(EDITED with a few added things)
Heyah! :D
Once again, I would like to thank those people who reviewed:
GaraasMyBoyzz
Ominous Blue
Kimi-mahou-tsukai
xXYuseiXAkikoXx
FALLING-ANGEL-24
DarkMagicianGirl512
You guys totally made me happy ^^, of course I haven't forgot about those who faved as well and viewed my story :p you all make me happy!(although I'd like to hear from you too if you can tell me something about the story, like what's wrong with it if there are errors, and something like that :p) ^^,
Been busy yet again these days rar T-T... I thought after midterms everything will be okay, but NOOO T-T they just have to give us projects now for Finals o.o...
Oh well, that's life... I enjoy it anyway :p (but, its hard though =.=) although, I'm kind of sorry for being late on my update :P (plus, I just don't want to post my chapter just like that without effort, I make sure it looks great and I proof read it before I post it...of course I want the best for all of you :p)
Anyways, please do enjoy this brand new chapter :D
Reminders: I might not elaborate about the duel anymore by the way... :) please do enjoy ^^.
The Heart of the Crimson Dragon
-Chapter 10-
"What's this on his cheek?" Ruka uttered in a curious tone, as she examined the unconscious raven-haired lad, lying on their couch.
"It's a marker...don't you know?" Rua answered. "Everybody caught by Security has one put on them..."
"Then... is he a bad guy?" Ruka asked in a surprised and worried tone.
"You said the card's spirits all right, didn't you?" Once again, Ruka placed her hand on the unconscious guy's deck of cards.
"Well, yeah...These cards were taken care extremely well. So he's okay, at least I think he is..."
"I see, I'm okay with him then!" the lad said gleefully, somehow finally causing Yusei to stir from his unconsciousness.
'Ugh...where am I?' Yusei thought as he quickly opened his eyes and sat up abruptly, trying to be alert and careful as possible, since he can't risk himself to be captured once more, due to the fact that Security's after him. However, the only thing he saw was a seemingly luxurious living room; it was definitely spacious, with a few yet seemingly expensive furniture lying around the house and then two young children staring at him, looking so much alike.' I hope my D-wheel is just fine...wherever it is...'
"Who are you?" Yusei quickly asked with his usual nonchalant deep tone.
"You don't remember? You collapsed downstairs last night..." Rua replied. "Oh, yeah! I'm Rua by the way, and this is my lil' sis Ruka, we're twins!" he happily introduced whilst Yusei just listened to them, whilst he just glanced on each on every one of them. And then he saw his deck lying on the table beside the couch he was laying on, he quickly took it away checking if his deck is okay before he slips it in to his card holder. "Say, what's your name?" It was Rua's turn to ask.
"It's Yusei..." then he quickly stands up as he tried to have a better view of the place."Where are we?" he asked.
"My house..." Rua said as he showed him around, and gave him a better view of their garden too, which has a swimming pool and many beautiful and colorful plants surrounding it too. "This area is called Tops and it's the highest place in Neo Domino City..."
"Tops, huh?" Yusei replied, as he thought. 'Tops... This is where Hikari was from... not only that... This is where I was from...before that happened...'
"Yusei, you're a duelist, too right?" Rua asked his voice filled with excitement.
"Yeah...." Yusei replied whilst he wear back his jacket and his duel disk's brace.
"I play too! C'mon, will you play with me? It gets kinda boring facing Ruka all the time..." Rua said, fascinated, whilst Ruka on the other hand kind of got irritated on the sides.
"That wasn't called for... you were weak yourself..." she uttered teasing his brother a bit, whilst she let out a 'humph'.
"I'll get stronger one day!" Rua stated filled with conviction and passion. "Say, you strong, Yusei?" he asked, then when Yusei was about to utter a word, he saw Jack's poster, and figurines on one of the cabinets, Rua followed where he was staring, as he let out a wide smile himself. "Ah, those...They're my treasure..." he said proudly showing his stuff-the 'Jack' and Red Demon's Dragon Figurines standing on the cabinet in front of his poster. "My king memorabilia! It's my dream to be the king one day myself... so; I want to be a turbo duelist too!"
"You can do that without being king you know..." Ruka stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact-tone, bored as ever as she just sat on the couch.
"Geez, Ruka, hush up for a second!" Rua exclaimed a bit irritated, but it died out quickly as he faced Yusei. "So, you in to the King too, Yusei?"
"No, I'm not..." he uttered, with his usual deep voice.'Jack really did it, huh... I guess children like him look up to him right now...that's good...'
"Oh, is that so? It's almost a shame since you're turbo duelist..." Rua stated a bit disappointed.
"Why do you say that?" Yusei asked with curiosity not just about the statement but for the fact he found out that, he was a turbo duelist too.
"Coz, that's a D-wheel right?" Rua stated as he eyes pointed towards Yusei's D-wheel lying near the front door; Yusei quickly motioned towards his D-wheel. "So, if you're a D-wheeler, you must yearn to be king!" However, Yusei just stared at his D-wheel, and examining it, checking if it is still okay.
"Doesn't look like he was listening to you...Rua..." Ruka uttered, which is right, since Yusei's mind is really flying elsewhere at the moment, other than yearning to be 'king'. Rua, who somehow does not want Ruka to be right, quickly took the envelope lying beside his king memorabilia's and showed it Yusei.
"Yusei, look at this here!" he exclaimed as he showed him the envelope. "I could duel against the king!" Finally catching Yusei's attention, as he took it, and read it...
"The Duel of Fortune Cup?" he read aloud, questioningly.
"U-huh! I heard Kaiba Corporation is holding a tournament with people they picked at random! And Ruka was picked to be one of them! Then the duelists who gets to win it, gets to duel none other than the King!" Rua explained energetically. "And, they say, that they're also planning to make the winner battle a special guest, too! Although, it's not sure who it is though…as if it matters because whoever that is can't be any better than the King!!"
"I don't feel like entering..." Ruka stated in a lazy tone, somehow ticking off Rua once more.
"You hear that? Ruka's always this way!" Rua complained as he placed his hands in his waist. "That's why I'm thinking of impersonating Ruka to enter!"
"There's no way that you can impersonate me Rua..." Ruka stated disapprovingly, since she knows that despite the fact they are twins, they contrast so much in character and playing style.
"Is so way! We look exactly the same!" Rua blurted out angrily, since he is really dreaming of entering that tournament to fulfill his dreams.
"Look the same? How?"
"We're twins!" Rua stated angrily as they started to bicker now.
"We are not the same..." Ruka answered emphasizing each word, Yusei who was left behind the scenes continued to examine the invitation to this so-called 'fortune cup'.
"W-well..." Rua stuttered a bit, "I may be a boy and you're a girl, but just leave it to me!" Rua who's still unwavering.
"You're overly optimistic, Rua... and about that guy..." she whispered, as she referred to Yusei.
"You don't trust Yusei, Ruka?!" Rua exclaimed a bit infuriated. "He's a duelist who takes care of his cards, right? I want to help him out!"
"Rua... you're shouting..." Ruka stated who is also irritated as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
'They're right, even if I'm not a bad guy... as long as Security is tailing me, I might just get them in to big trouble... I definitely can't risk these children...I might as well leave them alone...' Yusei thought.
"I appreciate you guys holding me up here..." Yusei finally joined in, as he enclosed the invitation inside its envelope. "but... you're best of not getting involved with me..." he stated as he threw the invitation back to its proper place flawlessly, somehow amazing Rua a bit, since it was placed back properly like how it was actually placed a while ago which caused him to be almost distracted.
"You're leaving?"
"I don't want to cause you guys any trouble anymore..." Yusei answered as he already opened the door.
"You're not causing us trouble..." Rua pleaded totally wanting Yusei to stay behind for at least a little bit more. "Oh, right!" as he suddenly remembered something as he rushed quickly to a nearby closet, digging into his stuff, as he grabbed on his blue duel disk definitely not wanting to let Yusei out of his house at least without a duel. "Yusei, duel me! A duelist always accepts any challenge he posed!"
"Aren't you the one causing the trouble now, Rua?"
"But, I'm sure Yusei's tough! I wanna duel against tough players! Let's play, Yusei! I wanna duel all sorts of players and hone in my skills...so, let's play, let's play, let's play!" he uttered again and again, since he really yearns for it, and as he cheered his blue duel disk suddenly slips off, totally breaking his cheering momentum. "Awww, Fit on there!!" he exclaimed as he pulled his duel disk. "Sorry about this…" He uttered whilst he tried to make it fit, which reminded Yusei about Rally back from Satelite, making him smile a bit.
'He's just like Rally…so persistent…'
"Fine, let's play…"
"Alright!!" Rua exclaimed, then Yusei clicked something on his D-wheel, as it uttered, 'Momentum, out' releasing his duel disk, which really amazes Rua.
"Oh? So, that's what it turns into? Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!" Rua exclaimed happily, and then they finally went outside towards the garden, to start the duel.
Rua was really bothered with his duel disk as he tried to make it fit on his small arm. Yusei, who has grown fond of the twins, helped Rua, and tinkered with it a bit to make it temporarily fit.
"No one else is here?" Yusei asked while in the process.
"It's just us on this floor…" Rua replied.
"We're at the very top of the hotel, you see…" Ruka continued. "We've always been together, just the two of us…Our parents are always at work, but we at least hear from them occasionally, so we're pretty cozy."
"And since we can do all our studying through the Net, we seldom go outside…" Rua finished.
"I see…Anyways, you're all set…" Yusei uttered, as he tied the final not on it to make it stable, Rua tried to wave his arms a bit, feeling happy while on it since it finally didn't slip.
"Wow! Thanks Yusei!!" Rua blurted happily.
"Don't mention it...You can go first if you want…"
"Alright! Okay, I'm all set now! Let's..."
"DUEL!"
The both of them dueled with their hearts content, especially Rua who swarmed the field with his morphtronic monsters, and was able to use his deadlock combo, but with Yusei's usual calmness, Yusei was able to think of a way to get through and actually finished the duel in a few turns with the help of Nitro Warrior.
Rua was a bit downhearted, as his loss caused him to be really sad, as tears filled his eyes a bit. Ruka was really concerned as she approached his brother, hoping to comfort him.
"Hey... you okay?" she asked, "You sure do cry easily..."
"I'm not crying...." Rua uttered as he sniffed a bit, whilst wiping his tears. Yusei wasn't that cold hearted, as he approached the pair.
"I could sense that you really enjoy dueling from the bottom of your heart...But..." Yusei uttered hoping it would console the lad. "Your dueling is a bit too self-centered...Weren't you satisfied with just getting your four Deformers together?" Rua quickly perked up, totally lending his ear to Yusei, since Yusei was right... as much as possible in every duel he can battle, swarming the field with his Deformers is always his target. "Deformers are monsters that can change effects depending on the situation...but, what ends up being able to change the situation is your dueling if I dueled all smug and not knowing how to counterattack, I'd be on a long path towards the King." Ruka tried to beam his brother a smile as she pat his shoulder.
"C'mon, cheer up...will ya?" Rua quickly wiped away his tears, as Yusei's words definitely hit him.
"Yusei, will you duel me again?" he asked, still sniffing a bit, but now he felts a little more better, as his face finally cracked a smile, his voice now is again filled with its usual enthusiasm.
"Sure, sometime later... thanks for your help..." Yusei beamed him a small smile, and then quickly tried to leave the scene.
"But you can't!" Rua quickly exclaimed, totally against it. Yusei just faced them sideways as he showed him his marker on his left cheek.
"Look at this marker..." Yusei pointed on his marker. "If you hung around me, I'd only cause you trouble..." But, Rua really wants to help him, and if he has to hide Yusei, he is definitely ready for it as he said,
"Why? I wanna help you out, Yusei!"
"There goes Rua's 'I-wanna-help-you-out'-its-again..." Ruka stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.
"But, c'mon!!" Rua stated angrily since he really, really would want to help Yusei, but of course Ruka wasn't that much of a snobby girl, she understands pretty well, as she cut off Rua.
"Still, why not rest up for today?" she offered, finally beaming a calm smile to Yusei, definitely making Rua smile wide. Rua really looked at him with puppy dog eyes which he can no longer resist as he finally agreed.
The day passed by quickly as night fell on the skies. The twins quickly fell fast asleep, as Yusei tucked them into their beds, and for the night all he did was trying to make custom made Duel Disks based from the Duel Disks that doesn't fit their small arms. And the minute Yusei finished he quickly left them, driving away from their hotel.
And it wasn't long, as trouble crosses his path once more, as Ushio quickly tails behind him who was actually been waiting for him to come out from the Tops area.
"Been waiting for you, scumbag!" Ushio teased with his usual arrogant voice, as he tried to block Yusei's path as he drove in front of Yusei stopping him on his tracks. 'Really, they just can't get enough of me, huh...' Yusei thought a bit bitterly. "Now... how about you give up?" he asked, then Yusei tried to turn back, but before he was even able to hit his accelerator, a car appeared right before him, flashing him a very bright light, blinding him a bit and surprising Ushio in the process too.
A man, who was small in height, clad in a maroon coat that covers his whole white attire, walking towards him. Yusei just glared ferociously at the man. His gaze unwavering, showing no fear at all.
"Ushio..." the small man uttered, "perhaps you could leave this man to the Public Security Maintenance Bureau for a while?"
"Public Maintenance Bureau?" Ushio asked a bit shocked, since he really didn't expect them to come and get Yusei, since he sees Yusei as his prey.
"I'm Yeager, Head of Special Investigations." Yeager said as he showed his I.D.
"HEAD OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS!" Ushio blurted now more shocked than ever.
"I have come here with a message from Director Rex Goodwin to this man..."
'Rex Goodwin? Isn't that the guy from the facility? Whatever it is... I definitely don't get good vibes from it...' Yusei thought, not letting his guard down for a bit.
"But, he stole that D-wheel from the Security Storage Warehouse-!"
"Ushio... I would believe it in your best interest not to disobey the Director's orders." The little man taunted, letting out a small chuckle.
"What does the Director want with me?" Yusei finally spoke, then Yeager approached him in response as he handed him an envelope and another paper.
"Here you are..." Yusei was shocked, the minute he saw the picture of Nervin, Tank, Rally and Bloyston. 'Nervin...Tank...Rally...Bloyston... what did they just do?! But... where's Hikari?' as he scanned the picture more. 'Was Hikari able to escape if ever they caught them?'
"Please take part in the Fortune Cup...Should you refuse, and the four in the picture will experience pain beyond your wildest imagination..." Yeager taunted, 'No way!!' then he looked back once more on the picture, somehow making Yeager smirk a bit.
"Are you looking for Hikari Yuki?" Yeager asked whilst he let out a smirk, definitely taking Yusei aback. 'Does that mean... they have her too!?'
"What did you just do to them? Where's Hikari?!" Yusei stated angrily, making him clutch the envelope tightly, definitely crushing it.
"Calm down..." Yeager stated. "Ms. Yuki is in safe hands, if you don't join, we might do something to her too and you'll never see her again for sure...Understood?" Then Yeager finally left, since he bet, Yusei finally got the message.
'Hikari, Rally, Tank, Bloyston, Nervin... wherever you are right now... I promise... I'll do anything with my power to save you guys... damn... damn them all...'
"You're fate is to die..." said a man clothed in black coat, who was about to seize Hikari. Hikari just stared at the man filled with fear and shock. 'My fate is to what? Why?'
Suddenly her sapphire eyes flew open, as she breathed heavily, sweating a bit in the process. She held, her head quickly, due to the throbbing pain it was giving her, the only difference with it now from before is it is much lesser. Without her knowing, a lady clad in a maid's outfit approached her, taking her aback in the process, as the girl placed her palm on her forehead.
"I see you're awake now..." she said in a calm and gentle voice."How are you feeling Ms. Yuki?" she asked, as Hikari just stared at her with sad eyes, she just can't forget her dream, the dream that had actually happened during the night before she actually lost her memories. And the night, she left Satelite, leaving her parents in peril. She was speechless right now, since all Hikari can think of was her parents, whether they're alive or not, and especially her one and only best friend.
'Man… losing your memories for a while makes you feel that time has left me behind… Mom… Dad… Are you okay right now?' she thought, but other than her eyes, her face showed nothing, no emotion, not even a tinge of worry…just an apathetic face.
"I'm fine…" Hikari was all she can say in a small voice.
"Oh, okay… then I'll leave you here for now… I'll call Mr. Goodwin now…" The maid stated as she quickly left the room.
'Goodwin… I guess he's the man behind all these… why I've finally returned to Neo Domino and for giving back my memories… maybe he was the man whom Jack referred years ago when he tried to take Yusei's D-wheel and Stardust Dragon… but, why does he need those thing? And, other than that… why would he need to take Rally and the guys… did they capture Yusei? Damn… not only do I have to worry about them… I also have to think about my family… if they're still okay… and especially her, Aki...' Hikari thought sadly, as a red haired girl crossed her mind whilst she sat up from her bed.
'I wonder what Aki will say, once she hears about me, suddenly coming back… I wonder if-…' Before Hikari can continue her train of thought, suddenly the door opened as it revealed a man, who seems to be pretty old due to his gray hair. But, despite the color of his hair, he seems very upright, due to his very broad shoulders, the way he stood he looks very confident or rather a man that's definitely filled with power and authority. Then another man followed behind him, who has purple hair, and make-up similar to a clown's. The man was small, whilst he was clad in a maroon coat that covers his white apparel.
"How are you feeling, Hikari?" the gray haired asked, whilst Hikari just gave him an empty look.
'How do you think I should feel dimwit…' she thought sarcastically and bitterly.
"I'm fine… but what do you want with me, Sir Goodwin… and… especially, what did you do with my friends?" She growled in a low tone, as she gave him a nasty glare but of course she still gave the man respect.
"Don't worry… They're fine… and they will be released soon… I'll definitely not hurt them… I just need them for a few days… And calm down… I'm actually here to protect you…" Goodwin stated in a calm gentle voice as he approached Hikari on the bed, whilst the other man followed.
"Protect me from what?" she asked, a bit skeptical.
"I bet you're highly aware that after your memories have returned, you remember what happened the night you left Neo Domino City?"
"How did you know that?" she asked a bit surprised as she finally let her guard down, but not completely though, she just doesn't trust Goodwin…not a single bit. "What do you know about it? And, since you do… are my parents still okay, then?' she asked a bit hopeful, hopeful that they are okay and fine.
"Yes, I'm very well aware of it… people are after you, Hikari… so, as Head of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau it is our duty to protect our citizens…" he paused for a bit, as his eyes suddenly became sad. "And… about your parents… I'm really sorry but…"
'No way! NO WAY THEY CAN'T BE!! NOOO! Not them…' Hikari thought, she really felt like crying right now, but tears just won't form. Her eyes just stared at Rex Goodwin widely. "They can't be…"
"I'm sorry… after that incident, they were able to live for another month, but soon passed away afterwards due to their dreaded condition…"
"Then… can you tell me if you know who the people that attacked us then…?"
"That… you see… they're just not ordinary attackers, Hikari…"
"Then what? I don't care what they are, I just want to know who they are… and why the hell they're after me to the point they…" she stated angrily as she gripped the blankets on top of her tightly.
"Calm down… I know that it's hard for you to take it all in especially after disappearing for 3 years with Amnesia… actually, everything… is connected to that mark on your arm…" he said, then Hikari quickly pulled the sleeve of her coat on her right arm, and glanced at her birthmark. "I know it seems to be unbelievable, but you… that mark on your arm is very special, and that mark bestowed to you makes you special… you're a Signer…" Then suddenly she remembers the conversation before she passed out a while ago regarding her mark, that it is actually connected with her memories.
"Then let me ask… I actually heard you a while ago… what's the connection of my mark to my memories then?"
"I really can't answer that now, but one thing I can say is that… you really have to be careful always… as a Signer bestowed with the mark of the Heart on your arm, many people will be after you… and as Security, we will definitely do our part to protect you…"
Hikari tried to sink it all in as she tried to reminisce her days while in Satelite, and the night that she left. 'Hmmm, it doesn't seem to be a lie… my birthmark was acting really weird… and whenever I see something or remember something that's connected to my past before it does glow and throb… So that answers how it is connected, but… what's with being a Signer? Is this the reason why they were searching for me?'
"I appreciate it… really… but does it really matter?" she asked in a low tone, thinking that, what's the use… her family is gone, and her friend might have thought that she abandoned her, since she knows for the fact that Aki is a very sensitive person, and she might think that, she just left her hanging. So, what can be her reason to live? Even if she did love Yusei, and gained friends from Satelite, if people were after her then… they'll just get hurt… just like what happened to her parents.
"It does… and I'll elaborate it to you after, the Fortune Cup…which, I hope that you can join in… as a special guest in the finals…"
"Fortune Cup? What's that?" she asked.
"It's a tournament…" Yeager finally joined in the conversation. "Made for duelists, not just any duelists… but…" he paused as he glanced at Rex Goodwin, for approval if he can reveal their true agenda for the tournament. Goodwin nodded approvingly. "Its not just any ordinary tournament… it was actually made for the purpose of finding people like you…"
"Like me? Then… There are also people like me; I mean… you know after their lives…and also a Signer?" Hikari questioned.
"Well, to be honest, it's not like that… you're different from them… but yes, all of you are Signers…" Goodwin tried to explain. "You see… there are originally 5 Singers, bestowed with powers to summon the god, called the Crimson Dragon, to fight against the Earthbound Immortals who wants to destroy the world. And this happens every 5000 years…"
"So, I'm part of this group then…"
"Not quite… as I said you're different… but you're also a Signer… another kind of Signer actually… "
"What kind am I then? What's my purpose as a Signer?"
"Well, about that… I'll just have to tell you after the Fortune Cup… so, you'd understand more… so, is it okay for you to join, the so-called prodigy of Duel Academy?" Goodwin asked, somehow making Hikari smirk a bit. 'So, even after I disappeared… they still refer to me as that… I guess I don't have a choice… whatever I'm getting in to… I'll just have to go with the flow… like my life matters.'
"I don't know if you should still call me that, after all I have left the academy for 3 years… but sure… I'll participate then…"
"That's good… the tournament will start after a week… we will ask someone to pick you up from here in your house… for now… rest up until then…" Goodwin stated as he left.
"Not only that…" Yeager added, with his usual smirk. "I bet you'll see something at the Fortune Cup that might catch your interest…" the statement caused Hikari to raise a brow on the small dude."But, of course, you'll have to wait, good bye…hehehe…" then the pair finally left.
'I wonder would that be…Sigh whatever that is I'll have to see that for myself then…' Hikari thought as she stood up from her bed and walked towards her window, as she glanced once more on the garden in front of their house. 'I guess, if I'm part of a 5000 year war between gods, does that mean my destiny is already set? Would that be to die or to live?'
Wow that was kind of long :p
Anyways, at least even if I was late I was still able to give you guys something this long :p
To be honest I thought that I wasn't able to do that anymore due to my hectic schedule, since finals are approaching professors are giving us tons of projects (and I honestly don't have a rest day since I have classes everyday and almost up to 5! despite that my sched is supposed to be half day!! T-T yes stress T-T) but, as I said I find it enjoying sometimes, its just tiring...
So, I do hope you guys enjoyed... I might still edit, revise, remove or add something to it later on :)
But, of course I'd like to hear from you guys what you think about this brand new chapter ^^,
Anyways, see you next time... TC :D please do review...