A/N: There was a problem with uploading last's week chapter and not everyone got the notification for it. So make sure you've read the last chapter before you read this one!
"Raiden?!" Takumi freezes. His eyes keep shifting between Anako and I. He's posed like he's about run. Meanwhile, I feel like I'm going to projectile vomit everywhere.
"It has to be. Who else could it be?" Anako covers her mouth as she answers. I wonder if she feels the same as me. She's kept her monster around, who's name is on the tip of my tongue, so I would imagine so. I stare at the rooftop where the blast came from. No dragon. No aura. "Can you get a good read on the aura?" Anako asks me. "I'm not strong enough to read it from this far away."
"I don't know." I blurt out. Has it been that long that I've forgotten what his aura feels like? Impossible, I think to myself. How could I? That tingling sensation, almost like your skin is burning up.
"I've never met the guy, so I couldn't tell you either." Saitama butts in. I had almost forgotten that he's there. Honestly, I'm too focused on not vomiting to have a complicated thought pattern right now. Exactly four thoughts are running through my head right now.
Who attacked me?
Why did they attack me?
Was that actually Raiden Kimura here in front of me?
I don't want to vomit in public again.
"But I mean…" Saitama trails off. "It's just Dark End Dragon. Surely that could be any given psychic, it's not exactly an uncommon card."
"But that's just it!" Anako starts to argue. "That's something Raiden would do. Completely anonymous." I just keep staring at that rooftop.
"I trust Yuuka's instinct." Takumi chips in on the discussion. Everyone looks at me.
"I don't know." I mutter again. "It could be anyone, but still…" I trail off. The thoughts of Raiden are never too far away. They linger in my mind. Somewhere at the back of my mind. I see him in my dreams sometimes. He's there, where Yusei's presence fades, he appears from the shadows. Instilling fear into my heart. Even though he's gone, the fear that he might come back still stays with me.
The next few days after that incident were rough. Being bombarded with questions from Kaoru. He wants to skin Raiden Kimura alive, a direct quote. Seems fair, I said. Anako never made any comment about the people there, or what had happened before that. All she mentioned was Raiden. Takumi was livid, he thinks she knows about Team Liberation. I said nothing. I'm certain of it. Kaoru didn't look Takumi in the eye. He told her. I couldn't believe it. Little snitch. I don't want her getting involved. Her stare is very distracting. She seems to be always looking at me, I've noticed. Geez, for someone who likes my brother, she sure stares at me a lot.
Takumi's already talking about the next gang. Not even a week out of hospital, and he brings this up. Kenta wants it done as soon as possible. Don't leave too much time between strikes, he says. Don't let them know that we've been weakened by the attack. He said that most of the gangs know about what happened. Apparently, a lot of them are in contact with each other. Strange, considering how I wouldn't have been able to name any of the gang leaders just a few months ago. I've only started meeting them through Team Liberation business.
What would Raiden think of all this? I think to myself. I wonder if he knows about Team Liberation. Apparently he's been in contact with his friends, according to Nico. Could he have figured it out? No, I shake my head. It's impossible. We've kept this whole thing very quiet, and it will be like that until the end.
Only two more gangs left. I just keep telling myself that, in some attempt to make my anxiety calm.
The guys are in the garage again, testing another model. I'm joining them this time. I have the broom leaning against the wall, ready to clean up. I'm half expecting another explosion. Jack said I had to clean up after the last one, since I sneaked out to go fight Ghost. I had started the job, which is why I finished. But I let Jack think he was getting his way.
"Eighty… Ninety…" Yusei says over the noise of the revving engine.
"Hey, are you sure you'll be okay!? We don't have time for any explosions like the other day!" Crow asks.
"You say we, but I'm the one who cleaned the mess up." I comment, Jack gives me the look.
"You know why you had to." I sigh. "Hmph! That's Yusei for you! To think you perfected it this much in just a few days."
"Yeah, no need to worry about the engine." Yusei says this so nonchalantly, so I know that something else will go wrong. I sigh and move to get the broom.
"Engine?" "About it?" Jack and Crow ring out. I sigh again as cards start flying out of the deck holder. We stare as they start falling. Jack starts screaming, entirely relatable.
"The cards!" Crow exclaims. I put the broom back, Yusei would kill me if I tried using the broom on his cards. Smoke starts coming out of the D-Wheel. At least, it's white smoke this time.
"You're being too loud!" Zora bursts through the door again. I swear, I only ever see her when the guys mess up in the garage. "I swear, why is it that y'all are never content unless you're causing a racket!? Honestly, you can hardly tell if you're building or breaking something!" As bad as it sounds, I kind of feel the same way. Then again, I only ever pay attention to the failures cause I have to clean up after them. Nothing ever changes.
"I'm sorry." Yusei apologises again.
"Don't blame Yusei for this." Crow speaks up.
"Yes, out of respect for me, Jack Atlas…" I sigh. I don't even think that Zora realises that I'm here. Does she even know my name?
"I was talking to you two from the start!" She shouts back at them.
"Zora, we're very sorry!" Yusei's head bows a little as he says it.
"Oh, you're okay, Yusei! A real disaster that was, though. You should take a breather every once in awhile! You can't just tinker with your machines all the time, y'know! Hey, you! Stop dragging Yusei down and try to cooperate with him a little!" Zora slams the door behind her as she leaves. I shake my head. I suppose Yusei can charm anyone with that cute face of his.
"What kind of slanted treatment is that!?" Jack shouts as soon as she's gone.
"Giving out to you for making mess of the space she's renting to you. Unheard of." I make sure to put plenty of sarcasm into it so that they understand.
"Well, I preferred her yelling at us than putting on that creepy-ass, fake smile." Crow makes the shape of glasses on his face to make fun of Zora. I sigh. Clearly my point didn't get across.
"Don't say that." At least Yusei got what I was saying. "Zora is letting us stay here out of the kindness of her heart."
"Yeah, I suppose. Anyway, we'd better take care of this…" Crow trails off. I sigh, staring at the cards still on the floor. The door bursts open again. Rua and Ruka run in, followed by a gang of kids who I assume are their friends.
"Yusei! Jack! Crow! Yuuka!" Ruka calls out to us as she comes in.
"We came to hang out!" Rua shouts out. I'm starting to think that this kid doesn't have an indoor voice.
"Hey there!" Yusei greets them with a smile.
"Did you all enjoy school?" I ask since they're in their uniforms. Ruka nods back at me.
"Not you guys again!" I sigh as Jack keeps shouting. You have to be nice to the children. The gang of kids that have invaded the garage walk up to Yusei.
"Whoa, kinda disorganised today, huh?" Rua stares at the floor, which we still haven't cleaned.
"What happened here? Another explosion?" Ruka asks.
"Close." Yusei answers. It basically was.
"This baby seems to be stuck in a bad mood, y'know." Jack pats the model D-Wheel.
"Oh! It's a D-Wheel! Awesome!" "It's a test frame, huh? It's so cool!" The kids' attention moves to the model. Jack looks pretty annoyed.
"Hey! Keep your mitts off!" I sigh, here we go again.
"Hey, let us ride it! C'mon!" "Can we?" Jack pouts slightly at the request.
"Forget it! Of all the impudent things!"
"Jack, be nice." I use a warning tone.
"Okay, if you help us pick up these cards, we'll let you ride it!" You can tell Crow has a lot more experience with kids.
"Really!?" I smile. The kids seems so excited at the chance to ride a 'D-Wheel'.
"Crow! You can't just go saying whatever!" Jack answers Crow. I suppose that's true. That model is liable to explode at any time.
"Where's the harm? Well, let's get cracking!" Crow smiles. He just wants someone else to clean up instead of him.
"Yusei, we'll give you a hand with this." Rua goes to kneel down to grab the cards. I notice another kid standing in the doorway. Ruka sees me looking at the door.
"Sly?" She calls out to him.
"G-Gah! Why is he here!?" Rua shouts. I guess he doesn't get along with this Sly kid. Hearing Rua's reaction, he starts to leave.
"Sly! Sly!" Ruka runs over to the door, grabbing Sly's hand. "What are you doing? Come over here!" She starts pulling him inside. "Yusei! This is our classmate, and he's pretty strong too! Right, Sly?" Oh, I see what's going on here. I suppose I was Ruka's age when I started having crushes. Who would have known that it actually worked out in the end though?
"Nice to meet you." Yusei nods.
"Hmph, Yusei Fudo, huh? I knew you weren't as cool as you're cracked up to be." Sly makes this face like he's acting cooler than he actually is. But I can see right through that.
"What!?" Rua is clearly offended. Someone is disrespecting his idol.
"Hey, what's this, napping on the job!? Back to work! Back to work!" Crow manages to get everyone to start picking up cards. I actually have someone to help me for once, a concept. The kids cheer out in unison as they start helping.
"Why am I doing this too?" I hear Sly mutter that to himself.
"Thought I saw it around here…" Yusei's looking for Stardust, I'm guessing.
"Uh... you dropped this." For a second, I see some shyness in Sly. He hands Stardust to Yusei.
"Thanks." Yusei smiles at him. Sly smiles sheepishly. I guess he's not that bad after all.
It isn't until later that I get some time alone with Yusei in the garage. Crow has a tendency to hover sometimes. He hasn't figured that he doesn't need to be my wingman anymore. As for when I'm telling him, no idea. I don't want to deal with the fuss that everyone's going to make. The door opens again, and someone walks in. I swear they need to start locking that door, because no one ever knocks.
"Excuse me... but are you Yusei Fudo?" The man who enters asks. He stands at the doorway. Wait a second, I recognise him.
"I am." Yusei stands up, wiping the oil on his hands into a rag.
"I'm told that you will repair anything, correct?" Why is the Principal of Duel Academy standing here of all places?
"What seems to have broken?" Yusei asks.
"You see, I would say that it's less broken and more out of control and won't stop... Well, I think that you can fix it if you just re-tighten the screws a little." Sounds suspicious.
"Re-tighten the screws? What kind of machine is it, exactly?" Yusei sounds curious, but I don't think that he's talking about a machine. The Principal rubs his chin, deep in thought, before answering.
"Hmm, it's called a Heitmann, you see…" So I was right?
"Heitmann?" Yusei repeats.
"It's something specific to our school, you see. But I don't think that it's outside of your skill set. Would you be able to come to Duel Academy tomorrow for our first period? I'm sure Miss Hattori can show you the way." Both the Principal and Yusei stare at me. I haven't been called Hattori in so long that I didn't click for a second that they're talking about me.
"Sure." Yusei answers.
"Well, good day to you both. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Once the Principal leaves, Yusei turns to me. I just shrug my shoulders and continue cleaning.
I stare at the piece of paper that the receptionist gave us on the way in. The directions to the room that the Heitmann is in. How would they know what room the Vice Principal would be in at this time? Wouldn't he be in his office? Then again, he's Heitmann. He's probably in that class mentally scarring some kids. I hear some commotions coming from the room listed on the piece of paper. Wouldn't this be Rua and Ruka's class? I mean, given where it is. It should be. We get to the open door. Heitmann stands at the podium at the top of the room, along with Aki?
"What's wrong, Aki?" Yusei asks.
"You're... Yusei Fudo, the one who won the Fortune Cup!" The class cheers as Heitmann brings their attention to Yusei. I stand behind Yusei. I don't want Heitmann drawing attention to me, I didn't sign up for this. "What could you possible need from our Duel Academy?"
"I came on a job." Yusei responds.
"Huh? A job?" Heitmann seems confused.
"I took a request saying that there was something in this classroom someone wanted fixed, you see." I wonder if Yusei has figured it out. I've said nothing, refusing to answer his questions about the Heitmann.
"Well... I wonder if there was anything that could be fixed in this classroom. Fixing even these children's grade would prove to be impossible." I grit my teeth. You can fix your grades if you work hard enough, I just never tried.
"Mr. Vice Principal, your words are going too far!" Their teacher calls out.
"Don't you think it foolish to discard the passion to study dueling by making judgements based on grades alone!?" I can tell that Aki is as pissed off as I am, just from the tone of her voice.
"The only fool here is you! No matter how much low-level failures study dueling, it is entirely pointless! I mean, just look at Miss Yuuka Hattori here." Heitmann points straight at me. Yusei turns slightly as his shoulders stiffen. "Such abysmal grades, no wonder why she's a dropout." I feel Aki's aura flare up, as well as Yusei's.
Heitmann, unaware, starts flicking through slides. Each one has a student and a low level card in their deck. "For one thing, there are nothing but a bunch of low-level, dreg cards in these children's decks. These duelists are of low-calibre, so they only use low-level monsters."
"No, that's not true. There's not one thing in this world that's inessential." I see Yusei's fists tighten. I know that's something he stands by.
"Oh, a smart-alec! Outsiders have no business sticking their nose where it does not belong! I would appreciate that you leave at once! What in the world did you come to fix anyway!?" Heitmann has started losing his top as usual.
"I came to fix something called a Heitmann." Yusei stares as Heitmann blinks in confusion.
"Huh? Heitmann!?" He shouts.
"Right, they told me that I could fix it if I just re-tighten the screws." Had Yusei figured it out, I wonder.
"...Then, are you talking about me, Rudolph Heitmann!?" I didn't actually know that his first name was Rudolph.
"What?" How did he not figure it out? I thought he was a genius.
"Yusei, help us!" Ruka cries out. They don't deserve to be expelled.
"We're all gonna get expelled!" Rua starts crying out to. I wish I could do something to help.
"All of us are asking you!" The class also starts crying out. "Do something, Yusei!" It's not my place to help.
"I see. Now it makes sense. It looks like I'm about to grant your wishes." Yusei steps forward. He's going to duel Heitmann then, I suppose.
"No!" Aki steps in between Heitmann and Yusei. "Leave it to me, Yusei!" I was not expecting this, okay. "Heitmann, duel with me! And if I win, you'll waive these kids' expulsions!"
"Enough of your sass! I shall teach you that these failures have no business dueling myself! And if I win, I'll expel this class and you, Izayoi! Understood!?"
"Yes." She nods. Yusei looks back at me. I can see the shock in his eyes. I have faith in Aki. I trust that she'll beat the shit out of Heitmann.
We stand in a foyer waiting for the duel to start. Aki talks to the kids from Rua and Ruka's class. They all look up to her, you can see that. I imagine that she looks so impressive in their eyes. Ahead of her age group, top of her class, Fortune Cup finalist. An interesting resumé, no doubt. But still, there's a sense of uneasiness. They still remember her as the Black Rose Witch from the Fortune Cup. That image has stayed in their heads, and it's hard to get rid of it. Hopefully, she can do it. She can control her powers now, I've seen it for myself. Their teacher stares at me.
"You're Yuuka Hattori, right?" She asks. I nod.
"That's me."
"I've heard about you."
"I imagine that all of the teachers had. I had quite a reputation by the time I left."
"I'm sorry about what the Vice Principal said. I'm sure had your reasons for leaving." My eyes widen a little bit. I wasn't expecting that. Teachers were never normally so kind. "Will she be okay?" She looks over to Aki. "The vice principal's deck is quite powerful."
"You needn't worry." I say. "Now that matters are in Aki's hands, she will resolve this. I have faith in her." I look over at her. The kids seem a lot more relaxed. Aki's great with kids, I can see that even from here. I suppose she has that in common with Crow. I'm able to hear snippets of what they're saying. I hear the word favour. Is she doing what I think she's doing?
"You wish you were dueling him, don't you?" I ask Yusei as we go to sit in the stands.
"I do, he said some despicable things. I can't forgive what he said to you." He crosses his arms.
"I know." I smile while sighing. "But this is Aki's fight and you know it. She's having a rough time in school lately and this will help her." Yusei nods, but doesn't say anything. "You're so overprotective." I say to myself.
"What?" Yusei asks.
"Nothing."
"With my Ultimate Winners' Deck, your eyes are in store for a treat!" Heitmann shouts out. I've heard rumours about his deck, I wonder if they're true. I can tell that Aki is having none of it.
"Duel!" Heitmann and Aki chant at the same time.
"Do your best, Aki!" "Aki!" The kids cheer for Aki. I smile.
"I go first!" Aki claims the first turn. "I summon Guard of Flamvell in Defense Mode(DEF:2000)!"
"You can do it, Guard of Flamvell!" One of the kids calls out. That was one of the cards in Heitmann's slides. I was right, she's doing what I thought she was doing earlier.
"I place two cards face-down to end my turn." Aki stands tall. She remains calm, but her aura is still as heated as it was earlier.
"Hmph! Does it Level of one mean that low-level Tuner Monsters are the only things you're able to summon?" It has high defense, surely that accounts for something. "It's my turn! Draw! I summon Antique Gear Statue(ATK:500)!" The rumours, I've heard are true. He uses that deck. "Now then, by using this Level 2 Monster, I shall teach you a special lesson."
"Special lesson!?" The kids cry out.
"Yes, indeed. No matter how many low-level monsters you summon, you cannot win the duel." I'd beg to differ. I've won duels before without summoning a monster over Level 4. It's possible. "I will show you that the proper way... to use low-level is as thus! I activate the Magic card, Machine Duplication! This will Special Summon two Machine-Type Monsters with an attack power of 500-or-lower, Antique Gear Statues to be specific, from my deck(ATK:500/ATK:500)!"
"He has three of the same monster!" Rua cries out.
"It's not that uncommon actually." I try to comfort him. "Yusei has three copies of Junk Synchron, isn't that right?"
"Yeah." Yusei smiles, this settles Rua a bit.
"My Antique Gear Statues' effects will now activate! By releasing these monsters, they will Special Summon the Antique Gear Golems in my hand, ignoring any Summoning Requirements(ATK:3000/ATK:3000/ATK:3000)!"
"What!?" Aki loses her disposition for a split second. I imagine being in that situation is terrifying.
"Look at what's down there! They're amazing!" One voice behind me comments. "An attack power of 3000!" Another one.
"Plus, three of them at one time!" I hear the worry in Ruka's voice. I know her and Aki are quite close.
"Something which not even the most well-trained of duelists have seen often, Antique Gear Golem. It's a legendary rare card!" That's true. I've only heard rumours about such a monster.
"But, why would the vice principal have such an incredible kind of card?" Rua questions.
"These are vintage monsters that only elite professors selected by the Duel Academy are allowed to use!" That would explain the rarity alright, as well as the ego. "That is why, in this world, low-level monsters are to only serve as material for high-level monsters! And you, low-level duelists must also be released to make way for the elites!" Heitmann may think he's all high and mighty. Low-level monsters are a key part of decks. I dare say no deck functions without them. To say such a thing shows that he has no idea how decks function at all.
"Enough gloating." Aki cuts him off. "No matter what powerful monster you've managed to summon, there's no point unless you win."
"That is what a sore loser says right after he loses. Are you suggesting you have some chance in this situation?" You're talking to Aki Izayoi, are you saying that you have a chance?
"Before battle, I'll activate a Trap! Tuner's Barrier! This prevents any Tuners on my field from being destroyed for this turn!" Aki is using one of Yusei's cards. Since her deck don't rely heavily on Synchro Summoning, she asked Yusei if she could borrow some cards. That's when I knew she was going for this strategy. Using the kid's low-level monsters against Heitmann. There were plenty of Tuners in that mix, so she must have anticipated this.
"Typical useless, low-level resistance!" When will Heitmann shut up? That's what I want to know. "When Antique Gear Golem attacks a defending monster, it inflicts Piercing Damage! Battle! My first Antique Gear Golem will attack your Guard of Flamvell!" Aki's life points fall to 3000. "To follow up, my second Antique Gear Golem will attack!" Then again to 2000. "And, last but not least! My third Antique Gear Golem will attack!" And finally down to 1000.
"She's down to 1000 Life Points in just one move…" Ruka comments beside me. She holds her hand to her mouth.
"Aki!" The other kids call out to her. They're clearly worried for her. I mean, their education is on the line but still.
"This is the end." Heitmann keeps going, but I doubt he's speaking the truth. "I activate the Magic card, Level Thunder! You will get hit with damage equal to 100 times the combined levels of all monsters on my side of the field!"
"She's looking at 2400 damage!" Someone calls out behind me.
"Aki is gonna lose, then!?" Ruka turns back to look at them.
"Huh!?" Rua exclaims in shock.
"I never expected a combo like this!" Their teacher comments.
"This is the ultimate One Turn Kill, possible on the grounds of being a high-level elite!" Anyone can pull off a one turn kill with enough luck.
"Aki!" The kids cry out for her. I look at her back. She's got something up her sleeve, her aura tells me that.
"By discarding Wingwata, it will reduce that Effect Damage to 0!" Aki's aura is calm. She can see the end of this duel, it will work out in her favour.
"All right! Wingwata is great!" Another kid cheers, seeing their card.
"Another low-level Tuner, is it? Honestly, you have more lives than a cockroach!" Isn't he thinking of a cat? "I end my turn!"
"She somehow got by, but at this rate-!" Someone comments.
"Aki…" Ruka seems very worried.
"Don't be worried, kids. I'm sure Aki's got this all figured out." I smile at Ruka. She manages a small smile and nods.
"She's right." Yusei backs up. They seem more positive with Yusei chipping in, which disheartens me a little. But then again, I'm just some random person, not the winner of the Fortune Cup and saviour of the City.
"Now it's my turn to teach a special lesson. These kids aren't low-level Duelists and never will be! I'm going to show you that!" Aki's aura heats up again. She's determined to be the last one standing.
"How highly absurd! I have three Level Eight Antique Gear Golems, while you only have one Level One Tuner. What could you teach me in a situation like this?" Heitmann questions her like she's not going to be able to answer.
"My turn!" Aki starts her turn without answering him, a good idea to be honest. "I activate the Magic card, Treasure Card of Tuning! By sending a Tuner Monster in my hand to the Cemetery, I'm allowed to draw two cards!" Another one of Yusei's cards. She did take a good few of them.
"I had not counted on you to use Tuners in this way!" Heitmann exclaims as if this is a never seen before technique.
"I've drawn it." Aki smiles. "I summon Eccentric Boy(ATK:800)! When Eccentric Boy becomes Synchro Material, it will select one more monster from my hand! I'm tuning my Level Three Eccentric Boy to my Level Four Violet Witch!" The kids seem a bit on edge. I hear some of them whisper. They've only seen Black Rose Dragon materialised. They probably think it's going to happen again.
"What is this!? Tuning with a monster in your hand, you say!?" I don't understand people who get flabbergasted at the effects of cards, this is a possible thing that can happen.
"Chilling flames engulfs the entire world. Pitch dark flower set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon(ATK:2400)!" The dragon appears in all of its glory. Since it's not materialised, the kids have a good chance to look at its beauty.
"It's Aki's ace monster!" A kid calls out behind me.
"It's so pretty!" Another voice.
"But, Black Rose Dragon's attack power doesn't come close to Antique Gear Golem." A different voice.
"What's Aki gonna do?" Rua cries out.
"A monster that weak is no match for my three Antique Gear Golems!" Black Rose Dragon, weak? This guy needs some glasses or something.
"I'm hoping you don't misconstrue. It's true that Black Rose Dragon alone doesn't have the power to defeat a single Antique Gear Golem, but... all I need to do is gather more of my friends' power!" I can hear the smile in Aki's voice. "From my hand, the Magic card, Variety Out! By returning Black Rose Dragon back to my Extra Deck, this will Special Summon Tuner Monsters from my Cemetery, whose Levels are equal to Black Rose's, a combined Level of Seven to be exact!" Here's her real strategy.
"What!?" Heitmann exclaims. He must be so confused right now.
"Be reborn, Eccentric Boy, Wingwata, Twilight Rose Knight(ATK:800/200/1000 LVL:3/1/3)!"
"What must you be thinking? Why would you use your high-level Synchro Monster as a footstool to go through the trouble of Special Summoning your low-level Tuner Monsters? It can't be!" Heitmann cries out. This is part of Aki's special lesson, so he better listen carefully.
"Yes, these are the monsters that were in those kids' decks you called dreg monsters!" I can feel the excitement from the kids. Their monsters are helping Aki win the duel even though Heitmann called them useless.
"You can fill the numbers all you want, but low-levels are low-levels! My high-level combo will not come down!" We'll see about that, Heitmann.
"Neither Level nor attack power determine a duel." Something changes in Aki's aura. She's won, I can feel it. "Trap, activate! Tuner Bomb! By destroying monsters on my field equal to the number of monsters on my opponent's field, this will destroy all monsters on my opponent's field!" Another one of Yusei's cards. Did she just take everything with Tuner in the name?
"What?! It can't be! No, this can't be! In one move, my three Antique Gear Golems!" I'm honestly getting some enjoyment from seeing Heitmann like this. He caused me hell back in the day, he deserves it.
"Adding on, for each monster destroyed, it inflicts 1000 points of damage!" In one move, Aki takes Heitmann's life points down to 1000. "And I still have monsters out in play! Twilight Rose Knight attacks directly!" With one wave of her hand, Heitmann's life points drop to 0. He falls down onto his back.
"He did it! Aki won!" The kids cheer. "Our monsters beat the vice principal's monsters!" They start running down to the field so Yusei and I follow them.
"It can't be. How could my Winners' Deck be defeated? I can't believe that even low-level monsters could have this kind of potential!" Heitmann moans. Fair game, I think. Humiliate others, get humiliated yourself.
"Of course. What's really important isn't how high one's Level is. It's a heart that makes a serious effort to learn something." Aki walks closer to Heitmann. "And there are kids here who are doing just that, by making a serious effort to learn dueling!"
"Very impressive, Aki." The principal walks into the room.
"You're-" Yusei starts.
"It would seem that you've re-tightened the screws on tight." The principal then turns to Yusei. "Even though I had hired Yusei here to do the job."
"Principal!" Heitmann exclaims.
"Principal?" Yusei echoes. He turns to me, looking for an explanation.
"You have to forgive me, Yusei. for deceiving you all this time. I had a hard time trying to repair this hard head, you see." The principal sighs. I'd feel the same way if I had to work with Heitmann.
"You went to ask him to repair me, Principal!?" Heitmann shouts.
"And how did it go, Vice Principal Heitmann?" The principal talks down to him, rightly so I think.
"Yes, sir. I have made a mistake." Heitmann bows his head, a rare sight.
"Aki! Aki!" The kids jump on Aki, giving her hugs. Her smile is so big right now. She should always be this happy, I think. Maybe being around kids makes her this way. Maybe her and Crow are a great match. Who am I kidding? I knew that already.
"These kids' expulsions... shall be waived." The kids start to cheer but I keep staring at Heitmann, so they quieten down. "And Aki Izayoi will... not be expelled."
"Alright! Alright!" The kids cheer.
"Thank you, Aki." The principal says.
"Thank you!" Rua shouts. Aki smiles before turning to Sly.
"Sly, thank you. Your card helped me win." She goes to hand his card back to him. He pauses.
"Sure." There's a small blush on his cheeks as he takes it back. He may look like a bad kid, but I think he's just a misfit. I think Aki sees that too. We were misfits ourselves once, but we grew into our shells. I think that's all Sly needs to do. He's only twelve or so, he has time.
"Aki! Aki! You really are awesome, Aki!" The kids shout. I smile, as they walk off the field.
"Are you okay?" Yusei asks me once they're out of earshot.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"You look like you're going to cry." I feel my cheeks burning, Yusei laughs.
"I'm just so proud of her! Okay?" I cross my arms. "Don't act like you're not." He shakes his head, but I know he is too.
I catch up with Aki once the crowd has cleared. She's smiling, still high from her win.
"Thank you." She says.
"Why?" I ask.
"You convinced me to stay." She smiles brightly at me. "I was almost ready to pack my bags and leave. But you said that I'd have to change their minds. I think I done it today. I changed these kids' opinions. They seemed so scared of me at first, but now they're hanging out of me." She laughs.
"Now, to change everyone else's." I respond. "Onto bigger and better things as I always say." I never say that, I've never said that. Why did I say that?
"That's true." Aki smiles again. I put my hand up for a fist bump. She stares at my hand, almost confused, then at my face. She chuckles, before giving me that fist bump.