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.
presea221: They are very cute and they're both on the shy side (or at least, so far they're like that), while they did have some nice time together, well, Ryo is having issues and he doesn't want help right now from anyone, as you can see he is distancing himself and we know where it will end, it is all more heartbreaking exactly because he rejected Rie's help. As for their mother, she might rub off as too intrusive for him despite being lovable. We will now see the birth of Hell Kaiser and how Rie will deal with that.
The duel is mostly a copy paste from the anime (a few add-ons), but with sprinkles on Ryo's perspective and insight. Also, a recommendation of a song that reminds me of Hell Kaiser: "Ray of Sunlight" from Hello Sleepwalkers.
A longer chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it. Now, let's see Ryo snapping!
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Chapter 15: Hell Kaiser Ryo
Inside a suspicious looking building, the chattering of the crowd is almost silent, an unnerving sensation creeping under his skin. There is an eerie aura hovering in the whole room and an indescribable tension. All the spectators use masks of many shapes and colors.
Ryo's eyes scan around the place, he can only see smirks on those covered faces and eyes that seem to have a dubious glint. In the end, he is here, where that man suggested.
"You came! I knew you would reconsider." His laugh is low and muffled. "You'll not regret it." Saruyama seems more than satisfied with his decision.
He steps inside the cage, unaware of the true nature of those duels. Naivety, perhaps? For someone who shone brilliantly at his school, to be here is already a sign of how desperate he has been trying to keep living on as a duelist.
His opponent is a muscular man with a sadistic smile. His brows furrow on their own, even at first glance, he can tell this man is very different from all the duelists he has battled until now.
He enters the pit, both him and his opponent are trapped in that fenced cage, his eyes narrow slightly feeling an inner trepidation, not in excitement, but in caution.
"So this is an underground duel… The imitation elements are obvious, but the duel seems to be just the same."
He analyzes calmly, then, the surprise comes, both of them are assisted in putting strange devices on their necks and arms. He looks back with a frown as if demanding an explanation from the man outside the cage.
"What is this?"
"It's an impact amplification device. Pain will flow through your body for even a slight bit of damage."
"What?!"
"This is an underground duel. And until the outcome is reached you cannot get out of this cage." he snickers saying the next part "Of course, even if the outcome is decided, there is no guarantee you will make it out safely… Or alive…" he sneers at the last part.
"Let's start, pro league loser! In this place, no one cares who you are!" he provokes with a smirk and a war cry, showing off his muscles.
"I have no other choice..." he clenches his teeth worriedly.
Without any other option left, he looks at the opponent eagerly waiting to crush him. Their champion and an experienced duelist that has sent many others to the hospital with his dueling: Mad Dog Inukai.
His opponent starts by summoning an Acid Slime and setting a card face-down on the trap/spell zone. Ryo draws, sets a card on his spell/trap zone and activates the Time Capsule spells, choosing a card from his deck to banish from the deck and get to his hand during his second standby phase. He then special summons his Cyberdragon to the field.
"If I attack with my Cyberdragon, he will be hit for 800 life points damage."
"What? Chickening out?!" the man taunts his hesitation "I will get rid of your doubts for you! Trap card activate: Acidic Last Machine Virus! I offer the water-attribute monster on my field as a sacrifice and if any machine type cards are in your hand or in your draw cards for 3 turns, this will destroy them! Rust out, Cyberdragon!"
With the activation, Ryo's Cyberdragon is destroyed by the effect, the man smirks in relish explaining the last part:
"For each monster destroyed, your life will be cut in 500 points!"
When the first shock through the device hits him, it's unbearably painful, his whole body feels like it's burning from inside out. They want him to keep dueling like this? To think while his body cries out loud and cringes? The crowd is exhilarated with his pain. It reminds him of the shadow duel, this can't be right.
"What is this...?!"
"In this underground duel, every time your life points are cut you'll be taking actual damage that matches those points. It will literally cut your life away. This is why one duelist after the other gets completely destroyed."
"This is not a duel!" he shouts indignant. "You tricked me, didn't you?!"
"Nonsense." The muffled laugh of the man is full of scorn. "Just look at those spectators, they are enticed as they keep an eye on your every move. There is nothing better than a life-or death-match! This is entertainment! The pro league is just like playing on lukewarm waters anyways."
Ryo clenches his teeth, this man has no idea of how wrong this is, he doesn't care. With a smirk followed by a guffaw, he continues, ignoring the annoyed expression on the boy's face:
"Now, please continue the duel, Hell Kaiser Ryo! Our spectators are thrilled to see how this duel unravels!"
The watchers start complaining about the boredom of his duel, because he doesn't do any move, he is startled, looking around at them. His brows frown, unlike that time in school, this is not any shadow duel, it is a true underground experience and the ones causing him pain are none other than real people by making him use those devices.
"I end my turn." His voice is drowned among all the complaints, it can barely be heard.
"My turn! I draw! I activate the magic card Contingency Fee! You'll draw until your hand has six cards! As for each card you draw, you'll be restoring my life by 1000 points!"
While Ryo draws, the man's 4000 life points become 7000, his smile enlarges as he declares pleased:
"Because of the effect of my Acidic Last Machine Virus, I'll be checking all the cards you draw!"
"There are no monsters."
"Humph, then let's use one more: magic card Hand Obliteration! We both discard our hands and draw as many cards!"
"Another draw..." a drop of sweat appears on his face, his eyes narrowing in tension.
The man discarded 3 cards, but Ryo discarded 6. Inukai smirks, demanding to see his hand, of which among the 6 cards drawn, 4 were machine type monsters.
"Damn him..." Ryo grits his teeth, cursing the opponent mentally for his wickedness.
"Because of the effect of my card, you'll lose 2000 points of life! Savor the pain of hell!"
Ryo's 3500 are reduced to 1500 and a string electric current runs down his whole body, his muscles writhe in pain, he can feel every fiber of his body screaming out to stop it, letting a yell escape, it seems to excite the audience as they comment in joy, his legs falter for a moment, he almost falls forward, but supports his leg on the last minute, regaining his balance, his thoughts drifting wildly.
"This guy… His whole deck… It was made to counter my machine type monsters… Did he know who he'd be dueling beforehand…? Is it possible that..." his eyes squint irritated at the supposed manager that grins in response "It was that guy, wasn't it? They planned this from the start… To make me come here and duel like this… Those people are in this together..." he clenches his teeth. "He told my opponent about my deck, they made sure his cards were perfect to counter me, it was rigged from the start… Using dirty tricks… Those people… They're all…" he snarls inwardly for letting himself be fooled by them.
Not waiting for his opponent, Inukai draws, summoning Clone Slime (ATK 0) to the field and setting 2 cards in the trap/spell zone, ending his turn. Ryo wheezes, still recomposing himself, then proceeds with the duel, drawing for the start of his turn.
"From my hand I activate Future Fusion! It sends fusion material monsters from my deck to the cemetery to special summon one fusion monster!"
"No way I will let that happen! I open my trap card! Jammer Slime! By discarding one card in my hand with 'slime' in its name, it can negate the effect of my opponent's magic or trap card and destroy it!" he smirks as the Future Fusion is destroyed "The card I sent to the cemetery was the Draw Slime, with its effect, I can draw one card!"
A drop of sweat forms on Ryo's face, his opponent is foiling all his attempts for a comeback, relishing all the agony he causes.
"If you are so hellbent in summoning a machine type, I could think about it..." he stretches his hand "Trap card open! Despised Treaty! The opposing player can special summon a level 4 or less monster from their deck! But if he does, I draw 2 cards from my deck! If you just turned this effect down, I will lose 1000 points of damage! Now, which will be?"
"No matter what, I have to make it to Cyber End Dragon..." his thoughts cause more sweat to roll down his face, feeling cornered.
"I special summon the Proto Cyber Dragon from my deck in attack mode! As long as it's out while face up, this card is treated as a Cyber Dragon!"
"I'll draw two cards!"
"I battle! I use the Proto Cyber Dragon to attack the Clone Slime!"
"What a pity! When Clone Slime is attacked it can switch out with a slime monster in my cemetery! I'll replace it with my Acid Slime! And I'm sure you didn't forget the effect of it! When it's destroyed in battle, the opposing player takes 800 points of damage!"
The electricity runs through his body again, his pained screams indulges the audience as their sadistic smirks fill the air with an unpleasant vibe. Ryo's life points are reduced to 700, he squeezes his eyes shut as his nerves burn under his skin, pulsating in pain.
"My turn… ended…" his voice is hoarse when it comes out, weary.
How long will his body be able to keep this up? Will he faint before the duel ends? If it keeps going on like this… He feels he's gonna end up no different from the people hospitalized before him.
"My turn, draw! Why don't we keep the dance of death going for you? Magic card Slime Base! I special summon one slime monster in my hand! I summon Multiple Slime in attack mode! I use it to attack the proto Cyber Dragon!"
When the battle is waged, the Proto Cyber Dragon is destroyed and another impact makes his body shudder in pain, his life points reduced to 300, his groan echoes again in the pit. His eyes squeeze tightly, how much more suffering can this body handle? Even his shadow duels did not provide this amount of agony, they were shorter.
"I set two cards face down, ending my turn!"
"A fine reaction! Your anguished expression would make quite the picture! If you are a pro-league dropout and want to cling to dueling, you'll need to get your hands dirty like this! Are you prepared for that? To throw every notion of right you had before and rise from ashes as a brand new duelist forged on fire?"
"I... Never considered going this far to cling to dueling!" he scowls at the trickster who brought him there "Let me out of here!"
"If you want to get out, you just need to win and get out. Why won't you realize something so obvious?" his smirk enlarges, his brows furrowing in contempt and disdain, as if he is trying to rile the boy up.
"Because… My life is at mere 300… I'll be finished if I draw a machine type monster. How can I…?"
Ryo's eyes look in front, at his opponent, but they are vague and lost, hazy. He can no longer see the man, his mind dazes off to a different plan of existence, perhaps his brain had too much of the shocks, or perhaps his coward-self fights against the image of the Kaiser he used to be yet again.
"The truth about you comes forth, it seems. You lose because things are at your disadvantage. You haven't thought once about trying to win, have you?"
"What?!" he grits his teeth, casting an irritated glance back at the man.
"Unless you gain victory, you won't be able to survive. In essence that means, dueling, does it not? If that is so, then it doesn't matter which moves you use, so long as you win."
The man he sees now looked exactly like that shadow, his words piercing inside his ears like a twisted echo. A shiver runs down his spine, it is all too similar, back then too he saw how awful that disrespectful dueling was, someone who had no qualms of using dirty tactics and even Rie was…
"I can't discard my dueling..."
"Hm. Then you can just go and lose." his grin enlarges, knowing the effect his words create inside that boy's mind.
"Me, lose?"
His gaze is cast to the ground, pondering about those words as the images of his very first shadow duel come to his mind. He tried there too, he did his best to win and he won, but at what cost? In the end, he couldn't help Rie, he couldn't help Fubuki.
He reminds Judai's smile saying how much of a perfect duelist he is and Ed's face telling him how losing his composure will just lead to failure. This dueling of his that everyone always said to be perfect crumbled down. The world around swirls in an amalgam of distorted thoughts.
This respectful dueling he has set as a rule to himself, when did it ever bring any good? Rie lost her voice, his friend was trapped in darkness and even as he respected the duelist of the pro league, he got no respect back from that. Then why… Why is he still clinging to something so useless? It cannot win the duel for him, and even if it does, it will not help him, it will not help bring back Rie's voice and it would not have saved Fubuki from darkness. It amounts to nothing.
He is afraid. Afraid of losing again, of losing everything, if something like this happened in a different situation, he could lose more than just a duel. He can't even keep his word for a single promise, something so simple, so arbitrary.
Back then had he been different, perhaps that creature could have been stopped before causing harm. He could've saved his brother before Camula threatened to take his soul, so many things, so much could have been different. He is afraid of seeing it all repeat and he will be just the same as usual, someone with a cool image that he can't keep up, an ideal he cannot fulfill.
Has he been this weak the whole time? Without ever noticing, without ever realizing how pathetic it must have been to call himself an undefeated Kaiser when all he can do is tremble and remember the countless failures he had before, unable to move?
"Hurry up and draw, loser!" The opponent mocks him with a devilish smirk.
His blood simmers hectically, natural wrinkles forming on his face, he is so done with all this. So tired of always being one step behind, of never doing anything, never achieving a true victory. He has been fiddling around too much.
"The effect of my Time Capsule activates on my second standby-phase!" he takes the Overload Fusion card from the capsule. "From my hand, I activate Power Bond! I send as many cards needed by a fusion monster from my hand or field to the cemetery to special-summon a machine-type fusion monster! However, I don't have any cards in my hand or field, therefore I activate the magic card Cybernetic Fusion Support! I pay half of my life points to be able to use this card as a substitute to summon machine type fusion monsters! Come forth, Cyber End Dragon!"
The monster towers behind him as the audience watches attentively, his new manager included, his smirk is the same as he observes the ability of his new recruit, a cynical glint on his gaze.
"Due to the effect of Power Bond, it's attack is doubled! During the end-phase of the turn Power Bond is played, its player gets their life points reduced by the amount of the original attack of its special summoned monster. So, I'm going to end it all this turn!"
"Maybe, but I can't let you do that! Trap activate! Slime Hole! It activates when a monster is special-summoned and restores my life points by that monster's ATK!"
His life points climb up to 15000 with the move, making it impossible to win in one turn with Cyber End, his grin enlarges as he pronounces the next part:
"And it destroys that monster…! You're at your wit's end! Your defeat is set in stone now!"
That is the last straw of his maddening experience. His heart is filled with an unprecedented anger. He has been trying to do it right. Respecting his opponents, being nice to them, but where did it get him? He can't just be like that, not in the pro league, not here. This attitude will just slow him down, it will be a hurdle to his growth.
All those memories of what he lost and just how much people around him lost because of his incompetence, because of this idiotic notion of a lifestyle he wanted to keep strike him at once.
It was always Judai, or Rie or someone else saving him, making up for his mistakes. Even when he won, all he has done is lose and make people near him lose more in the end. He had enough of this, even if he needs to dive into an unknown abyss, he will make sure he is not ending on the losing side anymore.
"I'm fed up…" he says between his teeth.
"Fed up…? What are you talking about?"
"I'm fed up! I'm done with losing!" he shouts out loud, a burning aura emanating from him his next words come shaky "I don't care how I do it... I want to win… And defeat you..."
"Impossible!"
"I finally understand it now… Ever since I lost my match to Ed I've kept fooling around…" he grits his teeth, his head lowered to the ground, his eyes closed tight, a sorrowed frown on his brows, his hands are so numbed by the electricity he can barely feel the cards he holds. "My dueling is about respecting my opponents. I thought that if I could just keep it that way, then winning or losing wouldn't matter… But I was wrong… That is what a loser would think… 'It doesn't matter'? It does matter!" his eyes finally open, a drop of a weary sweat on his face, his voice becoming graver as he speaks the next words "I hunger for it… I thirst for it… For a true victory!"
The expression Inukai sees in that boy in front of him scares him, he gulps warily. When that youngster entered the pit, he paid no heed, but right now, he can see it, the rage, frustration and all the pent up negative emotions overflowing from him, his determined eyes of someone who cares not for the sake of others. He sweats at the sight, feeling pressured and threatened by those eyes.
"Even if I have to snatch the victory from your pocket, I'll..." his tone becomes harder and more raspy as he continues "Reverse card open! Call of the Living Dead! It special-summons one monster from my cemetery in attack mode! I special summon the Proto Cyber Dragon! And then, from my hand, I activate the magic card Overload Fusion! It removes fusion-material monsters from my field or graveyard from the game to special summon one machine-type fusion monster!"
His eyes sharpen, defying the man standing ahead that seems less and less sure he can muster a victory.
"I'll summon Chimeratech Over Dragon! It needs a sacrifice of two or more machine-type monsters, that includes the Cyber Dragon out in my field! I will use six as a sacrifices! This is how I struggle to survive!" his voice is louder and louder, the monsters behind him mingling to form a new being. "Come Forth, Chimeratech Over Dragon!"
"An ATK of 4800?!" his eyes wide open in surprise.
"I'll use the Chimeratech Over Dragon to attack Multiple Slime! Evolution Result Burst!"
The man's life points are reduced to 11700, he suffers under the powerful shock, but regains his composure quickly.
"Since you destroyed my Multiple Slime, it special-summons three Slime Monster Tokens in attack mode in the field! Next I open a reverse card! Trap Trip! It adds one trap from the graveyard to my hand!"
"Acidic Last Machine Virus, is it?" Ryo's smirk looks deranged, his voice is cynical and raspy. "That thing gave me a hard time these last three turns, but I won't let you activate it anymore."
"I have three water-attribute monsters in my field! If I have just one left, I'll activate it, and it will be the end!"
"Didn't I say that I would end things this turn?! I'm going to win!" his last sentence comes out overbearingly loud.
"Hah! It's impossible!" his opponent snorts.
"You can't do that!" even Saruyama doubts his words.
"Chimeratech Over Dragon is able to attack as many times as the number of monsters used as sacrifices! That means I still have five more attacks!"
"What?!" both his manager and his enemy shout in unison, shocked.
"Evolution Result burst - Quintuple barrage!"
Five out of the six heads of the dragon shoot a burst of lighting that decimates the field of the opponent and directly hit him, the shock is so powerful, it explodes the devices, swallowing the man in a curtain of smoke. The explosion is so big the whole arena behind him crumbles, the after impact causes a huge shockwave that blows a strong wind, almost blowing the watchers along with it as the pained yell of Inukai soars through the ring.
The sounds of glass cups and objects crashing to ground forces the witnesses to shrivel down and protect themselves. When the smoke dissipates, Inukai is fallen to the ground, face up, his life points reduced to zero.
Saruyama sighs in relief and smirks wickedly, the expression that the Kaiser has now is much better than before, eyes full of contempt for his opponent. This is what he wanted, a completely unbridled performance.
"Hell Kaiser Ryo… A monster born… From the underground..." His cruel grin enlarges. He found a rough diamond that will make lots of money for him.
The viewers are all stupefied and some had to run away from the surroundings of the cage to escape the blast, as Ryo stands proudly, looking down on his opponent, sated by that victory.
A month later
Ever since that day at the entrance of the minor league stadium, Rie hasn't heard about him or talked to him. Her messages are ignored again. After two whole weeks trying to communicate, her hopes of reaching him through messages and words are destroyed.
She has occupied herself with work for the following weeks, but even in a busy routine, she can't help but wander off in her thoughts and ask herself what will be of him and where he is right now, the worry gnawing her heart. Every now and then, she checks the duels on TV and every day she reads the news about it, however, there is no sign of him.
At her apartment, she sits on the bed, the rain outside makes drops rush down the glass windows. Her room is not large, simple: a bed, a desk, a bathroom and kitchen on the side, perfect for someone living alone like her and she can afford it.
Her knees are bent up, she uses the thighs to support her device that both works as a communicator and broadcasts TV channels. Her eyes are vague, a glint of sadness dwelling inside. She doesn't even know where his apartment is and even if she did, would he allow her in for a talk?
The water rolling down the outside of her glass windows just makes the mood all more depressing. The brightness of the screen is the only source of light in her dark room, her glance watches the minor league duels, but there is no interest or life in them.
"Ryo-san… What happened to you? Where are you now…?"
He disappeared from the spotlights and from the dueling league stage completely, leaving no vestige behind. Did he go on a journey to improve himself? Did he start trying out new strategies with his deck? Is he avoiding tabloids on purpose? How is his current life?
She has asked him all those questions via messages, nonetheless, not a single answer was given to her. Her eyes flicker recalling how he simply ignored her attempts. He smiled so fondly, yet he was so cold when she tried to approach him, purposely distancing himself, leaving her behind. Why?
Her vision is blurred as the tears drop, despite all the time they had together, why was he being so cruel to her, leaving her out, going on his own, never telling how he truly feels. She wanted to be together, help each other, regardless of circumstances. A flinch snatches her attention back to the TV, the description of the one narrating the match.
"Coming back from the depths of hell, we welcome Hell Kaiser Ryo!"
Her eyes open up in faze, the man entering the small, unpopular stadium it's him. Clad in black, so gothic, apart from the clothes, there is something else different about him, his arrogant smirk. She has never seen such an expression, his usual calm, polite demeanor seems to not exist anymore.
"Such unseen power! Such uncontrolled strength!"
Crushing his opponents with no qualms on the methods he uses, he defeats the other duelist perfectly, but his eyes are so callous. Even from the small screen, she can feel it, something bad has happened.
"Ryo-san…"
She is frightened of what he has become. What happened? And is that really him? She can't have preconceptions just after seeing it once, she must confirm with her own eyes and try asking again what he has been up to since the last time they saw each other.
At the duel academy,
Shou watches that match, seeing Ryo completely wipe out the enemies without a hint of respect or concern. The smirk he has on his face is one he has never witnessed before in any memory he had with his brother. That isn't him. That person on the other side of the screen does not resemble his older brother in the slightest.
"Maybe one day, I'll have to duel him… I will have to duel my brother, won't I? But what is this feeling? I can't stop shaking…"
His hands tremble subtly, around him are Judai and a couple other students, Shou is the most fixated one on the TV, his concentration is broken by the vibration of his student PDA. He gasps and rushes so fast no one has time to question why, closing the door behind and standing outside the dorms.
"Mom, why are you calling now?"
"Ah, Shou! Did you see your brother on TV? Is he having an image change? Or a rebellious phase? I thought he was past that age, but I must say he looks really good in black! And..." she runs lips for about a minute while the son sighs trying to find an opportunity to talk. "What is it sweetie? Am I talking too much again? I was just worried because I didn't have news about your brother for a while, I thought you'd be happy to see him on TV too."
"I don't know what is going on… But try to not bother him too much."
"Who says I'm bothering?" She pouts "Sincerely… I wish I'd have a daughter to talk to me sometimes… I love you all, but boys can be such a handful…"
"Mom…" he blurts out ashamedly.
"I get it, I'll leave you, your brother and your dueling career alone, just call me sometimes, I miss you all very much, sweetie. He used to call me, but he suddenly stopped. I'd figured he didn't want to tell me much anymore, but this kinda hurts, you know?"
"I-I will try calling you." he stammers nervously "What about father, how is he doing?"
"Ah, you know him, he will once in a while casually ask about you two, but won't move a finger to have a face call, sheesh… He didn't say a word, but I caught him casting a glimpse of one of your brother's duels on TV some months ago, he even sketched a smile, looking all proud. Even your father couldn't resist how cute your brother was when he first told us he wanted to be a duelist, you know? I'm sure he appreciates seeing how much Ryo has grown."
"You said 'sketched'…?"a drop of sweat rolls down Shou's chin, maybe she was trying too hard to make their father look cool. "I can't even portray that... But how are you, mom?"
They have some small talk before he finally manages to send her off without worrying she might call next week. A troubled sigh comes out of his lips, his brows curling up unwillingly in consternation, wondering what is going on in his brother's life.
At the minor league stadium
For his next duel, Rie goes in person, watching him from afar. It is impressive how much he has transformed. His grin is merciless and icy, his eyes show no respect and his attitude is overbearing. Is there anything left of the person she used to know?
She needs to speak to him, to try again. He disappeared for some time and came back like a shooting star, climbing back to fame in his career but an utter change of behavior.
Amidst the flashes of cameras he walks away, ignoring the reporters and people asking billion questions, his eyes are sharp and uninterested, he even bounces off rudely with his arms at the people that approach, earning shocked and flabbergasted expressions, also a few swoons of fangirls. His glance squints, cast to the side, landing upon her for a second.
A chill runs down her spine, his gaze is dark and full of emptiness, a conceited smirk plays on his lips, for an instant, she feels like he is taunting her, but that smirk vanishes along with his emotions, his eyes are set somewhere else, the whole world seems to not be valuable enough his attention, he treats everyone like this.
"What happened to you during this time you were gone…? Ryo-san…"
For the following weeks, she hears more and more about his duels, he is on the TV again, his ruthlessness towards his opponents is his strong point and now he is more popular than ever.
She went to his matches a couple times, but every time he'd do the same, destroy his opponent and leave with no regard for anyone else. His fame increased quickly, to the point all the magazines had an article about how he'd soon be back into the major pro league.
In her office, she stares at the magazine paper, his picture printed on it. His smile has no traits of the gentleness he had during the school days. Her heart wavers at the sight, afflicted with it. She has no answers from him either, as if he completely forgot about her.
Her ears catch the words in the air, it looked like a harmless chit chat from her colleagues. There should be nothing to worry about. But this strange feeling in her chest when something is very off in the story:
"You're going to investigate more of those cases of wounded duelists suspected to be caused by underground duels?"
"Yes. It seems last night, about ten duelists came into a hospital in the middle of the night, all unconscious, some of them even had some burn marks on the neck and arms."
"Seriously?! That stuff is illegal!"
"You heard the rumors? That the famous duelist Hell Kaiser was born in one of those."
"Hah. Considering his personality, I would not be surprised!"
"Man, it sucks, I'd rather be in the main stadium, those side cases are a bore to write about."
They continue their ranting and laughter until they hear the sound of nervous, heavy footsteps approaching, all of them stop and look into the direction of the noise. It's Rie with a strict expression, showing her message:
"This case, please, tell me more about it!"
"You're interested in it, Kinomoto?" Her male coworker has a cocky grin and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to write the article for me and keep it just between us so I get the credits. I would give it to you in that case."
"Fine." She snatches the papers from his hands and quickly looks into it "Give me all the info you have in this case, Tonomiya."
The group is in utter bafflement, exchanging glances between each other, a drop of sweat rolls down the face of her colleague, the offer was an actual joke, to think she'd take it this serious and promptly accept it.
"This you're holding is all I have now." he almost stutters.
"Good. I can start it."
She nods and takes her belongings, darting out of the office, stunning even more the colleagues. The man who just spoke to her stands up in a daze, his eyes cast at her office desk, she barely turned off the computer and left in such a rush. The magazine she was looking into is still open. The page shows: "Hell Kaiser Ryo! The return from the depths of hell".
"Eh, so she's into those types, huh…?" He ponders for a moment.
"You don't know? She came from the same duel academy as Hell Kaiser."
"You think they were colleagues?" one of the female coworkers questions in a disrespectful tone.
"Probably she was just a fan, had a crush on him or something. That mute girl actually knowing a pro duelist like this? I can't believe it. They were probably not even in the same class!"
"I thought so too… No way she knows that Hell Kaiser."
They laugh and have fun gossiping, but that man still looks into the picture in the magazine, squinting his eyes. A cynical grin plays on his lips, not only is it mysterious how she even got a job there, but she also keeps hiding some other secrets about her past.
"You have a connection to that Hell Kaiser, hm…? This sounds interesting…"
His gaze directs towards the entrance while his head makes schemes for his own entertainment.
In her apartment, Rie gets old news from all sorts of sources, she collects those that have a similar pattern. Sweeping her home desk with an arm, she places the ones that connect. Marking times and dates, she takes notes on those.
"Those news are spread out, but all those people came into hospitals late at night… With the same type of injury too..."
Her eyes squint as she thinks deeply on the similarities. What worries her more is the rumors about Ryo being somehow involved, no matter how she looks at it, underground duels sound as shady as it goes.
This is why she needs to step up for him and get to the bottom of this puzzle. With a determined look, she pieces together all the information she has. Despite her efforts, the most she can get from it by just reading papers is finding the probable location in which those duels take part. From there on, there is still plenty of work to do.
"I need evidence if I want to crash down this whole ring..." combing her hair with hands, tying it up in a ponytail, a deep sigh coming out of her lips, she considers "Perhaps if I infiltrate there with a mini camera, I could take pictures and record voices… That's it, there has to be more proof, and if Ryo-san is really involved, then… We're bound to meet each other there..."
Her brows angle with worry. What if he was forced or tricked into participating in those? No, it can't be. A person like him is not the type to be swayed by third party opinions, nor would he be easily convinced of doing illegal duels. Then how?
He always took pride in his dueling with respect, then why would he go there and get himself involved with the illegal side of dueling? Her chest feels cramped for her heart just by remembering his smirk.
On her next day at the office, she still works hard to puzzle the pieces together, reading attentively many other sources, a headache bothering her concentration. She leans back on her chair, taking a deep breath out of frustration.
"Are you having troubles? I can help, Kinomoto."
A hand lands on her chair, it's her colleague from before, he swirls her chair so she looks at him. His smirk is pretentious, an undertone of mockery in it.
"Why would you help after you were the one giving up on this case in the first place?" her eyes sharpen, a cold and harsh tone to the written words.
"Ah, I'm quite curious why you were so interested in those fishy underground duels, if you have ulterior motives. It can be dangerous, you know? You're still a trainee…"
His words are placid, but something in his voice makes it look poorly intentioned, as if he is baiting her to do it.
"That is none of your concern. I am just doing my job. Go do yours!"
"I assume you know where the underground duels are." he crosses his arms in defiance "And you should also know they will not just let anyone in. One of them will take place tonight."
She flinches at his words, surprised with how much he seems to know. Where did he get that type of information?
"Astounded? I have my contacts. Now, you're aware of this, but I want to take part in it too, my deal is: we both go in there, you take the pictures, I record the voices, we get a half-half credit for it once the chief editor sees it."
"Why are you suddenly interested in it now that I took charge, Tonomiya?" she frowns. "First you wanted me to do it all, then now you barge into saying we can do half-half?'
"Well, let's say I have hopes you will do a good job, moreover, I can't say I'm not curious to see how those illegal duel rings work from inside with my own eyes."
Curiosity? She doubts this is the only reason, however, she is the same, hiding her true reasons to be digging on this case so desperately. Even so...
"I don't want your help, thank you. I can do it by myself. You can concentrate on your other duties."
Her refusal was not only out of pride, but also of her distrust in him. She stands up and puts on her overcoat, leaving the place. He chuckles over her reaction. Such an impatient and cunning woman. But soon she would need his help anyway, is what he consoles himself with while making a call.
Rie watches yet another match of Ryo in the minor league from the small stadium, the talks about getting him back in the major pro league is more hectic than ever, he destroys his opponents with an insane smile.
Determined, she puts her plan into motion: as soon as he leaves inside the car of his driver, she gets in the taxi she ordered to standby until further notice and have the driver follow him.
"If he is really taking part in those underground duels and what Tonomiya said is true, then… Today he also will… I need to know if it's true… He wouldn't..."
Inside the black car, the driver calls out to the pro duelist in a serious, blank voice, looking to the front mirror of the vehicle:
"We're being followed by another car, Sir."
"Is that true?" Saruyama looks back, startled.
"Ignore it." His cold eyes give the ultimatum.
The driver nods and speeds up towards the old looking building whose underground contains an enormous space for hosting the off-limit duels.
She urges the taxi driver to keep trailing them, in the end, they stop near the intersection and she gets out of the car, watching from afar how Ryo and another man with a dubious appearance enter that building after greeting the bodyguards in front.
"They even have bouncers… This is serious..."
Her expression twists in concern, a deep sense of weight pulling her heart. He really entered the building, dressed in black, is his mind really tainted by the ensnaring embrace of the illegal duels? But why? After all the troubles with shadow duels, he should've known better.
Without a second thought, she hides a small camera in between her cleavage, inside her shirt, closing the buttons right after and walking nonchalantly towards the entrance. Her nervousness shakes her interior, but she can't falter now.
The guards in sunglasses growl at her presence as she stands in front of them trying to look tough. Their arms cross and one of them throws the question in an unfriendly manner:
"What do you want here, woman?"
"I came to watch the duels."
They exchange a glance at each other with a cocky smirk and the other one scoffs at her ingenuity, even more the fact she speaks through a device.
"No electrical appliances allowed. Do you have an invitation? Or a recommendation?"
Her eyes open wide with the term invitation? Recommendation? She should have one? She was too rash and lacked primordial evidence, she should have waited a bit more, even if she saw him entering, it doesn't mean she could blindly follow his back like this. With a baffled expression, her coolness crumbles in front of those men and they laugh.
"She is with me."
A voice comes from behind, a hand touching her shoulder. The person is none other than Tonomiya, he shows off a duel card on his hands, but the card contains a picture that is not from any monster, an "U" in a red letter with a dark frame and a purple haze background.
The guards exchange a glance, ceasing their laughter and her colleague winks at her, slipping his finger to reveal another card to cover for her entrance. With a sweaty face, the bouncers grudgingly make space.
"Fine, go downstairs and enter the metallic door, walk forward and you'll reach the arena from there. And don't forget to take your masks."
"Masks…?" she blinks perplexed.
"Also, you girl will leave your device at the entrance."
While Tonomiya pushes her in, his hand on her shoulder, leading her through the hall of the building, she looks back at the guards and forth to the strangely illuminated place.
"It's just like I heard from my friend." he let go of her "I hope you brought your equipment with you."
She is still startled at his presence there, but nods. In the end, she needed his help, there was no point being angry and making a scene. She feels bad for it, but there is no choice except accepting it at this point.
"Don't sweat over it, I have been investigating things on my own. If my hunch is correct, you'd do something rash like this."
She stops on her tracks, casting a distrustful glance at him while her brows entangle in irritation. He raises his arms in surrender.
"Calm down, I am just saying I heard in the office about you having a strange obsession for all cases regarding Hell Kaiser, and people say you watch all his duels too. I thought as a fan, you might want to see him in person." he puts a hand to his chin, an insinuating smirk playing on his lips "But it got me thinking if that's all there is to it… Do you two have a connection? I heard you both studied in the same duel academy... You had a thing for him in school, perhaps? I totally smell something..."
"I am not a fan and this does not concern you." she types angrily "I thank you for your help, but let's stop the unnecessary talking and get to the job."
"Oho… Strike." his smirk enlarges with her reaction, she wouldn't be this annoyed if it wasn't at least half right, would she?
They reach another entrance that is closed and guarded by a strange woman dressed in a black dress, wearing a dark mask over her eyes. She stretches her hand gracefully to the side, showing a basket full of phones and other devices.
"I can't speak properly without this."
She shows the message to the woman that doesn't bother with it, not even looking at her, she keeps the posture like a statue. Rie gulps, there is no choice. Abiding by the rules, she drops the communicator with fear in her heart. This reminds her of the time she was in the cave, unable to communicate with Ryo.
She is also required to take off her coat, before that, she quickly checks if the small camera on her cleavage is hidden enough and takes off the overcoat, it is placed somewhere along with other belongings.
The woman then points with the other hand to the opposite side, there is another basket full of masks similar to hers, but in different colors and designs. Rie takes a white mask with small diamond-like stones forming a pattern on the left eye.
Her colleague comes right after and just drops his phone, taking a black crow mask. The woman bows and opens the door to a very different ambience: everything inside is a dim, dark-blue light, there are tables with other people, all of them look elegant, as if dressed to a ball, their smirks are more than impure.
There is a fenced pit in the middle, are they sending people to fight or duel? When they get a seat, her companion talks to her again.
"Do you have what we need? I brought the recorder." He whispers, bending over the table.
She nods firmly, they both check the hidden devices and set it. The lights in the room are dimmed out more, from each opposite of the room, two main doors are highlighted. Both of them open at once and only one person comes out from each.
One of them, a bulky man in a suit with a lawless grin, but the other… Her eyes open wide in amusement, her lips also open as if she searches for words, shocked. Clad in black, exactly as he looked like in the other duel is the Hell Kaiser.
Her eyes tremble with the sight, a concerned and anguished expression changing her face, she can't even hear her colleague calling out to her asking if she is fine, her gaze is transfixed in his silhouette, following his every move in the room.
"It can't be… Ryo-san…"
When he steps into the pit, she feels a throb on her chest, numbness coming to her fingers as if the blood cannot reach it anymore. She sweats cold and her hands shake subtly.
Her coworker observes her reaction and directs his eyes to the same place, as he thought, she is looking only at the infamous duelist, she seems to be more than just interested in the underground duels. His smirk enlarges and his eyes sharpen as he looks at the dark duelist.
What are his true intentions? And what will Rie witness in the somber duel ring? Which kind of person did the one she loves so dearly become?