Hello, everyone! I cannot express how sorry I am for taking so long. I know, it's been 3 long years and honestly, I didn't think it had been that long. A lot of stuff happened in that time. I was working on a collab but it doesn't matter. It was not finished and will not see the light, sorry. I got a major writer's block for the most part. I did write a few short stories. I might put one up as it is sort of a side story later on.

I am also without a beta reader or proofreader. So, forgive my grammar mistakes or misspelling if I missed anything. I can only read this so many times before I don't see anything. Also, it's been awhile since I've watched Yugioh 5ds so I will start rewatching. However, most of this chapter takes place inside Duel Academia. So if you guys watch (re-watch) the episode where Yusei duels Heitman. I found the location where these scenes take place from that episode. Unfortunately, that was over a year ago and I don't remember what episode that was. Hopefully, it won't be too confusing.

I hope it was worth the wait.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5d's or any of its character. However, I do own my own characters.

Chapter 30: Wise or wisecrack?

With the duel over everyone started to leave the school. Aki and Yori exited the dueling arena through a different door. The hallway was almost empty with a few students getting stuff from their lockers and quickly leaving as well. They offered a quick bow to the girls in acknowledgment. Aki nodded at them a bit awkwardly while Yori simply sat on the bench close by. She sent a quick text as the other students left.

"Ralph and the others will meet us here." She said matter-of-factly.

"Oh?" Aki exclaimed but before she could ask Yori replied.

"Unless you rather get stomped, trampled and pushed with the rest of the crowd." The long-haired girl pointed towards the window which was from the ground up to the next floor. Rather than a window, it was more like a wall made of glass. From their location, they could see the exit was full of people trying to leave all at once.

"You're right." The red-haired teen answered and wondered how long it would take them to get out.

After a moment of silence between them, Aki broke it. "Are you alright?"

Yori looked at her surprised and confused for a moment. "Uh-yes." Aki gave her a look, not really buying it. "Oh, you meant – 'that'."

Aki nodded. "What happened?"

The brunette looked down at her lap, her locks falling over her face. "I- I am just not good with crowds. I …I usually zone them out but I was unable. It really psyched me out."

"Are you sure you are okay now? You were so pale and shaking." Aki said apprehensively while sitting next to her and patting her back gently.

"I am sure." She leaned a bit into her friend.

"You looked so vulnerable." She put an arm around her.

"Well, I am not as strong as I make people believe. However, I hope others will not take advantage of it." She looked worried.

"I think they will probably think it was a fluke or something." Aki said reassuringly.

"Okay!" Yori got up and slapped her cheeks. "No time for moping around."

Aki smiled at seeing her friend in a better mood. "That's right. We gotta celebrate."

"Celebrate?" Yori repeated. "That can wait. First, I must convince Ren to not get me a bodyguard."

"That might prove slightly difficult right now," Aki said as she saw their friends approaching.

Yori saw the gang approaching but there was no trace of Ren with them. "Where is he?" She demanded and ignoring the congratulations from her friends which they said as she approached.

"He left," Ralph informed her as he handed her schoolbag. "He also took stuff from your bag."

"Was it a white binder by any chance?" she asked Ralph. He nodded.

Her face lighted up and tried to suppress a squeal of excitement. "Hello~ Freedom~!" She exclaimed as she took her bag from her childhood friend and punched the air only to end up throwing it by accident at Kiryu's stomach.

"Guhk!" He gasped as the impact took all the air out from him. He bent over in pain. Yusei offering a shoulder to lean on.

"oh no! My bad!" she started freaking out. "…What should I do?" She was looking at everyone from side to side.

"You should be more careful," Ralph said with a sigh. "Klutz." Yori glared and pouted at that remark.

"Girl," Kiryu stood up straight still holding onto his sore stomach. "You sure know how to take someone's breath away." He winked.

Everyone's reaction was different. Crow face-palmed, Jack rolled his eyes and looked away. Aki gasped in surprised along with Ruka, and the young girl also covered half her face with her hands. Rua looked lost not understanding what was going on anymore. Ralph put an arm in from of Yori almost like shielding her. Yusei looked at his friend and then the girl trying to make sense of the situation.

Yori looked utterly confused. "Huh?"

"Don't flirt with Yori. If you are to work with her, it is against the rules." Ralph said strictly.

"Wait, was that suppose to be one of those so-called pick-up lines?" Yori asked still lost.

"Obviously." Ralph sighed. "You are so innocent, you don't even notice when people are flirting with you. Just how dense, can you be?"

Yori looked at him with a half glare. "I cannot tell whether you are insulting me or praising me."

"Is that so?" Ralph had a playful grin on his face.

"Anyway, if you are flirting with me because that's just something you do with everyone." She addressed Kiryu. "I have no problem with that as I am used to it." She moved her hands as if presenting a car. "Exhibit A."

"Hey!" Ralph protested.

"However, if you are flirting with me because of my family name or what dating me would entitle to, you better stop. I have no patience nor time to deal with people who only see me as a prize." She stated in a matter of fact tone. "Also," she gave him an angel-like smile. "I have no problem in breaking every single bone in your body if you try anything. On that note, do not touch me unless I give you permission, okay? Ok."

"That gave me chills." Crow shuddered.

Yori walked a few steps and sat on one of the benches near the gym and next to a staircase. Aki and the twins sat with her.

"Now that you said it again, you don't like it when people touch you, right Yori-chan?" Rua asked curiously.

"Uh-well…t-that is-" Yori stammered as she tried to put her thoughts together, completely taken by surprise at that question. A beeping sound started ringing from Yori's bag. She got her phone and saw who the caller was: Ren. She looked at the screen for a second. A smirk forming on her lips but disappear the moment he appeared on the screen. The moment his face appeared her expression looked annoyed as his.

"I know what you did." Ren looked quite crossed.

Seeing as the crowd was not moving outside and rain seemed to start coming down, the former Team Satisfaction sat on the other bench. Ralph sat on the stairs behind the girls and slight above so he could see Ren in Yori's phone.

Yori looked taken by surprised. "Uh…I have done a LOT of things, you need to be more specific."

"What you did to me," Ren added.

Yori sighed. "Ren, not all of us have photographic memories." She said in a patronizing manner.

Ren was getting more and more irritated. "Today. Now." He growled. He closed his eyes as he tried not to glare at the sassy girl.

Yori looked confused. "Today?" Ren nodded. "Are you sure? I overslept and I did not even have time to eat, may I remind you?"

"Is that so?" He glared.

"Oh no." The petite girl used her free hand to cover part of her face. "You are glaring at me, whatever should I do?" she mocked.

Kiryu pointed towards the girl who was talking to her brother through a hologram on her phone. "Is it always like this?" He asked in a hushed voice.

Ralph was smirking and seemed to be amused.

"Sayooriii!" he growled at her. "I'm stuck in a freaking train to Sapporo!"

"How is that my fault?" she asked rhetorically with a bored expression. "Oh, did I give you the train ticket?"

Yusei and Jack shrugged.

"No idea, man," Crow replied to Kiryu.

"Uh-" Ren stammered.

"I do not recall that." She looked away from the screen pretending she was trying to remember. "Oh, yes; because it did not happen." She looked at him in his eyes.

"Ren messed up and he keeps making things worst instead of apologizing." Aki offered to Kiryu. She also seemed amused at Ren's predicament.

"So," Yori said with an accusing voice while narrowing her eyes. "Would you care to explain why you stole my presentation, all my data about the project and the train ticket to the conference I have tomorrow?"

"…Y-you knew I would take it. It was a trap!"

"Oh right. I completely forgot I could read minds." She rolled her eyes. "You know, the least you could do is own up to your shortcomings. You are a man, right? So, start acting like it, you big baby!"

"It's like watching a sitcom." Luna chuckled softly.

"When have I not done that?" Ren refuted.

"Oh? So, you are not calling me because you realized stealing my project was a mistake and wanted me to do it since there is a lot of pressure on getting it approved and a lot of work involve and now that you took it, you will have to partake on it?"

Ren looked away.

Yori shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Sounds like it." Kiryu agreed.

"How do you do it?" Ren asked in a calmer and low voice. Yori looked at him curiously. "How do you deal with this pressure?"

Sayori scoffed. "I did figure skating for six years and lived in your shadow my whole life. Unlike you, I have to deal with misogyny and doubters because I am not a genius like you."

"Sachi," He looked down. "I may have photographic memory but I can't read your notes. What language is this?" Ren looked positively distraught.

"Huh?!" Yori looked a little hurt and shocked.

Everyone snickered quietly as Ren held some paper with Yori's rushed penmanship. Yori facepalmed.

"One, try putting them upside down." She said as calmly as possible as she held in her laughter. He did so and was relieved to see he could read them. "Two, they are in English."

"Noted." He nodded.

"Three, you just proved why I call you a nincompoop."

"Hey!"

"Okay, bye oxymoron." She ended the call.

"I don't think that means what you think it means," Ralph said between chuckles.

"He is the reason why that word was invented." Yori immediately countered. "He is the definition of it: a stupid genius." The comment made everyone laugh. "…Anywaaaay," she said trying to change the subject. "What did the whole 'you are hired as my sister's bodyguard' business resolved, Kiryu-san?"

"Hmm?" The silver-haired man looked at her curiously.

"Did he hire you for real or not?" She asked again getting slightly impatient.

"Oh yeah, we never heard an answer," Aki added. Both girls had left earlier in order to prepare for their duel. Ren and Kiryu had been talking a bit before they had taken their leave.

Kiryu stared at Yori, trying to read her expression but he only saw her slightly curiosity. "Oh?" He smirked. "Are you curious, little princess?" He teased.

Yori sighed. "Princess?" She let her bangs cover her face for a moment as she rose from her sit.

Kiryu looked down at her curiously.

"I am no princess." Yori looked up and flicked her hair out of the way. "I am a queen." She smirked.

"Heh," Kiryu smirked amused and walked towards her. "Should I call you queeny, then?" He teased, now standing in front of her.

"Actually, when referring to a Queen, the correct form of address is 'Your Majesty.'" She replied without missing a beat and with a smirk on her face.

"Aren't you a little smartass?" Kiryu asked rhetorically still smirking.

"My derriere is in no way smart as it lacks a brain, but hey, now we know where yours is." She replied, actually enjoying their little banter.

Kiryu looked honestly lost for a second. He had nothing for that so he chuckled and hung his head while still laughing, accepting defeat.

"She owned you!" Crow slapped the back of his friend as he teased.

Yusei and Jack held back their laughter and cracked a smile. Aki and the twins giggled despite their best efforts not to and Ralph just looked lost in thought.

"So, are you actually going to answer?" Yori asked not getting what the others found funny.

"What would you do in my place?" He asked her more seriously.

"If I were in your shoes, I would have taken it," Yori responded.

"Then, you know," Kiryu replied.

"In that case, would you work with me instead?" She stared at his green eyes, not pleading but sincerely asking.

"I thought you didn't want a bodyguard," Kiryu questioned with slight confusion.

Ralph chuckled once he understood what Yori had in mind. "That's cunning, Yori." He made his way down the few steps of the staircase he was sitting on and next to Yori.

"You better not tell onii-sama," Yori gave Ralph a side glance before resting her eyes for a moment. "Kiryu-san, if you accept working with me I will double what my brother offered."

Everyone but Ralph was surprised. Here she was asking the one person she had been arguing but seconds ago to actually take the job she didn't want him to take. She was making as much sense as Ren, maybe it was a family trait.

"What's the catch?" The tall white-haired man asked cautiously.

"There is none." The petite girl shook her head. "All I require of you is tell my brother what he wants to hear and for you to stay out of my way." She smiled, she turned her back towards him and looked through the window. The crow now had umbrellas in the air and it was harder to see if there were fewer people or not. Either way, they were still stuck inside for a little longer.

"And if I don't?" Kiryu asked with a smirk almost defiantly.

Yori sighed as she turned around.

"What are you doing?" Crow asked him in disbelief. His other friends looked at him wondering the same but Kiryu only smirked. Ralph shook his head but chuckled in amusement. Jack grunted in displeasure and looked away.

"Look, I am trying to be nice." She said looking bored and tired. "Take it or not, I do not care." She waved her hand while shrugging.

"Yori," Aki said softly slightly confused by the whole situation. "You are not making any sense. First, you refused when Ren said it, then you asked him to do it and now you say you don't care?"

The brunette girl just stared at her friend as if waiting for something. The red-haired looked back still confused and then it clicked. Not just for Aki but everyone else understood it once Aki asked. It was obvious. She had refused Ren to get her a bodyguard because she did not need one. Of course, she would fight him for that; someone constantly watching her and her every move. She would not be able to sneak around to go on her missions as freely as she used to because of it either. Asking Kiryu to work for her was just so she could keep doing whatever she wanted but it didn't have to be him. In the end, if she really wanted she could make a lot of trouble for him and make him quit. She had been nice offering him a way out from whatever she might end up doing to him in order to get her way.

"Oh," Aki said as she grasped the whole situation.

"I thought it was just for your benefit," Kiryu admitted it once everything processed.

"Of course, it is." Yori agreed. "Now, will you answer already?"

Kiryu nodded. "I accept, m'lady." He bowed slightly, teasingly.

Yori rolled her eyes. "Is he always like this?" She asked the former members of Team Satisfaction. She grimaced.

"'Fraid so." Replied Crowd shaking his head.

"Yes." Jack grunted.

"I hope you get along," Yusei commented happily that his friend got a job but also slightly worried about their future.

"Looks like we'll get to see more of Yori-chan's funny expressions," Rua commented.

Yori pouted at that comment with a low growl.

Ruka and Aki giggled.

"I think they will get along just fine. Yori has a crush on Kiryu-san, after all." Ralph smirked down at his best friend.

The guys looked surprised and kept their mouth from saying any sound but were gaping in surprised. Aki, Ruka, and Yori exclaimed "Eeeeh?!" in surprised in unison.

"Wait, why are you so surprise?" Aki asked Yori.

"This is news to me," Yori replied still taken aback. "Where in blue blazes did you get that idea from?"

"…Your journal." Ralph replied in a low voice while looking away.

Yori gasped and then she looked like she wanted to ask something but then took it back and opened her mouth to ask something else but just kept changing her mind for about ten seconds before grunting in frustration and throwing her hands to the side. "Which journal?" She asked as calmly as she could.

"The second one, I saw it opened in your room last night and…" He kept on shrinking as he spoke, ashamed of his actions. "My curiosity got the best of me."

Yori took a deep breath. So, it was her fault she left it on her bed open when she had been reading it before he arrived. However, he still shouldn't have tried to read it once he realized what it was. She couldn't be completely mad at him but still…

"Anyway," she gritted her teeth. "Where did you get the idea, I was crushing on Kiryu-san?"

Ralph took half a step back almost undetectable as he kept looking away. "You wrote he was your ideal type," Ralph replied cautiously. Yori gave him a confused look. "Tall, white hair and colored eyes- "

Yori facepalmed. "So, what? I like tall guys, with medium or long hair and green or blue eyes. It is just a preference. That still does not explain why you think I am crushing on him?" She pointed at Kiryu with her hand.

"You wrote you loved Kiryu," Ralph said awkwardly.

Yori rolled her eyes. "One, he is not the only Kiryu in the planet. Two, that journal I wrote it between ages thirteen and fifteen; and three, I was talking about Zero. Kiryu Zero from Vampire Knight. Jeez!"

"Ohhh." Ralph looked embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Doesn't that mean you like Yusei?" Rua asked innocently.

Yori closed her eyes for a moment and bit her lip. She glanced out the window for a brief second. "You know what, yes. I do like Yusei." She admitted. "So, Yusei, want to go out with me?" She asked him a little shyly and not really looking at him.

"What?!" Aki gasped almost inaudible. Her eyes wide opened as she felt something stuck in her throat.

The guys just gaped, including Yusei who was like a deer in headlights.

"Is that a no?" Yori asked, tilting her head to the side. She was clenching her hands together discreetly. "Just once, it is fine."

Yusei studied her for a moment. "Ok." He nodded.

Yori smiled relieved. "Yay!" she beamed and took one of his hand with both of hers as she started dragging him. "Ok, Ralph." She let go of Yusei's hand and took her bag that was next to her seat. "Take my bag back to the house and have Misa take care of the paperwork. Just tell her I will be back later." She hit him with the bag lightly on his chest. He grunted but just took hold of it. Ralph just continued staring, still confused. Yusei followed Yori's lead quietly as he continued observing her.

"…What…" started Ralph.

"…Just happened?" Crow finished his question still as perplexed as the others.

"Yori-chan and Yusei are going…on a date?" Ruka said unsurely.

Aki looked dejected towards the floor. After a few moments, she could still see them walking further and further away. Their footstep echoing in the hall and their voices hushed. 'Yusei…Yori.'

AN: So, that's it for now. Please send me comment and reviews letting me know if you liked it or hated it. Once again, I'm so sorry for the long wait and hope it was worth it. Next chapter won't take 3 years, I promise. Till next time!