The air is cold as I walk towards the Black Flag base. My eyelids ache. All I want to do is sleep. Though, I fear I'll have that dream again. Even though I've taken steps towards getting better, that dream still clings to my mind. However, last night was different. I feel Yusei's pain as the attack pierced his torso. I checked my body after I woke up, but nothing. I expected some scratches or something, but no. I'm confused, that's the first time that it has happened. I feel like it's a sign of things to come.
Despite everything, thoughts of Raiden flood my mind. Not one thought in particular, just a swarm of every small thing. The first time we kissed, the first time we did that, the first time I saw him cry. The way a fire seems to constantly burn in his eyes, the way his stare lingers on me. I remember Anako and Raiden were on a break. Raiden, understandably upset, decided he wanted to go clubbing, so he dragged me along. He didn't ask anyone else, I didn't pay attention to it then. I should have. For some reason, the club was more packed than usual. Our bodies were close enough and the music was so loud, that everything else but him seemed to fade away. That, or it was the vodka. Then, he kissed me. I didn't stop it, I didn't pull away. I just accepted it. I was kissing my friend's sort-of boyfriend, it should have felt wrong. The thing was, it didn't. The chemistry was there. A part of me realised what that something I could never quite place was in his eyes. Though, I didn't fully realise that until I had sobered up. There was something in the way his hands grabbed my waist and dared to go lower. Every square inch of my skin he touched burned red hot. No wonder that one moment lead to something more, and then led to where I am right now.
"Oi dumbass!" A shout from behind me breaks me out of my daze. I look over my shoulder and see Shinji and Kaoru a few paces behind me. "Geez, we've been calling you for ages." Kaoru scoffs and runs a hand through his hair.
"Who are you calling dumbass?" I raise my eyebrow at Kaoru. "Dumbass."
"Are you sure that you two aren't twins?" Shinji looks between Kaoru and I. "You're literally making the same face." We both look towards Shinji and then back at each other. We just shrug our shoulders at each other and start walking again. I can hear Shinji sighing behind us.
"How are we going to do this?" I can feel Shinji's eyes on the back of my head. We've entered the dockland area. Not the fancy port where I got the boat to the Satellite, but the rundown part filled with derelict warehouses. Of course that's the case though. This area is teeming with marked people. Even with unification, that number has only increased. I throw a glance over my shoulder. You can't be too careful around here these days. Between all the immigrants, marked people and Satellites around here, tensions are high.
"Well, outside of saying that I'm leaving, I got nothing."
"Great." I can literally feel the sarcasm dripping from Shinji's mouth.
"Has it ever been any different?" Kaoru chimes in with a cheeky look on his face.
"Good point." Shinji and Kaoru share a knowing look while I roll my eyes.
"You should be on my side, you know." I give Kaoru a pointed look.
"It's true and you know it." I scoff and quicken my pace.
Kaoru starts telling me about his training with Anako yesterday. Apparently he was able to meditate for a few minutes at a time. I'm honestly surprised how quick he was able to do it. Then again, I'm not the best teacher in the world while Anako is perfect for the job. He seems to be coming along great. Somehow, there's a pang of bitterness and I can't help but feel like I've gotten the short end of the stick.
"Anyway." Kaoru hesitates. "What exactly am I doing again? Cause I'm not the one leaving here."
"You'll wait outside the door. I'll tell you if you need to come in or get the hell out of there." I can feel both of them giving me cautious glances.
"Do you think there's a chance that we'll need to get out of there?" I think that Shinji has only now just considered that possibility. He's probably in denial, which is strange because he's known Raiden longer than anyone else.
"Of course." I look up at Shinji. "He's a psychic, we don't take bad news too well." We all stay silent until we reach the derelict warehouse that is the Black Flag base. Staring at the base, for quite probably the last time, is harrowing. "Are you two ready? Kaoru, you should stay a few paces behind us. I don't want you being seen by Raiden." They both nod. I can sense fear in Kaoru's aura. Admittedly, I'm petrified, but this is something I need to do.
The warehouse is empty and silent as a tomb. I knew that Black Flag only had a few members, but I didn't think it was this bad. The bottom floor is just one huge room. The floor and walls are made of completely bare concrete. The walls have plenty of cracks seeping into them. There's an abandoned table in the corner of the room. One of the legs is completely bent, but it still holds the table's weight. We head upstairs. We stand in the smaller of two rooms upstairs. The room is completely bare. I take a deep breath, then pout. I stare at the door leading to Raiden's room. Mentally, I tell Kaoru to wait beside the door to Raiden's room.
I take a deep breath, then Shinji and I approach the door and knock. Raiden tells us to come in. I let Shinji in first and I close the door behind me. Raiden sits at his deck, staring at his phone. He takes a long glance at us. Neither Shinji or I say anything. His gaze lingers on me, looking me up and down.
"I knew it." His stare doesn't move from me. His eyes have darkened.
"Knew what?" Shinji pipes up. Raiden's eyes still don't move. His stare unnerves me.
"You'd leave. Ever since the Fortune Cup, you've been acting different. It's that Yusei guy, isn't it? He's always gotten on my nerves. Is that why? Are you in love with him?" His expression is completely sour.
"Both of us are leaving. Yusei has nothing to do with it." I straighten my back. I almost completely backed up against the wall. Raiden goes quiet. The only sounds I can hear is our breathing.
"Shinji, can you stand outside for a minute?" Raiden's eyes don't move from me. Shinji mutters some form of a response and leaves, closing the door behind him.
Another silence. My hands have started to shake. The more Raiden looks at me, the worse I feel. He stands up and walks over to me. My back is now firmly pressed against the wall. Our eyes are locked as he keeps staring at me. Up close, I can see all of the colours in his eyes, they are this stunning shade of violet, but they're flecked with a deep blue. They draw me in time and time again. He rests his forearm against the wall, so he hovers over me. My neck is starting to strain from the height difference.
"Why are you leaving? Is it because of Yusei?" He speaks in a hushed tone, well aware that Shinji can probably hear us from the other side of the partition wall.
"I'm sick of this. I'm tired of always watching my back, carefully choosing my friends and not being able to get close to anyone." I close my eyes. "I want out." I take a deep breath. "What's with your obsession with Yusei anyway?" Raiden's aura is unreadable as usual. I try reading his face, his eyes, anything. Nothing. He has created a barrier between us.
"I know what you're thinking." I hold my breath. "You're thinking that if you leave you could run off into the sunset with him." Not exactly. Raiden holds my face with his other hand. "He wouldn't love you the way I do." I freeze. Wait what? Raiden kisses me full force on the lips. My body instantly reacts, pushing him away from me. I know what he wants. The same thing he always does. He'll use me and then just walk out on me. I stare at Raiden, confused. "I love you, Yuuka." I feel like the whole world freezes around me. This doesn't make sense. Raiden has never indicated that he liked me more than a friend. What we had was never romantic. He's never made any attempt to go further than that. He's obviously lying. I mean, he doesn't want me to leave Black Flag. So, he's trying to guilt me into staying here. It's going to work, not this time. I don't know what compels me, but I start laughing. It's sarcastic and half-hearted, maybe it's out of irony. Raiden's face begins to twist out of anger.
"Take your confession and shove it." I'm done, I'm just utterly done here. Raiden closes his eyes and exhales out his nose.
"Fine, you wanna leave so bad?" I've made a mistake, haven't I? "Then, duel me for it." He shoves his desk and chair up against the wall. He has taken duel disk out in the time it took to turn around. "You win, you leave. If I win, you stay, you can't leave." I'm staying where I am against the wall. I take a deep breath. I can do this. Just defeat Raiden, that's all I need to do. Simple. I am able to do this. I push myself off the wall, and walk so I'm facing him. I nod. "You're going to regret this." He says as he activates his duel disk, I do the same.
"Duel!" We chant at the same time.
"I'll go first." Raiden's voice is definite, leaving no room for discussion. "I summon Mezuki(ATK:1700) and end my turn."
"My turn. I draw." I take a deep breath and look at my hand. Right, three monsters, Beckoning Light, Karma Cut and Divine Wrath. I can work with this. "I summon Fabled Ashenveil(ATK:1600) and attack Mezuki. Ashenveil's monster effect activates. I discard one card from my hand to increase Ashenveil's attack points by 600." I discard Beckoning Light(ATK:1600-2200). Mezuki is destroyed. I feel electricity pulsing through my hand. Raiden's life points drop to 3500. He stares at me, I can see hatred burning in his eyes. I freeze as a crack starts to form on the wall behind Raiden. No, this isn't possible, this can't be happening.
"Oh, that's how it is then?" No, I didn't mean to. "Fine, no more Mr. Nice Guy." I should be able to control my powers. I always have. My powers are always the one thing I can control in my life. I can't control anything else, Yusei, Raiden, Kaoru, none of them. But at least I can control my powers. Could.
"No! I didn't mean to-" Raiden's face tells me to stop. "I set two cards and end my turn." Why was I not able to control my powers? This shouldn't be happening. I stare at my hands. The image of Yusei's torso being pierced enters my mind. The singeing feeling of electricity only gets worse. It feels like someone lit a fire in my chest. My whole body throbs with my powers. It moves around me in a stream, like I could almost touch it with my fingertips. Everything starts to have an orange tint. Everything is burning. Some fear the fire, and some become the fire. I'm burning, my entire world is on fire, and Raiden is right at the centre of it.