Heh.

This may sound a bit weird, but I have to admit Saiou's rather handsome when he's not controlled by the Wave of Light AKA the unidentified card housing the spirit of an extraterrestrial being from Planet Z. (And Edo poked fun at my Neo Spacians.) Vampire teeth and Frankenstein-esque bolts aside, he's not half bad looking when he smiles—not the creepy 'I wanna destroy ya' smirk—his real smile, because it really brightens up his face. Of course, I'm only commenting about Saiou's pretty face because I'm so thankful S.O.R.A. didn't blast us into oblivion that my mind has turned into mush from all the relief. It's not because I'm attracted to Saiou. I swear. Really. Ohmygodshutup.

...it's over. It's all over.

Kenzan, Shou, Orgene, Lynd, Saiou, Edo, and I reside outside the doorsteps of the Obelisk White dorms. Lynd is supporting a glazed-eyed Orgene while a peeved Kenzan flexes his muscles next to them. (Note to self: buy Kenzan a Jurassic Park III t-shirt for his world-saving contribution as 'Spacesaurus'.) Shou and I are staring at the skies over our heads where as Edo and Saiou are sitting behind us; one is recovering from the aftershocks of being possessed while the other is wallowing in guilt. I also notice that Edo's right arm is wrapped around Saiou's waist which makes me feel a twinge of an undefined emotion I can't distinguish between envy and amusement. Wonderful, I think I'm experiencing my first pangs of adolescent jealousy.

Kenzan plants his hands on his waists and turns his nose up in revulsion.

"I wonder if those folks even care," he snorts, referring to the crowd cheering Manjyome's trademark chant. "Our hero who just saved the world from total obliteration is standing right over there and Manjyome-sempai and the others don't give a crap-don..."

"I agree," Shou pipes up beside me. "If Aniki hadn't played such a huge role in this situation, imagine what would have happened then-su!"

Saiou opens his eyes and gazes at them. "I'm...sorry. Truly, I am." He looks so vulnerable, so innocent that I feel that reprimanding the once powerful leader of the Hikari no Kessha is now a sin. "The reason why I depended on the Wave of Light's power was because it hid my wicked feelings of envy towards society."

"It's ok, it's ok!" I reassure, working a grin to my face. "We should just be grateful this nightmare is over with and that best of all we changed destiny!"

"Thank you…Juudai, Edo, and everybody else…" Saiou says softly, peering up at the lot of us with those amethyst eyes. A small smile makes its way onto his lips.

"I couldn't do much but at least Saiou and Prince Orgene are back safe and sound," Edo responds to his best friend's gratitude in a gentle voice. Then he frowns. "Yet…"

"What do you mean you couldn't do much?" I cut through his mumbling, Comfort of the Year. "You did plenty! You showed Saiou the true meaning of friendship! You never gave up till the end and you know what? That tag-team match in Kaibaland was one of the highlights of this school year!"

Edo shoots me a 'dueling is not about fun or making friends, you nimrod' glare similar to the one he gave me during our duel when he introduced his D-heroes.

"Yes, and because of that Mizuchi-san…" he grits out between clenched teeth before trailing off and looking away. "I feel great pain for separating her from Saiou. He's done so much for me and this is how I repay him for his efforts."

I sigh heavily. "Edo, please…"

"Don't."

The word cuts through my pleadings like knife slicing through softened butter. Betrayed eyes of liquid sapphire fix to the ground as if staring alone would burn a hole through the white concrete. He carries the burden of uneasy silence on his chest until he can't stand it any longer, and then sighs, sucking the air out of the atmosphere.

"Don't try to comfort me. You were right all this time—justice is blind, fate isn't absolute, and I was wrong. I was wrong from the very beginning."

I'm speechless. Where is the pride, the sarcasm, the sassy arrogance? Is he really giving up so easily after all this?

…

It isn't until much later during the beginning of my third year when a newly-promoted Obelisk Blue Shou comes up to me and exclaimed, "Hey Aniki, I was walking by the ocean with Kenzan-kun and we noticed some strange stuff floating up the shore. Look at this!" and he shows me a scrap of charred metal I recognize as a piece of a very expensive cruise ship can I fully comprehend how much Edo had to undergo in order to achieve his father's vengeance. This scene happens after I duel Johan Andersen and with it came Edo. His brief appearance and quick disappearance leaves an unexplainable hole in my heart.

But standing here between the threshold of my junior and my senior stage of the academia, I can't quite feel the pain Edo has suffered and therefore can't properly console him. In front of me isn't a heartrending hero who has just painfully overcome one of the greatest challenges in his life—it is a boy too petulant and too young to see the full truth. So instead of patting him on the back and whispering gentle words of encouragement, I can only wretch him away from Saiou and pin him against the door much to everybody's dismal. I don't know whether my movements are out of anger or frustration or a combination of the two. Lynd gasps and Kenzan yells out of concern, but the world melts around me and all I am aware of is grabbing Edo by the shoulders and shaking him like a rag doll.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" I shout at him. "Your self-pity is so meaningless! You've been doing the right thing all this time and I'm sure Mizuchi would have wanted it this way—"

This seems to trigger a flame of rage within him. He pushes my hands off and gives me a fierce look.

"How can you be so damned naïve, you fool?" he snarls in disgust. "Do you actually think Mizuchi is happy to be trapped in the virtual space forever because of our actions? Gods, you're more stupid than I thought!"

Maybe it's because my intelligence was being blatantly insulted or maybe because I was just frustrated beyond measures with Edo's stubbornness, but it didn't really matter either way when I clench my hand into a fist and slam it into his cheek. It isn't so much as a hard hit than it is a signal to bring him back to his senses, but the blow sends him sprawling to the ground nonetheless.

"ANIKI!" Shou and Kenzan exclaim simultaneously. I ignore them.

"I'm sorry I had to do that but you were starting to get on my nerves," I say, my breath becoming harsh and ragged. "Mizuchi is not gone forever so stop feeling sorry for her!"

Then I notice an abrupt change in Saiou's aura coming from behind me. Though he's not longer possessed by the Wave of Light, the aura he emits is cacophonously dark and ticked with a silent anger that barely conceals the thinly veiled message of, 'Touch him again and my gratitude for you will turn into wrath.'

Aww, shoot. Newsflash Juudai: you just hit the kid who Saiou has a fling for! Duh, genius! Why else did you think they were holding hands during the duel? Damn. Though in the direction this situation is turning towards, Saiou isn't going to have a chance to physically mar my face because Edo will murder me first. He's radiating bloodlust and it's all directed towards me. He gets on his feet and glares a glare so icy it can freeze hell. He's the human violin of pain— Edo, the human violin of pain. It has a nice ring to it, except violins don't ring.

"You. Stop acting like you know everything! You never knew anything—you and your—happy life—you can't feel my pain—stupid—fool—"

Edo's right. Edo's wholly, utterly right. I mean, nobody ever pegged us as good friends. I'm buddies with every single person I ever met (it's in the genes) but people say, well, Juudai drives Edo bananas with his idle blabbering and the vast pot that can never be full dubbed as his stomach and Edo drives Juudai insane with his talk of destiny followed by his sardonic letdowns. We both play hero decks, yes, but my history consists of dueling for fun, spending free periods with my friends, and occasionally saving the world, while his is filled with murder and revenge and some unexplainable sense of justice worse than a bad romance novel where the protagonist's called Beowulf. We don't really have anything in common except that we're both heroes.

Despite his overall lofty, holier-than-thou attitude, the guy's rather taciturn seeing as he doesn't do too much socializing outside of dueling. Edo practically lives on his yacht during the day, maybe jumping off to duel here and there, and then spends his nights wandering around the academia for some unknown reasons. Now that I think of it, apart from his D-heroes, his dead father and his title as a high-ranking Pro League champion, I really know jack shit about this guy. I dueled against him three times—each one ending with a surprising result—and then dueled with him against Mizuchi but Edo still remained to be an absolute mystery even after all that. (There goes my 'you-can-learn-everything-about-a-person-from-dueling-them' philosophy.)

But you know what? None of that matters right now. Because as I watch Edo lashing out his rage, I never felt sorrier for anybody else in this world.

"…you're blaming yourself too much. Mizuchi wanted this to happen. She wanted to save her brother, even if it cost her own safety." I pause, licking my lower lip. "Having to make a decision whether or not to sacrifice yourself for someone you love is something you've never experienced, Edo."

"Actually I did," Edo snarls in return, all red in the face and shaking with uncontrollable anger. "DD forced me to choose between my father and victory—"

"Your father has been dead for over eight years," I say quietly. "Even if you ultimately managed to revive him, things could never go back to the way they were before."

The impact of my words on him is monumental. It's like watching a pillar crumble into ruins. Slowly, ever so slowly, the rage in Edo's eyes disappears until all that's left is this boy with lost eyes, uprooted from adolescence far too quickly to fully mature.

"Edo. He's right," Saiou interrupts. Both Edo and I rivet our heads towards him, clearly not expecting the fortuneteller to join the discussion.

"Saiou…" the time lord pleads. Please take my side and defend me, is what his eyes are saying.

"Mizuchi promised to return to me and I'm positive that we will meet again in the very near future," Saiou says in a soft but firm voice.

"You see, Edo? All you need is faith," I encourage him.

But all Edo does is grunt and glance away.

I pretend it doesn't affect me. Instead, I turn to Saiou again. "Hey, I got an idea. Why don't you try fortunetelling it with your tarot cards?"

Saiou flashes me a sad smile. "If only I could, Juudai. But I've lost the ability to predict the future."

He holds out his tarots and lets the cards blow away like leaves in an autumn wind. Briefly, I see two familiar pictures—the Hierophant and the Devil. Due to my lack of knowledge in the field of fortunetelling, I can only wonder…

The disquieting mood continues to linger in the atmosphere and I fall back, slightly remorseful of the way the last day of my second school year turned out. I honestly expected better, perhaps a happier ending filled with laughter and joyful feelings vis-à-vis to this mournful atmosphere found at a memorial service. I tilt my head back and stare at the clouds as unanswered questions swarm my head. I wonder what Hell Kaiser Ryou is doing now. Is Misawa back in his clothing? How Manjyome is faring? Is Fubuki still strumming that ukulele of his? What about Momoe and Junko? Has Gin's hair turned back to its original color? Is Kanda still lollygagging over Asuka? Does Abidos the III continue to wait for me in heaven? Has Taniya found a tiger spouse yet? Is Kagemaru doing well? And I still haven't fully thanked Daitokuji for his help…

Then, I squint. There's a black dot in the sky accompanied with a distant whirling that doesn't sound like any type of bird's caw I've ever heard before. What in the world…?

"Look up there!" I shout and point.

The rest of the heads snap up. As the dot grows larger I realize it's actually a black helicopter flying towards the academia's direction and peering through the window with her hands pressed against the glass is none other than Mizuchi. The silence shatters as Kenzan erupts with a loud dinosaur, 'HOO-YAH!' while I exchange a series of high-fives and grins with Shou. Lynd lets out a soft chuckle and Saiou rises from the cement with Edo's support. The helicopter lands on the ground some many feet away from us, kicking up leaves and scattering small tree branches this way and that.

"Mizuchi!"

Sure enough, the door slides open and there's Saiou Mizuchi, in the flesh. The miko flies out of the chopper and into Saiou's arms with tears gleaming in her eyes. They share an adorable family reunion, embracing and whispering to each other, then giggling and laughing and saying all sort of sweet words. I'm not one for sentimental fluff, but their actions really touch my heart, yet break it at the same time.

Why, you ask? Because I wish…well…maybe Edo and I…were like Saiou and Mizuchi…

Yeah.

I guess I can't hide it any longer.

I'm in love with Edo Phoenix.

My heart is thumping rapidly just like that that exciting day of our tag-team duel. Butterflies flutter around in my stomach and my mind refuses to think properly. I may seem like a thickskulled idiot when it comes to romantic stuff like fiancées (it was too a sushi!) but I'm not so dumb that I don't know when I'm in love or not. I can say, 'I don't like Edo Phoenix' but I can't stop my emotions from feeling strongly for him. Verbal contradiction is nothing but a waste of brainpower, which is why I'm not going to deny it any longer. I love being with Edo even if he does mope more than a female preteen just because I like his company. It's like going to a completely gorgeous restaurant and eating nothing—just subsisting on the ambience.

But it's not just love…I also need Edo. I've always wanted to make believe that all there is to life is dueling and fried shrimp and 'Ichi, Juu, Hayku, Sen, Manjyome Thunder!'-ing and fun fun fun—but not all dreams can be reality. Edo knows that. Edo's hardheaded and Edo's smart and Edo's down-to-earth, which is good because heaven knows I've always needed someone to grab my ankle and yank my head from the clouds. (So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank youthankyouthankyou)

I steal a glance at the blue-eyed boy out of the corner of my eye. He's lingering behind the reunited family with a shaky smile on his face but I know if he's really happy he wouldn't be forcing that grin. I walk over to him and cup a hand on his shoulder, trying not to look hurt when he flinches from my touch.

"Hey. Aren't you glad? Saiou's last prediction was correct. He was reunited with Mizuchi after all."

"Hn. Yeah." But he doesn't sound happy.

A sudden rush of wind sweeps the fringes of his hair against the back of my hand. Without really thinking, I idly toy with his silver locks and twirl strands of silver around the base of my forefingers. Edo feels the tug at his hair from all the pressure I'm applying onto the roots and winces in annoyance.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing—" he starts but I cut him off with another question.

"Do you remember what you said to me during our first real duel?"

Edo blinks. His negativity disappears upon my mentioning of a past event that's almost been wiped from his memory. What an awkward time to bring it up, no doubt. He stiffens. "…what about it?" he asks testily.

Words run dry as a well during a drought. I normally speak out of spontaneous passion and fervor and concern for both friends and strangers who only identify me by my deck and orange-brown hair but it's so much harder now that I have to force them out of my arid mouth. I swallow a lump in my throat and hope my courage doesn't die out.

"You said that we were totally different. We were like mirror reflections and our cards showed who we truly are."

Unnamable emotion sparks in cerulean blue eyes. A grin flits across my face.

"Well, even if we're totally different and I duel for fun while you duel for justice…all of that aside, in the end we share something in common." I squeeze his shoulder. "We're both heroes, pal."

Edo blinks for a moment, stunned by my profoundness. Then he closes his eyes and rubs the back of his head. "Yeah," he laughs cheerfully. "Maybe we are."

Slowly but surely, his lips curve upwards into a smile so genuine and pure that I silently congratulate myself for finally drawing out this rare feature because gods, the boy is beautiful when he smiles. I capture Edo's lips in a kiss and surprisingly enough…not a single muscle in his body resists.