Chapter IV: Bad Hair Day
Hello, everyone and we are terribly sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. As some of you may already know, Peach's old laptop died, but thanks to some very nice tech guys, the data was able to be retrieved from the old system. So anyway, welcome to chapter 4 and we hope you don't mind the continuation of Halloween in late November!
Disclaimer in Caveman: We no own Yu-Gi-Oh. We own OCs and idea. No sue.
Authors' note: The authors would also like to mention that there are references to LittleKuriboh's "Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series" in this chapter. Unlike some previous chapters, these references were deliberate. So LittleKuriboh, please don't sue us, either. You rule!
The next morning, Jaden and Jesse arrived in class flanked by their friends. "Guys, you look fine," Bastion stated calmly.
"I guess it's not so bad," Jaden admitted. "At least my hair goes with my uniform..."
"Mine does too... not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, though," Jesse added, frowning and wondering if he needed a change in wardrobe.
"Your hair goes better with your clothes," the now-blue haired Jaden pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's pink. Not sure if pink going well with my clothes is a good thing," the now-pink haired Jesse clarified.
"Could be worse... You could be wearing a pink frilly dress and carrying a giant scepter with a star on top," Jaden countered, remembering elementary school.
"What!?" Jesse yelped, eyes widening at the thought.
"I had to cosplay as Cardcaptor Sakura," Jaden groaned. "A girl in my class asked me to do it and said she'd be my friend if I did... It didn't work out that way..."
Jesse frowned. "Man, Jay... that's just awful. Why, if someone made you do that now, I'd give him a good beat down! Well, uh, unless it was a girl again... but I'd still stick up for ya!"
"Well... the girls in my life now are definitely my friends... So I'd do it... but back then... Well, thanks, Jess..."
"I'd dress up as Li Syaoran," Bastion offered.
"Lee who?" Violet asked, looking at her fiancé in confusion.
"He was the guy Sakura liked and he was also a cardcaptor," Annie explained to her friend. The dark-haired thin girl, in addition to enjoying Sailor Moon, had a weakness for many magical girl anime shows.
"Oooh. Well, I've never seen the anime, but I'd dress up as someone from it to help Jay too!" Violet asserted with a grin.
Annie smiled. "You'd have to be Mei-Lin or Madison... Mei-Lin liked Li a lot... Madison was Sakura's outfit supplier..."
"Well, personally, I like the idea of OHSHC cosplaying better. It fits our group more, I think," Violet replied, grin turning sly.
"Does it now?" Bastion asked. "Who would I be, then, darling?"
"Either Kyouya or Mori," Violet answered in less than a second, smirking. Oh yeah, she'd thought about this.
"Mori? Why him?" Bastion asked, a wry grin on his face.
Violet gave him an, "Are you serious?" look. "You're both tall, have dark hair and dark eyes, are muscular, handsome, and charming in your own special way," she explained, counting off on her fingers.
Bastion chuckled. "I don't think I have a short young-looking... Wait a moment..." Suddenly all the guys were looking at Syrus. "Oh, good Lord... I've been rooming with a blue-haired 'Honey' Haninozuka... And he has a fiancée to boot..."
Syrus grinned sheepishly, a sweat-drop slowly trailing down the back of his head. Violet was grinning like the cat that caught the canary. "HA!! I told you!" she exclaimed.
"Well, uh, at least it's not like the anime. You don't serve me or anything, Bastion," Syrus said with a nervous chuckle.
"No, but I do hope I protect the people I care about..."
"Bastion... you know Krav Maga; of course you protect us!" Jaden exclaimed.
"Yeah, Private Bastion... and I know I look up to you," Tyson added, accidentally pointing out more than the genius's seniority over him.
"You are the tallest person in our group," Violet pointed out, adding another strike to the fact that Bastion would be Mori. Not to mention she was playing on how Tyson had said, "look UP to you."
Bastion realized and started to laugh again. "I meant that I know I admire you, Private," Tyson clarified, flushing a little.
Violet giggled, grinning again as she pointed a finger at Chazz suddenly. "And I know exactly who YOU'D be, Chazzy!"
"Uh... who?" the raven-haired Slifer wondered, dreading the answer.
He had good reason to dread, as a smirk crawled its way onto Violet's face. "Ritsu Kasanoda."
"The Yakuza guy?!" Chazz yelped. "Who suggested that?"
"I did, Chazzy," Mindy said contritely. "I'm sorry..."
The young man's face softened. "Well, I... read he was a decent guy..."
"Oh, he is. He just has a scary face," Alexis stated in a teasing tone. The girls and guys tried to stifle their giggles and chuckles as they headed into class and took their seats. This was Professor Stein's class and Annie, in particular was glad that this was one class she could try and attend with her foot being so sore. Said instructor entered the classroom and prepared to take role as usual.
Professor Stein picked up the clipboard for attendance and began checking off names, just as he'd done every day for the past year. However, when he got to a certain Slifer and his twin, he didn't hide performing a double take. Eyes slightly wide, he reached up to adjust his glasses and frowned. "Mr. Yuki? Mr. Anderson? Might I ask why you have a sudden drastic change in hair coloring?" he asked in his monotone.
"Uh..." Jaden looked at Jesse and sighed. "We lost a bet, sir." Jesse nodded in confirmation. Ben Stein raised an eyebrow, but let the subject drop and continued with attendance. Both teens visibly sank in their seats. "I don't think he bought it," Jaden muttered to his twin.
"I don't think he bought it either," Jesse whispered back.
"Nope..."
"Don't worry, guys... it'll be okay," Annie whispered.
The twins face-planted into their desks. "How will it be okay?" Jaden whispered almost inaudibly since his face was in his desk.
"Simple. You guys can't get in trouble for dying your hair. Plus, you didn't anyway, so no problem at all," Violet whispered with a grin.
"Oh, yeah... Thanks, Violet!" Jaden grinned, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Yeah, thanks!" Jesse added, also giving a thumbs-up.
Violet snickered. "You guys really are just like twins!"
"They are, aren't they?" Tyson whispered to his fiancée.
Rosa nodded. "They are like Jacobo and Jesus, alike in so many ways and only different in a few. I am just glad they do not fight as often."
"That'd be scary..."
"I could keep them in line."
"I meant the Sarge and Private Jesse fightin'. Jacobo and Jesus... I'm used to..."
"I know that's what you meant. And I could keep them in line as well. Compared to my brothers, they are like two chickens." Rosa of course didn't mean this in an insulting way; it was simply the blunt truth. Jacobo and Jesus could break Jaden and Jesse in half.
"They are little guys," Tyson remarked, only to feel the teacher's eyes on him.
"Mr. Hassleberry. Would you mind answering the question I just asked the class?" Professor Stein asked, glasses shimmering in the florescent lighting of the classroom.
"Uh... sorry, sir! Could you repeat it, please, sir?" Tyson responded, turning beet red.
"Now, Mr. Hassleberry, if you had been paying attention then you would know that I didn't ask a question. Might I inquire as to what is so interesting that it distracts you from paying attention in my class?" Ben asked, raising an indigo brow questioningly. It was obvious that after years of students falling asleep in his class, he wasn't going to go easy on anyone not paying attention.
"Uh..." Not wanting to lie to his teacher, but not wanting to tell the truth either, Tyson chose the third option: retreat. "I have to use the latrine, sir!" he blurted out. There were several snickers around the room.
As her fiancé ran out of the classroom, Rosa's face hit her desk with a very large sweat-drop. Those sitting near her could only decipher the mutterings of Spanish muffled into the metal of the desk. It likely had something to do with cowardly fiancés running from teachers.
Tyson headed to the bathroom and groaned softly when he got there. He actually did have to go, but still... 'What a way to retreat...'
Back in the classroom, Professor Stein had just given the class a reading assignment which gave the group an opportunity to talk. "He used the bathroom defense," Jaden muttered.
"I don't think Rosa looks too happy about him ditchin', either," Jesse whispered, grinning sheepishly. Said Spanish girl was coming quite close to ripping the pages as she turned them with far more force than was needed.
"He'll be back... that was temporary," Annie tried soothing her Spanish friend. "He didn't want to lie..."
"He didn't have to." Rosa replied tightly. She then muttered something in Spanish that sounded very, very threatening and menacing.
"Rosa... please calm down... You want children after all, and doing that won't help you," Annie whispered, having translated in her head.
The guys in the surrounding vicinity either paled or shrank in their seats. What had Rosa said to make Annie say that?! Rosa looked over at her friend, eyebrows visibly twitching with annoyance. "But that was such a cowardly move, Annie!" she whispered fiercely, groaning.
"He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to tell the truth either, like that... He'll come back and tell Professor Stein."
"He'd better. Or else I'll deal with him later."
Five minutes passed and Tyson returned, flushing. He walked down to Professor Stein. "Sir... I'm sorry... I did have to go, but I also didn't want to embarrass anybody," he whispered.
Professor Stein pushed up his glasses as he looked up at the muscled teenager from his seat at his desk. "Oh? And who would you have embarrassed, Tyson?" he asked.
"Myself, and possibly the Sarge and Private Jesse... I mean... Jaden and Jesse, sir..."
"It's about the hair, isn't it?" Stein asked, cocking an eyebrow as he shifted his glasses on his nose.
"That and... they act like twins... like Rosa's twin brothers."
"I see. So that's what you were talking about?"
"Yes, sir," Tyson answered softly.
"Well then, I guess I can let you off this time. But try to pay attention during my class in the future, Tyson."
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir," Tyson said, bowing slightly, and then saluting.
"You're welcome, Tyson. Now I suggest you get to work on the reading assignment I gave the class while you were gone."
Tyson did so, sitting down next to his fiancée. "Sorry, darlin'," he apologized.
Rosa gave him a swift punch in the arm, though it was nothing compared to what she had thought of doing to him. "You are forgiven. Just never do that again."
"Ouch! Yes, ma'am!" he responded with a light whimper.
As classes went on, Jaden became very much aware that guys were staring at him and laughing. Jesse, too, was aware of this fact, and didn't enjoy it one bit. If it wasn't for his code of Southern honor, he would have pounded them. "Jay... this is really uncomfortable," he muttered finally.
"Yeah... imagine tomorrow..." But things were about to get harder for the two boys.
"Hey, Jaden... lookin' like a sissy as usual," taunted a very familiar voice with a Tennessee accent.
"And Anderson, that's a good look for you. Pink fits girly boys real well," added a deep voice. The twins turned around to see none other than Terry Rogers and Randy Mototani, the two who had been Chazz's lackeys in their first year.
"Oh, look, it's Dumb and Dumber," Bastion countered.
"Oooh, it's the Ra king nerd," Terry snorted.
Randy snickered at that, and Violet stepped forward with furrowed brows. "Hey! Don't you go pulling that card on him! At least he's smarter than a rock, unlike the two of you put together!!" she growled.
"What did you say, you alien lovin'... OUCH!" Terry had just fallen flat on his face as he'd advanced toward Violet. He'd tripped... on Annie's crutch. Annie had a very small smirk on her face, which as good as confirmed she had done it on purpose.
"That's right! I do love aliens!" Violet stated, giving Annie a grin and a thumbs-up.
Randy's fists clenched. "Hey! How dare you trip Terry?! You're gonna pay for that!"
"You don't diss my friends, Randy," Annie countered, standing her ground.
The muscular Obelisk scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's too bad. I'd feel guilty hitting a cripple," he muttered.
"What did you just say?!" Syrus shouted, instantly stepping forward with anger flashing in his eyes.
"She's a cripple, Truesdale. She's also a twig," Terry added. Annie's face turned red. She was still terribly thin from her weight loss and time in the hospital over the summer. This was a sensitive point for her.
That really steamed the short Obelisk Blue, and he took a step forward with fists clenched. His brows were furrowed in anger and his teeth were ground together as he spoke. "Take. That. BACK!!!"
Both of the bullies merely laughed. "Yeah, right! And if we don't?" Randy asked with a smug smirk on his tanned face.
Little did they know that they were about to find out. Tyson and Axel, hearing the conversation, had held onto the pudding cups they had just gotten from Miss Dorothy and snuck up behind the antagonists. Despite wearing army boots, they managed to be surprisingly soft-footed. They tiptoed and quickly pulled the boys' waistbands back and dumped chocolate pudding in their pants. "Puddin' pants!" Tyson shouted gleefully.
"WHAT!" Terry shrieked, feeling the cold, goopy treat where it definitely shouldn't be. And what was worse was that a brown stain was now spreading on the Obelisks' white pants.
Randy yelped in shock, eyes nearly popping out of his sockets. Feeling the cold stuff slowly spreading across the seat of his pants, he tugged down on the back of his blue blazer. Syrus blinked, only able to stare in shock at what had happened. The others, however, were laughing at varying degrees. Violet and Atticus were practically on the floor, gripping their sides. Jaden, who'd been on the verge of slugging Randy and Terry himself (or asking Yubel politely to give them wedgies), was on the floor laughing. "Did you forget your diapers this morning?!" he asked between wheezing laughs.
"I think somebody didn't make it to the little men's room on time!" Violet added, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
Randy glared, the blush of embarrassment evident on his face. "Why, you...!! You losers'll pay for this! Right, Terry?!" he asked, turning to look at his companion. However, the blue-haired teen was already zipping down the hallway, hands covering his butt. "HEY!!! Wait for me!! Don't leave me here like this!!" the brunette shouted, running after Terry.
Annie was laughing and nearly fell over. "That was great, you guys!"
Axel bowed politely, a slightly naughty smile on his face. "My mom did that once to some guy who was harassing another girl in college."
Tyson smirked. "Dad did that to a guy when they were in basic trainin'."
Atticus sighed as he managed to catch his breath, wiping the tears from his eyes with a broad grin. "Man, that's even better than the mustard on the pants joke!! But I'd say those two were lucky."
"Yeah... they shouldn't have called us what they called us, and they shouldn't have called you names, Annie," Jaden stated, calming down.
"It was no big for me," Annie sighed, smiling at the image of the two Obelisk boys running down the hall. "And they'll have learned their lesson, I hope."
"No... If something else happens, I'd wager they'll get expelled," Bastion added calmly.
"Well, it'd only be what they deserve. I mean, geez, those guys are almost as bad as the ones back home. Mom always told me that there would always be bullies in life, no matter how old you got, what you did, or where you lived," Violet agreed with a solemn nod.
"I think our moms think alike, Violet," Annie agreed sadly. "What matters is that we don't become bullies too."
"Yeah... losing our tempers and hurting them back would have been just that," Syrus said softly.
"Yeah... well, Tyson, Axel, you guys did great stopping them. We don't want Sy having to do what he did to those goons this summer!" Jaden answered, eyes wide as he remembered his best friend going postal on a guy twice his size.
"If I hadn't heard it from you guys, I wouldn't have believed it," Tyson said in awe. Axel had heard too.
Syrus sweat-dropped, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I... just got really mad, that's all... He hurt Annie..."
"But that was amazing," Chazz stated. "It's like when Bastion took out J-Jagger."
Atticus placed a hand on Chazz's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Well, at least we know we have two awesome fighters in the group."
Everyone chuckled and headed back to Dorothy's to get more pudding. "Hey, guys. Auto Club, Jesse, I love the hair!" she complimented.
"Seriously, Miss Dorothy?" Jaden asked.
"Seriously, Jaden. And Jesse, you look very fun!" the plump woman smiled, a twinkle in her kind eyes.
Jesse blinked a few times in shock. "I... I do? Really??"
"You do, honey! I remember when Chancellor Shepherd and I met... He put a wig on of that very color. He was trying to look like a rock star!"
Every jaw in the group hit the floor, and just as many eyes bugged-out. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" just about everyone asked, in varying tones of shock.
"Chancellor Shepherd... in a pink wig??" Jaden stammered. "Oh, man... what else was he wearing? A black leather jacket?"
"Well, as a matter of fact... he was..." Suddenly, the entire group had a mental image of their chancellor on a motorcycle, wearing a bright pink wig while wearing sunglasses. And if everyone thought the pudding pants gag was funny, it was nothing compared to that one image. Most of the group was on the floor this time, and it was obvious that Miss Dorothy feared some would need to go to the infirmary.
And if that wasn't enough... "Afternoon, kids. What's so funny?" Andrew Shepherd asked as he walked into the snack shop.
The teens looked at each other, and laughed side-splittingly. "I told them about when we met, Drew," Dorothy explained.
"You... you really tried on a PINK WIG, Chancellor?!" Violet managed between giggles.
"Well, I didn't have hair to dye, Violet and I thought I'd try the wig. And that was the day I met Dorothy... She was wearing the Dark Magician Girl costume in a Duel Monsters parade."
"I was thinner then," the shop owner blushed.
"I still think you're beautiful," he complimented her.
The students, still laughing, also blushed as this was like walking in on one's parents having a private moment. "I... think... we... need to leave," Jaden wheezed at his twin.
"Now there's... a good... idea," Jesse wheezed back, grinning sheepishly.
And so, while the chancellor and Dorothy were making eyes at each other, the teens all left, puddings in hand. Since classes were over, the next project for Tuesday had to be done. "Okay... so... how am I going to be in a girls' uniform?" Jaden asked.
"We'll modify," Annie explained.
"Modify?" Jesse asked.
"Well, Jaden's a Slifer, so we'll make him a girl's uniform," Annie explained calmly.
"Well... what about me?"
Annie smiled at Jesse. "Hmm.. We'll just need to figure a skirt and boots for you, Jesse... Unless... What do you guys think about his shoes with the outfit? Violet?"
"Hmmm... good question, Annie. His boots are actually a lot like the girls' boots. I think he could just wear those," Violet agreed thoughtfully.
Mindy and Jasmine examined Jesse's boots as well. "They'll work," Mindy said for both of them.
"...Are you gals sayin' I wear girly shoes?" Jesse asked in a suspicious tone.
"No, Jesse, they're like cowboy boots," Jasmine stated quickly. "They look like guy boots!"
Jesse grinned. "Good! 'Cause I like my boots, and I was hoping they weren't girly. Then I'd need to get new ones..."
"Geez, Jesse... be comfortable in your masculinity... There are guys who carry man purses in Europe and they're manly men," Annie stated calmly.
Jesse stared at Annie with wide eyes. "Really?!"
She nodded. "Yeah. In North America, they're known as messenger bags. Notice the similarity between those and the purses women carry."
He seemed to take a moment to consider this, then shook his head. "I still wouldn't be caught dead havin' one of those."
Tyson's face went red. "Messenger bags are NOT girly! Private Anderson, I carry one!" He held up a khaki bag that he carried his books in. "My daddy carried stuff in this. Is it girly to you?"
Jim's face didn't go red, but it took on the same indignant expression that Tyson's had. "I agree with Tyson! I carried a similar bag back in the outback to collect poachers' traps. Does that sound girly to you, mate?!" he growled, single eye blazing.
Bastion was far calmer about the situation. "I too carry a messenger bag," he answered, holding up a khaki bag. "Definitely not girly."
Jaden flushed slightly, holding his bag up. "See, Jesse? It's okay!"
And then Jesse found himself being lifted off the ground by a pair of strong hands gripping the front of his lavender shirt. He yelped, fearful green eyes looking down into the fiery chocolate brown orbs of one Rosa Jimenez. A similar bag rested on her waist, and though she was a girl, being called girly was as offensive to her as it was to any other man. "Horatio made me this!! Are you saying it's GIRLY?!" she growled fiercely.
Jesse eep'd, face draining of color. "N-NO!! Of course not! I didn't mean it that way at all, guys! REALLY!!!" he yelped an octave higher than normal.
Tyson blinked, calming down. "Darlin... put him down... He didn't know..."
Rosa's grip tightened for a moment, and then she dropped Jesse on his butt. Placing her hands on her hips, she scoffed and looked away indignantly. "Mi amor y yo no esta zagala," she muttered bitterly. Translated, this meant, My love and I are not girly.
"I know you aren't, darlin'," he murmured back in Spanish. "You are a lady, though..."
"Jesse... there's nothing wrong with a good messenger bag," Annie reminded him. "Just chill..."
Jesse sighed. "Gee, guys. All I was sayin' was that it's not somethin' I would have. I didn't mean anythin' by it."
"You just seemed a little touchy, bro," Jaden tried.
"Touchy?" the twin asked.
"Yeah... you've been worried about being girly..."
"Well, I'm a guy... and my dad and big bro, they're real big on being manly. So I am too."
"Barrel-chested?" Mindy asked curiously.
Jesse nodded. "Yup. So were all their friends, even after we moved. And Willow liked it when I was really manly for her," he explained, grinning and puffing out his chest.
"What about your friends?" Jaden persisted curiously.
"My friends?"
"Were they all rough-and-tumble tough guys?"
"Uh..." Jesse rubbed the back of his neck gingerly, looking away as if uncomfortable about the subject. "You see, about that... um..." He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, very uncomfortable, surprisingly enough.
The group looked at each other, realizing. All, that is, but Chazz. "You never had friends, did you, Twin Slacker?" he asked, calling Jesse by the nickname he'd come up with when they were at North Academy together.
Jesse winced, though he managed a half-smile at the old nickname. "No... there was Jeb, you remember him. But he wasn't around much... And I didn't really have any back home. That's why I was with the Crystal Beasts all the time," he explained awkwardly.
"Jesse," Jaden murmured, moving to his twin, "you never had friends?" He knew the pain of that all too well.
Jesse looked at his look-a-like, frowning a little. "Well... no, I guess not. Most of the guys I tried hangin' out with thought I was a little... weird, I think."
"Because you talked to... imaginary friends, right?"
"Yeah... and, I... didn't really fit in..."
Chazz moved in and clapped his hands on both their shoulders. "Well, you fit in here, Twin Slacker. You and Slacker are so alike, it's scary..."
Jesse looked at the black-haired Slifer in surprise, then grinned and exchanged glances with his twin. "Gee, Chazz... you're a great bud to have," he replied, hugging Chazz.
"Yeah, Chazz, you're great," Jaden added, also hugging his fellow Slifer.
"ARGH!!! GET OFF!" the raven-haired Rhodes yelped. "The Chazz isn't ready for this!!"
Both boys laughed. "But Chazz, we're just tryin' to show ya how much we appreciate ya!" Jesse countered cheerfully.
Chazz pulled free. "I don't wanna be appreciated! I'm wearing a dress for you tomorrow, so don't push your luck!" he yelled, running down the hall.
Now, the guys all knew this, but as for the girls... To say they were shocked and confused was an understatement. "Whaaaaat?!" Violet yelped, mouth agape.
Atticus sweat-dropped. "Er... I'd better go after him!" Alexis reached to grab and stop him, but missed and the older boy high-tailed it after his brother.
"Uh... what?" Annie asked when she was able to speak. "Chazz is putting on a uniform?" The guys exchanged nervous glances. "Sy... honey, what's going on?" Annie asked in her sweet yet stern way.
"Uh..." Syrus mumbled, unsure of what to do. "Run!!!" One of the guys suddenly called out, and within seconds it was just the girls standing in the middle of the hallway.
The girls all sighed at that. Blair asked Alexis, "Are all guys like this?"
Alexis rubbed her temple with her fingers with a sigh. "No... But a lot of them are."
"Why?"
"That, Blair, is a riddle for the ages," Jasmine sighed.
Meanwhile, down the hall... "They asked... and they're gonna get it out of us," Tyson groaned.
"Yeah... they'll each ask us about it later, when it's just us and them," Syrus muttered, frowning worriedly.
"Maybe... we should just tell them," Axel suggested. "They'll torture it out of you attached guys, anyway..."
"Besides, they would have found out in little more than half a day. I doubt they'll try to stop it," Jim added in agreement.
"And they can help with the uniforms," Bastion stated calmly as always. "It'll take some modification to make them fit right..."
"And I don't think they'll be mad about it or anythin'," Jesse thought aloud, knowing that was a factor.
"We blew it, didn't we?" Chazz asked as he and his brother peered around a corner.
The other guys all sweat-dropped. Atticus sighed. "You did pretty much tell them what we were planning to do, bro..."
"Dang it... well, you're right, Bastion... they can help us with this... Atticus can't even sew on a button!"
"Hey! At least I tried! You were scared you'd sew your hand to the uniform with the sewing machine!!"
"Well, you have trouble with a plain hand needle!" Chazz shot back.
"That's harder than a machine, though!" Atticus countered in a whining tone.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Guys, knock it off! I think they're both hard!" Jaden stated. "You can prick your finger with the hand needle, and get the fabric stuck in the machine!"
Jesse whipped his head around to stare at Jaden. "How do you know?" he asked in surprise.
All of the guys were having that reaction. Jaden sighed. "I had to take home economics in junior high. It was a disaster..."
Syrus winced. "I had to take that too... but I had more problems with the cooking part... Like pancakes on the ceiling..."
"I did that... and... somehow I made a cake blow up," Jaden admitted.
"How'd ya do that without firecrackers?" Jesse asked, eyes wide.
"I...don't know," the other boy admitted. "I just opened the oven and...boom..."
"Remind me never to let either of you near the kitchen," stated Violet. Every guy in the group let out some cry of surprise, all turning around to see the girls standing about a yard behind them.
Jaden met his fiancée's eyes. "Babe? You were there the whole time, weren't you?"
Alexis nodded, arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face. "You guys might as well give us the whole story of what my brothers are doing. Chazz, Atty..."
Despite what it was costing him, Chazz groaned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah... I'm dressing in drag..." He took a deep breath. "It just... seemed a little wrong..."
Quite a few of the teens couldn't help but snicker at the term he used. Alexis smiled a little and walked over to her brothers, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Normally, I'd say yes. But you're doing it to help your friends... so it's all right. That's a really nice thing for you to do, bro."
"So... We have Jaden, Jesse, Sy, Chazz and Atticus to worry about?" Annie asked. All of the boys nodded. "Bastion? You aren't in on this?"
"Er... no... Annie, I don't have the legs for it..." And now the girls all looked at him, stunned. "Er... well, there's a reason I went around in that tiger suit first year... Er... I couldn't fit into the White Magician Pikeru costume..."
Everyone in the group fell over. "WHAT?!?!"
Annie sat up and stammered. "You... wanted to go...Okay...What?" The guys were all stunned.
"Please tell me this has something to do with British humor," Jaden muttered, the image of Bastion wearing a Scapegoat on his head rather disturbing.
Violet really wasn't sure whether to laugh her head off or be severely creeped out. "An explanation would be nice, Bastion-baby," she squeaked.
Bastion sighed. 'I'm going to have to turn in my man card,' he thought. "Well, when we were looking at costumes for Duel Monsters Spirit Week, I looked round to find something I liked and unfortunately, Death Litmus Swordsman was taken... In fact, most of the manly costumes were taken. So I looked at what remained. I admittedly had a crush on White Magician Pikeru when I was younger, and I found the costume and thought it might be funny if I wore it. Unfortunately, it wasn't in my size..."
There were quite a few sweat-drops as minds compared a mental picture of Bastion and what the costume might look like. "Bastion, if you had, I... I'm really not sure what the heck I'd say. I mean, even if you would have matched my own costume better," Violet muttered, grinning sheepishly. She had dressed as a Watapon, of course. At least, her own special costume version.
Annie looked at Bastion in surprise. "You think she's cute like a little kid?" The Ra genius's blush said it for him.
Violet's grin turned genuine as she hugged her fiancé. "Aww! I thought it might be something like that! You're such a big softy..."
"Well... leave it to me to have the non-manly kind of card crush..."
"That's manly to admit it," Blair tried.
"Card crush?" Jim asked curiously.
Jaden grinned sheepishly. "That's when you have a crush on... a card... Sy had a crush on Dark Magician Girl, Thunder Nyan Nyan..."
Syrus blushed. "Well, Chumley had a crush on Dian Keto the Cure Master! Besides, I bet Bastion, Chumley, and I aren't the only ones with card crushes."
The other guys looked at each other. Axel took a deep breath. "Well, Bastion, you look at Pikeru like she's your kid... Well, that's the way I look at... Fire Sorcerer..."
Jim looked over at his friend in surprise. "Fire Sorcerer, mate? Well... I suppose I'm on the same boat with a different paddle..." He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ebon Magician Curran for me..."
Bastion smiled a little at that. "Well, you're not alone in that... Who else has to turn in their man card?"
"Why do we have to?" Jaden asked reasonably. "I like Dunames Dark Witch..."
Jesse grinned. "Yeah. A card crush don't need to be all cute. I like Red Archery Girl. She's so cool!"
Adrian sighed, pulling a card from his collection. "It's not a Cloudian, but I like Guardian Angel Joan... She's a strong and tough woman, and no guy would mess with her."
Atticus gave a goofy grin, holding up a card as well. "Maiden of the Aqua... her ability's awesome and she's pretty cute. What about you, Tyson?"
Tyson grinned sheepishly, pulling a card from inside his vest. The girls exchanged glances. "I like Athena... She kinda reminds me of you, Spanish Rose," he explained to his fiancée. The artwork was of a woman with blonde hair and tanned skin. She looked wise and was dressed in gladiator's clothing.
Rosa looked the card over, then smiled approvingly. "I had guessed your crush would be like that."
And then suddenly, the Ojama Brothers appeared around Chazz. "We Ojamas have crushes too!" Ojama Green exclaimed happily.
"Oh, great," Chazz groaned softly.
"We do, boss!" Ojama Yellow stated, getting the Ojama equivalent of the chibi in love look. "We love the Dancing Fairies!!!"
"Yeah... they're beautiful," Ojama Black added, smiling. The Dancing Fairies were monsters that looked like a cross between pixies and angels.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Chazz groaned again. "You three would be intimidated by my card crush..."
Bastion looked at Chazz, still not able to see duel spirits yet. "I wish could see them... this is crazy... So who's your crush, Chazz?"
"Dark Valkyria..." The group gave a collective sweat-drop, not surprised by Chazz's taste in card crushes... Dark Valkyria was a Dark attribute Fairy-type monster, and her name and labels fit her appearance quite well. She had lavender skin and red eyes, and had wings of black metal with jewels adorning them. She wore metal gloves and a suit of blue and black armor, along with a jeweled helmet with a green eye in the center. Because of this, Dark Valkyria looked much like…
"Dark Valkyria looks a lot like me, if I remember correctly," Yubel stated as she appeared. Indeed, the two could have been sister monsters, which was ironic since Dark Valkyria's secondary type was Gemini.
Jaden looked at Yubel and then at Chazz. "Can I see that card?" Chazz nodded and pulled the card from one of his pockets. Jaden studied said card carefully. "Whoa... She does look kinda like you, Yubel. She just has armor, and her eyes are both the same color, and her wings are cyber wings..." And then Jaden grinned. "You look tougher, though..."
Yubel smirked. "I am tougher. Dark Valkyria may look scary, but she's a lot less scary than Burstinatrix in personality," she explained.
Said duel monster appeared in a flash of flames, arms crossed over her chest. "I am NOT scary."
Cyber Angel Benten appeared, smiling wryly. "Oh, yes you are. I know a few male monsters that think you are rather scary..."
"Oh really? Who?" The Warrior-type E-Hero's tone made it clear that whoever's name was said was in for trouble.
Meanwhile, in the Dominion of the Beasts... "Uh... I am so not going out there," Avian groaned, not wanting to make his wife mad.
"Neither am I. I'd never admit it to my wife, but Burstinatrix scares me more than she does," Sparkman agreed, sweat-dropping behind his mask.
"What was that, Sparkman?" his wife asked, somehow materializing right behind him. She looked every bit like his female counterpart. She wore a sky-blue formfitting outfit with golden yellow accents to symbolize the electricity and light that she used to attack her enemies. And also like her husband, she wore a helmet. She also sounded a great deal like Honey, Fro-Zone's wife from "The Incredibles."
Sparkman instantly tensed, turning around and waving his hands in front of him. "Er, nothing! Just saying how... uh, beautiful and... um, powerful you are when you're mad, honey!"
"That's what I thought," she smirked. Avian couldn't suppress a chuckle.
"And just what are you laughing at, Avian?" Burstinatrix asked, having finished in the human world and appearing before him in another burst of flames.
"Nothing, babe! Nothing!" he answered, holding up his hands in surrender.
And then Sparkwoman chuckled, "I think we have our men just where we want them, Burstinatrix!"
Said fiery superhero smirked. "Of course. Someone needs to keep them in line."
Back in the human world, the guys looked at each other. "Well, we've told ours, so... Who do you girls like?" Jaden asked, scratching at his wig a bit.
A few of the girls couldn't help but giggle. "We wondered if you'd think of asking us," Alexis replied with a smirk. "Well, my card crush is Neo the Magic Swordsman. He's strong, powerful, and handsome; kind of like you, Jay."
Jaden had seen said card. He blushed a little bit. "Thanks, babe... Blair, what about you?"
The small freshman sighed, laughing a little. "I like Silent Magician... all his levels... I like to think he'll grow up with me..."
"Aww, that's cute, Blair! I like the Warrior-types more than Spellcasters, though... Celtic Guardian's my crush. I... kinda had one on Link too. They look similar," Violet explained with a sheepish grin.
Jasmine managed a smile as she glanced sidelong at her boyfriend. "Well, I like Bronze Warrior... especially when he gets tangled up in the Ultimate Stage Costume!" No one in the gang had forgotten the duel after Jaden had temporarily lost his ability to see his cards between Atticus and Alexis and the hilarity that had followed.
Atticus grinned and laughed a bit. "He still hasn't forgiven me for that incident..."
"That reminds me of when The Matador got caught up in his own cape. He's my card crush... and since he's usually so serious and tough it was rather funny," Rosa explained with a smirk.
"What about you, Mindy?" Chazz asked his girlfriend.
"Uh...I like the Dark Magician... I mean... he's so tough..."
"Which one? The purple one or the red one?" Jesse asked curiously.
"The purple one," the raven haired girl admitted.
"Okay. I was just wonderin' 'cause Willow has a card crush on the red one. She says he looks tougher," the teal-head explained with a sweat-drop.
"He is a very tough customer, though Yogi's Dark Magician trashed him in Battle City," Annie said.
"How many Dark Magicians are there again?" Violet asked with a sigh.
"Purple Dark Magician, Red Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Magician Valkyria... Magician of Black Chaos," Annie stated slowly, trying to remember. "And then there's the Dark Sage... He comes around when you use the Time Wizard..."
"Arch, okay, sorry I asked," Violet interrupted, holding her head. Okay, so there were way too many versions of Dark Magician to count.
"It's okay, Violet," Annie soothed.
"So... what were we talking about before all of this?" Alexis asked, sweat-dropping. She wasn't the only one who had forgotten. Annie sighed gratefully. The topic was shifting and she wouldn't have to answer.
"Annie, you never told us your card crush," Syrus realized, not meaning to put his fiancée on the spot.
Annie's face went red as everyone's eyes were now on her. "Well... uh... I like Darien, Guardian Prince of the Earth," she admitted, holding up the card of the male lead from Sailor Moon. "He's not the strongest monster, but he does protect Usagi and the other Scouts."
Syrus smiled. "I probably should have guessed that..."
"Yeah... Anyway... We were talking about fixing uniforms for Jaden, Jesse, Sy, Chazz and Atticus... and yes, gentlemen, we talked to the teachers," Annie grinned wolfishly.
The five guys showed various degrees of their hopes being crushed in their expressions. "You did? And they all said it was okay?" Jesse asked in a groaning tone.
"Yup... otherwise, I wouldn't be smiling," Annie answered.
"So... other than me there aren't any Slifer girls, so Jaden can't borrow a uniform," Blair observed.
"Nope. It's either make one from scratch or tailor one of yours to fit him," Violet explained with a nod.
"Alexis... do you still have that red dress Dr. Crowler tried to make you wear?" Annie asked, getting an idea.
A vein popped out on said blonde girl's forehead at the memory, but she nodded. "Yes... unfortunately. Atticus told me to keep it in case we might ever need it..."
The other girls looked at Annie. "Alexis, I think you get to get rid of it," Mindy grinned at her old roommate.
Alexis blinked, and then smirked. "Oh, I see what you're getting at..."
"It's perfect! We can use it to make red piping and accent pieces for the Slifer girls' uniforms," the dark brown-haired Obelisk girl smiled. "It'll be like when we helped with your uniform, Blair!" Annie had helped make Blair an actual Slifer girl's uniform with a pleated skirt and the appropriate jacket.
Blair smiled, twirling around in her uniform. "See, guys? Nothing to worry about!"
"But Blair, you're a girl. It's nothin' for you to wear that uniform," Jesse groaned.
"But they'll make you look good!" Blair insisted. "I mean it could be worse... You could be wearing a tutu..."
"Actually-" Atticus began with a huge grin.
"Atticus, don't even think about bringing that up," Alexis growled, interrupting her brother with a vein popping out on her forehead. "You know Zane would kill you if he found out, anyway," she added.
"Wait a sec... Zane wore a tutu?!" Jaden yelped.
Both Alexis and Atticus sweat-dropped, and Syrus's eyes widened as if he just realized what the two had been talking about. "Oh, you mean when THAT happened..."
"Yeah. And I don't think Zane wanted you guys to know about... THAT," Alexis agreed with a nod.
"Bro? What did you do?" Chazz asked with a slightly naughty expression.
"Hey! It wasn't just me! Zane did it too. It was back when we were fourteen in school together. We overheard some girls who took ballet saying guys couldn't pull off a tutu. The next day was April Fools' Day, so Zane and I got an idea. We made our own white and blue tutus and leapt into the classroom the next morning in them. The girls were so shocked I thought they would pass out!!" Atticus explained, laughing and not at all phased by the fact he'd worn a tutu.
Everyone burst into laughter. "Oh, my gosh! Tell me you got pictures!" Aster whooped eagerly.
"Aster... Zane would've made Atticus print the copies and then erase them from the digital camera... Right?" Chazz stated, looking at his brother.
Now it was Atty's turn to get a significantly naughty look on his face. "Oh, he just THINKS I erased them. I not only have prints, I have them saved on the camera, the computer, and a few other things. Just in case he ever tries to destroy the evidence."
"Sy?" Annie whispered. "Does Atticus have a death wish?"
Syrus sweat-dropped. "Maybe... but I don't think Zane would go that far, Annie," he whispered back, grinning sheepishly. At least he hoped he wouldn't.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Zane sneezed as he and his girlfriend Jackie ate at a cafe. "Excuse me, Jackie..."
Jackie, a slim redhead with startling emerald eyes, smirked at her boyfriend. The expression made her splash of freckles stick-out, but even with the trait she bore a startling resemblance to one Alexis Rhodes. "Don't worry about it, Zane. Someone talking about you again?" she joked, sipping on her kiwi-strawberry smoothie.
"My Atticus senses are tingling, and that means only one thing... He's mentioning something we did," the pro-duelist stated calmly.
"Oh? And just what might that be? Wait, don't tell me... something silly you did when you were a kid, right?" the Irish-American woman asked in a teasing tone.
"Junior high, actually... And he got pictures. God help me if he puts it on his blog..."
"It was bad?"
"It involved..." He lowered his voice dramatically... "Tutus..."
"Hm? What was that, Zane?" she asked, leaning forward to hear him better.
"Tutus," he murmured again, not wanting to be overheard.
"Tutus??" she repeated, a bit louder than he had.
He nodded, tightly. "Yeah."
She blinked, sitting back in her chair and contemplating this for a moment. "And you.... wore the tutu?"
"So did he... We... were making a point," Zane muttered. Jackie may have been a pretty serious woman, but the thought of her stoical boyfriend in a tutu at any age was simply too much. She burst out laughing, placing a hand on her stomach as she doubled over. Zane groaned softly. "That's what I get from my true number one fan."
Jackie, who had quickly begun calming herself down, sweat-dropped and sent him a sheepish grin. "Oh, come on, Zane. It's impossible not to laugh at that image... it's just too cute! Maybe you should try on a tutu now," she began mischievously.
"Well... maybe later, if you ask nicely," he answered with a naughty glint in his eyes.
She smirked, leaning forward again and giving him a very seductive gaze. "Oh? If I ask nicely? You sure I won't need to grant you any... favors?" Her lips moved slightly as if to explain what those "favors" would be.
"Well... maybe a kiss later..."
"How about a kiss now? Would that seal the deal?"
"All right... let's give the tabloids something to talk about," he grinned wickedly, drawing close.
She snickered; both had known the entire time that a few members of the paparazzi had been following their entire date at the cafe. Not that they cared... they weren't doing anything scandalous or wrong, after all. She closed the gap between them, pressing lips against his and instantly hearing the flash and snap of cameras.
Back at the school, Jaden grinned sheepishly. "Atticus, bro, I have to say the mental image is great... But Zane in a tutu... At Duel Academy Prep... when he'd gone serious... How did you get him to go along?!"
"Blackmail," the taller teen answered simply.
Everyone in the group, including the more serious transfer boys and Aster, fell over in shock. "Blackmail?" the platinum blonde pro-duelist student asked, stunned.
"Yup. I threatened to leak Zane doing the Dragon Dance over the school's computers," Atticus explained slyly, grin positively evil.
Alexis groaned. "That explains it."
"What about YouTube?" Jaden asked. Perhaps he shouldn't have suggested that...
"Oh, I would have. But YouTube is blocked on the school computers. Trust me, I'm saving that for when he gets really stubborn," the brunette answered. One could practically hear the creepy organ music in the background and see the lightning flash.
"We've gotten on YouTube," Bastion stated, surprised.
"Yeah, you can here. But you can't at Duel Academy Prep," Atticus replied, Alexis nodding in confirmation.
"Oh, yeah... the joys of middle school," Bastion sighed.
"Anyway, I think we got off-track again," Alexis stated with a sweat-drop.
"How do we keep doing that?" Jaden wondered.
"No idea, but anyway, gentlemen, you will be able to pull this off," Annie asserted. "Atticus... you're pretty big, so this could get interesting."
"Interesting?" he asked, blinking.
"Well... We need to cover all the territory, after all," she answered, taking a mental snapshot of his form, figuring exactly how much fabric it would take to cover the big Obelisk's backside.
He sweat-dropped. "So just make my skirt longer..."
"Oh, I will," Annie stated, also sweat-dropping.
"Please do the same for the rest of us... Can we wear shorts?" Chazz asked, pleadingly.
The girls exchanged glances. "Well, ladies? What do you think?" Alexis asked the others.
Blair shuddered. "Well... what if there's an accident?"
Annie blushed, understanding. She could remember all too well the time when her shorts had ripped, revealing her Sailor Moon underwear to the world. "Oh, yeah... that sort of accident..."
The other girls either sweat-dropped or winced at the thought. "Good point... I say we let them wear shorts," Violet muttered, brow twitching.
"Yeah... nothing like what happened in gym class," Annie groaned, remembering the incident in first year. "So let's avoid that and let the guys have shorts." "Yes!" Jaden muttered.
"At least that's something good," Jesse muttered as well.
And so the gang headed over to Obelisk and Alexis got her red dress from her closet while the other girls got some white fabric. Annie began measuring, glad she'd already started on Sy. "This shouldn't be too hard... it's like making cosplay costumes..."
"Yeah, but not nearly as much fun," Violet replied with a grin.
"Oh, I don't know... This is pretty fun," Mindy commented, measuring Chazz.
"Well, Violet does have a point. I think I'll enjoy making the boys' OHSHC uniforms a bit more," Alexis stated, measuring Jaden.
Jaden shivered slightly at the contact of the tape measure around his thin middle. "Man, that's cold!"
Jesse wheezed beside him, Rosa having pulled the tape measure a bit too tight around his own waist. "Uh, Rosa... no offense, but... I'm havin' trouble... breathin'," he gasped.
Rosa rolled her eyes and let the tape fall loose, Jesse taking big gulps of air in response. "Some boys can be such sissies," she muttered under her breath in Spanish.
"I hate being fitted... But this isn't as bad as being fitted for that tux for my cousin's wedding," Jaden sighed in relief as Alexis checked his chest.
"Yeah... this isn't as bad as whenever Aunt Ruth had to measure me for her handmade sweaters," Syrus agreed with a sweat-drop. Aunt Ruth was the sweet older sister of Darla Truesdale, who cared very much for her family. And whenever she measured Syrus and Zane for her annual sweater present, she'd always gently reprimand Syrus about his short stature and thin frame.
"Oh, she came to the house when I was still recovering! She told us both we needed to gain weight," Annie laughed and sighed.
"Yeah. And, uh, Annie... I think she's going to be sending you a sweater for Christmas, too," Syrus replied with a sheepish grin.
"That's nice," she answered, double-checking her measurements. "I hope she sends that yummy fudge too!"
"Did someone say fudge??" Violet asked, magically appearing beside the couple.
"Sy's Aunt Ruth makes incredible fudge, Violet. She brought some on one of the days she came by to visit me and Sy when we were still in Domino," Annie explained, "and I hope she sends some at Christmas."
"Oh, yummy! My grandma used to make great peanut butter and chocolate fudge. I like regular chocolate better, though. What about you, Annie?" Violet asked curiously.
"I love chocolate fudge," the dark-haired girl answered, finishing and then propping her foot up on an ottoman as she sat back on the couch.
The other girls had finished their measurements as well, so the guys could relax a little. "Now what?" Violet asked.
"Now... we get our patterns," Blair answered, bringing in sheets of nearly transparent brown paper.
It took a couple of hours, but soon, the boys were trying on their uniforms. Bastion took one look at his friends and abruptly left the room. "He's laughing," Chazz groaned.
"Hey, this still isn't as bad as that tutu I had to wear. At least we get shorts with this," Atticus countered, examining himself in a mirror.
"Yeah, and the next thing you'll say is that you look smexy in this and a tutu!" And then Jasmine, who'd been watching her boyfriend and his brother had to leave the room as well. Mindy followed.
Atticus didn't notice, and promptly placed his hands on his hips. "Well, so what if I do? I think I'd look good in pretty much anything! And besides, you look good in yours too."
None of the remaining girls could help it and started cracking up at Atticus's comment. And the guys laughed too. "Atticus, bro... only you can get away with that comment!" Jaden whooped.
"He's right! It's just funny when it's you sayin' it!" Jesse added between laughs.
Atticus blinked in surprise, then grinned as if he'd planned on making them all laugh. "Yup! That was totally just to get you guys to loosen up a little!"
Jaden was now clad in what looked a lot like Alexis's uniform, except that the skirt was designed more like a cheerleader's skirt, with white piping at the bottom. The blazer top was white with a red sailor-style back collar and a standup white collar with red piping. "This is... kinda chilly," he admitted.
Jesse was in a basic girl's uniform, but with shorts and a slightly longer skirt. He was also still wearing his cowboy boots and loose lavender shirt. He looked a bit funny, gripping the bottom of the skirt and tugging it down like a shy schoolgirl. "Yeah, I agree with you, partner. At least we get to wear shorts."
Chazz shifted in his uniform. "Yeah... good thing... but I hate white!!" His uniform consisted of a longer skirt and jacket, long-sleeved, like a female version of his brother's Obelisk/Horakhty jacket.
Atticus's outfit was similar to Chazz's, except larger, looser, and longer in the skirt department. Surprisingly, he wore the heeled boots quite easily, and may have passed for a girl with his long hair had he not been flat-chested like most boys. "Aw, come on, bro! It's not all white... there's blue in there, too."
"Red in my case! And there's not enough. I like black!"
"Well, your hair is black."
"That doesn't count!" Chazz exclaimed. "I look stupid in white!"
"Bro, calm down! Look at Sy," Jaden stated. Syrus was trying very hard not to blush out of embarrassment. Unlike Atticus, who simply looked okay in the uniform, he actually looked rather cute in his. He wore the sleeveless white top with the blue trim, and a blue knee-length skirt that was pleated like Jaden's. Unable to stay standing in heels, the girls had allowed Syrus to wear heel-less boots, since he had volunteered to do this anyway. "He's calm..."
"And cute," Annie added without thinking.
Syrus did blush from that, and grinned sheepishly. "Uh... I am?" he squeaked.
"Uh... yeah... you are," she said softly, blushing deeply.
"And yeah, Sy, you're not freaking out!" Jaden added.
"Private, you're pullin' this off," Tyson commented, "heck of a lot better than I would." Annie groaned softly at the mental image of Tyson in a Ra-version girl's uniform. It was horrifying and perhaps accentuated because she'd seen a character in Project A-Ko that bore a resemblance to the Texas teen.
Rosa seemed to imagine the same thing, for she twitched harshly and instantly turned to shake her fiancé by the shoulders. "Never do that!! Ever!! Understand?!" she stated in rapid Spanish. That was the last thing she wanted to see the love of her life in.
"Yes, Tyson, for all our sakes, please don't do that," Bastion requested, coming back into the room with Mindy and Jasmine.
"Yeah... that would be very wrong," Jasmine groaned.
"Y'all got it... I ain't got the bod for it," Tyson grinned sheepishly.
"Tyson... none of us do," Jaden stated, sweat-dropping.
Atticus opened his mouth, but Alexis interrupted him. "Don't even think of saying you do, Atty," she growled.
Said boy sweat-dropped. "I wasn't. I was just going to say I don't, either. Geez... I'm not a girl, Lexi!" he whined in protest.
"Yeah, sure, Mr. 'I look good in a skirt or a tutu,'" Chazz countered, smirking.
Atticus huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I told you, I only said that to lighten you guys up."
The guys all knew that, but couldn't resist continuing the teasing. "Suuure you did, bro... and Yugi said he looked good with a tutu," Jaden added with a naughty smile.
Atticus looked shocked, and it obviously wasn't an act. He had taken the Slifer quite literally. "HE DID?! I didn't know Yugi wore a tutu!!"
"Bro, that was sarcasm," Chazz groaned. And then...
"Chazz, did you change your name again?" Jaden wondered, seemingly, but with a glint in his brown eyes.
Chazz caught the expression. "No, but you know how to use sarcasm now..."
"So I should change my name?"
"NO!"
As soon as the uniforms were finished and the gang had their fun, they had to do their homework. And then it was time for bed. "So... I really look okay in that?" Jaden asked as he climbed into bed next to his fiancée.
Alexis yawned. "As okay as a guy can look in a girls uniform, Jay. Trust me, it's fine."
"Phew... I just want to do the Slifer dorms proud..."
She couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Don't worry about it. You're no Bastion or Tyson."
"Bastion might pull it off... but Tyson... so wrong," Jaden groaned again.
"I'm certain Rosa will never let him even think of trying one on, Jay," Alexis replied reassuringly.
"Well, if he or Bastion wanted to and decided against it, I wouldn't be surprised, babe," he said sleepily as they cuddled under the blankets for it was a chilly evening.
"I'm glad if they did decide against it, though... I mean... Bastion could probably pull it off..." Jaden seemed to recall Bastion mentioning a kilt in his collection.
"Yeah... he did have a point about only his legs being a problem..." Alexis agreed, eyes closed.
"Yeah..." Jaden tried to get a coherent thought together, but the next thing he knew, he was dueling one of Dorothy's giant rice balls while wearing his temporary uniform.
Alexis had drifted off herself, and was having a rather strange dream of Jaden and herself switching roles…
Alexis found herself on the lake next to Obelisk Blue, in a rowboat. She looked down to see herself clad in a uniform like Jaden always wore, right down to the light jeans. She was also... MALE?! Opposite her in another boat was... Jaden in a Slifer girl's uniform, with Bastion and Syrus in feminine uniforms as well. And they looked like... girls?!
"Okay, Alex Rhodes! If you win, you and Jason go free," the girl Jaden indicated, "but if I win, Bastionia and Syrina and I turn you in for trespassing!"
"But I was invited!" a male version of Jasmine yelped in protest.
"Okay," Alexis stated, now shocked to hear her voice in the masculine, "then get your game on, Jayda!"
Alexis woke up shortly after the duel concluded and decided that eating a spicy pizza slice before bed wasn't a good idea.
Quite a long chapter, but we hope it was worth the wait. So next time, the "punishment" of Jaden and Jesse continue as the boys dress in drag! So please join us next time for Girls Day Out! Thank you very much for reading and reviewing and we'll see you next time!