Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yugi wished he was in a nightmare.

Just after everything that has happened, seeing his friends leave to make their dreams and futures come true, he just wanted some peace.

Nothing related to the King of Games title.

Nothing related to being Atem’s mortal host.

He just wanted to return to the comfort of the Game Shop.

But a black carriage that blocked his path wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

As if in trance, Yugi found himself boarding the carriage and experienced nothing but darkness until someone was helping him out of a coffin of all things! Not to mention his clothes had been replaced with the fanciest silk robes he had ever seen. Thankful the hood had been pulled up hiding his trademark hair.

Now he was just surrounded by others dressed in the same robes all gathering around a mirror.

Did he get kidnapped by a cult? Because this was giving major cult vibes. The man dressed in fancy clothes and bird themed mask was not helping.

“Welcome students, to Night Raven College! Consider it an honor to be selected by the Black Carriage and be brought to this prestigious academy.”

Okay not a cult but a school, though Yugi was sure Jounochi would swear they were the same thing.

“One by one, please approach the Dark Mirror so that you may be assigned to the houses that you will live in while you attend Night Raven College.”

Yugi realized that the bird man was referring to the group he was standing in. Most of the other people were standing on the far side of the room behind the central mirror, no doubt upperclassmen ready to receive their freshman. As the line brought him closer and closer to the mirror, Yugi wished he would just wake up already.

But the stern face that he saw staring at him from inside the mirror seemed to be telling him no.

“State thy name.”

Yugi coughed back his dry throat and whispered loud enough hoping that only the mirror would hear him and no one else, “Yugi Muto”

“The shape of the soul is…” The face seemed to ponder for a bit, “Pomefiore”

Now if only Yugi knew what on earth that meant.

Thankfully he was saved from potential embarrassment when a rather tall individual whose face was somehow visible under his hood waved him over. Yugi had a feeling that this person was a model of some sort, he did have a resemblance to the models in the magazines Anzu would read from time to time.

“Not too bad…” The tall individual said, giving Yugi a glance over, “You’re slouching though.”

“Wha-” Yugi couldn’t say anything further as the other person immediately started fussing over his clothes.

“Not to mention that your nervous fidgeting has terribly wrinkled your robes. You even hiked your belt up. It should rest just on top of your hips to make your torso appear longer…”

Yugi was trying very hard not to turn red as a tomato from embarrassment, completely missing two names of students he would have recognized being sorted by the Dark Mirror, he would give anything not to be the center of this man’s attention…

...............

…………and that wish was granted in a way Yugi was not expecting.

“Did that just happen?” Yugi asked the student next to him.

“Ya mean how a person with no magic somehow ended up at our school and couldn’t be sorted and then the monsta cat set half of the place on fire?” The boy answered with a country accent, “I’m sure that was real…”

“Just making sure I wasn’t seeing things…” Yugi sighed. Now he was feeling second hand embarrassment of how a room full of magic users forgot that they could have used magic to put the fires out.

Oh yeah…there was the fact that he just found out he was at a school of magic. Yay.

Could magic just leave him alone already?

The tall individual who had fussed over Yugi’s clothing cleared his throat to bring attention back to him. In the chaos from earlier, Yugi had learned that this was actually the Dorm Head of the dorm he was sent to, Vil Schoenheit.

“Now that…incident has been resolved.” Vil said keeping his calm composure, “We will now return to the Pomefiroe dorms for our evening meal.”

“Can’t take all this prissy stuff…I wanted to go to Savanaclaw…” The country boy mumbled under his breath.

Yugi could only feel a pang of sympathy for the boy even if he was missing a ton of context.

The group followed Vil down the hallway, many of them ditching their hoods and fixing their hair that had become tangled. Yugi would keep his on for as long as possible, thank you very much.

After walking through a mirror of all things, Yugi felt like he had just walked into a fairytale.

This wasn’t a dorm building he was standing in front of, it was a white castle straight out of European history. Beautiful gardens and statues decorated the lawns and Yugi was pretty sure he saw a few peacocks doing their thing in one garden square.

“Where did they get the money for all of this?” A random student in the back of the group wondered out loud.

“Just wait till you see Scarabia’s dorm…” An upperclassman responded, “The dorm leader is a member of the Al-Asim family and they paid for a complete renovation of that dorm, a several million madol renovation.”

Again, Yugi wasn’t sure if should be shocked or impressed due to missing context as they entered the castle and found several long tables with elaborate dish settings and food that he had only seen Kaiba eat spread out.

His stomach growled in anticipation.

“Monsieur…are you going to take your hood off? Orientation ended already. You don’t need to keep it on.”

Yugi turned around to see another tall student, this one with a blond bob cut, approach him with a weird expression on his face.

“There’s no need to be shy…we are all students here…” Faster than Yugi could react, the other student tugged his hood off.

The entire lobby went silent.

“How much gel did that take?”

“There’s no way that is natural…wonder what dye he uses…”

The bob cut student didn’t seem to mind the gossip, “Marvelous! Roi de Posion you must see this!!”

“What are you talking about Rook?” Vil approached the duo then paused upon seeing Yugi’s hair, “Now that is different…is all of that natural?”

“Yes…” Yugi tugged on one of his bangs, “My grandfather always keeps a photo album to prove to my teachers that my hair was always like this. There was always one teacher each school year who wanted to suspend me for violating dress code.”

“Well such nonsense rules do not exist here so you may relax about that…but I will insist that you keep it a tidier manner…” Vil said.

Yugi couldn’t help but chuckle, “You won’t believe how many times I’ve tried.”

Vil answered by pulling a hair brush and hair products from somewhere, “Not with that attitude…”

Rook pulled a chair from the table and shoved Yugi into it then clapped to call everyone’s attention.

“I’ll take this opportunity to give advice to all of you potatoes. As members of Pomefiore, we have standards to uphold, especially in our appearance. I will accept no excuses but I will be kind to assist you where needed such as right now.”

Yugi felt the hairbrush pulling his hair downward and various products behind applied as Vil continued.

“When styling your hair, it is important to know your hair texture and where it naturally parts on your head. You must work with natural hair, not fight it. And to make your styling look neater, apply oils to keep the hair hydrated so that loose ends don’t fly away.” With a quick flourish, Vill secured a hair tie on Yugi’s hair and helpfully provided a mirror.

Yugi was rather impressed. Vil had managed to pull his hair into a low pony tail but left his bangs free but neatly combed to the sides with the part favoring the left side.

The other students applauded at the demonstration as Vil spoke again.

“Now let us eat. Today’s menu consists of...”

Yugi tuned everything out by this point. He still had tons of questions such as why he ended up here, what’s going on, and if he could get home. But for now dinner was calling.

...............

Meanwhile…at the other dorms

“Is that freshie sleeping standing up?”

“He did that during orientation…..”

“And how did Riddle not catch him?”

“Who knows…”

...............

“How did the kid get on top of the dorm?!”

“He’s not even a monkey beastman!”

“Human’s got guts…”

“Oh crap he’s jumping!”

“KATTOBINGU!!!!”

...............

“The new kid just fixed all of the ovens…”

“And the refrigerator…”

“At least we’re saving Madol on repairs and replacements…”

...............

“Gentlemen if you please…”

“Man that kid’s got so much energy! I’m going to join him!”

“Kalim, please no!”

...............

“Did he just hack the entire dorm?”

“It’s better not to question it…”

...............

“WAKA-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

...............

“Grim, please do not burn down the dorm!”

Chapter Text

Yugi learned a lot on his first day in Pomefiore. Most of it was how the school operated and more details of the other dorms. At least he could identify who belonged to which dorm on sight. Other info included the fact that Vil was in fact a huge celebrity, complete with his own line of skin and hair products. Yugi even found a collection of samples placed in his bathroom complete with instructions of daily use. The bob cut hair student Rook from the night before also was revealed to be the Vice-head of the dorm making him Vil’s second in command. Certainly explained why the two never seemed to be without the other.

At least the school uniform was pretty easy to wear, the same could not be said for the dorm uniform. For some reason each dorm had its own personalized uniform that students had to wear when participating in activities and Yugi couldn't make heads or tails of his. It was like a mix of a robe, coat, and kimono in a way. For now that was hanging in his closet, he was dressed in the purple vest of the school uniform and was currently navigating the main campus.

The European architecture theme continued in the school but this time it was pulling from more a gothic style. Classrooms were wide and spacious and the cafeteria served good food, if you didn’t mind the ghosts staffing the kitchens.

Most students were sticking with members of their own dorms but Yugi lost the Pomefiore group ages ago. He really wished there was someone he could talk to…

“Yugi-san?!”

As if Ra above was listening, Yugi stood face to face with someone that he hadn’t seen in a long time. Dressed in the red vest of Heartslabyul, was the laid back spirit empowered traveler, Judai Yuki. Not much had changed about him other than the slightly longer hair, and the large red heart that had been plastered over his left eye.

“It is you! Isn’t it! I almost didn’t recognize you with your hair like that.”

“Judai-kun!” Yugi laughed and resisted the urge to hug the other boy, “How are you even here! I mean…just how…”

Judai quickly made a shushing motion, “I’ve been asking the same thing but before we talk about that…there’s someone else you should see…”

Before Yugi could even ask who, Judai had grabbed his wrist and dragged him off into one of the quieter courtyards. Sitting on a bench, dressed in the lavender of Octavinelle, reading a book was no doubt Yusei Fudo.

“Yusei! Look who I found!”

Yusei looked up from his book and had a shocked expression, “Yugi-san!?”

“That was my reaction too!” Judai pulled Yugi onto the bench, “We haven’t seen each other since the Paradox incident.”

“It has been some time for me since then…” Yusei admitted, before his eyes drifted downward to Yugi’s missing puzzle, “Seems like it has for you too…”

Yugi shifted uncomfortably and tried to move the conversion along, “So…we’re all here at this magic school…”

“Do you recall how you arrived here?” Yusei asked, “I recall seeing a black horse drawn carriage outside my apartment before waking up here.”

“I did see one blocking my way home.” Yugi said.

“Ditto…” Was Judai’s contribution.

“From what I found out, that’s how students are first transported here. It’s like a right of passage.” Yusei explained.

Judai then started speaking in a low voice to avoid being overheard, “Yubel was able to verify this is not our world. But as for which dimension we are currently located in…they have no idea. Never been here before.”

“I’m glad you have Yubel to help you out…” Yugi admitted, “We would have been so lost without them.”

“They said thank you for the compliment,” Judai gave a wink, “Figuring out how to get us home will take some time but there is the issue of time travel. If I take you back, it would be my time, not yours and I have a feeling that you can’t fix that issue Yusei..”

“Yeah…” Yusei pulled up his sleeve revealing his bare forearm, “The Crimson Dragon recently took back its power as it was no longer needed. I have no idea if it will return in case of an emergency.”

“Maybe we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it…” Yugi proposed, “For now let’s just focus on what we can do for now. This is a school for magic after all, maybe just acting like regular students will allow us to learn a thing or two that can help us.”

“The less attention we draw to ourselves the better…” Yusei nodded in agreement, “Though I have a feeling that trouble is going to follow us anyway. So no hiding anything serious from each other.”

“Sounds good for me…I don’t think anything could top what I went through at Duel Academy.” Judai said.

Then a very loud crash echoed throughout the courtyard.

“What on earth?” Yusei stood up and looked through the window of the cafeteria.

“What’s up?” Judai asked eagerly for details.

“Seems like two students from your dorm Judai, plus that magicless kid from the mess last night broke one of the chandeliers…”

“How?” Yugi wondered, “Aren’t those rather high above the ground?”

“Well somehow they did it…and the headmaster just showed up and he does not look happy…” Yusei sighed and sat down, “I do not envy their position.”

“Hey it’s a magic school…they might just get a slap on the wrist…” Judai shrugged, “Anyway my dorm is doing this thing called a Unbirthday Party in a few days…want to tag along?”

From there the trio talked about mundane things, stories from after the Paradox incident, to how their everyday lives have been. It was sunset by the time they returned to their dorms but promised to meet up with each other every day. Things were strange but at least they had each other. 

………

It was midnight, and midnight ment snacks! So Judai was happily sitting in the Heartslabyul kitchen enjoying his fried shrimp.

“Good old fried shrimp…you never let me down…” 

His praising of the shrimp was interrupted when one of his fellow dorm mates stomped into the kitchen. If Judai recalled correctly, the kid’s name was Ace Trappola and he looked like he went through the wringer with how dirty his uniform was.

“Dare I ask what happened?” Judai asked.

Ace just glared at him…”I just…barely escaped expulsion…all because of a chandelier…”

Judai’s eyes went wide, “Wait…that was you!? They were going to expel you for that?!”

Ace let out another groan, “Turns out the chandelier was an antique and the magic stone powering it was broken so it couldn’t be fixed…Headmage was going to expel us but offered the chance for us to find a replacement magic stone. So we went to the dwarf mine to look for one…found a monster…ran away…then we ran BACK into the mine…found the stone…fought the monster…and barely won…” Ace then collapsed into a chair, “But we’re still in school and I am hungry…”

Judai slid his plate forward, “Fried Shrimp?”

“Nah…I’m going to look in the fridge…” Ace lumbered over to the fridge and beamed upon seeing the content, “Well hello beautiful…”

Judai peaked over his shoulder and saw what made Ace so happy, “Um Ace…I saw that clover guy with a hat work on those all evening…I don’t think you should touch those…”

“There’s three tarts in there…no one would miss a slice…” Ace said, completely ignoring Judai’s warning as he cut himself a piece and ate it in one bite.

“What do you think you are doing?”

Ace choked as he heard the stern voice and slowly turned to face the very angry Dorm Head of  Heartslabyul, Riddle Rosenhearts.

Despite his short stature, Riddle’s aura of anger filled the kitchen. “Thievery will not be tolerated. In accordance with the Rules of the Queen of Hearts number 89…OF WITH YOUR HEAD!”

A large heart shaped collar locked itself around Ace’s neck, “What the heck?!”

“Consider it punishment for your crime! That collar will seal your magic until I remove it.”

“All of this over a tart!” Ace protested, “That’s it…I’m going to crash at Yuu’s place…” Ace stormed out after that. That left Judai alone with Riddle.

“You are also in violation of Rule 429…Shrimp cannot be eaten after ten o’clock…OF WITH YOUR HEAD!”

Judai didn’t even blink as the magic harmlessly bounced off of him, “Riddle…it didn’t work the last three times…why should it work now?”

Riddle was now looking as red as his hair, “HOW! Why is my unique magic not working!?”

“Dunno…” Judai shrugged, “And I don't care about those rules anyway…if I want shrimp I’m gonna eat shrimp…”

“But the rules…”

“You just need to loosen up and chill…” Judai yawned and turned to leave, “Anywho I’m going to bed…night…”

Riddle was left to sputter in rage as Judai left.

“Thanks for that Yubel…”

Anytime Judai.

Chapter Text

“So he did that to the guy just for eating a slice of tart?” Yugi asked during lunch the next day, “Seems a little harsh.”

“I guess…” Judai shrugged, “But those tarts were for that party I told you about.”

“Still a bit of overkill….” Yusei said, looking over to the table where Ace was moping with another Heartslabyul student named Deuce Spade and the magicless kid Yuu. It was quite the surprise when the kid showed up in classes that day explaining that he had been enrolled as one half of a pair, the other half being the cat monster who turned out to be named Grim. The arrangement was simple, Grim could cover any magic based assignments while Yuu handed more academic assignments.

“But some of those rules of your dorm sound ridiculous…” Yugi said next, “You were telling us that you were painting roses all morning before that.”

“I have no idea who came up with all of that stuff…” Judai sighed, “My senpais have been telling me it only got real bad when Riddle was named Dorm Head as he is a huge stickler of rules. Their previous one was a lot more lax but Riddle defeated him in a duel for the spot. And no it was not Duel Monsters either…just a plain old magic duel.”

“Sounds rough…” Yusei patted the brunette on the shoulder.

“It’s not all bad…at least I have Yubel so that collar of Riddle’s will never work but enough about me, what about you guys?” Judai asked, “What are your dorms like?”

“I don’t think mine is too bad…” Yugi said, “Though a little vain…a lot of the students there value their appearance. Vil makes the most sense as he is Dorm Leader and a major celebrity so he has to as he puts it ‘always be camera ready.’ Though him redoing my hair every morning is a bit much.”

“I mean the ponytail does look good on ya…” Judai shrugged.

“I just feel bad for Epel…” Yugi looked over at the table where the fellow freshman was being drilled on etiquette by Vil, “I think Vil has taken him on as some sort of personal project. He had this heavy country accent when I first spoke with him but Vil’s been strict on proper language. Epel can’t even let country slang slip when Vil’s around. Though I’ve heard plenty of curses being uttered under his breath.”

“Poor kid…” Yusei agreed then changed the subject, “Did you know that my dorm runs a full restaurant in its building?”

“Do tell more…” Judai was eager about more food options.

“I mean…at first it’s not so bad…” Yusei said with a shrug, “Students can work there to earn extra income and they serve some pretty decent meals….but there’s the…shadier side…”

“Shadier side?” Yugi asked, “How so?”

“It’s my dorm leader…Azul Ashengrotto…it seems like he offers contracts to grant wishes but requires some heavy collateral…many of the students working are actually paying off their contracts because they didn’t fulfill their terms. And the way Azul just…smiles about it…” Yusei suppressed a shiver, “It just rubs me the wrong way.”

“You’re not going to just sit by are you?” Judai asked.

“No way…” Yusei shook his head, “I’m already helping out by offering free servicing and maintenance of the kitchen equipment and helping those under contracts….But I think Azul is already watching my movements…”

“Just watch your back…” Yugi said in concern.

“I will…I didn’t get this far by letting others walk over me…” Yusei reassured his friends, “But for now let’s focus on this party that’s happening tomorrow, do we need to do anything?”

“Once sec…” Judai then yelled across the cafeteria, “OI! Cater, can I ask you something!?”

A ginger sitting at Ace’s table perked up before excusing himself and darting over to their table, “What’s up my cute little freshman? What can Cater-senpai do for you?”

“Cater…these are my friends Yugi and Yusei…we knew each other before school. Guys… this is Cater Diamond.” Judai took care of introductions, “I wanna invite them to the Unbirthday Party tomorrow, that should be okay right?”

Cater took a moment to think, “I don’t think there are any Queen of Hearts rules preventing outside guests. I mean…Ace and Deuce are going to be bringing Yuu and Grim as their guests. Just make sure you’re wearing your respective dorm uniforms.”

“I’m going to look like a mafia member….” Yusei groaned.

“I still haven’t figured out how to put mine on….” Yugi also lamented.

“I bet you’re going to look great!” Cater tried to lift their spirits, “So good luck with all of that…I’m gonna watch Ace work on getting a replacement tart…can’t let him back into the dorm without one…” With that, Cater took his leave.

“Was he exaggerating that last part?” Yugi asked.

“Knowing how Riddle is about rules…sadly no…” Judai sighed.

……………………………………

The day passed by quickly and before Yusei knew it, it was the next morning and time to meet up with Judai for the Unbirthday. Checking himself in the mirror, Yusei made sure he had his suit on properly. The three piece suit was already over the top but the scarf and hat were a little much. He had already ditched the hat as it would not just sit on his head properly and tolerated the scarf for now. He’ll just have to endure the suit for a little while, hopefully they will have a good time at the party.

Using the mirror to leave his dorm and enter Heartslabyul, Yusei couldn’t help but be fascinated by the bizarre, physics defying architecture of the building, not to mention the rose maze garden surrounding it.

“Looks like you beat me here…”

Yusei saw that Yugi had just arrived and upon seeing his dorm uniform, he understood why Yugi had complained of its complexity. “Morning Yugi-san…are you…wearing makeup?”

Yugi let out a long sigh, sure enough he eyeshadow and eyeliner on, “When Vil-kun found out where I was going, he insisted that I look proper and had Rook-kun help him out. Does it look weird?”

“Don’t think so…” Yusei admitted, “I’m not the expert but I think since it’s not that obvious…they knew what they were doing.”

“I guess so….” Yugi said, “We’re just waiting for Judai-kun now right?”

“Hopefully he didn’t oversleep…” Yusei wondered out loud as a commotion came up the path.

“Look…just be polite, give Riddle the tart, then no more collar.”

“I know! We’ve been over this a thousand times…”

“Just hope Riddle is in a better mood today.”

Sure enough, a certain trouble-making group consisting of Ace, Deuce, Yuu, and Grimm were coming up the back. Ace was carrying a tart in his hands, treating it as if it were made of porcelain.

“Oh…you must be the Ace-kun we’ve heard so much about.” Yugi said.

“Um…that’s right…and you are…” Ace asked.

“We’re friends of Judai…” Yusei explained, “He invited us here today.”

“Judai…oh wait! He’s the guy who lives off of fried shrimp!” Ace recalled.

“Not just that!” Deuce scolded his dorm mate, “I heard that Judai is the only student that Riddle hasn’t collared despite him breaking the rules.”

“And I got collared over a stupid tart…”

“Just let the whole tart thing go already!” Yuu sighed in desperation, “You were both in the wrong and from what you told me that first night, Judai had tried to warn you and you didn’t listen!” Yuu then turned to the other two present, “I’m really sorry about this…the name’s Yuu and sorry for the commotion…”

“And I’m the great and powerful Grim!”

“Nice to meet you then Yuu and Grim…” Yugi shook the boy’s hand, “Sounds like it's been rough for you lately.”

“I’m just hoping this party will make up for all of it.”

“You made it!”

Everyone’s attention was caught by Judai running out of the rose maze dressed in his own dorm uniform followed by…an army of Cater clones?

“Sorry if we seemed a bit panicked.” Judai said out of breath.

“Riddle collared almost half of the dorm yesterday.” One Cater explained.

“So we are behind on preparations,” A second Cater added.

“Even with my Unique Magic, Split Card, we are cutting it close.” Cater number three said.

“So any extra hands would be helpful!” The Cater army said in tandem as they hurried the group along.

And the Cater army wasn’t exaggerating, inside the garden there were tons of students trying to hurriedly paint roses while others were setting the tables and others trying to wrangle the flamingos into cooperation.

“What can we do to help?” Yusei asked.

“If you can fill in for rose painting, that can free up more people into doing the table set up.” A Cater clone said, “At this point we don’t care if you use magic or paint, just whatever gets it done faster.” He pointed to the paint cans in emphasis. 

“Consider it done…” Yuu volunteered as he grabbed a paint can and hurried to an unfinished bush.

“Think we can do it with magic?” Yugi asked.

“I managed to pull it off and I’m sleeping through classes,” Judai admitted, “Color changing spells are pretty easy.”

“I mean all you are doing is changing which part of the visible spectrum of light is being reflected back to your…”

Judai cut off Yusei's scientific rambling, “Too much science!”

It was a close call, but they managed to finish prepping the party with a few minutes to spare. It gave a chance for Ace and the others to introduce Trey Clover, the Vice Head of the dorm and the one who helped Ace make the replacement tart, to Yugi and Yusei.

“Nice to meet you two…” Trey said politely, “Judai has been…an interesting influence on the dorm.”

Judai snickered at the description.

“Hopefully he hasn’t been giving you much trouble…” Yugi said in return.

Trey just made a face before turning to Ace and Deuce, “You two come here, I’ll use magic to change you into your dorm uniforms since we don’t have time to get them. Yuu…would you like to borrow a set as well? I mean you are staying in Ramshackle…”

“Ramshackle?” Yusei asked.

“It’s what people have been calling the abandoned dorm I’ve been staying in since I technically don’t belong to any dorm being magicless and all that. And yes Trey-senpai please…I really don’t have anything fancier than the school uniform.”

With the trio properly dressed, even Grimm getting a fetching bow to match, the trumpets sounded altering the group it was time to start.

“Presenting our Dorm Leader!” A student with rabbit ears proclaimed, “Riddle Rosehearts!”

Riddle made his grand entrance wearing his own version of the dorm uniform. While the other students were based on blazers and pants, Riddle was wearing a large overcoat that was gathered to resemble a dress. With the crown, Yusei had a feeling it was to pay homage to the Queen that this dorm was based off of.

“Let’s see…” Riddle gazed over the garden, “The roses have been painted, the linens are nice and white…has the jam been placed on the dormouse nose?”

“Done and sleeping in his teapot…” Trey reassured him.

“Very well…” Riddle delicately picked up a tea cup, “On this day where no birthdays fall…I propose a toast to this Unbirthday Party…”

On cue, everyone else picked a cup and mimicked Riddle’s motions for the toast before taking a sip. “Please…everyone enjoy yourselves.”

The party continued in a casual manner for some time, mostly people socializing and enjoying the food. At one point Trey made his way over to Ace, “Now would be a good time to present Riddle with the tart.”

“Right…” Ace gulped as he tried to steal his nerves and collected the tart, “Here goes.”

Everyone watched with bated breath as Ace approached Riddle.

“Um…Riddle…sorry about the tart the other day…” Ace began.

“Oh….and I see you brought a replacement….” Riddle said, “I see that you have been learning the rules…and may I ask what kind of tart this is?”

“It’s a chestnut tart…we worked hard yesterday to make it.”

Yusei had never seen someone go from calm to enraged as fast as Riddle did.

“YOU FOOL! HOW DARE YOU BRING THAT HERE!”

Ace was flabbergasted, “But…I brought a-a tart…”

“THAT IS THE PROBLEM!” Riddle hollered, “THE QUEEN OF HEARTS RULE 534 CLEARLY STATE THAT A CHESTNUT TART IS TO NEVER BE BROUGHT TO AN UNBIRTHDAY PARTY!”

Deuce turned to Trey in shock, “Trey-sempai you told us to get chestnuts! Did you know!?”

“I’m more familiar with the first half of the list….” Trey admitted, “After the 500th I honestly don’t know…”

“Wait, how many rules are there?!” Judai asked.

“810 I believe…” Cater said meekly, “I’ve never met anyone who knows all of them by heart…”

“How was I supposed to know that!?” Ace protested, “This is just my first week here! Can you just take the tart already?”

“The rules are sacred! Even breaking one of them can lead to chaos and ruin! Destroy that tart at once!” Riddle declared.

“Woah wait!” Deuce ran up trying to calm the situation, “We can just save it for later…we all worked really hard on it. We can still fix this.”

“He’s right!” Yuu was the next to stand up, “Ace and the others are still learning your rules and the tart is really good so just save it for another time.”

“But you brought the tart here which is a clear violation of the rules.” Riddle was not having any arguments, “The Rules are law…the rules are sacred. Since all of you violated the rules….OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!!!”

Everyone watched with shock as not only a collar clamped itself around Deuce’s neck, but collars appeared around Yuu’s and Grim’s necks.

“Hey that’s too far!” Judai jumped into the fray, “Yuu and Grim aren’t even part of our dorm!”

Yugi was helping Yuu back to his feet, “He’s right! Surely you have violated a rule by trying to punish a student who isn’t part of your dorm.”

Riddle just smirked, “Dorm leaders are allowed to discipline any students, regardless of dorm. Do not think me for a fool to overlook any rule.” Then a magical blast emerged from Riddle’s scepter blasting the tart out of Ace’s hands causing it to land on the ground in a ruined heap.

“The tart…” Grim was close to tears at seeing the wasted food and hard work.

Ace’s fists were shaking in rage, “I’ve had it! I’m done playing your game Riddle!”

“You still defy me…”

“You bet I am! Because you are acting like a spoiled brat who didn’t get their way!”

The garden was silent at this accusation.

“You dare…” Riddle began but was cut off by Ace.

“Sure I ate a tart that wasn’t mine but you didn’t have to seal my magic! And I worked to replace it but you threw a tantrum because it was the wrong one. Then you just ruined all the hard work we did. All you manage to do is to cause me to lose any respect I had left for you. I bet I’m not the only one who feels like you’re nothing but a tyrant!”

“A tyrant!” Riddle shot to his feet, “Heartslabyul has never been in better shape since I became Dorm Head! My rule is what is needed to stay on track. Am I not wrong?” Riddle gave a look to the surrounding students that Yusei recognized as ‘agree with me or suffer the consequences.’

“Th-that’s right!”

“Dorm Leader is the best!”

“See that…” Riddle taunted Ace for a response.

“Bet they only said that because they’re scared of you…” Ace scoffed.

That statement seemed to make Riddle blow a gasket.

“Trey! Throw this upstart out right now!”

Poor Trey looked torn about what to do. Thankfully Yusei stepped in to spare him the dilemma.

“That won’t be necessary…” Yusei spoke in a calm voice trying to deescalate the situation, “We’ll take our leave on our own terms…Sorry that this party didn’t go according to plan. Judai…Yugi-san…let’s help them out of here.

With that, the trio helped the collared students exit the garden while Riddle glared holes into their backs.

Chapter Text

“Well…that was a disaster…”

Yuu couldn't help but agree with Judai’s assessment of the situation as he led the group back to the Ramshackle dorm. Deuce just looked defeated with the collar around his neck while Ace looked even more furious. Grim just whined about being collared again. He was very grateful for Judai, Yugi, and Yusei’s support in all of this, even if he didn’t know them very well.

“This is where you have been staying?” Yugi asked at seeing the rundown building, “This cannot be habitable.”

“Apparently it was the only thing the Headmage had on hand for me to use since I really can’t stay with any of the teachers…” Yuu let out a sigh, “The first few nights were rough but I managed to clean enough so that I can sleep properly. And the kitchen was still in good shape. The ghosts have been helpful by doing small repair work while I’m gone.”

“If you need anything else fixed I’m quite handy with a tool box.” Yusei offered.

“That would be greatly appreciated.” Yuu smiled as he opened the door to let everyone in.

“So…how do we get the collars off now?” Deuce weakly asked.

“I’m not going to suck up to Riddle if any of you are thinking of that…” Ace growled, “Riddle went way too far and he needs to apologize first…”

“Can’t argue on that there…” Judai said as he flopped on the couch, “Wondered how he got that way in the first place…”

“That’s certainly a puzzle….” Yugi said as he also took a seat.

“Puuuurrr-haps a hint?”

Yuu looked up at the strange voice, “Guys….am I going crazy or is there a head floating in my dorm lobby?”

“This is a magic school….could be normal…” Yusei commented.

Said head with purple hair and cat ears smirked, “Little Riddle causing you trouble? Sure hasn’t changed much over the years…”

“You knew Riddle when he was younger?” Judai asked.

“Is he for serious having a conversation with a floating head?” Grim whispered

“I have no idea…” Ace whispered back.

“Nya~ I knew Riddle…but pur-haps Trey knows more than I do…” The head said with a wink.

“Trey-senpai knew Riddle growing up?” Deuce said.

“Must be why he proposed the chestnut tart in the first place…must have been trying to help us get back into Riddle’s good graces…” Yuu said, “Too bad that even he didn’t know about all those rules.”

“Well good luck then nya~” And with that, the floating head disappeared.

Yuu was wondering if his sanity was still intact if floating and disappearing heads didn’t scare him, “So we just need to find Trey-senpai and talk to him.”

“Don’t we have class first?” Yugi asked

Cue the collared students groaning.

“We probably aren’t going to find Trey during class…cause he’s you know…a senpai.” Judai pointed out, “Even if we do miss him during the day I’m still allowed into the dorm so I can get him there if you miss him.”

“So don’t worry too much about it,” Yusei said, “With all of us looking, we should be able to find him and get some answers.”

Yuu could not be more grateful for his new found friends.

…………………

Yugi wiped the sweat from his brow as Potions class continued. Despite being a magic school, a lot of the classes felt familiar in concept so he wasn’t too lost. It certainly has been an interesting few days, being dumped in an unfamiliar world and attending a school there. There wasn’t a surefire way to get home but if Yugi learned anything from his adventures, it was better to roll with things and adapt then to constantly fight them. Which is why he decided to put his all into his classwork.

“Ah think we finished a bit early…” Epel, his lab partner, said from next to him.

“It wasn’t too hard…” Yugi said, “It’s like cooking only with slightly more dangerous ingredients.” 

Epel laughed at the joke, “Thanks for lettin’ me speak with mah natural accent.”

“It’s part of your identity….you shouldn’t have to suppress it.” Yugi said trying to be supportive.

“If only Vil felt that way….” Epel grumbled.

“Still trying to figure that guy out…” Yugi said as he prepped their sample bottles to be graded, “I thought our dorm quality was effort…not beauty.”

“It was founded by the Beautiful Queen…” Epel pointed out, “Ah got teased all the time back home for mah…’cute’...looks and now this is not helping at all.”

“Well it could be worse….”

“How…”

“Being short.”

“You’re not that short…”

“Epel…you’re taller than me.”

“Oh…”

“Care to join us for lunch today?”

“Any reason I can to get away from Vil I will gladly take.”

………………………

Yusei busied himself in the library with whatever extra time he had. Knowledge was a powerful tool that saved his life numerous times in the past and that fact hasn’t changed now. The rules of this world were vastly different from the one he and the others had come from so it was imperative that he learn them as soon as possible. The classes provided a good basis on the theory of magic and spell work, but Yusei wanted to learn more. It may be the scientist in him but he knew energy can’t be created out of nowhere and can’t disappear, so it was a matter of the question as to where the magic was coming from.

He had pulled a few books that provided a more in depth analysis of the lessons he had received so far and it was a very fascinating read. But then he got to a chapter about the dangers of magic…

“Those who are born with the ability to use magic are first taught their magic is not an infinite resource. It is simply a well stored within one’s body that could be expanded upon with time and practice but it is a finite resource. Weaker mages will experience exhaustion after excessive magic use but the true dangers come with Blot.”

Frowning, Yusei turned the page to read on.

“Blot is a byproduct of magic that accumulates in a mage’s body overtime as they use magic. Blot can dissipate on its own with time and rest but repetitive use of high level magic can cause the accumulation to happen faster with detrimental effects as Blot is poison to the body. Mage crystals have helped prevent the ill effects of Blot as they can absorb the Blot and dissipate it therefore preventing the body from suffering its ill effects.”

“There is not much else know about Blot due to its nature but there is one thing all mages fear…the threat of Overblot.”

Below that paragraph was a blurry photograph that sent chills down Yusei’s spin. It seemed to be a dark forest that showed two figures. The first seemed relatively humanoid but looked to be covered in some sludge and torn clothing looking straight at the camera lens with glowing eyes. Behind that figure was something more monstrous that seemed to be made entirely out of the dark sludge and was connected to the first.

“Overblot is a berserk state where the mage accumulates so much Blot it overwhelms their body and mind. A poor mental state is known to accelerate the process of Overblotting. Sadly, almost all cases of Overblot are fatal. A mage in Overblot simply goes on a rampage until they are drained dry by the Phantom they summon in this state. Once the host dies, the Phantom continues to live on.”

Yusei gripped the book tightly, Judai and Yugi-san had to be informed about this. Standing up and tucking the book under his arm, he went to the front desk only to run into a familiar fedora wearing senpai.

“Hello Trey…everything alright?”

“Oh…um…hello again Yusei…” Trey shifted uncomfortably as he placed a book on the front desk, “Sorry you had to…see all that this morning….”

“It must be rough trying to reign in Riddle’s temper.” Yusei said.

That comment made Trey downcast his eyes in sadness, “It wasn’t always like this…”

“KNEW IT!”

Yusei witnessed a rather amusing sight of Ace, Deuce, Yuu, and Grim popping out from under a table. It was Ace that had spoken.

“That floating head was right! You did know Riddle from before!”

“Talking head?” Trey said confused before realizing something, “You must have run into Chen’ya…he loves messing with people with his Unique Magic….But yes…we both knew Riddle when we were younger.”

“So what happened?” Yuu asked, “Because I’m not really understanding the relationship. It’s  not coming off as childhood friendship to me.”

Trey fidgeted before sighing, “Let’s move to a more quiet corner…it’s not a conversation to have in the open.” The group obliged and followed Trey to a small corner of the library. Once they had a seat, Trey began his story.

“You see back in our hometown, Riddle’s mother is a well known doctor and influential figure in our community. She had wanted Riddle to be the best at any subject and skill so she had scheduled every single factor of his life. She even decided what soap he would use, the clothes he wore, and even who he could consider friends, she decided it for him and Riddle obeyed. Riddle was able to master his Unique magic by the time he was ten, not to mention being the top of every subject.”

“Sounds lame.” Grim commented.

“So it’s his mom’s fault?” Ace asked.

Trey elected not to remark on Ace’s question, “To Riddle, his mother’s rules were law and he was able to succeed because of them. So he is replicating his mother’s methods onto the dorm as it worked for him, it must work for everyone else. But he sees any minor infraction as an inexcusable offense.”

Yusei frowned as he listened to Trey’s explanation, strict parenting was nothing new but he had a feeling that Trey was underplaying Riddle’s childhood. If Riddle reacted harshly to a minor infraction, what were the chances that his mother reacted the same way?

“So Riddle was just emulating his mother this whole time…” Deuce muttered to himself.

“I get it….So it’s your fault then!” Ace suddenly declared.

“WHAT?” Was the response of the collared students.

“You knew that Riddle’s mom seriously messed him up this whole time right? You knew she was wrong.” Ace continued.

“I mean..yes…” Trey answered.

“But instead of telling Riddle that, you just stood by and just felt sorry for him! Kids don’t get to choose their parents but they can choose their friends. And it sounds like you failed by never telling Riddle that he’s wrong because his childhood sucked! Did you even try to tell him or were you too scared of losing your head as well?”

“Trey…” Yusei said in a much calmer voice than Ace, “You’re worried about your friend but aren’t sure if you should even say something right?”

Trey just stayed silent.

“But Riddle is ruling through fear and not respect, he only became the way he is because he was terrified of his own mother…wasn’t he?”

Judging by how wide Trey’s eyes got, it seemed that Yusei was right on the money.

“Now you're letting him become a freaking pariah!” Ace yelled once again.

“WOULD YOU KEEP IT DOWN? THIS IS A LIBRARY!”

“Gah! Headmage!” Grim yelped in alarm, “Aren’t you yelling louder than any of us?”

The birdman winced a bit at the observation before composing himself, “Regardless…I decided to visit the library to research a few things but I couldn’t help but overhear parts of your conversation. Is there something that should be brought to my attention?”

“Well you see….” Yuu quickly gave the summary of that morning.

“Hmm…” Headmage Crowley thought to himself, “I see…you believe that your Dorm Head is in the wrong so you won’t apologize but cannot see another solution to getting the collar removed.”

“Can’t you order him yourself?” Yusei asked, “You are in charge of the school.”

“While yes that is my position I’m afraid I cannot simply intervene in what the school rules consider a minor dispute.” Crowley explained, “It would be viewed as a major overstep of my power, something that Mr. Rosehearts is no doubt aware of and will not hesitate in calling out.”

“So what options do we have then?” Ace asked.

“Well there are two things possible at this point,” Crowley began, “One is to apply to be transferred to another dorm but I will warn you it is a very time consuming process that will involve another ritual with the Dark Mirror to see if there even is another dorm suitable for you.”

“Even if it was a quick thing, transferring feels like I’m running away from the problem, not fixing it.” Ace said.

That surprised all those sitting at the table as none of them had taken Ace for someone who would want to see a problem through.

“The other option is to challenge Mr. Rosehearts for the position of Dorm Head himself.”

“Wait..that’s possible?” Deuce asked in surprise.

“That just sounds insane!” Ace yelled.

“Keep your voices down, this is a library!” Crowley scolded again, “But it is not insane it is in fact is how Mr. Rosehearts got the position.”

“You mentioned something like that yesterday!” Grim told Trey, “When we were baking the tart.”

“Is that the only way for a Dorm Head to be selected?” Yuu asked.

“Not at all in fact there are two ways,” Crowley explained, “The first is to be appointed by the outgoing Dorm Head or to simply challenge the current Dorm Head to a duel for the position. Most find the duel to be a much simpler way.”

“But I thought it was against the rules to fight with magic on campus.” Deuce pointed out.

“Normally yes but official duels are done under a teacher’s supervision to ensure all parties play fair.”

“Which would mean that Riddle would have to remove the collar in order for the duel to be fair.” Trey also pointed out.

This made Ace, Deuce, and Grim fantasized about being collar free. Yuu just shook his head.

“So I take it you wish to issue a formal challenge to Mr. Rosehearts?” Crowley asked.

“Of course!” Ace declared.

“I’m down for it too.” Deuce said.

“Me three!” Grim said.

“Aren’t you technically part of my dorm Grim?” Yuu pointed out.

“I’m afraid he’s right? Crowley said, “You cannot issue a challenge as you are not a member of Hearslabyul.”

“Then how am I supposed to get this collar off?” Grim whined.

“Simple…” Ace smirked, “Once I win I’ll order Riddle to take it off of you.”

“Still wanted to do it myself.”

“Then I suppose I’ll go put the paperwork in order.” Crowley straightened his cape, “The duel will take place after classes tomorrow. Please prepare yourselves and not be late.” With that, the headmaster disappeared in a flash of magic.

“Well no time to waste!” Ace stood up from his seat, “Yuu…hope you don’t mind us crashing at your place again.”

“Might as well since we are all in the same boat.” Yuu said with a shrug, “Though I think we should grab some books on our way out. You guys haven’t finished your first week of school and Riddle’s got a year on you.”

“Maybe with that brain of yours we’ll come up with something.” Ace said with confidence, “If all else fails, Deucey can drop a cauldron on his head.”

“I told you that I can do more than cauldrons!” Deuce protested. 

Trey just sighed, “I’m going to go back to the dorm and try to prepare things….I have no idea how Riddle is going to react when he sees the challenge.”

Yusei just gave him a pat on the shoulder, “All I can say is I wish you luck. I should probably get my books checked out as well. Yugi-san, Judai, and I plan to meet up tonight before we all head back to our dorms.”

“Nice to have friends, not just within dorms…” Trey said with a soft smile, “Have a good time with your friends.”

Yusei could only wave goodbye. Now he just had to inform Yugi and Judai about what he learned.

Chapter Text

“You can’t be serious…” Yugi said as he read the book Yusei had brought with him, “In this world there is a chance that your own magic can kill you?”

Judai just frowned as he felt Yubel’s claws dig into his shoulder in comfort. Just reading about this Overblot state brought back rather uncomfortable memories of his rampage while possessed by his Haou half.

“I’m just concerned that this could happen to us if we’re not careful.” Yusei said, “We aren’t originally from this world after all.”

Yusei has a point but I think you can fall victim to this. Yubel whispered in Judai’s ear. You all seem capable of using the same magic as the locals. I do not know if it was by the force of whatever brought you here granting you this ability or if your bodies are adapting to it, but regardless this isn’t something to be taken lightly.

Judai quickly relayed everything Yubel said to the others.

“Yubel’s right,” Yugi nodded, “But from what this book says about poor mental states accelerating this process…I can’t help but think of what you told us about Riddle today.”

The three boys sat in silence for a bit.

“Judai, what do you think?” Yusei asked, “You’re the one in the same dorm as him and with the abilities that we lack…should we be worried?”

Judai closed his eyes and thought back. True, all day he could tell that Riddle was on edge and had let curiosity get the better of him and used Yubel’s senses. It was like Riddle’s soul was being coated in black tar.

“We should…” Was Judai’s eventual answer, “And with the duel for the Dorm Head position tomorrow…I can’t help shake the feeling that something is going to boil over.”

“So do you want us there? In case of back up.” Yugi asked.

“We took down Paradox together so how will this be any different?” Judai said with a small smirk, “We may not have our decks this time but I’m sure we can still pull some miracle out of nowhere.”

“A true duelist always finds a way to win…even if the situation looks hopeless…” Yusei smiled, “You both taught me that…and I’m sure those words inspired someone else in the future.”

“Ah shucks…” Judai rubbed his nose in embarrassment, “Don’t get sentimental on me.”

“Let’s get through classes tomorrow and then meet up in time for the duel,” Yugi proposed “And Judai, you be careful too…this is your dorm this is taking place in.”

“I can watch out for myself and even if something happens, Yubel’s got my back.” Judai reassured the two, “We’ll make sure things are okay.”

With that, the trio departed for the evening. While he had reassured the others, Judai couldn’t help the feeling of deja vu creeping up his spine.

Judai…you are going to be fine.

“Sorry Yubel…I can’t help it…I don’t want to repeat those days again.”

And you won’t…. Judai felt a warm, comforting hug around his shoulders …I’m with you this time and our minds are clear. I won’t let something insignificant as dirty ink corrupt you.

“Thank you…I really mean it…” Judai whispered as he crossed the mirror to his dorm…and came face to face with a livid Riddle.

“You’re past the time you are due back in your dorm…” Riddle said with a restrained voice.

“I was just hanging with my friends…” Judai shrugged, “There’s nothing wrong with losing track of time.”

“There is!” Riddle shouted, “That is time you could have spent studying and improving yourself!”

“So are you going to collar me?” Judai asked, “I think we both know that is not going to work. You can’t intimidate me Riddle…I simply like to do things my way because it works for me. Why can’t you see that?”

“Heartslabyul has never slipped from placing first in exams since I took the position of Dorm Head…my way is best. The rules are the way to improve oneself…”

Judai quickly activated Yubel’s senses, there was more of the black tar coating Riddle, and it was spreading.

“I don’t think so…maybe the rules are hurting more than helping, ever thought of that?”

Riddle actually took a step back in shock. “Are you a fool like those rule breakers who wish to duel me tomorrow for my position?”

So it seemed like the challenge had been issued already.

“Just do me one favor, Riddle…” Judai flatly said, “Give them a chance to put up a fight. If you crush them right away, there’s no way they can learn and grow. If you don’t…” The orange and green glow of his eyes intensified, “I’m going to step in on their behalf.”

Judai stormed off before Riddle had a chance to answer. For now he just wanted some sleep.

………………………

The next day seemed to progress at a snail’s pace. Judai barely saw Ace and Deuce during the day and the times that he did, they were muttering to themselves about possible strategies. He even sat with them during lunch where Yuu had presented quite the battle strategy for the two boys to use with their limited skills. Yugi-san even got to play a round of chess with him that acted as a welcomed distraction from the upcoming duel.

Finally when the last bell rang, there was a mass rush of Heartslabyul students running back to their dorm to witness the duel. Judai, Yugi, and Yusei stood towards the back of the crowd and watched as Headmaster Crowley drew boundary lines while Riddle, Ace, and Deuce stepped into positions.

“Please tell me this isn’t happening…” Cater asked Trey, “Please tell me that the little freshies aren’t challenging Riddle…”

“There was no talking them out of it…” Trey said, “They were determined to see this through.”

“This is an official duel to challenge Riddle Rosehearts of the position of Dorm Head of the Heartslabyul dorm.” Crowley announced to the crowd, “Mr. Rosehearts, as there are two challengers today, I will allow you to decide how we will proceed.”

“I am not one to waste time and I cannot be late for tea at 4 o'clock…” Riddle simply said, “I will take both of them at once.”

The crowd muttered in mild shock, as if they expected Riddle to do something like this.

“He’s not going to give them a chance…is he?” Yusei wondered out loud.

“No….” Yugi shook his head, “He wants this to play out his way….”

Judai gritted his teeth, this was not going to end well.

“Well if that is your choice Mr. Rosehearts but I must ask in order to keep this duel far you will remove the collars from Mr Trappola and Mr Spade.”

Riddle just looked annoyed, “Very well…” With a wave of his staff, the collars disappeared.

“Oh my…” Ace rolled his shoulders, “I feel so light.”

“Enjoy it while you can because those collars are going straight back on.” Riddle said.

“Not going to happen,” Ace readied his pen.

“We prepared ourselves for this and won’t go down without a fight.” Deuce backed him up.

“If all participants are ready…” Crowley stated, “The duel will begin once this mirror hits the ground.” 

“Won’t that cause seven years of bad luck?” Yuu asked

Crowley let out a small chuckle, “Don’t worry..only cursed mirrors do that.” He held up a small hand mirror a good distance off of the ground. “Ready…” He let the mirror fall to the ground as if in slow motion.

Slowly…

Slowly…

Slowly….

CRASH!

“OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!”

It was over before anyone could blink. The collars were back around Ace and Deuce’s necks.

Grimm whimpered mournfully, “There goes my chance.”

“Did you really think you could stand up to me?” Riddle mockingly asked, “My mother was right…A man who cannot follow rules is a man who cannot achieve anything…”

“But the rules you’re enforcing make no sense!” Deuce protested, “I agree that rules need to be followed but you are acting like a tyrant enforcing rules that do nothing in the long run!”

“But you agree rules must be followed.” Riddle countered, “In this dorm, I AM THE RULES! Therefore those who do not follow do not deserve the heads they use to complain.”

“That’s not your call to make…” The crowd suddenly parted as Judai made his way to the front flanked by Yusei and Yugi, “I told you that you should have given them a chance. But you just crushed them under your heel…”

“I am the one who decides what is wrong and who is right!” Riddle protested, “Clearly you were born to parents with no great magical ability. You even lack the basic education to attend a school such as this…such a shame…”

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

“SHUT YOUR SPOILED LITTLE MOUTH!”

Everyone watched with shock as Ace delivered a harsh right hook to Riddle’s face.

“Did...did he punch the Dorm Head in the face!?” A student yelled.

“Riddle!” Trey and Cater ran to check on the fallen leader.

Yuu was torn between cheering for his friend or facepalm while Grim applauded the punch.

“Ace…did you just…” Deuce barely stuttered out.

“I’m tired of all of this…” Ace panted with frustration, “Forget Riddle…forget the duel…I’m done with all of this!”

“You punched me!” Riddle protested.

“So what?” Ace yelled back, “You had a bad childhood? Who cares?! Kids aren’t supposed to be their parents' trophies to show off how successful they are! But it’s not your mother’s fault you became a tyrant, it’s all yours! How can you have been here for a year and not have a single person call you out on your behavior? That’s all on you!”

“What are you even talking about?” Riddle asked.

“Can you even think for yourself?” Ace asked in return, “All I’ve heard is Mother this…Mother that…You’re just parroting what she said…like you are an extension of her. You’re not this powerful mage…you’re just a baby throwing a tantrum.”

“You…you take that back…”

Ace scoffed, “No.”

“SHUT UP!” Riddle yelled, “Just shut up! Mother is right! That means I’m right too!”

“Riddle calm down already!” Trey tried to hold his childhood friend back, “The duel is over…”

“Mr. Clover is right…” Crowley spoke up, “Mr. Trappola has been disqualified due to physical violence. There is no need to continue any of this. If you insist on continuing this conflict, you yourself will be breaking school rules.”

“I AM RIGHT! THERE IS NO OTHER RULE THAN MY OWN!” Without warning, Riddle fired a magical blast at Ace.

“Ace no!” Deuce cried out.

“Riddle stop!” Trey called in vain.

Ace threw his arms up to shield himself ready for the strike, only for nothing to happen. Opening his eyes, he saw that Judai was now standing protectively in front of him.

“Riddle…enough…” That was the only thing Judai said.

“Why…why does my magic not work on you?!” Riddle cried out in frustration.

“Did he just say that!?”

“He’s immune to Riddle’s magic?”

“And Ace isn’t wrong either…”

“We’re sick of this too!”

More shouts from the crowd erupted as the anger grew. Some even started throwing eggs or anything they could get their hands on.

“Who…” Riddle sputtered as another egg landed on his head, “Who dares!”

“We’re fed up with all of this! I want to eat what I want!”

“I want to stay up late sometimes!”

“I’m tired of these rules!”

The shouts simply continued. 

Riddle started to laugh, “You’re fed up? I’m fed up with all of you! No matter how many heads I take…you keep breaking the rules…All you care is what you want to do! I will simply have to pass judgment on all of you!” He raised his staff again. “OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!”

This time…Judia wasn’t having it, “YUBEL!!!!”

Riddle’s magic was intercepted by what at first seemed like a dark blur, until everyone witnessed Yubel's demonic glory.

“Mr. Yuki!” Crowley cried in alarm, “You better have a good explanation as to why you just summoned a demon!”

“Yubel is not a demon!” Judai shouted back as Yubel took their place at his side, “They are my friend…

“And I will not allow any harm to come to my dear Judai…” Yubel declared, “Especially from a wanna-be queen…”

“You dare stand in my way!” Riddle was getting more furious by the minute, “You think your magic is superior to mine! Well it isn’t!” With a shriek, he continued to fire off his Unique Magic blindly in all directions, forcing the crowd to run for the cover. All the while ignoring ink dripping down from his forehead.

Judai however noticed it right away, he didn’t even need to use Yubel’s senses to know what was happening, “Riddle! You need to stop! I think you're reaching your limit of blot!”

“Blot?” Yuu asked in confusion, being the non magic person present.

“Cease this at once!” Crowley cried out in vain, “Mr. Yuki is right! Any more of this and you'll taint yourself with blot!”

“I don’t care!” Riddle’s rage increased as the trees in the garden began to rip themselves free from the ground and float in the air, “I am the only one who is right!” He sent the trees like missiles but before Yubel could take a defensive stance, the trees turned into a bunch of cards.

“Riddle….” Trey stepped up next to Judai, “This is enough….Doodle Suit!” With another wave of his pen charged with his Unique Magic, all the students who had collars found their necks finally free.

“The collar!” Deuce cried out in happiness.

“Why didn’t you do that sooner?!” Grim demanded.

“Trey…are you going to tell me I’m wrong too?” Riddle looked hurt by Trey’s actions, “Did you overwrite my magic with yours? Does this mean your unique magic is stronger than mine?”

“Riddle please listen to me…” Trey pleaded, “I should have done this a long time ago…But you need to stop this…You’re suffering and you need help.”

“You know I’ve suffered and yet you still have the gall to tell me that I’m wrong!” Riddle shrieked as more ink dripped down his face, “You are all wrong! There’s no…possible…alternative!”

With that final sentence, the drip of ink became a flow, then a torrent, then a geyser that completely engulfed Riddle’s form.

Chapter Text

“Riddle no!” Trey cried out in alarm but was held back by Judai.

“Jumping in there is going to get you killed!”

“Not to mention the rest of you if we don’t move now!” Yubel grabbed Judai, Trey, and Ace by their collars and flew back to a safe distance where everyone else was waiting.

“Are all of you crazy?!” Cater cried out in alarm, “Riddle is done for at this point!”

“So this is really Overblot?” Yusei asked.

He was answered by Crowley’s lament.

“Oh what have I done! A student Overblotting right in my presence in my very school!”

“What does that even mean?!” Grim demanded.

Yusei pulled out the book he found yesterday and opened it to the relevant page, “It’s a berserker-like state that happens because Riddle lost control of his magic.”

“If we don’t do anything…” Trey was fighting back tears, “Riddle is going to die from this!”

“Whoa wait die?!” Ace cried in alarm, “I don’t like the guy but I don’t want him dead!”

“Well we better think of something…” Yugi pointed to the geyser of ink, “Because here he comes!”

The rush of ink had died down allowing everyone to get a glimpse of Riddle, but he was different. His skin had gone to a sickly chalk white. His dorm uniform had been replaced with a torn up red and black version held in place with belts and a harness that formed fan-like spikes around his neck and shoulders. Ink continued to drip around his form mimicking gloves on his arms and a heart shaped pattern over his right eye that was also giving off a red flame. Behind him was a massive form that resembled a large woman dressed in red and black and whose head had been replaced with an ink vessel. Clutched in one hand was one of the rose bushes ready to be used as a club.

Riddle smirked, “You are fools to defy me! You are not welcome in my world. In my world…I am law…” The ground cracked and Riddle began to step forward, “I am order made manifest…The only response I will accept from you is ‘yes Riddle-sama’….All who defy me will lose their heads!” Riddle threw his head back and laughed.

“So what’s the plan?” Judai asked the group.

“You are not serious are you?!” Crowley protested, “This is not something that students can handle! We need to focus on evacuating the students here!”

“Riddle only has a finite amount of time before it’s over for him,” Yugi pointed out, “We can’t sit by and do nothing.”

“I’m in!” Ace spoke up, “That jerk still owes me an apology.”

“Me too!” Deuce volunteered as well, “I’m not going to sit by during something like this.”

“Are any of you listening to me!?” Crowley wailed.

“But what can we do?” Yuu asked, “I’ve got no magic and Riddle already wiped the floor with you before so what now?”

“We just need a plan…” Yugi said firmly, “Judai is our best bet to confront Riddle head on since Yubel can protect him from the worst of Riddle’s attacks.”

Yuu seemed to pick up on this train of thought, “While Trey can use his magic to override any spells that get past.”

“Cater can then use his clones to distract and divide his attention…”

“Then everyone else can overwhelm him at once!” The two finished in sync.

Cater whispered to Yusei, “Are they related somehow?”

“No…they just met the other day.” Yusei reassured him, “Headmaster Crowley, let us handle Riddle while you evacuate the students. I assure you we won’t go down easily.”

Crowley looked torn but eventually accepted the plan, “Very well…promise me that I will find you still standing when I return with the rest of the staff.” With that, he hurried off to ferry any remaining students out of the garden.

“Are we for serious doing this?” Cater asked.

“You did hear how bad it’s going to be if we don’t snap him out of it.” Grim pointed out.

“We are going to do everything to save Riddle.” Yusei reassured the group, “This may look like a hopeless fight but we are going to do anything in our power to win.”

Cater still looked unconvinced but still pulled out his magic pen, “Alright…I still want to say this is crazy though.”

“Which is the right mindset to have, right Yubel?” Judai asked.

“Just don’t do anything too reckless and stay behind me so I can be your shield.” Was their response.

“Alright…” Ace stood tall, “Let’s bring Riddle back to his senses!”

With that, the group broke into their roles.

“You dare defy me!” Riddle raised his arm as the dripping Blot formed into spears, “Begone!” The spears shot forward

Yubel let out a sarcastic yawn as the spears melted upon contact with their body, “Was that supposed to hurt?”

The other spears were turned into playing cards by Trey, “Sorry Riddle….but we can’t let you do this!”

“Then get out of my way!” Riddle was about to command the lumbering Phantom into attacking but it was knocked off balance by a combined wind attack from Ace and Deuce.

“You…”

“Hey!”

“Selfie!”

“#bossfight!”

“Hey this is Cater Diamond and I’m livestreaming right now from the…”

It seemed like the Cater army was doing its job.

“Annoying pests!” Riddle turned his attention to the Cater clones by trying to crush them with the rose bushes only to be interrupted this time by Yuu who was wielding Grim like a flamethrower.

“Bow in fear of the mighty Grim-sama!!!!” The cat fired off more fireballs which were then empowered by wind casted by Yusei.

“It’s simply adding more oxygen to the environment…” Yusei’s science brain was acting in full force, “Even weak magic can be magnified with a bit of knowledge.”

“Sometimes it’s not one powerful ace that wins…” Yugi said as he ran, casting quick ice spells, “It’s the army of smaller soldiers that won’t give up!”

“Begone then!” More spears and remains of rose bushes rained down on the combatants but didn’t do much damage thanks to Yubel and Trey.

“We’re saving you Riddle….” Judai charged forward pulling his fist back, “Whether you like it or not!” He delivered a massive uppercut to Riddle’s chin allowing the Overblot victim to have a nice view of a flaming cauldron that was about to land on him.

“Mother…was I wrong?” Was the last thing Riddle said before being crushed under the weight of the cauldron. The Phantom stopped moving as the ink vessel that formed the head slowly cracked then broke open, releasing all of the built up Blot at once.

Being the closest, Judai was swept up in the torrent.

“JUDAI!!!” Yubel’s voice was the last thing Judai heard before everything went black.

……

“Happy eighth birthday Riddle!”

Judai wasn’t sure where he was. It was dark with only the vague shapes that hinted at a well furnished room were the only hints to his location. Amongst the furniture shapes, there was a humanoid shape indicating that this was an adult woman.

“This year’s cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and…”  

The woman continued talking about food using terms that Judai wasn’t familiar at all with, not to mention sounding bland. But what held his attention was who the woman was talking to, the only thing that was clear in the blurry environment. It was a young Riddle.

“Riddle?” Judai tried to tap the young Riddle on the shoulder but his hand went right through as if he was a ghost, “Must be a memory then…”

“Thank you….But Mom…” The young Riddle spoke up, “I'd really like to try one of those tarts with the bright red strawberries.”

The woman slammed the plate she was holding onto a table, “Absolutely not! Those tarts are monstrously unhealthy! I might as well feed you poison. Even just a single slice would exceed your recommended daily intake of sugar. Now dinner tonight…”

She continued using a ton of terms that flew over Judai’s head as a mix of emotions swirled within him. His own mother…wasn’t the best to be honest. His parents were more hands off but at least they gave him sweets when he asked. But watching this woman behave around her own son…it angered him.

“I’d always wanted to try one of those tarts with the bright red strawberries.”

Judai turned around as the scene faded to see the Overblot Riddle slowly walking away as he spoke.

“The local cake shop had them in the window…They shined at me like forbidden jewels….”

Riddle’s form disappeared as another scene formed in front of Judai.

“That’s enough classical magic study for today. Your homework is to read the first fifty pages of the philosophy of language book referenced in today’s magical philosophy texts.

“Thank you Mother.”

“I need some time to prepare lesson materials. I will see you in an hour, okay?”

Overblot Riddle formed again in a different direction.

“I was studying every possible subject, scheduled down to the minute.”

“When I didn’t understand something, lessons were extended until I did….that was my normal…”

The sound of rocks being thrown against the window caught the young Riddle’s attention.

“Is someone there?”

“It worked, he heard us!”

“Hey come play with us!”

The young Riddle hesitantly approached the window, “Who are you?”

“I’m Chen’ya, and that’s Trey. Let’s all play croquet! It’s lots of fun!”

Young Riddle bit his lip, “I can’t….I’m supposed to be doing independent study, and I have a lot of homework to do.”

“Independent study means you pick what to do, right? My grandpa says that play is a form of study!” The young Chen’ya said.

“Just play with us for a bit.” Young Trey pleaded.

“O-Okay…just for a little bit though…” Riddle eventually agreed.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Trey asked.

“It’s Riddle…Riddle Rosehearts.”

Judai couldn’t help but smile as he watched the tiny Riddle climb out the window. This is what being a kid was supposed to be about.

“I had the best time playing with Trey and Chen’ya. We did so many things I’d never done before. They taught me lots of things I didn’t know. After that, I snuck out of my room every day to play with them during independent study time.”

The scene was now outside in a garden.

“ Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?” Young Chen’ya exclaimed, “You’ve never even tried a strawberry tart? They’re out of this world?”

“Yeah. My mom says sugar is basically poison.”

“I mean…” Trey began, “You probably shouldn’t eat too much of it, but calling it ‘poison’ is kinda…yikes….You know, my family runs a cake shop, Let’s go get a tart right now!”

Riddle sounded hopeful, “Really? But…I shouldn’t.”

“Just one slice,” Trey encouraged, “It’ll be fine.”

“One slice for you maybe…” Chen’ya joked, “I want a whole one!”

The scene faded as Overblot Riddle returned, closer than ever before allowing Judai to see his expression, it was one of regret.

“A bright red strawberry tart on a white plate…To me, it shined more brightly than any gem could. That first bite was so sweet. It tasted like nothing I’d ever eaten before. With each bite, I became more and more entranced….” A black tear fell from his eye, “...And I completely lost track to time.”

Riddle’s study room formed again, but it looked darker and messier, like someone who just had a temper tantrum inside.

“I cannot believe this!” The shrieking voice of Riddle’s mother rang out, “Not only are you cutting independent study time, but I find you eating a mountain of sugar?! Those two hoodlums must have incited this behavior. You must never play with them again!”

Tiny Riddle looked like he was about to burst into tears, his cheek even looked red as if he had been slapped, “I’m sorry Mother! I promise…it will bever happen again…”

“Be quiet!”

Riddle flinched at hearing his mother’s voice. The urge to tear this woman apart was slowly rising in Judai as he watched.

“You’ve broken the rules, and I’ll not hear another word from you.” She stormed to the window and began shutting and locking it, “Clearly you’re not able to handle the freedom of independent study. I need to keep a closer eye on you…”

The scene faded entirely, leaving the real Riddle still covered in Blot trembling.

“Because I broke the rules…my favorite part of my day was taken away from me…” More black tears fell from his eyes, “I vowed to never break my mother's rules again…After all, she was the most accomplished mother in the city, and therefore, the most correct…” Riddle looked up as if he was pleading to something unknown.

“But mom…Why does my heart hurt so much!” Riddle cried out, “I just wanted to eat a tart on my birthday! I just wanted to play outside all day! I wanted to make lots and lots of friends! Mother please! What rule do I need to follow to make this pain go away!?”

Without warning, the ground turned to liquid and started pulling Riddle downward spurring Judai to act.

“There isn’t any rule for that!” Judai cried out as he fought the forming current to get to Riddle who was sinking faster and faster. “Your mother was wrong! Someone who is well respected isn’t automatically right! Parents can and will hurt their own kids!” Judai would know, his own parents had hurt him by getting rid of Yubel.

“But why….” Riddle sobbed, not doing anything to fight being swallowed up by the ink, “Why did she hurt me?”

“Who knows!” Judai had managed to reach Riddle and began trying to pull him free, “Maybe it was out of love or trying to live through you but right now what matters is that you have to let her go! You have real friends who are worried about you!”

“Fr-Friends?”

“Trey is worried about you!” Judai yelled as he continued to pull Riddle free, “I bet he never stopped thinking about you since that first day he invited you to play! Even now, he wants nothing more than to save you!”

“Tr-Trey…” For the first time, Riddle actually struggled against the current, “I-I want to have another tart….” He wretched an arm free and clung to Judai like a lifeline, “I want to see him!”

“And you will…” With one last heave, Judai pulled Riddle free, and everything went white.

Chapter Text

Yugi felt like he stopped breathing when Riddle and Judai disappeared under the wave of ink, not helped when Yubel started clawing furiously through the muck trying to find the two. After what felt like far too long, Judai finally emerged gasping for air pulling an unconscious Riddle with him. And it was the normal Riddle, not covered in the torn and dark clothing, but dressed in his dorm uniform.

“Oh thank the Sevens they’re okay!” Cater collapsed in relief, “Wait, is Riddle even breathing?!”

“He is,” Trey confirmed, having assisted Judai pull Riddle to a clear patch of the ground to look him over, “I think he’s just unconscious.”

“So…so we did it?” Deuce asked as he collapsed, “We saved him?”

“He’s not dead.” Ace pointed out, “I say that counts as a win.”

“And we’re not dead either!” Yuu cheered, petting an exhausted Grim. 

“Compared to how the rest of the garden looks,” Yusei gestured to the rest of the ruined area, “I think we got pretty lucky.”

“You all certainly did… ” Yubel said as they hovered above the group, giving Judai the harshest glare, “Especially considering that you could have drowned.”

“Okay can we talk about this?” Cater pointed between Judai and Yubel, “So are they your Unique Magic or a demon contract? Because it means I should be taking some good pics of this or freaking out.”

“Yubel’s been with me since like…forever and I don’t recall making a contract so…you can say they’re my Unique Magic.” Judai offerned.

“Which means far less paperwork for then….” The voice of Headmaster Crowley caught their attention. It seemed that the headmage had returned flanked by Professor Trien and Professor Crewel. “I’m quite happy to see that everyone is alright.”

“Just a little worse for wear…” Yugi said, “But about Riddle-kun…”

“Nurse Yaxley will be along in a moment,” Crowely said, “They got distracted tending to the minor injuries and I swear to the sevens if they turn someone into a llama…”

“You do that one time and no one can let it go!” A very skinny man dressed in purple with a heavy doctor's coat overtop stormed into the ruined garden. Their heavily wrinkled face and purple head wrap exaggerated their frown, “Wasn’t my fault that kid started downing everything in my medicine cabinet.”

“You should've labeled them.” Crewel said.

“They were…” Yaxely sent a harsh glare before shouting orders, “You two!” He pointed at Trey and Cater, “Carry our victim to my office. Everyone else you better follow me and submit to treatment and I won’t take no for an answer!”

Everyone was too tired to argue anyway. And too tired to notice Grim eating a black crystal off of the ground.

………………

Riddle wasn’t quite sure where he was. His body ached and the soft surface he was laying on didn’t do much for his discomfort. He wanted to open his eyes so bad but his eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. What happened? This never happened to him before.

“Hey he twitched!”

“You sure that wasn’t a shadow?”

“No…I’m sure his hand just moved.”

That was a good sign, there was feeling in his fingers and it was spreading. Now it felt like his body was made of needles.

“Oh there’s the scowl…looks like he’s waking up.”

The light was dim as Riddle opened his eyes. The environment was unfamiliar with the white walls and ceiling, but the face that came into view was one he recognized.

“Are you back with us?” Trey asked.

“Trey?” Riddle weakly asked, “Where…”

“The infirmary.” Trey answered, “Do you remember what happened?”

Riddle blinked as he tried to recall, “I think…there was a lot of black…”

“Makes sense…” Judai came into view, “Would you like the long version or short version.”

“Why…are there two options?” Riddle asked.

“I think it’s just best if we give it to him straight…” Another face came into view, an Octavinelle student by the name of Yusei Fudo if Riddle recalled, “Riddle…you Overblotted today and we managed to bring you back from that state. You’ve been unconscious for several hours now.”

It was as if all the pain in Riddle’s body disappeared as he sat up in shock. He…Riddle Rosehearts…Overblotted?

“If you are worried if you hurt anyone don’t worry…” Yusei continued, “We’re just a little roughed up but overall okay. The garden on the other hand is going to need a lot of cleaning up.”

“Don’t go thinking I’ve forgiven you just because you Overblotted…” It was Ace’s voice that echoed next.

That’s right…this whole mess started when Ace stole the tart…but he had brought a replacement tart and he….

“I’m sorry…”

“Wha…” Ace was caught off guard.

“I really wanted to eat that tart…” Everything started to spill out of Riddle’s mouth, “I prefer milk tea to lemon tea…I want to spend more time talking to people after lunch…and it’s fine if the roses are white instead of red…it doesn’t matter what color the flamingos are…..I just wanted to….” Tears were falling at this point and Riddle couldn’t stop them.

Awkward silence filled the office for some time as Riddle just let years of pent up emotions out.

Eventually Ace spoke up, “Don’t think saying ‘I’m sorry’ is going to cut it.”

“Ace!” Deuce cried in alarm.

“Isn’t that a little harsh?” Yuu asked.

“The past few days have been rough and I bet there are tons of other students mad at Riddle for the hell he put them through for the past year.” Ace pointed out.

“He’s got a point.” Yugi said.

“You’ve got to prove that you’re really sorry!” Ace declared.

“How?” Riddle weakly asked.

“I want a do over…” Ace began, “I got thrown out of the Unbirthday Party so I want a make up one. I bet there’s another day coming up with no birthdays on it. And you’re making the tart this time. Don’t count on Trey to help you out.”

“But didn’t Trey help you out?” Cater asked.

“This is about learning a lesson!”

“That’s all?” Riddle asked in confusion.

“Think of it as a start,” Judai said, “We can go over the other stuff later.”

“Judai is right,” Trey agreed, “Right now you just need to rest.”

“Mr. Clover is right!” Nurse Yaxley made his great entrance, “I am keeping Mr. Rosehearts for at least one more day for observation. Everyone else can go back to their dorms except for you Mr. Yuki!” He pointed at Judai, “We are going to be doing thorough exams about that Unique Magic of yours for…paperwork reasons.”

“Well it was nice knowing you…” Yusei patted Judai on the shoulder.

“Why are you talking like that?” Judai asked worryingly.

“You will be remembered in our hearts.”

“Yugi-san not you too!”

With that everyone made their leave allowing Riddle to get some more rest and Judai to contemplate his fate.

……………

Epel paced in the lounge of Pomefiore. It had been hours since the videos and photos hit the Magicam before being removed. But everyone agreed about their contents, the Heartslabyul dorm leader Overblotting and attacking all those in attendance. And Epel was pretty sure that Yugi had said he was going to visit a friend he had in that dorm, and he hadn’t been seen since.

“Epel straighten your shoulders! It’s bad for your posture.”

And Vil was really not helping matters. 

“Now Roi du Poison, I’m sure Monsieur Crabapple is aware of his walk and how can he? He is showing the beauty of concern he has for his friend.”

Rook really wasn’t helping either. Epel gritted his teeth in frustration, why didn’t he get Yugi’s phone number before all of this?

Suddenly an exhausted voice entered the lounge, “I’m back….”

A wave of relief washed over Epel, Yugi was back and he was safe. True he did look a little roughed up and worse for wear, but he was safe. Epel couldn’t help but run and hug the other boy with his country strength.

“Oof! E-Epel-kun! Were you waiting for me this whole time?” Yugi asked.

“How could I not after hearing the news!” Epel cried out, “Did that really happen? A case of Overblotting here at our school?”

Yugi blinked in confusion, “How did you hear about that?”

Vil was the one who provided the answer, “It was trending on Magicam for some time before it was wiped from the platform and you know how rumors persist. Seeing that you were there in person I hope that you can clarify some of the more exaggerated events.”

“But the most prevalent question is whether or not Roi des Roses was saved.” Rook said.

“Roi des…” It took Yugi a moment to figure out who Rook was referring to, “Oh you mean Riddle-kun…he’s okay now…just recovering in the nurse's office.”

“I’ll have to send him a get well present then…” Vil said with a nod, “Now I believe you look like you are ready to fall asleep on your feet.”

“Shower first…then sleep.” Yugi corrected.

“Very well then…” Vil agreed, “Just make sure you use the products I left you properly. It’s important you keep up the skin care routine even if you're tired.”

Yugi just waved everyone a goodnight before heading to his room.

………………………………

“So….we heard something interesting…”

“Something concerning where you’ve been this afternoon…”

Yusei was doing his very best to pretend that the Leech brothers didn’t exist. 

“Are you going to tell us?”

“Everyone has heard by now.”

“But we want the insider information.”

Keep a clear mind….keep a clear mind….keep a clear mind…. Yusei was mentally chanting to himself. Why did the twins have to be so off-putting?

“Jade…Floyd…aren’t you supposed to be supervising the closing duties?” Azul had arrived to redirect the twins and while Yusei felt like he should be grateful for this save…this was Azul he was talking about. It was out of the frying pan and into the fire.

“Awww….but we’re not done talking to Nudibranch yet…” Floyd pouted. 

“And the dishes don’t clean themselves…” Azul countered, “So get to it.”

With great reluctance and pouting, the twins left, leaving Yusei all alone with Azul.

“But they did have a point…is the rumor mill true concerning Riddle-san?” Azul asked.

Yusei took a deep breath to calm himself, “All I am confirming is that he is in the nurses’ office and being monitored there. You can go yourself if you are truly interested.”

Azul frowned, clearly not getting the answer he wanted. “I can’t get a read on you Yusei-san…..You’re willing to help most but with others….” His eyes narrowed in suspicion, “You are strangely closed off.”

Yusei knew that look. It was the same look Godwin gave him during the start of the whole Dark Signer mess. The look of someone trying to appear helpful when really they just want leverage over you. There was no way he was falling for that act again. Now that he thought about it, Azul had some disturbing similarities to Godwin. The desire to be incharge, to collect information and strong allies, and the smile that never seemed right.

“Let’s just say I’ve had some life experiences…” Was what Yusei finally answered with, “And I’m afraid those same experiences tell me that you are someone to be cautious around.”

Azul’s lips were pressed into a thin line, “Very well…perhaps we shall continue this conversation another night then….Please keep up the good work on the maintenance…I cannot begin to express my gratitude over how much you are saving us in operation costs.” With that, he finally left Yusei alone.

Yusei finally felt his body relax. He had to figure out what Azul wanted from him soon, dealing with manipulators was exhausting.

“That’s a worry for tomorrow…” He whispered to himself, “Now I just want to go to bed…”

Chapter Text

Judai yawned as he headed to breakfast. Nurse Yaxley’s tests took most of the evening so he spent the night in the nurse’s office. At least now he could summon Yubel without getting odd looks or suspicions from the staff. Whatever data Yaxley collected seemed to satisfy any curiosity and officially stated that Yubel was his Unique Magic. Much simpler than the real story, like anyone is going to believe his past life as a Roman emperor and his loyal demon bodyguard. A little far-fetched for a magic school.

As for Riddle, he was still being kept for observation. When Riddle tried to leave to go supervise the dorm’s morning chores, Yaxley tied him to the bed with snakes. No word on where the snakes came from. One minute no snakes, the next minute snakes. Judai wasn’t going to be touching that situation with a ten foot pole anytime soon.

But now the goal was breakfast! Loading up his plate as much as he could, Judai searched for an empty table so that Yusei and Yugi-san could join him later.

“My aren’t you an interesting fellow…”

Judai looked up in mild surprise at a fellow student who was floating upside down mid air. Black hair with pink highlights and wearing the bright green vest of Diasomnia, the other student had a cat-like grin on his face. “Been awhile since I met someone like you.”

That sent all of Judai’s hair standing on end. What did he mean by that?

“Shadow fae are rare….even more so if they also feel human....”

Judai felt Yubel ready to fight, this guy was getting way too close to comfort.

“Perhaps we should meet up later?” The student flipped himself over and landed on the floor, “You like games? Video games especially. Seven knows that the boys could use some more friends.”

“Err….” The abrupt change in topic was throwing Judai off.

“Oh where are my manners, my name is Lilia Vanrouge. And despite my cute appearance, I’m a third year student.”

“Totally believe you on that part,” Judai said, “I’ve known lots of short people in my life.”

Lilia chuckled, “You’re lucky that I find my lack of height to be one of my charming features. Say, why don’t you join me for some snacks and gaming this weekend at Diasomnia. I would love to get to know you a bit better.”

Judai no! Yubel protested, There is something wrong about how this one feels.

I don’t think he’s going to leave us alone though, Judai responded, Might as well just get it over with.

“Sure…I think I’m free then…”

“Wonderful! See you then!” With a small poof, Lilia was gone.

If he tries anything, I’m going to pull rank. Yubel muttered

“I’m pretty sure he’s older than you.”

Trust me…I’m the older one.

…………………

It was a curse that Yugi could never escape PE class…even in a magic school. And Coach Vargas was a little…intense. At least today was broom practice which everyone could enjoy. Who doesn’t love flying on brooms, Yugi thought to himself as he hovered in the air waiting for his turn for Coach Vargas to call his group for drills.

“Fujiki! While I am impressed with your balance, that is not how you ride a broom!” The coach was heard yelling from the ground.

The blue hair student in question who was in fact standing on his broom just shrugged and continued to do laps around the field. He had been doing so for the past five minutes.

“Kid would make an awesome Spelldrive player…” A mutter came from the watching students.

“Too bad he’s in Ignihyde…those guys are total recluses….” Another student muttered, “Talk about wasted talent.” 

“Spelldrive…” Yugi muttered to himself. He had heard that word tossed around a few times before. It sounded like it was some sort of sport. Not his thing…Epel on the other hand…

“I could do something like that to block the goals….” Epel was rapid fire muttering to himself, “That balance combined with the correct spell to redirect the disk would be a perfect counter move…”

Now that Yugi thought about it, he was pretty sure that Epel had joined the Spelldrive club recently. Probably the only thing that he and Vil agreed on, judging by the fact that Vil had added Epel to the team roster for the dorm. Perhaps there was a tournament coming up. 

Still, sports weren’t really his thing. Yugi shrugged as his group was finally called to run their drills. It didn’t combine well with his family curse of short legs.

“Mouto! Straighten your back! We need to build more muscle on you!”

Now if he could survive Vargas for the next hour.

……………………

“Who put this hole here?”

Yusei was very glad he was looking at the ground as he walked through the courtyard or else he could have taken a very bad tumble. Was a tree planning to be transplanted? It was the only explanation of why there was such a deep hole. To which someone was climbing out of…

“Stupid extroverts…why is hunting introverts their favorite sport…got to head home and HHHIIIEEEEEE!!!” The student freaked out upon spotting Yusei — though Yusei was pretty sure the reaction should’ve been the other way around, considering this student had flaming blue hair and pointy teeth.

The mysterious student fumbled a bit but pulled himself out of the hole and pulled out a tablet, turning on the text to speech function.

“Did you put this hole here?”

Yusei shook his head, “Just as confused as you are. Nearly fell in it myself.”

“You must have rolled a good reflex save…” The text to speech program kept running, “I’m just trying to get back to my room…”

“How did you even fall into the hole?”

“The extroverts were trying to drag me to a party…” The program somehow put more emphasis on the word ‘extroverts’, “The hole saved me from their pursuit.”

Yusei nodded in understanding, “I take it they didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“No!” The program shouted while the student’s hair flashed red as if to mimic his emotions, “I just want to get back to my games and brother…”

“Brother?” Before Yusei could ask for any more details, another voice entered the fray.

“Nii-san!!!!”

Yusei turned around and witnessed the greatest miracle of science ever. It was a humanoid robot, floating along the ground using some form of forward propulsion.. The design was sleek and mimicked someone who looked to be around twelve years old. The flaming hair the robot had gave a good indicator as to who made him.

“Nii-san, there you are!” The robot child cheered, “I couldn’t find you after classes and got worried.” Then he spotted Yusei, “Nii-san, did you make a new friend!?”

“Or-Ortho…”

“It’s so nice to meet you! My name is Ortho Shroud! You already met my nii-san Idia. I hope he didn’t give you too much trouble.”

A million questions were running through Yusei’s head. The programming for this AI must be intense. And the voice synthesizing was indistinguishable from a human’s voice. There was a clear personality too! There were so many questions he wanted to ask and the first one just slipped out.

“What kind of gyroscope do you have to maintain your balance? I can tell you don’t have your propulsion system running full time.”

Ortho’s eyes widened and turned to Idia, “Nii-san…he knows!”

Idia put his tablet down and spoke out loud, “You…you have an interest in robotics?”

“I’ve studied engineering but I’ve always been fascinated with robotics.” Yusei explained, “Not to mention the programming side of the field as well. But you seem to have far surpassed me.”

“Nii-san built all of my gear himself!” Ortho boasted, “He also takes care of all of my maintenance and program upgrades. Lately we’ve been working on my defense parameters.” He demonstrated by extending a blaster from within his main chassis then folding it back up again.

“Maybe you can develop a cycle for yourself if you need to save on energy or fuel.” Yusei suggested.

Ortho’s eyes lit up, “Nii-san…can I have a bike?!”

Idia pulled up his jacket collar higher, “I’ll need some blueprints to work off of.”

“I can provide them.” Yusei offered, “I’ve designed quite a few before.”

Ortho was jumping up and down with glee, “Imma get my own blast cycle! This is so cool!”

“It seems like I have found those with the expertise I needed.”

A rather deep voice came up behind Yusei, a voice that Yusei could feel power radiating off of. Whoever it was seemed to scare Idia to the point that he tried to jump back into the hole, only to be stopped by Ortho grabbing the back of his jacket.

“M-Malleus-shi!!! What are you doing here?!”

Yusei turned around to see who this ‘Malleus’ was. The first impression he got was ‘tall.’ Malleus had a few inches over him, and that’s not counting the horns — though Yusei couldn’t identify what species. Pointed ears and the green eyes with the slitted pupils also screamed ‘not human.’ Black hair and pale skin didn’t help matters, but for some reason he was wearing his lab coat rather than the school uniform. Perhaps he just came from that class.

“I’m in need of someone with mechanical knowledge. An artifact that was gifted to me some time ago became damaged when the water system activated in the botanical gardens while I was collecting supplies for potions class. I was told that a freshman by the name of Yusei Fudo was knowledgeable and I do believe that you are him.”

Seems like people were talking about the repair work he was doing, Yusei thought to himself. “That’s me…what do you need fixing?”

Malleus reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a pocket digital pet toy. Yusei couldn’t believe himself. He had seen broken models when scavenging for scrap when he was younger but those had gone out of style years ago. Seems like there were some still in use in this world.

“So it just got wet?” Yusei asked as he took the toy and flipped it over to examine the battery cover, “Let me check the internal components to see if they are intact.” Pulling out one of the screwdrivers he kept on him, he quickly opened up the device and removed the battery to look at the simple circuit board. Everything seemed to be in place, so it was just a matter of drying the water out.

“Good news, I think all we need is to dry this with cool air. We don’t want to melt the circuitry after all.” Yusei explained. 

“So a simple wind spell perhaps?” Malleus asked as he waved his hand that was radiating magic, then a windstorm blew in.

Yusei struggled to stay standing, “Not this much! A breeze would be better.”

The wind instantly died down.

“Apologizes…” Malleus said, “I forget sometimes that my magic is significantly more powerful than most.”

“Don’t…worry about it…” Yusei caught his breath as he checked the toy. It seemed to have dried out so he replaced the battery back and turned the toy on. An eight-bit figure of a dragon appeared on screen.

“Looks like we’re good to go.” He handed the toy back to Malleus who had a grateful smile on his face.

“You have done me a great service this day by fixing something that is very important to me…” Malleus said, “Allow me to reward you…” He held up his hand again as more magic poured out and Yusei found something large and heavy in his.

It was a large purple crystal with chunks of gold at the bottom that also snaked their way up into the crystal in veins. Yusei had a very good feeling that whatever this is was rather valuable. 

“Have a good day and thank you again.” Malleus made his leave allowing Idia to finally find his voice again.

“Did…did you just talk to Malleus-shi casually?!” Idia demanded.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Yusei asked.

“S-Something wrong!? Is your charisma stat high or something?” Flustered Idia, “Malleus Draconia…the crown prince to the Briar Valley…one of the five most powerful mages in the world….and you just talked to him as a casual.”

Oh…he just talked to royalty. No big deal.

“He asked for help and I didn’t see a reason to say no.”

“Not to mention his thank you gift…” Ortho said as he examined the crystal with an internal scanner, what Yusei would give to have one of those. “It's a rather large specimen of rosite ore, the rarest ore found in Briar Valley. I would estimate its value at…” Ortho ran some quick calculations, “About 150,000 madol at least.”

Yusei felt his heart leap at that number. What could he do with that much money….phones! He, Judai, and Yugi-san didn’t have phones that were compatible here. This could be the answer to that problem.

“Do you know of anywhere I could exchange it for cash?” Yusei asked Idia and Ortho, “I’ve been meaning to get a good phone for myself and my friends.”

“I-I can do you one better Yusei-shi…” Idia had a grin, “I can buy it off of you and help you set up and customize the top of the line phone model.”

“Do you have that much money available?”

“Do not question things! That is a super rare drop that I’ve been grinding to get for years and I am not passing up this opportunity!” Idia was becoming more and more animated, “Ortho let’s go! There is stuff to be done!”

“Come on Yusei-san!” Ortho tugged Yusei’s sleeve to get him to follow, “Maybe we can work on the blast cycle design while nii-san works!”

Yusei couldn't help but chuckle as they left.

“Oh…did we ever figure out who dug that hole?”

…………………

In Savanaclaw, Ruggie Buchie was complaining.

“Leona-san! Why did you even have me dig napping holes if you’re not going to use them?!”

Chapter Text

“...so the garden cleanup is going well and now that we’ve got Riddle back from Nurse Yaxley the make-up Unbirthday Party is going to be in two days.”

“That soon?” Yuu asked as he prevented Grim from falling into the cauldron…again. “Is Riddle-senpai okay to be doing that much?”

“Trey is keeping a close eye on him like a mother hen.” Ace explained, “Also with no one collared anymore, magic is making the preparations go a lot faster.”

“Magic sure makes things easier…” Yuu bemoaned as he had to chop the potion ingredients by hand while others were using magic to do it for them. The Ramshackle dorm was finally free of dust but many of the rooms were still in need of major repairs. He’d have to ask Yusei for help to get the water heater evaluated since it worked only half of the time. Having to do everything by hand was so exhausting and this was on top of school work and whatever Crowley piled on top of him. And the Ramshackle ghosts were not repairmen in their past lives so they were doing their best, even if their best meant duct tape.

“Even if you don’t have magic, at least you are doing better than some of our other classmates…” Deuce pointed across the room to where Professor Crewel was scolding a group whose cauldron had exploded.

“All I have to do is follow directions and make sure Grim doesn’t eat the ingredients.”

“It's not my fault things look tasty!” Grim protested.

“You eat rocks and burnt grass off of the ground, I’m not sure what you think ‘tasty’ means…” Ace pointed out.

“But are things better at Heartslabyul now?” Yuu asked.

“So far at least.” Ace explained, “But we’ll see once Riddle takes up his responsibilities as Dorm Head again but for now everyone seems to be a lot more relaxed.”

“That is, whenever Judai isn’t using his Unique Magic.” Deuce shook his head, “It’s very startling to wake up and see a demon in the kitchen.”

“Guy must have got some serious magic reserves to have Yubel out pretty much all day…” Ace sighed, “I think he’s just showing off at this point.”

“At least he doesn’t have them summoned during class…” Deuce pointed out, “That would be terrifying.”

“Overall this has been an interesting first week of school.” Yuu said to wrap up the conversation as Crewel made his way over to their station.

………………

Judai grinned as he messaged Yusei and Yugi-san info on the make-up Unbirthday Party. He had no idea how Yusei got them such cool phones but at least they now had a much easier way to communicate with each other. It was certainly going to make things much simpler from now on.

Enjoying some newfound freedom? Yubel asked.

“For sure….they didn’t have phones like this back home.” Judai said as he played around with some of the features a bit more. He might as well have a miniature computer in his hand, this thing was powerful! 

Cater had helped him figure out some of the more advanced features and load up more people’s numbers. And how to use the selfie function. Lots of pictures of him and Yubel now rested on his phone.

“Guys…it’s Riddle!”

All preparations in the garden halted as Riddle made his way towards the dorm. Judai could tell that he didn’t carry himself with confidence. His shoulders were hunched over and he didn’t make eye contact with anyone. The past few days had been rough on him after all.

“Excuse me, Judai…” Riddle approached him but still didn’t make eye contact, “Could I take a moment of your time and consult you on a few matters?”

Judai shrugged, “Got nothing else really going on so sure.” They left the garden and made their way inside to the kitchen where the tea was always prepared. Riddle sat down at one of the tables and placed a rather large stack of papers on top. The title was clearly visible to Judai and it read ‘The Queen of Heart Rules.’

“I’m….having some difficulties…” Riddle admitted, “Trey says I should no longer use my Unique Magic as the punishment for every rule infraction but….” His voice dropped to a whisper, “I have no idea what I’m doing….”

“How so?” Judai probed, “And why ask for my advice?”

“The night before the duel…” Riddle explained, “You said to give Ace and Deuce a chance, even if I did think they were out of their league….what was your reasoning? What would you have done?”

Judai thought for a minute, “I would have let them get a few attacks in, study their methods, then counter attack. Afterwards I would give them feedback so they could improve for next time.”

“So a teaching moment?”

“Pretty much…” Judai shrugged, “I mean if someone messed up on a tart…instead of collaring them you can teach them about what went wrong and have them try again.”

Riddle looked back at the massive stack of rules, “So what rules do I punish and which ones do I correct?”

“Well, let’s see….” Judai started flipping through the stack, “A lot of these ones about foods and the colors of things can be easily a quick correction and move on…now that I look at this it’s about half of these rules…” At this point, Judai was tossing most of the papers onto the ground since they contained arbitrary rules. “These ones about stealing and cheating, yeah those need harsher punishments because they line up with the main school rules as well.”

Riddle just stared in shock at the mess of papers on the ground, “I don’t know where or how to start…”

“Just maybe a few things at a time…” Judai suggested, “I’m sure Trey will be willing to help you out, speaking of which…where is he?”

Riddle pointed over his shoulder to where Trey was spying on them through the window, “You won’t believe how much negotiation it took to have him stay outside of the room.”

“He truly is the mother hen of the dorm…”

……………

“Check….”

Yugi gave the board a quick glance before moving his rook, “Checkmate.”

“And that makes it twenty wins to my zero…” Yuu moaned as Grim added a tally to the scoreboard, “I can never win against you.”

“I could say the same…” Ace pouted, “Both of you creamed me in three moves…”

“And I don’t understand the rules…” Deuce added.

“I have yet to see Yugi-san lose at any game…” Judai said with a smirk.

Yugi gave a rather smug grin as he reset the board, “I could use more opponents or more games to play though.”

“I did hear of a board game club…” Yusei said.

“I’m sensing a but in there…”

“Azul is one of the members…”

Everyone at the table made sounds of understanding.

“But isn’t that Idia guy you talked about also a member?” Judai asked, “The club can’t be all bad.”

“True…” Yusei nodded, “Though he doesn’t like to be around people, games are one of the things he is rather enthusiastic about.”

“Perhaps I should check the club out later…” Yugi said, “Not much is really catching my interest.”

“Not even one of the sports clubs?” Ace asked.

Yugi just slowly turned in Ace’s direction and said, “...No.”

“What about you guys?” Deuce directed the question at Yusei and Judai, “Are you joining any clubs?”

“Science club for myself…” Yusei answered, “They seem to cover anything that falls under that category rather than make lots of smaller clubs, so I’ll find something to work on as a personal project.”

“And I’m in the best one ever…” Judai grinned, “The go-home-early club.”

“That sounds boring.” Yuu said rather bluntly.

“You really need to do something with yourself.” Yugi added.

“What are you, my parents?” Judai sarcastically asked, “And I don’t see Yuu joining a club either.”

“Because watching over this one is a full time job.” Yuu held Grim up by the scruff of his neck.

“Will you stop holding me like that?!” Grim protested.

“Never.”

“On top of that, my lack of magic is limiting my options…” Yuu said with a sigh. Yugi gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

“Hopefully you find something soon…”

………………

“Our Dorm Head…Riddle Rosehearts!”

Riddle tried to keep his head high as he entered the newly refurbished garden and the newly set up Unbirthday Party. His brain was going on autopilot scanning the tables and rose bushes to see if they complied with the rules.

“Tablecloths are white…roses have been painted red…the dormouse….” He caught himself and shook his head, “No…minor things….leave minor things be.”

“Remember…” Trey stood by him as a constant support, “Think ‘it would be nice if it was this way’ rather than ‘it has to be this way’...we’re starting small after all.”

Small was still a lot, especially considering the number of rules there were to be followed. Not to mention he could tell everyone just seemed to be waiting for him to find something wrong. Just stick to routine for now….

“On this day…a day with no birthdays…I propose a toast…” Riddle raised his cup, filled with milk tea this time, “A very merry Unbirthday.” 

Everyone cheered the toast and the party began. Trey was serving cake to everyone while Cater was taking pictures of everything. Judai had shot him a thumbs up in encouragement before taking his two friends, Yugi and Yusei, over to pet the hedgehogs. The Ramshackle student Yuu was balancing scones on Grim who had somehow fallen asleep on a plate of half eaten biscuits. As for Ace, the one who insisted on the do-over party, was content at sitting at his table enjoying the sweets along with Deuce.

Everything seemed to be going okay…and Riddle didn’t have to supervise most of the preparations. It was oddly…relieving. His body felt rather relaxed, a sensation that felt foreign to him.

Which the opposite could be said of the tart he made, paying a passing glance at the sad looking box. Perhaps he should sign up for the extra culinary classes this year. But this was part of what he needed to do.

“Trey…I’m going to give the tart now…”

Trey paused in the cake serving and was more than happy to join Riddle at Ace’s table. “Ace…I did what you asked and made a new tart…without Trey’s help but…” He opened the box to reveal the sorry state of the tart, “It was quite difficult.”

Ace’s face went through a few emotions, “Well even I know that even if food looks like a disaster, it can still taste good!” He quickly helped himself to a slice and took a bite…then promptly spat it back out.

“SALT!” Ace downed a full glass of water, “WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SALT!?”

Riddle went into a panic. He had followed Trey’s recipe down to the letter so why did it not turn out right? He turned to Trey to demand an answer only to find the boy laughing.

“R-Riddle….I can’t believe you fell for it….”

Deuce seemed to catch on, “Trey-senpai!? Please don’t tell me you tricked Riddle-senpai with your oyster sauce joke!”

Riddle turned bright red, he couldn’t believe this. Fooled by a simple ingredient swap in a recipe. He really needed to sign up for those cooking classes now.

“Who sabotaged food?!” Judai hurried over with a hedgehog napping in his hair, “Trey, I can’t believe you!”

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Everyone turned in shock to see Cater eating the tart with no problem.

“That’s because you don’t like sweets.” Trey said with a smirk.

Cater choked on his food, “How did you know?!”

“Because you always bring up my Unique Magic every time we have sweets and get the group to bring up other flavors. If you simply don’t like something just say so. I can bring you a quiche next time if that’s more to your liking.” Trey offered.

Riddle took note of that; perhaps expanding the menu offered in the dorm would bring a positive change as well.

“I find this tart rather tasty meow-self…” 

Riddle looked up and…oh Great Sevens above it was Chen’ya. How did he get on campus again?

“Hey, it's the floating head guy!” Grim had woken up upon hearing the cat beastman.

“What’s up?” Judai waved.

“Just visiting…” Chen’ya’s grin didn’t disappear.

“So you’re not a Heartslabyul student?” Yuu asked.

“Actually…” Trey sighed knowing what would happen next, “Chen’ya doesn’t even go to school here. He’s a student at our rival…Royal Sword Academy.”

“Did he say Royal Sword!?”

“Quick! Get the pitchforks and torches!”

Riddle shook his head as the other students tried to chase Chen’ya out of the dorm, who simply taunted them by making parts of his body disappear. But doing so allowed him to spot something wrong.

“Wait! Are those roses still white?!”

Everyone at the party froze and followed Riddle’s line of sight. Sure enough, there was one bush that still had white roses.

“We are so dead.”

“Here come the collars…”

Riddle did his best to not let those comments get to him. Perhaps this would be a great opportunity to show that he was trying to change. Walking up to the bush, he got to do something that he never had a chance to do since he enrolled in Night Raven College. He turned the roses red.

“It’s a simple fix right?” Riddle turned to face his dorm, “It’s nothing to get angry about.”

The sight of everyone relaxing and cheering brought a bit of joy to Riddle. Judai even gave him a thumbs up.

“Teaching moment…great job Riddle.” Judai said with a smile.

Yes…perhaps this would be a better way for Heartslabyul going forward.

………………

Unknown to everyone celebrating, something was being planned in the Savanaclaw dorm.

“Come on, Leona-san…” Ruggie Buchie complained, “You need to finish that team roster….”

Leona Kingscholar, the Dorm Head of Savanaclaw, just yawned, “Unnecessary…we have our little scheme after all.”

“That list is already done…” Ruggie pouted, “But we’ll need something for you to turn in at the next Dorm Head meeting or else Riddle and Azul will hold it over you.”

Leona groaned, “Ugh….as if I want that octo-punk and shortie to give me a lecture….We’ll just use the list from last year…and put those two freshmen on to replace those who graduated…”

“I understand Jack but…you want that Yuma kid too?” Ruggie asked, “He’s a twig.”

“Yet he is agile as a monkey and creamed half the team in endurance training…” Leona yawned again, clearly done with this conversation, “Just keep an eye on the two of them so they don’t get in our way…”

“Fine…” Ruggie shrugged, “Either way it’s our victory this year.”

………………

(omake)

“LILIA-SAMA!!!” Sebek ran to Lilia’s room, “Wakka-sama is missing and…”

Sebek was met with the sight of Lilia, Judai, and Yubel all perched on the couch wearing sunglasses and animal onesies. Each of them had pocky in their mouths and a game controller in their hands.

“Need something, Sebek?” Lilia cheerfully asked.

“N-nothing…” Sebek left trying to purge the image from his memory.

Chapter Text

Leona yawned and his tail swished as his dorm did their daily Spelldrive practice. Everything was falling into place. Ruggie’s Unique Magic would be perfect to pull this scheme off, just as long as no one saw him. Good thing everyone else in the dorm was tired of losing to Diasomnia year after year and didn’t mind acting as human walls. Combine that with the dorm’s team, and they would easily crush the other dorms and finally win back their title.

The veterans from last year were out for blood, which was perfect for Leona. That ferocity was needed on the field. The freshman Jack showed signs of that attitude but he was annoying due to his talk about playing fair and using one’s strength rather than taking advantage of someone else’s injury. That would have to be fixed fast.

Then there was the annoying freshman who yelled ‘Kattobingu’ all the time. Kid reminded him of his bratty nephew Cheka and it drove him nuts. He came to Night Raven to get away from the kid, not to meet an older clone. Kid was a good player, no denying that, but he just kept laughing and smiling and declaring how much fun he was having. 

Kid was going to be eaten alive at this rate.

Turning his attention away from practice and to his faithful shadow, Leona asked the important question, “Got your targets for today?”

“Shi shi shi shi…” Ruggie snickered, “They won’t know what hit them.”

………

Yugi watched as the other students were flying about on their brooms while he worked on his botany assignment. Epel had asked him to watch the Spelldrive Club’s practice as there was the major inter-school tournament coming up and he really wanted some moral support. Also a good excuse to avoid Vil. The Dorm Leader had upped his attempts on coaching Epel on proper etiquette amongst other things and Yugi could tell it was really getting on the boy’s nerves.

As for the practice itself, it was looking like to be on the verge of a blood bath. Since this was the school’s club it was made of members of all dorms, some already on their teams and others vying for an open spot. Also, since magic was allowed it would double as a great way to get rid of competition legally. Coach Vargas had to call for several time outs to ream students who were getting too intense for what was supposed to be a friendly game.

“Is this sport supposed to be this intense?” Yugi asked when Epel came down for a water break.

“I would say this is on the lighter side of things….” Epel admitted, “No one’s been sent to the nurse yet. It’s the reason why each team needs a full team roster of alternates. I’ve heard of some matches requiring the need to pull from a second line of alternates.”

“And this is why I stick to board games…” Yugi shook his head. Though his past experience had taught him that not even board games were safe from bloodshed. Bakura’s Monster World campaign was a good example of this.

“Oh sh-!” Someone yelled loudly followed by sounds of a body hitting something hard several times. Epel and Yugi turned in alarm to where it came from and saw a Pomefiore student laying in a heap at the bottom of the stone bleachers.

“What in tarnation?!” Epel declared as he and Yugi hurried over to join the group of onlookers who were now gathered around the injured student. 

“Everyone move!” Vargas shoved the crowd out of the way so he could examine the situation, “What happened?”

“Foot slipped out from under me, that's what!” The student exclaimed, clutching the injured limb, “It was like my leg had a mind of its own and sent me falling down the steps.”

Vargas took a look at the stairs, “Don’t see any water or anything like that…stones must be getting too worn…Everyone clear the field!” Vargas tossed the injured student over his shoulder, “I’m going to inspect every inch of this place for any hazards. We do not want an accident happening with the tournament coming up.”

The club members muttered in disappointment but went to collect their equipment. Yugi just frowned, “I don’t know about you Epel-kun….but I don’t think he simply slipped.”

“What makes you say that?” Epel asked.

“The stones aren’t polished and with the shoes everyone is wearing that are meant to grip walking surfaces….something is just wrong…”

………………………

“Well this isn’t good….”

Yusei was passing through the Monstro Lounge after doing the routine maintenance on the ovens when he came upon a strange sight. Several students were tangled in a pile, including two who were working as waiters and had a couple of cuts from the broken glassware. Jade was just staring at the situation in confusion while Floyd looked disappointed that he didn’t cause the chaos.

“Am I going to regret asking what happened here?” Yusei asked the twins.

“I’m afraid that I don’t even know myself…” Jade admitted. “Service was fine until a customer suddenly lunged forward in the path of two workers and you can see the results.”

“Can I squeeze the one who started it?” Floyd asked, “There were some of the more pricer drinks and Azul won’t be happy about the broken glass.”

“I swear it wasn’t me!” The customer in question protested, “Someone shoved me or pulled me out of my seat! Please don’t make me pay for stuff!”

“I’m afraid that’s not up to us now is it…” Jade said with a glint in his eye.

Yusei resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the twins' behavior and instead focused on helping everyone up and checking the cuts on the two waiters. Thankfully the cuts weren’t too deep but some glass was embedded in them, and they did look rather shaken.

“I’m taking these two to the nurse to get treatment.” Yusei told the twins, “You better not dock their pay for a work-related injury…”

“Why is Nudibranch good at workplace health and safety contract clauses?” Floyd pouted as Yusei left with the two.

……………

“So if we read the rules correctly…I can summon Yubel during a Spelldrive game and they can act on their own, yet won’t count as having an extra player on the field?” Judai asked.

“I believe so…” Riddle said as he flipped through the official rulebook, “It seems like there’s nothing against summoning magic in the rules but I feel like this is still breaking the rules.”

Judai grinned, “Welcome to the world of finding loopholes. It’s not breaking the rules if they don’t specifically state it.”

“Still feels wrong.” Riddle admitted, “But I still require you to try out for the team if you really wish to participate.”

“Makes sense…got to be fair to everyone else.” Judai shrugged.

“Look out!”

Riddle and Judia looked up in time to dodge a Heartslabyul student tumbling down the stairs, gripping his shoulder as he landed.

“Stayne!” Riddle cried in alarm when he identified the student, “What happened?”

“Wish I knew, Dorm Leader…” Stayne groaned, gripping his shoulder again, “I was leaning against the banister when all of the sudden I felt my body falling over….”

Riddle listened in concern before turning to Judai, “Can you escort him to the nurse's office? And make sure he stays there. Stayne has a tendency to ignore medical advice.”

“I do not! I’ll just walk it off, we’ve got the Spelldrive tournament coming up anyway.”

“Do you see what I mean?” Riddle shook his head, “His shoulder is clearly sprained at least if not dislocated. I would rather not risk his well-being because there is a tournament coming up.”

“Leave it to me.” Judai patted himself on the chest, “Oh Yubel, mind helping us out?”

“Sure thing...” Yubel said with far too much cheer as they were summoned and quickly scooped up the injured Stayne …ignoring his protests. “Gives me a good excuse to torment Yaxely. I need some good revenge for the all-night questioning session.”

Riddle was starting to doubt if sending Judai was a good idea.

………………

Yusei could not believe how busy Yaxely’s office was when he dropped off the injured waiters. It seemed that many students were having small accidents all over campus. Things as small as falling down stairs to more major accidents such as explosions in alchemy class.

“You here too?” Yusei turned around to see Judai followed by Yubel who deposited a student they were carrying into a bed before deciding they were going to float behind Yaxely menacingly. 

“Accident at the Monstro Lounge.” Yusei answered, “Just dropping off the injured. You?”

“Talking to Riddle when that guy took a fall down the stairs.” Judai pointed a thumb at the student in question, “Seems like there's been a party in here.”

“The office does seem unusually busy….” Yusei said as he gave a glance to all of the occupants.

“It’s all because of the Spelldrive tournament…” Yaxely was heard muttering as he hurried from bed to bed, “Every year I get swamped with ‘accidents’ since everyone wants to be on the team or take out competition early….I told Crowley he needs to install sentry units but noooo……not part of the school budget yet he dumps money on vacations for himself and lets students clean up his messes….” He stomped over to his supply closet, “One day, I swear I’m going to turn that bird into a flea then stick him in a box, then in another box, and then inside another box, then mail it to myself and when I get it I will SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER!!!!”

“Can I watch?” Yubel asked, now rather curious.

“You sure you can, you marvelous magical being.”

“Should I be concerned?” Judai asked, watching the budding friendship.

“Leave them be….” Yusei said, “Let’s just keep our wits about us…I would hate to be caught in this crossfire of competition.”

“I wonder if it was like this for Yugi-san during Battle City…” Judai wondered as they left. “Where is he anyway?

Yusei sighed, “Trying to join the Board Game Club.”

……………………

Yugi checked the note he had, then the classroom number, and the note again. He had been trying to track down the Board Game club for over a week now, but they had proven to be rather elusive. It seemed to be a rather small club with very few members so it took some time for Yugi to find someone who knew of their meeting time and location. But it seemed like he finally found it so he gave a polite knock and entered.

Inside was just a small classroom with a few tables with only two occupants. Yugi figured that the two were Azul and Idia based on the descriptions that Yusei had given him. On the table in front of them appeared to be a board game in the middle of being set up as there were some three dimensional elements to the game.

“There’s quite a bit of set up for this…” Azul said.

Idia spoke with a barely audible voice, “It will be worth it.”

Yugi cleared his throat to gain their attention, “Hello…Is this the board game club?”

Idia tried to hide in his jacket while Azul looked pleasantly surprised, “In fact it is…are you interested in joining?”

“I am actually…” Yugi said as he pulled up a chair at their table, “I’ve loved games since I was a kid and would love to design my own one day. What is this game about?”

“Idia-san has been rather excited about this one,” Azul explained, “It’s an investigation-style game. You have to move your pieces around the board to explore the mansion to find clues as to the murder of a rich heiress and the location of her will.”

“Are there multiple floors to this game?” Yugi asked in wonder as Idia finished setting up the board.

“You have to find the ways up…hi hi hi..” Idia giggled with glee, “Are you ready newbie?”

“Always…” Yugi grinned back as he took the dice.

In the end Yugi quite enjoyed his time with the club. The mystery game had fun mechanics to it which made his victory that much more enjoyable. Then Monopoly was pulled out next as Azul had stated that he ‘wanted to evaluate his skill level’ while Idia groaned lamenting how Azul won every time they played the game. Well, it was a good thing that Yugi enjoyed a challenge. As for the game itself…

“I can tell you are trying to manipulate the dice into giving the roll you want…”

Azul was startled by Yugi’s comment causing him to drop the dice, giving him the three he dreaded as it caused him to land on Boardwalk. 

Which Yugi owned. 

With three houses. 

“What makes you say that?”

“You keep tilting your hand in different ways when you are trying to avoid certain numbers.” Yugi explained, “Also you are subtly shifting your legs so that you kick the table if the dice are still in motion.”

The expression Azul made was near comical as he handed Yugi nearly all of his on-hand cash, “I don’t like relying on chance…”

“A true gamer would focus more on dealing with what chance has given him rather than trying to manipulate the odds in his favor.”

Idia was nearly on the ground laughing, “I knew it! I knew Azul-shi hated dice rolls and was trying to cheat! And now he’s losing to Yugi-shi! Th-This…this is too much!”

“N-No matter!” Azul huffed, “I’ll turn this around in my favor!”

It didn’t end the way Azul wanted.

“Azul-shi lost!” Idia hollered from the floor.

“You lost too!”

“Yes I did but it wasn’t to you!” Idia managed to pull himself off of the floor and shook Yugi’s hand, “GG, perhaps you can share some of your tactics next time.”

“I would love that.”

Azul just spent the rest of the club meeting fuming at his loss.

Chapter Text

“Get me three croissants!”

“I want a danish!”

“Give me those egg sandwiches!”

Judai whistled watching the crowd trying to get the limited items from a visiting bakery. He himself had already braved the line and snagged himself some sandwiches. As well as some extra goodies as Yugi-san and Yusei had messaged him stating that they would be running a little late to lunch.

“Give me a deluxe beef sandwich!” Grim declared as he bounced off the heads of those who were waiting in line. Yuu just sighed at the cat’s behavior.

“Cat just thinks with his stomach.” Ace observed.

“Hasn’t he learned any manners?” Deuce asked Yuu.

“Trust me…I’ve tried…” Yuu sighed.

“Maybe you should put him on a leash.” Judai suggested as they found a table to sit at, “That way he can’t sneak away from you.”

“I am….heavily…considering that idea…” Yuu said, “Maybe Sam sells some at his shop.”

“The Great Grim-sama cannot be contained with a mere leash!” Grim protested as he unwrapped his prize, “Now to eat this delicious sandwich…”

“Awww man I’m too late!” Everyone turned to see Ruggie wail in anguish at seeing the leftover stock, “If I don’t get that deluxe beef sandwich for Leona-san….” He looked around the cafeteria and got an odd grin upon spotting Grim with his sandwich, “Hey there….” He shimmied up to their table like a sly fox, “That sandwich looks good….how about I trade ya my hot dog bun for it?”

“Are you crazy?!” Grim demanded, “There’s no way I would do that!”

“Aw come on…” Ruggie lazily tossed the bun to his right hand, “Just a simple trade….” He held out the bun to Grim and to everyone’s surprise, he in turn offered his deluxe sandwich.

“Mwah?!” Grim cried in alarm, as if he was surprised by his own action.

“Much appreciated my friend!” Ruggie said as he took the sandwich while Grim took the roll, “Bye Bye.” He then quickly made his exit.

Grim now had light tears in his eyes, “M-My….my sandwich.”

“Why are you complaining?” Ace asked, “You willingly offered it to him.”

“No way I did!” Grim protested, “My paw moved on its own! I wasn’t going to give up my sandwich!”

“Riiiiight…” Yuu rolled his eyes, “It just happened to move on its own…”

“We’re in a school full of magic users…” Judai pointed out, “Do you really not think someone might stoop low enough to use magic to get what they want?”

Yuu opened his mouth to protest, only to close it again upon realizing that Judai had a very good point.

“Thanks for saving us a spot….” Yusei’s voice was heard as he and Yugi finally joined them at the table.

“No problem…” Judai said as he handed them the baked goods, “So what kept you?”

“Well…” Yugi said rather sheepishly, “Ever since I’ve joined the Board Game Club and beat Azul-kun in Monopoly ….he’s been trying to interview me about my game tactics.”

“And I had to go rescue him…” Yusei sighed, “Did he try the contract thing again?”

“Not this time…” Yugi shook his head, “I feel like he’s going to be another Kaiba at this rate….”

Judai choked a bit on his food, if Yugi only knew just how far Kaiba went in regards to his rivalry. Alas, he couldn’t really tell Yugi-san any of this due to time travel rules.

…………………….

It was Judai’s worst nightmare…..

A giant stack of papers.

Thankfully it was not his homework or forms he had to fill out.

Unfortunately…it was Riddle’s paperwork and the smaller boy had recruited him and Trey to carry it back to the dorm.

“I thought comedic stacks of paperwork only happened in kid’s shows!” Judai exclaimed as they navigated the halls.

“Normally it’s not this bad…” Trey said, “But with Riddle in charge of not only the dorm but some clubs and committees as well, it does tend to add up fast.”

“And with the deadlines for the Spelldrive tournament coming up I’m taking extra precautions to submit the forms on time.” Riddle explained, “With Azul planning to issue fines and rush fees, I do not want to give him any room to issue any to me.”

“What is with that dude anyway?” Judai asked, “Everywhere I go there is someone complaining about him.”

“He gets what he wants and no one can really do anything as he is always within the school rules..” Riddle explained before turning to Trey, “Is the ‘Do Not Make a Contract With Azul Ashengrotto’ presentation prepared?”

“Ready and prepared to be delivered to all of the freshmen before midterms…” Trey answered.

“That bad?” Was Judai’s question.

“It is, yet there are many who fall for Azul’s schemes…” Riddle let out a long sigh, “Let’s just get back and…” Riddle suddenly paused mid sentence as a look of confusion crossed his face. All while his foot started sliding off the step he was on.

“RIDDLE!” Trey cried out in alarm as Riddle started a head-first fall down the stairs. The taller boy quickly hugged Riddle to his chest and twisted his body to shield him from impact. Judai quickly sent out Yubel to catch the two before they hit the landing, though the cracking sound that echoed as Trey hit the bottom did not sound good.

“Are you guys alright!?” Judai yelled as he hurried down the stairs to check on them.

“I-I’m fine….” Riddle was clearly shaken, “But Trey…”

“Not doing good….” Trey was wincing, gripping his ankle tightly.

“Yubel…can you get the two of them to the nurses office?” Judai asked, “I’ll grab the papers for Riddle.”

“I will, but you should be careful as well.” Yubel said, “I don’t want to come back to find your neck broken from your own fall.”

“Gottcha…” Judai nodded as Yubel left with the two.

“Strange…isn’t this the same stairs from yesterday?” He wondered out loud.

…………………………

“Hurry minion! While the trail is still hot!”

Yuu hurried after Grim. Colored him surprised when Crowley showed up at Ramshackle with his suspicions about how the little accidents happening around campus were something more. He would have offered to help regardless, yet Grim had to be bribed with a chance to play in the Spelldrive proper to be convinced to help. Was everyone at this school only caring about their own self-interest?

But they had spent most of the afternoon interviewing the victims and the answer was mostly the same: it was like their body moved on their own. It would have been easy to brush that off as clumsiness, yet Judai’s words from earlier were echoing in his head.

“Do you really not think someone might stoop low enough to use magic to get what they want?”

With the high stakes of the Spelldrive tournament, it made total sense for someone to try to attack rival teams to make their lives easier. Which was the theory he was going to stick with for now. They were about to wrap up the questioning when Ace and Deuce ran to him with the shocking news that Trey had been in an accident and now had a sprained ankle. And if there was someone attacking other Spelldrive players, it seemed like Trey had been their latest target.

Running into Trey’s room right behind Ace and Deuce, Yuu saw that he wasn’t the only visitor. Riddle was there, no surprise, but Judai and Cater were there too. Trey himself was on his bed with his foot in a cast.

“Hey guys…” Trey greeted them with a smile, “Came to visit me?”

“After what we heard, how could we not?” Deuce said, “How are you holding up?”

“Thankfully due to Judai having Yubel catch us, I just have a sprain instead of a fracture.”

“Wait…us?” Ace noticed, “I thought it was just you.”

“Actually…” Riddle cleared his throat, “Trey got injured because he protected me from falling down the stairs.”

“Which is odd as we all know Riddle is not the clumsy one here.” Cater said.

“It was like my body moved on its own…”

It was those magic words again. Yuu decided he might as well fill everyone in.

“Actually…the Headmage told me something interesting….”

He spent the next half hour explaining in detail the Headmage’s concerns and the results of his and Grim’s interviews.

“You know…” Judai tapped his chin in though, “It won’t surprise me that all of this is sabotage. Yugi-san and Yusei have been telling me that members of their own dorms have been getting into accidents. Wouldn’t surprise me if they just so happen to be members of their dorm teams.”

“They have, actually….” Riddle spoke up, “After Stayne got injured the other day and you were telling me how full the nurses office was…I started to get my suspicions as well. So I asked Cater to start looking into things.”

“Every single person who had an accident was a listed member or a potential member of their dorm team.” Cater explained, “With the whole world lined up to watch the tournament, no wonder someone is out for blood.”

“But how?” Ace asked, “Everyone thinks it’s just clumsiness.”

“And wouldn’t something like wind magic or setting up traps to injure students be extremely obvious?” Deuce asked, “How has the culprit not been caught?”

“That must be the reason why the Headmage asked Yuu and Grim to start looking into the matter.” Riddle said, “If a teacher were to start investigating, the culprit would immediately back off on their schemes. Not to mention the only real way to prove anything is to catch them in the act.”

“Won’t that put more people at risk?” Judai asked.

“It’s a risk that we unfortunately have to take, but Yuu won’t be in this matter alone anymore…” Riddle said, “We will help you of course.”

“Hey, what’s in it for you?” Grim questioned.

“You wound us…” Cater said with a dramatic flair, “Our housemate got injured. Don’t you think we deserve some revenge?”

“I am right here you know.” Trey said from his bed.

“Oh excuse us…” Cater laughed a bit, “Let’s move to the lounge, Trey needs his rest after all.”

Grim scurried over to Trey and placed a can of tuna on his chest, “Get well tuna…I normally would have given it to you if your injury was bigger but…you’re a nice guy.”

“You say that because he makes you sweets.” Yuu pointed out.

“That too.”

………………………

Once the group settled into the lounge, they began to hash out the details of the plan. Well, everyone else did, Judai was texting Yugi and Yusei about what was going on.

Judai: So turns out those accidents we’ve been seeing aren’t accidents. It’s straight up sabotage.

Yusei: Doesn’t surprise me.

Yugi: Are you okay though?

Judai: I’m fine but some of my dorm mates got some injuries.

Judai: But the Headmage asked Yuu to start investigating to find the culprit and it seems like Riddle and the others are joining in.

Yugi: Good thing too.

Yusei: Any way we can assist?

Judai: Let me ask.

Judai looked up from his phone and addressed the group, “I filled in Yugi-san and Yusei on what’s going on and they want to help.”

“Help from the other dorms will be much appreciated.” Riddle said.

“So what now?” Ace said with a bit of determination.

“Oh….is this a ploy to get onto the team now that Trey has to sit out?” Cater asked.

Ace and Deuce tried to look innocent. Yuu and Grim just facepalmed.

“The spot isn’t up for debate…” Riddle sighed, “I’m already giving it to Judai.”

That surprised Judai a bit, “You going for my idea?”

“As we discovered yesterday, summoning Yubel isn’t against the rules and will technically give us an extra player which is what we’ll need in the tournament.” 

“And he’s bait for the culprit too…isn’t he?” Cater asked.

“That…will not work actually…” Judai admitted.

This got him looks from everyone in the room. Time to come clean about Yubel’s abilities.

“Remember how Riddle could never collar me?” Judai reminded the group, much to the chagrin of Riddle, “It’s because of Yubel. Yubel cannot be harmed by any form of attack. If the culprit tried to target me, their spell is going to be a dud.”

“...dude…” Deuce flatly said, “How overpowered are you?”

“Not to mention how unfair that is in Spelldrive…” Ace pouted, “That makes you untouchable.”

“Regardless….” Riddle got the conversation back on track, “We’ll have to catch the culprit in the act to remove all plausible deniability. If we catch them anywhere else, they can simply claim to not have cast anything. But in order to do that, we have to figure out who their next target is.”

“I can easily put together a list of potential targets.” Cater beamed, “I can have it ready by the morning.”

“So stake out during school?” Yuu asked, “Guess we have no other choice.”

“Judai…your friends are in Pomefiore and Octavinelle right?” Riddle asked, “Can you ask them for information about their team line ups as well as warning those who could be targeted.”

“Sure thing…” Judai said as he resumed texting.

“Then we’ll split into two groups.” Riddle declared, “Judai and his friends can talk to members of Pomefiore and Octavinelle while we speak to members of other dorms.”

With the plan set, the group broke for the night.

Chapter Text

“Well, that went well.” Judai said as he, Yugi, and Yusei left the Pomefiore mirror.

“At least Vil-san is aware of the saboteur….” Yusei nodded in agreement, “Though the lesson on tea etiquette was…interesting…”

“That’s just how Vil-kun is…” Yugi explained, “Though I think he’s taking it a little too far by planning what makeup to wear during the Spelldrive tournament.”

“But I did learn that they put sunscreen in makeup so I count that as a win today.” Judai grinned.

“Anyway…” Yugi decided that a change of topic was needed, “Who did Riddle-kun want us to speak with next?”

Judai checked his notes, “The twins from Octavinille…”

Yusei’s body let out an involuntary shiver.

“Um…you okay?” Judai asked.

“It’s nothing…” Yusei let out a long sigh to mentally prepare himself, “Let’s get this over with.”

……

“Ehhhh….it’s Nudibranch and friends!”

Yugi looked at Yusei in confusion, “Nudibranch?”

“Floyd likes to give nicknames…” Yusei explained, “And they all happen to be names of sea creatures….I trust you and your brother have been staying out of trouble.”

“Trouble you say?” Jade asked with the most innocent face he could manage, “I can’t fathom what makes you say something like that.”

“Yeah Nudibranch,” Floyd flashed his trademark toothy grin, “We’re just going about our day.”

Judai gulped and whispered to Yugi, “Why do I feel like I’m in the lion’s den?”

“They do give off that impression.”

“What are Starfish and Mantis Shrimp whispering about?”

Yugi and Judai nearly jumped out of their skin as Floyd had suddenly appeared inches from their heads.

“Floyd…I really would appreciate you not scaring my friends.” Yusei said with a sigh.

“Just having some fun.”

“I think Yusei here would appreciate some seriousness for the time being.” Jade interjected, “You look like you're on a mission, am I not wrong.”

“No you're not…I’m sure you’ve heard about the number of students getting injured in ‘accidents’?”

Jade put his hand on his chin in thought, “From your tone, it sounds like those weren’t just simple accidents…but something much more.”

“Current theory is that someone is targeting prospective players of their dorm’s Spelldrive team by taking them out discreetly using magic but staging them as accidents.”

“I see….” Jade nodded a few times, “And you are investigating this as well?”

“And also giving people a heads up.” Judai said, “If you know, you can be on the lookout for anything suspicious.”

“The only real way this person is going to get caught is if they are caught in the act.” Yugi explained.

“I hate those kinds of guys….” Floyd pouted, “If I find out who did it…I’m going to squeeze them within an inch of their life….” He said that last part with a grin.

Judai and Yugi tried to increase their distance from Floyd. Yusei sadly was used to this behavior by this point.

“Thank you for informing us of the situation.” Jade’s polite demeanor never faded, “I will inform Azul as well in case the culprit tries to pull another stunt in the Monstro Lounge. Let us depart, Floyd. We have to prepare for the opening after all.”

“Not yet…I see a Goldfish to play with.”

“FULL RETREAT!!!!”

Riddle, Ace, Deuce, Cater, Yuu and Grim suddenly ran out from behind a nearby bush, with Floyd hot on their tail. Yusei quickly ran to their rescue, with Judai and Yugi quickly following after. The chase went all the way to the Great Seven statues before Floyd declared he was bored and just walked off.

“Wha-What…what is that guy?” Ace asked out of breath.

“I've always….disliked interacting with Floyd…” Riddle explained.

“Is that why you had us hide in the bush?” Deuce asked.

“I didn’t want to be spotted.”

“How do you survive being in the same dorm as him, Yusei-kun?” Yugi asked

“Lots of time and patience….” Yusei sighed then changed the topic, “How did talking to the other dorms go?”

Cater chimed in with the report, “Diasomnia was actually easy since Lilia and I are in the same club and he’s the Vice Head of the dorm. We were looking for anyone from Ignihyde when we spotted you talking to the Leech twins.”

“It was at that point Riddle panicked and made all of us hide in the bush as he wanted to avoid Floyd’s attention.” Yuu added, “Clearly it didn’t work.”

“Think it would be okay if I sic Yubel on him next time?” Judai asked.

“You have my full permission to do so….” Riddle said in a tone that nearly sounded like a plea, “Anyways, did the talk with Vil-senpai go alright?”

“He’s been informed and will be keeping an eye on things.” Yugi answered, “All that’s left is a visit to Savanaclaw?”

“That’s correct but…” Riddle turned to Cater, “What’s the current time?”

Cater checked his phone, “It’s almost 5.”

“I’m afraid I will have to take my leave….” Riddle said, “Rule 346 states that croquet must not be played after 5:00 pm so I must return to the dorm to ensure no one is breaking the rule.”

“That makes no sense…” Grim muttered, “Can’t people play whenever they want? I thought you were loosening up on the rules”

“Considering that croquet in Heartslabyul is played with hedgehogs and flamingos who get a little temperamental after 5:00 pm it is advisable that they don’t.” Riddle explained, “It’s one of the rules that we should abide by for everyone’s sake.”

“Trust me…you do not want cranky flamingos running amok.” Cater added his two cents, “Go take care of things, boss. We can easily handle Savanaclaw as one large group.”

“Let me know how things go when you return to the dorm.” Riddle gave a wave goodbye as he left.

“Anything we need to know about Savanaclaw before we get there?” Yuu asked Cater as they began the trek back to the mirror chamber. 

“Just don’t pick a fight with them.”

………………

Savanaclaw was dry, arid, and hot. The only relief from the sun was to relax inside the dorm which had been carefully carved into the rock and the pools of water that were irrigated throughout the complex. To the Beastmen of the dorm, it was like home. For the few human members of the dorm, it took some getting used to.

Not if you were Yuma Tsukumo.

He was loving it here. True, he had a million questions. How did he get here? Why can he suddenly use magic? Is everyone back home panicking over his disappearance? Why wasn’t Astral with him? Could he get back home? But for now those were questions for later but he was living the ‘Kattobingu’ spirit by taking full advantage of the adventure in front of him. It reminded him of all the trips he took with his father when he was young.

At least that’s how it started.

Yuma draped himself over the windowsill of the window that looked out over the dorm. When Leona asked him to be on the official team for the upcoming Spelldrive tournament, Yuma couldn’t be more excited. He loved the sport and he had fun playing with his teammates. But then he heard the whispers. Other dorm members were muttering about taking out the other teams ahead of time. And when the accidents started happening around school, those same dorm members were congratulating themselves on a job well done. Of course Yuma wanted to be the good kid and report it, only to overhear Leona tell Ruggie who their next targets should be. They must have noticed him listening too, as Ruggie gave him a ‘talk’ the next day.

Now Yuma had no idea who to turn to. He couldn't trust the people in his own dorm, except for Jack. Jack was the only one who continued to be friendly towards him and also disliked Leona’s plan, yet he hadn’t done much to stop it. Yuma was starting to feel lonely and lost. What he wouldn’t give to have his friends here.

“Hey Mr. Scowls-a-lot!!!”

The unfamiliar voice caught Yuma’s attention. There was a group of seven people not from his dorm. What could they be doing here? Deciding to take the short path, Yuma leapt out the window and parkoured his way to the ground. The unfamiliar group was approaching Jack, who was in the middle of his evening workout.

“Just wanted to let you know that someone’s probably going to try to hurt you. Don’t worry, the Great Grim-sama will protect you!”

Oh cool! It was that cat from the entrance ceremony.

“Grim!” The plain looking student picked up the cat, “Do you have no tact!?”

“Sorry about that, Jack…listen, could we have a moment of your time?” The student with a diamond on his cheek asked.

“Who are you guys?” Yuma spoke up, making his presence known.

“Just an annoyance, Yuma…” Jack grunted, “I’m sure they were leaving…”

“Whoa hold on!” The brunette spoke up, “We need to tell you about something.”

Yuma looked at the brunette, then over his shoulder. Was that a Duel Monster hovering behind him?! Totally tuning out the conversation that was going on with Jack, Yuma kept his focus on the demon-like Duel Monster that was hovering behind the group. They looked bored but then noticed Yuma’s stare. They stared back, then gave a little wave, which Yuma returned.

“Sorry to say that you wasted your time…” Jack’s voice brought Yuma back to reality, “I don’t need any protection.”

“But it’s bad to be alone right now!” The plain student protested.

“Look, it’s true that accidents have been happening but…” Jack sighed, “I doubt I’m going to be targeted…” With that, he resumed his run leaving Yuma with the group.

“Man…ain’t he social…” The student with the heart on his face muttered.

“Oh I’ve heard about you!” The diamond marked student spoke up when he noticed Yuma, “You’re that crazy freshman who tried to jump from broom to broom in mid air!”

“I’m sorry, he did what?” The student with the spade mark on his face asked.

“Someone posted a clip to Magicam…” He pulled up a video on his phone to show to the group. Yuma did remember that day during PE, someone had dared him to do the stunt.

“Complete with a front flip I see…” The black haired student with highlights noted.

“The landing on the broom looked a little rough though…” The tri-colored hair student said.

“I was trying to avoid the nuts…if you get what I mean…” Yuma said.

The group all gave sympathy winces.

“By the way…who are you guys?” Yuma asked.

“Oh where are my manners…I’m Cater. This is Yuu and Grim from the Ramshackle dorm. Ace, Deuce, and Judai here are part of Heartslabyul with me. Yugi and Yusei over there are old friends of Judai’s.” The respective person waved as their names were called.

“Nice to meet’cha. So what you need to talk to Jack about?”

“I’ve bet you’ve heard about the accidents happening around campus?” Yuu asked to which Yuma nodded. How could he not? His own dorm was causing them. “We’re investigating them because we think someone is targeting Spelldrive players.”

Yuma’s eyes went wide with hope. Could he tell these people…

“Oi! Watcha doing here?!”

“Red big baby must have sent them here to spy on us.”

“Let’s play Predator and Prey…guess which role you’ll be playing…”

This was not good, it was the other members of Savanaclaw. And they wanted blood.

“Oi…what’s going on here?”

And now it just went from bad to worse. Leona just arrived, with Ruggie close behind him.

“Boss!”

“We just caught some trespassers.”

“Can we teach them a little lesson?”

“Shi shi shi shi…I know you guys…” Ruggie snickered, “We met in the cafeteria before haven’t we?”

“You sandwich thief!” Grim protested, trying to wiggle out of Yuu’s grip, “I will never forgive a food grudge!” 

Leona just lazily looked over the group then paused upon spotting Yuu, “I know you…you’re the herbivore that stepped on my tail at the botanical garden.”

That came as a shock to Yuma, Leona would never let something like that go so how was the kid still standing?

“When did this happen?” Ace asked in alarm.

“Back when we were collecting the chestnuts,” Yuu answered, “He just left his tail in the middle of the walking path. I thought I had stepped on a hose at first.” He turned to Leona, “And I’m still very sorry about that.”

“Sorry isn’t going to be enough!” A Savanaclaw student yelled.

“Can we beat them up?” Another one asked.

“Stop yapping like a herd of wild dogs…” Leona yawned, “Also do you want to get disqualified from the tournament for starting a fight?”

“So you just want us to let them go?!”

“I didn’t say that…” Leona said with a smirk, “We can just settle this in a little ‘friendly’ game of Spelldrive. After all…using magic during a match is well allowed within the school rules.”

“Oh I see…” Ruggie smirked, “I bet these weaklings couldn’t last a single game.”

“I take offense to that!” Grim yelled, “I can take you on myself!”

“Grim, can you shut up already!” Yuu tried to quiet the cat. “You keep getting us in trouble!”

“Hey I kind of agree with him…” Ace started pounding his fist, “I’m sure we can take you on.”

Yusei, Yugi, and Judai just facepalmed. Yuma felt tempted to join in for some reason.

“Did I not say not to pick a fight right before we came here!?” Cater protested.

“You have seven members…” Leona ignored him, “So we can play with full teams…”

Yuma was debating how to slip away unnoticed, he didn’t want to get involved in this mess. Unfortunately, Leona’s firm hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

“Looks like we’ve got our frontman…” Leona said with a smirk and a gleam in his eye, “Let’s head to the field and get started.” With that, he started shoving Yuma towards the Spelldrive field. Yuma really wanted to break free and run, but suddenly the Duel Monster he saw earlier was suddenly next to him.

Don’t worry about us…we’re much stronger than we look. That was the only thing they said before flying back to Judai.

And for whatever reason, Yuma believed them.

Chapter Text

Judai mounted the broom as he looked over the gathered Savanaclaw students. He was feeling a sense of deja vu by watching their behavior, maybe it was the competitive nature he saw of the Obelisk Blue students back at Duel Academy. But that Yuma kid stood out like a sore thumb.

It wasn’t just because he was skinny compared to the walking mass of muscles that were the other students, it was his attitude. He always smiled and waved at them whenever he could and lacked the bloodlust the other members of Savanaclaw possessed.

And there was the fact he could see Yubel.

Judai nearly had a freakout when Yubel told him that Yuma could see as well as hear them. He had never met anyone who could see Yubel when he hadn’t summoned them. The brief thought of Yuma being a threat crossed his mind but he quickly banished it. Kid was way too nice.

Which is why Judai needed to figure out a way to pull the kid aside and away from his bloodthirsty dorm mates. Leona seemed keen on keeping the kid close, considering he pretty much dragged him into the match. Speaking of which…

Judai looked at his friends and the rest of the group. Yugi-san looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. Ace and Deuce looked rather fired up at the chance of playing. Yusei was hard to read as usual but seemed to be checking over the broom before mounting it. Cater looked like he just wanted to go home and poor Yuu was relegated to the sidelines as the coach due to having no magic and was trying very hard to impart words of wisdom into Grim’s head.

“Are you ready to do this, herbivores?” Leona asked once all players were situated in their positions.

“BRING IT!” Was the combined cry of Ace, Deuce, and Grim. Who will be forever known as the single brain cell trio.

“Then let’s start…” Leona took the opening move by covering the disk with a fireball before throwing it straight at Judai.

Yubel didn’t even need a prompting to summon themself and caught the disk barehanded. “Trying to play dirty are we?”

“Is that allowed?” A Savanaclaw student asked.

“Riddle and I checked the rules and it is!” Judai called back, “Do it Yubel!”

“With pleasure!” With a rather sadistic grin, Yubel threw the disk so hard it sailed past the opposing team and straight into the goal.

Leona looked very unamused by this, “That’s it….you’re dead.”

“Just try and catch me first!” Judai taunted back as the disk was reset for play.

That pretty much summed up the rest of the match. Leona and Ruggie trying very hard to take down Judai and Yubel allowing the rest of the team to deal with the remaining Savanaclaw team who with the exception of Yuma, seemed rather lost without Leona’s direction.

“Honestly…this is easier than I thought…” Cater said as he watched Yusei keep two Savanaclaws back with a wind spell.

“When you remove the head, the rest of the beast falls.” Yugi added, “Though it looks like Yuma-kun is trying to keep things going.”

“Come on guys! Let’s try that 3-2 combo from practice!” Yuma declared when he got the disk again.

“I think he’s got more energy than Grim.” Ace observed.

“He’s taking all of the good plays!” Grim complained, “I want to make a shot!”

“Are we doing anything useful?” Deuce asked from where he was chilling with Yuu on the sidelines, “Cause it looks like you guys got it.”

“I’m wondering the same thing…”

Everyone turned to see Jack Howl entering the field.

“When I heard that Leona-senpai challenged you to a game of Spelldrive I was expecting a bloodbath not…” Jack watched as Judai lead Leona and Ruggie in circles, “A game of cat and mouse.”

“We honestly thought the same too.” Yuu admitted, “But I didn’t think Leona would develop a grudge against Judai so fast.”

“Neither did I…” Jack said as he looked rather thoughtful. “At least Yuma seems to be having fun again.”

“Friend of his?” Yugi asked.

“Sort of…” Jack shrugged his shoulders, “Kid’s the only real decent person I’ve met here. Doesn’t take challenges too seriously and wants to ensure everyone is enjoying themselves and strives to play fair. Don’t see that a lot in this dorm.”

“Sounds like he’s in the wrong dorm then…” Grim muttered, “Maybe the mirror misplaced him.”

Jack scoffed and shook his head, “Not a chance. Kid is so determined that he could rival the King of Beasts if he wanted to. First night here he tried to climb to the top of the dorm. Granted, it took him five tries and most of the dorm mocked him, but he did it. He then proceeded to parkour his way down. Made everyone change their tunes about him fast.”

“Speaking of which…is the game even happening anymore?” Cater looked over the field where Yuma and the rest of the Savanaclaw team had decided this would be a great time to practice broom tricks while the rest of their team rejoined them on the sidelines.

“Is Judai still taunting Leona and Ruggie?” Yusei asked as the group reunited. 

“Well….”

“You’re slower than Kuriboh!”

“I have no idea what that is but I feel so insulted!” Ruggie yelled.

“Yes…”

“Hey Judai!” Ace called out, “Do you think we should get going!? Riddle’s probably waiting for us!”

“Oh!” Judai quickly did a U-turn on his broom, “Just one thing real quick!” With a quick flyby maneuver, he had Yubel pick up Yuma by his shirt collar, “I wanna borrow him for a bit!” Before anyone could protest, he beelined for the exit mirror.

“He just…” Yusei began.

“Kidnapped one of their teammates…” Yugi continued.

“While still on their equipment….” Cater added.

“Should we run?” Yuu asked, pointing to the now newly enraged Savanaclaw team.

“Lets.”

Everyone bolted for the mirror to leave. Jack just sighed at the whole situation, it was not how he pictured his day going.

……………………

“By the Sevens what were you thinking?!” Cater was close to smacking Judai over the head, “You just kidnapped a Savanaclaw kid!”

“No I didn’t…” Judai held up Yuma who had a slightly confused look on his face, “I’m just borrowing him for a bit.” 

“Calling it something different doesn’t change the fact it’s still kidnapping!!!”

“Actually…” Yuma raised his hand, “I’m sort of used to this….”

Cater immediately snatched Yuma away from Judai, “Kid…allow me to refresh your memory of stranger danger…”

“But it’s a good thing that he took me!” Yuma protested, “That means I can tell you what my dorm is doing!”

Everyone paused at that statement.

“What do you mean?” Yuu asked.

“You said you were investigating the accidents?” Yuma confirmed with the group, “I know for a fact that they aren’t accidents. My own dorm has been causing them.”

“So it’s the whole dorm?” Yusei asked, “Wait…Cater, can I look at the victim list?”

“Um…sure...” Cater handed his phone over to Yusei for a bit.

“As I thought…” Yusei said as he scrolled through the names, “There isn’t a single Savanaclaw student here.”

“So that’s what Jack-kun meant by that he wouldn't be targeted,” Yugi said, “He must have been aware of the scheme as well.”

“So we’ve got our culprit right?” Grim asked.

“Not really…” Deuce pointed out, “All we’ve done is identified the who, not the how.”

“Speaking of which,” Ace pointed to the Savanaclaw mirror, “Should we not be hanging out in front of enemy territory?”

“An astute point my little freshman!” Cater said as he turned to Yugi and Yusei, “We’ll take little Yuma here to Heartslabyul and inform Riddle on what we’ve learned. I bet you guys want to turn in for the evening soon and I’m sure Judai will keep you posted.”

Yusei and Yugi nodded in understanding as the Heartslabyul group headed to their dorm with Yuma in tow. Judai however hung back for a bit.

“There is another reason why I grabbed Yuma like that…” Judai spoke in a low whisper, “He could see Yubel.”

That came as a shock to the fellow duelists.

“What do you think this could mean?” Yugi asked.

“Dunno, but once we’ve got some privacy I’m going to try to get some more info.” Judai explained.

“As soon as you find out, let us know.” Yusei said, “That’s one of the reasons why I got us phones after all.”

Judai nodded then followed his dorm mates through the mirror.

…………………

As phone notifications started going off around midnight, Yusei was starting to regret telling Judai to inform them with news as soon as possible. Turning over in bed, he unlocked his phone and read the messages.

Judai: First things first, Yuma revealed that this whole ‘accidents’ thing goes up to that Leona guy, the one in charge of the Savanaclaw dorm, so I got permission to let Yuma stay with me for the time being. Riddle is trying to figure out how exactly they're pulling this off though.

Yugi: Their leader is the mastermind of the plan?

Judai: Yeah big stuff so be careful. But I’ve got bigger news than that, is Yusei awake?

Yusei: I am now.

Judai: Okay good…

Judai: So…

Judai: Yuma is a duelist like us.

Yusei sat up in bed, now wide awake in shock.

Yusei: He is?!

Judai: I was shocked too.

Yugi: Is he from another point in time? Like further in the future than Yusei?

Judai: That’s where things are getting a little complicated. He told me a bit about a summoning method he uses called XYZ. Do you know anything about that Yusei? Cause the kid has zero idea what Syncro summoning is.

Yusei frowned. A million questions were running through his head, even in Z-ONE’s ruined future Syncro monsters still existed but if there was a future where they didn’t exist, it did not bode well. He typed his response…

Yusei: I don’t. My current theory is that our fight with Paradox could have affected the timeline in ways we didn’t anticipate.

Judai: Not a bad theory. Yuma’s got a bunch of other things he’s told me about but I think it’s better that he tells you in person tomorrow. Kid’s been through a lot in his adventure. Honestly I think he’s going to need some support dealing with that emotional aftermath if you know what I mean.

Yugi: He didn’t…lose anyone did he?

Judai: He said it got very close at times. But I think we all know that even if you get the person back, it doesn’t erase the trauma of it happening.

Yusei thought back to the Dark Signers and all of their victims. It was a miracle that their deaths weren’t permanent. But Judai was right, it didn’t erase the pain. He recalled all those nights hearing Jack waking up from a nightmare and then calling Carly just to make sure she was okay. Even he himself would randomly call Kiryu just to hear his voice to ensure that his friend was still there. 

Also considering the fact that Yuma did seem considerably younger than them was a bit concerning.

Yusei: So tomorrow morning before breakfast? I would like to get to know Yuma more.

Yugi: Me too. I’m still a little shocked that there is another duelist stuck here like us but we should do what we can to support each other.

Yusei: I’ll talk to Idia about getting another phone as well. I still have some funds leftover and I bet Yuma didn’t have one when he was brought here.

Judai: Good call. Us duelists need to stick together.

Yugi: See you all in the morning then.

Judai: Good night! Got to finish setting up a hammock for Yuma.

Yusei turned the phone off and rolled back over for some much desired sleep.

Chapter Text

Yuma yawned wide as the morning sun poured through the windows. The bright red and white decor confused him for a bit but then he remembered that he spent the night in Judai’s room over at Heartslabyul.

Morning…sleep well?

Yuma rolled over in his hammock to see Yubel hovering close by with an odd smirk on their face.

“Yeah…the nice thing about hammock is that you’re always comfortable no matter what.”

So you’re a “sleep anywhere” kid…just like Judai…. Yubel looked down at Judai who had rolled out of his four poster bed and onto the floor tangled in his sheets.

“This is why I rarely use beds…” Yuma commented as his stomach growled.

Give me a moment then we can meet the others for food…. Yubel said before leaning down not by Judai’s ear, but by his feet. Before Yuma could question why, Yubel tickled Judai’s exposed feet.

“HAHAHAH!” Judai sat up quickly, “Yubel really!?”

Shouting doesn't work anymore so I had to get creative. Yubel said with an innocent shrug.

“Fine, I’m up….” Judai untangled himself from his sheets, “So Yuma, ready to meet the real King of Games?”

“I still can’t believe that’s really him!!!” Yuma yelled as he jumped out of the hammock, “He looks nothing like the pictures I’ve seen.”

“Oh…he gets that a lot…” Judai chuckled to himself, “There is a very funny reason for that. I’m sure he can tell you himself.”

A knock interrupted the conversation.

“One sec…” Judai said as he opened the door. Standing on the other side was Riddle.

“I’m glad to see that you two are awake.” Riddle said in a polite tone, “I felt that I had to inform you that the Savanaclaw students struck again last night.”

Yuma felt a bit of guilt eating away at him. A light smack from Judai snapped him out of it.

“Not your fault,” Is what he said, “The fact that you told us means we can do something about it,” Judai then turned to Riddle, “Who was it?”

“The Vice Head of Scarabia, Jamil Viper.” Riddle answered, “He should be at the breakfast hall at this time and I believe that you were planning to be there as well.”

“Two birds with one stone, no biggie.” Judai shrugged, “let’s go.”

………………………………

“Are we too early?”

“There’s hardly anyone here…”

Riddle, Judai, and Yuma had arrived at the breakfast hall meeting up with Cater, Yugi, Yusei, Yuu, and Grim. Apparently Ace and Deuce were on flamingo feeding duty so their absence was excused.

“He usually keeps to his schedule but if he’s injured he might deviate a bit…” Riddle said, “Cater, Yuu and Grim…would you mind coming with me to find him while the rest of you wait here? We don’t need such a large group looking for one person.”

“Fine by me.” Yugi said. There were various sounds of agreement.

Once the others had left, Judai quickly scanned their surroundings and whispered, “Okay it’s just us. Yubel will let me know if anyone gets too close.”

“Good to know….” Yusei said before turning to Yuma, “Nice to formally meet you.”

“Same here,” Yugi said, “It was rather surprising to hear that there was another duelist transported here.”

“I thought I was on my own.” Yuma admitted, “I’m just glad that’s not the case anymore.”

“So what is your story?” Yugi asked, “We all know each other but we know nothing about you.”

Yuma thought back, trying to figure out how to start his story. Eventually, he flicked the Key around his neck. “It started when I was little when my dad found this…the Emperor's Key on one of his expeditions. He told me it was important and to take care of it. I didn’t think much until one day….he and mom just disappeared.”

The other three remained quiet as Yuma continued.

“Years later during a duel with one of my friends…I saw a vision of a chained up door that I was able to unlock using the Key…and that’s how I met my best friend Astral.” Yuma said with a smile. “He didn’t have any of his memories because they were scattered in Number Cards so we had to duel others to get them back.”

“I can relate to that…” Yugi suddenly interrupted before waving the attention off of him, “Sorry…please continue.”

“Well, I guess things kind of went from there….” Yuma scratched his head, “Met more friends, dueled in tournaments, figured out just where Astral came from and saved lots of people. Things kind of got weird and intense after that…not sure if it will make sense…”

“Trust me…” Judai patted him on the shoulder, “I’m sure it can’t top my school becoming brainwashed by a cult obsessed with the color white, getting sucked into an alternate dimension twice, then having the forces of darkness try to wipe out everyone on Earth.”

Yugi decided to chime in with his two cents, “Or how my friends had to deal with a soul stealing cult that originated from the lost city of Atlantis trying to revive an ancient god. Or what ended up being an intense LARPing session in Ancient Egypt.”

Yusei just had to try to top everyone else, “After dealing with old Aztec gods possessing dead people, I had to deal with robots from the future sent by a person who got plastic surgery to get my face trying to be a beacon of hope before deciding that trying to destroy the past was the better option.”

Everyone just gave Yusei odd looks.

“So getting caught up in an interdimensional war where finding out that your friend is actually the enemy leader reincarnated with amnesia and a chaos god trying to fuse all the worlds together is perfectly normal then?”

There were blank looks before all four descended into light hearted chuckles.

“Yep…perfectly normal.” Judai said with a laugh, “Oh hold on…someone’s coming back.”

Turns out it was Yuu who had returned.

“Hey we found Jamil if you want to join us…turns out he was supervising things at his dorm so he was just running a little late.”

“We might as well….” Yusei turned to the others, “Shall we?”

………………………

Yugi wondered if there was an equivalent to Egypt in this world as they rejoined the others and approached the one known as Jamil. The dark skin tone was a huge give away to his heritage, as well as the dark black hair slicked back into small brains and ponytail decorated with small gold charms. He was joined by two other people. The first also shared the dark skin tone which contrasted this his short white hair tamed by an embroidered head scarf. The third individual lacked the dark skin tone, his being much lighter, almost pale with bright red and green hair also tamed by a head scarf simpler in design compared to the second.

Yuma recognized the third person, “Yuya! How’ve you been!”

The one named Yuya smiled back, “Doing good! Been helping out Jamil since the incident last night.”

“You two know each other?” Cater asked.

“We’re in the same homeroom.” Yuma answered.

Jamil stayed silent and gave the group a calculating scan, “There are certainly a lot of you…”

The second still-unnamed person spoke up, “It’s not a big deal Jamil! I bet they heard what happened and are just worried about you!”

“Kalim…” Jamil said with a long sigh.

“Thanks for checking in with us.” Kalim beamed, “I’m the Dorm Head of Scarabia, Kalim Al-Asim! Jamil is my Vice Head. Yuya here has been helping Jamil around the dorm a lot lately.”

“So what exactly happened last night?” Riddle asked, getting the conversation back on track.

Jamil held up his left hand which was heavily bandaged, “I was preparing lamb rolls last night for Kalim. Everything was normal as I chopped ingredients when I was overwhelmed with this odd feeling. Best way I can describe it is that I was losing control of my body.”

“It was honestly really scary,” Yuya added, “I was with him last night and he just froze up and started trembling.”

“It was then my right hand started moving on its own, moving the knife closer to my left.” Jamil continued his story, “I called out to Yuya for help but by then my hand was already slashed open.”

Yusei had a deep thoughtful look on his face, “You could tell that you lost control?”

“No doubt about it,” Jamil said with no hesitation, “I am certain that it was someone’s magic at work controlling my body like a puppet.”

“For real?!” Judai asked in shock.

Jamil’s glare intensified, “Trust me, I know.”

“Oh! Is it because your Unique Magic is-MMMMFFFF!” Kalim was cut off when Jamil suddenly covered his mouth. Clearly he didn’t want that little detail getting out.

“Controlling people like a puppet…” Yugi whispered in horror.

“I GOT IT!!!!”

Everyone turned in surprise to Grim.

“Grim, you didn’t solve the case…” Yuu said with a sigh.

“No no no no!” Grim protested, “Remember the other day, that Ruggie guy who stole my sandwich! That sandwich was in my right paw…and he held out his right hand and I was doing the exact same thing he did!”

“Wait, he's right!” Judai said as he recalled that day, “Ruggie even swapped what hand he was holding that bun in before trading with Grim. And I’m sure we all know Grim would never willingly trade food away.”

“An…unusual lead but nevertheless a good lead…” Riddle said, “But we need to confirm if that is his Unique Magic at work. Cater, what class is he in?”

“2-B”

“Then let us go…” Riddle turned to the Scarabia trio, “Thank you for your time. I hope you recover soon.”

“See you later Yuya!” Yuma waved as the group left, to which Yuya waved back.

“You should join us for the next feast at Scarabia when Jamil’s better!” Kalim called out.

“Kalim for the last time…...stop making last minute plans.” Jamil sighed into his hands in aged frustration.

……………………

“Excuse me!” Riddle stepped into the classroom with great authority, “We need to speak to Ruggie Bucchie immediately.”

“Oh?” From the corner of the room, Ruggie lazily stood up from his seat, “You guys from yesterday…are you going to bring back our wayward cub?”

“Just please speak with us for a moment…” Riddle gestured for Ruggie to exit the classroom to which the hyena beastman did, only to see that he was blocked on all sides by those present.

“Seems a little extreme doncha think?”

“Not from our point of view…” Cater said with seriousness.

“Yuma told us what your dorm is up to…” Yusei said while keeping said kid behind him, “And now we believe it’s your magic that’s making it possible.”

“Shi shi shi shi….” Ruggie smirked, “With what proof?”

“True, we have no proof…” Yugi said, “We just want some confirmation.”

“As if I’m going to spill the beans….” Ruggie said as he scanned for an exit, “And good luck stopping me without these!” He held up all of their pens.

“Wait a sec!” Judai checked his pockets, “When did he…”

“That can’t have been magic…” Riddle said as he confirmed that his pen was gone as well.

“Pure skill learned from the streets!” Ruggie boasted, “Now just try to catch me!” He tried to jump over the railing to the courtyard while everyone was distracted by their missing pens…

Only to be caught by the seat of his pants by Yubel.

“Should you really be using your Unique Magic without your pen?” Cater asked in concern.

“I’m fine…” Judai reassured him, “Shake him down, Yubel.”

“With pleasure!” Yubel started shaking Ruggie like a rucksack depositing the missing pens, a couple of wallets, an answer sheet, and meat buns on the ground beneath him.

“Revenge!” Grim declared as he took a few buns for himself.

“I’m just repeating Ace and Deuce…” Yuu said, “Your powers are really broken Judai…”

“Let me go already!” Ruggie cried as he tried to get free, “What did I ever do to you?”

“The accidents!” Yuma cried out, “I thought we were going to have a blast with the Spelldrive tournament, but you hurt so many people!”

“That’s how it is, kid!” Ruggie growled, “You gotta do what you need to do to get ahead in life.”

“So you’re not going to tell us anything then…” Riddle confirmed.

Ruggie just glared at Riddle, “Not a chance.”

Riddle just sighed, “Judai…let him go…we are going to get nothing out of this…”

Judai shrugged, “You heard him Yubel.”

“Fine…” Yubel pouted as they dropped the hyena, “But I’m keeping an eye on you…if you even think of targeting my Judai you will lose more than your ears and tail.”

Ruggie wisely made himself scarce.

“So what now?” Yuu asked the group, “Without knowing Ruggie’s Unique Magic we’ve got nothing we can bring as evidence….”

“I know what it is…”

Everyone turned around in shock to see Jack approaching them.

“So you are actually trying to stop their schemes…and I thought there was no one here with any sense of justice…”

Grim was about to bring up the deal with Crowley but was silenced by Yuu, “I was asked to by the headmage…everyone else tagged along for the ride.”

Jack then looked to Yuma, “I guess you told them everything?”

“Everything that I know,” Was Yuma’s answer, “But why didn’t you?”

That seemed to have Jack taken aback a bit, “Who would have cared? Everyone is in it for themselves.”

Yuma pointed to the group behind them, “They cared.”

“I don’t care about sports one bit but I don’t want to see people hurt.” Yugi said.

“Trey got injured protecting me so I want to see justice.” Riddle added.

“And this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with stuff like this…” Judai finished off.

Jack’s face was unreadable for some time, then he spoke, “So you’re genuine then…I’ll tell you what you want to know. Ruggie’s Unique Magic is called Laugh With Me. It allows him to make a person mimic his movements.”

“Which is perfect for staging accidents…” Yusei observed, “All he would have to do is to make someone move in the wrong way and let physics do the rest.”

“But wouldn’t him moving funny draw attention to himself?” Cater asked.

“That’s where it gets worse…” Jack scowled, “With the whole dorm in on it, they’ve been acting as human shields.”

“Large groups of students are quite the common sight around a school so of course no one would give two thoughts to a group of people.” Yugi noted.

“But that’s not all…” Jack said, “Their real goal is Malleus Draconia. They plan on taking him out right before the tournament so they don’t have to face him just to get an easy victory.”

“Take out the real target right at the last minute…” Riddle muttered.

“So we have the who and how…” Judai mused, “But what to do with this info?”

“We can’t go to any of the staff right now as there is no physical evidence of Ruggie’s magic left behind,” Riddle explained, “But I do have a plan that will require all of your involvement…yours too, Jack.”

“Forget it…I’ve done my part and… URK!” Jack tried to turn away to leave but was stopped when Yuma grabbed his tail, “Yuma! I told you the tail is off limits!”

“You are helping!” Yuma declared, “I know that you hate what everyone else is doing so help us put a stop to it! Or else I am not giving your wolf form belly rubs for a week.”

Jack turned red as a tomato.

“You said you wouldn’t tell people…”

“Walk away now and I’ll tell more...”

“Fine! What is this plan of yours anyway?” Jack asked Riddle.

Riddle smirked, “This is how it’s going to go…”

Chapter Text

The school grounds were buzzing with activity. Food stalls set up as far as the eye can see, merchandise being bartered for sale, reporters running to and fro looking for their big scoop. It was everything Yuma wanted to enjoy, but he really couldn’t with everything on his mind.

“We’ve got this…” Judai said as he handed him some cotton candy, “Cater’s got the first part of the plan in place with Lilia’s help, so the Diasomnia team is going to be safe. Riddle, Ace, Deuce and Yuu are watching Leona for any activity. We’ve got everything covered.”

“I’m just glad we learned about the plan in time.” Yusei admitted, “And I was able to find out from Azul about the last minute change to the athlete parade path.”

“So everything is going to be fine.” Judai once again reassured him, “For now let’s just try to enjoy the place.”

“But don’t we have to report to the stadium soon since we are on our dorm’s teams?” Yuma asked.

“Details…” Judai shrugged, “Riddle can excuse me being late due to the plan and considering Leona is the one we are trying to catch, I doubt he would care too.”

“From what I’ve heard about Malleus Draconia…” Yugi began, “I doubt whatever Leona has planned will do anything.”

“I’ve met him.” Yusei said, “A simple wind spell for him is a miniature tornado…he can take care of whatever Leona and Ruggie are going to throw at him.”

Yuma could tell that everyone was trying to lift his spirits but something was nagging at him that they had overlooked something. Maybe because everything was going a little too well. It was like clockwork, anytime he felt like he was doing well in a duel his opponent would pull something out of nowhere giving them the upper edge. And this felt like one of those times.

“Hey…Yubel is giving me the signal…” Judai altered everyone, “They found Ruggie…let’s get into position.”

……………………

Leona really didn’t consider himself a patient man, but now he just had to bear it. He knew that the cat was out of the bag the moment those interlopers stole Yuma from their dorm. The cub was the type to spill on anything he perceived as unjust. But at this point it was too late for any of them to stop his goal. Malleus would fall today and Savanaclaw would finally reclaim their might and honor. Sevens, he even made a deal with the octo-punk just to ensure this plan succeeded. Now Ruggie just had to do his part.

Watching the live stream from his phone, he waited for the showy parade to start. Diasomina was going to enter first so it was easy to make an accident happen while leaving his dorm well out of the line of fire. He tuned out the overly excited announcer as the Diasomnia team made their way down the parade path. With Ruggie’s Unique Magic plus the amplification potion, their fate was sealed. 

He smirked when the first line of adoring fans suddenly surged forward, followed by the rest of the crowd. The Diasomnia team was drowned in the sea of people, Malleus Draconia included. Leona didn’t need to watch the rest and put his phone away. He had finally won.

“Leona-san!” Ruggie rushed into the stadium where Leona had been waiting, “Did you see? They all got swallowed up by the crowd!”

“Not a bad job Ruggie…” Leona smirked, “This year the throne is mine.”

Ruggie let out his signature snicker, “Long live the king.”

The other members of the dorm who joined to watch also started chanting and celebrating.

“Long live the king!”

“Long live the king!”

“I believe we’ve heard enough!”

Leona turned in slight shock to see that their little celebration now had intruders. It was the group he tried to crush in the ‘friendly’ game of Spelldrive for trespassing. Especially the one who could summon that demon thing. And they brought along Jack and Yuma as well.

“Oh…are you two going to transfer to Heartslabyul? Leona asked the two.

“No…I’m just tired of underhanded tactics done by a group of cowards.” Jack growled back.

“What you’ve done isn’t what I signed up for when I agreed to be on the team.” Yuma agreed.

“Tch…traitors…” Leona couldn’t care less about what they thought, he had already won.

“You have tarnished a proud tradition at Night Raven College…” Oh look, Riddle was trying to sound important, “As the leader of the dorm focused on order I cannot overlook this.”

“Save the heroic speeches for someone who cares…” Leona yawned, he hated these kinds of people, thinking they were bigger in life than they were.

“You must have made a huge mistake coming in here with such a tiny group…” Ruggie smirked, “It’s like you want to get beaten up.”

“Want us to take care of ‘em boss?” One of the minions asked.

Leona shrugged, “Why not…have a little fun with it.”

“Oh we will…” The pack began to gang up on the intruders, who were oddly unconcerned about the incoming beating. They simply looked to Riddle who nodded in return.

“OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”

In an instant, every single would-be attacker had one of those accursed heart shaped collars on.

“How!?”

“I can’t get it off!”

In hindsight, Leona shouldn’t have expected anything different. Weak minions stood no chance against Riddle.

“Okay well that didn’t work…but it doesn’t change the fact that Diasomnia is buried under a mob.” Ruggie pointed out.

“Oh…have the rumors of our demise been greatly exaggerated?”

Leona turned and saw the dreaded green and black colors of Diasomnia.

Oh Sevens no…

………………………………

Judai couldn’t help but laugh at Lilia’s entrance line, it sounded like he had been waiting for the perfect moment to use it too. And it wasn’t just him, Lilia was joined by two other Diasomnia students — Silver and Sebek, if Judai remembered correctly. Both stood at attention ready to attack anyone who dared to move the wrong way.

“Wha?! How?!” Ruggie was flabbergasted, “I saw you get swallowed up by a stampede!”

“Oh, sorry about that…”

Cater arrived with a few of his clones dressed in the dark uniforms of Diasomnia, “That was me and fellow mes plus some illusion magic on top for extra flare.”

Leona looked shocked, as in genuine shock, “What…”

“When Riddle informed me of what you had planned, we took a few precautions.” Lilia explained, “The real team was simply waiting on standby.”

“And…Malleus…” Leona dared asked.

“In top shape of course!” Sebek boasted in a way-too-loud voice, “In fact, he is helping escort everyone to safety with his mighty magic. You must thank him later for his graciousness.”

“H-How….how could this happen?!” Ruggie wailed.

Leona however looked like he was about to attack everyone in rage, then suddenly hunched over in an eerie calm, “That’s it….I don’t care anymore.”

“What?” Ruggie turned to him in shock.

“I’m done. It’s over.”

Now the entirety of Savanaclaw was staring at their leader in shock.

“Leona-san…What are you even saying?” Ruggie asked.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” Leona explained, “Once Malleus takes the field it’s all over for us. We have zero chances of winning. There’s not even a point of trying. I’m done.”

“That’s not true!” Ruggie protested, “Yeah we didn’t get Malleus but we took out all of the other dorm’s best players. But if you don’t play we don’t have a shot for the top three. You’re just going to abandon us and our dreams?”

“Really?” Leona rolled his eyes, “This is nothing more than schoolboys playing for their parents. Your talk of dreams just amused me for some time and I threw you a bone. That’s all it was.”

Okay, this kind of talk was angering Judai. And from what he could tell, that was the case for Yugi-san and Yusei. Even Yuma looked enraged by the way Leona was speaking.

“I can’t believe this…” Ruggie looked heartbroken, “You can’t do this to us. You can’t just quit after we came so far!”

“You can’t do this boss!”

“We’ll drag you out onto the field kicking and screaming if we have too!”

“I’m so sick of this nonsense…Just SHUT UP YOU NOBODIES!!!” Leona roared at his team.

“That’s enough!” Yuma roared back, “I can’t believe that you want to quit before you even try! You dragged everyone down with you with your scheme and now you just want to leave them in the dust because it didn’t work! I can’t respect an opponent like you!”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say because the rage was back on Leona’s face. The wind started to kick up, and the ground beneath Leona started turning to sand.

Grim started coughing, “My eyes…they hurt.”

“I thought this was a dirt stadium?” Yuu asked.

“Everyone get back!” Jack cried out, “Everything Leona’s touching is turning to sand!”

Many members of the Savanaclaw team had to run for cover, the sandstorm had started tearing at their skin and clogging their throats.

“This is my signature spell…King’s Roar…” Leona began to explain, “It’s ironic isn’t it. The savanna hates the drought more than anything else yet its own prince turns everything into sand.” He suddenly shot forward and grabbed Ruggie’s arm, “And I do mean everything…”

“Oh Sevens…” Deuce’s eyes widened in horror, “His arm…”

“Your spell can affect HUMAN BEINGS?!” Ace cried out.

They weren’t lying, Ruggie’s arm was cracking as parts of his skin were flaking off in sandy bits.

“This cannot continue! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” Riddle quickly casted his spell.

Leona simply lazily waved his hand allowing a shield to briefly flicker into existence just long enough to block Riddle’s spell.

“You might be some prodigy but I passed my protective magic classes in my sleep.” Leona said as he tightened his grip on Ruggie, “You won’t be able to land a hit on me.”

“We’ll see about that!” Judai declared as he summoned Yubel, “You already broke his spirit so there is no way we’ll let you break his body too!”

“Agreed…” Lilia said in a commanding voice, “Silver! Sebek! Get anyone injured or unable to fight out of the way. We can’t let Leona use them as human shields!”

“Yes sir!!!” Sebek yelled as opposed to Silver who just nodded as they worked on evacuating the scene.

“You just need one second to get Leona with your collar right?” Yugi asked.

“Just a momentary lapse in his concentration is all I need.” Riddle said, “Can I count on the rest of you to give me that opening?”

“Someone’s life is on the line…we’ll give you more than that.” Yusei said with determination, “Yuma you should…YUMA!!!”

Yuma had already charged into the sandstorm.

“Is that kid suicidal!” Yubel nearly panicked, “He’s got no protection!”

“Get him out of there Yubel!” Judai gave his order, “Try to grab Ruggie as well, I don’t know how close he is to losing that arm.”

Yuma however was ignoring all that was going on behind him. He knew things were going too well and now it got worse. He never saw Leona as someone who gave up easily. But going as far as putting someone’s life at risk? That was a move that Vector would have done in the past. But now he could do something, and that something was saving Ruggie.

“Let him go!” Yuma coughed through the sand trying to punch Leona as hard as he could in the chest, but it had no effect.

“Really?” Leona scoffed, “What could a skinny little kid like you do?”

“No idea!”

This actually made Leona pause, “What?”

“I have no idea but I know that in the end we are going to stop you…” Then Yuma did something that he recalled his friends teaching him for self defense, he delivered a sharp karate chop to the inside of Leona’s elbow. The shock of the blow forced Leona to release Ruggie who fell to the ground whimpering in pain. His arm didn't look good, the skin had cracks going all the way up to his shoulder and Yuma could have sworn that his muscle was exposed in a few places. But before Yuma could drag him to safety, he was suddenly lifted upwards by his shirt collar.

“Get any closer and I turn the kid’s neck into sand!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Yuma could see that Yubel was about ready to attack but back off. Looks like he was Leona’s new human shield.

“You think you’re special aren’t ya kid…” Leona hissed as Yuma saw bits of his shirt turn into sand, “In this world special doesn’t mean much. Not even having power will make any waves in this world. Look at Ruggie down there, he thought he was special licking my boots and now he’s a muzzled dog.”

“How can you say that about your friend!?” Yuma protested.

“Friend?” Leona scoffed, “No one is anyone’s friends, just pawns to further one’s ambition.”

Yuma was really hating how much Leona was sounding like…many of his friends back home before he dragged them kicking and screaming into better mindsets…looks like it was time to work his magic again.

“Look…I don’t know what your deal is but I know for a fact that you’re wrong!” Yuma yelled in Leona’s face, “You had everyone depending on you and you threw them away the moment things were going to get a little difficult! You wanted to win right? Then actually try! Or did you bother trying at any point in your life!?”

Leona let out a deep growl, “You don’t know a thing about me…”

Before any more words were exchanged a wolf’s howl broke through the wind. Yuma knew that howl, and smirked.

“OVER HERE JACK!!!!”

A large white wolf suddenly pounced on Leona, forcing him to drop Yuma. He wasted no time getting on the wolf’s back, “Thanks for the help.”

The wolf just let out a huff before running back to the others.

Nearby, Yuma could see that Yubel was finally able to get Ruggie out of harm’s way.

“Everyone down! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!”

With Leona distracted, Riddle was finally able to slap a collar on the lion beastman, silencing the sandstorm.

“You gave us a heart attack there kid!” Cater said in alarm.

“I’m fine, but what about Ruggie?” Yuma demanded.

“Well..” Yugi looked to Ruggie who was being supported by Ace and Deuce while Lilia was examining his arm.

“This is going to take some intense healing spells to even start the hope of recovery…” Lilia said, “That is something beyond our caliber as students.”

“Then we need to find someone who can…” Yusei said, “Could any of the professors do it?”

“Actually…” Lilia seemed to be looking directly at Yuma, “Think we may have our solution right here…”

Yuma blinked in confusion. What was he talking about?  He was just a kid here without his usual duel disk and deck. He didn’t even have Astral here to perform the miracle of Zexal and Shining Draw. He didn’t have the ability to create the miracle he needed…

Then it hit him. This was a world of magic, and he performed Shining Draw without Astral before. It was a duel, just with slightly different rules and mechanics. He just had to make it work for him!

Clutching his pen and focusing on the stone, Yuma tried to visualize the miracle they needed.

“Yuma, I highly advise against attempting this. There’s no way you can pull this off without…” Riddle had started to protest but was cut off by Judai.

“Let him….he’s got this.”

Hearing Judai’s words of encouragement, Yuma felt the familiar rush of power course through his veins, the golden aura surrounding his body, and an unfamiliar chant flow from his mouth.

“I beseech the heavens for the path of victory. I call upon the power within me and those around me. Provide the path forward for the future…. MIRACLE CREATION! ”

The spell was cast and struck Ruggie’s decaying arm. Golden light wrapped around the injured limb, fluttering like fireflies. And right there before everyone’s eyes, Ruggie’s arm was good as new.

“Did…did he just now discover his Unique Magic?” Yuu asked in disbelief.

“I believe he did.” Lilia beamed, “And it’s quite the magic too. Well done young one.”

Yuma just felt winded and unsteady on his feet. Before he could fall over he felt the fluffy side of Jack’s wolf form. “Thanks Jack…”

Jack just let out a low growl.

“Why….”

Leona’s angry voice caused everyone to turn back at the collared beastman. The collar had lots of scratches on it, no doubt from Leona trying to break it off. It seemed that he was so desperate that he had scratched his neck a few times. But there wasn’t blood coming from his wounds —

— it was black ink.

“Why does fate seem to favor you?”

Chapter Text

“Why does fate seem to favor you?”

“Judai…around his neck…” Yusei whispered.

“Yeah I see it…” Judai’s fist tightened, “It’s Blot for sure.”

“Blot?” Yuma was just confused, before he could ask for more info, Leona started talking again.

“Why does fate give you magic that would make kings weep…” Leona continued, “And you Jack…transformation potions are forbidden…how did you do that?”

Jack’s wolf form glowed before he returned to his human form, “It was no potion, it was my Unique Magic…Unleash the Beast. With it I can turn into a wolf at will.”

“So every dog has his day…” Leona said rather mournfully.

“Leona…you were the reason I came to this school…” Jack continued, “I admired and respected you! What happened to that man!?”

“Shut up…I’ve got nothing to do with your dreams.”

“I know this sounds ironic coming from me but…” Riddle began, “It pains me to see you like this Leona-senpai…You’d best leave this field and take time for yourself…”

This seemed to reawaken Leona’s anger, “What do you know about how I feel!?”

Surprisingly, it was Lilia who answered.

“What I would give for the lion king of the savanna to witness this farce. Now if you ask me, a collar suits you better than a crown.”

Yuma felt his jaw drop — that seemed a little harsh!

“You may bemoan the fact that as second prince, the chances of you seeing the throne are slim to none.” Lilia continued, “But that sensitive little ego of yours that makes you lash out at your retainers over petty matters is pathetic. The idea of you contending with a real king such as Malleus is absolutely laughable. You would never be fit to rule.”

Yuma looked at Leona in shock. He was a prince? He never acted like one.

Leona however just stood there in shock at the rebuke….then started laughing.

“Ha…haha….HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Leona took a breath to compose himself, “You’re probably right….no…You’re EXACTLY right!” He started clawing at his face, rivers of more ink streaking his face, “Ha ha ha…I will never be king…no matter how hard I try…”

Grim cowered behind Yuu’s legs, “Crap, he’s losing it…”

“I think it’s more than that…” Yuu gulped in terror.

“His magic power is building up fast…” Riddle observed, “I don’t think my collar can hold him back any longer.”

“It’s not magic power that’s building…” Lilia observed.

Cater seemed to catch on, “EVERYONE DOWN!”

Everyone hit the deck as the shattered remains of Riddle’s collar shot out in different directions and the sandstorm began with a vengeance, this time covering the entire stadium.

“He blew the collar off?” Ace yelled, “Now what?!”

“Judai! How likely is it he’s going to enter Overblot?!” Yugi cried out over the wind.

“VERY!!!” Was the panicked response.

“I’ve been loathed since the day I was born…” Leona lamented, “I’ve never had a place…never had a future! None of my hard work is ever rewarded! How could any of YOU possibly understand!?” He let out an anguished roar of pain as the sandstorm surrounding him darkened and swallowed him in a black tornado.

“Leona-san?” Ruggie whispered in horror.

“What’s happening to him?” Yuma demanded to know.

“Leona-senpai is entering a state known as Overblot…” Riddle’s hands were shaking trying to hold his staff, “A state that could kill him if we don’t do something about it.”

“WHAT?!” Yuma turned in horror to the dying tornado and witnessed something that made his skin crawl.

Leona was dressed in fabrics and gold jewelry that reminded Yuma of the African artifacts his father used to bring home from his adventures as well as black fur that swallowed his shoulders. His nails had lengthened into deadly claws dripping with the dark ink. His skin had paled to more of an ashen color and his hair flowed wildly in the wind. There was also a tattoo mimicking an eye patch that covered his left eye that was also emitting an orange flame.

Behind him was the hulking form of a lion with a black mane — but instead of a head, it had a giant ink vessel. Both Leona and this beast looked ready to attack.

“GRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWRR”

“What happened?!” Jack yelled in alarm, “Why did Leona change like that!?”

“It’s evil berserker darkness mode!” Grim cried out, “It was bad enough dealing with Riddle like this, now this guy is going nuts!”

“Ace! Deuce!” Riddle started shouting orders, “Find any stragglers that didn’t leave with Silver and Sebek and get them out of here! Then keep guard to make sure no one else enters the stadium! Lilia! Please find any staff members and get them over here!”

“Roger!” Ace yelled back.

“Be safe everyone!” Deuce said as they ran.

“Stand strong until I return!” Lilia disappeared in a flash of magic.

“I can’t believe that we’re doing this again…” Cater grumbled as he stood ready.

“You can leave if you want.” Riddle offered.

“If I do that, Trey would not let me hear the end of it…”

“I’m not sure if I fully understand what’s going on but from what I gather…if we hit Leona hard enough he’ll go back to normal, right?” Jack asked.

“I’m in too…” Ruggie said as he got up flexing his newly healed arm, “There’s no way I’m sitting back while you take care of this.”

“So even the lowly hyena turns against me? What a joke…” Leona scoffed, his voice booming over the howling of the wind. Then he leapt.

Yuma was tackled to the ground by Yusei as Leona’s claws missed them by mere inches. He could see everyone else scrambling to scatter as the giant lion came after them next, trying to crush anyone under its claws.

“Yugi-san, any ideas!?” Yusei hollered out, “Yugi-san!?”

The sandstorm had intensified to the point that Yuma was barely seeing his hand in front of him. There was no way that Yugi had heard anything in this storm.

“If I can’t overthrow this world, I’ll just turn all of it into sand!” The roar of Leona’s voice was the only thing they could hear.

“Darn it…” Yusei hissed before turning back to Yuma, “You okay?”

“Just a little winded…”

Yusei sighed in relief, “Good to hear…”

“Found you!”

Jack had emerged from the storm shielding his eyes.

“Riddle’s got a barrier going since Leona is going for hit and run tactics. Cater also has his clones searching for everyone.” He hurriedly explained.

“Can you get us back to Riddle’s shield then?” Yusei asked.

“Sure can…hop on.” Jack activated his Unique Magic and transformed into his wolf form.

Yusei helped Yuma up then got on himself, “Let’s be quick…who knows where Leona is in all of this.”

Wolf Jack let out a huff in agreement before shooting off in a direction. With the speed they were going at, plus the intense sandstorm, It was hard to see anything.

“You think you can get away from me?!”

“Above us!” Yuma cried out in alarm. Jack had to take a hard left to avoid Leona who was ready to rip someone’s throat out.

“I like prey that gives a good chase…”

Yuma gripped Jack’s fur tighter, not liking the way Leona was looking at him.

“HEY KITTY!”

Judai had come out of nowhere and set off a fireball directly in Leona’s face. Before the Overblot victim could react, Yubel quickly swooped in to pull him out of harm's way.

Leona simply let out a low growl and tried to charge at those riding on Jack’s back again, only for Yusei to create a barrier of ice.

“I think he’s targeting you…” Yusei said as he tightened his grip on Yuma.

“Honestly, I’m used to stuff like this.”

“So file this under normal, gotcha!” Judai said as Yubel dropped him off on top of the ice barrier, “That would explain why he’s trying to turn the ice into sand.”

Yusei hissed, “He can keep this sandstorm going as long as he has something to touch and get more sand out of it….Wind is going to do nothing and ice is just going to give him more ammo…”

“So let’s give the kitty a bath!” Judai declared and worked on conjuring a huge ball of water, ready to drop it on the rampaging beastman.

“And that can also wet the sand and prevent it from being blown by the wind!” Yusei said then turned to their mount. “Jack, get us to the others while you can!”

Wolf Jack didn’t say anything as he leapt over the ice wall and Leona, running as fast as he could. Up ahead Yuma could make out a clearer part of the storm and a few figures standing in it. It seemed that they had found Riddle’s barrier and he had Yugi, Yuu, Grim, and Ruggie with him.

“Look who’s not dead!” Ruggie joked.

“How bad is it out there?” Yugi asked.

“Judai’s holding off Leona…” Yusei reported as he got off of Jack’s back and helped Yuma down as well, “Haven’t seen Cater anywhere in the storm yet.”

Jack reverted to his human form and added, “Also it seems like Leona is specifically targeting Yuma.”

“Then we best stay on our guard…” Riddle said, sounding a little exhausted, “The goal right now is to keep Leona-senpai in one place, making it easier to target him.”

“And how?” Grim asked, “We can’t see anything with all the sand flying about!”

“Judai is hitting him with mostly water based spells as a way to get the sand under control.” Yusei explained.

“Makes sense…” Yugi started muttering his thoughts, “If we wet the sand enough it becomes too heavy for the wind to pick it up….then we need some way to freeze Leona and the Phantom in place.”

“Aren’t there any spells that can make someone move slower or freeze them in place without using ice?” Yuu asked.

Riddle thought for a moment, “Only ones I can think of are too advanced or require someone with that exact Unique Magic….”

“Oh, I can freeze him in place…” Ruggie grinned, “Once I’ve got him in my line of sight, I’ll use Laugh With Me on him and simply not move.”

“What if it’s not enough?” Yugi asked, “What if the Overblot is more powerful?”

“It’s just for a second right?” Ruggie shrugged, “Plus…I think the kid here can whip up another miracle if we need it…” He jabbed a thumb over in Yuma’s direction.

“But you only healed…” Grim began.

“Did you not hear what he said?” Riddle asked, “Yuma said Miracle Creation….no doubt that his Unique Magic is going to give him the exact spell he needs. Am I right in this assumption?”

Yuma had to admit Riddle was quite spot on for only witnessing it once, “Yeah…I just need to picture what I need to happen.”

“No doubt that Leona-senpai figured it out too and that’s why he’s targeting you…” Riddle reasoned.

“So Yuma is our trump card…” Yuu got into planning mode, “We’ll find everyone and start drenching the area with water to flush Leona out…”

“Then once Ruggie-kun’s got a clear shot he will freeze Leona in place…” Yugi continued the train of thought.

“Yuma will then use his Unique Magic to ensure that the Phantom is no trouble…”

“Then everyone will strike at once to end this!” They said in tandem to finish.

Riddle whispered to Yusei, “Cater thinks they’re related…”

“They are not…trust me…” Yusei sighed.

“A LITTLE HELP!!??” Cater’s voice was clear, helped by the fact that it was coming from several copies of him. His situation was revealed when the giant lion Phantom ran by with at least six Caters hanging off of it, two of which were tangled in the mane.

“Help is on the way!” Riddle declared as he dropped his barrier and started conjuring a huge tidal wave of water, “Brace yourself!” He sent the wave forward washing over the Phantom giving it a rather amusing wet kitten look but also doing the job of soaking the surrounding sand.

Judai was now visible again and grinned now that he could see his target. Leona just roared angrily in response.

“I’m going to enjoy ripping your throat out…”

“That’s only if you can catch me, which I don’t think has happened yet!” Judai taunted back.

“And not if I get your throat first!” Yubel declared as they charged forward and tackled Leona into the wet sand before backing off to regain distance.

Once the beastman was down, everyone started dumping as many water spells as they could, leaving Leona looking like a wet cat. (Cater may have snapped a few pics of the scene. He refuses to tell to this day.)

“Hey bossman!” Ruggie yelled out as he smirked, “ Laugh With Me!!! ”

Leona snarled and tried to charge for Ruggie, only to find that he couldn't move.

“How…a lowly dog like you…”

“Don’t think because I started as trash I’m going to stay trash!” Ruggle yelled back.

“You have all this power and yet you gave up on everything!” Jack joined in too.

“As a fellow Dorm Head I must say you have to set a better example!” Riddle declared.

“You think your words matter to me?!” Leona roared, “I can simply overpower this simple spell…and I can still crush you!” The lion Phantom started charging as he spoke.

“That is where you’re wrong!” Yugi declared as he pointed upward to the sky. Above them was Yubel carrying Yuma who was glowing with the familiar gold energy.

“Hit him where it hurts, kid!” Yubel said as they threw Yuma at the massive lion.

Yuma showed no hesitation as he landed on the Phantom’s back, “MIRACLE CREATION!”

Vines shot out from the ground, wrapping around the giant lion and binding its limbs. Just like Leona, the Phantom was now frozen in place.

“NOW!” Yusei shouted.

Everyone shot their best spells at Leona and the ink jar head of the Phantom. Yuma ducked into the mane for shelter, punching the beast a few times for good measure.

“I knew it….it was all pointless…”

The ink jar cracked, pouring blot everywhere. Unfortunately Yuma, still being on the Phantom’s back, fell right into the ocean of blot as it lost form.

Chapter Text

It was black for as far as Yuma could see. Black ground, black sky, even the pouring rain was black. Yet he never got wet, it was as if the rain was passing right through him. Looking around Yuma searched for any form of landmark, but he found someone instead.

Leona was still dressed in the patterns and fur of the Overblot, yet he wasn’t standing like a threatening predator. He was sitting on the ground hugging his knees and resting his head on his arms. The black rain wasn’t passing through him, instead it was soaking him to the bone.

Yuma cautiously approached Leona, unsure as to what the beastman was going to do. Leona’s ear twitched, indicating he detected his presence, but didn’t even turn to face him.

Instead, he started speaking.

“From the moment I was born, there’s been a boulder on top of me that’s too heavy to move.”

In front of them, a scene formed as if they were watching a movie that was out of focus. Yuma had a feeling it was a large estate due to the pillars and fancy curtains. Three blurry figures could be made out congregating by one of the windows.

“Crown prince Falena is such a bright and cheerful young man.” The first figure said, “I don’t understand why his younger brother has to be so moody all the time.”

“And he possesses such a terrifying power!” The second one said, “Imagine being able to turn anything to sand!”

The third figure made a shushing motion, “Both of you, cease this conversation right now! What if someone overhears you?!”

The three hurried off, but behind one of the pillars, Yuma could make out the clear figure of a young child. As the child came out of hiding, Yuma could tell right away that it was a younger Leona, and he was fighting back tears.

“I bet….” Leona spoke again as the scene faded, “If I were the crown prince, this is what they would have said….’Crown prince Leona is a judicious young man…look how he controls such powerful magic! I don’t understand how Falena can be so carefree.’...” Leona’s claws dug into his arms, “This is all because I was born second. They’d find fault in me no matter what…just so they could use it as a pretext to praise my brother…No matter what I do, I can never be the best.”

Yuma wanted to say something, but a new scene formed before he could. This time it looked like a bedroom, and an older Leona was sprawled out over the bed. A second person entered the room — despite the blurred figure Yuma could tell that this person had a strong resemblance to Leona.

“Leona!” This person yelled, “Why weren’t you at today’s ceremony?”

“Ceremony?” The past Leona rolled over in his bed, “Ah..you mean that self-indulgent party where you show off your son to the people? Yeah, sorry I missed that. I fell asleep.”

“Showing the people the face of their future king is an important affair.”

Leona scoffed, “Yeah…it’s a happy day for sure…also known as the day the despised second son loses what little claim he had to the throne forever.”

The other person looked scandalized, “Do not frame it in such terms!”

“Must be nice to be the firstborn huh?” Leona said as he rolled over. It was at this point that Yuma realized that this other person must be Falena. Leona continued, “You can spend every day singing and napping and still become king…”

Falena looked hurt, “Leona…you may never become king, but you are still wise. There is much you could do for this country.”

“And maybe if this country selected its kings on the basis of intelligence…” Leona got up from his bed and started storming out of the room, “I’d be motivated to do something with that wisdom.”

“Leona! Wait! Leona!!!!”

The scene went away as the rain intensified.

“Why do I have to spend my life feeling this way, just because I was born a few years too late? No matter how hard I study, no matter how powerful the magic I command….From the day I was born till the day I die…no one will ever acknowledge that I’m better than my brother….”

The rain kept pouring as water puddled around their ankles.

“I will never be king…Why did I have to be born second? Why will I never, ever get to be the best?”

“Why?

“Why?”

“WHY?!”

“Life truly is unfair!”

Yuma didn’t know what to say or do. Royalty problems were more of Shark’s wheelhouse considering his past life. But he wasn’t here, it was just Yuma. Despite the rising water level, Yuma sat down next to Leona and just let what came to his mind spill out.

“You know….I have an older sister. She gets on my nerves a lot…”

Leona just stayed silent.

“But she looks out for me. I bet if she could she would drag me home and lock me in my room wrapped up in blankets…I bet your brother would love to do the same thing.”

Leona scoffed, “My brother couldn’t care less about me…”

“He still came to look for you…” Yuma referenced the scene they witnessed, “He could have left you alone but he still wanted to see you, even if he might have been upset about you missing the ceremony.”

“He shouldn't have…it was just a reminder of how life is unfair for me.”

“Why are you so obsessed with that?” Yuma asked, “Stuff about how life is unfair? It’s not like being king is your only option.”

Leona bristled with anger, “ It’s king or nothing…”

“You know…fate said my friends had to die…” Yuma was letting everything spill out, “Fate said my best friend was nothing more than a weapon only meant to destroy with no question. I wasn’t going to sit back and complain that life wasn’t fair. I DID something about it!” Yuma stood up and glared down at Leona who still hadn’t moved, “And because I did something, life has been so much better! My best friend has free will! All my other friends are alive and happy! We didn’t let life choose our paths for us…we chose for ourselves! So what are you going to do Leona!? If you can’t be king what else can you be?!”

For the first time, Leona looked up. Yuma could see the streaks of black tears running down his face. He looked lost and confused.

“I…I don’t know…..” Leona quietly admitted, “I never gave it thought…”

“Then let’s find it!” Yuma offered his hand, “I’ll help you! There might be something better than a king out there!”

Leona paused, then took Yuma’s outstretched hand.

Then everything turned white.

…………………..

Dire Crowley considered himself a patient man. Most of the time. It was hard to run a school full of young men dealing with the fallout of puberty and lack of morals so what if he took a few shortcuts here and there. Like asking the magicless student to investigate an active case of sabotage.

But when Lilia Vanrouge approached him with the news that Leona Kingscholar had succumbed to Overblot, that was something he couldn’t pass off onto someone else. He hurriedly followed the student to the Coliseum where he spotted several members of Savanaclaw trying to get past poor Mr. Trappola and Mr. Spade who had taken up guard duty.

“You can’t go back yet!” Ace cried over the crowd, “We don’t know if it’s safe yet!”

“But that’s our boss in there!”

“We can’t sit back now!”

“Please stay calm!” Deuce yelled out, “We’ll let you know when we get the all clear!”

“Thank you for your effort boys…” Crowley called attention to himself, “But if you would allow me to pass, I can take it from here.”

The crowd quickly parted allowing Crowley to pass and enter the arena. There was plenty of evidence that a fight had taken place. Sand was everywhere and bits of the ground were missing, something that could be easily fixed. But it looked like the Overblot itself was over, as Leona Kingscholar was passed out on the ground while Grim was dancing on his chest trying to wake him up. Mr. Bucchi and Mr. Howl were watching the dance. Mr. Rosehearts seemed to be keeping guard while Mutou, Yuki, and Fudo were tending to young Mr. Tsukumo who seemed to be a little out of sorts. It was young Yuu who finally noticed his presence.

“Headmage! I can explain!”

“I sure hope so, considering the tales I’ve heard…” Crowely looked down at the magicless student, “Please leave nothing out.”

“Right….” Yuu cleared his throat as he began, “You were right that the accidents were something more. It turns out that Leona had enlisted most of the Savanaclaw dorm into sabotaging other students before the Spelldrive tournament to take out their top players.”

“And how did they manage that with no witnesses?”

“It was Ruggie’s unique magic…” Yuu pointed to the beastman in question, “With others acting as human walls, he forced people into clumsiness to cause injuries.”

“Is this true?” Crowley asked, “And don’t lie…I will know.”

Ruggie’s ears flattened, “Yeah…it was us…Leona-san cooked up the scheme and we went along with it.”

Crowley hummed to himself, “I would like to wait for Kingscholar himself to awaken to verify your stories, and to make sure he is not suffering any side effects of Overblot. And if I can request a favor from all of those present…” Crowley looked each boy in the eye, “Word of Prince Leona Kingscholar Overblotting will not leave this group. Not a word of it to the press or anyone who wasn’t a first hand witness. A member of royalty succumbing to Blot will no doubt cause a scandal for the school and for his family back home. It would be in everyone’s best interest if we keep this affair under wraps.”

He got nods in return. Good, he didn’t have to elaborate further as to why sharing news of Overblot would be bad for all those involved.

“I did it!”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to Grim, who seemed to have finished his dance.

“Big guy’s waking up! Didn’t think he would…now hurry up and confess!”

Leona groaned and blinked a few times, “Wha…”

Crowley shooed Grim away allowing Leona to sit up, “Mr. Kingscholar, you ended up accumulating enough blot to induce an overblot episode. Do you not remember?”

“Wait…ME?” Leona’s eyes widened in surprise, “I overblotted…no way…”

“And more importantly the Spelldrive tournament is about to begin!” Grim continued to interrupt, “So hurry up and confess so I can play!”

“If this is a joke then I’m not laughing…”

“I’m afraid it’s not a joke…” Jack said, “Yuu here was asked to investigate your scheme, seems like there had to be a bribe to get Grim involved. Everyone else had their own reasons.”

“Everyone has told me their testimony but I want to hear it from you…” Crowley said, “Are you the one who organized the attacks on the other students?”

Leona sighed, “Yes…it was me.”

“Very well…” Crowley sighed regretfully, “I have no choice then but to disqualify Savanaclaw from this year’s tournament. Further punishment and possibly compensation will be determined once I’ve had a chance to speak with all of your victims.”

“I understand…”

“Actually Headmage…I have an alternate proposal…” Riddle spoke up, catching everyone by surprise.

“You have something you wish to add, Mr. Rosehearts?” Crowley asked.

“I do…as well as several others…” Riddle gestured to the stadium entrance. 

Crowley looked over to first see the entire Savanaclaw team run in to check on their leader, followed by several individuals sporting casts on their legs or bandages on their arms.

“You’re all the students who have been injured…” Crowley observed.

“That’s right…” Trey spoke up for the group, “We would like to make a special request…allow Savanaclaw to play despite their crimes.”

This surprised everyone. Jack, Ruggie, and Leona especially. 

“Are you saying that you have forgiven them?” Crowley asked in astonishment. 

“Far from it, actually…” Jamil spoke next, “That’s the last thing we want.”

“If Savanaclaw is disqualified….we would lose our chance at revenge.” Trey explained.

Crowley felt his eyebrows raise in concern, “What do you mean by ‘revenge?’”

Ruggie and Leona started to look nervous as well.

“Fighting with magic on campus grounds is forbidden…” Riddle continued with the explanation.

“But it is allowed in Spelldrive as it is part of the sport.” Trey continued.

“Most of us may be missing a lot of context,” Jamil said, “But it looks like some of the Savanaclaw players do look in rough shape.”

He did have a point, outside of those directly involved with the Overblot, several members of Savanaclaw were sporting a variety of injuries.

Trey continued to speak, “What we’re saying is, now that we know who did this, we have an opportunity to settle our grudge on the field instead of letting it fester.”

Cater seemed to have caught on, “Oh I get it! Didn’t you say it yourself, Leona? Fighting doesn’t break school rules if it’s part of a Spelldrive match.”

Leona sighed, “My own words were used against me…”

Crowley mulled over it for a moment. He couldn't let the Savanaclaw team go unpunished, but he also knew his students. If they didn’t handle their growing frustration and desire for revenge now, it was going to blow up later in a much less controlled environment.

“Very well…I accept your proposal. Savanaclaw will be allowed to participate in the tournament as originally planned. But you must resolve all issues today…and please don’t leak the scandal to the press.” Crowley sighed and turned to leave.

“Hey wait a minute! What about our deal!” Grim yelled and tugged on his cape.

Oh Sevens above he was hoping the cat would forget about that…

……………………

While that was going on, the group of duelists had some more pressing matters to deal with.

“Are you sure you are okay?” Yusei asked as he checked Yuma over, “You really don’t look so good.”

“Just….tired…” Yuma managed to get out, “It was really weird in there…like I saw his memories…”

This caught Judai’s attention, “Wait…you too? I saw the same thing when we dealt with Riddle!”

“You did?” Yugi asked.

“Yeah…” Judai nodded, “Saw just how messed up his childhood was. But the context helped when he needed advice.”

“Then that can’t be a coincidence…” Yugi rubbed his chin in thought, “First Judai then Yuma…is this a side effect of Blot?”

“With how little research there is it’s hard to tell,” Yusei said, “But right now the main concern is Yuma’s health.”

“I told you, I’m fine, just a little tired…” Yuma protested, “We’ve still got time till the tournament.”

Yusei blinked, “You still want to participate despite what happened?”

“It seems fun.”

“Well, good news for us…” Jack approached the group, “I had a feeling you guys weren’t listening, so I’ll fill you in. Savanaclaw was going to be disqualified but all the other teams wanted their chance at revenge so we are going to play. Headmage is trying to keep Nurse Yaxely away before he benches half the team due to injuries. Also Grim and Yuu bullied the Headmage into an exhibition match since he did promise them a chance to play if they solved the mystery. I think they need one more member so are any of you interested?”

“Nope.” Was Yugi’s quick answer.

“I’m already on my dorm’s team…” Judai said.

“I could…”

“Yuma, you are already on our team.” Jack pointed out, “And we are going to be their opponents.”

“Oh.”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to pass as well…” Yusei said, “Someone is going to have to keep an eye on everyone.”

“No worries…we’ll find people.” Jack said, “Yuma and I should hurry and get ready as the exhibition match will open the tournament.”

“And I’m going to walk you there…” Yusei insisted as everyone got to their feet, “I don’t think we want anyone collapsing.”

Yuma honestly didn’t mind the extra attention at this point. He was just glad that the tournament was going to go off without a hitch now and he can play for fun. This was going to be great!

Chapter Text

By Night Raven College standards, the tournament went smoothly. That is to say, it was full of accidents. The exhibition match did catch a lot of attention due to one of the teams consisting of a monster cat, three ghosts, someone who wasn’t using magic, and a few students from other dorms. The other team was Savanaclaw. A bit of a mismatch, but overall entertaining. That is, until the game was called off when the monster cat sent the disk straight into the non-magic student’s head. That’s when the school nurse dramatically made his entrance in a cloud of purple smoke and whisked his new patient off of the field. 

After that, the tournament went on as scheduled. Scarabia gained a quick victory over Ignihyde. Heartslabyul and Octavinelle went into overtime but the match went to Heartslabyul due to one of their players having the ability to summon a demon-like familiar. The announcer reassured everyone that there wasn’t a demon, it was just Unique Magic and they had the paperwork to prove it. Pomefiore was the usual, taking timeouts to fix their appearances. 

The rounds went on and on but then came the semifinal: Savanaclaw and Diasomnia. That was the match everyone was anticipating. Could Diasomnia keep their winning streak going or could Savanaclaw push through and regain their title as Spelldrive champions?

Sadly the win went to Diasomnia, but Savanaclaw did put up an intense fight. Their player who could turn into a wolf kept everyone on their toes and a smaller boy who kept glowing gold managed a few points against Crown Prince Malleus Draconia and sent the crowd into a frenzy. Their handshake after the match with smiles on their faces was the photo opportunity of the century. On top of all that, Leona put up his best match in years.

It made Falena so proud.

He didn’t pay much attention to the tournament after that. Right now his focus was on his son and his brother.

“Papa, that was so cool!” Cheka said, bouncing on his feet, “Can we go see Unca Leona now?”

“I’m sure we can…though it looks like he’s in trouble with the nurse…” Falena chuckled, “Did you see how he got dragged off the field by the ear?”

Cheka giggled, “It’s like when you don’t go to bed when Mama tells you to!”

Falena had to blush a bit, “Right…let’s make sure he’s up for visitors first. Also we need to find out just where the infirmary is…”

“Actually your highness…” One of his attendants had to spoil the mood, “I’m afraid you have to meet with some of the other visiting delegates first.”

Falena sighed, every time he wanted to spend time with his family the royal duties of a king got in his way. He never understood why Leona wanted the throne so bad. Maybe one of these days he’ll put Leona in charge while he takes a well deserved vacation.

“Very well…” Falena said, “But you will be taking my son to visit my brother.” He passed off Cheka who did his best ‘innocent but will totally cause mischief later’ face. Oh, he’d taught him well.

“I…” The attendant stuttered, “Very well…if that is what Your Highness wishes.”

“It is…” Then he turned to Cheka, “Let Leona know that I’ll visit him as soon as I’m free.”

“Okay papa!”

………………

Yuma decided that nurses were the most terrifying people in the world. Yaxley had exploded upon hearing just what went down before and during the tournament. For now Yuma found himself one of the several people confined to their beds due to magic exhaustion. Ruggie had gotten lucky since Yuma fixed up his arm but Leona got the world’s longest lecture about overexerting himself. Yuu had finally woken up from his disk to the head injury but was under concussion watch. Most of the Spelldrive players had been cleared to leave so there were only a few groups left. His fellow duelists were keeping him company. Ace, Deuce and Grim were with Yuu while Jack and Ruggie were with Leona.

The overall mood was somber. Yuma did feel a little sad that his team didn’t win the tournament, but that Malleus guy was really cool! He wished they could have talked more after the match but that green haired guy started yelling and quickly whisked Malleus away.

Overall it was fun. It wasn’t a Duel Monsters tournament, but still enjoyable nonetheless. And the world wasn’t at stake this time! That was a bonus in Yuma’s book.

“I hate being in the infirmary bed if it isn’t for a mid-day nap…” Leona moaned.

“You’re lucky that’s all you have to deal with…” Jack shook his head, “I honestly thought that Yaxely was about to curse you when he found out what happened.”

“You could be a cute little kitten right now.” Judai pointed out.

Leona groaned and threw the sheets up over his head, “Troublesome.”

“Shame Yuu had to miss the whole thing…” Ace said.

“I could be dead!” Yuu jokingly pointed out, “But I am not.”

“Grim, you need to be more careful!” Deuce scolded the cat.

“I said I was sorry!” Grim protested, “I didn’t think I threw it that hard.”

“Shame that your game ended after that…” Yugi said.

“At least we got to play for a bit…” Ace sighed, “I want to make the team for real next year.”

“I still can’t believe Heartslabyul was runners up…” Ruggie pouted, “Judai, that Unique Magic of yours is extremely broken!”

“Was the expression that Lilia-senpai made normal?” Jack asked, “I wasn’t sure if he was going to hug you or kill you.”

Judai shrugged, “Either or…Lilia knows about Yubel and we’ve hung out. I guess he was just excited that we were able to face each other in the game.”

“Though I honestly thought that…I think it was Sebek…was going to faint when Yuma scored that goal against Malleus.” Yusei said.

There was a snort of laughter from Leona, “I am never going to forget that moment…good job, kid.”

Yuma beamed.

“I’ve never seen Leona-san compliment someone like that before…” Ruggie whispered in amazement. 

“First time for anything…” Jack whispered in agreement. 

“UNCA!!!”

The voice of a small child surprised everyone as they turned to the doorway. A kid no older than five with bright red hair, lion ears, and tail was bouncing excitedly on his feet.

Yusei blinked in confusion, “Who’s cute lost child is this?”

Leona seemed to know, as he grew pale, “Oh no…the screech box found me…”

“Unca!” The little boy cried out again as he darted to Leona’s bed and plopped himself right on Leona’s chest. “I finally found you! I saw you play and you were so cool!”

“Wait….’Unca’?” Judai wondered, “Is he trying to say ‘uncle’?”

Leona let out a very long sigh, “This little furball is my brother’s son…also known as my nephew, Cheka.”

“Wait…your nephew?” Ace asked in confusion.

“As in…the heir to the throne?” Deuce added in.

“Hard to think that this little angel is giving Leona so much grief…” Yuu muttered under his breath.

“Unca, did you read all my letters?” Cheka began rapid fire questioning, “When are you going to visit? What about the time after that? Can you teach me how to play Spelldrive?”

“Stop screeching in my ear and-OOF! Get off my stomach!” Leona protested.

Cheka, being a child, ignored him, “Hey…are you all Unca’s friends?”

Yuma took advantage of the opportunity, “Of course we are! Your uncle is the coolest!”

Cheka’s grin couldn’t get any larger, “So cool! I bet Unca has the best of friends!”

“You saw us play right?” Yuma asked, “Only best friends can play that well as a team.”

“SO COOL!!!”

“Someone…spare me….please…” Leona tried to hide back under the covers.

……………………………

It was some time before the infirmary cleared out, leaving only Leona, Yuma, and the still visiting Cheka. Leona wished it was only him still there. At least Yuma proved valuable in distracting Cheka with some stories he had from his home.

“So then Vector, Tetsuo, and I tried racing to school, each of us taking a different path…” Yuma continued yet another story, “Tetsuo was confident that his skateboard would let him win but it turns out that Vector didn’t plan on racing at all…he tracked down some dogs and had them chase us all morning.”

Cheka giggled, “Your friends sound so silly.”

“Just you wait…I think Shark and Rio are close to having their 200th fight as siblings. Their 100th was memorable so I wonder how they’re gonna top that.”

Leona briefly wondered how those siblings had not killed each other yet. 

“Looks like everything is lively here…”

Leona just wanted to jump out the window now. Falena was leaning casually in the doorway of the infirmary. First his nephew and now his brother. At least there was only one witness now.

“Brother…”

“Don’t be such a grump, Leona…” Falena said, “I was able to watch you play today with Cheka. It was surely something to watch.”

“Whatever…”

“Papa!” Cheka shrieked, “I’m talking to one of Unca’s friends!”

“So I see…” Falena gave a wave that would make any royal swoon, “It’s lovely to meet you young man. You made quite the impression today.”

Yuma had turned red and rubbed his head sheepishly, “Thanks…I was just having fun.”

Falena chuckled, “Maybe Leona could learn a thing or two from you…he takes things too seriously or not at all.”

“Brother…” Leona hissed, “I hope you’re here to collect your son.”

“Once I’ve had a chance to talk to you at least…” Falena sighed, “I wish we had more time but you know how the other delegates and ambassadors are. They all think their time is more important than yours…”

“Don’t let Kifaji hear you say that…” Leona shook his head, “He would go on for hours about proper respect.”

“Yet we both know that I would have a hard time filling in for father without his help…” Falena smiled, “I really wish we could talk more but we do need to start our trip home. Please answer your phone more often and…” He seemed to have a smirk forming on his face, “Don’t forget about Tamashina Mina this year.”

Leona buried his face into his pillow, “You are never going to let it go…will you…”

“I’m afraid not…I will have Kifaji call and remind you this year.” Falena then turned to Cheka, “Let’s go Cheka…say bye to your uncle and his friend.”

“Awwww….” Cheka pouted, “But I wanna stay longer…”

“We can’t keep mama waiting too long…”

“Oh, okay…Bye Yuma-nii! Bye Unca Leona!”

One might call the sound Yuma made at being called older brother cute.

“Whatever squirt…” Leona lazily waved.

He watched as his brother and nephew left, happily waving all the time. Strangely, he felt…sad watching them go.

“They seem nice.”

Yuma’s voice snapped Leona out of his thoughts.

“Only because you were in the room…”

“Nah…your brother is really nice…” Yuma said with an obnoxious grin, “He came to check in on you, even if it was short. I bet he really had to make the time to do so.”

This made Leona pause. True, ever since his father got sick, Falena always seemed to be caught in meeting after meeting…yet seemed to try to visit Leona whenever he could. He always saw it as an annoyance, yet…how much did Falena have to fight to make the time?

“Maybe you can help him out…” Yuma continued, “I bet you can do better than his assistants. Show them who’s boss!”

Leona initially shuddered at the word ‘help’, but then it got him thinking. The current advisors were rather spineless, easily bending to the whims of visiting ambassadors, forcing Falena to step in and do their jobs. And Kifaji was getting old and couldn’t keep the court running forever.

“You’re a strange one kid…” Leona said, “How does anyone listen to you?”

“My sister says that I just annoy people into listening.” Yuma shrugged, “And a lot of my friends seem to act grumpy around me, yet they don’t leave so I must be doing something right.”

“Annoying people into listening….” Leona couldn't help but smirk…the idea sure had merit. He could give it a try next time he went home.

………………………

Crowley looked over the paperwork laid out in front of him. Thankfully the Spelldrive tournament went off without too much trouble, leaving their donors and the press happy. Now he turned his attention to the permits needed for Halloween week. Opening the campus to the public for a full week had its own risks but paid off fantastically in terms of public recognition. Once that ghost bride did her yearly visit for her so-called prince, things were clear for set up. Yet he felt like he was forgetting about something. Something about the Ramshackle dorm. Oh well, it couldn’t be anything that serious.

…………

(omake)

“So I think you are good to go…all your vitals appear normal.” Yaxely said, “Just come back right away if you experience anything abnormal.”

“Sure thing…” Yuu said, “Just one question…there wasn’t a random portal that dropped tiny bean-like doppelgangers of students here that caused chaos and mayhem? Because I’m really hoping that was just a dream I had from the concussion.”

“........” Yaxely was silent for an uncomfortable amount of time, “Maybe I should keep you for an extra hour….just to be safe.”

Chapter Text

When one thinks of Night Raven College, one would think of its history and the scores of talented mages that have walked its halls. It must be so well run with the best of staff and headmaster to keep things in order.

If only they knew the truth.

The story of the Phantom Bride is one such tale…

……………………

“So…could anyone explain to me what is exactly going on here?”

Judai was referring to the strange sight of what felt like about half the student body lingering on the grass around Sam’s Mystery shop. He was taking a nap and woke up to see everyone around him. Yusei seemed to be trying to convince Ortho not to shoot someone or something. Yugi was sitting down trying to finish a game of chess with Azul that they somehow carried out here without losing any of the pieces. Yuma was perched on the roof looking very lost with the situation. Kalim, Cater, and Lilia were holding onto their snacks they rescued from their club meeting. Riddle had joined them looking rather annoyed that his study session was interrupted while Ace and Deuce looked happy about that. Vil and Rook were just there. Yuu on the other hand, was glaring daggers at the Headmage who was trying his best to look small.

“Get this…” Yuu was the one who started explaining, “Someone here….” He glared at Crowley, “Neglected to mention that the school is visited yearly by a ghost bride looking for a potential husband.”

“And how does this connect to the entire school emptying out like it’s on fire?” Judai asked, “I was just taking a nap out here.”

Grim was the one who spoke up next, “Well those rude ghosts kicked us out of our own dorm claiming that it was theirs to use. So we went to the Headmage for answers.”

“But that’s when Ortho came storming in saying that his brother got kidnapped.” Yuu said.

“Kidnapped?!” Judai turned in alarm to the robot.

“It happened last night when Nii-san went out to check to see if the latest issue of his manga arrived.” Ortho explained, “According to the surveillance footage, he was grabbed on his way back to his room.”

“Do we have any idea where he is now?”

“That is what we were trying to determine when the ghost army forced everyone out of the school building.” Crowley then spoke up, “Judging by their conversation, they plan on turning the entire place into their wedding venue.”

“Wedding venue?” Rook’s curiosity was peaked.

“I take it that this isn’t what usually happens?” Yugi asked as he put Azul in checkmate.

Crowley shook his head, “Normally the ghost bride bothers the students for a weekend, then leaves as she never finds anyone who matches her expectations. Clearly something changed this visit.”

“What are the ghosts doing right now?” Yusei asked, “Is there a way we can spy on them?”

“Remote hacking into the school surveillance system…” Ortho said as some beeps came from somewhere in his robot body, “Projecting live footage now…”

Ortho projected a blue screen large enough for everyone who had gathered on the lawn to see just what was happening. Judai could tell that it was a shot from inside the cafeteria where several of the blobby ghosts dressed in military uniforms were quickly rearranging furniture and starting the early stages of decoration. One ghost stood out, however. Rather than the vague poofy shape most of the ghosts had, this one was a clearly female figure dressed in a white dress and veil, though it was hard to tell if the rib cage was decor or actual bone showing. Her blue skin was also a good indicator of her deceased status.

“Oh this is perfect!” The bride said as she twirled around supervising the set up , “Finally…finally I found my sweet prince! This will be such a lovely day!”

In the corner and clearly feeling the complete opposite of the ghost bride, was Idia, who was tied up to prevent him from running away. A task he was trying very hard to accomplish.

“SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!”

“Oh my darling…you are jumping for joy!”

“I am not! I don’t wanna get married! I’m still in school!!!!!!”

Sadly, Idia’s plight was ignored as the bride turned to another ghost who started speaking.

“Oh Princess Eliza, I’m so happy that you finally found your soulmate! It has been your dream since you were little…if only I had been a little faster getting to your room that night…”

“Oh Nana…don’t dwell on the past…” Eliza smiled, “What matters is that I found my prince now! It may have taken an extra five hundred years but I finally found him!”

“Such a positive outlook!”

“Do I get a say in any of this!?!?!” Idia protested from his corner.

Judai looked away from the screen as Ortho muted the footage, looking angry and…was that a bazooka he pulled from out of nowhere?!

“Ortho, no!” Yuu protested, “We already told you that blowing up the building won’t help!”

“But it’s the fastest way to save him!”

“Sevens above, please do not destroy the school!” Crowely screamed, then turned to the other gathered students, “Do any of you realize how serious this is?”

Judai followed his gaze and realized what Crowely had noticed. None of the other students seemed remotely interested in Idia’s plight.

“Why should we?” Ace asked from where he was chilling with Deuce, “If anything this is kind of funny.”

“Idia snubs the company of others frequently…” Vil added, “I don’t really have any motivation to help someone who lacks basic tact.”

“So you don’t want to save him because he’s a jerk to you?” Yuma asked, “Doesn’t sound very nice on your part.”

“There’s simply nothing beneficial to us rescuing him, so why waste our time?” Azul asked.

“I will tell you why!” Crowely shouted, getting everyone’s attention, “If this ghost proceeds with her wedding…the nuptials will result in Mr. Shroud’s death so that he can join her in the afterlife!!!!”

This got everyone’s attention.

“My brother…is going to die?” If Ortho could cry, he absolutely would have started at this point.

“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Yusei reassured him, “We are going to rescue Idia.”

“Again…why bother?” Azul asked Yusei, “It does not benefit you in any way.”

Yusei returned a scowl, “Because it’s the right thing to do and I consider Idia a friend.”

Crowley wiped a tear from his eye, “Finally…a student who is selfless…As for the rest of you who think this is a laughing matter….” The Headmage pulled out his phone and started flashing the camera light in everyone’s faces.

“Ow!” Vil quickly shielded his eyes, “Headmage what are you…”

“Look everyone! It’s the students who sat on their butts while a ghost killed their classmate!” Crowley said in a mocking tone, “Tell us why you did nothing when you had hours to act!”

“What’s he doing?” Yuma asked.

“I think I know…” Yugi shook his head, “He’s threatening them with the paparazzi.”

“Something like this would be a big hit with the news…” Judai muttered, “And they just love pulling out the dirty details.”

“When you consider that many students here have a large public image that they have to maintain…” Riddle had decided to join in on their conversation, “Even being slightly attached to the scandal could greatly harm them.”

“And I will take great pleasure in removing any censorship to ensure your identities get out!!!!” Ortho yelled at those Crowley was intimidating. 

“Okay, fine…FINE!!!” Azul tried to blink the spots out of his eyes, “But there still is the problem of getting back into the school. Those ghosts kept reviving the minute we knocked them down.”

“Perhaps we should use our witty charms instead…”

Judai turned at hearing Lilia’s voice and was surprised at the sight of him, Kalim, and Cater sitting at a bistro table eating their snacks that had not been there a minute earlier. Where did that even come from?

“Oh! Maybe we can throw a parade or a banquet and lure them out that way?” Kalim proposed, “I bet ghosts can’t resist a good party.”

“Normally, yes, but considering that this is a wedding they are trying to do, and whatever the bride says goes…” Cater pointed out, “I doubt she would leave to attend an impromptu party.”

“Where did the table even come from?” Yuma asked, clearly not following the topic.

“Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn stock~!” The cheerful voice of Sam, the enigmatic shop owner, suddenly made his appearance. “Pleasure doing business with you, Kalim.”

Judai wouldn’t admit that Sam was probably the only person on campus that unnerved him. Not even Yubel could track when he was going to pop up.

“I see my little imps are having a ghost bride problem.” Sam gave his trademark salesman’s smile, “I have just the thing that can banish her away.”

“Oh?” Crowley’s interest peaked, “What item would this be?”

Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box, “A circle of severance! Normally for a ghost to move on their lingering desires need to be fulfilled. But with this little beauty, you can place it on the ring finger of their left hand to send them to the afterlife immediately!”

“Can’t help but notice that’s where the wedding ring goes as well.” Deuce pointed out.

Crowley, however, looked like he won the lottery, “That’s it! That is how we are going to save Mr. Shroud. We’ll simply woo the ghost bride ourselves!

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!?!”

“I think he’s gone crazy…” Grim shook his head sadly.

“Headmage, I think it’s best you explain just what you’ve got planned…” Yusei said.

“Apologies…” Crowley cleared his throat before explaining, “As we all saw, the ghosts will not allow us in the building. But if we approach pretending to be potential suitors, they should simply escort the suitors straight to the ghost bride. Once there, we need just one to get close enough to place the ring on her finger and send her to the afterlife. Without her, the rest of the ghosts should follow.”

“I see….if we simply present the ring as an engagement ring she will suspect nothing.” Vil nodded in approval, “But who should act as suitors?”

“For this to work we’ll need lots of options as there is no way to predict what the ghost bride will want…she did select Mr. Shroud after all….” Crowley wrote something on a slip of paper before handing it off to Yuu, “Could you find these students and bring them here?”

“And if they refuse?” Yuu asked.

“Tell them they will be repeating the year if they don’t.”

Yuu couldn’t help but grin, “Sure thing…” He then left with Grim in tow.

While that was happening, the group of duelists got together and started trying to form their own plan.

“So are we going to let this ‘woo the princess’ plan happen?” Judai asked, “Because I can see this going wrong in so many ways.”

“Especially considering the personalities of many of the students here…” Yugi pointed out.

“Too bad we can’t duel our way in…” Yuma pouted.

Yusei just stayed quiet, consumed with worry about Idia. The lack of concern from others infuriated him. Crowley flat out said that Idia was going to be killed and they just shrugged it off and laughed. How could people be so uncaring? He had seen indifference from the residents of the Tops in Neo Domino but this…this was just worse.

A light tug on his sleeve snapped Yusei out of his thoughts — looking down, he saw it was Ortho.

“Your heart rate elevated rapidly…are you alright Yusei-san?”

“I’ll be fine…” Yusei gave Ortho a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “Once we save your brother.”

“Do you have a different plan in mind?” Yusei looked up in surprise at Rook approaching the group. He hadn't had much interaction with the Vice Head of Pomefiore though from what Yugi-san told him he had some…interesting quirks.

“Nothing yet….” Yusei shook his head, “We just can’t help but feel that the Headmage’s plan will fly off of the rails.”

“A chance that is very likely, Monsieur Handyman…” Rook shrugged, “As a hunter myself…I would rather sneak my way into the building while targeting my prey.”

Yusei raised his eyebrow at the odd choice of words. A handwave from Yugi indicated that this was normal for Rook. “Who is the prey in this case? Idia or the ghosts?”

“Perhaps both…” Rook said with a smirk, “But it might be better for all of us if we allow the Headmage’s plan to play out for the time being.”

“Why’s that?” Yuma asked curiously.

“Information…” Was Rook’s answer, “Going in blind on a hunt is a quick way to lose. Perhaps we benefit from learning more about this ghost bride before coming up with an alternate plan.”

“Rook-kun’s got a point.” Yugi said, “We know next to nothing about these ghosts. Also, if we wait, there may be a point where Idia-kun is unguarded, allowing us to quickly get him out of there.”

“If Idia can last that long….” Yusei said with worry.

“If anything, these ghosts want to take their time so that gives us a big window of time to work with.” Judai said, “Let’s see how Plan A goes before we move into a Plan B.”

Yusei just really hoped that this didn’t end in a complete disaster. 

Chapter Text

“Thank you for gathering at such short notice…”

Yusei looked over the group that Crowely had Yuu summon, trying to figure out why these students were the best match for his plan. Vil made sense considering he was a model, as well as Leona due to him being a legitimate prince. Trey and Jack just looked confused as to why they were included. Yusei had no idea why the Leech brothers were in the group as well. And Sebek looked like he was in a military line up because of his posture.

“So this is where everyone is…” Jade looked around, “Glad to see everyone is alright.”

“So…why exactly are we here?” Jack asked.

“Simple…I want you to ask for the ghost bride’s hand in marriage.”

“Please tell me that this is a joke…” Leona grumbled.

“Pardon me…” Riddle spoke up, “It will look in poor form if my Vice Head went in without me. I ask that I be allowed to join the effort.”

“Unfortunately I can’t, Mr. Rosehearts…” Was all that Crowley was willing to say.

“Why not?!” Riddle demanded.

“I kind of agree with Riddle here…” Judai said, “Why can’t he go?”

“You see…we know that the ghost bride has some…vague expectations when it comes to her prince. Traits such as ‘hair that glows’ and ‘pale yet fair skin’ can be interpreted in many different ways but there is one trait she had listed that is something that we can easily measure...” Crowley explained before pointing to the assembled group, “Her prince must be at least 180 cm tall!”

Yusei felt very grateful he only topped out at 174 cm.

“Are…..ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?!?!?!!” Riddle was now turning red.

“Oh, you can’t reach the ‘You Must Be This Tall To Ride’ sign, little goldfish?” Floyd teased, “You want to get on my shoulders for a boost?”

Riddle took several breaths, trying to steady his temper, “Not in the least…But…this bride is selecting her husband based on height?! Height has no bearing on character!”

“Everyone has their quirks, Riddle…” Trey tried to calm his friend down.

“Yes, I know, but there’s no accounting for taste!”

“That’s the spirit!” Floyd continued to tease, “Being small has its own charm and…where did Goldfishie go?”

“What are you talking about Floyd?” Riddle asked, “I’m right h-”

“Oh there you are! I couldn't see you from up here.”

Judai had to drag Riddle away before he exploded with rage.

“Wait, if we are talking about height…” Vil began, “I know for a fact that Mallues is well above 180 cm. Shouldn't he be here as well?”

“Not the wisest idea.” Lilia said from where he sat at the snack table, “Malleus is the crown prince of Briar Valley and that title bears weight when it comes to proposals. A proposal made in jest, even for the noble task of rescuing another, could spark a major international incident. Sebek will do acting in his stead.”

“I could ask for no greater honor than to act on our lord’s behalf!” Sebek boasted.

“So loud and annoying…” Leona grumbled, “You have no idea if she would pick Malleus in the first place…”

“EXCUSE ME?!?!” Sebek yelled, “Malleus possesses a singular beauty that any princess would select in a heartbeat! THE REST OF YOU ARE DUST ON A DIRTY BOOT COMPARED TO HIM!!!”

“I think this guy has issues…” Yuma whispered to Yusei. He could only nod in agreement.

“Also, are you not a prince as well?” Sebek continued his tirade.

“Wait, he has a point…” Yugi spoke up, “If Malleus can’t help due to his title…why is Leona participating?”

“That’s because I’m not the crown prince…just the second prince.” Leona explained, “I don’t have the same level of responsibilities and have a lot more freedom in what I do. A joke proposal would be forgotten in a heartbeat.” 

“As if we needed your assistance…” Vil scoffed.

“Is that a challenge?” Leona growled.

Yusei could have sworn he saw Yuu, Ace, and Deuce place bets out of the corner of his eye.

“Can we please get back to the matter at hand!?” Crowley pleaded with the gathered group, “Simply enter the school, one of you will win the ghost bride’s heart and place the circle of severance on her finger to rid us of this yearly ghost problem for good!”

“Of course…” Jade’s polite smile never went away, “I’m sure we’ll be successful in this mission.”

“I’ll pull up the camera feed to monitor your progress.” Ortho said, “Please save my brother.”

“If all goes well…you two should be reunited soon.” Trey reassured him.

“Bye Goldfishie!” Floyd said, much to Riddle’s chagrin. 

With that, Operation Proposal was a go. The first group of suitors left for their mission.

Note, dear reader, that we said the first group.

“So, how likely is it that this is going to fall apart?” Yugi asked Yusei.

“Very likely.”

Yugi let out a hum of agreement then pulled out his phone, “I’m going to call Epel-kun. I think he might enjoy this.”

………………………………………

Everyone gathered around the screen Ortho had projected. Lilia conjured up popcorn for those in attendance to enjoy, though everyone avoided the seasonings he brought. The view of the cafeteria showed that progress had been made in decorations. All the tables had tablecloths on them and centerpieces were being placed. Curtains and streamers were being pinned in place along the walls. The bride herself was humming happily, floating by Idia, who seemed to be looking for something sharp to cut the ropes that were keeping him in place.

“Princess! There’s trouble afoot!” One of the skinnier soldier ghosts cried out.

“Oh? What’s gotten you into such a lather, Grampy?” Eliza asked.

“We have reports from the gates. Suitors have arrived to ask for your hand in marriage!”

“SUITORS?!?!” All the ghosts in attendance cried out in surprise.

“Just so. All of them are students of Night Raven College, just the same as Lord Idia here.”

Idia saw his opportunity and took it, “Just so you know…all of the students here at Night Raven College are eligible bachelors, like super eligible. There’s rich boys, pretty boys, real princes, cute boys, you name it. I’m bottom of the barrel compared to them.”

“Awww, it’s alright sweetie.” Eliza’s smile never faded, “No matter who arrives, I’ll entertain them for some time then turn them down. You just relax and wait right here.”

“YOU DIDN’T LISTEN TO A WORD I SAID!!!”

Eliza simply ignored him, “Nana…Grampy…Please get my sweet Idia ready while I tend to these suitors. I can’t wait to have a memorable first look.”

“Yes Your Highness!”

“Wait…Ready? Ready for what? I do not consent to thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!!!!!!” Idia’s desperate cries faded as the two ghosts dragged him out of the cafeteria to an unknown location.

“Now they can’t just grab him…” Yusei sighed.

“But he is now away from the bride’s attention.” Rook pointed out, “This could mean that if we do have to sneak in, there will be less guard around him.”

Yusei nodded in agreement as the potential suitors were escorted into the cafeteria where Eliza carefully gave each of them a look over.

“Are you the ones who seek my hand?” Eliza asked, “I appreciate you coming all this way, but I’m afraid I have to apologize. You see, there’s this lovely man named Idia, and we’ve already promised ourselves to each other. He’s tall, with an air of nonchalance…”

“Because he never leaves his room….” Leona muttered under his breath so low that it was barely picked up on the audio.

“His skin is luminous, his lidded eyes dignified. Oh, and he has the most charming smile that he reserves just for me. His hair is so vibrant it burns!

“Isn’t his hair made of fire? Yuma asked.

“And he’s got the loveliest lips, which are a color I’ve never seen before. He’s positively dashing. Perfect in every way!”

“Weirdly, I can’t say that description doesn’t match Idia…” Trey muttered.

“Your attention flatters me…” Eliza concluded, “But compared to my darling Idia, you’re-”

“Obviously superior!!!” Leona and Vil declared at the same time

Jade shook his head, “And already they lost sight of our objective.”

Eliza let out a small huff, “Oh well, if you insist. Fine…I suppose I can see if any of you are fit to be my husband. Let’s start with you…the rugged one with the cute ears.” She pointed to Leona.

“You’re talking to me, right? Yeah, I’m Leona Kingscholar. Go ahead and test me. I’m your guy, guaranteed.”

Eliza simply smiled…then started singing.

“~Would you believe how long I’ve waited?~”

“Huh?” Leona was clearly baffled.

“~I’ve waited for so very long!~”

Eliza kept going on with her one-sided duet.

“Guys…why is she singing? What technique is this?” Leona asked.

“YOU’RE OUT!!!”

*SMACK*

To the amusement of others, Eliza delivered a good slap across Leona’s face.

“Why did the ghost suddenly slap him?” Sebek asked in confusion.

“Unbelievable…” Eliza huffed, “A princess was singing right in front of you, and you wouldn’t even join her for a duet! You’re no prince at all!”

“And yet he was the real prince of the group…” Jack shook his head.

“Next! You there, with the pretty blond hair.” Eliza turned to Vil and restarted her song.

“~Would you believe how long I’ve waited?~”

“~Waiting for me all this time!~”

“Hold on…” Epel paused in his popcorn snacking, “Is Vil actually keeping up with the song?”

“Oui!” Rook smiled, “As expected of our Dorm Head. He can follow any tune and harmonize instantly.”

The duet ended and this seemed to please Eliza, for the moment.

“How very charming! Now, what’s your dog’s name?”

“Wait…a dog?” Vil seemed to be thrown off of his groove, “I live in a dorm. I don’t have a dog.”

“YOU’RE OUT!!!”

*SMACK*

“OOOOWWWW!” Vil whined, “Do you have ANY inkling how valuable my face is!?”

“You’re no prince in my book if you don’t have a dog who’ll come running when you whistle for help!”

Trey shook his head, “She’s got a very narrow view of what princes are…Leona? Vil? You two okay? You look kind of frozen.”

“I think….we are…” Leona said with horror.

“WHAT?!”

“My body won’t move! I can’t even use magic!!!” Vil said with growing panic.

Eliza glared at the two of them, “I’ve been searching for my perfect prince for 500 years, yet you dare to march in here and claim to be him when you’re so clearly not?! You deserve an extensive lesson on the pitfalls of toying with a fair maiden’s heart! I’d say the same amount of time I’ve spent waiting should suffice.”

“There’s no way she can do that…can she?” Yuu asked Crowley.

“I’m afraid she can…” Crowley shook his head in sorrow, “Ghost curses are no laughing matter.”

“Then we are in big trouble…” Judai said as everyone watched Jack get eliminated next due to not having a sword.

“And I’m afraid that this task will be impossible for Sebek as well…” Lilia sighed as he put his popcorn down.

“What makes you say that?” Kalim asked.

Lilia just gestured to the screen where Sebek was in the middle of a monologue praising his Lord and Master Malleus. A monologue that only ended when he got slapped.

“That.”

Riddle could only bang his head against the table in frustration as Trey miserably failed Eliza’s attempts at reenacting romcom cliches and made a poor attempt at singing. The slap couldn’t come fast enough.

“Floyd, don’t let me down…” Azul prayed.

“This lady is really getting on my nerves…can I squeeze her?”

*SMACK!!!*

“Never mind…Jade, please don’t let me down…”

“Is Jade our last shot right now?” Yusei asked in disbelief.

“Seems like it…” Cater said from the whiteboard that he and Yugi had acquired and were using to record the various reasons Eliza had eliminated the suitors, “He seems to be off to a good start by offering her flowers.”

“At least he thought about bringing something to act as a gift…” Riddle said.

All hopes were dashed when Floyd had to open his mouth and point out that Jade had brought a poisonous flower. The slap soon followed.

“I didn’t expect Team Tall to get wiped out so quickly…” Crowley said.

“This is what happens when you use height as a standard for candidates!” Riddle huffed, “Floyd basically goaded her into slapping him and then sabotaged Jade’s chance just to be petty!”

“Lost that bet…” Ace grumbled as he handed money over to Yuu, “But Trey’s singing was hysterical! Comparing her veil to a dishcloth? Priceless!”

“Cut it out, Ace! There’s no need to insult…” Deuce tried to suppress a snicker, then failed. “Oh, okay, it was rather funny until the slap came.”

“Oh, poor Vil’s face!” Rook moaned, “Marred by a maple leaf-shaped slap mark! And the color matches too!”

“Yeah…what a tragedy…” Clearly, Epel was having the time of his life watching Vil suffer.

“This isn’t a game!” Crowley scolded them, “We need more suitors to try again. Now that we have more information about her tastes, hopefully round two will go better.”

“Isn’t the definition of insanity trying the same thing over and over again while expecting different results?” Yugi asked.

His words went unheeded as people started to volunteer.

“Allow me to make up for the shortcomings of my dorm mates.” Azul was the first.

“If there is anyone who can woo a cutie, it's me!” Cater was next.

Deuce volunteered after Ace goaded and teased him for a bit.

“I’ll suppose I might throw my hat into the ring as well.” Lilia was the last to volunteer, “A teacher has to make up for his student’s shortcomings.”

“This is going to end in disaster…” Yugi shook his head.

“I’m going to go with them.”

All of the duelists turned to Yusei in shock.

“Wait, why?!” Yuma asked, “I thought you didn’t like their plan.”

“I’m not going to go as a suitor…” Yusei explained, “I’ll simply ask if I can check on Idia as a friend.”

“Oh, I see…” Judai palmed his fist in understanding, “No need to play her crazy games, just show up as a guest and get a chance to see Idia.”

“And since they took him elsewhere I might have a chance to get him out with little resistance.” Yusei said, “Just wish me luck with this…”

Chapter Text

Things still weren’t going according to plan.

The guard ghosts had bought Yusei’s excuse of wanting to see Idia, but insisted that he meet the princess first before they would take him to the groom's preparation room. So Yusei was forced to see the other fake suitors fail for various reasons.

Azul for talking too much and lacking sincerity.

Cater for being too shallow.

Deuce for freezing up and getting cold feet.

And Lilia’s horrendous crime? 

He was prettier than the bride.

Yusei just face-palmed and let out a long sigh.

“Why are modern men such brutes?” Eliza huffed. “They don’t even have the decency of wearing nice suits!”

“You are quite right!” A round ghost that had answered to ‘Puffy’ spoke up, “These suitors are all hopeless knaves who wouldn't know gentlemanly conduct if it slapped them in the face.”

“Quite right…” Eliza then rounded on Yusei, “Are you another brute who claims to be a prince?”

“Actually, Your Highness…this one claims to be a friend of Lord Idia and simply wanted to check on him before the wedding.” The ghost guard explained.

“Oh?” Eliza’s mood immediately improved, “You are a friend of my darling Idia? Already you are much better than these cads since you came to see your friend before his big day.”

So far so good… Yusei thought to himself, “You see, Your Highness, Idia can get nervous easily and with something important as a wedding, I just want to make sure he’s doing okay.”

“Oh, I completely understand….” Eliza giggled, “I’ve been waiting for this day for 500 years and I feel like butterflies are about to leap out of my throat. Now tell me…how did you and my darling Idia meet?”

“He tripped and fell down a hole.”

“A hole?”

“Someone left a hole in the middle of a courtyard. After he climbed out we started talking and found we had lots of similar interests.”

“That must have been a fateful encounter then!”

“Oh, come on!” Leona protested from where he was frozen, “Why didn’t she find a problem with that?!”

“It warms my still heart to see that Idia has friends who want to be here on his big day…” Eliza said, “Of course you can go see Idia!”

Yusei felt hopeful as his plan seemed to be going well. But then he felt a chill run down his body and to his horror, realized he couldn't move.

Eliza had pulled her hand back after she had lightly poked him in the forehead, “Once we’ve got you dressed and ready to be his Best Man for the ceremony, of course!”

“Oh, crap baskets…” Was the only thing Yusei could say as the ghosts dragged his frozen body away.

……………………………………

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!”

Crowley was screaming into a pillow. Yuu and Ace were trying to figure out who exactly had won their latest bet. Everyone else had mixed expressions of amusement or confusion.

“It…kind of worked.” Yuma pointed out, “But I think she still froze him.”

“At this rate we’re going to run out of people to send in there…” Yugi sighed as he looked over to the whiteboard which was now completely filled with Eliza’s expectations, “She seems dead set on Idia and will come up with any reason to reject another candidate.” 

“Hold on! I think they’re still talking.” Yuu pointed to Ortho’s projection.

“This whole endeavor was a waste of time…let’s hurry with the ceremony preparations.” Eliza complained.

“Your Highness, there is no need to rush…” Puffy spoke up, “Surely dealing with all those humans must have worn you out.”

“Oh, you’re worried about me?” Eliza let out a little giggle, “That’s so sweet of you Puffy! You’ve been my dearest friend through thick and thin ever since we were alive.”

“Yes….your friend…”

“Any chance we could pair them up instead?” Judai asked.

“Definitely more chemistry between them than her and Idia…” Yuu said with Grim nodding in agreement.

“Nii-san!!!” Ortho suddenly cried out, “He’s back in the cafeteria!”

Sure enough, the ghosts that had dragged Idia off earlier had brought him back, this time on a wheeled dolly and he was dressed to the nines. They had dressed him in a black suit with the suit jacket reaching to his knees with white lilies pinned to the lapel. The vest and cravat were also black to match. His flaming hair had been styled and slicked back slightly. Needless to say, Eliza was overjoyed.

“Oh Idia, you are positively dashing! I expected nothing less of the attendants who helped my parents prepare for their nuptials”

“This is embarrassing…” Idia seemed like he wanted to fidget but didn’t move a finger, “Did I lose a bet? Or is this a really bad dream? Can I wake up now? I just want to go back to my room…”

“Why isn’t he running?” Deuce was heard from off camera.

“She must've frozen him just like she did with Yusei…” Lilia said.

“Wait…Yusei-shi’s here?!” Idia tried looking around, “Where did he go?”

“Seems like our princess here declared that he was going to be your Best Man for the wedding…” Leona explained.

“I bet he’s being subjected to the same makeover you just went through.” Cater said.

“RIP to him….” Idia sighed, “That was one of the worst experiences of my life…By the way guys…stunning rescue. You really crashed and burned.”

All of the failed, frozen suitors started protesting at once.

“I thought socialization was the specialty of extroverts. Aren’t you embarrassed with how epicly you failed?”

“You’re right my dear Idia!” Eliza said, “You tell people the hard truths when they don’t want to hear them with such honesty and integrity. You’re just so perfect that I can’t wait anymore…We’ll hold the wedding tonight!”

“Wait…TONIGHT!!!???”

“Just picture this…” Eliza swooned, “At midnight we’ll seal our love with a kiss and then you will shed your mortal coil then we’ll be off to the afterlife for our honeymoon!”

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELPPP!!!!”

“This is terrible!” Crowley cried, “We must assemble a new team and try again!”

“With all due respect, Headmaster, your plan didn’t work!” Yugi scolded the birdman, “It failed twice!”

“And not just fail…epic fail!” Ace added, “It made for a good laugh too.”

“This isn’t funny anymore!” Ortho protested, “The wedding is happening at midnight! We’ve only got a few hours to rescue Nii-san!”

“But that’s not a lot of time left.” Kalim said, “And most of the Dorm Heads failed.”

“Could you help?” Crowley looked hopeful.

“Sure I-”

“Absolutely not.”

“Jamil!!” Kalim jumped in alarm, “What are you doing here?!”

“About to stop you from doing something stupid…We’re going back to the dorm now.” Jamil started dragging Kalim off, “I wish you luck in cleaning this mess up…”

Crowley looked even more defeated, “Mr. Yuki…would you consider…”

His pleas were cut short when Yubel summoned themself, hugged Judai close to their chest, and began hissing like a feral cat.

“Nevermind…”

“Can we just storm in and rescue everyone?” Yuma asked.

“Not with the way those ghosts keep coming back…” Epel shook his head, “That’s how we all got chased out in the first place.”

“And after two failed attempts, I doubt the ghosts are willing to put up with another group of suitors.” Riddle added.

“So why not both?”

Everyone’s attention turned to Rook.

“Clearly wooing the princess isn’t the correct approach. Monsieur Handyman proved it when he was able to get the closest to the ghost bride simply by being there under other pretenses. Perhaps we send a small group of suitors to the main gate to distract the main army while another group sneaks in to attend the wedding itself.”

“That could work…” Yugi said in agreement, “And the suitors don’t have to be successful…just cause enough trouble to keep the main army occupied while the rescue group makes their way in.”

“I’m afraid that, with the clock ticking, we have no other choice.” Crowley sighed in defeat, “Though we must take extra preparations as this is our last shot. The ghost bride did mention her distaste that our first two teams were not wearing suits and seeing how taken she was with Mr. Shroud’s ensemble, you should dress up as well. Both to impress and make your excuses to attend the wedding more plausible.”

“Where are we going to find suits?” Yuma asked.

“IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIInnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn stooooooooooooooooooooooooooockkk!”

“GAH!” Grim jumped in alarm, hiding behind Yuu’s leg, “Is he ever going to stop doing that!?”

“Do my little imps need suits?” Sam smirked, “I’ve got plenty in just the correct sizes, as well as lovely bouquets. This will all be charged to your account, right Headmage?”

Crowley wept tears for his wallet, “I suppose so…Yuu could you go find any other volunteers while we prep? Anyone will do at this point.”

“Can’t make any promises, but I’ll try…” Yuu ran for the mirror chamber as fast as he could.

“Everyone else…get changed!”

…………………..

Idia wanted to die. But not in that way, considering he was about to be murdered in a few hours by this crazy ghost, he just wanted to go hide in a hole and die.

And the NPCs were not helping. They had been shoved to the side to act as groomsmen with flowers hastily pinned to their jackets and they would not shut up.

“To think that Idia, the king of all introverts…would be the first to get married.” Azul said in a mocking tone, “I can’t see through my tears! My heartfelt congratulations! I’m sure it’s going to be a fabulous wedding.”

“If I could move right now, I’d be taking pictures like crazy.” Cater said, “This is such a camable wedding.”

“Do none of you care?!” Idia yelled, “I’m going to die without reading my manga!!!”

“You’re honestly surprised after insulting us?” Jack asked.

Idia couldn’t contest the point. It was pointless after all. What was the point of fighting fate? He was going to die and no one was going to care.

“Your Highness! We’ve finished preparing Lord Yusei!”

Oh, poor Yusei-shi. Too bad his charisma stat wasn’t high enough to talk his way out of this. He must have failed a save roll.

He watched as they rolled Yusei in on a second dolly. They had dressed him in a similar longcoat to what he had been forced to wear, but it was blue in color with contracting black lapels, pocket flaps and cuffs. Lillies had been pinned on as a boutonniere. Yusei’s stoic expression never wavered as he was placed next to Idia.

“Hey…are you doing okay?”

Idia wanted to cry. This was the first time all day someone had actually bothered to care.

“I want outta here…” Was the only thing he could mumble.

“Sorry my plan didn’t work out…” Yusei apologized, “I was hoping that I could see you then try to sneak you out. I didn’t count on the ghost freezing me before sending me off.”

“At least your rescue plan didn’t crash and burn.”

“In their defense…it was the Headmage’s plan. He threatened most of them with bad press if they didn’t help.”

That…made a lot of sense. Of course his rescue was a lazily put together side quest presented by the most annoying NPC that only offered reputation points as a reward.

“Now, that’s a fetching suit, Yusei-san…” Azul just had to continue his commentary, “Perhaps you can find your soulmate, too.”

Idia couldn’t describe the face Yusei made as anything but pure contempt.

“This is hardly the time and place for jokes, Azul.” Yusei spat back, “Lives are on the line here. You might have participated to outdo your dorm mates but I came out of my own free will because I care about Idia’s well being.”

Idia was shocked. Was Yusei being sincere here? An IRL person who actually cared about him?

“Is your group just full of goodie two shoes?” Leona asked, “Because I’m detecting a pattern here…”

“Now, now, it makes sense that like-minded people do gravitate towards each other…” Lilia interjected, “And I think the results speak for themselves. After all, they are the ones who uncovered your little scheme…”

“Do not remind me…”

“Can you just smooch the ghost and get this over with already?” Floyd complained, “My back hurts from being stuck in this pose…”

“Yeah! Smooch the ghost!” The frozen NPCs started chanting.

“Oh my!” Grampy the ghost exclaimed, “Looks like we are not the only ones eager for the wedding.”

“All in good time…” The smile never faded from Eliza’s face, “I want to make sure this is memorable for me and my dear Idia.”

“What about the other guests?”’ Yusei asked.

“Pardon?”

“The other guests…You have several members of your kingdom here but other than myself and…” Yusei glanced to the line of frozen wanna-be suitors, “Them…there’s no one here for Idia.”

“Oh!” Eliza actually looked genuinely surprised, “Things happened so fast that it hadn’t crossed my mind!”

“What are you doing?!” Idia whispered to Yusei, “I don’t want Ortho getting involved in this mess!”

“I’m just stalling for time at this point.” Yusei whispered back, “I’m sure that my friends are planning one last rescue attempt so I’m trying to give them as much time as possible.”

“Oh, I don’t want to offend anyone but we must proceed with the wedding tonight…” Eliza fretted before turning to her guards, “Watch every gate and keep an eye out for any potential wedding guests here for my darling Idia! If you find anyone, bring them to the ceremony immediately!”

Idia doubted that anyone would come for him yet the smirk on Yusei’s face gave him an…odd sense of hope.

Chapter Text

Yuu was really hating the student body at Night Raven College.

Two hours…TWO WASTED HOURS!!! Wasted tracking down anyone he had had even slight interaction with at this magic school of pretentious stuck up pricks, searching for anyone with a caring bone in their body. Only a handful had legitimate excuses, especially those who were nobility and royalty. Others were just jerks.

He really wished he could find Tsunataro right now. That guy was chill and cool and no doubt would have helped them with the ghost problem.

“Oi, minion…you doing alright?” Grim asked from where he was perched on his shoulder, “You’re turning red as Riddle.”

“Really wishing I had a baseball bat and could unleash destruction on my enemies…” Yuu said as they approached Sam’s shop, “Sucks not having magic.”

“I did offer to set them on fire.”

“Not satisfying enough….” Yuu sighed as he spotted Crowley, who seemed to be pacing outside the shop, as well as the makeshift changing booths that Yuu figured were where everyone else was. Ortho was keeping watch.

Crowley spotted his arrival and expression, “I take it….no volunteers?”

Yuu only grunted in response.

“What has become of my student body…” Crowley cried.

“I take it everyone else is almost done changing?”

“Just about…we had to make some quick adjustments but we were able to dress everyone.” Crowley suddenly threw a bundle of clothing at Yuu, “Even you as well. But please be quick, we are running out of time.”

Imagine that, Crowley willingly giving him more clothes with no strings attached. Maybe ghosts should invade the school more often. He’ll have a full wardrobe then. Yuu shook his head and went around to the other side of the changing booths. He spotted Riddle and Epel already dressed to the nines. Epel had gone for a white and black tuxedo jacket with a purple plaid vest as a contrast while Riddle stuck with his usual color of red styled as a long coat. 

“Oh, welcome back.” Riddle was the first to notice him, “I take it that it’s just going to be us for the final attempt?”

“Yeah…” Yuu sighed, “Is a booth open?”

“Should be soon…” Epel said, “It’s taking some people awhile to figure these suits out. I’ve never heard of albert chains until today.” He tugged on the cuffs, “Suit just feels stuffy.”

“So why are you participating then?” Riddle asked.

“Because this is a rare chance I have to succeed in something that Vil failed at.” Epel said with a rather uncharacteristic grin on his face, “And if it works he’s going to have to acknowledge that.”

“You’re scary sometimes, you know that, Epel-kun?” Yuu saw that Yugi had emerged from one of the booths. His suit was dark purple in color with gold embroidery and a gold vest to act as a contrast. The famous tri-colored hair was still restrained in the ponytail. “I hate to see what would happen if you got really mad.”

“I grew up on farmland…” Epel explained, “You had to be tough or else no one gave you respect.”

“It’s not so bad…” Yuma emerged next wearing a tailcoat that was a different shade of red than Riddle’s. He still wore his usual gold pendant and had a poppy flower pinned to his lapel. And instead of a cravat or a tie, he chose to have a bowtie instead. “I wore something like this before.”

“You better hurry in and change…” Riddle said, “Trust me, you do not want to be out here when Rook’s done changing.”

Yuu could only nod in agreement before entering the now vacant booth and finally getting a chance to look at the bundle Crowley tossed at him. The suit was gray in color and had a white vest to go with it. Nothing too fancy or simple, just the way he liked it.

“Mwah…how come I don’t get a fancy outfit.” Grim complained.

“I doubt they make suits for cats…” Yuu explained, “And I doubt that the ghost will even consider you a suitor.”

“But I’m the Great Grim-sama!!!!”

“And I’m the Easter Bunny…” Yuu shook his head, “But I think we can work out something…” He found a handkerchief that Yuu figured was meant to be a pocket square and tied it around Grim’s neck to replace the tattered bow. “Better?”

Grim did a few poses, “Yes.”

Now that the cat monster was satisfied, Yuu quickly got into his suit and left the changing booth. He saw that everyone else had also finished changing. He saw that Judai had elected to go for a black suit with a gold vest and the frilliest white cravat he had ever seen. Rook had gone for a blue-purple tuxedo and a striped vest. Said upperclassman had Ace seated in a chair and was trying to style Ace’s hair.

Yuu couldn't help but laugh at Ace’s getup, “Ace, you look ridiculous.”

The red plaid suit with the black lapels and vest just read as silly to Yuu. And Ace’s slicked back bangs were not helping.

“I can’t believe I let you guys talk me into this…” Ace pouted.

“You were the one who pressured Deuce into helping.” Riddle pointed out.

“Not to mention you were bragging that you can win a girl’s heart in a minute.” Judai also added.

“It’s called showboating!”

“Now, Monsieur Heart, I’m sure you will find the words to charm the ghost bride…” Rook tried to sound reassuring as he finished pinning Ace’s hair back, “After all Roi de la Chambre managed to woo her.”

“That does not fill me with confidence.”

“Are you guys done?!” They heard Ortho’s voice, “I have new information you’ll need to know!”

The now well-dressed group quickly rejoined the Headmage and Ortho and Yuu saw that there was one more person. He was dressed in the blue of the Ignihyde dorm which went well with his blue hair with pink highlights. Before Yuu could ask who he was, the mysterious student introduced himself.

“Yusaku Fujiki. Not here to get too involved. Just to take over logistics and deliver some equipment.” He gestured to a box that was next to him.

“Here’s what you all need to know…” The Headmage began to explain, “We were able to overhear more conversations that the ghosts were having. It seems that Mr. Fudo has convinced them that they need more guests to represent Mr. Shroud so they are willing to let some people in. So the two teams are as follows. Team proposal will consist of Rosehearts, Hunt, Trapolla, Felmer, and Yuu. Team guests will include Mutou, Yuki, Tsukumo, and young Shroud.”

“You’re coming with us, Ortho?” Yugi asked, “Won’t you be better suited to monitor the situation?”

“I’m Nii-san’s brother!” Ortho chimed in, “If I go with you as his family, you have a better chance of being allowed in as guests. As for monitoring, that's why I called Yusaku-san here. He also brought a little project we got the dorm working on.”

Yusaku opened the box he had with him, “Several of the other students were able to develop magi-tech grenades that should be effective against ghosts. If you do have to fight your way in, simply use these to prevent the ghost army from reforming so quickly.”

“But won’t they search us for weapons?” Ace asked.

Yusaku simply took one of the bouquets that Sam had prepared, and expertly hid two grenades inside the flowers, “Then don’t hide them on you.”

Yuu heard Judai whisper to Rook behind him, “Should we be worried that he knows how to do that?”

“Non.”

“Okay then…”

“How did you even acquire such complex equipment in such a short amount of time?” Crowley asked as Yusaku continued to prep the grenades.

“Simple…I threatened to publicly post the internet search history of the dorm if they didn’t cooperate.”

Everyone felt the sudden urge to purge their devices’ history.

“I knew I could count on you Yusaku-san!” Ortho said a bit too cheerfully, “We’ll save my brother for sure.”

“We’ve only got one shot at this…” Yuu said, “Let’s do it.”

……………………………

“Halt!”

Team Guests held their breath as Ortho approached the ghosts who were guarding the door. They had made the decision to try a different entrance than Team Proposal just in case things went south.

“I’m sorry, but could you let us in?” Ortho asked, “It’s my brother who’s getting married.”

“What?!” All the ghosts who were guarding the door suddenly swarmed Ortho, “Are you Lord Idia’s younger brother? This is not a trick?”

“He certainly has the same radiant hair as Lord Idia.”

“And the same vibrant eyes.”

“Please let us in…” Ortho was turning up the charm factor, “I’m sure my brother would love to have his friends there on his big day.”

“Awwwwwww…..” Was the ghosts’ collective response.

“Of course! Our princess did warn us to be on the lookout for guests for Lord Idia. But please stick with us as we escort you to the ceremony. We’ve been dealing with troublesome suitors all day so we don't want to take any risks. None of you are suitors right?”

“Nope”

“No way!”

“I’m spoken for.”

Everyone turned to Judai.

“Really?” Yuma asked.

The only answer they got was Yubel’s disembodied giggling.

“Well, congratulations young man, hopefully your nuptials will be as fabulous as our princess’.” The ghost simply said, “Now please follow us and do not stray.”

Yugi let out a sigh of relief. Their plan seemed to be working so far as they were escorted back into the school building. The numerous ghosts patrolling the halls still left them on edge, Ortho especially as Yugi could see his fingers twitching for the grenades he stashed in his chassis. 

Of course, this day couldn't go smoothly.

An explosion from the front entrance derailed the whole plan.

“YOU SHALL BURN YOU INSOLENT FOOL!!!!!”

“Was that Riddle?” Yugi asked.

“Think so…” Judai sighed and shook his head, “I think someone called him short again…”

“We are under attack!”

“It’s just like that night 500 years ago!”

“We will not let it happen again!”

The ghosts formed a tighter formation around Team Guests.

“Please stay close, good sirs, we must be prepared for any attack!”

What they weren’t expecting was Ortho dropping one of the anti-ghosts grenades and blasting their ghost guards away.

“ORTHO!!!!!”

“I calculated that this would be the faster approach. We have less than an hour until midnight.” Ortho charged forward, blasting ghosts left right and center.

“So we’re fighting our way in now?” Yuma asked.

Yugi was about to answer when the distant tones of a thick country accent echoed down the halls.

“WHO YA CALLIN’ WEAK?! IMMA RIP YOUR GUTS OUT AND STUFF THEM DOWN YA GULLETS TILL YOU CHOKE!!!”