A/N: Here is the next part, as promised! It ended up a lot longer than I expected, so there's actually going to be a third part to this.
Once again, most of this was Donjusticia's work. I had to modify a few things again to fit my headcanons or, you know, Code Geass canon, but yeah. Go thank him a bunch for this.
Also. For the record, Reizo is ~4 years old in this. Might not have been clear enough last chapter.
A/N from Donjusticia: Hello readers, I would just like to say thank you for your continued support for both myself and Shimmering-Sky. It was a true delight to write this chapter and work with an exceedingly talented author. Thank you Shimmering-Sky for putting up with my lack of fan-knowledge and for patiently taking the time to give me the "Code Geass" info I needed to make this chapter work. May you all enjoy this chapter and not forget to acknowledge the enormous role Shimmering-Sky has played in bringing about the masterpiece that is "Code-V: Rebirth" and "Code-V: Recollections."
Cranes and Cards
Reizo fidgeted nervously as Himika held him on her lap. She had told him earlier that day that a nice man would be coming to visit him today and that he should do exactly what the man said. She had told him that he had lots of fun activities planned for him and that Reizo would enjoy their time together.
But Reizo knew what was really going on. Reiji had said it himself at the breakfast table. "He's a doctor," his brother had said, casually taking a sip of his juice.
That declaration had filled Reizo with dread. He knew exactly what doctors did. Whenever you went to a doctor, you always hurt afterwards. Special doctors called dentists would fiddle around with your teeth, others would hit your knees with hammers, and the worst ones… Reizo shuddered at the thought… they stuck needles into your arm and pretended to be helping you. His mother had already taken him to one like that to treat what she called his "delusions", and he hated that person.
"I don't need a doctor!" Reizo whined, squirming in his mother's grasp, "I feel fine!"
"Hush, Reizo!" Himika commanded, squeezing him tighter, "It'll be alright! I told you that! And for the last time, stop squirming so much, it's impolite!"
But Reizo couldn't stop squirming. How could he? Even if his mom gave him a time-out and took away his arts-and-crafts supplies, which he mainly used to make origami cranes, then it couldn't compare to whatever the doctor would do to him. Nervously wiggling his body around almost involuntarily, despite the constant reprimands and warnings from his mother, Reizo continued his struggling until a knock at the door froze him in place.
"Enter!" Himika called, slamming Reizo's arms down to his side and plastering a fake smile onto her flustered face.
When the man entered the room, Reizo's mouth visibly dropped and his eyes widened with horror. He had seen villains in some of the cartoons he watched dressed exactly like this man was, in sinister black clothing and wearing shiny black mad scientist gloves. He was even carrying the same black suitcase some of those guys carried. This guy was worse than a doctor! He was the kind of guy that didn't even try to make people feel better. He was the kind of guy who would turn people into monsters, or shrink them down to the size of an ant, or send electricity through a dead body and make a zombie. How could his mom not know any better?!
"Good morning, Reizo," said Daichi, extending his hand towards Reizo, "I am Daichi, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
The boy just stared at the hand, regarding it in the same way he would a steel bear-trap, until his mother discreetly tightened her grip on him, prompting him to nervously shake Daichi's hand for barely a second before quickly pulling his own hand back and trying his hardest to hide in his mother's arms.
Daichi seemed unfazed by the boy's rejection. Instead, maintaining his same polite smile, he nodded to Himika before saying, "You may leave, Miss Akaba. This first session shouldn't be more than ten minutes."
Reizo looked up at Himika, gripping her sleeves, his eyes wide as if pleading with her to stay. Himika looked down at Reizo, hesitating for just a moment, before she gently removed her son's tiny hands from her sleeves. She nodded at Daichi and set her son down on his bed before she exited the room, leaving Reizo completely alone with the strange man.
The dark-haired boy sat in his bed, nervously gripping the bed sheets and bracing himself for whatever the man would do. There wasn't much else he could do. His first instinct would have been to hide, but Daichi already knew where he was, and he couldn't just run away. Daichi was standing right in front of the door of his bedroom, and he had heard his mom lock the door from the other side.
Fortunately, rather than advance on him, Daichi slowly sat down in a colorful kid chair three sizes too small for him in front of a small round coffee table Reizo had been using for his arts and crafts projects. Opening his large black suitcase, Daichi proceeded to produce a stack of colorful pieces of paper, crayons, glue, scissors, and a strange hat that looked like a fluffy smiling polar bear head with two paws each holding a pair of rubber tubes which connected into a single drinking straw, a hat similar to the kind of hat Reizo had sometimes seen at sporting events.
Pushing the stack of paper towards Reizo, Daichi motioned for Reizo to approach the table.
"Your mother tells me that you are very much into arts and crafts," Daichi explained, taking a single piece of paper and folding it in different ways. "I thought we could spend the first five minutes just getting to know each other by sharing some of our artworks with each other."
Reizo stayed firmly rooted to the bed, trying to figure out what the trap was. None of what Daichi had put on the table seemed harmless, but he couldn't be sure. For all he knew, the colored paper he was offering him could be covered with acid that would burn off his hands the second he touched them, or worse.
Daichi, however, didn't seem to be bothered by Reizo's rejection. He seemed instead to be suddenly and completely absorbed in his work, folding the little piece of paper in different ways. With a final fold to the delicate piece of paper, Daichi smiled to himself before setting his creation down, a small brown origami crane.
Reizo blinked at the creation as Daichi took out another sheet of paper and began folding it in a similar pattern. Hesitantly, Reizo asked, "You like… paper cranes?"
Daichi looked up from his work and smiled a warm gentle smile at Reizo. "I do indeed, Reizo." He held out his first creation as if offering it to Reizo. "Do you like them too?"
Reizo stared at Daichi, then down at the crane he was offering him. He took a few timid steps towards Daichi before reaching out his hand and gingerly picking up the delicate paper creation, admiring its beauty.
"You have very good taste in art." Daichi praised, nodding at Reizo as he examined his work. "Tell me, what do you think of my crane? Did I do a good job?"
Reizo squinted at the crane, examining it carefully like a professional connoisseur. "The beak's a little long," he said, setting the crane down. "It should be shorter, not like a giraffe's neck. And the wings aren't the same size."
"Oh?" Daichi replied, raising his eyebrows, "Could you show me how to do it right?"
Reizo nodded before taking a green piece of paper and beginning to expertly fold it. In half a minute, he had already managed to make a paper crane similar to Daichi's, but with a beak more proportional to the beak of an actual crane, and the wings the same size.
Daichi smiled and clapped his hands with approval. "Excellent job, Reizo!" he enthused. "What else can you do?"
Despite his earlier apprehension, Reizo smiled at the praise. At any rate, he told himself, Daichi couldn't hurt him if he was just teaching the man how to make origami. Maybe he could even distract Daichi long enough for him to forget why he came there.
Smiling at his own cleverness, Reizo proceeded to show Daichi how to make more origami figures, from butterflies to fish to stars and even a big sunburst. Gradually, as Daichi consistently praised and strove to copy what Reizo had done, Reizo began to warm up to Daichi, who now didn't seem half as bad as what he had originally thought. At least he hadn't tried to stick him with a needle yet. Why couldn't all doctors be like him?
"You're very good at what you do." Daichi praised, holding up one of Reizo's figures. "Did anyone teach you how to make such origami figures?"
Reizo thought for a moment after hearing Daichi's question. Gradually, the figure of a little girl with brown hair appeared in his head. She was sitting in a wheelchair, folding bits of paper together into the exact same cranes Reizo had created earlier. His head hurt a little thinking about her, and he frowned. "My little sister," he muttered to himself. "Nunnally made cranes all the time 'cause Sayoko told her that if you folded a thousand of 'em, you got your wish granted. She, she wanted a peaceful world."
He looked up at Daichi, wondering how he would respond. Normally, if he brought up the subject of Nunnally, then either his mother would get mad or his brother would ignore him. Daichi, however, showed neither of these emotions.
"She sounds like a good person," Daichi observed, smiling warmly at Reizo.
"She is," Reizo replied, letting a small smile creep onto his lips. Nobody had ever responded like that to him when he talked about the other people he saw. Finally, after so long, he had found someone willing to listen. "She's the gentlest person ever."
After about eight more minutes of talking about the people from the other world and making origami figures, Reizo's eyes finally fell on the strange hat Daichi had placed on the table. "Daichi… what's that?" Reizo asked, curiosity growing.
Daichi smiled before picking up the hat. "This…" he held up the polar-bear head, "…is Mister Sippy."
"Mister Sippy?" Reizo asked.
"Mmmmhmmm." Daichi nodded.
"Who's Mister Sippy?" Reizo pressed, growing more curious by the second.
"Mister Sippy likes to sip things." Daichi explained, handing the hat over to Reizo, who took it and began feeling the soft fur of the polar bear. "He sits on people's heads, sipping his drinks, and sometimes, when he's in a good mood, he likes to share what he's sipping with others."
"Really?" Reizo asked, wondering what Mister Sippy was sipping at the moment.
"Yep." Daichi replied, shaking his head, "yes."
"What's he sipping right now?" Reizo asked, shaking the hat a bit and hearing a sloshing sound inside two compartments on the side.
"Would you like to see?" Daichi asked.
Reizo thought for a moment, stroking the fur of the polar bear as he did before replying. "I guess… but not if it's something gross."
"Oh don't worry." Daichi enthused. "Mr. Sippy only sips good things, and if he's in a good mood, he might let you sip it as well."
"How can we tell if he's in a good mood?" Reizo asked, examining the polar bear's face.
"Let's put him on your head and find out." Daichi instructed, indicating for Reizo to place the cap on his head.
Reizo did so, the warm fur of the cap tickling his ears, but in a good way. Patting the polar bear down on his head, Reizo then followed the rest of Daichi's instructions as he told him how to position the rubber tubes and how to put the straw into his mouth.
"Like this?" Reizo mumbled as he sucked on the end of the rubber straw.
"Exactly like that." Daichi congratulated. "Now then, we're going to play a little game." He pulled out a device that looked like a small flashlight and a second device that looked like a remote control shaped like a polar bear sipping from a coconut. Handing Reizo the remote control, Daichi kept the small flashlight for himself. "This little light…" Daichi explained, "…is going to tell us when Mister Sippy is in a good mood. When you see a blue light, that means you can push the coconut on your remote and take a little sip of what Mister Sippy is sipping. Let's try that now." He pressed a button on the flashlight, causing a blue light to appear.
Immediately, Reizo pushed down on the coconut of the remote and heard a small slurping sound emanate from the polar bear resting on his head. Slurping through the rubber straw, Reizo was surprised to taste a little milk.
"Good job Reizo!" Daichi applauded. "You really learn fast. Let's keep watching for the blue light so we can see when Mister Sippy is in a good mood. But be careful!" he warned, "Sometimes Mister Sippy will try to trick you with a red light. If you see a red light, or no light at all, those both mean he is not in a good mood. So only press the coconut when you see a blue light."
"Okay," Reizo agreed, bracing himself for when the blue light showed up again. Daichi proceeded to occasionally press the buttons of the flashlight, causing either a blue light or a red light to appear. Occasionally, Reizo made a mistake, either by pressing the coconut when the red light appeared, or hesitating too long when the blue light appeared, but most of the time, he was able to press the coconut at the right time and receive a sip of sweet milk as his reward.
"Well good job," Daichi eventually declared. "You really are a very clever boy. Unfortunately, I've long since passed the ten minutes I told your mother this would take. It's time for me to go now, but we'll see each other tomorrow."
"Is it really time for you to go?!" Reizo protested, surprised to see that despite being scared of Daichi when he first showed up, he now didn't want him to leave.
"Sadly…" Daichi sighed, packing up his things, including Mister Sippy, which Reizo reluctantly handed over, "… it is. But I will be back. And so will Mister Sippy."
Daichi shook Reizo's hand before proceeding to place his bowler hat back on his head and walk out the door. Before he could leave, Reizo suddenly called out, "Wait!"
Daichi stopped mid-step, turning around to face Reizo.
"Can Mr. Sippy have fruit punch next time?" Reizo asked.
Daichi bowed his head, smiling even wider than he ever had during their first meeting together. "Of course Reizo! Whatever you would like!"
The days went by in a similar manner with Daichi. Daichi would bring Mister Sippy, which would be holding the drink Reizo had requested from the previous day, and they would do various activities together, talking about Reizo's friends from the other world, drawing pictures, doing more origami, and playing with clay. Through all these activities, Reizo would be constantly watching Daichi for a blink from the blue light, so he could press the coconut and take a drink from Mister Sippy. He had gradually learned that a blink from the blue light generally came after Daichi offered him praise for one of his accomplishments, and that those often came when he talked about his friends from the other world. So Reizo had started talking to Daichi a lot more about the other world. It was a relief to be able to speak with Daichi about it. There was nobody else who would listen with such enraptured attention. Daichi would even take notes about what he said and ask him questions about what he had just told him. Slowly but surely, Daichi was starting to become one of Reizo's best friends.
His brother, however, didn't seem to agree.
"I don't like him," Reiji said after one of Reizo's sessions with him. "What's he doing with you anyway?"
"He just hangs out with me," Reizo answered cheerfully. "He's really nice. He listens to what I say and doesn't ignore me."
"I don't ignore you," Reiji replied, looking a little upset.
The younger brother frowned. "But you never listen to me, and you don't play with me either… isn't that what 'ignore' means?"
That had caused Reiji to go silent for several moments before he left without saying another word. That had upset Reizo quite a bit, but he didn't let it bother him. As much as he hated to admit it, he was gradually looking forward to hanging out with Daichi more than he was his own older brother.
On one of his sessions, Daichi proposed a new activity.
"I've heard you are into Dueling." Daichi had explained, showing Reizo his own Deck and Duel Disk. "Would you like to play a game?"
Not wanting to upset Daichi, Reizo went to take out his cards. Daichi was wrong about him liking Dueling, he really hated it, but his mother had forced him to learn and his brother—well, Dueling was one of the few things they actually did together. Just as he was about to put them on the table, he stopped, remembering what his brother had said.
"Daichi…" he asked, "…what are you doing here? My mom says you're a doctor, but you don't really act like one. Mostly you've just been playing with me. Is this somehow supposed to cure me of something?"
Daichi smiled back at Reizo. "I'm glad you asked that question," he said. "I'm a special kind of doctor who gives special kinds of medicine to my patients. Right now, with this Duel, I'm giving you that special kind of medicine."
"How can a Duel be medicine?" Reizo asked, looking incredulously at Daichi.
Daichi pulled out some cards from his Deck and showed them to Reizo who took them in his hands. On each of the cards was a blot of ink, five of them with black ink-blots, two with black-and-red ink blots, and three with multi-colored ink blots. All of them were arranged in different symmetrical patterns. Some of the ink blots resembled bats, others butterflies, and still others resembled hands or human faces.
"One of the things I wish to do, Reizo, is come to know you." Daichi explained. "It is my personal belief that Dueling is one of the most efficient ways to come to know fellow Duelists. There are some tiny little problems you have that you aren't even aware you have, but we are well on the way to curing them. And by Dueling each other, I'll be able to figure out exactly how to cure you."
"Really?" Reizo asked, wondering what could be wrong with him. He was perfectly fine, wasn't he?
"Indeed." Daichi replied, taking his cards back before Reizo pulled out his own Deck and set them on the table. "But unlike most medicines which are icky or painful, my medicine is fun."
Reizo forced a smile back at Daichi, amazed that there really could be such a fun medicine—well, fun for other people. It was really cool to think that Daichi could cure people with fun games and activities. He was probably the biggest genius in the world. If only he didn't have to Duel…
"Ready to play?" Daichi asked, swinging around Reizo so that he was sitting just behind the boy, positioning himself so that he couldn't see Reizo's hand while keeping his own hand concealed.
"Yeah," Reizo replied, "but I'm not that good. I still haven't figured out how to Synchro, Xyz, or Fusion summon." More like, he'd always skipped his lessons on those, or zoned out during them because he really wasn't interested.
"That's okay," Daichi reassured him. "I'm not really that good either. Just focus on what you do know and you will do very well. May I go first?" he asked as he drew his opening hand.
"Sure." Reizo shrugged, noticing Daichi flash the blue light on his flashlight. Pressing down on the coconut of the remote, Reizo took a drink from Mister Sippy as Daichi began his move.
"I Summon the Level one monster, Psychic Ink Figure Four in Defense Mode," Daichi began, placing a card in front of Reizo on the table.
Psychic Ink Figure Four: DARK Psychic-Type / Level 1 / 0 ATK / 0 DEF
Reizo stared at the ink-blot on Daichi's card, which looked vaguely like a hooded man with short arms, or a stretched-out animal skin depending on how he looked at it.
"Psychic Ink Figure Four's effect activates when it is Normal Summoned," Daichi explained. "When it is Summoned, you get to add one Spell Card from your Deck so long as you reveal that card to me. So tell me, Reizo…" Daichi asked, whispering behind Reizo's ear, "…what is it you see?"
Reizo stared down at Daichi's monster, wondering which Spell Card he should choose. Gradually, as his gaze lingered on the ink blot, the figure seemed to slowly shift into the figure of an individual Reizo suddenly recognized on one of his Spell Cards.
Nodding to himself, Reizo, skimmed through the cards in his Deck before finding the card he wanted.
"I add the Field Spell The Gates of Dark World to my hand," he declared, showing it to Daichi before holding it up next to the inkblot. Sure enough, as Reizo looked at it, he noticed that the figure standing before the gates on his Spell and the figure on Daichi's card did indeed match.
"That's an important card to you, isn't it." Daichi observed with a smile.
"It is." Reizo agreed. "My 'Dark World' monsters do a lot better if they're in their own world." He might not like Dueling, but he at least liked his own cards.
"I would agree." Daichi enthused. "The Gates of Dark World represent the ability to cross over into a world entirely different from our own. Without that card, the 'Dark World' monsters would be lost, unable to enter their own world."
Daichi blinked the blue light on the flashlight and Reizo took a quick drink from Mister Sippy, who was carrying lemonade today.
"The rest of my monster's effect is applied." Daichi explained. "You now have the option of either shuffling the card back into your Deck or giving the Spell Card to me. However, while my monster is face-up on the field, you cannot activate cards with the same name as the card you revealed to me. So, Reizo, which do you choose?"
Reizo thought over the question for a minute. He didn't really want to shuffle The Gates of Dark World into his Deck after he had just got it, but then again, he wouldn't be able to use it at all if he gave it to Daichi. "I'll shuffle it into my Deck." Reizo sighed, putting the card in the middle of his Deck and rearranging the cards.
"A wise decision." Daichi agreed, blinking the blue light and allowing Reizo to take another drink from Mister Sippy. "With this, I end my turn." He declared. "Now then, Reizo, let's see if you can figure out how to beat me."
Reizo drew a card before looking through his hand, thinking deeply. Daichi didn't really have a powerful monster, he could beat it with just about anything he had in his hand, but Reizo wanted to impress Daichi. It would be one thing to beat his monster, it would be another thing to beat him in just one turn. But how would he manage to do that?
In his hand he had Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World, Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World, Dark World Lightning, Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, Dark World Dealings, and Axe of Despair. Remembering a combo Reiji had taught him when he had first bought the Deck for him, Reizo nodded to himself before beginning his turn. He didn't know if it would work, but if he could manage to get The Gates of Dark World, he could win.
"I activate Dark World Dealings!" Reizo declared, earning a nod of approval from Daichi and another sip of drink from Mister Sippy. "Now we both draw one card before discarding another card from our hands.
"I draw, and then discard Psychic Ink Figure One." Daichi declared, placing one of his monsters in the Graveyard.
"It all comes down to this…" Reizo said to himself, "…it depends on whether or not I can get that card. DRAW!" he declared, pulling a card from the top of his Deck. To his delight, he had done it. "I discard Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World and activate its effect!" Reizo declared. "I destroy Psychic Ink Figure Four!"
Smiling with approval, Daichi removed his card from the table before placing it in the discard pile. "Well done, Reizo," he enthused, flashing the blue light again, "I'm now wide open for an attack, and it was all thanks to a special deal Grapha made with the 'Dark World'."
"Yep." Reizo agreed. "Thanks to the deal, Grapha can now become the true king of the Dark World."
"Somewhat like the Geass you told me about." Daichi observed.
Reizo paused as he considered Daichi's words. He had never thought about it that way before, but now that he did, it made perfect sense. There really did seem to be a parallel between the Geass he had seen in his memories and his own Dark World Dealings card. Scratching his head, Reizo began looking at his other cards, wondering if they could also have a connection with the people and places he had seen from the other world.
"I Summon Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World," Reizo continued, placing his card on the table.
Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World: DARK Fiend-Type Level 4 / 100 ATK / 2100 DEF
"Renge may not look like much, but he is the key to my victory." Reizo explained. "By returning him to my hand, I can resurrect Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World."
Daichi clapped his hands with delight as Reizo returned his monster to the hand before summoning Grapha to his field.
Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World: DARK Fiend-Type / Level 8 / 2700 ATK / 1800 DEF
"Most excellent work!" Daichi congratulated, flashing the blue light again. "And it is so appropriate! Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World may be considered weak or fragile by those foolish enough to only look at its stats, but it possesses a special power. It acts as the means whereby Grapha can do the impossible, as the gatekeeper for opening the door to a new realm of possibility. It reminds me of someone you described. A young woman if I recall, who could bring about such miracles despite her fragile and helpless appearance. What was her name again?"
Reizo thought for a moment before a memory flashed into his head, of a green-haired woman with a bright wing-shaped mark glowing on her forehead. "C.C.?" Reizo asked, peering at Renge and feeling a strange connection between the card and the woman in his memory.
"Yes," Daichi agreed. "That's the one. And just like she helped bring about the reign of the 99th emperor of Britannia, it would seem your Renge has brought about the reign of the true king of the Dark World."
Reizo paused and looked at his dragon, suddenly realizing something Daichi was getting at. He had never thought of his cards this way before, but he was beginning to see a connection between them and his thoughts of the people from the other world. Gazing into the demonic eyes of the true king of the Dark World, Reizo muttered a single word as a memory surfaced to his head. "Charles," he muttered. His father—no, wait, Akaba Leo was his father, wasn't he?
"Indeed." Daichi agreed. "It would seem your Grapha is indeed an embodiment of everything Charles zi Britannia stood for."
Reizo stared down at the dragon, suddenly filled with an inexplicable rage for the card. Gradually, he stopped seeing the figure of Grapha, and instead began seeing the image of Charles, an elderly king with long white hair and a short white beard. He remembered the man sitting in his throne as he exiled Lelouch and Nunnally so soon after their mother's death, absolutely not caring about either of his own children. He remembered the Britannian forces that had razed Japan so soon after he and Nunnally had been sent there, no doubt an attempt to kill them in the crossfire. He remembered Charles declaring his plan to create a stagnant world with the Ragnarök Connection—as justification for all of the lives he had ended, because the dead and the living would both exist in that stagnant world.
Reizo clenched his fist, tears almost welling up beneath his eyelids. Grapha was the ace of his Deck. The card would let him win the duel. He didn't want to believe that it was somehow connected to… to… to that man. But as he gazed upon it, the parallels made way too much sense.
You can Special Summon this card (from your Graveyard) by returning one Dark World monster you control to your hand…
Charles had made a contract with V.V. in order to create a world without lies. His Geass had evolved to the point where he could take his brother's Code whenever he had wanted to, and he had, because Lelouch had ended up accidentally stealing that Code from his father as he ended the Ragnarök Connection.
…If this card is discarded to the graveyard by a card effect: Target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target…
Images of the Britannian army crowded Reizo's mind. Destruction… a single word which aptly described the actions of both Grapha and Charles.
…then, if this card was discarded to the graveyard by a card effect, look at one random card in your opponent's hand, then, if it is a monster, you can Special Summon it to your side of the field.
Charles' Geass power, the ability to alter people's memories, effectively bending them to his will. He'd used that power on Lelouch at least twice—and it was the power that made Nunnally blind for over seven years.
Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World. Charles zi Britannia. Two names, the same entity.
All of Reizo's plans had gone up in smoke. He could easily defeat Daichi using Grapha, but…
He saw his father again, erasing his memories to force him to aid Britannia. He wouldn't be like that… he couldn't be like that! But what could he do? There was literally nothing in his hand that could help him stop Grapha.
"I end my turn," said Reizo, looking resentfully at his hand.
"Really?" Daichi asked. "Interesting. Well then… let's see here…" He plucked a card from the top of his Deck, looked through the cards in his hand, and then sighed. "Ah well… that's sad. It looks like I don't have any good cards in my hand. So I'll end my turn right here."
"My turn…" Reizo began, "…draw!" He looked at the card in his hand and groaned to himself. Another Dark World Lightning, something that was completely useless to him now. If only there was some way he could get rid of Grapha and beat Daichi, but there was nothing in his hand that could help him now.
"Remember…" Daichi whispered behind Reizo, "…these are only cards. Any secondary significance they have is only because we willfully attach significance to them."
Reizo turned around, looking at Daichi who patiently waited for Reizo to continue his turn, smiling as he did so. Exhaling slowly, Reizo tried to block out the thoughts of Charles and just focus on Grapha as nothing but a big black scaly dragon card. He still didn't like it, but Daichi was right. It was just a card. And admittedly, it was a very good card. A card that could help him win.
"I activate the Spell Terraforming." Reizo declared, voice monotone as he played the card he had drawn thanks to Dark World Dealings. "This card allows me to add The Gates of Dark World from my Deck to my hand which I will now activate."
He placed the card on the table, thoughts of a strange world filling his mind. Blinking away the thoughts, Reizo attempted to continue his turn.
"Keep going." Daichi encouraged, blinking the blue light and prompting Reizo to take a soothing drink of milk from Mister Sippy. "You are almost there. Just don't give up. Don't let the miscellaneous thoughts distract you."
Reizo nodded at Daichi's words, taking some comfort in what he said.
"I then activate the Equip Spell Axe of Despair, and equip it to Grapha," Reizo continued, struggling to block out visions of Knightmare Frames slaughtering innocent Japanese while he could do nothing but hide and watch..
"Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World…" Reizo said through clenched teeth, hating himself for having to use a card that made him think of Charles, "…direct attack!"
He gasped after ordering the attack. It was too much for him. Suddenly, his mind was carried up into a stream of thought. He, he himself had been just like Charles. He'd taken over the world through the use of his own Geass and through capturing Damocles, which held all of the F.L.E.I.J.A. warheads, threatening to unleash them on any country that dared rebel against his power. He'd done that with a purpose, but…!
Through the fog of his memories, he suddenly heard Daichi's voice. "Reizo… Reizo?" Daichi called, snapping his gloved fingers in front of Reizo's face.
Reizo blinked in confusion, steadily coming back to reality. "Wha—what happened?" he asked, feeling somewhat dazed.
"You won." Daichi gave Reizo a congratulatory pat on the back.
Reizo stared back at Daichi, who looked like he had just received the best birthday present of his life. "Did I really… did I really win?" Reizo asked, trying to remember what had been going on. He couldn't, his head was just too foggy.
"You did indeed, Reizo," Daichi replied, placing a notepad in one of his coat-pockets. "And you have been exceedingly helpful to me. You may not know it yet, but we are well on the way to curing you. I will see you tomorrow."
"Bye…" Reizo replied, still trying to figure out what had just happened as Daichi took Mister Sippy from Reizo, packed up his suitcase, and left the room.
Daichi and Reizo were now Dueling with every session. Mr. Sippy would always be there, filled with Reizo's drink request from the previous day, but now Daichi was only pressing the blue button if Reizo made a good move while he Dueled.
The Duels were steadily growing more challenging as Daichi figured out more of Reizo's Deck. Reizo still always managed to win, but he had to be more clever with his strategies in order to counter Daichi's various plays, especially considering the fact that he had decided to not use Grapha unless utterly and absolutely necessary. To that end, he'd finally quit his stubbornness when it came to learning about the game, and let Reiji show him the basics of Xyz, Synchro, and Fusion Summoning so Reizo could do better. Daichi had always been impressed with the effort Reizo was showing, and would be quick to reward his efforts, something Reizo had appreciated, but truth be told, there was another reason he was beginning to crave improving his dueling skills.
Daichi had helped him see something, something Reizo thought he had always known but had never really noticed until then. Every one of this cards had a connection with the people from the other world. Daichi had sometimes suggested associations to him as they engaged in their various duels against each other, but most of the time, Reizo had been able to make connections which completely baffled both his mother and brother when he shared them with them.
"Brron, Mad King of Dark World is that… Euphemia girl you talked about?" Himika asked, a completely confused expression on her face. "How does that work?"
"It just does." Reizo shrugged. "It feels right."
"I see…" she had replied, "… and what are your thoughts on this, Dr. Ishikuma?" she had asked, fixing him with a venomous glare.
"I believe we are learning precisely how Reizo's beautiful mind works," Daichi had replied with confidence. With that knowledge, I can perform the cure we spoke of."
At night, when everyone else was asleep, Reizo would look through the cards in his Deck, flashlight shining in the darkness as he thought about who or what they each represented. "Balak – Suzaku…" he whispered, writing some notes in a journal. "…Brron – Euphemia, Greyy – Nunnally, Reign-Beaux – Schneizel, Renge – C.C., Snoww – Marianne, Zure – Zero…" he paused when he saw the next card. "…Colorless – Lelouch vi Britannia."
He continued going through the cards, thinking about what the connection between the cards and the people he remembered meant. Three of the cards, Gren, Zure, and Colorless, had stood out to him. "Gren – Lelouch Lamperouge…" he repeated to himself, "Zure – Zero, Colorless – Lelouch vi Britannia." He held them up to his face, wondering how they could be connected, while somehow knowing that they were, before taking out the last card from his Deck.
"The Gates of Dark World," he muttered to himself.
He closed his eyes, thinking back on the world he had seen. It was a strange world, and yet, somehow, he knew it was real.
"Tomorrow…" he muttered to himself, "…I'll ask Daichi what it means.
A/N: Donjusticia just did a really good job with this, didn't he? I certainly wouldn't have done any good at all if I'd tried writing this.
Please drop a review, and I'll pass your regards on to the great and mighty Donjusticia.
Oh, and you want a behind-the-scenes look at the makings of next chapter? Wait until after Daichi's card's details, I GUARANTEE you will laugh.
(I don't own Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, or Daichi Ishikuma and his cards.)
A/N from Donjusticia: So yes. As you can all see, I am completely and irredeemably insane.
Card in this:
Psychic Ink Figure 4
DARK Psychic/Effect
Level 1
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, your opponent adds 1 Spell Card from his/her Deck to his/her hand and reveals it: Your opponent then chooses to activate 1 of the following effects.
1. Add the revealed card to your opponent's hand.
2. Shuffle the revealed card into your Deck.
Your opponent cannot activate cards with the revealed card's name while this card is face-up on the field.
0 ATK
0 DEF
(So, the next chapter includes another Duel. In the midst of that, Donjusticia provides a comment that pisses off my muse Faith. And if you don't know what that means, basically Faith is the hardcore shipper side of myself. I ship Shirlulu.)
Donjusticia sends: ""Come forth, Amethyss, Demon Queen of Dark World!" (Yep, that's right, I ship Lelouch and Kallen together, so I figured I'd put them [meaning Colorless, Chaos King of Dark World and Amethyss] together in this duel. Also, insert description here.)"
I send a normal response about the entire lengthy thing, then: "(ALSO NOOOO YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SHIP SHIRLULU NOT KALULU!)"
In the next PM, Donjusticia does not respond to that comment, so after I reply again normally to everything else, I add: "Also you never explained why you DARE to ship Kalulu over Shirlulu."
He responds: "What can I say? Her card form has way more powerful stats. Now you're probably gonna make a synchro monster named Mega-Ultra-Turbo Oppal, Colorless Chaos King's True Lover of Dark World. ;)"
I didn't even acknowledge the… card, I responded to the first part with: "That is literally one of the least valid reasonings for shipping Kalulu."
He replies: "Hey, it's the only reason I've got. I still need to make time to watch Code Geass. But thanks for being patient with my lack of fan knowledge."
And I go: "It's still not a reason."
So he says: "Tell you what, I'll make some time to watch "Code Geass" and then I'll give you my honest opinion."
Faith's pretty active now, so I say: "You better ship Shirlulu to at least some degree or else Faith will likely try to murder you slowly and painfully."
Donjusticia… decides to be an idiot. He says: "Hey Faith, on "Signs of Renewal," Jack hates Carly and decides to marry Melissa Clair instead, Yuya dates Mieru, Noboru marries Rin for no reason, Ruri maries Captain Solo, Yuto hooks up with Masumi, Yuzu remains a lonely spinster for the rest of her undead Dark Signer existence, and Yuri and Selena… actually DO get together in the end!"
Now, if any of you have read my story "Muses", you'd know that Faith doesn't care if you're joking. You speak against her OTPs, you're in big trouble. And of that entire thing, Yuri/Selena was the only one she ships. So I respond with: "…Welp there goes about three different universes as Faith just went absolutely crazy mad at you. And that was only for breaking ScoopShipping."
This is my favorite part. Donjusticia replies with: "This is the automate . n e t message service. We regret to inform you that author, Donjusticia, has regretfully passed away. Cause of death: His own stupid decision to tick off a VERY passionate muse."
I laugh quite a bit before I reply with: "Faith is ridiculously hardcore when it comes to her OTPs. You, kind of triggered nOTP Mode. You're just lucky she isn't channeling Yuno Gasai from Future Diary right now, you would be dead multiple times over."
So naturally Donjusticia replies with: "Hey Yuno Gasai! I had Dark Signer Ruri KISS Yuki! AND HE LIKED IT!"
Leading to my response which Donjusticia told me I had to include, which was: "No Yuno Gasai here. Nice try you… suicidal person."
This was just perfect.
Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go cry because I'm on my way to my last ever band competition.
