Chapter 3: Black Shadow
Thousands upon thousands of screaming voices filled the arena wherein Kyo had fought, as well as the city beyond. Citizens and duelists alike poured out of the arena, whilst the black shadow enveloped Kyo's motionless body. As it touched the soles of his feet, he groaned in agony, jolting awake. His eyes shot open, and he took a mere second to analyze the situation. Looking down, the shadow had covered most of the floor of the arena, but landing partly on the stairs had saved Kyo, even if he'd taken some bodily damage from the force of the impact. Crawling backwards with his shoulders for support, Kyo groaned from the effort. Once he was safely up one stair, he took the time to stand up, breathing out heavily. He surveyed the arena once more, seeing that it was mostly deserted, save for a black film covering nearly every surface, except for the duel arena and the stairs. Paper fluttered around, thrown by spectators who were focused on running away rather than recycling their possessions, and black dust hung thickly.
"What now...?" Kyo muttered to himself, ensuring that his duel disk and deck were where they should be. He stepped backward, into the center of the arena. Then there was a movement out of the corner of his eyes. A movement in the midst of the inky-black sea.
"Kyo!" Came a voice from where Kyo had seen movement. His eyes darted around, trying to latch on to the source of noise. It was difficult, with the blackness shifting and changing, as if to disrupt his vision. Then someone - or something? - burst through the darkness. The familiar sound of a motorcycle was music to Kyo's ears, a split-second before the smashing of glass as a motorcycle wheel replaced the glass barriers, flying through them. Attached to that wheel was the full frame of a motorcycle, with a white-leather-clothed female riding it. The motorcycle flew through the air, the black substance seemingly leaping to try to latch onto it, but failing as it was kicked away by the rapid spin of the motorcycle wheels. Then the vehicle descended, landing with a jolt in the middle of the arena. The rider activated the brakes, causing it to skid to the opposite side, but it was brought around, and slowed down as it approached Kyo.
"Who are you...?" Was Kyo's first thought - and speech - as the long, white-haired rider pulled off her helmet, revealing a young face, no older than her twenties. Her brown eyes seemed to contrast against everything she wore, but her dark blue motorcycle betrayed a hint of friendliness, and a willingness not to paint everything she saw white.
"My name is Akita Yakimoto." The motorcyclist replied, then nodding her head toward the blackness that was enveloping the stadium. "It looks like you have a problem. Please, step on."
"A-alright..." Kyo stammered, sitting on the motorbike behind Akita, grasping her waist. He didn't really like the idea of bursting out of the stadium on a motorcycle, but it was as good a plan as any. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have Riding Duels, would you...?" But Akita didn't hear him. She already had her helmet on, and began revving the bike. Kyo clenched his eyes and held on tight as she began to speed up, riding the motorbike twice around the blackening arena before hitting the slightly elevated side, launching the two into the air. And then Kyo screamed.