Part 6: Preparations for Battle
Kyo lay awake that night, his mind reeling with the concept of having been defeated by whom he'd thought was a no-name duelist. Rather than congratulating his opponent's victory, Kyo had just gotten up and walked wordlessly to bed, not even bothering to pack his own cards away. If anything, the duel had taken his mind off what Akita said - that she'd never actually planned to get him out of that arena, from the start. If she'd not changed her mind, he would probably not be lying in bed today. But what caused her to change her mind? And even worse - if she'd changed her mind because she thought he'd be a good ally against the upcoming threat, he'd lost every chance he had to prove how good he was by losing to Logan.
Three knocks on the door.
"What? Isn't it like, two o'clock in the morning?" Kyo called out wearily, sitting up. The door creaked open slowly, letting in a sliver of light. Akita poked her head around the corner, her white hair swaying like chimes in the breeze. Kyo groaned, running a hand down his face. Just who he wanted to see(!)
"I'm sorry..." Akita whispered as she stepped inside, and closed the door behind her. She walked over to the end of Kyo's bed and sat on it. She was still wearing the casual clothes she'd put on that evening. "After that game, I went through your deck. I noticed how you didn't have enough DARK monsters for your Black Luster Soldier unless you removed a Necro Gardna from play. I put a couple more in. But please, be more careful next time against one-turn-kill players and decks... You will need your Gardna for them."
"I know, I know, you don't need to give me a lecture on how to duel, I'm a professional!" Kyo sat up in bed, blood boiling over. "I'll bet you don't even have a deck!"
"I do, actually, it's a Crystal Beast deck..." Akita replied, her breath catching on the deck type. She sighed, standing up and leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Kyo groaned, letting himself fall back into his pillows, and finally, to sleep.
The next morning, Kyo went through the bathroom routine before emerging in the dining-room for breakfast. Logan was sat at the table with a newspaper, but Kyo avoided his gaze, instead making a beeline to Hattori who was making pancakes. Akita was also sat at the table, wearing different clothes, and reading a different book. She'd evidently gone to bed after talking to Kyo the previous night.
"What sauces do you have?" Kyo asked Hattori, who pointed to a cupboard to the left of the cooker. Kyo edged around Hattori's large frame, then opening the cupboard. "Maple and Chocolate, eh? That's an interesting combination."
"We don't use both at the same time!" Hattori gasped. "That would be an affront to cooking!"
"Don't tell me your deck has Hungry Burger in it..." Kyo muttered, slightly too quietly for Hattori to hear. When Hattori asked what Kyo'd said, he just said "Nothing important." And shook his head, closing the cupboard. With nothing else to do for the moment as Hattori plated the pancakes, Kyo grudgingly made his way over to the table. His deck was in a neat pile, so he sat down and started looking through it. By the time he was done, the pancakes were served. As Kyo ate the pancakes, he considered Akita's newest additions to the decks. While seemingly unnecessary, they just might save him from the next one-turn-kill deck he runs into... but only time would tell.
Eating the pancakes in silence, the group looked at their own possessions - Kyo, his deck. Logan, the newspaper. Akita, her book. Hattori nervously shifted his eyes around, lest anyone try to stab him with the edge of one of their papery items in unprecedented anger.
"We should go soon." Logan finally said, breaking the silence. He put down the newspaper, and Kyo inadvertently met his gaze. Not taking anything from it, Logan continued, adjusting his glasses as he spoke: "The Celestial Body has engulfed two of the four pathways out of this city. As I'm sure you remember from our conversation yesterday, if it engulfs all four, it is impossible to leave, and it will begin to take over Tapipoca City. We have no idea how far gone the third pathway is either, so we have to leave now. Kyo, Hattori and I were up all night to prepare your motorbike. It's not quite up-to-scratch, so taking a significant amount of damage could probably cause it to fall apart. None of our bikes are suitable for dueling on, but we'd be more likely to survive a collision than you." He said dryly. Kyo glared. Akita audibly sighed and Hattori shrunk in his seat.
With his duel disk clipped to his back, under his cape, Kyo also ensured that his deck was secured in place in the deck holster at his hip. The other duelists did the same, each of theirs secured in different ways. Hattori's was clipped between his dungaree straps, Akita's was strung over her shoulder like a bow, and Logan's was tied on with an x-shape made out of durable string. The other three's deck boxes were all similarly strapped to their hip in one way or another. All four stood next to their respective motorbikes; Akita's was blue, Hattori's yellow, Logan's red, and Kyo's purple. In the midst of questioning their colour choices, he sat on his motorbike, revving it up. It felt nice and sturdy, so what did Logan mean by it being less strong than the others? If he didn't run into issues now, he might in future. As he kept that thought in mind, the other three did the same, revving their motorbikes and riding them to the entrance of the garage. The shutter was still down, but the garage lights kept it bright inside.
"I've got some new data." Logan announced, bringing out what looked like a thin PDA from his jean pocket. "Apparently the celestial being is beginning to envelop the third gateway, so we have to leave out of the fourth..." His voice trailed off. Akita grit her teeth.
"So be it! Let's hurry then!" She declared.
"S-sorry, what's wrong with the fourth?" Kyo stammered.
"The fourth pathway is directly next to the third: if the third is enveloped, then the fourth pathway will begin to be enveloped! I don't know how it made so much progress already - the second pathway is miles from the third!" Logan explained. "To be fair though, we did get a good night's sleep, but I was expecting two days to pass before it reached the third!"
"Why do you keep calling these pathways... gateways... different things?" Kyo asked.
"The name doesn't matter." Hattori said, revving his motorbike. "They're all just words for the routes out of the city. Now, we should go."
Logan nodded, pressing a button on the PDA. The shutter of the garage began to rise, and he put his PDA away. All four motorcyclists revved their bikes one last time, attached their helmets and lowered the visors. Then, when the shutter reached the roof of the garage, they sped off into the distance. Into the streets of Tapipoca City.