"Thanks, You Ye!"
On the stage, Blade Skater's arm blades sliced the Gate Guardian in two, draining the Labyrinth Brothers' Life Points to zero and securing the win for Judai and Sho. Meanwhile, in the audience, Ryo—Sho's older brother—had been watching from the start, and now came over to You Ye's side to thank him on Sho's behalf.
Though tutoring was a breeze for someone like You Ye—just a minor favor— for Sho, it had been a life-changing experience! As Sho's older brother, Ryo naturally came to express his gratitude. Even if they were friends, basic courtesy still mattered.
"It's nothing! I'm just lazing around the academy most days anyway. Helping your brother through this was mostly because of you."
The two were old friends, so there was no need for formalities.
"Yeah."
Knowing You Ye's personality well, Ryo didn't say much more. He simply took the favor to heart, vowing that if You Ye ever needed help in the future, he'd do everything he could.
However, what You Ye said next instantly wiped away all of Ryo's gratitude.
"Of course, if you're grateful, how about lending me your adorable Cyber Dragons again for a few more days? Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I last saw them."
Ryo: "…"
This guy… he's still eyeing my deck.
Speechless, Ryo's face returned to its usual poker-faced coldness. Without saying another word, he turned and walked off, heading back to his dorm to secure his deck.
"Hey! Don't go! If a few days don't work, how about just one day? One hour? Hey—!"
No matter how loudly You Ye called after him, Ryo never once paused his steps. He chose selective hearing and remained firmly determined to return to his dorm.
—Meanwhile, on the other side—
"Judai Yuki, Sho Marufuji—your victory exempts you from expulsion!"
As principal, Chancellor Sheppard was thrilled that the two had defeated legendary duelists like the Labyrinth Brothers. Not only did this save them from the threat of expulsion, but it also gave him great bragging rights the next time he visited another Duel Academy.
Upon hearing the principal's words, Judai and Sho high-fived each other in celebration—their week of hard work had finally paid off!
"That was an awesome duel!"
After the high five, Judai instinctively blurted out his usual post-victory catchphrase. But that one sentence immediately earned him a new punishment—
"Oh~? You're still so full of energy after the duel?"
Noticing Judai didn't look tired at all, Chancellor Sheppard was a bit surprised, then smiled and said:
"Alright! Since you're so energetic, I'll assign you some homework as your principal."
"Huh? Homework?!"
"Yep. Even though your win saved you from expulsion, you still broke the rules by entering a restricted area, remember?"
"So, I've decided you both will write thirty reports—on duel strategies or your reflections on duels."
Judai & Sho: "..."
Staring at the principal smiling as he said all this, the two boys felt like he had transformed into a demon from hell—one that tortured them while smiling.
"I agree with this completely."
Suddenly showing up from who-knows-where, You Ye raised his hand to show support for Sheppard's homework decision.
"This is for your good—to help you learn a lesson. Otherwise, you'll just end up wandering into restricted areas again!"
"Some mistakes you can get away with once or twice, but not three times. Next time, you might not get off with just a duel. You could be expelled—without hesitation!"
"Mhm~ mhm~"
Principal Sheppard nodded with his trademark smiling face.
"Well then, I'll leave the rest to you, Daitokuji, as head of Osiris Red Dorm."
"No problem! Leave it to me, Principal!"
Cradling his Pharaoh cat, Professor Daitokuji was just as smiley and closed-eyed as the principal.
"Thirty reports… this is outrageous!!!"
Once the others left, Judai could no longer hold it in. He jumped around on the spot in anguish.
—Scene Transition—
School life carried on, and recently, Judai had been spending every spare moment either sleeping or working on the duel reports Chancellor Sheppard assigned.
And so, amid this routine, came this day…
"Hey~! Somebody come to give me a massage already!"
Manjoume Jun, the ace of the Obelisk Blue boys' dorm, was as arrogant as ever. Legs crossed, arms draped over the backs of the seats, he shouted out a bossy order to his underclassmen—or rather, his fellow Blue Dorm residents.
"That Manjoume guy… has he gone crazy or something?"
"Told you! He's never seen us as equals from the start!"
"A massage? Who does he think he is, some kind of yakuza boss? Hahahaha!"
"..."
During the wait, what drifted into Manjoume's ears wasn't so much quiet whispering as it was loud, conspiratorial chatter. When he looked up toward the source of the noise, he saw three boys from the same Obelisk Blue dorm standing with their backs to him.
"Manjoume, you still dare to sit here?!"
At that moment, another boy from the same dorm strode up to Manjoume with his arms crossed, wearing a smug, mocking expression.
"Take a good look. Your name's already been removed from this seat!"
"Nani?!"
Thinking the other was talking nonsense, Manjoume looked down at the top right corner of the desk he always used, where the student's name and ID number were normally displayed.
"It's gone? How is it gone?! Why is my seat now marked 'Vacant'?!"
His name, student number, everything was gone. All that was left was a label stuck on in bold black characters: "Vacant."
"Manjoume-kun!"
At that moment, Professor Chronos, the instructor for this class, entered from the main door. The moment he saw Manjoume shouting, he immediately understood the reason and wasted no time stating bluntly why the seat had been reassigned:
"As an elite student of the Obelisk Blue dorm, you lost to Judai—an Osiris Red slacker!"
The duel they had on the second night after enrollment, at the newly built duel arena, had been reported to Professor Chronos by a tattletale.
And more recently, Manjoume's rematch with Judai had also reached his ears.
If it weren't for Judai's current hot streak, Professor Chronos would've punished both of them!
"If you still want to remain in Obelisk Blue, then in tomorrow's 'Dorm Swap Duel,' you'd better defeat the top student of Ra Yellow—Daichi Misawa!"
——Scene Break——
That evening, in his private dorm room:
"Onii-sama Nagatsuku! Onii-sama Masashi!"
Manjoume was currently video chatting via a TV screen with his two older brothers.
Nagatsuku, the eldest, who sported a short goatee and two upward-swept tufts of hair at the back of his head, wore a stern expression as he stared at Manjoume through the screen:
"Jun! Let's not even talk about me. Your second brother, Masashi, is extremely busy working at the bank and hardly has time to stay in touch."
Right after he spoke, the second brother Masashi—who looked to be in his twenties and was no less strict than the eldest—spoke up:
"Your grades are obviously at the top, right, Jun?!"
Without giving Manjoume a chance to reply, Masashi continued:
"Big brothers in politics. I'm in finance. And you, as the youngest, should be the one to reign supreme in the currently world-dominating Duel Monsters scene!"
"Only that way can the Manjoume family's plan to conquer the world be realized!"
Then came more talk about the "family mission," how the "future rests on your shoulders," and encouragement that sounded more like non-negotiable orders.
Manjoume: "..."
Speechless, he waited in silence for his two brothers to hang up the call, only then did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
The Manjoume family's future...? How is that more important than the fact that I'm about to get downgraded?!
——Scene Break——
At the academy's small pier by the lighthouse, used for boat docking:
"Without these cards, what will I even duel with?!"
Muttering to himself, Manjoume, without the slightest hesitation, threw his entire 40-card deck into the seawater before him.
"You think you can demote me to the likes of the Ra Yellow dorm?! Let me tell you—Dream on! No way! Never happening!"
Shouting furiously to vent, he only turned to head back to the dorm after he'd let out most of the frustration. He clapped the dust from his hands and prepared to go back to sleep.
But after only a few steps, a voice echoed through the lonely little dock in the pre-dawn fog. The eerie, cold tone perfectly matched the setting—deserted except for him.
"Yo! Didn't think you'd be out here too, can't sleep either? Wanna team up and hang out?"
That familiar voice… and that red cap, even faintly visible through the morning mist…
Eyes wide, Manjoume stared as the figure emerged from the shadows of the lighthouse and walked toward him.
"Man! Jou! Me! Kuuuun! A-ha~"
As the speaker came close enough to be seen clearly, he revealed what he thought was a friendly smile.
But in Manjoume's eyes… it looked like the gaze of a demon from the depths of hell.