Boss Rush

XXXII: Lucky Cloud

As a wonderful mechanic, an intelligent student, a Psychic Duellist with slightly more empathy than the average one, and more recently as the sovereign of approximately half a world of Duel spirits, which still needed the occasional suspension of disbelief, Fudo Ryuusei had been very familiar with those three words. The contexts of such requests ranged the gamut, from the mundane to the extremely far-fetched.

Yet, never had he expected for such a request to come from the person currently requesting it. "Youkai-sempai... why are you in my school now?"

A raspberry was blown in answer. "I came here to ask for help and you ask about something else? At least listen to what I've got to say first."

This earned him a smack from Chase. "Youkai. Sit."

The white-haired student of DA Sanctuary pouted. "No fun... unlike last ni-"

"Shut up or you're being kicked out."

Youkai's look turned from pouty to sultry as he hugged the dark-haired man. "You won't be so mean... and you're on top too!"

Chase punched him. "Unlike you, I am perfectly capable of ignoring it."

"Do I want to know?" Ryuusei turned to his other friend.

Rex looked slightly green. "Oi, don't tell me, you've-"

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Chase kicked his boyfriend in the head. "Besides, Youkai. Can you see her?"

Youkai glanced towards Marguerite. "I think I remember you... oh, right, you tried to kill Chase!" … "...Why are you here!"

Ryuusei shook his head. "Marguerite, this is-"

"Slaugh Ghairm," Marguerite answered. "The War Cry. And the other one is Anam Ghairm, the Spirits' Cry. When you entered the Lia Fáil, the spell told me the 'seeds' of potential that grew within."

Both of them stilled, staring at her.

"Nothingness King Dragon – Dreigoon," Marguerite continued as Chase stiffened. "One of them has that dragon as a spirit partner."

"You mean, Rei?" Chase clarified, his body stiff.

"That is neither here nor there," came the answer. "Slaugh Ghairm, you came here to seek aid. Not for yourself."

"N- No," Youkai frowned. "W- Why do you-?"

"If not for yourself, then for someone close. Since you did not go for the obvious solution, then there is something preventing you, or the obvious solution itself is mixed up in there, if I recall your alliance with the Winter Queen," Marguerite guessed. "Aside from Anam Ghairm, the only other 'seed' I can think you to be so concerned of is Diarmuid."

"Diarmuid?" Ryuusei frowned. "Who's that?"

"You would know him as Misawa Tsugare," Marguerite replied. "I am the Witch of the Time Flower. Before these eyes, barriers to your past are as clear as day. That man is very precious to you, and not just as family, is it?"

Youkai nodded. "Tsu-nii, well... he's so girly, you just have to protect him, you know, even though he's older than all of us."

"Yeah, we know," came the chorus.

"Tsu-nii was thrown out of the succession because of his looks," Youkai continued. "A man too beautiful really caused a tragedy amongst those around him. Soon, we heard that he gained psychic powers, and he was taken in by the Arcadia Movement. That was... before my own outbreak. After I gained my own, I ran away from home, wandered Satellite for a while, and was eventually dragged to the Movement itself. Tsu-nii helped me realise... the Arcadia Movement became home because Tsu-nii was there."

"Then... Tsugare-san ran into some trouble?" Ryuusei guessed.

"He suddenly lost his memory," Youkai confessed. "Not all, but just three months, and just of Yamamoto-san. No matter what, he can't believe Yamamoto-san or our assurances. I've told Boss, but she just assures Tsu-nii that he'll be alright. Tsu-nii gets depressed all the time, and we think..."

"What?" Ryuusei pressed. "And who's we?"

"Me, Ryokai-nii, and Akio-nii," Youkai counted. "We think... Tsu-nii might become a pawn again."

"A pawn?" Rex echoed.

"People who've signed their lives away to the care of the Arcadia Movement," Ryuusei quietly answered. "We meet suicides here and there, and Psychics who've lost their will to live. After the last suicide foiled by Madame Shimotsuki producing a waiver form assuring that the Arcadia Movement was in no way responsible, a new plan was put into place. Psychics who no longer wish to live would give their lives to the Arcadia Movement, essentially becoming permanent workers of the Movement. They are given some of the most dangerous jobs, risking their lives for the rest. Sometimes, some get their lives back as well as their will to live, but otherwise... they die as a pawn of the Arcadia Movement."

"Practical," Rex commented. "As expected of the cold-blooded Shimotsuki."

"Up to a point," Youkai grumbled. "No matter how I look at it, Boss seems to know how Tsu-nii lost his memory. To me, it also looks like she's trying to push him into becoming a pawn. The why, and how, and when I don't know, but I'm getting that feeling that Tsu-nii is being drawn tighter into the Movement. I don't want to lose my cousin, but I can't stand up to Boss either. That's why, please help me."

"Shimotsuki... is acting strange?" Ryuusei frowned. "How strange?"

"Like... giving Tsu-nii tea," Youkai figured. "Cutting back on the abuse, giving him a few days off, keeping Yamamoto-san away."

"You're right," Chase agreed. "That is strange."

"It's not," Ryuusei frowned. "I've seen her mediate between Reggie and Glen. There's always a tea party involved. Still, if you think so... I'll help. But... a few weeks... that was-"

"The berserker," Marguerite spoke up.

"Yes, the berserker..." Ryuusei caught himself.

Marguerite shot Tsugare a displeased look before turning to Setsuka. "You drive a hard bargain, Queen Winter."

"I am what I must," Setsuka quietly answered. "Good night, Fudo Ryuusei, Witch of the Time Flower."

Ryuusei wearily saw her walk to one of the waiting cars. "What was that about?"

"A hard bargain," Marguerite answered simply.

"A hard bargain."

"Indeed," Marguerite whispered.

Ryuusei turned to the Witch. "You knew," he accused.

"I suspected," Marguerite shook her head. "Yamamoto Koichi was bleeding from what I know to be an extremely vital spot. He survived when he should not have. What truly happened, I do not know since my sensory perception was wholly dependent on your own, but the realm of possibility is always open."

All four boys turned on her with nearly identical stormy expressions. "Go on," Youkai grimaced.

Marguerite simpered. "Dearest, how much are you willing to pay for it?"

Ryuusei had the brief flashback of a young man impaling his hand on a Swiss Army knife. "No. I'll take it."

"A wise choice," Marguerite murmured. "I still owe you, after all. Will you use that last favour I yet owe you?"

"Nope," Ryuusei answered. "This falls under the second favour of you helping me with Summer business. Since Shimotsuki is involved as Winter, then obviously you're supposed to help me, right?"

"You are learning, I suppose, by exploiting a loophole," Marguerite assented. "By our agreement, I shall tell you up to a point, I suppose."

Primly, she straightened her covered legs, her staff in hand. "Very well. The last time you saw Diarmuid was a few weeks ago-"

"Wait," Ryuusei frowned. "Could you use names?"

Marguerite looked stunned. "Names should not be bandied about so easily. If you give someone your name, they can take your soul."

Ryuusei gave up. "Fine. Continue, please."

"To outline the events, you saw Diarmuid and the truth-seeker together a few weeks ago, running from the Lycanthrope," Marguerite continued, ignoring the stupefied expressions of the rest. "Later, the Winter Queen arrived. You keeled over once Black Rose took down the monster. All Sight after that was blocked for several minutes. When you came to, Diarmuid and the truth-seeker had been unconscious and the truth-seeker injured, and the Lycanthrope dead, which was when the magic of the Winter Queen was apparent around Diarmuid."

"Get to the point," Chase impatiently scoffed. "Fighting a werewolf aside, what?"

"The why or wherefore is hardly important, but the fact that the action did occur is," Marguerite reasoned. "Diarmuid had no reason to actually become unconscious and in fact every reason to remain awake. Why is he unconscious? Obviously from a form of sensory feedback that must be linked to the Winter Queen, otherwise attention would have been drawn upon it by her."

"Sometime during the period of unconsciousness, Tsugare-san made a rather unwise deal with the Winter Queen," Ryuusei gulped, piecing it together. "The monarchs of Summer and Winter can't directly do anything without permission, so... he traded his memory. For something."

"Trading memories?" Rex looked slightly green.

Youkai looked seriously disturbed. "Well, this is Shimotsuki Setsuka. If she could, she would, I guess."

"The thing is, what value would she have from here?" Marguerite reasoned. "The how is not as important as the why. What has this achieved? The exchange of memories for something. Why memories? There are numerous currencies available to trade. An eye, a voice, looks, a 'seed', such things would have been more equitable and equally sought after, yet memories, such an intangible thing is the choice of the Queen. Following this train of thought, why would Diarmuid trade anyway? Surely, personally Diarmuid would have nothing he would need to bargain with the Winter Queen for."

"Blood..." Ryuusei recalled. "Yamamoto-san was injured!"

"He was?" Youkai frowned. "Okay, he was. But, it was pretty small, right?"

"No," Ryuusei disagreed. "It was at his back, I would have put it as fatal."

Marguerite nodded. "Very well, let us assume that it was for a chance at life that the bargain was made. But why? Death comes to everyone."

"He's selfless," Youkai interjected. "I'm sure he believed that Boss would be able to do something."

"A commendable reason as any," Marguerite supported. "Yet, the price itself is unusual. Three months, and completely of one person. I do not know about the human mind, but surely memories all about a specific person do not disappear so conveniently without a reason, and specifically about something. That, we attribute to the Winter Queen. Then, this Yamamoto, the truth-seeker. I presume, there was... an understanding between them?"

"Er, I think Yamamoto-san is straight turning bi-curious because of Tsu-nii," Youkai guessed. "They were pretty close, for strangers."

"Ah, that fits," Marguerite considered. "And Diarmuid? He trusts the Winter Queen above your word?"

"Yeah, I guess," Youkai frowned. "She's just his employer, saviour, and overall messiah in his view."

"Dependence upon an individual requires trust," Marguerite murmured. "So, Diarmuid trusts the Winter Queen implicitly, beyond all measure, that even if he forgot something, that this relationship does not change. Of course, if you trust someone, you trust them not to manipulate you, or abuse you. Pawns are pawns, to be used and thrown away. There is no need for a pawn to question orders, only follow them. Am I right?"

"We need to ask Yamamoto-san," Ryuusei concluded. "There are too many questions, and too little evidence. All we have is guesswork and hypothetical scenarios to work on."

"There is one key fact you need to know before you begin," Marguerite slyly added as they stood.

"What?" Ryuusei asked.

Marguerite smiled as slowly, her solid form turned translucent once more. "The one thing that can change a person is meeting another. Of course, there's no such thing as a one-sided connection. But some wish so. Some, consciously or unconsciously, they will prevent change that will challenge them. We walk a thorny path, my liege."

"I told you, I have no idea who are you!" Tsugare sighed to the surfer-detective with ice-blue hair.

"How...?" the detective looked frustrated. "I'm Yamamoto Koichi! We met in frankly embarrassing circumstances I haven't thought it possible to forget!"

"Like what?" Tsugare frowned. Both of them were in the Magic Formula bookshop, looking up books on amnesia. "What kind of embarrassing circumstances was that?"

Koichi looked away. "Erm, if I say drunken night, will you remember?"

Tsugare's expression slid from neutral to wary. "God. You're a pushy one. Please leave before I get a restraining order."

"What? No!" Koichi shook his head. "Even Shimotsuki and Kaido said that we know each other, Tsugare."

"Hey," he said, squaring off against Koichi. "I don't know you, okay? My name is Misawa Tsugare, don't address me so casually."

"Look, Tsu- Misawa-san," Koichi placed two fingers to his brow. "We know each other. Or knew. I'm attached with the Arcadia Movement. I'm here to help you with your memory loss. Since you don't remember me."

Tsugare's face and stance were still wary as he rolled his eyes a little. "Look. It's been nice chatting with you, but this has got to be the lamest excuse for a pick-up line I've ever heard."

Koichi reached out a hand. Something flashed, and then Tsugare was holding a combat knife with more professionalism than was expected. "I told you," he calmly said. "I don't know you. Don't touch me."

The detective drew his hand back. "Look. I just want to make sure you're all right."

Tsugare's breathing was a little fast, but other than that he concealed his tension almost completely. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me. Just... no touching."

"Okay, fine." Koichi breathed in and out deeply before moving back to the books. "So, you seriously don't remember anything? Not even dressing up in drag?"

Tsugare's expression scrunched up slightly as he put away the knife. "I remember... There was a mission. I had to go in drag because Kisaragi didn't know how I looked like as a girl."

"Kisaragi? Slender guy, played Heroics in Duel Monsters, owned Excalibur?" Koichi pressed. "I fought him, you saw me. He destroyed my DuelDisk."

Tsugare frowned. "I saw Kisaragi duel... Heroic Champion – Excalibur. That was his ace card."

"Yes, yes, that's it," Koichi nodded encouragingly. "We met at the Ace of Spades first. Rally was there, you can ask him. We were there a few times. You were crying." Why did that last detail come out, I had no idea.

"Ace of Spades... okay, smart guy," Tsugare snapped. "What did I order that day?"

"Huh? Erm... I didn't notice," Koichi looked flustered. "On our most recent visit, you ordered a Margarita. What was the other drink with it?"

"Oh, it was a Screwdriver-" Tsugare stopped, frowning. "How did I know that?"

Koichi smiled. "Calm down, calm down. That was mine."

"You could be a stalker," Tsugare countered, his countenance suddenly hostile. "Come in front of me again and I'll tell Boss."

Koichi sighed as the feminine-looking man stalked away and out. "Dammit, so close..."

"Yamamoto-san?" Koichi jumped as the window scrolled open and Youkai crawled in. "Sorry about that," the young white-haired psychic dismissed, as if he hadn't just got in through a second-storey window.

"Don't just do that!" Koichi hissed. "Oh, you're his cousin. Nowaki, was it?"

"Call me Youkai," the young man shook his head. "As to how I found you, Glen can be surprisingly eagle-eyed when certain facts concerning him and Reggie in the generator room are mentioned. Can we take this somewhere else?"

"Why?" Koichi suspiciously asked as he followed the younger man down the stairs to the actual bookshop on the first floor, complete with counter and small reading tables. Somehow, the shopkeeper didn't seem all that surprised at Youkai's appearance, chatting with Tsugare in a casual tone that spoke of intimacy.

Koichi quickly made a note immediately of the cashier's height – taller than him, not hard – and what appeared to be a single, long fang sticking from the side of the mouth, plus fair toned skin, fairly muscular body, dark brown hair a bit long and fairly spiky at the top, black polo tee with fingerless gloves, and mismatched red and black necklace and ear-piercing. It may also be possible that he was abusing the detective skills honed over the years, but never mind that.

As it turned out, Youkai's idea of 'somewhere else' was by a corner, with a reading table, several chairs, books and three students from Duel Academia Kings. Koichi frowned as the Cloudians made a point to gather around the middle one with red bangs and black hair.

The boy looked pained, an expression that Koichi found was only millimetres different from the boy's average expression. "Could you please tell them to back off? They're a bit close for comfort."

Of course, the boy could see them too. "They like you," Koichi shrugged. It was an understatement; the Cloudians looked ravenous enough to devour him on the spot.

Somewhere about, a woman's voice laughed. Youkai exchanged looks of alacrity with a dark-haired boy that resembled Manjoume Jun too much for a family resemblance not to exist, that spoke volumes about the first boy's attraction to spirits. The last boy, blond and could only be an Atlas – the family resemblance was too strong – scowled. And the first boy turned cobalt eyes like the summer sky on him.

"Yamamoto-san, we're here to talk about Tsugare-san."

Something turned in his stomach, old and dry like leaves rustling across a forest floor. He could feel the relative warmth of the summer heat even in the shop, he could see the eyes filling his own, burning down with something warmer than July and August heat combined. The distant voice was saying: "...moto-san? Hello?"

"Heat stroke?" Youkai leaned over, checking his pulse with a purely professional air. "High temperature, dry skin, elevated pulse, strange behaviour. Great, someone call a doctor."

"No need," he heard himself say. "Besides, I don't feel hot. It's... who the hell are you?"

"Yeah, we're about to start," Youkai answered, pointing to the Manjoume, the boy, and the Atlas. "Chase Princeton, Fudo Ryuusei, Rex Atlas. Are you sure you don't need the ambulance."

"No, no," Koichi shook his head. "But I could use a drink, I think."

"Soy bean milk, the iron will help," came that woman's voice. Koichi squinted, making out the silhouette of a woman in a pink dress with a poufy collar, holding a staff. "It appears that the next stage of the glamour is beginning. Tone down on it."

The boy, Ryuusei, flushed. "I'm sorry."

"Hi," Koichi pointedly addresses the woman, who was obviously a high-level spirit. If it were possible for a spirit to talk with something resembling an Oxbridge elocution. He didn't quite know, but he did live in London, and was therefore familiar with the expression 'toff' and Received Pronunciation since Kaido had been fairly thorough on the history of the Isles, and that one slip-up had been quite enough.

"Good afternoon," the spirit greeted, hovering. Of course, they tended to do that, Koichi reflected.

Ryuusei glanced from the spirit to Koichi. "You can see Marguerite?"

"First time meeting one with a name," Koichi nodded. "Marguerite. Who are you?"

"I am known as the Sorciere de la Fleurs Temps, or the Sorciere de Fleur," she answered. "You may refer to me as Marguerite."

More silence as Tsugare walked out, giving a wave to Youkai with the cashier from the counter. Koichi looked out and abused his detective skills once more by memorising the car looks and plate number. "Koichi Yamamoto. You're with him?"

"That, I am."

"What's the deal with him?"

Ryuusei looked confused as Marguerite shook her head. "It is the tragedy of his life."

"That tells me nothing."

"It is not meant to. Only he can tell you."

"Okay," Koichi turned to Ryuusei. "Who are you?"

"Fudo Ryuusei," the boy answered in confusion.

"Okay, if you want to do it that way. What are you?"

There was a pause – and then his voice answered, a little bewildered. "I don't-I don't really understand what you are saying-"

"Not the matter here," Rex defended. "Ryuusei was there when you were hit by the Lycanthrope. We're trying to figure out what happened to Tsugare-san."

"Oh," Koichi feebly answered. "Wait, Fudo?" On hindsight, the resemblance to the eminent professor was apparent.

"Fudo Yusei's my dad," Ryuusei neutrally answered as Youkai set down a tall glass of soy bean milk.

Koichi took a huge gulp. "What's inside it that helps?"

"Iron," Marguerite simply replied. "The details may be elaborated upon later."

"Yes, about Tsugare-san," Chase frowned. "What do you think about him losing his memory?"

Koichi shifted in his chair. "I don't know. I've met amnesiacs before. There's nothing so specific like him."

"Rather convenient, right? Like someone wanted it to."

Koichi caught the implication. "Is he faking?"

"No," Youkai spoke up. "He honestly doesn't remember you, Yamamoto-san."

Ryuusei frowned. "Right, Marguerite knows time magic, she can sense other spirits. After I blacked out from putting down the monster, she told me that she sensed something on Tsugare-san."

"Someone made Tsugare forget," Koichi caught on. "Who?"

"Someone called the Winter Queen," Ryuusei answered gravely. As he spoke, the Cloudians collectively shivered, rushing to hide in the nooks and crannies of the place.

Koichi took in this revelation with surprise. "Why?"

"Sometime when both of us were unconscious, Tsugare-san made a rather unwise deal with the Winter Queen," Ryuusei explained. "He traded his memory. For something."

"For something," Koichi recalled his own injuries. "Such as healing?"

"Maybe, we don't know," Ryuusei answered. "There's one truth you might not accept."

"What is it?"

"The Winter Queen is Shimotsuki Setsuka."

Koichi stilled. The kind of still that preluded screaming denials, unacceptability and generally people being unhappy. "No."

"Yes," Youkai's face set. "I didn't want to believe it either. But, Boss is up to something, and it involves Tsu-nii. But Tsu-nii trusts her. She might be the one who took his memories, but we don't know how. You may have answers to questions we don't know. Everything might be important."

"Okay, this case involves Duel spirits," Koichi took a deep breath. "So, you're all my sounding boards, right? Right," he mused. "Ask away."

"What did you and Tsugare-san cover in your conversations?" Ryuusei asked.

"London," Koichi reflected. "He failed a case with the human trafficker, was supposed to get the guy on human trafficking instead of sexual harassment first."

Youkai covered his chortle with a laugh. "That sounds like him."

Koichi frowned. "Then, he was a bit drunk on Margaritas, and started talking, you know. His past, what lies outside the Movement, about how he couldn't think about life leaving the Movement. I don't think he actually remembers what it's like without Shimotsuki around, or he's affection-starved. Bit desperate, I think."

Youkai coughed. "So relationships came up in the picture? That's guaranteed to get him down."

"Yeah, I was talking about how hard it is to find a girl as a private detective," Koichi commented. "Especially one as pretty or as intelligent as him, you know?"

"You poor, delicate sap," Youkai severely answered. "You had sex with him, right?"

Koichi coughed, as did Chase. "How is this relevant?"

"It's not," Youkai unabashedly answered. "So, about that question. Shag. Fuck. Make the two-backed beast. Do the nasty. Get it on. Invite you to pound him through-"

Koichi shut off his ears. "No! I'm straight!"

Those glittering red eyes gave him a searing look. "Right. This is relevant. If you're just a one-night stand, then our hypothesis becomes slightly more impossible."

Koichi sighed, bracing himself. "First night, we met at the Ace of Spades. I woke up next to him with a pounding headache and finding out that he was a guy. We were formally introduced to each other in Shimotsuki's office, Kaido was laughing. After that, he was my liaison to the underground of Neo Domino, or I'd be stuck with you. That answer your question?"

"Was there a repeat performance?" Youkai glibly countered.

Chase hit him. "Youkai..."

"He got drunk a second time, and there was touching," Koichi shook his head. "That significant?"

Youkai stared. "He got drunk in front of you? Twice?"

Koichi shifted under the eerie stare. "Erm, yes."

Youkai deflated rather quickly. "I think I have an idea. Never mind. Boss is the Winter Queen, she's up to something. That's about as far as we know now."

"No," Ryuusei spoke up. "I can feel it. Tsugare-san is at the centre of this."

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