Every so often, it behooves me to remember that stories generally have "plots" that have to move forward. I'm like the opposite of those shows that strip down everything except the "main story." I'm a walking, breathing filler arc.

I know. It's scary, ain't it.

.

Seto had been tempted to keep his Blue-Eyes White Dragon at home, safe and secure; but he realized the idea of being parted with it, for any length of time, didn't sit right with him. He spent the remainder of the weekend incorporating her into his deck—making her his ace monster—and he took his deck with him on Monday when Isono drove him to school.

Having a grown man in a suit following him around all day was unsettling, but Seto didn't pretend that he didn't find some enjoyment in it; Isono was good at fading into the background of any crowd, and it made for a surprise every time someone finally noticed him. Seto always found it funny when it happened.

As far as Seto was aware, the cover story for why Isono and Fuguta were present was simple: the threat to Noa's safety, especially following a second incident with fellow students harassing him, was such that neither Gozaburo nor Amaya could trust the school's security measures. They'd both managed to shame Phoenix Gate Academy enough that this was permitted, and they pressed the faculty into reevaluating their own measures; particularly those against bullying and physical violence. Seto didn't think any of it would amount to much, though. Children were, as a class, irretrievably mean to each other; it was a simple, immutable fact of life, and no ruleset would properly manage it when so many children were placed together in one space.

All the same, it was a net positive, and Seto supposed that was enough to justify the whole mess, retroactively. Fighting with other children was hardly anything new to him, after all; though now that Isono was here, he didn't have to worry about doing it anymore.

Or, rather, Seto didn't have to worry about injuring his peers to the point of police interference; because there wasn't a single student at this entire school who Seto honestly believed was a big enough threat to him that they mattered.

Not unless they brought a weapon.

.

"I've spoken to friends and family members with kids," Isono said, "and they always talk about how hard it is to tell when they're lying if they say they did their homework at school." He turned to his charge, suspicious and impressed in equal measure. "I think you're the first child I've ever known who is able to finish his homework while the teacher is still handing it out."

Seto shrugged. A little smile rose on his face. "I have a perfect memory," he said. "Most of school is memorizing things. It's not optimal, really, but I still need to prove I can do it. So, I do." He hummed. "I hope things are different once I'm done with high school. Maybe college will be different. I'll be able to chase my own interests then."

Isono raised an eyebrow. "You've already determined that high school will be too easy for you."

"I don't have any reason to think it won't be," Seto said, and he was so damn confident about it that Isono couldn't help but believe him. "One time, I found a worksheet that one of the older kids at the orphanage threw in the trash. It was simple."

Isono laughed as he shook his head in disbelief. "I see," he said. "Well, I'm sure you'll find something properly challenging one of these days." He scratched at the back of his neck. "I used to think I was a gifted athlete. Then I went to basic training. Then I joined Master Kaiba's security team. Each time, I unlocked new forms of dread and horror."

Seto's smile widened a little. "That's what growth is, right?"

". . . You know? I think you're right."

At the end of the day, as they met up with Fuguta and Noa and headed for the parking lot, Seto saw the stranger. Whoever they were, they kept a good distance away; they kept hidden behind signs, walls, other people, but it was difficult to miss someone among the sea of children who wasn't wearing the Phoenix Gate uniform—which was so distinctly sharp—even when going out of their way to match the grey-and-red color scheme.

From the way Noa kept glancing over his shoulder so much, he saw the stranger too.

"You see him, don't you?" Seto asked.

Noa gave a quick, jerky little nod.

"Here," Isono said, handing his keys to Fuguta. "I have to use the little boys' room."

Fuguta nodded.

.

Thankfully, there weren't any children present when Isono used the door to one of the restroom stalls to strike the stranger in the face, sending them stumbling backward into a sink. He was on the stranger a flash of a moment later.

"Not quite as clever as you needed to be, my good bitch," Isono murmured through his teeth. He gripped the stranger by one arm, whipped it around and pushed upward into the small of their back, forcing them upright. "We're going to go for a walk now, and you're going to act like everything is just peachy, or I'm going to snap this arm off and beat you with it. Fair enough?"

The stranger grunted, straining but not fighting.

"I'm going to assume that was a yes," Isono said, "and if it turns out to have been a no . . . I know plenty of ways to deal with you for stalking a nine-year-old. I don't think you want to know what that's going to entail, so let's both stick to standard plays, shall we?"

Another grunt.

They walked outside, back to the parking lot, Isono with his free hand on the stranger's opposite shoulder—while steering him with the other arm. "It's so funny, coming across you after so long," Isono said, conversationally, with laughter in his voice. "Why are you acting like such a stranger? You should have told us you were coming! I'm sure the mistress would have put together a welcome party for you!"

The stranger stiffened, and stumbled a step, at the mention of Amaya.

Isono chuckled to himself, then cut himself off.

No using in celebrating just yet.

He had to remind himself that the last time the Kaibas considered themselves invincible, Noa had nearly been sent to an early grave by his own godfather. He told Fuguta to take both Seto and Noa home in his car, so that Isono could deal with their "mutual friend" himself.

"You got it," Fuguta said, eyes flashing fiercely. "Come on, young masters. Let's get you home."

Noa watched the stranger, specifically their low hood and high mask that kept their face so obscured that it was impossible to tell who they were. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "Yeah," he said. "Let's go."

Seto patted his brother's arm.