[Link system—logout.]
Back in reality, Kira took off the gear to find it was already past ten at night. Weekend days always passed quickly.
Especially when you spent the whole day grinding dungeons and farming gears online.
But at least the grind paid off: he’d picked up a lot of unclaid decks, even a top-tier one. Quite a haul; he’d spend the next few days sorting, selling what he didn’t need, and thinking about new builds with the rest.
He hadn’t felt hungry while grinding, but now that he was resting, the hunger hit.
If he were at Red Dorm, the cafeteria would be closed by now, and the snack shop too. But the thoughtful Yellow Dorm had a 24-hour window for students’ late-night cravings.
He pulled out his student terminal and checked the cafeteria nu.
Curry fried rice, curry beef noodles, curry mashed potatoes...
He silently closed the nu.
He suddenly lost his appetite.
Yellow Dorm had a lot going for it, but thanks to Dorm Head Sartyr, the curry concentration was a bit too high. Admittedly, the dorm head was a curry master, but even the best food gets old if you eat it every day.
Others might not notice, but Kira was just tired of curry lately.
Usually, the cafeteria had plenty of non-curry options, but most windows were closed late at night, so there wasn’t much to choose from.
Poor planning—he should’ve kept snacks in his room.
Just as Kira was thinking about going to bed early, he noticed an unread ssage notification on his terminal.
He opened it. It was from Jaden, sent an hour ago.
["We’re having an outdoor barbecue—slls amazing! Wanna join?"]
There was even a hand-drawn chibi of Jaden himself flashing a V sign.
Abstract as it was, it sohow captured Jaden’s cheerful, jellyfish-haired smile and peace sign.
Kira chuckled and replied, "Still there?"
Jaden quickly responded.
["Of course! Get over here!"]
So Kira got up and headed toward the spot Jaden had marked on the outskirts of Red Dorm.
The night was deep, stars scattered above, and moonlight stread through the trees, laying a silver ribbon across the winding path.
As he neared, he heard laughter and banter, and the rich, savory scent of barbecue.
"Oh, Kira’s here!"
Jaden was the first to spot him, cheerfully standing up and handing over a skewer from the fire.
"Saved this just for you."
"Thanks. I was just getting hungry and wondering what to eat." Kira accepted the skewer without hesitation.
He sat by the fire, joining the group.
Sure enough, early GX was all about easygoing school life. Jaden looked so carefree now, spending his days skipping class, dueling, fishing, or having outdoor adventures.
Viewers back when GX first aired probably never imagined how drastically the tone would shift later on.
"Whoa—there’s a rabbit!"
Syrus exclaid.
"Huh?" Chumley looked where Syrus pointed. "I don’t see anything? You must be seeing things."
"No way! I swear on my dignity there’s really a rabbit!"
Kira quietly chewed his barbecue, thinking that Syrus’s dignity wasn’t worth much anyway—after all, he’s Syrus.
"Look! It’s right there!" Syrus rolled up his sleeves. "Don’t run!"
He then dragged Chumley off to catch the rabbit.
"You two, don’t wander too far and get lost," Jaden called after them.
Their voices echoed faintly from the woods.
"Sigh, what can you do with them," Jaden laughed, flipping his skewer. The at sizzled, fat dripping onto the coals and sending up bursts of smoke, blending the aromas of barbecue and burning wood.
"Really, I’m glad you could co," Jaden said as he cooked, smiling. "To be honest, I was a bit disappointed when you didn’t reply for so long."
"Aren’t your roommates here?"
Kira took a bite—Jaden’s grilling skills were impressive, crispy outside, tender inside. He’d done a lot of outdoor cooking before.
"Yeah, they are. But, how should I put it..."
Jaden stared at the flickering flas, a little lost in thought.
"Rember that ti we accidentally ended up in the spirit world together? That guy Shell said I was like him, said I’d never really let anyone understand ."
"Oh, that. Don’t take it to heart."
But Jaden shook his head. "I can’t help thinking about it. And the more I do, the more I feel maybe he was right."
He paused, as if recalling sothing.
"Did I ever tell you? My mories of childhood are fuzzy. Sotis I feel like there’s sothing really important I should rember. Occasionally I wake up from dreams, but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t recall what it was."
Kira said nothing.
He knew exactly what was going on. It was Yubel—Jaden’s first spirit. After Yubel was sent into space by KaibaCorp’s rocket, Jaden had frequent nightmares.
Later, his parents, worried, used KaibaCorp’s tech to erase his mories of Yubel, severing their connection. After that, he forgot all about it.
"Of course, I know it’s normal not to rember childhood," Jaden smiled. "But... looking back, I was lonely for a while.
My parents were always busy, and rarely ho. And for so reason, I never had friends as a kid—everyone seed to avoid .
I always felt different from everyone. No matter how hard I tried, how enthusiastic I was, it was hard to find soone who truly understood , soone I could talk to."
This was the first ti Kira had heard this, but he could guess why.
It was Yubel’s fault. Any kid who lost to young Jaden at cards got targeted by Yubel. The other kids or their parents must have heard about it and avoided him...
"After we moved, things got a bit better as I grew up. I was always surrounded by classmates and friends. But thinking about it now, maybe just like Shell said, in the end, I never really had soone I could call a true friend.
Maybe it’s always been that way, and I just got used to it."
Jaden stopped and smiled.
"But it’s strange. Ever since coming back from the spirit world, after talking and especially dueling with you, I started to have this thought for the first ti.
Maybe... this is what friendship really ans?"
Kira: "..."
"I heard from Sy’s brother—Zane," Jaden said. "He told , this week, the selection duel for the academy’s representative against North Academy is about to begin.
He said he’d nominate . If nothing goes wrong, it’ll probably be between you and ."
He paused, looking at Kira seriously.
"So, when the ti cos, please go all out. I want to see you give it your all!"
Kira closed his eyes and smiled.
"Understood."
He waved his skewer.
"Think of it as repaynt for the barbecue you treated to."
Jaden bead and nodded energetically.
"Then let’s have the best duel ever!"
PS: Bonus Chapter @ 500 PS
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