Boss Rush
XIII: Guardian Formation
Setsuka sighed. The first edition of the Witch of the Black Forest had been sold, even for such an old card. Next up was the Pyrorex she intended to get at all cost. She already held Moulinglacia, and she knew that Tsugare and Hinamori Seiran, another powerful psychic, had Grandsoil, the cards being a gift from herself. But Pyrorex would make a perfect birthday present to send to Australia.
She was a woman not out to forgive anyone.
"Next up, Pyrorex the Elemental Lord! A first edition, newly minted! For sale at ten thousand!"
Waiting, she saw him. The tall thin, semi-muscular and slightly pale man in bus-boy outfit, with long white layered hair, honey eyes and rosy lips. He might be beautiful by normal standards, but she was cold enough to see past the pretty face to the intense aura, like a clashing wave against a cliff.
Raising her hand, she summoned a drink, and he came to her.
"Not a very remarkable night now, is it?"
Natashi Kiyomi was not patient in his very nature. He was more tempted to rush to find proof, rather than conjecture possible paths. In his chosen career as a scholar, perhaps it was not for the best thing.
Proof of the other worlds and to find them. Like the lost city of Atlantis itself, buried in dreams and uncertainties, he wanted to find it, question, and learn even more. Fragarach was the Answerer, but it would only work if he knew where to look.
The Arcadia Movement must hold it... so he was convinced.
Natashi Kiyomi was not a believer in magic. Several things had convinced him otherwise, but before, he was not a believer of magic. Of course, what truly convinced him was not seeing magic first-hand, but rather...
The Natashi clan had had a relation to Baron Sheldon, who had been one of the Four Game Masters under Kaiba Corporation. Of course, like all the others, the Baron had been laid off after his loss to Yuugi Mutou, but they remained in contact.
Once Kaiba got about to getting four more game masters, the Natashi was included in the form of Kiyomi's own father. Amongst that group itself was a unique individual; Diana Hunter, or as she would later be known, the White Witch Seiran Shimotsuki. She had had magic, Kiyomi was sure... magic of the games that could be used in his quest. And since old traditions were passed from mother to daughter... Setsuka Shimotsuki must know, the secret of the Dark Games themselves that the Madame had held onto and brought to the grave.
There was only one truth... that truth he needed to know.
Slowly, he smirked as he handed the drink to the girl in the blue gown, and met cold chips of ice for eyes. He saw the regal queen, the queen that protected the knowledge he wanted... the knowledge he must dirty his hands for.
She summoned a drink. He approached quickly.
"Not a very remarkable night now, is it?" Setsuka remarked to him once he was within earshot.
His smile faded. "I- I'm not sure, Miss..."
"You don't fool me, Fragarach," she muttered. "I can smell the iron off you. The Answerer himself intends to fight me?"
Before her gaze, he thought he might have heard the sound of crows in flight, the sound of their wings echoing in the seemingly present silence even through the raffle. He felt lower than a worm itself, if that were indeed possible.
"If you interrupt this raffle I shall be sorely displeased," she continued. "I might not even guarantee your life. Is that understood?"
He could tell. "Morrigan, the Phantom Queen. You order me?"
"It was a request. Surely you don't intend to involve the police force into this private battle?" Her eyes held a challenge at him.
Sensing imminent defeat, he opted to bow out. "Of course. Until the dance, then."
As he left, the Pyrorex the Elemental Lord that had been on offer was sold to her.
Alexianna LeRouge was bored.
She was dressed to the nines, in a red and black short sleeveless dress with a sweetheart neckline and silver trim in lace with red pumps. Her beret had been replaced with an elegant French bun for tonight, and she looked pretty enough, if not as dignified as the well-practised Setsuka. Seeing as she was ostensibly representing the LeBlanc gaming empire in this, she was trying her best in socialising with the few introductions she had had from Setsuka. Even though, frankly, she was of the opinion that the NDPD held enough, still, she recalled some broken cruisers and how they could be improved, especially in Satellite.
"Champagne?"
Alexianna was about to refuse when she spotted the man holding the flute. "Take-!"
"Shh!" her fiancé hissed. "That woman said that I should be here, so I'm here. Where's the fire?"
Alexianna was familiar enough with Setsuka's words. "Takeshi... she was saying how I should take you along with me. That's it."
"...I got played!" Takeshi figured it out.
The intermission came, as a graceful, flame-haired dancer stepped up and began to perform a twirling Chinese dance involving a lot of ribbons and gracefully acrobatic moves.
"Why didn't you want me to come?" Takeshi asked.
"Because... I was afraid. Afraid that you would see the monster that became one of the Black Roses." Alexianna confessed.
He held her close as the slow dance began. "Lexy, I love you."
"I know, I know you do. I'm just... afraid."
Music began as Takeshi led her to the dance floor, and she was spellbound enough to follow.
Krissy Leola kept watch from the sidelines as the dancing began. Her partner, Sandra, was dancing on the stage, yet Krissy could only be a wallflower.
"Father, what did you do...?" she whispered, keeping an eye on the blue gown that was attached to a beautiful, young heiress. The beautiful young heiress being their target...
What would you do if you knew, then?
"Will this really give me answers...?" she whispered as she watched the clock tick closer to midnight.
Tsugare scowled, wrenching the black full-length gown in place. Damn perverts, he would have decked the lot of them if it wasn't that he was under the watch of the Boss herself. The flats were killing him, the corset was tight, and he was becoming breathless due to a reason unrelated to a sudden attraction to people and more of the corset crushing his lower ribs and diaphragm as he took about four inches off his height just by posture alone. To top it all off, Kaido had absconded the moment he was done with the evaluation, leaving him with no arm candy by which he could fend off the predatory perverts here.
All in all, he concluded, being a girl sucked.
"Are you alright?" Koichi mouthed to the beauty in a dark purple dress that stepped out of the handicapped wash-room. "I mean, I saw how they put you in the dress."
"The shoes are torture implements of the modern age, the harness sucks, and I just want to get out of this dress," Tsugare looked at Koichi. "Could you help me...?"
Koichi blinked, looking at the dark dress that was tied at the back tightly, contrasting against fairer skin, with that sort of breathless expression...
"Nosebleed...?" Tsugare mouthed as Koichi fainted. "What was he thinking about...?"
"Nii-san?" a voice spoke. Tsugare's back stiffened. Surely not...
"Tsu-nii!" Youkai readily identified. Yes, yes, the fates hated him.
"Oh, my," The calm, smooth voice of Hibiki Akio remarked. "Tsugare, is that you? Are you really someone's woman no-"
"Akio, you have the worst choice of words, as always," Tsugare put on a fake smile as he turned around. "No, despite your jokes at my expense, this is purely for work reasons."
"Shimotsuki makes you dress up like a girl for work?" Misawa Ryokai demanded. Unlike the taller Misawa, Ryokai was of average height, with long crimson hair with black highlights he wore back neatly with one long bang combed over his right eye, which gleamed amber. He was also admittedly stocky of build where Tsugare was leaner, a swordsman's build in contrast to a gymnast's build, and he wore a designer suit better. There was no way anyone was going to mistake the new heir of the Misawa Group for a woman, unlike his older brother. "Why?"
"Honey-trap," Youkai contributed.
"Bait," Akio simply spoke up beside Ryokai. Akio was the next tallest amongst the cousins, being only about five centimetres shy of Tsugare himself. His own crowned-cut was navy-blue, but kept neater and he seemed someone to be feared, which was good for his job as a lawyer.
"What on earth are you doing, Nii-san...?" Ryokai mouthed.
"Oh god," Koichi swore as he looked up to all four of them and compared it to Tsugare. "You're right. What horrible blood..."
Ryokai's amber eyes narrowed at the man's proximity to Tsugare. "Who are you?"
"Yamamoto Koichi," Koichi held up both hands in surrender before he produced from his jacket pocket a name-card. "Private detective, based in London. I'm working with the Movement on the possible escape of a British criminal targeting Shimotsuki Setsuka."
Ryokai's expression still did not change. "Right... Nii-san, tell me when you're tired of him. I'll make sure it isn't traced to you."
What a horrific implication...Koichi thought as the two older Misawa left, leaving the two psychics there.
Youkai smiled up at him. It was not a warm smile. "Like I said, break his heart, and your body will feed the crows of Neo Domino."
"I don't even have it!" Koichi weakly protested as Youkai left them. He turned to Tsugare. "Your family is weird!"
"I'm sorry..." Tsugare made eyes at him.
"...I apologise with every fibre of my being, please don't make those eyes at me..."
Ryuusei was bored, simply put. After the small talk, requisite slipping away from young débutantes and snacking, he was bored of watching.
"Are they here?" he asked. A normal person would have thought that he was speaking to empty air, where instead he was speaking to the Duel spirit of the Sorciere de Fleur.
"Yes," Marguerite answered. "Caislean, Fragarach, Gae Dearg, Areadbhair, Drynwyn, Lúin Celtchair and Caledfwlch. I sense all the enemy 'seeds', as well as the sleeping 'seeds' within our own allies... and the seeds that has awakened."
The clock struck twelve, and the unseen battle began with an explosion...
Kiyomi smirked as he left the ballroom, heading instead for the City archives, He did it coolly, smoothly, keeping with the self-imposed timing he placed as the rest of the team moved into action as well. The four kept a lookout on the exits as an evacuation began, and already the people from the Arcadia Movement were rushing to secure them.
He reached the archives room, clicking quickly. He took out the USB and hooked it into a random terminal, waiting. Soon the written programme had hacked through to the necessary files:
Arcadia Movement, download: 0%. Estimated time: 6 minutes.
"You know, I could easily break that terminal right now."
Kiyomi whirled around to meet face-to-face with the cold queen of the Arcadia Movement with her arms bared, and a DuelDisk ready. "Oh. Then I shall be very disappointed. Natashi Kiyomi, at your service. A pleasure to meet you, Shimotsuki Setsuka... no, the Winter Queen."
"So you're one of Marguerite's?" Setsuka asked.
Arcadia Movement, download: 10%. Estimated time: 5 minutes.
"Ah, yes. I made a contract with the Sorciere de Fleur," Kiyomi answered. "With the power of the Fragarach, it is impossible to tell a lie to me, Winter Queen. You have the Morrigan, do you not?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Yes."
"And you know that I have Areadbhair and Drynwyn."
"...Yes. Stop this."
"So..." Kiyomi swept out a hand as a nearby shelf caught on blue fire. Dispassionately, both of them watched the implement burn. "Have you figured it out? It is pointless to request, Shimotsuki Setsuka."
"It... wasn't a request. Just like 'kill yourself' is not a request. It is an order."
Arcadia Movement, download: 20%. Estimated time: 4 minutes.
"Well, this is a surprise," Youkai gave a choking laugh as he floated on the rafters. "Here I was hoping that Chase would wear a suit here, but instead he's at home with a cold. What a shame... he does look so dashing in a suit."
The cantera stone of the floor broke as giant vines grew to defend Tsugare from the red spears as Tsugare ripped through the gown. "Shut up, Nowaki. No one cares if your boyfriend didn't turn up."
Arcadia Movement, download: 30%. Estimated time: 3 minutes.
"Oh, right," Youkai gave a yawn as winds blew more slashes off course and deflected blows that would have otherwise decapitated him. "Because we have your loser of an ex to deal with."
Kisaragi glared at Youkai. "You're a 'seed' holder too?"
"I'm not too familiar, but I'm pretty sure mine is called Slaugh Ghairm," Youkai commented as he stretched. "A battle of projectiles, is it? I'll be quite happy to oblige."
Arcadia Movement, download: 40%. Estimated time: 3.5 minutes.
"Well, that's troublesome," Kisaragi commented. "Ah well."
"Watch out for those spears!" Tsugare barked as Youkai flipped to avoid them. "They're pretty painful!"
"Gae Dearg, the Red Spear," Kisaragi affirmed. "You know, it used to belong to the very same figure whom your 'seed' is named after, Tsu. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne... or the Diarmuid of the love spot."
Arcadia Movement, download: 50%. Estimated time: 2.5 minutes.
"Yeah, I watched Fate/Zero," Tsugare snarked back as he dodged behind a series of tables. "Vines!"
"Plants?" Kisaragi sniffed as the growing vines were beheaded. "Anyway, Tsugare... I didn't expect you to come in drag."
"Nope... bean vines," Tsugare answered as they grew to bind onto Kisaragi's legs. "Nowaki!"
"Seen a hurricane up close?" Youkai commented as he did a jump-kick and blew Kisaragi to the nearest wall.
"Hmph," Tsugare reached out and plucked Kisaragi's skull to glance into his eyes, lifting his left bang with a practised motion. "Shinonome Kisaragi, you are under my spell."
Arcadia Movement, download: 60%. Estimated time: 2 minutes.
"Why does it feel like we're being underestimated...?" Alexianna commented as Ryuusei and her faced the two girls.
"Lulta, where's Krissy?" the red-haired dancer demanded.
"I don't know!" the other cried. "Kaname took her!"
"Kaname... Kaname-san?" Alexianna blinked.
"Damn, and these guys..." the red-head, Sandra snarled. "Caledfwlch!"
"What!" Ryuusei shouted as Alexianna and him dived, right as an invisible blade seem to cut everything in an arc about twenty metres in radius from the dancer, Sandra. "What was-"
"Caledfwlch was another name for one of the legendary swords," Marguerite answered. "Excalibur..."
"Lulta, you find Krissy!" Sandra called to the retreating girl as she glared at Ryuusei. "Marguerite...?"
"It is I, child," Marguerite answered. "So, that Krissy is the one you made an agreement with me to protect."
Arcadia Movement, download: 70%. Estimated time: 1.5 minutes.
"W- Where are we going, Kaname-san?" Krissy protested as the brown-haired Duellist led her through.
"To find the truth... the truth of your father!" Ishihara Kaname answered. Somewhere she had acquired a Duel Academia Blue Uniform. "Come on! Caislean!"
They crashed through the great hall, which was now empty, to run down another hallway, towards the archives room.
Arcadia Movement, download: 80%. Estimated time: 60 seconds.
"I said I held the Morrigan," Setsuka commented as she crossed her arms, leaning on the door-frame as she watched Kiyomi struggle against her order. "I never said that it was the only 'seed' I had. The Geas that Cheryl Madison held, that was paid to me for a favour... you asked the wrong question, Natashi Kiyomi."
"Of course... I fell for that trick..." Kiyomi hissed as he kept struggling. "You used the Geas under the guise of an entreaty..."
"I make a point never to negotiate with terrorists," Setsuka answered coldly. "Well? I call check."
Arcadia Movement, download: 90%. Estimated time: 30 seconds.
"Wait, Shimotsuki-san!" Kaname screeched as she dived in. "Stop this! Caislean!"
Psychic and scholar backed away the moment Kaname shouted as they glared at her.
"Ishihara Kaname," Setsuka muttered. "Are you with me... or against me?"
Arcadia Movement, download: 100%. Estimated time: Complete.
The remains of the bookshelf crackled merrily, the embers winking out before Kaname's presence.
"What a remarkable 'seed', Caislean," Setsuka observed. "To be able to extinguish all 'seed' influence within an immediate area. Quite a protective barrier, Ishihara Kaname-san."
"Ishihara Kaname..." Kiyomi coughed. "Thanks..."
"I didn't do it for you," Kaname defended. "But, Krissy has a few questions for you, Shimotsuki-san."
"Oh," Setsuka dismissed as she took the USB from the computer terminal. "And to do that, you broke into City Hall, assisted in stealing secret building plans, and even assisted a known felon. Very interesting. There are less troublesome methods of seeking my attention."
"Please don't joke about matters like this, Shimotsuki-san," Kaname answered. "You of all people know the value of the truth. This girl, Krissy Leola, she's been searching for her father."
Krissy herself stepped forward. "Good evening, Shimotsuki-san. I guess... this is rather awkward... but do you know of a man named Kurogane? Kurogane Hayato."
"I do not know Kurogane Hayato now," Shimotsuki answered. "I did know Kurogane Hayato. What is it to you?"
"H- He's my father..." Krissy whispered. "I... see."
"Have you not figured it out?" Setsuka answered to the shocked girl. "I did know Kurogane Hayato, but I do not know him. Somewhere in the past, that man betrayed the Arcadia Movement. My mother was in charge then. I do not know where he is, nor can I assist you in searching for him. Does that finally answer your question?"
"Basically, he was murdered, wasn't he?" Kiyomi drawled as Krissy paled further. "Murdered by Shimotsuki Seiran... you're pretty bloodthirsty, all of you Shimotsuki."
"And you challenge me, knowing this fact," Setsuka countered.
"Yet, you're the only one who can answer my question now," Kiyomi dismissed. "When the Four Game Masters of Kaiba Corporation were gathered once more, the line-up changed. 'Intelligence' became Natashi Hiroto, 'Will' became Damon, and Aileen Rao who represented 'Strategy' was replaced by Shimotsuki Seiran... no, Diana Hunter. Aside from the legendary Game King Yuugi Mutou himself, Diana Hunter was the only other said to have mastered the magic of the Dark Games guarded by the Ishtar family. Those secrets, the secrets of the White Witch, did she teach them to you? Or are they lost to beyond the grave?"
"...how futile, then." Setsuka distantly answered. "You are a thief of knowledge, I see. Does it matter? There is a force beyond human comprehension in games, after all."
"That is no answer to the question."
"Fragarach compels the questioned to answer with the truth. To which degree of truth, well that depends on the questions asked by the questioner," Setsuka answered. "I will never answer your question directly. Knowing that my mother had such access to dangerous magic is quite enough, there is no need for confirmation."
"Well, no matter how I see it, we're leaving too many loopholes to the questions," Kiyomi remarked. "Well, this is for Krissy. Concerning Kurogane Hayato, do you know his current state of living?"
"That, it is not my right to answer," Setsuka replied coldly. "It is an obligation I hold to those who ask this of me."
"Damn, this woman's good," Kiyomi cursed. "Using the loophole present in the question like that... that means that, either he is dead and you're covering up, or he's alive and you're covering up for him. So, the question we should ask is; Is he alive?"
"... as far as I know, yes."
Krissy gave a sigh of relief.
"Well, that's over," Kaname sighed.
"Hardly," Setsuka held up the USB. "Your aim is this. I wonder if this technology will stand up to the negative two hundred degrees Celsius I will expose it to. Shall we test it? Natashi Kiyomi, this is a chance to see if truly, the Shimotsuki bloodline is composed of what you think of it."
"Fine," Kiyomi countered. "Krissy, get out with Ishihara-san. This will get ugly."
"I... thank you, Shimotsuki-san!" Krissy bowed out.
Quietly, both of them watched as he two girls ran out. "You didn't notice, did you?" Kiyomi lightly murmured. "That I had a third 'seed' holder?"
"Really?" Setsuka answered. "Didn't you notice that Ishihara Kaname knew me? Precisely," Setsuka answered to his gob-smacked face. "Ishihara Kaname is a psychic duellist. Any moment now, that girl will be in our custody. Seeing as she has no powers, I can only think of one reason why you keep her here; to control 'seed' holders. Why, taking a hostage?"
"Nothing so inelegant, witch," Kiyomi countered. "So the third holder was yours. Then... We have seven more minutes. Let us begin."
Ryuusei was hiding behind a pillar as the flame-haired girl fought off Alexianna's dark angels, her invisible sword slicing through them.
"Caledfwlch, the Blade of Victory," Marguerite murmured. "Well? Have you figured it out?"
"I... I think I can try," Ryuusei whispered. Glancing at the enraged Sandra, he held out a hand, visualising the sword... a simple blade... and he ducked out. "I'm right here!"
Sandra swung one arm out. He swung to meet her. The two forces clashed in mid-air, sending Alexianna skidding back into strong arms.
Takeshi, his left eye glowing with the rune of the ash, widened his eyes. "What is that?"
"You... have it too?" Sandra stared at the man who had blocked her power with power identical to her own. "Caledfwlch... who are you?"
"Samildanach," Ryuusei introduced himself using the name of his so-called power. "Master of All Arts."
It was Sandra's turn to dodge behind an overturned table as Ryuusei made the nearby stone crack in a slash. "But... the Caledfwlch is one-of-a-kind! How can you have it!"
"There are many different skills, each an individual that is highly prized,"Marguerite murmured. "Being skilled at all skills, however, is also a skill."
"So I can copy other people," Ryuusei muttered to himself. "Great, I'm a plagiariser."
"It is not the power of the 'seed' that defines you," Marguerite warned. "But the exact opposite. You define its power, because this is your potential. That is why 'seeds' can never be taken away, only given up... because they are your potential."
Ryuusei ignored her in favour of the more pressing problem, that is, to raise both hands in a conciliatory gesture. "I'm not going to hurt you."
The look in the red-head's eyes turned to one of surprise. "You're working with the Winter Queen, aren't you? Then why?"
Mentally, he groaned. "We're just here to protect the cards being raffled off. Frankly, it was just coincidence that led us here."
"Ryuusei, we have to..." Alexianna waved. "Capture or incapacitate."
"I know, Alexianna-san," Ryuusei answered as he opened his DuelDisk. "I am a psychic Duellist under the Arcadia Movement. Under the Neo Domino Arcadia Rights Bill of 20XX, I can perform citizen's arrest in my capacity as a disciplinary member upon suspicious activity or imminent threat."
Sandra eyed him. "Are you... reading me my rights?"
"Is that what they call it?" Ryuusei answered. "Either way, under direct threat to any surrounding area of a psychic duellist, the psychic is obliged to assist in the capture and detention of the threatening party, so long as the threat is directed to himself or herself with the possibility of harm being caused to surrounding innocent parties. It's not used often, so people don't usually know."
Sandra stared at him. "You're serious," she echoed. "I'm being arrested." Her disbelief was leading to hysteria. "Arrested... by a baby-faced wannabe officer..."
"I told you, I'm just a member, I'm not even of age yet," Ryuusei sighed. "Bloom, Black Rose Dragon!"
Vines burst from the ground as the massive dragon appeared, the thorny tendrils curling to secure Sandra quickly. The redhead herself also seemed unlikely to resist arrest, not when he was being obliging.
"Sandra!" Krissy's voice rose in pitch as the blonde appeared to see her wrapped in vines. "Sandra!"
"So you've read the Arcadia rights to them?" Tsugare's voice echoed as the slightly battered man appeared with his cousin, groaning. The black gown had had its skirt torn off for room, and the flats made Tsugare seem oddly more sexual. Youkai's shirt was messed up, his white hair containing dust and his crimson eyes dull with pain from the angry red marks. "Kisaragi ran the moment I tried to read him his rights."
"Tsugare-san, Youkai-sempai," Ryuusei greeted momentarily before he was knocked flat on his back.
"Let her go!" Krissy screamed, her hands digging into his throat. The nails hurt as he gasped out in surprise more than any lack of air.
Agitated, Black Rose Dragon swept its vines out in a wide arc in a scream of agony. One of them caught on to Krissy, before it threw her across the hall. She hit the wall with a sickening thud.
"Krissy!" Sandra screamed as the stone tiles tore up again in an invisible slash. "You'll pay!"
Ryuusei groaned, massaging his throat as the invisible blade seemed to cut a tentacle of the Black Rose Dragon, the reptile becoming even more insensible as it directed its anger to the flame-haired dancer charging at it. "Black Rose! Stop her!"
The dragon lashed out, slicing off part of the hem as another tentacle reached and threw Sandra down. The dancer landed with an oof in the pile of wreckage that was a row of tables and serving trays. The beast drew its head back, the petals that was its flare about to rise and incinerate.
"Black Rose!" Ryuusei snapped. "No killing!"
Snapped at by its master, the dragon drew back, the flames scattering as Ryuusei surveyed the wreckage with an eye for detail beaten into him by Setsuka and one too many of Brionac. It turned its narrow head to Krissy instead, focusing on using its vines to tie the unconscious blonde up.
Something else exploded, as the double doors banged open and armed members of the NDPD swarmed in. "What happened?" one of them called.
"Rogue psychic!" Alexianna cried out as Sandra got up, spared a look and ran. "Regulus, restrain those remaining, the rest of us will give chase!"
The two Misawa nodded in agreement as Alexianna and them ran from the hall, leaving an exhausted Ryuusei to deal with the cops. Behind him, Black Rose Dragon sniffed in agreement.
Ryuusei sighed. "Erm... where to begin?"
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