Judgement of the World
Written by: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta: Me, and almost caught up to the current chapters!
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Aki kept her hands on the smaller girls' shoulders as she peered into the room with its golden colored floors, rich brown walls and red seats beyond where there was some activity. On the other side of Rua and those seeing to him them was Mrs. Bartlet, her gaze going between what was before her and her other students off behind her. Then there was the nurse who was kneeling beside Rua, who looked to be coming around on his own. As well as the apparent 'Ryo' that was spoken of, he was kneeling beside Rua, blocking the view of Rua's lower body. While the kids were huddled up to the side on the duel field and she could see Patti and the rest of that small group among the rest of class. They stood before their fellow students with open expressions of concern, while all the other kids seemed to have settled down.
But as Aki stood there, she could see that Rua was moving a bit on his own. "Rua is coming around, Ruka!" All the while wondering what sent the kid falling off the platform, Rua had been exposed to scary things namely, the EarthBound Gods. What could have scared him so bad to make him fall off a platform in a dueling situation at 'school'? Maybe she was wrong though? Maybe he had not been sleeping right, and was just tired? After all the pair lacked their parents supervision so it 'was' possible the boy just wore himself out.
"I think, considering the situation, we'll cancel the class today and you students can have a free study day." Mrs. Hanatsubaki announced, gesturing for the students to turn and return to their classroom. Though she leveled her gaze on to Aki then further down to Ruka. "Ms. Izayoi, please stay with her as she seems to be close to you."
"Yes, ma'am," Aki nodded and watched as the others moved back down the hallway back towards their class. Leaving Aki in the hallway with her Witch, Ruka, Kuribon, and the two other students.
"I'm Tenjoin, Asuka," the blond suddenly announced, sticking her hand out to Aki as though now was the time for introductions.
Which startled Aki into an automatic, "Izayoi, Aki."
"She's the Duel Queen of the School," Ruka explained looking up at Aki, while grabbing Aki's hand for comfort.
The guy with her was average in height, and his school uniform was neatly buttoned up with an expression that seemed to normally be light hearted. Yet right at that moment there was still a lingering concern over what had happened in the Gym. "I doubt you remember me from back then, my names' Muro, Kazushi." He replied extending his hand out to Aki as well.
That was an odd thing to say, since he wasn't in her class and she would have recalled meeting someone in her grade. What with only a very few willing to walk up to her and introduce themselves to her. But 'from back then' implied that he had also been attending school with her when she had no grasp of her powers. But if he was being friendly about the introduction, then it was possible that she never managed to put him in danger. Or he just was one of those guys who let bygones be bygones she assumed. So she offered her hand and greeted him as well as Ruka began slipping closer to the door in concern.
"Ah, its going to be ok Ruka!" Kazushi spoke up as his gaze followed the young girl.
"But... it was so strange that he even fell," Ruka pointed out, her voice so soft it was hard to hear her.
"Ruka, do you know of anything that could have caused him to fall like that?" Aki asked pulling away to go after the girl.
Ruka turned to look up at her and shook her head, "it was just a normal day using a different deck than what we normally use. But we've used all the different types of decks that the school has, so its strange that suddenly he would pass out." She curled up on herself, her hands clutched to her chest and Kuribon, was floating towards her and giving encouraging kurrs.
Asuka walked over and knelt down beside the smaller girl, resting her hand on Ruka's shoulder in a gentle manner. "Don't worry, if it had been serious Ryo would have signaled me."
"Yeah, Ryo wouldn't leave us in the dark," Kazushi pointed out, using the respectful honorifics to address Ryo. Boasting in that tone used to encourage children to relax when they were distressed, coupled with his good natured expression. He distantly reminded Aki of Yusei's redhead friend in how he easily dealt with children. Ruka kept her guard up, but she did fall back from the door again, though Kuribon looked ok with Kazushi's presence.
A glance up, and Aki could see Ryo get up and begin walking to the door with a calm even stride. His eyes caught hold of hers, before dropping down and watched as Ruka turned away from the door, which was when his eyes lit up with awareness.
"Ruka, I think we're about to find out something," Aki offered, causing Ruka to look up at her then whirl about to look back into the gym.
Ryo nodded in acknowledgment for what Aki had done as Ruka rushed into the gym, causing Aki to glance at her fellow teens and follow the girl in. Ryo, himself, proved to be a bit taller than Aki with shoulder length dark hair and calm, almost commanding, eyes. He carried the same serious vibe as Yusei, cool and calm, and he waited for the group to reach him before he began speaking.
"He'll be ok, he's got a bump on his head so the nurse is going to escort him to her station. She said it was ok for us to go back to class. However; he doesn't seem to remember what could have caused him to fall. He recalled setting down Monster Reborn, however he doesn't recall if the card worked or was canceled out. Yet the monster he was retrieving was already on the active field, so he seems to have lost a turns' worth of time in his memories. But just to be sure he might need to go to the doctors." Ryo reported to the group, which earned several concerned glances from the older teens while causing Ruka to whimper.
Aki knelt down behind her, even as Ryo did the same from the front, and the older boy offered a reassuring, "the nurse thinks he might remember soon. After all this was a rather jarring experience so try not to worry too much."
Ruka nodded as she looked up at him, her eyes glancing just long enough to see a large cybernetic dragon poke its head out long enough to give an encouraging nod. She turned to look up Aki, still in distress as their parents weren't home. Rua clearly would need to go see an actual doctor and what was she going to say when she explained they didn't know what cause his fall? How was she going to the hospital to begin with with only her equally young brother?
Ryo picked up on the expression, wondering why she would 'still' be so concerned, thus he turned his gaze towards Aki. He recalled, during his walks with his friends, that Izayoi was often seen in the company of the younger students and this pair in particular. But her answering expression was just as concerned as his, before she tried to talk to Ruka.
"What's the matter? Its just a trip to the doctors' office," she offered, reaching up brush away the stray tear running down the young girls' face.
"Mom and dad aren't here though, what will the doctors do to us if they find out he got hurt? They're not thrilled that its just the two of us to begin with." Ruka begrudgingly confessed part of her feelings, but she also gripped the part of her arm where her Signer mark rested.
But Aki's didn't burn with Ruka's distress so it must have been to call attention to the small girls' duty as a Signer. Bad enough to go to the doctors and confess that Rua got hurt, but if the doctors instructed the pair to go back to their parents? What would happen to the Signers if something else came up? Which was distressing to Aki, thinking that the poor girl was trying to keep up with such a burden. Aki pulled Rukas' hand away from her arm and Mark with a faint, but understanding, smile.
"I think she's worried about being forced to move away from her friends." It wasn't an exact truth, but being a Signer wasn't supposed to be advertised either she figured.
But Ryo's expression shifted subtly from surprised to understanding and even more into thoughtful retrospection. "Still, he clearly has a concussion."
"I'll look after the pair, that should ease the doctors," Aki offered. Or if worse came to worse get a helicopter and sneak Yusei back to the mainland. If there was 'anyone' the pair would be crazy to spend time with, it would be him.
"Oh, you haven't been introduced," Kazushi noted with a cheerful demeanor as he stood over Aki's left shoulder. His relaxed and encouraging tone an effort to distract little Ruka from her brothers' condition before it started to affect her. Twins and her heart condition and all, it was in bad taste to leave her in tears. "This is our Emperor! Marufuji, Ryo!"
Aki blinked, recalling several whispers about the 'Emperor', he was known for his skill as well has his manners and dignified nature. In fact it made sense that he would be close to Tenjoin when the accident happened they weren't, supposedly, an Item, but were close friends. It was actually because of their friendship that the school adopted the moniker for a Duel Queen. 'Emperor' for the School, 'King' for the world, since a new Duel King could show up anywhere on the map.
"Rua!" Ruka chirped out before running around Ryo and rushing to her brother.
The action got Aki to stand up and Ryo moved out of her way so she and Kazushi could see the small boy being guided by the school nurse towards them. Rua's hair had been taken down, and his eyes were fixed to the ground as though he needed to see where his feet were going to fall at all times. Yet the moment he heard Ruka's voice he lifted his head up and watched as she dashed towards him.
Rua's face became one of puppy shame, as though he did something he knew was wrong and waited for the disciplining. Ruka charged forward before hugging him something fierce enough to make him actually wince. His hand went behind his head in embarrassment only to cause him to flinch in the expectant pain.
"He's lucky that he didn't split his head open as he could have considering the height of the fall and concussion," the Nurse noted. Approaching the older students despite having told Marufuji that they could go back to class. Then again, he wouldn't have the title if he didn't care for his fellow classmates, nor would Tenjoin. Though having Izayoi there and not be the one inflicting injury was a change of pace.
"He didn't? Oh that's a relief, I admit I was a bit concerned when you brought the first aid kit," Tenjoin confessed. Sighing she added, "I realize its a necessity to bring it, still."
"Yes, that he didn't split his head open is good, though what kept him knocked out for so long is the question." Ryo agreed with a side glance at Ruka. After all he was aware that Ruka had a bad heart, was Rua also inflicted with something as well? If so the twins really couldn't afford to be alone...
"I'm sorry for causing all this trouble," Rua spoke up as he looked up at the teens. Feeling worse that the 'Emperor' himself was here, now to be known as the 'kid who passed out' and not the 'kid who beat the Emperor'.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up over what happened, we're just relieved that you're ok," Tenjoin commented as she bent down to look Rua more full in the face. With Aki there, it was a night and day effect between the two, Asuka's smile was warm and open like a sunflower. There was nothing hidden in her genuine expression of concern. While Aki usually had a very self contained smile, her feelings locked up behind her eyes and her professional smile. Making it harder to fathom if she was honestly concerned or just making polite expressions.
Then again, the twins knew her better than the student body, thus aware of her inability to openly express her feelings. Her active distrust of her own abilities, powers, and thoughts thanks to Divine, made it easier to overlook her cool behavior. But for Rua, at that moment, having the schools' beautiful Duel Queen smiling encouragingly at him made him smile. A pained, cheesy grin to hide the pain from his headache. But his face couldn't handle the stretch of the grin and he winced again before dropping it.
Asuka smiled warmly before straightening up and turning towards Aki, "well I guess we're leaving them in your care!" With her statement, Ryo and Kazushi turned towards the large gym double doors and walked away. Aki nodded her appreciation for the trio as she watched them walk away, feeling a twinge of jealousy at how easily Asuka could express her emotions. But she had a duty and turned her gaze back towards the twins, while Rua leaned against Aki side.
The school nurse was conversing with Mrs. Bartlet, while the group of friends the twins had made their way around them. Their concern naked in their eyes as they dashed along the waxed floor and over to the trio. "Rua, are you ok?!" was spoken almost so well in sync that they could have come from a single voice. Patty went to Ruka first, making sure that her fellow girl was handling things well, allowing the guys to look after Rua.
"Yeah, what happened Rua?" Tenpei asked, dipping his head down to catch Rua's gaze.
It wasn't hard as the boy lifted his head up once he realized that he was surrounded by his friends and he reached up. He placed his hand behind his head in response, only to actively wince at the contact and dropped his hand in response. "Sorry guys, I don't know what happened, I just remember playing Monster Reborn and then nothing."
"And you never had that happen before?" Bob asked in a concerned whisper before turning his focus onto Aki. "Hey Big Sister, you can talk to Spirits right? Without it hurting you like it does Ruka? Can you ask that deck he was using?"
The group literally stopped and stared in open shock at Bob's innocent expression causing him to look a bit confused between the group. "What? Who better to ask what happened if Rua can't remember, than the deck he was dueling with right?"
"That... is incredibly insightful, but I recall Ruka can't read from a fresh deck and that's what we use in this class. So I don't see how it can have enough of an identity for Big Sister to be able to read," Tenpai countered, his tone approving yet. It was a great idea, only if it could be used...
The kids looked up at Aki with a quiet expectation as the final voice of reason, after all she 'was' the oldest and been doing this kind of stuff for years. Albeit violently.
Leaving Aki with a rueful smile on her face, impressed as she was by the kids awareness and ability to put things together. Regardless if Mrs. Bartlets' class being considered the 'weakest', here was a clear sign that these were some bright kids.
"My powers don't work quite that way. Yes I can see and interact with Spirits, but Tenpei is right, a fresh deck lacks any true spirits assigned to them. A fresh deck is more like an amnesic being that I can use, but in a case like this..." She shrugged, hushing her voice and kneeling down to speak directly to the kids. After all the gym was large and voices carried very well in the large cavernous room. And despite not being visible to the kids Witch and Kuribon floated in close as well so that they could keep up with what was going on.
"Oh," Bob looked crestfallen for a moment before brightening again, "well, we all have our decks on us, couldn't his deck have seen something?"
"Its... possible?" Ruka replied looking at Rua with a little more force than usual.
"But not here, after he's seen the doctor we'll see about it," Aki decided as she saw their teacher, class in tow, and the School Nurse approaching. "He 'does' have a lot of machines in his deck, maybe one could serve as a type of monitor."
"Ms. Izayoi, I'm grateful you stayed here, could we possibly impose upon you for a bit? Rua is going to stay in the nurse's office until after school but could you escort him to the doctors' after school? Normally I'd want him there now, but without any adult supervision," Mrs. Bartlet let the sentence hang in the air ruefully.
But Aki had another plan, even if Yusei wasn't quickly reachable... "I have friends who might be able to help, even if Carly is at work, Jack could be of help."
"THE Jack Atlas?!" the students burst out in excitement as Aki's voice carried over to the younger ears. Startling the adults into small jumps of surprise.
"Well, Yusei isn't here soo..." Aki began only to see the shocked expressions on the teacher and nurses' face. Oh.. Oh yeah... no honorifics... Was Aki being out right rude, or was it the other direction... Crap.