Note: This was written for the Zexal Flash Bingo challenge, for the prompt, "dogs".

It wasn't that Gilag minded going to school. School was a good place to catch up on all the things he'd missed while he was in Barian World. There was a Sanagi Chono Fan Club that met after school that he liked quite a lot - they made him feel at home. And at least school kept him close to all his friends.

It was probably wrong to wish they weren't all more popular than he was. The thing about the Barian World was that he hadn't been held to any particular standards of appearance. All that mattered was how strong he was and how well he dueled, and he'd never had a problem with either of those. On Earth, though, it seemed that looks counted for quite a lot. The proof of that was that from the moment Durbe and Mizael arrived, they'd had girls trailing after them as if on invisible strings. Alit, of course, was a born charmer. Even Nasch seemed to have his share of fans, and he didn't even try. Gilag, though... he was lucky if any girl he approached didn't run away shrieking.

"Some people got it and some people don't," said Alit with a shrug, when Gilag complained about it.

"That's easy for you to say," Gilag grumbled. "You've got girls lining up for you. What am I supposed to do?"

The two of them were sitting outside the school on their lunch break. A few girls were sitting some distance away, watching them and murmuring to each other. Gilag could only guess that they were debating whether coming over here to chat with Alit was worth dealing with Gilag too. Apparently Alit realized that, because he cleared his throat and looked uncertain.

"Well..." he began.

At that moment, there was a stir among the girls. A puppy had wandered onto the school grounds, and they had all begun cooing over it. Gilag grimaced.

Even a dog gets more attention than me!

But Alit was watching the puppy with an expression of concentration. He snapped his fingers.

"Got it," he said.

The next day, Gilag arrived at school with a furry animal on his shoulder. It caused a bit of a stir among his classmates - they were all familiar with cats and dogs, but this creature was something new. Gilag hadn't even made it to the front door before he was surrounded by curious students.

"Is that a raccoon?" asked a girl.

"He's a tanuki," said Gilag, reaching up to scratch behind his friend's ears. "He's my best buddy, aren't you, Ponta?"

"Ponta! What a cute name!" she exclaimed. "Can I pet him?"

"Sure! He doesn't bite," Gilag assured her.

He was soon surrounded by young women wanting a better look at his companion. Over their heads, he could see Alit hanging back, watching them and grinning. Alit caught his eye and gave him a thumbs-up, and Gilag grinned back. Girls were definitely nice, but it was even better having reliable friends.