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: Thanks for the reviews! Yeah, I also think he was feeling too pressured and snapped right there, he was like 18 (?), having work troubles (Idk, is it just me or I think those kids were too young to be having these sorts of issues? XD), he also had the Camula case and Rie's case, so he feels like he has been in a losing streak even before his pro career started. I don't know if Inukai died, but he certainly got a pass for a long visit to the hospital (and maybe needed some defibrillation). Rie is not having a great time at work either, but she is used to it and she is less offended and affected by it by now, but Tonomiya is still up to something. And welp, Hell Kaiser is being totally mean to Rie and ignoring her, she won't give up without an answer to the why, though. But we will soon see the developments of both her investigation and their relationship.
Oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo
Chapter 16: Underground duel
The noise of the exhilarated whispers stirs up tension in the air, people's eyes are all over the Hell Kaiser. His cold and arrogant demeanor seems to please them as watchers as much as his disdain for them. Rie cannot take her eyes off of him, barely listening to the narrator introducing the duelists.
"Kinomoto."
The voice of her colleague breaks her trance, she looks at him, pale and astonished. He raises a brow, remind her of their objective:
"You better take those pictures, though I can imagine some big shots must be around…" he looks at the surroundings "The masks are to hide identity in case of troubles, you know? We will also be safe like this…"
Her gaze flickers for a moment with a subtle worry filling her expression as she looks into the pit, the duel is about to start. Tonomiya smirks in some sort of derision, blurting out:
"You're really into that Hell Kaiser, huh? I didn't expect you'd like the bad boy type. You can take as many pictures as you want, just don't forget to picture the surroundings and the others too for our real job…"
She gasps at his words, frowning at him annoyed by his constant observant remarks and taunts to make her tell him more about herself. His way of speaking is rude.
The contestants are set up with some sort of device on their neck and arms, none of them seem surprised about it. Discreetly, she takes the first photos of both duelists, her restless heart makes sweat drip down her face.
When the duel starts, the first one to take damage is the opponent, the electric current is visible to the eyes. Rie almost jumps on her seat, but a hand pushes her shoulder down, making her sit. It is her companion, shaking off his head, she stares at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Those accessories you see are a pain amplification device, electrodes that will release electricity according to how many life points they lose. This is the main attraction of the underground duels around those parts."
"It can't be..." it's what is written all over her expression as her lips move trying to form words, but she can't say them.
Her pain aggravates seeing even more when the next shock afflicts Ryo, his feet slip a bit back, but there is not more than that as a reaction, a muffled laugh coming out of his lips. She has felt terror before, many times, but this time it is singular. The fear of seeing someone she thought she knew completely changed.
It takes but a turn to notice how the Hell Kaiser lives up to his reputation, his aggressive style of dueling, crushing his opponent under his feet added to a sadistic smile that enjoys the suffering of others while also delighted in his own suffering.
Tears swell in her eyes, her hands take the last pictures, quivering. She can't do this anymore, neither the investigation or standing still. There must be a way to stop him, before she gets up, her colleague notices the signs again and pushes her shoulder down.
"Whoa, where are you going?"
She moves her lips, but it is too dark to see which phrase she is trying to form, his eyes squint, casting a glance to the arena. She is visibly shaken. A grin plays on his lips.
"Was the underground dueling reality too much for your eyes?" he scoffs. "Or is it because of him? Do you have this big of a crush on him?" he places a hand on her shoulder trying to give advice with a sardonic tone "Go by my word, he's the type that would have a one night stand of fun by torturing you in bed for his own pleasure, you don't want that, Kinomoto. You'd be better off with someone else."
She frowns, how can he be so presumptuous at a time like this? Not like he knows anything about her or her past or whatever happened during her school times, nonetheless…
"Calm down a bit, this job is important. If you hate this so much, why not use your evidence to crush those duels down? If we can muster it, then you won't need to worry about it anymore, will you?" he firms the grip on her shoulder, his voice alluringly convincing.
She opens her lips to proffer a word, but stops without making any, he smiles giving off a contained chuckle. Despite being so distrustful of him earlier, she is still a kid needing someone to say the right words, he can pull her strings so easily. It almost would look like she lost her acuteness when it comes to that Kaiser she has been staring at so intensely.
Her eyes are bewitched by the violent match of the ring, the first opponent is taken down, the whole metal ring is nearly destroyed, people vibrate in joy, longing for that wicked sense of entertainment. Some assistants come and take the opponent away, but Ryo stays in the same spot, arms crossed and a victorious smile. The matches will still continue.
She gapes at the idea that not only he almost killed a man that is being taken to the hospital, but that he will keep doing it more and more that same night. How can his body… keep up with the electricity? How can he enjoy this? So many questions she can't see how the old Ryo would do any of this. What happened to him? Who did this? Who hurt him so much that he would…
There is a movement of people around the ring and the next opponent is about to be announced. Rie's expression can't hide her despair.
An idea crosses Tonomiya's mind, to prove whether his theory of her knowing the duelist is right or not and to test just how interested in him she is. A devilish smile plays on his lips.
"Now, I need to go to the toilet, don't stop taking pictures, they're important evidence. I will come back soon."
He casts a side glance towards her, she is too absorbed and dazzled by the duel to pay attention to him. Sneakily, he approaches the guards in front of the VIP area, where a man sits emanating a powerful vibe.
"Can I talk to you boss for a minute?"
"Get out, wimp!"
"There is a spy among those people. I know who it is, they are taking pictures and plan on denouncing this place to take it down."
One of the guards frowns and walks to the boss, mumbling to his ears, the boss gestures to let him come in. It is obvious he is bothered by the presence of Tonomiya.
"I apologize for interrupting your fun." he bows politely "But that girl with pink hair is taking pictures nonstop of the contestants and this place. Wouldn't it be better to stop her so we can all appreciate the duels?"
"She came with you." His tone is dry and sharp. "Why do you want to denounce her?"
"Indeed. But I am a man that supports all sorts of entertainment and currently she is my enemy by trying to ruin that."
"I don't like you, but I like rats less."
He gestures to one of the bodyguards, but before the man leaves to take her away, Tonomiya interferes with a nervous tone.
"Wait! If I may suggest… Instead of just kicking her out, why don't we make a spectacle out of this? Something that will spice even more the night..."
The boss raises a brow, a smirk flashing through his lips as he lifts his hand asking the subordinate to stop.
"I will listen."
A satisfied grin comes to Tonomiya's face, he loves experimenting, even more when he can see the reactions of people. Regardless if Rie tells him the truth, he will find it out on his own and make her regret playing the stubborn one here. He loves the challenge.
"I will have both your mind and body in the end, just wait, the chief editor will have me promoted and you will be kicked out, little secretive bitch."
His true colors show as he describes his idea to the boss, under the veil of darkness, the owner of the place smirks wickedly with the marvelous plan. Soon, Tonomiya comes back to his seat.
Rie is startled, slightly puzzled with how long he took to come back, he fidgets, alerting her. His eyes look around nervously and he sweats. His eyes sharpen, a strict tone on his voice. All an act.
"Kinomoto, we need to get out of here now."
She is about to complain, but he casts his gaze to the side, looking at the guards that make their way across the room towards them. She gulps. Were they sniffed out? But she was very careful. He answers after seeing the question marks written on her expression:
"You can ask me later, we need to hurry!"
He grabs her wrist, dragging her out of the seat, she struggles to get free from his grip, but he just forces it more. The crowd is too enticed by the duel to pay attention to them. Her brows furrow as he opens a door on the side of the room. Does he even know where he is taking them?
She halts her steps, he is tugged back with the strength she anchors her feet on the ground. He whirls back, still holding one of her wrists. She is angered at him and he can see she demands an explanation.
His tongue clicks, such a bothersome girl, before he knows, she grabs his sleeves and throws him into the air. His back hits the ground and he finally releases her. Since when does she know martial arts? And how is she so strong?
"Ouch..." he massages his pained zone "Why did you do this? I am trying to save us both here..."
Her eyes squint in doubt and irritation. There is something off about his behavior, he smirks cynically saying the last words.
"Oh, I tried to make it nicer on you… But you asked for this… Kinomoto."
A presence looms behind her, grabbing her arm in one side, she struggles to get free, but the more she does, the more people come to hold her back. They grope her everywhere to find the hidden camera and drop it to the ground, crushing it under their feet.
Tonomiya opens his arms, watching as her eyes waver indignant, all the evidence she had was there, the proof to destroy this obnoxious underground ring.
"I am sorry, but this is how this game works. You shouldn't have come here alone! And you shouldn't have trusted me! I only work for my own interests and amusement! Learn this lesson, now Kinomoto: the only one on your side is yourself and no one else!"
Before she can react, she feels a needle piercing her arm, a man from behind injects some sort of liquid, an overwhelming dizziness takes over her whole body, she tries resisting it, but the unavoidable happens, she faints.
The man behind gets a hold of her and looks at the colleague that stands up, fixing his office suit with a haughty smirk.
"Too bad for you, Kinomoto, but I am in charge here."
They take her somewhere inside the building. Meanwhile, the Hell Kaiser wins yet another duel, standing strong in the arena, bathed in the cheers and excitement of the spectators.
From behind him, outside the arena, Saruyama is told something, his eyes opening wide. He smirks and walks towards Kaiser, calling him close to the protective fence. He leans his ear close to listen to the manager.
"It seems the owner of the place prepared a special opponent for you, I don't know the details, but they said it will be a bit different than usual."
"I don't mind. As long as I achieve victory." he scoffs, uninterested in whatever shows they're trying to pull.
His manager is pleased, he is a real gold mine and through his career underground, he has become extremely popular. Which sort of new attraction the owner will bring?
Inside that same building, in another room. Rie's eyelids open sluggishly, her vision switches from darkness to a woman in front of her, putting lipstick? Her eyes open wide and she turns her head around. By doing so an unbearable vertigo that made her head plop back unintentionally, the whole world swirls nonstop.
She is tied to a chair in some sort of dressing room. The woman has a blank expression and frozen eyes under the mask. The pink-haired scans around, trying to get free from the ropes tying her to the chair.
Her attempts stop when she notices she is using new clothes. Those are not hers: a long sleeveless white dress with a high collar and a shorter blue overlay with golden borders and symbols, a revealing oval-shaped cleavage, there is an opening on the side of the skirt that goes from bottom to up her thighs and she is wearing white stockings coming up to over half her upper legs, even her underwear is different. The other woman sneers seeing her confusion.
She struggles when the woman ties her hair up, but it is futile, her body feels weak and constrained, every time she tries to pull her hands up, they tremble and fail. She'd never felt so unwell in her life ever since... Her head aches with the thought.
Bringing some sort of feathered helmet combined with a white wig, she puts it atop Rie's tied hair, hiding her original hair color.
The helmet comes with a feathered and glittery owl mask that covers only the eyes. As if in a joking tone, the woman turns Rie's chair around and shows her in the mirror. She looks very different, her hair is seemingly silver, longer than her original hair and feathers come from the top of her mask, spreading to the wig as if she is a bird.
The mask is surprisingly fancy, the glitter comes not only from powder, but also from small precious stones. She can see some sparkling grains on her face too and feel the layers of makeup invested, her lipstick is a dark-pink, and under the mask there are some small jewelry adornments glued to her cheek bone.
Her eyes almost pop out when she sees the electrodes on both arms and her neck. She gulps. Was it what her colleague was planning all along? To backstab her so he can get all the data while she is pitted against people here?
"You are gorgeous! Mysterious too. Showing just enough skin, but not vulgar. They will love it. You will shine as our special guest." her makeup artist mocks, chuckling in delight. "And you'll get to meet one of our most popular duelists! What a lucky girl you are!"
A man barges into the room without ceremony, he takes a look at her, from top to bottom and gives the last sentence:
"Looks good. It is time to go."
He quickly unties Rie's arm, she reacts immediately, trying to punch him, but he avoids, and from his suit, takes a device with a button, pressing it, she feels an electric shock coming from the electrodes, her muscles twitch and stop all the movements. She hugs herself in pain.
"Don't try anything funny!" he uses his index finger to reprove her actions "Do your part!"
He pulls her arm and she stumbles, falling to the ground, numbness spreading through her body. Those people are deadly serious, they are dangerous, she needs to escape somehow, but how? The only contact she had here was the one that betrayed her and Ryo is not even aware she is there, besides, the way he is currently...
The man is not gentle, she can feel his grip is stronger than necessary and brusque even as he pulls her up and drags her, they stop in front of a door that seems familiar. She gasps when a light of understanding comes to her mind. That door is…
"And now we will have a surprise duel sponsored by none other than our gracious Sponsor, Mister Z!"
While they make the introductions, another man comes to announce it's time to go, he hastily sets a duel disk on Rie's arm, putting a deck into it.
"You're lucky we found your deck among your belongings. Isn't it nice that you will be able to use it? We'd have prepared one for you… Now, time for your show, sweetheart."
She cringes at the way they are calling and dragging her around, but before she has time to complain, the gates in front open and a strong light focuses on one spot, she is pushed there by the gentleman guiding her.
Toppling inside the light. The voices of people all around soar, impressed with her figure, she scrutinizes the surroundings frightened, confused by all the noise, but all she can see are the smiles under those evil masks watching her like a circus attraction.
Two men come beside her, one on each side, grabbing one of her arms and pulling her to the arena. She thought of fighting, but the man with the button to electrocute her discreetly shows it, she hesitates.
Her body trembles just by remembering the pain she suffered with those electric currents. She doesn't know what else to do. Like that, she is pushed into the cage, falling to the ground and they close the entrance behind her, the silky and pale skin of her arms marked red with the prints of the guard's hands.
"Here we have! Our newest acquisition, the Silver Owl! Isn't she glamorous?!"
She can hear the cheers of excitement out loud, she stands up, whatever they gave her is still in her body, her movements feel unresponsive and her head is still drowsy. She stumbles towards the entrance behind her.
Before she touches it, another shock flows through her body, she opens her mouth wide but there is no sound as she falls on her bottom. Using her hands to support herself, the fake hair strands sweep the ground.
"We also have a surprise! This beautiful lady will be auctioned to whoever wishes to have her for one whole night if she loses this duel! So, misses and misters, you'd better keep your eyes peeled and make your bids!"
The announcement awakens her a bit more, she gasps looking at the guards standing on the other side of the fence, they don't bother looking at her. Tonomiya also watches from the side, sitting comfily on his chair, with a big grin on his face, she clenches her teeth and tries to stand up, but her legs shudder. A male voice comes from behind:
"There is no point trying to escape, once we are inside, we will only get out when one of us wins and the other loses." a muffled laugh roars from his throat.
That voice rings a bell in her mind. She slowly turns her head around, gaping in awe. The opponent on the other side of the cage is none other than the new favorite of the house, Hell Kaiser Ryo, a malevolent smirk on his face.
His arms cross when he gets her attention, she slowly gets up, her legs still wobble, the dress covers it almost fully, but he can still notice from the openings on the sides that she has difficulties even standing. She is there petrified for a second, staring at him in pure terror, unable to tell if he can even see her expression underneath that mask.
"What? Are you scared of me?"
Not like this, this is not how she imagined this meeting to go, she wanted to ask so many things. This is unfair. Her eyes flicker in affliction, she has the impression their eyes meet for a second, but it is so fast, she is not sure.
His grin dissipates and he finally uncrosses his arms after waiting for her to stand, activating his duel disk with no question on who he is battling. Her lips shake while trying to call his name, but his eyes are icy when he looks at her, a dark, stern expression carved in his face.
"Start it already!" some people start to contest the monotonous arrangement.
A smile plays on Ryo's lips and he starts the duel immediately, drawing his cards, seeing no other way around, she activates her duel disk and draws her first hand. A drop of sweat rolling down her face.
"You can go first, milady." he stretches his hand, as if ridiculing her with the gentlemanly act.
Her brows curl upwards under the mask. Why did she have to duel him? And of all places, right here. They're putting her body at stake as if it is a good to be sold, she hates it. There is no way she can win that Kaiser, is there? More than that, the type of duel… She doesn't want to duel like this with him.
Panic sweep her senses, thinking of sleazy hands touching her again, or people taking her somewhere, forcing their way. Her heartbeats accelerate violently, she looks at him with horror, she cannot talk to him, or tell him anything. If she even tries to ruin her disguise, she will probably be electrocuted.
"I know… Maybe… Maybe... Ryo-san will recognize my cards… He has seen it before… Would he forget about it? Would he… Did he really forget everything about us?"
Her trembling hands place a monster on the field, the Magician's Valkyria (1600 ATK), he blinks at the card, but the coldness on his expression doesn't vanish. An unchanging bleak apathy she has never seen on his face before. She puts a card down, and he finally starts his turn.
Summoning his Cyber Dragon Zwei (1800 ATK during damage step only) right away, he just attacks her monster without a second of consideration. As soon as it's destroyed, the small difference in points is sent into her electrodes in the form of pain.
The crowd observes as she cries silently in agony, her body unwillingly stretches upright and her head is thrown back as she cries, they enjoy it. Her voice doesn't come out, but her expression tells everything, she falls sitting on the ground after the first shock, it is not the first time and it won't be the last. Again, Ryo's eyes subtly open, but he narrows it in distrust, and every hint of emotion disappears from his face.
"I wanted to hear her shout!"
"What is wrong with her? She's not making a sound!"
"Ah, come on, who cares? Her body moves so nicely as she wriggles in pain."
"Hah, yeah, she has a nice shape, I will be bidding some good amount on her."
The comments flow all over the place, her head falls down, the fake silver hair strands reaching the ground. Ryo's eyes scan all around upon listening to those excited voices, a certain disdain and contempt in them, then land on her again. From outside, Tonomiya smirks evilly, appreciating the sight of her battling against someone she seems to be fond of and suffering from it.
"So much about knowing him. How do you feel facing the truth? Who the Hell Kaiser is and what he is doing to you. Now, this is some first hand entertainment. Suffer more, Rie. This is your own fault for making me curious and getting the attention of the chief editor! I will find out all your secrets!"
"Don't tell me you're already done! The duel is not over yet!"
His harsh, collected voice slaps her back into reality, she can't drift off at a moment like this. Her throat feels dry, her head and body ache all over, but she has no choice, clutching the cards on her hands, she stands up once more, as tears drop from her face.
"Ryo-san, this whole time… You have been feeling this pain… You have been here and I… I didn't know any of this… How… How did you get involved with those people? I should have… On that day I should have… Held you while I could."
He seems slightly perplexed upon seeing her tears, and the spectators are divided between those who are confused and the ones who relish her drama.
"Is she crying because it hurt her too much or what?"
"So weak… But at least we will get a night with her after."
She wipes those teardrops with her arm and activates her monster reborn card, bringing back her Valkyria and placing another face down card.
When his turn comes and he declares an attack, she activates her trap, the Shadow Spell, by decreasing the attack of his Cyber Dragon in 700 points and keeping it permanently unable to attack, she also adds an equip trap Spearshield that boost her Valkyria's atk in 400 points (ATK 2000), counter attacking his dragon.
His dragon is destroyed and he also receives the damage, but unlike her, he doesn't flinch at it, she sees his feet slide, a rough expression on his face, however a muffled laugh comes out of his lips. A smile of a distorted joy. Is he appreciating the pain?
Her heart skips a beat. What did those duels turn him into? The image of the once gentle, respectful and caring Ryo she knew disappears into the darkness in her mind, she doesn't know who he is anymore, her orbs oscillate in angst, melting again. She just wanted to see him, to be with him, to talk to him once more. Why did it have to be like this?
His eyes and composure are so ruthless. Is the old Ryo in there, somewhere lost under the Hell Kaiser? She would do anything to bring him back. But her sight is so blurred by her tears she cannot even properly take a look at his face now.
The next turn, he takes a look at his cards, three monsters, a Polymerization card and the Cybernetic Fusion Support, his eyes are cast on her for a long minute, making a full analysis of the situation: her breathing seems unstable and her legs look like they'd fail her at the slightest shock, her body won't withstand more damage even if she happens to avoid his next attack.
The audience demands the conclusion. Closing his eyes as if in deep thought for a brief moment, he opens them with a blazing glare and proceeds.
Using the polymerization, he fuses 3 monsters from hand and field, summoning his Chimeratech Over Dragon with 2400 ATK points. She watches as the hologram of the dragon towers over her figure, with a merciless posture, he orders the attack, the light of the explosion engulfs her whole silhouette.
Before she disappears into the holographic lights, her lips pronounce his name, he is fazed, his eyebrows coming together. In the next second, the huge impact of 3 attacks at once wipe her whole life points, giving off a current so high it spreads all over the fence, but it doesn't break it apart.
She faints after feeling the indescribable pain. Her body feels torn apart like her heart as her eyelids give in to the slumber, plopping with a thud to the ground, her face turned to the side. The mask slightly slides off, a strand of her pink hair coming out from the helmet. The crowd applauds his show again with praises and clapping.
"That's strange… Why did he not use all the cards in his hand…?" Saruyama raises a brow in distrust "He could have made that monster have 5 or 6, maybe even 7 attacks had he used his Cybernetic Fusion Support… Was it because of the cost of paying half his life points? His pride might not allow him to admit it, but perhaps his body is tired after dueling like this so many times..."
The guards outside enter the grid, ready to take the girl away after the big round of hands applauding, the narrator of the match smiles greedily and announces the next part of the show:
"Now, let's start the aucti-"
"There is no need for that!"
Kaiser's voice interrupts, he walks ominously close, the guards exchange a glance and the narrator hears a voice from his ear communicator.
"What is happening?! Did you not tell him the agreement?! What is he up to?!"
"I-I am sure he was aware..." he whispers, away from the microphone "We will buy her for that guy who denounced her, right?"
Tonomiya comes closer, demanding an explanation as he watches the Kaiser approaching. Saruyama calls him back, but he ignores.
"H-Hell Kaiser Ryo, the auction must start as planne..." the narrator comes in and whispers to save the situation.
"Did you not hear me the first time? I will repeat it nicely for you..." his glare is sharply lethal "Fuck off." a scowl appears on his face, his glare downsizes the man, the narrator gulps nervously.
"What are you talking about…?" he looks puzzled.
"She is mine."
The last part he blurts out with utmost confidence, gasps soaring in the air, he can hear the chit chatting all around the room. Paying no heed to all of it, he kneels down, checking her breathing and pulse before lifting her in his arms without problems, her helmet falls to the ground with a clank, revealing her beautiful pink hair, falling all over.
"I am taking her as the prize for the duel."
"N-No, you can't! This is absurd!"
"Absurd? Wasn't she treated as a prize from the beginning? I am just taking my rightful reward, since I won the duel."
Tonomiya invades the scene, stomping angrily towards the duelist, his head fuming. How does he dare to foil his plans? Ruining all the fun. Did he really recognize her from somewhere? Or for which reason was he meddling now? As he suspected, those two might have a connection after all.
"She must be auctioned! That is what we were waiting for! No matter who you are, you can't just step in and ruin it!"
The fury makes his hands move on their own, as if they had will, trying to snatch that girl from the arms of that man, he'd not let this end like this, not after all his efforts. A thud is heard, before he notices, Ryo lets go of Rie's legs, freeing one of his hands, supporting her weight on one arm, her head toppling backwards, the scene made even more people gasp at her outstandingly delineated figure and all the excitement of the start of a fight right there.
Tonomiya only came back to reality once his wrist was grabbed forcefully, he tries to move it, but his bones are pressed so strongly he feels they might snap in half if he tries to shake it off.
"What are you doing…? Ugh..." his eyes twitch, feeling that grip strengthening.
In a second, he is released, but instantly, that hand grabs his clothes, yanking him against the fence, almost raising his body, a sharp, uninviting and callous glare on the eyes of his contestant:
"Try putting your sick hands on a strand of her hair again and we will see what will happen to that arm of yours… Just try."
Those dry words made him understand the threat was no joke, if that man had any sort of weapon, he'd not hesitate to use it and most likely, wouldn't care if he ended up dying from it. Grabbing that hand with both his, regardless of that, he defied:
"You…" his voice is raspy, lacking air as he is basically choked by his own clothes clutching his neck "You can't break the rules… Not even you..."
Ryo lets go of him after a last push, he slides to the ground, taking in deep breaths, drooling from the side of his mouth after all the suffocation, an angered glance at the Hell Kaiser who stands tall, looking down on him. Tonomiya jumps up, veins popping all over his face in wrath:
"You can't just do whatever you want! The rules are that she will be auctioned! You can't take her just because she strikes your fancy! Hell Kaiser, you must abide by the rules too!"
His voice riles the other spectators, Saruyama tries to calm the mood, and the guards also sweat nervously looking at the angered boss. The whole room becomes silent when Ryo's laughter echoes in the air, as if they are saying something very funny. He stops it once all their eyes are on him, taking a moment to flash his eyes around the salon.
"Very well! Do you all want her that badly?! Then, come at me! If you win in a duel against me, I will willingly relinquish my prize to you!" his shout soars through the whole silent room, a provocative and sarcastic tone in his voice.
His eyes pass by the entire place again, with a sadistic grin, watching their shocked and terrified expressions, his gelid voice sends chills down their spines, his smirk just enlarges watching their cowardly reactions. Those people were afraid of him, the narrator, the guards and even Tonomiya are flabbergasted, intimidated and grossed out by the idea of confrontation.
"What?! No one?! What a pity, I was itching for another duel!" an arrogant smile plays on his lips "Well, we have an answer, then: The auction is over! I won it!"
Putting his hand under her legs again, he swiftly throws her limp body a few centimeters into the air, adjusting his grip, causing even more surprised reactions, then he steps onwards, scaring the people who block his way, the guards make space for him and so do the other two men inside the arena, they are paralyzed, unable to contest him.
"Why... Why are you doing this?! She is just a random girl!" her colleague protests out of fury.
"I only respect victory! Get out of my sight, loser."
The sentence sends a shiver down the man's spine as he watches that dark back carry away his coworker, what did he mean with that? Not losing what exactly or to who? Ryo's manager darts after him, requiring explanations.
"W-well, this is today's show for you all! We will be waiting for you next week!"
Instead of dismay, Tonomiya sees delight in the faces of the spectators, their eyes shine, they are thrilled with his actions. His popularity is just so much that they will love him no matter what he does? As for him, the guards close in, surrounding his escape, and grabbing him, taking him to the boss.
When Ryo leaves the arena, the sound of his manager protesting annoyed at him is nothing more than background as they enter a black car, he stares at the woman in his arms. His eyes squint softly in affliction.
"Rie..."
A subtle, guilty and fond smile plays on his lips with the thought of her name alone. She came all the way there to the underground to see him? Or did she have another reason? Whichever it is, he can't help but feel this warmth in his chest, just for a moment until his expressiveness fades along with those emotions.
The odd behavior of his puzzles the promoter and the driver. The engine of the car is the only sound in the ambient for most of the way. Ryo's eyes are focused on the lights of the city that flashes outside the window of the vehicle, supporting his chin on his palm, an air of disinterest surrounds him.
Saruyama casts an irritated glance to the backseat, his eyes landing on the sleeping beauty unconscious whose head rests on Ryo's lap. His black overcoat conceals her whole figure, it's almost as if he is hiding her from sight.
"Who is this girl? And why is he so interested in her? It is unlike him to act out of spite when he won the duel… Was it the auction? I really don't get it."
"Are we going to the same place as usual, mister Marufuji?" The driver attracts the attention of the other two men.
"Yes. Just drop me at the same place from before." he closes his eyes, sighing tiredly and occupying himself with the outside landscape again.
"Mister Ryo… Don't you think it would be better to take the lady to a hospital?" his manager suggests, forcing a smile. "If you are worried about her, you can..."
"Which part of it didn't you understand? I thought I was very clear at the arena: The conditions are that she is allowed to be one night with whoever wins the auction, right? I won, she is mine for tonight. Do I have to spell to you what it implies?"
Both the manager and the driver sweat coldly at his suggestive words. He can't be serious, can he? An unconscious woman? He wouldn't just risk connecting his pro career with his underground career. Or would he really care about it? The Hell Kaiser that was born on the underground duel rings is way more scary than he initially thought.
"Even so… Don't you think it's a bit too much? Just look at her, she probably can't..." he gulps hoarsely, trying to dissuade him from the idea of taking the woman. "Plus with your looks, you could probably get any woman you want, why are you so fixated on this one…?"
"Are you going to question my preferences now, Saruyama?" he throws a harsh glare at the manager that almost jumps on the seat.
"Suit yourself. I won't tell you what to do, but it's best if you don't provoke the owners of the underground too much, or they will be unhappy with you and bad things can happen, keep that in mind."
The Kaiser sneers in response, his manager clenches his teeth, ever since he changed from a good student model to the bad boy type, he has been acting with this "I don't care" attitude all the time, disrespectful towards the hand who helped him in times of need. Is this what they call: you get what is coming for you?
The car stops in front of a high building, Ryo calmly opens the door of the car and carefully takes the woman in his arms once again. His manager watches as he carries her into the building, still cloaked by his coat. He doesn't even want to know why he was so persistent and what kind of fetish he has, maybe he is just at the age to want some fun with girls.
"Whatever."
It doesn't matter to him what the duelist does or does not do during his time outside the arenas, as long as he doesn't get himself into trouble or expose his underground dueling to the point it ruins his career, it should be fine.
Ryo doesn't take his eyes off of Rie's figure as he walks into the building, his stoic expression seems somewhat lonely and concerned. What will he do now that they finally met again? And how will she react after seeing which person he became?