Aster blanched out, wide-eyed with shock at the revelation Zane had just given to him. Why had Zane never even mentioned once that he had a brother!? If the interaction he had just witnessed counted for anything, then perhaps it was because their relationship was strained somehow. But Aster knew there had to be more behind this.

Deciding that proceeding with caution was the best way to find out more, Aster played it cool instead of jumping to the accusation he was dying to blurt out. "So, the great Kaiser is a big brother. I'm kind of surprised I never heard anything about it, but I suppose it might have helped if I'd actually asked you."

Zane shook his slightly at Aster's attempt to put some of the blame on himself. "It's not that. You couldn't have known easily with how I tend to keep my distance from Syrus."

Aster gave Zane a quizzical look. His curiosity was piqued now, and he wasn't going to let it go. "Is there a reason for that?"

Zane gave a tired-sounding sigh and stared down at the ground as if he was looking to it for help. "Our parents aren't always around a lot. They travel a lot for their business, and when they are home, they're usually on the phone a good deal with consultant work. I was used to looking after Syrus. Then one day there was an…incident. Syrus almost drowned in our backyard swimming pool. My parents had gone back in the house before it happened. I was able to save him, but they never forgave themselves. But instead of doing more-as limited as that could be with their jobs-they simply believed that they weren't capable of it, and they ended up depending on me completely to watch over Syrus."

Aster silently contemplated Zane's story. He had often wished he had had a sibling of his own. Someone to share the burden of losing his parents with that he could take comfort in. Maybe being an orphan and his whole quest for revenge wouldn't feel so lonely if he had some form of family left. But at the same time, how could he wish his fate on anyone else? Zane's situation was different from his own for sure, but Aster could still imagine where he was coming from.

There was one detail that didn't fit into Zane's story, Aster realized. "But how did you manage to be allowed by them to come here for two whole years without Syrus? Surely your parents would want him under your nose twenty-four seven for as long as they could make you do anything."

"That's the thing, though. You see, Syrus has been here ever since I started school here," Zane answered simply.

Aster's jaw dropped. "What!? But he wouldn't have even been a student since this is his first year! How did this even work!?"

"It's all about who you know. My parents go way back with the Chancellor, so he pulled some strings to allow Syrus to live on the grounds nearby when I enrolled here. He wasn't a part of the actual Duel Academy curriculum during that time, but he did have private tutoring for his remaining middle school years. Where I go, Syrus goes…" Zane had a weird sort of hopeless expression on his face that Aster had never seen from him before.

"That's quite an arrangement. I guess I'm not surprised that you're taking this for as much as an opportunity as you can to have some time to yourself without your parents here to make sure you're taking the responsibility they dumped onto you," Aster said bluntly.

Zane was unperturbed by Aster's criticism against his and Syrus' parents. "Coming to the Academy felt like freedom. I know that's a terrible way to think of it, but Syrus needs to learn some degree of independence from me, especially if he wants to be a real duelist."

Recognition showed in Aster's eyes at the mention of dueling as he remembered Zane and Syrus' conversation from just a few minutes ago. "I'm sensing there's an issue there…"

Zane sighed wearily. "Syrus wants to duel, but the problem is he gets either overexcited or too nervous and ends up making mistakes he wouldn't have normally. I've tried my best to explain to him where he's going wrong, but I might as well be talking to a brick wall for all my efforts. He just won't take any steps to apply himself and start studying and learning properly. And it doesn't help how he thinks he has to use me as a model for his standards on dueling."

Aster couldn't help chuckling a bit at the last part of Zane's speech. "I don't think any of us could hope to follow your habits completely, Kaiser! Unless we're wishing to remain single well past our forties, that is."

Zane smiled and shook his in slight exasperation. He was all-too used to Aster's jabs by now. "If only Syrus saw it that way…"

Xxx

While his and Zane's conversation about Syrus had pretty much ended after his joke yesterday, Aster still couldn't help wishing he knew more about everything. Maybe he was curious to find out just what it would have been like to grow up around Zane. Or maybe a part of him even envied Zane for having a little brother that he could talk to about dueling and look out for and even get on each other's nerves. Whatever it was, Aster found himself wishing he'd have a chance to talk to Syrus himself and hear his side of things. It wasn't that he condemned Zane or didn't trust his words. He was just honestly curious to know more about anyone who had spent a lot of time with him seeing how hard it was to get to know him more.

And who knows? Maybe he even knows some embarrassing stories about Zane when he was a kid. Aster couldn't help smirking to himself at the idea.

Perhaps his own thoughts had been unconsciously guiding his footsteps, because Aster realized that he wasn't far from the Slifer dorm as his casual stroll had led him to the beach close by to it. And as luck would have it, he saw Syrus sitting out near the shore with his knees tucked under his arms, looking lost in his own thoughts as he stared out at the ocean.

Seeing this as as good an opportunity as he'd ever get, Aster decided to say something. "Hey," he greeted Syrus casually, raising his hand in a slight wave while giving what he hoped was a friendly-looking smile.

Syrus bolted upward from his sitting position as if he had been shot out of a rocket. When he saw Aster, his eyes widened in recognition and fear despite the lack of a threat. Then much to Aster's surprise, he started to run.

Do I really look THAT threatening to him!? Aster couldn't help wondering to himself. Or maybe it had something to do with him being Zane's friend.

"Syrus, wait! You don't have to run away from me!" Aster called out in an attempt to reassure him that he wasn't whatever big, bad boogeyman he may have come to associate with anyone who spent a good deal of time with his big, bad brother.

Syrus halted at Aster's words and turned cautiously to face him. "You…know who I am?" he asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah. I knew you were Zane's brother, but I never had a chance to talk to you until now," Aster answered somewhat hastily. He decided it would be better if Syrus didn't know that Zane had only just recently told him that he was his brother.

Syrus' shoulders slackened slightly in relief. "Oh. Well…I'd seen you hanging out with my brother a lot, but I didn't know if he had told you about me. And even if you had, I figured I'm not worth talking that much about to interest a great pro duelist like you, of course! Because I'm not really uh, great myself. And, well, uh…maybe I'm talking too much."

Aster shrugged lightly at Syrus' assessment. "Hey, I may be great, but that doesn't mean I can't get curious about anyone else. Don't you enjoy dueling, too?"

Syrus stared at the ground dejectedly. "I do, but I'm just not cut out to ever be on the same level as Zane. It's like that with everything. Even back in school growing up, teachers would get excited after finding out I'm his brother at first. They would say, "Oh, well you're Zane's younger brother! I know I can expect some wonderful work from you!" But they're always disappointed in the end…"

"Who says you have to be like your brother, though? You won't get any farther as long as you're always trying to compare yourself to him," Aster pointed out logically.

"But Zane says that I'm not ready to be a good duelist yet…" Syrus wheedled.

Aster shook his head firmly. "Okay, this right there is getting you nowhere. I'm hearing way too much "Zane" and "my brother". Have you ever stopped feeling like you have to be afraid of him and seriously look at the reasons he's telling you you aren't a good duelist yet?"

Syrus sighed resignedly. He should have known this was coming… "He says I'm too hasty at critical moments during duels and that ends up throwing off my game. And then there's all my schoolwork, especially the tests. I get so nervous about them that I end up wasting too much time agonizing over everything I have to go over instead of actually studying."

"And what do you intend to do about that?" Aster questioned seriously.

Syrus looked like he was about to give another helpless response, but suddenly an idea came to him, and he brightened. "Hey, maybe you could help me! I mean, you've got to know more than anyone else here with being a pro duelist!"

Aster shook his head firmly, already seeing where this was going. "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. If you already had a hard time understanding what Zane was trying to teach you, then I'm afraid it's not going to be any easier for you to learn from me."

Syrus's hopeful expression crumbled. "But then what can I-" he started to whine before Aster cut him off.

"Look, it's obvious you have more than one issue going on here, and that means you shouldn't be trying to tackle them all at once. I'm not going to give you an answer for everything, but I could try to go over where you're going wrong on tests. You have to show me that you actually are motivated to want to change, though," Aster explained.

Syrus looked confused. Why was Aster making this so complicated? "Um, okay. But what do you want me to do exactly?"

"It's simple, really. I know you have another test coming up on Wednesday. So, if you can do better on this one than before-even if it's just by one more correct question-I'll help you go over your mistakes and see if I can explain things to you as best I can," Aster promised.

Despite Aster's words, Syrus still couldn't help feeling panicky about the condition. "But that's just two days away! One and one night from now really. What if it's not enough time for me to do better!?"

Aster shrugged indifferently. "You can't think about the what-ifs. That's still plenty of time for any small amount of improvement, so you'll just have to make it count."

"O-okay…" Syrus agreed reluctantly.

Deciding there was at least room for a couple tips since they weren't really going into any actual schoolwork territory yet, Aster decided to show a little mercy. "Good. Just remember two things when you take the test. One: do not look at the clock. I repeat: do not look at the clock. It will only stress you out more to know how much less time you have. If it's possible, you should even ask the professor for a seat where you're not in view of it. And two: start out by only doing the questions you're confident you know the answer to first. Even if you have to go through your entire test and can't find any, it's still worth it if you can save time by completing the easier ones first."

Syrus looked slightly relieved by Aster's advice. "Thanks. Anything will help at this point."

Aster nodded reassuringly. "Just try your best. And if you manage to do better, then meet me here after classes are over on Wednesday and bring both this week's and your last test papers and we'll go from there."

Xxx

Syrus sighed uneasily as he shut the door to his dorm room. Sure, it was great that he now had a chance to get some help from one of the best students on campus, and a pro duelist at that. But he was still having doubts. Not even just about doing better on the test, but whether he would even be able to learn anything from Aster if he did manage to do better. Then he'd really look like a fool if he still couldn't improve.

He's definitely right about one thing, if anything. I need to stop worrying about what Zane thinks of everything. It's just so hard when he always showed up whenever I tried to do things on my own before.

Begin Flashback:

Nine year-old Syrus was jostled by the throng of students on their way through the halls of the school as the last bell rang out to signal the end of classes for the day. He knew that he'd have to hurry and get home soon if he didn't want to arouse any suspicion from Zane. His older brother always expected him home from school on the dot to check before he did anything else. And if he did have plans, Zane always wanted to hear about them in person instead of a simple text or phone call.

"Hey, Syrus! Wait up!" Syrus's best friend-Reid-came running up to him.

Syrus turned to face his friend, already mentally preparing his, "I have to go home first before we do anything and you know that" speech. "Oh, hey Reid. I'm on my way back home. Want to go part of the way back with me?"

"Not today, dude! Check out what I got! There's no way I'm passing up a chance at THIS!" Reid dug in his pockets to reveal two movie tickets.

Syrus did a double-take once he saw what movie the tickets were for. "Attack On Megaroid City" was something he had been watching the commercials and news for religiously with how much he loved the Roids cards and just vehicles and construction in general. Even Zane had expressed an interest in seeing the movie.

"Oh-my-god, Oh-my-god! Where did you get these!?" Syrus asked excitedly.

"The shopping center was doing a lottery drawing at one of their stalls, and I won them! So, come on! Whattaya say we go right now to see it!?" Reid was practically bouncing up and down on the soles of his shoes.

Syrus was about to agree, but before the words left his mouth, he remembered Zane. "I-I can't. I'm supposed to go straight home. And I'm not sure if Zane would even want me to go today. I've still got some homework to finish up from yesterday."

Reid waved his hand in exasperation at Syrus' explanation. "Oh, come on! If we put this off, we might lose seats if we don't hurry before peak showing time! You can't let the ball and chain rule you forever! Or more like, the ball and Zane!"

But it's not just that. I was hoping Zane would want to see it with me… Syrus thought to himself miserably.

Reid was getting impatient. "Come on! You can just tell Zane you had to stay after school and he'll never find out! Please!?"

Syrus finally caved. "Alright, alright! But I gotta go after that."

Xxx

Once they were actually seated in the theater, Syrus began to relax. Maybe everything would go okay after all. There was no way Zane knew where he was, and he didn't seem to be TOO concerned since he wasn't even trying to contact him so far. Maybe he was too busy at the dojo or had just decided to let him off the hook for once.

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, Syrus was on the edge of his seat. They seemed to be at the most exciting part; Truckroid was caught in a crate being sent out to sea after he had entered what he thought was an ordinary parking garage and had been unable to escape. Syrus and Reid were both leaning forward with bated breath, eagerly awaiting the fate of Truckroid.

Without warning, the screen went black. People all around the theater were making surprised exclamations or protesting the abrupt end to the movie. "What's going on!?" "Turn the movie back on!"

Reid and Syrus exchanged puzzled glances. "I wonder if something's wrong with the video stuff?" Reid suggested.

Before anymore speculating could be done, a voice from the loud speaker on the wall blared through the theater. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTERRUPTION. IS THERE A SYRUS TRUESDALE ANYWHERE IN HERE TODAY?"

Syrus sank down as far as he could in his seat, trying to disappear from view. Reid turned to him with a knowing look, already sure where this was going. They could hear complaints being voiced all around them. "Who's Syrus Truesdale!? Get him out of here!"

As if on cue to seal his doom of eternal embarrassment, Syrus heard Zane speaking quietly to one of the ushers as they walked through the aisles. There was no use trying to hide now.

"Oh, great. Here comes the fun police," Reid complained.

"Syrus!" Zane looked angrier than Syrus had ever seen him as he practically stomped his way over to the aisle where he and Reid were seated.

Absolutely everyone in the whole theater was staring at Syrus now. He wanted a hole to materialize in the floor underneath him so it could swallow him out of sight. This had to be without a doubt the most humiliating moment in his life yet.

"Big brother! I-" Syrus began to stammer helplessly, not even sure just what excuse he was going to try.

Zane held up a hand to silence Syrus. "We'll discuss this at home. And I suggest your friend heads for his as well."

Reid gave Syrus a sympathetic look and mouthed the words, "I'll talk to you later!" before the latter trailed miserably behind Zane out of the theater.

Xxx

Zane was silent the entire walk back home, and that only gave Syrus more time to worry about how much trouble he was in. Why oh why had he not just insisted on calling Zane first before agreeing to tag along with Reid. And to make things worse, a small part of Syrus was frustrated that he didn't get to see what happened to Truckroid.

It wasn't until they were back home and upstairs in Syrus' room that Zane finally let loose on him. "What on earth were you thinking running off to the movies like that!? You know you're supposed to come straight home before anything else, Syrus! That rule was put in place for a reason, and I thought I could trust you to respect that! Do you realize that I had no idea where you were and only found you out of guessing where you'd want to go!? You could have been hurt, or worse!"

Syrus hung his head in shame. No matter how much he had wanted to see the movie, he did still feel guilty for worrying Zane. "I-I know. I'm sorry…"

Zane wasn't done yet, though. "Your behavior was completely irresponsible, Syrus. You could have at least called me first."

It was the mention of making a phone call that made Syrus start to show some of his frustration. "It's not like you would have let me go even if I did call you first!"

"And there was no reason you couldn't have waited another time to see that movie after letting me know first!" Zane countered.

"You never let me do anything! Just because of what happened in the pool! I'm tired of this! You're the only one who DOESN'T think I can do things myself! Even my teachers say I can! Isn't that what they always say on my report cards!? "Syrus is a delight to have in the classroom. He's responsible and mature." Why can't you trust me more!?" Syrus ranted.

"You don't sound mature at the moment," Zane observed calmly.

Syrus hung his head in defeat. Zane was right. He had been on a roll whining, but it still felt somewhat good to vent his frustrations out at least.

Zane sighed at where all this was getting them. "Now that we're done playing the blame game, it's only fitting that you receive an appropriate punishment. Maybe that will help you reflect on your actions since you're obviously not willing to listen to simple ground rules."

Syrus let out a small gulp of nervousness. "What is it?"

"It's simple, really. Since you're determined to behave like a little kid, then I'll have to treat you like one. From now until next month, you are not permitted to go anywhere outside of school and the house without me. I'll walk you to and from school, and to friends' houses or anywhere else," Zane explained.

Syrus groaned irritably at Zane's punishment. "This is ridiculous…"

Zane was unfazed by Syrus' reaction. "Well, maybe you'll think about that next time then."

Xxx

Zane was as bad as his word. Syrus was walked to and from school everyday until Zane reached the front doors of either. He even walked him across the street and back just to go to Reid's house. It was already bad enough how Zane would function as a mental stopwatch waiting for Syrus to get home everyday, but now he was practically his shadow since he was already at home, too.

For once in about two weeks, Syrus was free from Zane. Their father had taken him to see "Attack on Megaroid City", and Syrus was at home basically on his own since their mother was busy with phone call work anyways. Syrus had wanted to see the movie too, but Zane had decided that as part of his punishment, he would not be allowed to see it in-theater, forcing him to wait for a dvd release or television airing of it.

Syrus sat gloomily on the living room floor, his Roids and other vehicle toys spread out around him. He was trying to distract himself from the disappointment of missing the movie again by acting out how he imagined it picked up after he had left. He hadn't even been able to ask Reid what had happened since he had left the theater afterwards himself out of loyalty to Syrus and insisted he wouldn't feel right watching it before him.

The sound of the front door opening interrupted Syrus from his pity-party. It seemed he'd been moping longer than he thought. He listened to Zane take off his shoes and coat in the entranceway and waited for him to come to the living room.

After Zane had nodded in Syrus' direction (a normal greeting for him) and settled himself on the couch, Syrus couldn't take it anymore. "So? How was it?" he asked expectantly.

Zane hesitated, not wanting Syrus to be too crestfallen about what he'd missed. "It was…alright. The ending could have been better."

Syrus wasn't fooled for a moment at his brother's attempt to console him. "Oh, don't give me that! Tell me how it REALLY was!"

Zane sighed resignedly at Syrus' persistence. "Okay, it was a pretty good movie. I wouldn't mind watching it again sometime, even. There. Satisfied now?"

"I knew it. I should have waited instead of sneaking off like that. Who knows when I'll get to see it now…" Syrus said miserably.

Zane was eying the Roids figures on the floor, an idea coming to him. "Well, until then, there is one thing we can do."

Syrus looked puzzled. "What?"

Zane took a seat on the floor near Syrus. "We're going to use these to act out how what you think happened in the movie after we left," he answered with a rare smile.

Syrus' face lit up. It seemed like it had been forever since Zane had actually played action figures with him. "Alright! Now it's time to save Truckroid!"

End Flashback

Syrus smiled wistfully to himself as he finished remembering that day. It had been a year later when he had finally seen the rest of "Attack on Megaroid City" and learned that Truckroid had been rescued by Gyroid attaching the crate with Truckroid to a crane from the air and rescuing it. Personally, he preferred the scenario he had imagined of Submarineroid performing a dramatic underwater rescue instead, but he still took it for what it was.

Syrus reflected to himself on how his life was then compared to now. Zane used to hover over me constantly back then. Sure, it was annoying, but we still had fun every once in awhile, too. But ever since he came here, it's like we're strangers to him. But maybe he'll change if he sees that I can too…

Xxx

The Slifer Red dorm was a dump and that was all there was to it. As Aster gazed around the cafeteria, he noticed that the paint on the walls was yellowed and peeling. The wood on the tables and benches was chipped and didn't look very sturdy. Above him, a rickety-looking ceiling fan constantly made an annoying ticking sound of sorts as the blades feebly turned to create an almost non-existent breeze. The other Slifers had been looking at Aster with a mixture of disbelief and fear as soon as Syrus had led him inside, as if they wondered whether he was here just to mock them for the sorry state of their dorm.

Professor Banner did a double-take when he entered the cafeteria and saw Aster standing. "Oh, my. It's not everyday we receive a visit from an Obelisk Blue student. In fact, you could even say that the practice is discouraged. Still, welcome to Slifer Red, Mr. Phoenix. To what do we owe this pleasure to?"

"It's schoolwork related. Syrus could use a hand with studying, so I figured I'd at least see what I can do," Aster explained casually.

Banner smiled thoughtfully. "How very kind of you. Yes, it never hurts to get back to the basics. Well, I'll leave you to it, then. I'll be in my office if you need anything, boys. Good luck!"

As Banner was halfway out of the cafeteria, he suddenly turned around. "Oh, and if you happen to see Pharaoh anywhere, please make sure that he does not go anywhere near the laundry room while the machines are being used. He needs to understand that there are some devices that don't support his weight while in use, and I don't want to have to call for repairs again."

Syrus gave an awkward cough of sorts once Banner had left. "Well, guess I'll go get my tests."

"I'll come with you," Aster offered.

Syrus' room was like the other Slifer Reds': not much bigger than a closet with simple bunk beds and a small kitchenette of sorts with a sink and stovetop just enough for basic needs. The shades on the window were wide open, giving a view of the beach. Books were on the small desk and chair and scattered around the room as well. And on the wall, there was a large poster of the Dark Magician Girl tacked up hastily on the wall next to the door. Aster noticed that there was no separate room leading to a bathroom of any kind and shuddered as to what that meant for the Slifer students.

"Well, this is…quaint," Aster commented, trying his hardest not to sound judgemental of the sparse furnishings.

Syrus shrugged indifferently. "At least I get it all to myself now. I used to have a roommate when school first started. Some really big guy who sort of had a face that looked like a koala. He was always sleeping and hated it whenever I wanted to open the blinds."

"What happened to him?" Aster asked curiously.

Syrus shrugged. "His dad came here one day and told him he had to come home. Then they went on a little boat and he never came back. Then I had another roommate not that long ago who was really quiet. Only "he" turned out to be a she! And then she was gone, too."

"You're lucky that it gives you your own space to study, if anything," Aster pointed out logically.

"Yeah, but I liked it better when I lived in the office," Syrus said offhandedly, earning him a knowing look from Aster.

Syrus covered his mouth as he realized what he had let slip out. "Oh, shoot! I'm not supposed to talk about that."

Aster gave a slight wave of reassurance with his hand. "Syrus, I already know that you've been living on the island since Zane started here. He told me about it."

"You won't say anything?" Syrus asked nervously.

"Of course not. And I know you've had to live under Zane's watch a lot. But it's all the more reason you start learning more now. Zane is going to graduate and go his own way soon, and the same for you eventually. Your parents won't be able to intertwine your lives forever, and that's why Zane is trying to give you some space now," Aster explained firmly.

Syrus sighed to himself. Becoming completely independent from Zane seemed an impossible and almost frightening idea. But deep down, he knew that Aster was right.

"Well, we won't get anywhere just standing around here. Why don't we take your papers to the dining hall so we have more room to look at them?" Aster suggested.

xxx

Once they were both seated at the long dining room table with both of Syrus' tests spread out in front of them, Aster saw just how very small the improvement had been for Syrus. He had received a failing grade on both tests, with the second one only being better by a measly one percent.

Aster forced his voice to sound optimistic. But it sounded fake, even to himself. "Okay…that's a start at least."

"But I still failed the test. I'm a loser…" Syrus said hopelessly.

Aster gave an annoyed groan at Syrus' self-pity. "With that attitude, it's not going to be any easier for me to try to help you."

"Sorry…" Syrus apologized sheepishly.

Aster waved away Syrus' apology. "Nevermind. Let me just find a few questions on here, and you'll tell me why you picked the answers you did."

Xxx

Once Aster had found a few questions on the test that he felt weren't a simple matter of right or wrong on Syrus' part of thinking, they got started.

"For question fifteen, "Can Mystical Space Typhoon stop Monster Reborn's effect?", why did you answer yes?" Aster asked.

"Because it's a quick play spell! I had thought that meant it could stop things as long as it's set first so that it's like a trap card and that was the whole point of them. It's what sets them apart from something like De-Spell. At least, that's what I thought…" Syrus explained with mild frustration.

"Well, your way of thinking isn't completely wrong, but it's a bit more complicated than that, I'm afraid. Sure, Mystical Space Typhoon would destroy it, but since it's going to the graveyard anyway after it's used, the effect will still happen. It's different from something that needs to be on the field for it to work, like say, Swords of Revealing Light. So, in other words, destroying the card isn't the same as negating an effect from happening," Aster explained thoughtfully.

It took Syrus a moment to process all of this. "Huh. I think I get it…"

"You will eventually, but it's something a lot of people can make a mistake with when they're just starting out. Maybe practicing with flashcards would help you in this case," Aster suggested.

Aster continued with the questions. "Alright, for question twenty-three, "Who is the idol of Duel Academy?", the answer was Alexis Rhodes, but you chose Dark Magician Girl from the options instead. What is your reasoning?"

And why am I not listed as one of the possible answers? Aster couldn't help thinking to himself indignantly.

This time, Syrus answered with complete conviction. "Well, that's easy! Dark Magician Girl is world famous as the most popular duel monster card and for being in the King of Games' deck! So, of course she's the idol!"

"I don't think the question was meant for you to consider anyone outside of students or staff actually at school here, though," Aster pointed out.

"But Dark Magician Girl is more beautiful than-" Syrus began to argue.

"No!" Aster interrupted rather loudly, practically slapping his hands onto the table in front of Syrus.

Syrus shrank back in terror at Aster's sudden outburst. "Okay, okay! I understand!" he squeaked out frantically.

Feeling embarrassed that he'd lost control like that, Aster's face reddened slightly and he forced a cough out as a distraction. "Let's just continue. Now, for question thirty, "How many people are shown on the card The Big March of Animals?", you were quite off it looks like."

"But how is something like this even important!?" Syrus asked in bewilderment.

Aster nodded understandingly at Syrus' sentiment. "It's not, and that's why I wanted to use this example. Questions like these are more random than anything else and just designed as a way to throw off the curve as something that they can be sure people will have more of a chance to get it wrong."

"Why don't they ever explain things like this to us in class!?" One of the Slifer students spoke up nearby. Aster and Syrus' tutoring session had obviously drawn an audience.

"Yeah, those are the kind of things we want to know more about! Please…could you help us?" Another student asked Aster hesitantly.

Aster looked slightly taken aback at the sudden interest. He noticed other students nodding in agreement and looking at him hopefully.

Aster sighed reluctantly. This was turning into more of an ordeal than he had bargained for. "I suppose I could try to lend you guys a hand too and join in on our sessions. But I can't promise I'll have a ton of time for this, keep in mind. I'm a busy man, after all."

The Slifer students seemed satisfied enough with Aster's answer and began to talk excitedly over each other. Aster couldn't help smiling to himself a little at the enthusiasm that even Syrus was sharing now across the room.

Xxx

"So, you talked to Syrus yesterday?" Aster asked Zane conversationally. It had been a little over a week since Aster had first gone to the Slifer Red dorm, and while Syrus hadn't exactly made any leaps and bounds in grades, he wasn't failing either and was getting better at studying and pinpointing his issues in assignments. He had even gotten a C on his last homework.

"I did. We talked quite a lot in fact. I had no idea he thought I had just been trying to ignore him all this time, but I suppose I only made it worse whenever I'd just get fed up with trying to help him and quit talking as much because of that. I've never been what you'd call a social person, and I guess that extends to teaching as well when it's not simple to do. But it's gotten better now that he's found more motivation. Maybe what he needed all along was someone that wasn't me to help him," Zane explained. Despite things being better now, he couldn't help feeling somewhat guilty and frustrated about his initial struggle to communicate with his brother better about an important matter like this.

"Sometimes that's just how it works and all we can do is try our best," Aster reassured Zane.

"Either way, I wanted to say thank you, Aster," Zane said gratefully, giving Aster a genuine smile.

Aster shook his head casually. "It's nothing. I sometimes help kids out with their schoolwork at the orphanage I sponsor whenever I visit, so I at least had a feel for what I was doing. But one thing I've made clear to Syrus is that when it comes to actually dueling and his deck, that's his job to figure out as a duelist, and I think he understands that pretty much. As long as he loves the game and is able to apply what he learns from the material to that, he should be fine."

Zane looked thoughtful. "It's true that he loves dueling. Maybe almost as much as me as long as he's not letting his nerves get the better of him. Reminds me of when we used to duel each other when we were kids."

"Oh, yeah. I guess you still had more time for that then than now even with the Cyber Art Dojo keeping you busy," Aster spoke without thinking.

Zane gave Aster a sharp look. "How did you know about the Cyber Art Dojo, Aster!? That is a secret kept from outsiders of the discipline, and you shouldn't know of it. Not once have I ever mentioned it to you, and Syrus knows not to talk about it either."

Aster was taken aback by Zane's reaction. Sure, he had known that the Cyber Style of dueling wasn't common knowledge, but he hadn't thought it's origins were almost a complete unknown either with how D had told him about it. But if that was the case, then Aster couldn't now help wondering just how D knew so much about it in the first place.

"I- uh, didn't know it was. I just remember hearing about it from someone in the Pro Leagues once and not thinking it was any kind of secret," Aster answered nervously. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to rat out D either, so he hoped Zane would leave it at that.

Zane eyed Aster suspiciously, obviously realizing that he wasn't being completely honest with him. But thankfully, he didn't pry any further. "Well…it's fine as long as you don't tell anyone else. I apologize for my reaction."

"S-sure," Aster answered awkwardly. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help wondering just what else his adoptive father wasn't telling him the whole truth about, though…

AN: We're done with the long "filler" portion now and will be returning to the main plot next chapter with the duel for representation in the school duel. Expect a very Bastion-oriented chapter.

Zane and Syrus' relationship in the anime is complicated and also leaves a good deal to the imagination, so I made a backstory for them here so that it's not centered around playing the Power Bond card. I am not a fan of Zane being painted as the big, bad brother and blamed for everything wrong with Syrus. I wanted to have Aster help Syrus, but not coddle him by telling him he's super-special-awesome and that Zane is a horrible meanie, or to " just add such-and-such cards to your deck!" and he's suddenly a champion. It also didn't help that 4kids dub changed Zane's dialogue to make him sound worse than he really was towards Syrus. For example, his line to Alexis of: "My brother doesn't belong here" was completely fake and was actually, "The moon is bright", or something like that in the original version.

To the guest who talked about Rareshipping: Thanks for your kind words and I'm glad you are enjoying the story. I figure that since no one seems to have problems shipping characters who had no scenes together like Yuri and Celina from Arc-V or that Daphne Greengrass girl with Harry Potter even though she didn't have any dialogue in the books (lol), then Aster and Alexis shouldn't be an issue either. And as for Aster being shorter than Alexis, it is kind of ironic since he's actually taller than her in the manga. Xd Although at least he's not a midget like Syrus. Lol There is a great story called "The Price Paid" that does touch upon the subject through some amusing narrative, though.