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, suicide, abuse, sexual harassment, rape, depression, trauma and bad language. If you do not like such, Do not read this.
ToBlazePurple: They're finally friends. Soon we will get to see the seven keys arc and others too, but for now, Rie will need to duel with a different deck. And yes, Rie will not catch a break, 'cause those girls bully for breakfast, hopefully, things will get better.
So, I rewrote the duel in this chapter, you're also free to skip the duel if you prefer. While the dialogues outside the duel should be the same, a chunk of the chapter is the duel, so the chapter became a lot longer. I hope you enjoy it more now! I had the help of a friend to write this, so props to them.
Happy new year, everyone!
Oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo
Chapter 8: Sunken memories
At the academy building, the pink-haired girl speaks to Tome-san, the store has nothing but 3 card packs left. She can't make a deck with that few even if she adds the extra cards left at the dorms. Her brows curl upward in sadness. Lowering her head, she tries to get her thoughts straight and find a solution for a moment.
It's almost time for the duel, there aren't enough cards and there is no other solution besides borrowing it from someone. After a minute of silence, she suddenly raises her head and waves to the shopkeepers, then darts to the outside.
As soon as she opens the door, unexpected faces are outside: both Asuka and Kaiser himself, she brakes so abruptly her feet slide a bit back, astounded with the sight.
"Rie, I heard everything from Asuka. Those girls tricked you, didn't they?"
His expression is serious, a pinch of annoyance in his tone. She nervously switches glances between Asuka and the Kaiser. The blonde smiles faintly and raises a hand in an apology for snitching on her situation.
"You don't have a deck, do you? In this case, take this."
He takes his own deck out of his pocket, surprising both of the girls with the action. His eyes are fierce even though his voice and temper look completely calm from outside.
"You could say it is in part, my fault for it, unfortunately." he sighs, troubled with how far his fans can go.
Asuka is surprised, Rie is even more, she looks at him as if she can't just accept it like that, that deck is his pride and strength, it's what made him the Kaiser. How could she just take it like this?
Seeing how she was just doing it out of shame and fear of not dueling good enough worth holding his pride, Asuka gives the final push:
"He is offering it to you, and it's not like you have many other options, there is no reason to refuse, right? You'd have to borrow a deck anyway, why not accept it?"
"She is right, Rie. It doesn't matter which deck you use in this situation. I am sure you can use it properly, you saw it before and you are an obelisk student after all."
Conflicted, she accepts the deck and nods firmly looking at them both, they smile faintly in response. He then crosses his arms and speaks in an authoritarian tone and proud posture:
"Go and give them a lesson! Show them the duelist you are!"
His words of encouragement come out as coarse, but Asuka giggles at the sight of him and Rie is motivated. She wonders what those girls will think when they see the one they despised so much using his deck as if it was hers. That will be a spectacle.
They watch as she rushes and follows behind in a less fast pace, the blonde chuckles again looking at the friend.
"What? Is there something wrong?"
"No, it is just… I never expected you would lend your deck to someone else. Do you think it will work? And… If it works… Don't you think they will get utterly destroyed?"
"In the end, it depends on how well Rie can extract the potential of my deck, but… I wouldn't mind even if that was the case. Don't you think it's just rightful for one to stand and fend for themselves? I'm sincerely tired of seeing her being pushed around and this is the first time she stood up on her own. Isn't it worth supporting?"
"You're right!"
"But you probably didn't notice how distraught and worried your expression was when I told you what happened… You are really invested in helping, huh?"
Keeping the last thought to herself, they both go to the reserved stadium to the duel, surprisingly, Judai, Shou, Manjoume and Misawa are all there. Rie is in front of them when they catch a glimpse of the others.
"Oh, Asuka, Kaiser! We heard there will be a duel between obelisk members! We came running to see it! To think the princess will be the one dueling…"
"Aniki, get a hint…" Shou elbows him seeing how the girl flinches in discomfort at the title.
"Princess?" The other boys are confused, exchanging glances.
Before they have time to interact more, the girls that started the challenge arrive, the leader seems surprised and clicks her tongue at the sight of the pink-haired.
"I'm surprised you came. I thought you would run away like usual. But it doesn't matter!"
Rie steps onto the dueling platform, looking at the deck on her hands with tension building inside her, she makes a last wish inside her mind:
"Cyber End Dragon, you helped us before in that shadow realm… If you can listen to me... Please lend me your strength again!"
Closing her eyes tightly, she breathes deeply and opens them with a decided and ardent expression. The bully smirks at the sight and walks to the side.
"Oh, didn't I tell you? The one dueling will not be me, but our princess! Ran Kouchou!"
From behind the girls, the insect princess appears with an even more fiery look, a burning aura emanating from her.
"You… So you are the one they told me about… I will not let you have Kaiser's heart! He is mine!"
She points her index finger at Rie, everyone is silent for a moment, Rie's face has a big drop of sweat, flabbergasted and concerned, wondering why she is thinking that.
"Whoah! A duel for the Kaiser." The boys from the crowd are excited.
"It seems his popularity is the same as always! Man, I'd like to have all girls fawning over me too!"
"B-brother, I didn't know it was a duel for you…" Shou blushes aplenty. "Does that mean whoever wins has a date with you?! T-This is not like you, brother…"
The other boys are just looking at the cold Ryo that uncrosses his arms and sweat slightly ashamed.
"N-no, this is not…" He blushes upon seeing all the stares and smirks he receives from the younger boys, his posture becoming uptight "This is not right… There must be an explanation…"
"As expected of someone with the title of Kaiser, you are very popular."
"It seems they had their own reasons to bully Rie-chan… But this will be interesting."
Asuka chuckles, not disproving the story for the fun of watching his reactions to it. Meanwhile, Rie types on her device to the other girl that looks at her with a burning anger:
"I don't know what you're talking about, this is not what I asked for, this duel has nothing to do with Ryo-san, it's a duel for mysel-"
"Playing dumb, aren't you? And you're even calling him by his name? The audacity! I will not let you humiliate me in front of him!" She grabs her necklace with the Kaiser picture and her temper changes to fondness as she blushes for a moment "I will win this and be by his side, and he will ditch you! Duel!" her irritated voice echoes and the crowd cheers on her as she takes the lead.
Without giving her time to breathe, the opponent nonchalantly starts the duel, Rie sighs heavily. Why are those weirdos always around her? She pouts looking at Kaiser with a face of "thank you for giving me more trouble", he averts his gaze, shyly to the side, pretending as if that has nothing to do with him, feeling troubled himself. He can't control his deranged fans, much to his dismay.
The duel starts, even though she has the best deck she could get, will she really be able to pull this one out or will she lose miserably? With her future on hands, she draws the first cards.
"I draw!" Ran checks the card, Insect Armor with Laser Cannon "I summon Howling Insect in attack position! (ATK 1200 DEF 1300), since I can't attack right now, I end my turn!" The insect princess starts, smiling devilishly towards the other girl.
"Oh, she is starting for a full assault. But is this really the best play?" Misawa puts a hand to his chin.
"I don't believe she is thinking clearly, she looks pretty angry to me." Manjoume raises a brow. "Sheesh, I don't get those girls dueling for attention."
Ran's annoyance accentuates as the pink-haired confronts her with determined eyes.
"What is wrong with her, she can't even speak! Those girls told me Kaiser-sama has been very friendly with this one, this vixen! How is she even getting his attention?!"
Her jealousy consumes her mind little by little and her expression is vexed just by looking at Rie, who stands proud as a duelist.
"Princess, don't lose to them!" Judai screams from the audience, she flinches with the title, still wondering why he refers to her like that.
"Princess…? You want to steal even my title?!" Ran's angered aura increases, burning fiercely.
As if the opinion of the other girl wasn't bad enough already, Rie makes her first draw, her mouth opening in awe, and curving her lips down, she places her first monster. The hologram manifests the shape of an unexpected creature.
"Cy-Cyber Dragon?!
She special-summons the Cyber Dragon in attack mode (ATK 2100 DEF 1600). The whole audience is struck with shock and hectic whispers start circulating through it. How can she have it? Who is that girl? What is going on?
Rie takes a look at her cards, it's true she didn't have time to fully check his deck and she has been reading the effects and traps/spells right before using them, but she saw Ryo using it a couple times. His deck is his pride, she can't afford to lose with it. No matter how, she must pull it through.
Her eyes scan around, a drop of sweat rolling down her face as she continues her turn, by normal summoning the Proto Cyber Dragon (ATK 1100 DEF 600).
Ran is not amused, she is puzzled and more than that, she is offended. How can she have the exact same cards as the Kaiser's deck? Did she do that to mock her? She casts a glance like a maiden in love at her target of affection, but all she can see is a cold, standoffish expression as he watches the duel.
"You… You'll pay for stealing everything!" she points her finger again at Rie.
"I didn't steal anything, unlike your friends." she retorts with a message.
"You… What are you talking about? It doesn't matter if your deck looks like Kaiser-sama's, you are not him! You can't pull it through!"
"Hey, isn't that another one of the monsters in your deck, Kaiser?"
"I didn't know that girl used the same type of monsters as you, brother… I thought your deck was an inheritance of the Cyber Style, shouldn't it be unique? This is impossible, all those cards… They are all the same as yours! How is that…?" Shou gets up from his seat, sweating nervously in perplexity.
"Don't tell me she is such a fan she is copying your deck…" Manjoume raises a brow.
Shou also looks at the older sibling, like Judai. Ryo has a faint and confident smile, his eyes spare a short glance at the two, but soon focus on the duelist on the stage again.
"She doesn't. But let's see how this duel unfolds."
"Don't worry, Shou. Ryo was the one that gave that deck to her." Asuka smiles, putting hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Eh?! My brother?! B-but why?" he looks worriedly at the older one, sitting again.
"It's a long story, but it's true I gave her permission to use my deck."
"Whoah, that's something. The Kaiser deck, huh, I'd like to try it too!"
Rie stretches her hand, pointing towards the Howling insect, the Cyber Dragon howls before obeying the command and vanquishing the enemy with a burst of light.
LP: Ran Kouchou- 4000 - 3100.
"Ugh, that girl! She dares to even mimic Kaiser-sama! I can't believe it! She is so shameless!" she crumples the cards on her hands and says furiously. "The effect of my Howling Insect activates! When it's destroyed, I can special summon an insect monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck! I choose Pinch Hopper (DEF 1200 ATK 1000) and summon it in defense mode!"
Rie sets one card down and ends her turn, her opponent draws, her eyes squinting at the sight of the other duelist in contempt, a devious smirk as she looks at the card drawn, DNA Surgery.
"Now, you're done for! I tribute my Pinch Hopper to summon the Insect Princess (ATK 1900 DEF 1200) in attack mode! The effect of my Pinch Hopper also activates! When it's sent to the graveyard, I can summon an insect monster from my hand! I special summon Prickle Fairy in defense mode (DEF 2000 ATK 300)!"
"Show it to her, Ran! You're our true princess!"
"Yeah! Give this no-name a lesson!"
The crowd cheers, she smirks defiantly at the pink-head that gulps, trying to not shrink or cower under the pressure of the audience. Asuka's brows furrow in concern as she comments:
"It seems many of the girls are against her, will she be fine?"
"The pressure of the bystanders is also something a duelist needs to deal with, whether she can overcome that or not, it also depends on her…" Ryo answers that, albeit the collected tone, his hands crease his folded arms, his eyes narrowing subtly.
"Ryo…" she lets out a deep sigh, then smiles faintly "Let's believe in her."
He is a bit struck by surprise, but soon recomposes and nods firmly, looking at the stage in which Ran continues her turn:
"I'm not done yet! I equip the Insect Princess with the Insect Armor with Laser Cannon, it increases the attack points of insect monsters in 700!"
Insect Princess (ATK 1900 - 2600)
Before she can declare an attack, Rie activates her trap card, Attack Reflector Unit turning her Proto Cyber Dragon into Cyber Barrier Dragon (ATK 800 DEF 2800), she can hear the chatter and gasps of amusement of people, many of them confused.
"You're thinking I will fall for it?! Insect Princess, attack her Cyber Dragon!"
The explosion occurs, but when the holographic animation dissipates, both the dragons on Rie's field are still intact, the Cyber Barrier Dragon nullified the attack with its effect.
"Why did she turn it into a Cyber Barrier Dragon before the opponent declared the attack, wasn't that dangerous?" Judai wonders.
"Not at all." Ryo snorts confidently "Cyber Barrier can negate the opponent's next attack, but this effect does not work if Rie had turned the Proto Cyber during her opponent's attack, that's why she had to be quick. To think she knows this much…"
"You seem proud. But I'm also impressed she'd be aware of such details of your deck… This kinda makes her look like a fan, though…" Asuka's wry smile causes certain discomfort on the blue-haired, he simply averts his gaze to the duel again.
"This is a great display of skill Rie, still you should be careful…" he thinks to himself, his expression becoming serious.
"Tsk!" Ran grumbles some insults underneath her breath "I will set one card down and end my turn! But don't think you'll be escaping every time!"
Rie takes a deep breath of relief, even she didn't think she'd be able to pull this move, had she not seen Ryo's deck before, probably she would have more troubles, at the same time, she wasn't an expert on it either, but she can at least make use of the effects of monsters at her disposal.
She draws a Polymerization, her brows coming closer, wrinkling a bit her forehead as she plays the card determined, using the Polymerization, she fuses the Cyber Dragon on her hand and the one on her field to bring out the Cyber Twin Dragon (ATK 2800 DEF 2100).
With a decisive gesture, she stretches her hand to declare an attack on the Insect Princess, ran smirks at the sight, talking as if she'd been expecting no less:
"I activate my trap card DNA Surgery! This card lets me choose a monster type of my choice, then all the face-up monsters in the field become that type! Of course, I choose Insect type! Thanks to that, the effect of my Prickle Fairy comes into action! It dictates you cannot attack insect type monsters on the field and now, all monsters are insects!"
The Cyber Twin Dragon's head that was about to burn the Insect Princess into Ashes closes its jaw, roaring slowly and the attack animation is interrupted. Rie bites her lower lips in frustration. With an annoyed and worried frown, she ends her turn.
"Heh! What are you going to do now, girl?" Ran just smirks savoring the small victory "My turn! I draw! I summon the Howling Insect in attack position (ATK 1200 DEF 1300)!" She immediately puts the drawn card into use "Now, my Howling Insect, attack her Cyber Barrier Dragon!"
Because of the effect of Cyber Barrier Dragon, the attack of Howling Insect is negated, while at the same time, it cannot use its effect again, making it vulnerable to the attack of other monsters in the field, Ran declares:
"Now, Insect Princess, destroy her Cyber Barrier!"
Rie shields her face from the holographic explosion as the Cyber Barrier breaks into shards and disappears, her life points decreasing.
LP: Ran - 3100 Rie - 4000 - 2200
"The effect of my Insect Princess activates! Whenever she destroys a monster in battle, she gains 500 attack points!"
Insect Princess (ATK 2600 3100)
"I end my turn. Let's see your futile struggle." She chuckles shortly with an evil tone of delight in seeing the dense atmosphere around the other girl.
Rie draws the Call of the Haunted, she stops to look at all her cards, her mind calculating everything in a matter of seconds, a resolved line of logic. With a deeper frown, she sets three cards on her spell and trap field and ends her turn.
Ran draws Insect Barrier, her smile enlarging, a challenging glint on her eyes as she mocks:
"I'm not falling for your little traps, you fake princess! And this duel is about to end!"
The pink-haired gasps at the confident assertion her enemy does, even more as Ran weaves the moves to make her words become reality:
"I summon the Anti-Aircraft Flower in defense mode! (DEF 1600 ATK 0)! This card's effect allows me to tribute an insect type monster on my side of the field to inflict 800 life points of damage to my opponent for each tribute! Do you follow, girly? Or is this too hard for a copycat like you?! I tribute my Howling Insect and Prickle Fairy!"
Rie uses an arm to block the shockwave from the holographic effects, her life points dropping. The spectators start shouting in excitement, the girls cheering for Ran.
LP: Ran - 3100 Rie - 2200 - 1400 - 600
"Now, the finishing touches! I will show you you have no right to use this deck or pretend that you're good enough for Kaiser-sama! A fake like you has no right to use his deck!"
"Did she reach her limit?" Manjoume raises a brow.
"Come on, guys, the due is not over yet, right, Kaiser?" Judai grins, trying to change the mood.
"Indeed, Rie set three cards before… We will see if this is really the end."
He is at the edge of his seat, a hint of a frown on his expression, despite the confident words, there was some sort of nervousness in his interior.
"I tribute Anti-Aircraft Flower itself to inflict 800 life points! This is over!"
Before the damage comes, Rie activates one of her traps set the turn before, Damage Polarizer, negating the effect of the monster and nullifying the life-point damage and each player draws one card.
Rie's eyes open wide, her draw was a Cyber Dragon, she is lost in thought for a moment, in the shadow duel when they were about to be hurt, she is certain the Cyber End protected them and now…
"Are you showing me you listened to me? Thank you…"
She closes her eyes tight, holding the cards fondly, the other duelist is not pleased by the sight, her annoyance growing and wrinkling her face.
"I draw!"
The card is Mystical Space Typhoon, Ran snickers at the sight, it seemed as if the duel was not on Rie's side, a fitting punishment for being shameless enough to use a deck from someone else.
"I activate the spell Insect Barrier, now insect monsters my opponent controls cannot declare an attack, and since all your monsters are insects due to my DNA Surgery, you cannot attack this turn!"
The pink-haired gestures a stop with her hand, and activates the Call of the Haunted before the attack is declared, and she brings back the Cyber Barrier Dragon.
"Oh, she brought back the Cyber Barrier, this way, her opponent is also unable to attack! But… I thought the Cyber Barrier could only be special summoned by the Attack Reflector Unit." Misawa casts a side glance, curious on how she pulled that through.
"Normally, yes. Had she just discarded the Cyber Barrier to the cemetery before properly summoning it this move wouldn't have been possible either, but because she summoned it with the Reflector Unit before and destroyed, it can be revived as any other monster." A curve forms on his lips, the amount of thought she put into this amuses him.
"The deck seems to be coming along for her…" Shou states a bit surprised.
"Not only that, but she is using the cards very well, as if she knows them. To use a deck from someone else and put this much pressure on their opponent, she is a very good duelist." Misawa comments in awe. "Or you two have a very good synchronicity."
The last part makes Ryo adjust uncomfortably on his seat while the other boys stare dubiously at him, wondering what is going on there. He ignores their gazes, his attention shifting to what interests him more: the duel.
"Hah! Did you believe that was enough to stop me?! I activate the Mystical Space Typhoon from my hand, as you may know, this card can destroy one trap or spell in the field and I choose to destroy your Call of the Haunted! Give your goodbyes to the Cyber Barrier!"
As soon as the Call of the Haunted is destroyed, Cyber Barrier turns into shards and disperse once more, Rie frowns, but remains calm, staring at her opponent.
"I will not let you sully the name of Kaiser-sama more by using his cards! It's over! Insect Princess, attack her Cyber Twin Dragon!"
She urges with utmost confidence, the crowd already cheering for Ran's victory, the time seemed to be slowed down for the spectators by Kaiser's side. His eyes narrow slightly.
"Rie, is that really your limit…? No, she still has a card down…"
Before the battle damage is calculated, Rie activates the last card she set down turns ago, Battle fusion, a quick spell, everyone gasps.
"Hey this card… It's the card you used against me in that duel!" Judai smiles excitedly "During the damage step, it adds the ATK of the monster attacking you to the ATK points of your monster, which means he will get the whole ATK points of the strengthened Insect Princess…"
Cyber Twin Dragon (ATK 2800 + 3100 - 5900)
"What?! This can't be…!"
The attack can't be stopped, but when Insect Princess finishes the battle, she is the one being destroyed faced with the amount of attack points of the Cyber Twin Dragon that roars loudly, almost elegantly.
LP: Ran: 3100 - 0.
Ran watches the holographic lights and smoke as her life points drop to zero, the attack was just enough to decrease all her remaining life. Was that all calculated? It can't be, this girl…
The crowd is silent for a moment with the results until all the voices come at once: an animated cheer and some whistling along with some clapping.
"Impressive!" Misawa nods firmly, clapping along "She made use of the fact that she couldn't attack the opponent's monsters, but the enemy still could attack hers. After waiting for an opportunity to end like this, by making her monsters stronger."
"There's more… Rie… The Call of the Haunted was just bait to make her enemy believe Cyber barrier was the only way she had to defend herself and force the opponent to use all their spells and resources, so the Battle Fusion would be intact when the Insect Princess attacked. Truly a stunning performance."
A faint smile comes naturally to Ryo's lips, one could argue he was proud because his deck again displayed its power, but there was more to that smile.
The bully girls and all the audience are speechless, the insect princess drops to her knees, supporting her hands on the ground, after the defeat. She hears footsteps, Rie comes with a faint smile showing the display on the screen:
"That was a good duel."
Stretching her hand to end it in good terms, she is surprised when the Ran slaps her hand away in annoyance and gets up on her own with teary eyes:
"I don't need your pity! You must have won, but I will not give up on Kaiser-sama's heart! You beware of me, you sly fox! Don't be conceited just because you won this duel!"
Turning around she stomps the ground out of the duel stadium and the students disperse, going away. The pink-haired stares at the other bullies that have a drop of sweat after her display of prowess with a deck she wasn't supposed to have.
Misawa and Manjoume go their own way, Shou is also about to leave but he stops upon seeing his brother going down to the platform.
"Shou, are you not gonna come?"
"I… I want to know what this is all about, first the incident at the abandoned dorms, now this… I have the feeling there is more to it than we know, and my brother is not telling us…"
Without giving any more attention to Judai, he rushes downstairs, his friend nonchalantly tags along, wondering why he looked so worried suddenly.
Ryo and Asuka come to greet Rie, startling her with their presence. She opens a tiny smile, typing a message to them both and stretching her hand to give back the deck she borrowed.
"Thank you! I didn't expect things would turn out like this, but I am glad it went well."
"That just proves you deserve to be an obelisk student, this should settle things for those who doubted it."
He nods confidently, accepting the deck back with a satisfied and proud expression, not only she won to prove those girls they were wrong, but she also seems to feel better and more confident as a duelist.
"They will probably search for a hole to hide now, but I can't say it wasn't nice to see them knowing their place."
The leader of the gang narrows her eyes, despising the sight of Rie smiling after emerging victorious, more than that, the proximity she seems to have with their Kaiser. Shou and Judai come at the same time as the bully approaches viciously.
"We all know Asuka has been hanging around with him because of her brother, but this girl… Why is she so close to him? What is it that gets his attention on this Mary Sue?" she thinks silently angered.
She receive a berating glare from Rie, that changes her expression completely, her lips curving down as she shows a message:
"I won the duel, now fulfill your part of the deal and give my deck back too!"
"Humph. You didn't win against me, though." she smirks craftily, but that smirk disappears in an instant.
"I saw your friends stealing her deck, on top of that you sent someone else to duel, don't you have an apology to give?"Asuka frowns at the girls. "Just how much of a sore loser can you be?!"
They nervously look at the eyes of all the boys staring at them and land on Kaiser who seems to be the most upset of them all. An intensely threatening aura emanating from him.
"Sore loser? I am just trying to put her in her place! And you dare to use a deck that's not yours! Your scheming little…"she grinds her teeth.
"I can beat you with my own deck too!" Rie replies, scowling at the girl.
She would react, but upon seeing all the eyes on her, she gulps, everyone is watching, including her precious object of affection and none of them seem amused with her actions.
"Fine! Not like you could do anything with this deck anyways! You had to cheat with a stronger deck, huh? I'll put those cards where they should be!"
She drops the cards on the ground with a victorious grin, Rie frowns upon the sight and her smile of enjoyment enlarges as she wickedly pronounces the next part.
"I was wondering how you got Kaiser's favor, I suppose the rumors about you were true... I saw it on the female student's forums… Some comments that you slept with some boys in the forest and now you're eyeing Kaiser, aren't you? Such a deplorable slut you are, you can't even speak, but I guess you can still use your body to draw attention, huh?"
Rie's heart freezes for a moment upon hearing about sleeping with boys, as if something in her memories is activated, she is disgusted by what they are saying, and everyone else is shocked with such allegations.
"This is not true…!"
She types on the device, her hands trembling indignant with their accusations, even the others are astonished.
"You're denying it then? I know you're trying to get Kaiser-sama to sleep with you too, aren't you bitch?! Have you been doing him favors to get him to lend his deck?!"
Her eyes darken filled with disdain and fury, Rie shakes her head aplenty, bemused and flabbergasted, denying all those fake allegations. Where does she have it from? Who is spreading those rumors?
"Stop shaming yourselves even more!" Asuka scolds "How can you be so low? You can't win on your own terms and still gotta attack her because you lost?! Now you're trying to make up stories?!"
"Enough of this!" Ryo shouts at them, startling the others "You lost the duel, stop spouting nonsense!"
"So she got her claws on you already… I see… Even so I need to warn you all…" she smiles wryly "You don't know all the other rumors circulating in the female forums of the academy?" a guileful and spiteful smirk appears on her lips "Do you want to know the reason why this girl can't speak?"
The other girl's smile distills poison as her eyes are filled with contempt and wickedness, opening her mouth slowly with a furious undertone on her voice:
"I'll tell you: It's because she was fucked up by a group of boys in the forest, all on the same night, she was so nicely screwed that it messed up her brain! What a great bitch isn't she? Just like a plastic doll that serves its purpose, the dream of single boys!"
Rie's eyes open wide, only to see the smirk on the face of that girl and nothing else reflected on them. Her orbs become distant as tears form up, but she can feel the stares of all of the people present piercing her back, it's only her friends and the audience already left long ago, however the dread overwhelming her is no less.
For a moment her heartbeat fails, her whole body shudders, she puts her hands on her head as if she can remember it all together, the friends she saw, the sensations, the smiles of those boys, they were very similar to the ones of those girls, covering her ears as that girl keeps going on and on.
"What? You think I can't see what you're after?! You're sneakily approaching our Kaiser, we know well what you wants…"
"Stop…"
This is the only word that comes out of Rie's lips as they tremble, she can't even look at that girl in front of her anymore, frightened of what her mind reminds her of. Her eyes blur with the water accumulating.
"Don't pretend as if you're the victim here! I am sure you liked it, slut! So much you're wanting more! I'm not letting you stick your claws on Kaiser-sama! And your little friends should know too which kind of person you are! Did the four of them all get you at the same time or did they have rounds with you? Oh, I can't even imagine such a scene…"
The pink-haired lifts her gaze for a moment just to see the scornful eyes of those girls, the leader has a victorious smile, is this all she wanted? Or intended from the beginning? Shaking her head off in denial, her shoulders tremble as her tears drop to the ground.
Her vision is completely foggy, she can't see any image properly anymore. In a burst of emotions, she darts out of the arena, the bullies make space and watch loftily as she disappears.
"The truth comes forth." she sneers "You're going late, whore!"
"How can you be so cruel?"
Asuka's eyes tremble, confused and wondering how a simple duel turned into something so big as those foul accusations. She casts a glance at Ryo, but he is so absorbed into the sight of those mean girls, he doesn't even notice it.
"I will check on Rie-chan! Take care of Ryo!" She looks at the other two first years who just gape at her words, not knowing what to do themselves and she rushes after the other girl before they can get an answer from her. They gulp in tension.
"Why are you saying such things...? This has nothing to do with dueling, you're just being spiteful for no reason!" Shou blurts out, clenching his fists.
"So you refuse to believe in me? Why don't you ask her?" she averts her gaze for a second, but looks into his eyes again with delight "Ah, right, I forgot, she can't tell."
"Will you ever shut your filthy mouth?!"
Ryo's voice is overbearing, it daunts all of the people in the room. As he approaches the fangirl that blushes upon the proximity. His steps soar heftily, a menacing presence pouring out of him.
"Kaiser-sama, I am just trying to protect and warn you all about the type of girl she i-"
His brows come together, without letting her finish the sentence, he grabs her collar, looking down on the leader of the bullies, an intensely annoyed glare unseen in his expression before. It surprises her and all the others, his voice is louder and less collected than usual, his figure towering over her, making her feel small compared to him.
"I've had enough of your despicable attitude! What do you even know about her?! Why are you doing this?! Stop lying! Stop spreading such nonsense! Have you no honor?!"
His fists clench strongly, trembling. His face wrinkles more in irritation. This is not the first time those girls are acting awfully, and it just keeps getting worse.
"You're hurting my feelings, Kaiser-sama, but even this glare of yours is so beautiful." Her smirk is rueful, but somewhat pleased with the attention she gets.
He snaps, gasping in disgust, his hand lets go of her, but his clenched fists strengthen immediately in response, this is the first time he is astounded with how far some people can go, just because of that they were harassing Rie? For something so petty as idolizing him? The girl seems delighted with his expression.
"How can you be so obnoxious…?" his voice is shaken when it comes out, it carries rage and disbelief at the same time.
He is about to cross the line, but upon noticing the dense mood and how his fist is one move away from resorting to violence, a pair of hands grabs his closed fist.
"Brother, stop! Please!"
Shou pleads, pulling the arm of his brother, he is startled upon seeing his brother's eyes flickering in anguish, his rage then recedes and he steps back, in a daze, his facial traits coming back to the standoff, cool expression. Did it look like he was that much out of control for his sibling to act like that?
As soon a he recedes, the girl continues her exacerbated attempt of ruining the pink-haired completely:
"Well, my job is done, I hope she enjoyed her win…"
Scoffing she leaves satisfied with the results, a moment of tension and silence builds up, as Kaiser finds his fists clenching unwillingly again. The scenes of that day surface in his memory: her state, her expression, his heart just races as if there is no space for it to beat inside his body, banging loudly inside his chest. Why did it have to be like this?
"Brother, what really happened…?" Shou's eyes tear up too, squeezing Ryo's arm. "Why were those girls saying those things? All they said... This can't be true, right? This can't be…"
Ryo pulls his arms strongly enough that Shou's grip is unable to be sustained. His fists quiver with the amount of force he closed them with, his gaze is lowered to the ground, reminding the scenes very clearly from that day.
"How did they get information about that…? How…?"
His mind drifts off, ignoring the calls of his brother. Where do they have it from? Female forums? It's impossible for anyone besides the guards, the psychologist and both of them to know about the incident. Then who spread those rumors? And why? Someone touches his shoulder, bringing his attention back to reality, it's Judai with a concerned look.
"Kaiser, what was this all about? Man, girls can be awful. Why were they saying those things?"
"I don't know where they got those rumors from, but they know nothing about me, Rie or whatever happened! They know nothing at all!" he blurts out, the crease between his brows becomes more apparent.
He closes his eyes, putting a hand to his forehead that aches. How could he let it happen? After all she said, after she was trying to settle her life again. How could he not do a single thing to help once more? Always failing, always one step too slow.
More than that, this all happened because of the jealousy of his fans, what else will he add to the number of times he'd gotten Rie in trouble? Was her voice and all the bullying she'd have so far not enough?
"Brother, that day in the forest and now too… Just who is this girl? And why were those girls spreading such rumors...? This can't be right…"
"It's not all true…" he takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down "Of course most of it were unsoundly rumors, but not all she said was a lie… Rie was attacked and…"
He stops the sentence in the middle, his eyes flinching as the image of when he first saw her face comes freshly to the memory. Her lifeless eyes, it still haunts him. Do those girls even have an idea of how long it took for Rie to stand up on her own again and to open up to people? And right now that was all destroyed in an instant, with insulting words. For what? What did they achieve with that?
True enough, he never got the chance to hear from her what truly happened that day, given her state, it's maybe better if he doesn't know, the thought of listening to it disgusts him in a way he feels creeps underneath his skin. Shou and Judai exchange a concerned and consternated glance before looking at him again.
"How… How do you know that, brother? This can't be… Not in the academy, this is just… I can't believe it…"
"I don't know how those girls got a hold of information like that, but even Rie herself can't testify about the people who hurt her… This is frustrating!"
"The people who hurt her…?" Shou steps back, scared at the thought of what might have happened in the school grounds. "Then what she said about you and that girl…"
"Do you really think that is true, Shou?!" He glares at the younger sibling that gulps in response "The reason I was called by the guards a while ago is that… I was suspected to be the person who…" he stops himself, his eyes becoming vacant along the lines of the ground.
"No! You would never...! They should've known you would never! It can't be you, brother! But why were they even thinking that? Why would you be involved in this? It doesn't make any sense!"
"Rie can't speak and I just happened to be at the right place and met her by chance… That is all. But this whole mess… This is on a whole new level now…"
"If something really happened, then we should talk to the director about it!" Shou closes his fists, exasperated.
"It's useless, unless she can remember and point at the people who were there, they will not take anything she says into account. No one will…"
His younger brother looks at his profile, the serious, cold and cool brother he admired has such a saddened air around him, it makes his brows coil upwards automatically in affliction.
"Hey, Kaiser! You will get nothing by being depressed here. You helped her in the duel because you wanted her to win over those girls, right? I understand why now! And I am sure your message got through!"
"That's right! If something happened then… You shouldn't be here, brother! If she needs help, then we will help too! We've heard more than enough!"
He is flabbergasted upon seeing the younger student trying to cheer him up, his brother also joins the cause.
"Brother, we can't stand still! But… It's not like you to be so angry and upset! Your cool, calm self does much better! The brother I know would fare much better in thinking things thoroughly…"
"Shou…"
His eyes are moved with affection in seeing his younger sibling telling him that. He has grown so much in that time in the academy, as a person too. They are right, instead of trying to understand what transpired, he should first hear from Rie herself what really happened.
Meanwhile,
At the cliff
Rie sits embracing her legs, looking at the ocean and at the rocks and ground down the cliff, her eyes are empty. She hears footsteps approaching, but doesn't bother to look at whoever is coming.
"Rie-chan… I was searching for you… What those girls said, don't pay heed to them! They're just bad losers and most likely jealous that you're friends with Ryo, which is much more than they'll ever be."
She gapes at the blonde, turning away her weary gaze, Asuka can see the red markers on the corners of her eyes as if she had just stopped crying seconds ago. Her fingers type something reluctantly, showing a message.
"Their behavior is not your fault, neither Ryo's… He just likes to act as if it is his responsibility too. Plus… Even if they pretend they know everything, not all they say is wrong…"
"Rie-chan, you can't mean…" a drop of sweat trickles down her face "You don't… I am sure they're just making mean rumors about you and Ryo because they're jealous, he is not that type of person and I don't think you are either…"
"No, not that… They found a very nasty way to say it, however, it is a fact… That night I was attacked by four boys and it didn't just stop at that…"
Asuka gulps, the words surprise her with the tone the girl uses, she then sits down and accommodates herself for a longer talk, afraid of what she might hear.
"Do you want to talk about it…? I mean, you don't need to… But I was worried about you. I'm sure Ryo is also worried…"
"Thank you, Asuka. I know it. I know in my heart how he feels. I will never forget the expression he had that day."
"What really happened…? I didn't go to the lighthouse that night, but even when I asked, he... Never told me… Everyone was commenting how he skipped classes, but in truth he was called by the guards..."
She stares at the sun setting for a moment, then starts typing calmly, Asuka waits for the answers in a state of anxiety and shock, her thoughts running miles.
"On that night, months ago, I… Went to the abandoned dorms for the second time… Some boys from the obelisk blue were there. They were younger, first years judging by their uniform, but they went there to use drugs."
"What?! This is…"
"I don't know if it was because I was there or if the incense of the drugs got into my nostrils too, but I thought I saw my friends… I revealed myself in fear and they surrounded me… Four of them… They just wanted to shut my mouth at first, but there was nothing to worry about to begin with since I couldn't speak anyways… They pulled my collar to stop me from running, but my uniform was ripped apart… From then on… It all escalated so quickly… Just so… Quickly…"
"Rie…"
She shivers in fear, and embraces herself, her expression has a mix of terror and disgust as she recalls more than she would like to.
"One of them, he… He…"
A thought crosses Asuka's mind, she remembers when Ryo asked her about suicide, she again has understanding of what he wanted to know at the time. If she only knew it was this serious.
"I jumped into the sea."
The blonde looks at the waves crashing onto the rocks violently and tries to portrait the scene in her mind. How mortifying it must have felt to resort to this.
"It was dark and the sea waves were unbridled. But Ryo-san was there… He jumped into the sea without a second thought… Even though he was risking his life too... And then he got us out of there… Though, even back then… He might have thought it was maybe better not to…"
"He saved you."
"That's right. He saved me, but his expression after seeing me in that state, he was completely terrified… That Kaiser Ryo who everyone deems as cold and perfect, looked like he'd had the biggest shock of his life… He was as afraid as me…"
"Is this why… He was questioned by the guards?"
"Yes. The guards arrived a bit after, you can imagine why they'd send Ryo-san to an interrogation room and treat him as a criminal…"
"This is why he looked so depressed back then, I…" the blonde thinks to herself, feeling sad she couldn't help him in that moment and that she couldn't help Rie too.
"Since then, he has been trying to find out what I knew regarding the dorms, but I refused to say a word. After some time, he convinced me to tell about it and this is when we decided to go there…"
"Hm." she nods with a faint smile "He asked me to find a cute notebook for girls. At the time, I didn't know it was for you or why he'd even ask that…"
Rie flinches in surprise, blushing a bit embarrassed that Asuka has been participating in it all along too.
"Thank you for listening to me, Asuka-san…"
"This is the least I could do… I am glad you could open up and talk to someone. But knowing him, probably Ryo was the one that wanted to have this talk first. He tried to help you after all."
She smiles with a worried tone, Rie's eyes waver with those words, she looks at the horizon, saddened.
"I can still hear it out."
A voice surprises both girls, they turn around, Rie's eyes wide open with the sight of Kaiser in person. He has a soft, fond smile, and a half apologetical tone. An entirely different semblance than what he displayed before.
"Ryo! Why are you here?"
"I came to apologize..." he lowers his head, feeling ashamed for how the situation escalated. "And also to talk to her."
A small smile clings to the blonde's lips and she nods in approval, she comes closer, tapping his shoulder and turning around.
"Rie-chan. You should listen to him."
She leaves the scene, going into that forest to not interrupt their moment, but bumps into someone else in the woods, and with a surprised expression, she is pulled to the side, to hide behind a tree with them as they gesture to keep silent and watch.
Ryo stands still for a second. His fists threaten to close as he looks at her, not only she has to deal with those rumors, but with the memories she'd been trying to forget. His performance was more than pathetic in not dealing well with the situation. But was there something he could have done differently?
"Rie, I am sorry. Even though I should know better how you feel, I couldn't stop those people from saying awful things. It's my fault, had they not seen you talking to me, they'd probably leave you alone... I am truly sorry."
"Ryo-san, you were there… You saw me that night… Didn't you? You were the one that helped me there. I can't say all she told is a lie… Even if she distorted the story on purpose…"
"You should disregard all that girl said, she knows nothing about you or me and has no right to act so despicably. But because of me she was…"
"That was not your fault. You can't answer for other people's actions, Ryo-san."
A heavy sigh is let out into the air, he seems unsatisfied with that answer, but continues regardless.
"I know I've sought your help before, but this time, I came here to offer my help. It's possible that man, your psychologist was lying about not knowing the culprit, if there is any clue or a chance we can get to them, we should try."
"Even so… I… I don't even know where to start…"
"You said we were friends, right? Friends help each other in times of need, I got your help before, it's my turn now. I will do my best to assist you, so you don't need to do this alone. But to help you, I need to know what really happened…"
He steps closer, casting an earnest look into her eyes, she looks up wondering as he stretches his hand out to her.
"Will you receive my help this time?"
Hearing those words made her eyes melt again, they had such beautiful color while glimmering. Her tears started falling down, moved by his kindness as she accepts his caring hand, being pulled up. She covers her face for a moment, nodding faintly, but then types the next part.
"Even if you ask me to do this… I don't know what to do… I've tried many times… But I can't remember… I just can't remember… I can hear their laughter every night when I try to sleep, under my eyelids, I can still... I just can't think of…"
She puts a hand to her mouth, a feeling of dizziness subduing her senses as everything around swirls in a spiral of twisted darkness, mixing memories, noises and places. The device slides from her hands and she covers her face to hide her tears.
As if his heart was pierced by an arrow it hurts, throbbing as if it's about to burst out of his chest. He stands silent, his eyes oscillate, afflicted with those words, he remembers it too well for his own good. His fists finally open.
He kneels down with a grumble of discomfort, taking her PDA and placing a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention back to his face. He raises her hand, putting the device back onto her palm.
"You don't need to remember it, we will find a way to reach the truth even if you can't. Don't let what they said take you down, you are stronger than that, Rie."
His hand feels so tepid. She breathes deeply, wiping her own tears and holding the device firmly, his brows curl up slightly in pity at her next message.
"Ironical, isn't it? This is supposed to be a self-defense mechanism, but because my brain cowardly runs away from the truth, I can't even give a lawful punishment to those boys."
"Don't put it like that… You've done well enough by returning to the dorms despite all that happened there." he crosses his arms, looking ahead. "Now… Will you tell me what happened that night before you came to the cliff?"
He casts a glance sideways, she gapes, taking in air for a moment, then closes her lips, looking at the ground, then starts typing slowly. As she unravels the tale into words, she can see the frown on his face growing more and more, his hands creasing his uniform, he doesn't voice a single word. His orbs are lost in his own mind and his semblance rather distant, despite that, she can see how utterly bothered he seems.
After she finishes the telling, he is stuck inside his mind, pondering about it all. Those girls also said something about rumors spreading in the female student's forums. There is much to search about the whole case.
His eyes flinch upon hearing what he thought to be faint, noisy voices behind, unconsciously, his gaze drifts behind his shoulders to the forest and his eyes narrow in distrust, there doesn't seem to be anyone there. His attention shifts back to her when he feels a pull on his sleeve.
"Do you think someone told them those rumors…? But who would do that? And will they spread those lies more?"
"Don't worry too much, we will find it out and stop whoever is doing it."
From afar, an audience watches restlessly, Shou is now looking at the scene of his brother having a serious talk to that girl whose past he didn't know up till then. He can't hear them but the scene allures his eyes, as his brother stands proudly and almost harshly, speaking unknown words to the pink-haired who listens quietly and nods sometimes.
"Why are you here?" Asuka raises a brow, bothered by their presence.
"I just wanted to… I had a bad feeling, but I get why my brother would be so upset, yet…" his eyes tremble at the sight "I didn't know any of that…"
"Hehe, your brother is a great guy, Shou! He is very cool, you know?" Judai slaps his friend's back happily.
"Hm, he is…" he nods, but his next sentences are discouraged "But… I am worried… Such a pretty girl like her, for something this awful to happen…"
"You two, stop spying, will you? If you want to help, give them some time! You can ask everything later!"
Asuka scolds, grabbing them both by their collars and dragging them away again with an annoyed scowl. Taking a last glance back at the two, wishing the best for Rie.
Ryo turns around, he has the impression he heard Asuka's voice, but all he gets as a response by looking at the woods in the wind rustling the leaves. When he turns back, there is already a text on the display of her screen.
"Thank you for listening… Though, you probably felt uncomfortable hearing it all…"
"I can't say it's not hard to stomach it…" he sighs in dismay "But, it doesn't matter. I told I'd help and I needed to know all about it. It must have been hard for you to speak about it too, so worry more about yourself."
She confirms with a shake of her head, tears swelling up again, he taps her shoulder lightly with a half-smile and in an attempt to soothe her, she wipes her tears away again.
"I'm sorry… I will stop being such a crybaby…"
"It's fine to cry a bit more if you want." he smiles fondly.
Placing both hands on her shoulders, he pulls her gently in an embrace, wrapping his arms around her back with tenderness, his hand resting on her head bringing it closer, she is stunned for a moment, but in a second he can feel her tears soaking his uniform again. It doesn't matter as long as she feels better.
Her hair is so silky, his grip strengthens unconsciously, closing his eyes, etching that long moment into his memory. He thought he'd been comforting her, but why does it feel like it was him who found the most comfort in that hug?
She suddenly pushes him away, frantically typing while blushing, wiping the remainder of her tears with a calmer semblance.
"I am fine now! I should go back to the dorms and check if my deck was the only thing that vanished…"
She quickly turns around walking in a hurry towards the girls' dorms, he blinks aloofly wondering why she looked so nervous, then turns to the horizon and smiles briefly. It disappears so fast it is questionable whether he indeed smiled or not, but at least his heart feels a bit more at peace she finally was able to accept his help and make new friends, regardless of whatever those girls said.
He is invested into finding whoever hurt Rie and for that, he must take a proper look into the facts and suspects. Of course, all of this while still maintaining his grades and his focus on dueling. Still, he doesn't feel weighted by his decision of helping even if it happens to bother his schedules, in truth, he is relieved in becoming someone she can rely on instead of it being the other way around.
Why is that? Why does he feel like this when it's about her? It's different from how he feels around Asuka. With her, he is more intensely worried and easily irritated, he even snapped more than once. Ever since what happened at the dorms, he has been feeling like his heart is restless and his mind often drifting off to her.
Shaking off those thoughts, he tries to concentrate on the objectives ahead thinking on how to best start his investigation.