Chapter 20: Persistent Pestering
"So we need to investigate on Takahashi-san and see if the Crucis have been eyeing him?" Daisuke asked at the table at which the Sephiroth Tetragram were still discussing. Nagisa shook her head.
"As long as someone else is preoccupied with that issue, we don't have to handle it ourselves." she said "I know it's a bit cruel to say, but it's also true that Unzari might expect us trying to investigate possible new entries..."
Halfway through his teammate's discourse, Ryuuji noticed something unsettling. A woman in a black dress with an ample matching hat seemed to be watching them through the bar window., with a devilish smirk on her face. The thought alone was enough to make the rad-haired duelist's blood chill. Nagisa took notice of his startled expression
"Ryuuji, what's the matter?" she asked. Her concern was not too visible on her face, but was still there.
"Umm, guys?" he said, his voice slightly quivering, his eyes fixated on the suspicious woman. Nagisa and Daisuke rapidly turned their heads in the direction Ryuuji was looking at, and noticed the woman turning and walking away. They were able to see her smirk before her head was covered by her hat.
"Guys… I think we should call it a day for now..." the red-haired duelist suggested. After a moment of silence, Nagisa nodded.
"Agreed." she said "That woman… She looked suspicious. For as far as we know she might be related to them as well..."
"I'll be messaging Yoshimitsu about it now." Ryuuji said as he fished out his phone and opened the message application. While typing the message, he followed his teammates out of the bar
"Hey Yoshimitsu! Something weird has happened. It looks like a woman in a black dress and with a big, black hat was watching us while we were talking. She looked suspicious and seemed intent on spying us, so we decided to wrap it up there and then. You should go home as well. Be careful, and see you tomorrow at school!" This was the message Yoshimitsu had read on his phone.
"Ok, thank you for telling me, Ryuuji! See you tomorrow!" he typed, heading back home. After having dinner with his parents, he went to bed, with more questions than answers found during the day…
Meanwhile, in the night, three people were meeting in an underground lab. In it were two machines, to which two beds were linked. On the beds stood two pale figures: a muscled bald man and a man who looked like an underground casino owner.
"This guy looks like a Yakuza." one of them, a girl with long dyed red hair, remarked in an annoyed tone "Are you sure this shithead will be our special subject?"
"I'm afraid we are not in the position of questioning our lady's orders, Soaku..." another one, a curly-haired young man, replied, with a tone of lyrical grandeur, which annoyed her even more.
"Do you want to die, Mazui?" she shouted "Shut. Up!" Her outburst scared him.
"Mazui may sound like an idiot, but he's right, Soaku." the last one, a young man with a spiky mask, remarked "It's the old lady who has picked this guy, not us." Soaku rolled her eyes.
"What the hell is going through that old hag's head…?" she said. When she had just finished speaking, the sound of a thick and heavy metal door opening could be heard. An alluring woman in a black dress, with long black hair and deep red eyes, entered the room. Soaku froze, while Mazui respectfully bowed to her
"My lady." the respectful, if not even flattering gesture won a giggle from her.
"Excuse me." the Demon took the word "Unzari and I have taken the liberty of analyzing the kingpin with the machine. It was much easier to get info, since you're the one who killed him..."
"Hm?" the woman made a sound which notified the masked duelist that he had her attention. The sound, however, had also malice in it. The Demon paid no heed to it.
"Are you sure you want to use him?" he continued "It's true that he did introduce gambling with Force of Will in his business, but that doesn't mean he's a capable player."
"Oh, he doesn't need to be, my little Demon..." she replied, with her naughty voice. "That can be arranged. You know what I'm planning to do with him, don't you?" She smirked ever so maliciously. "I want to have some more fun with him..."
The masked duelist didn't need any more words to understand. He moved aside and walked to the door. Mazui and Soaku, having an inkling of the woman's intentions, moved beside him.
"The fuck?" Soaku commented while walking to her leader, as the woman removed her heels.
"Oh..." Mazui spoke up "She's gonna toy with him like a puppet..."
"You two!" the Demon said, in a tone that was both demanding and warning "Out of the room! Now!" As the two obeyed, and the masked duelist followed them, slamming the door behind him, the woman extended her arms sideways and her dress unclasped on it's own and fell on the floor, revealing her luscious body. She bit her lip, slightly moaning as she got on the machine and knelt on the kingpin's dead body, looking at it with lustful eyes…
"Pardon me, my lord." Mazui asked "But why do we need to use the machine, if our lady can do all the work by tampering with the subject?"
"We use the machine to turn corpses into gimps." the Demon replied, matter-of-factly "Then the old lady tampers with its already dead mind and energizes some parts of it, depending on the abilities she wants to give them. That's how all the special gimps were created."
"And she has a blast while doing her thing." Soaku muttered, annoyed "That crazy bitch." Then, she suddenly remembered something, and spoke up "Speaking of bitches, where's the snake bitch?"
"Viper?" Mazui added "Yeah, she's not here..."
"She had messaged me earlier." The masked duelist explained "She's still going after Takahashi-kun."
"That guy again?" Soaku blurted out? "Why is she that intent on getting him on our side? It's pretty obvious that he doesn't give a fuck about us..." she then pointed her thumb to the door close by "And I'm not talking about that fuck..." Mazui held back a chuckle.
"Well, eventually she'll stop trying..." the Demon mused.
That night, Kaito Takahashi was walking in the street, looking in front of him with his inquisitive red eyes. Suddenly, a cobblestone table appeared in front of him, and another one appeared at a short distance from it. The duelist narrowed his eyes in displeasure, understanding right away how it had been possible.
"Hmph. You again." he blurted out in annoyance. "Unzari Taidana." As he pronounced the name, a tanned girl, her skin color slightly pale-hued, dressed like a gothic lolita, showed herself under the street lights.
"You recognized me right away." she said, in a bored tone "Nothing less to be expected from the likes of you, Kaito Takahashi-kun." She finished her sentence with a yawn.
"What do you want from me?" he asked, in an annoyed tone.
"Why, isn't that obvious?" Unzari replied "I want a duel. A duel with you, Takahashi-kun." Kaito tilted his head on the side.
"I don't get you..." he admitted "Why do you always pester me, knowing that I'l crush you any time..." Then, a smirk appeared on his face "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. After all, it always feels good to destroy people in Force of Will..." Unzari smirked deviously
"And that's why I've got my eye on you." she said, fishing out her deck from her pocket and walking towards her table. Takahashi merely sighed in annoyance.
"But still, you're not just wasting my time, you're wasting yours as well." he coldly said as he was shuffling the cards. Then, they set their Rulers on the table. Unzari's Ruler was Kolbera, the Snake-Charmer Queen, while Kaito's Ruler was Alucard, the Dark Noble, a man in noble clothes, his skin moon pale-hued.
"I'll go first." Unzari said, while drawing her 5 cards.
"Do as you wish." Kaito coldly replied, as he drew his own initial hand. Unzari rested her Ruler and gained a Darkness Stone.
"How unfortunate." she frowned. "I'll have to pass this turn."
"Well, too bad for you." he commented as he drew a card. He then rested his Ruler, gaining a Dark Stone of his own.
"I'll summon Romeo, the Despair!" he proclaimed, slamming on the table his card. A man with skin tinged of a deathly blue, with battered clothes and despairing eyes appeared on the field. It had 300 Attack and Defense, and it could be resurrected upon destruction if Juliet, the Hope was on the Field as well.
"I'll end my turn with that." he said, with 5 cards in his hand, prompting his opponent to draw a card of her own. She then rested her Ruler and gained a Wind Stone.
"I'll summon Elvish Exorcist!" she proclaimed, summoning an elf with hollow green eyes, as if controlled by a will that wasn't her own. "If you had a Servant of Vampire instead of Romeo, it would have been destroyed… Yawn..." she commented.
"How odd of you to yawn when the duel has just begun..." Kaito commented, one brow raised, as his opponent ended her turn with 5 cards in hand, since she wasn't able to use the newly summoned monster. After drawing and recovering, Kaito rested his Ruler and gained a Stone of Heaven's Rift.
"I'll rest both of my Stones to equip Black Coffin of Vampires on your Elvish Exorcist!" he proclaimed "Since it's not a Vampire Resonator, you won't be able to attack or block with it!" A coffin materialized under the Elvish Exorcist, and from it chains came out and wrapped her limbs, immobilizing her.
"You were planning to block with her and use your Ruler's token-calling ability, weren't you?" he thought, a slight smirk making its way on his face "You should know by now, it'll take more than that to stop me."
"I'll attack you with Romeo!" he proclaimed, resting his card. The undead man, with a cry of despair, lunged to Viper's table and clawed it, bringing her Life Points down to 3700.
"With that, I'll end my turn." he proclaimed, with 5 cards left in his hand, prompting Unzari to draw and recover. She then rested her Ruler and gained a second Darkness Stone.
"Oooh, nice!" she smirked "Now it's time I summon an old friend of ours… The Dervish Count!" The well known black-caped undead entered the field with his 600 Defense Points and 0 Attack Points. But Kaito knew all too well the ability replacing those missing Attack Points.
"She's planning to get back at me by banishing her Elvish Exorcist and inflicting me damage equal to its Defense Points..." he predicted.
"Then, I'll summon Rukh!" she proclaimed, as the multicoloured eastern bird appeared on the field, with its 300 stats.
"Lastly, I'll use Dervish Count's ability!" she proclaimed."I'll banish my Elvish Exorcist, along with its attached Armor, to inflict you 500 points of direct damage!" The Elvish Exorcist was consumed by the dark spell of the Dervish Count, along with the coffin that was trapping her, and became a bolt of darkness that struck Kaito's table, his Life Points brought down to 3500.
"Since I can't do anything else now, it's yawn your turn." She had 4 cards in her hand, when Kaito drew his own. He rested his Ruler and gained a Darkness Stone.
"She's trying to put pressure on me." he thought "I could easily get rid of that bird, by resting my Ruler for reducing a target Resonator's Defense Points by 300, but that would have meant giving her more of a will advantage..."
"I'll summon Vampire's Staff!" he proclaimed. A little vampiric girl with long hair and ample wings, dressed in elegant clothes, befitting of a noble, appeared on the Field and smiled, showing her fangs. "You're not the only one capable of inflicting indirect damage, Taidana! You'll know what I mean soon enough." The statement perked up the goth girl's interest.
"Then, I'll summon Servant of Vampire!" A winged monster with big fangs and long, curved horns appeared on the field, growling. It had 200 Attack and Defense Points, along with a peculiar ability "If you want to hit the Staff with one of your magic cards, you'll have to get through this first!" Unzari slightly narrowed her eyes in displeasure.
"Then, I'll attack with Romeo!" The despairing man lunged once again at Viper's table, striking it and taking her Life Points down to 3400.
"I'll end my turn with that." he said, with 4 cards left in his hand. As he pronounced those words, she drew and recovered, then rested her Ruler for a Stone of Black Silence.
"I'll summon an Elvish Exorcist!" she said, as another elvish girl with lifeless eyes appeared on the field "I would try destroying your Staff, but I guess Servant of Vampire will do, too..." The girl rose her exorcist torch in the air as it fired a blue flame that reached the vampiric monster and scorched it.
"I've blown my chances of playing many of the cards I have right now..." Unzari thought. "No matter, I'll just proceed with the attack."
"I'll attack with Rukh!" she proclaimed, resting her card. The multicoloured bird flew towards Kaito's table and struck it with its claws, making his Life Points drop to 3200 and a white snake appear on Unzari's side of the field. "Then, I'll attack with Dervish Count, banishing my Rukh!" With the caped undead's darkness burst, Kaito's Life Points dropped again, to 2900.
"My turn is done, yawn..." she said, in her typical lazy tone, with 4 cards left in her hand. Kaito drew and recovered right away. But he didn't do just that.
"During my recovery phase my Staff's effect activates." he proclaimed, revealing the first card of his deck. Unzari stared at it intently. It was Carmilla, the Queen of Vampires, a cost-4 Resonator.
"This is the card I'll be drawing in my next turn." he said "It costs two Darkness wills and two generic wills. The Staff will inflict you 100 damage for any will-bound cost, and give me as much Life Points. That means it will inflict you 200 damage and give me 200 Life Points!" he smirked while the Staff moved her arm towards Unzari and the shadow under her moved to her table and, once it had reached it, became spiky like it was trying to pierce it. Unzari's Life Points went down to 3200, while Kaito's Life Points went up to 3100, making the two opponents almost even. He then rested his ruler for a third Darkness Stone. He knew he could do something with the cards he had in his hand.
"First, I'll equip a Black Coffin of Vampires on your Dervish Count!" he said, resting two of his four wills to perform the action. Instantly, the coffin appeared under the undead and chained it. Unzari could do nothing but narrow her eyes in displeasure as her main indirect attacker was made completely useless. "Then, I'll summon Cinderella, the Ashen Maiden." As he pronounced those words, a maiden in a long, black, slightly battered dress appeared on the Field. She had 400 Attack and Defense Points.
"If I attacked now with either Romeo or the Staff, her Exorcist would be ready to block..." he thought "All I would have done would be giving her a defender and lose a unit..."
"Your move, creep." he said, with 3 cards in his hand, prompting his opponent to draw, recover, then rest her Ruler for a second Wind Stone. A slight smirk made its way on her face.
"I'll summon Snake Whisperer!" she proclaimed, as a man with a basket appeared on the field. There was a black anaconda in the basket. The new Resonator had 700 Attack and Defense.
"I've never seen that monster before..." Kaito thought, but he realized how bothersome it really was when 4 white snakes appeared on the field as well.
"Once he's summoned, Snake Whisperer will summon 2 Snake Tokens." Unzari explained, her unsettling smirk slightly wider.
"That card is dangerous." the black-haired duelist thought "It's perfectly viable with her deck strategy..."
"It looks like you've learned some new tricks, Taidana." he remarked.
"Yes." the goth girl confirmed "Also, I still have my old tricks. Menacing, isn't it? Say goodbye to your Vampire's Staff!" she summoned a second hollow-eyed Elvish Exorcist, whose exorcism torch scorched in blue flames Kaito's Staff. He appeared calm and collected, but he was highly alert.
"I'll attack with my first Elvish Exorcist." she said, as the hollow-eyed elf girl lunged towards Kaito's table and struck it with her flaming exorcism torch, his Life Points going down to 2600 and another snake token appearing on Unzari's side of the Field.
"With that, I'll end my turn." she said, with 3 cards in her hand. Kaito drew his own, then rested his Ruler for a second Heaven's Rift.
"She has too many monsters on her side of the field." he thought "However, I have a card which can make short work of her pesky snakes..."
"I'll play Noble's Will!" he proclaimed, as Alucard flashed a piercing glare towards his opponent's Resonators with his blood-red eyes. "Normally it would cost 2 wills to play this card, but, since I have Alucard as my Ruler, it only costs 1 will to play it! All of your tokens are destroyed!"
Unzari narrowed her eyes as her opponent's Ruler opened his cape and a dark portal seemed to appear underneath it, bats flying out of it. The bats lunged towards the snakes and bit them with their abnormally long and sharp fangs, killing them instantly. After snuffing the life out of their preys, the bats looked at Alucard, who, after some time, shook his head in refusal. The loyal servants obediently returned under their vampiric lord's cape as the snakes' dead bodies rapidly turned to dust.
"Of course, I'm not through yet." the black-haired duelist smirked "Let's proceed. I'll play Stoning to Death on your Whisperer!" Instantly, a barrage of black stones shattered the Human Resonator, along with his basket. "Then, I'll play a second Black Coffin of Vampires on your recovered Elvish Exorcist!" he proclaimed, as a coffin appeared under the elven girl and chained her.
"Then I'll have both Romeo and Cinderella attack you!" he proclaimed. First, the despairing undead lunged at the goth girl's table and struck it, making her Life Points drop to 2800, then Cinderella threw a knife imbued with dark aura, which struck her table and made her Life Points drop once more to 2400.
"Since Cinderella has managed to land a hit on you, I get to search for a Prince Resonator in my Deck." he said, as he searched for a card in his deck. Once he had found it, he picked it and put it on his table face-down, then shuffled his deck and placed it back in its place, then revealed the card he had found. It was Deadman Prince, a Resonator with 500 Attack and Defense, which allowed its player to put a Resonator from the graveyard in his hand upon entrance. He put it in his hand and ended his turn with 3 cards in his hand. Unzari drew and recovered, then rested her Ruler for a Darkness Stone. She smirked menacingly, having an idea to try out.
"Let me show something new, Takahashi-kun..." She giggled, a bit darkly, then she proudly proclaimed "I'll summon Medusa, the Thousand-Headed Snake!" A woman with snake skin, snakes for hair and blood-red eyes appeared on the field. It was a cost 5 Resonator with 1000 Attack and Defense. A swarm of snakes appeared beside her as she flashed a predatory smile.
"She summons 4 snake tokens upon entrance!" Viper explained, with her unsettling smirk still on her face. Kaito stiffened, despite his poker face still holding. "5, if we count the attack that is coming up from my Elvish Exorcist!" she continued. Kaito decided not to block, and so, when the elven girl lunged towards the table, she found no obstacle in making his Life Points drop down to 2100. After the attack, more white snakes appeared on Unzari's side of the field.
"With that, I'll end my turn." she said, with 3 cards in her hand, prompting him to draw and recover, then rest his Ruler and gain a fourth Darkness Stone.
"First off, I'll play Noble's Will." he proclaimed "I believe you know what comes next." Unzari narrowed her eyes as Alucard opened his cape, and his bats made short work of her snakes. Then, once they finished their work, they looked at their master, who bared his fangs and licked them. This time, Unzari's eyes widened in surprise as blood-red threads linked to the snakes' dead bodies and dragged them under Alucard's cape, where the bats returned as well. Kaito chuckled, feeling confident.
"I forgot to mention." he smirked. "If my Ruler is Alucard and I have 3 cards or less in my hand, I get to draw until I have 6 upon using this little jewel of a card." He then proceeded to make his next move. "Then, I'll summon the Undead Prince I had plucked from the deck in my previous turn." A man dressed in prince clothes appeared on the field, his skin tinged of a deathly blue, like Romeo's. "When it enters the field, I get a monster from my graveyard back to my hand. I choose Vampire's Staff!" he said as he picked the card from his graveyard and showed it to his opponent "And I'll summon it to the field." Once again, the vampire girl was on the field.
"I could try attacking her..." the black-haired duelist thought "But I would be exposing myself to retaliation without inflicting too much damage… If I didn't attack, on the other hand, I would put pressure on her..."
"It's your move." he said, with 5 cards in his hand. Unzari drew and recovered right away, then rested her Ruler for a second Black Silence. Her face appeared calm and collected (and bored and sleepy) as usual, however she was heavily thinking about what to do.
"Many of the cards I have in my hand involve summoning or improving snakes..." she thought "It would be too risky to use them against Kaito in his actual state. He might have very well drawn another anti-token card..." Finally, she decided.
"I'll play Spiral of Despair." she said, as the ghost of a sad girl appeared in front of Kaito. "You'll have to discard two cards." He looked at his hand and chooses which cards to discard. After he had performed his actions, the ghost disappeared.
"Hopefully I had hindered his strategy..." she thought "He seems to be using many low-cost cards which will prove to be a major problem in the long run." To keep herself safe, she ended her turn there, with 3 cards in her hand, prompting her opponent to draw and recover.
"The Staff's ability triggers!" he said, as he plucked his next turn's draw from his deck and showed it to his opponent. It was Resurrection of Vampire, a cost 4 Chant with Quickcast which could directly call a Vampire from the graveyard to the field. "The dark wills needed to use this card are 2." The Staff extended her arm and her shadow reached Unzari's table and "stabbed" it, making her Life Points drop to 2200, and Kaito's Life Points go up to 2300. He was now 100 Life Points over his opponent. He didn't rest his Ruler for Stones, which was a clear sign of impending Judgment.
"First, I'll equip Slipper of Cinderella to Vampire's Staff." he proclaimed. It was an Armor which gave 600 power to the Resonator it was equipped to if it had 400 basic Attack and Defense points. Otherwise, the Armor would have drained the monster's power by 400. Since the Staff fulfilled this condition, it became a 1000/1000 Vampire.
"And next, I'll play Bloodsucking Impulse!" he proclaimed. It was a Quickcast Chant. "I'll have my Staff suck your Medusa's blood!" the vampiric girl's eyes became blood-red with bloodlust, and he swiftly lunged at Viper's monster and voraciously bit its neck, sucking its blood until nothing but a snake-skinned husk was left. "I'll gain as many Life Points as my Staff's attack points." Unzari's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Kaito's Life Points rise up to 2700.
"I'm not through yet." he continued "I'm equipping another Slipper on Cinderella!" The Ashen Maiden became a 1000/1000 powerhouse as well.
"And now, it's time for my Ruler to reveal his true form!" he proclaimed, ready to perform his Ruler's Judgment. The action required Kaito controlling a Vampire and a monster leaving Unzari's side of the field. Since both of the conditions were fulfilled, a Judgment without any will cost could be performed "Awaken and feast on this world! Feast to your heart's content, Dracula, the Demonic One!" Alucard morphed in a burlier and more menacing vampiric being. The front of his cape tore open, revealing strong muscles, and his nails became claws. His fangs became longer and sharper, and his eyes were deep red. It had 1000 Attack and Defense Points, as well as Flying and Imperishable. The latter ability meant that the J-Ruler, once destroyed, could perform Judgment once again, without becoming astral. Unzari tensed up, despite her expression maintaining a bored vibe.
"And now, I'll attack with Cinderella!" The Ashen Maiden threw a knife, imbued with more dark aura than before, at Unzari's table.
"I'll block with my Elvish Exorcist!" she proclaimed, as the elven girl intercepted the knife and shattered, some tears of pain rolling down her cheeks from her otherwise still hollow eyes while she did. A white snake appeared on the goth girl's side of the field.
"You're wide open now! I'll attack you with the Staff and Romeo!" he proclaimed, with a smirk. The vampiric girl spread her wings, flew to Unzari's table and struck it, making her Life Points drop to 1200, then Romeo attacked and dropped them to 900.
"My turn's finished." he said, with only one card left in his hand, prompting the goth girl to draw and recover. However, she didn't rest her Ruler for Stones, which gave away that she was planning to perform Judgment as well. She smirked devilishly, as a wicked glint could be seen in her usually uninterested gaze.
"Few people can push me this far like you, Takahashi-kun..." she sinisterly murmured."First, I'll perform my Ruler's Judgement! May the world squirm in terror before you, Semiramis, the Queen of Deception!" Viper flipped her Ruler card and Semiramis appeared in all of her terrifying glory, bearing her 1200 Attack and Defense Points.
"Her J-Ruler is stronger than Dracula..." Kaito didn't fail to notice.
"Then I'll summon a Snake Whisperer from my hand!" she proclaimed, as another human with a flute and a basket containing an anaconda appeared on her side of the field, along with two more snake tokens. She had managed to fill her field up again, however her opponent looked hardly impressed. Unable to do anything else, the goth girl ended her turn there, with 3 cards in her hand. When he drew his card, Kaito smirked in seeing it. Then, the Staff's ability triggered, revealing a Spiral of Despair of his own and thus dropping Viper's Life Points down to 700 and raised her opponent's Points to 2900.
"I'm sorry, Taidana." he said, with that cheeky grin still on his face. "But you're the one who's about to lose now. I'll play Noble's Will!" Dracula's eyes glowed red as his cape spread and bats came out of it, slaying the snakes. Then, the snakes' corpses were sucked in the cape while the bats returned in it. Kaito drew until his hand was made up of 6 cards.
"Then, I'll summon Carmilla, the Queen of Vampires!" he proclaimed as a woman dressed in regal clothes, looking similar to Semiramis, but much paler, and with vampiric fangs and enormous bat wings. She had 800 Attack and Defense, but it wasn't all that she had. "Upon entrance, she destroys a Resonator on your side of the field! I'll choose your Snake Whisperer!" The regal vampire lady lunged at the powerless human and bit his neck, sucking his blood until the last drop. Once she had finished her feast, Carmilla licked her fangs in satisfaction while the lifeless corpse of her prey fell to the ground. However, it didn't disappear.
"Huh?" Unzari, not knowing what that could possibly mean, looked at the field, her eyes slightly widened in surprise.
"Oh, right." Kaito said, still smirking "If the target of Carmilla's ability is a Human, then it is revived on my side of the field as a Vampire Resonator!" as the duelist had finished explaining, the corpse rose up, with a pale tinge on its skin and with vampiric fangs, then teleported on Kaito's side of the field. Unzari's eyes narrowed in displeasure.
"That means..." she thought. "I only have Semiramis to protect me from his monsters… And even a hit from one of his strongest monsters is enough to wipe my Life Points..." Realizing the inevitability of her defeat, she slightly lowered her head in resignation.
"Now, Dracula! Finish her off!" Kaito exclaimed, his arrogant smirk still lingering. The Demonic One lunged at her table and clawed it with great force, reducing her Life Points to 0 and putting an end to the duel.
"I told you, didn't I?" Kaito said, while the cobblestone tables vanished. "You can't beat me." In response, Unzari giggled.
"You're incredible..." she murmured, slowly raising her head "I expected nothing less from the National Champion of Force of Will… But..." the black-haired duelist had a feeling about what she wanted to talk about, and his scarlet-hued eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Doesn't "National" feel a tad too small for you?" she continued on "Imagine what chance we could give you if you just joined us. We're fighting the same enemy, after all. You could have the world in the palm of your hand and vent your anger on it as you please."
"Shut. Up." an annoyed Kaito demanded in a tone which left no room for argument. Unzari immediately stop talking, still with her smirk on her face.
"You're so annoying! You know what my answer will be!" he continued, tartly "Thanks, but no thanks!" Unzari seemed to slightly pout, but it was most likely a trick played on his eyes by the street lights, he thought.
"It's true, we do have a common enemy, but, while your concern is much appreciated, what I don't appreciate is that you think you're like me." he continued, while the goth girl slightly tilted her head to the side. "I would rather destroy whoever is stupid enough to face me with my own strength, and I have my own reasons, which drive me to victory. I don't need your mystical crap or those weird tattoos of yours..." He began to turn around, with all intents to walk away.
"If I have to be blunt, you're more of a killjoy than anything else to me. How am I supposed to "vent my anger" if there's no one else to play with? So, stop bothering me. Good night, Taidana." Kaito walked away at a moderate pace. After some time, Unzari walked in the opposite direction. However, despite the failure in bringing the black-haired duelist to her side, she was still smirking.
"Kaito Takahashi-kun..." she thought "Well, the Demon definitely can't say I haven't tried. But… I have a feeling that he will still make the job easier for us, no matter whose side he's on…" Her smirk slightly widened while she headed back to the base, where her teammates were waiting for her.
"After all, he is on no one else's side but his own..."