V: Babysitting
After working five days straight, Liqiu needed to take a break from it all. She always closes her shop during the weekends. The 16 year old would spend her time doing errands. But today was different for the lilac haired girl. Two days ago, Crow came to visit Liqiu at her shop. He told her that he needed some help taking care of the kids at his hideout. Liqiu didn't mind seeing the kids once again since it been a while since she had seen them.
The lilac haired teen wanted to give her duel runner a routine check-up before heading out. Liqiu always wanted to make sure her duel runner was in tip-top shape. Her dark brown eyes look straight at the computer screen in front of her. She analyzed the data in front of her. It showed an image of her duel runner and the parts were labeled. Everything glowed green, and she smiled at the results.
"Everything looks perfect. It's time for me to head near the Daedalus Bridge," she said.
Liqiu stood up, and she took her helmet from one of the hooks and placed it on the table. She continued to get ready for her ride near the bridge. She pulled her shoulder-length lilac hair in a ponytail with a white colored scrunchie. Liqiu dusted off the dust of her off black colored jeans and began turning off everything in her garage. She places a couple of bags onto the back of her duel runner. She tied down the bags with some small bungee cords so the bags won't escape.
A few minutes later, the Chinese teen drove off and away from the apartment complex. Liqiu looked around, and she saw the citizens of the Satellite doing their own thing. Some of them were dueling on the sidewalks while others were doing errands. A few people here and there were scamming people in broad daylight. She looked away and continued driving to her destination.
Near the Daedalus Bridge, an orange haired teenager was polishing a black colored duel runner. His gray eyes looked at the children running and playing. He smiled and thought about what he was going to do today. Most of the of time, the kids were able to take care of themselves while he was gone. But today was different. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be gone.
Crow didn't like leaving them, but at least he was able to find someone he trusts to take care of them for today. Plus the kids knew the person who was going to taking care of them for the day. He even went to the trouble of visiting his friend's duel runner parts shop a few days ago in regards to babysitting the kids. Crow didn't think that she'll say yes like that. But then again, he wasn't the only person who was good with kids. He knew that he could trust her.
"Looks like I made here on time," she said.
His gray colored eyes looked over in the direction of the voice. He could hear the sound of a duel runner heading towards his direction. The duel runner stopped just a few feet from where he was standing. While sitting on top of her duel runner, Liqiu took off her white colored helmet and placed it on her lap. Crow smiled at her while she looked at him.
Crow wondered, "So this is the duel runner you have been working on, Liqiu."
"The same one Crow. I am glad that I finished it," replied Liqiu, "for the last month and a half, I put nothing but blood, sweat, and tears into this duel runner."
He said, "I can tell, and I hope you have been practicing your turbo dueling skills."
"I have Crow, and we should have a turbo duel one of these days," she responded.
Crow said, "Maybe once after the bridge is complete."
Liqiu looked straight at the Daedalus Bridge, which was nearby. At first, she didn't have any thoughts about the incomplete bridge. But this time, Liqiu wondered if the bridge will bring the Satellite and New Domino City together once again. She heard about the legend of the man who built a bridge and tried to fly to the other side with the help of his duel runner. The 16 year old wondered how much of that story was true.
As she parked her duel runner, a group of kids ran towards her and Crow. The lilac haired teen just smiled and watched them gather around her.
"You're here," said one kid.
Another child asked, "Is that your new duel runner Liqiu?"
She smiled and replied, "Yes, it's my duel runner. I just finished building it."
"Will you teach me how to duel Liqiu?" asked another kid.
Liqiu said, "Of course."
As Liqiu was trying to settle in, Crow saw how patient and easygoing she with them. Some of them were even able to calm down in the process. He didn't have to worry about them that much with Liqiu around. Crow wasn't surprised since she was good with kids as well. As for him, it was time for him to leave. Liqiu and the kids watched him as he was getting ready.
Crow said, "I'll be back later. If I am not back by dusk, make sure you get the kids to bed Liqiu."
"Try not to get arrested Crow," replied Liqiu.
He responded, "I can't promise you that Liqiu."
She rolled her eyes at his response. The lilac-haired girl wasn't surprised by her friend's words. He has done this before, and it has gotten him in trouble multiple times. Liqiu also knew that he steals those cards for the children and teach them how to duel. To her, Crow was a modern version of Robin Hood. Steal for the rich and give to the poor.
As Crow leaves the hideout, Liqiu looked over at the children. Since she didn't know how long he was going be out, Liqiu walked inside, and the children followed her. Her eyes focused on the TV that was there, The Fortune Cup was still going on, and she had been watching all those duels. What surprised her the most was Yusei's participation in the tournament. She was glad that he was able to make it to New Domino City despite the fact Sector Security caught him.
Liqiu also thought that the kids wouldn't mind watching the tournament too. She approached remote and turned on the TV. The children gathered around her, and they saw the small screen.
"The final duel of Fortune Cup will be between the reigning king, Jack Atlas and Satellite's Last Hope, Yusei Fudo!" exclaimed the announcer.
Liqiu said, "Yusei managed to win his way to battle against Jack after all."
"Who do you think is going to win the Fortune Cup?" asked Kokoro.
Liqiu saw Kokoro standing right next to her. The Chinese teenager knew that Jack was a great duelist ever since their days in the Satellite. She wasn't surprised that he was able to make it to New Domino City and become the King. As for Yusei, Liqiu acknowledged him as a good duelist too even back in the days. After seeing his recent duels on TV, the lilac haired teen could tell that he was improving.
Ginga replied, "Of course Jack is going to win. He's the King for a reason."
"I say that Yusei is going to win this duel," said Liqiu.
The maroon haired boy asked, "Why do you think Yusei is going to win this duel Liqiu?"
"Because the Yusei who is dueling now has been improving so much since the start of the tournament," she said.
It wasn't the best answer the 16 year old girl had, but she could see that Yusei was dueling much more differently than he used to back then. Even though some of his strategies were predictable, Liqiu was impressed by the new ways he defeats his opponents. Since he was going to battle against Jack, Liqiu thought about how intense this duel might get.
Throughout the entire day, Liqiu watched TV with them. She also had practice duels with Ginga, Taiga, and Daichi near the hideout. Liqiu even cooked some dinner for the kids with the food she brought from her home with her electric stove. As she was eating, Liqiu looked straight at the uncomplete bridge once more. She thought about how many people tried to make into the city. It was somewhat impossible to leave Satellite, but she knew people who have done it.
Jack, Yusei, and her father have all managed to leave the Satellite. She wasn't sure how her father did it, but she knew that he was far away from here and has been for a long time. Liqiu shrugged it off, and she focused on eating her food. As she was eating her food, the Chinese teenager hears the noise of a duel runner engine. Her dark brown eyes focused on the familiar black duel runner that was coming this way.
The children began running towards the black duel runner. Liqiu followed them to make sure they don't get hurt. She watched the black duel runner stop. Crow removed his helmet, and he saw the kids standing there.
"Did you guys behave while Liqiu was around?" asked Crow.
Kokoro replied, "We did."
"I can vouch for all of that, and we were having a lot of fun while you were gone," stated Liqiu.
He said, "Since you guys behaved so good, I managed to get you gifts again,"
As Crow was giving out those cards, Liqiu just smiled. Crow was always thinking about the well-being of others. He has been dedicating his life to care for those children and teaching them how to duel. Liqiu knew about the promise Pearson made to Crow before he passed away. All she can is that Crow has been doing a good job taking care of the children and Pearson's duel runner, Blackwing.
The children ran off with their new cards and left the teens behind. Crow and Liqiu looked over at each other all of a sudden. It was no surprised for them to see the kids run off like that with those cards.
"So did you manage to make your perfect escape?" asked Liqiu.
Crow replied, "I did, and I luckily didn't get caught."
"That's good because I don't want to be your accomplice if you have gotten in trouble," she said, "so, I will see you around."
He replied, "See you later, Liqiu."
Liqiu walks off and heads towards her duel runner. She puts her helmet on and unlocks her ride. The 16 year old Chinese girl puts her helmet and turns it on. A few moments later, Liqiu drives off, and the 17 year old turbo duelist watched his friend leave his base. She had a good time taking care of the kids, and tomorrow was going just dealing with the errands she couldn't do today.
This ends the fifth chapter of Satellite Girl. As I said in my last note, this chapter was an easygoing chapter since we did have an intense duel in the last two chapters. With this chapter, it was inspired by Ep. 30 of the anime, but the chapter was set around Ep. 25 (which was the start between Yusei and Jack's duel in the Fortune Cup). All I can say about the next chapter is that we will get to see Lazar once again and Liqiu's encounter.