Chapter two: Meeting Sadao (Aki's POV)

"Aki! I'll talk to you guys later! Aki-san!" I turned around and saw a little kid running up to me. The boy slowed to a stop right in front of where I was standing waiting for him to catch up.

"Yes?" I inquired, wondering who this kid was.

"Can I have a duel with you? Please?! I've always wanted to duel you! You're my idol!" I looked down into his wide, hopeful eyes. 'Well, if he's always wanted to…. I can't exactly say no to him like this,' I thought.

"Alright. Shall we go to the park?" He nodded enthusiastically. When we got to our destination, we stood across from one another and activated our duel disks. Our decks shuffled within the slot.

"Duel!"

"I'll go first! Draw!" He drew a card and glanced at it before showing it to me. "I activate Lava Summoner! This forces us to discard our entire hand in order to summon a level seven or above monster!"

'What could be his strategy for activating such a card? This move puts him at a serious disadvantage,' I thought. We each sent our cards to the graveyard.

"I choose to summon level seven Black Rose Dragon!"

"Oo, it's Black Rose Dragon! So pretty!" he gasped in awe as my dragon appeared in a flash of light and rose petals. "It's a dream come true! Now I can try out my new combo on one of the strongest monsters in the game!"

"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I summon level eight Lava Sorceress!" My eyes widened as lava covered the boy's field. A staff lifted out of it, followed by what appeared to be a huge woman wearing a lava dress.

"Impressive monster," I complimented, staring at the 3000 attack point monster.

"Just wait until you witness its power." My attention shot back to my opponent. To my surprise, I was no longer staring at a star-struck little boy. In his place was a smirking teenage girl.

"Who are you?"

"The person that will rid the world of Izayoi Aki. I activate Lava Barrier Breaker from my graveyard! By banishing this card, I can target one monster! Unfortunately for you, that monster can't be destroyed as long as this effect is used! It lasts either until the end of my turn or if you activate a trap that destroys it! Whichever comes first!"

"How is that a bad thing for me?! That gives me time to think of a way to defeat your monster!" I pointed out.

"We'll see! Lava Sorceress, attack Black Rose Dragon with Lava Burst!" Her monster raised its staff, and lava shot out of it to my dragon. Grunting, I staggered back and laid a hand on my chest as the attack hit.

"What is this?!" I asked, panicking slightly, as my life points lowered to 3400. That is the least of my worries right now, though.

"Hurts, doesn't it? Feels like your heart was burned by lava? I activate Lava Sorceress's special ability! Each time she fails to destroy a monster, that monster loses 100 attack points and she can attack again if I banish a card!"

"What?!" My dragon's attack power lowered to 2300.

"Attack her dragon again!" I gasped and staggered again as my life points reduced to 2700.

"What are you doing to me?! Why am I feeling this during a duel?!" I haven't felt pain like this since I dueled against the Misty when she was a Dark Signer. And they're supposed to be gone!

"Lava Sorceress's ability activates again!" I fell to one knee as my life points went to 1900.

"Please… stop," I pled, standing shakily.

"Sorry, Izayoi-san! But the Signers are in the way of the Flaming Lavas' plans! Her ability activates again!" I struggled to remain upright as my life points reduced to 1000.

I closed my eyes for a moment as my vision became blurry. My chest… no, my heart felt like it was on fire. I could hardly breathe anymore, and I swayed as my balance was thrown off. I fell to my knees, panting for breath.

"This is the famous Izayoi Aki? Tch, I'm not impressed. Finish her off, Lava Sorceress!" I looked down as the lava approached, closing my eyes in expectation.

But the heightened heat never came. I opened my eyes and looked at my dragon, half expecting to see that Stardust Dragon had suddenly appeared to save me. Instead, a knight the same color as my dragon was slashing the burst away before it could touch Black Rose. My eyes trailed down and I gasped at who I saw.

"That is no way to treat such a famous damsel in obvious distress," the boy in front of me said.

"Sadao, the Glower of Light. You're almost as annoying as Aki is."

"Get out of here. Now." The duel field disappeared along with the girl. I watched the boy turn to me and kneel down to my level, worry clear in his green eyes. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get here to save you."

"You say that as if you knew I was in need of saving."

"That's because I did." I was about to question this statement when pain shot through my chest again. I whimpered very slightly, placing a hand over my chest. "Enough talking. You need medical attention."

I didn't bother resisting as he lifted me bridal style and started walking to the hospital. Surprisingly, I felt… safe in his arms despite the fact that I didn't even know his name… full name. I rested my hands on my stomach and my head on his arms, closing my eyes slowly to rest.

When I opened them again, I was laying in a hospital bed with no more heart burn. Yusei and a silver haired girl were talking quietly at the foot of the bed.

"Y… Yusei." The two looked over at me.

"Aki." He stood up and walked over to me, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling?" I smiled at him.

"Better. There's no more pain."

"…disappeared. It appears the Lavas are becoming bold," I caught the girl saying. I looked at her and saw the boy from before talking with her.

"The Lavas?" The two looked over at me. "You mean the Flaming Lavas?"

"Aki-san." The two glanced at each other before walking to my other side. "This is my friend Marqueta, but she prefers Meta. My name is Sadao, or, as Meta calls me, Hero." The girl nodded to me with a smile.

"Who are the Lavas?" I asked.

"All in due time. Yusei, we should go. Sadao needs to privately give Aki-san the same Talk I gave you," Meta replied.

"Alright." The other Signer squeezed my hand lightly before following her out. Sadao sat in his place.

And told me the most bizarre story ever.