"Hey! Are you okay!?"
Jaden ran a long way around the cliff, panting.
He hadn't expected to KO someone off a cliff with a card game. Syrus and Chumley were dumbfounded—how could today's solid vision effects be so strong that it knocked someone all the way down the cliff?
Could something have happened?
They followed Jaden down, out of breath, and finally found the unlucky guy who'd been blasted off the cliff, lying on a rock by the sea.
Syrus and Chumley were nervous, worried they'd find a bloody mess, but were surprised to find—
Just a pile of metal fragments, wires, and electronic parts.
All three froze.
A robot?
That's right. The guy calling himself Beta, in black clothes and a mask, was not human but a machine. Its head and body were separated, scattered among the rocks, revealing complex circuits and chips inside.
The mechanical arm joints were broken, hydraulic tubes burst, and oil leaked onto the ground.
Syrus and Chumley exchanged glances.
"So... bro was dueling a robot just now?"
"But who sent it? Why would it come to Duel Academy?" Chumley wondered.
"I don't know," Jaden shook his head, but looked grim.
He thought back again to the unusual, shadow duel-like shock he'd felt during the duel.
He didn't know where this thing came from or what it wanted, but it was definitely up to no good.
"Let's go tell the school," Jaden said.
The other two nodded. The deserted beach and broken robot left them uneasy.
They turned to leave. But after a few steps, Jaden stopped abruptly.
The others ran a few steps, realized he wasn't following and turned back.
"What's wrong, bro?" Syrus asked.
Jaden didn't answer, but suddenly, he remembered Kira's serious words:
"When cards fall into the hands of evil, they become dangerous weapons. As righteous duelists, we can't stand by and watch our beloved monsters be abused!"
"If we ignore it and some villain recovers these cards to use as weapons, what then?"
"..."
Jaden paused for a second, then ran back to the pile of robot debris.
He found the smashed duel disk and pulled out the deck.
He even muttered a quiet apology.
Only after pocketing the deck did he jog to catch up to his friends.
Syrus: "..."
Chumley: "..."
It's over. Bro is going to turn into the next Big Villain.
…
The school festival was coming to a close.
The sky was dark. As Kira left the venue, he stretched lazily.
"Today's dueling events were fun, I had a blast. But the prizes were stingy—just two rare cards and a custom keychain. The dueling club is so cheap..."
Misawa and Alexis, walking with him: "..."
You had fun, but who knows about everyone else.
At this rate, next year's festival might need new rules, or it could kill everyone's enthusiasm for dueling.
Maybe the academy will start a new rumor—about the man who singlehandedly rewrote the school festival dueling rules.
"By the way, the custom keychain can be any duel monster, right? Have you decided which one yet?" Alexis asked.
"Guess," Kira smiled.
Misawa guessed, "Lava Golem?"
Alexis seriously considered it. "If it's you, maybe..."
"What about you, Misawa? You earned enough duel points for a keychain, right?"
Misawa put on a proud samurai face. "I don't need something like that."
"Got it," Kira nodded. "'White Magician Pikeru' then? I understand."
Misawa's face changed. "How did you know!? No, I mean—don't say that!"
"Relax, we all know," Kira laughed. "Ask Alexis if you don't believe me."
Misawa looked at Alexis. She nodded. "Yeah. Kira said you sometimes sneak her out in the lab for private research—trying to unlock her potential, right? Because you like her?"
Misawa's face went red. "No, I don't, I..."
Kira patted his shoulder. "It's fine. We get it."
Men—what's weird about liking Loli? Besides, she has twin tails.
Misawa: "..."
Damn, my deepest secret was already exposed?
He sulked the whole way back.
Walking through the woods, Alexis suddenly pointed at the sky. "The moon's round tonight."
The three looked up and stopped.
"Yeah," Kira nodded.
They sat by a creek, watching the moon.
After a while, Alexis spoke. "Actually, before coming to the academy, and even after arriving, I was always alone.
Not that I didn't have classmates, but somehow... I just couldn't fit in. Maybe because I had a goal from the start."
Looking at the moon, memories stirred. She spoke softly.
"The most important secret I have for coming here... is my brother. His name's Atticus. He disappeared here at Duel Academy. Since then, I've been determined to find him. That's why I came—to look for clues about his disappearance.
Since he vanished, I haven't cared much about anything else. Socializing, making friends... so I never really fit in."
She looked away from the moon and smiled.
"But now, having joined this lab, spending time with you guys—the two most important friends I've made since coming here—I feel happy."
She smiled at Misawa. "What about you, Dr. Misawa?"
That nickname was started by Jaden because Misawa was always scribbling calculations.
"To be honest, at first I would've said we're just classmates or colleagues, not friends—"
Misawa sat up straight, arms crossed, eyes closed, awkward.
"But since you already know my secret, I guess I have no choice."
Alexis giggled.
Moonlight poured like silver waterfalls, gently bathing the creek and reflecting their silhouettes. Their shadows stretched long, waving in the sparkling water.
"So, we've all shared our secrets. That just leaves Kira—the only one who hasn't shared anything important. Isn't that a bit sneaky?" Alexis teased.
"Maybe I'm just a boring person." Kira smiled. "No stories, no secrets."
"Ha, you? No stories?" Misawa laughed.
Who in the academy would believe that?
"Well, how about this: Let's talk about the rumor everyone cares about most right now."
"What?"
"The one about you knowing Kaiba." Alexis grinned. "What's your relationship? How do you know someone like that?"
Kira: "..."
=====
2 Bonus Chapter @1500