That nickname seemed to have started with Judai Yuki, because Daichi Misawa was always writing and calculating things. Daichi Misawa sat up straight, closed his eyes, folded his arms, and answered in an awkward tone.
"To be honest, at first I wanted to say that we weren't friends. At most, we were classmates or coworkers."
"But now that you already know my secret, it looks like I don't get to deny it anymore."
Asuka Tenjoin burst out laughing. The bright moonlight spilled over the quiet creek and reflected the shadows of the three of them on the water.
"Then we've all shared our secrets. That means only Yugen hasn't shared an important secret yet. Isn't that a little unfair?" Asuka Tenjoin said, half joking.
"Maybe I'm just a boring person." Yugen smiled. "Someone with no stories naturally has no secrets to tell."
"Hah, you? No stories?" Even Doctor Misawa laughed.
Who in all of Duel Academy would believe that? Asuka Tenjoin leaned closer, her eyes bright, clearly unwilling to let him off so easily.
"Ahem. Then how about you tell us about the question everyone in Duel Academy cares about most right now?"
"What question?"
"The one about you knowing Seto Kaiba, of course," Asuka Tenjoin said eagerly. "What exactly is your relationship with him? How do you know someone like that?"
Yugen fell silent.
At the mention of that subject, Asuka Tenjoin and Daichi Misawa both brightened with anticipation. After all, this was Seto Kaiba, the man standing at the very top of the world. Anyone would be curious about a legend like that, especially when the story involved a classmate so close to them.
"So you want me to tell the truth?" Yugen asked with a serious expression. The two of them had clearly caught the scent of juicy gossip and nodded over and over. "Fine, then I'll tell you."
Yugen took a deep breath and spoke at an unhurried pace. "Actually..." Both of them held their breath.
"...I'm really not close with Seto Kaiba."
Yugen sighed. One look at their faces told him everything. No one ever believed the truth.
He had only spoken to the president a few times, and he did not even have his contact information. If he had to name any connection at all, it was only that he was somewhat familiar with Mokuba Kaiba. Even so, the two of them still looked doubtful.
"Really?"
"Really," Yugen said.
"Then is it true that he gave you a huge scholarship?"
"...That's true."
"And the sponsorship for our Alchemy Laboratory?"
"...That's true."
"People also say quite a few of your Rare Cards came through internal channels in Kaiba Corporation..."
"...That is also true."
The two of them fell silent. Daichi Misawa coughed lightly and said, "But I heard Seto Kaiba is actually very hard to get along with. Supposedly, even back then, he was not that close with people like Duel King Yugi Muto, and everyone in Kaiba Corporation was afraid of him..."
That was exactly what many people had always found strange. Seto Kaiba was famous not only for his skill at cards, but also for his terrible temper. If someone could receive benefits from him again and again, how close would they have to be?
But Yugen shook his head. "Just rumors."
"So he is not really like that?"
"Not exactly." Yugen thought for a moment. "If I had to put it into words... that is his mask."
"A mask?"
Daichi Misawa and Asuka Tenjoin looked at each other in confusion. Yugen smiled faintly. "Seto Kaiba is not the way you imagine him. You know Kaiba Corporation was originally an arms dealer, right?"
That was old news everyone knew, so both of them nodded. Seto Kaiba and his younger brother were both adopted sons, taken from an orphanage by the previous arms tycoon, Gozaburo Kaiba.
When Gozaburo Kaiba agreed to adopt him, he had his own scheme in mind. He wanted to use Seto Kaiba's body as a vessel for his real son Noah, who had died in a car accident. His plan was to download Noah's electronic consciousness into Seto Kaiba's body and bring him back that way.
But the president was practically like someone with cheats enabled. While still in his teens, he had already seized control of the entire company in secret, driven the old man to his death, and made himself the new president. The old man's plan failed completely, and he could only die full of hatred.
Yugen said, "At sixteen, Seto Kaiba took over a giant company like that, and every bit of its resources and foundation had to be secured by his own effort. He even forced a group of men who had spent most of their lives selling weapons to obey him, then made a corporation that built planes and cannons switch to researching Duel Monsters. If he had not acted as harsh and vicious as the rumors say, there is no way he could have done it."
The two of them thought it over, then exchanged another glance. The more they considered it, the more it made sense.
Besides, the president was the classic type who never admitted what he truly felt. The clearest example was how he always called Joey Wheeler "mutt" and even gave him the lowest two-star rating in Duelist evaluations. And yet, during the Doma incident, when he saw Joey Wheeler lose his soul, his first instinctive reaction was stunned disbelief that even a "mutt" had fallen.
So in the president's heart, that guy from Battle City had already reached the highest tier among the world's Duelists. He simply refused to admit it out loud.
"So if the face everyone sees every day is only a mask, then what is the real Seto Kaiba like?" Asuka Tenjoin asked.
"Who knows?" Yugen shrugged. "Once someone wears a mask for too long, it is not so easy to take it off."
A brief silence followed. Then Daichi Misawa spoke up. "So if you understand Seto Kaiba that well..."
He did not finish the sentence, but the meaning was obvious. And you still say you are not close?
Yugen fell silent. Then a shrill alarm suddenly tore through the quiet night sky like a sharp blade. It echoed through the forest in wave after wave, like sound rolling endlessly through a valley.
"Is that... Duel Academy's invasion alarm?" Daichi Misawa's expression changed at once. Asuka Tenjoin frowned as well. "That alarm only sounds in emergencies. What happened?"
A mechanical female voice came from the loudspeaker. "Attention all students, attention all students. Duel Academy has been infiltrated by unknown intruders. All students who hear this announcement are to return to their dormitories immediately and await further instructions. The Academic Affairs Office will handle the intrusion incident..."
"An intrusion? Into Duel Academy?" Asuka Tenjoin looked troubled. "But who would do that? And why target Duel Academy...?"
"Who knows?" Yugen shrugged. There were far too many reasons this island might attract attention.
"To be safe," Daichi Misawa said as he stood up, "let's follow instructions and head back to our dorms first."
In the principal's office, Principal Samejima stood by the window, looking out with concern. The sky had already gone dark, and heavy clouds had swallowed the horizon until only a dim backdrop remained. Thunderclouds rolled overhead like enraged beasts.
"A storm is coming."