Phantom's Requiem

Chapter 31

Encounter

"You're... Are you Kaito?" Yuto asked, gazing up towards the man above him.

"It's been a long time, Yuto. I thought that you and Shun had left for Standard, but I see you're back already. What happened?"

"Things changed... I changed," he replied, S's laughter echoing in the back of his mind.

"What's the matter? After that, you won't tell him what happened? So much for 'believing in my comrades'. Maybe that's why you're alone now. Fufufu..."

Ignoring him, Yuto continued. "I was on patrol and heard a scream, so I came to investigate. I won't let anyone else die because I wasn't fast enough. Never again..." he finished; expression downtrodden.


S, however, had toned out the conversation at this point. He had far more interesting things to do. Yuya felt something pulling him, however, before he could warn Yuto, he found himself in a city, seated next to S in a large stadium. Or, at least, he assumed that it was S. This had been the first time he'd been in the direct presence of the other, their previous interactions limited to the duel against Sergey in Synchro. One thing that he knew for certain, though, was that the silver-haired boy's smile still unnerved him.

"Enjoying the show? It's one of my favorites," S politely greeted.

"You can stop acting like I'm going to run away if you aren't nice to me. From what Yuto told me, I'm stuck here until you let me leave, right?"

"Not entirely. Yuto did manage to break out of my domain once, but, well, I've taken extra precautions to ensure that won't happen again. Besides, what's with the hostility? I just thought I'd invite you to one of the greatest shows on earth. Well, greatest shows in Yuto's heart, I suppose."

"Why are you acting like this? What's your angle? I thought you were trying to stop Yuto from achieving his goal at every possible opportunity."

"We both want to help him. I just have more... forceful... methods of doing so. You insist on giving him pep talks like some sort of tomato-headed cheerleader, but I help him destroy his foes completely, until all that's left is an empty husk of what they used to be."

"Yeah, I noticed. You left Sergey unconscious under his D-Wheel," Yuya spat at the dark counterpart.

"Still so hostile. Oh, well. If you won't listen, then let's just watch the show quietly. It's about to start," S replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, yeah. I've been meaning to ask you. What's this so-called 'show' about?"

"Tell me, Yuya, have you ever heard of a man named Zarc?"

"No, I haven't. What are you getting at?"

"I didn't think so. Most would consider it a legend at this point. He was an Entertainment Duelist, much like you. The strongest duelist to ever live, in fact. They say that even the Professor couldn't defeat him. Unfortunately, he became drunk on his own power, and, in a moment of weakness, he was shattered," the doppelganger explained.

"You sound like you know a lot about this 'Zarc'," Yuya stated, suspicion in his voice. At that moment, however, the arena exploded, and everything went white. When Yuya woke up, he was on his stomach, S standing over him, his form illuminated by the flames.

"You... who are you?!" the tomato-head shouted.

"You didn't figure it out? Fufufu..." Kneeling, S cupped Yuya's face in his right hand, as his eyes gleamed with madness. "I'm Zarc," he whispered, a large black dragon looming behind him, as a smaller one covered in flames burst out from amongst the rubble, illuminating the night sky.

"You won't get away with whatever you're planning..." Yuya scowled, spitting on Zarc's face.

"Tch. Little bastard," he growled, wiping his cheek with his free hand, before his smirk returned full-blast. "But on the contrary, there's really nothing you can do to stop me now. When you exit this place, it'll be like this meeting never happened."

"W... What are you talking about?" the younger boy asked, fear in his eyes.

"Oh, it's simple, really. Whenever someone exits my domain, they'll only remember what I allow them to remember. When you wake back up, I'll make sure that you can't remember anything from our encounter," he leered. "Have fun."


And with that, the world around them vanished. True to Zarc's word, Yuya couldn't remember any of the details from their meeting, and within a few moments, he began to wonder if he had just imagined sitting there in the stadium. A few more, and the idea that he had ever been gone was completely wiped from his mind.


Zarc, however, was still standing among the flames, as the blazing dragon landed next to him.

"Any progress on turning the boy?" it questioned.

"I thought I told you that turning him wasn't intention. To me, he's fuel for my resurrection. No more, no less," he responded, turning towards it. "You're welcome to try, though. It could make things easier. Just remember, he'll come to you on his own when he's broken. Knowing that old fool Akaba, he'll break the news that he's a fragment of me sooner than later. Oh, and one more thing. Telling him that he's a part of me is strictly off-limits," the silver-head stated, eyes narrowing.

"Understood. May I ask why, though?"

"It's simple. He's the kind of self-righteous fool who would rather sacrifice himself than knowingly become fuel for the devil's revival. I would say that it's admirable, but it's more annoying than anything. For me, at least. For now, though, just see if he'll accept you as one of his own. I'll leave the method to you, though."

"Yes," the dragon responded, flying away into the night sky.


"So that's why I came back," Yuto finished relaying his story Kaito, careful to leave out anything related to Yuya, the trances he had entered with increasing frequency, or S. S was one person he dare not bring up with anyone. Given that S had proven capable of possessing him as he pleased, he feared the counterpart's potential retribution if his existence ever became known. Even just having seen his duel with Sergey, Yuto knew of the kind of savagery and bloodthirst he was capable of.

"So, you came back here, hoping to find something, correct?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure exactly what I'll find, but... I feel like this is where I need to be, for now at least," the dark-haired boy responded, sorrow visible in his eyes. Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind them.

"So, the troops I sent in failed. Guess I'll have to take care of you two myself," it spoke. Whipping around, Yuto ignited the blade of his Duel Disk, a man with light grey hair across from him.

"You'll be my opponent, then? I should warn you... You won't beat me."


"Yugo! What happened?! Where's Yuri?!"

"I won, Rin. But we can't go home yet. There's something else I have to do," Yugo declared, as a faint silhouette grinned behind him.

"Fufufu... And then there were two..."


Quick thing before we move on to the Review Response Corner. I ended up giving Yuto theme music. Well, more specifically, four themes. One for each arc past the first one. The last two will be revealed as their arcs are released. They're meant to sort of show Yuto's change as a character. I also kept all of them within the same band, for a motif of sorts.

Synchro - Red Cold River (Breaking Benjamin)

Xyz - The Dark of You

Anyways, Review Response Corner time.

Ulrich362's Review: If only that result was a good thing but I have a very bad feeling about it... or I guess a good feeling considering it's going to make things fun to be sure. Rin slapping Yugo was a nice touch by the way, it really was a good way to show their connection and how she's always going to back him up no matter what. A far as Yuto not being able to bring Kaito back on his own... yeah I figured as much, it might be easier but it can't be too easy. As for Zarc, he's the one manipulating all the pieces to end up exactly where he wants them... well almost all the pieces, I have a sneaking suspicion there are a few things he isn't going to be able to anticipate. Of course it's still going to take a miracle to stop him... if anyone even can. Awesome chapter, looking forward to the update.

Thanks! Glad you liked the little scene between Rin and Yugo there! A few things, maybe, but for the most part, things are going exactly the way he wants them to. It looks like it'll stay that way, too.