A/N: I'm not even going to make an excuse. If you're still into this series, I'm glad, but I feel like I might have lost a few readers with my procrastinating.

I also don't remember if I mentioned how long the gap between the start of this fic and the start of Asia Circuit was, but as of now it's just a few weeks - maybe two or three - since Leon couldn't have been under Void's control that long could he? I'll probably have to edit the summary soon... I also lied when I said there wouldn't be many fillers. It would be pretty hard to just time-skip all the way to the memory wipe, and nothing would make sense, so the first few chapters will probably be fillers. That doesn't mean Leon will be meeting anyone other than Miwa and maybe Kai for a while though.

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When Taishi said "have some fun" Leon didn't expect it to be at a school. Taishi's school, to be exact. Somehow the blond had managed to convince his teachers to let Leon sit in on his classes - something about "shadowing"? - and they grudgingly agreed, so it should have been fine, right?

At least, that's what Leon was telling himself twenty minutes ago, when he didn't have thirty pairs of eyes on him.

"There's not that many people!" Taishi laughed when Leon voiced his concerns. "There's at least twenty-five, and that's if everyone decided to show up today."

That didn't do anything to calm Leon's nerves. According to Taishi, there was another ten minutes before class started, and it seemed the students were taking this chance to get a good look at the "adorable foreign kid Miwa brought in". He didn't get what they were talking about, as he hardly considered himself cute, but he ignored it.

"Word travels fast, you know." A deep voice said behind him. Leon managed not to jump only because of how calm Taishi looked - he was even grinning, despite the disapproving tone of the person speaking. "People from other classes are coming by just to see what you've brought in today. It's noisy."

Leon chanced a look behind him, meeting narrow green eyes. He couldn't hold the older boy's gaze for more than a few seconds, turning back to Taishi. The blond gave him an understanding look, then looked up at the male in front of his desk.

"I'm surprised you even noticed, with how out of it you've been." His grin widened. "Aichi not being as sweet as he usually is?"

Leon could feel the glare despite the fact that it wasn't directed at him. At least, he hoped it wasn't.

"He's focusing on exams for high school, don't bother him." The other boy said, annoyed. Taishi hummed.

"That so. Did he mention where he's going?" He asked. Leon felt as though he shouldn't be sitting in on this conversation - he had no idea who this "Aichi" person was, after all - but he didn't know where he could go either.

"Miyaji." Was the short answer, though there was a touch of... distaste? Taishi actually looked a little surprised at this, maybe a little hurt, but he covered it up quickly.

"Same school as little Emi, huh? Well, I'm not surprised. Izaki mentioned he has the grades to make it even without the cash." He laughed, but it sounded strained. Leon was tempted to ask what the problem was, but he held his tongue. He didn't know what they were talking about, and if they wanted him to know, Taishi would have said something to him. "Oh, speaking of middle schoolers."

He supressed a yelp as his chair was suddenly turned around, and he came face-to-face with the disgruntled looking voice. The boy in front of him gave Taishi an exasperated look.

"You've gone and scared the kid. Don't do stuff like that." He said with a sigh. Taishi laughed behind him.

"This is Souryuu Leon. He's a cousin of mine that's staying over for a while." Taishi leaned over Leon's shoulder, close enough that their cheeks were almost touching and it should have been embarrassing, but Leon had already figured Taishi was the "up-close and personal" type, as Jillian would have said it. "The angry looking guy is Kai, he's my best bud, and I'm his, even if he won't admit it!"

"Miwa..." Kai said warningly. Taishi backed away, bringing his hands up in a defensive gesture.

"What? Are you being all distanced now because you've got cute little Aichi by your side and don't need me anymore?" Taishi feigned a hurt look - one that even Leon could tell was fake - hand coming up to rest over his heart. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted, I'll just let you walk to Card Capital on your own from now on."

While Leon could tell he was only joking, Kai actually looked troubled for a second before he closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"You're too much this early in the morning." While Taishi snickered, Kai turned away and sat at a desk closer to the back of the room, right next to the window. Leon turned back to Taishi as the older boy began unpacking a notebook and some pencils.

"Don't mind him, he's not a bad guy. Actually, he's really cool once you force yourself into his life." Leon wasn't so sure he'd be doing that anytime soon, but he'd take Taishi's word for it for now. "He's just a little pissy because Aichi has been really busy. Not to mention another friend of his that he recently got back in contact with acts like a five-year-old on a sugar high, and that same friend has been taking up a lot of Aichi's time too. I'll do my best so you never have to meet him. You definitely need to meet Aichi though - maybe after school."

He couldn't decline fast enough, as there was suddenly a loud ringing and students began filing in. The stares were back, this time from the ones that just came in, but they went away much faster as the teacher walked in and ordered the students into their seats. When they were told to rise, Taishi put a hand on Leon's shoulder to keep him from following along, though this got him a disapproving look from the teacher. The lessons confused him, probably a lot more than the average kid his age, but he amused himself when Taishi handed him an empty notebook and a pencil. He didn't have much to draw in the first place, so he just settled with drawing what he remembered from his Neo Nectar cards.

When after school came around, Leon was just a little worried.

"So it's just around the corner here - too bad Kai couldn't come with us today."

The brunette had declined their(Taishi's) invitation(demand) to tag along on their trip to "Card Capital", saying he needed to buy groceries for dinner. Leon thought it was just a convenient excuse, until Taishi mentioned Kai lives by himself, so it was probably the truth.

The stopped at a small, orange building. The doors slid open, but this didn't shock him as much as it had when he'd been shopping with Takuto. He followed Taishi, only slightly hesitant.

"Afternoon, Card Capital!" He said the moment he stepped in, raising a hand in greeting. He blinked and he was met with mostly silence. "Aw, no one I wanted to see it in?"

There was a cough from behind the counter, where a man with glasses sat. The cat in front of him was glaring at the blond, who waved apologetically.

"Aw, you know you don't count manager. You're always here!" He laughed. The man sighed.

"Yes, well..." He turned his attention to Leon, who flinched. "And who's this? A new customer?"

Taishi didn't waste any time in wrapping an arm around Leon's shoulder, forcing him closer with a grin.

"Yup! My little cousin, he's staying with me for a while." He said easily. "He's been living in the country for a while, so he doesn't know much about Vanguard. He's got a deck though."

Taishi then turned to Leon, pointing at the man.

"This is the manager of the store, Shin-san. And this here's the Sub-Manager." He gestured to the cat before leaning in and whispering, "We all know which one's the real manager, though..."

"Hey!" Shin said, but was cut off further from the cat's meow of approval. He sighed, then waved it off. When he noticed Taishi looking around, he smiled. "Misaki is out shopping with a friend, so she won't be back for a while."

At that, Taishi blinked, looking confused.

"Really?" He said doubtfully. "I didn't think she'd skip work for anything. Huh."

He looked contemplative, then shrugged, pulling Leon further into the store. The younger blond didn't fight it, following along with Taishi's arm still locked around him.

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A/N: Not really the ending I was going for, but I got a good amount done?

It's unfortunate that it took this long to finish this chapter. I started this one... three months ago? That's what wordpad is telling me, but you can't always trust these things. Anyways, if you haven't already seen my note in the new entry to the "Tomorrow" series, then here it is again; "Through the Water" will be going on temporary hiatus until I can get my shit together. And by that I mean I'm going to try to focus more on getting the chapters written than updating, because then I won't have to rush everything and it'll turn out cleaner. I mean, ADT almost turned out a bloody mess until I fixed it...

So yeah. My main focus for now is going to be getting these written, so while I'll be doing updates for "Tomorrow" season 2, expect them to be slow and long between.