Supernova

Masumi knew the world around her so well, it was almost as if she weren't dreaming at all.

She was in an open field, the night sky so wide and open that it stretched across her entire field of vision. It seemed poised to swallow her whole, the vast darkness pockmarked by the stars twinkling overhead, begging her attention from millions of light-years away. They looked so distant and small from her perception that she had to consciously remind herself that that wasn't the case; the stars were very large indeed, bigger than she could possibly imagine. Some were as large as the Earth, and others larger still, with enough space within themselves to house a thousand planet Earth's and still have room left over. Thinking about it humbled her, almost. It reminded her that there were many things that she had yet to know, would never know, and could not even begin to touch.

The lifespan of a star could last billions of years before it expanded, imploded, died; but if she were asked, Masumi would say that that was where the true beauty of the stars lied. There was always something left behind, like a black hole, or even a brand new baby neutron star—

"Eh? Not every star can have such an impressive death. Only supergiants!"

She spun around on her heel, startled. She knew who it was by the sound of his voice, but it amazed her that he was able to follow her all the way to a world that was usually her own. The shock dying down, she rolled her eyes at her familiar companion. "So you're a know-it-all, even here." She crossed her arms, and reminded him in her most dismissive tone: "Forgive my blunder, but not all of us are so deeply invested in events happening on the other side of the universe."

Undeterred, Hokuto smiled confidently and continued. "Supergiants are the largest and brightest among all the stars. Unfortunately, that also means that their lifespans are exceptionally short. They live fast and die young, you see, so it only makes sense that their deaths would be spectacular."

"I know." He'd made sure she knew, more times than she could count. Many a dull afternoon had been made even duller by his incessant rattling about stars and constellations and far-off galaxies. Even if she did need the occasional correction, the general knowledge had been burned into her memory long ago.

He turned his head up to look at the object of his fascination. "I could write a beautiful book on the magnificence of the stars, you know."

"You'd sell two copies: one to your parents, and the other to Yaiba."

The smirk fell away from his face, only to be replaced with genuine surprise. "You really think Yaiba would read my book?! The only other person who seemed less interested in the stars was you. But then again…" she could hear the smug tone return to his voice, "you were musing on them just now. Looks like all my hard work paid off!"

"What hard work? All you did was talk."

"But you remembered what I was talking about. I count that as a victory."

"Like I had a choice in the matter! You know," she turned to him with a look of false concern, "if you spent more time practicing your dueling skills instead of prattling on about the world outside our own, perhaps you would've won that duel against Sakaki Yuya."

She'd expected Hokuto to sink into himself, to run off to his Corner of Despair just as he did every time she mentioned his loss to that boy. But for the first time, he didn't seem bothered. "Oh, I've evolved since that duel. And it seems I'm not the only one… Hiragi Yuzu showed you a thing or two when you faced off against her, didn't she?"

She bristled, but not because of the loss. No, Yuzu had won honorably, proved herself to be a great fusion user, and Masumi had no doubt that she could win the Maiami City Championship. What upset her was the way Hokuto said it, insinuating that she should be ashamed of losing to someone like her. But she knew by now not to humor him. "Well, we all have room to grow. With that in mind, I do hope that Mokoda Michio teaches you a lesson tomorrow."

Hokuto's smile froze, and his face twisted up in a way that was almost comical. Masumi would have laughed if not for the terrified look in his eyes. Just as quickly as that look came across his face did it disappear again, and he turned around, his back to her. Masumi raised an eyebrow. "You do know I was kidding, right? Please tell me you aren't seriously worried about facing him." When he didn't respond, Masumi decided to take it a step further. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and reassured him, "Michio may have a history of beating LDS students, but like you said, you've evolved since your last loss. I think that boy is in for a surprise."

"… supernovas are my favorite result."

"Huh?"

He whipped around to face her, all smiles and smug confidence again. "When a supergiant dies, of course! Black holes are fascinating and baby stars are cute, but my favorite is when it turns into a supernova!"

"Never pegged you for the type of boy to like it when things exploded."

"I don't, not normally. But supernovas are amazing!" He looked like a schoolboy, ready to jump up in excitement. "Just think of it, all that energy exploding out and everywhere! Brighter than even the brightest star! Blinding other galaxies for millions of miles! Look me in the eye and tell me that isn't the greatest thing you've ever heard."

So Masumi looked him in the eye, and told him, "Okay: that isn't the greatest thing I've ever heard."

He huffed. "You just don't have any imagination. You can't see past what's right in front of you. A supernova is a miracle of the universe." He paused for a moment, before turning his gaze skyward. "We can only hope to be so lucky."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know…" he rubbed the back of his head, like he was suddenly at a loss for words. "Think of it this way: the type of supernova I'm talking about is the result of something dying. So, say that…" he paused again, and bit his lip. "If something—or someone—were to be destroyed, wouldn't they want it to mean something? For it to have happened for the greater good?"

Masumi tried to imagine such a scenario. Typical for a teenager, she thought she was invincible; but she still possessed the wisdom to know that the power of youth was only fleeting. That one day, she would be a prime target for death. "It depends."

"On what?"

"Say I die at an old age, of natural causes. Well in that case, the only thing I would hope for is to not to be forgotten so soon. But say I die fighting for something, or in someone else's stead, then I would definitely want to see justice done. I would hope that my death would be avenged."

"I should've expected that kind of answer." His sweet, wide smile had a touch of melancholy to it, but it still made Masumi feel warm. Tease him as she might, she did love to see him smile. "Of course, your demise would mean something. But not all of us are big and bright, you know. A lot of stars, and people, die everyday and it doesn't make any difference at all."

Masumi didn't like the morbid turn their conversation had gone in. He was not one to talk about mortality; he would sooner boast that his strength and skill were too great even for death to conquer. "Hokuto—"

"So what do you think?" he interrupted. "Which do you think I'll be like?"

"I really don't know. But no matter what happens, know that I'd never forget you." The words felt sour on her tongue. She hated sentimentalities.

"It's okay, Masumi. Just say it: I'm a red dwarf in a sea of supergiants. But I can still dream, can't I?" There was something uncharacteristically soft about his voice as he said it; not quite a whisper, but still something she wasn't sure she was meant to hear. "Even if I'm not so special, I… I don't want it to have been for nothing."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, hoping that he was still speaking in hypotheticals. Normally she could read him like a book; this was the first time she'd ever seen him acting so cryptic. It alarmed a small part of her, before she reminded herself that this was Hokuto. He cared for little else outside of dueling, constellations, Yaiba, and her. What kind of misfortune could fall upon someone like that?

"Please, you can't… let it be for nothing. What's happened to me, I mean." She turned to face him and saw his eyes clenched shut, his entire form trembling slightly. He looked like he was enduring a great deal of physical pain, or worse. "Masumi…"

This was the first time she could truly say that Hokuto was frightening her. "What do you mean by that? Something's happened to you?!"

His eyes shot open, and he quickly reached into his pocket and pulled something out. Two cards. "Here," he held them out to her, desperation written all over his face, as though this handoff had to be done discreetly lest they be interrupted. "I want you to have them."

Masumi only had to glance down to see what those two cards were: Constellar Pleiades and Constellar Ptolemy M7. She shook her head, refusing the cards not because she didn't care for them, but to avoid what accepting Hokuto's cards would mean. "No. Those are yours."

"They're mine to use, and mine to give away. I won't be needing them anymore." He placed the cards into Masumi's hands, and seemed to calm down when she didn't reject them. "I want you to use them someday. Not just for any old duel, though! I trust you'll save your new cards for when it's really important."

Masumi took a look at her gift. Your new cards, he said. He wasn't loaning them to her; this was a permanent arrangement. A duelist's cards were a reflection of themselves, of everything they stood for, the very essence of their life, and Hokuto had just given his away. Already knowing that he wouldn't answer, she asked again: "What happened to you?"

Hokuto smiled, but his heart wasn't in it. His eyes were wide, screaming, and she knew then that he certainly wanted her to know. That he wanted so badly to tell her what happened to him; just why and how he managed to follow her all the way to her dream world; for what purpose he'd just given her his two most prized cards. Something unseen was holding him back, so he took a deep, shuddering breath, and instead told her: "Make it just like that, okay? Like a dead supergiant. Make sure all that remains expands out again, energy everywhere, brighter than their dimension could ever be. They didn't win. Don't let them think they have."

There were many things in this world that Kotsu Masumi had yet to know, would never know, and could not even begin to touch. Up until then she could've said the same about Hokuto, but for the first time, he knew something she did not. He'd been to a place she had yet to see, was branded with the knowledge of something so otherworldly that it took the bright pink light of his demise to for him to take it as truth. Her new cards felt heavy in her hands, as if they alone bound her to the earth as malevolent forces sought to pull her away from her father and her life and everything she'd ever known. From Yaiba and Hokuto. These XYZ monsters would save her someday, and in turn… "I'll definitely save you. I promise."

Everything was bright. She could hear birds chirping but other than that, an eerie stillness permeated every corner of her bedroom. Masumi stared up at her ceiling, her dream fresh in her mind in a way most dreams never were. She remembered everything about it: every movement, every bead of sweat, every sigh and worried glance, and every single star.

"Make it just like that, okay? Like a dead supergiant. Make sure all that remains expands out again, energy everywhere, brighter than their dimension could ever be."

Masumi sat up, drew her knees to her chest. The words echoed in her mind. "They didn't win. Don't let them think they have."

She glanced over at the clock, and took a double take when she saw what time it was. She jumped out of bed, and rushed to get ready. She could afford to miss the first two matches, but she wouldn't stand to miss Hokuto's duel against Michio. With Yaiba in the hospital, her presence was needed more than ever.

But there would be no match. Hokuto would never show up. And that night she would tear the city apart looking for him, for any sign of a friend labeled a coward and then not long after, a missing person. Over the phone, Yaiba would encourage her and give her suggestions of where she could look, even as his voice wavered from the strain of overexertion. It wouldn't be long until her panic was replaced by a grim determination her enemies would learn to fear. And all the while, her dream would be pushed to the back of her mind, her memory of it fraying at the edges like a photograph of some time long past.

That was, until she came home. There on her dresser were two new cards waiting for her. And a promise.

Anyone who ever said that a Fusion user could never care for an XYZ user was a liar on the grandest scale. The truth was written all over her face. They were from a different world than all of them, but Hokuto still wanted to believe that his bond with Masumi was proof that some things could be overcome.