The next day, everyone went about their business as usual. Pine, Haruko and Helena all managed to make a full recovery without the involvement of the school faculty, which handily avoided landing any of the students out past curfew that night in hot water.

None of the other students at school seem to acknowledge the blinding pillar of light or supernatural weather phenomena of last night, though it was completely gone by daybreak, after all. As the school day came to a close, Haruko came up to each of the students who were there for her rescue, one by one, to thank them, offering each of them a gift.

"I want to give you this, for helping me through... last night. Just take it. If you don't, I'll get angry."

[@Crimson Flame][@Darkmoon Angel][@Eviledd1984][@King Cosmos][@Psyker Landshark]

Cassandra, Helena, Leo, Mina, Pine and Valerie can each edit their deck to include one of the following choices:

[list]
[*]Up to three copies of [url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Call_of_the_Haunted]Call of the Haunted[/url]
[*]Up to three copies of [url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Haunted_Shrine]Haunted Shrine[/url]
[*]Up to three copies of [url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spiritualism]Spiritualism[/url]
[*]Up to three copies of both [url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Mischief_of_the_Yokai]Mischief of the Yokai[/url] and [url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Possessed_Dark_Soul]Possessed Dark Soul[/url]
[*]One copy of any card from [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/189111-yu-gi-oh-gx-next-gen/char#post-5397239]Haruko's deck[/url]
[*]One copy of any of the following:[list][*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Dark_Dust_Spirit]Dark Dust Spirit[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Extra-Foolish_Burial]Extra-Foolish Burial[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ghost_Mourner_%26_Moonlit_Chill]Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ghost_Reaper_%26_Winter_Cherries]Ghost Reaper & Winter Cherries[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Ghost_Sister_%26_Spooky_Dogwood]Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi]Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Plaguespreader_Zombie]Plaguespreader Zombie[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spirit_Reaper]Spirit Reaper[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Yamata_Dragon]Yamata Dragon[/url]
[*][url=https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Yata-Garasu]Yata-Garasu[/url]
[/list][/list]
[hr]
[u][b]Kaison, Haruko, and Melony[/b][/u]
Things had gotten awkward between Kaison and Pine. He'd quietly left a game key on Pine's laptop last night, after putting a bandaid over the bruise from Pine's seed cannon. He confirmed Pine was okay the next day, though he didn't have the nerve to broach the things Pine had said while possessed, and decided to go to school early. He seemed to assume he had thought Haruko ruined his date, though he didn't even think of the possibility. He didn't like thinking of that night at all, in fact, because of how embarrassing he acted in front of his girlfriend. That he was taking responsibility for it was... upsetting, to say the least.

That it was because he was apparently interested in Kaison was... what's the word... overwhelming? Surprising? Awkward?

He'd never really given much though to relationships to begin with, much less sexuality, and luckily he doesn't have to start now. He's already in a relationship with Melony, and she's been nothing but cool, so while he feels bad for Pine, he isn't about to dump her to make him feel better.

Still, his words weighed heavily on his mind all day, so when Haruko came by to give him a card in front of the school as thanks, he decided he needed to grill her for information.

"I'm not sure how much you remember last night, but Pine admitted to ruining my date."

She looked relieved for some reason. "Oh? That's good." A look of realization dawned on her soon after, and she scrambled to correct herself. "I-I mean, it's good he told the t-truth, not good that your date was ruined! Honesty is the best policy, I a-always say. I'm not just saying it's good because I'm selfish. Hahahahahahaha..." She laughs awkwardly, for a little too long, in a way that is a little too stilted and forced.

"Yeah, about that. I didn't know what happened that night, and I didn't do much asking."

"O-oh?"

"Yeah. I know you were outside that night, if I remember correctly, but I don't know why he and you assume I thought you had ruined my date."

"M-me? W-when d-did I-"

"Just now, you said you weren't saying it's good because you were selfish."

"T-that's... u-um..."

"And another thing, what were you doing out that late yesterday, anyway?"

"O-oh... that... I was... uh... trying... something..." Haruko looks likes she's trying to fold in on herself and disappear.

"Please, tell me about it. I want to know."

"I w-was... uh..."

"Yes?"

"L-laying a curse..."

Kaison blinked. That hadn't been what he was expecting at all. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't more supernatural shit. "A... curse?"

"Y-yes."

Kaison tilted his head. "Why would you want to lay a curse on someone? Who was it?"

"T-that... uh... uhhhhh..."

Having watched the scene unfold halfway, Melony decides now would be a good time to interject. "Hands off, man-eater bug!" Melony wrapped herself around Kaison possessively, and it was Kaison's turn to stutter.

"M-man-eater?"

Melony, still holding him close, rubbed her face against his shoulder. "My poor, innocent Kaison. Haven't you heard the rumors? You've got to be careful around girls like her."

Kaison raised an eyebrow. Haruko seemed to have gone dead silent, though he couldn't see her eyes past the glare on her glasses. A sinking feeling formed in the pit of his gut. "What rumor?"

"Well, I hate to spread it when I don't know if it's true," she started. A flagrant lie, given how she started the conversation, though one Kaison could still overlook as carelessness. "But there's a rumor going around that she lures men in with her cute facade, gets them to break school rules, then blackmails them afterwards! I've even heard that blond Slifer friend of yours was one of her victims!"

Haruko spoke. "Bullshit."

Melony hid behind Kaison, with a sardonic smile on her face that Kaison couldn't see. "Kyaaahhh~! Protect me, Kaison! The cute ones are always the scariest~!"

Haruko was breathing heavily. She let out a growl and pointed at Melony with fury in her eyes. "IT'S HER! I WAS TRYING TO CURSE HER! THERE'S NO ONE ELSE THAT WOULD SPREAD A RUMOR ABOUT ME AND THAT WEIRD BLOND GUY!"

Kaison was bewildered, caught in the crossfire and utterly confused. Passersby, startled by the commotion, started to watch the drama unfold.

Melony put on her sickly sweet 'innocent' voice. "I didn't start the rumor. Even if I did, how would we know you're not just lying to get out of trouble?"

"YOU'RE THE LIAR! YOU'VE ALWAYS HATED ME! THIS IS JUST LIKE WHEN WE WERE KIDS, AND I'M NOT DEALING WITH IT A SECOND TIME!"

"When we were kids? Haruko, we used to be friends! Sure, I was mad after what you did in that old abandoned house, but that's ancient history!"

Haruko smirked, looking at Kaison. "She got mad because I scared her so bad she pissed herself."

The peanut gallery laughed. Melony gasped dramatically. Kaison was starting to get uncomfortable that this was a public event.

"You also promised you'd never talk about it! Liar!"

"I didn't promise shit! You never talked to me after that, just started spreading rumors and making jokes that I was some freak who only had ghosts for friends!"

"CAN YOU BLAME ME AFTER YOU LIFTED OFF THE GROUND AND STARTED MAKING CREEPY GROANING NOISES!? I wasn't the only one there! Everyone was terrified! My parents thought I was crazy! Even my friends started thinking I was crazy after everyone convinced them it was fake! Even I started thinking it was fake, but you know damn well it wasn't! I did talk to you after that, too! I asked how you hid the wires, or who helped you do it, but you wouldn't tell me anything! I only realized it was real when I asked your parents and they said they didn't do anything! They even said they didn't have any rope or wires in their house!"

"Fuck you! That's no excuse to turn everyone against me!"

"You're the one who refused to say how you did it, or even that it was real. You turned everyone against yourself! I didn't start a single rumor then, and I didn't start a single rumor now!"

"Pine's fucking gay!" She said it so abruptly and with such certainty that it caught everyone off guard. Though, when Kaison caught the eyes of some of his classmates in the crowd, all they did was nod. It didn't seem like a revelation to them? It made Kaison feel like an idiot. He had only noticed it last night, and yet everyone was talking about it like it was obvious?

Haruko continued, "He hates the rumors maybe just as much as I do, and there were only five people there that night! I've never interacted with Pine before then, so unless Kaison or Ms. Hibiki started it, WHICH I FUCKING DOUBT, it could only have been you!"

"Pffft. As if. The walls in Slifer Red are paper-thin, you know? If Ms. Hibiki heard us from her room, I bet the whole dorm could have heard it."

"Why would any of them do that!? You're the only one with a motive!"

"Motive? Haven't you ever heard of the suspension bridge effect? If anything, I should be thanking you for ruining our date. It only brought us closer."

Melony leaned in to Kaison again, but Kaison gently pushed her away this time. "Wait, wait, wait. Say that again."

Melony looked genuinely hurt to have been pushed away. It certainly made Kaison doubt himself for a moment. "I was just saying that scary experiences ought to bring us closer. I know you don't like them like I do, but-"

Kaison shook his head. "No, I meant the part about ruining our date."

Melony's face brightened up, like she was just told some very good news. "Oh, that. Haruko here was the mastermind behind our ruined date. I caught her snooping around outside, and, as you might have gathered, she has a history of messing with the supernatural. Our date was ruined by fuzzy dodgeballs thrown through a closed door, and I can't think of anyone else who could do something so ridiculous but Haruko." She turned away from Kaison again, such so that he couldn't see her sneer at Haruko. "I think she just did it because she was jealous. You are quite a catch, after all."

Kaison stared at Haruko. "..."

Haruko lowered her gaze. She felt like she had been defeated. "..."

Melony gently pulled on Kaison's arm, ready to ditch Haruko. "Come on, let's go back to my room. You said I was getting close to the end of the game, right?"

"Hey, Melony?"

"Yes, my sweet?"

"I think we should break up."

The crowd erupts like Kaison just ended Melony's whole career. Kaison visibly cringes from the commotion and a nearby teacher decided that it warranted investigation, so Kaison gently tugged on Melony's arm, a nonverbal request to come with him so that they could talk it out, but she just stood there, frozen, until, as the center of the crowd, they were approached by the teacher and asked what was going on.

Kaison realized that trying to drag a girl off by the arm wasn't a good look, so he sighed and let go of Melony. "Nothing, sir. Goodbye for now, Melony."

And with that, Kaison left, simply walking off down the road.

The teacher, of course, asked Melony the same question, though she didn't respond, at least at first. When he pushed for an answer, she simply fell to her knees and began crying.

It was Haruko who finally gave him a proper answer as the crowd began to disperse. "They broke up."

Seemingly satisfied and/or uncomfortable with handling a teenage girl bawling her eyes out, he gave Melony some awkward platitudes about love before leaving, coming to a stop nearby in case he was further needed but otherwise taking the hands-off approach.

Time passed. Some other students tried to help Melony up, but she swatted them away. She was inconsolable.

Haruko moved to stand in front of Melony. She couldn't lie, she was reveling in Melony's misery. Still, this was kind of pathetic. It was surprising how fast and how long a girl like her could lose her cool. She thought she was faking it at first, but no, Kaison already left and she didn't so much as glance up at the other students. She was ugly crying in full view of the entire student body. It reminded Haruko of the first time she had been possessed.

"You always were a huge crybaby."

She ignored Haruko. Some of the lingering students gave Haruko [i]the look[/i], but she ignored them.

"If you're going to cry, you should at least do it in your room."

She didn't stop. Haruko rolled her eyes and grabbed Melony by the arm. She tried to jerk it away like she did with the other students, but Haruko kept a firm grip and roughly dragged Melony to her feet. Melony didn't stop crying into the wrist of her free hand as she let Haruko drag her back to the Obelisk Blue girl's dorm.

Meanwhile, Kaison turned on his duelist radar and wandered around. He just wanted to duel right now.

It was weird when she brought up the rumor that Pine and Haruko were a thing, especially when Pine confirmed it was fake a long time ago. When she blamed Haruko for their ruined date, it all fell into place. The reason Pine and Haruko both thought he would blame Haruko was because of her. It stood to reason, then, that the rumor between Pine and Haruko was because of her. It had to come from somewhere, and Haruko said there were only 5 people there, which Melony didn't even deny. If he came up with the idea that it was her himself, he'd worry he was jumping to conclusions, but Haruko was directly accusing her, and if he had to choose somebody to believe...

It wasn't his girlfriend...

Maybe he was being hasty, but he didn't want a girlfriend who could do such a thing. He wasn't blind. He knew Mr. Monoma's sudden sex ed lessons were because of the rumors. He caught Mr. Monoma talking to Pine. It must have been mortifying. He couldn't believe a girl so sweet could do something so cruel, but all the facts pointed to one culprit, and even if he asked her directly, would she even give a straight answer? She lied about Haruko ruining their date, didn't she? Or was she just mistaken? Did he just make a horrible mistake? No, she should have been the one responsible for the rumor. Was there other bullying too? Maybe it doesn't matter, people can change, right?

He couldn't stop thinking about his choices. Did he make the right one? With the facts at hand, he couldn't deny his choice, so why did it feel so bad?

He wanted to duel. He wanted to stop thinking about the way he was feeling.

[u][b]Kaison vs. Donte[/b][/u]
Donte starts off strong with a pair of Marauding Captains, but they end up getting banished by Numeron Gate Sunya immediately. He still had Swords of Revealing Light to fall back on, but it was quickly dispatched by Lyrilusc - Promenade Thrush. He dead draws and swiftly loses the next turn under the offensive pressure of Sunya and Downerd Magician.

[u][b]Kaison vs. Chris[/b][/u]
Although Chris started off playing quite coyly, Kaison just did the same in response. He was forced to go offensive, giving up his element of surprise, and from there, there was nothing his deck could do against Number 54: Lion Heart. His monsters just took attacks turn after turn.

[u][b]Kaison vs. Caleb[/b][/u]
Although Caleb controlled the board at first with his overwhelming quantity of removal effects, Kaison's ability to stall with Battle Fader and generate resources using Mystic Piper proved too much. It was over after Kaison nuked the board with Numeron Gate Sunya, forcing Caleb to top deck as Kaison continued to refill the board.

Kaison must have gone on for hours. He didn't speak much with his dueling opponents, or anyone, for that matter. He continued on quite the impressive winning streak until, finally, his brother showed up, running into him through the duelist radar.

For once, Jon was the one to initiate a conversation. "Hey."

Kaison readied his duel disk. Showing up through the duelist radar meant he was here for a duel, after all. "Hey."

Jon looked troubled, like he hadn't come here to duel at all, but he readied his duel disk anyway. "I heard what happened."

Kaison scoffed ruefully as he drew his opening hand. "If it's reached you, then everyone in the school must know by now."

"I was there when it happened."

Kaison looked neither relieved nor surprised. "Oh."

[u][b]Kaison vs. Jon[/b][/u]
Kaison went first. He knew Jon's deck inside and out. Forcing it to go second was definitely ideal. "I activate foolish burial, sending Treeborn Frog to the grave, then I summon Evil Seed, and use its effect to tribute it, deal 300 damage, and special summon two more Evil Seeds. I use the effect of Jester Confit from my hand, special summoning it, then use all three as materials to XYZ summon Number 54: Lion Heart."

There was absolutely no way for Jon's deck to punish him for an early Lion Heart. In fact, nothing in Jon's deck can destroy Lion Heart. His deck completely folds to it.

Looking at Lion Heart, Jon frowned, then turned his attention back to Kaison. He wasn't smiling. That wasn't normal. "Are you doing okay? You said you never had a relationship before. You... left me a lot of messages about it."

Kaison frowned back at Jon. "You've never been in a relationship before, either, despite leaving me a lot of messages about how girls constantly hit on you now. I end my turn."

Jon knit his brow. The atmosphere was weird. The girls pursuing him mostly just looked at his entrance exam score. He hated this. Kaison knew this. Was he trying to annoy him? That was... unusual. "Draw."

Jon's hand was pretty good this time. "I activate Heart of the Underdog, and normal summon Protron. I use Protron to link summon Link Spider, then use Link Spider to special summon Bitron. Using Bitron, I link summon Imduk, the World Chalice Dragon, then use his effect to normal summon Beckoned by the World Chalice..."

Jon continued his standard Link ladder combo. Even if his field would just become a detriment because of Lion Heart, leaving an empty field would just open him up to Downerd beatdown, and it was better card draw to summon them. He could link into Beat Cop of the Underworld to protect Heart of the Underdog, though that wouldn't stop Kaison's deck from removing it, considering Promenade Thrush. Things were already looking dire. "...Using Transcode Talker's effect, I special summon G Golem Stubborn Menhir, which lets me special summon Bitron. I then Link Summon Splash Mage using G Golem Stubborn Menhir and Bitron, which lets me special summon G Golem Stubborn Menhir again. I'll link summon Linkross using G Golem Stubborn Menhir, allowing me to special summon two tokens, then I Link summon Decode Talker Heatsoul using Linkross and Splash Mage, co-linked with Transcode Talker." He'd take more damage this way, but it didn't really matter against Kaison, and at least he'd keep his draw power safe from Vacuumen.

His deck was a bit troubling to learn at first, and an absolute headache to update with new cards. He's tried multiple times to modify it, adding just a couple of cards to it, such as Cyberse Witch, Dragunity cards, Guardragons, Sprights or even The Legendary Exodia Incarnate, if only to incorporate a fun new option or change things up, but all he ever got were bricks and headaches for his trouble. He really couldn't modify the deck in any meaningful way.

"I activate Decode Talker Heatsoul's effect, paying 1000 lifepoints to draw a card, then end my turn. I'll pay to draw again during yours, also."

"Draw. I special summon Treeborn Frog from my grave. Main Phase, I activate Heavy Storm."

Fuck.

Beat Cop wouldn't have worked either, given the rest of Kaison's turn from there. He proceeded to summon Kinka-Byo and XYZ for a [i]second[/i] Lion Heart.

It was over.

Having been beaten effortlessly, Jon walked over to Kaison. He wasn't the talkative type, and Kaison knew this, so he was expecting Kaison to start the conversation. Instead, Kaison returned to the impassive expression he had before the duel and turned to walk away without a word.

Jon reached out to stop him, grabbing him by the shoulder. Kaison looked back at Jon, looking slightly annoyed. Jon met his gaze without flinching. "If you want to talk about it, I'm still your brother."

Kaison reset to a blank facial expression before giving Jon the fakest smile he's ever seen. "Thanks, bro. Maybe later."

With that, Kaison walked away.