Aurasoul: Hello everyone and welcome to Vrains! I give a shout out to 0713MM for helping me type this story along with letting me use his OC Glacies and I don't own Vrains just my OCs.
Yukiko: So who is Takeru going to be set up with here?
Aurasoul: I am glad you asked Yukiko for it will be shown in this chapter! So please enjoy everyone!
Chapter 19
"Ok, here should be a good spot." Shard jumped down on an edge, Ice Queen doing the same. "Thanks again for agreeing to talk to me."
"You're welcome Shard." Ice Queen told her.
"So this...uh...what are your plans with Flame? I mean, I wouldn't think you'd hand him to SOL Technologies." Shard quickly said the last bit.
"SOL Technologies?" Ice Queen repeated before she sighed. "I dunno if Flare told you or not, but Nii-san works for SOL." She quickly then added. "But! SOL didn't hire me, Blue Girl or Ghost Girl to capture the Ignis. Least not directly. Nii-san hired Ghost Girl to help him get them before SOL does. All he wants is to talk with them. To find out there viewpoints on us humans. To see if coexistence is a possibility and all that."
"Oh! I see." Shard remarked, extremely relieved. "That's good to hear."
"Nii-san was fine with Blue Girl going with Ghost Girl, but it took a lot of convincing to let me go with them." Ice Queen spoke. "Especially considering that he's not happy about SOL putting a bounty on my head. It's probably there to keep Nii-san in check as a threat. That should he step out of line, I pay the price."
"I-I see…" Shard remarked, a worried expression on her face.
Then Queen must know who I am and did the same to me and use it against Miho…
"So then he just wants to talk to Flame about his views on humanity?" Shard questioned.
"That's right." Ice Queen remarked.
"Well he'll be happy to hear Flame actually wants to co-exist with humans. It's the reason why he went to Soulburner." Shard replied, before frowning remembering Soulburner. "I hope he's ok…"
"He will be once he lets his frustration cool down." Flame remarked as he rose out of Ice Queen's duel disk. "*sighs* I told him to not get distracted by you, Ice Queen. And look what happened."
"He really is smitten." Shard sighed, shaking her head then blinked. "Flame!"
"What?" Flame asked.
"Huh. I guess I didn't actually expect you to be able to reform so quickly." Shard remarked with a sweatdrop.
"Ice Queen absorbed me, not killed me." Flame told Shard with a sweatdrop of his own.
"But you were absorbed as data." Shard replied, before she sighed. "Gotta keep reminding myself you guys aren't ordinary AIs."
"Obviously." Flame told her sarcastically.
"Cut me a little slack here." Shard pouted.
"I'm just messing with you." Flame told her.
"You're just as bad as Ai." Shard sighed, then sweatdropped. "Oh and Ai isn't gonna stop teasing me for at least a week thanks to Playmaker!"
"Ha!" Ice Queen laughed.
"And I'll tease you and Soulburner until you 2 become a thing." Flame grinned. "It's clear to me he has a thing for you."
"Obviously." Shard stated. At this, Ice Queen groaned.
"Oi!" Ice Queen rubbed her forehead with her right hand.
"I say get to know the guy. Soulburner does seem like a nice guy." Shard told her.
"I'll try to get to know him." Ice Queen replied.
"Yeah. Since you'll no doubt talk to him a lot; since you have his Ignis on you." Shard added.
"I know." Ice Queen spoke. "Once we all log out, I'll see if I can get in contact with Soulburner and see if he'll want to come to my apartment to talk."
"Let's hope he agrees. Once he cools down anyway." Shard smiled, before looking over her shoulder. "Think their duel is over?"
"We could go check." Ice Queen replied. She paused, then added. "Or I could log out to get in contact with Soulburner while you go to check to see if the duel is over."
"Alright with me. I'll be sure to tell Blue Girl and Ghost Girl that you left." Shard said.
"Sure thing." Ice Queen smiled as she logged out. Shard let out a sigh, rubbing her neck.
"Well at least Flame is gonna be ok." She muttered. She leaped off the ledge, getting on her D-Board and riding back to the others to see Playmaker has beaten Ghost Girl.
"We did it!" Ai cheered.
"Aw shucks!" Ghost Girl pouted. "Aw well, least I tried."
"Looks like you guys won." Shard voiced, flying over to Playmaker.
"Yeah we did." Playmaker spoke.
"And since we won, you girls will have to go." Ai replied.
"And Ice Queen has already logged out of here too." Shard added.
"Well a deal is a deal." Ghost Girl remarked. "Let's go Blue Girl."
"Right." Blue Girl nodded. They watched as the two flew away, logging out.
"Well they're gone. Guess now we can go back and hopefully Windy will give us info on Bohman." Shard remarked.
"Yeah." Playmaker nodded.
"Hey Shard, is Flame ok?" Ai asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah. He appeared while me and Ice Queen talked. Don't worry, he'll be fine." She assured with a smile.
"That's good." Ai nodded.
"Come on, let's get going." She said. Playmaker nodded in agreement, then proceeded to fly back to the temple they found Windy at, with Shard following behind him.
Yusaku and Yukiko stepped out, both sighing in relief.
"We managed to get out of there in time." She sighed. "And just as that world collapsed too."
"And we didn't get much out of Bohman again." Ai groaned.
"Kinda hard when he was talking nonsense." She frowned. "Being the real Yusaku is just crazy talk."
"Least you 2 came out ok." Kusanagi replied.
"Hey Kusanagi-san, have you contacted Homura-kun? See if he's ok?" She asked.
"Sorry, haven't gotten to." Kusanagi frowned.
"Hopefully Glacies is talking with him." Yukiko muttered. "Well I guess I better get home now."
"I'll walk you home." Yusaku spoke.
"Oh no, you don't have to." She began.
"I want to." Yusaku told her.
"Of course he does." Ai snickered.
"Ai not a word." She warned, before looking up at Yusaku. "And sure, if you want."
The 2 walked out the truck both silent Ai looking between the 2 before deciding to speak up.
"So Yukiko-chan, how do you have that Skill of yours?" He asked.
"Skill? You mean Storm Access?" She questioned.
"Yes." Yusaku replied. She rubbed the back of her neck.
"Well it's kinda complicated." She replied.
"Complicated?" Yusaku repeated. "How complicated?"
"Well you know how Ryoken has the Skill too, right?" She asked.
"Yes I do." Yusaku replied. "He has it to play fire with fire."
"Yeah well of course when Touma was with the Knights for my sake, he and Ryoken were a bit… Antagonistic toward one another. I mean it never got too bad or out of hand, but they did drive each other nuts." She explained. "Me and Kyoko always had to try and stop them."
"I can see that." Yusaku remarked.
"So uh heh it wouldn't be too surprising if Touma actually stole a copy of the skill from Ryoken to piss him off and gave it to me." She admitted sheepishly.
"He what?!" Ai gaped.
"Yeah by the time after the Tower was over and I was making my avatar, Touma gave me the Skill since I have a Cyberse Deck figured it would give me a little help." She said with a shrug.
"But how do you have a Cyberse Deck in the first place?" Ai questioned, looking hesitant. "Are you sure you're not…"
"I'm not a victim of the Incident if that's what you're asking." She replied calmly.
"You sure?" Ai continued. "Because Ice Queen has a WATER Cyberse Deck too, but she said that she made hers with her 2 siblings by using coding." She shook her head.
"I don't have any memories whatsoever of being in the incident. And as for how I got my Deck. If I have to be honest, I found it." She replied. If Ai had any eyebrows, he'd raise one.
"Found it?" Ai repeated.
"Well it's more like I was lead to it." She frowned. "I received an email 5 years ago, before I went with the Knights about a Scavenger Hunt of sorts that gave me clues to where the Hollow Spirits were. To this day, I have no idea who sent that email and why it led me to the Hollow Spirits."
"But haven't you ever wondered?" Ai asked.
"It's kinda one of the reasons why Rai's been busy. He's looking into the email and seeing who sent it." She told them. "Hasn't had much luck though."
They soon reached her house, stopping at the door.
"Is that all the questions you want to ask?" She asked.
"I have more questions, but those can wait during school tomorrow." Yusaku told her.
"You can always come in." She told him. "I'm sure the 3 won't mind."
"Thanks for the offer, but I have to go back to Kusanagi-san." Yusaku told Yukiko.
"Fair enough. Mind me asking 1 question of my own?" She asked. Yusaku paused as he turned to leave, then nodded.
"Go ahead." He replied.
"Why… Why didn't you deny that little remark Ai made before?" She questioned.
"What remark?" Yusaku questioned.
"I think she meant when I said you like her." Ai snickered.
"Yes that one." She sighed, giving Ai a small glare.
"Oh… Yes, that one." Yusaku pinched the bridge of his nose. "To be honest, I didn't actually register it."
"I figured as much." She sighed, rubbing her temple.
"Aww and here I thought-" Ai began.
"Well! I should probably go inside. See you tomorrow Yusaku." She quickly said.
"See you tomorrow Yukiko." Yusaku told her.
With a wave, Yukiko went inside closing the door behind her and a small blush on her face as she sighed. Ai looked at Yusaku as he walked leaving.
"Are you seriously telling me you didn't register it at all?" He demanded.
"Yes, I am." Yusaku retorted bluntly. "What's the problem?"
"Oh nothing." Ai replied, before muttering to himself. "Man do I feel bad for Yukiko-chan."
Takeru frowned, checking once again to make sure he was in the right place.
I can't believe I'm doing this, but it's for Flame. He thought, standing in front of the Zaizen house before knocking. After a few minutes, the door opens to reveal Akira standing at the threshold.
"H-Hello. Is Glacies-san home?" Takeru asked nervously. Akira looked down at Takeru for a few moments, then spoke.
"Yes she is." Akira replied before raising an eyebrow slightly. "Why ask?"
"My name is Takeru Homura. I'm her classmate. She called to talk to me." Takeru told him.
"Don't scare him Nii-san." Glacies came up to the front door and next to Akira. She smiled as Takeru. "Hey. You can come in."
"Er thanks." Takeru nodded sheepishly, following her inside. Akira then closed the door and followed the 2. Glacies leads Takeru into the kitchen, while Akira leaves the 2 to his office room in the apartment.
"Do you want anything Takeru?" Glacies asked.
"I… I only came to see if Flame is ok." He replied.
"Oh. Right." Glacies left the kitchen. A few minutes later, she came back with her duel disk. "Flame is in my duel disk. No harm has come to him I can assure you that much." She paused, then laughed lightly. "Oh where the heck are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself yet. I'm Glacies Uisce-Zaizen. My elder brother, Akira, was the one who answered the door when you arrived." Takeru blinked before he laughed sheepishly, putting out his hand.
"I'm Takeru Homura. It's nice to formally meet you Glacies." He smiled.
"Same to you." Glacies nodded. "Although, I think we've passed each other in the hallways a few times during school, but we haven't actually talked to each other. Least, not until recently."
"Yeah which is really funny since we both know Yukiko." He chuckled.
"Haha! Yeah we do." Glacies laughed along with him. "But seriously, do you want anything? Water? A snack?"
"No, no! You don't have to." He quickly spoke.
"You sure?" Glacies asked. "It'd be rude of me not to."
"I-It's fine really. I'm the one intruding and all." He replied, flushing slightly.
"You're not intruding Takeru." Glacies told him. "I invited you to my place after all. Albeit not directly. Here, I'll get us some water." As she goes to do that, she accidentally bumps the kitchen table where she had placed her duel disk. She hissed in pain, but proceeded onward. Her duel disk then fell off the table and onto the floor; the deck that was placed into the duel disk fell out as well.
"Glacies are you ok?!" He gasped, before seeing the cards and grew wide eyed.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Glacies retorted as she handed Takeru a glass of water.
"...Ice." He muttered softly.
"Hmm? What is it Takeru?" Glacies asked him.
"Huh? Oh! Y-Your Deck! It fell!" He quickly said, taking the glass. "Thanks for the water!"
"Oh!" Glacies kneels down to pick up her Deck and duel disk. "Sorry about that. I sometimes forget where the corner of the table is. Guess that's what happens when you get older."
"Oh come on we're teenagers. I don't think either of us are old enough to say that." He weakly chuckled.
"Perhaps not." Glacies laughed. "But even as a teenager, we tend to become a bit clumsy and somewhat forgetful at times."
"Heh; I know the feeling. I get scolded by my grandpa because of it." He admitted, sipping his water.
"Nii-san scolds me for it too on occasion." Glacies admitted as well, sipping her own water. "He's so overprotective at times it's ridiculous. Then again, so am I."
"Well he's your big brother, it's his job." Takeru pointed out. "And it's only natural siblings wanna watch one anothers backs."
"Oh trust me, Nii-san takes overprotectiveness to the next level." Glacies told him. "I remember back during the whole Hanoi fiasco that he didn't want either me or Aoi going into VRAINS. At all. I obviously rebelled, while it took Aoi quite awhile to decide what to do. We both felt like trapped birds because of his overprotectiveness."
"Didn't you talk to him about it?" Takeru asked.
"I did, and he's toned it down." Glacies remarked. "Least now me and Aoi can enter VRAINS freely without getting scolded for it."
"That's good. Communication is key." He stated.
"Yes it is." Glacies smiled. She puts her glass down and pulls out her Deck from her duel disk. She skims through it, then realizes there's 1 card missing. She looks down to see the card. "Oh! Silly me! I forgot 1 card!" She kneels down and picks it up. "Ah, my Fusion Spell. Can't forget this." She places the card on top of her Deck, then places her Deck back into her duel disk.
That card… Fusion of Water. She really is Ice Queen. He thought.
"You okay Takeru-san?" Glacies asked him, a perplexed look on her face. "You seem out of it."
"You're Ice Queen…!" He gaped stunned. "You're really her!" Glacies stared at Takeru in surprise. She closed her eyes, a smile appearing on her lips.
"So you figured it out huh….." Glacies mused before opening her eyes. "I'm quite surprised that you figured it out. The only ones to know who I am in VRAINS are my siblings, Miho, and her siblings. Not even Yusaku knows that I'm Ice Queen."
"Miho-san knows too?" He questioned, surprised.
"Yeah." Glacies nodded. "I told her after the Tower of Hanoi Incident."
"So you 2 are close?" He asked curiously. "I mean I would assume since you're friends with her sister."
"You assume right." Glacies confirmed. "But it's also because she's worked for Nii-san so long that she's pretty much our closest friend. Mine and my sister."
"Aoi-san right?" He asked.
"Right." Glacies nodded.
"I see." He hummed. "What made you decide to be Ice Queen?"
"What do you mean?" Glacies inquired.
"Well when Playmaker came to VRAINS, it was to fight the Hanoi more for his own personal reasons. What about you? Or was it just for fun?" He asked curiously. Glacies looked down. At once, Takeru panicked.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you!" He quickly began.
"No, I'm not mad." Glacies replied as she looked back up at Takeru. "It's just not something I talk about a whole lot."
"I didn't mean to pry. Sorry." He apologized.
"No no, it's fine." Glacies told him in a dismissive tone. "Yukiko and her siblings already know the truth. So does Yusaku. Why should I keep my troubled past away from a friend of Yusaku's? You have a right to know in a sense."
"You don't have to push yourself." He frowned, worried.
"I already know the whole story." Flame spoke up as he rose out of Glacies's duel disk. "And Glacies is okay with me telling you. Since I am your partner after all."
"Flame…" Takeru looked between the 2 and nodded. "Alright."
Flame tells Takeru Glacies's story; from start to finish as best as he could. Some details Glacies didn't want getting out, so Flame just ignored those. Takeru was shocked once Flame finished before his expression became furious.
"I can't believe they would do that to your home…! It's awful!" He scowled.
"I know." Glacies nodded. "In fact, I still have my former Deck before I changed to Oceanic." She paused, then added. "Do you want to see it?"
"Yes please." He nodded.
"Alright." Glacies nodded. "It's in my room."
After she said that, she led Takeru to her room. The room looked simple enough. Had a few photos of Glacies with her 2 siblings at various locations, a bed in the corner. At the end of the room was a safe that had a combo lock on it.
"Um are you sure it's alright for me to be in here? I don't want you to be in trouble with your brother." Takeru spoke worried.
"More like you don't wish to be in trouble." Flame replied knowingly.
"You're not gonna get in trouble Takeru-san." Glacies told him. "That much I can assure you." Takeru rubbed his neck sheepishly as Glacies unlocked the safe. Inside of the safe was a deck box. She took said deck box out of the safe and opened the deck and handed it to Takeru. "You can take a look at the deck if you'd like."
"Thank you." He nodded, taking the deck box. He opened it taking the deck out to see through the deck. "Polagerie. They're based off of arctic animals. Right?" He asked, looking up at her.
"Yes." She confirmed.
"And Arctic Polar Bear was your ace?" He asked.
"Correct." Glacies nodded, a light smile on her lips. "I put my Polagerie Deck away because it symbolizes my past. So I created the Oceanic Deck to show that I've moved forward."
"I see. So in a way it's showing your progress of moving forward to your future instead of being chained to your past." He remarked with a light smile. "That is really admirable."
"Thanks." Glacies nodded before she frowned. "I do feel some regret putting my Polagerie Deck away for good though."
"It doesn't have to be for good." He pointed out. "It's obvious you care deeply for this deck. That doesn't mean you can't duel with it again. Especially when you need the support."
"Support?" Glacie repeated.
"Flame said it before, right? That this deck in a way represents your animal family from the Arctic. They haven't really left you. I'm sure they're looking down, watching over you. Still looking out for you just like they did for you when you were a child. So whenever you feel like you need strength, use this deck. For it's not just your siblings that give you strength, but your Arctic family as well." He smiled. Glacies closed her eyes, then she reopened them.
"You're right." Glacies smiled. He rubbed his neck sheepishly with a light blush, while Flame watched them both.
Aurasoul: And that's it for this chapter!
Miho: Things are moving along quite well.
Aurasoul: And much more as well so until then everyone read and review!
