Me: And welcome back to Crystallization!
Aki: Finally, you left us hanging for like a week!
Me: Sorry, sorry. A lot of things happen this week which keep me from finishing up the next chapter.
Jack: Well then hurry up and get to it.
Me: Fine, I will. You're not the boss of me by the way.
Crystal: Can't believe that you're going to make me lay down in the hospital for this whole chapter.
Me: Don't worry. At least there's less torture for you. Jack, you might out of character for a bit.
Jack: Hmph, as long as it's not going beyond out of my character, I'll deal with it.
Me: Great! Anyway fellow readers, enjoy. I don't own Yugioh 5ds or the Uta Kata songs. Just my ocs.
Chapter 29
My mind went black, and I began to slipped into the darkness. It was cold...Where am I? Why can't I open my eyes. All of a sudden, I began to hear a feminine, singing voice.
My heart is singing out,
Offering up a song to a neverending tomorrow
The throbbing bounds of my heart cannot bound my hope.
The days become more fleeting
Painting the wind of the season
A fragment of memory suddenly comes to mind
That song sounded so familiar...so warm...so soothing. It's always gets stuck into my head. I don't know why, but I feel like I recognized this song a long time ago. Even that voice, she sounded so familiar as well. Do I know her? Feeling the familiar lyrics, I sang in a soft voice, synchronizing with the other voice.
The truth is recognized,
And the far off woven light will...
...embrace me once more before vanishing away.
My heart is singing out,
Offering up a song to a neverending tomorrow
To the blue future that I am composing...
...I stretch out my hand.
Oh, accelerating world...
..Somehow be kind.
Overflowing hopes and dreams are throbbing my heart.
*Flash*
XXXX
Mmm, that dream. Why do I always have them, especially weird ones. I slowly opened my eyes and vaguely became aware of my surrounding. My head seemed to be fuzzy and I started wincing in pain, realizing that I was sore all over my body. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice.
"Doctor, how is she?"
"She'll be okay," I heard the doctor answer, "She only suffered minor injuries and perhaps collapsed in fatigued due to using too much of the strange power of hers. But don't worry. She'll wake up anytime soon."
"I see. Thank goodness," the familiar voice sighed in relief.
"By the way, Yusei, don't you have a next match to go through?" Yusei? Did I hear right? I closed my eyes, pretending to sleep and listen to their conversation.
"I do. But Izayoi has to recover first, so it might take few hours. Besides, I want to see my friend wake up first before I can go," he answered.
"Alright, but don't stay here too long. I'll come back and check on her again later," the door closed. I groggily got up and rubbed my eyes. I peered at the familiar raven hair duelist sitting on the chair next to me.
"Nngh, Yusei...is that you?" I moaned. Yusei turned to me and widened his eyes in surprise.
"Crystal...You're awake!" he exclaimed.
"Mmm, where am I?" I looked around, seeing that I'm on the bed in the bright, white room. I peered down and saw that my arms were covered in bandages.
"You got injured during your duel with Izayoi and fell unconscious," Yusei explained, "It was only minor injuries so they decided to put you in the infirmary instead of the hospital."
"I see," Now I remembered. I lost to Aki and then passed out. That duel really got me there. But...as I felt my hands to my face, I had come to a shocking realization. I almost forgot that my mask was blown away due to Black Rose Dragon's attack, and everyone in the stadium saw my face. I slowly turned my to Yusei. And if he's here now, then that means...
"GAH!" I quickly pulled the white sheet over my head, curled up into a ball, and shivered.
"Hey! What's wrong?" Yusei asked.
I didn't answered. No doubt, he found out my identity! What to do? What to do?
Yusei sighed, "Crystal, I'd already knew it was you since that duel with Izayoi, so there's no point hiding yourself."
A sweatdrop fell from my head. Damn, he has the point. I slowly pushed the cover away from me, "You're right. Sorry, Yusei."
Suddenly, we heard heavy footsteps approaching to this room. The door slammed opened, revealing the spiky blonde hair duelist, who looked completely pissed off. His eyes started burning in flames as he glared at me.
"Finally...I...found...YOU!" he panted, taking a deep breath for each word he says.
"JACK!" I exclaimed. Oh crap! Not him too!
Jack dashed towards my bed and placed his fists on both sides of my head. I cringed, knowing what he's going to do next, "You got some explaining to do here, CRYSTAL!"
That's when he started drilling my head with his knuckles and I screamed in pain, "AAHHHH! JACK THAT HURTS! STOP! AGGGHHH!"
"NOT UNTIL YOU EXPLAIN TO BOTH US WHY THE HELL DID YOU LEAVE US!" Jack shouted, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN TWO YEARS AGO AND HOW DID YOU ENDED UP IN NEO DOMINO CITY?!"
"Jack, that's enough!" Yusei stopped him, "If you're going to continue hurting her, Crystal is not going to be able to explain to us."
Jack humped and released me, making me collapsed on my bed, "Ouch. Thanks...Yusei."
Jack crossed his arms and glared at me, "Alright. Start talking Crystal. Why did you leave us in the first place since that incident?"
"Didn't you guys read the letter I left behind?" I replied harshly, rubbing my head. Jack slammed his fist to the wall, which made me flinched.
"Which is exactly the reason why none of don't understand! Why didn't you come to one of us at least to help you deal with your pain instead of running away? That's not like you at all!" Jack pointed at me accusingly.
"But-" I was going to protest, but a familiar voice inside my head interrupted me.
"Tell them, Crystal. They were worried about you," Cecilia interjected.
"Hey, who said that you can enter my head?!" I snapped at her. Realizing what I just did, I clamped my mouth.
"Wait, who are you talking to?" Yusei asked.
I froze up and sigh in defeat, "Um...Never mind about that for now. I'll explain everything now."
I told them everything about what happened to me since I left the gang and the orphanage. Pretty much, I told them every details about how my life went from being chased by the Sector Securities and being saved by Akane, and then to Goodwin kidnapping us and forced me to participate in the Fortune Cup. I even explained about how much my mysterious powers were developing as shown during the duel with Aki and that the one I talked to few seconds ago was actually one of my duel spirits. Both Yusei and Jack became surprised by this, but remained calmed and nodded as they listened to my story.
"So as you two can see, the main reason why I left you guys was because I got real upset that Aoi was gone, and I want to paved off the guilt on my own," I said, clutching my blanket tightly, "Even now, I haven't gone over that guilt yet and...well...I had been living my life differently and things got haywire. Up til now, I've decided to hide myself from you guys and tried to move on."
All three of us stayed silence for a moment. Yusei was the first one to spoke up, "Then, you came here in Neo Domino City to save the new friend of yours and then Goodwin caught you trespassing and forced you into this tournament?"
"Right," I nodded, "When I heard that he knew about you and Jack, I knew there will be chances that I'll see you guys again. But the truth is, I don't have a heart...or to be exact, that I feared of showing myself in front of you guys, so I ended up disguising myself as Moonlight Butterfly and go along with his plan to get over with."
"Hmph, so all this time, you were near me," Jack stated, "I'd never even notice, though you could've told me it was you."
"I wasn't expecting you to. Also, there are reasons why I don't to reveal myself to you," I lowered my head and felt the teardrops falling from my eyes. Stupid tears. I wiped them away and sniffed, "Yusei...Jack...I'm sorry I left you guys like this. It's just...It's just that this pain is hard for me to deal with. I...I..."
Suddenly, I felt Yusei's hand wiping the tears from my eyes and stared back at his deep blue eyes. They somehow showed comfort and relief, "It's okay Crystal. You don't need to blame yourself for this incident anymore, so there's no reason for you to run away from it. Besides..." Yusei pulled me into a tighter hug, "I'm glad I finally got to see you again."
For a few minutes, more tears poured from my eyes, and I quickly returned his embraced. As I cried tears of happiness on Yusei's shoulder's, I had realized how much I missed him. I slowly let go of him and faced towards Jack, "So Jack...do you-"
"You don't need to ask that," he interrupted and started ruffling my hair, "I can't forgive you for hiding from us like, but I can at least forgive you for running away for your own reason."
I laughed and hugged Jack, who was taken back by surprised, but then smiled and hug me back. Soon, Yusei got up from his chair.
"I have to go now. It may be a while still, but I need to prepare for my next duel," he stated.
"Right," my voice trailed off as I was thinking back at my previous duel.
"Are you thinking about Izayoi by any chance?" Jack asked.
"Yeah," I sadly admitted, "I'm truly worry about her. I wished there was something I can do to get through her."
Yusei ruffled my hair and smiled, "Don't worry. In that case, I'll take your place and get through her. You'll see."
I gently smiled at him and gave him a peace sign, "Thanks Yusei. Good luck."
Yusei replied by giving me a thumbs up and left the infirmary. Jack smirked at me, "Heh, I think I know why you care so much for Izayoi."
I arched an eyebrow at him in confusion, "Why?"
"She reminds you of a certain person," he answered, quoting the word 'certain'.
"I really don't know what you-" all of a sudden, my face flushed in red. I turned and glared at Jack, "Wait a minute! Jack, this is not what you think!"
"Oh, you may be saying that just to deny it, but your face isn't," Jack chuckled, "This would explain why you and Aoi were so close."
I continued to glared at him, and then looked away, with my face still red, "But, I really want to help Aki with her powers. She's still suffering from the pain others give her, and I don't know how long will she be able to hold on to them."
"I know. I feel that too," Jack clutched his right arm, which I'm assuming that's where his Signer mark is, "During you duel with Izayoi, my mark glows along with hers, as well as Yusei and the little girl, Ruka. It's strange, but we were able to feel the pain inside her."
"I see. So, this is part of the power of the Signers," I said.
Jack nodded, "Don't worry about it kid. Yusei will find some way to get through her."
"I know," I agreed and started pouting, "By the way, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm sixteen years old already."
Jack smirked and ruffled my hair, "To me, you'll still be a kid."
"Hmph, meanie," I glared at him playfully, "So, what happens after this final round is over?"
"The winner gets to duel with me as the King," Jack said confidently, "Of course, it's going to be the round between me and Yusei. This is where we settle scores here."
Hmm, what really happen to Yusei and Jack? They're definitely not in good terms. Oh well, might as well ask them about that later. I gave Jack a thumbs up, "Well, good luck. Too bad for you, I'm rooting for Yusei."
Jack crossed his arms and humped, "Hmph, of course you would. However, I will be the one to defeat Yusei."
I smirked, "You don't know that for sure until you duel him."
"True, but I'm going to give all I got," Jack head toward the door and turned towards me, "By the way, you don't need to worry about Goodwin anymore. I already told him not to get you involve with this anymore, so you're free to do anything you want now."
As Jack quietly left the infirmary, I smiled, feeling grateful that he did this for me, "Thanks, Jack."
XXXX
An hour later...
"Crystal, thank goodness you're okay," Cecilia said, "That duel really dealt you great damage."
All of my duel spirits gathered around and surrounded me, giving me worry looks on their face. Yes, I'm still in the infirmary, trying to recover. Not very pleasant when I had to smell ointments and stuff like that, but trust me, I dealt with worse. Actually, I'm supposed to be watching the finals between Yusei and Aki on the monitor while recovering here, but for some reason, the waiting seemed to take longer than expected. Though, it was mainly because of Aki, who supposedly be recovering as well, disappeared out of nowhere, so nobody knew where she went. So to kill some time, here I am, talking to my duel spirits.
"I'm sorry, Crystal," Jirachi gave me an apologetic look, "I wasn't able to help you good enough."
I shook my head and hugged her, "That's not true, Jirachi. No doubt, you did great there, and I'm really happy for that."
Jirachi giggled and nuzzled on my cheek. Then, I faced toward my trusty dragon here.
"Sparkling Crystal Dragon, looks like this is our true meeting here," I said.
"Yes, it is," she nodded, flashing her blue eyes.
"Why haven't you spoken to me since my first time talking to duel spirits?" I asked, trying not to sound so demanding.
"Various reason, for some I can't really say," she replied, "Though, I can tell you a couple. Remember when you left because of the incident?"
I blinked, "Yeah, but how do you know that?"
"Like the other duel spirits, I've been watching over you," the crystallized dragon replied, "You were daunted by your friend's disappearance and choose to keep your heart shut from others and ran away. And I also noticed that you choose not to use me on the previous duels, because I'm being reminded by your friends. I don't blame you for that, because I know you don't want any sad memories. But, I choose to distanced myself from you until you can over come that past."
"But, I haven't really gotten over that," I said sadly.
"Not yet, but I can tell you were beginning to," Sparkling Crystal Dragon said, "It takes time, my mistress, but someday I know you will. From now on, I'll stick by your side like the others and come out whenever you want me too."
I smiled at the crystallized dragon and nodded, "Thank you, Sparkling Crystal Dragon. I'm really glad you're with me."
"Your welcome," she bowed to me, "I'm glad to have you as my master, Crystal. I knew we are connected to each other, so hopefully we'll be able to combine our powers and help the Signers."
"Yeah," Suddenly, I blinked into realization into what Sparkling Crystal said, "Wait, what do you mean we're connected to each other. And how do you know about the Signers?"
Before my dragon can answered, I heard a knock on a door. All of my duel spirits quickly disappeared into my deck.
"Come in," I said to the person behind the door. Soon, the door opened, revealing a burgundy hair-psychic duelist. My eyes widened in shock.
"A-A-A-AKI!" I screamed and shoved myself backwards on my bed. Unfortunately for me, I hit the back of my head on the wall and winced in pain.
"H-Hey," she greeted me nervously, though she shifted her eyes away from me.
"W-What are you doing here?!" I stuttered, rubbing the back of my head, "Shouldn't you be in the finals already?"
"I...I actually want to see you before I go," she answered, fiddling with her fingers, "I snuck around here, so neither Divine nor anyone else know where I am. I hope you don't mind."
"I don't," I gestured her to the chair next to me, "You can sit here if you like."
Aki nodded and sat next to me, "Thank you."
I gently smiled at her. She's not a bad person after all, "So, what do you want to see me for?"
Aki looked down to the ground and clasped her hands on her lap, "I came to apologize to you...about what I did to you during the duel between us. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you like this. It's just...It's just that I can't really control my power. I know it's unforgiveable for me to do that."
I shook my head and fully registered what she just said, "It's okay. I'm not mad at you really. I don't think it's your fault," Or that's what I think, at least. I kinda don't know how to explain how Aki's aura felt different when she attack me with her Curse of Roses, "By the way, why do you hate your power that much?"
Aki grimaced and shut her eyes closed. Once she started shaking, I gasped, feeling that I offended her, "Ah, it's okay if you don't want to tell me."
"No, I think I should," she said, "I don't know why, but somehow it's easier for me to tell you about it than to anyone else. You see, when I was a little girl, I was dueling with my dad. He's a Senator, who was always busy with his work. I came from a wealthy family, so I really don't have anyone to play with. Just my dad, mom, and dueling. Of course, I always get upset when my dad has to work all the time and almost never came home, but I still love him. I just want to spend more time with him.
"But then, things went out of hand," Aki started clenching her right arm, "One time, when my dad and I finally got to duel each other, he got a call and had to go back to work. I got so angry at him, for leaving me in the middle of our duel. Perhaps it was because I was a little girl at that time and didn't really understand. But when I play a trap card out of anger, I ended up hurting my dad with my power. This mark appeared on my arm, and I became scared. I tried to beg my dad to help me, but then...he ended up calling me a monster!"
I gasped in shock, "No way..."
"It's true," tears began to fall from Aki's eyes, "It was one of the worse things my dad called me. Soon, I was sent to the Duel Academy, just to be away from my parents. Of course, I was an outsider of the group, because of my horrifying powers. I ended up hurting some of the students, so they backed away from me. Some of them even try to hurt me, calling me a witch. The teachers did nothing. In their eyes...they think what the other students think...a monster!"
Aki started sobbing, and I quickly wrapped my arms around her in comfort. Soon, I began to feel the essence of sadness inside her, "Shhh...it's okay Aki...what they say is not true. You're not a monster."
Aki continued to muffled a cry on to my shoulder, "But...but I bring nothing but destruction. I even hurt you."
"That means nothing to me," I said truthfully, holding her tight, "Aki, although I'm a bit different from you, I'm also born with this supernatural power. I was very uncomfortable at first, but soon I managed to get the hang of it. Even now, for some reason, my power is starting to develop, which made things really strange for me. But, what I'm trying to say is that you're not the only one who has to go through all that."
Aki sniffed and wiped her tears away. She then looked at me with her amber eyes, "I understand. But I'll let you know, my power is deadlier than yours. No matter how much I try to control, it will only hurt more people. To be honest, I'm really scared of my psychic power."
"I see," I leaned back against the wall and sighed, "Funny, you said something similar to what my childhood friend say."
"What?" Aki became surprised.
"You see, I think I told you this before during our duel, but I had a friend who is like you," I explained to her, "He has the same psychic power as you do and was afraid of hurting other people with it. However, I managed to convince him that his power isn't so bad and that he may be able to use them for benefits someday. I bet you can use your power to help others too, Aki."
Suddenly, an image of Aoi appeared in my head and a drop of tears began fall from my eyes. Aki noticed this and wiped the tears away from my eyes, "Are you alright?"
I quickly wiped them away and sniffed, "Yeah, sorry. I think I'm starting to feel sad every time I'm starting to think about Aoi."
I glanced at Aki, who became stunned all of a sudden, "Um, Aki...What's wrong?"
"His name," Aki whispered, "What is your friend's name again?"
"Uh...his name is Aoi," I answered, "Why?"
Aki began to shaken and her voice stuttered, "Aoi...that Aoi you're speaking about...I met him. He's actually one of my friend in the Arcadia Movement."
"WHAT?!" I shouted, "But...but...how do you know him?"
"I'll tell you," she said, "But tell me what he looks like first."
"Well, he has a short, shaggy blue hair and brown eyes," I described to her, "He was about two inches taller than me, but I think he could be much taller right now. Although he's skinny, his body is very well-built."
I continued to described Aoi to Aki, and she nodded as she listened, "Of course, the way you describe him is almost the same Aoi I'm thinking about."
I stared at her in confusion, "Wait, what do you mean 'almost'?"
"Well, he looks exactly the same way you describe him," Aki explained, "The only difference is that he has a tattoo on his right eye."
A sweatdrop appeared on my head. Aoi has a tattoo? Totally unexpected, "But even so, please tell me how did you meet him? I really want to know."
Aki sit straight up and cleared her throat, "Alright, I'll tell you."
Me: And that's that. So...what do you think?
Crystal: Nooo! Not another cliffhanger! I want to know what happen to Aoi! When's he coming back?!
Me: Wow...so anxious to see him again, huh?
Crystal: *blush* Uh...well.
Me: It's okay. You'll know more about what happen to him in the next chapter. However, I can't tell you when he's coming back because that'll ruin the whole story. Anyway you guys, I hope you enjoy it and will keep reading it. R&R. Let me know what you think.
