Chapter XVII

Purpose

Chronos gulps tensely, his lips quaking before he announces the final result of the duel out loud:

"It's a DRAW!"

The murmurs start, confusion flying around the stage, Shou and Judai exchange a glance, still in disbelief, their brows arching up in perplexity; Edo's fists clench, his expression wearing off the rage as he quietly accepts the outcome. Jonouchi guffaws out loud.

"Caham…" The blonde professor approaches. "How… How did it end in a draw? The card you used last was-"

"Hey, Jonouchi!" Judai interrupts the conversation, making Chronos grind his teeth. "I don't get it, the duel was so fun, you didn't need to end it like that!"

"Haha, my bad, kid" He scratches his nose, bending onward as if to tell a secret. "Tell ya the truth, I was kinda testing a deck here… Since the pro leagues are a tough bone to bite, I thought I might take the chance to hold a friendly duel and test around my deck and strategies and it was very fun!"

"Oh…" Judai's eyes open wide, sparkling as if that made perfect sense. "That's great! Next time, I want to see a different deck of yours!"

"Excuse me." Chronos puts his hands together, grinning nervously while trying to understand better. "Mister Jonouchi… Does that mean… You didn't take the duel seriously?"

"I took it very seriously, that I did. But even a pro like me can commit some mistakes and miscalculate sometimes, you see…" He snickers. "By the way, the autograph session will start soon, but can you gimme like ten minutes?" He pleads with both hands together, staring at the blonde professor. "I need to go wash my face at least, you ain't seeing this bright smile all the time without a break!"

Chronos is unsure of how to answer, but the audience suddenly starts coming down in droves, he and other teachers try to keep them away, Jonouchi escapes with a grin to the side corridor, towards the bathroom.

Ellis squeezes himself among the crowd and grabs his son's shoulder, hugging him tightly, rejoicing at the win.

"It's a draw! You did so well!"

"B-but…" His brows coil up in concern.

"Hm… Are we still going to be expelled?" Judai puts a hand on the back of his head, a drop of sweat rolling down his face and a worried smile accompanying it.

"With the amount of persistence you both had, you truly gave an example to all our students, regardless of the dorm they are from."

Samejima declares, casting a glance over his shoulder, many of the Ra yellows and Obelisks blues even some Osiris reds were there to talk to Shou and Judai too, their eyes inspired by the duel.

"The agreement was that if you lose, you are out and if you win, you stay… But we got a draw, so we can say it cancels out our previous agreement… Which means… You're not expelled!" He concludes with a cheerful and proud smile.

The two students open a bright smile, hugging out of happiness. They can stay in the duel academy! While they celebrate, Edo walks silently towards the side corridor of the stage. At the time people were too busy trying to make their way there to notice, but Asuka caught a glimpse of the scene.

"Where is he going…?"

At the side corridor,

Away from the public gazes, Jonouchi leans his back against the wall, as if waiting for the silver-haired duelist to come. He straightens up after seeing Edo and walks towards him too. They both stop, a meter away from each other, only now Edo raises his head to look him in the eyes.

"You lost on purpose. Why?"

"I was careless." He hunches his shoulders.

"No." His fists clutch firmly, his brows coming together and his voice trembles. "You had it planned from the beginning, didn't you? From the moment you asked to see my deck and changed yours… You had it thoroughly played inside your head, each move… But why would you…?"

"That's a serious accusation, pal. I gave my best. But you see, this old duelist heart of mine was moved. I just couldn't resist and win on my own terms… The stakes were not big for me, though it seems you disagree with my judgement…"

"You didn't win. You lost, on purpose even! That's such a disrespect to any duelist, you destroyed yourself with your cards. You were playing around."

"I destroyed myself? No, pal, you got it the other way around. You were the one doing that."

The statement and the earnest tone of Jonouchi leaves him astonished. A feeble smile plays on the blonde's lips.

"Edo, I'm sorry, but I lied to you."

The fact he used his name makes him gape even more, that cheerful, silly tone Jonouchi had before when talking to people outside is nowhere in his voice.

"You lied? Yes, I can see that after you deliberately manipulated the results of the duel, thank you for telling me now!"

Sarcasm spikes out in his voice as he crosses his arms. He isn't extremely angry, but he's annoyed at how this was all a theatrically planned move of his tag partner. If there's something he doesn't like, it's being deceived by people, he's better than that and he's always cautious, he should be a step ahead… He should've predicted this outcome…

"Not about that… I knew who you were and about your past…"

"My past…?"

"I know your father died and your whole background, your cards, previous duels, your debut in the pro league, what you've studied in university… I researched about it all before coming here. And frankly, I think you have no authority to tell me I didn't give my best, because you did the very same, pal. You didn't even use your real deck, did you?" His eyes squeeze slightly, his tranquility is scrutinizing, chilling.

"What do you…?" His arms unfold, he gulps, shocked.

"Your true deck is based on Destiny Heroes, the heroes your father designed for Industrial Illusions, or rather, people say he made it for you. I was waiting for a long time to see those in person, I kept waiting the whole duel, but not a single time you used those cards. So, I believe you also sabotaged yourself. Perhaps, had you used them, I'd not be able to manipulate the results in the end." He closes his eyes. "That's a pity."

"How do you know about the Destiny Heroes?"

Edo's blood boils in alert. He has not used it in public ever since his debut, only in some mock duels while he was training under D.D's guidance. The other duelist is far more cunning than he accounted for. Just what did he come to the academy for? This carefree and jester personality of his, was it all fake?

"Ah, don't look at me like that. We both had our share of guilt. But partner, I wasn't just dueling for myself there, I wanted to see which kind of people the duel academy is trying to educate. And I really wanted to know more about you too."

"You saw the academy and the students, are you happy? I'm just glad the media won't be all over us. Destroying your own life points and monsters, all for this?"

"You call my style destructive, but to me, it looked like you were the only one in shambles, Edo."

"What do you mean…? If you have something to say, just tell me!" He howls, unable to sustain the patience for those enigmatic words.

"Your heroes, they were crying, from beginning to end. I destroyed all my monsters, but none of them were disrespected, they were fine. As for you, despite summoning the strongest heroes and blabbing about heroism, your monsters in the field… Felt lonely…" His fists close a tiny bit. "You scolded that Judai kid for having fun with his heroes and said it's not all about fun, but what is it to you? Your heroes looked burdened… You impose your dreams and expectations on them, and they'll gladly accept the job because they like you. They like you, but you're the one destroying yourself there, pal and you're having them watch it all… You couldn't hold your composure, angry at how someone else uses their cards and how they feel about it. Meanwhile your heroes were crying… For you. It was a sad sight."

"I… Burden my heroes…?"

He gasps, repeating the words in a terrified expression. Is that true? Did he really do that? His heroes were… They were exceptional, strong, resolute, courageous and… They are the ones who will help him achieve his goals. He thought to be the only one capable of using their full potential, but did he… Burden them?

"Even though we had a draw at the end, I got the victory I wanted, but what about you, Edo? Are you still unsatisfied by the results? Us losing there will make sure those kids can continue improving and growing as duelists. Don't you think this is a much cooler and hero-like victory than sweeping the ground with them for your own ego and beliefs?"

"The victory you wanted… So that was it… You didn't want them to be expelled… You…"

His frown accentuates, but the words are stuck in his throat. Saying things like being a hero? And admonishing him at that. The audacity. His irritation ceases when a hand lands on his shoulder, Jonouchi smiles faintly.

"Edo, I want you to know, I wasn't just dueling for them out there. The duel was also for you, got it?"

The silver-haired can't come to make a cognizable sentence as Jonouchi slides the hand off his shoulder:

"I know you were forced to grow faster from a very young age due to your father's death and this sucks… But even you need time to grow properly in some areas… Burdens, heroes, missions, this is all a bit heavy, pal, it's fine to have people help you with all this too, share your burdens and count on your friends. And this is not shameful in any stance, things will actually work better if you have reliable people by your side, I can attest to that. The person I wanted to talk to is not the you I saw just now, but the real Edo, beneath all those burdens. So, next time, let's have a nice duel with your real deck, let's have an honest talk through our dueling. I want to hear how you really feel and what dueling means to you by then."

He taps Edo's shoulder once, opening an excited smile, as if portraying the occasion, Edo simply gapes amusedly and shuts his mouth. Jonouchi waves with the back of his hand, going away down that corridor.

"See you again sometime, partner!"

The silver-haired stands still, following his silhouette with eyes, his fists still closed. It was never about shame. He does have Saiou helping him and he's trying to help Saiou too as a friend, but why did Ryou's and Asuka's face come to mind when he heard all that about sharing burdens? Why did he get so angry at Judai?

Fair enough, he couldn't stand how he plays his heroes, but in truth, it's him that's playing his heroes badly. Imposing them a destiny that's his responsibility, not theirs.

Were his heroes sad? Because they couldn't relieve him of those feelings? Of this anxiety that strikes every time he remembers his father or even thinks about who was the degenerate who stole his father's life. And what he will do when he finds that man.

"Dueling for me too, huh? It's a lot more hero-like? Jonouchi Katsuya… I have to admit he's an interesting guy."

Collecting his thoughts, he stays there for a long minute until he hears footsteps drawing closer, from behind. His face turns slightly to get sight of the newcomer, but that person can barely see his gloomy profile, his silver strands falling over his eyes.

"Came to take pity on the loser?"

"You didn't lose." Asuka states in an afflicted tone.

"It's the same."

"No, it's not…"

There's a pause in their dialogue, he refuses to look her in the face, his eyes drifting onto the walls as if everything was more interesting than the fact she came here because she was worried about him.

"Shouldn't you be congratulating your friends?"

"I did, but you looked like the one who was the most upset about it."

"Upset?" He turns around, raising an inquiring brow.

"You were talking a lot about heroes and you seemed quite angry at Judai."

"And what does that matter to you?" He retorts with a growl.

"I get your pride might be hurt, but are you sure you want to spend your time mourning?" She avoids the question, pursing her lips. Talking to him right now is proving to be a challenge.

"You're all…" He sighs tiredly. "Whatever, I'm not in the mood to talk right now, I have an autograph session to attend to, if you excuse me."

He coldly walks past, his eyes focused ahead, her brows furrowing in annoyance, her fists clenching. She snaps.

"Fine! If you can't understand I'll explain: I came here because I thought we were friends too, not only Judai and Shou. But if you're above everyone else, don't need any help and aren't interested in talking to people who are concerned about you, like a conceited brat, then it's impossible to be friends or anything with you."

Closing her eyes, reaching a definitive conclusion to the conversation, she swirls around and makes her way back where she came from, much to his surprise, his eyes widening a bit and flickering slightly, dumbfounded as she says a last sentence before disappearing from his line of sight:

"You know where to find me and Ryou if you decide to continue investigating together, but you don't need to bother with us."

What's with all those people suddenly saying they're worried about him? He's fine. He's very fine. He should be. He doesn't have time to waste with them, in fact, he just considers their interests align, but… He shouldn't have. Still, he somehow feels like he messed up, Asuka sounded so unsettled and despite trying to convince himself he shouldn't care, he can't.

He made it clear from the start, didn't he? That he wasn't getting all buddy with them, he thought this was the best way and even in the duel, he let his annoyance take out the best of him. He knows it's wrong to trample on their feelings like that, both Jonouchi and Asuka were worried about him and he appreciates the sentiment, but right now, he just can't… He's trying to focus on something more important than his very life, he has been a whole decade searching for that man and… A heavy sigh comes out of his lips. No excuses for him.

Whirling back to the arena, he attends the autograph session his partner set up for them, Jonouchi is also back, his smile is bright, Edo catches him sometime looking in his direction, but his expression instantly changes to the marketing smile he has for the fans. Edo also curves his lips up, but his eyes aren't happy at all.

Many reporters suddenly barge into the room, trying to inquire about the duel, but security guards and Honda try to shove them off while keeping the crowd controlled.

Rie is checked upon by Ayukawa, she doesn't need stitches, but her hand gets bandaged. Ryou joins his family, their father can't stop blabbering about how well Shou did and how much he has improved, while Shou is swarmed by people who want to ask him about the duel, Ryou walks his father to the Osiris dorm.

"So, what do you think Ryou? The academy surely is a nice place, your brother seems to be learning a lot."

"Yes, Shou wouldn't have that expression in a duel before. There's always more space for him to grow…" His orbs trail off, there was more to those words than he let it slip.

"What about you? Do you think you can still learn in the time you have left here?"

"I have learned a lot already, but I'm still trying to find ways to improve my dueling."

"That's good!" He lands a hand on his son's shoulder. "If you are thinking of improvement, that means there's room for growth, keep it like that and you'll be very successful."

He picks a sports bag he brought with a few things and quickly leaves, when he is lifting the bag to hover it on his shoulders, Ellis grimaces slightly, a faint burning sensation spreads on his chest, it lasts a second, but it leaves him unwell.

"Is everything okay?" Ryou uncrosses his arm, a concerned gaze as he watches his father put a hand to his chest.

"Ah, no I'm fine. I just felt discomfort in my chest all of sudden." He plops the strap of the bag onto his shoulder, smiling. "I think the duel stressed me a bit too much, I really thought Shou would lose at many points, this old man here can't take this amount of emotion."

"You're just 40, this isn't that old yet. Shouldn't you be the cool headed adult here?"

"Ahah. Thanks, I guess."

Shou catches up to them when they arrive at the harbor, wheezing and trying to recover his own breath.

"Are you sure you're going already?"

"The duel is over. I saw what I wanted to see and I'm very satisfied, and I think you'd feel embarrassed to be seen with me."

"We wouldn't." Shou replies nervously in unison with Ryou.

"Haha, I have work to do too." He smiles gently. "Try to come home during some weekend when you have time, you can bring Judai-kun, Shou and Ryou should bring his new friend too!"

"Erm… I'll think about it." The younger one scratches his cheek.

"Now, you both take care, Shou, you don't get into trouble again, you hear me and keep an eye on your brother so he doesn't get himself into troubles too, alright?"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Shou asks ashamedly while Ryou simply opens his arms as if questioning their father.

"Ryou. You stay out of trouble, or you'll be getting another earful, you hear me?" He adjusts his glasses in a harsher voice, Ryou simply sighs in dismay, pinching his temples. "And you both make sure to take care of each other."

His smile enlarges, pulling both of them in a group embrace, they accept it awkwardly before he leaves, beckoning at them from the ferry boat, they send him off with a smile too.

"We should get going, classes will start as soon as they're done with that autograph session."

Ryou states, his brother nods and they make their way back to the main building. It was a silent walk, but they both were smiling the whole way. The duel is the talk of the day, while the classes are happening, Jonouchi is at the principal's office.

"So you'll continue your investigation?" Samejima enlaces his fingers together, supporting his elbows on the top of his desk.

"Yeah. There are many things I need to check and from what I saw at the abandoned dorms, it's possible they already infiltrated agents among the school. I brought my manager here too and I have contacts outside the island, we will do our best."

"I see…"

His voice is calm, but there's this feeble trepidation in his eyes, then he tosses a small key, Jonouchi grabs it skillfully, confused at what that meant.

"You can stay at the lodging we have near the volcano. It's well hidden from prying eyes, only a few people know about it since it's used as a hospital for emergencies rarely."

"That's great. I'll make sure no one sees me this time and work undercover."

"I can't thank you enough for taking time out of the pro league to help us investigate this."

"The pro league can wait, I'll be happy if we can find who's behind this and keep the kids safe."

"Stay safe and be careful."

"I will."

He waves with the back of his hand and leaves the office, Honda awaits for him outside, a strict, worried frown on his brows.

"So, do you want to tell me why you called me all the way here some days ago?"

"Yeah, it's about that place I went to… This is worse than I thought… I'll tell everything on the way, but you better start warning the reporters I'm on official vacation now and cancel all my duels for the next few months…"

His eyes squint at the declaration, for Jonouchi to be behaving this seriously, the situation has to be dire. He listens attentively to the story, they both are about to have a long break from the dueling stadium highlights.

At night,

In the girl's dorm, Izanami enters her room, her forehead creasing when she smells something different in her room, a fruity, sweet smell of melon, very faint, her eyes squinting. Is it some new product the janitor lady uses to clean the room?

Shrugging off, she greets Ayako as they discuss their next move, now that the tag duel is over they can finally resume their plan.

At the same time, Junko sits down on the ground, flapping her crossed legs like a butterfly's wings. She's in her pajama set: a light-pink sleeveless upper piece and long light-pink pants with a flowery pattern; Momoe has a more modest nightwear, a full sleeved pajama in a plain yellow color, a flower embroidered on the upper chest.

Asuka enters the room, they greet her with a smile, anxiously, she's dressed in a cotton light-blue nightgown with short puffy sleeves, falling over a bit up her knees. A white, thin and delicate ribbon at the top and some cutesy lacy decorations adorning the edges and demarking the line under her chest.

"Asuka! We're so happy to see you here again, I can't wait to talk about lots of stuff."

"Yeah, I made the room super comfy!" Junko points at some fluffy cushions shaped after a heart, flower, star and a half-moon.

"She even hid her beloved idol merchandise to make sure you and Rie-chan feel better about staying here… And she promised no boys talk." Momoe says in a very low tone, between her teeth as Junko proceeds showing around some snacks and other things she prepared.

"That's very considerate of her, but she didn't need to go this far." Asuka titters, putting a hand to her mouth, to hide it.

They hear a knock, Rie is standing at the door, her hands entwined together in front of her body, her gaze restlessly moving around to look at the other girls as if unsure of how to react as they welcome her into the room.

She's dressed in a two piece pajama consisting of a white lilac blouse with white-dotted pattern and plain shorts in lilac color. The girls don't seem to stare at her scar rudely like she'd seen some other people from her class do in the sports classes.

"Now that we are all here, let's start, but professor Ayukawa said to keep our voices low, so let's be careful." Junko declares excitedly taking a place on the ground and grabbing a cushion, the other girls mimic the action and sit around in a circle.

"What happened to your hand, Rie?" Asuka asks on the side.

"I got cut in the library… A random nail was coming out of the shelf I took a book from."

"Sounds bad." Momoe winces in pain.

"Caham, we can officially start our girls night!" Junko pops out a cone with confetti. "Have you girls ever thought about what you'll do after the academy? And I mean, which career will you pursue?"

Asuka raises a brow, Junko most certainly took out a book on how to hold conversations and is trying to be a good host, she appreciates the gesture, but can't help but find it cute how she dedicates her whole heart for those meetings.

"I want to be a duelist fashion designer!" Momoe raises her hands, then clasps them together with dreamy eyes.

"A… What?"

"Don't you know about it? It's the designer that makes clothes for duelists! And I mean drawing them, and choosing the materials and making sure they look good for the public! In other words, someone that takes care of their image!"

"Is that a thing?" Junko is perplexed and the other girls also look interested.

"Yeah! I mean, not all duelists have personal designers, but you will get to meet all sorts of duelists and make clothes for the ones who want the service. I hear some of them want to be quite flashy, you get to travel all around and tailor nice clothes!" She keeps blabbing until she notices the silence in the room and snickers nervously. "What about you girls?"

"You're very enthusiastic about it." Junko giggles. "Well, I'm considering whether I want to become an engineer for dueling technology or if I want to become a desk worker at Kaiba corp. I just know my dream is to work for them and be in contact with all the technology they craft!"

"That's unexpected of you… I thought you'd want to be a reporter or something, Junko…"

The blonde admits with a faint curve on her lips. They've been her friends ever since she entered the school, but there are still things she doesn't know about them.

"Aha… I was thinking a lot, and although I like duels, I think seeing the part where they make duel disks and develop this cool stuff is much more interesting to me. What about you girls?"

"I don't know yet…" Rie has a feeble smile while showing the screen of her PDA. "Maybe something like a journalist. I know for sure I don't want to enter the pro leagues or have a job intrinsically related to cards…"

Her vague answer concerns them a bit, she's at her last year and doesn't seem fully sure of what she wants to do, a certain tension builds, for some reason her last sentence made it look like she didn't enjoy dueling that much. Momoe hops in to break the mood:

"Asuka, you'll probably want to enter the pro leagues, right?"

"Actually, I'm not sure myself…" She lowers her head, looking at the ground. "I thought a lot about it, but maybe I'll take on a different choice of career away from the highlights of the dueling stadium."

"That's surprising, I always thought you'd become a full-fledged duelist. Fubuki was always talking about how you two would be the sibling duelists dominating the pro league-" She gasps, stopping herself by covering her big mouth.

Momoe pinches Junko that responds with an ouch, Asuka smiles faintly at them, her eyes wavering a bit at the mention of that name.

"I mean, you seem to love dueling, Asuka, so I was a bit confused…"

"It's true I love dueling, but that doesn't mean I can only be a professional duelist, right? And Fubuki was the one having that dream, not me."

They continue talking for most part of the night, about their dreams, about dueling, random magazines and school subjects as well as clothes and as many trivial and light-hearted topics they could think of.

During the middle of the night, the girls seem soundly asleep. A pair of hazel eyes open, the blonde girl slides off her futon, getting up and quietly. As soon as she leaves, Rie's blue orbs open, flickering afflicted while looking at the door.

The inner part of the dorms is dead silent, a consistent droplet of water dripping at a minute interval, soaring through the dark halls. Outside, Asuka stands near the main entrance, her eyes cast up to the starry sky. A cold wind blows past, she rubs her arms gently with her hand.

Thinking back when she talked to Edo earlier, she was a bit harsh with words, a guilty coil on her brows. It's not like she doesn't understand he might be annoyed given the results and she knows he's prideful, but the fact he couldn't get past that saddened her.

He had the bad habit of talking back and dissing others when he dueled, but during the tag duel, it looked as if he was even more riled up than usual, his back looked heavy, the sensation was that… He had personal stakes in there, but she doesn't know what.

He'd never tell much about himself in any of those talks and investigations they had. Something that bothered her to the core, wrapping her stomach and making this most uneasy feeling spread inside her. Why is she so worried?

The only time in which he seemed to have a more light hearted talk was that night he was outside the obelisk dorm and she enjoyed it. There's no denial that she's curious about him with how he acted before, she's curious to know why and what's happening with him too. If she would just get some answers…

"I should at least apologize for snapping at him…" She sighs in dismay, scolding herself.

A flinch occurs when she hears footsteps approaching, scared of who it could be just until she sees the figure coming out of the main door.

"Rie…? What are you…?"

"I was worried about you, so I came to check." Her eyebrows coil up.

"I had problems falling asleep, so I thought of getting some fresh air."

Her orbs are cast to the sky again, the stars reflected into her eyes, for a moment until she sees another message on the overly bright PDA display cutting off the darkness of the night.

"Thank you for inviting me today."

"It's not a problem."

She smiles briefly, followed by a few seconds of quietness, Rie isn't very convinced about her being fine, casting a worried side glance, she could see her lips almost closed in a pout. Rie is making an effort to talk, it would be unfair to let the opportunity be wasted.

"I just miss my brother. He's one of those people that make you want to pluck all your hair when he's around, but you miss them so much when they're not around. Don't you have someone like that too?"

"I guess… I do…" Her uncle comes to mind, a faint smile sprouting on her lips.

"We should go back in soon. You'll get a scolding if professor Ayukawa catches us here."

Rie nods to that and whirl around to the entrance, but Asuka stops her with a last calling:

"Wait, Rie, do you want to go out with me and Ryou this next Sunday? We sometimes hang around in the city on Sundays, it would be nice if you could come."

The pink-haired flushes for a moment, her eyes widening. She just said they go out together? Quickly typing a message, she's ready to refuse:

"No, I wouldn't want to interfere, I-"

"It's not like that… I just want to have a friendly time with you both since we're all investigating together…" Asuka smiles wearily with how many times people assumed the same. "Last year, the three of us used to go out to the city a lot…"

"The three of us?" Her expression cools off, her head tilting slightly in bewilderment.

"Yes, Ryou, me and Fubuki too… Actually, it was Fubuki that had the idea at first, one of his silly plans, so we went out every Sunday together…" Her eyes waver faintly, filled with nostalgia. "When he disappeared, we stopped going out for a while… It just didn't feel right, but we thought we might just go anyways… We don't leave the island as often as when my brother was here, but… We still go and visit places sometimes, it's just… It doesn't feel the same without him, but… I thought it's a waste to keep thinking like this, it would be more lively if we had more people tagging along so when he comes back we can all have fun together. You should come."

Her lips open discreetly after hearing the reason, her brows curling up. Of course. She should have noticed it before, despite Asuka having this strong posture, she must have suffered a lot when her brother went missing. If he was dead, she'd have found closure, but not knowing whether someone is alive or not and if they'll come back one day, that consumes one slowly.

If it was her, she would have felt the same too, wouldn't she? A compassionate smile blossoms on her lips, as she types slowly:

"I would love to go."

"I'll text you the time tomorrow. Now, let's go inside, it's a bit chilly out here." She rubs her arms once more, having a shiver as they walk inside.

Barely they enter and from nearby, some leaves whistle, the wind shaking them eerily. Behind a tree trunk, Edo stands, his back almost glued to the wood, his arms folded, a pensive twist on the corner of his brows.

"Seems like I came here for nothing. Why did I even bother anyways?"

The angry and seemingly disgruntled voice of Asuka when she scolded him earlier surfaces on his thoughts, his eyes narrowing subtly. He remembers Jonouchi's words about the duel, how it was a lot more hero-like to have a draw compared to having an empty victory.

"Me and my love for heroes…"

He scoffs at himself, heading back to his dorm. His brows furrow feeling the emptiness in the air, Jonouchi was a very inconvenient guest, but after spending some days around him, he got used to seeing him slouching on the couch.

Not giving time or space for those silly thoughts to set in, he sits down on the bed and opens his laptop, typing hectically something. The list of students is open on his screen, he slides through it, looking at the students said to be abroad in America.

The more he tries to search, the strange the story becomes. There is no register of flights with the names of the said students on the day they were supposedly inside a plane, neither the times of flights match. The school is hiding some big deep secret under the rug and he wants to find out whether this is connected to those cards being here and also…

His fingers stop typing for a moment, his mind drifting again to Asuka, not that he feels proud of eavesdropping on a conversation between two girls in pajamas, but… He's even more motivated to know what's going on now. With a determined stance, he hacks the system of cameras all over the island.

The school might be trying to hide it, but he has seen cameras spread through the island during his night excursions. If there's something, he'll find it. A gasp comes out of his mouth unwittingly as he identifies a cloaked figure outstandingly different from the crew of the school or any student.

A brown-haired young man with a mask. The image was from a camera nearby the facility called SAL he spotted in one of his adventures. The guard seemed unaware of the presence of that person, since the other camera footage showed them standing unalerted at the entrance of the place.

"What is happening here…? This guy doesn't look like a student and he disappears from sight around the lab area… Are they doing something fishy there?" He puts a hand to his chin, biting his lips while considering all the options. "I have to check the insides of that place…"

A glum shade obscures his sharp blue eyes as he proceeds in his thorough check of the camera footage.

Next morning,

The girls are still sleeping when Rie gets up. Asuka already left the room even earlier than her. The pink-haired girl smiles faintly, casting a brief glance at the two first-years, then, she scribbles a message on a piece of paper and leaves it there, the door closing behind her with a click.

Junko and Momoe finally wake up at the sound and jump out of their beds, to prepare for the classes.

At the boys dorm, the meal hall is relatively full, a strong chit chatting permeating the air. Saturday mornings were always dull for Edo, while they don't have a full day of classes like during the week, there's this bothersome feeling that you want to get done with the lectures and spend time on other activities.

Sunday was the only free day for all students and even then, he has been more than busy with his own investigations and pro league appointments to the point he couldn't call it a free day. His gaze wanders around until it stops on the Kaiser's silhouette. He's there sitting alone, in an impeccable posture.

Ryou gapes bemusedly when he sees Edo sitting across from him not making any ceremony, placing his breakfast tray on the table. His green eyes linger on the food plate as he cuts off his expensive-looking piece of bacon with eggs, a common treat to obelisk students for breakfast.

"Did you find out something new?" It's the teal-haired teenager that starts the topic, surprising Edo.

"No." He pulls his chair and himself closer to the table.

"Did you fight with Asuka or something?" Ryou continues, disregarding his answer.

"You… No! Why do you think that?" He flinches, it's not so off, but he wouldn't say that out loud and this isn't the reason he sat here.

"Some guys have asked me to court Asuka before, they somehow believe they need my permission. Or in other cases, they'd come to me to ask for tips on how to conquer her heart."

"In which age do they live?" He snorts. "It isn't anything to do with her. I don't even know why you're considering that."

"It was a joke. I know you wouldn't ask for anyone's permission for that."

"Is it normal for you to be this funny during the morning?"

"Only sometimes."

He's becoming impatient at the cold attitude. Ryou simply takes a bite of the food. He ate as if that was some sort of ritual with meticulous steps and manners.

"Are you still upset about the results of the duel?" He risks a sharp, astute glance at the silver-haired.

"Can I not just sit here in the morning for breakfast?"

The Kaiser puts his cutlery down puzzledly, his mouth shut in a plain line, gathering his thoughts with a very feeble twist on his brows, it takes a long minute before he asks yet another question.

"Are you feeling alright, Edo?"

The tone was rather bland but Ryou was genuinely concerned there and this just pissed Edo even more, he exhales to take off the steam building in his head.

"You're killing my good mood very early in the day." He tucks food into his mouth, chewing grumpily.

"It's just unusual for you to sit aimlessly here, you only ever approached me when you had an objective in mind, it was never for small talk, so I thought you might have found something you'd want to share."

"I never did this without a reason…?" His eyes dart to the side, reflecting upon it. "Fair, I didn't…"

His bustling chewing diminishes, as if he accepted the point. Ryou stares at him blankly, wondering what's up to Edo today for him to be acting so oddly. The duel must have really dealt a big blow to his mind if he's resorting to talking to him out of all people. However, the fact he's here is a good sign, right?

"Is there something bothering you?" He asks nonchalantly, cutting his next piece of food.

Edo's lips curve down at the seemingly uninterested posture, he grumbles annoyedly, but can't resist inquiring something that's been stuck on his throat:

"Why in the world does everyone believe I'm upset about the duel?"

"I don't think it's everyone… But I'm pretty sure it was obvious for anyone who talked to you for more than a few minutes to know you were very fretful there. And with that, I mean, people who aren't just your fans."

"What makes you think that? I'm pretty sure what you call 'fretful' is just me working on taunting my opponents, you know I try to break their concentration."

"To me it seemed more like you were the broken one… That said, I can understand why you'd be mad when your tag partner used sloppy moves and shuffled the results of that duel… Even if he's Jonouchi Katsuya." He concludes, nibbling more of his food.

His brows twitch once, he glares at the Kaiser, but his sight is set beyond, not on the person in front of him. This is the third time someone said he was upset and looked different than usual, and they were all people who have talked to him often enough too.

"I'm not mad…" He retorts in a breathless voice, already sighing again while putting a hand to his forehead.

"Whatever it is that's bothering you, ruminating over it for too long might just make you more depressed and restless. Why don't you just distract yourself?"

"What do you mean…?" His big eyes lift curiously.

"Find something else to spend your time on for now, before you know, you'll be feeling better to think about the matter more impartially and not let your emotions overwhelm you, you'll get better results like that."

That sounded like a trusty advise coming from a guy that was known for being icy and inexpressive, he can't help but wonder:

"Why are you telling me this?"

"You look troubled. Plus, this is a piece of advice a friend gave me once, I'm just repassing it to you."

"A friend?"

He is rather skeptical, raising a brow at the statement. He knows very well all those people around the so famous Kaiser are not his "friends", Asuka and Rie are the only ones close to the title and… Maybe… Maybe he is too, right? Is that what Ryou meant just now?

Ryou simply forces a brief smile on his lips and is about to start cutting the next bite of food until someone bumps into his back, making him bend onwards slightly, his cutlery clattering after hitting the plate, he drops it on the table and water spills from his cup when the table shakes, a familiar voice sneering at him:

"Oh, my bad, I didn't notice you were here, Kaiser!" Sakamoto smirks, looking down on him.

Ryou throws a menacing glare at him, Edo frowns at the other boy and his goonies, he saw it all and they did it on purpose. Why would they go out of their way to stir conflict with someone like the Kaiser?

"Oh, look, we have the two most popular boys at the same table, should I take a picture?" He supports an arm around Ryou's shoulders, looking at Edo from over the top of his head. "You finally decided someone in the school is good enough to hang around with you, pro-boy?"

Before he elaborates a sharp answer, Edo can see the expression of the teal-haired boy darkening, one more hit and he'd lose his patience.

Ryou gets up from his chair abruptly, his back and head bumping into the black-haired teen that loses his balance, his friends try to help, but he falls to his bottom with a soft plop, some eyes watch the scene as Sakamoto is shocked as the Kaiser glares at him from above.

"Steer clear from me, Sakamoto."

He whirls back to retrieve his food tray and walks off, Edo stands up in reflex, blinking aplenty, admired with the stern and seemingly aggressive response.

"Are you leaving already?"

"I lost my appetite."

He glares sharply once more at the bully, walking off silently. Edo casts a side glare at them too, shaking off his head in disapproval, what's wrong with those boys? Ryou is nowhere to be seen in the meal hall after that.

Outside the dorm, the grey-haired scans around, Ryou is walking ahead on the path to the main building.

"What's with those guys? It seems like this isn't the first time they provoked you like this."

He folds his arms, walking alongside the Kaiser. Normally he wouldn't care, Ryou can fend for himself, but… There's something off in the way those students behaved, as if they're fishing for a reaction.

"A bunch of idiots who have too much free time in their hands and too little brain to use."

"Are they trying to get you to fight them or what? To get you a trip to the principal's office?"

"I don't know what goes through their head and I'm not interested in whatever they're trying to pull."

"Shouldn't you be giving them a lesson?"

"I did and it got worse, now they're harassing Rie too and they probably will try to bother you if you hang around with me. Not that it would work on you, though."

"I'd be over with them before they start, But why her too? They really hold a grudge if they're willing to go this low. What about Asuka, shouldn't they be bothering her too by this logic?" He puts a hand to his chin, pondering.

The teal-haired teen's eyes widen slightly as he stares at Edo, the other boy takes a minute to notice it, before inquiring.

"Asuka isn't in trouble, she had some before with my fans, but she took care of it on her own. I doubt Sakamoto would dare to make trouble with her, many students would lynch him publicly for that because they're her fans. They're cowards, but not dumb."

Both of them arrive to their lockers, Rie is already there, she switches glances between the two of them before typing a message in awe at the sight:

"You two came together today?"

"Yes. How is your hand, Rie?"

"It's fine."

She swings her bandaged hand in the air smiling faintly, then she rummages in her pocket and takes out the freshly cleaned grey-handkerchief, handing it back to Ryou. She spares another brief glance to both of them, it was cute the two of them were befriending more. With a chuckle, she beckons shortly before going away, they follow her silhouette with their eyes.

"She's in a good mood." The silver-haired casts a glance pointed to the side. "It seems like you finally managed to not scare her for once, it's unbelievable what you can do when you try."

"And I see you're already feeling better." Ryou lets out a deep huff.

"I think she's into you." He takes a peek at Ryou's expression after saying it, it's not the friendliest. "That would explain why she's a target for those boys too…" his thoughts derail.

"You're thinking wrong." He closes the locker door with a firm clink, looking straight at Edo with a stern glare.

"So touchy."

"I'll go out with Asuka to the city tomorrow, we'll be visiting an exposition of a rare card collection, you should come if you have time."

"I…" He is startled at the invitation. "I think I'll have to pass, I have some matters to attend to. Thanks."

"I thought so, next time, maybe. See you later." He waves the back of his hand, leaving for his own classroom.

Edo stands near the locker a bit longer, his eyes narrowing. If he's going to fully delve into the investigation about the missing students or the cards the school is hiding, he'll need to dig deeper, and see what's beyond the walls of that strange lab.