Title: Aftermath
Rating: K+
Summary: Post-5DX, the four Yu-Gi-Oh protagonists discuss Zexal, seafood hair, girls, and milk.
Genre: Humor/Friendship

Disclaimer: After ten years, it's still not mine.

A/N: Okay, most DM fans would skin me alive for this, but I actually do like 5D's, and I think this new Zexal show has promise (judging as best I can after only watching one episode), despite how similar it is to the original show. This idea of the YGO protags living in an apartment together post-5DX was inspired by my friend Atarashii Asa's fic "Elysium," so this was posted with her permission. While hers will mostly focus on Judai and Yusei (she likes starshipping), mine will probably focus on the pharaoh and Yugi, since I'm more comfortable writing them. I'm vaguely familiar with GX and I've never written Yusei before despite having seen most of the 5D's episodes, so... we'll see how this goes.

Aftermath
on zexal, seafood hair, girls, and milk

Yugi tilted his head. "It seems all right, I suppose…"

Atem, whose eyebrows had lifted high enough to hide beneath his bangs, said, "I don't understand. Why doesn't this new spirit wear trousers?"

"I think he's from another universe, Atem. Maybe they have different fashion sense there." Yugi leaned back in his chair, squinting his eyes at the ending credits of first episode of the latest spin-off. "I mean, if you had appeared to me wearing Ancient Egyptian garb, I wouldn't have known what to think, either."

"You'd be thinking 'Damn, I sure am a lucky young man,' certainly."

Yugi ignored that and clicked to enlarge some screen captures of the episode. A large photo of Yuma Tsukumo expanded to fill the entire screen.

"This kid looks like he belongs in Beyblade." Atem sniffed in distaste at the thirteen-year-old. "And why does he shout 'cat bingo' all the time?"

"Kattobingu," Yugi corrected. "It means 'pop flying.' It's his catchphrase."

"What the hell is 'pop flying' supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. What does 'it's time to D-D-D-D-DUEL!' mean aside from the fact that somebody has a very bad stuttering problem?"

This did not receive an answer.

Yugi smiled to himself. They were on the living room computer in the apartment they shared with two of their friends. It wasn't a completely comfortable system, living with the other protagonists in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, but they managed just the same. Despite his griping about Yusei making loud noises while banging around in the garage late at night and Judai's never-ending appetite that was sure to give Jounouchi's mouth a run for its money, Yugi knew Atem enjoyed their company and wouldn't hesitate to call himself happy in this arrangement.

Besides, their room was covered in hair products, video games, and trading cards, and on the walls were painted hieroglyphics he had done himself. Yugi knew Atem didn't really have any right to complain.

Yugi closed out of the picture with Yuuma, moving his cursor over to blow up an image of the mysterious spirit that had appeared at the end of the episode. His body was silvery blue, shining, with blue jewels embedded in his skin and yellow eyes.

Atem's hand was suddenly on the back of Yugi's chair, his face pushed forward in an attempt to see the screen better. Yugi, startled and confused, looked between the pharaoh and the screen.

"Atem, what – "

"I want those earrings," Atem declared. "I don't care if they're chrome. Where do you think I might get them?"

"I have no idea," Yugi answered, rubbing his neck. "I mean, they're probably from another dimension or something, right?"

"Mmm." He tilted his head. "You know, I still don't understand how the key fixed itself," he said. "The door said he had to sacrifice something 'cherished' to get a 'great power.' The key is obviously the 'cherished' thing he gave up, since it was broken by that Ursula-haired fellow. How did it get fixed?"

"Magic?" Yugi guessed, deciding not to ask how the pharaoh had learned who Ursula was. "Maybe the writers got lazy. Or maybe we'll find out later. I mean, it's only the first episode. I'm curious to find out more about this silvery spirit guy."

"He seems all right, I suppose," Atem said. "Though I don't understand why Yuma was upset about his appearance. If I was a mediocre duelist and a great gamer that was willing to help me win my game against my rival suddenly dropped into my lap, I wouldn't be asking questions."

"That's right," Yugi said, grinning. "Life can't be so bad when you have a mystical necklace that serves as your spiritual connection to a mysterious young man that floats around beside you everywhere offering advice on duels. I mean, he'd be ridiculous to be confused about that."

"Thin ice, aibou."

"You have to admit it's ironic."

"The writers are getting lazy, is all." Atem sat back in his own chair. "I'm willing to wait to reserve judgment. I want to learn more."

"Me, too." Yugi shrugged a shoulder. "I like the opening song, though. Catchy."

"Ours was better."

"Of course it was."

"What was better?"

The pair turned. Yusei and Judai were standing in the doorway holding grocery bags. They walked into the room and Judai peered over Yugi's shoulder at the computer screen.

"Oh, that's the new Zexal show, right?" He blinked. "Did I say that wrong? Zeek-shal?"

"Ze-al. Don't pronounce the X," Yusei said. He turned to Yugi. "You two watched the first episode? How was it?"

"They keep coming up with new gimmicks to make the game more interesting," Atem complained, frowning. "Should've kept it as it is. I think the game was just fine by itself. Like Pokémon. After a while, all the new monsters just get ridiculous."

"But the new generations can be rather fun, too, if you give them a chance," Yugi said.

"Hmph."

"What do you think they'll try next?" Judai asked. "Time travel?"

"Done," Yugi said. "Remember Paradox?"

"Well – vaguely," Judai responded, sheepish. "I think Yusei remembers that better than we do. I mean, it was an alternate time zone thing, right? Paradox crashed through my neck of the woods on his way to yours. He did more damage in your times than he did in mine, and I never was good with understanding how the whole time travel thing works anyway, so…"

"They have yet to do dueling in outer space," Yusei said. "Or competitive dancing."

"Anzu would like that."

"They'll have to really impress me with this fourth series to make me even consider studying any of the latest cards," Atem sniffed. "After three thousand years, I'm sick of these adolescents declaring they're qualified enough to become the next champion despite never once having beaten me or Yugi."

Yusei looked a bit perplexed at the pharaoh's hostile attitude. Judai blinked.

"Don't mind him," Yugi said. "He's just upset that his theory for the fourth show was wrong."

"I thought," Atem said, teeth clenched, "that the new show was going to star the four of us. We would've had adventures in Domino, perhaps, or Egypt. They could do much better with their older characters rather than making up countless new ones with recycled designs."

"That's an idea I could get behind," Yusei said, sounding impressed.

"I think they're just looking for an excuse to try out new hair ideas," Judai said, and turned to Yugi. "The new kid is following the seafood hair tradition, right?"

Yusei blinked. "Seafood hair?"

"Oh, sorry, I don't think you were here when we came up with that," Yugi said. "You had just started 5D's and we were talking about how the artists love giving us hair inspired by sea creatures. Starfish, jellyfish, crab. Looks like poor Yuma's design was modeled after a lionfish."

"That might get in the way of his eyepiece," Atem said. At the others' confused looks, he explained, "That's the new idea. They wear these eyepieces that let them see the holograms in a virtual world."

"I dunno if that'll fly with the general public," Judai said, sounding unsure. "I mean, aren't we getting a little too far into the future? A lot of this is technology most of us can't relate to. It might not be as popular as they think."

"Well, we all thought card games on motorcycles was going to bomb, too, didn't we?" Yugi pointed out, smiling. "That turned out pretty good."

Yusei cracked the tiniest hint of a smile.

"So what're you going to do now that 5D's is done?" Atem asked him.

Yusei shrugged and rested his bags on the floor with a sigh, rolling his shoulders back. "I'm not sure," he said, looking thoughtfully out the window. "I'm probably just going to keep working on the latest energy reactor project for New Domino."

"No more dueling?"

"I'm sure I'll keep it up as a pastime, but for now, I'll put it on the side," he said. "I can always pick it back up later. My D-Wheel will wait."

"Never thought I'd hear a duel champion say that," Judai joked. "I thought you were going to say you were working on making your motorcycle faster. Or running for elected office." He tossed his bags onto the couch and flopped down next to them, stretching. "Man, when are we going to have any girls living here?" he asked, frowning a bit at the ceiling. "Not that you guys aren't great, but too much testosterone gets to me, y'know?"

"The show is called 'Yu-Gi-Oh,'" Atem reminded him. "It means 'Game King.' If you're waiting for a girl protagonist, I wouldn't hold my breath."

Judai's frown deepened and he scuffed the carpet with the tip of his shoe.

"What's in there?" Yugi asked, motioning toward the shopping bags quickly enough to distract Atem from complaining about Judai potentially messing up his floor.

"Milk, of course," Judai said. "Yusei noticed that we had run out this morning and dragged me down to the mart with him to carry all of it back."

Yusei glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Mm. Well. I'm headed down to the garage again. Need to work on my bike." He picked up the bags and carried them out of the living room.

Judai grinned. "I'd better follow him, make sure he doesn't hurt himself." He got up as well, taking his own bags, and followed Yusei into the kitchen, putting the cartons in the fridge before the two of them headed out the front door and down the stairs to the driveway.

"What's with his milk obsession, anyway?" Atem asked.

"…It's good for you?" Yugi said weakly. "I don't know. It's just something he does. Besides, you're one to talk, anyway," he teased. "Compulsively reorganizing your card collection and that fetish with leather–"

"The ice just cracked, aibou."

Words: 1650

A/N: The milk thing is a reference to 5D's episode 11, where Yusei walks into this rough bar, filled with criminals and thugs and the worst sort you could imagine, looks the spiky-haired bartender calmly in the eye, ready to extract information from him concerning the whereabouts of a low-life Jack-of-all-trades hiding somewhere in the city, and orders a glass of milk. I could not stop laughing.

The theory that Atem had (that the new fourth show should've been one great superawesome show starring him, Yugi, Judai, and Yusei going around having various misadventures together) was something I was hardcore rooting for, and I extremely disappointed when it didn't happen. This fic is how I'll deal. Though I don't actually know how much I'll write of it. Eh.

Next time on… this: Atem discovers the Internet. And possibly downloads a computer virus, accidentally orders 100 Pokémon booster packs, and spills Yusei's milk all in the same day.