I did some fixings on Rie's image of the cover art, now it looks a lot better. I hope you all enjoy the chapter, we're finally finishing the arrangements for that tag duel to happen!

Chapter XI

Brothers

At the coast, Shou ties the last rope around the logs, finishing the raft, standing up and looking at it dimly, his brows curling up in sadness as his fists clench conflicted. There's no other way around, is there? Instead of dragging Judai down, he should just run.

His eyes flicker at the idea. He knows he's just cowardly running away and that this won't help him in the long term. But… He doesn't want to… He doesn't want to be a failure. His mind is spirited away to a memory of long ago…

Young seven years old Shou walks upstairs in their house, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He had this terrible nightmare with duel monsters that he can't forget about and was walking towards his parent's room.

He stops upon hearing muffled shouts behind the closed white door with golden details. Then, he approaches cautiously, pressing his ear against the wooden door to eavesdrop. A curiosity he shouldn't have sated.

"What do you mean 'it will be good for him'?! I can't believe you enrolled Ryou into some sort of dueling tournament for kids!" Kyouko's voice is the loudest, an indignant tone to it.

"He wanted it and asked me to help him! Why would I not?" His voice was more collected, but there was a pinch of annoyance in it.

"He's just nine, he can't know what he wants! Stop pretending they can decide it, are you sure you're not the one forcing your dream into our kids? You can't just incentivize them to do it like that!"

"I'm not forcing any dream into them, they like it! And what's the problem? If he doesn't like or if he loses, that's all an experience for him! You can't prevent him from living just because you hate their choice! This will be good, the best of the tournament will be chosen to go to a dojo and train as duelists to inherit a whole dueling style and even a deck from it!"

"This is just getting worse! A dojo?! He's a kid, what will he be doing there?! What if he regrets later in life that we didn't force him to not waste his time in dueling, but have a proper job instead?"

"It is a proper job!"

"Ah, yes, it certainly is! You were depressed when we met, Ellis! You told me that yourself! If it wasn't for me and the kids, you'd still be utterly depressed!"

"Kyouko!" He claims in a harsher voice as if she has gone too far in her argument. "Just because I failed, it doesn't mean he and Shou will fail too! They're not an extension of ourselves, I'm well aware of that! They are their own person and it's our job to help and guide them, but you are just freaking out because you can't stand their ideal choice of career! Stop! Let them experiment! Even if they happen to dislike or hate it later, they're still young, they can choose and do things differently than me! You need to understand that!"

"Yes, I'm afraid for them, they're my kids too! I'm thinking about their future here! Can you please do that too?!

"I'm doing this right now, with you! But you have to stop panicking! Ryou is so talented, this is such a good opportunity for him, you should see how smart he is, not only in school but in his dueling too!"

"I know they like dueling now, but they'll probably grow out of it! And a dojo?! What about school?!"

"He will go to school normally, the dojo is not substituting his formal education!"

There's a tense pause between their arguing, he can hear anxious footsteps walking across the room forth and back.

"Fine, let's do it like this: if Ryou is really as talented as you say, then he will win, right? If he wins, he can go to this dojo, but if he can't win this tournament, that means he's not taking this seriously as you say, I will talk to him and he won't be going to that dojo, but thinking on what he really wants to do. Shou too. You have to stop this bad habit of yours of making dueling seem like this dream world, it's not as perfect as it sounds, you know the truth."

"You know what, Kyouko?" His voice is now calm, but filled with disappointment. "You can't just bet on your son's failure and treat his dreams like they are surreal. You should ask him first, what he likes and what he doesn't, not impose hypothetical conditions to fit your idea of a future. If you really think about what he wants to do, you'd sit him down and ask! He can answer for himself very well, I guarantee. And don't tell me you're busy, you do have time, but even when you do, you will just ignore it as if it's not in your interest… The only one 'forcing' ideas into the kids is you with this absolutely terrible behavior of yours of not listening to them. Be a bit more responsible, will you? I'm trying to do my part, but I can't be both their father and their mother."

"Ellis…" She gasps in shock, her tone becoming afflicted, the words trembling while coming out of her mouth. "I didn't… I was just…"

"You can think about it later, let's just sleep."

Shou steps back, distancing from the door. His father was always such a gentle man and smiled so brightly, he rarely ever heard him sounding so unsettled and angry. His eyes waver, he runs downstairs back to his room, slamming the door closed.

He shuts his eyelids amidst the darkness. Now that he is back, being afraid of the dark looked silly, he doesn't care about it anymore. His eyes tear up, are his parents fighting again? What if they divorce? He heard about it from some kids in school, this would be terrible.

The light is suddenly turned on, he flinches at it, finding the culprit almost beside him.

"Shou, what are you doing up this late?" Ryou occults his yawn with a hand.

"I was…" He lowers his head, wringing his toes.

Ryou gapes for a moment, looking up at the ceiling, his eyes becoming distant and aloof as if his mind is somewhere else. Then, his gaze lands on his younger sibling, a tiny and fond smile curving on his lips.

"Do you want to see something cool?"

Shou's eyes widen at the prospect half confused and admittedly intrigued as his brother goes to the chest of drawers near their bed and rummages on one of the said drawers, taking out a deck.

The teal-haired boy tilts his head slightly in a sign for his brother to come, they both climb atop their respective beds, their legs dangling in the space between, without touching the ground.

"I wanted to show it to you tomorrow, but I'll show it now. Look, I got a new card today!"

He hands the card to the young Shou that by now wipes away his tears, interested in the news. The card is called Power Bond.

"It's a card that can only be used to fuse machine-type monsters, it's pretty powerful too, but it has risks. I got it to improve my deck for the tournament."

The mention of the competition makes the sparks on his brother's eyes vanish again, reminded of the arguing of his parents as he stares into the card.

"Brother, you'll win that tournament, right? Promise you will. You have to."

He looks into Ryou's eyes, almost begging for him for some assurance unknowingly. His older sibling is bemused at the sight, his brother has been this crybaby sometimes and they got into silly fights and bickering, but his father always told him to be kind and understanding, that his brother was just young and a sensible kid and they should try getting along well despite their differences because that's what siblings do.

"I will do my best, I promise." He smiles ruffling Shou's hair, a smile springing on his brother's face.

"Hm, but that's unfair, you get all the good cards." He puffs his cheeks, a tad of jealousy growing in his chest.

"Dad also bought new Vehicroids for you… And this card was a rare one, they only had two copies of it and I got both…"

"I wish I could have cool cards like you too…" His brows furrow up forlornly.

Ryou blinks bewildered for a moment, considering those words, and taking their father's advice to heart.

"You can stay with this card if you want."

"Eh? But you just said it was rare! And-"

"You also have a machine-type deck, plus I got two copies anyways, so you can have one and one will be good enough for me, I'll win with it!" He said as if the victory was already in his grip. "Besides, wouldn't it be cool if we both have the same card?"

"Thank you so much, brother! I'll take care of it."

He hops onto his seat excitedly at the gift, Ryou just smiles at how cute his brother could be, and they both chuckle while Ryou entertains him showing other cards he got. They shiver when the door clicks, opening, both jumping on their seats.

"Mom…?"

They ask in unison, hiding their cards from her sight, she almost pouts seeing their extremely scared reaction, sighing deeply while putting a hand to her waist.

"You don't need to hide your decks, I've seen it already." She approaches quickly. "I know you two are enthusiastic about the tournament, but you can also check this tomorrow, right? You two should sleep, it's not the weekend yet, don't stay up until late."

Their shoulders slump, they put the cards aside and climb fully on the bed, her green eyes wavering as she tucks Shou under a blanket, planting a kiss on his forehead, she'd do the same for Ryou, but he did it himself.

"It's fine, mom. You should sleep too, you have to work early tomorrow." His mature remark and stoic glance worries her as he turns around, adjusting on the bed, turning his back at her.

Her lips wobble subtly, not knowing how to best deal with this seemingly icy personality he's been developing, she knows he inherited it from her.

"Good night." She gives a peck to his cheek too before leaving, glancing over shoulder concerned about her two sons.

Shou waves a goodbye at her, as soon as she closes the door, he happily takes the Power Bond card from his pocket, smiling at it.

Back to the coast at the duel academy, his eyes flicker, reflecting those memories long ago. He squints his eyes together, opening with a scared, but resolved glint, grabbing the rope he tied earlier to drag the raft towards the sea.

Meanwhile,

Rie timidly shrinks under the stare of the three other teens, Asuka smiles softly to lighten the mood, approaching her calmly. The orange beams of sunset sprawl from behind her, embracing the group with the last warmth of the day as night starts setting in.

"I'm glad you came, we really need all the help we can get."

"Speak for yourself." Is what Edo wanted to retort, but he holds his tongue back, averting his aloof blue orbs to the side.

"Rie, could you tell them what you saw in the underground room in the hut?" Ryou asks politely.

She glances over their faces and nods, her semblance is somewhat distrustful, depending on the answer she gives he'd be in trouble, her fingers start weaving a long text.

"There were some strange books and flasks filled with dubious substances, it looked like… Some occultism room of sorts, I wouldn't even doubt if it was witchery or at least, someone attempting to make it look like that… There was a table and a chair too, everything was dusty and eerie, so I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible."

"So you do remember seeing those things…" He sighs in some sort of relief, he sees her bobbing her head briefly.

"Then this is a big problem, because all of that is gone." Edo interferes, his arms crossed and one of the corners of his lips curved down.

"Yes, like I told you before, Rie, it disappeared, all of it…" His bluish orbs narrow worriedly.

"It can't be! There were too many things, not to mention furniture! Things can't vanish from day to night!" She exclaims with the words, trying to sound as plausible as possible.

"That's why we wanted to talk to you. We think someone took it all away after you and Ryou were there, and that the culprit might be watching you both because you saw it… If it was important enough that they'd retrieve it, it means they don't want anyone sniffing on it."

She flinches at their punctual deduction, a drop of sweat forming on her face, she knows her uncle definitely recovered those said objects, after all, they were his. However, she can't let them find any connection. Her lips open unwittingly, a distraught gleam in her eyes.

"Do you have any idea of who could have done it?"

"No. Our only suspects are the teachers who unlocked us and… Those two girls who accompanied them…" Ryou states with disgruntlement.

"I can't imagine professor Chronos or Ayukawa doing anything of the sort… Okay, maybe professor Chronos, but… Those girls, aren't they from our classroom?"

"Are they?"

Ryou's voice is monotone, but he stands still as if he's puzzled and waiting for her to answer that, his inexpressive orbs astounding her, it's written all over his face "I don't remember the unimportant faces of everyone in our classes". She gapes at him in some sort of silent complaint at his unawareness, typing firmly.

"They are third years like us!"

"So you know them, Rie-chan?"Asuka raises a finger to ask.

"I don't personally know them, but I'm sure they are in our classroom."

"How are you so sure?" Edo probes her statements.

"They are always looking at me with contempt as if I humiliated them in a duel, even though we never exchanged a word, it's hard to not remember their faces." She shrugs off with her arms, as confused as them.

Asuka casts a discreet side glance at Ryou, her brows raising accusatively, she has an idea why the girls were looking at Rie like that. He flinches at it, noticing her eyes on him, then crosses his arms, restlessly tapping one of his fingers on his own sleeve, in hopelessness of how to answer that.

"It doesn't matter how they were looking at you, do you think they would be able to steal all those objects?" Edo cuts off the speech, pragmatically going to the point.

"I don't know… But wouldn't it be hard for girls to carry a lot of things? I don't think it could all fit in a single moving box… They'd also need to do it while no one else would be there…"

"I understand. You and him should try speaking to them and fathom what their intentions were and why they were there that morning. I'll try talking to Chronos."

"Why are you giving us tasks now?" Asuka frowns at him, bothered by his bossy attitude surfacing again.

"Well, no one else seems to be giving suggestions, I'm happy to be the first."

"Why were you in that hut?"

He is surprised by the question as Rie brings her PDA very close to his face, a gesture to call his attention. There's a long in between reading the message and replying, his eyes sharpening at her:

"What about you? For which reasons did you go there?"

"I was tricked. Someone sent a message that seemed as if they saw all of us outside at night. I thought they wanted to blackmail me because of that, while I was there someone knocked me out cold and by the time I woke up, both me and Ryou were trapped inside that hut… Now, stop avoiding my question."

Her blue eyes became colder as she said the last part, his inkling feeling of distrust contaminating his insides, shouting for him to be cautious on what he tells them all.

"Fair enough. I was doing the same as senpai and the girl here, investigating the missing students case. Happy? You heard about it, didn't you?"

Rie shakes her head off denying it, her brows furrowing in bemusement, the two old friends exchange a glance, deciding which one is gonna talk first, Edo is shocked to see how little detail they let out for the girl, mentally reprimanding himself for his big mouth, impatiently averting his eyes.

"Almost a year ago, some second year students went missing." Ryou starts, sparing Asuka from having to talk about the subject. "Asuka's brother, Fubuki was among those people. There were also other students that were part of the same classroom as me, about ten of them. That's why we're searching every night for clues."

Rie covers her mouth with a hand, her eyes squinting sharply as she ponders. It reminds her of what her uncle said that he used to have some students helping him and that they vanished and the horror story he told Judai and Shou, so this is what he was referring to, she didn't know it was all related to the incident. Her heart skips a beat at the thought.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She types sorrowfully looking at Asuka.

"This is why we think whoever stole the items from the hut can be very dangerous, if this is really related to the missing students, Rie." He finishes in a serious tone.

"I know you and Ryou are subjected to some extra rules due to what happened before and I can't ask you to break those for the sake of the investigation, but will you help us?"

She can see the reluctance in Asuka's eyes, looking into hers, her own orbs quivering conflicted at the request. She can't really promise anything, given she has to be ready to answer the calls of her true boss.

"I will try to help as much as I can, the rules are not a problem." She concludes stretching out her hand, Asuka smiles, participating in the handshake.

"If we are done here, I must take my leave, I have a duel to prepare for…"

He turns around, but halts, casting a last glance over his shoulder to look at their expressions and says his last goodbye. His eyes stop on the bothered expression that the other first year makes.

"The duel is days away. I'm sure you can spare some time to plan out what we do next." She reinforces her opinion. "And you don't need to keep mentioning it as an excuse to slip away."

"Look, regardless if my opponents are just two wimpy kids who barely know how to use their cards, I can't just fall out of a good habit as a pro. And I'm not slipping away, we're done discussing what we wanted for today."

He folds his arms, stuffing his chest haughtily as if asserting he's right, but he's startled as both girls open their eyes wide in shock at his thoughtless words, some tension swelling up in the air.

"What's the problem?" He's lost at their judgmental and reproving gaze.

"You shouldn't just talk about Judai and Shou like this…" Asuka starts, a saddened tone to her voice, but someone interrupts.

"It's fine, Asuka. I didn't take any offense." Ryou gestures by raising his hand a bit, his voice as placid as always.

"But, Ryou, he's your brother! You shouldn't let someone talk like that about him!"

"Brother?" Edo is even more lost than before at this point.

"Brother or not, he's a duelist and he must stand up for his own battles, even if they are a bigger hurdle than he ever had before, he will have to overcome it if he wants to keep being a duelist here." His chilly confidence exerts pressure in the air, she's worried by his impartiality.

"Is your brother…"

Edo breaks his posture, some wariness building sweat on his face as he is about to question, until a voice breaks their discussion:

"Aniki!"

Their eyes dart to the origin of the sound, from the lighthouse bridge they can see the blue-haired boy on the rocky coast across, Judai and Hayato come down the hill, to catch up to him.

The other four teens look at each other and proceed to the cliff in a hurry too, stopping by at the sight as Shou quarrels with Judai.

"I will escape the island! I can't win the duel, you don't understand, Aniki! It's better if you find another partner!" He runs to the edge of the ground.

"No, you are my partner! I won't duel with anyone else! We have to do this together, Shou!" Judai follows him closely.

"Stay away!"

Shou jumps onto the raft that breaks apart as quick as his weight lands on it, sinking into the sea, he struggles to keep afloat and starts asking for help, Judai leaps into the water to help him, but all it does is Shou grabbing him to use as a floater until Hayato also jumps and they all realize the water was shallow.

"Shou, come back!"

"No! I-"

"This is pathetic, Shou." A familiar, but harsh voice soars from above.

The three Osiris students look up to the rocky cliffs to see Ryou Marufuji loftily standing there, his arms crossed. He was not the only one, some other people were behind, but Shou was too stunned at the image of his brother to pay attention.

"Brother…" His eyes tremble in angst. The person he sees is so high up, so far away from him, an unapproachable area exhaling from Ryou's silhouette. He lowers his head.

"Are you trying to run away?"

"I…"

"With this defeatist attitude, you're not going anywhere… Nor winning any duel…" He closes his eyes, his brows coming together, as if the unsightly cowardice of his little brother annoyed him deeply.

Shou turns around, trying to gather the pieces of his now broken raft, a very low sniffing sound coming from him.

"Ryou-" Asuka blurts out in a half-scold and half concerned voice, Edo lands a hand on her shoulder and shakes off his head, indicating she should not interfere.

His gaze hovering on Shou's small figure, a thoughtful expression and a hint of pity in his eyes as he stares at the duelist. He didn't know the third-year student had a brother, much less that he'd be dueling the brother or even… Why did Ryou not say anything before? Is it possible that he's… Ashamed of Shou?

Ryou's gaze stares down at his younger sibling, narrowing so subtly it can't be perceived, his mind drifting apart from the scene to another memory of long ago.

Many years in the past

Ellis folds a bundle of clothes and packs it in some sort of sports bag, smiling cheerfully, by his side, Ryou sits on the bed, looking at his deck, a standoff expression unnatural for a kid his age.

"Aren't you happy, Ryou? You're going to a dojo and you'll learn about dueling, martial arts and a lot of stuff there. You'll spend your whole summers and winter vacations and every weekend there from now on!" His grey eyes take a side peek at his son's face, trying to discern what is the problem.

"Is it fine for me to go?"

"What do you mean? Of course it's fine, you won the tournament and earned that."

"But father… Didn't you give up on being a duelist because I was born? Is it fine for me to do this after you had to give up…?" His stare was blank but his voice sounded depressed.

"What are you saying Ryou? Who told you that?" Ellis clasps his hands around his son's shoulder.

"No one." He lowers his gaze. "But you stopped being a duelist when I was born, because you had to take care of me, right?"

"No, no, this is incorrect, Ryou!" He bends over, his voice softening a tad in pity, just what is his kid thinking? "Me retiring earlier in my duelist career had nothing to do with you. Of course, not having to work outside and travel a lot gives me more time with you all and I don't dislike that, but it wasn't your fault at all. It has nothing to do with you or Shou being born. I could have been a duelist and take care of you two if I wanted, so don't think about those silly things anymore, right?"

"Then why did you stop?" His brows furrow up, a saddened glint trembling in his eyes, and also confusion. "You always seem to enjoy duel monsters… If you like it so much, why did you stop?"

Ellis takes off his hands of his son in a reflex, his expression emptying as he supports both hands on the bed, a smile reappearing on his face after a break that seemed just long enough for him to collect his thoughts.

"Ryou, do you have fun dueling?"

"I do." He replies with a flinch, bemused at the sudden change in subject.

"Well, I also had fun in dueling, but a lot happened and at some point, I just couldn't have fun like that anymore. Do you understand?"

"Why?"

"Hm…" His eyes wander in the ceiling for a moment, then he ruffles his son's hair. "This is a bit of a complicated matter, Ryou, but let's say it was not only about losing matches, but not enjoying my dueling anymore and this caused all sorts of problems. I was very sad too at the time. I stopped my career before you were born, but that was just a coincidence, so don't worry about that, right? You're going to learn and improve your dueling on your own, so my advice might get a bit outdated." He chuckled at himself. "From now on, you'll walk your own path to start your career as a duelist, it's not about me, your mom or Shou, it's about who you want to be Ryou."

Who does he want to be? That sounded like a simple, yet tricky question for him to think about. His eyes look into his fathers as he concludes after a few seconds:

"I want to be respectable both as a person and as a duelist."

"He can be so cute sometimes…" he thinks inwardly, answering in a placid, gentle tone: "That's a noble goal for your life. I'm sure you'll grow into a fine person and duelist, you just need to make efforts and not give up."

He ruffles Ryou's hair more roughly until he complains by grumpily removing his father's hand. Ellis simply chuckles at the sight.

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yes…" A tiny smile opens on his lips.

"Good! We have to finish packing!" His smile enlarges excitedly.

That memory is broken by the sound of a voice, dragging Ryou back to the present, it may have looked like an eternity to him, but for the others watching him standing, it took but a few minutes between his last sentence and now.

"Hey! Kaiser! Your brother is leaving the island! He will drop out of the academy!" Judai clenches his fists, as if demanding his attention.

Ryou's eyes are impassive and unfazed upon the seemingly bold attempt of Judai to motivate him to act and say something as a brother. His lips open in a cold, piercing response, expressing only disappointment:

"It's fine by me. But decide for once what you want, Shou, stop squandering your time."

Asuka's eyes flicker upon seeing this callous side of Ryou again, even Rie and Edo are at a loss of what to say, feeling hurt for Shou's sake. Right now, he didn't sound like an older brother, but like the so-called Kaiser that reigned over the academy, keeping the throne of best duelist, someone normal people could not come close to or even talk to at the same eye-level.

"It hurts…"

The blue-haired Osiris clenches his teeth, voicing in his own mind, his eyes tear up but he can't even dare to look up. His brother is just so far away. He's been so far for a long time now, to the point he wonders if they'll ever reach the same height again and be able to talk like equals.

"Since your brother is leaving, how about we have a duel, Kaiser? A duel as a tribute to send him off!" Judai grins defiantly, taking the opportunity to finally test the skills of the top Obelisk student. And also, to understand the brothers through dueling.

"You want to duel me?" He stares at the boy grinning enthusiastically, a snort before he answers. "Fine, I accept your challenge."

His words surprise the other students even more, Shou included. Edo's eyes open by a centimeter, ever since he arrived, he never saw any of Ryou's duels due to them being in different schedules and classes, but right now, he can see it firsthand, what this Kaiser is made of. His duelist blood simmers in reaction, his eyes fixated on the stage as both Ryou and Judai go up to the docks to have more space for their showdown.

Asuka, Rie, Hayato and Shou tag along, the two girls having a drop of sweat trickling down their faces and exchanging a concerned glance looking at the royal and imposing posture of the Kaiser in contrast with Judai's laid back way of scratching his head. How did it end up like that?

Judai uses his elemental heroes combo while Ryou bares his fangs with the mechanical Cyber Dragons, through the duel constantly analyzing Judai and proving his mighty strategies. The sight of his Cyber End Dragon floating tall behind him created an intimidating aura to his unbreakable posture, but it's even more impactful to Shou.

"He used Power Bond to double the attack, it was a risk, but… Brother you never underestimated Judai, despite him being someone who couldn't win, you dueled him with all you had…"

"I can see why the other students respect him as a duelist, he's a level above… But why didn't he end this earlier? He could've done it with the cards he had, but… He held back for some reason…" Edo folds his arms, observing analytically. "He could be a nice opponent if he goes all out, there are many possibilities with his machine deck… It's been a while I haven't dueled someone decent…"

"You've dueled well so far. You gave your best and I did my best too, this is what constitutes a respectful dueling. Never overestimate yourself, but don't underestimate yourself either. I like your confidence, Judai."

"Heh…" He scratches his nose, grinning somewhat abashedly.

"You should learn more with him, Shou." He glances over his sibling, his unaltered tone startles the boy.

"I should learn more with Aniki…?" His eyes slowly widen, remembering why he stopped using Power Bond and how he had no doubt his opponents would crush him in the tag duel.

Judai had a gleam in his eyes as if he was a kid in a playground, learning the most out of it, despite the fact he was being crushed by the Kaiser. Ultimately, he loses, but he ends the duel with a smile on his face.

"That was a fun duel!" He guffaws, satisfied with the outcome.

"Yes, it was fun."

Ryou simply smiles faintly, he has no complaints, it seems. Asuka flinches at the uncommon occurrence, the last she saw him smiling like that was when Fubuki was still around. At the same time, the teal-haired casts a last side glance at his brother who faces him earnestly now, then he turns around, his message was given.

"That's some harsh love he has…" Edo raises a brow, wondering why he can't just tell things more straight. Aren't they brothers?

"Brother… I think I understand…" Shou initiates a monologue to his inner-self as he watches his brother leaving the docks. "You're trying to tell me to not give up easily…" His eyes lower, wavering at the possibility. "But why did you not say that earlier… I…"

"Shou! Let's build our decks together!"

Judai slaps his shoulder, snapping him out of his daydreaming, he smiles assuredly, the tension in his expression seems to have dissipated after seeing his brother's duel.

The blonde girl follows Ryou, Edo and Rie consequently also exchange a glance, lost in the situation, but tag along the other two.

"Ryou! Why did you… Why were you so coarse to Shou? He doesn't look like the type of person that would profit from such treatment. "

"You don't get it, Asuka. Shou is too much of a sensible duelist. If he wants to grow, he needs to stand up and fight."

He explains, his eyes gazing only at the way ahead as he threads confidently, his emotions hidden under his callous surface, but she knows him long enough to grasp his feelings well. Back when he scolded Shou, there was this vexation in his voice, but not only at his brother, it was pointed at something else, getting on his nerves.

"Even so… With all that's happening… He will face two famous duelists…"

"And if he can't even stand the challenge, then he'd better stop wasting his time playing duelist. If he's not serious enough, he should drop before it worsens. This is for the best."

His fists threaten to clench but he controls it in a movement, his eyes become distant, almost like he isn't talking about his brother anymore.

"Hey, you two!"

They turn around, noticing the ones left behind already caught up to them, Edo lets his curiosity get the best out of him.

"I have a question for you, Kaiser Ryou… Right now in that duel… Why did you not finish it in the first turn? You could have if you wanted…"

The fact he wasn't being called "senpai" mockingly by the younger student told him he was very serious about the subject.

"I wanted to test his abilities, plus it would be disrespectful to him to destroy him quickly in a turn. I always respect my opponents regardless of who they are."

"That's a very admirable way of thinking, but… Aren't you too naive?" The razor-sharp words make Ryou gape slightly. "This is just my advice as your senpai in the pro-league, but if you go there with this mentality, you'll be crushed in no time."

"Save the reprehension for when it happens." He retorts shortly. "I have no intention of abandoning my way of dueling."

"Respecting your opponent and not giving your all in a duel are very different things, you were good, but you lacked… Passion, if you do things half-heartedly, you'll lose out there. You'll understand that sooner or later."

Ryou's eyebrows angle down discreetly, Edo shrugs off as if he'd given his warning and input as a professional, not even he understood why he felt like he should tell Ryou that, but he wanted to.

"I'll go back to the dorms! We can talk more another time!" He beckons, his back already turned to them.

Rie also waves her hand softly, a polite smile on her lips as she bows and takes her leave too, Asuka tries to stop them, but Ryou taps her shoulder, making a denying movement with his head.

"But he's slipping away again… He's…"

"Just give him time, he won't run away from the academy and it's getting late. You should go to your dorm too…"

She could have still talked to him, but those words sounded as a subtle manner for him to ask her to leave him be. She understood it properly, leaving reluctantly, once more wondering what goes through his head. Fubuki was always better at reading Ryou, of course, he was his best friend, he'd know better what to say in those moments…

The waves crash into the rocks violently, a chilly breeze blowing from the ocean as the light of the lighthouse flashes around systematically. Amidst the bleakness of the night, he empties his mind of those memories of thoughts he saved to himself.

"That's right, Shou… You shouldn't be… You shouldn't give up yet. I'm sure you can grow into a fine duelist too."

He tells himself, wishing he could just have spout those words for his brother, although he believes Shou understood well what he meant, because his eyes were determined at the end.

At the Osiris Red dorm

Daitokuji hums while rearranging some flasks onto a shelf in his room, his stretched hand pauses briefly as his ears capture an almost inaudible sound coming from the entrance. He whirls around after finishing the task.

"Rie-chan. You came earlier than expected."

"I don't need to follow him today. We met." She answers briefly.

"Your impressions?" He folds his arms, leaning his hips on the desk behind him, his habitual smile never fading.

"He's clever. And… As shrewd as you said. It will be hard to keep an eye on his movements without him noticing."

"I'm sure you can do it."

"Uncle… I have something to ask… How much do you truly know about the missing students?"

His smile enlarged slightly, she was bound to hear about it at some point, he thinks to himself, then continues unfazed by the question:

"Not much. I told it all in that story, remember? About how they disappeared in the abandoned dorms… They willingly researched the shadow games and darkness, as well as occultism involving duel monsters and one day, it just happened that they weren't there anymore… All I can say is that I had a student learning alchemy under me, I had expectations for him…" He put a hand on his chin. "But he disappeared along with the others… What was his name again…?" He ponders, bothered by the fact it escaped his memory.

"You said darkness looms in those dorms when I talked to you before… And that this darkness took them in…"

"Indeed, but they are safe and sound, or at least, the ones I remember. Darkness is not our enemy, Rie-chan…" He straightens up, coming closer and landing a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me… Do you recall anything about your accident?" His voice is collected, but his brows curl up slightly in some sort of anxiety.

"I told you all I could. When I try to think more about it, my mind just goes blank…"

"I see…" He trails off, turning around, his hands taking a book and plopping it onto a pile of other books. "By the way, I retrieved my belongings left in that hut. But after making the inventory, I noticed there's a book and one of the flasks is missing." He supports his hands on his desk, a gloomy aura hovering above his head, then swirls around with his hands together in a plea. "Rie-chan, you have to help me. This is really bad."

"I thought you said there was nothing important there."

She raises a brow. Ryou, Asuka and Edo confirmed everything was gone when they went… But what if one of them lied? It doesn't make sense otherwise.

"They weren't important, but like I said, those were mostly failed experiments…" A smile twitches on his lips, he turns around gesturing frantically. "I-I mean, they weren't dangerous like in the sense they can kill someone, but… The thing that vanished is quite… Troublesome."

"What was it?" Her eyes squint in doubt, she approaches putting her PDA in front of his face, like in an interrogatory, he twiddles his fingers.

"Do you know about those truth serums? Well, I was conducting an experiment to make something similar, but with a different intent in mind… I basically attempted to try creating a potion that would charm people, this way I could easily convince them to do certain tasks if needed. For instance, like a politician convincing people they are the right choice or even a salesman convincing someone that their products are the best they can buy… It was a harmless try, but…" He scratches his face nervously.

"If it's something so simple, there's no problem in it being out, right?" She steps back, relief making her shoulders relax.

"Like I said, it was a failed experiment… I took notes of the effects, but you see… It didn't go as I planned and… It ended up becoming a powerful drug, so I sealed it and stored it in that hut…"

"What do you mean by a 'powerful drug'?! Didn't you say it was just to sway people's emotions a bit and convince them of certain things?! Not that this isn't already a dangerous experiment, but…"

"Oh, it's doing more than just swaying their emotions… It has an extremely explosive and powerful effect that lasts at least a couple hours." His voice comes off with a soundly exhaling of his breath. "I tested it once with professor Ayukawa as my test subject and it was an utter disaster."

"What exactly does it do?" She asks doubtfully with his circling around the topic, her eyes squinting, an intimidating pressure coming from her, he braces himself by holding onto the edges of the desk close to him as she brings her communicator closer to his face. "Uncle, what did you do? Please tell me it won't kill anyone." Her eyes waver at the last part.

"No, it's not for killing! And… What it does… It… It charms people, but not the way I wanted, okay? It's effects are a bit different than the intended and I have no interest in using that ever again!"

"Stop deceiving me, spit it out!" She demands with a strong typing, her mouth curving down, she comes even closer, making him cornered, he averts his face to the side, crumbling to the pressure.

"T-This is too much of an adult talk for you to know more, missy! Like I said, you don't want that getting into the wrong hands! It spells problems!" He raises his hands, she gasps, covering her mouth with a hand, understanding very well his implications.

"Uncle, you didn't…!" She types with a scolding glare, frowning at him in disbelief.

"The important part is-!" He raises a finger, interrupting her hectic and berating texting. "It has adverse side-effects like fever, fatigue, muscular weakness and other sorts of symptoms like confusion. I was bedridden for at least 5 days and I just tried a small sample. So, whoever took it can cause some ruckus and we don't know their intention."

"I get it." She sighs tiredly. "Do you have any idea of who could have taken it?"

"No, and that's what I want you to find out… It's a red solution that will become a gas when in contact with air, the flask has a sprayer attached to it under the lid. I used only a portion, but if the whole vial containing it drops… I don't know how harmful it could be to someone's health… It's imperative you find it out as soon as possible and retrieve it and avoid having contact with the substance." He sifts through a drawer on his desk and grabs a thin cylindrical vial filled with a green liquid, handling it to her.

"Listen, if by any chance the charm potion drops on the ground and you inhale it, drink the full content of this immediately. It will block the effects of the other potion and it will reduce the ailments caused by it, helping you recover fast." He lands his hands on her shoulders, steadily holding her. "Try to not get too much attention, and use the other tools you have at your disposal, once you have it, bring it here."

The seriousness in his voice broke all the clumsiness she had seen in him just a moment ago, telling her the urgency of his request.

"I will do my best and contact you once I have it."

He sighs troubled, stumbling a step back, she rolls her eyes thinking just which type of stupid person would play with dangerous substances to make a mess like this, but her uncle was such a free spirit, or should she say careless? Now that it has come to it, it's her job to help him clear the trial, that's what she came here for after all, isn't it? To help him. In whichever strange or hard task she has to accomplish.

With a new mission given, she departs. He watches from the window as she leaves the Osiris Red dorm, his smile decreasing at each second until his lips become emotionless.

"She doesn't remember anything, huh…"

He rummages his pocket, taking out an old picture, the borders showing yellow stains. It featured three people: Daitokuji in person at the left side, his garments are those of an archeologist; at the right corner a white-haired young man stands, his hair was short, a small curve on his lips as if he's smiling to the camera out of politeness, his brown eyes completely devoid of emotion, his clothes are also those of an archeologist; in the middle there is a woman with long red hair braided together on the left side of her head, her eyes are the same color as Rie's and also gentle–looking and her smile is confident, out of the three, she is the only on using a formal black suit under some sort of mantle covering it almost fully. Behind them, the scenario were some ruins and a lot of sand, some pillars inconsistently placed all over the background.

"Maybe it's better if her memories are sealed in the darkness." A faint smile sprouts on his lips. "Though, you probably wouldn't agree with me, would you, Emily?"

He sneers to himself, pocketing the picture again and resuming his organization of the recently retrieved objects. His face had a shadow covering it, the sound of glass tinkling as he arranged it orderly made the room feel somehow lonely.

The next day

Edo threads calmly, arriving at the director's office. Why he was called there, he has no idea, but it's early in the morning, so it's either something very bad or nothing important. As soon as he pushes the door open, his eyes open wide in awe. Samejima smiles while talking to a person in front of his desk.

"Ah, here you are!" they claim, turning around with a grin.

It's been a while since he last froze in place, unsure of how to react like this, not by excitation, but by pure perplexity. The one talking to him and stretching a hand was none other than the legendary duelist:

"I'm Jonouchi Katsuya, nice to meet you, partner!"

"Edo Phoenix."

Edo mechanically greets him, but his eyes turn to the principal, in a daze. The director has an expression of "please don't swallow me alive" while smiling kindly after seeing the killing glare darting at him.

"The duel is still a few days away. Are you sure you have time to visit the academy?" He stares blankly at the blonde in front of him, not very impressed, if anything, he looked less cool and a lot more laid back than the magazines let on.

"Heh. I'm not visiting shortly." He scratches the tip of his nose, stuffing his chest proudly. "I took some days off and decided to stay here for the days before the duel. Though, my manager must be plucking out all his hair by now! Haha!"

He gives a thumbs up, his grin opening even more on his face as he nonchalantly guffaws at his own mischief. For the first time, Edo has the impression this will not end well. What is Jonouchi planning exactly and why did he come so early? As his eyes stare deeply into the distance, wondering why no one told him beforehand about this visit, the principal tries to placate the animosity on the silver-haired.

"Edo-kun…" Samejima clears his throat. "Could you please show him around? I think it will be good if you two interact a bit before your duel since you'll be partners."

"I'm under your care until our duel happens, little kouhai!"

Jonouchi exclaims even more enthusiastically, Edo gapes at the request. This can't be serious, he's a professional duelist, not a tour guide, couldn't the principal ask someone else? He has met Jonouchi only for a few minutes, but he's starting to think they might not get along well. What will be of him and what does the famous duelist plan to do in the duel academy? How will it affect his night investigations? He doesn't like this in the least.