[Slifer Red Dormitory - Cafeteria - 10:00 AM]
Blair sighed as she placed a hand over Oleander's back. He was busy groaning while his face was buried in his arms; he was not sleeping; in fact, he was wide awake considering the half-empty steaming cup of coffee he downed a few moments ago.
In fact, Oleander did not want to fall asleep any time soon, considering he had just woken up from another one of those nightmares of his, coupled with the fact that he did try to end someone's life two days ago, which was not helping with his mood. The worst part? He couldn't get angry lest he have another bout of aggression, and something was telling him that Chancellor Sheppard would not be willing to let him off the hook a second time.
"Come on, Oleander, cheer up!" The crossdresser managed to muster a smile as she shook her purple-haired friend. "You didn't kill anyone, and besides, it was the card that made you do that, so you're innocent in a way!"
The only response she got was a grunt that served the singular purpose of acknowledging what she just said, nothing more and nothing else. The lack of a proper response was enough to snuffle any semblance of enthusiasm from Blair's face.
Lifting his head off the table, the purple-haired duelist grabbed the mug of coffee and downed it all in one single gulp, spilling a bit of coffee on his shirt, but he did not care in the slightest. Once he was done with his drink, he gently placed the mug back down before slamming his face against the wooden surface, causing the table to groan ever so slightly.
The cafeteria's door opened, and in walked Sadie and Shinji, who were quick to spot Blair trying and failing to console an Oleander who was lacking his usual carefree attitude. Exchanging pained expressions, they were quick to sit with the duo of Slifer Reds.
"He's been like that all morning." The crossdresser said with a weary sigh as she started to give Oleander's back an affectionate rub. "Woke up from another nightmare."
"How are you doing, homie?" Shinji asked as he tentatively poked at Oleander's hair.
"What do you think?" Oleander rhetorically asked while keeping his face glued to the wooden table. "I nearly killed a guy."
"We heard the rumors about that." Sadie spoke while shaking her head. "I hoped they were just that, baseless rumors."
"I don't know what exactly they were saying about me." The purple-haired duelist lifted his head. "But the part where I tried to end someone's life is factually correct."
"But it was that dragon that made him do it!" Blair loudly and quickly added the last bit of information.
"As if people would believe in that." Oleander grumbled while resting his chin on the back of his hand. "But whatever, I have bigger things to worry about, and the opinion of my fellow students is not on the list."
"So what are you going to do about the card?" Shinji eventually asked.
"Once I'm done with Banner, I'm personally dousing it in alcohol, setting it on fire, and throwing the remains down the toilet." The purple-haired duelist spoke his disdain toward the card, growing more and more apparent and intense with each word he spoke.
"And what are you going to do with it before that?" Blair pressed on.
"I will keep it shoved in a locked drawer full of trash." Oleander explained bitterly as he reached under his shirt and pulled a string with a key attached to it. "Out of sight and out of mind."
Awkward silence hung in the air as a disgruntled Oleander finished his explanations, but it was all cut short when the titular purple-haired duelist got up from his seat and grabbed the mug; and walked to the kitchen where he uncaringly dropped the mug on the sink.
As he turned to leave, he encountered his friends, who were obstructing his path from the kitchen to the cafeteria. Part of Oleander wanted to get angry at them for being so damn pushy and asking questions nonstop, but another part argued that they were worried about him and were simply trying to help.
"Sorry for acting like an ass." Oleander admitted with a defeated sigh.
"You're not acting like an ass." Sadie said as she stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You are dealing with a rough week, first this Duel Monster Ghost issue and then those thugs."
"First, the correct term is Duel Monster Spirit." Shinji corrected with a plain expression before walking up to Oleander and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "And second, I propose we do something for today to forget all of this doom and gloom."
"We could go to the beach!" Blair excitedly proposed while practically jumping up and down.
"Chill out, Blair; we don't want people finding out who you really are." Shinji said as he was quick to stop the bouncing Slifer.
"Wait...what?" The crossdresser's shoulder slumped as the words quickly sank in. "You... knew?"
"Blair, anyone with a functional frontal lobe would be able to tell that you're a girl." Sadie retorted while arching an eyebrow before stopping to stare at Shinji. "Okay, maybe half of a functioning frontal lobe; we have to include Shinji in that group."
"Thanks a lot, Sadie." The Obelisk Blue in question said in a deadpan tone. "So glad to be included in that group."
"You're welcome~" She said with a sweet smile tainted with malice.
"And what exactly are we going to do at the beach?" Oleander asked as he leaned against the sink and crossed his arms. "Blair can't go swimming, play volleyball, or get a tan without blowing her cover wide open." He raised a finger for each reason he listed.
"There's more stuff to do at the beach." Sadie countered with a knowing smile. "Like visiting the kiosks, fishing, or simply walking around and enjoying the sand between your toes."
"And the whole point of visiting the beach is to lighten up your mood, man," Shinji interjected while poking his friend on the chest. "Because you are tense as hell."
Giving his friend a puzzled look, the purple-haired duelist looked down, and sure enough, his hands were tightly gripping his arms to the point the knuckles were white. With yet another weary sigh, he loosened his grip while unfolding his arms.
"I guess we could pay a visit to the beach after all." Oleander declared with a faint smile on his lips. "I always enjoyed walking along the shoreline."
"Then it is settled!" Blair clasped both hands together. "We're making a beach trip!"
[Slifer Red Dorm - Professor Banner's Office - 10:40 AM]
Banner sat in his dimly lit office, the only light source being the myriad of candles that littered his surroundings. Most people would read a book under clear light as opposed to the near pitch-black darkness that permeated the alchemist's office, but Banner always preferred to work like that.
Even in the darkness it was obvious the mess that surrounded him; however, this one was different. Instead of alchemical paraphernalia and books about alchemy, his office was instead littered with books about ancient Egypt and duel monster spirits, and right now he had a lead.
After a thorough research on everything he could get his hands on, Banner came to the conclusion that Starving Venom Fusion Dragon was no mere Duel Monster Spirit, but rather something far rarer: a Ka. While they haven't been seen in more than five thousand years, Mr. Hemlock was displaying all the telltale signs, and that is what deeply worried the alchemist.
In his research, he discovered that most Kas, with the exception of a selected few, were extremely dangerous, doubly so when considering that unlike a run-of-the-mill Duel Monster Spirit, they don't need ludicrous amounts of Duel Energy to take a physical form given the fact that they use their host's Ba to take a physical form.
Furthermore, while there are recorded methods to safely exercise a Ka from a person's Ba, they involve the use of Millennium Items, and the other methods involve far less savory practices, like placing a person in a near-death state in order to force the Ka out of their body. And even that was a long shot in the darkness.
He was snapped away from his train of thoughts by the sound of excited talking; curious, he closed the tome he was holding and walked to the window. There he spotted Oleander alongside his friends leaving the dorm's premises; judging by the items they were carrying, they were going to the beach.
He sighed while shaking his head; Banner could only imagine what must be going through the poor boy's head, and so using that as fuel for his motivation, Banner adjusted his glasses and jumped back into his studies with renewed vigor.
[Central Academy Outskirts - Beach - 11:00 AM]
Oleander settled the cooler on the sand with a huff. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he sat on top of the cooler to catch his breath and enjoy the picturesque view. He would be able to enjoy the view a lot more if the stench of salt wasn't assaulting his nostrils.
"So what are we going to do first?" The purple-haired duelist idly asked as he got up from his seat to retrieve a water bottle from within the cooler. "I saw a nice spot not too far from here to hang out."
"That's up to you, man." Shinji said as he reached into the cooler and pulled two cans of soda, one of which he tossed to Sadie. "We came here to lighten your mood, so it's only fair you get to pick what we do."
"Is there a place that we can rent some fishing rods?" Oleander scanned the various kiosks that dotted the beach. "Because I saw a recipe for fish, and I kinda want to try it."
"I had no idea you were into cooking." Blair commented as she sat on top of the cooler.
"I still remember the day when I entered the Slifer Red cafeteria and caught him singing while preparing his breakfast." Sadie commented while doing very little to hide a snicker. "He wasn't cooking; he was doing art."
"I had to feel the flow, man; if I were to make quality food, I had to be in a quality headspace." The purple-haired man stoically countered as he crushed the empty bottle in his hands and threw it in a trash bin behind him.
"Hey, I am not complaining." His coworker raised her hands defensively. "It was by far one of the best ways to start a day."
"That ended with you putting the fear of God on a trio of North Academy because they kidnapped your grandmother's chicken." Shinji added as the memory of a furious Sadie came into his mind. "And who could forget Oleander's admission?"
"Shinji, do I need to put you to sleep with the fish?" Sadie asked as she walked over to the Obelisk Blue and loomed ominously over him.
"My man, I am begging you, don't do it." The purple-haired duelist turned to face his friend with a pleading expression.
"What did Oleander admit to?" Blair eventually asked, her voice dripping with morbid curiosity.
"Sadie was royally pissed that day, and our resident Slifer Red admitted to finding her violent outburst extremely attractive." The Obelisk Blue snickered as he watched his friend fall to his knees. "You had to see it; he was a blushing mess."
"You have three seconds to run before I rearrange every molecule in your body." Oleander's coworker growled while cracking her knuckles.
"And I bet Oleander is loving it." Shinji swiftly added before breaking in a mad dash as Sadie charged at him like a mad bull, leaving an extremely puzzled Blair and an embarrassed Oleander behind.
"If it serves as any form of consolation, I am not judging you." The crossdresser reassured Oleander while placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"The worst part of it all is that Shinji is right." Oleander pathetically admitted while lifting his face from his hands, revealing it to be extremely flushed. "I loved every second of it."
Eventually Sadie and a surprisingly still alive Shinji returned to the duo; once together, they started to walk around the beach, trying to find a kiosk to rent some fishing rods. After a while, the group managed to find what they were looking for but could only afford to rent two rods. Now with equipment in hand, they set out to look for the perfect spot to fish.
"Feeling better?" Sadie asked as she caught up with Oleander.
"The walk is nice and all, but I can't stop thinking about what happened the other night." He admits with a crestfallen sigh. "If Alexis hadn't stopped me, I could have killed a man."
"It wasn't your fault, Ollie." She spoke in a reassuring manner while placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Make no mistake, I think he deserved that. I am not going to mop around beating myself over the fact that a scumbag was hurt." Oleander clarified as he removed her hand from his shoulder. "My problem is that if those mood swings, let's put it like that, make me capable of hurting people, how long until I cross a line and hurt someone who doesn't deserve to be hurt?"
"Add that on top of those freaky nightmares that torment me from time to time, and all of this is putting a strain on me the likes of which you can't even imagine." He concluded while running a hand through his hair.
"It's going to get better; I promise it will." She nodded while giving him a faint hint of a smile. "And if that thing with Banner doesn't work, I can think of a few dozen ways on how to reduce that card to nothing but atoms."
"Good to see that your predisposition for destruction is being used for the greater good." Oleander smirked back while adjusting the rods in his shoulder.
"There's some bushes over there if you two need some alone time." Shinji, who was further in the back, perked up.
"Filha da mãe." The purple-haired duelist muttered in his native tongue under his breath.
"Guys, I think I found a perfect spot!" Blair's excited announcement served to curb Sadie's killing intent.
The crossdresser ran ahead of the group and toward a few rocks that, upon getting closer, revealed an open area that not only was vacant but was also at a comfortable distance from the more populated area of the beach; it was private without being isolated.
"And that's why you're a valuable asset to the team, Blair." Shinji praised her as he gave her a little pat on the head.
"Shinji, you're going to help me with the fishing; the rest of you can set up everything." Oleander declared as he set the cooler down before motioning his blue-clad friend to come with him.
Sadie gave him a thumbs up before she, alongside Blair, started to take the things out of the cooler while the purple-haired duelist and the Obelisk Blue walked toward the shallow parts of the water.
"Are you ready, Shinji?" Oleander asked as he removed his shoes and socks and rolled his pants all the way to his knees.
"You bet." Came the response as the Obelisk Blue did the same thing as his friend.
With everything ready, the two of them made their way through the more shallow parts of the water, with Shinji occasionally yelping in pain whenever he stepped on a rock, a problem that did not affect Oleander in the slightest.
"How do you manage to do it?" He complained right before stepping on another rock.
"I'm used to the sensation, simple as that." Came the response accompanied by a casual shrug. "This isn't my first rodeo when it comes to fishing, although I am used to fishing in lakes."
"When you stop to think, the ocean is just one giant lake." The Obelisk Blue pointed out as he stepped on yet another rock.
"True, and I have to say I am excited over the prospect of fishing using actual equipment, as opposed to a stem of sugar cane with a string and a hook made out of a top popper can opener attached to the end."
"Were you that strapped for cash?" Shinji hesitantly asked while scratching his cheek.
"Actually no, but my dad was a big fan of DIY, and he made damn sure to hammer in my head the importance of saving money without living a frugal life." A smile appeared on Oleander's face as he reminisced on the past. "If I wanted something, he would find a cheaper way that would work just as well as the original thing."
"Anything in particular you care to share?"
"If I wanted a video game, he would pirate a file and burn it into a blank disc." A content sigh escaped Oleander's lips. "The disks were cheap and scratched easily, but I would be damned if I said I didn't love them."
"Isn't that a crime?" Shinji arched an eyebrow at what his friend said.
"It's only a crime if the police catch you doing it." Oleander shot back with a shit-eating grin. "Besides, if it wasn't for piracy, I would have never learned how to speak English."
"You're self-taught?" The Obelisk Blue was taken aback. "That's one hell of a feat!"
"A feat that took me six years to achieve, but it was well worth it in the end." Another content sigh escaped his lips. "My dad always said I was smart for my age; I miss him a lot."
"Oleander, I had no idea." Shinji reached to place a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "I am sorry, man."
"It's okay; I just try not to think about it all the time." Oleander ran a hand through his purple locks. "We are almost at the deeper part; come on."
Now standing at the edge between the shallow and the deeper parts of the water, Oleander wastes no time in casting his fishing rod as far as he could, Shinji doing the same, although his didn't go as far. And now the two of them began the waiting game until a fish took the bait.
"So I spilled my guts about myself; now it is your turn." Oleander turned his head to face his friend. "Who Shinji Abiko truly is, tell me everything there is to."
"There's not much to tell if I'm being honest; I am just your average kid that loves Duel Monsters and hopes to become a pro one day." He began while scratching his cheek. "My parents, however, are a whole different story."
"This is bound to be interesting."
"My parents are the owners of a pretty famous restaurant in Japan." Using his free hand to reach into his coat, Shinji pulled out his PDA and started to type something in it before showing the screen to his friend.
The screen displayed the photo of two adults, presumably Shinji's parents, standing in front of a restaurant called "Emperor's Feast," the woman holding two babies in her arms; judging by the surroundings, it seems like the photo was taken years ago.
"This was taken shortly after they opened their doors for business." He turned off his PDA and shoved it right back into his coat. "At the beginning they would get a steady flow of clients that simply couldn't get enough of their cuisine, however, it all changed when none other than Maximilian Pegasus showed up one day."
"THE Maximilian Pegasus?" Oleander asked incredulously. "The guy that created the game that this world revolves around?"
"With silver hair and a flamboyant red suit." Shinji confirmed. "Apparently he was just taking a stroll through the neighborhood when he caught a whiff of my parents' cooking. He got in, asked for a simple meal and a ton of sweets, and left the place with a generous tip, but that's not even the craziest part."
"A few months later, my parents received a package alongside a note handwritten by him thanking them for the delicious meal and saying that he would return there should he have the time and how their cuisine gave him the necessary inspiration to create a new archetype, the Nouvelles."
"And what was inside the package?"
"Three copies of the at-the-time new cards made by him." The Obelisk Blue was grinning like a child at this point. "They put them on display, where they remain to this day."
"And you never told me this story."
"You never asked." Shinji shot back with a cocky grin and a shrug. "My parents received multiple offers to buy the cards, but they turned them down because they grew attached to them."
"And maybe because the cards were made by Pegasus himself and naturally attract a lot of people could also be a factor at play too." He added with a cheeky grin.
"I take it you're a good cook too, no?" Oleander nudged him with his elbow. "Anything you can share with your best friend?"
"Unfortunately the cuisine gene must have forgotten about me, because I can't cook for the life of me." Shinji admitted while pursing his lips. "I lost count of the number of times I nearly burned the house down trying to make a dish; at least my sister can make some pretty decent sweets."
Before their conversation could continue, Oleander's rod was suddenly pulled, nearly causing him to tumble in the water, and shortly after, the same thing happened with Shinji's rod. In unison the two of them started to pull their rods while retracting the line.
A few minutes into a game of tug of war, they managed to pull their respective, or rather singular, target, a large fish that managed to get stuck on both fishing rods. After taking stock of the situation and exchanging looks, they knew what had to be done.
"Rock…" Oleander began.
"Paper…" Shinji continued.
"SCISSORS!" They roared in unison.
Oleander had a huge shit-eating grin plastered across his face upon noticing that he had played paper while his blue-clad friend, who now wore an incredulous expression, had played rock. Grumbling under his breath, Shinji crouched down and removed his hook from the fish's mouth, allowing his purple-haired friend to proudly hoist the fish.
With a fish in tow, the proud Slifer Red, accompanied by his dejected Obelisk Blue friend, made their way back to where the girls were.
[Author's Notes]
Hey there, folks! It's ya boy! Mac!
Better late than never, right? My classes have begun again, and adding that on top of the fact that I am in the process of acquiring my driver's license and studying for a pretty important test has left me with little time to actually get to the writing and brainstorm ideas, so the output of chapters will be significantly reduced.
This chapter turned out quite a bit different from what it was originally supposed to be; Oleander and Shinji fishing together was bigger than I thought, so I was unable to fit Blair's 1st duel. Although it did serve me to give an idea on how to proceed on the few chapters before we hit the endgame of Arc 1.
Anyhow, that's it, folks! Don't forget to leave a review containing criticism and/or suggestions! I read all of them!
Mac signing' out!