Chapter Text
Yuma was used to facing opponents who weren’t human. Just look at the Barians he’d fought: no mouths, and bodies made of rock and crystal. But Jade and Floyd were inhuman in a much different way. The fact that they didn’t resemble the traditional half human-half fish designs you’d see of merfolk from children’s books was extremely unnerving.
And they were fast.
Unbelievably fast.
“You’re it, Prawn!” Yuma shivered as Floyd swam by him again, getting smacked by his tail for good measure. The texture of the scales felt rough but slimy at the same time.
“Get back here!” Grim tried swiping at the twins but had no hope of landing a hit on either of them.
“Hold still!” Ace tried to fire off a magical blast only for it to be way off the mark.
“How are we missing so badly?” Deuce wondered, “There’s missing a target and then there’s being really off.”
“I have to agree…” Yugi said as he watched all attacks fall way off their intended target, “And I don’t think it’s just because we’re underwater.”
“I bet they have something to do with it…” Jack growled, “This happened during the Spelldrive tournament. Any spell aimed at those two never landed.”
“Oh? Looks like Sea Urchin knows how to pay attention…” Floyd teased.
“So you do have an explanation.” Yusei said.
“And since I’m a nice guy I’ll explain it for ya…” Floyd grinned, “I’ve got my Unique Magic called Bind the Heart! It’s a handy little number that makes sure none of your attacks work!”
“Floyd, please don’t casually give away all of your secrets…” Jade shook his head at his brother’s behavior.
Yuu just looked unimpressed, “So it’s a less broken version of Judai’s magic then.”
Floyd frowned, “Do ya want to get squeezed?”
“Can you not goad the eel who wants to rip our guts out?!” Ace yelled at Yuu, “It’s like you have a death wish or something!”
“After hanging with you guys, I’m starting to wonder the same!” Yuu argued back.
“DUCK!”
Judai’s warning came just in time as Jade and Floyd dove past them, Floyd smacking a few of them with his tail just to be petty.
“You’re doing that on purpose!” Yuma yelled at the large eel.
“Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyybe.”
“I think we should fall back for now…” Yusei spoke up, “We all knew we wouldn’t make it to the museum today and now we know how Jade and Floyd plan to interfere.”
“Agreed…” Jack growled, “This is just a game to them…Let’s get out of here before they get bored.”
“We’ll be waiting for your next visit.” Jade called out to them as they started their retreat.
“But it won’t make much of a difference!” Floyd called out, “Tiny human legs can never outswim mermen!!!”
“But we can try!!!!” Yuma yelled back. It felt good to get one last barb in as they retreated back to the school.
Going back through the mirror was a little jarring as Yuma felt the potion suddenly stop working once air was available again. Everyone was coughing their lungs out from the run and their lungs resetting.
“Are you…” Deuce coughed a few times, “Are you guys okay?”
“Think I coughed up a lung, but good.” Judai answered.
“It was like a feeding frenzy there…” Grim complained, “But the chum was us! No fair they get to swim that fast.”
“They must have planned this from the beginning,” Yusei explained, “Having Yuu get a photograph from somewhere they have the home field advantage really tips it in their favor.”
“So what now?” Yuu asked, “It’s not going to be easy to get past them. Actually…how did they even know we were making an attempt for the photo?”
“Good question…” Yugi said, “They must be watching you or at least the mirror chamber to see when you would try to leave.”
“I got stalkers now…wonderful…” Yuu shook his head.
“So what now?” Ace asked, “It’s not like we can go make another run again…”
“For now we rest and recover.” Yusei said, “We’ve got two more days till the deadline so we can take this time to do more info gathering. We still don’t know Jade’s Unique Magic so that is still an unknown factor. We’ll also need to figure out a way to bypass Floyd’s Bind the Heart if we want to get past them.”
“Sounds like a plan…” Deuce said, “We could-OWOWOWOW!!!”
The anemone trio started gripping their heads in pain as they started to be dragged away.
“Mwah!” Grim hollered, “It’s not time for us to go in yet!”
“Curse you, Azul!!!” Ace cried out, “I bet he did some sort of last minute promotion.”
“Remember us, Yuu!” Deuce yelled.
“WOE IS ANEMONE!!!!” The trio cried one more time as they were dragged around the corner.
Yuu just shook his head, “Why did I adopt those idiots?”
………………
Yusei reviewed the copy of the contract that Yuu had signed. It was quiet in the library due to it not being exam season; Yusei preferred it that way. It allowed him to translate all the legal jargon that Azul had written into the contract. The terms were surprisingly loose, as it only defined the win-lose conditions and allowed Yuu to recruit as much assistance as he desired to achieve his goal. Azul must be confident that he was going to win this one. Tapping his finger in thought, Yusei pondered the next step they needed to take.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Yusei looked up in surprise to see Riddle, Trey, and Cater standing by his table.
“I heard about what’s happening from Ace and Deuce and I figured I could at least stop by and offer advice if possible.” Riddle said.
“Any help would be welcome…” Yusei invited the trio to have a seat, “I’m just trying to figure out another angle to this.”
“I’m just impressed that you are willing to take on Azul…” Trey said.
“Yep…most of us learned the hard way last year not to make deals with him,” Cater explained, “It’s easy to forget that Azul is just a second year with how much he’s done.”
“Normally that trait is admirable…” Yusei sighed, “But Azul is clearly using his position to benefit himself rather than others.”
“What makes you say that?” Riddle asked, “From what I heard, his unique magic It’s A Deal doesn’t do much for the contractor.”
“But Azul can state whatever terms he wishes…” Yusei countered, “He doesn’t have to ask for such a steep price or such harsh conditions. He only puts them there because he can…not because it’s required.” Yusei let out another sigh, “He could be helping so many people with this…”
“Unfortunately, that’s how Azul is..” Trey said, “He’s had that businessman persona from the day he arrived here.”
“From what I’ve heard…his family owns a rather successful restaurant in his hometown,” Cater said, spilling the deets, “So it makes sense that he would want to open one as soon as he enrolled in Night Raven. But other than that, not much else about his past. Just that he’s known Jade and Floyd for some time and info on them is even scarcer. At this point I’m starting to think the mafia rumors about them are true.”
What’s a mafia compared to a time traveling identity thief, Yusei thought to himself, not to mention much more manageable than the Dark Signers. Then again…his life must have been insane if he considered the mafia to be a trivial matter at this point.
“Though all of this for a photograph from a museum?” Riddle asked as he looked over the copy of the contract, “I’ve always been frustrated with Azul due to him always being within the confines of the rules despite his controversial actions…but to rob a museum?”
“That’s another thing I cannot figure out…” Yusei said, “Azul claims there is no historical or monetary value to the photograph. Just stating that it documents the visit of the prince to an elementary school. I can’t figure out why he would want it.”
“He wasn’t kidding about the lack of value…” Cater said as he checked his phone, “I can’t find any mention of it on the museum’s website. Not even a picture of it.”
“Which leads me to believe that Azul has done a lot of research into acquiring this photo…probably going to the museum in person to verify that it was there.” Yusei said, “But that begs the question: why hasn’t he taken it himself?”
“Maybe he didn’t want to be linked to the theft?” Trey theorized.
“If that’s the case, then he wouldn’t bother with the contract.” Yusei explained, “The contract is a surefire paper trail that leads back to him, granted, if the museum even cared about the photo disappearing. So why risk a third party doing the job for you when you know you are more than capable of doing it yourself?”
“He may want to do it himself anyway…Look at this….” Cater held up his phone so that Yusei could take a look at the article which made Yusei’s heart sink a bit.
Atlantica Memorial Museum Closed For Renovations.
The posted closure date was a week prior and the reopening date was listed for the following week.
“He did this on purpose….” Yusei hissed a bit, “Even if Yuu somehow got past Jade and Floyd, there would be no way to legally enter the museum…”
“So Azul truly picked an impossible task…” Riddle shook his head.
“All of this just to get a photo and the Ramshackle dorm…” Trey couldn't believe it himself, “And I doubt the Headmage would help Yuu if he’s rendered homeless.”
“Considering how he handled Halloween Week…I wouldn't trust him with the care of cactus…” Yusei said, “He would find some way to neglect it to death.”
“So the stakes have dramatically increased…” Riddle looked at Yusei, “What could we do to assist?”
“We’re at the end of day one…and we’ve got two more days before Yuu loses Ramshackle forever…And if getting the photo is off the table…we need some way to invalidate the contract.” Yusei explained.
“Doesn’t he claim those scrolls of his to be indestructible?” Cater asked, “I heard from the freshman that he used one as a shield during the brawl.”
“Nothing is indestructible…you just need the right tool.” Yusei tapped his chin in thought, “But there is still the issue that he keeps them in a safe.”
“But why bother with the safe if they’re indestructible?” Trey asked.
A light bulb went off in Yusei’s head, “I think you’re onto something, Trey…Looks like I have something to confirm tomorrow.”
“Just make sure the Heartslabyul students Azul has trapped get returned in time for curfew.” Riddle said, “I refuse to let Azul to trample over the rules more than he already has.”
“Don’t worry…We’ll get all of them free soon.” Yusei reassured him.
……………………
“That was fun!” Floyd said as he and his brother returned to the dorm, “Did you see how fast little Shrimpy and friends ran away?”
“Calm yourself, Floyd…” Jade tried to soothe his brother, “I’m sure we’ll have more chances to play with them.”
“Maybe I can squeeze Nudibranch next time….or should I squeeze Prawn first since he’s so tiny…not as tiny as Starfish or Goldfish but still tiny.”
“You are never going to use their names, are you?”
“That’s boring….” Floyd whined, “And I’m not in the mood to remember tons of names.”
“Yet you still take care not to repeat any nicknames…” Jade pointed out, “Though isn’t calling Judai-san ‘Mantis Shrimp’ cheating if Yuu is ‘Shrimp’?”
“No no no…” Floyd shook his head, “Shrimpy is a weak little shrimp that I can easily squeeze until he pops. Mantis Shrimp is the one that can fight back and actually leave a mark. Remember that one kid who thought it was a good idea to tease a mantis shrimp?”
“Oh yeah…” Jade looked fondly back at the memory, “He sported that black eye for over a week. Hard to believe that a tiny creature can punch so hard.”
“Hence, Mantis Shrimp is Mantis Shrimp…” Floyd then thought, “Still haven’t found a good name for his summon friend. That one is hard to figure out.”
“I’m sure you’ll come up with something good…” Jade chuckled, then noticed an odd sight: Azul pacing nervously.
“Oh…you’re back…” Azul said, “How did it go?”
“Are you doubting us?” Floyd pouted, “They didn’t stand a chance.”
“Good…good…”
Jade frowned. Something was wrong. “Azul…is something bothering you?”
“No.” Azul answered a little too fast for Jade’s liking. He just continued to stare at Azul until he elaborated.
“I can’t help but feel like they were just testing the waters…” Azul explained, “I know Yusei-san is the one who’s organizing their little operation…I bet their trip today wasn’t about getting the photo. It was to test what you two would do to stop them.”
“Well that’s no fun…” Floyd pouted, “They weren’t even giving it their all…”
“Perhaps you are worrying too much, Azul…” Jade said, “You’ve planned this out very carefully. We just need to stall for time until the deadline passes.”
“I know…I know…” Azul said, “But I can’t afford to underestimate them. One rule in business is to never assume your plans are a 100 percent guarantee…If by some miracle they pull this off we lose all of the contractors we just gained. Even if that doesn’t happen, news of our scheme will have spread and it won’t be as easy to dupe more into signing contracts with me. Rumors would have spread too far by that point.”
“That was a risk we concluded was worth taking…” Jade reminded him, “We’ve got plans for every possible attempt they could make.”
“Speaking of which…I have a feeling they will try to sneak into the office tomorrow…” Azul said, “The stupider ones will at least…why do so many think I will just leave my precious contracts out in the open…” He shook his head at that.
“Then we’ll have to prepare…” Jade simply said, “I’m sure you’re fretting over nothing.”
“I hope that is the case…” Azul said before he turned away and left.
“Nee….Azul is not normally that uneasy…” Floyd commented, “What’s eating him?”
“I’m not sure…” Jade frowned, “Let’s just keep our guard up tomorrow…perhaps Azul is worried that Yusei-san is going to prove to be a more formidable opponent than expected.”
“So what if Nudibranch if craftier than we thought…” Floyd shrugged, “We’ll still win in the end.”
Jade really hoped that would be the case.