Title: Troublemaker
Characters/Pairing: Christopher Arclight, Tsukumo Akari
Rating: K+
Words: 2,435
Summary: Set during episode 50. Akari catches up to an old friend when she finds out that he possibly holds the answers to some important questions of hers.
Warnings: None.

Akari was mad.

At that very second, she should have been at home, seated at the dining table with her grandma, having a quiet dinner while Obomi dusted the couch cushions. She would then make herself some coffee and start work on the many articles she had to write before her boss hounded for them the next day, left in the relative peace and solitude of her workroom that would only be disturbed by the familiar clatter of her fingers upon her keyboard.

Instead, Akari was charging down the main highway on her motorcycle, gripping the handles tighter than it was necessary. If her dear brother hadn't revealed that bit of information to her, she would have remained in the dark for who knows how long.

Yuuma entered the house with a bounce in his step, paused at the genkan. "I'm back, sis!"

"Welcome back. Has your friend returned home?" Akari asked. It was already nine in the evening.

"My fr- oh, you mean III/" A giddy grin formed on Yuuma's face as he pulled his socks off. "We duelled, and I won, and now I have enough Heart Pieces to enter the finals!" He took out his Heart Pieces and waved them in his sister's face.

Akari rolled her eyes and lightly swatted Yuuma's hand away. She was glad for her younger brother, yes; after all, he had always had a passion for duelling, even doing it behind her back when she forbade it, and now that he's advancing closer to his goal, she decided that she would be proud of him as an older sister. His resolve to never give up was a deciding factor in accomplishing whatever he had set his mind to. He had his father's genes, after all.

"Yeah, that's great and all," she said with a nonchalant front, "but that guy—III, right?—he just ran off crying in the middle of dinner! We're concerned."

"… Well, how should I put it…" Yuuma scratched the back of his head, scrunching up his forehead. "His family isn't doing great right now, and I guess watching us reminded him of what his family used to be like—like us. And then he challenged me to a duel, which I won."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

Akari crossed her arms. It was obvious that Yuuma was leaving out important parts of the story, and the only reason he would do that was to protect his friend. While she respected that, she had the feeling that there was something that she should have knowledge of, and Yuuma was keeping mum about it. "How's his family like?"

"He has two older brothers. Both are in the finals. The oldest, he-" Yuuma stood with his mouth agape for a second, as if he wanted to say something more, but then pressed his lips together.

"What is it?" Akari pressed.

"His oldest brother, V… he was the one who said dad was alive."

Akari's eyes widened. When she received that bit of news from Kotori, she didn't dare to get her hopes raised. Now that she's heard the same thing from her younger brother…

"This… V person," she said, briefly wondering if III and V's parents were on crack when they named their children, "what else did he say?"

"He refused to reveal anything else," Yuuma shrugged, slumping on the couch. "All he said was that dad's alive, in the Astral World…"

"The Astral World?" Akari shot Yuuma a sceptical look. She slapped a palm to her creased forehead. "This is sounding more ludicrous by the minute…"

"I wanted to find out if what he said was true," Yuuma slouched. "If dad really is still alive…"

"How does this guy look like?"

Yuuma looked to his left. "Um, he's this really tall guy… a hundred and eighty-five centimetres… seventy kilograms… long hair, extremely long, pale hair… coloured bangs? Purple and blue bangs that fall around his face…"

Akari prided herself in being able to remember the appearance of every person she meets. There was something familiar about V, but try as she might she couldn't seem to place her finger on it despite the oddly specific details Yuuma was listing out. "What about his eyes?"

"His eyes?" Yuuma looked to his left again. "Blue. Sharp, blue eyes."

Akari was starting to get a very bad feeling. "By any chance does he wear blue?"

"… Yeah, sis. How did you know that?"

"Just… just a wild guess," Akari waved a hand vaguely. "Go to sleep early, alright?"

"Yeah, I know," Yuuma moved from the couch and skipped up the stairs. "'Night sis!"

"Night," she shouted up the stairs, then occupied the spot Yuuma had just vacated. Akari rested her chin in her hands.

Heartland City was a metropolis of vibrancy and variety, so much so that even her citizens looked uniquely different from one another; rarely would a person bump into someone with the exact eye colour and hair style. From Yuuma's description of V, Akari could only come to one conclusion what his true identity was.

"Christopher Arclight…" she closed her eyes and whispered under her breath. "What have you been up to?"

One of the first skills she had to pick up and polish as a member of the paparazzi was the ability to sneak into any events, public or private, without attracting any attention to herself. It helped that those two goons flanking the entrance weren't as alert as they should be, one of them already trying to slap himself awake and the thinner one covering a huge yawn with a hand. Grabbing the skirt of the dress she had brought along as part of her disguise, she slipped past them easily and entered the ballroom without any hitches.

The place was huge, elaborately decorated with many pink hearts, the symbol of Heartland City. A huge cake towered over everyone in the middle of the room, more of an ornament than anything else, although Akari had no doubt it would be more than enough to feed the dozens of guests that had been invited to the party.

Akari placed herself beside a pillar and scanned the crowd. Tall, pale long hair, blue outfit. It shouldn't be too difficult to find him. She had spotted her younger brother immediately; Yuuma was hanging out with his friends at the foot of a staircase. She had to make sure that Yuuma remained unaware of her presence.

There were too many people, Akari decided, for an event that should mainly concern the finalists of the upcoming finals. She recognized a few faces she had interviewed in the past, some of them ranked officials in political and social circles, and glimpsed the faces of a couple of celebrities. Formalities. Such a large gathering seemed meant to conceal something.

"Christopher Arclight, you are not getting away from me," Akari growled under her breath. The party had started only half an hour ago, surely he would still be around somewhere…

Speak of the devil, and he will appear to you. Just as Akari whipped around to search in another part of the room, she collided into someone's chest.

"Sorry," she rushed out, and made to side-step whoever she had bumped into, and did a double-take. Akari tilted her head up to have a good look at the person's face.

Just as she thought.

"I thought we would meet again, just not this soon," he started. V stood imposing over her, at least a head taller. "You're as insistent as ever."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Akari smirked, backing off a step. "And you, what's up with this?" she splayed her hands out in front of her, gesturing to V's outfit.

"That can't be the purpose of your presence here, I believe."

"…You're just embarrassed about answering, aren't you? … Anyway, we need to talk," Akari grabbed his arm, tugging V along to a more quieter area in the ballroom, where they could converse in privacy. She was mildly surprised that he showed no signs of resistance.

Chris, as Akari used to know him, hadn't changed much. The only significant change was the apparent height difference that had only increased over the years. (And the outlandish outfit, but that wasn't too important. She hoped.) He still talked in a slight higher-than-thou manner, and had that same impassive stare.

Six years could change a lot in anyone. Akari could not begin to imagine what had happened to Chris- V during that time, but she was glad that he had acknowledged her. V must have already known that she would be knocking at his door, since he had met with Yuuma recently.

Once they were half-tucked behind a pillar, Akari let go and turned to face him. "You know something about dad, don't you?"

"I'm sure your younger brother has already told you," V replied. "I have no further information."

"As if," Akari narrowed her eyes and seized his collar with rough fingers, pulling him down so they were almost nose to nose. "Where. Is. My. Father?"

"… That is not for me to say," V reached up and lightly pried her fingers away one by one. "Even if I had information, I cannot tell you."

"Who was it that told you that my father's still alive, then?"

"My father was the last person to see Tsukumo Kazuma. You may take it up with him."

"Then take me to him!"

"I would advise you not to approach him. My father is… not quite himself right now. It would be dangerous."

Akari sagged her shoulders. She said in a soft voice, "Chris, what happened to you?"

"It's a long story, one that I do not have the time to relate at this moment," V let a flicker of a smile cross his features. "However, it is good to see you again."

"Yeah? I'm not sure if it's good to see you," Akari scoffed, then smiled wryly. "I miss when I didn't have to look up at you."

Other than Tetsuko, V- Chris was probably the only other person in school that she talked to on a regular basis. Their light banter was one of the factors that kept their friendship going strong, even after Chris had left to apprentice under his father, but he had abruptly cut all communication one day. It was soon after that Akari met Charlie, and she had put any thought of Chris in the back burner until recent times.

"… You're not going to tell me what I want to know, are you?"

"I'm under strict orders to not say anything. Please understand that," V directed his gaze across the ballroom. "Your brother is a duelist with plenty of potential. Perhaps if he progresses far enough in the finals… maybe then, he will find the answer to your questions."

The room gradually descended into darkness, signalling the start of the event. A door in the gallery opened to reveal Mr. Heartland; a projection of himself appeared and illuminated the room as he shouted his catchphrase amid applause and pink hearts. Next was the obligatory welcome speech, complete with Mr. Heartland's trademark exaggerated gestures and over-enthusiasm; just as he was about to introduce the finalists, the projection fizzed out, shrouding the room in darkness once more.

Akari heard Chris grunt beside her. She had an inkling then that something was up.

What she next witnessed, however, she couldn't make heads or tails out of. It definitely seemed worthy of a scoop, but Akari would have to think a little deeper into how she would write her report that night.

A child's laughter echoed through the room. Two spotlights flicked on and shone upon someone—a young child with a braid, strangely reminiscent of how Chris used to style his hair, and an equally outlandish outfit as Chris's. He (she?) somehow gave off an ominous aura, as displayed by the people who stepped back as he toddled down the centre aisle, unsure as to whether he was a threat or not. That was odd in itself—children in general weren't supposed to send chills down your spine.

"He's actually doing it," Chris whispered, sounding resigned. Akari sent him a curious look he couldn't see, when the child suddenly yelled.

"A giant cake!"

Complete silence had engulfed the room ever since the child announced his presence, only disrupted by the sound of the child's shoes against the floor. He went up the stairs and exchanged a few words with Mr. Heartland. He called himself 'Tron'.

Tron did that creepy laugh of his and declared his love for cake once again. When he addressed Yuuma in particular, however, Akari had the urge to rush forward, her sisterly protectiveness threatening to overcome her, but she remembered her purpose in sneaking into the event, and there was Chris's hand on her shoulder that told her of her current position. Tron left as suddenly as he had arrived, leaving confusion behind him.

"That was… strange," Akari mumbled as the lights came back on again, the room filled with murmurs of guests and their queries on what had happened earlier. "Any idea what just happened there, Chris? … Chris?"

She received no reply. The spot where Chris stood a mere few seconds ago had been vacated, but he hadn't gone far. Akari rushed after his retreating back.

"Hey, at least say goodbye before you run off somewhere!" She grabbed a part of his sleeve, holding him back. "I don't want a repeat of six years ago."

Chris turned his body slightly to meet her eyes. "… Please call me 'V'. And it's best if we don't see each other at all."

"Why can't you tell me anything?" Akari bit out. "We're still friends, aren't we?"

Chris- V stayed silent as he took a step forward. There was some commotion going on in the ballroom, but Akari turned a blind eye, focusing on her old friend.

"Where are you going?"

"That's none of your concern."

"… If that's what you want…"

Her hand fell back to her side. She wasn't able to get anything out of V, but at least he hadn't avoided her.

"I have a request, however," V said. "Please do not use what just happened as a scoop."

Akari blinked. He must have known since the beginning. "… Sure."

"Thank you," he turned around, a hand lifted slightly; it hovered for a moment before settling on her shoulder. "Keep well, Akari."

"You too, Chr- I mean, V."

"Call me anything you like," Chris said as he removed himself and walked away.

Call you anything I like, huh… Akari grinned.

"Idiot!"

Revised 4/2/2014.