The Ghost of Academia
"And the winner is…Rin, from Commons!"
Rin stood in shock for a moment, processing the words that had spewed from Melissa Claire's – the Melissa Claire's – mouth. She'd…won. She'd done it, she'd actually won, holy shit she won…!
"RIN!"
The sound of Yuugo's voice grew closer as he ran up to her, encasing her entire body in another one of his bear hugs. Yet, she couldn't find the drive to move, as the shock was far too much for her to handle. But when reality caught up to her, she found tears welling rapidly in her eyes, threatening to spill over; at this point, however, she couldn't really care less.
"YOU WON! YOU DID IT, YOU WON!"
"I…I won…I won…!"
She started laughing, and so did he. She shifted slightly in the hug as they did so, allowing him to encase her more – her reciprocating this time, of course.
"Rin, I love you so much."
"I…wait seriously?!"
He nodded exuberantly. "Of course! I've always loved you more than anything in the world ever!"
Rin could feel even more tears forming. "Oh, Yuugo…"
"Young lady."
Behind the two came the booming voice of none other than Jack Atlas, causing Rin to squeak in alarm. She'd forgotten all about their duel, or, well, the duel they'd fought already.
"That was a fantastic display of strength. I'm astounded by your dueling expertise." Jack's words were laced with the same stern tone they always had, but a softened smile adorned his face. "I have no qualms about passing my title down to you."
Rin was about to faint.
With Yuugo hugging her from one side and Jack handing her a trophy at the other, Rin could barely hear the sound of the screaming audience behind them. There was nothing but her staggered breathing in between the defeated laughter.
It's really happening!
"This is the best day of my life!"
BRRRRIINNNGGG!
Rin's eyes opened with a jolt, now facing the ceiling instead of the screaming crowds. The room was just as dark as it had been when she'd turned off the light that night, save for her glowing (and screaming) duel disk. She rolled over, looking groggily at the night stand.
Six am. It was a dream.
Rin groaned in annoyance, shutting off her alarm and rolling to the other side. She stretched, yawning loudly before pushing herself off the bed.
Her morning routine never changed - shower, dressing, breakfast, and final grooming. Everything was centered around breakfast, as it was not her choice as to when she would eat. Yuuri was the deciding factor in that case - when he showed up, they'd eat. Sometimes he was early, sometimes he was late (which were usually the days after she'd beat him in a duel or especially ticked him off), and sometimes he showed up at just the right time. Fickle was too nice a word to describe it in her opinion.
She hadn't even gotten on her golden school uniform jacket when he rang, opening the door with a passcode she pretended not to have memorized. The jacket was thrown across her kitchen table onto the head chair while she made her way to the entrance, lazily hanging off the armrest.
He had that Cheshire grin on his face as he held up the brown paper bag containing their breakfast. She hated it; it was a mask, sealing away any real semblance of human emotion. A perfectly plastered smile on top of a mountain of malice and mal-intentions, Yuuri was truly an enigma to even herself. And she hated it - no, she simply hated him.
"Good morning," he said, the same rich tonality as always prominent in his voice. "How are you faring?"
Rin sighed, rolling her eyes and returning to the table to retrieve her jacket. "It'd be better if I could go home."
"That's a shame for you, then." He tossed the bag lightly on the table, walking over to the fridge for something to drink in almost a glide. Rin on the other hand, was practically diving into the bag for food.
"They're chocolate strawberry," came his casual response to a question not voiced. Rin spitefully took the bigger one - on one hand, they were her favorites; on the other, she just woke up in a bad mood and felt particularly malicious.
Despite her jacket being half unbuttoned, she relaxed into the back of her chair and indulged. Yuuri set down their glasses of milk as he sat beside her on the left - though, his expression visibly shifted once he saw the size of his muffin.
"Did you get all of your homework done?"
"Before school ended yesterday, yeah."
He nodded, eating his muffin in a much more meticulous fashion than the girl beside him.
"You should be more careful, you're getting crumbs everywhere."
Rin grunted in response, finishing up whatever was left if the muffin in her hand. She took a napkin from the bag and wiped her hands and face.
"Get a cleaning lady," she spat. "Oh wait, we already have one. It's not my problem."
He rolled his eyes. "Regardless, it's still gross-"
"What are you gonna do, kick me out?" An obnoxious snort resounded from her, her head shaking in amusement. He simply sighed at her response, rising from his chair with his handkerchief wiping his hand.
"You're so incredibly immature-" she snorted again, agitating him further, "-and I'd rather not deal with it right now. I'll be heading to class." The frown that had graced his visage for a hot minute dispersed once again to the same Cheshire mask as before, leaving an already scowling Rin to scowl even further. As he opened the door, he turned back to face her once more.
"Y'know, if you keep scowling like that, your face'll be stuck that way."
And with that, he left, closing the door gently and locking it. Rin slammed her head on the table.
The rest of Rin's morning went smoothly, and when she was ready, the door automatically opened for her to leave - for that moment alone, however. At the end of the hall were guards, watching to make sure she wouldn't make an escape attempt - not that she would, that would just be stupid. She wouldn't be Rin if she was stupid.
That's why she went through this routine to begin with, after all - the day-by-day school life that she'd never experienced back home was all because she was some sort of genius of whatever. So what if she built a fully-functional D-Wheel in three days? It wasn't that big a deal, it didn't even have two seats - a stupid design on her part.
But apparently she was smart enough for the most prestigious school in all of fusion to want her to attend. So much so, in fact, that she was treated as a "full scholarship" student - not that she had a choice in the matter. Even though she didn't understand why, she had been kidnapped a few months back and trapped in the school. But being their prisoner didn't seem like the greatest time in the world, so any option other than playing damsel in distress of being dead sounded appealing. Plus, she'd never had a school life before; it was new and exciting.
It also had its benefits. She had full access to the library, which is something a prisoner wouldn't receive. The idea of limitless knowledge - or almost limited, as Academia doesn't want their students knowing TOO much - was just too tempting for her to pass up the opportunity. There was so much to learn and so much free time, since planning to escape was practically futile.
And it wasn't like she was a social outcast - despite the whole "synchro summoning" ordeal, she was just a normal student - while slightly more advanced than your average joe, she was still normal. Even for a scholarship student, as they were usually the mercenary types, like Yuuri. She just went through the motions like everyone else; hell, she even had friends!
Her first classroom was almost exclusively an Obelisk Blue class - while she had the intelligence of one, she wasn't a fusion, and they'd never let a non-fusion native into their highest rankings. Not that she cared, really - the rich snob class had never really been her style.
The seat she always sat in was once again empty for her, but the seat next to it was not. With a lazy grin to match his lazy posture and attitude, one of the highest ranking students in the entire Obelisk Blue class looked up at her, motioning for her to sit. And she did, as always, putting her things down under her desk and crossing her legs almost instinctually.
The boy's name was Matsushima Kenji, ranked 5th overall in the school while still being the most carefree asshole she'd ever met. He was practically a sleep walker, as he was always half asleep whenever she saw him. Despite this, he sometimes had the ability to be serious, if he wasn't making dark jokes about a situation. His hair was a dark brown - not the kind that looks black, but the reddish kind. It was as messy as his desk, with his papers and books scattered everywhere. His uniform was just a little too big, as it once belonged to his older brother, and hung off him ever so slightly.
"Miyugi Rin," he hummed coarsely.
"Matsushima."
He looked her up and down as his feet went on his desk. "Tense as ever, I see."
"I've been worse." She retrieved her yellow notebook from her bag, as well as two pens: one dark blue, one pink, and placed them next to the notebook.
"You're tellin' me." He leaned back more in his chair, putting his arms behind his head with a sigh.
"Tired?" Rin asked, sparing a glance in his direction.
"Seiji woke me up an hour early, you tell me."
She raised an eyebrow. "What's the occasion?"
"There is none."
"That's...peculiar."
Just as she was about to inquire further, their professor entered the room, greeting them all with a good morning. Class had begun, so she figured she'd just wait to ask Akiyama at lunch.
Lunch was at twelve sharp, and all the students in the school were required to attend unless stated otherwise by the Professor himself. Nobody fought against his rule, naturally, and nobody complained – the food wasn't garbage in the least.
Rin found her table of friends in the back, as they always were, laughing about whatever it happened to be this time.
"And so I said, Xyz summoning? How is that difficult in the least? Just ram your deck with level 4 monsters and as many rank-up magics as you can get your hands on!"
Fujioka nodded along as Matsushima ranted about who-knows-what, paying no attention to Rin as she put her food down on the table. As usual, it was some gourmet food with a name she couldn't pronounce – not that she'd ever tell anyone that, as she was supposed to be elite scholarship student Miyugi Rin.
But under everything, she was still just Rin from Commons.
"Oh, hey Rin! Didn't see you there!" Fujioka Aiko was new to their school – unlike Rin, who'd started at the beginning of the new semester, Fujioka had only entered a month earlier – and she was the only Osiris Red of their friend group. Red was fitting to her, though, as she wore a red heart clip to hold back the left side of her bright yellow bangs, letting the others fall loose while the rest of her hair stayed in a tight top bun. Heart earrings that matched her clip also adorned her. Like Rin, she too wore the uniform with pants; unlike Rin, however, she wore knee-high white boots.
"Afternoon, Fujioka." Rin smiled.
"So," Fujioka began as the three began picking at their meals, "how's everyone's day been?"
Rin shrugged. "No better or worse than usual, unfortunately."
"No need to rub it in."
"Why would you say that, Kenji?"
Matsushima groaned. "I got like, no sleep last night. I'm dying."
"Take a nap now, then," Rin barely looked up from her food. "It's not like you don't eat in class anyway – I still have crumbs on my notebook, you know."
"That might not be a bad idea." Neither girl could really make out what he said though, as his jacket drowned out his mumbling.
Fujioka checked her watch, glancing around the room anxiously. It wasn't a secret as to why either, unfortunately, and Rin had to bite her cheek in order not to groan.
"Have you seen Shirotsuno? He's late again."
"Thankfully no, I haven't. And I really don't want to."
"Well, it's just, he's usually never late! What if he's in trouble?"
Rin snorted. "I highly doubt that."
"But you don't know – Oh! There he is, with Dennis…and Seiji?"
Matsushima and Rin both groaned at this point, though only partially for the same reason. If there was a way to hide in her clothing, Rin wished she could figure it out in the next thirty seconds.
Naturally, she didn't.
"Afternoon!" Dennis cheered, giving a big smile to everyone at the table. Fujioka reciprocated, as she normally did, but kept her eyes trained on Yuuri. Rin and Matsushima simultaneously grunted.
Rin could hear the smile in his voice. "Good afternoon," purred Yuuri, glancing at all three of them individually.
"H-Hi, Shirotsuno!" Fujioka.
"…yo." Matsushima, through somewhat gritted teeth.
"Shirotsuno."
He smiled wider. "Rin."
Rin's retort was about to fight its way out and snap his face in half until landing her eyes upon Akiyama. He seemed paranoid, almost, looking around with a bit of a shake in his movements.
"Akiyama." While it was supposed to be a question out of concern, the declaration of his name seemed more like a statement, causing him to jump. "Are you alright?"
He looked to Yuuri and Dennis, to Rin, to the others, and back to Rin. He sighed.
"Do you want an honest answer?"
"Nothing but."
"Fine." His facial expression grew grave as he sat down next to Matsushima, the latter of which rested his head in his right hand while his eyes glared at the wall next to him. Dennis curiously lowered himself next to Akiyama, and Yuuri to Rin, even though he was less than interested. Everyone leaned in as Akiyama looked at them all each, took a deep breath, and began in a low voice.
"This school is haunted."
Fujioka blinked. "…is that it?"
"What do you mean is that it?! There could possibly be some sort of demonic entity in this school!" At this point that he'd jumped out of his seat, yelling at practically the top of his lungs. With a contented smile, Dennis yanked him back down to the table in a fluid motion.
"Okay, calm down," Yuuri spat, looking noticeably irritated. "Why exactly do you think this school is haunted?"
Akiyama fixed his jacket and shot a look at Dennis, who simply smiled back. With another breath, Akiyama looked to the rest of the table to continue.
"So last night, I stayed after with Rin in the library for a cram session on tomorrow's history test."
Yuuri and Fujioka looked to Rin for affirmation who nodded accordingly.
"And afterwards, it was pretty late. Rin goes fuckin' ham with studying, le'me tell ya."
Rin smile was nothing but smug.
"So I decided to stop in the teacher's lounge and get a snack – you know, the one by the blocked off section of the basement. So I'm getting some ice cream fr-"
"Wait back up," Matsushima sprung to life, his eyes wide in interest. "There's an ice cream vending machine in the teacher's lounge?"
"Um…yeah?"
"…I know where I'm going tonight."
"Anyway, when I was waiting for my ice cream to vend, I heard a girl's voice. It was kind of muffled, but it was loud enough for me to hear. So, I went out to investigate, to see if I'd been caught."
"And?"
"There was nobody there!"
Matsushima and Yuuri groaned, returning to their lunches. Fujioka and Dennis glanced at each other and gave an awkward laugh. Rin, giving up on trying to pay decent attention, rested her head on her hand and slouched.
"I'm not done!" he exclaimed with an irritated growl. "So shut up and listen!"
He cleared his throat and continued. "So after that, I went back in to get my ice cream, hearing some faint humming. And then, once I was done getting it, I decided to investigate a little.
"So I walked back to the area and heard more noises coming from the basement door. Like, at this point I thought it was just me, but then this really piercing laugh came from the basement, and I fuckin' bolted man!"
Fujioka shivered. "That…is kinda creepy."
"But moronic," Matsushima said with a scoff. "There is no ghost in this school."
"But hey, what if there is? That evidence seems preeeetty indisputable." Dennis had a sly grin on his face, further driving Fujioka to noticeable fear.
"There is no such thing as ghosts," Rin said, matter-of-factly. "That's it."
"But I know I heard something, and the dungeon is on the other side of the school! What else could it possibly be?"
"Your immature imagination, perhaps?"
"Why you…!"
"Ladies, please." Yuuri stood up, staring both parties down. "There are better ways to solve this issue.
Akiyama met his eyes and bravely glared them down. "Oh really? Why don't you enlighten us, then!"
Yuuri's eyes narrowed at the boy, causing the latter to slightly falter in his stance. Akiyama, for the most part, stood down; Yuuri continued.
"I propose we all stake out there tonight. Not too long - just until midnight. If we hear something, we'll investigate. If not, we all go back to our rooms and pretend it never happened. Deal?"
Dennis looked like he was about to faint. Everyone was fairly shocked at his proclamation – Fujioka even gasped. Everyone would've assumed he'd squash any sort of childish remark, but here he was enforcing it.
Here he was suggesting to break the rules to enforce it.
"A-are you sure about this, Yuuri?" Dennis couldn't help but fumble. "This isn't exactly…allowed…"
He shrugged. "Why not? It'll put his silly delusions to rest. We'll all meet at the same time he'd heard whatever he heard. What time was it again?"
"Ten," he squeaked.
"Ten it is, bring a blanket or something, but don't be late."
He rose to leave, grabbing his empty tray and his bag. Rin grabbed his jacket lightly as he walked past, causing him to stop and look back at her.
"You're…really confident about this, aren't you?"
Yuuri simply smiled. "I don't believe in childish nonsense; why wouldn't I be?"
He began walking again, everyone watching him as he went. A few more steps forward and he stopped again, turning back at them.
"Oh, and Rin?"
"What?"
"I except you ready at nine-thirty sharp. Come on, Dennis."
Dennis was knocked out of whatever stupor the idea of being a delinquent put him in and promptly gathered his things, wishing everyone a bright "see you later!" in his clearly anxious tone. He scurried over towards Yuuri, falling in step with him almost instantly. Soon after, the bell rang, and lunch was over.
"So," Akiyama's voice was noticeably hoarse, "see you all tonight?"
"Yeah, we'll be there." Fujioka's assuring voice came with a reply.
With that, everyone went their separate ways – Matsushima and Fujioka went to study hall, and Akiyama and Rin went off to history.
Akiyama Seiji was fairly tall, hitting about Dennis' height, if only a tad shorter. He had very light brown hair that was pinned up in the back with a blue pin to have some sort of spikey bun – it reminded her of Yuugo on a bad day. His uniform was a normal Obelisk uniform, though with white pants instead of darker ones, which was mainly because he was one in training; partially because he simply liked them better. Like Rin, he too had fairly good posture, but he was usually all over the place, so it never really mattered. The two walked silently for the first time in a long time to that class, and were in their seats without a word. There was a jab of pity that hit her when she looked at him, and as class begun, she simply sighed.
That night, Rin had an early dinner for the first time that she could remember. Normally, she'd spend her entire night in the library, reading up on whatever she could until it closed. It was almost frustrating – it provided her a general knowledge on most things, but nothing in depth. To be fair, it was probably done of purpose just to spite her.
Then again, she could just be paranoid. That was viable, too.
She hadn't even changed out of her uniform; the blasted jacket was just thrown somewhere across the room. Instead, she sat curled up in a brown fuzzy blanket half-watching whatever dumb program was on her TV and half-weighing her options.
If she really wanted to, she could very well sneak into the basement. There weren't any cameras, as there was no one anyone but personnel could get in. One needed the password; the password that was almost impossible to retrieve. But she had it. She'd figured it out a while ago, after hooking her computer up to the lock on her door. The minute Yuuri typed in the passcode to open it, her fate was sealed.
So if she really, really wanted to, she could. And it was pretty obvious that Yuuri was hiding something. If tonight didn't blow up in his face, she'd be genuinely surprised.
It was then she heard the sharp knock that belonged to the devil himself. He never asked to enter, but she never really cared if he did. In he came, and she grabbed her shoes.
"Not changing?"
"Didn't feel like it."
Finding him in a t-shirt and sweatpants was the most shocking part of this whole ordeal. She'd only ever seen him in more professional attire, and here he was, wearing sweatpants.
She didn't even wear sweatpants.
The two of them walked down in silence, Rin noting how the guards weren't around. Once she checked in with them for the night, she couldn't leave her room to begin with, so there was no point. Rin also took in the surprising lack of cameras for the same reason.
"This is a pretty ballsy move, Shirotsuno," she murmured, glancing at him.
He hummed in his usual light, airy tone. "I suppose. But, one has to do what they must, I suppose."
"You didn't have to do anything."
"Sure I did." This time, his eyes darted sharply in her direction, catching her slightly off guard. "We wouldn't want any rumors going around, now would we?"
"…I suppose not."
The halls were quiet from there on out with only the echoing sound of their light footsteps reverberating back to their ears. Aside from the moonlight peering down from the large windows, there was no light either, and if either of them believed in any creatures of the night, they might have actually been scared.
That's not to say they weren't off-put, as Rin had never felt like she was being watched before. And even in a room with cameras, it never felt…like this. The only one that could possibly look at her was Yuuri, but his eyes were scanning the walls and windows to their left. Something felt off.
Probably just my imagination, she reassured. She wasn't sure who though, because she certainly wasn't.
In a matter of minutes, the two were at the basement door of the North Wing. No student was allowed to enter unless special permissions were given, though, no student really could. Rin almost immediately stuck herself onto the wall of the teacher's lounge, resting against it with her arms folded and one foot against it. Yuuri, however, sported the laziest pose she'd ever seen from him, checking whatever social media accounts he had on his duel disk.
In a matter of minutes, Dennis came up next, wearing pajamas made out of some fancy material that she couldn't name. He made light conversation with both Yuuri and herself before also retreating to his duel disk.
Dennis was okay, in Rin's book. She knew very well what his standing was in the war, as she'd looked him up in the database, but he was polite enough and at least treated her like his equal, rather than his inferior like Yuuri. He wasn't someone whom she was willing to push, however, as he'd greenlighted the Xyz invasion. She could face him if she really wanted to, but she wasn't prepared for that, not in the least.
The other three came by soon after. Fujoka was wearing a pink nightgown with her hair in loose waves to her mid-back. Matsushima was wearing a black wife beater with baggy pants marked with the logo of some sports team. Like Rin, Akiyama was also still in his uniform, most likely studying for some test tomorrow.
Fujioka tried making conversation with Yuuri, only to get angrily roped back into conversation with Matsushima and Akiyama. In a rare form of intelligence, Matsushima also brought a blanket, which the trio placed themselves upon. The other three decided to stay were they were prior, and they all waited.
And waited.
And waited.
But no noise was ever made, and Akiyama was practically fuming. At midnight exactly, Yuuri called time, putting his duel disk away in his pocket.
"But…but…I know I heard something!"
"And we didn't. So let's go."
Akiyama, out of pure frustration, punched the nearest wall. Matsushima led him away, with Dennis and Fujioka following suit. Everyone bid a goodbye and goodnight, and as they got farther away, so did their voices. Soon, it was void of sound, except for Rin's faint breathing.
"See, I told you nothing would come of it."
This whole thing reeked of suspicion. "Yes, you sure did."
"Shall we head back up, my dear?" He was flirting; he caught on to her curiosity.
"I suppose so. It is rather late."
He took her hand in his and led her away. Normally, she'd recoil in disgust, but the mixture of hazy drowsiness and the feeling of dread the came with thinking about the whole "misunderstanding" on Akiyama's part distracted her. The walk back up was as silent as the last, save for one conversation.
"Tired?" His tone was purposely mocking, and she loathed it – no, she loathed him.
"…just a tad." This was far from over.
It was one am and Rin wasn't tired in the slightest.
It's not that she hadn't tried sleeping, oh no. She had and failed miserably, inevitably giving up and turning the TV on once more. The shows were all terribly old cartoons that were only funny because it was one am, and after laughing for the first five minutes, it was simply dull.
She didn't want to sneak out. She never saw the need to. Why create turbulence when she could gain their trust – if even a little – instead? There was no way she could escape anyhow, not without being pursued and locked up when she was unavoidably captured. So the idea of fleeing and returning home seemed moronic to her – especially when they could find her wherever she hid, at least for now.
But I'm not running away, she reasoned as her footsteps softly echoed through the empty halls. I'm simply…exploring. For the sake of doing so.
The idea of accessing forbidden areas wasn't appealing either; most of the locations were labs and dungeons that weren't exactly secrets to the general Academian populace. And back to point A, she'd rather not get in trouble and thrown in one of them.
But there was such an obvious hole in the whole situation. There had to be something down there, ghost or no ghost, and with Yuuri being the way he was about it, Rin just couldn't ignore the situation. So, for the first time since her capture, she decided to break the rules.
Even the dress code was broken – for old time's sake, she put back on her blue and white jacket with the pink shoulder-pads and the matching pink shorts, as well as her clunky shoes that always looked much bigger than they actually were. It made her feel like herself again, not the Miyugi Rin persona that she'd built up in the classroom, but Rin. Rin from Commons, Rin who somehow built a D-Wheel in three days, Rin who was a stuttering mess whenever Yuugo got too close, and Rin who was still a little girl inside whenever the thought of Jack Atlas looking at her crossed her mind.
When she reached the door, she felt all the nerves of her old persona return to her. What if there really was a ghost down there? What if she was caught by security, or even the ghost? Every instinct in her body screamed at her to run, to stop this nonsense, to go back and hide.
She took a deep breath. Remember, what would Jack Atlas do? Would he succumb to silly hypotheticals?
No, no he wouldn't. And neither would she.
She walked with shaking legs over to the lock, staring down at it with her amber eyes. Each number got pressed in with the utmost care, with small breaks between them and everything. She refused to mess this up. And it opened, just as she hoped, the door creaking as it swung open, a black abyss being dimly lit by a light down the basement hall that she could barely make out.
She could do this. She would do this.
With another deep breath, she entered the basement, gently closing the door behind her. The only light emitted from her duel disk, which was protectively latched to her forearm. It was chillier down there than she predicted, and she suddenly cursed herself for wearing shorts. Accompanied only by a shiver, she continued towards the light at the end of the hall, desperately trying to ignore the fact that there could potentially be a supernatural being down there with her.
That's stupid, she reminded herself sternly. There is no such thing as ghosts; it's not scientifically possible.
But there was still the feeling of someone else being with her, and she suddenly became hyperaware of everything around her. The hall was just as dark as the lighting and extremely narrow, probably only fitting two people at once maximum. The walls seemed to be made of concrete, as did the floor, and were even colder to the touch than the rest of the atmosphere combined. About halfway down, there was a wooden door, though when she tried it, it was locked. The knob had been suspiciously warm though, as if someone had used it recently.
Probably a torture chamber, came her pessimistic thoughts, earning another shudder at the idea of a potential torture victim haunting the hall.
Her pace quickened without her even noticing, leading her to the very middle of the whole hall. Based on how long it took to reach it, she assumed that the tunnel probably stretched to the other end of the school. At the middle was another door – two actually, indicating it was a large room – with lights shining out from the door windows.
Well, Rin, you didn't come all this way for nothing.
With a gentle push, one of the two doors rasped as it slowly opened, revealing the entirety of the magnificent, yet messy, room before her eyes. The ceiling was much larger than she'd expected, with several large chandeliers hanging from various parts of the room. Tables were scattered here and there, with dust coating them and their matching chair sets. Cobwebs littered the room like there was no tomorrow, and it looked as if the place hadn't been touched in years.
But most importantly, the towering bookshelves that took up the most space in the room caught Rin's eyes first. She found her feet moving towards them before she could even process them being there in the first place, and her hands frantically groped at the first book they could steadily keep.
It was a language that she could understand, but the vocabulary was far more advanced than anything they had in the normal library. She could just barely make out the topic, too; one that she had a general knowledge about, but nothing advanced. Nothing like this.
She could've broke down crying right then and there, actually. It was so beautiful; the whole idea of knowledge in general was, but further expanding upon it? This is the part when she'd joke about how she had no life outside of learning, but at this point, she really didn't have one. But this was fine, at least for now.
Putting the book back helped her to see another book a few shelves down with a gleaming silver spine. Something about it seemed so unreal to her, but that only piqued her curiosity more. Disregarding any formality to her posture and form, Rin briskly made her way over to the bookshelf, reaching for the book with the silver spine. She was able to get a glimpse of the cover, too, which was graced with a boy with a frown and a girl with a smile and a bracelet-
It was then she heard another pair of footsteps.
Rin, in an act of pure panic, whisked herself around as quickly and fiercely as she could muster up, knocking the person behind her to the ground. Rin hadn't expected them to be in close proximity, so the pain in her shoulder blade and upper back was stunning, if only for a moment. When she regained her bearings, she got a good look at the person who approached her.
They were rubbing their head in noticeable pain, but Rin made no move to assist. At first, it was fear that hindered her movements, but the fear subsided when they raised their head and a pair of familiar, wide eyes looked up at her.
Time seemed to freeze as Rin stared at the girl who shared her face, despite hers being noticeably more…carefree. Rin's amber orbs were replaced with vivid pink ones that seemed to reach a level of innocence Rin could never dare grace again, even if slightly. The short, blown out, bright mint locks that Rin never had to worry about contrasted the girl's extensive and smooth dark purple ones that were loosely pinned up with a feather pin. Her clothes looked like something out of a rescue camp aside from her gorgeous feather jewelry, and she seemed so out of place. Then again, Rin wasn't much better.
But only a moment passed, and the girl on the ground seemed to figure everything out before Rin did, for a change. A grand smile lit up her face and she practically hopped to her feet. She was slightly taller – not much, but Rin did have to look up at her – and that made Rin feel even more out of her element.
"You look like me! And I look like you! I can't believe this is finally happening!"
The girl grabbed Rin's right hand with her own and began to shake it. Rin simply let her arm go limp, still trying to suck up whatever the hell could possibly be happening.
"It's so glad to finally be able to meet one of my counterparts! I'm surprised Yuuri even let you down here, haha, especially after he told me to be extra super quiet! Oh, how rude of me, I haven't even introduced myself! My name's Kurosaki Ruri, age thirteen, blood type-"
"I-I'm sorry, but, what are you talking about?"
The girl named Ruri blinked in confusion, tilting her head slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…why do you look like me? Why are you here? What is going on?!"
Ruri's head tilted even more and her expression contorted with surprise. "You mean…you don't know?"
"Well, yeah. I came here by accident, kind of."
"Kind of?"
"Well, my friend thought there was a ghost down here, but I guess the ghost was you? And I waited until everyone else went to bed so I could come down here and investigate, but I didn't expect a library in the basement? And I don't know I'm just really confused?"
Ruri giggled, the smile still present on her face, but with less fervor than before. It was so weird looking at a mirror image of herself and seeing a smile – she couldn't remember the last time she looked in the mirror and naturally smiled at herself in it.
"That makes sense I guess. They probably wouldn't want the Fusion girl to know anything, anyway."
Rin scoffed. "As if. I'm no snob."
"You mean…you're not from the Fusion Dimension?"
"You mean you're not?"
Ruri shook her head. "I'm the last survivor of the Xyz Dimension."
"Last what?"
A shrug. "About two years ago there was a war and the Fusion Dimension wiped out everyone in the Xyz Dimension by turning them into cards. Luckily, Academia fished me out before I met the same fate as my family and friends."
"Luckily? Aren't you stuck down here?"
"More or less." Ruri meandered over to the fireplace and sat in one of the two lounge chairs. Rin followed suit, taking note of the two half-filled teacups and crayons scattered on the small table in the center. There was a strange comfort that Rin felt around Ruri, but she tried shoving it away, as Ruri was a stranger. On top of that, her mindset seemed a little skewed, though she supposed that had to do with being trapped for so long. Ruri picked up one of the teacups and took a sip of the tea in it, though Rin was sure it had to be icy by now. There was no steam and it was half-finished to begin with, implying it had to be there for at least a little while.
"As far as I know, there are four of us," Ruri said, looking down at her bracelet. "one in each dimension. We all look alike and have a bracelet, or so I was told."
Rin looked at Ruri's, a thin bracelet with feathers adorning the yellow jewel in the center. Her gaze drifted to her noticeably thicker one, adorned with swirls and green jewel. This all felt too surreal.
"For some reason or another, we're needed for Mr. Akaba's plans. Yuuri wouldn't give me the details."
"Hmph, he wouldn't even give me hints on why I was here."
Ruri placed her now-empty cup on the small table with a delicateness that Rin had only noticed in Yuuri's movements before. Whatever their relation was, it was certainly…influential.
"You must be Rin! Yuuri's mentioned you before."
Rin raised an eyebrow, folding her arms almost instinctually. "Oh really? What did he say?"
There was a guilt-ridden look in Ruri's eyes as she looked down. "I don't like using that kind of language."
Rin snorted. "That bad, huh? Figures, he's a bit of a wank stain himself, anyway."
"A-ah, sure, that."
Silence followed after that, both girls looking down with neither knowing what to say.
"It's…kind of strange, y'know," Rin murmured, Ruri looking up as she spoke. "Just a few hours ago, I knew everything. I had Academia wrapped around my finger."
Rin looked up at Ruri at met her eyes.
"But now? I don't know anything anymore."
Rin paused, her face falling sullen. Ruri furrowed her brows, not breaking her stare with the other girl.
"You said you weren't from Fusion, yeah?"
"That's right. I'm from Synchro."
"Do you…have someone special in your life?"
Rin's eyes widened slightly, but quickly darted to somewhere else in the room.
"I guess you could say that."
Ruri smiled. "What's his name?"
"Yuugo."
"What's he like?"
Rin smiled to herself, looking down at her hands. "He's kind of rash, but he's got a huge heart and he's super kind to everyone. He's like, the definition of a dork."
Ruri's smile widened. "He sounds pretty great."
"He's…yeah, he's really…really great." She shifted in her seat a little, her smile still sitting there. As if she caught herself doing something wrong, she sprung up once more, a nervous shaking noticeable in her voice.
"So, uh, why do you ask?"
Ruri shrugged, the smile still there. "I just wanted to know a little more about you, I guess. I mean we do look alike, and it'd be weird to hate my counterpart."
Rin smiled. "Yeah, it'd be like fighting with a recolor of yourself."
Both girls laughed a little at the thought of it. Rin cursed herself for trusting this girl so easily, but it felt right. And she wasn't really in the mood to fight herself, especially since she was socializing.
"How about you?" Rin inquired with a newfound curiosity. "Is there someone special in your life?"
Ruri nodded. "Well, was. They're dead, probably. They were my older brother and best friend."
"A sibling?"
"Yeah, his name was Shun. We fought a lot, but when I would get harassed at school, he was always there for me. Especially during the war."
"I never had a sibling. Was it nice?"
"Nice is one way to put it," Ruri said, chuckling into her words. "It was certainly something I took for granted."
"And the other?"
"Yuuto. He was my brother's rival at one point, but their rivalry turned into a friendship. And the friendship sort of extended to me. Though, to be honest, it was a little more than friendship."
Rin nodded. "I get what you mean."
"But they're gone," came her wistful sigh, resting her head in her hands and her elbows on her thighs. "and so's my life there."
Rin felt her motherly instincts resurfacing again, and with a determined look in her eye, she folded her arms again. "Well, do you know if they're dead?"
"Well, no…but…"
"Then why give up hope? They could still be there – hell, they could be searching for you right now!"
Ruri looked up, shocked and speechless. Something in Rin couldn't stop talking though, and her silence was only a drive to continue.
"We'll escape one day, me and you. And when we do, we'll find Shun and Yuuto and Yuugo and we'll be happy again, just you wait! I promise!"
"…really?"
"Truly. We'll get out of here."
Rin never wanted to escape. She never saw a reason to. But this girl who shared her face, this girl who she'd known for less than an hour…
For some reason, Ruri made her want to escape.
Rin wasn't sure why; Rin hadn't been sympathetic to anyone's issues in months. But to Ruri, it wasn't an issue. Being captured and locked away while everyone she knew and loved died out in battle was nothing to bat an eye at for her. Was she really that numb?
Did Academia really do that to her?
The build-up of anger that Rin hadn't even detected exploded. All her hatred for her current situation exploded, and suddenly all those late nights watching TV and eating some luxury food she'd never had back home felt disgusting. Everything felt so wrong about her life thus forth, about the life she'd built here. She'd rather destroy it all then end up like Ruri.
Just as Ruri was about to continue, the large grandfather clock in the back that Rin hadn't even noticed chimed with three echoing rings.
"Hmm, I guess it's two." Ruri was absentmindedly tapping her leg.
"I…should probably go." Rin stood up, brushing off her shorts and stretching.
"Hey, Rin," she stopped, looking back down at Ruri. "Will you…come visit again, sometime? It was nice talking to someone new."
Rin smiled. "I'd love to."
Ruri beamed, shooting up out of her seat and hugging her. Rin froze for a moment, taking in the situation, before hugging back with slightly less fervor than her Xyz counterpart.
Soon after, they parted ways, Ruri waving as Rin left the room. The walk back was less threatening than it had been the first time; the darkness that once put her on edge was almost inviting, concealing her from anyone that could have been watching. It also felt a lot shorter, though Rin assumed it probably was, as there was more of a skip in her step than before.
She'd been in Academia for about half a year. It had its ups and downs, but she would never trade her life at home for it. Granted, there were some things she preferred, but it felt…empty.
But over everything, the feeling of loneliness that had pertained through most of her time there seemed to dissipate. Because she was no longer alone; there was someone who could understand, at least a little. There was someone who wanted to understand, who was willing.
As Rin entered in the passcode to her room, she caught herself grinning. This was going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Rin means a lot to me. Like a lot. I don't even know why.
Rin and Ruri are such an exciting dynamic to think about. Do they like each other? Do they hate each other? Do they even know each other? THIS IS THE CONTENT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT, ARC-V. THIS IS THE CONTENT THAT SHOULD BE DELIVERED.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my attempt on creating a sort of backstory and adding some depth to some 2d girls! BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW ARC-V WOn'T HAHahha i love death