—(Y/N)'s P.O.V.—
I climb into the apartment as Jaden jumps onto the couch. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a stick of gum and some spray on
deodorant.
"With the risk or getting an answer that will completely terrify me, I have to ask, what are you doing?" I walk in front of him and cock my eyebrow.
"I gotta get the weed smell off of me before Syrus and Nicky get up, duh," he looks at me as if it was obvious.
"Y'know, you could just take a shower and brush your teeth for the same effect," I kneel down to his level and pull out another stick of gum from his bag, "Might even do a better job," I pop the stick of gum in my mouth.
"I don't have a toothbrush. Or shampoo, or conditioner, or soap..." Jaden never breaks eye contact with me as he explains his complete lack of hygiene, all the while my face gets more and more disgusted.
"Do you ever brush your teeth? Or shower?"
"I shower! I... just don't... use... soap," Jaden seems to get the hint of my disgust and slowly stops talking.
"And Duel Academy's okay with this?" I slowly get up and get my jacket, wallet and keys.
"They don't really seem to notice... Chazz on the the other hand, is very vocal about this kind of thing- hey! Where are you going?" He looks up at me as I head toward the door.
"I'm going to get you some soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and some Lysol. When I get back, you're gonna shower, with soap, and tell me more about this Chazz guy. He sounds like a goddamn hero," I joke as I close the door behind me.

—Jaden's P.O.V.—

"She might be spending too much money on me," I chuckle, "Guess she's a good caregiver for Syrus. But I might wanna check her judgment in guys. Chazz being a hero is news to me..."
BUZZ—BUZZ—BUZZ
I look over at the coffee table, "(Y/N) left her phone. Shit, well I guess she not going very far then. I wonder if I can just see who it is...." I shamelessly grab the device to see a playful selfie of her and Astor on the screen with the contact name, 'Star Child'.
"This can probably wait till she gets back, she might wanna be here if he's calling this early," I set the phone to silent and wander into the kitchen for some cornflakes.
God, being stoned always makes me crave fucking cornflakes.

—Astor's P.O.V.—

"Hey, this is (Y/N)'s cell. I'm not here right now, so if you have the patience to leave a message, go ahead..." BEEP—
"Hi, (Y/N), fuck, I don't know how to start this, but we have a bit of a problem... some new developments here with the Kaiser thing, and long story short, I think he might try to kidnap Syrus. Yeah, not great, but it could be worse... fucknithatsnotwhatyoushouldsaythisisprettyfuckinbad.... anyway, I'm driving over and I'll probably waking you up, but I'll be bringing donuts, soooo. Okay I'm pulling up to the convenience store by your house so I'll be there soon. Bye. —BEEP—

—(Y/N)'s P.O.V.—

"Okay, so toothpaste, check, toothbrush, check, body wash, check, Astor, check- wait, what?" I turn back to see Astor and a box of donuts at the counter, "Astor, hey! Astor," I walk up to him as he turns around with a dozen assorted donuts, "What are you doing here?"
"(Y/N), your awake!" He walks out of the way so I can put my stuff- well Jaden's stuff- down on the counter, "did you get my voicemail?"
"What? No, I left my phone at home. What voicemail?" I ask as I pay for everything and walk out of the store, Astor following me.
"Yeah, I just called you to tell you that- I'm sorry, are your eyes red? Have you been crying?" Astor turns in front of me and pulls my face closer in his free hand.
"What? No- I mean a little, but they're red because I got high with Jaden- what were you coming over to tell me?" Slapping his hand away and walking into my building.
"I'm sorry, you did what with Jaden?" He asked as I unlock my door, "Why would you do that? The would Jaden even be here— oh, hey Jaden!" I turned around to see Jaden sitting at the coffee table eating cornflakes.
"Oh hey Astor!" He waved like an idiot, face stuffed with cornflakes, and eyes just as red as mine, "Hey, (Y/N), by the way, Astor called!"
"No duh man," I roll my eyes while I point at Astor, "this isn't an Astor hologram.. although- that would be cool as hell!" I laugh dumbly to myself, and soon Jaden joins me.
"Yeah that would be dope- OW!" Jaden winces as I throw the bag of toiletries at him.
"Go shower, with soap, brush your teeth, and then you can even have a donut," I put one hand on my hip and point the other in direction of the bathroom.
"We have donuts?! I... LOVE it here!" Jaden jumps up and runs to the bathroom and shuts the door. Only to pop his head out again, "I don't have a towel—"
"You can use the green one hanging next to the sink. Now GO!" I turn back to Astor, seeing him sitting at the kitchen counter with his head in his palms.
"Why is he here? What did you get high with him? Why were you crying? Why do you insist on making my life harder?"  His questions started pouring out of him.
"Okay," I avert his gaze and rock back and forth on my heels, "I'll take those one at a time. One, because Syrus invited him to meet his new family and to check out how he's living, and I took him to my duel last night. Two, I couldn't sleep, caught him smoking, and I was stressed and decided to smoke too. Three, because I'm stressed. And four, because it's fun," I giggle out the last one.
Astor's terrified look matched his response, "Since when do you fucking giggle?"
"Since when do you show up at my apartment at the crack of dawn and judge my life choices, asshole?" I walk over to the kitchen and angrily grab a donut, "If I wanted this kind of ridicule I'd resurrect my mother,"
A heavy silence fills the room.
Astor looks at me with a pure disheartened look.
"Jesus, I didn't mean that, I didn't," I start to cry again. Being high definitely gives me mood swings, "Astor you are so much better then that. You've been there for me way more, I-"
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Astor grabs a napkin near the toaster and hands it to me, " You're stressed, you're tired. We all are-" That's when Astor started to cry too, "Fuck, we really are screwed aren't we?"
"Oh geez, Astor," he started to lean into me for support, my shirt now catching his tears, " It's gonna get better.... actually, I don't know if it's gonna get better. Kaiser's got too much leverage on me for it not to effect you. We're both gonna take a hit for this,"
So we just stand there in silence trying to calm down for a moment.
It's peaceful. It's nice.
Well... it was.
"Are you guys gonna kiss?"
"Aghhh!" Me and Astor both jump out of our skin, "Fucking hell, Nicky!"
Nicky's standing there, clutching his blanket, staring at us with wide eyes, "are you guys gonna kiss or what?"
Astor and I look at each other and quickly turn away with flushed cheeks. Fuck, this is humiliating.
"You guys are blushing! You like each other!" Nicky points up at us and jumps, "(Y/N)'s gotta a boyfriend!"
"No I don't," I hush, "Why would anyone wanna date me?"
Nicky stills and stares up at me, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense, but you're still blushing,"
"We're blushing because we're embarrassed," I explain as Nicky yawns, "it's way to early for you to be up anyway. Let's get you back to bed," I usher him to his shared room with Syrus.
"You're so embarrassed even your eyes are blushing!"
"Yep! That's why! Embarrassment- no other reason- back to bed with you..."

———

"So did you actually sleep last night?"
"Not a wink. You?"
"Nah. But for mixed reasons. I've got some good news and bad news. What'd you wanna hear first?"
"I could use a pick me up. Good news please,"
Now in the 7 a.m. light, Astor and I have calmed down and got ready to talk about a game plan. Jaden just getting out of the shower, smelling clean, in fresh clothes, and grabbing donut, also sits down.
"So...? Why's donut boy here again?" Jaden gestures to the man in question.
"I was just about to find out," I explain, sipping my coffee in between sentences, "he was gonna give me the good news first,"
"Right," Astor began, " The good news is that Kaiser in all likelihood is not going to blackmail you or myself with the dirt he dug up on you," he smiles, though the expression is bittersweet.
"What dirt?" Jaden looks up. When I was explaining what Kaiser said to me last night to Jaden and Syrus, Astor advised me not the tell them what exactly Kaiser was blackmailing me with.
"Nothing big, but something to get blown way out of proportion if it got out," Astor said, "and though this is good, the reason this is happening is bad,"
"Bad... how..?" I set my coffee down, getting ready for the worst.
"The only reason he'll probably back off is because he broke into my place last night waiting for me and I caught him on surveillance. Now, it's not as bad as it sounds-"
"Not as bad as it sounds... Do you hear yourself? You're not safe in your home!" Suddenly something snaps in me, "Why was he there? What did he say to you?"
Astor looks at the floor and scratches his head, "I called his rep asking to talk to him on my way home, and by the time I got home, Kaiser was there ready to talk. He broke in, but I threw him out before he could do anything to me," Astor stops and evaluates his own words, "Now that I say it out loud, it doesn't sound great. I think the only reason he stoped and was so complicit was because he knew he was on tape,"
"Wooooow, you didn't get murdered or maimed because you caught the guy on taaaape.  You're right, donut boy, that is good news," I slow clapped to sell the sarcasm.
"Please tell me that nickname's not gonna stick," Astor rolled his eyes.
"That was your main takeaway?" Jaden asks, "My nickname powers are greater than I know," he stares at his hands in awe.
"That's enough out of you, stoner," My rep rolled his eyes and handed Jaden another donut, "eat your food and be quiet,"
"Okay, so no blackmail. Got it," I nod and look down into my coffee, "So what's the bad news?"

—Astor's P.O.V.—

"Alright, here it is," I have to choose my words very carefully, "A thing he said to me before he left was about Syrus," I took a deep breath, "I think Kaiser intends to take him no matter the cost,"
"Jesus fucking Christ," (Y/N) put her head down on the counter and took a stuttered breath, "When you say no matter the cost, do you mean he intends to take him? What did he say exactly? Do you have the video footage on you?"
'Fuck. The video,'  I thought, 'I can't lie to her, I shouldn't lie to her. But what if she blames me for this? I...'
"I... I don't have the video, but what he said was that he sees the world in a new light and want to make Syrus embrace the pain in life. He said Syrus would embrace it soon," as I continue to talk I start to shake. I'm really in over my head, "How soon or how extreme his next course of action is, that I don't know, but we need a plan,"
"I have a plan," I look past (Y/N) to find Syrus with a determined look on his face, "Now that we know what he wants, we're gonna set a trap. And I'm gonna be the bait,"
"Whoah, whoah, Sy," Jaden says, walking up to Syrus, "That seems a bit extreme. We don't want you to get in trouble.... or get hurt,"
"Do you see how much distress (Y/N) and Astor have been put through? Zane broke into Astor's fucking house! He's attempting to get (Y/N) kicked out of the pros and humiliate her in the process! Zane never used to be this out of control, no matter what he wanted. Before he began to duel as a pro he was calm, he was normal. Now he's- he's- sadistic. I can't take this anymore!"
...
Tears stain the floor as Syrus falls onto his knees.
Everyone stays quiet.
Everyone's too afraid to speak.
Well, almost everyone.
"He's not gonna hurt you! Me and (Y/N) will save you from the bad guys!" Nicky races out of his room and hugs Syrus as tightly as his little arms could muster, "I you have us now! And family says with each other, that's how we fight villains!"
...
Syrus looks up with fogged glasses and a steady smile on his face. He returns Nicky's embrace and breathes, "Zane's not a villain, he's just losing his way. He doesn't have a family like we have, and I think that's part of the problem," Syrus sighs and stands up, placing a hand on Nicky's head, "Okay, new idea. We're not gonna attack Zane, we're gonna challenge him, and we're gonna do it together," he looks up at (Y/N), Jaden, and then turns to me, "He's made it clear that he sees everyone but me and Jaden here as the enemy, so we should approach him first. Maybe we can convince him to see you guys in a better light. If you guys are willing to give him a chance when he does, he can form connections with you guys and start to heal,"
I look over at (Y/N) and Jaden. One clearly more optimistic than the other.
"Syrus, listen to what you're saying," (Y/N) starts, "You're basically handing yourself over to a mentally unstable felon and have zero ideas of their true intentions with taking you in..."
'I hope she sees the hypocrisy in her words...'
"... And are planning to convince him to connect with a person he thinks stole you," she gestures to herself, "And the man sponsoring that 'thief'," She points to me, "Does that sound like a good and rational plan to you?"
"Well not when you say it like that," Jaden intervenes, "But I think Syrus has got a solid plan here. What's the worst that can happen if we just show the guy a little kindness from the person he needs it from most?"
I look at Syrus, there's a hope in his eyes that makes everything seem manageable. If this is my responsibility, then I should help as much as possible, "I think Syrus and Jaden have a point. How can I help?"
"Really?" Everyone turns to (Y/N), "Everyone's behind this? You're going into the lions den without a chair! You're gonna get hurt!"
"(Y/N), please," Syrus sits next to her in the kitchen, "I've know Zane longer than anyone, I think this is the best way to handle it. Please, trust me,"
At this point, I try to jump in, "You have every reason to be skeptical, hell, all of us are too," everyone nods, "But I think it's the right move for Syrus to try a gentle approach. If either of us did anything, we both know Kaiser would see it as an attack and his response would be more intense. And if things go sideways with this plane, you and I will both be there to help. Okay?"
(Y/N) sighs, "Okay. You got this Sy, what do we do?"
———
An hour later, we decided the official plan was for me to contact Shroud for another duel, get Syrus and Zane to meet at the after party, and have Jaden stay by Syrus' side the entire time. Hopefully this will start a series of meetings with the three, and we hope to see emotional results a month into the plan. If anything goes south, like Zane trying to take Syrus, or forcefully push him away, (Y/N) and I will intervene.
"We start tomorrow, today, just try to remain as steady as possible. Right now I gotta go get my locks changed and my windows reenforced," And with that I left.

———(Y/N)'s P.O.V.———

Chill day my ass, right now I need to get to work.
"Hey, there's a sick card shop near here, and I think Jay could really get into it," I look over at the group of boys, "Syrus, why don't you and Nicky show Jaden? Y'all could have like a boys day, maybe see a movie or something?"
"Ooooh yeah!" Nicky runs to get his shoes on, "The card shop is so cool! And there's a great ramen place near it. Sometimes (Y/N) takes me to find new cards for he pro deck and then we chill at the restaurant. Syrus can we go?"
"Does that sound fun to you Jay?" Syrus looks over to see Jaden already geting his slifer jacket on, "Astor did say to relax today, and it is a pretty cool shop,"
"Sounds awesome!" Jaden stands up as Syrus gets his shoes on, "Are you gonna be okay,    (Y/N)?"
"Please, I need a break from these two troublemakers," I pull out my wallet and Nicky's emergency phone, "So here's some spending cash," I hand that to Syrus, "Here's the emergency phone," I hand that to Nicky, "and here's my number," I hand that to Jaden, who's face immediately turns red.
"Uuuuhh... I.. I.. didn't think-"
"No, dummy," I chuckle and roll my eyes, "You might need to text me in case anything happens. You didn't have my number before, and the way things are going, it might be safer if you have it now,"
"Oh- oh, cool," he chuckles, "Alright! So where's this card shop?"
I shoo the boys out of the apartment, "Have fun!"
I shut the door.
I look at my watch, 8:30 a.m. He should be up by now.
I don't care how much Syrus knew Zane, Hell Kaiser is clearly not fucking around. I can't watch Syrus fall into something he doesn't deserve, so I've decided to take a secret approach to soften the blow.
I walk into my room, lift up my mattress, and grab Kaiser's number.
'Riiiiing, riiii-'
"Hello? Who is this?" His voice is softer than it was yesterday, wether it's because he just woke up or because his guard might be down is anyone's guess.
"Hi, it's me....
...We need to talk."

——————————
Well this one was longer than expected.
A lot happened and yet nothing happened.... and now I'm stating to think I shouldn't write at 3 a.m. anymore so....
Word count: 3262 words