I have one final plan before I go to the Satellite. Not that I plan to return to this City, but if I do I think it's best to have anything I might need. I find a storage area outside the City and I load things I might need into the trunk of my Father's porsche and drive it out to the storage area, followed by my Mother's D-Wheel. I am also finally able, with the help of my little friend, log into my dad's computer. I downloaded all the files onto a portable drive to have stored. After those things are secured in the storage area, I pack my small backpack for the Satellite. I push my D-Wheel out to the curb by the street strapping my backpack on it. It is almost time to leave. I go back inside the house and grab a bottle of liquid I placed on the the counter and head upstairs. I enter first into my baby room and open the lid of the bottle, pouring the liquid inside in a large circle around the room then trail it out of the room to the rest of the rooms inside the house, followed by the downstairs area, ending at the door to the house. Though I won't need it after this, I cling onto the necklace with my family ring around my neck. Although this house doesn't mean anything to me I can't bring myself to get rid of this necklace.
I step outside the house, leaving the front door open. I concentrate on bringing a fire into the palm of my hand. I take a deep breath and place the flames on the trail of lighter fluid leaking through the house. It quickly catches fire, the fire trails through the house like a snake. I look back to my D-Wheel. Before leaving, I want to give this house one final goodbye. I step inside the house, as the flames continue to rush through the house. I take the stair up to my baby room one last time. I stand in the centre of the ring of lighter fluid. I look around the room. My room. I wish this room actually meant something to me, but it just feels like a room. Beautiful as it is, showing my parents, the sun and the moon. This room is just a baby room, that's all it is.
The lighter fluid around me begins to ignite and I'm surrounded by a ring of flames. I try not to cry. This is my house. No, this is my parents house. I'm more than ready to let it go. The flames are now beginning to spread to the rest of the house. Through the fire won't hurt me, a crumbling building will. I step through the circle of flames and taking the burning steps down stairs. Then, I cross the threshold of my house on final time.
"Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad." I gaze at the house in front of me. It reminds me of the first time I saw it and this will be my last time to see it. I start to feel myself tearing up, but before I let myself, I head to my D-Wheel and I'm off to get to the Satellite.
I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. It's probably Dmitri calling again. I've been ignoring my friends since the end of the Fortune Cup. I can't let myself get any more attached to them then I already am. My plan is to ride out to the docks and find a boat to the Satellite. Once I'm there, I won't have to worry about my friends anymore.
"KYOKO! KYOKO!" I hear a voice screaming my name as I pass by the shopping centre I normally go to. It's Dmitri. I wonder how often he goes there to look for me. I keep driving, I want to stop, but I don't let myself stop. After a couple minutes, I see Dmitri speeding up behind me on his D-Wheel. I need to get away from him. "Kyoko! Slow down! Please!" Dmitri keeps getting closer to me. "Kyoko, we all miss you so much! Where have you been?"
"Leave me alone! I'm leaving town and I don't want you guys coming after me. Just stop caring about me. I'm not your friend."
"You're not my friend! You're my best friend! So please just stop running away from us and come back!"
"NO! Just leave me alone, Dmitri!" I speed up and head as quickly as I can to the docklands, hoping I can lose him there. He's still speeding after me, but we've both stopped talking and focused on driving. I can see the docklands coming into view. There is a boat about to leave any moment, this is my ticket to the Satellite. I speed in the direction of the boat, swerving between large shipping pallets that fill the grounds of the docklands. I'm trying to lose Dmitri, but he just keeps finding me. The boat blows its horn as its slowly starts to pull out of the dock. I see one of the brown wooden bridges that people use to load and board the boat. I race toward it at full speed, but the boat is drifting father away and Dmitri is coming up right behind me. This is my only chance. I'm closing in on the boat and my wheel hits the first piece of wood. I speed up and keep going.
Then it feels like, for just a moment, I'm flying. The back wheel of my D-Wheel barely lands on the boat, but I'm still gassing the power of the D-Wheel. I turn the handle of my D-Wheel and slam on the breaks. My D-Wheel's wheels begin to slide across the boat till I come to a screeching stop. Everyone is looking at me and they don't seem too happy, but they go on about their business without bothering me. I look back at the docklands. Dmitri stopped his D-Wheel, knowing that he wouldn't make the jump. So now he is off his D-Wheel and is trying to yell at me, I wave goodbye to him. I'm finally off the the Satellite.
Most of the boat ride is me standing over by my D-Wheel to make sure no one else touches it, until I find a cloth to cover it up and sit in front of it. No one really talks to me, but one man is nice enough to bring me over a cup of soup and some bread.
"So, what's a girl like you doing heading to the Satellite?" The man asks as he sits down beside me.
"I guess you could say I'm returning home."
"It's rare to find anyone that will actually refer to the Satellite as their home."
"Well, there is no room in the City for people like me anymore. People like us, I mean." I correct myself when I see the marker near his eye that is partially covered by hair. I let my hair down out of my braid so that my marker is on display for all to see. This is one place that I don't have to be ashamed for having a marker. "What about you? Why are you headed to the Satellite?"
"It's also my home, but I mainly work aboard this ship. My wife and son live in the Satellite, and if I wasn't working aboard this ship. They wouldn't have enough money to survive."
"How old is your son?"
"He will be six in two weeks." The man pulls out his wallet. It has a section in the middle for a couple photos. "This is him there." It's a picture of the man with his wife and his son. They look so happy for a family living together in the Satellite. I reach into my pocket pulling out a little bit of money that I got to bring with me. It's not like I should really need it after this anyway.
"I know it's not much, but try and buy something nice for your son for his birthday."
"Are you sure? What about yourself?"
"I'll be fine. I have people waiting for me in the Satellite."
"Thank you so much." The grown man beside me begins to tear up. This tells you how many good deeds people actually do for each other in the Satellite. He hands me a small card, this must be the company of the ship we are on. "If you ever need help with anything, or transportation from and to the Satellite, just give the company a call and ask for Jesse." I take the card and store the number in my phone.
"Thank you."
"I have to get back to work now, but I look forward to seeing you around again." I just give the man a smile and finish the soup he gave me. Not too long after, we finally approach the dock in the Satellite. I take the cover off my D-Wheel and push it off the boat. Then, I consider where the best place to go is. The voice in my head decides not to help with my decision making for once. I figure the best place to go is to visit an old friend. Crow Hogan.
Daedalus Bridge.
I listen to the voice because it always seems to know more than I do and my guess would have been to go to Martha's. I head towards the B.A.D. area near the Daedalus Bridge. Crow always loved the story of the man who tried to fly from the Satellite to the City using the Daedalus Bridge and would tell the story to everyone he meet when he was a kid. He was the first person to ever tell me the story. When I arrive near the Daedalus Bridge, I don't see Crow anywhere. Although this isn't the safest place to try and get someone attention, I think I am capable of defending myself.
"Crow! Crow, are you here?" I yell out as I slow down on my D-Wheel to get a better look around. A girl with teal hair and tanned skin jumps out in front of my D-Wheel. She also seems to be preparing her duel disk.
"Who are you? And why are you looking for Crow?"
"I'm an old friend of his. Who are you?"
"I'm a new friend of his. What is your name?"
"Kyoko."
"Kyoko? As in the girl who was with Crow during his Team Satisfaction days?" The girl goes stiff, she seems completely shocked.
"The one and only." I say, giving the girl a smile. "So how about telling me where Crow is?"
"He's not here right now, but, if you really are who you say you are ,then you are welcome to stay here until he comes back. He told me that you ran off years ago though, so why are you back now?"
"I have very important things to talk to Crow about. It involves the Dark Signers." She lowers her eyes at me.
"Come in, quickly." I pull my D-Wheel over quickly and heading into a small shed. Kids that are crowded behind chairs and tables come out and hug the girl.
"Is everything okay, Freya?" One of them ask the girl.
"Yes, my child. It's just one of Crow's friends." All the children turn to look at me. "Everyone, this is Kyoko, please make her welcomed."
"Nice to meet you, Kyoko." The children all say, very out of sync. I smile and wave to all the kids. They begin to carry on with their daily activities. The girl, Freya, leads me over the the table.
"Sit." I do as I'm told and take a seat.
"So where is Crow?"
"Out, looking for Dark Signers." My eyes widen from shock.
"How does he know about the Dark Signers?"
"I'm guessing you remember your old friend Yusei. He was here not that long ago and he ran into one of the Dark Signers. Yusei almost died, but he's fine now, but Crow is out looking for revenge. What's worse is that Yusei and Crow knew the guy who was a Dark Signer, which mean you probably do also."
"Who was the Dark Signer?"
"Kiryu."
"But that means… No, it can't be… Kiryu is dead?" I say, clearly worried.
"I'm not sure exactly what he is, but nothing good will come out whatever he is. He was looking to take revenge on Yusei, but I'm not exactly what happened between the two of them."
"I know lots of things changed after I left, but I never thought it would have been this bad. I came to warn Crow about the bad things that are going on, but it seems like he's trying to take care of them for himself. If you care about him, I would stop him from doing what he is doing."
"Haha," She laughs nervously. "I think you have things wrong. I do care about Crow, but not any romantic way. We both just try to look out for the kids around the Satellite." I'm not surprised. I always remember Crow being great with kids, but the fact he's already having to take care of kids so young. I almost feel bad for him.
"Just look out for him, please. The Dark Signers are seriously dangerous and the only ones that should be going after them are the Signers. Unless… Is Crow the fifth Signer?"
"No, I'm sure he wishes he would be, but no, he's not. Yusei didn't seem to know who the fifth Signer was either."
"Interesting."
"So… How are things as a Psychic?" I quickly stand up. How does she know? I feel heat racing through my veins. Does she think its okay just to ask this kinda question so casually? Fire ignites in my hands. I can feel the fire growing, until one of the kids in the room screams. The fire quickly extinguished. "Kyoko, calm down. I didn't mean to get you so worked up. Crow told be about what happened to you as a child. I have never met a Psychic, so I was just curious." I sit down taking a few deep breaths.
"You've never met a Psychic?"
"No, but I've heard about the kind of powers you have, I think it's so cool all the amazing things you can do." How can she possibly think that being a weapon of destruction is cool?
"They aren't cool. All my powers do is bring other people pain and suffering. Nothing good comes out of being a Psychic."
"Have you tried to use your powers for good?"
"I guess not… But how would I use such powers for anything good?"
"Well you can materialize duel monsters, that's almost like have cool pets that can do real life tricks. Then, I can tell you use fire also. You could start fires that need them, so for people that have homes that would keep them warm at night. You could clear out old buildings? Cremate people? Okay, maybe that last thing isn't the best, but all you have to do is imagine the possibilities!" I roll my eyes, it's cute how innocent she is.
"I wish it was as simple as you make it sound, but its not. You aren't a Psychic, you don't understand." She reaches across the table and grabs one of my hands.
"Then make me understand." Is this girl hitting on me? Not that I'm complaining, but this isn't what I had planned when I came to the Satellite. I stand up and head for the door, Freya follows.
"If Crow isn't coming back anytime soon, I think it's best if I get going before nightfall."
"Stay with me. Ugh, I mean us. Stay with us. Just for one night. Do you even have anywhere to go tonight?"
"I guess not, but only for tonight. I have to leave first thing in the morning."
"Deal."
"Kids, do you hear that? Kyoko is staying with us tonight!"
"Yay!" A few of the kids run over and give me a hug. "Can you tell us a story tonight?"
"Only if you are good." I give the kids a wink and they giggle. I don't think I've ever really been around kids before. Thay are all so innocent. They don't know any of the real troubles of the world yet and people like us get to shape the way they look at the world. Maybe being around them for one night wouldn't be so bad for me.
The kids, Freya, and I make a fire outside. I even light it with my own powers, this caused Freya to give me a wink, and all the kids clap at the display of my powers. Some of them even say I had magic powers, they wanted to see more tricks, but I got them to sit down for story time.
"What kinda story do you want to here?"
"Tell us about Papa Crow when he was a child!"
"Would you like to hear about when Crow and I met?" All the kids eyes light up and they nod their heads. "Okay, so when I was 15, I was trying to by bread from an older man on the street, when he tried to…" I take a minute to think of the kid appropriate way to end this sentence.
"When he what?" One of the kids pipes up.
"Attack me!" I jump towards the kids and they jump backwards. One of the kids even falls on their back. "But it's okay because some friend of Crow's saved me and they took me to see a nice woman named Martha. That's where I met Crow! The first time I met him, he challenged me to a duel!"
"Who won?"
"Crow won easily. I was just learning at that time, but it's okay, because now even I can beat Crow!"
"No way!"
"Yes way! After the first time me and Crow dueled, he told me the story about the man that tried to fly from the Satellite to the City using that bridge right there." I point to the big bridge looming near us.
"We love that story!"
"Well, it is Crow's favourite story. After me and Crow became friends, we would play pranks on all our friends."
"What kinda pranks?"
"Well… One time when our friend Jack was sleeping, we found a black permanent marker and decided to draw on his face. He walked around with a mustache and some bad words on his face for three days before he finally saw his reflection in a window!" All the kids burst out laughing and Freya gave me a small smile. I think she is happy that me and the kids are getting along.
"Kids, I think it's time to get to bed now!" Freya pipes up, ushering all the kids back inside.
"Fine!" They all groan on their way inside the small shed. I follow behind the kids and Freya. Once all the kids had gotten to sleep, I take a blanket to find myself a place on the floor for the night.
"What do you think you are doing?" Freya says, looking at me trying to find the best spot on the floor to lay down.
"Looking for somewhere to lay down. What do you think I'm doing?"
"Well…" Freya begins approaching me slowly and she put her hand on my arm. "My sleeping bag is big enough to fit two." She gives me a small wink, grabbing my hand and pulling me away into a small room away from the kids. I guess this is my last night of freedom, maybe even life, so I might as well enjoy it. Freya faces the wall, away from me and began to take off the clothes she was currently wearing. Her teal ponytail fell down her back as she took off her shirt. I wanted to look away but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He dark tanned back was full of defined muscles, covered in scars of all different sizes. I wanted to kiss them all, one by one.
I stop myself and face the wall I was standing near. I decide to change into an old shirt and comfortable pants I had brought with me to sleep in. When I am done, Freya opens up the sleeping bag and we lie down together. It's a tight fit but it's better than being on the cold floor. To make ourselves more comfortable, I find myself lying on Freya's arm as we were facing each other. Though I am warm and comfortable, it is hard to sleep. I can feel Freya's lips graze my forehead every once in a while and the air around us is a warm sticky mess of our breaths combining. Gods, it is hard to concentrate. But I just try to count numbers until I can fall asleep.
"Good night, Kyoko." I hear her say as I am finally drifting off to sleep.
"Good night, Freya." I say to her slowly as my mind drifts off to sleep. The last thing I feel is the press of her lips on my forehead.