm normal summoning my Elemental HERO Solid Soldier!"

This time a warrior in dark silver armour takes to the Field with his 1300 ATK Points.

"And when I normal summon my Solid Soldier, I get to special summon another Elemental HERO." Jasmine selects another monster. "Elemental HERO Shadow Mist!"

Another monster takes to the field, a woman with long blue hair in black armour and 1000 ATK points.

"When my girl Shadow Mist shows up specially, she brings along a 'Change' Quick-Play spell from my Deck!" Jasmine goes through her Deck and holds up a card. "Just like this one! Mask Change!"

Chumley gulps. "Mask Change?"

"And I'll use it right now! It lets me Fusion Summon a Masked HERO monster using just one material monster!" Jasmine declares proudly.

Blair gasps. "A fusion summon-"

"With only one Monster?!" Yuuna yells.

She's never heard of that!

Mindy grins. "Go for it, Jasmine!"

"Alright then! Shadow Mist, it's time to take on a new form!" Jasmine shouts.

Shadow Mist's face starts to glow and then her whole body does.

"Be reborn as the one, the only!" Jasmine punches the air. "Masked HERO Anki!"

A power ranger in bronze, red and brown armour takes Shadow Mist's place, with 2800 ATK points at the ready to wield.

Yubel scowls. "It's more powerful than Lorpar and Renge."

Blair bites her lip. "This isn't good."

"And it's about to get a lot worse!" Jasmine laughs. "Because Anki's coming for you!"

Anki charges the field, heading straight for Parlor.

"Dragonmaid! Makeup!" Blair shouts.

Parlor transforms into Lorpar and her 2700 ATK points.

"Bring it!" Lorpar snarls.

Jasmine laughs. "Don't worry, Anki isn't coming for your monsters."

Yuuna shouts. "What?"

"His special ability lets him attack you directly so long as he cuts his ATK points in half!" Jasmine shouts. "Go!"

Anki does an impressive jump right over Lorpar's head, kicking the dragon's head into the dirt as he jumps down and his ATK points plummet to 1400.

"Blair!" Lorpar shouts.

Blair holds up her arms to protect herself and Anki punches her to the ground, before backflipping back to his side of the field with his arms folded like some ninja. Lorpar gets off the ground, transforming back into Parlor on her hands and knees, scowling.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 8000

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 6600

Yuuna rushes to kneel at Blair's side. "Blair! Are you okay?"

Blair coughs and nods, getting to her feet. "I'm fine, Yuuna, I promise."

Yubel hums as they look over Jasmine and Mindy. "These two are strong. Stronger than I initially imagined."

"I think that makes for a good turn for now." Jasmine smiles, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Bring it on Yuuna."

Yuuna growls as she helps Blair to her feet. "Consider it brought."

Yuuna draws and critically looks at her hand and the field. Jasmine has her facedown, Solid Soldier and Anki, while Mindy only has Infernal Sniper. Yuuna has Renge and Blair's got Welcome and Parlor. In Yuuna's hand, she has Hate Buster, Axe of Despair, Double Summon, Morphing Jar, Scarr and Gateway to Dark World.

Yubel scowls. "Damnit, with this hand I won't be able to take to the field."

"No, but I've got another idea. Scarr, you okay for taking one for the team?" Yuuna murmurs.

Scarr nods. "I got this."

Yuuna nods then shouts. "I'll summon Scarr to the field in DEF mode!"

Scarr growls as he kneels on his card, his usual 500 DEF raised to 600 thanks to Dragonmaid Welcome. "Looks like we've got tough opponents, Renge."

"Ha!" Renge laughs. "They don't mean nothing compared to us and the Coach! We'll wreck 'em!"

"I like your thinking, boys." Parlor giggles.

Yuuna smiles. "I'll also lay a facedown and that's all she wrote for me. Mindy, you're up."

"You're right I am." Mindy draws. "And so is my Infernal Sniper!"

The monster starts charging up an attack, her blaster turning on.

"What?!" Yuuna shouts.

"You see, during my standby phase, if Infernal Sniper is in DEF mode, she can deal you guys 1000 points of damage!" Mindy giggles. "Go!"

Infernal Sniper fires it's blast.

"Yuuna!" Yubel gasps.

Yuuna raises her arms and the blast knocks her to the sand, gasping.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 8000

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 5600

"That's gotta hurt." Chumley winces.

"Yuuna!" Syrus shouts.

Blair comes running to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Yuuna groans as she sits up, definitely not fine. "We have to take out Infernal Sniper. We can't afford to lose another 1000 points to her."

"But how?" Blair murmurs, pulling Yuuna to her feet.

"You can't do anything for now girls!" Mindy giggles. "Because I'm switching Infernal Sniper to ATK mode so she can take out Scarr."

Infernal Sniper gets off her knees and raises up her blaster, her points lowering to 2000 ATK.

"Scarr, you ready?" Yuuna calls.

He nods, braising himself for the blast. "Always, Yuuna!"

"Go!" Mindy shouts. "Infernal Blaster!"

Infernal Sniper fires off her blast.

"I activate my trap, Hate Buster!" Yuuna shouts, flipping her card. "When a Fiend type Monster I control is the target of an attack, I can destroy the attacking monster and my Fiend!"

"No way!" Jasmine gasps.

"It gets better." Yuuna grins and points at Mindy. "You guys take Infernal Sniper's ATK points as damage! All 2000 of them!"

Mindy gasps. "No!"

The card absorbs Infernal Sniper's blast and then releases it as a bomb, destroying Scarr and Infernal Sniper. The blast catches Mindy in it and sends her crashing into the sand.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 6000

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 5600

"Mindy!" Jasmine races to her side, gently lifting Mindy's head. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good." Mindy murmurs, smiling up at Jasmine.

Jasmine lets out a breath and holds Mindy closer to her, cradling Mindy in her arms. "I was scared there."

Mindy blushes and looks to the ground, murmuring. "It's okay."

Renge laughs loud and long. "Good riddance to that wicked being!"

"I'll toast to that." Parlor chuckles, drinking some tea. "She was kinda ugly, too."

Yubel sighs. "So much for those manners I'd hoped you'd grown."

"Yuuna, that was amazing!" Blair laughs.

Yuuna grins and gives her a V for victory.

"Way to play, Yuuna!" Syrus calls.

"This is totally licious." Chumley cheers. "In just one move, Yuuna took out ¼ of Jasmine and Mindy's points!"

"It's not over yet though." Bastion nods towards the field, his arms folded. "Remember, they have Anki on their side of the field and he's the most powerful monster here. Not to mention, Blair and Yuuna have less life points."

Mindy climbs to her feet, while holding onto Jasmine. "I can't do anything else for now. So I'll pass it to you Blair."

Blair nods and draws. "I'll make sure to keep the point depletion coming then!"

Yuuna grins. "You two are gonna be sorry with what we're cooking up!"

She's fully confident in Blair's abilities. They're just turning it around.

"I'll start our comeback by summoning the newest addition to my Deck!" Blair turns to Yuuna and smiles. "The card you gave me."

Yuuna's heart thumps in her throat as she remembers Blair's excitement during the Promotion Exams.

"Meet my Chamber Dragonmaid!" Blair declares.

The newest Dragonmaid is roughly the same age in appearance as Kitchen and Nurse, with long platinum blonde hair that reaches her shoulder blades. She has a black dress and is holding a feather duster. She has a long, thick, scaly tail that curls around her body and two dark wings with glittery green feathers hugging her waist and glittery green horns.

"A pleasure to meet you all." Chamber bows her head, her ATK points starting at 500 and then raising to 700.

Parlor cheers as her ATK points raise to 700. "Chamber, your first Duel! How do you feel?"

Renge laughs as his DEF rises to 2300. "I know how it makes me feel. Strong!"

Chamber giggles. "It's not what I expected. But I'm happy to be here. So happy, I brought a gift."

Yuuna blinks.

"When I summon my Chamber Dragonmaid, I get to add any Dragonmaid Spell or Trap card to my hand from my Deck!" Blair grins. "And since Fusion Monsters with special cards are the call for the day, I'll use my own! Dragonmaid Changeover!"

Parlor gasps and bounces. "Yay, yay, yay, House is going to be here!"

"With Dragonmaid Changeover, I get to fusion summon one Dragon Monster! I fuse together my Parlor Dragonmaid and my Chamber Dragonmaid!" Blair shouts. "To bring forth the ace in my Deck! The one! The only! House Dragonmaid!"

The two monsters disappear into a vortex of light and out of that light rises yet another new Dragonmaid. Her black horns and hair appear first, tipped in red. Then her twinkling glasses and kind smile. A black dress with a white apron appears next, with a red handkerchief around her neck. She appears to almost be wearing gauntlets, with her black and red wings circled around her hips. Her black, red and white tail swishes behind her with a flame on the tip.

House opens her eyes and her wings flap open, revealing her 3100 ATK points.

With the loss of a Dragonmaid, Renge's power goes back to 2200, but he hardly notices, staring at the new creature in awe.

Yubel smiles softly. "It's good to see you again, House."

House chuckles. "As it is you, Yubel. Under much better circumstances too."

"Since the rules say we can attack someone if they don't have any of their own monsters on the field…" Blair smirks and points at Mindy. "House, direct attack!"

"Here it comes!" House chuckles.

Mindy frantically looks around. "No!"

"I play a trap!" Jasmine shouts.

Yuuna gasps.

"A Hero Emerges!" Jasmine explains, smirking. "You have to pick a random card in Mindy's hand and if it's a monster, she gets to summon it!"

Mindy puts her hand over her heart. "Jasmine…"

Jasmine flashes her a smile and a thumbs up. "It's all yours, Mindy."

Yuuna resists the urge to sequel and grin like an idiot. These two are so cute!

Mindy holds up her cards for Blair to pick. Blair bites her lip.

"The one from the left." Blair picks.

Mindy laughs and plays it. "That was my Evil HERO Sinister Necrom."

A creature appears on the field with burgundy skin and white bones, kneeling with 1800 DEF points.

"You gonna continue your attack?" Jasmine crosses her arms, cockily.

Blair hums, looks over the field again. "Yes, but I pick a different attack target." She points straight at. "Solid Soldier!"

"I hope you enjoy the hospitality of us Dragonmaids, good sir." House begins to glow purple, her smile turning into more of a smirk. "It'll be the last thing you ever feel."

She flies across the field, faster than lightning and swings her tail into Solid Soldier's guts, sending him flying and bursting into pixels.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 4200

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 5600

"Yeah!" Yuuna laughs. "That's what I'm talking about, Blair, keep it up!"

"I'm afraid I can't bring it on anymore right now." Blair grins. "So I'll just play a facedown and leave it at that."

"Good because it's my turn now!" Jasmine draws. "And I'll start by having Anki use his special ability to directly attack you guys again!"

Anki charges across the field, while House giggles.

"Not so fast, Jasmine!" Blair shouts. "I'm activating my facedown, Negate Attack!"

The card pops up and the wind blast forces Anki back.

Jasmine scowls. "Damnit."

"Since the battle phase is done, I don't know what else you can do." Blair giggles.

Yuuna smiles at her. "That's some good Duelling Blair."

"I play a facedown and end my turn, you're up Yuuna." Jasmine calls.

Yuuna smiles and draws. "You got it!"

"Kuri!"

Yuuna gasps and giggles. "Hey Winged Kuriboh, it's been a long time. I missed getting to draw you."

Winged Kuriboh 'kuri's again, giggling and wriggling.

Yubel shakes their head. "It's not the right time for you to battle yet, little one."

"Yeah. We're up against some pretty scary competition right now." Yuuna winks at him. "Maybe I'll play you later."

Winged Kuriboh 'kuri's excitedly and nods.

Yuuna giggles and kisses his card art, then picks another card. "I'm going to play my Gateway to Dark World, so I can special summon Scarr back to the front lines!"

Scarr laughs as he rises from the Graveyard, his DEF at 600. "It's good to be back and of service to you, Yuuna!"

Yubel grins. "It's good to have you back, Scarr."

"Give 'em Hell for me, Scarr!" Renge laughs.

"Oh don't worry, he will." Yuuna grins. "But for now, I'll set a monster facedown and call it a turn."

She hasn't got anything strong enough to take on Anki or Sinister Necrom right now. But so long as nothing happens to House, they're still in this and with Morphing Jar on the field, it's only a matter of time before she can replenish her hand.

"Don't worry Jasmine, they may be in the lead right now, but they're not keeping it!" Mindy draws. "And because you already have a monster on your field, I'm allowed to use only one tribute when summoning this guy. Sinister Necrom, time to give it up for-"

Sinister Necrom disappears and a new monster in blue and black leather takes to the field with 2600 ATK points.

"Evil HERO Malicious Edge!" Mindy cheers. "He also has the ability to do piercing battle damage!"

Yuuna and Blair gasp. Yubel scowls and flaps their wings in annoyance.

"And I'm sending him straight for your Scarr!" Mindy shouts.

"Oh for the sake of all that is good and evil." Scarr grumbles.

Malicious Edge charges across the Field and cuts Scarr out, making him roar as he goes down, blasting two lasers from his eyes as he goes.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 4200

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 3600

"Scarr's gone, but he's bringing back up, just you wait!" Yuuna pulls out her Deck. "I get to add another Dark World Monster to my hand, so long as it's level 4 or below."

"True, but we'll see how much good your new monster does you later. I'll lay a facedown and that's all." Mindy smiles. "Blair?"

"You're going down!" Blair declares as she draws, looks at her card and grins.

Yuuna smiles. They got this.

"I'm summoning Nurse Dragonmaid and thanks to her ability, Parlor gets to rise from the Graveyard to join us again!" Blair shouts. "Come on out girls!"

Nurse and Parlor take to the field in ATK mode.

"And because I now have 3 Dragonmaids and Dragonmaid Welcome, everyone gets 300 more ATK and DEF points." Blair smirks. "Your welcome."

House swishes her tail, smiling at the other Dragonmaids. "Nurse, Parlor. Let's show these gentlemen our best hospitality."

Nurse nods, smiling pleasantly. "Yes, let's."

"You got it, Boss Lady!" Parlor giggles, giving a lazy salute.

"Hit 'em good ladies!" Renge laughs.

Yubel nods. "I eagerly await to see it."

"House, since I don't feel like dealing with Anki again, I say we take him out!" Blair shouts. "Go!"

House starts to glow purple, charging up for an ATK.

"Mindy!" Jasmine shouts.

"It's okay!" Mindy calls. "I activate my trap, Common Sacrifice!"

The card pops up.

"By destroying your two weakest monsters, Jasmine is allowed to summon a Level 7 Monster from her hand!" Mindy declares.

"No!" Blair shouts.

Renge and Parlor scream as they go to the Graveyard, making Yubel, Nurse, House and Yuuna gasp.

"Thanks Mindy!" Jasmine grins. "I'll now use those sacrifices to bring out the light to Malicious Edge's darkness. Meet Elemental HERO Bladedge!"

A man in golden armour takes to the field, with 2600 ATK points.

"And I'll activate my own trap!" Jasmine calls. "Edge Hammer!"

Her card pops up.

"By sacrificing my Bladedge, I get to destroy one Monster on your side of the field and deal you guys damage equal to that monster's original ATK points!" Jasmine grins. "And I'm coming for House Dragonmaid!"

"No way!" Bastion, Chumley and Syrus scream.

"Yuuna!" Yubel shouts.

Blair and Yuuna gasp.

Bladedge charges House, a hammer appearing in his hand. He rams it into House's side and the two monsters disappear in a massive explosion.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 4200

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 600

The shockwaves send Yuuna and Blair to their backs, screaming, hitting the sand hard.

Yubel curses. "Damnit. This isn't good."

Bastion winces. "Goodness. They're going to feel that in the morning."

"Yeah, no joke." Syrus gulps. "Yuuna and Blair are hanging on by a thread, while Mindy and Jasmine still have over half of their life points."

"This is totally not licious. How are those two so good of a tag team already?" Chumley murmurs.

"You end your turn yet, Blair?" Mindy calls.

Yuuna coughs some of the sand out of her mouth and turns to her side. "Blair?"

Blair coughs as well. "I'm fine." She growls and digs her hands into the sand. "I'm not giving up."

She sits up and snarls at Jasmine.

Yubel smiles. "Though she be but little, she is fierce."

Yuuna sits up. "Yeah, we're not done yet!"

"I'd hoped not." Mindy nods.

Blair gets to her feet shakily and selects a card. "I play my Dragon's Gunfire! Because I have a Dragon monster on my Field you take 800 points of damage."

Nurse hiccups and blasts out a ball of fire directly at Mindy. "Oh no, excuse me."

"Mindy!" Jasmine shouts.

The blast zeros in and Jasmine pushes Mindy out of the way, rolling into the sand for a bit.

"Jasmine!" Mindy screams.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 3400

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 600

"I also play a facedown. Turn end." Blair folds her arms, smiling slightly.

Yuuna's heart thumps. Blair's all out of cards. It's up to Yuuna now, if they make it to her turn.

"You okay, Jasmine?!" Mindy calls, kneeling by her side.

Jasmine groans and gets to her feet with Mindy's help. "I'm good. I'll be even better once I draw!"

Jasmine does just that, standing tall and proud. Mindy stares at her in awe.

Jasmine looks over her cards, humming. "I play-"

"I activate my trap!" Blair calls. "Shadow Spell!"

Her facedown pops up, showing a group of chains reaching into the darkness to grab a light.

"Shadow Spell freezes Anki in place!" Blair shouts. "He loses 700 ATK points, can not declare an ATK and can not change his battle position!"

Chains spring from Blair's card and bind Anki up, weakening him to 2100 ATK.

"Oh Hell yeah!" Yuuna laughs, punching the air. "That's how you do it Blair!"

Blair grins, as Jasmine and Mindy stare at them in awe.

"That was a good move Blair…" Then Jasmine slowly smiles. "But not good enough."

Blair and Yuuna freeze.

"Because I'm going to play the spell card Form Change!" Jasmine declares. "I now get to send Anki to my extra deck and bring out a new Masked HERO, so long as it's the same level as Anki!"

Yubel growls. "She used her card too soon."

Anki breaks free from the chains and Blair's trap bursts into pixels, making her squeal. Anki glows and takes on the form of a new HERO, one taller and sleeker, green with a white cape and 2700 ATK points.

"Meet Masked HERO Divine Wind!" Jasmine calls. "He can't be destroyed by battle, you can only attack once per turn and when he destroys a monster, I get to draw one new card!"

Blair trembles. "No… No…"

Yuuna watches as she breathes heavier. "Blair…"

"Divine Wind, attack Yuuna's facedown Monster!" Jasmine shouts.

Blair gasps, turning to her. "Yuuna!"

Mindy cheers. "Go Jasmine!"

Divine Wind charges straight for her facedown monster and takes it out immediately.

"That was my Morphin Jar girls!" Yuuna smirks. "Out with the old and in with five new cards. You can thank me later."

Everyone discards whatever they had and have five cards in their hands each.

Yuuna kisses Winged Kuriboh and Kahkki as they hit the Graveyard and smirks. "And because I just discarded Kahkki, one monster on your side of the field is going to the Graveyard too! And I pick Divine Wind!"

Jasmine, Mindy and Blair gasp.

Yubel grins. "Good job Yuuna."

Kahkki laughs as he runs across the field as a ghost and stabs Divine Wind in the back. He falls into the ground.

And then there were two.

Evil HERO Malicious Edge and Dragonmaid Nurse.

Jasmine looks at her fresh hand and sighs, shaking her head. "I pass. It's your move, Yuuna."

Yuuna nods and raises her Duel Disk, then she sees Blair watching her. Blair who rushes and runs and sprints ahead, sometimes to only find herself in deeper trouble.

"I just need to slow down."

She said that in their last Duel. But she still doesn't know how to do that.

So Yuuna has to show her.

Yuuna closes her eyes. "Slow down…"

Blair's eyes bore through her.

"In for four…" Yuuna takes in a deep breath. Then lets it out. "Out for eight." She inhales "Keep your cool." She exhales. "And you're great."

She feels her powers reach into her hand, slowly slip through her fingers.

"And draw." Yuuna does just that, eyes opening.

Blair gasps softly.

Yubel nods approvingly.

Yuuna looks at her cards and slowly smiles.

"I play a facedown and summon Dark Crusader!" Yuuna declares.

A new monster takes to the field proudly, wielding his berserker sword, a red cape and 1600 ATK points.

Nurse gasps and holds her hand over her heart, her face flushing.

"Nice to finally see the battlefield, my Lady." Dark Crusader chuckles, smirking at Yuuna.

"You'll have to forgive her." Yubel chuckles. "She's not the most well mannered child."

Yuuna rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Now it's time to equip you with my Black Pendant and give you a little more power!"

A black necklace appears on Dark Crusader and his ATK points rise to 2100.

Blair and Nurse gasp.

"Then it's time for Dark Crusader's special ability!" Yuuna cheers. "When I discard a Dark monster, he gains 400 ATK points, so I'll discard two!"

Dark Crusader laughs wickedly as his points rise to 2900. More than Malicious Edge.

Blair, Mindy and Jasmine gasp.

"Also, it turns out those monsters I discarded are Beiige and Latinum, Exarch of Dark World." Yuuna grins as she crosses her arms. "They just hate being in the Graveyard, so thanks to their discard ability, they get to stay on the Field instead!"

Beiige and Latinum take to the field, with 1600 ATK points and 1500 ATK points, respectively.

"Blair." Yuuna calls.

Blair jumps and turns to her.

Yuuna smiles and gives her a thumbs up. "Thank you, for everything. For holding on long enough to get us this far. You're amazing and a great Tag Partner."

Blair sniffles and nods, lowering her head to hide her eyes.

"Oh Blair..." Nurse murmurs, smiling softly.

"And now it's time for this Duel to end!" Yuuna shouts. "Dark Crusader, lead the charge!"

Dark Crusader chuckles. "This way, gentlemen."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Beiige roars.

Latinum growls. "You both know I'm higher ranked than you, step aside!"

Dark Crusader and Malicious Edge meet in the middle and the Evil HERO falls to the berserker sword.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 3100

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 600

Beiige roars and charges toward Mindy, who screams and holds her arms up.

"MINDY!" Jasmine howls.

She rushes in front of Mindy and takes the hit to her back, screaming.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 1500

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 600

"Jasmine!" Mindy catches Jasmine, cradling her in her arms, bringing both girls to their knees. "Are you okay?"

Jasmine groans and whimpers.

Latinum snarls and sends a punch towards the girls.

Mindy gasps and jumps to her feet. "No!"

She takes the hit to the face and stands through it, legs shaking.

JASMINE MAKURADA / MINDY HAMAGUSHI: 0

BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI: 600

WINNER: BLAIR FLANNIGAN / YUUNA YUKI

Mindy falls to her knees and Jasmine sits up to catch her, as the holograms disappear.

Blair murmurs softly. "We won…"

Yuuna shakes herself out of her shock and laughs, turning to Blair. "We won!"

Blair slowly smiles and then she rushes at her. "Yuuna!"

Yuuna laughs as she catches Blair in a hug, picking her up and spinning around once, before she trips and falls into the sand. Yuuna and Blair laugh and giggle and hug each other tightly, while Yubel smiles softly at the pair.

"Yuuna! Blair!"

The Slifer girls lift their head to see the boys running over to them, Syrus reaching them first and joining in on the cuddle pile.

"That was amazing!" Syrus cheers, hugging Blair and Yuuna tightly.

"Heck yeah, you two were awesome!" Chumley claps, laughing.

Bastion smiles down at them, his arms crossed. "Indeed. You two do need improvement, but you did very well for a first tag match."

Yubel smiles and reaches out to ruffle Yuuna's hair. "I'm proud of you, Little Princess."

Yuuna beams.

Blair giggles and wriggles out of the hug, dashing across the stand. "Mindy! Jasmine!"

Yuuna gets to her feet and watches her race over to the two Obelisk girls, as they walk towards them. Blair hugs them tightly around the waist, nearly knocking them all to the ground.

"Thank you, for Duelling us!" Blair says, pulling apart quickly. "You two were amazing and your Decks work so well together! It's like you were made for each other!"

Mindy and Jasmine blush bright red and look away from each other. Blair erupts into giggles, then Yuuna is laughing too and then they're all laughing more than Yuuna ever thought she could. Heck, she can't remember the last time she last laughed this hard.

The giggles soon die down though and Yuuna stands tall and proud, smiling at her friends. Friends.

Yuuna smiles wider. "Why don't we all go hit the card shop to celebrate?"

"Yeah!" Everyone cheers.

Yuuna turns to Yubel and giggles.

She's not going to leave Duel Academy now. She's going to win this expulsion Duel and so will Blair and they're going to do great.

Blair can't stop smiling as she sits at the little table in the cardshack, all her friends beside her. Jasmine and Mindy are going over their strategies in the Duel and she and Yuuna are comparing Decks too, plus the cards Chumley and Syrus gave them just before it. Bastion is helping both tag teams with the occasional comment, while Chumley and Syrus are content to bring over a few drinks and snacks and offer their cheers and support.

Back in elementary school, Blair remembers how she'd sit alone in the yard. No one really wanted to play with her and she didn't want to play their games either. She just wanted to keep learning and getting smarter because she just liked it. It was nicer than thinking about her father or her step-mom.

Here though… with Yuuna who laughs with confidence, Syrus who smiles shyly, Chumley who pats her head, Bastion who offers acknowledgements and the girls who cheer her on. For the first time in her life, Blair feels like she… belongs.

Blair's eyes feel wet and she shakes her head like a dog. Oh no, she doesn't wanna cry in front of her friends, she's happy right now.

"I'll be right back, bathroom." Blair says, hoping to her feet.

"Okay then." Yuuna nods.

Blair rushes out the cardshack and presses her back to the wall, rubbing at her eyes with her sleeves. Even as she does this, she can't stop smiling.

"I have friends." Blair murmurs it.

It feels even more real saying it. She has friends and a sister. It's so hard to believe.

If anyone told her just a year ago that she'd be at Duel Academy, where Maria couldn't hurt her, with an older sister, and friends, Blair would have told that person they were insane. She's so glad she is here though.

She's going to win that explution match and she's going to stay at Duel Academy.

"Oh really?"

Blair freezes up.

"I'm so happy to hear that."

No.

"Now it's time to go home, Blair."

No, no, no, nonononono-

A hand reaches to grab her and Blair just-

Freezes.

She wants to scream. She wants to fight. She wants to escape, run away, do something.

But she can't.

Maria's nails dig into her like the claws of a vicious beast and fill her with a paralysing poison as Maria starts dragging her away, away from her friends, away from the cardshack, away from her home.

Blair's tears fall silently as she drags her feet.

"Blair?"

Blair gasps and turns around.

Syrus.

Maria turns around with one of her usual sugary smiles. "Oh hello young man. Do you know my daughter?"

No. No, no, she can't hurt him, Blair won't let her hurt him-

"I think you've got the wrong person, miss." Syrus walks over and gently takes Blair's free hand. "I don't think my roommate wants to go with you."

Blair gapes at him.

He's stepping in.

He's helping her.

He's protecting her.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry. My daughter wasn't honest with you." Maria looks down on him. "She's not a student here anymore. She's going home today."

Syrus gently tightens his grip. "No. Blair's not going anywhere with you."

Maria sighs and reaches for him. "Let go boy-"

"Syrus! Blair!"

Blair lifts her head and sees at the end of the hallway Yuuna, Chumley, Bastion, Mindy and Jasmine standing there. The world seems to happen in slow motion.

Blair watches Yuuna's eyes widen.

Blair watches the recognition flash in them.

Blair watches Yunna's face go from surprised to thunderous.

Then she's marching over like a woman on a mission and fear suffocates Blair, Maria's hand digging deeper and she can't-

Blair rips her arm out of Maria's hold and pulls Syrus over to Yuuna, her heart in her throat, pushing Syrus into Yuuna, who snaps out of her rage to catch him.

"Blair, what's wrong?" Chumley asks. "Who is this lady?"

Maria sighs and walks over. "I'm her mother. I was so worried when Blair ran away from home. It's time for her to come back."

Blair stiffens up and lowers her head. It was a nice dream. It was more than she deserved.

But it's time to wake up now.

"I gotta go. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've brought." Blair bows. "Thank you, for being my friends."

She knew it would end as soon as Maria found out she was here.

Blair straightens up and turns around, walking towards Maria and torment and fear, so the others don't have to feel that pain, so the other don't have to worr-

A hand grabs her own. "No."

Blair freezes and turns around. "Syrus!"

"I said no!" Syrus raises his voice, glaring Maria down. "Blair is my roommate and he's not going anywhere with you!"

"That's right!" Chumley rushes up. "Blair is a great friend and he's not leaving Duel Academy yet!"

"He's my little brother and I'm fairly certain you're not my mother." Yuuna takes Blair's other hand. "Go bother someone else."

"And don't come back to Duel Academy ever again!" Jasmine shouts.

"Or you'll be sorry, my father is a lawyer!" Mindy waves her fist. "He'll sue your ass right out of here!"

"I've already connected campus security." Bastion holds his Duel Pad up. "They should be here to collect you in just a moment."

Blair stares at all of them in shock, her heart racing, her blood pumping.

Maria stares at them all, her smile twitching, her face flinching.

Then she turns on her heel and walks away. Click, clack. Click, clack. Click, clack. Until she disappears from view/

Blair stares.

Then she falls to her knees, hand over her mouth, hand over her heart, gasping, hurting, heaving.

"Blair, it's okay." Syrus hugs her. "I got you, it's okay."

Yuuna wraps her arms around her. "You were so brave, I'm so sorry you had to see her, that's awful."

"I'll make you a grilled cheese when we go back, if you want." Chumley offers.

Blair continues to cry but slowly smiles through her tears, as her other friends continue to offer her support and love. Blair looks at Syrus and smiles.

If he hadn't come, she wouldn't have found the strength to fight for herself. But she'll always fight for her friends.

She'll never be able to repay Syrus for this. But she can try.

Syrus feels kinda good as they all head back to the cardshack. Sure, Blair's still crying, but she says she's okay and Yuuna's not worried anymore, so she probably is. That lady was scary, so he can't blame Blair for getting upset over the sight of her.

But she's safe now.

And it's… it's because he helped her.

Syrus isn't sure if he should feel bad or good about this, but he, he helped Blair. He knows he has. She hugged him and thanked him for saving her.

Syrus feels proud of himself. Honestly proud of himself for the first time he can remember.

Syrus smiles as he turns to Blair. "You want anything to make you feel better?"

Blair blinks, rubs at her eyes and sniffles before nodding. "Some lemonade please."

"You got it." Syrus nods. "I'll be right back."

He splits from the others to get that lemonade, turning down an aisle of cards, turning the corner-

And running into someone, hitting the ground hard.

Oh just great, this always happens whenever he's having a good day.

"Oh, you're still here?"

Syrus stiffens and looks up, gulping. "Zane."

Zane stands there, looking down at him, scowling. "I thought after your little trip to the Abandoned Dorm, you'd have left by now. I told you had no right to be in Duel Academy."

A stab to the heart and all his confidence bleeds out of him.

"Z-Zane, I…" Syrus looks up at him. "I'm-"

"Not worthy to have Power Bond or to be at Duel Academy." Zane scowls. "Yuki's lucky you're not her tag team partner. Or she'd be kicked out."

With that, Zane walks away, dragging the remains of Syrus's confidence under his foot.

Syrus stares at his back for a while, then curls up where he's sitting. He hides his face in his hands.

He cries.

"Sy? What's taking so lo-"

Syrus jumps to his feet and rubs his face. "It, it's nothing, I just tripped and fell, Yuuna-"

"Syrus…" Yuuna walks over and kneels in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't cry from falling over. Who hurt you?"

Syrus hunches up his shoulders. "It doesn't matter, he's always been like this and Blair's more hurt-"

"No." Yuuna puts her other hand on his shoulder and turns him around, so he's facing her. "Pain is not a game where whoever suffers the most gets the most attention. You deserve to talk about your feelings too." Yuuna squeezes his shoulders. "Who hurt you, Syrus?"

Syrus sniffles and then he starts to cry again. "M-" He chokes. "My brother. He, he thinks I don't belong at Duel Academy and I'm just, just a waste-"

Yuuna pulls him in for a hug and Syrus cries for a while, choking out all the horrible things Zane has said, anything and everything that's ever hurt him, from Zane constantly telling him he's not good enough to when they were kids and Zane used to fight him. He might have babbled and sobbed for hours, he can't tell how much time's passed.

Eventually though, Syrus stops crying. "I'm sorry. I, I think I needed that."

"That's what I'm here for, Sy." Yuuna rubs his back. "Thank you, for telling me all that. I'm so glad that you trust me."

Syrus hiccups and groans. "Oh no."

He hiccups again.

Yuuna giggles and pulls back to see his face. "Let's get you some water to help with those hiccups then."

Syrus nods. "Oka-" He hiccups. "Oh man."

Yuuna smiles and gets to her feet, pulling Syrus up as well, the two heading over to the drinks area.

What Syrus doesn't notice is Zane staring at the two of them, scowling at Yuuna.

Yuuna does notice him though and gives him an absolutely murderous expression, eyes turning gold for a moment.

Zane narrows his eyes and walks away.