#sorry this took so long i had kaiba done weeks ago and then Work happened...

[splenderai]

joukai taibani crossover for @flusterstruck ! 

[rainbowwinedemon]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love ❤

Arsgsggsg I LOVE THIS (maybe bc i'm a little narcissistic)

First one gotta be lovelorn and nobody knows for the HP fandom (jeverus ship actually) is a sequel for too divine for human minds exploring what happens three years after they find out they're soulmates (in this au, soulmates can read each other minds). It had my favorite paragraph I've ever written:

That was probably his favorite summer to the date. Them exploring the woods and Severus getting sidetracked picking ingredients to experiment, going into town and taking walks while holding hands, spending the night outside with Severus sleeping on his lap while he enjoyed the warm summer breeze, swimming in the river to cool down from the heat, and then making love by the shore.

I pictured this as a film reel when I wrote it, and I was soo happy with the end result. Good. I love it so much.

Second goes to i slipped, then i could break the habbit (Joukai). That fic took over my head. I sat down and wrote whole first section in like two hours, then spent a whole day sitting in front of my laptop just so I could finish it. I actually had to cut it short. The last two sections where supposed to be full fledged sex scenes, but it was getting too long, it probably would've gotten up to 10~11k if I kept writing. I loved how it ended, so I guess I made the wrote decision. Here's one of my favorite parts:

He pulls away, Kaiba had his bottom lip against his teeth, his eyes blink open when he realizes Jounouchi stopped kissing him. He smiles a little, rocking him a bit on his lap. “Hi,” he says. “Hello,” Kaiba replies.

I'm not good at kiss scenes, but this was just sooo soft. I loved it.

Third gotta be Leash. Also a joukai, and a work in progress. I started writing fanfiction back in February, after being blocked for like three years, and pretty much of the first things I wrote where really soft (tho also really smutty) Leash is letting me write things that would've made uncomfortable three months ago, and I can also explore new ways to write smut. That always comes handy.

Here's a sneak peak from the second chapter

“Fuck you, Kaiba,” he spits instead, the fingers of his right hand flexing like he wants to grab him again. “Despite what fucked up idea you have in your mind, I’m not a dog. I don’t have a leash for you to pull on.”

Jounouchi turns on his back, walking down the stairs and very pointedly not looking back when Kaiba says, “Isono, please, walk Jounouchi to the exit. I don’t need him to get lost.” Jounouchi just goes straight for the door, countering with, “Don’t worry, I can find my way out.”

Fourth: something to give each other, for the HP fandom, obviously Jeverus. I think I started writing this right after getting my muses back, me and Beth (my first fandom friend, she's writing one of my favorite fics for this ship) started doing interchanges for this pairings. And this idea, like all the other, took over me. I put work into it, looking for each character aesthetic and writing headcanons to base the world on.

Here's my favorite part:

Jesus, he even hated the way he talked, slow, dragging the words to make his voice sound deeper. As if James hadn’t heard him last week, screaming like an honest to God four-year-old when Lily accidentally chipped his nails too close to the flesh. “I’m sorry, did we ask for your opinion?” this time, James did turn on his side to look at him, Snape was wearing a dark grey baggy turtleneck, along with pair of old dress trousers. He hated him a little more for making that fit look runaway material.

Fifth is actually a tie between double take and Have the cake. Eat the cake.

Double take is my latest published fic. It's a Joukai, and started because if line that I obsessed over from a fic (New Tricks by pockyhucks). I also wanted to try writing smut in a different way, and I wanted to get into the skin of someone in the Ace spectrum and figure out how you can be interested in someone's body without being interested in having sex with them.

Favorite part from this one is:

“I like touching you,” he cuts in before Jounouchi can finish his question. That statement makes him blush, but what he says next makes his blood pump in his ears. “I like the why your dick feels in my hand, and I also like knowing that you like me touching you.” He pauses, puts on that infuriating little smirk of his and tips his head. Jounouchi is red down his neck. “Is that enough for you, or do you want me to keep going?” Jounouchi gapes, his mouth opening and closing without a single word coming out. In the end he resolves to keep it shut, clearing his throat and turning to look through the window again, because if he looks at Kaiba, he’s probably going to combust in his seat. “That’s okay,” he eventually settles, speaking again his palm. “That’s quite enough.”

Anddddd finally Have the cake. Eat the cake.

This one is my baby, the first fic I'm writing with some resemblance of plot. It's a slow burn, and isn't even posted yet. But I love it soo much, I can't even explain it. Here's one of my favorite parts so far:

The Kaibas are the last ones to get to the course, Gozaburo wearing a white cap and Kaiba with black shades. He’s only one who’s dressed in shorts instead of trousers, and it makes him look painfully young against all the old man there. He doesn’t look like he cares, though, walking with his hands in his pockets replying to what Gozaburo was saying, taking the club that was meant for his father from Jounouchi’s hands.

He doesn’t test it, just gives Jounouchi a look that says ‘if I fail, it’s on you’, then walks to the closest hole and gets ready to swing.

It’s impolite, they’re the hosts, they’re supposed to let someone else play first, but Gozaburo just smirks when Kaiba makes the swing and scores, giving three slow claps that are echoed by the rest of the execs joining him. Kaiba just walks back to him, giving him the club and moving his hand in a come-hither gesture.

“Move along, mutt,” he says. Jounouchi clenches his fingers around the stick. “I want to finish this quickly.”

Jounouchi follows him around for the rest of the game.

Sorry, this kinda turned into a rant. But I'm so happy to be writing again that I'll take any change to speak about my works

[silvermalkin]

back again with another prompt since you said you were running out! something about the small ways seto and mokuba show affection for each other?

Thanks for the prompt! This is notthe direction that I wanted to take it, but since I had to metaphorically grind myface into the keyboard to write it, I’ll just take what I can get! “Small ways” turned into a competition. Sorry. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

It started with a small note in Seto’s briefcase. He had no clue whenMokuba had snuck it in, but it said, “You’re the best!” After a very stressfulmeeting with a room full of incompetents, it was just what he needed. The restof the day he thought about it often and it was instrumental in getting himthrough it without breaking any pens.

In order to repay him, Seto made a reservation at Mokuba’s favoriterestaurant for that evening. When Mokuba asked him why they went, heenigmatically replied, “For deserving a good turn.” Mokuba looked suspiciousbut didn’t press Seto further.

The next day, a thermos of Seto’s favorite coffee from Okinawa wassitting on his desk. Now it was official. Mokuba would absolutely lose thisgame. Seto got out spare graph paper and went to work.

He spared no expense and was meticulous down to every detail. Finally,he was able to present Mokuba with a giant, custom-made figure of his favoriteCapsule Monster, complete with sounds and lights.

Seto thought that was the end of it, but a few days later, he foundthat someone had scheduled an extra appointment for him. At the appropriatetime, his office doors opened and a small five-year-old girl rushed in,followed by two adults. “Thank you for sponsoring my adoption, Kaiba-sama,” shesquealed, half-pulling him out of his chair with a hug.

Her new parents were crying. “We were so upset when the fire haltedour adoption plans,” said the father. “We had been just about to takeKurumi-chan home and we knew she’d be so disappointed. Thank you so much forcovering the costs!” Seto was flabbergasted, but made the appropriate remarksand sent them on their way. He tried to order some KaibaCorp toys for Kurumibut was informed that it had already been done.

The next day, he stopped Mokuba before he left for school. “Class iscanceled,” Seto said.

“Huh? I didn’t hear anything about—”

“Class is canceled. So, is there something you want to do today?Where do you want to go? ”

Mokuba looked at Seto incredulously. “Go? Don’t you have work?”

“I cleared my schedule. You have me all to yourself.”

“Are you serious?” he asked, already bouncing on the balls of hisfeet. Seto nodded. Mokuba paused. “What if something comes up?”

“I have it taken care of. Now, what are we doing? Time is wasting.”

Mokuba thought for a moment before lighting up. “Oh, let’s go to thedojo and I can show you my judo. Sensei says that I’m about ready for firstkyu.” Mokuba actually spent the whole day showing Seto all of the things thathe’d been doing recently. Seto always tried to take an active interest inMokuba’s activities, but it was impossible to delve as deep as he was able todo today. It was amazingly nice, even if he had to take two or three breaks tochew out employees who thought they could interrupt them. Seto made a note totake more days where his only focus was Mokuba.

That night, however, the stress of not doing any work that daycrashed down on him. Seto spiraled down into half-formed thoughts of failureand ruin, Gozaburo’s voice echoing around inside his head. He felt like a childagain. Seto rested his head on his desk and dug his fingers into his thighstrying to ground himself.

“Nii-sama, I’m here,” said Mokuba softly. Seto hadn’t even heard himcome in. The window creaked as Mokuba pushed it open. “I can smell thejasmine,” he said.

The cool night air drifted past and Seto breathed as deeply as hecould. He tried to focus on the sound of Mokuba pulling a chair up next to him.Seto turned his face away, trying to hide the fact that he was sweating. Hedidn’t want Mokuba to feel guilty.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Seto closed his eyes, shaking his head just enough to be seen. Hewanted to speak, but his mouth was too dry. Thankfully Mokuba understood evenwithout words.

“You amaze me, Seto,” said Mokuba. “You are so smart, but also a hardworker. An efficient worker. You do more in a day than most people can do in aweek. And no matter what has happened to us, you’ve always been able to takecare of us and do your work.”

Seto felt a weight on the desk so he flipped his head back. Mokubawas resting his head on the desk, too. “I had a lot of fun today, Seto. Thankyou so much for taking the time out of your schedule to spend it with me.You’ll be able to get back on track; you always do.” Seto still couldn’trespond, but Mokuba smiled. “It’s okay, Nii-sama. I’m here as long as you needme.”

Gradually, Seto’s fingers relaxed and the fresh air pushed his heavythoughts away. Lifting his head, he noticed that Mokuba had brought a cup ofherbal tea. With shaking hands he took a sip. He didn’t deserve Mokuba. “I’llfight for you, Mokuba. Even if I’m fighting with myself.” He patted him on thehead. “I’m okay. Go on to bed.”

Mokuba clearly didn’t believe him. “If you’re sure…” he said, risingfrom his chair. “Call me if something comes up again. I mean it, Seto.”

“Yes, Otouto-sama.”

Mokuba narrowed his eyes. “I mean it. Don’t make me get out Mr.Dragon for you to sleep with.” It was a small toy that he had given Seto a fewyears ago.

“Mokuba, I have never used that plush for anything, ever. I’m notgoing to start now.”

“Right, because you’re going to call me.” Mokuba left the room,pointing back and forth between Seto’s eyes and his own before shutting thedoor.

Seto shook his head and took a few more deep breaths. How would heever repay Mokuba for this? Then he got out a small scrap of paper and wrote asmall note to stick inside Mokuba’s school bag.

If you didn’t like how I handled this prompt, or want to see something else, prompt me again!

[dxmichelle]

Nerdshipping prompt: Seto trying to convince Hermione he’s no good/damaged goods and Hermione having none of his BS

Whoever you are, Anon, thank you for giving me one beautiful challenge to write! I’m sorry this took so long, but here’s 5,000+ words of prompt for you!

I might use this for way later chapters of “Nerdship OLSSM”

First, it was Pegasus, dangling Mokuba by his soul, trappedin a trading card, all for the delight of watching him try and boot Yugi off ofDuelist Kingdom in a duel that wasn’t even meant to be part of that farce of atournament. He fought – but he failed, and the blast from his rotting dragon’sdefeat threw him over the edge of the castle wall.

But before he hit the ground, he was suddenly standing inthe middle of Domino City before a circle of Rare Hunters, duel disks at theready. He had smirked – with Obelisk in his deck, this wouldn’t take long, andhe activated his duel disk……until the helicopter flew around the buildings, toolow to the ground, but high enough to dangle his brother dangerously on a rope.

Obelisk never made it to his hand, nor did any of his BlueEyes, and before his life points could even hit zero, Mokuba was dropped, toofar from the ground, and too far from him to do anything about it.

Before he could even register what was happening, Seto then found himself in Dartz’stemple, as the mad lunatic used his magic seal to knock him off his feet. Therewas just enough time to transfer a boost of power to Yami before his visionwent dark, but he could still hear someone pounding on the seal trapping himinto the duel arena.

Mokuba’s scream pierced through him as he turned over in bed, butwas soon replaced, as the temple melted away to the desert, and a woman withlong silvery hair was thrown back into him as she was hit with a blast ofpurple-hued magic.

The Shadow loomed over him as he cradled the woman in hisarms, the light fading from her eyes, and it taunted him with talk of powersand dragons. But then the scene disappeared almost as soon as it had come, butthe Shadow remained. They were in a different temple now, but it was Hermionein his arms, coughing blood, her hand weakly reaching up for his face.

And the Shadow wasn’t alone. Gozaburo, taller than eventhe Shadow itself, circled him like a vulture, repeating the harsh words he hadheard time and time again as a child, drowning out whatever it was Hermione wastrying to tell him before her eyes closed and her arm dropped limply to herside….

The Millennium Rod flared on the bedside table, and Setphased out, sighing deeply as he watched Seto turn over again. The Shadow – thereal one, wasn’t here, but for allthe suffering Seto was enduring this night, he might as well have. His hosthadn’t had such a rough evening since the attack at Christmastime.

Set activated the Rod again, placed his hand over Seto’sforehead, and started whispering a spell he had picked up years and years ago,from Priest Mahad. He watched Seto’s head list to the side as his breathing eventually evened out, and his body stilled, tangled up in his blankets.

Once he was sure that the terrors were gone, Set turned tothe watch sitting beside the phone on the bedside table to check the time. Thesun would soon be up. There wasn’t enough night left for Seto to recoup enoughrest, and he had planned to spend the day with Hermione. Knowing that, Setowould be up at his usual early time. There would be no resting in bed throughthe morning.

He sighed and disappeared back into the Rod.

Seto was up not two hours later, and for the first time, Setdid not put up a fight about him leaving the Rod behind with Yugi.

~~*~~

The arrival of spring at Hogwarts didn’t mean much more thana turn of a calendar page. The bitter winter left the ground frozen long afterthe last snowfall had stopped and the sun didn’t do nearly enough to warm theground and melt it away.

The Hogwarts grounds then became coated in small trails fromcommonly-used paths. One led right from the castle steps to the Greenhouses,another to Hagrid’s Hut, where Care of Magical Creatures was generally located,weather permitting. Another, less commonly used, went from the traditional pathfrom the gates right up to the castle steps, and was traveled solely by thepatrolling Aurors as they came and left. Everywhere else was still a mess fromthe near record-setting levels of snow and ice that fell in the last monthsthat hadn’t yet vanished with the switch of the season.

With the Hogsmeade visits still cancelled, and with everyonecompletely shut in for the majority of the wintertime, it made finding placesto be alone all that much harder. The unused classrooms were their usual go-towhen doing schoolwork, and the Room of Requirement had been sealed shut thelast few weekends, igniting Harry’s suspicions that Malfoy was up to somethingin there, despite all of his attempts to find out what ending in utter failure.But she didn’t want to go to any of those places – they were always there.

Hermione had been looking forward to this weekend for quitesome time. It was the Saturday immediately following the spring midterm exams,and it would be a nice breather from living in the library nonstop for the lasttwo weeks. She hadn’t even seen Seto, for Kaiba Corp had to send him a virtualheadset prototype to test, which first had to make it past Auror inspection,then had to be magicked to work inside school grounds, and then was able to be tested before he sent it back with what shecould only describe as a novel of notes to go with it.

Sufficed to say, it was clear that he didn’t get any sleepfor the past week, and it was nothing short of a miracle that he didn’t havedark circles around his eyes from balancing exams and his job at the same time.

Her mood had dampened somewhat when she made her way downthe girls’ staircase that morning. Seto was sitting by the fireplace, a bookopen in his hands, but she could tell he wasn’t reading, his mind clearlyelsewhere. Was he having a conversation with Set? She couldn’t see theMillennium Rod anywhere, but Seto had gotten very good at hiding it from view.

Seto had glanced up when she approached, offered somethingresembling a sort-of-smirk, and got up, reaching for his coat that sat drapedover the back of the seat next to him.

Hermione blinked. “Are we going somewhere?”

Seto had shrugged, and also grabbed the two travel mugs fromthe table. “A walk.”

His voice was short, clipped, and Hermione frowned.Something was clearly bothering him.

“Alright…” she said slowly, and turned to go back upstairs.“I’ll get my coat then…”

It wasn’t until they had passed through the front doors anddown the main steps of the castle that she had to wonder where he was takingher – especially when he ditched the manmade paths and started crunching hisway through the snow.

“We’re not going to Hogsmeade?” It wasn’t as much a questionbut a stating of the obvious.  

She barely caught his quiet chuckle. “No. There’s no specialpermission to get that far away thistime.”

He led her past Hagrid’s Hut, but away from the edge of theForbidden Forest and the Quidditch Pitch, and more towards the lake.

Hermione snuck a peek behind her. The castle, whileobviously still in sight, was a good ways off. As far as finding someplacesecluded to spend their time, this was probably it.

“This is different,” she said, as he helped her up onto oneof the larger rocks by the water’s edge.

“It’s quiet,” said Seto. He chose a dry, sunny area to sitdown and gazed out at the calm waters of the Black Lake.

Hermione frowned and bit her lip. This was the moststandoffish he has ever been to her. Was it just from the rough week – or two –that fell over the entire school? Was he just tired? …Or – had she done something inadvertently to him?

The thought was slashed from her mind as quick as it hadcome. Seto wasn’t one to hold back if he was angry with someone. If she haddone something stupid, he would have said so.

“It is peacefulout here,” she said, “I’m happy to get out, don’t get me wrong.” She reachedfor her wand and conjured her signature blue flame-in-a-jar and set it betweenthem on the boulder. “It’s still winter though.”

“Spring, technically,” said Seto.

“Whatever,” she said, with a flippant wave of her hand.“It’s still cold, and we just trudged through the snow to get here. Feels likewinter.”

“Better get used to it,” said Seto, “We’re supposed to getanother storm in the next few days.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “And you know that how?”

Seto smirked – the first genuinesmirk of the day – and pulled his phone from his coat pocket. He fiddledwith it a moment, before passing it to her, showing a Muggle storm report.“With all your magic, you would think wizards would have figured out how toreport the weather accurately in your newspapers.”

“No one canaccurately report the weather,” said Hermione, “Even the Muggles, with all theadvancements in technology, don’t always get it right.”

“Are you saying you believe The Daily Prophet?”

Hermione shook her head. “No…but your app isn’t always righton the mark either.”

“I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see who’s right andwho’s wrong,” said Seto, pocketing his phone again.

“I suppose so.”

He didn’t say anything after that, just kept his eyes on thewater. His right arm was draped over his leg, and she watched the hand curl inand out of a fist ever other minute or so.

This wasn’t normal. Seto was acting more or less the same towhen she first met him at the Burrow. He was aloof then, choosing to be off byhimself and work or study the mountain of books he had picked up from DiagonAlley. It was a miracle that he agreed to let her study near him when he was outside, giving off the barest minimum ofbeing social with the others.

Did he want her to leave? If he truly wanted to be off byhimself, he wouldn’t have waited for her to come downstairs this morning, andhe certainly would have said as much when she went to get her coat to join him.Today would have been nothing more than a day of playing one-sidedhide-and-seek, and he would have won by a landslide.

Was this out of some sense of obligation because theyplanned to spend time together today? Was he forcing this on himself, andreally wanted nothing more than to spend the day in a quiet corner of thecastle?

She sighed – his silence was killing her.

“What’s wrong?” she said, breaking the awkward silencebetween them.

“Nothing,” he said, a bit too quickly, and she bit back aharsh laugh. There was no plainer lie.

“Right, and my name is Rita Skeeter. You’ve been off sincewe left the tower.”

Seto closed his eyes for a good five seconds before lookingback out again – at the water, not ather. “It’s nothing.”

She had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, shereached for his hand, and felt her heart twist into a knot when he tensed up,and tried to flinch out of her light grasp before he seemed to check himselfand stopped. Hermione was used to it – she knew that he did this wheneversomeone touched him. He practically locked up his whole right side whenMcLaggen tried to get under his skin a few weeks ago. It was something shenever asked to why it happened, but just accepted as something that stemmedfrom his youth, and inquiring about it felt like probing where she shouldn’tbe. But…knowing that he still did it to herafter all this time hurt.

“Clearly, it isn’t,” she said, “If there’s something I’vedone to make you this way, I wish you’d –”

“— You haven’t done anything.”

Well, that was arelief.

“I –” Seto sighed and looked down at her hand hovering, barely touching his arm. “It’s complicated.”

Hermione tilted her head, regarding him curiously. “Is thereanything I can do to help?”

Seto turned to look ahead again. “Doubtful.”

Hermione frowned. “You’re doing a Harry.”

Seto snorted.

Hermione huffed. “Youare. Don’t hold whatever it is inside all the time. Talk to me.” Shewatched his shoulders sag as his eyes closed again, and her voice softened.“It’s alright. I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to say anything now ifyou don’t want to – but you will feel better once you do.”

There was the barest ofnods, but he didn’t say anything after that, choosing to keep his gaze out overthe water.

Hermione sighed quietly, leaned her head onto his shoulderand took his hand in hers, relieved that this time, he didn’t freeze up orshake her back off. She rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand over thespot where Umbridge’s two nights of detention had sliced ‘I will show respect’ into his skin, though the lines were long gonenow. Two nights hadn’t been long enough to permanently scar him, unlike Harry,who had ‘I will not tell lies’ etchedin for weeks throughout his fifth year.

She wasn’t sure how long they sat in complete silence, andshe was sure she had dozed off for some of the time, but his sudden questionnearly made her jump.

“Why?”

She lifted her head. “Why what?”

Seto’s brow was furrowed. Gears were turning in his head,she was sure of it, and he looked to be struggling to find the right words tosay.

“Why – why me?” hefinally asked, looking down at her. She was staring at him, not entirelycomprehending the simple question, so he rephrased. “What is it you see inme?”

Hermione gave him a funny look. “W-what is that supposed to mean?”

Seto looked up at the sky and sighed. “Not counting onepompous idiot, you could probably have whoever you wanted in this place –”

Hermione snorted. “Right – a plain, know-it-all bookworm issuch pleasant company.”

Seto turned to look at her. She was far more than plain. “You and Ron had something goingback and forth for a while – and don’t deny it to me, astronauts in orbit couldhave seen it for how obvious it was.”

Hermione flushed.

“Yet…you choose me.I…” Seto sounded resigned. “I just don’t get it.”

Hermione patted his hand gently. “I think…” she began, “Thisis the sort of conversation to have beforewe started dating.”

Seto gave a lone silent chuckle and gestured out at thelandscape. “Is that what this is?”

Hermione snorted. “It’s the closest we’ll get to oneoutside of Hogsmeade, so yes.”

She was silent for a minute as she gathered her thoughts. “You’re right, in a way. Harry and Ron – myfriends are everything. I don’t know if I would still be here without them.”

Hermione paused. “Actually, I wouldn’t be here without them. I’d be dead, probably. But onemountain troll aside, I’d probably be more like you. Spending my time all alonewith my nose in a book, ignoring everyone around me, and forgetting to live.”

She rested her head on his shoulder again. “Harry is likethe brother I’ve never had. And Ron too – though I’ll admit I did fancy him fora while. In a way, I still do. But Ron…I know he tries his best at times, buthe’s a bit too oblivious with people’s feelings. And whether he’s meant it ornot, he’s hurt me one too many times. We’ve both done it to each other, I’lladmit it. I’m not perfect.

“…But Ron doesn’t see the world the way you and I do. Thisplace, magic, it’s all he’s everknown, and there’s so much he takes for granted. His heart, oh it’s so muchbigger than mine, but it’s so hard to talk about things that interest me. He just accepts so much as it is becausea world of magic is all he’s ever known.”

She hugged his arm a little tighter. “I’m attracted to youbecause you’re different. You comefrom the same world I do. I know your life is so much more hectic than mine,but it’s just so refreshing to knowthere’s someone I can talk to about things that interest me. We can talk abouttheories of magic, or bounce essay points off each other, or just study in silence without wondering whensomeone is going to throw their book aside, complain about their work, and tryand start up a game of Gobstones instead.

“We don’t share the exactinterests, but you don’t belittle mine.” She sniffed. “Do you have any ideahow shocked, how surprised I was tofind that you were actually giving Dobbythe extra little socks and hats that I was making that he didn’t find? Harryunderstood – sort of – what I was trying with SPEW. He grew up in a Muggleenvironment too. But everyone else here just accepts things as the way they areand have no intention in making the world better.”

“It was payment for the coffee.”

“Exactly!” she cried, pushing herself off of him andgesturing wildly. “You acknowledge that the house elves are performing aservice and choose to give them something back, not treat them like slaves forthe wizards! That’s what I want – to do some good when this is all over, but Ican’t talk about that, or Arithmancy or…Ancient Runes with anyone – well, YugiI can, and Ryou too, but that’s beside the point now. With Harry and Ron, if itisn’t chess, it’s Quidditch. …I just can’t relate to them like I can with you.”

“Hm.” He said after a few beats of silence, but that was it.

Hermione eyed him curiously. “What, did you think me soshallow that I was just here for your fame?”

There was another odd beat. “I had to be sure.” But judgingby the tone of his voice, that wasn’t really the reason why he had asked.

“Sure of what – that I wasn’t just another obsessedMuggleborn like a third of the school?”

He didn’t really answer her.

Seto sighed. Today was not quite going as planned. Though,after running the gauntlet of nightmares last night, he didn’t plan for a wholelot. He had dreamt of various “bad endings” to bits of his life before, most ofthem resulting in either his or Mokuba’s death by someone’s hands. He was usedto them by now, but it didn’t make seeing them again any less unsettling.

But this was the first that Hermione had wormed her way intothem, alongside the round of villains he had faced in the past. And when hewoke, not long after watching her second death of the evening – that one by theShadow’s clawed hands – it left him visibly shaken. The last vision before theyall seemed to filter away had felt so real that he was certain the Shadow hadactually snuck its way into his head after weeks of staying away. But ithadn’t, and the dream faded away like all the others.

Frowning, Hermione shifted away from him and twisted aroundon the boulder so she could face him properly. “Talk to me, please?” she said, and she didn’t care how desperate thatsounded. “What’s wrong?”

“I…” he began, and then stopped. His words were failing himtoday. “You’d probably be happier with someone else.”

He could see a few different reactions cross her face, butbefore she could say anything, he continued. “I-I’m not an easy person to getalong with. You know that. Dating?I’ve barely worked past friends on the social scale, and even then, there’smaybe only two people I’d lump in there. You think Ron’s heart is an emotionalmess? At least he displays something more than cold indifference on a regularbasis.”

Hermione straightened up, eyes wide. “…Are you saying weshouldn’t be together because you’re…what? Reserved? It can’t bebecause you’re incapable of showing affection because that’s the biggest lieI’ve ever heard. You don’t have to be like Cormac McLaggen or Lavender Brown –snogging someone’s face off every day or showing off that you’ve got a trophydate to be capable of feeling, Seto. You’ve done more by small, special momentsthan so many people have done for me from the past six years.”

Seto raised an eyebrow, looking doubtful.

“Alright, I’ll give you proof,” said Hermione, and talliedoff on her fingers. “Despite usually wanting nothing to do with any of us, youallowed me to sit and study with you both over the summer, and while you jumpedaround from room to room in the castle. Even without saying anything, you’velistened to me vent over just about anything and have not retorted with anysort of judged opinion on ‘that’s just how the world works, Hermione’. You’veallowed me to help you in yourdefensive lessons, and it’s worked….”

“That barelycounts. You were keeping me from murdering a dead spirit – who by all accountsshouldn’t have tried to use you as Shadow Realm bait in the first place.”

“No, Set waslooking out for your best interest. I merely reminded you of how much of anidiot you were being by refusing help when you needed it most.”

He started to retort again but she silenced him with a darklook. “And you’re being one now too, so stop and let me finish.”

“…Despite not wanting anythingto do with Umbridge’s Christmas Ball, you went anyway, and regardless of how you believe it happened, you saved me fromCormac McLaggen and we both had a lovely night on the Astronomy Tower. And youcan’t tell me that the kiss – both ofthem – right outside the portrait hole were just pecks under mistletoe atChristmas. We were both scarlet afterwards.

“You’re a friend who’s given me a voice when I couldn’t findmine, a companion when I didn’t want to be alone, and a means of escape when Ineeded it most. They’re not things you give solely to someone you love, but youdon’t even offer those to anyone else – not even Yugi or Ryou, who you’ve knownlonger than any of us.”

She scooted closer again and took hold of his hand. “I don’twant you to turn into something like Ronor Cormac, and I wouldn’t want us to be like Ron and Lavender. That’s not whowe are. You’re worried about unknowns, because that’s what this relationship isto you. I’ve never been in one either, so this is new to me too. The importantthing is that we be willing to tread through this together.”

Seto hung his head and stared at his hands again. “I’ve been…we’llcall it engrained to believe thatlove – showing emotions – was a signof weakness. If it was something that could be exploited, it would be. I had to close myself off for so long, I don’t think Ican open up – not the way you’d want me to.”

Hermione wrinkled her nose. “What sort of rhetoric is that?”

Seto let out a dark laugh. “Part of Gozaburo’s doctrine. Itwas true though. I’ve had two weaknesses since taking over Kaiba Corp. Thecompany and my brother, and since taking Kaiba Corp, I’ve nearly lost it twice,actually three times, and Mokuba’s faced more traumas on my account than anyten year-old should ever have faced.”

He looked her dead in the eyes. “I can’t let that happen toyou too.”

Hermione’s head tilted to the side as she shook it slightly.“What did I tell you about being an idiot?”

Seto blinked. Well – thatwasn’t the response he was expecting.

“What are you worried over – that someone is going to use meas barter?”

“Look where I ended up at the end of Christmas break!” Setocountered, eyes narrowing, “I know youremember what happened to me during that time. How much worse would it havebeen had Mokuba – or you – gotten involved?Or if they knew about us?”

She threw her hands in the air, exasperated. “Newsflash,Seto, my best friend is Harry Potter. We’re already in a war, and it’s onlygoing to get worse. I’m sure I’ll already have a huge target on my back notjust for being Muggleborn, but for being close to Harry! What’s going to happenafter we graduate Hogwarts next year if the war is still going on? No place isgoing to be safe, but we’re going to keep on fighting.”

“You know whatVoldemort wants. The Shadow throws everything in a lurch. I only narrowly gotaway the last time. It invades my mind like a parasite and I can’t stop it. Setcan’t stop it. The Pharaoh can’teither. What’s to say it won’t take a glimpse through Memory Lane, and thenattack you next to draw me back?”

Hermione shook her head; he truly is just like Harry. “Youcan’t live in fear of the unknown, Seto. Look at you – you plan for everything.Didn’t Yugi once say you had three different back-up plans in your own carddeck?”

The corner of Seto’s lip curled up, ever so slightly. “Five, but who’s counting.”

“Exactly! We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, ornext week, or even ten minutes from now. But we can only plan ahead as best wecan. The notion of Voldemort winning the war frightens me, and knowing whatthis Shadow is capable of terrifies me, but that’s not enough to push me away.I’m not going anywhere.”

Seto sighed.

“I’m not a frail little girl, Seto. I can take care ofmyself,” she said, looking slightly amused now, and leaned up next to him again.“I don’t know why I have to keep telling you that.”

Seto relaxed somewhat. “Maybe I just needed to hear it again.”

Hermione swatted his arm. “For someone with such goodmemory, you seem to forget that a lot.”

“Consider it one of my failings.”

“Mmm,” she muttered and looped her arm back around his.

They sat back, staring out at the calm waters before Hermione spoke up again. “Doyou feel a little better now? About us?”

To her surprise, he chuckled. “I know that if I bring any ofthis up again, you’re going to hex me into the bottom of the Black Lake.”

“Mmm, no. I’m not sharing you with the mermaids. They’re tooclingy.”

“There are mermaids in the Black Lake?” Seto rolled hiseyes. “Why does that not surprise me?”

She giggled. “But in all seriousness, I don’t want you tobottle all this in. I’m here to help. I know old habits are hard to break, butat least promise to try not to pushme away like this again?”

He looked down at her. “I think I can handle that.”

She smiled and raised her head up. Their faces were inchesapart.

“Hem, hem.”

Hermione jumped, startled, and knocked her head right intoSeto with a quiet “oh!”

Seto rubbed at the bridge of his nose as they turned to theside. Professor Umbridge was standing at the base of the boulder, her hands onher hips.

“What are you two doing?”

“Just…enjoying the weather,” said Hermione, “After this lastweek of exams, it’s peaceful to just sit out here in the sun.”

“It was peacefulout here,” Seto muttered.

Hermione punched his arm.

“A concerned student alerted me that you two were leavingschool grounds unattended,” said Umbridge suspiciously, “Have you been here theentire time?”

Hermione blinked. “Yes,” she said, “We haven’t gone near thegates at all.”

“Hm,” said Umbridge. Her voice was laced with doubt. “In anycase, come. Down off that rock before you hurt yourselves up there. We’re goingback to the castle.”

Hermione’s shoulders slumped. “Please, Professor, must we?”

“Absolutely,” said Umbridge with a wicked grin, “Why, Mr.Kaiba has missed enough lessons thisyear. If you stay out any longer in this cold, you’re likely to put him back inthe hospital. And we can’t have that,can we?”

“It’s not that coldout here,” Seto countered. “I’m not about to get sick from sitting in the sun.”

“Regardless, it is a safety concern if you’re missing fortoo long,” said Umbridge, gesturing out towards the lake. “I know you are notin-the-know with everything that goes on in the Ministry, but the creatures inthe Black Lake have been stirring closer to the surface over the past fewyears. You two are right along the water’s edge. We wouldn’t want any of those merpeople or grindylows to drag youdown, now would we?”

“That sounds made up,” Seto said flatly. “Grindylow live atthe bottom of lakes, not near the surface.”

“Not that you would have known, seeing you have been in ourworld for only a few short months, Mr. Kaiba,” said Umbridge hotly, “But therehave been reports of Grindylow dragging children to the bottom of bodies ofwater. Rita Skeeter has done a number of reports about the incidents and thespecies in general.”

“Oh, if Rita Skeeter published it, than it must be true,” Hermione deadpanned, eyerolling.

Umbridge sneered. “Rita Skeeter is a renowned journalist, Miss Granger. Now come along.”

Seto shook his head slightly, but leapt off the boulder,landing easily on his feet. Umbridge turned back and started back up the pathas he helped Hermione down and grabbed their travel mugs.

When she didn’t hear them crunching along behind her,Umbridge looked back. “This way, youtwo. The castle is back this way.”

“We’re finishing our walk,” Seto snapped. “We’re not indanger of the dastardly grindylows anymore,and there’s no rule saying we’re shut inside on the weekends. But if you’re sosure that something is going to jump out of the lake or run out of the forestand attack us, then by all means, come along. I’m sure your expertise indefensive magic will be plenty to ward off the dangerous creatures lurking outof sight.”

And with that, he turned on his heel, looped his arm aroundHermione’s and started off a different path.

“You are going to get yourself detention again if you’re notcareful,” Hermione muttered.

Seto turned his head ever so slightly to peer behind him. “She’salready heading back to the castle, and I’ll bet anything, she’s babblingnonsense and her face is the same shade as a tomato.”

Hermione shook her head. “I swear she’s been watching uslately.”

“You know it was probably McLaggen that tipped her off.”

She shrugged. “Probably. But I think she’s been looking fora reason get back at me from last year.”

“Why?” Seto raised his mug to his lips and took a sip of hiscoffee. “What did you do?”

Hermione cringed. “Well…aside from helping to start Harry’sillegal  defense club? I led her into theforest and nearly got her killed – or at least severely hurt – by Hagrid’s half-brother and a herd of centaurs.”

Seto nearly choked on his drink.

“Oh, sorry!” she said, patting his back until the coughing stopped. “It’s true though.She hates anything that’s considered a half-breed. And we needed to get to theDepartment of Mysteries, so Harry and I led her into the forest.”

Seto snorted. “What, were you hoping something in therewould take her out?”

“Sort of? I was improvising the entire time and –stop laughing!”

Seto recovered himself. “That’s terrible – I love it. Lookat you breaking the rules.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she said.

Seto stopped walking and slowly turned to look at her. “Whatelse have you been holding out on me?”

“I mean,” Hermione shrugged. “I’m friends with Harry. Webroke a hundred school rules almost every year.”

“No no,” Seto shook his head. “Not you as a collective. Whathave you done?”

“Oh.” Hermione thought back as they started walking again,passing across the path leading to the Quidditch Pitch and around towards theWhomping Willow. “I once set Professor Snape’s robes on fire….”

“You didn’t think to do it to Umbridge’s?”

“It was my first year,” said Hermione, “And it was during aQuidditch game. We thought Snape was trying to curse Harry off his broom at thetime.”

“Huh.”

“Thinking back, it’s hard to imagine just how many hijinkswe got up to each year.”

“You’ll have to tell me sometime.” Seto paused and turned tolook back in the direction of the lake. “…Starting with how you know mermaidsare clingy.”

“Oh,” Hermione laughed as they continued onward. “Do you remembermy telling you of the TriWizard Tournament in our fourth year? Well, one of thetasks involved the Black Lake….”

[real-life-pine-tree]

Leo Will Never Know: Getting Stronger (4/?)

In an alternate timeline, Yugi indirectly prevented the events of Arc-V from ever happening. But how could this small change have an impact on a few selected people? A spin-off of the Arc-V Aftermath series. Based on the hilarious comic by @justanotherotakuandartist​. Co-written with @violetganache42​.

Within a few days, Ray had regained enough strength to go on the Domino City field trip. She has been looking forward to it before falling victim to the Society of Light because she gets an opportunity to visit her father and see how he's been doing the past few years. Michael admitted that it felt weird to be heading back to their hometown for a visit, but it was also remarkable to walk in the streets of a city where some important historical dueling events took place involving his idol Yugi Muto. He never forgot those words of advice to stay true to himself and he still cherished that memory to this day.

Ray noticed Michael's happy expression. "What got you smiling?" she asked.

"Before we met, I got to talk to Yugi Muto himself," Michael said. "He encouraged me to follow my heart and stick to my beliefs. He's the reason why I'm sticking to my Dueltainment dreams."

Ray remembered him telling her his dream to be a Dueltainer and was honestly impressed to learn how much he idolizes Yugi and was the reason for his future. She then began to ponder about her own future…again. While recovering in the nurse's office, she kept thinking about her possible dream to be a fashion designer. Her simple modifications to the female jackets led her to becoming an idol around campus and open up her own uniform repair business. Earlier that same week, the non-converted students were devastated to learn about her being manipulated into joining the Society of Light and the aftermath that followed, which explained the service's sudden hiatus, but they were all relieved that she's alright and that she'll be heading back to fixing up clothes in a little while. She didn't mind her abrupt popularity, but she has come to understand their undying respect, loyalty, and admiration for her, regardless of her being fooled into "embracing the light". Her talent for sewing and modifying clothes contributed into the life she was now living and left a positive impact on the dress code, and quite frankly, she was highly content with that. She hoped that her dream will leave an influence in the fashion world when she gets older.

"Michael, if you manage to become a Dueltainer, can I design your costumes?" Ray asked.

"Really?" Michael asked in response.

Ray smiled and nodded. "During my time in Duel Academy, I have become well-known for being a fashion designer. What if that's my true future?"

Michael definitely knew how much Ray was admired for her fashion skills. It would be awesome if she does utilize them to pursue her dream to design and fix clothes. He even imagined what costumes she would make for him to wear for his Dueltaining career.

"Sure," Michael said. "Can't wait to see what costumes you have in mind for my performances."

Ray's face became happy upon hearing those words of support. It was obvious that everyone adored the clothes she made and repaired, so being a fashion designer was officially going to be her future.

Not long after the two's discussion, the Duel Academy students arrived at Domino City. Everyone scattered all over the city; most of them gave themselves tours as they went to locations where important events occurred from Battle City while Sartorius headed towards KaibaCorp to talk to Kaiba about something. As for Michael and Ray, they walked down the streets together, talking about how it felt nice to be back in their hometown. She mentioned how she knows what her dad's hours are, so she'll visit him after he's done working. As usual, knowing the couple, they always unintentionally come across Jaden with his friends; this time, they saw him at the pier with Syrus and Hassleberry, who were both arguing about Yugi's duel against a mind-controlled Joey and—not surprisingly—who is worthy of being Jaden's best friend.

"Have you noticed something is a bit off with that Hassleberry guy?" Michael asked.

"Aside from having dinosaur DNA?" Ray asked.

"Not just that," Michael clarified. "It's how he treats Jaden."

"What about it?" Ray asked.

"He seems a little more chummy towards him," Michael said. "He even calls him 'sarge'."

Ray immediately knew what Michael was talking about. "You don't think...?"

"Probably," Michael guessed. "I never saw him express an interest in girls."

Even if Hassleberry doesn't have a preference for females, Michael and Ray both agreed that he wouldn't be the right fit for Jaden. Maybe it was for the best for him to be just his friend.

Later on, as Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry went to Kame Game Shop, Michael walked by KaibaCorp. As he looked at the building's structure, he reflected on how this gaming company was run by someone who ruined his girlfriend's old life. He was glad that she's moving on from it and looking towards the future. Just then, he heard a growl from Odd-Eyes Dragon, almost like he was eager about something.

Michael took out the card. "What's that, Odd-Eyes?" he asked. "You're sensing someone in there?"

Odd-Eyes growled out "Yes", leading to his owner to head to the window where he was sensing not someone, but rather something. It was a Duel Monsters card, leading to Michael to read its statistics. His name was Starving Venom Fusion Dragon and he was a Level 8 DARK Dragon Monster with 2800 ATK and 2000 DEF, requiring 2 DARK monsters—except Tokens—as Fusion Materials. On the turn he was Fusion Summoned, he can gain ATK equal to a special summoned monster the opponent controls until the End Phase. He can also target a Level 5 or higher opposing monster and obtain its name and effects, but it can only be done once per turn. If he was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, his owner can destroy all special summoned monsters the opponent controls.

"Wow!" Michael exclaimed, impressed. "I never saw a card like that before!"

He heard Odd-Eyes enthusiastically roar, as if he may have found a new dragon to include in his owner's deck. Michael wasn't sure if it was for sale or available in stores, but he did hear him call out to him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Michael turned his head to see where the voice came from and it was none other than Seto Kaiba himself, the same person who was not only Yugi's self-proclaimed rival, but also ruined Leo and Ray's lives. The Obelisk Blue student couldn't believe he was actually meeting him…at first.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba, sir!" Michael exclaimed. "But it felt like that card was calling out to me and-"

"Say no more," Kaiba interrupted. "I want you to come with me."

Come with him? Was there something important going on? Does it involve the Society of Light? Regardless, Michael listened to what Kaiba instructed and followed him.

"A few years ago, I never believed in fate," Kaiba said. "But then certain events occurred that made me realize things happen for a reason and it's not random."

"What are you saying?" Michael asked.

"I'm saying that if you really think that card called out to you, you can have it," Kaiba answered.

Michael was left stupefied but excited at the same time and thanked Kaiba for the offer. He was finally going to get a second dragon in his deck and Odd-Eyes his first dragon friend. "Wow, thanks!" he happily said. "I was actually trying to find another dragon!"

"Don't get too excited," Kaiba informed. "I'm only doing this because Sartorius told me about what happened to your girlfriend. I'm aware that it's my fault she ended up siding with him, but I had to make sure Solid Vision wouldn't cause the holograms to become self-aware. Leo Corporation going bankrupt wasn't my fault. People just happened to become fast fans of Duel Disks."

It was starting to become clear for Michael about why Leo and Ray ended up going broke. It was partially Kaiba's fault, but the general public was to blame for it. The CEO explained that he had to tell him because he feared she wouldn't believe him.

"You do have a good point," Michael said. "Ray has a tendency to be stubborn."

"So think of this card as my way of apologizing to the Akabas," Kaiba said. "After all, if you two are thinking about freeing the other students from the Society of Light, you're going to need a lot more powerful cards."

Michael immediately knew that Kaiba sensed something fishy was going on with Sartorius and the Society of Light after he spoke to the Arcana Force user. He was then informed about how security was keeping an eye on things at Kaiba Land after the CEO gave Sartorius permission to use the theme park.

"By the way, he also mentioned something about missing a card," Kaiba added. "He didn't seem to mind, but do you know anything about that?"

Michael remembered seeing the card a few days earlier when he was looking for Ray. He still had it with him and took it out from his deck. He explained that Arcana Force VI - The Lovers was originally supposed to be used to describe the couple's future together. It was unknowingly dropped and Sartorius used a different card to lure her into the Society of Light and mentally abuse her into becoming "the perfect Duelist".

"Then perhaps you can give that card to her," Kaiba suggested. "Ray might put it to good use."

"You think so?" Michael asked.

"Seems fitting since you're getting a new card," Kaiba explained. "Just don't waste this new power."

After staring at the Arcana card, Michael thanked Kaiba for the assistance. The two walked over to the display case and the latter unlocked it before handing Starving Venom over to the former and reminding him to take care of it. He said that he will and then exited the glass doors, leaving KaibaCorp.

The onion-haired teen ran through the streets to find his girlfriend and saw her near the city center. He then told her what Kaiba said about how the public's vast support of the Duel Disks was what caused Leo Corporation's downfall; she then face-palmed out of realization because she was so stupid to blame someone for her and Leo's poverty. She was reassured of how she had every right to be upset and was reminded on how Action Duels were rejected because Solid Vision with mass could make the monsters sentient and lead to global doomsday, making it Kaiba's fault for his decision, not the bankruptcy. She softly smiled after hearing this, making it a sign that her grudge against the CEO has lightened or maybe even faded away.

Michael then gave Ray a monster card. She asked what it was and he explained that they were given these two powerful cards to help them in their fight against the Society of Light.

"Wait a minute..." Ray said. "This is Sartorius' card!"

"Not anymore," Michael explained. "This was what he initially drew when he apparently read your fortune, but he must have lied in order to get you to join him."

Ray read the given information of Arcana Force VI - The Lovers. It was a Level 4 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster with 1600 ATK and DEF. When it is summoned, she must toss a coin to activate one of its two effects; if it lands on heads, she can treat it as 2 tributes for tribute summoning an Arcana Force monster, but if it's tails, then she can't tribute summon Arcana Force monsters. The effects seemed meaningless to her because she doesn't have that archetype, but Michael interpreted this card as a symbol for what her future was supposed to be: a bright and happy marriage with him.

"You really think so?" Ray asked.

"Of course," Michael answered. "You might have had a rough past, but it looks like fate wants us to be together."

Ray looked at the card again. "This could actually work," she realized. "Hope Dragon Flower's secondary ability allows me to special summon a LIGHT Fairy-Type monster from my deck or hand."

She may have found a new strategy she can use with the dropped card. She also pointed out on the card Michael was holding in his hand and he said Kaiba let him have Starving Venom Fusion Dragon because he felt a connection between them. As a bonus, this also made him Odd-Eyes' first dragon friend.

"Are you sure?" Ray asked.

"Of course," Michael answered. "I can hear him as well. He really likes being in my deck."

If that was the case, then Ray was proud of Michael gaining a new dragon partner. Now their next task was to find useful and powerful cards to battle against the Society of Light, so their best bet was to check out the card and game shops around town. Although they weren't able to assist Jaden and Aster due to their card search, it still didn't change the fact their mission to defeat Sartorius and free the students from his influence was necessary.

Not long after the Domino City field trip, the Genex Tournament was beginning shortly because Chancellor Sheppard was returning to announce it. During his absence, he has been giving various and professional Duelists one Genex Medallion to participate. Shortly after the tournament began, Dr. Crowler had called Michael and Ray into his office to speak with them about something important.

"Thank you for coming," Dr. Crowler said. "I wish for you to handle the professional Duelists who are participating in this tournament."

The two Obelisk Blue students were surprised by this request. "How come?" Michael asked.

"Because they are giving the more inexperienced students a hard time," Dr. Crowler explained. "I feel that it is an unfair disadvantage. I have already asked Damon and Belowski for their help and, as the two best Obelisk Blue students in your class, I wish for you to do the same."

"Thank you, Dr. Crowler," Ray said. "We won't let you down."

The best part is they can try out their new strategies now that they got Starving Venom, The Lovers, and some new cards they bought back at Domino. They were both given the last two Genex Medallions to let people know they're participating: one for Michael and one for Ray. They left the office and went outside to the island to start dueling the professionals. Some of them like Mathmatica and Maitre'D make the students afraid because they wish not to duel them due to how strong they are with their skills, but the couple won't back down from a challenge, even if they are from pro Duelists.

"Well if it isn't the rumored Obelisk students of Duel Academy."

The two students turned around to see a figure standing behind them. They recognized the red suit and the light blue and black striped mask anywhere. It was the legendary and infamous Arkana, who was one of Marik's Rare Hunters hired to defeat Yugi during Battle City and tricked into reuniting with his beloved Catherine. Since that day many years ago, he never forgave his former master for deceiving him like that, but he still has his Dark Magician and is no longer a cheater.

Michael stepped forward. "You're the illusionist Arkana," he said.

"Correct," Arkana said. "The one true Dark Magician user."

Michael smirked at that. "As if," he said. "That title goes to Yugi Muto."

"How would you know?" Arkana asked.

"Do you really think you're the only one who likes magicians?" Michael asked, revealing the magician cards in his deck. "I bet my lovely magicians can beat yours."

"You dare challenge me?" Arkana asked.

"Sure, I could kill some time," Michael answered.

The two activated their Duel Disks to initiate the duel and to see if Arkana's Dark Magician can handle Michael's Magicians and Sorcerers, especially the surprise he has in store for his opponent. While that is going on, Ray wished her boyfriend good luck before heading off to find another pro Duelist to duel against.

"Well what do we have here?"

Ray stopped waking to see the person standing in front of her. It was Rex Raptor and his brown hair with purple-dyed strands on his forehead were a clear giveaway. Ray has heard a lot about him since she was a kid and she knows that he has high dueling morals and plays fair despite his arrogant and tyrannical personality.

"So you're the one with the Hope Dragons," Rex commented.

"Indeed," Ray happily replied. "You want to see them in action?"

"Whaddya think?" Rex asked as he readied his Duel Disk. "I love a good challenge, but don't get too cocky. My dinos have gotten stronger over the past few years."

Naturally, he was one to talk because he was cocky. Ray also prepared her Duel Disk as well as she was about to start Crowler's assignment of dueling the professionals along with Michael. If she was going to be honest, she didn't expect legendary Duelists like Rex and Arkana to show up on the island, but it makes the tournament more fun to take part in.

So far, the couple have been fairing really well as they gained more Genex Medallions by defeating many pro Duelists. They spotted Damon and Belowski, who were both exhausted after dueling for a while, so they picked up the pace and dueled more professionals, including those that were defeated by their classmates and Alexis (since she still showed respect and pride for her Obelisk Blue companions). While they continued to search for any more pro Duelists on the island, they spotted a duel was going on and ran to where Jaden, Aster, and Hassleberry were standing. From what they saw, it was a battle between brothers with Syrus going against Zane, who looked and acted much differently than he normally did.

"Weird..." Michael said. "Was Zane always that cold?"

"Probably," Ray answered. "But Syrus seems...off."

Well, they weren't exactly off. Jaden and Aster overheard their curiosity and filled them in on what was happening. After his defeat at the Pro League, Zane soon became sadistic and disrespectful towards his opponents after his duel with Mad Dog. Syrus doesn't like his brother's new personality, so he decided to duel him to try and reclaim the latter's old persona. He was also "off" because of the shock-amplifying devices they were wearing, which electrocutes the Duelist whenever they lose Life Points; Zane was used to the shocks, but Syrus wasn't. He was using a continuous Trap called Life Force where he can reduce the Battle Damage to 0 at the cost of 400 LP.

Ray was absolutely horrified, her hand immediately reaching up to her neck. Despite her recovery, she could still feel the shocks she received during her time in the Society of Light. Why would Zane do such a thing?

Michael instinctively place his hands on Ray's shoulders to calm her down while reassuring her that it was going to be okay. Jaden and Hassleberry recalled hearing the story of the mental abuse Sartorius gave her while she was regaining her strength.

"Sarge and I heard about what happened," Hassleberry said. "Didn't even known that was goin’ on."

"None of us knew," Michael pointed out. "Sartorius imprisoned her in a room and prevented her from escaping."

"You feelin' alright, Ray?" Jaden asked.

"It still scares me from time to time," Ray answered. "But I think I managed to make a full recovery."

"That's the spirit!" Jaden encouraged, doing his signature pose to get Ray to smile.

Ray always saw Jaden's pose whenever he won a duel against someone up to where she can instantly spot it, even at a far distance. It undoubtedly helped her relax and crack a smile on her face. "Thanks Jaden," she said, knowing how he could still remain so calm and happy during dramatic moments.

The Slifer Red student pointed out that he'll do anything for a friend, a fellow classmate, or a student regardless of rankings. The five Duelists watched from the sidelines as the Truesdales' duel progressed. At one point, Syrus fell onto his knees after getting shocked and draining his LP down to 1600 due to Life Force, with his glasses falling off as well. It was nearly impossible for him to respect his older brother when he's like this, but Zane harshly claimed that there's only enough room for respecting victory, even if it means disrespecting his opponents. Hearing this cruel irony shocked Michael, Ray, Aster, and Hassleberry, but not Jaden.

"Syrus, no!" Jaden exclaimed. "It's not true! Don't listen to him! He's wrong, fight it! And don't forget: Zane isn't himself! You need to remind him about respect! Respect for his cards, respect for his opponent, and respect for himself!"

Syrus stood up and put his glasses back on face before drawing a card, which was revealed to be Power Bond. He wasn't expecting to find it in his deck and looked at Jaden until he realized that his friend went to his dorm room to look for it and shuffled it with the rest of his cards. Michael had to muffle a laugh when that was revealed.

Ray asked what was so funny until she spotted Power Bond and Syrus' comprehended expression. She could've sworn he was afraid of using that card yet the look on Jaden's face said that now was a good time to use it and to help remind Zane about respect.

As Cycroid and the Equip Spell Training Wheels returned to the field, the Vehicroid user used Power Bond to Fusion Summon Pair Cycroid with its ATK doubled to 3200, but was decreased down to 2700 by activating its effect to remove 500 ATK in order to declare a direct attack. Zane activates Power Wall and sent 27 cards to the Graveyard to nullify the attack, resulting in his younger brother to play a face-down. Power Bond's final effect would cause Syrus to take damage equal to Pair Cycroid's original 1600 ATK, but thanks to his face-down Mirror Guard, that damage is redirected to Zane, who activated Fusion Guard to cancel the effect by sending one Fusion monster to the Graveyard.

Once the Cyberdark user drew a card to start his turn, he used Warp Bean to reduce Cyberdarks Horn and Keel from 2800 to 800 ATK by sending Infernal and Exploder Dragons to the Graveyard and removed 200 more ATK on both monsters to attack his opponent directly. Life Force was activated twice, bringing Syrus' LP down to 800, and he used it a third time after Cyberdark Edge attacked directly through halving the Battle Damage, lowering it down to 400. Zane activated his face-down Rebirth Judgement to declare all monsters in both Graveyards as Dragon Type; he then used Instant Fusion to Fusion Summon Cyberdark Dragon by using Horn, Edge, and Keel as Fusion Materials. By using Cyber End Dragon's first effect to equip itself onto the special summoned monster, the ATK ricocheted from 1000 to 5000, and because there were 38 cards in his Graveyard, Cyberdark Dragon's third effect gives it an ATK for every discarded card x 100, making its total ATK 8800.

Zane targeted Pair Cycroid, but Syrus played Emergency Provisions to give himself an extra 1000 LP by discarding Mirror Guard and activated Life Force again to reduce the damage to 0 by costing 400 LP, bringing it down to 1000. He thought he won because that meant there were no cards left for his older brother to draw, but in an unexpected twist, De-Fusion was used and Cyberdarks Horn, Edge, and Keel were on the fields with 800 ATK each. They all dealt a direct attack to deal 2400 damage to him, causing the devices to electrocute him once more as his LP dropped down to 0 and he collapsed onto the ground as a result. Aster was left speechless at the duel's outcome while Michael and Ray were terrified; Hassleberry shouted out to Zane as he walked away while Jaden ran towards Syrus to see if he was okay, only to see his friend pass out. It was clear he needed to be taken to Nurse Fontaine's office right now.

"I don't know what's worse," Michael said as Ray was panicking due to the duel still reminding her of Sartorius' abuse. "The Society of Light or a deranged version of Zane."

Already knowing Ray was in a state of panic, Michael hugged her as much as she could to help regain her senses. Just witnessing the duel led her to become so terrified that she stated she might not be feeling well. This was a sign of her suffering from PTSD, and the shock-amplifying devices sending electricity to the Duelists were the triggers.

Michael started stroking his girlfriend's hair. "I see you hiding all alone," he started singing. "Crying oh so softly. Eyes looking down, feeling low." He started speaking normally. "Come on, RayRay. You love this song."

The song he was singing was the song "99%" by BOWL. He wanted to sing this to remind that despite the struggles she's been suffering, there will always be someone to help her through life's hardships.

"Rethinking all those memories," Michael continued singing, now having to separate from the hug to try to get her to dance with him. "Sadness comes across you and casts a frown. But things are more than they seem."

A small smile started to appear on Ray's face. "When darkness turns to daybreak," Michael sang. "Go out and seek for your sake. The people of this world may share with you your pain. But when a wall surrounds them, discourages and drowns them, they get up. So why don't you do the same?" As he sang that last part, the onion-haired teen booped his girlfriend's nose.

There was no point in resisting as Ray gave in and started dancing to the song. Michael may be dorky sometimes, but she was glad that he was her dork and she didn't want anything about that to change.

Ultimately Michael stopped singing and the two embraced in a sweet hug. "Thanks, you big dork," Ray said.

"Don't mention it, sweet princess," Michael replied.

For the rest of the school year, they continued participating in the Genex Tournament. They eventually lost all their Genex Medallions to non-Society students, but that moment meant they were now officially ready to take on the Society of Light. They joined Chazz—who wanted to make amends for his actions during his time at said organization—and a group of Obelisk Blue students as they freed most of them from the Society's grip while the dark-haired teen now possessed their Medallions. Ray felt this was an interesting way to take out her grudge against Sartorius, who was now under complete control by the Light of Destruction and dueling Jaden with the fate of the world at stake.

Just as Chazz was getting ready to declare himself the winner of the tournament, a disguised Blair Flannigan showed up who wanted to win this tournament and get into Slifer Red. Even though she soon lost and her opponent was officially the Genex Tournament Champion, she was still able to be accepted into Duel Academy as a Slifer Red student. It was also good timing too because Jaden defeated the Light of Destruction, freeing Sartorius from its control and disbanding the Society of Light for good.

[accidemia]

ygo drabble series, 9

peachshipping (yugi/anzu).

summary: yugi is actually a messy eater, and anzu gets sick of cleaning up after him when a long day at the studio strikes. happens when they’re both a little older, about 20ish.

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normally, anzu found yugi’s tendency to leave sauce on his mouth while eating virtually anything endearing.

after having to work an extra lesson at her ballet studio because of one of her students being tardy again, however? not so much. the student’s parent had been incredibly rude compared to those of the student she had in america (to most everyone’s surprise), and her residual anger spat quickly underneath the surface of her skin. as she stomped into the entrance to her and yugi’s apartment at about 12 am, she was boiling mad, her hands dusted lightly with the rosin from her shoes and the practice room floor.

so, when she saw jounouchi and her soon-to-be husband sitting on the couch across from the new TV yugi had bought with his latest game sale revenue, immediately she felt the helpless need to yell. momentarily, she took pleasure in shooting jounouchi a venomous look, and he quickly said goodbye to yugi before bundling past her with little more than a pat on the shoulder.

when yugi looked up at her with ketchup on his face, however, it was too late for her to do anything about the words set to hiss out of her mouth.

“mutou yugi, what is this absolute pigsty of a room that i am seeing right now? you are not a teenager, you’re not honda, and you’re definitely not damn jounouchi. the state of this room is despicable, so clean it up now before i come over there and rip you a new one.”

to her frustration, all yugi did was clean his mouth before he continued to look at her. he had grown into his body more, looking like the pharaoh who shared his body all those years ago, but the softness of his jaw and the fact that he still only stood over her by a few centimeters made it impossible to conflate the two (as she had once done, which was one of the biggest mistakes she had ever made). her frustration won out over the calming effect of her fiance’s aura, and she cast her bag and keys down onto the floor before marching over to grab a spare paper sack and clean it up herself.

she cursed men in a low mumble as she picked up the wrappers and straw papers, nearly completing her entire task before feeling the bag taken from her hands. yugi shifted behind her, and he picked up the ten remaining papers with his slightly larger hands in what seemed like an instant before he rolled the sack down and deposited it in the trash can nearby.

anzu drew in a breath, trying to force her tendency to rant down, only to feel her body pulled against yugi’s in a hug. it took her a moment to register the firm press of his muscled front against her softer abdomen, but she felt her annoyance dissipate gradually as she did so. a sudden sense of guilt rose in her as she realized his perspective. he had been having a fun night with jounouchi when his fiance, for no reason, had suddenly dismissed one of her closest friends coldly and began to yell at him for something as insignificant as a small pile of hamburger wrappers and fry boxes.

she looked up to see yugi’s face, slightly wrinkled in concern, before she remembered the question he had asked her at the beginning:

“anzu, what’s wrong?”

if it was possible, she felt like even more of a fool in that very moment, and she looked down in shame.

“i’m just angry at this kid from the ballet studio. she showed up an hour late, and her parents demanded that i stay and help her rather than her waiting until her next appointment two weeks from now.”

to his credit, yugi gave an understanding noise. “i can see why you would be angry about that. if i had to manage a dueling student who was like that, kaiba would write them up immediately. it was very kind of you to stay and help them.”

“i’m sorry, yugi. i’m not mad at you, and i shouldn’t have yelled. it was my fault for overextending myself, and--”

she found her lips occupied by a commanding yet soft kiss, which tasted faintly of burger world, and anzu smiled into it as she allowed yugi to dispel the last vestiges of her negative thoughts. despite her occasional anger at yugi for the small things, their history together always won out; that was the beauty in them, she thought.