บท 9: Chapter 9
Knock, knock, knock.
"Sy, can you see who it is?" Jaden mumbled, yawning loudly.
"Why me? Why not Kai or Chumley?" Syrus replied, still half-asleep.
"Can you guys stop acting like a bunch of wimps for once? I'll get it," I muttered, dragging myself to the door, still drowsy. Yawn
As I opened the door, a stern-looking woman greeted me. "Disciplinary Action Squad," she stated curtly.
"Yuri Kai, Yuki Jaden, and Truesdale Syrus—all three of you have been immediately summoned to the Chancellor's office."
"Oh no, Kai, what's happ—THE DISCIPLINARY ACTION SQUAD?!" Syrus shouted, instantly awake.
The woman turned to Syrus. "You are Truesdale Syrus, correct?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am."
"You have been called to the office," she affirmed.
"Jaden, wake up! We're in trouble!" Syrus said, panic rising in his voice.
"What's going on, Sy?" Jaden asked, rubbing his eyes groggily.
"How can you still be sleeping right now? Chumley, help me out here!"
I cut them off, looking back at the woman. "Alright, can you at least tell me why we're being summoned?"
"I'm not at liberty to disclose that information," she replied flatly.
"Then I'm afraid I won't be going," I shot back, crossing my arms.
"Excuse me?" she asked, her tone sharpening.
"You heard me. Unless I know what this is about, I'm not going."
"School regulations prohibit me from revealing details to suspects," she countered.
"Suspects? What are you even accusing us of?" I asked, trying to piece it together. Is this about the abandoned dorm? Did someone snitch? No, Titan was sent to the Shadow Realm… unless that was a trick. But I felt the dark energy. It couldn't have been fake.
"Let's just get this over with," I sighed, as the three of us changed into our uniforms and followed her to the Chancellor's office.
Inside the office, three large screens displayed Chancellor Sheppard, the Chairman, and Crowler. Their stern expressions were anything but welcoming.
"Let's begin," Sheppard said, gesturing to the Chairman.
The Chairman leaned forward. "According to insider information, you three were seen trespassing near the abandoned dorm last night."
"That's—" Syrus began before I interrupted.
"False, ma'am," I said firmly.
"Are you calling our source a liar? They saw you heading toward the dorm," she pressed.
"Heading toward the dorm, not entering it? That's a baseless accusation," I argued.
"Our source is highly reliable," she snapped.
"Then prove it. If you don't have concrete evidence, you're wasting our time."
Crowler interjected. "We don't have undeniable proof, but as per regulations, I'll have to suspend—"
"Syrus, calm down. We're not getting suspended," I assured him, already formulating a plan.
"I can prove our innocence," I announced.
"Oh? And how do you plan to do that?" the Chairman asked, skeptical.
"Check the logs on our Duel Disks and PDAs. Kaiba Corporation's chips track their location and usage. Cross-reference that with the time your source claims we were near the dorm."
"That's unnecessary. The likelihood of you dueling there is low," Sheppard said.
"On the contrary, it's the easiest way to clear this up," I insisted. "Check my Duel Disk."
An officer collected my Duel Disk, instructing us to wait outside while they verified the data. On the bench, I warned Jaden and Syrus, "Say nothing unless absolutely necessary. Anything dumb you say can and will be used against us."
Fifteen minutes later, we were called back in.
"According to the Duel Disk data, you were in the Slifer Red dorm last night," the officer reported.
"Exactly. All three of us were in our room," I said confidently.
"Then why was your Duel Disk active for over two hours?" Crowler asked, suspicious.
"I was testing combos and showing off my deck builds."
"Two hours?" Crowler scoffed.
"If anything, it's a miracle I finished that quickly," I shot back.
Sheppard nodded. "That's sufficient evidence. They weren't at the dorm."
Crowler started to protest, but Sheppard silenced him. "Enough. They're free to go."
We left the office and headed to the shop, tension easing. "Hey, Sadie," I greeted the clerk.
"You three look stressed," she remarked.
"Long story. Can I get three sandwiches?"
"On the house," she offered, smiling.
"Free? That's new," I said, surprised.
"You're Miss Dorothy's favorite student. Don't let it go to your head."
"Sure," I replied, grabbing the sandwiches. Tossing two to Jaden and Syrus, I sat down to eat.
Three hours later, Sadie woke us up. "The shop's about to open."
"Ugh, already?" I groaned.
As we stretched and prepared to leave, Alexis approached, looking out of breath. "Kai! I heard about the Disciplinary Committee! Are you okay?"
"We're fine," I assured her. "No need to worry."
"Chumley told me. Where's Syrus?"
"He said he was going to class. You didn't see him?"
"No…"
"Weird. Probably off daydreaming about Dark Magician Girl," I muttered, earning a weird look from Alexis. "Never mind. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about your brother."
"Atticus? What about him?" she asked, hope flickering in her eyes.
"I think I can help. Meet me at the abandoned dorm at midnight."
"The abandoned dorm?" she repeated, startled.
Jaden interrupted, breaking the tension. "Hey, Alexis! Kai saved us big time."
"I'm glad," she said before leaving. Jaden turned to me. "Duel?"
"Sure," I said, before realizing I had the wrong deck. "Actually, my deck's incomplete. Let's duel tomorrow."
As I walked away, PDA in hand, I thought about my next steps. Zane Truesdale… one day, we'll see if you're a worthy opponent. But for now, there are more pressing matters.
— ตอนใหม่กำลังมาในเร็วๆ นี้ — เขียนรีวิว
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