Chapter XVII: The Ra Mystery

Hello again, GX fans and fans of this version of the Yugi-verse! We're glad you've returned again! Sorry for the delay, but again it was Peach's fault. She's been helping a lot with housework and her newest niece. It means she's been away from the computer and hasn't been able to get chapters up as quickly. And if you're waiting for an update on any other tales by Peach, updates are coming.

Last time, the group found themselves bonding in a stronger way with each other. They also found that they were facing a new threat. Further, Kisara and Yugi insisted that the Slifer dorm be upgraded and the students gave their suggestions on how that might be done. So what will happen now? Read on and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Okay… you can stop calling us. We don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise. We just play around with the universe. We do own our OCs and interpretations as well as this storyline.

Authors' note and warning: First the warning. There is a heavily implied, but not shown, lemon. Now the notes… We have taken certain liberties with one Professor Thelonius Viper. We assume that if he had been freed of Yubel's influence and allowed to really grieve for his son, there was a nice man beneath the anger and ruthlessness. So that belief is reflected in the way he is in this chapter. He's nicer, to put it bluntly. This may be interpreted as OOC.

Also, the Professor Stein in this universe is a bit nicer since he's realized that there are things he can do to improve his teaching style. Finally, the background of a certain small Ra Yellow boy is being dealt with in a different way than in the canon. Since the gang seems good at finding stuff out, we can assume that if they hadn't had distractions in the canon Season 3, this little Ra's tale would've been known sooner. Thank you.

Wednesday came and Seto Kaiba arrived on his helicopter. Yugi was waiting at the landing pad. "Hello, Seto," the spiky-haired duelist greeted.

"Yugi, what's up?" Seto asked, noticing Yugi's possibly smug expression.

"Your wife is mad at you," the King of Games grinned. "The good kind of mad... She's waiting for you at Slifer…"

"Uh-oh," Seto groaned. But it was a good sort of groan. He knew that Kisara got mad, and then "tortured" him in the most wonderful of ways. He made his way up to the Slifer dorms where his wife was waiting for him. She had her favorite purple notepad out and was making notes. "Hey, babe," he greeted cautiously. "You mad?" he asked, catching her tense expression.

"You might say that," she answered, looking at the notepad. "I wonder how you could've missed just how bad this dorm had gotten… Seto, do you realize the school could've been closed down?"

He took a look at what she'd written and his eyes widened. "The Domino Department of Health would've had my head… And if the kids went to a boarding school with a dorm allowed to be like this, I'd be contemplating legal action," he admitted. "And keeping that in mind, I may have money, but I'm not going to screw the rules…"

Kisara hid a naughty smile at one particular word in that sentence. "That's good," she stated. "Now what are you going to do?"

"I have money, and this dorm is getting renovated…"

"Excellent…"

The next few days were madness as the Slifer students moved temporarily into Ra and Obelisk. The Slifer dorm was torn apart and put back together at lightning speed. On Friday night, Seto came into Jaden and Alexis's room, tired from running around, making sure that the rooms were up to specifications and yelling at contractors who were slacking off. He'd also had to answer many questions from students about his life, and dodge moony-eyed teenage girls. Kisara was waiting for him, sitting on the bed. On a low table sat two glasses of sparkling white grape juice along with the bottle. "What, no champagne?" he asked, taking in the scene and what she was wearing.

Instead of the usual comfortable cotton sleep shirt she wore, Kisara was clad in a bright red baby-doll nightgown that oddly looked a bit like a vest. The top of the gown was made out of a large-patterned lace and tied at the center of the chest with a silky red bow. The wrap-around skirt of the gown, which only came to the tops of her thighs, was made of a sheer red material and what Seto could see of his wife, he loved.

"I don't feel like that this evening… What I do feel like is us enjoying each other's company," she smiled. "As you can see, I definitely want us to enjoy each other… So let's just enjoy a quiet drink…" He reached into the small suitcase she had brought down to Slifer with her and went to change into his own dark blue silk pajamas, while she moved to the low table.

"You don't usually wear that, except on our anniversary or… when the kids aren't around," he realized, raising an eyebrow when he joined her. "I take it you're not mad at me anymore…"

She, in turn, raised an eyebrow. "You've been a very good boy the past few days… And you will be getting a reward… but on my terms…" They drank their drink, making light conversation, and then they rose as one. She led him to the bed and laid him down on it, getting on top of him. She slowly unbuttoned his silk night shirt, brushing her hands against his now-bare chest, lovingly pinning him to the bed. "You have money… you're used to screwing the rules… but tonight… well, you know what you're doing…"

Seto James Kaiba couldn't help but grin and blush a little at what her position was doing to him. "I certainly hope so… And we have to test this bed to be sure it works." She laughed softly, and they began anew an experience they shared only with each other…

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On Saturday evening, after the ribbon cutting, Jaden's jaw dropped as he entered his old room. "Whoa... Lex... the bunks are gone... and that is a nice bed..." The bedroom was much the same in design, but in place of the three bunk beds was a full-size bed, covered with a red silk duvet blanket.

Alexis's own eyes were wide, especially when they fell upon the bed. "I'm definitely not used to seeing this room without those bunk beds, but...that bed is really nice..."

"This... wow," he muttered. "Somebody really set this up." The wood floor had been nicely polished and the walls had been nicely painted. In addition, the walls had been properly insulated and the heating system had been upgraded.

"I guess Seto really didn't cut any corners with this renovation," the blonde young woman said, noting the brand new window.

"No... The bathroom's amazing now," Jaden agreed. The Slifer bathroom was now on par with Ra Yellow's bathrooms. "The kitchen and cafeteria's updated and nice too, but it still looks like it did when... Professor Banner was here," he stated wistfully. Alexis took Jaden's hand and squeezed it a little, offering him a smile. She knew he missed their old professor from first year; they all did a little. "I wish... he could've seen this when he was alive... But he probably watched today," the young man said cheerfully.

For a moment, Alexis was confused, but then she realized what Jaden meant and nodded. "He probably did...and he'd be really happy to see the dorm in such great shape now." And then, a loud meow interrupted the conversation, the sound bouncing off of the newly painted and insulated walls. Pharaoh padded into the room from one of his special entrances, rubbing his fluffy body against Jaden's leg affectionately.

"Hey, Pharaoh! Glad you're here, buddy," Jaden grinned, picking up the big cat.

"Meow," Pharaoh said, and then a golden orb flew from his open mouth.

"Oh, hey, Professor Banner," Jaden greeted the orb as Pharaoh pawed at it.

"Hello, Jaden," echoed Banner's voice as the orb pulsed.

Alexis's jaw dropped and she stumbled back. "J-Jay? Did you just...is that...how..?!" she stammered, shocked, her eyes popping.

"Oh... uh... sorry, babe... Professor, you remember Alexis," Jaden introduced as if hearing one's dead instructor was the most natural thing in the world.

The small orb took the shape of Professor Banner, and he held the same mysterious smile he had in life. "Of course I remember Alexis. There's nothing to be afraid of. I know it may seem strange...but I'm not an evil spirit or anything of the sort," he explained quickly.

Alexis calmed down a little, but still looked surprised and confused. "Uh...okay... Hi, Professor Banner..."

"What do you think, Professor? The dorms are all fixed! Pharaoh still has access to what he did before... And he ate a lot of rats and so did Shirley!"

"I think this is wonderful, Jaden! The dorm looks even better than when I first started teaching here. I'm glad that the Slifers are finally getting better treatment, all thanks to you."

Jaden flushed, grinning. "Well... I don't know what I did, but... whatever I did, it worked."

"Jaden, you showed everyone that rank doesn't always label dueling skills. A Slifer can be just as strong as-or even stronger than-an Obelisk," Banner explained for about the umpteenth time.

Alexis nodded. "Er, Professor Banner's right, Jay. You also showed that the ranks could inter-mix... The Slifers could hang out with Ras and Obelisks as well as other Slifers."

"Oh, yeah... the last few days, everyone's gotten along..."

"It's a nice change from my last year here. This is what a school is supposed to be like," Professor Banner said, smiling happily.

"Well, Alexis is living here with me," Jaden grinned. "She's still an Obelisk, but she's living at Slifer!"

"Well, you were a Slifer living at Obelisk, Jaden," Banner reminded.

"Yeah... Well, still, it's kinda fun to have her down here, and a little weird, since Slifer's been for boys..."

"But Blair's a Slifer. I wonder if they're going to make it so that girls can be any rank, too..." Alexis wondered aloud.

"I heard they made an exception for her," Jaden said thoughtfully, "but it'd be only fair to have Ra and Slifer girls too..." Pharaoh meowed, seemingly in agreement. "Maybe someday, we'll have more girls and they'll have to have Slifers and Ras... Maybe Mai can be convinced that we need that," the living human male concluded.

Alexis smiled. "I'm sure we could eventually convince her to give it a try."

"Guess Blair is our... guinea pig," Jaden mused to Professor Banner. "I think her uniform could be better, though..." He was actually paying attention to fashion, thanks to what Alexis wore.

"Well, they've made exceptions to the uniform before. Perhaps you could speak with Mrs. Wheeler about the uniforms as well," the spiritual teacher replied.

"Good idea, sir!" Jaden grinned. "Lex, you could help design it... and Annie could sew it!"

"I'll ask the other girls to help out, too. With everyone's input I bet we could make a good uniform for the girls," she answered eagerly. Jaden and Alexis kept chatting as they got their room set up, and wisely, Professor Banner turned back into the golden orb and retreated into Pharaoh's stomach.

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By the following Monday, Jaden was back to his normal school schedule, albeit with counseling sessions with the school psychologist thrown in. He was well enough that his parents knew they could return home. "You sure you're okay, Jay-Jay?" Jayda asked.

"Yeah, Mom," he answered. "I know I'm not alone... and I'm not a freak..."

Hisoka smiled, placing a strong hand on his only son's shoulder. "That's exactly right, Jaden. Just keep those statements in mind, and don't forget them. And if you ever need us, we're only a phone call away. All right?"

"Got it, Dad." And then as was Jaden's custom, he practically flattened his parents in a tackle-hug. Used to it, the two parents held Jaden in a warm, loving embrace.

Yugi, after a moment, came forward. "Jaden... it will be okay. Remember that... And whatever this dark side of you throws, you're strong enough to ultimately prevail. And remember, if you need to talk, I'm glad to at any hour..."

"Thanks, Yugi," Jaden smiled, hugging his idol.

All too soon, it was time for the entire cadre of adults to leave. "Atticus, keep an eye out for your brother and sister," Scout admonished. "And keep an eye on Jasmine. I think she's a sweet girl, and I think you ought to hang onto her..."

Atticus blushed ever-so-slightly, but hid it with a broad grin. "Not to worry, Mom! I'll make sure Lexi and Chazzy don't get into any trouble--"

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Alexis muttered.

"-and I think Jasmine is right for me," Atticus finished, ignoring his sister's comment.

"I promise I won't get in any more fights like what I did to Terry," Chazz promised, still nursing a sore knuckle. "I learned my lesson, Mom and Dad, and I have the injury to remind me..."

"Good. Violence is never the answer, Chazz. I'm glad you've learned that lesson now," Jack said, pulling his youngest son into a hug.

Chazz hugged back, glad he'd lowered his defenses that night 5 months previously and let Jack Rhodes see who he really was. "Love you, Dad..."

"Love you too, son." Jack pulled out of the hug and then hugged his other two children. "Both of you be careful. Especially you, Atticus. I don't want to get any phone calls from Chancellor Shepherd..." he said in a warning tone.

The dark-haired young man sweat-dropped. "I know, Dad. I won't do anything..."

Chazz got a naughty grin on his face. "Yeah, bro... like you won't do anything before Thanksgiving..." He broke away and started running.

Atticus blushed and then grinned, chasing after his little brother. "Get back here, Chazz! I think someone's asking for another noogie, big brother style!"

"You gotta catch me first!" the younger Rhodes boy shouted.

"He's going to be okay, Jack," Scout smiled as Alexis tore after her brothers as well, prepared to pull ears if necessary.

Jack grinned, chuckling a bit. "I think he is, Scout. He's come a long way since we first met him," he said nostalgically, putting an arm around her.

"Yeah," she agreed, putting her arm around her husband as well.

The group of adults boarded the helicopter and flew off. "Babe, you okay?" Seto asked his wife curiously as they sat back in their plush leather seats.

"Oh yeah," she smiled back gently. "Just... don't be too surprised in a few weeks..."

Seto groaned softly. "Again?" She nodded, with a not so mysterious grin. "Well... I like you that way," he concluded, smiling slightly.

Yugi had caught it. "You mean... Again? Oh, boy..."

"Again?" Hisoka inquired, overhearing Yugi.

Kisara smiled, flushing a bit. "Uh... we've... thought about trying again..."

Hisoka understood, and smiled. "Ah... Well, then, good luck."

Jayda grinned as did Scout and Karen. "How many are you trying for?" the brown-and-redheaded doctor asked.

"Oh, I don't know," the white-blonde answered. "But I think Darla will be giving me discounts at this rate..."

Jack couldn't help but laugh a little. "I'm sure the kids will be thrilled to have another brother or sister."

"They will," Seto answered, flushing even more deeply than his wife. And so the helicopter flew toward Domino.

Meanwhile... "Well, back to class," Bastion said as the teen group walked back toward the main building.

Violet sighed. "Yep. At least we'll get a break in two weeks! Thanksgiving!" she cheered excitedly.

"Yes... well, we've finally all caught up with our work," the Ra genius grinned. "So we have a bit of fun!"

"Yeah... I got clearance to deep fry a turkey!" Tyson whooped.

Rosa stared at him. "Deep fry...a turkey?" she asked, sweat-dropping. She was still getting used to the idea of Thanksgiving in itself, having had her first the year before. And just when she was beginning to understand the holiday, her fiancé had to throw her back into a state of confusion.

"Yeah, darlin'... We ain't bakin' it in the oven, and it'll taste great!" the Texas Ra grinned, remembering when his dad deep-fried turkeys.

"Just don't start a fire...okay? I've seen videos," Syrus said, grinning sheepishly. It was actually common knowledge that improper deep frying of a turkey almost always led to flames.

"Don't worry, Syrus. I've got it figured. And I'll make sure the turkey's completely thawed," Tyson reassured the smaller young man.

Speaking of food... "Mademoiselle Blair, really, I am not hungry," said a quiet voice from up ahead, a bit wearily.

"Marcel, you hardly ever eat anything! Come on, I brought you something from Professor Sartyr. It's that almond-fried chicken you like so much," a familiar young female voice countered.

"Hey, is that Blair?" Atticus asked as the owners of the two voices came into view. The female was indeed Blair, holding a box in her hands. The other person was a boy about the same size, but far thinner. He had short, trimmed brown hair and large, cyan blue eyes. They were shadowed, and held a sad look to them. The boy was also wearing a Ra Yellow uniform, though even in its small size it appeared large on his tiny frame.

"Hey, Blair!" Jaden called out.

"Hey, Jaden, hey, guys," the eleven-year-old girl greeted.

"Who's this?" Annie asked, looking at the little Ra with a kind smile.

Marcel instantly became nervous, and it was quite obvious. He fidgeted a bit, looking away as he stammered out an answer. "A-Ah...I am… M-Marcel..."

"Bonjour, Monsieur Marcel, I am Bastion Misawa," Bastion greeted in perfect French.

Marcel was taken aback by the sudden French, especially since it was fluent. "You...speak French?" he asked, a little more confident speaking his own language.

"Oui," Bastion answered. "I speak a little..." And then he switched back to English. "I'm afraid we haven't met before now..."

Marcel's gaze turned to the ground; he'd always been nervous around other people. And everyone at the school was so much bigger and stronger than he was...except for Blair. She was his first and only friend...so far. "I...do not leave my dorm much," he admitted.

"Well, maybe we oughta change that, Private. The name's Tyson Hassleberry. I'm a Ra, too, but I've been livin' with my fiancée, Rosa in Obelisk," Tyson greeted cheerfully.

Marcel had to look up just to see Tyson's face; if it wasn't for the friendly greeting, he would have been scared out of his wits. He thought for sure that the huge Ra could break him in half without a second thought. "U-Uh..."

"Do not worry about him, Marcel. He is not as scary as he may look," Rosa said soothingly, smiling. It was an even bigger collision of cultures, though the two countries were close by border. French was meeting Spanish, English being neither student's native tongue.

Annie stepped forward. "May I offer my assistance as translator?" she asked politely, having knowledge of both French and Spanish.

Both Marcel and Rosa looked at her. "Um...okay," he answered.

Rosa nodded. "Sure." And so Annie stood, ready to listen as Rosa introduced herself and Marcel introduced himself. She translated that easily and then they drew into a short conversation.

The two found a common ground. Both of them had transferred to this school from practically another world, and had to adjust to the new culture. "You may not understand some of the things Americans do now, but it will make sense in time. Oh, and don't take the way they name things too literally. Like pinecones," Rosa explained.

"Pinecones? Oh yes, Blair explained that to me. I was really confused with some names... Like one of Madame Dorothy's frappucinos," Marcel replied, sweat-dropping.

"As I said, you'll get the hang of it. I did...though don't be surprised if you still get confused every now and then," Rosa said reassuringly as the conversation came to a close.

Annie drew a breath as she finished translating. "Well, Marcel, we're all glad to help you get better acquainted with this school. And if you want..."

"We'll be your friends!" Jaden finished eagerly. "Oh, I'm Jaden, by the way," he grinned, shaking the small boy's hand. In Jaden's eagerness, he ended up shaking Marcel's entire body. And the smaller boy stumbled when the Slifer finally let go. He actually found himself feeling a bit dizzy. Jaden realized. "Oh... sorry about that, Marcel..." The entire older group introduced themselves to the French boy, trying to make him feel at home. "So... do you want to go get a treat with us after class?" the brown-and-redheaded young man invited.

"You...want to, er, 'hang out' with me?" Marcel asked in surprise, trying out an American phrase he had heard around the school.

Everyone grinned. "Yeah, little buddy," Tyson answered, keeping his easy smile on. "You're part of our platoon!"

"Platoon...?" Marcel vaguely remembered the word belonging to the subject of military, and was confused.

"Oh, sorry. My daddy's a retired general in the US army and so I talk like I'm in the army," Tyson apologized.

"What he means is, you're a part of our group, just like Blair is," Jasmine translated.

And then, there was a rustling of a bush and out popped Professor Bonaparte. "Oh... terribly sorry, children. I was... looking for my contact lens!" he said, blushing.

Instantly, Marcel tensed, heartbeat shooting up to the speed of a mouse's. "Uh, um, excusez-moi! I just remembered that I need to, er....do my homework!" he stammered out before turning on his heel and running off. Marcel was actually pretty fast for his size and frame.

The group exchanged glances. "Professor," Jaden said, kneeling down, "let me help you."

"No, no, it's all right. I just found it and I'll go clean it before my next class," Bonaparte lied. And then he ran off.

"What was that all about?" Annie wondered, her eyes wide.

And of course, to no one's surprise… "I smell a conspiracy!" Violet exclaimed, lifting a finger into the air dramatically.

Bastion nodded. "Darling... you may be right this time... I think we do have a conspiracy on our hands. But rather than repeat the picnic incident... I think we need to go through official channels..."

"What do you mean, 'right this time'? I'm always right-" Violet began, but was interrupted by Syrus to save an argument from starting up.

"What kind of official channels, Bastion?"

"We go to Chancellor Shepherd," Bastion answered.

"Or Dr. Crowler. They seem to hang out a lot," Jaden added.

"Yeah," Mindy agreed. "But the rumor mill says they're not an item..."

Several faces in the group turned green. "Ewwww," Blair groaned. "Those two... together? EWWW!!!"

Alexis groaned. "Mindy, why did you bring that up?!"

"I...don't know," Mindy answered, blushing.

"Well, I suggest we forget all about that subject and get back to the one we were going to try researching in the first place," Atticus stated quickly.

"Good idea," Jasmine groaned. "So we have to find out about Marcel... and why Professor Bonaparte is acting bizarre..."

"Hello, kids," a deep voice said. Everyone turned to see Professor Thelonius Viper.

"Oh, hey Professor Viper! Long time no see," Violet greeted cheerfully.

Professor Viper, once cleared of Yubel's less-than-kind influence and having accepted his son's death, had evidently decided that the students of Duel Academy needed a friendly but firm fatherly teacher. And so he had gladly given hugs, words of encouragement, and even helped with student study groups. And now, his fatherly radar was working well in finding teens in a possible conspiracy. "Hello, Violet. Looks like all of you kids are doing better today. How's the ankle, Annie?"

"Better, sir," she smiled. "I'll be off the crutches in a couple of weeks."

"Good... now I have to wonder. You all were talking about finding out something about Professor Bonaparte and Marcel, is that right?"

"Yeah. They both acted really weird just a minute ago... Professor Bonaparte appeared, and Marcel ran off. And then Professor Bonaparte left too, but he seemed to be in a hurry," Syrus explained.

Professor Viper knew all too well what was going on, being privy to certain information. However, he could not reveal it to the students. 'These children are good sleuths,' he thought quickly. 'I can't tell them... but I can nudge them in the right direction.' "I suggest you check the teachers' biography on the school website. Sometimes, secrets are hidden right out in the open..."

Axel's eyebrows raised. "Sir?" And Viper gave his student a significant look and the dark-skinned young man's eyes widened in shock.

"Axel? You all right, mate?" Jim asked, noticing his friend's sudden shock.

Viper nodded, knowing his message had gotten across. "See you in class, everyone..." And he left to get to his class.

"Professor Viper just helped us," Axel explained. "He knows we'd figure things out but he gave us a push."

"Wait, you mean he already knows what we're lookin' for, and he didn't even tell us?!" Jesse asked, putting his hands on his hips.

Axel nodded. "He'd know about Marcel... and Bonaparte has something to do with it!"

Annie, Bastion and Tyson looked at each other. "He's right... Faculty would have to know!" Annie exclaimed.

"Well then let's take his advice and go look up Professor Bonaparte's biography," Atticus stated, grinning excitedly.

"One problem," Blair realized, looking at her watch. "We have to be in class!"

"OH CRAP!" Jaden shouted.

The gang tore off to class and after doing her assigned reading in Professor Stein's class, Annie took a look at Professor Bonaparte's biography. "What the..?" she muttered softly. "Sy... look at this."

Syrus scooted over a little, looking at Annie's screen. "What is it, Annie?" he whispered.

She pointed. "His marital status and how many kids he has... He's divorced and has one son..."

"I didn't even know he was married... Wait, a son? Annie...do you think...?" He muttered, exchanging looks with her.

"Yes, I do... And now that I think about it... Look at Bonaparte and then Marcel," she whispered, pulling up a picture of the two side by side.

"They have the same hair and eye color... And they are both short," he whispered back, noting the similarities.

Yeah... well, that's a huge piece of the puzzle right there... We'd better get back to reading before Professor... Stein... he's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Annie asked, abruptly sweat-dropping.

Syrus sweat-dropped and nodded once. "Miss Hanson...might I inquire as to what could be more interesting than the reading I assigned to you?" Professor Stein questioned, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

Poor Annie was beet-red. "Sorry, sir. I already read it, sir, and I'm re-reading it." This was true, as Annie was gifted in speed-reading. But she always read material at least twice to be sure she got it all. "But... umm... could I tell you privately what I was researching, please?"

Stein blinked a few times in surprise, but let it slide since it was the truth. "Well...all right. Stay after class and you can tell me then."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," she answered, blush still evident. "I am so dead," she groaned softly to Sy from behind her book as the teacher walked away.

Syrus offered his fiancée a sheepish grin. "Well...he is a lot nicer now. Maybe he won't be too mad...especially since you did read the book..."

"Yeah... still, oooh," Annie groaned softly. The class bell rang about 15 minutes later and she made her way down the lecture hall, crutches clicking in the quieting hall. "Sorry for straying off-task, sir," she began when she got to Professor Stein.

Stein sighed. "It's all right, Miss Hanson. It was a first offense for you, so I'll let you off with a warning... But I still want to know what you were doing instead of your assignment."

"Yes, sir... See, our whole group is worried about Marcel..." She took a deep breath, knowing that his reaction just might complete the puzzle... "Bonaparte..."

His eyebrows rose considerably in surprise, and he interlocked his fingers, leaning on his elbows. "Miss Hanson...how did you know of their relation?" he asked, seriously.

Annie couldn't hide a blush, knowing now that she was right. "A little research." She handed him her PDA still set to the professor's website and the picture of him and Marcel side-by-side. "It's just... sir, he's sad without his dad, we think. And Blair says he barely ever eats anything..."

Professor Stein handed Annie back her PDA and met her eyes, still serious. "Yes...the staff is quite aware of this, Miss Hanson. Several of us have spoken with Professor Bonaparte, especially Dr. Crowler and Chancellor Shepherd. But I'm afraid whatever it is that is causing this tension is too deep for us to try and fix on our own..."

"Then... can we help Marcel?" she asked, worried but clearly eager to do what she could.

"You could very well try. It's probably a good idea, in fact. Last I knew...Blair was the only person he interacted with. Maybe having some more friends will do him some good," he explained, smiling a little.

"Thank you, sir," Annie smiled, impulsively hugging the instructor.

Stein's eyes widened a little, but then he hesitantly returned the hug. "You're, er, quite welcome, Miss Hanson..."

And so, shortly after the last period of the day, the gang met up before meeting Marcel and Blair at Dorothy's snack shop. "You guys are sure?" Jaden asked for the third time.

Syrus sweat-dropped and nodded. "Yes, Jay, we're sure. Even Professor Stein confirmed it. Right, Annie?"

"Right. If he hadn't reacted the way he had, I couldn't have been sure," she agreed. "So we know who Marcel is now. The question is... why are they avoiding each other? Unless the divorce was messy and Marcel came here to be with his dad or to spite his dad..."

"If it was to spite him, I don't think he'd run away whenever the other was around," Violet stated, having lots of experience in spiting her big brother.

"Unless it was to make Bonaparte feel isolated... but that doesn't make sense," Bastion said aloud.

"Right... Because he came all the way here from his home. So he would have already felt isolated," Alexis continued, frowning.

"Yeah... So... well, we'll talk to Marcel about it," Jaden said.

"Tactfully," Tyson stated, knowing full well that the Sarge could get into things too fast and too soon.

"Si. We don't want to scare him," Rosa agreed.

"It'll scare the living daylights out of him that we know," Jasmine knew.

"If we don't handle it right, he probably won't let us talk to him about it," Atticus added.

"So... let's just take it slow with him," Tyson said as Blair and Marcel ran up to them.

"Hey, everybody!" the lone Slifer girl greeted. "I had to drag Marcel here," she groaned, clearly frustrated.

Marcel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Je suis desole. I am...not used to having plans with other people..."

"It's all right, Marcel. We're just hanging out," Annie soothed.

"Right..."

"Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's head over to Dorothy's!" Violet exclaimed, lessening the tension.

And so they did. Several stomachs were rumbling, particularly Jaden's, Violet's and Annie's. "I wish it was Eggwich Day," Jaden sighed.

"I wish it was already Thanksgiving," Violet muttered, pouting.

"I wish I could decide what I wanted," Annie added. "Everything on the menu looks so good... And I need to fatten up... Right, honey?" she asked her fiancé.

Syrus smiled. "Yeah. It's good that you have an appetite again, Annie." Marcel stared up at the menu, frowning a little. He'd come to Dorothy's snack shop once before at Blair's request, but none of the items had looked at all appealing to him. And it was the same now; he simply didn't have the appetite for anything anymore.

"Hello, Marcel," Dorothy smiled from behind the counter. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Dorothy!" Jaden grinned as the plump woman came around the counter to give the Slifer boy a hug.

"Glad you're feeling better, Auto Club," she smiled, calling him what she had when they'd first met.

"At least your truck isn't giving you anymore trouble, Dorothy," Alexis said in reply, smirking. She remembered seeing Jaden push the truck to the school building once or twice.

"No. And Kaiba Corp bought a new hybrid," Dorothy answered. "How are you, Chazz?"

"I'm better, too," the raven-haired, red-clad boy answered, smiling back. "And... I think I want a banana split today..."

"Oh, that sounds good! I'll take one too!" Atticus piped up, grinning.

"Nachos for me, please!" Violet quipped happily.

"Sy, want the chocolate raspberry sundae?" Annie asked.

Syrus grinned. "Yeah, that sounds great!"

"Just a raspberry-banana smoothie for me, Dorothy," Alexis added.

"Hmmm... I think I'll have a taco," Tyson said.

"Uh... fruit smoothie for me," Axel requested.

"I'd like some rice balls, please," Adrian added.

"I'll have a bean burrito," Rosa said.

"A hot dog for me and some jerky for Shirley," Jim requested, Shirley giving a grunt of approval.

"And I'll just have a chili dog," Jesse added, smiling.

Blair smiled. "I'll have a fudge sundae, please, Dorothy. What do you want, Marcel? My treat..."

Marcel sighed. "I am...not very hungry, Mademoiselle Blair," he answered truthfully. "I...had a snack in my dorm." That was a lie, but he didn't want her to pester him, and he didn't want to worry her.

"Please, Marcel... Please?" Blair asked, giving him chibi eyes.

Marcel sweat-dropped, knowing he couldn't resist those. "All right... I guess I will have a pretzel..."

Bastion ordered a chocolate parfait, earning looks from the guys. "Hey, it has more caffeine than coffee..."

Violet grinned, wrapping an arm around her genius fiancé. "Hey! I respect a guy who has the nerve to order a girly snack. It's like wearing pink. Ya gotta have guts to do it!"

"We all wore pink that one time... Jaden," Chazz growled good-naturedly. "He accidentally got a red jacket in the white load when he had laundry duty..."

Syrus put on a sheepish grin. "Hey, that was partially my fault... We were both on laundry duty that day."

"Nah, we were just in a rush, Sy... Hmmm... Dorothy, I'd love some rice balls, pastries and some cheese puffs," Jaden concluded. Mindy and Jasmine selected some ice cream, and the group sat down at the tables, waiting for their treats. Marcel, unused to this sort of thing, kept his eyes glued to the polished tabletop. His hands fidgeted a bit on his lap, and he still had the same sad feeling hanging about him. The group of teens looked at each other. "So, where are you from, Marcel?" Jaden asked.

Marcel looked up in surprise, then frowned and looked back down. "Paris," he answered nervously.

"Paris... I've only been there once when Daddy went on a business trip," Annie said eagerly. "Have you been to Notre Dame Cathedral?"

Marcel looked over at her, and this time didn't return his gaze to the table. "Oui...I went there a few times with Mère and..." He suddenly cut off, and the mood around him seemed to dampen even more.

"Papa?" Jaden guessed.

Marcel looked away, frowning deeply. If it had seemed his eyes couldn't look any sadder, they did now. "...Oui..."

Jaden caught it. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Are your parents not together?"

"Oui...they divorced when I was younger," Marcel admitted, turning his gaze back to the table. His hands tightened a little from their spot on his lap.

Blair on impulse put her arm around him. "Marcel... please... if you want to talk about it... we'll all listen..."

"Yeah... Marcel, if you want to talk, we're all here," Jaden added.

But there was a sort of stony resolve in Marcel's expression beside the sadness. This was his problem, and he'd handle it by himself. "It was just a divorce. I'm fine... There is nothing wrong at all," he asserted, a hint of sternness edging his tone. Unfortunately, he couldn't muster much, not being that sort of person.

Bastion met his eyes. "Well... the door is open, Marcel. And we all know that we can come to each other when we're troubled... And that means you as well, now. So if you would like to talk about that, feel free. But for now... let's enjoy our treats and each other's company."

"Sounds like a plan," Jaden grinned, digging into his food as Sadie and Dorothy brought it all. The others did much the same, Violet and Jaden a bit more vigorously than the rest. But Marcel mostly poked at his food, simply not having the stomach for it. Bastion's words continued to run through his head, but his resolve to solve this problem himself didn't lessen whatsoever.

"So... do you want to know stuff about us?" Tyson asked.

"H-Huh?" Marcel mumbled, looking up and having apparently been lost in thought.

"Well, you can ask us anything," the big Ra offered. "Like about what we've done in school, how we met... dumb things we've done to impress girls..." At the last, he winked at Blair who blushed.

But they all could tell Marcel had something on his mind. "Talk when you feel like it," Mindy offered. And so the group chatted, hoping Marcel would join in. But Marcel truly did have something on his mind as he stared at his uneaten pretzel; or more specifically, the grains of salt covering the pretzel. It reminded him of something that had happened years ago, back in Paris when he was still young…

Part of the mystery around Marcel has been solved, but not all of it. What happened in his past that he hasn't shared with his new friends? Next time, more about Marcel is revealed in "Ballad of the Bonapartes." Until next time, please read and review! Thank you!