[Mash POV]
A few hours later.
Jaden walked into the dorm, towel around his neck, fresh out of the shower and visibly relaxed.
"Hey, the bathroom's free after that god-awful line, maybe you guys should—" he began, only to instinctively duck as a book flew right past his head. "Whoa! What the-?!"
What greeted him was pure chaos as me and Chumley locked in a full-on dorm-room war, tossing anything within reach.
"Using traps like that is such a cowardly move!" Chumley yelled, flinging another book. Mash sidestepped it with ease.
"Says the fatass who can't last three turns! Maybe that's why you had to repeat a year!" I shouted back, whipping a pillow straight into his face.
Chumley yanked the pillow off with a furious glare. "Shut up! Anyone who simps over a card image has no right to lecture me!"
Without hesitation, I snatched the book he threw earlier, cocking my arm back with intent. "Fatass!"
Chumley mirrored me, gripping the pillow tight, ready to launch. "Simp!"
"Eat this!" we both shouted in unison, hurling our chosen weapons at full force, only for a familiar Kuriboh to poof into existence right in the middle of the crossfire. It was none other than Jaden of course.
"Stop-" Jaden tried, but got face-smacked by the pillow and then clobbered in the back of the skull by the book's corner.
Chumley and I froze instantly in horror as the pillow slowly slid off Jaden's face, revealing his clearly pissed-off expression. He glared daggers at both of us.
The awkward silence stretched until Chumley pointed a finger at me. "It's his fault! His deck is cancer!"
I snapped back instantly. "Not my fault you can't handle losing, because that's just skill issue!"
"Shut it, Simp!"
"You too, Fatass!"
The shouting match reignited like gasoline on fire, the two of us trading insults while Jaden just kept looking between us, his head swinging like a referee trying to keep up with a particularly stupid tennis match. Until...
2 minutes later.
Chumley lay facedown on the top bunk, a huge swollen lump throbbing at the back of his skull. I was planted on the floor, nursing my own equally massive bump, courtesy of Jaden's fist of justice.
I glanced up to meet his gaze. He stood over me, arms crossed, expression unamused as he slowly shook his head. "That's so not cool, man. And you too, Chumley."
All I could do was lower my head in shame, guilt settling in like a weight and from above, I heard a low, pained growl.
Jaden glanced around the dorm, brow furrowed. "Hey, where is Syrus?"
Chumley flopped back on his bed with a lazy grunt. "Syrus? Oh, he's gonzo. Said he was heading out for some fresh air."
"BZZT! Wrong," I interrupted with a smirk, waving a piece of letter with a kiss mark in the middle of it in front of Jaden. "Syrus didn't just go out for some fresh air. He went out because of this."
Jaden leaned in, squinting. "Is that a love letter? What's that got to do with Syrus?"
"Well, you see, Jay..." I began, holding the letter dramatically. "Me and Syrus both got one of these at our locker after PE class."
Jaden blinked. "are you bragging right now that some girl hit on both you and Syrus, dude?"
"Just listen first, Jay!" I snapped. "Yeah, it looks like a love letter and yeah, the inside reads like one too but it's actually a trap! A setup! And Crowler's behind it, 100%."
Jaden eyes widened. "No way..."
"Oh, but there's more!" I continued, voice dropping like I was revealing a dark conspiracy. "At the end of the letter, after all the cringe gushy crap, it says to meet her at the Obelisk Girls' Dorm... Tonight!"
His jaw dropped. "That means...! Syrus is in trouble!"
He spun on his heel, already bolting for the door, only for me to grab his wrist, stopping him cold.
"Mash! What on earth are you doing?! Let go!" he barked.
"Look, I know you're worried about him," I said, holding firm. "But running in there like that is exactly what the Pot of Greed wants. You'd be stepping right into his trap and walking yourself straight into expulsion!"
"Then what should I do?!" he shouted. "Just let Syrus go and get himself expelled?!"
I let go of his wrist and took a breath. "Look. You trust me, right, Jay? You trusted me just now, when I told you all this without a proof. I can explain everything later, but right now I'm asking you to trust me one more time."
He stared at me, lips pressed into a thin line. "...Alright. Then what?"
"Don't do anything. For now. Just wait it out. Syrus will be fine."
He narrowed his eyes. "...And why's that?"
I gave him the most serious look I could muster. "Didn't I just say to trust me? Just this once, trust me fully without question, okay?"
We locked eyes. I could feel my heartbeat quicken, the nerves creeping in the longer he stared at me in silence.
Then, he finally cracked a small grin.
"Alright! I'll trust you, dude. I know you wouldn't put Syrus in danger or have any ill intent for him. You're right, he'll probably be fine. He won't get into trouble, right?"
"Well..." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "He might get into a little trouble. But it's the kind of trouble we can handle."
"...We?" he echoed.
I shrugged. "Look man, I already told you to trust me, alright?"
Jaden chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah. But you're being way too vague about it! Still... since I've already made up my mind, I'll humor ya."
I held up a fist with a grin. "Thanks, man. Appreciate it."
He fist-bumped me back with that signature Jaden smirk. "No problem! Sooo, since we're just sitting around waiting... how about a game?"
My eyes lit up. "Like dueling? I'm always up for a duel if you-"
"No," He cut in flatly.
I blinked. "...Okay, damn."[That was... unexpected. Wasn't he supposed to usually get excited the moment someone challenged him to a duel??]
[Also, for those of you who didn't watch the anime, if you're wondering why I let Syrus go to the girls' dorm despite the fact that getting caught there means expulsion, don't worry. Syrus ran into Alexis and her two friends. And instead of reporting him, Alexis decided to use him as bait to lure Jaden in for a duel. So yeah, Syrus is fine. Probably.]
[As for Crowler? The Mofo got so caught off guard when it wasn't Jaden who showed up, some random girls spotted him instantly. He barely escaped by diving straight into the sea.]
"So," I asked, turning back to Jaden. "What game are we playing?"
Jaden grinned and dashed over to his bag, rummaging through it like a kid on Christmas morning. "We're playing this!"
He pulled out a handheld console that looked suspiciously like a 3Ds. "Syrus has another one in his bag. We usually play a fighting game on these. Here!" He grabbed Syrus's bag, found the second one, and tossed it to me.
I caught it midair, eyes lighting up as I examined the device. [Whoa... I thought Duel Monsters was the only source of entertainment in this world. Who made this thing?]
I flipped it over and spotted a big, bold logo of Kaibacorp and also the name of the handheld across the back. Its a goddamn 'Kaiba Ds'
[Of course it's Kaiba... That guy probably controls every entertainment company in the world with just his finger tips.]
I smirked. "Alright then, Jaden. Let's play!"
10 minutes later
Jaden and I were glued to the screen, hammering buttons as we battled it out in a fighting game to kill time.
"Hey! No fair!" Jaden whined, leaning closer to the screen. "Why do you keep spamming that damn fireball from the edge of the screen?! Be a man and come at me!"
"Maybe because I'm playing a zoner, Jay!" I shot back, not missing a beat. "Zoning your ass from across the screen is how you play a zoner! And for the record, this is my first time playing this game! Don't you think I'm pretty damn talented at it?"
[Actually, this game is just straight-up Street Fighter with different models, and I'm wrecking him using Fire-type Guile. Unfortunately for Jaden, I main Guile.]
Then Jaden's PDA buzzed loudly from the table, its screen lighting up with an incoming notification.
"Hey, Jay. Your PDA's ringing," I said, not taking my eyes off the match.
He glanced over at it and the moment he did, I smirked mischievously.
"Anyway... here's a super."
His eyes snapped back to the screen, too slow. My character unleashed a flaming combo that lit his health bar up like a plane on 9/11.
"Aw man, that's so cheesy, dude!" he groaned.
I stuck my tongue out, smug. "That's payback for earlier."
Jaden crossed his arms, still a bit salty about the lost. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, what's this all about?"
He grabbed his PDA and tapped the notification. It opened up a voice message—one from Syrus.
We both leaned in as the message played.
Voice Message:"We have your roommate, Syrus. If you want him back, come to the girls' dorm. And bring Mash with you."
The message ended with an ominous silence.
Then "ding!" A sharp sound rang in my head. My Master Duel System window popped up in front of me, and the Mission Tab opened up.
{Missions:
- Survive all 4 seasons of GX: 0/4
reward: 100.000 credits
- [NEW MISSION] Help Jaden save Syrus!: INCOMPLETE
reward: 2000 credits
- [SECRET MISSION] Duel againts Jaden and won: COMPLETE
reward: 500 credits
- [SECRET MISSION] Duel againts Jaden 5 times and won: COMPLETE
reward: 1000 credits
- [SECRET MISSION] Duel againts Jaden 10 times and won: COMPLETE
reward: 1500 credits
[CLAIM ALL]more mission are coming soon!}
The word excited doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. [Just from dueling Jaden 10 times, I racked up enough credits to pull 30 packs. And now this new mission? That's another 30 packs! That's 50 pulls total!] I was practically buzzing. I could already see my UR materials go above 300!
"Hey, Mash!" Jaden called out, snapping me back to reality.
"Ohh! What's up?" I blinked, shaking off the daze.
He gave me a suspicious look. "Jeez... What were you daydreaming about just now? You're not thinking about the girl from the love letter, are you?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please. If she was anywhere near as elegant, beautiful, and downright gorgeous as my Lovely Labrynth, I'd instantly marry her. Unfortunately, there's no one in this school who even comes close."
Jaden chuckled. " let's go drag Syrus outta whatever mess he wandered into."
I stretched my arms and cracked my knuckles and nodded confidently. "Let's roll."
Jaden and I stormed out of our dorm and made a beeline for the docks near Slifer Red dorm. Jaden hopped into one of the old rowing boats while I casually went to grab the paddles.
I handed him both. "Alright, Jaden! Let's move out!"
He blinked. "...You're not gonna help me row?"
I held up my hands with a shrug. "With these flimsy twigs? It'd probably go faster if you just did it solo."
He gave me a long side eye, sighed dramatically, and started rowing anyway. After a few minutes, the dock near the Obelisk Girls' Dorm came into view and so did four figures illuminated faintly under the moonlight.
Three girls stood in their Obelisk Blue uniforms. One had long blonde hair it's Alexis. The second had short brown hair that's Jasmine. The third with a short black bob is Mindy. And of course, there was Syrus, the poor bastard, his hand tied up in ropes like some low-budget damsel in distress. Glasses crooked, blue bushy hair all frizzed up, looking one nervous twitch away from passing out.
As soon as we pulled up to the dock, I let out a sharp whistle. " *Whistle* Damn, Syrus! Didn't think you were into bondage. Three girls, too, lucky you."
"Knock it off, Mash," Jaden muttered, shaking his head. He looked up at Syrus. "Alright, Sy. Mind explaining how this happened?"
Syrus slumped his shoulders miserably. "Well... to make a long story short, I'm basically just a big loser."
Jasmine crossed her arms, eyes narrowed with irritation. "How about I shorten that story even more? Your little friend here was trespassing in our dorm."
Jaden turned to me, deadpan. "Huh. Guess you were right, Mash."
"Hey! Wait a sec, it's not like that!" Syrus protested frantically. "I came here because-"
"Because of this, right?" I cut in, waving the love letter dramatically for all of them to see. Syrus and the three girls gasped simultaneously.
Music to my ears.
Syrus's eyes widened in disbelief. "Mash?! You got one too? Then why didn't you also come?"
I smirked, shaking my head wisely. "Well, you see, Sy. The difference between you and me, is you fell for the bait. I saw the hook from a mile away."
Syrus deflated even further, clearly about to cry from embarrassment.
I looked back toward the girls. "Oh yeah, by the way, one of you named Jasmine?"
The brown-haired girl stepped forward cautiously. "Yeah. That's me."
I pointed at the letter. "Then this must be from you. Says right here, 'From: Jasmine'."
Jasmine's cheeks turned bright red, and she waved her hands frantically. "W-what!? No! I didn't write that letter!"
"Doesn't matter," I shrugged nonchalantly. "Still curious though, you single?"
Her face grew even redder, heartbeat clearly quickening. "I-I... Y-yeah, I'm single... Why?"
I smiled. "Good. Stay that way."
Jasmine stood frozen in shock for a second before pure rage took over. "I'M GOING TO DROWN YOU IN THE DAMN OCEAN!!" she screamed, lunging forward, only held back by Mindy desperately grabbing her arms.
"Whoa, Jasmine! Chill out!" Mindy pleaded.
"LET GO, MINDY! HE'S GOING SIX FEET UNDER TONIGHT!"
Jaden doubled over, clutching his stomach and laughing hysterically. "Mash, man! I didn't know you were aiming to become king of the clowns, too!"
I shot Jaden an annoyed glare, but before I could retaliate, Alexis's voice sharply interrupted. "Enough of this nonsense! The moment you two stepped foot here, you're technically trespassing too. Just like Syrus. We could easily report you three and get you expelled."
Jaden and I immediately fell silent, staring tensely at Alexis.
[Uhm... We're still in the boat]
"YEAH! Let's get 'em expelled NOW!" Jasmine shouted from Mindy's tight grip.
Mindy rolled her eyes. "Jasmine... didn't we agree to stick to Alexis's plan?"
Jaden blinked. "...Alexis plan?"
Alexis stepped forward confidently, crossing her arms with a challenging smirk. "That's right. You boys want to avoid expulsion? Then you'll have to beat me and my friend here, in a two-versus-two tag duel!"
Jaden, Syrus, and I gasped simultaneously, eyes wide at the challenge.
"Well? How about it?" Alexis grinned triumphantly. "Ready to duel, Jaden, Mash?"
For a few tense seconds, none of us said a word. The wind blew. The waves splashed softly against the dock. But inside me?
[Oh, HELL yes! I'm more than ready for this! Let's go, Jaden! Time to teach these 2004 deck boomers what a couple of guys packing some modern cards are capable of!]
My fists clenched with excitement, my brain already cycling through many traps that'll make this girls cry
Then, outta nowhere... I caught Syrus letting out a sigh. Not a scared one. A relieved one. The girls also noticed his sudden shift in demeanor, clearly surprised.
[Huh? Syrus... Why do you suddenly look so relieved? Aren't you supposed to be freaking out right now? If I remember from the anime on this episode.]
Just as I was about to question him, Jaden suddenly raised his hand awkwardly, looking hesitant. "Uh… sorry if this sounds rude," he said, giving the girls a kind of sheepish look. "But... are you sure you wanna tag duel against me and Mash?"
I snapped my head toward him like he'd just committed blasphemy.
[JADEN. WHAT!?]
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Hey guys! Author here! and its a new chapter yeeeeeeyyyyy!
AND I HATE IT!
In all honesty, i dont like writing this chapter as im not satisfied about it and after hours of thoughts and today deadline, i just decided to publish it. Though i hope you readers enjoy reading through this mediocre of a chapter, and i know i didnt. anyway, chiao!
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