There's a duel in this chapter so it got a bit longer. HOT FIX in the duel!
Guest: I didn't notice the problem with Destruction jammer, thanks for the help with the card usage there. As for your second point, it was on purpose that Ryou didn't tribute his Cyber End to end the duel there, he was prepared there to win next turn and he wouldn't sacrifice his monster to deal some life point damage because of his bond and pride in Cyber End Dragon, but I'll make that more clear through dialogue. Well, thanks for the help.
Chapter XXIX
Psycho Shocker
There are many people at the port, most of them inside the ferry, Asuka is the only one standing on the pier beside an obelisk blue boy that has a twitchy demeanor as he looks at the boat.
The blonde girl beckons to Momoe and Junko, they're both on the ferry, but she is watching the boat leave with many other students. When it's out of her sight, her faint smile disappears as she turns around, walking a few steps before she halts, an unexpected face greeting her view.
"Edo… ? What are you doing here?"
He also stops, a hint of surprise in his eyes, then he comes closer, crossing his arms. "I could ask you the same, weren't you going to spend time with your father?"
"That's… Not gonna happen," she admits discouraged, "I came to see Momoe and Junko off today."
"And here I thought of seeing you off too."
"You did?" she's startled at his assertion. "How did you even know I'd be here now?"
"Ryou told me you came to the port," he says between his teeth, "But it seems he forgot to mention you'd not be going away."
He's finally getting a gist he might have been set up here as he reminisces Ryou's unusual tiny smile while speaking to him, almost containing a smirk as if he was scheming something there.
Asuka can only chuckle at the sudden grumpy lines forming on his forehead, is it possible Ryou did this to tease him? Or perhaps, to tease her? He wouldn't, would he?
"Anyways," she clears her throat, making her way out of the port. "I've talked to my father about it and we decided it's better if he comes to visit this year, I told him he can stay a few days and he could come with Mr. Marufuji too."
"That's a great idea," he nods briefly in approval, "But… Does that mean you chose to stay on the island to investigate more on your own?"
"Yes… What about you? I figured you'd have taken a helicopter out of the island already."
"What kind of impression do you have of me?"
"Rich, snobby duelist with a pretty face?" she snickers, making his frown accentuate even more.
"Just so you know, I'm also staying behind."
"How come? I thought the pro league would fill your agenda."
"It's true I should have left, but the pro-league was always more a means to reach an end than my first priority."
"Means to reach an end? Does that mean you don't like being a duelist?"
"That's not the case," a smile flashes on his lips. "I do enjoy dueling, but as I currently stand, my dueling is a tool for me to reach my goals and my main objective here is to find that man… And I believe I'll be closer to finding him here than I was in the pro-leagues."
"So that's what it was about…"
Her brows curl up, he gapes upon seeing the saddened expression on her face, did he make her worry with this statement, but why?
"If that makes it better, I was also concerned about how things would go with you sneaking around alone on a deserted island, so I decided it's also better to be here when you're about to continue investigating, I don't trust you'll be safe on your own given what happened last time..."
She stops upon those words, looking at him amused, he uncrosses his arms wondering again if he said anything out of the ordinary, expecting an answer, she averts her gaze before changing the subject:
"Do you really think that man you're searching… That he's with those people Rie mentioned before?"
"It's possible and I have to find it out, no matter what."
The air surrounding him changed at the last sentence, the traits on his expression sharpen, she has this bad feeling that him staying behind wasn't a great idea. The anger that lights up in his eyes whenever the criminal is mentioned makes her afraid, not of him, but of how it affects him profoundly as if she can't even see Edo there anymore.
"Do you think professor Daitokuji will eventually regret siding with those people?"
"I don't know, but if there's something I despise are men like him, who don't care a single bit about their families!" his fists clench.
Now she's worried about Rie too, even though winter vacation is supposed to be a peaceful time, she can't find rest here at all.
At the library
Unlike other times, the place is completely empty, not even the librarian is there, Rie's baffled at how unique it looks, a tad sad too that the silence permeates and there's no chit-chattering from students.
"Do we really have the whole library to ourselves?"
"Yes, the librarian is on vacation, but she allowed me to take the keys whenever, we just have to drop it by the teacher's office later."
"That sounds awesome!"
They stop upon seeing a few books toppled over another, Ryou stretches an arm in front of Rie, for her to stop at once, then squatting down to pick up the objects, inspecting it from all sides.
"Why are those on the ground? Did they fall all the way from up there?" he sees a few spots empty in the upper shelf, but they're too high to reach without a ladder and there's no one nearby. "Weird…"
"You don't think there are ghosts here, do you?"
Rie tugs his sleeve, her eyes wide open, trembling in a mild panic as she asks that question, he's blinking intrigued for a few seconds, computing what she just asked.
"Are you afraid of ghosts, Rie?"
"So you do think it was that?!"
"I doubt a ghost would haunt our library," he scoffs, not to mock her but in pity for her fears, "And you shouldn't worry, I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this."
"But all the windows are closed!" her frantic typing exposes her nervousness. "And I doubt the gust of wind from when we entered would knock books this high on the shelf!"
"If you're uneasy being here alone, we can go somewhere else," he lands his hand atop her pink head, ruffling her hair tenderly, a faint smile on his lips, making her flush. "Let me just put those back, we don't want to get blamed for it."
Shaking her head vigorously, she hurries to find a ladder for him while he collects the books, his eyes narrowing when he sees the titles, all about duel monster spirits or supernatural phenomena.
Thinking back, there was that time when Rie knocked some books on his head when some people pranked her once, she was carrying some alchemy books. It reminds him of what Daitokuji told him to stay away from high alchemy. With how dangerous that potion was, he can only portray what else could be in store if alchemy is involved, but that isn't the case now.
Suddenly he hears a thud and the rattling of a device crashing down. Whirling around immediately, he finds Rie sitting in the floor, as if she'd just fallen there, kneeling down, he grabs by the shoulders on a whim:
"Hey, Rie, are you fine? What happened?!"
Her quivering finger lifts, pointing at the window, his brows coming together as she stands in a hurry, there's nothing outside, he opens it and peeks his head out, but only the leaves rustle at the wind, his frustration gradually diminishing as he cast his gaze at her again, helping her up:
"You scared me… There's nothing outside," he hands her PDA back, letting out a deep sigh of relief.
She types with trembling fingers, something must've frightened her this much is certain. "There was someone outside, I swear, he was looking at me!"
"He?" he raises a brow, his hands accommodating on her shoulder in an assuring way. "I see you're disturbed, but it's not possible someone was outside right now, I looked and there's no way they ran this fast."
"No, I'm sure I saw it! It was a man as tall as you, maybe even taller, in a black coat, black top hat and strange glasses, he was looking at me through the window, from outside."
A shiver bristles her skin as she types it. He never thought Rie would be this terrified by ghosts of all things, not that fearless girl who broke into his room and was investigating the whole island during the night.
"Even if there was someone out there, I'm here, I wouldn't just let anyone swoop you away," he gives a soft squeeze on her shoulders, snapping her out of her delirious daydreaming. "Come, we should go out to get some fresh air and find somewhere more pleasant to stay."
Rather than putting the books back up, he brings them all to the main counter of the library and places it there temporarily, Rie won't release the hem of his sleeve, she's clinging to it as if she will die if she lets go for a second. He'd never seen her acting like that, except that occasion at the hut in which she wanted to hide the potion stash from him. Although, this is unusual.
Outside the Obelisk boy's dorm,
Ryou puts a can of iced tea in front of Rie's sight as she sits idly on a bench near the vending machine on the back of the dorms. She flinches, awakening from her thoughts again, ever since the library she's been out of herself.
He takes a seat beside her, cracking open a can of tea for himself too, a fresh, pleasant breeze blowing past them.
"This is far enough from the library, you can calm down, Rie."
She plays her fingers on the metal transpiring at the difference in temperature, her lips pursing before she sips a bit too, looking at him filled in uneasiness.
"If I knew you'd be this unsettled going there, we could've thought of somewhere better. I'm sorry for this, but I hope it doesn't ruin the day for you."
Her head shakes hectically, taking her PDA out, and resting the can at her side, on the flat bench.
"I should be the one apologizing, I didn't mean to sour our time together. I'm sorry, I just don't deal well with those supernatural things."
"You've seen things like this more than once?" he asks quizzically.
It was rare for Ryou to demonstrate much interest in such topics, but she could see an underlying curiosity in his eyes.
"I think I did, but I don't remember clearly. I heard from my mother that I'd often climb her bed to sleep together because I was afraid of ghosts around the time I was seven or eight."
He'd like to say that's a bit old to be afraid of ghosts and alike, but come to think of it, Rie has been living with her mother ever since she was born, right? It must've been grueling for a kid to have a single parent. She said Daitokuji often visited, but does that make anything better?
"I'm really sorry," her fingers initiate a jittery typing, "We can still study somewhere else like the garden, or even here."
"You don't need to fret over it, we can just sit here until you feel better."
It just accentuates her uneasiness, he's trying to be nice, but that won't make up for her mistake. What should she do? Her mind goes a mile, rumbling inside as many possibilities cross it.
"Rie," he calls out as she's dawdling in her thoughts again, a habit of hers that puzzled him at times, "I don't mind the quietness."
"But this isn't right."
Ryou is staying at the winter break because of her too. Unlike her, he had a family he could visit, but he decided to stay regardless and she knows it's in part, her fault. If she could only do something for him too.
"If you don't want to stand in place, then do you want to take a stroll on the island? Or go to the lighthouse?"
Offering his hand gallantly, he awaits until she accepts his help, his touch lingering a tad longer, then they're both startled, breaking apart after hearing a voice calling:
"Ryou? What are you doing here?"
Both Edo and Asuka arrive, puzzle to meet the other two. The next minute, Edo and Ryou are going upstairs, to Ryou's room while the girls wait at the bench outside.
"I didn't think you'd stay over at the dorms," Rie initiates the small talk, eliciting a smile on Asuka.
"I thought it's better to stay to search more about Fubuki. I can't do that at home."
A disquieting pause follows, Asuka peeks at Rie's expression, her eyes solemnly cast down, adrift in her mind, to break the tension, she continues:
"You and Ryou have been dating, haven't you?"
She regrets the choice of words after seeing Rie jolt on her seat and wriggle her hands and the visible flush. "Great job, Asuka" is what she thinks, maybe she's been talking with Momoe and Junko too much about boys, it rubbed off on her.
The best words Rie can gather in a sentence come a tad stiff. "We've been spending some time together."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be intrusive, it's just… I've known Ryou ever since he started hanging out with my brother but he wasn't close to many people, I was worrying for nothing, it seems," she chuckles, feeling a bit responsible for the whole situation since he listened to her words before. "I hope you're having fun."
Her fingers twiddle before she formulates the question, as if ashamed to ask that to someone younger than her. "Have you dated someone before, Asuka?"
"Hm," she puts a finger to her chin, rolling her eyes up to the sky, "If you're talking about dates as friends, I had plenty, but if you mean romantic dates, I never had one."
"Really?! I thought you were very popular and that many boys would've asked you out by now…"
"Ah, I was asked out plenty of times, but I refused all of them," a faint, but dazzling smile opens on her lips, "My current love is dueling, so I guess if those boys were really interested, they'd have to beat me in a duel first."
This is a side of Asuka that Rie hasn't seen before, compared to all the times she was worried and sad with the missing students and the mysterious disappearance of Fubuki, it's a lighter and more gentle side of her, causing a slight flutter of happiness in her heart.
"What about you, Rie? Have you never dated anyone before?" the reply is an energetic shake of head, "I hope Ryou isn't boring you too much and gave you a nice first date."
"It was very nice, he took me to the garden in the backyard of the dorm and we were going over my deck so he could give me tips."
"Your deck? Hm, like me he can be a bit of a duel maniac, I'm not surprised he'd plan something like this..."
"It's fine, I had fun and I even ended up being challenged to a duel," she giggles soundlessly, much to the surprise of the other, "I guess a romantic relationship is a first for both of us, but I like spending time with him."
The blonde girl simply blinks amusedly at her sentence, she's also seen mostly the gloomy side of Rie, or when she was politely smiling, holding her emotions back, that she could have such a genuine smile on her face, Ryou was able to unlock a new side in her, for the best.
Inside the dorms, Ryou takes a page from one of his drawers from the furniture beside his bed, handing it to Edo.
"I found this at the hut that day… So far, I've tried to decipher it unsuccessfully, but when I showed this to professor Daitokuji, he warned me to stay away from 'high alchemy'"
"He knows what it is?"
"He said he doesn't know exactly what, just that it's dangerous."
"Ah right, and he expects us to swallow his lies?"
"The thing is, back when Rie just transferred, she was carrying some books about advanced alchemy to him."
"Did you ask her more about it?"
"No…" he admits bitterly, "But she probably doesn't know what's this considering she was just taking the books to the professor."
"You're right, she's not an alchemist. Still, we should ask her if she knows something else."
Despite being an uncomfortable remark, he wants to make sure nothing is being left off out of pure feelings here. Ryou is seen as a cold person, but he can't deceive Edo's eyes, the boy can tell underneath that calmness Ryou wavers at the mention of Rie's name, understandable considering their connection.
"The problem is, professor Daitokuji didn't seem to be lying about it either, I don't know why, but he gave me the impression that he was as clueless as me about what this is…"
"Do you have any theories?"
"If high alchemy or whatever he calls it was involved, don't you think the student's disappearance is a more complex matter than we initially thought?"
"True, but students vanishing out of thin air, we knew this wasn't simple. There were no traces left."
"This is the part that concerns me the most. If those two facts are related then… Wouldn't that lead us back to professor Daitokuji?"
"And he won't say more…" he sighs defeatedly. "There had to be a way for us to acquire the knowledge on our own."
Taking back the page, Ryou stares at the name written at the bottom, his eyes squint as a scene comes to his mind, it's the face of someone, but it's scribbled all over like in a drawing, he can't see it besides some streaks of green hair. Why does he feel like he's seen this name before?
A voice breaks his immersion. "We should go down and talk to them too. Asuka will be mad if we leave her out of the plans."
With a nod, they come back to where the girls were waiting, momentarily struck by awe as they see them smiling so carefreely, like two good friends.
Edo clears his throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we should decide what to do from now on since we're all staying behind for this winter break…"
Their expression changes in a blink of eye, a dense atmosphere forming, the blonde duelist stands:
"Right, where should we start from…?"
Night time,
Inside the woods, a chilly breeze howls, rustling the leaves, Rie watches the shadows of tree crows flicker under the moonlight, a hand slides around her shoulder, startling her. Ryou doesn't speak, but puts a finger to his own lips, to ask her for them to stay quiet and hidden behind the tree trunk, casting a gaze behind.
From afar, under the starlight, he could see a tall silhouette of a man, a dark cloak fluttering, he squints his eyes trying to make his sight more accurate, Rie also catches a glimpse of it, her vision warps in dizziness, it's the same man she saw in the library earlier.
No, is that even a person? He was looking at her before, but Ryou didn't believe her. Her eyes widen as her hand wrinkles Ryou's coat, her head tilted to look at the somber shadow, an encompassing anxiety building inside her chest, making it cramped at the sound of drumming heartbeats on her ears.
A mixture of erratic scenes overlap in her head: her mother standing behind her work desk, then a room half-lit by moonlight, shards of the lamp on the ground, the shadow of the door stretches, a strand of light creeping inside the room from behind her as she peeks into it, there's this unbearable light. What is it? Why is her mother just staring at the nothingness?
Then, everything blurs, when she regains her consciousness, she's screaming, bending over her collapsed mother onto the ground and that man is nowhere to be seen.
"Rie…?" he whispers, frowning when she tugs him violently.
Her gaze travels between him and the shadow nervously, for some reason her eyes are distant again, an unnerving whisper into her mind saying he won't be back if she lets him go now, that fear shackling her hand locked in place.
"We have to stalk that man," enveloping her hand, he takes it off from his overcoat, maintaining his low voice, "He's suspicious."
Shaking her head energetically, she latches onto his coat again. Why is she being so stubborn? He persists, removing her hands again and spinning around until she grabs his wrist, anchoring her feet to the ground and pulling him back.
"What are you-"
With closed eyes, she yanks him even stronger, hugging his arm tightly, shaking her head as if she's not even listening to him. His cheeks becoming deep red, as she presses herself against him even more to keep him in place, fluffing his arm between her bosom, is she even aware of which tricks she's employing here?
"R-Rie, stop-" his voice fails as he grabs her shoulder, she releases him in shock. "I understand that you are afraid, but standing here doing nothing, won't solve anything," a bundle of concern and frustration creases his brows, "Why are you so obstinate about not following him?"
He looks over his shoulder, trying to fathom whatever it is that terrifies her to this extent, but all he can see is a man's figure slowly disappearing from their line of sight. When his gaze abandons hers, as she stares into his profile, a cord of memory snaps, a flash of a lost recollection, that silhouette of a man awash in light, looming over her small figure, it haunts her.
Before he fully turns his face away, Rie pushes him, his torso is hauled onto a tree trunk, pinned against it, stunning him for a brief moment. A pair of hands strokes his cheeks turning his face her way, as if forcing him to pay attention to only her, he flinches when their eyes meet, his reflection is in her orbs, but as her eyes falter filled with angst, he has this strangest, disturbing impression it's not him she's looking at.
"Rie? What are you…"
His eyes wrench open, her face draws close as she squeezes her eyes shut, her hands trembling as she brings him closer in a pull, a smooch sound soars in the air, he's thunderstruck.
Her eyes open in a hurry after realizing something is amiss, she steps back, gasping, his palm flipped her way, blocking his lips. Right now she kissed that hand, not him.
"What are you doing?" his astonishment slowly succumbs to irritation, his forehead wrinkling, "If this was really what you wanted, I'd be happy to indulge, but someone trembling as much as you, it's obvious this isn't what you want. This isn't you at all, Rie!"
A sensation of utter disappointment comes along with his voice, despite all his efforts, there are still things she wouldn't tell him or even try to explain. Why? He'd wish to know. She can't even raise her eyes to face him now, this isn't how their relationship is going somewhere.
Amidst their spat, a shriek pierces the air, a boy's voice, they're both stunned, looking at the direction of the sound, not long ago the shadow passed by there.
"We will talk later."
He declares in an ultimatum, almost in an order, then runs after the sound, she tags behind, their steps halting as they find themselves out of the woods, in front of the Osiris red dorm. His eyes skim around until they see an obelisk student collapsed onto the ground, above the broken framed doors, shattered glass spread all over the meal hall of the Osiris dorm.
They rush to the place, confused as they see Judai, Shou, Hayato and Daitokuji there, aiding the boy. Judai and Shou exchange a glance, wondering just what the Kaiser is doing there at this hour, even more… with a girl.
There were the nasty rumors spreading about the two of them not too long ago, just what is his brother thinking? More importantly…
"What happened?!" Judai asks the boy.
"Psycho Shocker is chasing me!"
"What do you mean by that?" Ryou steps ahead, barging into the discussion.
"You're Takadera-kun from the Obelisk, aren't you? Why are you around those parts?" The teacher approaches inconspicuously, a worried semblance.
"P-Professor Daitokuji!" the boy crawls towards the man, grabbing his legs, "You study duel spirits, don't you? You can understand it!"
"Duel spirits?" Ryou's eyes squint as he casts a side glance at Daitokuji.
"Calm down, Takadera-kun, please explain everything to us." he squats down to match the student's height.
"It all began just as winter vacation started…" he reminisces, trembling in fear, "Me and two other friends had a club to research occult aspects of dueling in the library, we decided that we were ready to take a step further and try something…"
In the library? They did find books about supernatural related matters. The Kaiser's confused, briefly sparing a glance at Rie who nibbles her nails in panic. He folds his arms sternly, demanding an explanation:
"Occult? What were you up to exactly?"
"We've tried to make contact with a duel spirit using an Ouija board… And…" he gulps dryly, "We were answered: 'Give me 3 sacrifices and I will be reborn'."
"You shouldn't have gone into researching both duel spirits and supernatural phenomena, Takadera-kun, this is dangerous and there could be bad consequences."
"How did you answer that request?" Shou tries to make sense of whichever scary story he was trying to tell.
"We said that we agree."
"What?! You have to be kidding! Why?!"
"We thought he was talking about monster cards!"
"No way! You don't mean…?"
Shou presses, Takadera lowers his head sorrowfully, his body won't stop trembling, Rie feels a series of chills, she doesn't like where this is going, her fingers gripping the hem of Ryou's sleeve unknowingly in reaction, he flinches momentarily at the amount of strength she employs, she's completely dominated by fear, as if she'd be about to grab his hand and run away from there with him. Before and now, why is she acting like this? The afflicted crease between his brows disappears as a voice disrupts the mood:
"The next day, we couldn't find Mukouda, one of our members… And the day after it was Isaka, then I was the only one of us who participated in the ritual that was left. I know they were both offered as a sacrifice!"
Judai and Hayato give an uninterested "eeeh?" to that as an answer, while Rie jolts and clings to Ryou' sleeve even more.
"Are you sure they didn't just go home or something? It's winter vacation after all." Judai tries to explain by logic, unconvinced.
"Of course they didn't. I've called their houses and I've asked some other people via messages too, but no one saw them…" his fists ball up consternated, "I was scared, so I tried to leave the island in today's ferry, then… As I came to the boat, already inside was… Him. It was the Psycho Shocker! He was using a dark top hat and a coat, his face was all bandaged, but he looked at me! He saw me!"
The description he gave matches the person Rie saw at the library, Ryou gapes, is it possible that she can also see…? Before he reaches a conclusion a blackout happens, Shou shrieks when the lights go out and anxious murmurs soar.
Rie's grip releases his coat, but that worries the teal-haired boy more as the lights burst into shards, the students protecting their heads and closing their eyes.
A shadow comes behind Rie, near the entrance, she turns around her blue orbs widening at the figure standing straight right in front of her. Takadera sees it, but his muscles paralyze in horror. The creature looks at Takadera, then gazes deeply into the girl's orbs, a speck of light grows from her pupils, expanding as she hears a grave, raspy voice when he leans over:
"Your soul is… Scrumptious."
Her vision blanks out. As everyone's gazes become accustomed to the darkness they can only see the tall Psycho-Shocker silhouette holding Rie underneath one of his arms, Takadera's jaw battering, speechless. Ryou pales at the sight, a cold sweat running down his face, his heart clustered in his chest as he stretches his hand:
"Let go of-"
Instead of waiting for anyone's reaction, the Psycho Shocker jumps out of the dorm, running fast into the woods as they call out and try to stop him. Without a second thought, he darts after the duel monster.
"Hey, wait, brother!" Shou follows along with Judai, Hayato too.
"We can't wait, Shou! You come too!" Judai frowns, grabbing Takadera's collar and dragging him along.
"Wait, everyone-"
Daitokuji messes his hair, running after Pharaoh also starts to chase the kidnapper. Ryou takes a flashlight from his pocket, erratically illuminating around for a small sign of movement, he can see the silhouette of the criminal, gritting his teeth, running harder to catch up to him.
The duel monster disappears after crossing some bushes, he rushes there to try catching up to him, but he's out of the woods in a second, his gaze scanning around, it's the power plant of the island.
"Brother!"
Shou and the others also come out, rendered immobile when they all see someone unconscious on the other end of the fenced zone marking the structure, a metallic tower near her. Ryou's fingertips become cold, out of blood, dropping the flashlight.
"Rie!"
Halfway into the field, a sudden lightning strikes the peak of the tower, the brightness making their eyes shut closed, Ryou protects his eyes before the luminance recedes and a transparent, glitchy image of the Psycho Shocker appears, like a ghost, they can hear Takadera yells, falling to his bottom as he points at the monster:
"I-I told you! It's him!"
Daitokuji's eyes land on Rie, his orbs occulted under the lenses, and Pharaoh scratches his arm softly, meowing in a whimpering tone.
"Don't worry," he pets the cat, a faint smile running on his lips, "She will be fine."
"So you are really the Psycho Shocker!" the Kaiser scowls at him, "Let Rie and the other students go!"
"Humph," his grave voice soars, startling everyone around, "Your power and waves are exceptional, but this girl has the rarest power I've ever seen. I'm not letting go of the tributes for my resurrection."
"Ieek! It can speak!" Shou screeches again, shuddering and hiding behind Judai.
"Power, what nonsense are you babbling about?"
"A human like you wouldn't understand."
His floating figure turns around to the girl, everyone pales as he bends, his hand stretching towards her. Ryou's overbearing tone preventing him from continuing:
"If you want a tribute, I'll give you one, your last duel in this realm!" he can hear the shocked murmurs behind his back.
"Tsk, a distraction you are. What would I gain from a duel?"
"If you win a duel against me, you can have me instead of her! But if you lose, you'll have to leave Rie and the other students alone!"
"Hahah, a human that thinks he can win? I can have you both, then. Someone with waves such as yours, this should be interesting, a great last sacrifice for my summoning to this world!"
Judai, helps by giving his own duel disk, helping the Kaiser out, there's a different aura about him as his eyes are set on the Psycho Shocker, but he knew it ever since their first duel. Shou's brows coil up. Why is Ryou jumping into this duel like this? Even if he can win, this is very dangerous, he has a bad feeling about it.
A few minutes earlier,
Asuka stops walking, an eerie chill bristling her skin, she rubs her arms to dispel the coldness. A single tap on her shoulder brings her attention back.
"Are you fine?"
"I just felt a chill…"
"With this landscape," he flashes light around everywhere, "I can understand why."
"It's not that. More like a… Bad omen."
"You believe in this stuff?"
"Do you not?"
Their conversations have always been intriguing, even when they were arguing, Asuka would not be like other girls who would deliberately hide their opinion to please or impress him, instead she rebuked with a firm question.
"It's not that I don't believe, I just didn't think you of all people would believe it."
"People do talk a lot about duel spirits and all sorts of supernatural phenomena involving duel monsters. If you think about it, isn't professor Daitokuji also going into occultism with his research in alchemy?"
"That's true. Regardless, aside from some reports from people who said to have seen duel spirits, there's no proof, it's easy to dismiss it as a rumor when you can't properly prove…" his gaze drifts off from her for a long minute there, a dispirited tone on his voice as he ponders.
"Does that mean you don't think those people are lying?"
"I can't discredit them for believing," he shrugs off, still keeping his eyes somewhere else. "There are things in this world beyond our understanding."
"I expected you to-"
They see a lightning ray coming down the skies, descending to the top of the power tower, the brilliance forcing them to close their eyes for a second, a thunderous sound strikes, making all trees nearby shake.
"We have to check this! Come, Asuka!"
At the power plant,
Ryou stars his duel disk, his opponent doesn't have any, but a current of electricity form the tower flows towards him, the sparks flying around as he states uncontested:
"I'll have the first move."
LP: Ryo - 4000 Jinzo - 4000
Cards manifest in the air, like holograms, Ryou's gaze sharpening at it. Which type of magic or illusion is this? It doesn't matter, as he draws, his foe continues:
"I summon a monster in defense position (DEF ?). Turn end. Now show me your prowess, pitiful lamb."
"No one is getting sacrificed here under my watch," he draws, making a quick inspection of his cards before declaring proudly. "I special summon Cyber Dragon (ATK 2100/ DEF 1600). I set a card face down and proceed to the battle phase!" he points at the card face down, "Cyber Dragon, attack!"
"I activate the flip effect of my card, Shaddoll Dragon (DEF 0/ ATK 1900), when flipped I can send one of the monsters you control back to your hand, and you only have one."
"I can't believe it, his field is open…" Hayato messes his hair.
"Why is my brother being so careless?"
"Oh, I don't think he's being careless at all," Daitokuji smirks, giving a friendly pat on Shou's back, "He's testing the waters, watch and see. Your brother isn't our best student for nothing."
Footsteps draw close, all of them except the two duelists look at the side, from the woods, Asuka and Edo appear, making them more confused. There are many familiar faces and an unfamiliar one, an unknown obelisk blue student among them.
Shou can't help but think to himself. "First my brother and that girl, now those two are also… What is going on here? Are they still in those investigations?"
"A duel? What in the world…?" The silver-haired teen blinks astounded, rubbing his eyes. "Is that…?"
"A Psycho Shocker, yes," Daitokuji smiles faintly, "You're not imagining it."
"He'a duel monster spirit," Hayato further explains. "It's a long story."
The blonde and Edo exchange a worried glance, weren't they just talking about it not long ago? The existence of duel spirits. They focus on the two men dueling, then they finally see Rie, fainted behind the monster. What did they miss exactly?
"If he loses, Psycho Shocker will take him as a sacrifice. Kaiser, don't lose this one!" Judai cheers, swinging his fist up. "Give this guy a lesson!"
Psycho shocker starts his turn again, another card materializing on the holographic hand as he draws.
"I set a card down, then I will summon another monster face down in defense position. Now, I activate my continuous spell Ectosplasmer! During each of our end phases, this card allows us to tribute one monster in our field and deal half of its attack in life point damage to the opponent."
"I change my monster to attack position and proceed to my battle phase, Shaddoll Dragon (1900/ DEF 0) will attack your life points directly!"
LP: Ryo - 4000 - 2100
The ghastly mechanical beast held by puppetry lines moves towards Ryou, baring its fangs and biting the arms he uses to shield himself in reflex, the cinematic was a bit too realistic for the crowd.
A sharp, slicing pain burns on his arm, a bead of sweat running down his face as he senses it, analyzing it from many angles, there's no open wound, but the pain felt so real. Or was it just his mind playing a trick? That guy isn't even using a duel disk system to make holograms. How is he making his cards materialize?
"This isn't all, now that my battle phase has ended, I sacrifice Shaddoll Dragon and you lose another 950 points!"
As the monster is sacrificed, its soul flies out going towards Ryou, swirling around him and draining his life points, a creep running down his whole body as the temperature around drops a few degrees.
LP: Ryo - 2100 - 1150
"What is wrong with him? He's acting strange…" Shou comments, he's sure his brother never cared too much about holograms.
"H-his body!" Hayato shouts.
Ryou himself gets distracted by their voices as he looks down, from the tip of his toe, up to half of his torso is transparent, just like Psycho Shocker's body, like a phantasm.
"Why is this happening?" Asuka covers her mouth with both her hands.
"This is a shadow duel," Daitokuji affirms in a dire voice, much to their surprise. "Unlike other duels, there is much more at stake… Their souls."
"Y-you can't mean…" Shou's eyes flicker, he can't be suggesting it's Ryou's life can he?
"Of course, our best student can't be planning to surrender or lose here," he speaks louder to make himself heard by the duelist too, "Right?" a tiny, ominous smile playing on his lips as he whispers the last part. "Or I'll have to step in…"
"Are you done contemplating?" The duel monster sneers sarcastically, "It's simple to understand, because you lost over half of your life points, more than half of your body has turned into a sacrifice for me. Your demise is nigh!"
"Enough with your deranged sacrifice topic!" He grits his teeth.
"Oh, but my turn isn't over yet. Because I sent my Shaddoll Dragon to the cemetery with a card effect, I can activate its secondary effect, I can destroy any spell or trap in your field!"
"Go ahead…"
His eyes squint as he regains his composure, shoving his hand to reveal his targeted card, Pot of Greed, folding his arms haughtily.
"N-No, that can't be, it was just… a bait! You dare fool me!"
"You thought I wasn't prepared for your card effects? This will be your demise. My turn!" He draws a card, scowling at his enemy upon ascertaining his victory, "I'll show you why they call me Kaiser!"
"You little…"
"Now, let's bring back that Cyber Dragon (ATK 2100/ DEF 1600) you sent back to my hand! After this I activate the effect of my newly drawn card, Cyber Dragon Vier by special summoning it due to its effect! Now, I normal summon Cyber Dragon Zwei! With this, I can fusion summon Cyber End Dragon! (ATK 4000/ DEF 2800)!"
"So this is Ryou's style… He set up the field in an instant," Edo puts a hand to his chin, engrossed into it. This is the first time he's seen Ryou dueling someone. "I can see why people around would think he's the best… Certainly over the average."
"It's not the time to be admiring his skills, just look at him,"
Asuka scolds, her gaze wavering. It strikes her then. What if something similar happened to her brother? Edo flinches noticing her hands trembling softly as she speaks.
"He's… Disappearing. He's literally disappearing, Edo."
"Hey, he won't lose." He lands a hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of that horrified state.
"R-right, that's Ryou."
Although a weak, unsure response, she stopped trembling. She got him worried there for a moment.
"No matter how much you struggle, you dragon will become ashes at the end phase!"
"Don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you, Cyber End... neither I'll let him do it," he looks up to the holographic image of his monster, to assure it. "I won't let you destroy my Cyber Dragon with your puny spell, Psycho Shocker! I activate Mystical Space Typhoon from my hand to destroy your Ectoplasmer! You won't be using this low level strategy anymore. It's time. Cyber End, attack his monster!"
"Grr, even if you destroy, it is in defe-"
"Cyber End does piercing damage when it attacks a monster in defense mode, I hope you're looking forward to… the pain." he mumbles the last part, confused whether the same would happen to his opponent.
The monster flipped up is Shaddoll Squamata (DEF 1000/ ATK 1800). Ryou watches unfazed as the blast of light pulverizes the monster, reaching to Psycho Shocker, engulfing him. When the obfuscating brightness ceases, his body is even more unstable, glitching, smoke coming out of it as if he'd been scorched.
LP: Jinzo - 4000 - 1000
They watch as the card turns into dust, more veins popping out on the Psycho Shocker skin as he growls furiously, dark sparks of electricity bursting out of his body.
"I won't lose to a human like you! I summon Qshaddoll Keios (ATK 900/DEF 100). Now, I activate my face down card! Shaddoll Schism, by banishing fusion material monsters from my field and graveyard, I fusion summon El Shaddoll Construct!(ATK 2800/DEF 2500). That isn't all, the send effect of my Shaddoll Schism allows me to send one of your monsters to the cemetery if they're the same attribute of my monster! And they're both light attribute!" he guffaws, "This junk dragon of yours is going to the graveyard!"
The other students watch in shock as Cyber End squirms, disappearing, but Ryou doesn't seem bothered by it, still his body is more than half gone.
"Due to the side effects of Shaddoll Schism, my fusion summoned monster cannot attack directly, but due to its secondary effect, I can send any Shaddoll monster from my deck to the graveyard, and I send Naelshaddoll Ariel! With her effect activated from my cemetery, I can banish up to 3 cards from your graveyard!"
"Try," he defies, a tyrannical glare cast at his enemy.
"I'll banish your Cyber End Dragon, Cyber Dragon and Cyber Vier-"
"I activate a quick spell, Eternal Cyber!" he flips the card to his opponent before inserting it into the disk, "Thanks to this, I can target a fusion monster in my graveyard and bring it back before you banish it! Come, my old friend!" He discards his spell and raises his hand proudly as the holographic dragon takes shape behind him.
"Grr, your other dragons are still gone! This will be finished next turn! I end my turn," a muffled wicked laughter fills the air, "Soon you won't be as calm, little human."
"Do you think that this was enough to take me down?"
He closes his eyes, shaking his head, an open mockery, declaring with utmost confidence. "Cyber End Dragon! Purge this evil spirit for once and all!"
"Foolish human! You can't do anything against my monster! When El Shaddoll Construct is attacked by a special summoned monster, it can destroy that monster before any battle damage happens! Your Cyber End is-"
Ignoring the threats, he continues in a stoic, assured tone. "From the graveyard, I activate the second effect of Eternal Cyber! If a machine Cyber-fusion monster I control is about to be destroyed, I can destroy this spell in its place! The attack resumes! This duel is over!"
LP: Jinzo - 1000 - 0
He points at his foe, Cyber End gathers a blast of light, releasing it all at once, swallowing the opposite side of the power plant, when the light disappears, it's all gone. Psycho Shocker is nowhere to be seen and Ryou's duel disk deactivates, displaying the end of the duel.
Everyone around releases their breaths in relief, Shou, Judai and Hayato high five in celebration, the nightmare has ended.
Without taking a look at himself, he races towards Rie, dropping to his knees and taking a hold of her shoulders, supporting her on his arms, shaking her slightly in an attempt to wake her up, a grave voice startling him front the side:
"Ugh… I'm not… Leaving…"
The Psycho Shocker materializes, his afterimage even weaker than the last time, flashing towards Ryou and the girl, his hands hovering above them both stopping as a shadow engulfs their silhouettes, giant, sublime mechanical wings blocking the path around the teens as a earthshaking roar pierces the air.
"What-?"
Psycho Shocker looks up to the enormous Cyber End Dragon standing behind the teens, staggering a step back in shock. Even Ryou looks up, his eyes wavering, dazzled at it, that voice he'd always heard back when he was a kid, now clearly shaped beside his eyes…
"Cyber End…?"
"We have to do something or my brother will…!"
Shou grabs Judai's sleeve, urging him to come and help, but both him and Hayato are shocked, wary even, looking up as if they are seeing something there, but he can't see anything besides the Psycho Shocker.
Edo squeezes his eyes shut again, gaping as he visualizes the Dragon towering over Ryou's silhouette, his finger pointing vaguely up:
"Asuka, are you seeing that?"
"That what?! We need to help him!"
"Oh, I think he got plenty of help." he shakes off his head in amusement.
"So this is it," Daitokuji smiles briefly, "The so-called duel monster spirit…"
Psycho Shocker can't accept defeat, putting both hands on his head, more and more sparks leaking out of him as if he's about to cease existing in that world.
"No, no!"
He flashes forward, his scream awakening the pink-haired girl, a white flame burning inside her blue orbs, thin pillars of brightness stir in the air.
"Rie…?"
He tries to call out, but she doesn't respond, that flame burning fiercely around his reflected figure, inside her marbles, consuming everything around, the light explodes into the ambience, an obfuscating luminance invading the whole place. Psycho Shocker yells, expunged from that dimension as the whiteness expands unbridled.
Judai and the others shield their eyes, except Daitokuji who curves his lips down in discontentment, Edo steps ahead, standing in front of Asuka, trying to keep an eye open, he's sure he can still see the Cyber End Dragon, but that light swallows everything, him included.
Somewhen,
A beam of sunlight caresses Ryou's face, his eyelids lift heavily, his hazy vision focusing as he catches a glimpse of Rie's face extremely close to his. In flinch, he realizes he's been embracing her tightly, his arms coming undone around her.
His short lived panic settles down as he accesses the surroundings, they're not in his room, are they? It's already morning?
Sitting down quietly, his hand still on her shoulder. Leaning against the tower, there are two obelisk students sleeping soundly, they must be the ones Takadera was referring to. Behind him, he can see Shou, Judai and others waking up, even Daitokuji. What happened back then? Rie had some sort of strange light in her eyes as she looked at him. No, was she even looking at him back there?
Asuka wakes up, her face down to the ground, she flushes, feeling the weight of a hefty arm around her back, peeking at the side from which she can see Edo's face, his expression so serene she could hardly tell it was the same grumpy duelist she'd know. Did he try to protect her?
He looks very cute while sleeping, no wonder someone wanted to get pictures of it. Briskly shoving those thoughts away she sits up, prodding him to wake him up until she succeeds by getting him to sluggishly sit up too.
"What's going on…?" he mumbles while looking around.
"We've collapsed."
Meanwhile, Ryou takes Rie by the shoulders, supporting her onto his chest a concerned glint in his eyes as he calls:
"Rie."
Her eyes slowly open to the world again, puzzled, disquieted orbs that scan around as he helps her sit straight, an arm around her back. Judai, Shou and all the others have also woken up by then, they rush to check on the other students, Daitokuji and Shou stay with Ryou.
"Brother, are you alright?"
"I am, but…" his gaze lands on the pink-haired girl, his brows furrowing noticeably. "Rie, are you fine?"
She nods a tad disconcerted, looking around as if the scenario didn't make any sense to her, a building anxiety twisting her expression.
"Rie-chan," Daitokuji is the one who raises the key question. "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"
Yesterday? The word seems alien to her. As her gaze drifts into the nothingness, scavenging for any recollection, she denies with a confused sway of head.
"You don't remember anything?" Ryou insists, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.
Her eyes waver wildly at the question. Denying again, full of tears ready to drop, she feels like she did something wrong, but she can't remember what transpired yesterday, a whole day wiped from her memory.
Asuka and Edo come close too, an earnest frown on each of them. They both clearly reminisce about the duel and everything, and so do the others, then why only Rie…? Hiding her face between hands, she lets out a muffled cry. Pharaoh jumps to the ground, coming around Rie to meow and rubbing his face on her.
"Now, now, we should all get checked at the infirmary, right?"
Daitokuji clasps his hands to get attention, a faint smile on his lips as he looks at each student, trying to assure them.
"Marufuji-kun, you too."
Ryou glares at him viciously, how can he be so calm? Does he know something they don't? So much happened that night before, the shadow duel, Cyber End appearing and… What is going on with Rie? That wasn't normal.
The Kaiser helps her up, walking with her, his eyes constantly glancing at her lost profile as Daitokuji leads the way to the infirmary, Judai and Hayato help the other students, out of all of them, Takadera has the happiest mood after getting to see his friends back and aside their teacher who remains blank, all the others carry rather dejected expressions.
Why was his brother there? Shou wonders, that monster appearing and all the rumors about ghosts, this can't be right. Asuka has the same pensive crease in her face, considering whether Fubuki faced such circumstances and if he did, he wouldn't lose a duel either, would he?
Edo is sure he saw a duel monster spirit, this isn't even the first time. Something as big as Cyber End, he couldn't miss it, but Asuka couldn't see it and he thinks she wasn't the only one who couldn't.
More importantly, what was that bright light at the end? It didn't seem it was caused by either Psycho Shocker or the dragon, then who…? Squinting his eyes, he lands all suspicions on his professor. Daitokuji is so calm, he must know something. All those secrets, opening cuts from inside, all this mistrust scooped up at once, is he closer to finding out about that man now? No matter where he goes, those strange phenomena follow him and if they're happening here too, that man has to be close.
Thus, a new morning starts in the duel academy, the birds chirp as if nowhere danger could be seen lurking on that island, all the events of the previous night fading like a dream. What will be of the students and which changes would that duel bring to their hearts?