Part 11: A New Serenity
The Arcadia Movement was used to dealing with the occasional disturbance and routine returned quickly. Divine kept Aki isolated from the rest of the children, spending most of his time with her.
She refused to take off her mask most of the time which worried him, but other than that she had calmed down. He had underestimated the impact the tournament had had on her. Apparently they weren't done with the aftershocks yet.
In more ways than one.
His children started to drift away from him. If there was one thing Divine would never allow to happen, it was this.
Beside him, lying on the bed that was the small room's only furniture, Aki began to stir and presently opened her eyes. They found him, then darted around anxiously before resting on the mask in his hands.
"Divine.", she whispered voicelessly. She had cried a lot last night and her voice would still be strained.
"Hello Aki.", he replied softly, petting her head and pushing a few stray streaks of her long pink hair out of her face. "How are you?"
"I'm not sure. Tired."
"Tell me what happened now?"
His hand on her face prevented her from turning away, but she still didn't answer. They had been dancing around this topic for several days now and Divine thought it was time Aki confided in him. He waited but never let go of her. She had to face this eventually.
"I went out. To duel, like you said I should."
He nodded.
"I saw...", she frowned, "Yusei belongs to us, doesn't he?"
"Of course he does."
She looked up at the ceiling, calm at least on the outside. "He is leaving though. Like I said he would.", she reached out for Divine and he let go of her mask to hold her hand. "I'm not mad. Not anymore. I was at first. So I ran home and you weren't here and people kept talking to me..."
Their fingers intertwined.
"He won't leave.", Divine assured her. "He's one of us."
"I don't need him.", her fingers brushed the mask lightly, "I only need you."