Fishy, fishy, fishy, come swim in my sea.

Chapter 23: A drop in the ocean

In the days after Proteus being handed over to the police, Yuma was happy that things had returned, somewhat, back to normal. Or back to how they had been before Astral had returned anyway. The only thing that he noticed was a hooded figure that seemed to disappear when he did a double take. But since the news hadn't said anything about anyone escaping from police custody, Yuma just put this down to his mind playing tricks on him. He had mentioned his concerns to Shark, who was very supportive and was keeping an eye out for the hooded figure.

It was a few weeks before the end of the school year, when a lot of things happened at once. Yuma was lost in his own thoughts as he was walking to school when he walked head long in to something solid. He landed with a slight thud on the footpath.

"Sorry," said an accented voice, from above Yuma, "I wasn't looking where I was goin'. I didn't see ya comin'."

"No, its ok," Yuma said, getting to his feet, with the aid of the stranger, "I was lost in my own head. OMG!" Yuma had only just looked at the face of the person he had collided with. His mouth dropped open. It couldn't be. Could it?

"What?" the stranger asked as he looked at Yuma's shocked and disbelieving face, "I haven't got a piece of dirt on my face again? My partner back home keeps whipping it off when he sees it. I'd be lost without him. He's a real hero to me."

"But you're..." Yuma stammered repeatedly, finding his voice but not his full vocabulary, as he looked at the tall, teal haired late twenty-year old man in front of him, wearing a deep blue hoodie and a pale violet shirt.

"I am so sorry," the teal haired man said blushing, as Yuma's scarlet eyes met his emerald ones, "I've gone an' plum forgotten my manners. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Johan ..."

"Andersen of the Crystal Beasts." Yuma interrupted  with the energy of a six year old who had been told Christmas had come early.

"Ya know who I am?" Johan asked, blushing harder, closing his eyes and seeming a little shocked.

"Of course I have." Yuma exclaimed, "Is it true that your cards chose you? Is it true that you are currently dating the world duelling singles champion, who you share the world tag duel title with? Is it true that you are looking to break into the world of turbo duelling?" The questions tumbled out of Yuma's mouth faster then he could prevent them from coming out.

"Um," Johan began, a kind but taken aback look on his face, "yes to the first, I am actually married to the second, and only my other half is currently looking to start turbo duelling. Oh and yes, my other half is the current world champ. Any way, I gotta be leavin', its my first day after all. Nice meetin' ya..."

"Yuma." Yuma called after Johan, "My name is Yuma, and it was nice meeting you too."

"See ya round, Yuma." Johan called back running off.

When Yuma got to the school gates, where his classmates were waiting for him, along with Kite and Trey, Yuma couldn't help but blurt out his encounter with the world number two Pro duellist. This lead to many disbelieving, envious and excited exclamations, which kept up all the way to homeroom.

As Yuma and Shark settled into their seats at the back of the classroom, as they usually did, Yuma got his second surprise of the day, as Johan walked behind the desk. The whole class went very quiet as though the air had been vented from the room.

"Hi." Johan said to the silent and shocked class, "I suppose ya'll already know who I am. I will be your full time replacement for your last teacher." With that Johan took role call and began their lesson as if he had been there all year, and wasn't new to this class.