Disclaimer: Yugi-Oh GX does not belong to me nor its characters or rights over the story.
Warn: This story may have heavy and uncomfortable themes/situations like use of drugs, violence, abuse, sexual harassment, rape, depression, trauma and bad language. If you do not like such, Do not read this.
presea221: We will see how Ryo will deal with the shadow duel. Rie already suffered enough at the hands of this said psychologist. The pace of this story is a bit slow at the start, but we will catch up to all the main anime parts eventually ^.^ /
ToBlazePurple: Theoretically, Daitokuji is involved in shady business, yes, but from the anime, he does say they brought the students he used for experiments back, Fubuki included. We will see what happens in the fic. We're not done with Rie's problems yet, but soon enough.
Thanks for the reviews.
PS.: This chapter happens after Judai and the others had their 1st visit to the abandoned dorms.
Reviewed the duel and a couple spell mistakes.
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Chapter 6: The Shadows of the forbidden dorm
The moonlight enters through the window of the psychologist's office, the man stands there, humming a song, he reads through posts of a forum in his PDA, a smirk on his lips. As an anonymous account, he starts typing a message:
"Do you know that student Rie Kinomoto? I know why she can't speak… I heard from someone… The truth is..."
After typing a long text message, he smirks satisfied and looks at the comments popping up in the female forums of the school. He takes a letter out of his chest pocket and throws it at the table.
"I'll need to be absent for a while… That Daitokuji should also stop spying on me like this… He can't follow me where I am going… Once I am done with Kinomoto, I'll get rid of him too..."
With a scoff filled with derision, he adjusts his suit and taking a deep breath, he leaves the room empty. The ticking of the clock on the wall is the only sound that echoes in the room.
That same night,
Ryo stands on the cliff with crossed arms, the wind blows his overcoat and the cold accentuates his serious expression. He hears footsteps, it's the pink haired girl. She raises her hand, waving lightly at him. Turning around he walks towards her, she types a message:
"I had problems coming out of the dorm without being noticed..."
"This is not an issue. Are you sure you want to come?"
He asks the last time, for the past few days he didn't contact her much, but on the next morning after the talk they had, she came after him and asked when he was intending to go and that she would go with him, much to his surprise.
From a nearby place, Asuka hides behind the trunk of a tree and watches as Ryo and that girl enter the forest alone. Her eyes have a mix of worry, curiosity and nervousness wondering what they're up to.
She left the lighthouse meeting with the intention of going to her dorm until she remembered something else to say, when she was coming back, she noticed Ryo was at the cliff and saw someone else passing by: Rie. In reflex, she hid herself behind a tree and watched over the other two as they talked about something. Their expressions were somber and tense.
Without noticing the presence of someone else, they enter the ominous forest, the animals sing eerily, he leads the way, treading carefully and patiently.
"You really don't know anything about Fubuki, do you…?"
He casts a glance over his shoulder, she types with a saddened expression and shows the same answer he heard before:
"No..."
"I know I already asked this, but is it really fine for you to come along?"
"Yes. It is not like anyone would miss me if I vanish in the dorms too…" her eyes are bleak when saying that.
"Won't your family be worried?" His brows curl in certain discomfort with her way of thinking.
"My family is too busy looking after their company. It's better for them if I am away on this island… They will probably not notice or care if I disappear."
She lowers her gaze. A drop of sweat rolls down his face, the question was just meant as harmless conversation, but the mood only worsened. The tension grows in the air. He'd better stop talking, he is not good at it.
Concentrating on the way, they finally arrive, he has his duel disk ready. They arrive at the entrance of the dorms, going over the sign prohibiting illegal entry. As soon as he steps inside, he can see a cloud of dust float on the stale air.
Just like the air, everything there was stagnant, as if stopped in time, the furniture, everything the same way he remembered. Was it really here that Fubuki…?
His thoughts are cut off when he catches a glimpse of a shadow, his eyes directed towards the place it went, squinting his eyes. It is exactly like…
He casts a glance at the girl behind him, she is visibly disturbed by the sight, right now, just like in her story, that shadow appeared.
"Stay close."
His voice brings her back to reality and she nods, following behind him hesitantly, her legs fail to step firmly on the ground. That place seems to drain her sanity more and more, cold sweat running down her body.
The shadow shows itself again, the way she described, it guides them down to the shady basement with engraved symbols. In the middle of that symbol he sees it clearly, a silhouette composed by darkness.
He instantly stretches his arm to the side, blocking the way towards Rie to protect her, confused by what his eyes present to him. With a scowl, he blinks once, forcing his eyes shut, but when he opens it's still there.
She is in a state of shock, her eyes widen and she loses color upon the sight of that terrible figure that tormented her dreams for so long, her legs fail her once more, she drops to the ground with a thud.
"Hey!"
Ryo shouts, casting a glance back, but his voice doesn't seem to reach her, her orbs are fixated on the figure in front of them, he glares at it. A twisted and strange voice comes out of that:
"Did you come here for a duel? Hm, this is interesting, the Kaiser in person?"
He flinches, how does that thing know his nickname? Frowning at it, the creature smirks and starts the challenge, a curtain of darkness spreads around, forming a half globe around him, it is almost closing when Rie comes back to her senses.
She hurriedly gets up and steps closer to Ryo, but a dreadful feeling takes over her, she feels hands grabbing her feet, the same muddy hands who got her friends. Her mouth opens like a scream, but no sound comes out.
He reacts immediately, grabbing her arm with one of his hands and scowling at the shadow that smirks. The hands try to pull her away with so much force, he will end up breaking her arm if he keeps up with it.
"What are you doing?! Your duel is with me!"
From the ground, chains come flying and bind her feet, the hands disappear and the creature laughs at him.
"This is a shadow duel, none of us can go out unless one of us loses! The price at stake: our souls!" he giggles in some distorted enjoyment "But to make things more spicy, let's also include this girl's soul. She is indebted to me, after all. I won't let her go without paying me this time."
Ryo's eyes widened in shock. Indebted? All she said is true. This shadow in front of him right now is the same who took her friends? His eyes narrow, determined and annoyed at the enemy.
"Wait right there! You can't just impose conditions! I also want something from you if I win! You'll give the people you took back and her voice."
His smirk enlarges and he scoffs at them. With a snap of fingers he makes a duel disk out of an odd dark matter that gathers around his arm.
"Of course, everything you wish, Kaiser." he pronounces the last words sardonically.
"Who are you...?" he grumbles between his teeth, his eyes narrowing profusely.
"I am an envoy of darkness, sent to pave the way towards my master's return."
"Envoy of darkness? What nonsense is this?"
His shape changes again, assuming the form of a man instead of a shadow. The appearance he takes is none other than the psychologist that has been treating Rie's traumas ever since she first came here. An insidious grin on his lips. Both students are astounded, the pink-haired looks at the man in disbelief.
"Kinomoto-san… That won't do..." his distorted voice changes, sounding exactly like the man they know. "I tried to help you, really. I told you to take the pills, they would make you forget about it all, make you a corrupted vessel for my master coming, you would be free from all your bad emotions, your consciousness would be numb, but you rejected it… You rejected darkness in your heart. A pity. Things could have been easier, you both wouldn't need to be here now." his smirk is wicked.
Her lips open in fear, her eyes waver in confusion, glimmering in the darkness. Why is the psychologist here? Under his guidance she thought she was getting better, but he was just manipulating her? Making it worse the whole time? And even her pills were tampered with? What did he do exactly?
"Surprised? You shouldn't be. I'm impressed you decided things on your own under your circumstances. I thought it'd be easier to manipulate your feelings, but it so happens we had a little inconvenience" he adjusts his glasses looking at the boy "I thought you would be a good student Kaiser and do what the school psychologist says, but you are too sharp for your own good. Luckily, not the sharpest one by not uncovering my identity before we gathered here..."
"You…" he frowns, his posture looks calm, but inside his eyes a seething anger blazes "Why are you doing this?! What did you do to her?!"
He laughs, bending over his stomach, they just look at him in disgust, Rie's eyes flicker, she is still in utter shock, tearing up. The whole time, the person that should have been helping her, was just…
"How do you feel, Kinomoto-san?" he smiles as if he started a session "Knowing that the person who stole your precious friends and your voice was right in front of you this whole time? But you were so desperate, so sad, so focused on your loss, so egotistical, so blind that you could never see it coming..." a low chuckle comes from him. "It must be nice to live inside your own mind, forgetting about all the others, letting them be buried in darkness so you won't have to worry about it."
Her eyes become empty with those words, as if the whole world crumbled right there, she puts her hands on her head, trembling. Her friends were taken by this creature and she didn't know, she didn't think about it, she was too occupied crying and suffering to ever notice anything. How could she be so inattentive? Perhaps if she had paid more attention, if she had just…
This hurricane of thoughts makes her mind swirl. She has forgotten everything around her again, just like he wanted her to. He smiles at the ease in pushing her buttons, he knew her very well after all those therapy sessions.
"It will be alright, Kinomoto-san..." the voice of the psychologist sounds like a whisper, bewitchingly evil as he draws closer to her "You can join your friends too, you won't need to bear this anguish anymore, and you will all be together once more, you just need to-"
"Stay away from her!"
Ryo's overbearing voice interrupts him, the man scowls at him in disdain, his lips twitching under the gentle smile façade. The duelist has his fists clenched, he can't stand by anymore, all this messed up tale.
"Kinomoto, don't listen to anything he says! He is just playing with you! Don't let his words poison you again! Remember why we came here!"
His voice startles her, her eyes look at him unfocused for a moment. They are enlivened by his words. The reason why she came here was to get her friends and her voice back. Her eyes tear up more, she nods firmly.
"It's about time you stop your ranting! I came here to duel you!" he points his finger at the man, challenging him.
A guffaw echoes in the void space, he jumps back and his appearance changes again, becoming an ominous shadow.
"Tsk… Fine, we will have our duel." a devious grin plays on his mouth, his bright red eyes narrowing in mockery "But since you two are so connected... How about you also share your pain."
With the last words a mass of shadows darts towards both of them, it passes through Ryo first and then through Rie's heart, they both bend in pain.
"What is this…? This pain… It's not just in my head..." he touches his aching chest. His eyes look over Rie, she also seems to be suffering, sitting on the ground while using one hand to support herself, bending over her chest.
"Got a taste of darkness?"
"Let's duel!" he shouts, ignoring the question.
The first draws are made, the cold looking Kaiser has seething blood underneath his skin, he wants to win this duel for more than just the victory. He'd rarely feel this upset about a duel, but after seeing all he has done, his wrath simmers. He took everything away from Rie and those other students and laughed about it, not only that, he wanted to fuel her misery more. This shadow takes pleasure in the agony of others.
Everything made sense now, why they couldn't find the culprits, why she always looked so dim even after having the therapy to help, it was that man's fault. What if something similar happened to Fubuki? What if his friend was also dragged by a wicked creature into the depths of darkness?
He can't afford to lose his concentration now, the important thing is to win and get them both out of here. But if this man knows anything about Fubuki… If he did anything… He isn't going to be lenient. As soon as the duel starts, he summons the Proto Cyberdragon ATK 1100/ DEF 600.
"From my hand, I activate the effect of my Cyberdragon Vier (ATK 1100/DEF 1600) and special summon it in defense mode to the field. Due to its effect, when I have other cyber dragons in my field, all the monsters called Cyberdragon gain 500 ATK/DEF! Come forth, Cyberdragon Vier!"
Proto-cyber dragon ATK 1600/DEF 1100 and Cyberdragon Vier DEF 2100/1600 are on the field. His eyes narrow at the man when he ends his turn. The shadow starts their turn by summoning the red eyes black chic, using its effect to special summon a Red-eyes black dragon (ATK 2400/DEF 2000).
"Now, my red eyes, attack his Proto Cyber dragon!"
Life points: Shadow- 4000 Ryo - 3200
His monster is destroyed, inflicting damage to his life points, the moment it happens, the red eyes dragon attacks him directly with the claws. He feels as if his skin and meat are being ripped apart by a real dragon, letting a groan of complaint escape.
"Is this how a shadow duel works…? If it's always this excruciating pain, then… How…?"
He looks again to Rie, checking her condition, she is no better than before, and seems to be panting heavily from the pain inflicted too. The shadow on the other hand, seems to be enjoying.
"What are you…?" He asks between his teeth. "Why are you doing this…?"
"I am a messenger of darkness and soon, this whole island… No, the world will be engulfed in my master's power. It will be magnificent and sublime!"
"Darkness…? What is he talking about…?" He holds the thought to himself, sweating at the insanity of the shadow. "Did you do something to the other students that disappeared here?!"
"Other students? I don't know what you're talking about… But my master will welcome all equally." a low, dry chuckle comes out of his throat "To finish my turn, I activate my magic, Raimei! It inflicts 300 points of damage to the life of my opponent!"
Ryo puts an arm in front of his face when the thunderous clouds approach him on the field, when the lightning comes, he closes his eyes, obfuscated by it. The thunder roars, but he doesn't feel any pain, risking opening his eyes, he looks at the side, the one hit by the thunder was…
"Kinomoto!"
She falls to the ground after a silent shout of pain and struggles to get back to sitting, her head lowered. Stumbling on her feet, she gets back up and casts a glance at the opponent with a frown.
"Oops, I think I forgot to share the pain this time. Isn't it wondrous how much a weakling can support one for the sake of their friends?"
Ryo - 2900 life points
"You..."
Ryo's anger just aggravates, he'd never been this revolted, those feelings make his hand clench the cards tightly, almost crumbling them.
"You will pay for that!"
"Now that is a good expression you have there, Kaiser!"
"Yes, hate me more, all those negative emotions will nurture my master's powers..." he thinks, delighted with the situation.
"Enough of this! Draw!"
He pulls the card, and in between his teeth, he prepares for the destructive blow. Had it been different, he would have waited to draw the conclusion of the duel, however, his eyes tell he doesn't care about giving any respect to his opponent, right now, he just wants to crush down this awful enemy.
"From my hand I activate Cybernetic Fusion Support! I will pay half of my life points to be able to use monsters on my hand, field or graveyard as fusion materials!" he grumbles in pain as life is drained from his body leaking out as some sort of aura, being absorbed by the darkness field, his feet sliding to the side, but he remains standing still "I activate Cyberload Fusion! When my proto cyber dragon is in the cemetery, it counts as a Cyberdragon! My Cyberdragon Vier also counts as a Cyberdragon in my field, using those two and the Cyberdragon in my hands as fusion material, I summon the last monster you will see! Come, Cyber End Dragon (ATK 4000/DEF 2800)!"
The three heads of the Cyber end materialize, towering over Ryo, the metallic dragon is gigantesque and majestic, its roar echoes powerfully in the field.
"All this pain will be sent back to you!"
He stretches his hands, ready to give the order to obliterate the enemy, when the attack lands, the red eyes dragon is destroyed.
Shadow - 2400 life points
"I end my turn!"
"I place a card upside down and end my turn."
The red eyes of the shadow squint in fury, he doesn't have other monsters or cards to help him now, Ryo's fists close tightly, it's time to end his enemy.
"It's over for you! Cyber End Dragon attack his field-"
"Stop right there! If you do that, I will make sure she will never leave this place and have her voice back! You'll never get to know what happened to the other students either!"
He clenches his teeth, in this moment of hesitation he sees a trap card opening Secret Barrel, inflicting 500 direct life points damage. He swings back and forth, almost falling down, but stands up firmly the next second.
Ryo - 2400 life points
Rie looks at him making a negating gesture with her head, she seems to plead him to not listen to that man with mute words. But why? Her life is at stake, why is she pushing him to do it? His mind is in disarray and the opponent takes pleasure in toying with his feelings. His gaze is cast down, growing profusely he tries to decide what to do.
The pink haired tries to say the words out loud, nothing comes out. Closing her fists, she opens her mouth more and tries harder to yell, as loud as she can. Until her voice can be heard.
"Ryo-san!"
Both the men are startled to hear a feminine voice in the air, especially Ryo, that was the first time he heard it in person. Even she was surprised, but then she continues, her voice doesn't seem to match her talking speed, as if the words didn't come directly from her, but from that whole space surrounding them.
"Ryo-san! He is lying! Don't listen to him… My friends, he… he got them like that too!"
"Kinomoto..."
"Don't listen to him, he… He just wants to get you too!"
"You little… Shut up!"
A dagger of shadows comes out of the man's hand and darts towards her as she tries to convince her friend to finish the duel. He reacts just in time, running desperately and jumping in front of it right on the moment and pushing Rie out of the way.
It pierces his shoulder, but instead of lingering on the feeling, he turns around after making sure she is unharmed. Sighing in relief after confirming it.
"You think you'll make it out of here?! I will not allow that! I will devour your soul just like I did to your friends! We will all become one and you will no longer feel the suffering or pain you have now."
"What do you mean…? You said that you would give back the people you kidnapped and her voice!"
"Haha! They were already incorporated by darkness! There is no salvation for them anymore! And now there won't be any salvation for you two!"
From the ground, dark matter gushes out in the shape of black tapes, it glues to Rie's feet, wrapping around it and pulling her away, it also glues to Ryo's feet, keeping him in place.
"What is this?!"
"Choose now: either you save yourself or save the girl!" His guffaw bounces around in the empty space.
His shadow appears in front of Rie, menacingly raising its claws to attack her. The Kaiser can't get out of there, his feet are bound to the ground, he tries to force it out and rip apart those bindings, but it is futile. That man had no intention to fill his part of the deal, not that he should have expected much from such an opponent, he had no respect at all.
"If you attack me, It will kill her! So, what will you do, Kaiser?!"
His eyebrows converge on the middle of his forehead, wrinkling it in fury. He has never been so frustrated with an opponent before, that guy had no intentions of letting them go, he tricked them. His teeth grit on their own.
That strong feeling running through his whole body sends a shiver down the girl's spine. Her eyes oscillate in worry seeing him in that state. That shadow was good at playing with emotions, now it wanted him too, but now that he lost his coolness, the enemy would get exactly what it wanted.
She can't allow him to have his way with them, with a sorrowful and silently determined look, she grabs the arm of the shadow, keeping him there, glaring at him as if saying "you won't escape!".
Her glance drifts to him, her dreary expression smoothens and it also soothes his anger to see her looking at him with such saddened eyes, nodding and gesturing for him to end it all. His eyes open wide, trembling at the sight, she can't be serious about having him choose that. How could he possibly…?
The enraged shadow slaps her away in an instant, she is hit by a powerful blow, the tapes binding her feet rip apart and she flies away falling to the ground, he can feel that hit too, his rib bones ache. The moment he is about to attack Rie again, before he has the chance to approach her fully, Kaiser acts diverting all his pain and anger to his opponent, taking the chance she was not as close to the enemy anymore.
"Cyber End Dragon, Attack his field!"
The smirk of the man finally disappears, he is engulfed by the exploding light of the attack and they both hear his scream as his points are reduced to zero. Rie sits up, dazzled by the light and still feeling the blows dealt.
Hurrying to her side he tries to check on her conditions, kneeling down. He is extremely tired from the duel, but so is she, sitting on the ground, no wonder.
"Kinomoto, are you alright?"
She nods, he feels relieved she is still able to respond. When they think everything is solved, the realization strikes them. Why is that darkness field not disappearing, from the smoke of the explosion, the shadow man is deformed, becoming an amalgam of rage and evil, growing exponentially, it's almost covering the whole arena. They both stand up in a hurry.
"I will not let you escape from here! We will all be one with darkness forever!"
He dashes like a flash, appearing right in front of them, threatening Ryo, a drop of sweat rolls down his face. Is this it? Even though he won, their souls will be...? He sees those menacing claws descending, prepared to destroy him whole, but in a second, he is pushed away.
His eyes can only see the image of Rie reflected as she smiles sourly, his hand stretches in reaction, to reach to her, but those claws only draw closer. He falls sitting, fixated only on the scene developing in front.
"No, it can't be… This is… This is not… fair…"
Before it fully reaches her, the Cyber End Dragon reacts and wraps around the giant shadow. Crushing it, squeezing in a way that the evil creature starts twisting his body. In his last effort of anger, he shoots his claws towards her.
She tries to evade, but the claws pierce through her back and throat. An after image of her comes out of her body it breaks like glass on her throat again, but the rest is intact, the claws and her after image disintegrating right after, she falls to the ground, her face hitting it.
He gets up quickly and runs to her side, but when he kneels down to attend to her. The confrontation between the gigantesque creatures ends, his Cyberdragon destroyed itself with the shadow.
"Heheheha, I told you, you'll never have your voice or your friends back. Suffer more, you little insect!" Those are his last words.
Rays of light come out of the Cyber End metallic body, breaking it apart and the shadow is also engulfed by that light, yet another explosion consumes everything, the two teenagers included.
The pain is slowly subduing his senses, he falls to the ground. How? How can one withstand such torture? Was she tortured like this too when she came with her friends? His mind threatens to fade away.
His eyes fight to remain open, but close immediately, a world of darkness awaits for him, he listens to a lingering, soft and faint voice.
"Ryo-san…"
His eyes open sluggishly, then as if a spurt of adrenaline runs through his body, he stands up, gasping. The surroundings are the abandoned dorms, in the real world. There isn't any curtain of darkness and not even a sign any duel took place there.
"That voice..."
His colleague is still there on the ground, he hastily approaches, she is lying on her side, he turns her around and using one arm below her back, he supports her, bringing her closer.
"Kinomoto…! Wake up! Hey!" He shakes her body smoothly. "Kinomoto! Open your eyes!"
His voice grows deeper and more strict, his nervousness in her lack of response being the culprit for such reaction. It can't be that she…
Her finger twitches slightly, her eyes open a bit, but she looks as worn out as when he first saw her. Her orbs open a bit more, glancing at his concerned expression. Her hand raises, touching his shoulder, tapping lightly on it, then firming a grip there, startling him. He feels the strength gradually dissipating from her fingers.
Her hands are cold again, her blood is not flowing enough to the tip of her fingers, but his shoulder is so warm to the touch, her eyes flicker with the sensation. He is there, he is really there and alive, it's not like the last time. Not at all.
With the thought, warm tears swell up on her eyes, she smiles bitterly and half relieved, he can read her lips mumbling something, but no voice comes out, he is static for a second trying to read her lips. He cannot comprehend most of it, she stops.
"I am glad you are alive."
That last sentence is the only one he can understand as he reads her lips, her eyes narrow, giving in to the sleep. Her hand then falls and she faints completely, with the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Wait! Kinomo..." he stops the words, compelled to call her name, maybe she will listen if he does so "Rie! Don't sleep now, you can't! Rie! Hey!"
He shakes her more and calls louder, but it's not working, her breath is faint, but she is still alive. In a state like that, he needs to take her out of there. What was that? Why did she look at him as if she was relieved and say that? Even though she was the one in most pain she was still happy to see him alive?
His heart tightens on his chest, it feels like it's being clutched strongly, why? He won the duel, he went through all the trouble, then why did her friends not come back, why can she still not speak? Why did she have to suffer such pain for nothing? And he still has no clue about Fubuki! Was this pain all for nothing?
The thought just hurts him more, his brows furrow upwards in sorrow. Pulling her close, he embraces her gently, it lasts only for a moment, but it feels longer.
His body is not in its best condition either, but for someone as light as her, he should have enough strength, putting his other hand under her knees, he raises himself carrying her on his arms.
The pain from some of the damage inflicted is still there, his shoulder trembles feeling the wound of the dagger he was hit with, however seeing how much she must have suffered from worse agonies too, he can't afford to let himself feel anything now.
Why did he bring her here in the first place? It was not one of his most brilliant ideas. He didn't believe her, more than that, he incentivized her to come, such a selfish and brash suggestion. It just amounted to nothing.
A perfect duelist, they call him? He can't even save a single girl from despair through his dueling, he couldn't do anything. His grip strengthens unwittingly, his orbs are cast on her face, an afflicted glint abiding in it as they flicker.
He is alerted when a sound calls his attention as he leaves through the main door of the dorms, of pebbles crackling under someone's feet. His expression does not falter anymore, instead he is serious.
On the entrance outside, Asuka, Shou and Judai are waiting for him. His eyes open slightly, amused by their presence, Asuka and his brother rush to him.
"Brother, what happened?!"
He lowers his gaze down in silence. A sudden sharp pain strikes his shoulder, he kneels down, still trying to support the girl with one arm, using the other one to quickly support himself on the ground.
"Ryo!"
Asuka takes the girl away from his arms, supporting her instead, looking at Judai and Shou that come and help him stand, each one on one side.
"Kaiser… For you to come here..."
"It's best if we don't talk about it now… I am worried..." he casts a glance over to Asuka and Rie.
The boys exchange a glance, the last time they came here something bad almost happened and the enemy duelist went missing. Could it be he also…?
"We need to take her to the infirmary."
"Gotcha." Judai puts Rie on his back while Asuka takes his place in supporting Kaiser.
"Ryo, you came here to search for my brother…? Why didn't you tell me?" her eyes are saddened even more seeing the state of them both.
"Brother, who is this girl? And what were you doing here?"
"She is my classmate..."
He answers the first part, but his lips close before he answers more, ignoring the last question purposefully. Shou's expression is also full of worry. What was his brother thinking? He could never tell.
A few days past that night…
The Kaiser and the same group from before, except the pink haired, were at the cliff sightseeing the ocean. He has crossed arms, looking at the horizon and the others looking at his back.
"Ryo, I know you are the quiet type, but is this something that you can't even tell us, your friends?"
His brows raise in concern, it's not like he doesn't want to, but there is much in his mind. He turns around, letting his arm free and looking at them with an earnest expression, a gesture proving that he is willing to answer a few questions.
"What happened there? Were you searching for my brother?"
"I was. But that was not the only reason… Rie, she was also searching for her friends. They disappeared after your brother."
"How come you were there with that girl, brother? And you were even carrying her like a princess when you came out." Shou's fresh memory makes him blush a bit.
"Ahah, that was some sight of Kaiser!" Judai guffaws as loud as usual.
Ryo clears his throat, remembering that this was supposed to be a serious talk and Asuka sends a scolding glare that says "do not interrupt him". They sweat and gestures he can continue.
"Unfortunately, in the end I didn't find Fubuki, nor her friends. But… What happened there might be a clue... Of what could have happened to your brother, Asuka..."
"Really?"
"Are you familiar with shadow duels?"
Just the word sent a chill down the spine of the younger boys while Asuka sweated a bit and tried to change the subject.
"Why are you asking this? Isn't it all just a bunch of rumors?"
"I also thought so. This is why I went there to see with my own eyes..."
"Then… Did you participate in one…? A shadow duel I mean..." she reluctantly asks, casting a glance at the other two boys.
"It seems so..." he stares at his own hand remembering the pain "But this is not important. It was all for nothing, I can't get a clue of what happened and we were both endangered. I thought my judgement was better." he sighs deeply in regret.
"Whoa, that's Kaiser for you, being harsh even to himself." Judai has a drop of sweat on his head. "Well, everyone came out just fine, so it should be alright, right?" He tries to lighten the mood.
He opens his mouth to reply, but he can't come to gather the right words. It is not true that no one got hurt, he is fine, but Rie's voice is now… Forever…
"Ryo, if you got caught, you could be expelled like Judai almost was..."
"Come on, Asuka, no one needs to know Kaiser was there. We won't tell, right, Shou?" he smirks at the friend.
"Hm!" he nods, closing his fists. "He had his reasons to do so, I trust my brother."
"You all..."
He is slightly surprised with their consideration, but a faint smile appears on his lips. The mood changes again when someone else approaches the place. They all pay attention, surprisingly the person coming was none other than Rie in person.
"Looks like the princess is awake!"
Judai blurts out without a single hint of the situation, startling everyone else, Rie included. Shou blushes a bit seeing her from closer.
"She is very pretty… But why was she…?"
Thinking about it, he casts a glance at his older sibling who has a grave and somewhat bothered expression, almost as if he is frustrated.
"I wonder what happened… Why is he making a face like this?" his brows can't help but curl in concern.
The pink haired girl stops and types something on her device, showing it to them, they're all taken by surprise.
"I heard from the nurse that you all brought me to the infirmary. Thank you."
"Ah, that was nothing!" Judai scratches his head smiling happily.
"Why can't she say it out loud… Does she have problems speaking?" Shou's eyes direct towards his brother.
Asuka's expression is afflicted with the sight, she knows that girl from before and saw her with Ryo a couple times, she was the one he gave a notebook to, to think it was because she had deeper problems…
"She can't speak. Isn't that right?" She smiles softly, a hint of anguish in her tone.
"That is right. I am sorry if it looks strange to speak to someone like this..." she has a helpless smile that looks a bit troubled when showing the message.
"Rie… Are you sure you're fine already?" through his inexpressive face, she can feel a hint of worry in his voice.
The serious voice of the Kaiser calls her attention, she quickly types an answer and nods confidently.
"I am! I got permission from the nurse to go back to my activities."
Noticing the change of mood, Asuka smiles faintly and grabbing the collar of both first years, she pulls them to go away with her as they scuffle to get free. She wants to give them space to talk.
"We have some things to do, so we will be going first! See you later!"
"Wait, I wanted to-"
She frowns profusely and steps on Judai's feet before he files the complaint, dragging them both very far away. The thirds years look at the scene, puzzled, but as soon as they notice they're alone, they look at each other.
"Why was that boy calling me princess?" She raises a brow.
"You mean Judai…? That..." he flinches, a drop of sweat rolling down his face "It's not important now."
"What about you? Are you feeling well?"
"I am perfectly fine, but you..." his fists clench involuntarily "Rie, it's possible you… will never speak ever again in your life..."
He catches a glimpse of her eyes becoming watery for a moment, but when she looks into his eyes, it is gone, her eyes are clear and unweighted by those words.
"It's fine. We are both here, I am glad enough for that. This time… This time no one else disappeared..."
She smiles softly, but his fists just tighten the grip. The waves breaking on the ocean seem to share his sudden annoyance. She might be fine like that, but he… He isn't!
"Rie, how can you say this…?"
His face darkens with the aggravation that takes place on his expression, she is stunned and afraid of his sudden reaction to it, her heart trembles for a moment. Why is he looking at her like this? Did something happen while she was unconscious?
That cold Kaiser she knew who could barely show his emotions was becoming more and more enraged as the time passed, even in the duel back then. But is this anger really directed towards her?