Kaito

(Arial, Rene, and Arthur) Ken kept his smile on as he looked at Rene's card. " It's a nice card. I'm sure you'll be able to use it to pretty good effect sometime. Just hope you don't summon it against me." Ken said with a small laugh as he turned back to Arial and went on to continue his earlier point. " Honestly, it all sounds like a really corny shonen show. If I remember, it said The world will be engulfed by shadows and destroyed, or something to that effect. Ken said sighing as he shrugged and sat upwards again, his chair landing on all four legs with a resounding clunk. " Unfortunately, I have absolutely no clue as to what that actually MEANS. Any ideas you three? Ken said, his eyes closed and lost in thought.

(Arial, Arthur, and Rene) Ken smiled as he took out another lollipop and stuck it in his mouth, before addressing Arial and Rene. "Yeah, that'd be the voice. I have absolutely no idea what Izanami lore means, I've always been a bit more interested in the lore and myths of the Greeks." Ken said with a flash of a smile before it lessened. But I'm more bothered by the other part of the sentence. Ken finished, biting off the head of the lollipop and tossing the stick in the trash. Before he could continue, he fell into silence as he heard Rene recount his tale. It didn't sound very pretty. In fact, it was a really horrible thing. I mean, mass death of people you knew? That's a lot for a high schooler to deal with. But he knew from experience it's not all that great to get lost in the past, so wordlessly, Ken took out another lollipop and handed it to Rene, smiling. "Rene, right? You're in a new place now. The past sounds pretty horrible, but if you focus on that too much, it's gonna be a lot harder to focus on the present. So take this and try to smile, alright? I don't think anyone of them would want you to go through life sad." Ken said with a small smile on his face. He did say yesterday that his job in all this - besides investigator, he supposed - was to try and keep everyone else smiling.

(Arial, Arthur, and Rene) Ken smiled as he put his deck back in its box and looked over at Arial. "Okay good, so I'm not slowly going crazy and having sugar-induced hallucinations." he said with a grin after Arial explained that she seemed to have had the same headache he did. And according to their earlier reactions, so did Rene and Arthur. He was tempted to ask what Rene meant when he spoke about something tragic happening, but in the end he decided to keep quiet. Everyone had things they didn't like thinking about, after all. Shaking his head clear before he could get lost in the past, Ken spoke up. "Well, I agree with you on one point: It definitely wasn't natural. And if we all got the same one, it's likely the entire class did. Only thing is, I have absolutely no idea what it meant in the slighest, all I know is that is was kind of disturbing. Did you guys get some sort of wierd voice in your head along with it too, or was it just me? Ken said, leaning back in his chair, propped up against the wall so he could see all three of them clearly.

(To Arthur, Arial, and Rene ) Ken nodded as he discarded the already cleaned lollipop stick into the trash bin behind him. Tenjo put one there earlier in the year after getting tired of Ken "discretely" discarding all of his wrappers and other candy waste in random places around the room. All this thinking made him need sugar. Remind him to thank the stars that he was fortunate enough to be born to a sweets shop owner. "Beach sounds good to me. You seem to have a better grasp of what's going on with this since my theory got debunked, so I'll just follow the leader." Ken said to Arial, since she suggested the beach idea. Going with a group would certainly be a lot less of a hassle than another solo investigation. " I just hope you all have transportation, my scooter really only fits two people. Or at least one person and his deliveries." Ken said with a lighthearted grin. " So it's decided? We'll be hunting for that Ike guy that apparently could give us more information on Shadow Duels. What to do till then though? Ken said, idly shuffling his deck.

(Arial, Arthur, and Rene ) Ken leaned back in his chair slightly as he closed his eyes for a moment. " So it's either a D-Pad malfunction or this Shadow Duel thing, huh? He said to the others, thinking for a moment before opening his eyes again and looking towards the three. " I admit, I'm kinda skeptical about the latter thing, but it's not like we have much to work with." Ken said before taking out a lollipop and popping it in his mouth, idly lost in thought as he recalled his conversation the day before, going over Charles's tale again. Hopefully the extra sugar would jumpstart his brain. Suddenly, he realized something. " Wait a minute.... yesterday, when the eyewitness told me what they knew. They mentioned absolutely nothing about Tenjo screaming or anything like that. Think about it, wouldn't you scream out in a lot of pain if you suddenly got an electric shock through your body or some kind of injury?" Ken said, taking out the sugary confection as he spoke. It was rude to talk with your mouth full, after all. " This could just be me, but I feel like a scream or sound of some sort would be a pretty large detail to just cut out. I can't help but feel something's a little off, don't you all think? Ken said, popping the treat into his mouth again after speaking.

( Arial, Ren, and Arthur) "Join on in! Four heads is better than three, but nine heads makes a hydra. Also Arthur, you totally have to show me that new Duel Gazer sometime. Ken said grinning as Rene sat down. As customary, Ken reached into his bag and tossed another chunk of rock candy at the newcomer. He really hoped the crowd didn't actually make it to nine... shaking his head, Ken looked over to Arial with another cheeky grin on his face. " A gentleman, am I? How flattering, I didn't think you felt that way, dear lady." Ken said in a lighthearted tone. " Although if you plan to treat me to a please sundae, how can I say no?" Ken said as he stifled another laugh before moving onto the important business. " Alright, so yesterday while everyone was out doing investigations, I was delivering some cookies to Mr.Takeda. And from there, I ended up going on a bit of an adventure in investigation before ending up at the house of someone who gave me some sugary information." Ken said, opting to keep Charles's name out of it due to his promise of not telling anyone his name. " There, I learned that he had actually seen Tenjo die. According to him, Tenjo was having a duel with a child. So after the duel, the kid apparently just walked away, and Tenjo laid there, not moving and as we know now ,dead.And apparently this segways into your Shadow Games topic, you two? Ken said, looking at Arial and Rene.

(Arial and Arthur) Ken let go of his head for a second as he heard Arial yell quite loudly and in his face. I guess he wasn't the only one that saw some freaky shit. But before he could think about it any more, another kid walked up to the two... Arthur, if he remembered his name correctly. He supposed one more person wouldn't hurt. Better than fifteen, anyway. He had mentioned something about a headache, so he DEFINITELY wasn't the only one that had ended up tuning into some freaky apocolyptic vision. Turning his head back to Arial though, Ken focused as she explained to him what she knew about underground duels and how they were set up wtih electrodes and other equipment.... but according to Charles, there was no other equipment there from his story, Tenjo just dropped dead. So maybe his hunch was completely off? Sighing, Ken spoke up. "Well, my theory just got debunked then. According to the eyewitness, Tenjo just dropped dead and there was no sort of equipment to be found besides his dueling stuff. So I guess being shocked to death is out of the question." Ken said, idly offering both Arial and Arthur a piece of the rock candy he had discarded on his desk a moment before. Then he heard a term he never heard before, while Arial was addressing Arthur. "Shadow Duel? I've never heard of anything like that in my entire life. And you're saying it's an exhibit at the museum where that archeologist guy that Ms.Reiner mentioned is at right now? I'm actually kind of curious myself..." Ken said, hoping Arial would share what she knew.

So you're essentially throwing us into the best PS2 game ever. xD And crap, sorry about the Zane thing. ^^; It was just mentioned in episode 1 and you said it was a believable backstory for any pro duelist, and it's not like the real world doesn't get news about pros from other regions/cities, so... apologies on that. ><

Yeah, it's currently a massive clusterfuck. xD It's why I'm off having side convos instead of contributing in actively. Ken doesn't like to be bombarded by questions, it's more effort for him to answer.

(Arial) Ken grinned a cheeky grin for a second as he lazily caught the tiny paper ball. "While I wouldn't be opposed to going out sometime, I actually called you over for something a bit more important, cupcake." Ken said with a wink and a teasing tone in his voice not unlike the one Arial just used. Two could play at that game. Stifling a quick laugh however, Ken's face immediately shifted as his eyes became slightly more focused on the girl in front of him and he lost his silly grin. " Yesterday, you mentioned how you played Cyber Dragons because you saw a famous duelist pioneer them. Everyone who even slightly follows the old pros knows you meant Zane. And if you're as big a fangirl as you made it seem yesterday, then you probably know of some unsavory underground dueling rumors. So, I thought out of everyone, you may have the best chance of helping me with this." Ken said as he took a deep breath, about to pop a piece of S.K. Rock Candy into his mouth ( Did he just forgo school supplies for putting sweets in his bag? Who knew. ) before hesitating slightly and putting it down, slightly worried about what he was going to reveal. "I didn't want a big swarm of people, so I needed to get your attention.But while everyone else was out doing investigating or who knows what, I ended up doing some solo work of my own. But I know how Tenjo died... or at least got an eyewitness account of it. He was dueling a kid, and after the duel ended, he apparently... dropped dead. And the only time I've heard of duels mortally wounding or killing people were in those seedy undergound leagues. So. Do you know of any possible way that a person could just drop dead from dueling? You've probably done some sort of research about that, anything at all would be helpful. Ken said quietly, ending his little speech. He'd tell everyone else later when it wasn't such a screaming clusterfuck of voices. This was why he preferred the background... And then, without warning, some wierd vision popped into his head. Ken clutched his head for a slight second from the shock. People running... World engulfed? What the hell was that? For a second, he wondered if it was just some fever dream or something...

... Honestly, I completely forgot it was 1:30 AM. I thought it was earlier than that. ^^; My sleep schedule is sorta kinda screwed atm. xD

.... Did you REALLY? You know I live up on North, right? I mean, my phone's on and you have my number, so you're always free to drop in.

I thought what we had was special bro. ;~;

Tacos, my dorm doesn't even have a kitchen. I can't even cook here, much less get the ingredients and make gum with them.

Fun fact: You really can make Chewing gum at home. It's a bit of a process, but the ingredients are simple enough. Although the first time I tried it, I kind of ruined a pot. ^^; And considering snickerdoodles are really just a cinnamon sugar cookie, yes, it can indeed exist. Just add actual cinnamon and extra sugar when making your gum. XD

[To: Entire classroom/Arial] Ken grinned as he just watched the discussion take place, in particular the debate over the leader. He sure as hell didn't want to do it, so he figured that someone else would gladly step up to the plate. Helios seemed to want it the most, but it looked like Arial and Setsuna had both been opposed to the idea. Speaking of Arial though... he had to remember to talk to her later. Something he heard from Charles yesterday made him think, and considering her affinity for Cyber cards and how she said she fell in love with them after seeing someone use them... If she meant who he was thinking of, she may know something about underground dueling herself, if she was as much of a fangirl as she made herself sound like. Ken once again projected his voice from his seat in the back of the room. He always took a seat in the very back, mostly because it was the best spot for napping without getting caught. But it also had perks like being able to project his voice to the entire room, which he could use to his advantage quite easily. So, Ken spoke loud and clear, like a sort of mission control loud enough so everyone could hear. "Zander's right, surprisingly enough. Ken paused, a cheeky grin on his face for his playful jab at the Helios kid " Let's get more people in on this, the more the merrier. It'd be better to get organized and facts straight before we rush into things. It was stupid of me to try and get a leader decided right away. Why don't you all go recruiting? I'll tell you my story when we've got more people willing to listen." Ken said grinning as he took a piece of Snickerdoodle Chewing Gum - Another original creation courtesy of pops, it was amazingly easy to make homemade gum once you had the right ingredients - and popped it into his mouth. With the wrapper though, the lazy youth discretely made it into a small paper ball and flicked it towards Arial, hoping to catch her attention with the mini-projectile. He really didn't want to be swarmed when trying to get information.

Ken could probably do okayish, since he's got experience from working in a small business setting for a few years so he's used to dealing with and corraling people. That said, he'd also vehemently oppose being the leader cause it would mean him taking an active role when he'd much rather sit back and play mission control. xD

[speak to General classroom] Ken perked up slightly at the idea of an "investigation team." It was just like he was thinking of last night on the way home! He'd totally be a part of something like that. But it didn't show on his face as he listened to Anna's story from the back of the room with a slightly bored expression. Lucky for him, he had a great poker face. It was certainly an interesting tale... but at the moment, he didn't really find it too helpful. Informative, but not helpful. So, Ken sat back, watching the events of the classroom unfold before he decided to speak up, making sure his voice carried all the way to the front, loud and clear. "I like the idea of an investigation team. In fact, count me in. But screaming at each other isn't chill. So everyone cool your jets for a minute and be quiet. I know we all probably have something to say, but first let's nominate some sort of leader so we don't run around with our heads cut off. So let's do that, aye? I did my own investigation solo last night. I have something to share, but first let's get the leader thing down. Ken said loudly for everyone to hear.

Ken waved goodbye to Charles as he left his house, leaving the tin of cookies with the other man as thanks for sharing his story. As Ken got on his motor scooter and proceeded to make the drive back to Sugar King, he started going over what he learned today in his head again. " Man, today was a weird one. I mean, first off, I'm actually kind of motivated. Dad's been trying to instill a sense of work ethic in me since I was 5, and here I am actively trying to solve a murder case. I mean it's more physical labor that I avoid anyway, but my test scores aren't perfect either. I've been reading way too much of that detective manga... still. Maybe it'd be worth it to give this a shot. Maybe other people would want to join... like a detective gang. That'd be sorta cool..." Ken thought as he idly felt the wind on his face as he was speeding through the central square, a shortcut on the way home. He could see the police station up in the distance. " The police station... if Tenjo died from a duel. I need more information. Maybe going there is worth a shot... get some records on duel related accidents. But then there's that kid Charles talked about. If he apparently killed someone from a duel... there's something going on. But what? And who is he?" Ken asked to himself, as he continued the drive to Sugar King in silence, a new determination set in his mind. Day 1 - END

Sorry mate, Series isn't over yet. Go Cloud 9!

So as Godot and I found out, you can't play with each other if you're on different servers. So I've made a character on both: NA-East (Main server/account): Lvl.18 / KaitoKazuma / Soul Bender NA-West (Just made): Lvl.1 ( for now) / Varsuvius / Mage ( Planning for Elementalist) Will be making a sub character on each server: Knight for West, Glacial Master for East.

Ken slowly chewed on a cookie as he listened to Charles regale his tale. His eyes were slightly wide by the end of it: Charles actually SAW Tenjo die, or at least saw he was dead. That was some pretty wicked information... he wanted to ask more, but took a second to look at Charles. The slightly older man was clearly a bit uncomfortable with this subject. So instead of asking for more information immediately, Ken decided to reaffirm what Charles said. "So... you're saying you saw a kid duel Tenjo, and Tenjo dropped dead right after? Did you happen to get a clear look at them or any sort of distinguishing features they had? I kind of want to duel him myself..." Ken said, trailing off slightly as he voiced his intention to Charles. He had to admit, playing detective sort of made him feel cool... it was like he was an ace teen detective from one of his favorite manga! Giddily brushing off the thought for a moment though, he dwelled a bit more on Charles's story. A duel. That's how this all happened, apparently. And there wasn't any evidence to disprove it either. It seemed farfetched, but it was all he had at the moment. That and the currently unknown kid. It wasn't the first time that people could be hurt from duels: He had heard stories from his dad about illegal dueling rings from way back, where people got hooked up to special shock machines and got hurt. But this was the first he head of death via dueling alone, with no special apparatuses. Maybe he'd stop by the police station later if the lead on the kid petered out, ask for some records of dueling accidents... or go to Arclight industries to see if there were any glitches in their D-Pads, whichever sounded more appealing. But for now, he just smiled gently at Charles,waiting for an answer. He knew one thing though: After the day was over, he was going to take a loooong nap.

Sorry for my absence! ^^; Unfortunately, college midterms kind of caught up with me, this is the first weekend I've had without work to do in a while. ^^; Kind of why I went for a solo chain of events for this first after school topic. I'll get around to posting now, hopefully I haven't held anything up. ^^;