Disclaimer: Yugi-Oh GX does not belong to me neither 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: Not much could be done about Fubuki, yes, not less frustrating knowing that, especially since he got a clue, but still can't find out more. And yes! Finally they both got a bit closer here, from now on, just more and more. About the foreshadowing, you got it XD They did it in the anime in tidbits spread all over season 1, but too subtle imo.
ToBlazePurple: I know the 4th season of the anime, and the fic is based on the japanese version of the anime too. The plot about Darkness that comes in season 4 will be present here too. The only bad part about rie speaking is that she just did it for a moment, back to messages at the end of the chapter.
I suggest listening to the song "boku ga shinou to omotta no wa/The reason I wanted to die" from Mika Nakashima, it's from the anime Violet Evergarden. It inspired a lot for this fic. I recommend this anime. *wink wink*
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Chapter 7: Resolution
Ryo has a deeply annoyed expression, she feels the pressure of his gaze in her heart. For someone considered frosty, he could be very intense in his emotions when he lets them out. All she can question is why.
"Ryo-san…?"
She doesn't type anything, but he can read her lips and see her confusion, it just makes his brows angle more as his closed fists tighten.
"I am asking how can you say this? Are you even aware of what happened? The shadow duel, your friends, your voice, everything?!"
"What do you want me to say?" she types nervously. "I don't understand why you are angry."
"Rie, I know people haven't been kind to you, but that doesn't mean you should not think about yourself first sometimes."
She is startled with his declaration, where does he come from? Why is he saying such things?
"Why are you not angry?! I didn't believe you when you told me about the dorms, I couldn't trust your words, I had to go there myself, but because of that everything was worse… Even though we won the duel… It doesn't feel like we won anything at all. But all you do is smile and say it's fine? Your friends were left there, your voice might never come back again! I didn't even entertain the possibility it could all go wrong, I simply used you to get information I needed, I was selfish, you were hurt because of that, how could you not be angry now?! Why are you not angry at me?! I was no different than anyone else that came to hurt you!"
Her gaze is fixed on him, she gapes not knowing what to say. Upon his words, her heart aches for a moment with the thought this anger was all directed to himself and what they remind her of. So this is what it was all about?
"That is not true!"
She types with a slight frown, stopping his furious words from overflowing even more. This is a side of Kaiser she didn't expect to see, he isn't furious at her, but for her sake?
"What is not true? All I said is true, I didn't consider even in the slightest you or me could be hurt, because of that, now you are..."
"This is not true!" she puts more emphasis in the written words, her eyebrows curl upwards in sadness "Ryo-san, you saved my life, remember? The fact you're worried about it now proves it!
"I saved you? What is the point of that if I'm just dragging you back into danger?"
"You did! You saved me and back then I… Was so angry at you..."
Her head lowers, as if she sees herself in the past, her bangs slightly cover her expression, but she lifts her eyes and looks at him with honesty.
"I thought you were a terrible man for forcing me to live in such a world..."
He is flabbergasted and can't think straight, this is the first time he hears about that, so she really did hate him back then…? Because he saved her from imminent death after all she had suffered?
"But… Eventually that anger disappeared. No matter how many times I tried to distance myself, you were the one that always reached out to me, right?"
She lowers her gaze again to type, he is still in shock, his eyes flicker in shock and words almost tremble as they come out:
"I didn't know you… felt like that..."
"Indeed. That is because I was not really angry at you. All I was angry at was myself. I was infuriated and so disappointed in myself. I cowardly ran away from everything. From my friends, from my fears, and for everyone else too..."
"Rie..."
His expression soothes a bit after hearing that, but he still feels conflicted. She closes her eyelids for a brief moment, breathing deeply, and typing more.
"I thought that was the best solution, even as I walked back to that dorm alone in hopes of seeing my friends, and when I jumped from the cliff too. But I was wrong! I was blind and biased because all I could see was darkness, no matter where I looked."
Her eyes waver smoothly as tears form and her lips curve down as she looks at him with a determined gaze.
"But you saved my life back then, because of that, I had the chance to reconsider everything. You say it was all of interest, but for me, it doesn't matter, because the person who inspired me to try again was you. Regardless of your reasons, It's because of your good deed that day that I could walk and see things by myself again, because you stretched your hand when no one else would. If you weren't there that day, I would have no chance of considering all of this, I would be dead now!"
The tears that accumulated start dropping down, it makes him feel even more nervous, but he controls his agitated temper to let her talk.
"You taught me that I can still do something with my life even if I've lost plenty, I could go back to school, learn more, think about my life and decide many things. I thought about it for a long time, many times. This is why I can't be angry in the least at you. What happened to my friends was our fault, not yours, and it will always be on my mind. As for my voice, I don't think I could have gotten it back... He was lying all along about it being because of my trauma, he destroyed it with his very own hands with no intention to give it back. It was the same with my friends… He also never intended to..."
"He didn't, but that doesn't excuse anything!"
"If I had to make the choice. I'd always choose your life over mine… Or anyone else's in that situation... This is just what I can do to repay what you did, right? That was the least I could do… Otherwise I wouldn't be able to live with myself by sending someone into the darkness again just because I was afraid… I didn't want that…"
Her hands tremble as she cries aplenty, looking at his face causing a drop of sweat to roll down it as he curls his brows up in sorrow.
"Do you understand it now?"
Why? Why would she choose him instead of her own life? She should've been thinking about herself, he couldn't make a choice like this even if he wanted, he couldn't choose to let her die, yet she is so easily giving up on her life. The idea more than terrifies him, it disturbs his insides, his eyes also oscillate subtly with the thought.
"Even if you say so, you should not always prioritize others, you should think more about yourself… If you're repaying my kindness by letting go of your life, then that wouldn't make sense, would it?"
"I was so scared! I was so afraid that I would be frozen, that I would let someone disappear in front of my eyes out of fear of acting in time! Just like my friends vanished... I was so scared this would happen to you too… That is why... I am glad you are here now! And I am glad to be here now!" her eyes flicker even more.
The sight of her makes his heart feel like it was pierced through for a moment, afflicted. He never felt like this before, but ever since what happened at the dorms, why right now of all times? Why can't he just be a bit more collected? Why does he feel so overwhelmed by all of those emotions?
"But… What I did was irresponsible."
Frowning deeply while more tears fall down her cheeks, she opens her clenched fists and slaps his face strongly. The noise soars in the air and his cheek is bright red, he is stunned, his face turns back to her slowly and he touches the mark left on him.
"Why did you…?"
She almost shoves the screen display on his face, her eyes oscillating wildly, not being able to keep still and her lips curving down as if she is in more pain than he is.
"I vented my anger on you. You are forgiven! You can stop feeling guilty! Are you happy now?"
His eyes open wide in surprise. Why does it look like she only did that for his own consciousness? Again, putting others in front. He opens his mouth, but the words are stuck when she shows the next message:
"Please don't say things like this again… It wasn't your fault! How could I ever be angry… I… just didn't want you to die… I can't watch someone else die in front of me anymore… Not again..."
Letting go of the device she covers her face again, dropping on her knees, crying as much as her tears allow her to and sobbing. His frustration is completely gone, instead it bothers him to see her like that. He finally got to talk properly, that calmed him down.
He stretches his hands, but stalls the movement, hesitant to approach. That girl that looked so fragile back then for him, to think she would say all of this after thinking on her own. He musters some more courage sitting down, his hands land over her shoulders, resting them there to comfort her.
Suddenly, he feels a pull on his coat, before he notices it, she is embracing him. His hands are in the air for a moment, she has quite an amount of strength for a girl, he felt that on the slap too. He corresponds to that embrace worriedly, is it fine for him to do that?
He'd thought she wouldn't want to be close to anyone like this after what happened to her. She is so warm, differently from when she fainted the other day, the tepid sensation coming from her is tranquilizing, his tense shoulders become more relaxed as her warmth envelops him, pulling her closer in a genuine gesture.
A brief smile comes to his lips, trying to soothe the turbulent emotions that seem to pour out all at once from her. His eyes close, filled by the tenderness of that moment. His heart feels a bit more at peace now.
"I am glad you are here too, Rie..."
During the afternoon, at the lighthouse.
Kaiser stands still, arms crossed, his eyes as unmoving as the sea he watches. Asuka comes closer, standing beside him and taking a look.
"There was no clue about Fubuki after all?"
"No… Or at least, that shadow duelist never said a word about it..."
His expression is stoic, but his mind seems to be drifting off somewhere beyond that horizon they see through the light of the lighthouse.
"What about Rie-chan? Is she really fine?"
"I think she will be fine now..."
"You don't seem convinced. Are you worried?" she chuckles lightly "It is unusual to see you unsettled like this..."
"Unsettled?" he raises his brows, surprised, finally looking at her. Was it how he looked in her eyes?
"Yes, that is the face you had when she appeared in front of us. I wondered why you would feel like that, she looked just fine and healthy."
"Is that so…?" he lowers his gaze in a pensive stance.
"You shouldn't worry too much, I am sure she appreciates your efforts. But there are times in which even a girl needs some time to mull things over. We just do it faster than boys." She smiles brightly, consoling her friend. "I hope you could talk and settle things on your side. But judging by how calm you look, I suppose everything went well."
"I don't know what you're talking about..."
His face demonstrates a slight blush and certain discomfort hearing the last sentence, reminiscing about that hug, but it all disappears as he looks over to the horizon, losing himself in thought again.
This ponderance doesn't last long, they hear a loud voice calling from afar and gradually getting closer, it's Shou, he stops at the cliff, panting profusely and looking at his older sibling.
"Brother! The director wants to see you! He is calling you to his office!"
"But why? Don't tell me someone spilled the beans about the dorms!" Asuka gasps.
"No, we didn't! I don't know why..."
Ryo's eyes narrow subtly, exchanging a glance with Asuka and looking at his worried younger brother. What could he want to talk about?
At the psychologist's office
The medic that was once mind controlled by the shadows sweats aplenty, he rummages through the whole office, scared as he remembers the day a devil whispered in his ears to do something unforgivable.
He can't find the files anywhere, until he stumbles upon the drawers on the desk, one of them has a keyhole. He nervously pulls it, in an attempt to break it, but it's pointless. He gulps, taking the clip that holds his own ID to the white cloak, he masterfully opens the drawer.
His eyes tremble with the sight, the documents he and the detective gave are really there, it was not a dream after all. But if the school finds out about it, they're both going to be fired, right? For hiding criminals and letting such a young girl live in unfairness to what was done to her.
His throat dries, he takes the files in his hands, trembling, he gulps. Looking around, he ascertains there is no one else, and hiding the files under his cloak, he leaves the room. Professor Daitokuji was passing by and observes as the man runs down the corridor, a tone of surprise on his expression.
His eyes frown slightly upon seeing the visually upset behavior of the man, he looks at the psychologist's office, but his glance turns somewhere, he halts when a call comes to his device.
"Ah, yeah, it's me… Hm..." he confirms in a low tone "He disappeared after they both went there. Well, not that it interferes with our plans… He was a hindrance and tried to blackmail us after all, having his own agenda, and now the school added the files of those missing students to the ones we know… None of them came back besides the girl… But I took some measures, and that will be taken care of, she is probably being called right now… She will probably be expelled..."
Inside the school's main building
Ryo enters the office, closing the door behind with a tense posture, his eyes widened a bit seeing Rie standing ahead. The principal has his elbows supported on his desk. Chronos sensei stands behind him with a concerned semblance.
"Principal Samejima." he greets stopping beside the girl, a low snort coming out of his lips, he can guess the problem.
"Ryo. You probably know why I called you here. I received an anonymous word that you two have been to the abandoned dorms, despite the order that the zone is forbidden for the students." he closes his eyes, sighing heavily. "I heard from the nurse you were both in a bad condition and needed rest after coming back from somewhere in the middle of the night, I don't even know where to start, not only you broke the rules of going to the dorms, but also of not interacting with female students past the curfew, plus going to the forest during the night, that was dangerous. I was waiting for you both to be fine to call you here."
"Principal, there must be a misunderstanding, our honor student wouldn't do such a thing, na no ne?" Chronos tries to dissuade the man. "I am sure there must be an explanation."
Ryo's fists clench slightly, he lowers his gaze. Indeed he was the one who persuaded the girl to come along and now they're both in trouble again. Not to say how suspicious it is that someone seems to have spied on them.
"I would like to hear your explanation first."
He lifts his gaze looking directly at the principal, his mouth curves down, it is not like he has much of an explanation, but hiding it will do no good now either. His mouth opens subtly as he prepares to speak, but before he has the chance, they are all startled when the girl steps firmly in front, making a sound with her shoes so they pay attention, showing a message to the directors.
"I am sorry, principal Samejima, it is all my fault."
"Rie…?"
The blue-haired is as stunned as the other men in the room, she calmly types the next text, with the inexpressiveness of a good liar, confusing the others.
"I wanted to go to the abandoned dorms because I thought I could find my friends there... Ryo-san happened to see me while heading to the boy dorms and tried to warn me and prevent me. That is all. I know it was dangerous and I regret it. I am truly sorry for that. This won't repeat."
"Y-you wanted to go there?" Chronos gulps and exchanges a worried glance with the superior.
"Rie! This is not..."
Ryo tries to contest, but he stops upon seeing a brief, but icy glare saying "stay quiet" coming from her, a drop of sweat rolls down his face, she continues her act.
"I am really sorry. But if you have to blame someone, you can expel me from the school, I am the one at fault." she puts a hand to her chest, bowing respectfully.
"W-what are you talking about, you just came back to school, we are not talking about expulsion here, are we?" the blonde teacher nervously attempts to break the tension.
"Rie-kun. If what you say is true, then I might need to enforce some punishment. We both know well your situation, despite all that happened going there is..." he sighs heavily.
"Director, Signora Kinomoto is one of our best students despite being absent for almost half a year, so is Signor Marufuji, he is the pride of our academy, isn't he?"
"Principal, It is also my fault, I should have dissuaded her instead of following her."
He also steps in front, going along with the lie, both directors exchange a glance, Samejima puts a hand to his forehead, this is a clear case of covering each other with lies, but if they are unwilling to tell him what really happened, not much they can tell.
"It was a reckless decision of mine, principal, but I promise it won't happen again!" she interferes once more, before he can say more.
The director frowns at both, Chronos' sweat drips from his chin and he gulps dryly in a tense mood, exchanging a glance between the superior and the dear students.
"Do you have anything to add, Ryo?"
The principal looks into his eyes, as if probing the truth in them. His fists clench more unwittingly, why is she doing that? It was the other way around, but even if he says that now, it will just make it look like he is trying to take the fall for her, won't it? She is one step ahead in that.
"No."
He sighs heavily, displeased with his own words. Samejima sighs too, almost as if he knows it's a lie.
"Still, there is no need to make it public, right?" Chronos touches the principal's shoulder. "It would not be good for the academy if our honor student was publicly warned for breaking rules, right? Also, it wouldn't be good for Signora Kinomoto to be expelled when she tried so hard to stay in the academy, yes? Bad rumors could appear if people know she is involved, right?"
"You can stop trying to spare them, Chronos-sensei. I know their situation very well." The harsh tone of his voice makes the other man take a step back. "Well, I gave my warning and I do hope you both understand that while I may let it off the hook this time with just a warning, if something happens the next time, I'll need to take different measures."
He raises a brow with the threat. Both students look surprised at his words, and nod firmly. Bowing in reverence.
"You can go back to your activities now."
They walk away, Ryo casts a last glance back, concerned about the situation, his former master has a deep frown and an almost defiant glare at him. He probably had it figured out, but why did he not say anything else then?
As soon as they close the door, Rie starts walking away in the corridors, he calls her out in a rather anxious tone.
"Wait! Rie, why did you do that? Why did you have to lie? You could've been expelled, besides… I was the one who convinced you to..."
"It's fine. With this, we're both still students, right?" she raises her hand to gesture at him to stop while showing the message with a half smile "They would be more shocked if they knew the truth, and it could be dangerous for them to know. There are enough people involved as it is, please, let's not add more to the numbers… They don't need to know about the shadow duels..." she smiles half worried "Plus they wouldn't expel me even if they wanted for many reasons..."
Her expression seems bitter and dimmed out in the last part, he wonders why she would speak like that. Even if she wanted to spare them from the truth, what was she thinking by trying to take the blame? Before he can ask more, she waves and goes her own way. His brow curls upwards smoothly, he can't figure her out sometimes.
A week after
It's been many days since everything happened, time went by so fast. He didn't talk to Rie after their last conversation, it just felt awkward since now he didn't have any reason to go and ask anything. She didn't know about Fubuki, and considering all that transpired, he still felt guilty for many things.
That is the first time he felt like he messed up his decisions badly, but given their last talk, that feeling was smoothened by knowing she does not put him at fault for it and that she will recover slowly from her past.
Her face looked a lot better, and she seemed to be getting back to her normal life at the academy. With that settled, at least he could reconcile with his consciousness. He should let her alone now, however his insides feel restless. There are many questions that piques his curiosity…
Inside the school building, after the classes, he stays on his seat longer until most people are away, he then gets up, walking towards her seat while she still packs her things. Her eyes show some surprise, typing a message quickly.
"Ryo-san…? Is there anything wrong?"
"Rie, can we talk? I would like to ask some things, if you don't mind."
She blinks twice before understanding his request, then asks in return with a worried expression:
"Sure, the classes are over, but… Are you still upset?" She seems nervous at his request.
"What? No, I am not..." he closes his fists "It's not about that, it's about… What happened to you last year..."
She is startled and looks around nervously to check if there are other people around, her expression becomes slightly dim with the request, he lowers his gaze:
"I am sorry, I thought if you'd tell me, I could maybe help. But you don't need to tell me."
She shakes her head, indicating there is not a problem and smiles faintly typing something else:
"Is it fine for the Kaiser to be friends with me?"
"I already told you, these titles are not important, they're just what people like to call me… Besides..." he stops upon noticing the meaning of what she just said as she smiles teasingly "I see… So you already considered me a friend this whole time..."
His lips curve upwards on their own, with fondness. Even though he was to blame for the situation at the dorm, she never considered him the one at fault. That relieved him somehow, more than he thought he would feel.
They walk towards the lighthouse, but she stops at the cliff, looking at the sea from there, he halts his steps too, turning around and coming closer, watching the sea from there.
"Are you sure it's fine to be here?" His eyes are distant, but somewhat concerned.
"It's fine, I got over that already..."
The words surprise him slightly, he crosses his arms, his gaze becoming inexpressive and stern as he watches over the waves, stopping to look at her messages.
"I even threw my pills away from here…"
"You threw them away? Since when...?" He can't hide the shock in his voice.
"I wouldn't be able to think about anything if I kept taking those… It just felt like it was preventing me from being myself again. And If I couldn't think by myself, then I wouldn't be able to help you or think about what happened to my friends too… So that day, when you asked me to tell the truth, I dropped those into the ocean..." her eyes drift off as if reminiscing the scene.
"Rie, I didn't know…"
His fingers crumple his uniform a bit, a low grunt of discontentment coming out of his lips. He did instigate her to make rash decisions like going to the dorms, even throwing her medicines away, had the situation been different, it could have been worse for her this way, she almost got expelled too. Just how many more problems will he cause?
The thought pinches him with a tad bit of guilt, he was supposed to be a model student not a rebel making people act to extremes. Just some days ago, she literally asked to be expelled in his stead, knowing very well he was the one at fault.
"Is something bothering you?"
He flinches seeing the display near his face, she peeks at his expression with a curious glance. Did he let out any hint of distraught in his expression? How could she tell?
"No… I was wondering why you didn't leave the academy after what happened to your friends…"
Her eyes widen, she turns them away from him, a sour mood installing, he grabs his uniform even more worriedly cursing himself mentally, his skills of making her gloomy are still as impeccable as ever, it seems.
"I wanted to… But my family didn't allow me to."
"What do you mean…?" The question comes out before he has the chance to think twice about it "Ah, sorry, I don't mean to pry in your family affairs." He averts his eyes to the sea, ashamed of his thoughtlessness.
"I don't mind talking about it now. But back then, after I lost my friends I thought of leaving the school. In truth, principal Samejima also advised that, however, my family made efforts to keep me here."
"Why?"
"My stepmother… Both her and my father were worried about how the image of our family's company would be tainted if everyone found out that their daughter is seeing shadows and believing in supernatural duels involving evil forces, it just sounds nuts, right? She called everyone in the world and made sure they listened to her, then, the psychologist that was treating me supported her and convinced the principal that I'd rather be here and try to lead a normal life and staying would help me with my traumas…"
"The psychologist…?" he sighs in discomfort.
Not only did she stay in a place she hated, but she was abandoned by her family in a delicate moment like that, on top of that there was the other incident. He is still reluctant to ask about that.
"Yes, but he knew well why my family wanted that, this is the reason he offered me to watch the classes remotely and partake in special tests to keep my grades so I can keep up with my studies and come back one day… He also visited me often when I was feeling terrible… I am glad for what he did." She types the last part with a half smile.
"I see…" he is relieved at least she can see something good in it, but his eyes narrow subtly with the next question, a graver tone on his voice "What did your family have to say about that night at the cliff?"
She is stunned with the question, his eyes are not focused on her, but she sees his profile, a displeased vibe coming from him, is he annoyed? She gulps recollecting a few scenes of that night, but shakes her head, shooing those thoughts away and fixating her orbs on the horizon and typing the next message.
"They said… It was an unfortunate incident, but I should stop fooling around with boys and focus on my studies. And that it's better if no one else besides the people involved know what happened that day… For the sake of the family and my own reputation…"
His blood seethes again, his scowl increasing. Are they for real? An unfortunate incident? They were just trying to save face in front of others, did they even care about her at all?
His deep thought stance is disrupted when he feels a pat on his shoulder, he quickly looks at the side, bewildered with the message:
"You don't need to make that face, it's not surprising for me at all. I don't care about it anymore."
He turns his gaze away, grumbling disturbed at it. Was it really stamped on his face that he is discontent with that? He shouldn't be meddling with her matters more than he already did, it's bad enough how many problems he caused for being reckless in his search for the friend.
"Are you still troubled by what happened back in the abandoned dorms?"
The question astounds him, could she read minds or what? He blinks once, averting his gaze, a drop of sweat rolling down his face. Her brows furrow up, she also averts her gaze.
"Don't you think that for someone called 'perfect' it's a rather poor performance? I won the duel, but that was… Pointless."
He watches as she blinks in confusion, trying to understand why he is even thinking that. A few seconds under her blank stare and another drop of sweat forms on his face, she starts typing something on her device.
"I don't think your dueling was poor and it wasn't pointless, you saved both of us by winning, no? I don't see anything wrong… As for being 'perfect'…" she chuckles silently at the last part "I can understand why people would think that, but that's just their opinion, after all, it's impossible for one to be flawless in everything they do… Aren't you putting too much of their expectations on your shoulders?"
His eyes widen in amusement for a moment, he finds himself contemplating those words while at loss of what to say. Of course she wouldn't agree he is perfect, not even he does, he has shown a very bad side of him hasn't he? Urging her to help when she needed support, failing to find any clue about his friend and making her experience yet another shadow duel. Their first meeting was also less than ideal and even now he can't erase those scenes from his memory.
However it still affects him profoundly. The fact that so many people had idolized him even when he didn't ask for that. Nonetheless, he never lost his respect towards his opponents or paid heed to those words, he is just very committed to his dueling, extreme if people may say. Is it true this sense of responsibility might have pressured him more than he thought initially?
Isn't it natural for people to have expectations towards those they consider to have talents? Perfection also imposes limits, someone who is already at their perfection, cannot improve more or change, but is it true he cannot change? That he cannot be better? His mind travels back to reality when he hears an hectic typing, Rie nervously shows him another message, fidgeting:
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to offend you… I respect your skills as a duelist and recognize them… But when it comes down to being a person, for me, you are just like everyone else... You can get angry and nervous, miss your friends, smile and feel happy like everyone does. There is nothing perfect about it, but isn't that fine?"
Her expression is unclear for a moment to him, almost fazed as she shows that message as if she is reminiscing something buried deep in her memory. He can't fathom what she is thinking.
He gapes briefly, struck by her words, she flushes upon noticing his reaction and fidgets even more, assuming it might have sounded rude of her. She starts typing the next message in a hurry. His brows angle upwards and a tiny, serene smile comes to his lips.
"It didn't offend me. Thank you, Rie, I am happy to hear your thoughts."
She stops fidgeting, but his gaze lands on the ground. This is the impression she had of him? A normal person? That was unexpectedly refreshing to hear. Considering how they met, he is surprised she can even look at him with a straight face and say all this. He wouldn't have cared had anyone else said that, but for someone whose life he saved once, that had much more weight and meaning.
Not long ago, she would hesitantly type those messages, but she can keep a conversation so fluidly now, it makes him a bit proud of her progress and at same time, find some peace in seeing her recovery. He learned much more about the person she is under all the tears those last days than ever before. Nonetheless, there is something else clustering in his mind: the psychologist's true identity and...
"Rie, if it won't bother you much, I would like to ask about other things too… But not today."
It's written on her face that she feels perplexed, almost as if asking what he would like to still talk to her. In his perspective, he still had dozens of questions, but he feels it's not appropriate for the moment and he would like to think better about it.
"Sure..." her answer is vague, still dazzled by his sudden request.
"I'll see you another time, then."
With a quick glance to the side, he makes his way out of there. She follows him with her eyes until he disappears from sight. What would he possibly want to ask about? After a second of thought, she gulps with dread filling her expression. It couldn't be about…?
The next day, after the classes, she is surprised when he once again comes near her seat. A drop of sweat rolling down her face in tension of what he might ask.
"Ryo-san… I assume you want to talk?"
"Yes..." his face is as expressive as usual, but she feels an air of preoccupation hovering around him. "It's about that night... At the cliff... Before you met me..."
The words come almost stuck, his fists clench smoothly, her eyes avert from his becoming void for a moment, her mind is back once he again pronounces himself:
"You don't need to tell me anything… It's just..."
"It's fine..." her gaze is down to the desk as she slowly collects her belongings "There is no point in pretending it never happened..."
His eyes flicker for a moment, he was probably not the best person to talk with, but seemingly the only one she could count on right now.
After setting a time and place, he continues his schedule of the day as a student. Not long after, she also leaves the classroom, just to find the girls that used to bully her blocking the entrance.
"Look who's here!"
"Don't you think she is becoming too friendly with our Kaiser?"
"I think so too. He's been talking to you an awful lot lately."
Her expression is empty and she disdains their presence, trying to make her way through them, but one of them pushes her back defiantly.
"We're not done here yet! Where are you going?"
"What I do or not is none of your concern! I'm tired of being pushed over by all of you."
She tries to go through them again, but they push her back, surrounding her with a haughty and displeased air.
"Who do you think you are to be speaking so closely with our Kaiser, huh?" she puts her face very close, snorting on Rie's face.
The pink-haired has a deadly icy expression and types something on her device, they scoff at her when they read the sentence:
"I was unaware he was a private property and not a person. Not that I care what you all think. But If you have problems with me, why don't we settle it all in a duel?"
"Look who's learned how to write!"
"The absent girl challenging me to a duel?" her tone is conceited "Of course! I will show you what you missed while you were away, and if my side wins, you need to stop clinging to our Kaiser! He is not for the likes of you!"
"Accepted. But if I win, you stop bothering me forever!"
She types back, they laugh in unison and make way for her to pass, while mockingly telling her:
"Let's meet in two hours, you can bring some audience, if you even have any friends! It will be fun to crush you!"
As Rie leaves, they smirk wickedly and the leader whispers something to the other two, they type in their school device and spread a message.
Not much later, in the obelisk girl's dorm, Asuka sees two girls entering one of the rooms. She frowns, they quickly come out with a deck on their hands and upon seeing her, they hurry and almost bump into her with an expression of "get out of the way!".
"That room they just came out of is..."
In another part of the dorm, the insect princess Ran Kouchou, one of the strongest girls in the obelisk dorms, receives a message on her device. Her eyes almost bulged out in shock.
"What does that mean?!" she clenches her teeth, her face becomes red of jealousy "Someone is trying to steal Kaiser's heart before me?! Impudent!"
Soon Rie comes back to the dorm to get her deck, her room was not locked and the door was half open. She enters and notices the deck that should be on her chest of drawers is nowhere to be seen. She nervously rummages around, but nothing is there. What happened?!
At that moment, she dashes out of the room, almost colliding with Asuka who has a worried expression.
"Rie-chan, right? Is there something wrong?"
"Asuka-san, my deck vanished!" she puts her hands on the other girl's shoulders, her eyes look restless.
"To tell the truth… I saw some girls coming out of your room, they looked impatient..." she has a pitied expression, why didn't she stop them? They looked so suspicious.
"It can't be… They..." she recoils her fists and clench it in anguish.
"Let's go get them, tell me what happened on the way."
They both set after the girls, and Rie types the whole story about the challenge to a duel, the blonde feels even more irritated. They find the girls laughing at the entrance of the dorms.
"Hey, you two!" she calls them off, scaring them.
"What is it?" one of them sweats while fidgeting.
"You two! I saw you two entering her room, you stole her deck, didn't you?! Right before the duel! Obelisk students like you are recurring to such dirty tactics! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"
"Which deck? You can't prove! It's your word and this dumb girl that can't even speak against ours!"
"This is insulting! Give back her deck!"
"Maybe she can get it back if she wins her duel..." the other one grins.
"You stole her deck! How do you expect her to duel?!"
"It's not our fault if she is clumsy and loses her deck, right? She should have a spare one or two if she is like that."
They laugh, Asuka is about to challenge them to a duel, but Rie's hand touches her arm, and she shakes her head in a negative gesture, showing a message.
"They will not give it back even if you win the duel. They are determined to buy time so I am humiliated in my duel."
"Rie-chan…"
"We will find a way. I will go search for cards!" she closes her fists, determined.
"But right now it's possible you won't find any..."
"I will do my best!"
With those determined thoughts, she runs off on her own towards the card shop, Asuka watches worriedly as her back disappears from sight and gulps. She has to do something about it too.