Hi, my name is Rex Raptor, I'm 18, I work retail, and currently my roommate is the Dark Magician Girl.
Right now, I'm probably going to die. "Why?" I can hear you ask. That's because currently a certain blonde is shaking me very rigorously back and forth. This action will result in me throwing up, and then cause my eminent demise.
"Jeez dino-breath, why didn't you tell anyone? You could've told me and I would've helped out a little more-"
"Mai, wait-"
"I mean, honestly why didn't you tell anyone. It didn't even have to be me, it could've even been Mako or-"
"Mai, gonna hurl-"
It appeared that the blonde had just registered the fact that she was shaking Rex so violently, that it was actually causing him motion sickness. She stopped almost instantly, showing mild concern. That concern quickly turned back into anger. "What were you thinking?" She asked once Rex had regained his sense of balance.
Rex paused. "I didn't." His reply came back, slightly shaky. Either from him recovering, or from his sudden realization of the massive undertaking he just rushed into.
This response didn't sit well with the blonde, because after a brief period of silence, she spoke like a mother scolding her child. "This was your problem as a duelist. You always rushed into it without a solid plan. You can't always brute force every problem. You can barely provide for yourself for the salary you make, how did you expect yourself to support another person by yourself. No wonder you got sick-"
Rex knew that there was a certain line of truth to what Mai was saying, but he couldn't help but flair slightly. "I was perfectly aware of my flaws as a duelist Mai." His voice became raspy and venomous. "I don't need you to remind me." He interjected angrily.
"Clearly you do." Mai shot back, her anger also flaring. "This situation isn't about cards, this is a real life person. Without the right support, a person will only suffer!"
"Oh, so now I'm going to make her suffer? What if I told you and Mako about her, and the people who summoned her were evil? They would come after you two. This is my responsibility-" Rex's tone had completely changed from what it usually was. Anger seethed in each of his words.
"It's obviously a responsibility you can't handle idiot!" Mai interrupted. "At least by yourself! You have people here who can help you, why not reach out for their help? Honestly I can't understand this idea that you have to do this all by yourself. I can't watch someone else go through that!" Her voice had become strained, her anger replaced with sadness. "Your heart is in the right place, but what happens if you get sick again? What then? Will Alice have to fend for herself? She can't get a job, she doesn't have an ID or anything like that. Then the authorities will get a hold of her."
Rex paused. He knew that she was right. In his anger, he didn't think that something like that could happen. He knew that she was right. Slowly he bowed his head, and quietly and apologetically said a quick "sorry".
If this affected Mai, Rex didn't have the slightest clue. He hung his head in shame. Mai was right. He had rushed into this situation way too quickly, without telling anyone about it. He did what he thought was right, but it just wasn't the correct thing. Memories of when he dueled Joey back in the duelist kingdom flooded his memory. He had been too rash then as well.
Rex was going to speak again, yet just as he was finding the right words for an apology, another certain blonde entered the room. She looked sad, and Rex couldn't help but notice that her eyes were red and puffy. He quickly realized that both him and Mai had been rather loud. Alice must have overheard them. He quickly glanced over to Mai, hoping for comprehension.
Mai caught onto this too, and instantly tried to be as warm as possible. "Hey there. Everything alright?" Mai asked, with a quick smile.
"I'm a burden on Master Rex right? It's because of me that he got sick. He worked so hard and got sick because of me. Miss Mai is very kind to worry about me suffering, but I'm the one who made Master suffer. I'm sorry. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. Please…" With that Alice once again began to cry. She crumpled to the ground and began to sob wholeheartedly, a slight squeak came out of her in-between sobs.
In an instant, Rex was by her side. "Hey now, don't cry. I don't know what to do with crying people." Rex said quietly. He was awkwardly observing her and looking to Mai for help, the blonde looked slightly amused and gave a hugging motion. At first Rex didn't recognize it, but after a few confused looks, it finally clicked in his head. Rex got down on the floor with her and wrapped his hands around Alice's shoulder, and gently held her closely to him. The girls sobs got louder. Rex could feel her shaking slightly.
After a few minutes of her sobs, she had stopped shaking. Alice had paused for a brief minute and she quietly gazed up at the boy. She flung herself across him, holding him in a tight embrace. Her tears were stopping, but it seemed that she was still upset. Her arms wrapped around Rex and her head was resting on his shoulder.
This was a new feeling to Rex. What on earth could it be? It was warm, and gentle. He hadn't felt this kind of warmth in a long time. It was like the days when he was competing in the top ranks of Duel Monsters. He paused, his hand raised slightly. He wanted to show comfort, yet wasn't sure how. He remembered how his mother had always stroked the back of his head whenever he was sad as a child. Maybe that would work here. Shakily, he held his hand to the back of her head and began to do as his mother did. In response, she made the hug tighter. The warmth Rex felt was immense. He could feel her breath shakily make its way out of her, and could feel her heartbeat slightly. He knew only one thing at that moment. He had to protect this girl. No matter what kind of evil awaited him, he'd face it head on. He hadn't felt this warmth in so long, so now there was no way in hell he'd lose it. Slowly, Alice's breathing had slowed and she was now letting out tired snores.
Rex looked up at Mai, quiet determination filled his eyes. "I know it's reckless, but I'm still going to provide for her."
"I know you are. You'll just have a little bit of help." She said calmly and with a mischievous look in her eye she added "Master Rex".
Rex instantly flushed a deep shade of crimson. "So you heard that huh?" He asked awkwardly. He paused. Something about his argument with Mai had been slightly weird.
"I can't watch someone else go through that."
Rex wanted to ask who that someone was. Yet he thought better of it. It wasn't exactly his place to ask. Instead, he shakily got up with Alice in his arms. He had become somewhat used to her weight, but not enough for him to comfortably carry her.
"From now on I'll be asking for your support." Rex said quietly. "I'll tell Mako about it later. Right now he's got his own troubles."
Mai nodded, said her goodbyes, then left the apartment.
It was quiet that night. Alice was peacefully sleeping, and Rex had been quietly piecing any and all parts of information he had on Alice. He scoured her original Dark Magician Girl outfit in search of any clues. Nothing had turned up.
He got out a notepad and started keeping records. A sort of timeline. In case he needed to explain everything. There was no way he'd automatically remember everything. While putting away her Dark Magician Girl outfit, Rex noticed a small stack of cards and a duel disk next to them. They had dust on them from being undisturbed for so long. He smiled briefly. He didn't want to get into the dueling world. Yet, he found himself being dragged back into it. Mako and Mai… especially Alice. He didn't know quite how to feel about it. Yet, it wasn't a bad feeling. He shut the closet door. By this point it was getting late in the evening, and Rex could feel his eyes begin to become heavy. He climbed into his bed and put his covers over him. Before he even knew it, he had fallen asleep.
The following day at work was a wonderful experience. Everyone was rather nice to Rex on his day back, and his manager gave him easy tasks or "projects" as they were commonly referred to. It was a relatively short shift as well, only a four hour one. So he'd be back home relatively early to see Alice.
"Master Rex?"
Rex could already hear her voice in his ears. It was gentle-
"Master Rex can you hear me?"
"Huh?" Rex questioned quietly.
"Master, reply with the voice of your mind. It's kinda hard to hold this kind of communication."
Now, Rex had experienced many things before. Death cults wanting to destroy the world had been a hard one to swallow. A duel monster coming to life with magical powers had been another one completely. Yet, the most hard thing for Rex to believe right now is that the same girl with magical powers had the ability of… Telepathy.
Shakily, he faked a check of the men's fitting room, and took a seat on one of the benches. He took a deep breath and calmly thought, "Alice? You uh.. You there?"
"Yes! Yes, I'm here Master Rex! Oh it worked it-" Alice suddenly cut off.
Rex sat in slight confusion. Just as he was about to get off the bench and get back to work, he could hear Alice's voice once more. "Sorry I broke off communication. Right now it's taking all my concentration to keep this up. When I got excited I-"
She cut out again. Rex repressed a chuckle. He knew that she must have been trying her hardest, but it was kinda funny to not hear the ending of her sentence. Rex resumed his tasks for the day. With intermittent communication with Alice throughout his shift, four hours passed by rather quickly.
It wasn't a bad day. In fact, Rex couldn't help but feel an indescribable warmth. It was a gentle feeling. Yes, he could most certainly get used to this kind of feeling.
AN: Hey there! New year, new me!
Kinda... I know I haven't updated in a while, so I'm sorry about that. I won't promise a strict schedule, but I'll try to update at least once a month. No promises though! As always, feel free to leave a review/PM me. I do enjoy when people give me opinions and if you have any specific requests, I might work it into the story!
Stay tuned~
