Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chirping. 

Stars in the sky. 

The empty, yet beautiful sky. 

The cold, yet, warm air outside. 

The Moon.

Those were things that occupied to Flame as he looked on as he looked at the sky with the neverending interest like a child that discovered a new show that was for him. He sat on his duel disk, looking at the sky with laser focused eyes, continuing to look even if he continued to stare at it for months. The sky was like The Sun, sure you have seen it more than a million times, yet it never gets old no matter how many times you have seen it. It held infinite possibility and beauty. 

The Fire Ignis turned to his origin, the one that saved Link VRAINS from the Knights Of Hanoi (With help from his friends), the one that wielded the Salamangreat Deck, the one whose soul burned hotter than the Sun itself, Soulburner himself, Theodore Hamilton and how he was sleeping after a long day of studying as he hugged his pillow and snored. 

Sure while it was irritating at times, Flame didn’t mind it since it was a minor thing and he could tone it down as he kept staring at the sky. 

Though, he does think it isn’t unwarranted for him to rest after saving the whole human race from the Knights of Hanoi and the Tower Of Hanoi, even if they did temporarily lose their friends during the war, as even he had to admit it was a miracle for them to win a fight like that. Especially when they battled and won against the Leader Of The Knights of Hanoi, Ryoken Kogami, or Varis. 

It was a tough duel, no matter who said it. Even managing to push over 15 turns in a span of less than an hour, pushing through all of the limitations of their decks combined in order to create a duel that won’t be forgotten any time soon. There was this issue that has been bugging Flame for a while, and it wasn’t the fear that the Knights Of Hanoi will strike back, even though that is genuinely one of the scariest things one could think about as that would think about their enemies becoming stronger, which was like giving a shotgun to soldier. 

No, it was the fact that… The Cyberse is safe. 

He can go in there without anyone giving him trouble and no one would stop him in the slightest. 

Even the best hackers in the world won’t be able to get to him as he would travel to the Cyberse.

Not SOL Tech. 

Not The Shepherd. 

Not even Ryoken. 

So, why was he scared? 

There was nothing to fear, with the exception of the reactions of his fellow Ignis. It has been a total of 5 years, not even counting the few months of battling the Hanoi and a week after their victory, since he last seen any of them. 

What would happen? Would they resent him due to the fact that it took him 5 years to get back to there? Would they be angered that most of the time he spent was in a closet, waiting for his Origin to get there and pick him up? Would they be happy that a fellow Ignis came home after thinking, worrying and dreading his death for several years and that their safety is assured, and they could finally meet their origins after so many years? 

Would they… be disgusted with the sole fact that he partnered up with a human of all things? The ones that wanted them to die for several years? The ones that wanted their extinction? 

Flame… 

Flame doesn’t know. 

Flame just wanted to see them. 

Even if it was like in that nightmare, the one that he feared the most as he ran away from them the best that he could, though he couldn’t and it almost resulted in his deletion. 

“No… That won’t happen, they are reasonable beings.” Flame assured himself, knowing that despite everything, the Water Ignis wouldn’t think of anything lowly of humans due to everything beautiful that they created, the Dark Ignis, though he wouldn’t be one to show for it, won’t hate them for something like that and would see them as beings that he could put jokes on, like with the Wind Ignis, The Earth Ignis is a shy and socially awkward Ignis that would try to understand and the Light Ignis, despite everything, knows that it was just a small part of humans and not the whole species. 

And even if they won’t trust them… he hopes that it could result in coexistence. 

That is how he and Theodore worked after all. 

Despite everything, with all of their faults, differences, they are still able to work together and be the best possible people possible. 

Flame took a deep breath, despite being an AI. He looked at his Origin, “Don’t worry, Theodore, I won’t leave you, I will return shortly after, I just want to check up on them, that is all. I promise.” Flame said as he then entered in Theodore’s duel disk. Ready to go back to his home, even for a short while. 

“The Cyberse… I am here.” said Flame. 

And he was awakened when he entered. 

Once he entered, his entire being shaked upon the horrific sight he looked at. 

Nothing stayed the same. 

INTRO! 

(A/N: Play Go Forward.)

We start out in the world of Link VRAINS, as we first see Soulburner flying to the air, knocking out some clouds in his way, as then beside him was Frostgirl who flew around her boyfriend, as then above them came down two figures, the first was Playmaker who flew down to their level as right beside him was Blue Angel as to their shock, they had an Ignis of their own. They then flew to a tower as then a title showed up which was “Bring The Heat, Soulburner!” 

We who have life are not eternal

We then cut to Theodore, Kiku and Seigen in new uniforms walking to their new school, Den City’s School. They walked past Shima Naoki, as he tried to talk to them, but they walked past him with just a wave of their hands. 

Continue to wander, seeking a meaning for living 

They continued to walk forward until two new people walked forward and joined with them. They were Skye Zaizen and Yusaku Fujiki. Seigen waved to the both of them as Kiku and Skye had a small conversation as Theodore hugged his new friend to the sides, much to the shock of Yusaku. 

Even if it's not right, we just stare before us 

We get new shots of George Gore walking out of his house, leaving behind his signature clothing with eyes that were… not like his, as like he was walking out of his old life for one that wasn’t his. There was an image of Theodore, Yusaku and Skye’s Duel Disks which showed different glows, one was dark red, the other purple and the last one light blue. From there, eyeballs popped out, much to the shock of Flame. 

Next we see Cal Kolter next to a hill with a can in his hands, looking at the new horizon with determined eyes as he breathed, letting out cold air from his mouth. We then see Theodore and Kiku looking in horror as Seigen’s full of life eyes now devoid of life as a figure went back to the TV that he was watching. 

Sharing the hope that leads to the future.

Then we see 3 Ignis having a conversation. Or more accurately, Flame and The Dark Ignis were having an argument, which the Dark Ignis started to yell at him to which Flame didn’t back down. The Water Ignis, who was right beside them, shook her head in disappointment. We now see Theodore, Yusaku, Kiku and Skye all inserting their decks into their duel disks, ready to go into the Network. 

We see quick images of Akira and The Shepherd looking at each other as their eyes were narrowed at each other, the next was Queen, Victoria Miryoku, and Bishop, Shuku Shikyo Koduku, on a beach with the former drinking martini and the latter taking a nap, as the next we see a small boy that looked like Kolter in a hospital, with the same life devoid eyes as Seigen, next one was Ryoken and the rest of the Hanoi breaking into a prison to save one of their members and the last one showed two Ignis watching two humanoid beings practise dueling each other. 

Tell me the memory I'm searching for, vanished into darkness.

We then see in Link VRAINS, both Soulburner and Playmaker were being chased by The Shepherd as he sent out several missiles at them, and even shooting from his arm, as they had Salamangreat Burst Gryphon, Salamangreat Heatleo, Salamangreat Emerald Eagle, Cyberse Magician, Decode Talker and Cyberse Quantum Dragon flying with them as The Shepherd sent several of his Drone monsters at them. 

Right beside them were Frostgirl and Blue Angel being chased by the former Number 1 Celebrity Duelist, The Gore, in a new uniform as he sent out an armada of several Dinowrestler monsters as they had General Edward Of The Ice Barrier, Trishula, The Dragon of The Ice Barrier, Trickstar Holy Angel and Trickstar Violet Sylph battling the new bounty hunter. 

 I feel your flame, your impulse that penetrates through light.

Then we see a muscular humanoid being uncovered in front of Soulburner and Frostgirl as then he looked at them with a glare as the smaller humanoid being smiled as he saw his brother pull out a never before seen card until now. 

 I want to feel that same pain. 

Then we see the same muscular humanoid being in new clothing challenge Playmaker, as they both sent out powerful monsters after another, creating a small explosion afterwards. The next we see The Earth Ignis watching in the shadows of the ones that had an Ignis with narrowed eyes. We then see The Knights Of Hanoi, all ready with new cards in their deck, ready to strike forward. 

123... 123... with soul! Yeah! Yeah! 

We then see several monsters fly upwards. They were the ace monsters of our heroes which were: Salamangreat Heatleo, Salamangreat Pyro Phoenix, Decode Talker, Firewall Dragon, General Edward Of The Ice Barrier, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier, Trickstar Holy Angel, Trickstar Violet Sylph and Marincess Wonder Heart. 

Come with me, come with me, go forward

As then we then see images: Kolter giving hot dogs to Theodore, Kiku and Seigen as Skye giggles and Yusaku has a small smile on his face, Ghost Gal looking at The Shepherd when he is not looking with a sad look on her face, Akira secretly watching his sister, Bullet Kuriboh rubbing his face on Varis’ and finally, everyone looking at the sky in a hopeful manner. 

(A/N: End of theme.)

It has been a couple of months ever since the defeat of the Knights Of Hanoi and the battle of humanity, as it was peaceful. A bit too peaceful to their liking, but they can not complain about that since a lot did happen ever since the duel between the Borrel Rokket Duelist, Varis, and the Salamangreat Duelist, Soulburner. 

The first thing that they noticed was the weird… absence of George Gore, The Gore in Link VRAINS and while yes, they were more acquaintances and comrades more than anything, yet at the same time, they did consider him a friend. So what was strange about that? He hasn’t been answering any of his calls, which they would understand due to him being the most famous duelist in Link VRAINS other than them, so that was fine. 

What wasn’t understandable is that Gore announced that he quit being a Celebrity Duelist which was a complete shock to everyone. They didn’t even know why he could do that. Was it because of envy that he wasn’t able to win against Varis and that Soulburner took all the glory? 

No, that wasn’t possible since everyone respected him for managing to even make him sweat and pulled off a great combo that helped them find out his strategy. Was it because of the kids? 

They hardly doubt that due to him being like a big and older brother for them so that wouldn’t make any sense. 

With his absence allowed Blue Angel to become the Number 1 Celebrity Duelist by proxy, however she didn’t appear for a couple of months and announced that she was taking a small break for unknown reasons, which they respected her privacy, in which by proxy, the Number 1 Celebrity Duelist was a duelist, while not as popular as the other two, does have immense respect to his name. The duelist was Slayer, the Vendread Duelist. 

The second thing that happened was the Link VRAINS was temporarily shut down for maintenance due the destroyed data that the Knights Of Hanoi caused which included the Cracking Dragon incident a year ago and the famous Tower Of Hanoi incident which almost caused a reboot of all of humanity. That was understandable as SOL Tech was trying their best to work with it as they plan on releasing it a week from now.

It would be named Link VRAINS 2.0 or New Link VRAINS, it was either or with those names. There were issues as they did hear that there was a chase around Link VRAINS while it was being repaired to the point that it banned users from going in Link VRAINS, which included one person that they did not want to come back: The Shepherd. 

The third thing that happened was just something absolutely bizarre and that is: They are now wanted by SOL Tech. Or more specifically Soulburner, Frostgirl and Stormrider for the possession of the Ignis and once Link VRAINS is rebooted, they will dispatch a team of Bounty Hunters which basically means that The Shepherd will hunt them down again. 

They think that was extremely unfair and rude since they were the ones that actually decided to do something and save their most profitable server in which they almost died fighting a man that should be classified as a Final Boss, but hey at least the public likes them enough. 

However, the final thing that happened was that the high school that they went to was shut down due to a school inspector looking after the school and found it an extremely horrible place for children to learn. From faulty equipment, to child neglectionance, to even child endangerment which was scratching the surface of all of the shady stuff that has been going on in that school, which sucks for Theodore since that was the school that his mother worked on before. 

There was one thing that had to be done and that is that they still had education to fulfill and that they had to search and apply for a different school so that they could still pursue their education.

For Theodore, Kiku and Seigen it was actually really tough for them to find a single school that was for them since most of them were either good for one of them, but horrible for the others and vice versa. They were a package, do not separate. That was not even going into the details at how much they cost and since only one of them has a part time job (Kiku) as a babysitter… yeah it was not looking good for them. 

Some private schools were off the radar due to them being not rich, but not poor at the same time, so they had to look into schools with education that wasn’t bad. And they had to discount several schools that were really far, the most they could do is 2 hours from where they live, so anything from Tokyo, Kyoto, Takayama and any other town are out of the picture. 

They found a decent school as the education was on par with some of the private schools and from what they have seen, the uniforms looked neat with them able to use tablets which they all knew that Theodore would stick to using notebooks since they do not trust him with a computer to save his life. It was in a city called Den City, a 1 hour drive, a pretty good distance and they could meet with their family any time. 

They signed up to Den City’s School’s website to see if they are able to get in the school and to their surprise and actual fortune they were able to do so. Which made Flame congratulate them… and then ask two good questions. 

“Where are we going to live?” 

“Do you have a job?”

Then they had to realize that they had to find somewhere good to live and get a good part time job  so they don’t live in the streets, eating hamburgers from the dumpsters or worse. So the three had to find a cheap apartment, which is basically having a car in New York. It is possible, not likely though. 

As then, what it felt like the Goddess of Fortune, Tyche, saved them from the hell as they were able to find an apartment close to the school, in Den City and it didn’t cost too much as they could have part time jobs to pay off taxes which Flame sighs as he knows how to deal with them. Seigen thanked the poor soul as if he didn’t pay taxes when he lived alone for over a decade. 

The next part of this, which they were shocked that they did this in less than a week, was to find a job. Kiku posted a post on Facebook that she is willing to babysit someone’s kid for a couple of hours as she did have a babysitting gig before school, which is why she is considered the rich friend of their friend group. 

For Seigen and Theodore, they looked all over the place for a good payment for a part time job as they didn’t have that much money compared to Kiku, so they tried their best at it until they have found a pretty decent place where they could get some money. 

It is in the Den City Plaza where several life-sized TVs were playing all the time and showing several duels from the past to the current to news, as it was literally smack in the middle of the city in which people could enjoy a good hot dog sandwich and be on their way or even watch the massive TVs. 

It was by the name of Cafe Nom, previously named Cafe Nagi named after the owner Kusanagi Kolter, as the owner is looking for a couple of new employees so that the small hot dog place could work for a few more hours without slaving away the one employee the owner has. Which was actually respectable for a 26 year old man that does nothing, but has arguments online about hot dogs. 

So they applied for it and after about a week (Before this week), they got the job! Which was great and the owner, Cal Kolter, said that it would be best if they decide to meet up and show the two what can and can not be done in his shop, which they agreed on since the time when they come to Den City was coming up in about a week or so. 

The week came during a Saturday, two days before school starts in Den City and they were addressed with their new uniforms in mail. It was quite nice in fact. 

What Theodore and Seigen could wear was a black suit with blue lining as the pants were black and they had brown shoes. Underneath the suit was a white shirt and either a blue or red tie. Theodore got himself a clip on to no one’s surprise. 

What Kiku could wear was almost the same, though the suit was more like a jacket as it was more open, with her tie being light blue. Her shirt was the same, though the bottom part was beige coloured. Her skirt was now black down to her knees, with her having black leggings. 

They had to admit it was more of an upgrade to what they used to where at their home town and school. 

They were at Seigen’s place one more time, as Seigen had packed everything that he needed as he tidied up the place even if he wasn’t going to be there for a long time. Seigen fixed his shoe laces as Flame was sitting on a table, waiting for them to be ready for the Uber Driver. 

What were they doing? 

“Alright, Theodore, are you sure that you have gotten everything ready, dear?” asked Theodore’s grandma over the phone as Theodore nodded. 

“Yes, I have grandma, don’t worry.” answered Theodore as they weren’t convinced. Theodore was sporting a new look as like what he said “A new school year, new me.” as he grew his hair out more to be a more rounder approach and got green glasses. His girlfriend and Seigen did make fun of how insanely goofy he looks and that his name is not helping it. 

“Clothes?” 

“Yeah.”

“Money?”

“Have it in my pocket.”

“Toothpaste?”

“In my luggage.”

“ID?”

“In my wallet alongside my money.”

“Phone?” 

“Wait a second,” said Theodore as he began walking around the apartment, “No, I do-” he then noticed his flip phone in his hands and face palmed, “In my hands.” 

“How about-”

“Dear, may I talk to him for a moment?” Theodore’s grandma asked his wife to which she looked at him and then nodded, “Thank you.” he said as he got a hold of the phone, “Theodore, I just want to tell you something.”

“Yeah? What is it?” asked Theodore as he glanced at his flip phone.

“It will be difficult to not have you around, but I understand that it is normal for people to grow up and to be in the real world. If you need advice on how to do something or advice on what to do in life, then I will be with you, talking to you and helping you the best that I could,” his grandpa began as he was then quiet, “I want you to promise me one thing and that is all.”

Theodore nodded to his grandpa, “Sure… what is it?” the savior of Link VRAINS asked cautiously. 

“Make sure that you make friends out there, alright? I know you already have them, though it is nothing to be ashamed of to have more, to expand around to have as many as friends that you could have. You are a good boy and a grandson, Theodore, I want you to realize that.” his grandpa as Theodore looked at his flip phone and smiled. 

“I will. Thanks, grandpa… I love you.” said Theodore as his grandpa smiled at him. 

“Love you too. Let’s talk in a different time.” he said as the silver-red haired boy nodded with a smile on his face. 

“That sounds great, grandpa.” Theodore ended the phone call. 

Meanwhile, Kiku was on the phone with her parents and Kiki and the phone call was going a little differently. 

“I am going to miss you so much, Dear!” yelled Kirin Kamishirakawa as he didn’t want to see his baby girl leave so early on. “Just please don’t leave.”

“But, dad, I have to for my educa-”

“I am willing to homeschool you. I will help you learn algebra!” begged Kirin as Kiku sweatdropped hearing her dad act like this. 

“Dear, I think you should let her go to a different city.” Fuyuko Kamishirakawa turned to her husband as he was crying on the phone as then her husband turned around to face her. 

“But Fuyuko, I don’t want that to happen.” Kirin said as then Fuyuko hugged her husband. 

“I know, I know.” Fuyuko said. 

“They grow up so fast…”

“Right in front of me, ew.” said Kiki as he turned to the phone. “Hey…”

“I know, don’t worry, I will call you when I come to the apartment-”

“No, I was about to say that I am going to use your computer.” Kiki was one of the few people to truly piss off Kiku to the point that she throws away her nice girl status. Only Specter could even challenge this little boy and even then it is a complete wash. 

“DON’T YOU DARE, YOU LITTLE S-”

“Bye.” Kiki cancelled the phone with a smirk on his face. 

Kiku looked at her phone as she breathed in and out, “I am going to strangle him when I come back.” 

While Seigen was sitting on the couch, waiting for his friends to talk to their family before leaving to get to the Uber, he noticed at how Flame was at the current moment. For some strange reason, he was becoming rather quiet, not that it was a bad thing, but it is noticeable that he is less prone to voice out his opinion compared to previously and this happened after the Tower Of Hanoi was shut down. 

“Hey, Flame, can I ask you something?” asked Seigen as he turned towards the Fire Ignis. 

Flame snapped out of whatever trance he was in as he turned to his friend, “Hmm? Sure go ahead, Seigen.” 

“Is… everything alright with you?” asked Seigen which shocked Flame a little bit at how forward he was. 

Flame looked at him after he asked that, “What do you mean? How can you say that?” He asked, not in a disrespectful tone, rather, an interested one. 

“Have you… not noticed it yourself?” asked Seigen as Flame narrowed his eyes. 

“Noticed what?” 

“I mean the way you are quiet for a long time until you want to comment on something or ask for advice, or even give advice and it has been going on for a few weeks now.” said Seigen as he then began to scratch his neck, “Sure you aren’t the most talkative person out there, however, you aren’t this quiet, so is everything alright?”

Flame was silent for a few seconds as Seigen could see the look in his eyes and it was like that of a soldier looking at a destroyed city, “I… don’t honestly know. It is just that… it…” Flame was silent as Seigen narrowed his eyes. 

“Did something happen to you lately?” asked Seigen as Flame stiffened as he gave a confusing look on his face. 

“It is complicated …”

“Okay, that is fine! You know I am just asking if you are okay and that is it.” said Seigen as he then felt a small smile appear on Flame’s face, which made him smile. 

“And I am thankful for that, truly I am, the thing about this is just that I am…” Flame couldn’t even form a sentence trying to comprehend what he could say to lower his worry. 

Seigen  looked at his friend in worry, “Is it personal?” he asked. 

Flame nodded, “It is personal, I am sorry, but I feel uncomfortable thinking about it and I… I am sorry.” said Flame as he tries not to remember what he saw, what he remembered months ago. 

“Hey, you don’t have to be sad about that or feel like you should talk about it, if it makes you uncomfortable to talk about it, or if it is personal, then you don’t have to talk about it, alright?” asked Seigen as Flame looked at his friend with a smile on his face, even without a mouth on his face. 

“Thank you, Seigen, for being thoughtful.” Flame said with a thankful tone in his voice. 

“Anytime, that is what friends are for, right?” asked Seigen as Fire Ignis nodded.

“Right.”

“Alright,” the two then turned to Kiku and Theodore walking out of different rooms with their baggage in their hands, “Are you two finished packaging?” they both said at the same time as they looked at each other, “Sorry, you can go ahead and talk.” they said at the same time again. “No you can go. No you!” Kiku and Theodore exclaimed at the same time, “You go first and then I talk! Dang it!” they said at the same time and then they placed their hands on their foreheads at the same time. 

Seigen and Flame blinked as then they turned to each other, “What just hap pened? Oh not aga in!”

The four agreed to never speak of this again. While saying that at the same time. 

After a few minutes of the same back and forth, the 4 got all of their baggage outside of the apartment.. Seigen looked back at his apartment before locking the door, waiting for the Uber to show up outside of his apartment. 

Seigen looked at the sundown and knew that a new saga has just opened to all of their eyes, as the Uber got to his apartment. 

It took a while for them to get all of their baggage inside of the Uber’s trunk as Seigen had to turn into a professional Tetris player and managed to get all of them to fit perfectly inside of the trunk. And even then it barely fit inside of the trunk. Theodore, Kiku, Seigen and Flame got inside of the Uber’s car as the driver, who was a man that wore a suit, black tie, rectangle glasses with black eyes and hair, looked at them, “Where do you have to go?”

They looked at each other, with Flame being hidden so he doesn’t give the poor man a heart attack, and they looked at him, “To Den City.” they all agreed with Kiku showing the correct address.

The driver nodded as he started the car. 

Then they all began to leave Mustafu City…

…and towards Den City. 

Setting a new chapter to their lives. 

1 Hour Later

It took them approximately an hour to get to their destination and from the looks of it, it was the same as before, however, this time, it was more modern and more polished then the one that Seigen lived in his entire life. 

They got out of the car and got all of their baggage from their trunk. Theodore walked towards the driver and got out his wallet and payed him the right amount of money. The Uber driver nodded and drove off to a different location that called him. 

They looked at the apartment, which was going to be their new place of living for a few years as they looked at each other, with Flame looking at the apartment with narrowed eyes.

As then they walked in and they walked for a few minutes upstairs as they did get a room that was on top of the floor of the building. Before that, they got a key to the their apartment room as they then opened it. 

They were then surprised to see how it looked. It was a mixture of both modern and traditional Japanese homes. 

The floor was made out of wooden tatami floors with the exteriors, aka the wall, being that of old wood from traditional trees as the doors were that of sliding doors that were made out of birch wood. There was a balcony window of which they could walk and enjoy the fresh breeze and the view. There was a couch that they could sit on and a TV that they could watch, the kitchen was that of a standard kitchen, nothing to be ashamed of. The bathroom was standard as well as this was the only room with a standard door with a lock, which was the most understandable part of the entire apartment. The room had 3 futons on the floor, which they could sleep on.  

To say that they were shocked to see all of this would be an understatement of the century, second only to the claim of “Varis is a scary duelist”, as they were perplexed, baffled, bewildered and shocked at the sheer image alone. 

The next second they voiced their opinions out loud, “What the heck?!” they said as Flame looked astonished. 

“This is amazing. So pretty as well.” said Kiku as she began to walk around to see what it looked like, right after taking her shoes off and placing them on the corner. The boys however? They continued to gawk at the entire place. 

“How the hell did we afford this?” asked Theodore as he doesn’t even think 2 part time jobs and babysitting could afford this apartment in a month. 

“I have no idea, bro.” Seigen looked around to see the apartment with his own two eyes.  

“This is insane for the amount that we paid for! Well you three, but you get the picture.” Flame said as he was being held by Theodore as he was in a duel disk. 

“Yeah we do, Flame, don’t worry, but like dang.” Theodore saw Kiku admiring a painting that was that of the legendary myth of Raijin and then right next to that traditional painting was an anime poster of Black Clover. 

“I know right? How much did this cost?” Seigen asks as he thinks about hacking the nearby bank to get a free loan. Not the first he did that.  

“More than we can afford that I can say.” commented Theodore as he saw the walls made out of acacia wood. 

“I looked at the website and it says 80 000 yen.” said Flame, much to everyone’s shock. 

“What?!” the two boys yelled out loud. 

“We actually managed to afford it?!” Seigen yelled at the Fire Ignis as their neighbours wonder how insane their new neighbours are. 

“… dude I hope that the pay for our part time jobs would be enough.” Theodore turned to his best friend as he nodded. 

“Same here, I do not want to be a homeless man.” Seigen said like he doesn’t plan on hacking a bank in his head.  

“Good news: I looked up the pay for Cafe Nom and the pay is surprisingly really good for a part time job as it helped the only employee to have more than enough to live by.” said Flame, much to their shock and happiness as they took a sigh of relief as Kiku is looking around the place, without a care in the world.  

“Well that is good, I just hope the boss is not one of those that require way too much.” says Theodore even if there is a small moment of doubt that their new boss, Cal Kolter, would be a bad boss. 

“I doubt that, but same here, we need the cash to survive.” Seigen replied to him. Then Theodore had an idea, a rare moment he thinks about the current situation. 

“Wait, we are going to work at a hot dog stand, right?” Theodore asks, not in a way that he doesn’t know, but more of an observation. 

“Yeah?” Seigen answered. 

“Wouldn’t we get free food there then?” Theodore asks. 

“I sure hope so!” Seigen blinked as he then looked at his friend.  

“It wouldn’t be immoral to get free food from the place you work at, maybe you would get a discount.” Flame said to them, which didn’t destroy their hope of getting free food, somehow. 

“Hey, a discount is still better than a full price,” said Theodore as Seigen nodded. 

“I can agree with that.” Seigen agreed with him. 

Kiku then got out of the room she was looking at as Flame looked at her, “Are you finished with looking around?” asked Flame as Kiku nodded. 

“I am and I want to say that this place is amazing. Shocked that we are able to afford it.” they agreed to that much. “So… when do we start organizing our packages?” asked Kiku as she looked at the packages behind them as they turned around to face them as well. They then turned to Kiku. 

“Tomorrow after our interview?” asked Theodore what they thought about that, “It is getting late so, I thought about going to bed. Is that alright with everyone?” 

They then looked at him as then they got tired all of a sudden. 

“Actually… that sounds like a good idea.” Seigen said as he couldn’t believe his words as he didn’t that sentence was possible to even say. 

“Yeah… I… am going to bed.” said Kiku as they then went to the same bedroom. 

Theodore then put Flame on one of the furniture as they went to change into their casual clothes that they placed in the bathroom and by that I mean simple white shirts with long comfortable pants. First Kiku went, then Seigen and then Theodore as they went into their single bed room with 3 futons on the floor. 

“Night everyone,” said Theodore as he placed his glasses in a case and placed the case a few meters away from the futon. Maybe he will get a stand for the case.

“Night Teddy.” said Kiku to her boyfriend and then turned to Seigen who rolled over as he tucked himself. She did the same. 

“Night dude.” Seigen slept despite chugging 2 energy drinks into a coffee mixer 10 hours ago. 

“Goodnight.” said Flame as despite not ever feeling the need to sleep, said it out of formality. 

As then they feel asleep of the night, waiting for a new day as Flame looked at the floor, wondering when it is time to speak at what he saw, to what he saw was something even a veteran soldier would crumble to. 

The Next Day

To most surprise, Seigen was the first to wake up, which then again wasn’t that shocking since that dude drinks so much energy drinks and coffee that his blood should be made out of caffeine rather than blood cells. He should go to rehab for caffeine since no human should drink so much to the point it could restart a machine back to perfect condition. The fact that his heart rate was decently normal is a miracle. 

Seigen then walked over to the bag with his own clothing, walked to the bathroom, closed the door and changed. He was currently wearing a blue Adidas shirt and short black Lotto pants, with long gray socks. 

Seigen walked to the kitchen which instantly woke Kiku up since these two boys can’t cook up rice without burning down the kitchen, however she went to sleep after she sensed him take a butterknife and jam as he spreaded it on a piece of bread.

The caffeine addicted teen then went to the coffee maker and took the strongest type of coffee he has and put it inside of the maker. He took a cup, which was a mug that had the wordings “Ew, people.” on it as he placed it in the maker. As then, he got his coffee and sat on the couch. 

Then, Kiku walked out of the room, groggily whipping her eyes as she continued to walk to the kitchen to get some coffee as well, not as strong as whatever the fuck he was just drinking, but something weaker. 

“Morning.” Seigen greeted as he took a bite of the jam. 

“Good Morning.” said Kiku as she then walked into the kitchen to grab herself a cup of coffee form a different coffee maker since she does not trust Seigen’s addiction with her life. Kiku then took a smaller cup and a carton of milk. She then poured the milk into her cup after pouring coffee into her cup. She had a cup of latte. Kiku then walked to her best friend and sat on the couch. 

“Did you sleep well?” asked Seigen as he took a sip of the coffee in his hands and took a bite of the jam. 

“Yeah… I did.” Kiku said as she remembered it was something about going to a forest with a pet wolf. Weird dream. “And you?” 

“I slept well even with the same dream of losing that creepy tree guy.” After the defeat against the Knight Of Hanoi’s Leader’s Right Hand man, Specter, he still had dreams of losing the same guy over and over again. He kinda got  used to those dreams after a while. 

“Don’t remind me of that guy.” Kiku groaned as even though she defeated that man with Trishula, the memories of him were still in her mind for what he did. 

“Sorry.” Seigen apologized as he remembered that he couldn't use Ho-Oh, the Reincarnation of Nephthys due to it being destroyed by that man. 

“It is fine and sorry for what happened,” Kiku said as she remembered at the sight of him losing the Cyberse Card that managed to win against Faust, however she then noticed what he was holding, “…Hey, Seigen.”

“Yeah?” The Nephthys duelists turned to his best friend. 

“What are you drinking?” Kiku inquired as she should know by now what he was drinking. 

Seigen shrugged his shoulders as he took a sip of his coffee, “Oh you know,” Seigen then placed the cup on the small table near them, ”the usual.” 

“And that is?” Kiku raised her brow seeing this man drink like a maniac. 

“Energy drinks mixed with several shots of espresso.” answered Seigen as if his hands weren’t shaking from taking that much caffeine which shocked Kiku just by hearing that. Her stomach turned by just thinking about drinking that much caffeine. 

“Seigen… I love you, but how on God’s Green Earth are you not dead?” Kiku gawked at that answer since no human should have that much caffeine in their system. 

“I asked that question myself every day.” Seigen simply answered the question. 

Kiku turned to him as she took a sip of her latte, “Seigen, this is not a joke, you are going to die of a heart attack with that much caffeine and that is not even mentioning the fact that you are going to faint with so much sugar.” Kiku told him yet to her surprise, he didn’t seem too bothered by that fact. 

“Hey, you know what they say, what doesn’t kill you, it only makes you stronger.” Seigen said that as someone had hold back from telling him off that quote doesn’t apply to this situation. 

“You know damn well that is not what that quote means.” Kiku said that as Seigen didn’t seem too shaken by that. In fact, he smirked. 

“It does if you are built different.” He said with a smirk on his face. 

“...you are impossible.” Kiku sighed as she placed her hands on her face. 

“Love you too.” Seigen said as he crossed his legs. 

“One of these days, I am going to send you to rehab and therapy.” Kiku said, hands still on her face, not even facing her best friend.  

“With our combined money? Good luck, buddy.” Seigen said as he saw Kiku place her hands together after getting her hands off her face. 

“…I need more girl friends, dear gosh.” said Kiku as she suddenly wished she doesn’t hang out with guys more than girls. Hopefully, she gets at least one girl friend. 

Then we cut back to Theodore, who was still asleep having… the weirdest dream ever. “No… no…. dad, not the nitroglycerin!” He then woke up with a tired looking Flame. “Oh, morning Flame.”

“Morning, Theodore.” said Flame as he looked at his origin. 

“Yeah, I… had a weird dream.” said Theodore as Flame was silent. 

“Was it the one that your dad wants to put you into a lobster costume for no reason?” deduced Flame as Theodore looked at him. 

“Yeah that one! You are on the money!” then Theodore looked at him confused, “Wait, how do you know what I was dreaming?”

Flame wanted to say that he listened to him talk about the same dream, however that would be a lie so he decided to come clean, “I like to watch you sleep sometimes… and by sometimes, I mean often.”

“What.”

“Look, when the only beings you have been with for the first 5 years being that of your own species, who never get tired outside of the Dark Ignis, and sentient Cyberse Monsters that are off the same boat, you too would be interested in the idea of a creature sleeping every night next to you for the past year.” Flame explained his situation to his Origin, that didn’t really help his case all that much. 

“That is pretty weird.” said Theodore. 

“Be lucky that you didn’t get the other Ignis. I am pretty sure the Water Ignis would try to have you sleep for 8 hours with pillows all around your bed, The Dark and Wind Ignis would try to prank you while you are asleep and the Earth and Light Ignis?... I think they wouldn’t bother, but you get my point.” said Flame, which really didn’t help his case. 

“Uh huh.” said Theodore as Flame crossed his arms and turned around. 

Theodore then decided to change into more comfortable clothing, which is why he is wearing a red shirt with no sleeves with gray short pants. He is getting fired for wearing that to the job interview. 

He then walked out of the room, with his flip phone and wallet in his pocket, “Hey, Seigen are you ready to go to Cafe Nom?”

“Oh I was 30 minutes ago.” said Seigen as he finished the drink that legally should not be made. 

“I was asleep for that long?” asked Theodore as Seigen shook his head. 

“Oh no… much longer, an hour in fact.” said Seigen as Theodore widened his eyes. 

“Oh shoot! We have to go now, Seigen!” yelled Theodore as his best friend stood up and began to walk towards. 

“Wait.. Are you two seriously going to wear that to your interview?” asked Kiku as they looked at her, confused. 

“Yeah?” they both answered. 

Kiku nodded as she looked at the ground, “I am going to be the breadwinner of this goddamn place.” At this point, she feels like a wife with 2 stay-at- home husbands looking after their one kid (Flame.). 

Speaking off, “Where is Flame?” 

“In the bedroom.” answered Theodore as he tied his shoelaces. 

“Can confirm.” they could hear Flame’s voice from the bedroom. 

Kiku breathed in and tried to stay optimistic. “Okay, good luck with your interviews and I will try sort most of our luggage.” 

“Good luck with that,” Seigen said as he opened the door.

“We will call you later on how it goes like, talk to you later Kiku! Love you!” said Theodore as they then walked out of the apartment. 

“Love you too.” said Kiku as she then walked into the bedroom to take Flame so that she could at least talk to someone while she does something. 

At Cafe Nom

“There we are! Only 6 wrong turns and we finally reached our destination!” said Theodore optimistically as Seigen looked at him. Sure they did arrive at Cafe Nom so why was he upset? 

“It took us an hour to get here, man! AN HOUR!” yelled Seigen as he regretfully gave this moron a chance to be the map to an unknown city that they haven’t been until yesterday, even though he has a worse sense of direction than the undefeated Champion from Galar and a certain 3 sword user combined. 

“Don’t blame me! I-”

“DON’T BLAME YOU!? You said, and I quote, “Trust me, I got this.” and we nearly went to the SEWERS! THE FUCK YOU MEAN DON’T BLAME ME?!” yelled Seigen as he then sighed, “Next time I am using Google Maps and not your stupid senses!” 

“Ouch.”

“Don’t ouch me.” they then walked to the supposed place that they had to work at and to their shock, it was only one person working. 

It was a young man, probably the same age as them, with the most ridiculous hair they have ever seen in their entire life. At the back of the hair, it was dark blue with dark blue bangs at the front, as the front had a lighter shade of blue with purple highlights as there were sharp strands of purple around his blue coloured hair. He had emerald coloured eyes as his attire consisted of a black short sleeved shirt, black pants and an apron at the front. Near the boy was a duel disk of the same type that they use. 

They then noticed how he was grilling hot dogs which they were a bit concerned just by looking at them. 

“Uh… I think those hot dogs were done an hour ago,” said Seigen as then the boy noticed them as he looked kinda upset, as he then looked casual once more.

Theodore noticed him looking at them as he tried his best to stop an upcoming argument, “Unless you want to have them charcoaled.” 

The boy then sighed as he looked back at his hot dogs that he was cooking, “They are still pink.”

“They are supposed to be pink, but hey you are the chef,” said Theodore as Seigen looked at those hot dogs as if they had killed his parents in an alley. 

“Seriously, you are kinda triggering me.” said Seigen as he then glared at those hot dogs so that he could get the message. “Flip them over, at least.”

“It is safer to overcook them rather than undercook them.” said the boy as Theodore looked at his best friend, who was still glaring at them. 

“I think someone disagrees with that.” Theodore said, however to his surprise, the boy didn’t look the slightest bothered. Almost like he was bothered by someone more annoying. 

“Well, I am not changing my opinion. It is better to get a burnt tongue rather than salmonella.” said the blue haired boy as he was slightly surprised that this conversation sounded exactly the same with his girlfriend the other day. The chances of that happening is small, but not impossible. 

“When was the last time you flipped them over?” asked Seigen as Theodore prayed to all Gods that he wasn’t the boss. 

“I haven’t flipped them over yet, I pulled them out of the packaging 5 minutes ago.” admitted the boy as he turned around for a moment to grab a bottle of ketchup and mustard and place them on the counter. 

“More like 5 hours ago.” said Seigen in the most disgusted face anyone could ever make.

“Seigen come on, if he was the boss you would have gotten us fired.” said Theodore as his best friend didn’t stop. 

“If this is the boss, then fire me.” Seigen would rather sleep in a cardboard box in the streets than working with a boss that can cook like this. 

“DUDE!” Theodore yelled as he then turned to the boy with a slow turn,” ... Wait, are you the boss?”

“No, I am just his employee.” Theodore sighed in relief hearing that as the boy then put 2 and 2 together, “Hold on, you are the two new employees that Kolter told me about?”

Seigen, snapped out of his disgust at how this man is cooking, looked at him with a nod, “Yeah?”

“We are here for the interview with him. Do you know where he is?” asked Theodore as he looked towards the boy in an apron. 

“He is visiting his brother in a hospital, he should be here at any moment.” the boy answered the question as he kept his attention at the hot dogs. 

“Oh shoot. What happened to him?” asked Theodore as that even got Seigen’s attention as he didn’t expect that answer from him. The boy, however, remained cool headed as he answered the question. 

“Personal information.” he answered as they clicked their tongues hearing that. 

“Ah… sorry.” they both said at the same time. 

“It is fine.” he assured them that it was fine as then he narrowed his eyes ”What are your names?”

“I am Seigen Futai and this is my friend, Theodore Hamilton.” Seigen answered it for both of them which confused the boy upon hearing that.

“Theodore Hamilton?” he said in confusion as he didn’t expect that name, “Are you from the US? That isn’t a very common name here.” he inquired.

“Well, my dad is from the US and my mom is from Japan.” Theodore answered as the boy nodded, hearing that it wasn’t uncommon for people to travel to Japan and decided to live in the country. 

“I see.” he said. 

“What is your name then since you asked for names.” asked Theodore as the boy looked at him. 

“It is Yusaku. Yusaku Fujiki.” the boy finally introduced himself as then he could hear cheering and yet no one was there. Even Theodore and Seigen looked around, which was the opportunity for Yusaku to look at his duel disk and think to himself “God damn it, Ai.” 

Seigen ignored the sitcom noises, “Oh well it is nice to meet you, Fujiki.”

“Call me Yusaku, I think it is safe to say we are going to be co-workers if you don’t act like how we first met.” said Yusaku, eyes still on his duel disk for some strange reason. 

“Right…” said Seigen as Theodore looked at Yusaku staring at his duel disk. 

“Hey, are you a duelist?” asked Theodore which made Yusaku snap out of his slight anger and then turned to him. 

“Hmm? What makes you say that?” asked Yusaku.

“Well you have a duel disk just like ours at the corner and it does have a deck, so I was just asking.” explained Theodore as it was one of the few times where he actually was really observant of someone in a long time and noticed how long he stared at his duel disk, nearly burning the hot dogs into charcoal. 

“Oh. Yes I do participate in duels, though not that much. I have heard about Link VRAINS and its recent events though, even if I am not that interested.” said Yusaku as he could see the small glance his duel disk did as he ignored him. 

“Ahh I see.” said Seigen. 

Then Yusaku thought about something, as he wanted to see something for himself, “What colours are your duel disks, if I may ask?” Yusaku curiously asked. 

“Oh green and red for us. His girlfriend doesn’t have a duel disk like ours, though, she uses the newer ones.” explained Seigen, which Yusaku nodded to. 

“Interesting...” said Yusaku as his suspicion of the two has grown exponentially as even Ai knew that something was up with them as that does sound familiar. Even they sounded familiar to certain duelists. He then heard footsteps as he looked at the man walking towards him and the two new future employees. Seigen and Theodore turned to the man. 

He was a 26 year old man, with purple hair that reached towards his neck, purple eyes and an Egyptian goatee. He wore a white shirt, which was then covered up by a purple coloured hoodie and a detective style brown coloured jacket, with black jeans and long leather boots. He, along with Theodore, Seigen and Yusaku heard sitcom-style cheering, which they then looked around for a few seconds. 

It took the man and Yusaku about 3 seconds to realize where it came from as Yusaku glared at his duel disk once more as the man ignored it. “Hey, bud, how is the stand going? New customers?” asked the man. 

Yusaku stopped glaring at his duel disk for a few seconds as he turned to the man. “Oh hey, Kolter, the stand is doing fine and thankfully it is not on fire like last time.” the tow looked at Yusaku in shock just by hearing that one sentence,“They are not customers, they are here for the interview for the job.” explained Yusaku to the now known  Cal Kolter. 

“Really?” asked Kolter as he then turned to the two smaller people “Oh, you two must be Theodore and Seigen that wanted to have an interview here, right?” the two nodded to him “Well you are in luck because the door is open. Take a seat at that table, please and it will begin.” Kolter gestured

“Outside?” Theodore raised a brow. 

“Yup.” Kolter said as he popped the p. 

“Shouldn’t it be inside?” Asked Theodore as even though this is his first interview in his life, he knew that it should have been inside, at least. 

“It would, but it won’t really be comfortable and don’t worry, nobody will spy on this conversation.” explained Kolter as he only saw a few people walking by and even a new customer approaching. 

Both of them looked at each other before sighing, “Okay, fine.” Seigen sad. 

“I hope this goes well.” said Theodore as they walked to the nearest table. 

Kolter then turned to Yusaku, “Hey, bud.” he said as Yusaku looked at him. 

“Yeah?” Yusaku asked.

“Do you mind manning the grill for a few more moments?” asked Kolter as Yusaku looked at him why he might do that as he nodded.

“I don’t mind at all.” he said as he then placed a hot dog on a hot dog bun, spread ketchup and mayonnaise on the hot dog and gave it to the customer that ordered it. The customer then paid with cash and walked off. 

“Cool, thanks buddy!” said Kolter as then he took a notebook and a pen from the stand and walked towards the table where they were sitting, “Are you ready for the interview?” asked Kolter. 

“Yup.”

“Kinda?” said Seigen and Theodore.

“Don’t worry, these questions will be what you hear at any interview and as long as you are honest, then everything will be fine.” reassured Kolter as the two nodded, ready for the interview, “Why do you want this job?”

“The answer is quite simple, I want to grow my interests and skills so that I can reshape them into something I am proud of.” answered Seigen as before this, he read through several articles about the most common questions and how to answer them. 

“I don’t want to be homeless?” Theodore, on the other hand, did not. 

Kolter nodded as he wrote down something on his notebook as he then looked at them, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” He asked a hard to answer question.

“In 5 years, I would like to be in a position and in a job on which I have learned from this experience so that I would get to know my employer.” answered Seigen. 

“Hopefully, I graduated high school and have a place of my own.” said Theodore. 

Kolter had to admit it was a good answer to both answers as those were good ideas for a future. “Alright. What can you bring to my company?”

“A new experience with an intellectual mind that could help you find your goal and dreams.” answered Seigen as he turned to Theodore, hoping he would at least answer with some dignity. 

“4 extra arms to work so that you don’t have to overwork yourself?” Theodore answered the question as Seigen nearly facepalmed himself just hearing that. 

Kolter wrote down some notes as he then turned to them, “Tell me about a challenge or a conflict that you’ve faced at work and how you dealt with it.” He crossed his arms as then the two widened their eyes and Kolter narrowed his eyes, almost knowing what happened to them. Even if they knew that no matter what, he might already know what they have experienced. 

There were two things that they could answer with: The Lost Incident or the Tower Of Hanoi, which they couldn’t speak about. Sure the Lost Incident was a known thing, only by name, however they aren’t sure if they should talk about that since it is a personal issue and he might think that they are lying. The Tower Of Hanoi is a hell no since they are practically wanted, at least in Link VRAINS. 

They had to think of something, “During most of time, my parents were… busy, so I had to find a way to look after myself, how to eat, how to make a meal, how to do many things despite me being a child.” Seigen then turned his gaze towards his best friend, hoping that he had an interesting or believable lie. 

“I was faced back at a wall several times in one instance, where there was an almost unattainable goal in front of me, yet no matter how much I pushed back, the force pushed me back further, but in the end, I was able to push through all of the hardships for freedom.” said Theodore, thinking back to his duel against Varis at how that was his hardest battle up to now. 

“Vague, yet… truthful. They didn’t explain their situations in the slightest, yet gave their honest thoughts. There is a chance that they could be them, but…” Kolter thought to himself as he then sighed, “Alright. What are your weaknesses?”

They both sighed at hearing a much lighter subject and question as that was easier to answer, “Oh I am such a perfectionist of my work to the point that I would stay up at late hours of the night to accomplish a task that I found rather difficult.” answered Seigen, which was completely truthful. 

“I am not good at technology at all. Not good at math either.” said Theodore as the man next to him cringed hearing that. 

“What are your strengths?” asked Kolter as he wrote down a couple of notes on his notebook, which hopefully was a good thing. 

“While it is my weakness, my laser focus at a task is also my greatest strength as no matter how long it may take, how hard it might be to finish, I always plan on finishing my task.” answered Seigen. 

“I like to think that I am pretty friendly with people and that no matter what, I would sacrifice a lot to save one of them.” answered Theodore. 

Kolter wrote down a couple of notes as he nodded, “Alright… What are your hobbies?” asked Kolter which was so far the last question he needed to have for the interview. 

“I like to dabble on using the computer or technology, as in writing, looking up new ideas for a new project and I like to upgrade new parts to already existing products.” answered Seigen as Theodore scratched his neck. 

“I guess… dueling? I don’t do it that much compared to others. Oh and martial arts! I am a black belt at karate, kick boxing, judo and more!” answered Theodore. 

“Oh nice, nice.” said Kolter as he wrote down all of the information, “Now the interview is over… for now. And believe me when I say this, you guys should have done a bit more research to be more formal. This was only been a way to show what you should do and don’t alright?” The two nodded. “Okay, good. The final thing I want is: your digital footprint.”

“Huh?” Seigen widened his eyes hearing that. 

“What is that?” asked Theodore as Kolter turned to him. 

“What is what?”

“Digital Footprint. I know what a footprint is, but not a digital one.” said Theodore as he looked at Kolter, “What is a digital footprint?” 

“Well in short, a company hires a different company to look up and search what a person posts online, either a video or a comment, everything is taken to the conversation so that the company knows what you post.” explained Kolter which Theodore nodded to that, “And that includes Social Media-”

“What’s that?” asked Theodore as they turned to him in complete shock. 

“Social Media?”

“Yup.”

“...basically a type of app that allows you to talk to someone on the internet as it does not matter where you live, as long as you have it, you are able to talk to anyone you want to and it could post different subjects.” explained Kolter, which was like explaining that to a child. 

“Ahh… never had it.” said Theodore which further confused Kolter as he never met someone that didn’t have a single Social Media account. 

“You never had an Instagram account?”

“Nope.”

“Tumblr?”

“Never heard about it.”

“Twitter? Or X as it is now called.” 

“Uhh… no.”

“YouTube?”

“Nah.”

“Reddit?” 

“Nuh uh.”

“Whatsapp?”

“Nadda.” 

“Fucking MySpace?” 

“What is that?” 

“Okay… so I think it is safe to assume that checking your digital footprint is like putting a bandage on a covered wound.” said Kolter which Seigen agreed to that as his friend is as bad as a blind monkey to Social Media. Kolter then turned to the brown haired boy. “Can I borrow your phone for a bit? We have a way to check in my stand. Don’t worry, I will give it back after it is done.”

Seigen looked at him as then he sighed, “Sure.” He checked his pockets for his phone and gave it to him. 

“Thank you.” Kolter then walked into the stand and moved past Yusaku (Who was spreading ranch to one of the customers and giving it to them), and placed it on a machine. After typing on his laptop for a few moments, they could hear a printer, below the desk, printing a piece of paper as Kolter then took it and the phone. 

He gave the phone back to Seigen as he began to read it. “Uh uh… oh interesting… didn’t know that… ah…” He then looked at Seigen and then back to the piece of paper, “I see…” Seigen sighed as Theodore looked at him confused, “...oh cool… ah… nice… well… I don’t think I can legally say that… oooohh… radical… I see…”

Kolter then looked at Seigen, who was sweating bullets as he practically read almost every Lobotomy Kaisen meme in that piece of paper and much worse, “...I gotta admit… you are safe.”

“Alright… I have to say that you two got the job,” said Kolter as then Theodore and Seigen then high fived each other, “However… There are a couple of things to note: 1, your clothing. You have to wear a suit no matter the job. 2, watch what you post on the internet as it will affect your life,” Kolter looked at the Nephthys duelist with a side eye, “and 3, do some practice with the interview questions and try to make it interesting, alright? Food for thought.” 

“I understand.”

“I will keep those words to the heart.” they answered. 

Kolter smiled, “Good. Okay, let me head you to the main station.” He then showed the tables that they were sitting on, “These are the tables that you have to go to either ask what they would like to order or bring the order to the tables, even if they didn’t order to the stand.” said Kolter as they then walked inside of the small truck as Yusaku got off, grabbing his duel disk and a hot dog to eat. 

Yusaku took a bite as he then took out his phone and did a Wordle Puzzle of the day. 

“This is where you have to work most of the time! Here is the mop that you can use to mop the floor once or twice a day,” they looked at a mop near the door, “That is the coffee machine if the people want to order from it or you could use to make coffee for yourselves. Not to mention there are mugs and cups, with whipped cream, sugar, milk and so much more.”

Kolter then turned to the condiments, “These are the condiments that you will use. They range from ranch, mayo and ketchup with some toppings, for example onions. Word of advice, always ask if they want condiments since some like them without them. Without anything.” He then walked to the end of the first part of the truck not counting the front seat, “And this is the place where you can charge your phone if they are dead and here is something nice that you might enjoy,” he then pointed to a piece of paper which they leaned on to see what he was pointing to, “The WiFi password.” 

“Oh nice.” said Seigen as he pulled out his phone. 

“Really? Right now?” asked Theodore as his best friend rolled his eyes as he put his phone back. 

Kolter chuckled, “It’s cool. Don’t worry about it.” Kolter then pointed to the cash register, “This is a cash register and in this, you just put the amount that they paid with the price and you have to give them the change. Don’t forget to give them the receipt.” said Kolter as he then pointed to the grill and thankfully it was turned off. “This is the grill and the center of the job where you grill a good hot dog. Once you are done with the dogs, clean the grill and its leftovers.”

“Don’t people use a grill with the leftovers?” asked Theodore as Kolter turned to him with the most done face they have ever seen. 

“Do you want me to have a yell off with the health inspector?” asked Kolter as they looked at each other. 

“No?”

“The correct answer.” Kolter then pulled out a container underneath the grill, “And here are the hot dog buns that I have on standby that you would need to function. I usually buy them 2 to 3 days after using them, and don’t worry, they are perfectly good to eat. They are like bread, and this…” Kolter then opened up the fridge that was to the right of the grill. “Is the fridge where we keep the hot dogs. The same is said for when I buy them.” 

“And that is pretty much all that I have to say about the work place, ya got any questions?” asked Kolter as they looked at each other. 

“Where is the bathroom?” asked Theodore as Kolter chuckled. 

“To the left of the truck is a portapotty. It gets clean every 12 hours.” explained Kolter which disgusted them, but they understood that. “Anything else?”

“No, not really.” said Theodore as Kolter nodded. 

“Okay, well, if you need me, I will be at this truck at almost all times. You guys are free for today, I will get you guys your aprons for tomorrow. Gotta get ready for school, right?” asked Kolter as they groaned. 

“Right, school.” said Seigen as Theodore touched his shoulder with his elbow. 

“Hey, we can still have a good time there, so let’s go. We have to help Kiku with the apartment!” said Theodore as he opened the door as they walked out of there. 

“Right!” they both then ran off to.

“Kids these days..:.” Kolter smiled as he walked out of the truck with a chuckle. Though… that stopped. 

Both him and Yusaku stopped as they looked at them as they walked away. 

Then, from Yusaku’s duel disk emerged a figure. It was a small cybernetic being with black skin, as his head was in the shape of a note. He had shiny orange eyes with purple markings all around the being’s body as the shape of his shoes were that of a clown. The small cybernetic being turned to them, “So… they are them, right?” 

Yusaku narrowed his eyes as he then said the cybernetic being’s name. 

“It is likely, Ai.” 

The Next Day

Ah the joyous day of life. 

A new day for the new life in a new city, going to a new school with new people to talk to and possibly befriend. The possibilities are endless as it could be filled with the most joyous moments. 

… for some people. 

“THAT IS THE LAST TIME WE ARE TAKING DIRECTIONS FROM A BLIND MAN!” Kiku yelled as she couldn’t believe the idiocy of her boyfriend, taking directions to their new school from a blind man. Which is the reason they almost are late to their first day of school. 

Kiku Kamishirakawa, despite being begged by Seigen for his dear life to never trust Theodore with directions, ignored the poor begging man and wanted to give her boyfriend another shot with directions. Even though she was told that he took 6 wrong turns to get to their directions and Google Maps, she gave him a try which is the reason they took directions from a blind man. 

… which might have been more useful. 

“WHAT DID I TELL YOU!? DO! NOT! TRUST! THIS! MORON! WITH! A! MAP!” with every single sentence Seigen pointed his index finger at his best friend as a way to beat his ass, which was 100% understandable and justifiable. 

“Ouch.”

“DON’T OUCH US!” they both yelled at the same time as Flame appeared from the duel disk. 

“Theodore, I feel like that the most appropriate reafction to all of this is “Sleeping on the couch tonight.” that most people do when they angered someone.” said Flame as Theodore sighed.

“More like sleeping with the fishes.” responded Seigen as Flame turned to him.

“I don’t understand. Why would he sleep with fishes when they are underwater? He would suffocate.” said Flame as they sighed hearing that. 

“No, no… he meant something of the lines of killing him.” explained Kiku as Flame looked at her and then back to Seigen.

“That is harsh. Even if he messed up with the map, you shouldn’t hate him for that.” explained Flame as Theodore smiled at that. 

“Thank you.”

“Although, I have to admit… your sense of direction is worse than a blind bat’s. You are now banned from ever touching a map in your life.” said Flame as looked at his Origin. 

“That’s… fair I suppose.” said Theodore as they then ran to their new school, which was actually really well made as it did share a design of their previous school, however it was more advanced than before. 

After a solid 12 minutes of walking around the school, they managed to get to their classroom which was Class 2-A. How did they get there? It was simple, they walked to the nearest teacher for the directions as she pointed to where it was and this time, they didn’t trust Theodore because they wouldn't trust him to go to the local Chuck and Cheeses.

Surprisingly, they managed to get there on time, as everything was fine as they were sitting when they got three. Once they did come there, the bell rang. Which made them sigh in relief. 

“Alright, everyone, sit down, class is in session.” said a teacher, who appeared to be a man in his thirties, long black hair, black eyes with a stubble on his face. He wore plain black pants and shirt. He took several pieces of paper and began speaking, “A new year and hopefully, new progression for studying and grades. Make sure that you get up to date with your classes and if you have any questions, raise your hands.”

The teacher then looked around to see the students not raising their hands, which he understood that they understood what he meant (Hopefully.). At the corner of his eyes, he saw three new transfer students try their best to walk to their seats, “And… for our new students.” Kiku, Seigen and Theodore froze once they heard that, “I would like them to stand here and present themselves.”

The three looked at each other, wondering if they should go there with Flame being quiet the entire time, not bothering to mess with this business. They looked at each other as they then nodded to each other. 

They began to walk towards the teacher, “Thank you. For starters, I am Osamu Doppo, however, you shall call me Professor Doppo, understood?” asked Doppo which they nodded to. Doppo smiled at that, “Thank you.” He then saw at the corner of his eyes a boy raise his hand, which he instantly knew who it was, “Yes… Shima?”

“Uhhh… who are they? And what kind of transfer students are you talking about, teach?” asked Naoki Shima which Doppo looked at his new students to his old ones. 

“It is Professor Doppo. To shorten the story, in Mustafu City, the town they lived in, the school was shut down for child negligence, faulty equipment, child endangerment and more, which resulted for the students to transfer to other schools for their further their education. Some went to Tokyo, some went to Kyoto, some even to Yokohama, and they went to Den City.” explained Doppo as then murmurs went all around the classroom, which bothered the three of them. 

Doppo simply coughed, which shut the murmurs in an almost instant, “Silence.” Doppo sighed, “I know this is interesting to hear, talk later. After class and school, then you can talk about it.” Doppo said with narrowed eyes, “Now, introduce yourselves to your new classmates:” 

The three walked forward as they began to introduced themselves. 

“I am Theodore Hamilton,” almost everyone raised a brow hearing that name which made him sigh, “My dad is American while my mom was Japanese.” They ‘ahh’ed hearing that. 

Seigen chuckled hearing that as Kiku giggled as this was the second time that happened. Kiku then stepped in, “I am Kiku Kamishirakawa, nice to meet all of you.” She said. 

“I am Seigen Futai.” Seigen introduced himself. And that was that. 

Doppo nodded to that, “Thank you. Now, I will say this to you three as you may not have known about this. You have to be in a club.” they looked at their new teacher in shock.

“May I ask why, professor?” asked Kiku as she has never really been in a club since it wasn’t even an option there. 

“It is simply to focus on a student’s talent and it is possible for them to form new relationships.” said Doppo which Seigen groaned at that, “The mandatory number of the number clubs you should join is one and it only lasts one school hour. Usually after the usual school day.” 

Well…. that was great! It wasn’t the worst thing they have heard right now as it could get them into new friendships and they could manage to get into a club that could help them in the future, wherever it was small or huge. At best, it could be a fun way to relax after the hell that was school. At worst, they could treat it as a new subject that they couldn’t skip.

“Was I understood?” asked Doppo as they nodded which he had a small smile on his face, “Good. Now… take a seat. You have a month to apply for a club.” he said as they then walked upwards to find new seats. 

A Couple of Hours Later

“So… Which club would you like to join, you three?” asked Flame as he was now an eyeball from Theodore’s duel disk. The day had ended as it was actually an enjoyable class if they could ignore Shima fanboying over any Link VRAINS duelist around and the rewatches of the duels. They met Yusaku, but he was mostly quiet and kept staring at someone with a blush on his face.

Currently, they were at a bulletin board with a list of every single club in the school. Theodore shook his shoulders. “Dunno, Flame, they all look pretty interesting.”

“True, however… most of them would only fit one of us.” Kiku agreed with her boyfriend as she then looked through the board with an interested look on her face.  

“Yeah… how about archery?” Seigen asked as Theodore shook his head.

“Nope, I don’t trust any of you with a weapon.” said Theodore as he was the only one that actually held a weapon in his arms, as he remembered going to an old farm with an attraction with a bow and arrow with his grandparents. Coincidentally, he saw a boy with pink hair going there with his grandpa.

“How about a sport?” asked Kiku as Theodore looked at all of them. 

“I love you guys, however, you guys are bad at sports.” said Theodore as he was the only one to throw hands with people and walk away without a scratch on his body. 

“That was harsh… however…. understandable.” said Flame as he had to agree with him, no matter what, he was the only one with the experience to back it up. “How about cooking?”

Kiku turned to the boys with the most done look she had on her face, “Remember how you three nearly burnt down the kitchen… yesterday?” they were quiet as a dead man. 

Seigen gulped, “...how about computers?”

“No.” Kiku answered instantly because of someone. 

“Chemistry?” asked Seigen as he was good with that. 

“Do you trust me with chemicals?” asked Theeodore which was the answer to that question. 

“Biology?” asked Flame much to the disgust of everyone. 

Kiku hurled just by hearing that “No… no, I can not handle cutting up frogs.”

“Don’t worry, that is fine. Writing?” asked Theodore as almost everyone shook their heads. 

“I have writer’s block on the daily, next.” said Seigen, which was understandable. As it was relatable to a certain Croatian man. 

  Flame then began to look through the bulletin board, “No. Nope… Nuh uh. I don’t think we can do that. I can not do that. I do not think that is legal. I don’t think that is legit. How the heck does Pokemon have a club? Eh, whatever. Ooh…. how about an Anime Club?” asked Flame as he knew that they were Anime fans. He saw them watch Bungo Stray Dogs, Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen and Black Clover recently. They were even hype for the new Bleach season. 

“Pass.” they said at the same time. 

“Why?” Flame was shocked to hear that they didn’t join that club. 

“Have you met a Naruto fan? Or a One Piece fan? I don’t have an issue with the latter, but they are the most obnoxious fans ever.” explained Theodore as he had a horrible experience talking to one of them. If he was being honest, Naruto peaked during any of the Sasuke arcs as he was the only one that was worth watching. He has yet to watch One Piece though. 

“Not to mention the smell. “ Kiku was disgusting just by remembering the smell of them. 

Seigen, the man that drinks energy drinks like it is a bottle of water, agreed with her “That too.” 

“Then how about… OH! Look at this!” they look at what Flame was looking at “A Duel Monsters club. That will be fun and hopefully it goes well.” 

All of them sighed hearing that, “We will never escape this game, huh?” asked Seigen. 

Kiku giggled, “It appears that we can’t.” 

As if on cue, a boy that was slightly shorter than them walked towards them as he heard that. He had bush-like green hair that went down to his shoulders with green eyes and a wide mouth, “Oh! What did I just hear?! You want to join the Duel Club?!” he said with stars in his eyes. 

“Uhh… yes?” said Kiku, confused by him and how he reacted like that. 

“That is so flash! We will have more than 3 members!” said the boy which raised several brows. 

“3 members? Who are you?” asked Theodore as Flame shut his eye. 

“Oh, since you want to know, I am Naoki Shima, the founder of the Duel Club! Since the previous founder, Hosoda Hikari, graduated, I became the founder!” said Shima as he even remembered when Sato, Suzuki and Tanikazi graduated, leaving only him, Yusaku (who agreed to it due to Kolter forcing him to join one) and Skye. 

Don’t you mean… the president?” asked Seigen. 

“That actually sounds cooler! Well, I am the president of the duel club! Naoki Shima!“ Shima then pointed his thumb onto his chest with a proud grin on his face ”You can call me the King Of Games since I have won a tournament lately! I know, I know, I am the coolest person that has walked.”

“Hold on. A tournament? That is amazing.” Seigen admitted since winning a tournament was no easy task. He might be a good dueling partner. 

“Thank you. Those 5 year olds never stood a chance.” Shima proudly exclaimed. 

Or not. 

“....oh.” Kiku said.

Seigen’s face turned into a blank stare “I take it back.” 

“Dude, not cool.” Said Theodore as he turned to his best friend. 

“You must be jealous-” Shima started. 

“Whatever makes you sleep at night.” Seigen cut in. Theodore and Kiku slapped his head for saying that. 

“Though I will forgive you for that, maybe because I need new members so that the head of the student body doesn’t shut the duel club down. We need 5 members, and with you 3 that will be…. Hold on.” Shima then continued to count with his fingers as they sweatdropped seeing him count like a kid in kindergarten. “6 members! So what do you say? Come on… please?”

They looked at each other as they then sighed.  “Sure, why not?” 

“AWESOME! LET’S GO!” yelled Shima as he then grabbed Theodore’s wrist and began running. 

Theodore, surprised by his grip strength, yelled as he was being dragged. 

Kiku and Seigen blinked as they turned to each other before walking towards the two. 

Once they got there, Shima let go of Theodore’s wrist, which he held onto. It was basically the same as any other classroom, but there was a sign that said “Duel Club.” 

“Here we are! My club! What do you say?” asked Shima as they looked at it and nodded. 

“It looks nice.” said Kiku as Shima smiled hearing that.

“It is decent.” Seigen then turned to his best friend, “You good?” 

“Yeah, just… oww.” said Theodore as he never felt grip so hard in his entire life. He turned to Shima, “You have a grip of a gorilla. Screw dueling, you should join the Olympics. You would dominate in that.” 

“In… in a good way?”

“YES! You would win so much money.” Theodore stretched his back. He felt more pain in that than getting blasted by Borreload Dragons. 

“Huh… thanks, I have never heard of that compliment before.” said Shima as he then opened the door, “Well anyways, welcome to the duel club!” he said as they only see two people. 

One of them was Yusaku Fujiki and the other person was a girl his age. She had short brown hair in a form of a bob cut and chocolate coloured eyes. What she wore was the same thing that Kiku wore, only this time, she wore longer leggings. However, what was barely visible were the lightning marks all around her body, ones that reached to her neck and some reached to her hands. The two of them were having a small conversation, light blushes on their faces. 

“Hey you two! Good news!” they turned to the other direction as soon as they heard him, which was suspicious, “I got three new members!”

“Wait, really? That fast?” asked the girl. 

“You sound like you don't have any faith.” said Shima. 

“Because I didn’t.” said Yusaku, holding back nothing. 

“Ouch… well… come on, introduce yourselves.” said Shima, as he wanted to be at least a decent president of his club. 

“Do I have to? 2 of them already know me from my job.” said Yusaku as that was yesterday. 

“Yusaku, please. You know that he won’t stop egging you until you do it.” said the girl as Yusaku sighed. 

“Fine, I will do it,” he could barely hear a familiar voice say “whipped.” which he tried his best to ignore. That raised Flame’s suspicion. “I am Yusaku Fujiki, and I am pleased to meet you.” said Yusaku as then everyone in the room hear sitcom-sounding cheering sounds in the room. Yusaku and the girl all looked at the duel disk as everyone looked around. 

“Again?!”

“Where is that coming from?!” 

The girl moved on, “I am Skye Zaizen and the same to all of you.” Skye Zaizen said with a smile as they then heard the same sitcom-style sound effect erupt inside of the room, which caused the two to breathe in and out, trying to ignore them. 

“The heck is that?!” 

“I am going to find that sound effect and take them out!”

“Who is doing that?!” 

Shima shook it off as he then pointed a finger at himself, “And you already know me! I am the flashiest guy to ever pick up a deck! Naoki Shima!” said Shima as they then heard the sitcom-style noises to boo. 

“Okay… that was just mean.” admitted Skye, which even Yusaku agreed to that. 

The trio questioned why Yusaku slapped his duel disk lightly after hearing that, though for Flame, he was quiet to see the duel disk. 

“Well, anyway. I gotta go tell the student body president about you three joining! Talk to these dinosaurs,” Shima laughed as he whispered towards them, “They have those ancient duel disks where you have to put in your cards. They are like old people.”

“I don’t know about that, I mean… we use them.” said Theoodore as Shima gaped hearing that. 

“Huh?”

“I am the only one out of us that uses the new duel disks.”said Kiku “The only reason why I don’t have them is because I want to save more money when buying new cards.” she explained. 

“Can confirm on that.” said Seigen as he wasted at least 90 000 yen on Duel Monsters packs he wanted to get the new Ritual Support… he did not get them. 

“Ahh… well it looks like I have to teach you ol’ retired people some Duel Monsters then, huh? Well, anyways, I gotta go.” said Shima as he then walked out of the room. 

“That was… a lot.” Kiku sweatdropped at what just happened.

“It really was. Shima may be something, but he isn’t a bad person.” admitted Skye as even though she was annoyed at him a lot of the time, she couldn’t consider him a bad person. 

“I have to agree. Even though he annoys me and is quite brash, he is fine. Better than most people I have met.” said Yusaku as they took his word on that. 

“I see.” said Theodore. 

“Wait, you said that you two have a card insert type duel disk?” asked Skye as Theodore looked at her confused, which Yusaku sighed as he pointed at her duel disk, which was the same as theirs, though hers was more blue than the others.

“OH! Yeah, why?” asked Theodore. 

“Well, my brother works at SOL Tech,” They instantly knew it was Akira Zaizen, though they did let her finish, “and whenever there are new products from SOL Tech, he gives me enough for an entire family.” Skye remembers using one of them as a coaster accidentally “That happens a lot more than you can think, so I just want to ask, do you want one or two? It is free, so you don’t have to worry.”

They were at a surprise, no one has ever given them something on the likes of that before. A free duel disk? That was not something you can just give to someone and from how she spoke, she didn’t even joke about that. She was being completely honest with them, which was nice, though a bit non needed. 

“Nah, it is cool. You can keep them.” said Theodore which Seigen nodded to, for the first time. 

“Really? It is a new duel disk so I thought you might enjoy using it.” said Skye as she scratched her neck in confusion. 

“No, no, you don’t have to worry about that. They have grown quite attached to their duel disks,” explained Kiku which they nodded to, “Not to mention, they hold special… parts that others don’t have.” 

“Not to mention, don’t give this man anything new. He will break them into pieces.” said Seigen which Theodore agreed to. 

“I see. Well, why did you join the duel club in the first place?” asked Yusaku. 

“It was the only club that we can all agree to be in due to our varied skills.” said Kiku as she then continued, “Not to mention, it could be fun.”

“I can vouch for her.” said Theodore as Seigen nodded. 

“Me too.” said Seigen as he raised his brow as he looked at them, “What about you two?” 

“Kolter forced me to join at least once club so that I could make friends.” said Yusaku which made Skye slightly giggle hearing that. 

“It was mandatory so I had to choose something I thought would best suit and since playing this game was my hobby, I gave this club a chance.” explained Skye which was an honest answer to that question. 

Seigen, however, kept his gaze on them. He looked at them like an eagle as he knew this situation, he could basically tell this type of relationship from a mile away as he has to deal with these two lovey dovey idiots for his entire life as he then breathed in and out, which the attention was on him. “You know what? I am going to ask this question that has been on my mind when we walked in.” 

Seigen then turned to them, which put them on guard, “Are you two dati-”

“Hamilton! Futai! Kamishi- Kamish- Kamishira- You know what? I am calling you Kamishi. Kamishi!” Shima practically kicked down the door as he looked at all of three of them, “I need your help! The Student Body President needs your guys’ signature so that you can officially join the duel club!” 

“Well okay, we are going to do that once they answer my-”

“No time for questions! He will be gone in the next 5 minutes! So we have to go!” yelled Shima as Theodore’s eyes nearly flew from his pockets as he could tell that Shima’s Heraclean Grip was going to take a hold on him as then he, along with Kiku and Seigen, were then running towards the room. 

“They sure are a lively bunch.” said Skye as she sweatdropped. 

“Mhm.” Yusaku agreed with her. Then at a corner of his eyes, the same figure that appeared yesterday from his duel disk. 

“Ha! That weirdo with the weird hair almost blew your cover like it was made out of straw, huh meatbag?” asked the Cybernetic being as Yusaku nodded with him. 

“That wouldn’t be a big issue, Ai.” said Yusaku, revealing the name of the Dark Ignis, Ai, “The larger issue is the identities of them. Or more specifically, in Link VRAINS.”

“You weren’t lying when you said that they could be them, Yusaku,” Yusaku, Skye and Ai all turned to a being revealing herself as a being similar to that of Ai and Flame. Her head was the shape of a water when it was falling down with two pigtails that levitated from her head. Her eyes were pink with eyelash markings. Her markings were that of blue teardrops around her body with her skin being light blue. Her hips were that as if she was wearing a skirt.

“He wasn’t, Aqua, though I wonder, when would we reveal each other?” asked Skye as even they didn’t know when exactly they should speak about their identities in Link VRAINS. 

“That is what I don’t know. Let’s just lay down low for the time being.” said Yusaku as they could see them walking back to the room. 

This year just got interesting. 

Who will they be? 

Will they be new friends?

Or new enemies?

[Omake: Tacos on a stick]

The day had ended for everyone in the school as it was Theodore and Seigen’s first day working in Cafe Nom. Yusaku was taking a break at one of the benches, eating a hot dog and on his phone, Kiku was off with a babysitting gig and Skye decided to relax and watch some Black Clover. 

Seigen and Theodore were wearing aprons as Kolter then looked at his new employees, “Alright, little dudes. I have a task for you two.” the two looked at their boss as he pulled out a bin filled with sticks and a bin filled with tacos. “Here is a stick of tacos, and here are sticks. Put the tacos on a stick and sell them.” 

The two blue screened hearing that. 

“Question.”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you selling tacos in a hot dog stand?” asked Seigen as Kolter smirked at him. 

“Two reasons: 1 to branch out and to appease the customers for more diversity. The Second reason is because of the whole fact that a certain someone thinks that hot dogs are tacos,” Kolter glared at Yusaku, who ignored him, “I decided to show him that they aren’t.” 

“But you can not places hard shell tacos on a stick, they will break!” said Theodore as Kolter crossed his arms. 

“Go ahead, try it.” said Kolter. 

The two tried… and failed miserably. 

“SEE!?”

“It is impossible!” yelled both Seigen and Theodore at the same time. 

Kolter raised a brow as he then pulled out a stick out of thin air and to their absolute shock, he had tacos on a stick with the most shit eating grin on his face. 

They never questioned him again.