I think I'm starting to spin out of control. I've become addicted to the feel of the adrenaline in my veins. The thrill of gaining territory, one more piece of the puzzle. I sit waiting for the next gang to call, for Takumi to call me with the next plan. For me to jump into action. Dueling and talking my way out of any corner I find myself in. Aki is looking at me differently now. Maybe the whole thing with Divine changed her opinion of me, who knows. But what I do know is that Yusei's stare has started to linger. I feel the weight of it. He knows something. But the question is what. Has he found out? This is the question lingering in the back of my head ever since he got attacked. Does he know about my crusade through these City gangs?
"Yuuka." Kaoru calls out.
"Yeah?" I answer.
"You've been stirring that coffee for like ten minutes now." I stare at my reflection settling in the black coffee.
"Are you okay, honey? You seem a bit out of it lately." Kasumi walks in with an empty mug, only to immediately fill it again with more hot water. "I can't imagine job hunting in your position being easy."
"There's only so many times you can be rejected I suppose." I leave the spoon on the counter with a clang.
"I suppose that's true." She sighs and stands there in silence for a few seconds. "Ugh, better keep cleaning." She trots back upstairs.
Kaoru sits at the table in silence for a while. I try to guess what he's thinking without reading his thoughts. I hate being exposed to his thoughts, or anyone's thoughts for that matter. There's something about the lack of privacy that irks me.
"You doing okay?" Kaoru looks up at me. "You seem stressed, is it exams?"
"I mean, it's not just exams." He vaguely shrugs his shoulders. "Bit of everything, I guess." He says everything, but I know exactly what he's talking about.
"Tell the truth." Kaoru's eyes snap back towards me. He's lying, I know by his aura. His eyes move towards the door. He remains silent, I think he's trying to listen out for Kasumi.
"Fine." He sigh. "It's just that, ever since Yusei and Aki got attacked, I've been worried about you. Someone out there knows who you are and is trying to get you. I'm worried that you're next." He stares at me intently. "I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen. It's always at the back of my mind, this sense of dread. I feel like you're going to get hurt and it's going to be soon."
"I talked to Kenta. We've agreed that it was just a coincidence-"
"You're wrong. There's no such thing as a coincidence. Maybe it's wasn't the Red Serpents, but another gang out there knows who you are. I'm telling you now, somebody knows."
"We weren't too far from Cross Syndicate territory, it was probably just some kids from there." Kaoru's mouth forms a line. "That's the most likely cause. You're just assuming the worst."
"That's what we have to do. You said it yourself, the gangs here in the City are vicious. Isn't that a thing that would happen here?" I say nothing. "I just want you to be careful, okay?"
"I don't know." I sigh. Kaoru scoffs. Something in his aura changes, there's almost a bitterness to it. My phone buzzes, Kaoru rolls his eyes.
Miguel got in contact with me. Will call later.
"What did Takumi say?" Kaoru asks.
"You know Takumi texted me but not what he said. Can't you read my thoughts?" I quickly raise my eyebrows. He doesn't seem very happy.
"You purposely block me out."
"Not intentionally." I shrug my shoulders. "But anyway, I think we have our next target. I don't know who Miguel is but I'm going to assume we'll meet him soon."
"Why did you drag me into this?" His eyebrows furrow. "I didn't ask for this. I never wanted to be involved in any of this."
"I didn't drag you into this." I sigh. "You agreed to this. You said you were doing this to protect me. I haven't gotten hurt yet, you're still doing this."
"You're going to. I know you are." His eyes bore into mine. "It's only a matter of time, and you're going to leave with me." He stands up. He walks towards the door and then stops. "Because I don't want anyone else getting hurt." He looks down. He's in deep thought for a split second before snapping out of it.
"I'm not going to. I know what I'm doing." I meet Kaoru's eyes. He looks back down at the ground, closing his eyes. He's about to say something, but he sighs instead. Shaking his head, he walks out of the kitchen.
We stand in silence near the ever growing bridge network between the City and the Satellite. Surprisingly, most of the bridges are already finished. It's been six months since they started building the bridges. Though, I suppose throwing all of Jack's savings from when he was King into the construction helps. The silence is pretty awkward. We're all starting to fidget. Kaoru's been on his phone since we got here. I keep trying to glance at his phone, he's tilted it slightly so I can't see it. He better not be spilling secrets, or he and I will have a little discussion. Kenta keeps glancing at Takumi. I start fiddling with my thumbs while leaning against my D-Wheel. Takumi said I would need it. I imagine we're facing the Phantom Riders. They're infamous for their D-Wheels. They've come to prominence recently. I imagine it's because of all the bridges specifically for Riding Duels. They've even got some territory in the Satellite, I've heard. I'm not sure how many gangs have territory in the Satellite. Probably because I kept my head stuck in the sand for the last few months.
We're likely to be outnumbered by who shows up to this fight. Apparently, the leader, Miguel, called Takumi to arrange a meeting face-to-face. Something is unsettling about that. I suspect some sort of ambush. I'd expect something like that from City gangs, especially Satellite gangs. I cringe at the memory of a particularly bad experience with gangs back in the Satellite.
"So you know the way Aki was called the Black Rose Witch?" I turn to look at Kaoru, I nod and he continues. "What would you be called? Like the Fabled Witch or something?"
"It rhymes with that." Kenta answers for me.
"What do you mean it rhymes?" Kaoru turns back to Kenta.
"The Fabled Bitch." I answer. Kaoru seems shocked by my language. I'm a psychic, I'm sure people are calling me that anyway.
"I came up with it." There's a smug undertone to Kenta's voice. Kaoru looks back at me, he stays silent. Though I can tell something's plaguing his mind. I stand up straighter at the sound of D-Wheel engines. Five D-Wheels pull up a few meters away from us. I take a deep breath. Four of the D-Wheelers stand back while one approaches us.
"You're the one I'm facing, I assume?" He takes off his helmet. I almost inhale sharply but I catch myself. His face is covered in markers. Two long markers going from his hairline to his chin, with more dotting his face. His mop of red hair stands out against his skin and markers.
"Are you Miguel?" I respond.
"That's me alright." He puts forward his hand. I shake it. "This might sound bad, but do you mind taking your mask off? I hate dueling someone I can't see the face of." Kaoru's head snaps towards me. I've prepared for this. I take my mask off, setting on the seat of my D-Wheel, behind my helmet. I've contoured my face a lot and I also managed to get some blue contacts. It's very unlikely that he would recognise me under all this makeup. His eyes widen slightly, I panic. "You're just a kid."
"I'm older than I look." He laughs. In my disguise, I look like an unusually broad teenage boy, around sixteen or so. To my luck, my thick waist actually helps me when I'm trying to pass for a guy. "You're from the Satellite, yeah?"
"Born and bred." He beams with pride, he seems surprised when I reply with a 'me too'. Then again, the makeup that I'm wearing hides my mark. "Okay, down to business." He rubs his hands together. "I thought instead of yous hunting us down and everything that follows, we'd issue a challenge. That seems fair, right? I'd actually like to avoid violence. It's just the kind of guy I am."
"I would too." As far as I can see, he's genuine. He's not a psychic, surprisingly.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Miguel seems like a pretty okay guy, which is surprising. "You win, you get all of the Phantom Riders territory. I win, I get all of the Team Liberation territory. We cool?"
"Yeah." I nod. "Wanna go straight to business now?"
"Sure thing." He grins. He puts his hand out to me again. "Good luck. You'll need it, my deck is pretty strong."
"Really?" I shake his hand again. "Mine is too." Miguel laughs and walks back to his D-Wheel, putting his helmet back on, I do the same. We ignite our engines at around the same time. We both speed off towards the bridges.
"Speed World 2, set!" Miguel sets the new version of Speed World. I've used it before. Crow challenged me to a Riding Duel, which I lost sadly. Though I did end up beating him in an arm wrestling contest later, so I saved my pride.
"Duel Mode, on. Autopilot, standby." My D-Wheel boots up into duel mode. I take a deep breath. I am ready for this.
"This lane will be starting a Riding Duel. Will pedestrian vehicles please diverge immediately." The robotic announcer voice comes onto the speakers. The bridge starts changing around us.
"Riding Duel! Acceleration!" I call out.
"Lane selection. Two optimum, usable lanes. Submitting duel lanes to central. Authorisation."
"A duel will be starting." It drones on repeat. "Will pedestrian vehicles please diverge immediately." Then, it starts repeating the phrase again. Miguel and I turn into our lane, but he beats me on the corner. I don't mind, I prefer going second anyway.
"You're the challenger, go ahead." I call out to Miguel.
"Don't mind if I do." He seems so genuinely happy to be dueling. I guess most Satellite people are the same in that regard. "My turn!" Our Speed Counters increase to 1. "I summon Laval Warrior(ATK:1800). I end my turn, over to you."
"Thanks. My turn." Our Speed Counters go up to 2. "I draw." I take a look at my hand. Damn, none of my monsters are strong enough to deal with his monster. Wait, I can use my Speed Spell. "I activate the Speed Spell Hammer Shot from my hand. By decreasing my Speed Counters by 2, I get to destroy the monster with the highest ATK on the field. That means your Laval Warrior is destroyed!" My Speed Counters drop straight back to 0. I take a look at my hand again, I guess I'll summon the monster with the highest ATK since the other monsters' effects aren't useful to me at the moment. "I summon Fabled Grimro(ATK:1700), and attack you directly." Miguel's life points drop straight to 2300. "I end my turn."
"Lucky first hand, am I right?." Miguel laughs. "My turn." Our Speed Counters increase by 1. "I summon Prominence, Molten Swordsman(ATK:1800)." How many monsters under Level 5 have 1800 ATK in his deck? Grimro has the highest ATK in my deck, this isn't good. I'll need to Synchro soon if I want to win. "I activate Prominence's effect. I banish Laval monster from my grave to increase his ATK by 300 until the End Phase. And I banish Laval Warrior(ATK:1800-2100)! I attack your Fabled Grimro with Prominence." I tut as my life points fall to 3600. "I end my turn. Prominence's ATK returns to normal(ATK:2100-1800)."
"My turn." Our Speed Counters increase again, mine finally reaching what they were before I activated my Speed Spell. "I draw." Fabled Krus. If discarded, I can Special Summon a Level 4-or-lower Fabled monster from my grave. I could get Grimro back on my field to deal with his high ATK monsters. I glance at the rest of my hand. Wait, I see it. Maybe I can summon… "I summon The Fabled Rubyrada(ATK:1100). I end my turn."
"1100 ATK? You're planning something, aren't you Yuudai?" Miguel slows down to drive beside me.
"Guess you'll have to wait and see." A devious smile appears on my face.
"Are you enjoying yourself? Cause I am." Miguel smiles so big that I can see most of his teeth. "This is only possible because the City and the Satellite finally united. Look how lucky we are to be alive right now. Everything is changing, people are coming together. Could you ask for a more beautiful thing?"
"I guess it is." For the first time, I agree. This wouldn't have been possible with the bridge. So many possibilities for the future, I only hope we choose the right one.
"My turn." Our Speed Counters increase again. Miguel now stands at 5, while I'm at 3. "I summon the Tuner Monster Flamvell Baby(ATK:800)." Oh gods, he's Synchro Summoning now. I really need to Synchro next turn if I'm going to survive. Then, it strikes me, what I'm going to lose. Everything I've worked for. All that territory, all that hard work. Gone. I take a deep breath. I can survive this turn. I just need to draw that one card. "Level 1 Flamvell Baby tunes Level 4 Prominence, Molten Swordsman. Synchro Summon! Arise, Lavalval Dragon(ATK:2000)! What do you think, Yuudai?"
"Looking great." There's a delay in my reaction. I actually forgot that I was in disguise, it took me a second. A Synchro with 2000 ATK, this shouldn't be too bad. Apparently, there aren't enough monsters in his grave to activate its effect which is good for me.
"Now, Lavalval Dragon attacks your Fabled Rubyrada!"
"Not so fast!" I call out. "The Fabled Rubyrada's effect activates. If this face-up card is selected as an attack target, I can discard one Fabled monster to negate your attack. In discarding Fabled Krus, I activate its effect. When this card is discarded, I can Special Summon one Level 4-or-lower Fabled monster from my graveyard, so I'm bringing back Fabled Grimro(ATK:1700)."
"Nice combo!" Miguel chuckles. You gonna Synchro next? You need to or you're gonna lose."
"I might." I smile. I don't put on the smile, it's naturally on my face. I can't believe I'm actually enjoying this.
"I end my turn. Let's see what you can do." Miguel clicks his tongue.
"Don't mind if do." The excite starts to build within me. If I draw that one card, I can win. "My turn." Our Speed Counters keep increasing. "I draw." Yes, I'm going to win. I can feel the smirk growing on my face. "I summon Fabled Lurrie(ATK:200). Level 4 The Fabled Rubyrada tunes Level 4 Fabled Grimro and Level 1 Fabled Lurrie. A frozen spear falls from the heavens and pierces the earth! Usher in a cycle of destruction and rebirth! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier(ATK:2700)!" My entire body tingles at Trishula's presence. It didn't materialise, that's the strangest thing. It's almost like I have a deeper connection with Trishula than that. "Here's my ace, Miguel. What do you think?"
"Not the ace I expected." He stares up at Trishula in awe. The dragon almost sparkles in the sunlight. "I mean, I would expected a Fabled Synchro Monster, cause y'know, that's what you use."
"I get that a lot." I do my best to shrug my shoulders. "I activate Trishula's effect. When this card is Synchro Summoned, I get to do three things. First, I banish one monster from your field. I choose Lavalval Dragon. Next, I banish one monster from your graveyard. I choose Prominence, Molten Swordsman. Finally, I banish one card from your hand. How about I banish the leftmost card."
"You got me now, haven't you?" I catch a glimpse of the sad smile on Miguel's face. I hesitate for a second. His field is wide open, no set cards. This is it.
"Trishula attacks you directly." Miguel's life points drop to 0. There's a twinge of sorrow deep down. We ride back to everyone else in silence. Once we park, Miguel shakes my hand again.
"Good duel. You really got me there with Trishula."
"Yeah, it was. Lavalval Dragon had me panicking for a while there."
"Boss." One of the Phantom Riders members calls out, well, former member. "Do you realise who that is?" Miguel turns back to look at them.
"No, should I?"
"That's The Fabled Bitch." There it is.
"You know what? I thought The Fabled Bitch would be a chick, you know, with that name and all." Another member pipes up.
"Dudes can be bitches too, Callum." The guy, who I imagine is called Callum, just shrugs his shoulders. Miguel just laughs. Then, within a split second, that somber expression comes back onto his face. He turns back to me.
"Well, Yuudai, you get all of the Phantom Riders territory." He bites his lip. "You're doing a good thing. Maybe you're what this City needs. Best of luck." He shakes my hand one last time and walks away from me. The other members circle him. One gets him in a headlock.
"You tried your best, Boss."
"We still have each other."
My heart sinks. For the first time, I feel like I'm seeing the consequences of my actions. There's a real sorrow in those guys. Their backs face me but I know there will be tears. Am I really tearing apart communities? Destroying friendships, families with my fingertips. We stare on silently as they drive away. Takumi is the first to walk away. Kaoru follows soon after. Kenta lingers, staring at me. He slowly walks away. I start driving. I loop around the bridges for a while. It clears my head. Though the memory of Miguel's face still lingers in the back of my head.
There's a knock on my bedroom door. I look at the clock beside me. It's 2am. I know it's Kaoru. I telepathically tell him to come in. I lie face-down on the bed as he walks in and sits on the chair next to the sewing machine.
"Can't sleep?" I ask him, not moving from my front.
"Nope." I turn my head to look at him, he's running his hand through his hair.
"What's on your mind? That's normally why you don't sleep." Must be nice to able to sleep like a normal person. Can't get to sleep because thoughts of people I don't want to mention plague my mind, while recurring dreams won't let me stay asleep.
"I just keep thinking about that Miguel guy and his friends. I always thought that gang leaders were these horrible mafia bosses who needed to be taken down. But, Miguel's friends, they…" He pauses. "They seemed so normal. They were cheering him on, and supporting him when they lost. They didn't care that they had lost territory, all that mattered was that they had each other."
"Well, Takumi and I are technically gang bosses."
"I thought you weren't like the rest of them." That's true. We don't seem like the regular gang bosses. Then again, both of us took that title without much experience or knowledge. We happened to pick up the bloodied crown when it fell. "I can't help but feeling we're destroyed something very important. I heard something on the news a while ago. People normally turn to gangs to have a sense of family. You said a lot of psychics are in gangs here, that makes a lot more sense now. It makes me sad just thinking about it."
"That's just the way things are." I sigh.
"It doesn't have to be that way!" He raises his voice as much as he can without waking Kasumi up. "We shouldn't be treated in such a way that we turn to gangs."
"I know. There's not much we can do." I sigh again.
"You keep saying that. There must be something we can do." He stays silent for a beat. "But still, I can't help but feel like what we're doing is wrong."
"You're free to leave anytime." I say calmly. "I've told you that."
"Not until I can guarantee your safety." Kaoru stands up. "Keep your eyes open. There's someone out there who's got their eye on you." He walks towards the door. "Just, keep safe, okay?"
"I will." I don't say anything more and Kaoru leaves the room, closing the door behind him. I sigh and push my face back into the pillow. Everyone's got their eye on me for different reasons. But the question is who's looking at me through the scope.