Title: Off Course

Author: Heleentje

Rating: K

Word Count: 1358

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

Notes: This is set during episode 106, after Judai and Johan meet for the first time but before Johan makes it to the opening ceremony.

Off Course

"Guys, I think we've been here already," Johan said. He turned around and yes, that dueling theory classroom did look remarkably familiar. He frowned again at the map they'd given him. It was a bright, glossy thing with far too many colors, clearly intent on just creating more confusion. Were they on the third floor? Fourth? Why wasn't there a window in this corridor?

"No, there was another room like that on the floor above," Sapphire Pegasus said, lifting his head to look over Johan's shoulder. "See, we came from the roof, then took two stairs and went through that corridor-"

Ruby disagreed. She chirped insistently and left her spot on Johan's other shoulder to tap a spot on the map - a spot that was on the completely other side of the building.

"That can't be right," he told her with a frown. There was no way they could've ended up on the other side of the school. Duel Academia was big, but it wasn't that big.

"No, I think she's right, actually," said Cobalt Eagle. The hallway was becoming very crowded. "Look, that room we just passed was duel theory, right? And that's here on the map." He tried to point, but unlike Ruby, he couldn't quite do so without covering the entire map with his claws. "So that means we have to go left-"

"I already told you there's another room like that-"

"Guys, please!" Johan interrupted before Sapphire and Cobalt got into a full-blown argument. He sighed. One look at his PDA told him they were hopelessly late now. The opening ceremony - the very one he was supposed to be at - would start in less than two minutes. Maybe they'd find a late student somewhere? It was impossible for everyone to be on time, right? They turned a corner and Johan glanced around without much hope. No one. Any latecomers would be coming from their dorm anyway, not getting lost on whatever floor this was.

"Why didn't you ask your friend with the Hane Kuriboh?" Emerald Turtle asked, sensible as always. Johan laughed.

"Yeah, that would've made more sense, wouldn't it?" But Yuki Judai was probably at the ceremony already, along with his friends. Anyway, it had been far too much fun to pretend to be a first year. He might have to apologize for that, but Judai didn't seem like the kind of person who couldn't take a joke.

Another glance at the time told him the ceremony was about to start. Johan grimaced and turned the corner into a hallway that was just as abandoned as the previous one. Maybe he could still make it before he was officially introduced?

"Johan, if you don't hurry, you'll never make it in time."

"Tell me something I don't know," Johan said without heat. Amethyst Cat snorted lightly. They would make a strange ensemble if anyone could properly see them now. One teenager and five spirits. If he knew his family at all, Topaz and Amber would appear before long. A clock chimed somewhere, officially announcing the start of the ceremony. They turned another corner and found themselves near another stairway. Johan leaned against the wall.

"Well, that's that."

"Johan, you really have to get there," Emerald said. "They're all waiting for you, I think."

"I say we let them," Topaz Tiger butted in, at long last. Johan was almost surprised it'd taken him so long. "Let's just get outta here. It's too warm."

"You don't even feel the heat," Johan said mildly. Movement on the floor below caught his eye. "Oh hey, people!"

He took the stairs two steps at a time and ran after the person he'd spotted, his family in tow. "Excuse me!" he called. The person stopped. Now he could see the black dress, several decades out of style, and the intricate hairdo. Not a student, then, but a monster spirit. That suited Johan just fine.

"Excuse me," he repeated, finally reaching the monster. "Do you know where the opening ceremony is being held?"

The monster turned around, and empty eye sockets focused on him. Johan smiled as the woman - nothing but white bones and spiderwebs - turned her attention to him. She tilted her head and twirled the teacup she was holding.

"Milady…" Johan paused. He knew a great many monsters, but this one wasn't one he was familiar with. He looked at the Gem Beasts for support, but they just shrugged. The lady reached out a skeletal hand and brushed his shoulder briefly. Then she gestured to follow her.

"Someone here likes the undead," Topaz Tiger said, far too loud to qualify as subtle. Johan grinned. He wondered whose deck the lady belonged to, and if he'd get to duel them. Most undead monsters were perfectly nice, if rather lacking in the speech department. Made sense. Most living people were perfectly nice too. No reason for the dead to be any different.

"So, now that we're late anyway," he whispered, following the lady as she glided down another set of stairs. They had to be near the ground floor now, "What are we going to do?"

"Go in and don't draw too much attention to ourselves?" Amber Mammoth offered.

"Where's the fun in that?" Johan grinned, and the lady turned around briefly. She couldn't smile, but Johan thought she looked amused anyway. With her arms, one still holding the teacup, she made a wide gesture, as if throwing open an imaginary door.

"Ah, good idea!" Yes, the opening ceremony had already started, and they were most certainly expecting him, so he might as well make his entrance worth it. Maybe Yuki Judai would be amused. He still had to apologize for the whole first-year student thing.

The lady nodded and walked on, another floor, another corridor, until she stopped in front of a set of wide double doors. Behind it, Johan could hear hushed whispers. They'd finally made it.

"We'll be in your deck," Sapphire Pegasus said, and one by one, his family disappeared, until he was left alone with the lady.

"Thank you for your help," he said with a smile. The lady nodded and patted him on the head, still turning her teacup. Johan gave a short bow and moved towards the doors when she stopped him with an agitated move.

"Something wrong, milady?" he asked. A few more minutes wouldn't be a problem now. The lady held out her teacup. It was empty, except for the residue of tea leaves sticking to the bottom and sides. She pointed one white finger at a shape right in the middle of the cup - a half-circle.

"An arch?" Johan guessed. The lady shook her head and pointed at the large window towards the end of the hallway, at the sky.

"Arch in the sky… Oh, rainbow!" Johan realized, feeling stupid for not having done so before. The lady nodded.

"That's good, right?" Rainbows meant his family, and Rainbow Dragon. Maybe he would find the dragon here. He smiled up at the lady, but she wasn't reassured. She pointed at another shape, a circle partially stuck to the left side of the teacup. Johan tilted his head.

"Uh, the sun?"

The lady shook her head once more. She turned her left hand around in a circle.

"A circle… disk?" Johan was no good at charades. "Ah, a wheel?"

The lady nodded gravely. Johan just nodded back. He had no idea what a wheel meant, and consulting the Gem Beasts in his head didn't teach him anything either. "Thank you for your guidance," he said at long last, for lack of anything better to say. The lady put her hand on his shoulder again, and turned him towards the doors. When he turned around to thank her once more, she was already gliding off to the upper floors. He hoped he'd get to see her again.

He took a few deep breaths - if he was going to be late, he might as well appear out of breath - and put a hand on the doors. Time to see what this school had to bring.

Notes:

1. The monster Johan encounters is Madame Wight

2. What she's doing is, obviously, reading tea leaves. As for her predictions:

Rainbow: Your wish will come true

Wheel: Events outside your control will change the direction of your life

Reviews of any kind always welcome!