(Kaze's Point of View)

I let out a groan as light peered into the room, drawing me out of my sleep. I groggily raised a hand up to cover my eyes before fluttering them open. Upon seeing my surroundings though, my eyes quickly shot open wide. Where was I? I pushed myself up to get a better look at my surroundings, but the sudden movement caused my head to start pounding. Letting out a hiss, I placed a hand to my forehead, willing the headache to go away.

Everything was a blur. Why was I here…? Wherever here was… Surrounding me were blue walls with some kind of ocean theme to them. The floor was wooden and seemed to lurch every few seconds. Outside the circular windows I could see some kind of body of water. I… was on a boat…? That's strange… I don't remember getting on a boat… Last thing I remembered, I was-

My thoughts were cut off by another piercing headache, so I decided to let it be. There was nothing I could do about it anyway. I doubted I was in any danger since I was left unguarded and unrestrained, so I figured taking my time getting ready would be alright. I placed my feet to the ground, making sure I could stay steady against the rocking of the ship and my own unsteadiness. It looked like I was already dressed, so all I'd need was my duel disk, which was conveniently placed on the nightstand by the bed. After having slipped it on and inserting my deck from my belt holder, I walked over to the mirror that was hanging on the nearby wall to make sure I was presentable.

Hat. Check. Duel Disk. Check. Uniform in fairly presentable form. Check. Necklace… Necklace…

Panic quickly riveted through my body as I clasped at the collar of my uniform, checking under my collar to see if it had somehow gotten under it, but to no avail. It was gone! My necklace, it was gone!

Just as I began to make my way to the bed to check if it had fallen off while I was asleep, the door opened, revealing a tall tan man in a sailor suit. He had a gruff black beard and was fairly muscular, which made him a bit intimidating, what with his sudden appearance. Before I could even think about how to respond, though, he dropped the bag that was in his hand, eyes wide. I cocked an eyebrow as I just stared at him. Was there something wrong with me that I startled him…?

"Aye! Yer alright, matey!" the man cried out with a wide grin as he ran over to my side, wrapping me in a one-armed hug, taking care to not injure me, but it was still quite firm.

"E-Excuse me?" I stuttered out my confusion. I was alright? Of course I was, why wouldn't I be?

"Ye... don't remember?" the man asked as he pulled away.

"Remember what?" I continued to ask.

"Ye must have hit yer head too hard," the sailor's lips formed into a deep frown, echoing his sympathy for me. Hit… my head…? I slowly raised a hand up to check on my head only to find my head as it apparently should be. As if sensing my confusion, the man gestured in a way that suggested taking my hat off, so I obliged before feeling at my head once more.

My eyes quickly widened upon being something moist, and so I rushed over to the mirror. My head had been bandaged up tightly with blood oozing through. I quickly pulled my hand away from my head, but it was already coated lightly with my blood. The sight of blood made me want to place my hat back on, but I figured that wasn't exactly sanitary, so I instead took a few steps away from the mirror so I wouldn't see it anymore. So, that explained the head ache whenever I tried to think about things…

Giving me a sympathetic smile, the sailor reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. I gave him my thanks, using it to clean my hand before returning it to him.

"Aye, last night, ye were out on deck. We hit some rough waves and ye were almost thrown overboard. Ye hit yer head mighty fine on the rail, and while ye were unconscious, ye were tossed around into a few things. I recall a table, a chair, the wall, why, a whole lot of things, matey," the man smiled wearily as he walked over to reclaim his bag that he had dropped before gesturing towards the bed. Though a little hesitant, he gave me no real reason not to trust him, so I sat down on the bed.

"I… I really have bad luck, don't I?" I smiled dryly as the man followed me over to the bed and pulled out a roll of bandages and a pill bottle. He set the bandages on his lap before pulling out a bottle of water as well.

"Yar har har! I suppose ye do, I suppose ye do," the sailor laughed jovially before holding the pills and water out to me. "I managed to find these, they should help with yer headache. I'm going to be trying to clean it off a bit and get some new bandages on, okay?" he waited for my nod that told him I was prepared as I took the bottles, dumping the two pills that were inside into the palm of my hand before putting them in my mouth and swallowing them down with a bit of water. As I did this, the man slowly began pulling the bandages away from my head.

"Where are we exactly, sir?" I asked as I recapped the water bottle.

"Aye, no need for 'sir', matey. The name's Terumoto. Yer on a boat, of course. Do ye don't remember anything?" Terumoto asked, pausing from his task of dabbing at the wound with a gauze that he obtained from the bag. I sat there for a while, staring at the wall, but I was drawing a blank. Before this… before this, I was…

"Ah! This is the boat to Duel Academy Island, right?" I exclaimed as soon as I remembered.

"Aye, it is, matey! So ye didn't hit yer head too badly!" Terumoto grinned as he placed the bloodied gauze in the bag he brought with him, probably to dispose of it safely later. "I'm not a professional, ye see, but thankfully we're almost to the island. Thar's a nurse there, right? She should be able to take care of ye better than I ever could," he continued as he began wrapping the fresh bandages around my head.

"Even so, I'm thankful for what you're doing. I probably wouldn't have even noticed and it might have gotten infected, so thank you," I smiled at the man.

"Aye, it's nothing, matey, it's nothing. Ya flatter me," Terumoto chuckled softly under his breath as he clipped the end of the bandages together, securing them safely around my head. Just as he did this, the horn began blaring. "Speak of the devil! That means we're finally here! Duel Academy Island!" Terumoto grinned as he pushed himself off the bed, an action that I quickly mimicked.

"Thanks again for taking care of me," I said.

"Are ye sure ye can make it all right? My mates and I can take ye to the nurse if ye need it," Terumoto offered.

"No, I've pestered you enough as is. There's somebody that I'd like to see before that anyway. Thanks for offering though," I smiled at the man who returned it heartily. "Though, you didn't happen to find a necklace here, did you?" I asked as I shot a glance back at the bed where I had been resting.

"Mm, can't say I have, sorry. Ye didn't have one when ye came on either," the man recalled with a hand to his chin.

"Ah, I see," I muttered as I grasped at my collar. Was it really gone…? Maybe it was still in my room at Duel Academy…? If not, I must have lost it somehow on my transfer… It pained me to say it, but either way there was nothing I could do about it. I let out a sigh.

"Hey, don't let that stop ye! Cheer up!" Terumoto grinned as he gave me a playful slap on the back. "It was nice chatting with ye. Have a great time at school, ya hear?" the sailor said before departing. I followed him, simply because I had no idea of the layout of the ship. Fresh sea air, the signature of Duel Academy Island, hit my nose as the sun shined down fervently. The wind whipped around and I found myself grinning widely. I was finally back home!

As I descended the ramp to the port, I found myself looking around expectantly, but there was no one in sight. That quickly dampened my spirits. Nobody was waiting for me…? I told them I'd be back today, it was the last day of my transfer… Maybe something else was happening…? I pulled my PDA out of my pocked, finding the time to be right around 7am. It wasn't like it was too early for them, so maybe they were getting some breakfast first? If not, they might be getting ready for class. I couldn't expect them to be waiting all day for me.

Still, the dorm seemed like a great place to start. If nobody was there, at least I could check for my necklace. At this time, Mrs. Ayukawa was still probably at the Obelisk Girl's Dorm, so there was no way I'd be able to reach her until later anyway. I tugged once at the brim of my hat, making sure it was securely in place, before heading out.

As I approached the dorm's dining room, I found myself overwhelmed with nostalgia. Even though it had been only a month, it felt way longer than that. I guess absence really does make the heart fonder. I remained outside for a little while, listening to the cheerful banter inside, belonging to Judai and Jun and all of my friends. I smiled a bit before pulling the doors open.

Everyone was there, chatting away as always. Jun was trying to act like he was too good for the food while Judai teased him about eating it instead and Sho rolled his eyes. Everyone else watched with bemused smiles or had their own conversations going on. It was the same as always, except…

My eyes quickly scanned around the room until they settled upon my partner, Rei Saotome, in the corner of the room, head buried in her arms. She was looking worse for wear than I remembered… Did something happen…? If somebody did something to Rei, I-

"Ah! It's Kaze!" one of the Osiris students called out, drawing dozens of eyes my way, making me feel slightly out of place. I watched as Rei's head quickly snapped up, eyes wide with surprise.

"H-hey everyone," I smiled as I waved.

"K-Kaze…?" Rei choked out as she shakily got to her feet.

"I haven't been gone that long. You haven't forgotten how your partner looks after a month, have you?" I teased lightly, trying to lift up her spirits.

"Kaze…! Kaze! It's you! It's you!" Rei began to cry out excitedly before she threw her chair away, darting around the other students and lunging for me, quickly enveloping me in a hug. I staggered back, not expecting her sudden embrace, but once I found my footing I smiled and wrapped my arms around her.

"Of course it's me. Come on, Rei, I was only gone for a month and I even texted you the whole time. You look like you've seen a ghost," I said. Rei slowly pulled away, looking up at me in confusion.

"W-what?" she asked. "Kaze, you don't… remember?"

"Remember what?" I asked in return. Was there something from before I departed that I forgot? That couldn't be, everything was in place.

"… No, it's nothing. Nothing important anyway! You're finally back!" Rei grinned before latching on to me once more.

"You know, I was waiting for you at the harbor. I was hurt that my partner for life wasn't there to greet me," I remarked. Rei pulled back with a start, her face bright red in embarrassment.

"W-well, I, I…! I would have had I known when you were arriving! I had classes that I had to prepare for! I would have met you if you had just told me, you know that!" Rei weakly tried to defend herself, causing me to smile slightly. We stared at each other in silence before Rei took hold of me once more, even tighter than the other two times.

"R-Rei? Is everything alright? You're just awfully happy today," I commented, though it wasn't like I minded.

"No… No, everything is just fine… Even if this is a dream… I'm just… so happy you're here for me," Rei murmured into my chest. That was when my stomach figured it was a great time to start rumbling, causing me to blush as Rei pulled away and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well, it's not a dream as far as I know. Because if it is, dream hunger is just as bad as real hunger," I smiled sheepishly. Rei tried to stifle a laugh, but everyone else around us began laughing.

"You and your hunger, you dork," Rei giggled as playfully slapped my arm.

"W-well, I was on a ship for a while," I protested weakly.

"Come on, here. You can have my sandwich," Rei said as she wrapped her arm around mine, leading me back to her seat as she did. "I mean, they won't have any for you anyway since they didn't expect you," Rei continued, picking the lightly nibbled on sandwich and holding it out to me.

"Ah, it's a plain sandwich today. You really don't like those that much, do you. I'll buy you a sandwich at the shop instead, alright?" I offered as I took hold of the sandwich.

"Alright, it's a date," Rei smiled, causing me to blush. A date? Of course she didn't mean it like that, but still. "Come on, Partner! Let's go," Rei said as she tugged at my arm. Some of the students whistled while others laughed noisily but I tried to not pay them any attention.

So we began our trip to the school store. Rei walked contently at my side, hands clasped behind her back as she hummed a little tune to herself. I considered starting up a topic but she seemed content just walking with me, so I decided against it, instead taking in the scenery around me as I nibbled at the sandwich in my hand. It really had been too long since I was back here.

As we reached the main doors, I took a few strides ahead, making sure to open the door for Rei. That was when I noticed her staring at me, a wide smile on her face. Huh. That never happened when I held the door before…

"Thanks, Kaze~" Rei sang before continuing on her way. She really was in a good mood, and with Rei, it was easily contagious. I smiled before following after her.

"Ah, Kaze! You're finally back," Mrs. Tome greeted me cheerfully as we entered the store.

"He is, he is! He just got back!" Rei smiled from beside me.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Tome," I said.

"Oh, how was your trip? You simply must tell me! How did their store compare to ours?" the elderly woman began to gush.

"Haha, well, they were nice, but they dull in comparison to you," I smiled, causing her to blush with her hands to her cheeks.

"Oh you, you flatter me! I just do what I can to help you all," she said. "Speaking of which, though, what can I help you with?"

"They didn't have a meal prepared for me, so long story short, we're here to pick up a sandwich," I explained.

"Ah, I see, I see. Well, you know where the sandwiches are," Mrs. Tome gestured towards the large cart with a nod of her head.

"A Sweet Bean Paste sandwich, yeah?" I recalled my partner's preference. Rei jumped back a bit, eyes wide.

"H-huh? Y-yeah… thanks," she whispered as I walked over to the cart filled with sandwiches and reached in for one. Rei just walked me contently, not saying a word. After fishing around for a bit and being content with my selection, I pulled it out and handed it to her.

"Here you go."

"You know, I never got how you were able to just pick them out without looking inside," Rei murmured with a light smile of her face.

"Ah, well, it's just like dueling. You just need to believe," I said.

"So that's why you're so good at winning?" Rei teased me, her smile getting even wider.

"No, that's because you're my partner," I smiled back. As soon as I said this, though, Rei quickly went red, her face showing her surprise, but she quickly recovered.

"T-thanks, Kaze! A-ah, well, it's the same for me too! If it weren't for you, I never would have won as much as I did," my partner lightly kicked a foot at something nonexistent on the ground as she avoided my gaze. She then busied herself with opening the wrapping around her sandwich. Upon seeing what was inside, her eyes widened, which prompted me to take a step closer to her so I could see what was wrong. Did I get the wrong sandwich? When the golden shine of the Golden Eggwich hit my eyes, I knew that wasn't the case. Everyone liked that sandwich, so…

Suddenly my head began ringing and my whole body began to feel off. This again… Just what was going on with me…? Was this some kind of déjà vu from seeing the Eggwich again after so long…? Even so… I quickly cut my thoughts off as I noticed that Rei started talking.

"You know… nobody's gotten this since you left," she noted before biting off a bit of the sandwich. She smiled softly as the sandwich hit her tongue.

"Really? Well, I guess you're the only one who knows what it tastes like then," I noted. Rei's eyes quickly widened before she swallowed down her bite.

"You've never had it?" she cried out in disbelief.

"Nope. I'd rather give it to my partner instead," I said.

"Do you… want to try it?" Rei asked softly. Try the Golden Eggwich…? The thought had never occurred to me. The only time that I stumbled upon it was when I was with Rei, so I would always just give it to her, because that had to be some kind of sign, right? "I mean… You always give it to me… so I want you to at least try it. You deserve to, since you're the one who gets it all the time," Rei continued as she held the sandwich out to me.

"No, no, it's fine, really. I don't need it, you can have it. I told you I was buying you a sandwich anyway. You need to eat," I said, waving my hand dismissively at the idea.

"Just take a bite, Kaze!" Rei let out an irritated sigh as she held out the sandwich even further, which caused me to sigh in turn.

"Oh, alright, fine," I muttered before leaning down, taking hold of the wrapper to help steady it as I took a bite.

Suddenly it felt like there were fireworks going off in my mouth. The Golden Eggwich certainly lived up to its name! It really was one of the best sandwiches, no, one of the best things that I'd ever tasted! No wonder it was so rare!

As I came down from my Eggwich high, I found Rei staring down at the golden Eggwich, a small smile on her face. "Rei? Is something up?" I asked. Rei quickly blushed and looked away from the sandwich.

"No, no, nothing!" Rei dismissed my concern. "Hey, why don't we go for a walk? It's been a while since it was just the two of us and we still have time before we need to go to class," Rei said.

"That's fine with me. Just let me pay for the sandwich first," I said. I pulled out my PDA and walked over to the counter, putting it against the scanner.

"My my, such a fine young gentleman you are, Kaze. You certainly know how to treat a girl right," Mrs. Tome grinned as she typed away at the cash register.

"He is, he is, but he's my partner, Mrs Tome! He's already taken!" Rei said as she came out of nowhere and wrapped her arm around my own. Maybe it was just me, but Rei was certainly being way more, well, touchy, ever since I had left. If I said something, though, I might offend her.

"Oh my, this old lady knows when she's beat," Mrs. Tome giggled. "There, you're all set. Thanks for stopping by!"

"C'mon, Kaze, let's go," Rei insisted.

"Right. Thanks, Mrs. Tome. I'll see you around," I said, giving her a wave before we departed. Once we started moving, Rei released my arm and instead took hold of her sandwich in both hands, apparently deeply in thought about it. Hopefully she wasn't considering giving it to me. I had bought it for her and she needed to eat something. Though… Where she was staring… wasn't that…

My concerns seemed to be baseless as seconds later she bit into the sandwich, smiling happily once more. I smiled at her blissful expression before turning my focus towards leading us so that we wouldn't get lost.

"So, Rei, what happened while I was gone?" I asked, drawing a sidelong glance my way. Rei quickly swallowed down the bite as she made to explain.

"Not much, really. Judai and Kenzan have been winning the last few weekend tournaments, though, so we're going to need to get our game back on if we want to regain our title," Rei smiled before I noticed her lips twitch a bit, as if she were forcing herself to keep up her smile. "What about you, though, Kaze? What happened with you at your transfer?"

"Ah, well, nothing much," I said as I placed a hand to my chin in though, trying to remember anything of interest. Rei gave me a sidelong glance, staring at me with some kind of expression that I couldn't get a reading on. "I mean, I attended class and dueled a bit for the tests, but really, that was it," I nodded a bit as I spoke, confirming the memories to myself. I sat in the corner of the class, so nobody approached me and I was able to finish my transfer with no problems. It was a lot less exciting than I had hoped, as the Chancellor had built it up to be a big deal, saying that the students needed to see what a true Duel Academy student looked like. He probably should have sent someone like Asuka, though. She was an amazing duelist, an Obelisk, and just a great person overall, so I'm sure they would've loved her.

"That's all that happened?" Rei asked stiffly, drawing me out of my musings.

"Mmhmm. I'm afraid to say that they don't have evil groups trying to take over the world every few weeks like we do here," I pointed out with a smile. It wasn't as if I minded defending the world, but honestly, there had to be a few other places in the world they could visit.

"Ah, well, maybe you're just a trouble magnet. We didn't have any problems when you were gone," Rei returned with a bit of teasing herself.

"At least I'm able to defeat them when they come around, then," I retorted. With our playful banter out of the way, we both laughed for a bit before I found hand subconsciously brushing against my barren neck, bringing the issue back to the forefront of my mind. "Hey, Rei?" I started to ask her.

"Hm, what is it? Having second thoughts about being a trouble magnet?" Rei smile teasingly.

"No, no, that's not it. I was just wondering… You remember my necklace, right?" I continued asking her. I wasn't expecting Rei to suddenly stop walking, frozen in her spot. She opened her mouth for a response but nothing came out. "Rei…?" I gently tried to prompt her, but her brows began furrowed as she gulped. Out of options, I turned forward towards where she was staring and found two Obelisks approaching us. Ah, was that the problem? I couldn't recognize these guys, but maybe they caused Rei some trouble while I was away? That'd make sense given her reaction to them.

"Lookie here! Ol' Slacker is back again!" the blonde of the duo remarked.

"Kokoro! Duel us! We've been preparing ever since you left and we're ready to destroy you now!" the brunette goaded. I found myself suppressing a sigh as I turned back to my partner, who was rolling her eyes.

"Well, what do you say? Will you help me, Partner?" I asked with a smile. Rei just nodded eagerly, a grin breaking across her face.

"Of course! That's what partners are for, Kaze!"

"Duel!"

Reviews:

Lion Heart Leon/SilverFlameHaze: I figured this would be the major question regarding the last chapter, so I guess I'll try to go through the rationale. It's been established that Aki puts her full faith in the Arcadia Movement; would she really accuse them of doing something? The answer would be no, she didn't believe Divine was the villain in the anime until quite some time after Mikage approached her with some data or something, it's been a while since I watched the show, but even after, she still seemed happy to greet him when he showed up in the Aki/Misty duel at the end. Anyway, she would never really question anyone from the movement. That being said, she knows that Kaze and Ida have remained fairly close despite everything, and have even been chatting a bit in secret. If she can't blame the psychics, how else would everything have happened? The only conclusion would be what happened was exactly what it seemed. Hopefully that makes sense, since I'm trying not to go on for too long.

Tyler Nator: I'm glad to hear that you like the depth of the characters, and it's especially great to hear that the emotion came across as I intended. I'm glad you enjoyed everything, really.