Title: Down The Mountain
Characters: Edo, Ryou
Chapters: 1-1||Words: 2,500
Genre: Friendship||Rated: G
Challenges: Word Count Set Boot Camp, YGO GX, #34, 2,500; Friendship Diversity Boot Camp, YGO, #20, winter (Edo & Ryou); Include The Word Boot Camp, YGO, #34, scintillating
Notes: This takes place some time after the end of GX. Summary: Edo's going skiing. Like most other things, there's no one who can match him. But someone is going to try.

Edo stared down the ski-slope, the familiar tingle of anticipation racing through him. He hadn't tackled this slope in a while and anticipated the fun. The snow stretched out before him clear and unmarked for as far as the eye could see - well, mostly unmarked. If he looked in the right direction, he could see limited signs of others having passed by, but not many came up this high. This range wasn't exactly his in the legal sense, but it was his in every way that really counted.

Above his head there spread the broad expanse of afternoon winter's sky, that lovely shade of blue that other seasons never seemed able to produce, and a few clouds on the farthest edges, hinting at possible further snow later. Every breath tingled in his lungs as he prepared for what came next.

Then, Edo launched forward, releasing a wild yell of joy at the feel of the snow under his skis, the poles in his hands, and the way the wind whipped through his hair. It had been too long - not since everything to do with DD and the defeat of the Light of Ruin and then Dark World and everything after that.

Truth to tell, if he added it all up, he hadn't been skiing in over two years. He kept himself in shape, of course, but he'd not been able to take the time to enjoy some of his favorite hobbies. But with the Pro Leagues having their yearly intermission, the world not needing to be saved, and no one committing any heinous crimes of card-theft, he found the time at last to get back to one of his non-dueling hobbies.

This slope was one of the intermediate types - he preferred the more difficult ones, but he was sensible enough to know that with a two year gap, he should probably work back up to the ones he loved the best. So he skied on downward, humming a jaunty little tune.

Halfway down the slope, a figure in a black coat shot past him. Edo caught a glimpse of someone looking at him, then the other skier kept on going. Edo's eyes narrowed, then he put on some more speed, eager to catch up with the newcomer. If there was one thing that could be said about him, he enjoyed a good challenge, and this looked like it might be suitable. Those who could match him in whatever he tried were few and far between.

He caught up to the stranger quickly, gliding past and darting forward. He couldn't see much about the other, except that they were taller than he was, dressed in head to toe black. That did make him think about someone, but Edo didn't expect this to be Hell Kaiser. The last he'd heard, Marufuji Ryou was still in the business of recovering from the heart issues he'd dealt with in Dark World. So whoever this was, it probably wasn't him.

The stranger shot in front of him again, and now Edo leaned forward, making himself as compact as he could to pick up speed. He'd never been thrilled at being as short as he was, but it did come in handy now and then. Like being able to go faster by possessing less mass. Catching up to his unexpected challenger might be difficult. This person was faster and more skilled than he would have expected. Of course, anyone on this slope was probably decently good at skiing. He just hadn't crossed paths with them before.

Back and forth the two of them went, crossing one another as they arrowed down the ski slope, avoiding striking one another sometimes only by the narrowest of margins.

I think I should ask if they want to try one of the harder slopes, Edo thought as they came closer to the end of the slope. He breathed harder, the cold invigorating him, looking forward to having a long conversation with the other skier. He'd been working on the ski-slopes for a while now, working on getting himself ready for the more difficult runs, and he hoped he'd be ready for them soon. It had been far longer than he'd thought since he encountered someone who came even this close to matching him on the slopes.

Finally both of them pulled up at the bottom. Edo caught his breath quickly, then turned towards the stranger. His eyes flicked up and down; now that they were close to one another, he could pick up a hint of familiarity. It wasn't what he expected, but he could have sworn -

The stranger turned towards Edo and pulled his thick black hat off of his head, revealing a very familiar head of teal-blue hair. Edo tried not to show how surprised he was when the other unwound his long scarf, and he could see a face he knew very well. He crossed his arms over his chest, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"I didn't know you knew how to ski."

Hell Kaiser Marufuji Ryou shrugged. "I spent years at the Cyber Dojo. Mountain-climbing, skiing, snowboarding, I've done it all. Principal Samejima insisted that we all learn how to exercise no matter the weather."

Edo nodded. He didn't know Samejima that well but it seemed reasonable enough to him. If you were going to have a school set up in the high mountains, it was probably a good idea to make sure that your students could get to class on time no matter what.

Didn't he mention something like that before? Truth to tell, he hadn't paid as much attention as he should have to whenever Ryou talked in Dark World. Not that Ryou had talked in Dark World all that often. But he'd had his own thoughts to think, and the words had provided a soothing background.

"Hot chocolate?" Edo suggested; once he finished a run down he liked to reward himself with a good hot cup of something. He preferred tea in truth, but hot chocolate seemed more to his taste today.

"Sounds good," Ryou agreed, and the two of them headed to divest themselves of their gear and get settled down for the afternoon. Edo cast a few glances outside, and wasn't surprised to see that the formerly scintillating blue sky now was getting darker and covered in thick gray clouds, with tiny flakes falling from above in short order. That was one reason he'd wanted to get his skiing done when he had.

He took the time to send off a quick e-mail to Saiou, keeping him updated on where he was and what was going on, and that he'd crossed paths with Ryou.

I should introduce them to each other. He thought they'd get along. He'd not had the opportunity before, not with both of them recovering in different ways. But perhaps now would be a good time. If Ryou were well enough to get to the top of a mountain and ski back down it, then he was well enough to meet a new person.

He tucked the thought away into the back of his mind and headed down to the grand room where various skiers - mostly Pro Duelists who were taking time off between dueling seasons, like he was and like he presumed Ryou was - settled down around a roaring fire and chatted with one another. Ryou already had arrived there and chosen a table, one with just one other seat there. He nodded at Edo as the other arrived, and Edo took the seat as if he'd signed the ownership papers.

"I already ordered your hot chocolate," Ryou said, leaning back and stretching his long legs towards the fire. One of Edo's eyebrows quirked but he didn't argue at the moment. After all that time in Dark World they knew one another's food and drink preferences fairly well.

"So what are you doing up here?" Edo asked as he got himself comfortable. "You didn't come just for the hot chocolate." Not that it wasn't very well done hot chocolate here. He'd had it before, and it was worth having. Just not making the trip only for it.

"The skiing. It's part of my recovery," Ryou said with a bit of a shrug. "When the doctors found out I was used to that kind of exercises, they wanted to make sure I could still manage it. Which I can. Obviously."

Edo's lips quirked. "Let me guess. You pushed yourself whether you could or not."

Ryou's only answer was a flicker of a smirk over his own lips as he glanced to where their hot chocolate was being carried over to them. The waiter set the cups down, politely wished them well, and headed away. Ryou picked up one of the cups and sipped, savoring it with closed eyes and a deep, restful breath. Edo watched him; he'd become used to the signs of Ryou having pushed himself too hard. But as far as he could tell right now, Ryou didn't seem to be too pale or breathing too fast.

So he took his own cup and sipped, enjoying the richness of it that seemed to pour all the way down to his toes. The fire flickered as they watched, and Edo let his thoughts wander carelessly, not worried about anything at the moment. As far as it were possible, everything was going as good as he thought it could get.

"Uh, excuse me?" A quiet voice spoke up, and they both turned to see a girl standing there, her eyes wide and sparkling with hero worship and awe. "I was wondering - are you two - Edo Phoenix and Marufuji Ryou? The Hell Kaiser?"

Edo nodded. He'd gone through something like this more times than he could imagine. His smile was a practiced expression, not nearly the same one that he'd worn when he saw who the other skier had been. "Care for an autograph?"

Her eyes widened even more. "Would you? Please?" An autograph book fell from her grasp, and Ryou caught it quickly. She offered a pen, almost dropping it as well, turning bright red at the same time. Edo suspected this was her first time ever encountering Pros on their level. But she managed to at least keep standing and not start drooling. He'd met a few who couldn't manage that, male and female alike.

Both of them autographed the book, then Edo handed it back to her with one of his better smiles. She squeaked a little, waved her fingers, and scurried out as fast as her legs could move, cheeks still flaming red. Ryou watched her for a few moments before he glanced back to Edo. "Has that happened to you a lot?"

Edo let his pleasant smile drop off his features at once. "More times than I can count." He shrugged. "You get used to it." Get used to people who stared when they knew who he was, or thought they knew who he was, asked for autographs and for whatever else they wanted - a few of them even being caught going through his trash. Every year on his birthday, Christmas, and any other holiday, and frequently at other times, his mailbox overflowed with postcards, other types of cards, and packages, all of them claiming to be from his "one true love". Somehow, he doubted that. But he paid people to deal with that, and he didn't usually have to worry about it.

He tossed a small card towards Ryou, sparked by that thought. "If you need to, they can help you deal with any fans that get too personal." Not that he couldn't handle any too personal fans himself - there were reasons he'd taken some of the classes that he had, and not all of those were listed on his official bio - but he didn't like people knowing everything that he could and couldn't do. Given that Ryou was still recovering from having literally died and somehow come back - which he still didn't know the details on and wasn't sure if he wanted to ask - it was probably better if Hell Kaiser outsourced any necessary jobs.

Ryou nodded, tucking the card away. He'd changed back into his usual black leather coat after they'd come inside, and there was much more color to his face than there had been when Edo had visited him in the hospital after his return. There even seemed to be a bit more muscle tone. His therapy had probably included working out more. Being a duelist meant at least some time in the gym; the KaibaCorp holograms got more and more intense with each new duel disk upgrade, and if a duelist couldn't handle the pain of losing life points or whatever else their opponent might try, then they weren't a real duelist at all, in Edo's opinion. Dueling was a clash of souls, and should be treated as such.

He sipped his hot chocolate again, a passing thought occurring. "Do you have a new deck yet?" Ryou had mentioned once that he'd given the combined Cyber and Cyberdark deck to his little brother. Whether Ryou had gotten around to building a new one, Edo hadn't heard as of yet. They hadn't kept in the kind of close touch where that would be information. But now that they'd met again, he wanted to know.

"Yes," Ryou replied, his lips curving up. "And I do have it with me." His eyes cut towards Edo, and Edo did not miss the spark of battle that flared there. "Care for a rematch?"

They'd not dueled against one another since their first, and only, encounter in the Pro Leagues. In all truth, Edo rather wished he'd dueled Ryou when the other was at the height of his ruthlessness, just to see how it would differ from before. He'd considered making the offer in Dark World, but they knew what the stakes would be for the loser, and that wasn't something they wanted to risk before everything else was settled. So now perhaps was a better time - at least for them both to survive the match.

"I thought you'd never ask." It wasn't often that he crossed paths with someone who could really give him a challenge. Sure, he'd won the first time they'd dueled, but they'd both learned a great deal since then, and he wanted to see what would happen this time. The only thing that would make this better would be if Saiou turned up to watch - or his father. But his father's spirit hadn't been there in years, and he didn't expect to see it again any time soon.

But he looked forward to having lots of stories to tell when he did, not the least of which would be how he did in this duel, how tasty the hot chocolate had been, and how much fun he'd had skiing, snowboarding, and mountain-climbing.

The End

Notes: This is posted a bit late, but I wrote it for Edo's birthday on the 19th. Maybe I'll do a follow up next year for Ryou's on November 1.