Yusei's hospital room was quiet, except the sound of medical machines and card flipping. Yusei cast a glance over to Aki, who had spread her deck out onto the table meant for his food and was flipping the cards up in an attempt to remember and create combos for herself.
"Aki?" He asked suddenly.
"Hm?" She replied, looking up at him momentarily.
"Are you...Okay?" He asked. She made a face at him and continued to play with her deck.
"If I said yes, would you believe me?" She asked.
"No."
"I figured." Aki was silent for a moment as she played with the card in her hand. "No, I'm not. This whole thing...I just want it to be over. I want to get rid of that man."
"Kill him?" Aki flinched a bit.
"I just want him gone," she replied. "If I have to kill him to do that, then...Then I will."
"And you're prepared to do that?" He asked.
"No," she said. "But I will if I have too." Both of them fell silent for a moment, Yusei contemplating his next words. What could he really say to sooth her in his moment?
"Would you think less of me?" She asked suddenly, making him look over at her. "Would you think less of me if I killed him? You never answered me yesterday." Yusei stared at her for a few seconds before he sighed.
"I wouldn't," he answered. "I would never do that. And besides, I don't think you'll kill him unless he makes you."
"No?"
"No. You may be angry at him and want him to feel the pain he made you feel, but...You're not that type of person anymore. The old Black Rose Witch might have killed him, Dr. Izayoi Aki wouldn't. First, do no harm, right?" Aki snorted weakly at his joke.
"Yeah," she said, "I suppose you're right. Might go against my job description if I kill him." Aki was quiet for a moment. "I'm scared, Yusei."
"Scared?" He asked her. She nodded.
"I'm scared of him," she said. "Of what might happen when I face him. Will I be angry? Happy? I honestly don't know." Yusei nodded along at this.
"I suppose that's what happens when you haven't gotten closure. I don't wanna sound condescending or rude, but you really should have worked through this sooner."
"I know," Aki agreed. "But I was scared then too. And I didn't want to face him. I couldn't. Not after learning what he'd done. Not before I...before I truly accepted he wanted nothing from me but what I gave him." Silence came over them at this, and Yusei could contain his question no longer.
"Aki," he said slowly, "You've slept with Divine, haven't you?" Aki visibly flinched at this, looking away from him. "He mentioned it to me when he confronted me. Said he'd 'beaten me to you'. Is it true?"
"...I'm so sorry," Aki whispered weakly. "I should have told you." Yusei frowned deeply at this, his heart pounding painfully.
"It was private," he insisted. "You had no need to tell me that."
"I..." Aki tried, "I...God almighty, Yusei, I thought he loved me. I loved him. So, so much. For a while, I tried to convince myself I didn't love him, that I was just too enthralled with him. But when I started feeling the same way about you I realised I was wrong. Those feelings were real, but his...his weren't. I gave him everything and he...took it without a care in the world." Yusei didn't know what to say to that. What could he say? Aki had gone through something so horrific and had kept it to herself out of shame. "Back then, when he found me while I was duelling Misty, I was so damn happy. I hated it, and I wanted to hate him, but I was so happy he'd found me."
"I wish you'd have come to me," he said.
"I wish I did too," Aki replied with a weak smile in his direction. "Maybe then I wouldn't be stuck in this situation. Maybe I wouldn't be facing him after ten years with no closure or idea how I'm to feel. But I have to do this. If I don't, he's just going to keep hurting the people I care about. I can't let him." Both of them grew silent, not knowing what to say.
"...So what will you do?" He asked finally. "If it comes down to it, if Divine forces your hand, what's going to happen?" Aki stared down at her cards, unsure of her answer. Yusei watched her flip up the card in the center, which was Black Rose Dragon.
"I suppose that's up to Divine, isn't it?" She asked him back. "Just like everything else, it seems."
"I'm confident you'll make the right choice," Yusei said. Aki watched him quietly.
"You think?" She asked, making him nod.
"I do," he said. He reached over and held her hand, and she smiled back at him.
"Thank you," she said. As he watched her play with her cards, making up his mind.
"Aki," he said, "there's a good chance Divine memorised your deck."
"I know that, but what am I to do? Play with a different one?" Yusei shook his head at this.
"No, but I do have a surprise for you."
Aki stayed well within her thoughts as she drove down the street on her D-Wheel, on her way to Yusei's apartment. She had no idea what his surprise was, but, apparently it was back at his place.
Arriving there, she followed his instructions from before to get to his place. She took the elevator up and walked to his door, inserting the key he'd given her. She walked into his apartment, and was immediately hit with a wave of familiarity. Even in his home in The Tops, Yusei managed to make his place resemble their old garage as much as he could. There was countless bits of machinery and folders lying all over the place, which left barely any room for food on his counter. Not that it was unorganised, oh no. All of the bits and pieces seemed to be meticulously organised to his liking, which meant he could find it if he needed it.
Ignoring the machinery, Aki walked into his bedroom as was instructed, and then to his desk opposite his bed against the wall. Leaning down,she pulled at the backboard underneath and watched as it swung open, revealing a safe with a number pad on it. Taking her phone out, Aki dialled Yusei and waited as he picked up.
"There?" He asked her, making her nod.
"I am," she said, "what was the code to it again?"
"15432780"
"Did it need to be that long?" She asked teasingly as she entered the numbers. Yusei scoffed.
"No, but I figured I'd make it something only I could remember." Opening the safe, Aki looked at what was inside, which seemed to be a stack of packages one would expect to see in the back of a mail truck.
"What are these?" She asked as she filed through them, finding the one with her name on it.
"Gifts," he said. "I've actually gotten into collecting Duel Monsters cards recently." Aki raised an eyebrow at this.
"Have you now?" She asked. "So that's what these are?" She could practically here the smile on Yusei's face.
"Actually, those are all the cards I found that I wanted to give to you, Aki. I only finished the checklist I'd made a few months ago. I was going to give them to you on your birthday, but today works just as well." Aki felt her cheeks flush at his kindness, trying to shake it off before she spoke.
"You're too good to me," she said quietly, making him laugh.
"Check them out and add the ones you like," he said. "There yours, after all." Aki opened the package, letting the deck-sized stack of cards fall into her hands. As she began to rifle through them, her eyes widened.
"Yusei," she began, "these cards-"
"Are all your favourite archetype?" He asked, "Work with your current deck or all together? I know, that was the point. Wouldn't have been a good gift if they didn't."
"But I've never even seen some of these! Where did you find them?"
"It wasn't easy, some of them have been out of general circulation for a while. But I managed to find them."
"Should I ask how much you've spent on these?" She asked.
"Probably not," he answered. "Not that I'll tell you. Use them to your advantage." Aki smiled.
"I will," she said, "thank you."
"Want me to help you out?" He asked, "I'm sure you and I can come up with a good counter-strategy"
"I'd like that," she replied. Moving out of his room and into his living room, Aki set her new cards and old onto his coffee table as they thought.
"Do you remember anything about Divine's cards?" Yusei asked, Aki nodding.
"He uses a psychic deck," she said. "His ace monsters let him gain life points, so..."
"So your decks primary burn strategy will be ineffective," Yusei surmised. "We should swap out the cards you use in the burn strategy for new ones."
"Okay, give me a second," she replied. Aki filed through her cards and picked out the ones that caused life point damage through effects, placing them off to the side. "What should we focus on instead?"
"I'd say we focus on denying Divine his other strategies. What were they? Do you remember anything?" Aki made a face.
"Well, his boss monsters will be a pain if he gets them out first."
"His synchro monsters?" Yusei asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "Psychic monsters generally cost life points to activate their effect, but his boss monsters can let him recover a lot."
"It's a good thing I found that one card for you, then," he said. Before Aki could ask, Yusei continued, "There's a certain synchro monster in there. You'll know the one." Aki made a face but did as he asked, looking through the deck. Her eyes widened when she found it.
"Yusei," she started, "where the hell did you find this?!"
"Let's just say Goodwin wasn't exactly truthful with us," Yusei said. "Jaeger and I found that among other cards in a safe. We cracked it open with an old code found in Goodwin's stuff. I don't know what he planned to do with it, but I figure you should have it." Aki examined the card closely, reading it's effect text.
"Yusei," she said, "this-"
"Counters Divine's boss monsters before he can even use them," Yusei answered. "I know."
"No, it's not that," she replied.
"What is it?" He asked. Aki let out a laugh.
"I'm just imagining how much easier my duels would have been if Goodwin gave this to me." He chuckled.
"There's another one in there," he said. "One just as special." Aki flipped through more cards, her eyes widening.
"Oh wow..." she said, examining this card as well. "Did Goodwin hide this as well?"
"He did." Aki scoffed in disbelief.
"Bastard owes me some wins," she said.
It was after taking the cards from Yusei's place that Aki returned to the hospital, and was intercepted by the twins.
"Aki," Luna said, "Do you want to come to the airport with us? We're going to see Jack." Aki made a face at this.
"He's getting in today?" She asked, "I thought that he had a tournament going on."
"He dropped it," Leo replied, "once he heard Yusei got hurt. News has been spreading pretty fast, and now everyone has their ideas as to who attacked him."
"Which would explain why I'm being allowed to wander around," Aki replied. "Either the police trust me to look after myself, or think it would be to brazen for Divine to attack me in public after what he did."
"Oh trust me that's not true," Leo said with a smirk. "I heard Ushio reaming some officers for not keeping a closer eye on you. He's still worried." Aki let out a small snort at that.
"At least he cares," she said. "Come on, let's get going before he catches me." Getting his D-Wheel, Aki took off behind Leo and Luna as they headed towards the airport. On the way there, Aki got lost in her thoughts again. Her mind drifted back to her deck, which was now upgraded with the cards Yusei had given to her. She wasn't confident with them yet, as practice starts and duels could only do so much. Would she be able to get any practical experience before she went to challenge Divine? She wasn't sure. She could ask one of the twins or Jack, they'd be sure to help her.
Getting to the airport, Aki parked and walked inside the building with the twins, heading towards the gates. It wasn't long before a fresh plane landed, and before long a familiar blonde emerged from the jet bridge.
"Jack!" Leo shouted as he raised his hand and waved it in the air. "We're over here!" Jack raised a hand in recognition, and walked over in their direction.
"It's good to see you guys," he said in his usual booming, commanding tone. "I wish it was under better circumstances."
"Don't we all," Aki replied under her breath. Jack raised a hand and clasped Leo's, giving it a firm squeeze and the boy a smile. He then opened his arms and gave Luna a hug, one she accepted happily. He then turned to her, a smile on his face.
"Aki," he greeted.
"Jack," she replied.
"Are you okay?" He asked her, "I heard about what Divine did."
"I'm fine," she answered back. "I'll get him back for it." Jack snorted at this and opened his arms again, and Aki figured giving him a hug wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It occurred to her as she hugged him that it was unusual for Jack to be so outwardly affectionate, but maybe he'd mellowed out recently. Or maybe he was trying to make her feel better.
"We'll teach the bastard a lesson," he said in her ear before he backed out of the hug. "For Yusei." Aki nodded at this.
"Damn right we will," she said, ignoring the anxiety building in her stomach.
"All right, let's go to the hospital," Jack said as he picked up his bag again. "I want to see how Yusei's doing."
"I'd avoid Ushio and the cops, Jack," Leo said as they walked back out towards their D-Wheels. "Another one of us showing up in the city would probably give him an ulcer."
"He was foolish for trying to prevent us from coming," Jack replied earnestly. "As if he figured we'd listen if one of us got hurt. Has Crow showed up yet?"
"No," Aki answered, "he said the other day he's being held up by airport worker strikes in Australia."
"He's in Australia?" Luna asked, "that's so cool, I've always wanted to go there."
"How typical of Crow to not show up immediately," Jack said in a teasing tone as he strapped his bag to Aki's D-Wheel. "I see Yusei got your upgraded wheels to you, Aki."
"You knew about this?" She asked him, Jack nodding.
"Yeah," he said, "he asked me about what parts I'd been putting in my own to see what was best. He wanted to make it as good as it could be. You can barely tell it was a cobbled-together bike, huh?" Aki smiled warmly down at the upgraded Bloody Kiss as her head grew fuzzy.
"Yeah," she said. "It was nice of him."
After returning to the hospital, Jack took off immediately to go and see Yusei. Aki and the twins watched him go with bemused expressions, Leo cracking jokes about Jack's affection for the team. Aki's thoughts were elsewhere, though. She wanted to test something.
"Leo," she said, making the young man turn to look at her.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"I've got a request. Something you can do for me."
"What is it?" He asked, "I'll do it no matter what!" Aki smiled at this, her hand resting on the deck strapped to her waist inside her jacket.
"I need you to duel me," she said.
"Duel you?" Leo asked curiously. Aki nodded.
"I know I talk a lot of shit, but, I haven't actually had a serious duel in a long time." She told him, "I need to practice. Care to help me out?" Leo's smile widened at this request. He looked like a kid in a candy shop.
"Of course I'll help you out!" He shouted in excitement. "Don't you worry, Aki! Before you know it you'll be just as good as I am!"
"That's not reassuring," Luna said from beside him, making him side-eye her irritably. Aki just watched with a bemused expression.
"Shall we get started?" She asked.
Yusei had to wonder if Aki and Leo chose to have their practice duel right out his window. Looking down at them as they played, he watched Aki's strategy unfold with Jack by his bedside.
"I'm worried about her," Jack said after a long silence. Yusei hummed in agreement.
"I am too," he admitted. "She's underplaying how scared of him she is." Jack didn't reply right away, watching Leo summon Power Tool Dragon.
"That guy," he said, "Divine I mean. He's a piece of shit, but he's a damn smart one. He's trying to pry Aki away from us, isolate her. Threatening us to get her alone is a scummy move."
"Too get her back," Yusei said, "which will never happen." Jack growled at this.
"I won't let her go alone, Yusei," he said. "I'll go with her when she confronts him. I'll go in your stead." Yusei smiled at the blonde.
"I appreciate that," he said. "Seems you and Leo are both going." Jack nodded.
"He wants to get her alone to psyche her out," he said. "It's mind games 101. I won't let him." The two fell silent again, watching the duel quietly.
"Do you think she'll kill him?" Yusei asked suddenly. Jack looked at him in surprise, his eyes wide.
"Did she say she would?" He asked tentatively. Yusei frowned.
"In as many words," he said. "She wants him dead, but won't admit that at face value. I saw it when we talked earlier. I'm glad you're going with her. If she was alone I'd be afraid for her...She asked if I'd think less of her if she did. That seems a bit worrying to me."
"Would you?" Jack asked. Yusei shook his head.
"No," he replied, "but I fear she would." Jack pressed his mouth into a thin line and sighed, looking back out the window.
"If anyone's going to kill that bastard for what he's done," he said, "it'll be me, not Aki." Yusei snorted.
"I don't doubt that," he replied. "Sometimes I nearly forget he killed Carly." Jack tensed at this. It was obviously a touchy subject among the group, as they generally tried to avoid talking about it. But, the facts remained. Carly had technically been killed by Divine. It was only through the power of the Dark Signers and the Crimson Dragon that she was alive at all. Divine had more enemies within the Signers than he thought. As he considered their plight, something Aki had said to him during their date came back to him.
"Aki said that Divine tried to make her like him," Yusei said. "To make her an agent of revenge."
"Yeah?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. I think she wants him dead, but I don't think she'll do it herself. Wouldn't that just give credence to Divine's thought process?"
"Killing a lunatic in revenge isn't the same as killing innocents for a small slight," Jack replied. "I'd sleep just fine at night if Aki killed him."
"I know you would," Yusei replied. "But would Aki?"
Silence feel between the friends as they watched the duel out the window.
"When do they go find him?" Jack asked after a few minutes.
"In two days," Yusei replied. "Only Aki knows where."
"And I gather she hasn't shared," Jack mumbled. "Don't worry Yusei. I'll be with her. I won't let Divine get inside her head." Yusei nodded, giving his friend a grateful smile.
Still, he was worried. Not only about Aki, but what she would do. He'd easily forgive her if she killed Divine. But would she forgive herself?
