Morning was slowly coming. Gao was sleeping peacefully in his bed alone, or so it seemed to be.

Under the sheet, near the boy, a small hill formed and slowly moved toward the face of Gao. The hill was a dragon partially sleeping, pushing the sheet out of his face. His eyes were half closed and the dragon cheeks were redder than his usual color. He watched Gao, but his sleeping eyes didn't see the face of the boy, but...

"Pudding," Drum quietly said. He licked his lips as the dragon slowly smiled. He started drooling. He opened his mouth wide and bit what he thought was pudding.

Gao screamed painfully. He glared at Drum and grabbed the chibi dragon by his hair. They didn't say anything that they started fighting for a few minutes.

A few minutes later Gao and Drum climbed down to the kitchen, finishing putting his clothes as fast as he could with Drum adjusting his helmet, "Mom! Why didn't you wake me up sooner? We're going to miss the trip!"

His mother looked at his son and replied, "I wake you up, but you must have fallen asleep fast."

Gao ate as fast as he could while Drum ate three puddings for breakfast.

"I don't see why you want to see this place?" Drum replied uninterested.

"It's the Photon Metal Mine. It's an important industrial place for the humans," Tenbu replied, finishing drinking his cut of the, "I'm curious to see what it looks like."

"Why do I have to come again?" Drum asked.

Tenbu lightly smiled and replied, "For knowledge and culture Drum. You need to have some curiosity on how this world works after all. Also, see things might help put things in your brain and increase your grade compare to Gallows."

Drum's eyes shined at the name of Gallows and reluctantly said, "Fine!"

"Got to go! Bye mom!" Gao yelled, running toward the door.

Drum and Tenbu followed him.

"Hey! Wait!" Drum yelled dashing after his buddy while Tenbu winked at the other's and flew away.

Halberd barely ate his breakfast, still remembering what happened yesterday.

"What is it?" Hanako asked to her friend.

"It was... Strange to see Ironchain again... I was expecting him to talk to me or... Yell at me. Not this... awkward atmosphere between us," Halberd replied.

Hanako smiled and replied, "Maybe he wants to say 'I'm sorry', but he doesn't seem a dragon who says that."

Halberd chuckled, "Right. I guess it's the case. I'll just have to wait. If I try to speak to him, I know he's going to yell at me and... Have to wait longer."

The parents smiled and went to their occupations.

Chapter 48: The Field Trip

Gao, Drum and Tenbu reached the school and saw the hour.

"Dammit! We are too late because of you!" Gao yelled at his buddy.

Drum yelled back, "My fault! You went back to sleep remember!"

"Y-" Gao couldn't find anything to reply and sighed, "Guess we'll have extra homework then."

Drum scales turned gray for a second and crossed his small arms, "Nope! I can just-"

"There you are!" they heard someone speaking to them.

They turned toward the voice and saw Kuguru, Baku, Noboru, Kiri, Joker, and Hitotaba Neginoyama, the institutor of their school.

Hitotaba was an old men with peach skin, green hair, white beard and glasses hiding his eyes. He wore a white coat with white and blue pants.

"You are finally here. I guess we have everyone then," Hitotaba said.

"Why are you here Hitotoba?" Tenbu curiously asked.

"I am here to guide the late students to the Photon Metal Mine. It often happens that someone wakes up to late," the old man replied.

Gao's friend walked near him. Kiri smiled and said, "We were worried you wouldn't be here in time."

"You were waiting for us?" Gao asked with a smile.

"Of course. You are our friend," Baku replied with a small grin.

"The friends of Kiri are my friends," Joker commented.

"I was waiting for you and your bonehead buddy to come," Noboru replied.

Drum glared at the boy, but his anger was killed off fast.

"You were also late," Kuguru said.

Noboru nervously chuckled and walked closer to the institutor.

Gao noticed two buddies were missing, "Where are Ironchain and Cat Sith?"

Kuguru lightly blushed and replied, "They are... not available."

"What do you mean?" Drum asked.

Kuguru turned around and said, "They are... Let's forget about it."

"Let's go now. We don't have any more time to lose," Hitotaba said.

They followed the old man toward a small bus in which they will go to the Photon Mine. They climbed inside and sat at their place while the institutor drove the bus, without showing his hands.

Joker sat by the side of Kiri and watched the road, "It's not a day for an ice being to enjoy it. I could melt under the heat of the excitement."

Drum grumbled and said, "Bad joke."

Joker raised his shoulder and commented, "This world isn't as you were expecting it right?"

"True," Drum commented, looking by the window, "Large cities and outside of them, the green plains and some trees. This place looks more like my world."

"The civilisation is developing and slowly pushing the boundaries of nature," Kuguru commented. She corrected her glasses and said, "But lots of effort are made in Japan to slow down the phenomenon and stop the expansions of cities. That's why the buildings are so high in some sector."

Gao also looked outside and partially listened to her explanations. He then asked, "Where's Tasuku? I thought he would come."

Tenbu flew closer to the boy and said, "He told you he was busy with the Buddy Police force yesterday. He's teaming up with Takihara right now."

Gao chuckled, "Oh yeah. He called to warn me about that. Hehe."

Takihara drove the green buddy police car with his buddy floating at the seat beside him while Tasuku and Jackknife sat at the back.

Tasuku and his buddy found it weird to sit in the police car.

Takihara buddy looked like a mini Gundam from Hero world named Card Burn. He had green eyes, gray, red and white armor on his body, some golden part on his chest and forehead. He was small enough to sit on Takihara shoulder if he wanted.

"Is there something wrong?" Takihara asked the boy.

Tasuku hesitated to reply, until he said, "It's just weird to sit in the car. Usually, I flew with Jack in the sky when I'm patrolling until there's a fight against criminals."

"I personally don't like sitting in the car. It's painful for my wings and tail," Jackknife commented. His back rested against the seat, squishing his wings and his tail, "No offense."

"It's because of your natural form Jackknife of Dragon World. It's not adapted for it," Card Burn said.

The robot looked forward and said, "Tasuku. How was it to fight alongside Jackknife? I asked it to Gao. He told me that they are friends who fight together to protect everyone. Drum added they both trusted each other's in a fight and watched each other's back. What about you?"

Tasuku thought about it and replied, "Before being in the Buddy police force, it was to protect Jack's life as dragon's were hunting him down. He was known as a traitor of Dragon World."

"Why did you protect him?" Takihara asked.

"Because he's my best friend and... We are family," Tasuku replied, looking at his buddy with a smile. He continued, "After this, it's pretty much like Gao, but we don't always need to talk when we need to have a plan."

"That's pretty much the small version. We lived a lot of things together," Jackknife concluded with a smile, thinking back, "No matter what will happen, I will never regret my decision to befriend Tasuku and live with him."

Takihara nodded with a smile, "I can see it. Hope we'll be that way one day."

"Maybe," Card Burn replied, uncertain as they didn't know each other's well for now.

Back in the bus, Tenbu watched the road and couldn't help but noticing how much the world changed since he went to sleep for a long time. His memories more from one to another and when it came back to his dream, he sighed with hints of pain in it.

"What is it Tenbu?" Gao asked the old dragon.

"Maybe some nostalgia or melancholy. It has been so long since the last time I watched the Earth. I am not sure if Tokyo was existing or that developed. I never really tried to know towns name as I had other things in my mind last time I was flying over those lands."

"Also ladies right?" Baku asked.

Tenbu nodded with a small smile.

"Is it only that?" Gao asked, feeling there was something else.

Tenbu turned toward the window and looked at the sky. An echo of the past, sounding like a squeak, resonated in his mind, Yamigedo... "Yes. Only that."

"Alright," Gao replied.

They said nothing else, but someone was speaking loudly,

"What did you call me?" It was Drum starting an argument with Noboru.

"I said you are a bonehead. You aren't looking as strong as you claim," Noboru replied.

"Listen to me! I am Drum Bunker The-" Noboru grabbed Drum's face and forced his mouth to close.

"You're name is way too long to remember," Noboru smirked.

Drum tried waved his arms and tail everywhere as he tried to free his face.

"It froze your sentence right in your mouth," Joker chuckled.

"Calm down back here. We don't have the bus to land outside the road," Hitotaba warned the students.

Drum managed to open his mouth and yelled, "Get your hands out of my face! They smell like sardine!"

"He likes eating sardines. A little like Cat Sith," Kuguru commented.

Noboru felt she was implying something, "I am not wearing a cat shirt. It's a tiger on it!"

"Doesn't seem like it," Kiri innocently commented.

Noboru face lightly turned red and freed Drum's mouth, "It's a tiger!" before looking at the window.

Tenbu grabbed Drum's tail and pulled him back on his seat, "Sit down Drum. You are more mature than him."

"I am not a bonehead!" Drum crossed his arms. Drum painfully grumbled when Tenbu pulled his cheeks.

"Then you have no reason to be insulted. Although, our horns are kinda like bones on our head," Tenbu chuckled.

Drum eyes became flame as he looked at the old dragon.

"Sometime. It's good to find humor in anything. It helps control the mood," Tenbu said before tapping the head of the dragon.

Drum sighed and crossed his arms. Eventually, he talked with Gao about his training with his mother and if there was pudding when they returned home.

Noboru didn't listen to them, but watched them casually talking together with a smile. He remembered when they fought together on the cruise ship without fear on their face. I wish I could be like them. Having a buddy and fighting bad guys will be awesome. I'm sure soon, it will happen.

Noboru lightly smiled at the though.

"We are here," Hitotaba said. He stopped the bus after parking it, "It's time to start the visit."

They climbed down the bus.

Azi Dahara and Kyoya were sitting together at the table and watched the TV. There was nothing interesting now on the news.

"It is time to begin the operation right," Azi said, taking a glass of wine and taking a sip of it.

Kyoya had a small grin and replied, "Yes. It's time to start the third phase," he took out his cellphone and called someone, "This will give them something interesting in the news."

"-Is it time Kyoya?-" Rouga asked Kyoya.

"Yes. Third phase begins now. If you are discovered, everything has been planned," Kyoya added.

"-Understood,-" Rouga replied before hanging up.

Rouga and Cerberus were closed to the factory and prepared themselves. Rouga put his black coat, black pants, purple belt and his black and red mask. He took out his deck and turned it into his deck core, a black spear ending with a silver drill. Just before the drill, black tissue covered something.

"We can't let them see it right... Wolf?" Cerberus asked with a grin.

"No. It will destroy everything Kyoya wants if they see it now," Rouga replied.

"We are ready for some action. It's been too long since our last fight," Cerberus grunted with a grin.

Rouga took out a card and replied, "Yes."

They looked at the Photon Mine and searched for the target. Once they found it, they stroke.

AC: Next chapter is going to have action.

Chapter 49: Kiri And Joker Stand.