So far, so good. Everything seemed to be going to according to plan. Whoever it was that had called Aki here had arrived and the two were currently discussing something, although I couldn't hear it all from where I was hiding. All I had to do was wait for the signal. That is, wait for Aki to call out to me. Based off of how things were going peacefully so far, I doubt she'd need me. At least, not right away.

I retreated behind my corner and took the top card off of my deck. Granted, Brionac shouldn't have been in my main deck if I were to get in an actual duel, but I still needed him close at hand should something happen.

I was so busy staring at the Synchro that I didn't even notice the silent footsteps approaching me. "Yoink!" before I could even think of reacting, a hand had already reached down and plucked my card from my hand. "If it isn't little Kazey from back home, still playing all by his lonesome. It's no wonder that all your friends are imaginary," a familiar voice sneered, causing my stomach to drop.

At first, I didn't want to look at him. I actually wanted to just walk away like I'd never heard him. I couldn't though, not when he had Brionac. That's how I gathered my courage and glared up into the hazel eyes of the blonde that I had long since wanted to forget. He was wearing a dark blue jacket that symbolized that his dueling prowess and knowledge had been enough for him to make the top of the class.

To be frank, it seemed to me like the schools just allowed the troublesome students to be Obelisks, regardless of their skills. They were ones who constantly gloated about their ranks or tormented you for yours. Asuka from my Duel Academy was an exception to this stereotype though.

Speaking of other schools... Rune had a jacket on that had a slightly different style when compared to the other male Obelisk uniforms that I saw here. If he was from another school though, why would he be all the way over here?

"What do you want, Rune?" I growled. He had grown up just as much as I had in these years, but I could still recognize him with ease. After all, we used to be friends. Used to being the key part. Throwing someone's prized possessions away and then tormenting them didn't exactly scream 'I want to be friends with you'. Rune feigned hurt regardless, as if he was entirely in the right.

"That really hurts, old friend. I came here to catch up on old times, but clearly you don't want to," Rune said. "You never were that social were you, you freak?" the blonde smirked to himself, deciding that the act was useless.

"As a note, I have plenty of friends. Ones that are much better than you and that won't abandon me," I declared. The Obelisk wasn't fazed at all. He didn't even seem to care.

"Before you go acting all macho... they don't know about you... about this," Rune paused as he held Brionac up, "do they?"

"I... Aki knows, and-" I started to protest, but Rune paid me no heed.

"Oh, the witch knows! That makes everything okay! The freak and the witch are friends! Isn't that the most romantic idea? Social rejects falling in love and spiriting each other away. I say good riddance to the whole lot of you!" Rune shouted with what I took to be his now-characteristic smirk. I'd be stupid if I didn't realize that there was no getting through to him by now. There was no way that I'd be able to change his mind, or anyone else's as a matter of fact. People believed what they wanted to make themselves feel better. If they find something that doesn't fit their perfect image, they try to destroy it in any way that they can. It made me sick.

"You can make fun of me as much as you want, but you leave Aki out of this," I said, causing another bemused grin to appear on Rune's face.

"Isn't that sweet? The freak thinks he can be a knight in shining armor for the witch. Isn't that-" Rune started his twisted little speech when I reached forward and grabbed the hand that was holding Brionac. When I tried to retrieve Brionac, Rune took his other hand and gave me a rough shove. I probably could have held my grip, but if I did, there would be the risk of Brionac getting injured in the resulting skirmish. "Hey, I wasn't done talking, you ditz!" Rune shouted. When I didn't give him a response, it didn't give him any ammunition to throw right back at me, so he turned his attention to my card. "You know, I probably should rip this thing to shreds, just to see you crying, but I'm better than that. When we were kids, you said this thing was enchanted or something, right?" Rune questioned innocently, even though I knew my answer wouldn't matter to him. I wasn't planning on giving him an answer anyway. If he was planning on using Brionac, my first job was to get him back before he could. Even knowing that, I still couldn't bring myself to go full force. If I did, that would just serve his point. I couldn't hurt Rune if I could help it…

I latched back onto his hand and we wrestled a bit for control of the card, but after getting sick of my attempts, Rune gave me a firm headbutt which disoriented me for a while. When I gathered my thoughts, Rune was already inserting Brionac into his duel disk. Rune was in no ways trained to deal with Brionac's summoning and the resulting gusts of ice sent me flying back against the wall, knocking the wind out of me and dazing me even more than I was before. I shook my head, trying to collect myself. I could hear Brionac calling out to me, insisting that I needed to do something. I didn't need him telling me that though. Not only had Rune ruined my childhood, but now he had stolen Brionac and was insulting Aki. It was personal now.

"Hehe! This is actually pretty cool! Why don't you call your little witch girlfriend over here and we can test my new toy out?" Rune asked me. Just as I was about to respond I heard the sound of footsteps, causing me to turn towards their source. There was Aki, running straight for me, presumably due to Brionac's cry as he was summoned.

"Stay away!" I shouted out of pure instinct. If Aki came over here while Rune had Brionac... no, while Rune was even here in general, then I knew he'd make her his new target. Not only that, but this was my fight. Maybe a better way of putting this was that this fight was my long-awaited revenge for all the false judgments and pain.

Aki looked a bit puzzled as to why I would say that when I probably seemed to be in immediate danger, but after a few seconds she seemed to understand and returned to her own fight.

"Hm, so that's the witch. No wonder you're friends with her," Rune spoke from beside me, quickly turning my attention back to my foe, "I mean, look at her. Talk about lame." I began to make my way back to standing, preparing for a counterattack, but Rune seemed to catch on before I could execute the impromptu plan. With a wave of his hand, Brionac let out another gust, sending me against the wall once more. "I didn't say you could stand up, you dolt. You sit down until I say you can stand!" Rune snapped.

I felt my teeth begin to subconsciously clench as I pushed down the urge to fight back. If it were just Rune and I, I was sure that I would be able to defeat the blonde, but when he had a duel monster like Brionac supporting him, I stood no chance. It was for this very reason that I never used Brionac if I could help it, even if a shadow duelist or someone like Rune came around. The feeling of being helpless before someone with no chance was just overwhelming. The ability to material monsters wasn't something to be taken lightly. It was people like Rune, who thought to use the spirits to forcefully obtain what they want, who cause so much trouble for people like Aki and I.

Once he saw that I wasn't going to fight back for the moment, Rune shrugged lightly before turning his attention to the two Osiris girls on the duel arena, who were just starting a duel. "Guess she was right. Would have been pretty painful dealing with the both of you and not having this bad boy on my side," Rune mused to himself. Once more I began to make my way to my feet, this time making sure I was as silent as I could be. Once I saw that Rune hadn't notice me, I took a few steps forward, until I was standing only an inch or so behind him. Somehow, I had to distract him briefly enough to snatch Brionac's card back. Then this fight would be fair game.

I nearly jumped when I felt an ice-cold breath against my neck, but knowing it was Brionac, the only one capable of doing such a thing at the moment, it was easy to relax and keep in my silence. I turned to face my dragon, my partner, who was just as eager at revenge as I was. As long as Rune held his card, however, he couldn't attack the blonde.

'As long as he held his card...' I thought to myself, 'That's it...!'

Just before I was about to relay the idea to Brionac, he gave a slight nod before slithering back a little to give me some room. Once I realized we both had the same plan, I moved slightly to the side to let Brionac do his work. Then he began flapping his wings fiercely, sending the icy gust our way. Out of instinct, Rune quickly turned around with his arm raised to cover his face from the shards. Just as we planned. I quickly began my move for Brionac's card, but just as I got a hold, Rune caught on to my tactics. Without warning, I felt a fist slam into my cheek, sending me tumbling back. "The heck are you doing, you freak!" Rune snarled at me before raising his left arm back up to cover his face. "Brionac, finish him off!" Rune ordered. There was no response. "Can't you hear me, you stupid serpent! I said-" Rune began to turn to his side as he shouted, but my partner was now right next to him, glaring with bright yellow eyes. The blonde slowly looked down to his duel disk, only to see it was empty. Now, the tables had turned. Brionac was back on my side of the field.

I lightly rubbed my cheek as I stood back up and returned to my dragon's side. Despite how foolish it seemed, Rune made a mad dash at me, in what I assumed was an attempt to take Brionac's card back. Said dragon was none too pleased with him though, and he quickly lashed his icy tail out, knocking the Obelisk over. I decided to take the lead from there, walking right up to the teen lying on his back. Just as he was about to get back up, I placed my foot on his chest, rendering him immobile.

"I didn't say that you could get up," I mocked my old friend. Fear quickly spread across Rune's face when he realized what position he was in.

"L-look, I'm sorry...! Really, I mean...! Just... just don't hurt me!" Rune pleaded to me. Truth be told, it was enjoyable to see him like that, to have our roles reversed.

"I think I said something like that to you years ago, didn't I? 'I'm sorry, guys, I really am! Look, it was enchanted, it's not me! Please, forget about it! Let's be friends again!' Didn't I say something like that?" I mused to the teen who seemed to be getting more and more panicked with every second that passed. That's when my eyes caught sight of something along the wall. Something red... It was... It was my hat.

Then it all came back to me; the reason why I got the hat in the first place. I took my foot off of Rune's chest and walked over the fallen accessory. I heard Brionac moving around, so I glanced around to make sure he wasn't doing anything while I wasn't looking. The dragon was simply glaring down at Rune, watching over him to make sure he didn't attempt anything. I couldn't help but smile before I picked up my hat and put it back on, making sure it fit snugly before returning to the Obelisk, this time standing next to my dragon. "Brionac," I simply spoke his name. My dragon quickly offered a growl in protest, but he made no action besides that. I removed his card from my duel disk before slipping him into my breast pocket, safe from Rune in case he attacked once more. "What did you come here for, Rune? You didn't come here to make amends, I know that," I spoke. Even though Brionac's intimidating presence was gone, Rune knew I was still much stronger than he was physically and didn't retaliate. Rune instead remained silent for quite some time, presumably from the shock he just went through.

"I... I heard that you were in town, and I thought I'd come rough you up a bit, you know...? I... I thought you were the same guy as before... The one who went out on those dueling sprees... and so I came here with that mindset... But I guess you really aren't the same guy... not if you let me go so easily," Rune muttered.

"Rune, I..." I trailed off, not knowing how to approach the topic with him. Instead, I decided to go with holding out my hand for him. At first, he was hesitant and didn't even think of taking it, but he eventually relented and I helped him back to his feet.

"If I were you, Kaze... and I had that power... If I had that witch... I mean... if I had Aki as a friend with those powers too... I wouldn't have let me go... I would have killed me, honestly... That took a lot of guts, dude," Rune continued to speak, and I knew his words were true. This was who he was. Hopefully, he was seeing a bit of reason. "Look, man. I'm sorry. I'll be simple and plain here. I'm sorry for what I did. You're a bigger man than I'll ever be, dude. Really."

"I'm sorry too, Rune... But you should have just talked to me... You should have known that I wouldn't have hurt you when we were kids... We were friends," I said. Rune bit his lip. Had that the idea never occurred to him, not now and not when we were kids? Did he never consider that I was still the same kid who just wanted to be friends? "And we still could be, if you really wanted."

"Kaze... it's three years too late. I've been such a jerk to you. I don't deserve it. Why don't you save your friendship for Ida over there?" Rune questioned me. I took it that this 'Ida' character was the one who Aki was facing in a duel, seeing how there was no one else I didn't know here.

"What's wrong with Ida? If you partnered up with her, she doesn't have powers like us," I pointed out. The blonde hesitantly nodded.

"She came up to me before I came here to your guys' school. Said something about her friends getting beaten up by the Black Rose, who is apparently your girlfriend," Rune shrugged innocently.

"Aki and I are just friends," I quickly interjected, much to Rune's amusement.

"Really...? Are you that freaking dense, man?" Rune snickered with a wide grin on his face. It was as if he was in on some joke and I had no idea what it was. "Well, whatever. That's none of my business. Either way, if Aki is anything like you, I doubt that's the case. They probably egged her on... just like I was doing to you," Rune muttered, returning to seriousness once more.

"Rune, it's-" I started my attempt at comforting him, but he suddenly began to chuckle.

"Man, I really wish I had a heart like yours. So easy to forgive and forget. Don't worry about me though. Like I said, I don't deserve any pity or friendship. If you don't mind me, I think I'm gonna go back to my academy... The guys from back then are there too... and I've got some misunderstandings to clear up." With that, Rune turned and began to walk away with his hands now shoved in his pockets. Right before he turned the corner, he paused long enough to take out a hand and wave good-bye before he was gone. I remained planted in place, as if my feet were frozen and unable to move. That's how I remained for several seconds, trying to comprehend all that had just happened. It was all so sudden. Years of hate were just washed away in an instant. Was that… really Rune…? Or was that just an Obelisk trying to flee for his life…?

It was a familiar roar that drew me out of my thoughts. A roar that belonged to Aki's Black Rose Dragon. When I turned to the duel arena, I saw that Ida was left wide open for Aki's attack. I quickly pulled Brionac's card out from my breast pocket and slapped it onto my duel disk.

"Do your thing, Brionac," I said. My dragon complied, slithering forward into the open space of the duel arena before rearing up to his full height. Just as Black Rose Dragon let her fiery attack fly towards the fleeing Ida, my own dragon let out a violent gust of ice from his wings. The two attacks collided in mid-air, canceling out each other and leaving Ida safe several feet away. Aki seemed to be confused at first, not understanding how the attack was stopped when Ida couldn't do anything due to her lack of cards, but Ida was none the wiser. I quickly began advancing over to Aki and Brionac followed after.

"Now I see why no one wanted to help me fight you...! You're a monster! That's all you are!" Ida shouted from where she was shakily standing. No one wanted to help her...? If what Rune said was true, that must mean that he wasn't her first choice. She must have asked around the school for help, for someone to face Aki with her in an attempt at some revenge, but no one was brave enough. Thus, she sent out that note to Aki, stressing that she come alone, as she'd have no back up. Sometime from then to now she must have ran into Rune, who she convinced to join her. If not, then Rune more than likely wouldn't have came with her and instead would have came to me on his own terms. At least, that's what I figured happened.

Not that that mattered right now, though. What was more important was that Rune pointed out Ida had no malicious intents. She wanted to defeat the person who had hurt her friends, although it was more than likely a misunderstanding. She still needed help though. By using what I suspected to be her reasoning behind her actions, I should be able to figure out a way to convince her that Aki wasn't the one to blame. All I needed to do was…

I saw Aki formulating some response to what Ida had said earlier, although she seemed less sure of what to say and do than I was. Once she saw that I was staring in her direction, Aki quickly backed down from giving a response and gave me a nod to do what I had in mind. I didn't have a solid idea, per se, of how to accomplish it, but I had the goal in my mind. A firm one. I not only had to get Ida to understand that we weren't going to hurt her, but also give her my friendship. If I was going to make things up with Rune, I had to do at least that much. If I could make her understand... then maybe this could be the first step that I take to making up for my past.


Reviews:

XJustified - I totally misread what you put at first, but I guess I'm glad you enjoy the vagueness...? Sure, we'll go with that.

Lucarai - What I imagine Kaze as is someone who tries to be all smiles so other people don't bother him. When he gets pushes around, though (such as in this extra with Rune), he still maintains the part of him from his past and it sort of becomes predominant.

DarkLord98 - First of all, thank you for the compliment. Second of all, I'm not really going to answer that question for the sake of not spoiling the rest of the story. I can tell you that Misty will still be remaining a dark signer, though since that's canon material, I doubt that really is enough to satisfy you...


Notes:

- In case any of you lovely readers were wondering, the hinted duo that was watching Aki and Kaze (in the previous chapter) that neither of them noticed was Rune and Ida. That's where they get the whole boyfriend/girlfriend idea which they pull up randomly. I was planning on getting to it in this extra, but it didn't seem to fit just right, so I left it out.