Thunderstruck

Chazz looked up from his book, a little puzzled that Aster would come to him for help about... anything, really. Even if the guy ever did need help, which was unfortunately unlikely, as he was far too competent for his own good, he wasn't the type to ask for assistance. ... Because if someone asks you whether you're busy it's always to know whether you're available to help or so a task for them, right?

He grew even more confused when Aster's voice lowered as he made his request, but his face betrayed his glee at the words when his mouth curled into a small smile. Apparently confusion and delight could go together, huh. The thing was- he liked the idea more than he was ready to admit, but he'd never imagined Aster would actually ask him to spend time together? He had given Chazz a rose and cards for his birthday, yes, but that might have entirely been out of courtesy and potentially to encourage their rivalry. ... The cards more so than the rose, yes.

Well, there was only one answer to give. The challenge was going to lie entirely in his delivery-

"Yea sure why not." ... Maybe a little too casual sounding and rushed. Well, in his defence, he was flustered for... reasons. And maybe a tiny bit overzealous. But it didn't sound like he was being challenged to a duel and he was dying to actually get to see what Aster was like when he wasn't actively doing something cool. The guy always looked so dignified and remarkable and Chazz... Chazz wanted to see whether that was a facade or simply how he was predisposed to act when there was something to be done. ... Either way, there was no way he would pass up a chance to maybe get to know the Aster beyond the impeccable top duelist.

Should he answer truthfully? Was giving a response in the first place a smart idea? Walking away and pretending he hadn't heard anything was always an option, of course. But a part of him wanted to get something out, even just to relieve himself, if only a little. Just a few words wouldn't hurt, surely. Plus, there was hardly any chance that people would overheard him- he wasn't planning on saying anything 'compromising', anyways.

"Well, it's Phoenix, of course I think highly of him- everyone does, rightfully so. He's someone I know can be trusted, his arrogance is clearly-" ... No, Aster wouldn't want people to point that out, surely. And, as for Chazz himself, he didn't want to outright admit to being envious of Aster's strength and resolve- neither did he want to say that he considered himself below the other duelist, as true as that was.

He smirked, a forced expression to go with a vague statement. "Let's just say that I don't intend to go unnoticed by him." ... The rose did imply that he'd achieved that, in a sense. But when had Chazz Princeton ever settled? A rose wasn't quite going to cut it.

He figured it out. Good job, Manjoume. 

“Andersen- Your timing is the absolute worst!” ... Good guy types... ... Good guy... ...

“Tch, what? Like a hero wannabe-”

“Of course Chazz! And Jesse will be around too! But I think we can all agree I’m the superior parent!” He joked before giving his cheek a sloppy kiss.

He touched foreheads with the other and smiled softly “no Chazz, thank you! For being open with how you felt and for being willing to do this for me! You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

He kissed him again “first Damian’s birth and now this, you always seem to be the one who saves my life huh…?”

Bastion smiled and shook his head dismissively. “I’m just glad we had this talk… I’ll admit I haven’t been the best papa lately so the least I can do is find a compromise that makes two of the men I love more than anyone in the world happy”

The two girls giggled and waited for the signal.

Jaden and Bastion weren’t prepared to suddenly be weighed down by three children and a husband. Jaden laughed and pulled some of them into a bear hug while Bastion struggled to escape. “No! I’m not ready!!”

Chazz smiled crookedly as he listened to Jaden, closing his eyes to enjoy the forehead touch a little. He didn’t quite have words to respond to his husband, who seemed adamant on showering him with compliments that, in any other moment, Chazz would have argued were false and perhaps insincere.  ... Not in that occasion, however. He’d never saved Jaden’s life, no, it had always been the opposite, but then and there all that mattered was that they were together and that their troubles, at least momentarily, were fixed. A lot of hard work was to come, but they’d passed a hurdle that Chazz wasn’t willing to just forget had ever been there- no. They’d started with small steps and were now team, a family. At times, it was still unbelievable.

“You-”

He stopped when he heard Bastion’s voice, promptly turning to him. “Bas, you’re really dumb for being an actual certified genius, you know that?

After getting the girls in on his plan, Chazz pulled both Jaden and Bastion close to him so they would be an easy target. “ATTACK!”

As soon as Rosalie and Aurora mixed into the pile, Chazz started giggling along with them, doing his best to keep Bastion in place. “I,” he started. “Love. All. Of. You.” He slammed his face into Bastion’s cheek more than kissed it before he finished. “Idiots.”

In Johan’s mind, it’s the exact opposite. He doesn’t think anyone would be charmed by him, nor drawn in by him enough to let him win in order to get on his good side. How could anyone think that throwing a game would be a good way to get on any Duelist’s good side? Everyone takes pride in their deck, throwing a game is making the accusation that the duelist can’t win with the deck they put their heart and soul into. That’s just… well, rude. 

Fortunately, such a thing has barely registered to Johan as a possibility. To him, the far more likely possibility is that he’s going to get challenged by a few duelists who think he’s an easy target because of his incomplete deck. Everyone saw the duel, everyone heard him talk about this powerful ace monster that he had that he just… didn’t play. By the end, it was clear that he had built a deck around a monster that he didn’t have– that didn’t exist. Yet. 

Ah, well, while being underestimated is hardly a good feeling, he doesn’t mind proving that he can hold his own even without Rainbow Dragon. It’s just that duelists who look for an easy victory for bragging rights are hardly the kind of duelists Johan came to Duel Academia to find. His sights are set higher– on the black clad duelist in front of him, for instance. 

It’s funny how much the tension in the room seemed to immediately evaporate once Johan asked Manjoume about his deck. He is incredibly curious, and he’s grateful the other gave him a window he could use to ask about it. He had overheard several students discuss Manjoume, and a great deal of it was… contradictory, to say the least. Some seemed to think he was an incredible talent, while others couldn’t seem to understand how he ever won. As for Johan, he saw the duel between Judai and Manjoume (most of it), he knows Jun is good. If someone says he can’t win, it’s because they don’t understand how his deck works. Which means… he must have changed it since that duel. He hadn’t heard a single person bring up the Armed Dragon cards.

Johan listens intently to Manjoume’s explanation, his expression quickly becoming one of both awe and interest when he brought up having to only use low-level monsters in a duel. 

“What happened? What kind of strategy did you come up with?” He knows Manjoume won– he must have, he sounds so proud! Darn, he wishes he had been here to see that. Oh– right, Manjoume asked him a question. 

“I did win– but the deck wasn’t the prize,” he explains as he carefully takes the deck out of the card holder strapped to his belt. “While I was dueling, Pegasus said the cards started to glow.” There is no inclination in Johan’s expression nor his tone that could lead one to believe that he thought this was anything but normal. “They wanted to come with me, and we’ve been together ever since. They’re my family.” 

Manjoume is delighted to see he’s sparked Anderson’s interest: clearly his roundabout strategies catch the eye of those who are regarded as amazing duelists, huh? Maybe he could allow himself to feel a bit of pride at that- a winning strategy was a winning strategy, even when it wasn’t just: ‘summon the coolest monster and win’. 

What interests Manjoume in turn, however, is Johan’s own answer to his query: cards as family.

... He could understand that, to an extent. He wasn’t going to brag about it to anyone, surely, but he’d also found something akin to a family in his deck- the Ojama brothers stayed true to their title and had, admittedly, been greatly of help in... several occasions, yes. He’d said it to Chosaku and Shouji- if nothing else, the Ojamas were good brothers, to eachother and to him. 

“I expected nothing less, I suppose,” he starts. “Duel spirits seem to really like you, maybe there is somewhat of a correlation between that and your own dueling abilities-” Well, that is a bit of a stretch, maybe- plenty of good duelists were entirely unaware of the spirits, but the ones who did see them seemed to be elite, in a sense.  ... Well, not considering himself, Johan and Judai were surely... something. And it was rumoured that Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba themselves had some sort of... kinship? Bond? Whatever one might want to call it- with their own cards.

“Well, don’t mind that, actually. Your cards chose you, you say? I guess... mine did something similar? More in the sense that I’ve tried to get rid of them several times and it simply never worked, however,” he jokes, hoping Johan won’t lash out at him about... Duel spirit ethics or something.

Wait- Why is he being so open with the boy he’s just claimed to mistrust? Could he, for once, stick to one line of thought and not stray from it to brag about something- Ugh. Manjoume has to admit to himself that the guy puts people alarmingly at ease, himself included. It feels a little weird for him to be aware of the fact that, if he didn’t pay attention, he could easily end up telling his entire lifestory, perhaps with added spice. While it is somewhat nice, it puts him on high alert- he does have a tendency to speak out of turn and he’d really much rather not.

So the solution is to turn it on Johan again.

“You do make it sound like it’s just. Something, a normal occurrence, I don’t know- Maybe that’s what I dislike about you. So casual about extraordinary things and people-” ... What, like Judai and Johan himself? Was that really what it was?  Ok- stop introspecting and actually make sense in conversation, Jun.

“You do seem... tight? Your Duel Spirits and you, I mean. That catlike ruby thingy is never more than 5 metres away from you. And-” Ugh. “The Ojamas keep saying they’d rather have you as their owner, go figure. One day they will realise that sacrificing them several times over in duels is simply how they are meant to be played-” Ah- ... No, no, he’s fine, Johan’s asked about his dueling, too, right?