Phantom's Requiem
Chapter 19
Fallout
'What? Where… am I?' Blue skies shone overhead, birds gliding through the air, people passing by. A young boy, perhaps eight or nine years old, ran past him, smiling. He was wearing a black jacket with a white shirt underneath, blue jeans, and black sneakers. He appeared to be… racing two other people. One, a slightly older boy, whom Yuto estimated to be between ten and eleven, based on his height. The other, a boy roughly the same age as the first, spiky orange hair waving in the wind.
The one with the jacket called out to the two behind him. "C'mon! If we don't hurry, we'll be late! Tetsuo and the others are waiting!"
"I told you, we should've taken one of my shortcuts! We'd have already been there by now!" The auburn-haired one shot back.
"Are you serious, Shingetsu?! The last time we took one of your 'shortcuts,' we waded through a sewer, went through a junkyard, and a dog almost chased us!"
The one in the middle merely sighed, saying, "Let's just go."
Yuto felt that the scene was… familiar. Looking to his right, he began to tremble. This was Heartland. This was Heartland. Six years ago. The three children had been himself, Kurosaki, and Rei Shingetsu. But why was he dreaming about this particular occurrence?
A feminine voice rang out behind him. "I don't know. It could be that something important happened here. Or it could just be you trying to remember happier times. From before all of this happened. From before I was…" She paused, letting the statement linger in the air.
Whipping around, he saw… her. Ruri. He knew that none of this was real, yet he couldn't help but be overjoyed upon seeing her again.
"Ruri!"
"Yuto. It's been a long time, hasn't it? A long time since you left me to rot in Academia." Her tone suddenly became venomous, as the scenery burst into flames, the sky darkening. Looking toward where his younger self had been running, his eyes widened in fear. Kurosaki, bloodied and beaten, reaching out to Tetsuo, Obelisk Force troops towering above them, sneering. Shingetsu, a large hole in his chest, one of the Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds standing over his corpse. His younger self, lying in a pool of his own blood, face contorted in dread. Another version of himself, holding Yuya, from that day. Yugo, kneeling in front of Yuri, helmet broken at his feet. A burning sensation in his own chest, as he was being lifted into the air. Looking behind him, he saw Dark Rebellion, its mandibles plunged through his back.
"It's your fault. All of this. IT'S ALLYOUR FAULT! All of this could have been prevented. The Obelisk Force would never have reduced Heartland to ashes if you had been stronger. All of our friends would still be here if you were stronger. I WOULD'VE STILL BEEN HERE! This is your own personal hell. Now, burn."
"Ruri… Ruri!"
"RURI!" He woke up trembling. Tears stung his eyes, his back drenched in a cold sweat.
"You're awake. And that means that we need to talk."
Glancing to his side, he saw Yuzu seated next to his bed, barely registering that he wasn't in the Administrative Council's building.
Averting his gaze, he muttered, "What is there to talk about?"
"For starters, how about that dragon? You know, the one that you eliminated Crow with?"
"Crow was… eliminated? The last thing I remember; I had just summoned Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon. Everything after that is a blank."
"Then let me fill you in on what happened. You summoned that dragon and started screaming uncontrollably. Then you passed out. If the tournament staff hadn't been there, you would've crashed. Now I want to know something. What is that… that… that thing?! And where did it come from?!"
"It's none of your concern. I'm fine."
"I'm not stupid. You're hiding something. And I'm not leaving until you tell me what it is."
"I told you… I'm fine," he warned.
Moisture stung at her eyes. "No, you aren't! That card… there's something about it. No normal card would make something like this happen! And on that note, neither would those dragons! There's something evil about those cards, and you're just ignoring it! I wish… I wish that they didn't exist! If they didn't exist, Yuya and Gongenzaka wouldn't be dead right now!"
"…"
Her tears were pouring out now. "Please… just please stop this."
"I'm leaving."
Briefly, he stopped. "… You mentioned Yuya. I killed him. I wasn't fast enough. I wasn't strong enough. And that's just something that I have to live with. If this is my personal hell, then so be it. I'll burn… I'll burn a thousand times… if it means saving Ruri."
He closed the door behind him, leaving Yuzu on her knees. Her tears colliding with the ground. The only sound in the room.
