This chapter took a bit longer (and is also longer than I first intended to), I was sick and slowed down on my writing. I hope you enjoy the chapter regardless! We got some character appearing and a bit of a slice of life, lots of dialogue too!

Chapter XIII

Visitor

Inside an obelisk room, Edo sits on his bed, his arms folded, Jonouchi sits at the center table near the couch with his legs crossed, there's a tray with some food leftovers thrown to the side, he guffaws while spreading a deck, his eyes quickly shifting from a card to another.

"Is this really the deck you'll take to the tag duel?" The blonde spares a brief and sharp glance at Edo.

"Yes, why?" He adjusts on his seat, his arms tensing more in front of his body.

"Nothing, I just didn't expect you would be a guy who uses a deck all around Elemental Heroes… Talking about which, do you know which deck our opponents will use?"

"Yes, Shou Marufuji uses Vehicroids and Judai Yuki also has an Elemental Hero deck." he explains calmly, but an inner voice tells him something is strange about Jonouchi's questioning.

"Hm… Quite a coincidence that you both have a heroes' deck, it looks almost as if you're trying to prove to him you're better at it." He cackles, putting a hand to his stomach, Edo frowns at the observation. "This will be interesting."

"I'm amused you're putting so much effort into this. I'm sure even if you don't give your all, they don't stand a chance, though I personally would give my all regardless."

"It's a good experience, I want to see what the kids nowadays can do, you too, I never watched your duels, but I heard you had an impressive debut."

"That was some time ago. I've had a lot more duels since then."

"Tell me, do you think our decks have synergy as they are now? And what do you think about my deck?" He skims through the cards.

"Hm… You deck seems to be more similar to the one you used long ago than the current version you used in the pro leagues, a mix of warrior monsters and your signature dragons, plus some traps. I'm sure you'll make it work and I trust we can adapt. Not that I expect it will take much effort, the students we are against are first years that barely enrolled in the academy and have no experience with the pro world… If it was someone else, perhaps this could have been different…" His eyes squint slightly, an image of Ryou coming to his mind.

"Heh, I'm surprised you know which deck I use in the league… And that you noticed I made a few adjustments. I just thought having plenty of my old cards is the best for this duel! It reminds me of the other tag duel I had with Yugi! I never had to synchronize with Elemental heroes, though!" He scratches the tip of his nose as if he's unsure of what to expect.

"I did my homework, you're a very famous figure and I made a habit of watching all sorts of duels from different professionals. It was part of my training too."

"Who taught you how to duel?"

The question startles him noticeably, not that all this knowledge wasn't released in a zillion magazines already. Jonouchi chuckles at his reaction, waving his hand briefly, easing off his caution:

"I'm just asking 'cause I learned it with my friends, Yugi was the one that taught me the most."

"He's a world-wide famous duelist known as D.D."

"That guy? Hm… I think I have seen him around… But I was never matched against him because we're in different leagues due to our age difference."

"He'll retire soon, so you might not get matched against him."

"Is that so? Aw, man, I wanted to duel him at least once… But there's no way to do it in the league, I guess… Maybe I could ask my manager to convince him… I heard he never lost a duel after his image change… How long ago was it…? Nine or ten years?"

"Ah, yes, that was around the time he became my guardian too. He's been undefeated since then."

"Interesting…"

His brown eyes sharpen, Edo doesn't like how he's guiding this conversation at his pace, something about his questions just doesn't feel right. Jonouchi notices how Edo's posture stiffens.

"I didn't know you were taken in by him when you were this young. See how much we can find out while talking? But back to the subject, will you stay here or will you attend classes today?"

"Hm, I will go to the classes for today, if I skip too much, people will find it strange. You can't go in the classroom with me without permission, nonetheless I'm sure the director would concede it if you ask."

"What about the afternoon? I would like to make some simulations with our decks."

"During the afternoon we will have PE classes, I'm also not entitled to miss those, but they'll be happening in the outside running tracks, you can watch it from the bleachers. For some reason we will be having classes with the third-years too, I guess interaction stuff for the younger students to meet the older ones. You might be interested in that, just remember to keep your disguise at all times or you'll be surrounded by fans before you can blink."

"Gotcha!"

He answers with a thumbs up, the silver-haired brows twitch, this reply reminds him of Judai, it struck his mind hard with how nonchalant he could be even facing a great opponent, nevertheless, he shouldn't be annoyed at the enemy in anticipation, he should save all those words of scolding he wanted to tell Judai for their duel and tell it through their game.

His thoughts are disrupted by the sound of growling stomach, Jonouchi abashedly messes his hair, laughing a bit low. Soon, they're both going out of Edo's room, towards the meal hall of the dorm, it doesn't go unsighted by some other students that follow them with their eyes.

Ryou is again having his meal in peace while some younger students flock on the same table as him in search for advice, he glances over Edo's table, seeing the grumpy knot on the boy's face, he even dropped the silver fork on the plate impatient while listening to the odd figure clad in black sitting across him, the mouth of the man never stopped.

At the same time, Manjoume and his goonies also observe from afar, despite the chattering all over the hall, Jonouchi was able to be the loudest voice among them and it called their attention. Rumors start spreading as the blonde brags inconvenient words like "Duel" and "Deck" and "Check", letting the minds of the teens run wild about his purpose here and his identity.

At the director's office

The corridors are silent, the students are all encased in their classrooms listening to the lectures at this point. Samejima enjoys the faint smell of green tea while signing some documents, a tranquil smile on his lips.

His eyes dart to the entrance as he hears the door opening without any previous knock, he could tell who it was given the fact the person did not even ask for permission to enter.

"You can lock the door."

"Yo, principal. Thanks."

Jonouchi obeys the suggestion, a grin on his face as he gets rid of the bandana making his head sweaty, a breeze finally refreshing his scalp as he sits on the couch at the director's office, a long and relieved sigh.

"So, how are you two doing? And what do you think of him…?"

"Always business, huh." He cackles before his semblance becomes serene, yet shrewd, his eyes relaxing along with his muscles as his smile vanishes. "He's very intelligent and wary, I feel he could profit from relaxing his brows a bit…" He points at the middle of his forehead. "As for what he knows… I can't tell much, but he seems to be hiding how much he's aware of what's going on in the academy. I'd guess he knows something, but not the full scope of it."

"How do you like him?"

"He's still a kid inside… Though, I'm not the best one to be saying this." He guffaws embarrassed.

"Why not? I think you're fully capable of teaching him some things." His smile enlarges, it's a bit creepy because it exerts certain pressure.

"I'm not into teaching, but sure!" A drop of sweat rolls, he recomposes before saying the last part. "I did as you asked and I'll continue with our plan, however… About my investigation here, you said you wanted my opinion and expertise about shadow duels…"

"Yes…" His eyes trail off on his table, reminiscing a long distant memory.

"With shadow duels you can never be too careful, and if the students you talked about are somehow inside the shadow realm, I don't know what could've happened to them or if they're alive, but even if they are… It's possible they will have traumas or troubles coming back into this reality… This is just how terrible it can be. Well," He stands up determined. "I'm asking some friends to check on it and I'll make my own exams at the place it happened as requested… I wouldn't say you should expect much from it, as for the other reason you called me here, about Edo Phoenix, he's a delicate matter, but I'll take care of him too!"

"Thank you very much. And I'm sorry for asking you to run some errands so suddenly even though you were initially called just for the tag duel."

"It's fine, you know, I'm a specialist in this type of stuff and I'd be glad to help!" He puts his hands on his pockets and laughs before waving at the principal and leaving the room, putting on his disguise as he walks off.

"I really hope Jonouchi-kun can find a clue about the students…" Samejima sighs tiredly, remembering how Ryou scolded him some time ago. They're all doing their best efforts to find the students.

Afternoon classes,

Near the closed gym, there is an Olympic-size running track and bleachers surrounding it from all sides, with a generous walk space in between it. The sides of the track bustled with life, both first and third years students in their racing uniform: dark-blue shorts with two white strands on the side for boys and girls, but the girls' were shorter; and a white T-shirt with a dark-blue semicircle on the sides.

The first years had a round alone and so did the third years, then it was the time for both years to run together. Ryou was leading, his head high, looking ahead, his breath rhythmical and some drops of sweat delineating his face; from the first years the ones leading almost catching up to the Kaiser were Edo and Judai, but Edo seemed to not be even trying his best, he kept a constant slow pace and greeted his fans on the side while making the first lap.

Ryou's brows furrow deeply as he runs more, his bluish orbs cast over his shoulder for a moment, to anyone else, it looked like he was assessing who was behind or perhaps, contemplating the sight of how many people he surpassed. The truth comes forth when his scanning vision stops upon Raizou that was a bit behind Judai and Edo. His frown accentuates, but he turns his head away, held high and continues his task, a somber shade on his face.

On the last spots, Hayato, Shou and Taiyou wheeze, their sweat dripping all over the tracks as they pant and wheeze and drag their legs around the track. Some girls have mean looks at them from the sides, others just try to cheer them up.

Chronos shakes off his head while watching over them, taking notes on some sort of file. They are judged under the eyes of the very few people on the bleachers, some other students from second year that take the chance to peek into it in their free time. Sitting alone on a whole row, Jonouchi claps his hands to applaud them with a smile.

"Can I sit here?"

An unknown male voice comes from behind, Jonouchi gives attention to the tall, blue-haired man approaching. His eyes were gentle, closed together under his round frameless glasses, a natural smile on his lips, maybe he was a teacher there, it's what he concluded.

The blonde looks around, finding it odd that the man chose to take a seat beside him considering most of the space in the bleachers on their surroundings were empty.

"Sure!"

The blonde observes Edo that, at some point, also casts a glance at him, his eyes sharpening for a second before he puts on his advertisement smile and beckons.

As for the newly-arrived man, his gaze first land on Ryou, his proud posture standing in front of all the others, his unbreakable concentration as if running was yet another activity he should excel at without doubt; then his eyes land on the last of the long queue of students spread all over the running tracks, Shou wheezes so hard he's wondering if he's gone a faint before the lap ends, in comparison to his brother, his legs tremble more at each step and he throws his arms ahead of him in an attempt to make his weight pull him more to reach the end even though his whole body was already giving up.

His brows coil up in concern, his gaze switching between the two in a mix of anxiety and a tad of resolution to see it through the end. He grabs his knees unwittingly, strangling them under his fingers, a voice snaps him out of it:

"Are you a teacher here?"

It's impossible to see Jonouchi's eyes under the sunglasses. The pro-duelist saw the kind man turning into a nervous wreck and decided to lighten the mood with the question.

"Ah, no, no I'm not staff. My sons study here. I'm Ellis." He offers a handshake. "I'm sorry for the late introduction."

"Katsuya." He accepts with a grin. "You came to see your kids? That's cool, though, is it fine to come on a weekday like this?"

"Haha, I had an agreement with the principal…" A drop of sweat rolls down his face, a cue that he's not fully honest, but Jonouchi won't barge more into it. "What about you? You don't look like a student or a teacher…"

"I'm a visitor like you… But I'm here just to see the academy. By the way, you said 'sons', are they on the tracks? Who are they?" He puts his hand flat above his brows, moving his head in all directions.

"Ahaha, yes… This one and that one…"

He abashedly points at both the first place of the competitors and last, his hand scratching the back of his head. Jonouchi gawks upon seeing Shou being pointed at.

"That kid is…"

At the same time, the exercise ends, the nurse of the school awaits for the boys to come and grab a towel while Chronos takes notes of their times and overall performance. Ryou wipes the sweat on his face, his lips curving down as he gets the sight of the other students arriving, among them is Raizou, he notices the intense glare of the Kaiser and immediately turns around to hide his face.

"Did someone catch your eye among the students? I don't think any of them has it in them to be a duelist…" Edo's voice chains his attention.

"No. I'm not in for your sarcasm today." His emphasis on the "no" made a brow raise, especially as he whirled around turning his back at him and left without further explanations.

"In a very sour mood are we?" The grey-haired folds his arms, almost pouting while looking at the bleachers from where Jonouchi beckons to him, could it get worse?

It's time for the girls to start running, in the meantime the boys either get into the showers of the inner gym or just stand idly around to watch the girls' practice in some sort of juvenile zest.

"You saw that guy on the bleachers, it seems he came out of Edo phoenix's room today. Do you think he's some sort of trainer or manager of his?" Taiyou bites his nails.

"Who cares! It doesn't matter if he gets a manager or not, Judai and Shou are nowhere near his level, they will be expelled!"

"You're right!" Taiyou nods, then pauses, looking at Raizou that hides behind Majoume. "You're pretty quiet today, Raizou… Did the cat eat your tongue?"

He shrieks just by being called by his friends, they exchange a glance, he doesn't listen to them, his eyes are cast onto the figure of the Kaiser that glares at him from afar. Taiyou slaps his friend's shoulder to make him come to his senses.

"You're stinking, dude, go shower and cool your head off!"

"You shouldn't display such an unbecoming side of yourself. What are you even afraid of? He can't bite your head off, stop being a wuss!" Manjoume scolds him too.

"I-I…" He gulps, his orbs scanning the faces of his friends for a second before seeing the wrinkles on Ryou's face accentuate. "Y-you're right I better go!"

His feet hurry so much he almost stumbles along the way to the inner gym. Manjoume and Taiyou just shrug off their shoulders, unaware of the reason their friend was on edge. In the meantime, the blue-haired teen stares at Raizou, his crossed arms undoing as he starts following him.

"Huh, Kaiser! What about your lecture after the classes?" A younger student calls, his head barely turns around, not fully facing him.

"We will have to postpone this for another day." His fists close subtly, his head looking after the runaway boy, his orbs squinting with a twitch as his voice becomes graver. "I'm quite busy right now."

The girls start to run, some boys whistle at them, the people leading are some two girls from the running club, followed by Rie and Asuka a bit behind. Junko and Momoe are more in the middle spots and in the last spots are Ayako and Izanami. The latter two watch from afar as Rie's pink-ponytail wags, her eyes are focused ahead, she disregards everything else.

"Just look at her… Soon she will be a lap ahead. Where did she get those fast legs, did she train or something?"

"She doesn't look very muscular to me, and Iza-chan, we're also running slower than usual… If you hate it so much, make some effort or just bump into her when she passes by." She whispers the last part.

"Of course I won't do that, your moron! It will call too much attention and this is the last thing we need, she's onto us already! And do you not get that I want to talk to you about our plans and that's why I'm going slow to match a slowpoke like you?" She shouts in a low voice. "We will get her soon, but most importantly, did you purchase everything we need?"

"I did, but…" A drop of sweat rolls on her face, suffering anticipatedly, imagining how enraged her friend will be. "Are you sure you're gonna test it on the Obelisk Queen, really? And with Edo Phoenix? Isn't that too much of a risk?"

"Yes, but who cares! I told you! That girl hated him at first sight, I saw it all, he even humiliated her in front of everyone! If that thing we got is as good as the book promises, we need to test! And what better way to do it than using it on people that seemingly hate each other?" She smirks conceitedly as if that was a master plan.

"I'm sorry to bust your bubble, but did you not hear the comments circulating all around?"

"About what?"

"Iza-chan, the boyfriend of a friend of my friend has said that someone came out of Edo Phoenix's room today morning, and he's not a student… They think it's someone that came because of his tag duel that will happen soon and he'll be staying until then."

"Wait, what? You have to be kidding me! This person is staying in his room until the tag duel?" She bites her lips frustrated. "This isn't good. If they are there it could mess up our plan, we must make sure that only Edo Phoenix gets the envelope and that only that fake queen and him try that potion!"

"That person is staying overnight in his room, so you might need to make a change of plans, Iza-chan."

"Tsk… Fine! We will wait a few more days after the tag duel, everyone will be less aware of suspicious people into Edo Phoenix room by then. That's our chance to sneak the potion into his room and plant it there and to put a letter on Asuka's locker. You got it?"

"I sure hope this works or we'll be fried meat! And I don't want to keep that thing in my room much longer, what if someone finds out?"

"You're such a scared kitten! Whatever, we can hide it somewhere else…" She smirks evilly, playing the steps of the plan in her head.

Ayako swings her head negatively, portraying all the hassle it will be in her mind alone.

Around that time,

Inside the locker room nearby the boys showers, Raizou looks around warily, opening the rectangular metallic door to grab his uniform after finishing his shower, with a dry gulp, his shoulders finally relax. There's no one around, his friends are right, the Kaiser wouldn't come and swallow him alive in plain daylight, would he? He has a reputation to zeal for.

"Damn conjoint class… Why do they even want first years and third years to be together?! I even avoided him in the dorms, in the corridors and everywhere, and now because of this…" his mind reminds him how many times he hid behind walls or behind someone to not be spotted as he knew it would be his end.

He buttons his obelisk uniform with a depressed sigh, the locker room was empty, but he can hear the muffled sound of the water running on the multiple showers of the neighboring room. He hears footsteps drawing closer and stopping, confused, he turns around, the door of his locker still half open. His eyes almost bulge out as he sees Ryou standing still, arms crossed and an unfriendly glare.

"I knew you were a first year…" The blue-haired teen almost spits the words with contempt. "You were never in my class, that uniform you were using and the schedules never matched… Did you think you could escape forever? That I wouldn't find you eventually?"

Raizou's body shudders, he tries to run to the side in an instinctive reaction, but his shoulder is pushed violently, his back hits the locker forcing the door closed, he grimaces in pain, his eyes opening wide when he hears a powerful slam on the right side.

"Where do you think you're going? You won't leave until you answer my questions."

Ryou's arm is stretched blocking his right escape route, Raizou trembles under his stare, despite his cold expression, he could swear his eyes were burning from inside, that slam was also not a joke.

"T-Think well, there are people showering just in the room nearby… They could listen to us and if they come, just consider what they will think… You look like a bully… You'll be admonished…"

"I don't care. Spit it out: What were you doing that night in the hut? You were there, remember? And you locked me inside… But you knew that there was someone else inside, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" He quakes, averting his eyes to the side, his shoulders shrinking near the locker door. "Aren't you just lashing out on me because you got called to the principal office?! Do you know accusing someone wrongly is calumny?"

His collar is grabbed and he is yanked closer to Ryou, he screeches again, frightened at the unbridled temper of the other. Since when was the Kaiser so intense in something else than duels?

"Don't try me. I wouldn't mind getting another trip to the principal's office for landing a punch in this cynical face of yours. Tell me: what were you doing there? Who sent you? Did you know Rie was there that night?"

"I already told you I don't-"

"Spare me from the excuses. You heard me." He brusquely lets go of Raizou, striking lightly his shoulder, making him stumble back, cornered against the locker wall again. "You were up to no good that night and you locked me in there because I saw you, someone must have sent you there, someone knocked Rie out too. Do you know who and why?" His voice made it clear that it was an interrogation.

The younger boy's legs fail under the annoyed glare, even more as Ryou crosses his arms again, he looks even taller, even in his sports uniform. A menacing aura pours out of him.

The first year supports his hands on the locker behind, getting a hold of himself before he falls, his lips stammering:

"So-some girls told me that the pink-haired girl likes me and she wanted to meet me!"

"And you believed them? Lies." He scowls.

"No, it's true! It's true! Please, you have to believe me! Two girls, a short haired one and black-haired, told me the other girl would be waiting for me there! They even waited for me at the hut and said the pink-haired was waiting for me inside! I was just… I thought she wanted to meet me and… Well, you know what people do there, I-"

"Enough!" His voice comes out a bit more irritated than he wished to. "How could you believe them and why did you not ask Rie herself if this was true? This was obviously a trap! Do you really think any girl will magically want to wait for you alone in such a place if they don't even know you?!" His aggravated and somewhat fazed tone caused the other boy to jump and shrivel

"Ieek! I'm sorry! I apologize! I won't do that anymore! I'll ask next time, but please don't tell them I was the one who said it! They'll eat me alive. I really thought that pink-haired girl wanted to meet me!"

"And you think you don't deserve to be reprimanded? You locked me in there! Which happens to have been better than letting you be there instead." He shakes his head off in disapproval. "What about the girls? Who were they?"

"I don't know their names, bu-but they are third-years like you! They asked me to do it and said it was all fine! I swear I-" His eyes tear up frightened.

"I've heard plenty! Now, you listen!"

His hand delivers another blow near the side of Raizou. The metal clings and he could swear it was almost bent out of shape with how strong his palm whacked it, Ryou bends over, making a shadow cast over the brown-haired boy.

"If you get anywhere near Rie or act suspiciously like that again, you'll have to worry more than just about getting good grades in duels. No more chances for you."

"W-will you let me go?"

Ryou simply recoils his hand and straightens up, his gaze shifting away as if he can't stand the sight of the boy anymore, turning his back at him. Raizou lowers his guard, sighing in relief, when he opens his eyes, the other one is still there, standing in front of him, an indignant glare flashing on his face.

Before Raizou can understand what is going on, a punch hits him very straight into the nose, he is tossed onto the locker wall and bounces off, falling down to his knees, his hand covering his bleeding nose in pain. The blood drips on the ground, he quivers, barely maintaining himself up.

"This is for locking me in that hut and giving us trouble, jerk!"

Ryou wobbles his hand, his knuckles are faintly reddened by the strength he administered. With a last disgruntled sway of his head, he leaves to the shower room. Soon, some other students come and gasp in shock seeing the bleeding youngster.

"Hey, are you fine, dude? What happened?"

"T-the ground is very wet… I slipped and broke my nose…"

They help him up and one of the rushes out to call the nurse, Raizou's eyes become blank as he engraves that glare Ryou had in his mind, did he really snap because he went to the principal's office once and has no respect for rules anymore? Or does it have something to do with the girl? For some reason, this version of the Kaiser that disrespects rules is even scarier.

Outside the gym, the orange sunset sprawls in the skies, marking the end of the classes for the day. Most of the male students are walking around or left already and even the girls have finished their showers and changed clothes by now. The bleachers are empty, Jonouchi and Ellis await near the running tracks.

"Oh, isn't that one of you kids coming out?" The blonde points at Ryou who is now in his obelisk uniform.

"Ah, right! Thanks, I will go and talk to him now!" He rushes ahead and waves his hand briskly. "It was a pleasure to meet you Jonouchi Katsuya!"

The last part leaves Jonouchi flabbergasted, but as he opens his mouth to ask, the man is far gone. Perplexed, he lowers his sunglasses a tad.

"How did he know…?"

In this moment, Ellis who was running towards his son without a care in the world for what Ryou or people around could say, suddenly halts his steps as he catches a glimpse of an uncanny scene: His eldest son stops right after coming out of the gym, a pink-haired girl steps on his way, she has the same obelisk uniform as him, her hair falling over almost half her back, he cannot see her face, but it was clear they were talking about something.

"That's not Asuka… Then, this couldn't be…? Hm…" He puts a hand to his chin, inquiring himself. His feet slowly converge into the path to his son.

A minute before, just as Ryou leaves the gym, the last rays of sunlight bathing his figure, an embrace of warmth on his shoulders, his stance is thoughtful.

"Those girls were behind it like I considered before… Still, I can't believe they'd go this far to knock Rie and set someone up… This is dangerous, they see no wrong in their deed and will try to justify themselves if I confront them directly… How can we best-" His hand unwittingly moves to cover his mouth.

His mind is taken to reality by the crackling noise of small grains and a silhouette standing in his way, his steps ceasing, his inexpressive eyes opening slightly.

"Rie? Were you waiting for me again?" She nods, typing a message on her PDA.

"What happened to your hand?" Her stare is curious and concerned at the bruise on his knuckles, her brows furrow upwards.

"I just train by punching some sandbags sometimes. I probably got hurt then."

His lies are perfect because his tone doesn't waver. Her eyes flicker slightly, the bruise seems too fresh, she knows he's lying. But, he won't tell, will he? He's doing it again, this glass wall he believes to conceal his true self. It doesn't work anymore, not with her, she can see through it. Asuka had him figured out even earlier than this.

"Nevermind this, why were you waiting here? Did something happen?"

"Edo said you were sulking and Asuka asked me to check on you because she was busy with some assignments for tomorrow." She lifts the communicator in front of her face, as if to hide from his rebuke, he sighs tiredly.

"I'm not sulking." His sentence is as short and collected as possible.

"You do look like you're in a bad mood." She insists with honesty and a glint of distress in her orbs.

"Ignore him, he likes to think he knows how people think just because he got a PHD in psychology. Do you have any news on those two girls?"

"They were watching me incessantly today, but I doubt they will say anything else, we got them alerted because we asked them about the hut too directly."

"You're right, we need to think on how to get them-"

His lips fail to pronounce the other words when he looks over Rie's shoulder, a few meters behind, Ellis greets his son with a smile. He frowns puzzled at the vision.

"Rie, it seems our conversation will have to wait." He isn't looking at her anymore, but at the man that approaches as tranquil as the breeze flowing past them:

"Ryou! I'm sorry to interrupt you, could we talk?"

The pink-haired girl whirls around, the man standing nearby has a gentle smile, a drop of sweat forms on Ryou's face, not from fear or anything of sort, but apprehension.

"Father… What are you doing here?"

She flinches at his words, switching her glance between him and the man who gets even closer, his cheerful smile enlarging. At first sight, they don't look alike very much.

"Rie, I'll talk to you all later, I need to go now." He casts a side glance, she can see he didn't expect this situation at all. "Let's go somewhere else." He asks while looking at his father, walking past him.

"Wait, aren't you going to introduce your- Ryou! Wait!"

He calls out, but his son simply walks off, he turns around a last time, beckoning to the girl, she smiles awkwardly and replies with a wave of hand.

"Who is she?"

"A friend. Why are you here?"

"Why?" He repeats as if the answer is obvious, stopping on his tracks. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere other students won't bother us. Why are you using glasses? I thought you preferred the contacts."

"Ah, you noticed." He chuckles happily, his harshness breaking apart, then flinches upon noticing it might have been just a way of distracting him from the real goal. "It's to make me look smarter."

"You won't look smarter saying this." He blinks coldly, his response should be unrequired. "Why do you even need to 'look' smarter?"

"Whoa, Ryou you can be so strict… I'm surprised that of all that could have happened, both you and your brother got into trouble."

His glassy lenses hide his eyes, he folds his arms, a serious tone on his voice as he stands still, his whole posture demanding an explanation from his son.

"Is that why you are here?" His eyes sharpen, looking over his shoulder, he turns around to face Ellis.

"I'm sure you can imagine it, Ryou: I was at home working nicely and suddenly I get a call from Samejima, you know? The master who trained you ever since you were a kid and that you talked back to?" He says the last part ironically. "The principal told me you got into trouble, no, even worse, not only you but Shou too and he might even be expelled?! You two have to tell me what's going on here because I was never aware you would decide to become troublemakers, especially not you in your last year of school and also… Staying overnight with a girl, really?! I figured we had plenty of talks about this, but it seems it was not enough."

"Do you not trust me?"

"I do, but I know the mess hormones can do. May I remind you how you were born because of carelessness? And we were even older than you, we were adults already!" He huffs.

"Please, let's skip this, we had enough of those intercourse, hormones and dopamine talks. I'm well informed on the matter." He raises his arms, a discomfort grunt roaring from throat at the thought he might have to go through the talks again.

"You know I had to sit you down for talks when you became fifteen because you were coming to live on an island, right? Even so, I never took you for just any teenager who'd let their emotions overload the brain. You're so much smarter than that, I thought, but then, over two years later when you should be even more mature than back then, here I am to ask you the truth, because what the director told me just seems like peak hormone behavior, Ryou! Would you care to clarify to me what you were doing alone in a hut with a girl your age?"

"Nothing happened, it was a big misunderstanding and I made it clear to the school too." He frowns, putting a hand to his forehead, reminding the headache.

"If it was a misunderstanding, then what were you two doing there? Samejima said it's an abandoned place. Plus, you broke the curfew rules and other ethical rules of being with a girl past curfew. I didn't raise you to be disrespecting someone's daughter! I raised you to be a perfect gentleman!"

"I didn't do anything! I got curious and wanted to check the place, after I entered it, someone locked me in, that girl was already there, she had been locked in before me. We spent an entire night trying to find a way out and that's it, but when the teachers came and unlocked the door, they assumed the worst, it's their job, happy?"

"How was she there? And why?"

"I don't know, someone knocked her out cold. I bet he didn't tell you this part, did he?"

"Who… Who would do this? I thought you were popular, why would someone enclose you and… A girl?"

"It was a coincidence, I think, and being popular does not translate to not having enemies. Due to all the ruckus, people are talking from their elbows about me and her… Their words don't hold any truth, but it's a bother for us, mainly for her. If only I was more wary…" He berates himself mentally, being locked there because of his own recklessness, that is a lesson he'll never forget.

Ellis could see the frankness of his son in the latest part, he wouldn't just make up a lie for this, perhaps he's hiding some details, but the most important part is getting to hear his version of the story.

"Ryou, don't tell me you were in this strange place alone at night because…"

His eyebrows coil when he pauses, his son simply glares at him with those stone-icy eyes, he can feel the impatience and unwillingness to dwell further in the subject. He has to ask, he came all the way here for that.

"Is it Fubuki? It's because of him, isn't it?"

"Does it really matter why?" He sweats, unintentionally or not, the calm and slightly worried tone his father uses puts a whole level of pressure on him.

"Breaking school rules to find your missing friend? Ryou, this is not your job. You came here to study, not to play detective." He sighs heavily. "I understand, he's your friend and important to you, but going around breaking rules and getting yourself into trouble will not find him faster."

"The school is not doing anything! But something happened here, I just need to-"

"You? No, you need to calm yourself down. I realize the school board has flaws in the way they're dealing with it, but you can't just get caught and expect to not be reprimanded here. They're also thinking about your safety! And if you plan on having night excursions then you better not get caught again! But if you're going by their rules, you have to be clever about it, Ryou, or you'll end up out of the academy before you graduate."

The blue-haired teen gapes at the words, there's disapproval in his father's tone, but Ellis was never a person who would chastise him unnecessarily, he said what had to be said and trusted it was understood.

"Dad…" He gapes briefly, recomposing himself. "What about her?" His eyes trail off to the distance.

"Your mother was angry like a beast, she said if you two want to be expelled, 'good, continue, it's your decision'. But you know her, she says those things, but still was pestering me the whole night to know what was going on with you two. I had to come."

"You should talk to Shou, he got into bigger trouble."

"I know. I'm thinking of sleeping over at his dorm this time. What about the girl you were locked with? Is she fine?"

"Yes, but you can think of the rumors that go around because of that… They're already stopping, so she will be fine."

"Is that your new friend?"

His lips seal shut, he casts a glance of "I'm not answering that". Ryou could easily refuse to condone his father's curiosity sometimes, albeit the parent never meant offense.

"What? Did you think I'd shame her by asking something? I just wanted to know who your new friend was. I want to know who you're befriending, it's rare for you to make new friends! And the only other girl you have as a friend is Asuka and she's your best friend's sister!" He opens his arms and gestures with hands a bit clumsily, trying to explain himself plausibly.

"Don't ask her anything," He raises a finger to make a point. "We both were questioned enough. She's shy and you have no idea of how hard it was to convince her things would be better in a few weeks."

"Why are you being so defensive? It's unusual for you to have troubles with girls. Hm…"

"They're not 'troubles with girls', they were just trouble and I'm done with it."

"Well, fine, I won't ask, but you appear to be very stressed about this. It's over, you got a warning from the school and I will see with your brother too. Try to not think about it too much, and remember what I said, just breaking rules will not help you accomplish anything, you have to think this through, what you can do and what you shouldn't do because it will be more harmful in the long term."

"I… Understand." He hesitates, his tone more placid and his eyes lowered to the ground. He blinks awake from his daydreaming when a hand taps his shoulder once.

"Anyways, I'm glad to see you're fine now. I'll be going to the Osiris dorm, it will be my first time visiting there! I'm thrilled!"

He laughs enthusiastically, his expression brightens in comparison to the stern wrinkles carved on his forehead before. Spreading his arms, he invites Ryou for a hug, the boy sighs before corresponding to it getting light taps on his back. His son is taller than him now.

"Do you plan on staying here until the tag duel?"

"We'll see, but it's likely, haha." He adjusts his glasses with a fingertip, stepping back and beckoning. His silhouette disappears among the trail leading to the far away dorms.

Ryou stands a bit longer, his fists clenching slightly, his feet make way to the lighthouse, he's lost in thought, when his senses come around, he's already there, the orange beams of sun gave in to the night some time ago.

His arms cross and a crumple forms, drawing distinct lines between his eyebrows. Lying to people, getting into fights with someone who's not worth his time and breaking rules, this is not what he considers a proper way of settling anything, besides his father said he was "defensive". Was he? It's just natural he would want to avoid more troubles, isn't it? Maybe he's losing sight of himself here and his father is right about slowing down and reassessing his actions. His restlessness proved to be a hurdle to his objectives.

Silent steps draw closer to him, he barely notices it in time, his eyes dash to the side, he knew it wasn't Asuka this time. Her steps were more audible, but the pink-haired girl had almost no presence when she wanted to.

"Rie. You're here early today."

"I could say the same. Where's your father?" Her blue orbs run around the place, intrigued.

"He's probably talking to my brother."

"Did he come here because of the tag duel…?"

"Among other things, yes…" He omitted the part in which he talked about the incident at the hut, a choice he found wise.

"He doesn't look a lot like you, but there's something on him that reminds me of you. I can't say what…" She puts a finger to her lips, her eyes rolling up at the sky, thinking hard on what it could be.

"You think so?" He stares at the horizon too. "People usually tell me I take after my mother."

"Was he worried about you and your brother? That's very cute."

A dainty smile sprouts on her face, his lips unseal subtly. It was not only uncommon but also the first time he'd seen her expressing a smile, even if very small. Similar to how he was cold, Rie seemed to be in a permanent and uptight state of worry, as if she couldn't lower her guard.

"Did your mood improve?"

A voice irrupts in the air, they both move their heads in a flash to look at the newcomers. The silver-haired stops with just distance enough from them, behind him, Asuka beckons.

Rie's eyes waver at Edo for a brief second before her expression cools off, her eyes keenly and subtly squinting at him and the smile she had before is no more. While it was a fraction of a second, this didn't go unnoticed by Ryou.

"That time and now too… It wasn't just my impression…" He ponders bemusedly. "Her semblance just changes completely whenever Edo is involved, she visibly tenses up… Don't tell me she…" His bluish orbs land on the pro-duelist that just blinks confused at him.

His mind drifts away in an intense stare contest. Even if he has a theory on why Rie is acting like this, in hindsight, he doesn't know much about her, does he? All he heard was when they were at the hut and even so… Even if his theory is true, he wouldn't be able to tell it because he doesn't really know what she thinks.

"What? As much as I like my face, you don't need to stare at me like this. Besides, I came to tell you all that I won't have much time to spend here, I have some appointments to attend to."

"Now?" Asuka asks, her voice sounding more indignant than surprised. "This is the first time we hear about this."

"You probably heard about the visitor that's staying in my room, didn't you?"

They all flinch confused, he shrugs off as if he's not wasting his saliva with many words, simplifying his explanation as much as possible:

"That visitor is under my supervision and I can't afford to have them know about our meetings, so I'll be skipping those meetings until the tag duel… We can still talk normally in the corridors of course, but don't expect me in those extracurricular activities of yours."

Without any other add-ons, he turns around, waving his hand and leaving, Asuka gapes, how could he be so smug and inconsiderate?

"I can't believe he just left."

"Maybe that visitor is important or someone related to his career in the pro league." Rie tries to attenuate the mood of the other.

"A visitor…" Ryou stops his sentence, not like he can judge when he also had a guest this very same day.

They don't have much information to share, with the two bullies who locked Rie in the hut sewing their lips together to not speak and Edo entertaining himself on his own matters to settle, they end that talk shortly after, with many ideas in mind.

In the Osiris dorm, Ellis arrives, greeting his son with a wide, joyful smile, Shou almost panics, his glasses tilting down at the sight. What is his father doing there? Daitokuji and Judai just exchange a confused glance, who is that man?

Rie follows Ayako and Izanami after she separates from the rest of the group, they walk back to the dorm while speaking about random things, nothing that catches her ears. Disappointed, she also enters the dorms with a delay to not be suspected. If they really stole that potion, it has to be with them, and she will search their rooms if it comes to that, but she needs to wait for an opportunity. Her eyes are determined to see this to the end.

Jonouchi grins as soon as Edo arrives in the room, he swings his deck around, pointing at it excitedly, he's been waiting to have some duel simulations, the grey-haired sigh and closes the door behind.

The next days in the academy would be a bit hectic with all the newcomers. Four days until the tag duel happens.