"Syrus, are you okay?" Jaden asked, caught between laughter and worry as he comforted his friend. He didn't think Jiang He was lying; those three duels had certainly given Syrus experience in dealing with that kind of deck. He had even seen a bit of Syrus's growth that flicker of a duelist's conviction and bond with his cards.
Of course, what he mostly saw was Jiang He's sheer power.
"Jiang He, you really are amazing!" Jaden said, his voice full of excitement and drive. That special energy he had sensed several times before... there was no mistake! Jiang He possessed a special power. He could definitely see Duel Spirits!
"Kuri kuri...!" Just then, a small, furry monster with white wings flew out of Jaden's deck in a streak of white light invisible to ordinary eyes. Its form was translucent, almost ghostly.
Syrus didn't notice a thing, nor did he hear any sound. But Jiang He saw and heard it with perfect clarity.
"So that's what a real Winged Kuriboh looks like..." Jiang He raised an eyebrow, staring with interest at the winged puffball. He had seen it many times in his past life on screen, but seeing a real Duel Spirit in person was a first. It was a novel experience, to say the least.
If he could eventually redeem the power to materialize spirits or even touch them... or better yet, use their powers in reality, things would get very interesting.
"I knew it! You can see my partner!" Jaden exclaimed happily upon seeing Jiang He's reaction.
"Big Bro... see what partner?" Syrus looked at Jaden, then at Jiang He, looking around in total confusion. He saw nothing.
"If you mean that little guy, then yes, I can see it," Jiang He said, nodding to Jaden while glancing at the Winged Kuriboh, which was currently hovering in front of him, looking at him with curiosity.
He maintained his calm facade. He had to he didn't actually have any spirits of his own yet. He needed to research which deck to redeem from the system later. He couldn't stick with the Exodia OTK deck forever; it was just a collection of body parts and two broken libraries. Seven monster cards and not a single Duel Spirit among them...
That being said, it was a bit surprising that Jaden a hot-blooded dueling fanatic hadn't challenged him to a match yet. Jiang He had been worried that Jaden would catch the dueling itch now that he knew Exodia's weakness, and he had been trying to think of an excuse to delay until he got his new Troll Deck. He hadn't expected Jaden to stay silent.
In reality, Jaden did have the urge at first. However, after watching the duel between Jiang He and Chazz the previous night, that urge had vanished.
He had realized that a match against Jiang He's current deck was like a coin toss. If he didn't put in counters, he would just have to stand there and listen to Jiang He's "comboing" until he lost.
If he did put in specific counters and drew them while going first, his victory was assured. To Jaden, a duel that was decided purely by the opening draw with no back-and-forth interaction held absolutely no joy.
Unless Jiang He changed his deck, Jaden was willing to wait for a better opportunity. But for someone as strong as Jiang He who could also see spirits, Jaden knew it would be a tragedy if they never got to duel.
Jiang He didn't know Jaden's thoughts, nor did he care much. He was busy planning for the future. Once he had his new deck, he would find an opportunity to duel the "Chosen One" of this world and bring a smile of despair to his face. He wondered how many Emotion Points that would be worth.
In the afternoon, inside the Duel Academy healthcare classroom.
A figure with golden mushroom-style hair, wearing a blue professor's coat, was acting suspiciously. He crept toward the shoe lockers, holding a letter. He glanced left and right before frantically checking the names on the lockers to find Jiang He's.
Once he confirmed the target, he let out a "Wuhu-hu" snicker and tucked a letter adorned with a lipstick print inside the locker.
"Now that slacker boy will definitely fall for it! My chance for revenge is finally here!"
With another sneaky laugh, the golden mushroom-head looked around one last time to ensure he was unobserved before scurrying away.
"Surely Dr. Vellian Crowler wouldn't try that move right now, would he...?" Inside the classroom, Jiang He was watching the healthcare teacher give her lecture. He couldn't help but notice she had very large hair... and very white clothes. It suddenly occurred to him exactly where he was in the timeline.
He remembered that in the original story, that unlucky old mushroom-head Crowler used his "Pot of Greed"-like mouth to forge a love letter from Alexis Rhodes. He had used it to lure Jaden whom he viewed as a slacker destined for expulsion to the Obelisk Blue girls' dormitory.
The plan was to take a photo of him and frame him as a peeper, leaving the hot-blooded idiot with no way to explain himself, forcing an expulsion.
The plan had ended up being a total disaster in the original series, but now that Jiang He was here, he had become an even bigger thorn in Crowler's side than Jaden. He had way more "taunt value."
He wouldn't have switched targets to me... would he?
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. As soon as the teacher finished her lecture and gave the class free time for "healthcare activities," Jiang He found an excuse to slip out and check his locker.
Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door, he found a letter sitting right on top of his outdoor shoes, marked with a very strange lipstick print....
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