Hey, so this episode isn't really on Jaden, but more on Syrus and Hassleberry. Thanks Thunder Crush for giving me ideas for this chapter!

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!

"Man, I'm starving!"

"Let's go to the cafeteria, quick!"

"I wanna chow bread!"

"I hope they don't serve any livers and onions in my sandwich!"

"Does anyone even eat that stuff?"

"I'd barf if I ever got a sandwich served with that stuff!"

Even after the lunch bell already rang, Syrus felt lonesome and was contemplating all by himself, sitting in a set of stairs while everyone else headed for the cafeteria to grab some grub. Nobody but Bastion approached Syrus, offering his hand.

"How about we have some lunch together?" offered Bastion.

"I'm okay. Thanks, though," denied Syrus softly, glancing at the ground.

Seeing Syrus troubled, Bastion sat down next to him in order to comfort his friend. "Let me guess, you're still worried about Jaden?"

Syrus nodded sadly. "Yeah, I just hope that wherever she is, she's sa-Waah! Jaden!"

Actually, the Jaden Syrus pictured just now was nothing more than a picture of Jaden's face implanted onto the back of Hassleberry's Ra Yellow jacket.

"Check it out, soldiers!" called Hassleberry, pointing towards the picture. "I made it by myself. An embroidered picture of Jaden! That way, she can always be with me! After all, she is my soon-to-be girlfriend!"

Bastion sighed and shook his head, knowing where this was going to head. He stood up and walked away. "I'll fetch the three of us some lunch, alright?"

Angered by Hassleberry's previous comment, Syrus shouted, "Haven't I already said that I was going to be Jaden soon-to-be boyfriend? I don't need some plain dumb jacket with her cute picture to prove it!"

"Don't go dissin' on my jacket!" yelled Hassleberry. "And there's only one person who can call me her boyfriend, and that's Jaden! You may be a year ahead of me, but don't you think it's time for you to leave Jaden to me?"

"Who would do that?! You cold-blooded animal!"

"That's it! Wanna throw down?!"

"Bring it on!"

Glancing behind his shoulder, Bastion sighed, upon watching both Syrus and Hassleberry now childishly in a dust cloud while throwing punches and kicks towards one another.

'Jaden, wherever you are, you better hurry up and make a decision before the two just get worse,' thought Bastion, looking up at the sky, as if she was there.

Later, at the Slifer Red dorms...

"Ow, ow, ow!"

"Hold still!" scolded Alexis, lightly placing rubbing alcohol with a tissue onto Syrus's bruise on his cheek. "I can't believe you two still fight everyday!"

"It wasn't my fault this time! Hassleberry started it!" accused Syrus.

"That's a lie, and we both know it!" denied Hassleberry, clutching his stomach with one arm as his face was being bandaged by Bastion. "It was bad enough that you had to punch me, but scratching and hair pulling as well?! Dirty tactics, I say! When Jaden gets back, I'm gonna tell her all the horrible things you did, and then she'll be my girlfriend!"

"What?! Not if I tell her the horrible things you did, first!"

"That's enough!" yelled Alexis.

"Come now, we're all Yellow! Can't we get along?" encouraged Bastion.

"NO!" both Hassleberry and Syrus hollered; both agreeing to disagree.

Well, that answered Alexis and Bastion's question as they sighed, unsure what to do. Ever since Jaden disappeared, the two of them were stuck in a sort of love rivalry and downright declared their love out loud for her, determined to see who would win.

"I know just how you boys feel!" called out Atticus, who was spying on top of the wooden ceiling railing before jumping down, much to everyone's surprise. "I could feel your passion for love, and being the Magician of Love, I've come to help!~"

"Atticus, how long were you there?" asked Alexis, deadpanned.

"Oh, I've been there for a while!" answered Atticus "As a messenger of love, it is my sworn duty to help those who's fallen in love, and I always, always get the good results!"

"Last time you helped, Chazz didn't win Alexis' heart, remember?" recalled Bastion.

"Er...a minor setback, but it's alright!" assured Atticus. "But anyways, I could help but notice this little love struggle, so I came here to help! I have a proposal to settle this! The loser gets Alexis, because we all know she needs a little love in her life!"

Irritated, Alexis picked up Pharaoh and walked over to Atticus, squeezing Pharaoh's tail. Shrieking, Pharaoh thought Atticus was the cause of his unnecessary pain and scratched mercilessly at him, causing Atticus to scream girlishly before backing away and taking out a hand mirror from his pocket.

"My face! My beautiful face!" sobbed Atticus.

"Don't make things to complex!" shouted Alexis. "Involve me in one of your love schemes again, and I'll sic Pharaoh on you, I promise you that!"

"A-Alexis sure is scary..." muttered Syrus.

"Man, she really needs to watch that temper of hers," commented Hassleberry.

Overhearing their comments, Alexis angrily turned to them. "And whose fault do you think this is?!"

"Guys, guys! Let's just calm down!" assured Atticus, placing himself between Hassleberry and Syrus and lightly touching their shoulders. "You both want the same thing! Jaden as your girlfriend! So, how about this? We settle this with a duel! Tomorrow morning! Winner gets the right to ask Jaden out on a date while loser must support the winner in any way possible!"

"What? No, that's horrible!" cried out Alexis.

Unfortunately for her, both Syrus and Hassleberry seemed to agree on that plan. "Deal!"

That night...

Alexis, dressed in her nightgown, was brushing her hair with a comb and getting ready for bed when she received a call from Bastion on her PDA. "Hello?"

"Alexis? It's me, Bastion. I'm sorry for calling so late, but I have to ask you something. Have you seen Syrus? He's not at the Ra Yellow dorms."

Startled, Alexis asked, "Wait a minute! He's not with you?!"

"He's not. It seems he got out of the dorm at around midnight. And this isn't the first time he's been like this, either. I thought it was just something that would easily go away in a few days, but I was wrong."

"Come to think of it, with that business with Hassleberry, ever since Jaden disappeared...Oh! You don't think he went out to find Jaden, do you?!"

"Perhaps. He's eaten very little recently and had very little sleep as well. We should hurry and find him!"

"Yeah, okay!"

The next morning...

Hassleberry already had his duel disk activated and was waiting for his opponent, Syrus, to show up as Atticus, Bastion, and Alexis stood in the sidelines, also awaiting for Syrus.

"Syrus should have been here by now," commented Alexis. "I'm getting worried."

Ever since she received the call from Bastion late last night, the two of them began searching nonstop, asking people around if they've seen Syrus, but to no avail. Eventually, two hours later, they decided to call it quits and just sleep.

"Come on, soldier! I'm waiting!" called out Hassleberry. "Oh, I see! Little man must have run away from our duel!"

"Yeah, right!" shouted Syrus, emerging from the wood, dirtied with leaves, branches, and some dirt in his hair and clothes. His body seemed weary and tired, but his spirit wasn't as he was more than ready to duel.

Seeing his current state, Alexis thought, 'Was he looking for Jaden until now?'

Patting away some of the dirt and leaves off his clothes, Syrus put on his duel disk, glaring at Hassleberry with an intense stare that stated he wouldn't give up.

"Let's review the conditions!" said Hassleberry. "I win, I get to be Jaden's boyfriend!"

"Fine, but if I win, I'm the only one worthy to be her boyfriend!" reminded Syrus. "Also, you become my follower and do what I say!"

"Wait, what?! No one authorized that condition, private!"

Coincidentally, Atticus, who was unofficially the referee, raised a white flag. "Condition authorized!"

"Hold on! Who made you the ref?!" protested Hassleberry.

"He prefers to be called 'celebrity judge!'" corrected Syrus, only siding with Atticus because he approved the condition. "If you're a man, neglect the trivial things! Or is it that you're not confident enough to beat me?"

"Oh, I'm more than confident enough!" replied Hassleberry, all fired up. "A Hassleberry never retreats, after all!"

With the two ready to duel, they inserted their decks inside their duel disks and proceeded with the duel.

"DUEL!"

- DUEL -

Syrus - 4000 LP

VS

Hassleberry - 4000 LP

"My turn, draw!" Starting things off, Syrus said, "I summon Ambulanceroid in Defense Mode!"

Ambulanceroid - (EARTH/Machine) - LV3 - (300/1200)

"I set a card and end my turn! See the strength of the Tag Duel I won with Jaden, because there's no way you'll break us apart! I love Jaden, so there's no way you'll make me lose to you!"

Moved by Syrus' declaration of love, Atticus proudly proclaimed, "Excellent! Unity is beautiful reliance and love! Three stars for execution and five stars for originality!~"

"Um...what are you talking about, Atticus?" wondered Bastion.

Alexis sighed. "Ignore him. It's his dream to judge a talent search reality show, so he's practicing. Basically, everything my brother says shouldn't be taken so seriously."

"You had a Tag Duel with Jaden, too?!" exclaimed Hassleberry. "I'm so jealous! Fine, so maybe you have a longer history with her! I'll acknowledge that! But as far as my love and affection for Jaden is concerned, I won't lose to anyone! My turn! I summon Archeonys in Attack Mode!"

Archeonys - (WIND/Winged Beast) - LV3 - (300/1300)

"Archeonys holds a special place in my heart because I used him in my first duel with Jaden! I remember it like it was yesterday...but you wouldn't know, because you weren't there that day!"

"Uh, I was there!" corrected Syrus. "And I saw everything! I'm a vital witness!"

"Oh...Well, even if you were, I still don't remember you!" said Hassleberry. "Now I activate the Spell, New Ultra Evolution! All I have to do is Tribute a Winged Beast-Type Monster and then I get to Special Summon a Dinosaur-Type Monster from my hand! I Special Summon Black Tyranno to the field!"

Black Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2600/1800)

"I dedicate this move to Jaden, in honor of the day we met! Because she's the one who inspired me to evolve!"

Waving his white flag around, Atticus shouted, "Nice! The beautiful encounter of fate! A meeting of fate is often the love at first sight meeting!"

Continuing on with the duel, Hassleberry said, "I activate Black Tyranno's effect! If all your Monsters are in Defense Mode, then Black Tyranno can attack you directly!"

"Huh?!"

"This'll teach ya to try and outrank me! You should have surrendered when you had the chance! Black Tyranno, attack him directly!"

Marching forward, Black Tyranno complied with his master's wishes before crushing Syrus, dealing critical damage to his Life Points.

Syrus - 1400 LP

Hassleberry - 4000 LP

"Ha! I took out most of your Life Points without breaking a sweat!" bragged Hassleberry. "This'll be easier than I thought!"

Wiping away the dust with a couple of swings from his arm, Syrus didn't seemed fazed. "Ha! Not impressed! You used that same strategy on Jaden, remember?"

Come to think of it, Hassleberry did recall a certain someone besides his gang cheering on Jaden at the time...Okay, fine! Maybe Syrus was there, but even so, Hassleberry couldn't remember!

"My turn, draw!" said Syrus. "I summon Submarineroid!"

Submarineroid - (WATER/Machine) - LV4 - (800/1800)

"And now his special ability activates, which allows him to attack you directly!"

Diving underground as though the ground was water, Submarineroid made his way towards Hassleberry, taking him off guard by a sneak attack that cost him his Life Points.

Syrus - 1400 LP

Hassleberry - 3200 LP

"Next, another Monster effect! After the end of the attack, Submarineroid is switched into Defense Mode! Next, I set two cards facedown and end my turn!"

"Heh, so you managed to deal 800 Points of Damage to me! So, what?" scoffed Hassleberry.

"A duel isn't over until the last card's played!" Syrus shouted those words with courage and vigor.

"That's gotta be the most pathetic advice I've ever heard!" shouted back Hassleberry. "Those are the words of those who are persistent, like you!"

"You do know that it was Jaden who taught me that, right?"

Refracting his own words, Hassleberry tried to make up a good excuse. "W-Well of course! That's why it sounds good! It does make sense!"

"Yeah, right! I bet you just made an excuse not to make yourself look bad!"

"Jaden's pretty popular with the boys!" replied Atticus, impressed. "First Syrus, then Chazz, and now Hassleberry! It's like she's starting a harem of some sort, which I don't mind. Come to think of it, if Chazz was here, this would be a three-way duel!"

"Yeah, let's not go too far, Atticus," deadpanned Alexis.

"Besides, Jaden's such a person whom you'll never forget after a duel," said Bastion, speaking out of personal experience.

"Yeah, and didn't you duel with Jaden before?" Alexis told Atticus. "Don't you remember?"

"Er...not really, since I was under the control of Nightshroud at the time."

"My turn, draw!" said Hassleberry before examining the field. 'Those set cards are dangerous. Is he luring me in to attack? If so, I have to be extremely careful! This is gonna be a risky maneuver!' "I summon Giant Rex to the field!"

Giant Rex - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (2000/12000)

"Giant Rex, destroy Submarineroid!"

With a swing from his tail, Giant Rex easily destroyed Submarineroid with a huge explosion at the end.

Prepared for something like that, Syrus said, "I activate my Trap card, Supercharge! This activates only when your Monster attacks a Machine-Type Monster I control! I get to draw two cards!"

Hassleberry could have ended the duel by activating Black Tyranno's effect once again, but he wanted to check and make certain that Syrus' set cards wouldn't be much of a threat. Now that he tested Syrus, he was sure that none of the set cards could destroy his Black Tyranno. "Black Tyranno, attack him directly! Anyone who gets between me and Jaden's love should be squashed like a bug!"

"Five points for word choice!" cheered Atticus. 'That'll get you in the spot in the semi-finals! Your dedication and love for Jaden truly is astounding!"

"As if I'll let you!" yelled Syrus. "Go Continuous Trap card, Cyber Summon Blaster! Each time a Machine-Type Monster is Special Summoned, I get to inflict 300 Points of Damage to you!"

Okay, so the second card wasn't something to trap his Monster, but the third and final set card Syrus had must have something to do with his strategy. "Ha! Got ya cornered!" said Hassleberry confidently. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Dino Stomp! Whenever a Dinosaur-Type Monster declares an attack, I can select a Spell or Trap card you control and destroy it! If you thought you were going to get me with that last card, you're sadly mistaken! I win!"

"Heh, you totally fell for it!" said Syrus, smirking. "Because the card you just destroyed was a Trap called Wonder Garage! When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or below Machine-Type Monster from my hand! So I Special Summon Drilloid!"

Drilloid -(EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (1600/1600)

"That means my Continuous Trap, Cyber Summon Blaster activates!"

The machine Trap that Syrus had activates fired its machinery and unleashed an electrical wave at Hassleberry, dealing him some damage.

Syrus - 1400 LP

Hassleberry - 2900 LP

"Big deal! 300 Points is nothing!" said Hassleberry. "Black Tyranno, destroy Drilloid!"

Drilloid was thrashed into the air by a heavy swing from Black Tyranno's tail, thus self-destructing upon being mid-air.

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 2900 LP

"I'll end with a facedown. Done."

"My turn!" said Syrus. "I play Polymerization and fuse Ambulanceroid with Rescueroid in order to Fusion Summon Ambulance Rescueroid!"

With the combination of two great helper trucks, they formed an even bigger and better roid Monster that would surely help out Syrus.

Ambulance Rescueroid - (FIRE/Machine/Fusion) - LV6 - (2300/1800)

"Just to let you know, Fusion Summoning counts as Special Summoning, so my Cyber Summon Blaster activates!"

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 2600 LP

"Now, Ambulance Rescueroid, attack!"

Ambulance Rescueroid, being stronger than Giant Rex, drove over the dinosaur, reducing him into nothing more than a pancake.

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 2300 LP

"It's not over yet!" continued Syrus. "Next, I summon Decoyroid in Defense Mode!"

Decoyroid - (WIND/Machine) - LV2 - (300/500)

"I end my turn with a facedown card! Oh, and as long as Decoyroid is on the field, you can't attack any other Monsters on the field!"

Scanning the field, Hassleberry muttered, "With Ambulance Rescueroid out in Attack Mode, I can't really use Black Tyranno's effect unless I destroy him first. But I have to destroy Decroyroid first, which is pretty easy! I'll just summon another Monster on my next turn, and then-"

"Yeah, about that, you should probably know something," informed Syrus. "Ambulance Rescueroid has a special ability! Once every turn, he can Special Summon a Monster that was destroyed in battle and sent tot he Graveyard."

"What?! So, even if I destroy Decoyroid, you can use that Ambulance Monster to revive it? And since Decoyroid's the only Monster I can attack, I'm trapped!" cried out Hassleberry. "It seems you won't give up your love for Jaden, after all! My turn, draw! I sacrifice Black Tyranno in order to activate the Spell card, Big Evolution Pill! Now, for three turns, I don't need to sacrifice any Monster to summon dinosaurs! I summon Ultimate Tyranno!"

Hassleberry's eyes reverted to sharp slits, resembling the dangerous, predatory gaze of his Ultimate Tyranno as he made his first debut as an even more dangerous opponent than Black Tyranno.

Ultimate Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV8 - (3000/2200)

Roaring, Hassleberry commanded, "Ultimate Tyranno, devour his Decoyroid!"

Reaching down, Ultimate Tyranno had Decoyroid in his jaws before chomping down with little to no effort.

"I activate Ambulance Rescueroid's effect to Special Summon Decoyroid back to the field!" said Syrus.

Decoyroid - (WIND/Machine) - LV2 - (300/500)

Because Decoyroid was Special Summoned, Cyber Summon Blaster activates, costing Hassleberry 300 of his Life Points.

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 2000 LP

Even though he was stuck in this predicament, Hassleberry wasn't worried. "You can only use that trick once per turn! The effect of recovery once a turn is nothing! Ultimate Tyranno has an effect which allows him to attack each Monster once! I win! Soon, I'll be Jaden's new boyfriend!"

"You're forgetting something!" said Syrus. "The duel isn't over until the last card's played! Now I activate the Quick-Play Spell, De-Fusion! I defuse Ambulance Rescueroid in order to bring back Rescueroid and Ambulanceroid in Defense Mode!"

Ambulanceroid - (EARTH/Machine) - LV3 - (300/1200)

Rescueroid - (FIRE/Machine) - LV6 - (1600/1800)

"And because this was a Special Summon twice, Cyber Summon Blaster activates twice!"

"Oh, come on!" complained Hassleberry.

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 1400 LP

"Fine! The battle rages on! Black Tyranno, destroy Decoyroid again!"

Obediently and hungry for more, Black Tyranno chomped on Decoyroid again.

"Ha! End of the line!"

"Are you sure about that?" questioned Syrus. "I activate Rescuroid's special ability! Whenever one of my Monsters is destroyed, that Monster is returned to my hand from the Graveyard! Ambulanceroid's special ability then activates! When a roid Monster is added from my Graveyard to my hand, I can Special Summon that Monster!"

Decoyroid - (WIND/Machine) - LV2 - (300/500)

"Now Cyber Summon Blaster activates again!"

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 1100 LP

Having figured out Syrus' devised strategy, Bastion explained, "So every time Decoyroid is Special Summoned, Ultimate Tyranno has no choice but to attack it, which triggers Syrus' two other cards."

"It's an infinite loop!" gasped Alexis.

"I'm done for!" cried out Hassleberry, upon realizing he had no way to end the infinite loop.

"Haha! This is punishment for trying to separate me and my love for Jaden!" declared Syrus. "Syrus' roid ambush strategy! Go!"

Ultimate Tyranno would destroy Decoyroid first, and because of his special ability, Ultimate Tyranno can't attack any other Monster until Decoyroid was destroyed first. This would trigger Rescueroid's ability, bringing Decoyroid back to Syrus' hand, and since he was sent to Syrus' hand, Ambulanceroid's effect kicks in and allows Syrus to Special Summon Decoyroid again. This would then activate Cyber Summon Blast, dealing Hassleberry 300 Points of Damage while Ultimate Tyranno has to attack Decoyroid all over again.

"I don't know how, but Syrus won," replied Alexis, knowing where this was going.

"He knew exactly how Hassleberry would deal," said Bastion. "Therefore, he set up a trap that not even Hassleberry could get out of. Syrus...what an amazing combo you thought up of!"

"Well, the votes are in, folks," announced Atticus. "Our show's almost through."

Still confused, Bastion questioned, "What? WHO IS VOTING?!"

The infinite loop Syrus devised continued onwards until Hassleberry was down to his last Life Points, and even he was starting to grow tired and exhausted.

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 200 LP

"Damnit! I have no choice!" cursed Hassleberry.

"Ha! Just one more blast, and it'll be my win!" declared Syrus. "Jaden will be mine!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, you haven't seen nothing yet! Jaden's gonna be mine you hear? I activate-!"

"STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!" hollered Alexis, stomping over and getting between the two duelists. Because the duel could sense a lifeform interrupting the duel, the programming had to cease temporarily until Alexis left the stage, which she wasn't for some time.

"Hey, what gives? I was about to win!" said Hassleberry.

"You? Last time I checked, I was going to win!" shouted Syrus.

"I can't believe you two!" scolded Alexis, glaring sharply at the two duelists. "You guys are disgusting! How could you even live with yourselves over this stupid deal you're making?!"

"What are you talking about?" wondered Syrus.

"I'm talking about Jaden! You're treating her like...like some sort of trophy object! I knew that your love rivalry for her was ridiculous, but I didn't think you guys could stoop so low! Jaden might forgive you, but I won't ever forgive you if you continue treating her like a trophy!"

"We're not treating her like that! We're dueling to decide who gets to be her boyfriend!" argued Hassleberry.

"And that's exactly the point!" said Alexis. "You guys haven't even considered her feelings, have you? What, if Jaden returns, you're just going to waltz up and decide you're her boyfriend? That's not right! You can't just force someone to love you! And you can't place bets on their love, too! Plus, because Jaden's naïve, she doesn't truly understand what love is because she's never been in a relationship! If you try and go out with her right now, there won't be any love between you two because you two will only be satisfied to get your 'trophy.' It'll be a one-sided love!"

"..." Both Syrus and Hassleberry stared at each other regret in their expressions. They...they were so focused on themselves and their love interests in Jaden that they haven't considered how Jaden would feel. Alexis was right; they are disgusting. How could they consider their own feelings instead of what Jaden wants? It wasn't right nor fair.

Seeing that the two of them were began to contemplate on their actions, Alexis left, a little satisfied as her job was done. Sure, she was still disappointed in the boys, but at the same time, she knew they would do the right thing in the end.

Bastion saw Syrus's body swaying back and forth and saw the exhaustion expression taking over his regretful one. "Syrus! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine...I just haven't slept in a while," assured Syrus tiredily.

"Huh? Did you really went out searching for Jaden instead of sleeping?" wondered Alexis.

"And I've noticed that you've been eating very little," said Bastion.

Overhearing these new facts, Hassleberry was surprised to learn Syrus doing so much for Jaden. "Wait, what? A search and a rescue? But why? She might not even be on the island!"

"Jaden is definitely on this island!" argued Syrus. "Because...dueling is Jaden's life. Nothing makes her happier than dueling! I don't know about you guys, but I know Jaden's going through a tough time right now, so she'll need all the support she can get! That's why I'm trying to find her! To help her find her place!"

"Truesdale...You truly are one true best friend," mumbled Hassleberry as he allowed the last of his Life Points to deplete.

Syrus - 400 LP

Hassleberry - 0 LP

Winner: Syrus

"I won!" cheered Syrus before seeing Jaden up close. "Jaden? How?"

"Syrus...lemme give you a reward...~"

Moaning, Syrus closed his eyes and puckered up, trying to kiss Jaden. "Oh, Jaden! I miss you so much!"

In reality, Syrus fainted after learning he won and was cradled in Bastion's lap , attempting to kiss Bastion, whom he mistaken as Jaden due to being delusional from lack of sleep and hunger.

"Gotta get him something to eat! Now!" cried out Bastion, pushing Syrus' face away. He did NOT want to waste his first kiss on someone a little younger than him!

"I got a granola bar!" said Alexis.

Seeing that Syrus was going to be alright, Hassleberry glanced at the Trap card he was originally going to use. 'Jurassic Impact. This card would destroy all Monsters on the field and inflict 1000 Points of Damage for every Monstter destroyed to each owner. If I had used this card, maybe I would have won, but then it wouldn't feel right.'

Pointing the white flag at Hassleberry, Atticus announced, "Minus 5 stars for not having faith that Jaden's still out there!"

Sighing, Hassleberry said, "You know, this dilusion of yours is getting real annoying! But yeah, maybe I'm not ready for Jaden's love quite yet. I haven't given up, but right now, I think Truesdale deserves her more than me."

The next day...

Dressed in safari garb, Syrus stood in front of the forest entrance while eating a riceball. "Lunch box...sack...tent...You got everything, Hassleberry?"

"Why am I carrying everything?!" complained Hassleberry, who was forced to carry a large backpack of supplies necessary for the search for Jaden.

"Because you lost!" reminded Syrus. "That makes you my servant! And servants obey their masters! And I command you to carry the stuff!"

Noticing Syrus was eating, Hassleberry pointed out, "Why are you eating, anyways?! Shouldn't you save that for later?"

"And what? Wait for me to collapse like yesterday? I don't think so! I need all my strength if I'm going to lead this expedition!" replied Syrus. "Unless you want you want to carry both the supplies AND me?"

"Gah! I should have taken him out when I had the chance!"

Apparently, after the duel and after Syrus rested up, both Hassleberry and Syrus agreed to change the conditions of the duel. Instead, they were going to try and win Jaden's heart and then have her decide whom she would pick, but they would try fair and square. Secondly, Hassleberry had to be Syrus' slave for about a week, and no more than that.

Unknown to any of them, Jaden was trying to get back to the Slifer Red dorms...only to end up in a dead end again.

So, no skits this chapter, and next chapter, it won't be the whole Aster vs Jaden rematch thing At least, not yet. Also, I'm totally skipping over the whole Wheeler episode and the curry episode, because come on, there's not much importance in them!

That said, read and review!