A/N: Hey guys have a HUGE chapter unlucky 13 to tide you over. In which we get more duelling, more arguing, a couple of flashbacks, two kisses (one family and one romantic) and a bombshell. If you make it through this chapter alive (or at least not in emotional and mental turmoil) congratulations, it gets cute next chapter to make up for it. Thank for reading, review and enjoy, ok?
Ryoga frowned, watching the field silently. Miki and Ken seemed to have fallen into their rhythm already with Miki using brutal attacks and Ken covering for her and dealing damage. And given Rio was duelling more recklessly than normal, Ryoga was worried he was going to be forced to win this alone. And it was going to be tough.
Miki & Ken – 4400
Rio & Ryoga – 5600
"My turn," Rio cried. "I draw!" She was too worked up. Her mind was too clouded to be duelling. "I-"
"Rio," he called. She glared over. "Calm. Down."
She clenched her jaw and glared at her hand before nodding, not that Ryoga believed it would be that easy. Not with Miki and Ken putting her off on the opposite side of the field, muttering between themselves about Rio doing what her brother told her like a good little girl.
"I activate Ice Tune!" Rio called, activating the face down.
"Rio!?" Ryoga yelled over. What was she doing? That was a waste of a face down that could negate an attack. "What are you doing?"
"Ice Tune allows me to summon a level four or lower monster from my hand." Why? Why not just summon normally? "And I summon Blizzard Falcon!"
There was a shrill call and the icy falcon appeared, settling on a rock that popped up.4/1500/1500. Ryoga really hoped she had something planned here. It seemed like she was just rushing in recklessly. He didn't want to be fixing her mistakes.
"Next, I activate Blizzard Jet, this allows me to give one of my WATER monsters and extra 1500 points. So my Blizzard Falcon goes up to 3000 ATK. And thanks to Blizzard Falcon's effect you take 1500 points of damage!"
Shards of ice shot over the field, slamming into Ken and Miki and knocking them back again. Ryoga scowled. Neither of those were the card she just drew. Why didn't she use that earlier? She could have done damage in the first turn rather than bringing out Zerofyne for no reason. And Zerofyne's effect would have been useful this turn against that Abyssmegalo of Ken's.
Miki & Ken – 2900
Rio & Ryoga – 5600
"She's misplaying," Miki laughed as they got back to their feet.
"Poor little girl," Ken muttered, dusting himself off. "Can't even handle the pressure."
Rio clenched her fists and shook her head. "I'll show you pressure!"
"Rio!" Ryoga snapped.
"I activate Monster Reborn!" she cried, ignoring him completely. "And I use it to summon back-"
"Stop!" he called.
"-Zerofyne!"
Ryoga groaned, running a hand through his hair as the icy woman appeared on the field with a gust of cold air, totally ignored by Miki and Ken laughing between themselves. 4/2000/2200. This was exactly what he'd dreading. She was playing recklessly and not thinking her moves through thoroughly. And Miki and Ken knew it too.
"I'm using your monster, Ryoga," Rio said.
"Rio, think this through!"
"Aero Shark, attack Abyssdine!"
Ryoga sighed. There was little he could do. He's just have to fixed things and do damage control for now. Aqua Gate's effect activated and Aero Shark was pushed back.
"Zerofyne, attack!"
This wasn't going to work. He knew she was trying to get Blizzard Falcon through but Ken and Miki looked far too comfortable with the situation. When Aqua Gate negated her attack again, Rio smirked.
"Rio," he warned. Why was he even trying? She wasn't going to listen.
"Let's go, Blizzard Falcon! Attack Abyssdine!"
Ken laughed and another trap swung open. "I activate Magical Cylinder."
"What?!" Rio cried.
"Your attack is negated and you take damage equal to your monster's ATK!" Miki called.
A copy of Blizzard Falcon shot back across the field and Rio screamed as she was thrown back and slammed into the ground.
Miki & Ken – 2900
Rio & Ryoga – 2600
Ryoga scowled as Rio lay on the floor, panting heavily. This was the problem. If she'd summon Zerofyne this turn, she could have negated the effect of Aqua Gate and got in some extra attacks. And she wasn't getting up. What was wrong with her? For heaven's sake, was he going to have to snap her out of this as well? Miki and Ken chuckling didn't help.
"Oi, come on you two," he said, shaking his head. They both fell silent. "Give her a moment. She's not used to strong opponents and she's not used to taking this much damage. Tell us a story, Ken. What were you before?"
Ken wrinkled his nose. "If she doesn't get up she forfeits her turn from now on."
"Fine," Ryoga agreed. "I'd be disappointed in her if she forfeited and didn't get up. So? Tell me."
Ken lowered his head, glancing over at Miki who smiled softly. It wasn't her normal smile. It was so kind and loving. Finally, Ken nodded and pushed his hair back from his face.
"My parents died when I was young," he said quietly. "I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle but they were always busy and I was left to suffer alone. So I ran away and ended up living on the streets. No one missed me. Eventually, I became bitter and jaded and distrustful of everyone. I grew up too quickly, I guess. I could duel and I could take care of myself, that was all I needed. I didn't care about anyone else. And that's when they came to me."
Four years ago…
"Let's go! Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier! Direct attack!"
His opponent's life points dropped to zero and Ken grinned, deactivating his duel disk before his opponent could recover. Ken dashed forwards, grabbing the kid's bag and snatching it from his back and running off with the kid, an older kid than him, screaming after him. He swung the bag onto his back and ran through the streets to an old warehouse, ducking inside and collapsing on the grubby pile of rags he called a bed. It wasn't much but it was better than being at home.
Ken pulled open the bag and emptied the contents onto the floor, pushing his dirt, matted pale had from his face. Most of it had been cut off a few weeks ago after getting caught on a sticking out piece of metal. It had been too hard to untangle so he'd simply cut it short again. There wasn't much of interest, but there was a lunch and a little bit of money. That'd do him.
Quiet footsteps echoing through the warehouse caught his attention. Ken hurried to pack up the things he'd stolen and ran deeper into the warehouse, hiding in the shadows beneath a staircase, watching and waiting.
"My dear boy," called a low, soothing voice. "There's no need to be afraid. I saw you duel."
His eyes widened and he drew further into the shadows. "I was going to give it back. Honest."
"No you weren't," the voice replied. "And that's absolutely fine."
"It- it is?"
The man stopped a little way from the stairs, looking right at him but not making a move to come any closer. He was a tall, slim made, with long blonde hair tied back and reaching his waist. His face was hidden under the brim of a black hate that matched his dark suit. Like he'd been to a funeral or something. Ken knew too much about funerals.
"Of course it is," the man said. "You won the duel. And he didn't need it, did he? Life hasn't been kind to you, so why not take what you can?"
"It's really ok?"
"Yes, it's really ok." Ken peaked out a saw a small smile under the shadows of the hat. "There you are. You look hungry. We should sit down and let you eat that well-earned lunch."
"What do you want?" Ken said.
"I want to help you. I want to talk to you and give you a chance to duel for me." Ken stepped out of the shadows and the man's smile widened. "My name's Pride. What's yours?"
"Ken."
"Alright, Ken. Let's eat, shall we?"
Ken ended up being taken to a large mansion. He'd never seen something like it before. Pride led him inside and Ken was hit with a wall of sound. And one noise above them all.
"Daddy!"
A young girl came running down the spiralling stairs and Pride smiled, leaning down and sweeping her up into his arms, holding her close. Ken watched her quietly. She was about his size, in a big poofy black dress and delicate shoes. Her long black hair went down to her knees and blue bangs hung over a strange black mask.
"How is my princess?" Pride said.
"I won!" she cheered. "I won! I won!"
"She did," called a soft voice from above. Ken looked up. An older girl was at the top of the stairs in her own black dress and veiled hat. "She did wonderfully. Glory gets stronger every day."
"That's fantastic," Pride said, rubbing Glory's hair. "Ken, these are my girls, Glory and Destiny." Ken nodded as Pride set glory down. "Come on, let's get you set up. I'm sure Fate is downstairs."
"It was painful," Ken muttered. "I didn't think I could handle it when Pride gave me those powers. It hurt more than anything I'd ever felt before. But he said after that, all I needed to do was use my powers and duel."
Ryoga frowned. Ken hadn't even known what he was doing back then. He'd been a child. What kind of man was Pride if he could take advantage of a child? Of course, having said that, Miki had been only a little older and was already going by Glory. Using his own children to hunt souls. It was ridiculous.
"Hurry up and end your turn, Rio," Miki snapped.
Ryoga frowned as Rio staggered up to her feet. Finally. He'd thought he was going to have to win completely on his own. She needed to stop getting so agitated Another huge hit like that and they were done for.
"I end my turn," Rio said quietly.
"My turn then."
Ryoga frowned as Ken drew his new card. Ken's Abyssmegalo was powerful and their effects were a pain. They didn't have enough set cards to defend against them for long. Ken smiled and tilted his head, glancing at Miki.
"You have two face downs, Ryoga," she said. "Your sister looks like she's taken one too many hits. Do you really think you can win this?"
"I have to," Ryoga replied. He glanced over at Rio's field. They were sharing a field and life points, but that didn't make her clumsiness any better. She had to step up her game. "I will."
"Whatever you want, Ryoga," Ken muttered. "It's not too late to surrender."
"Hey," he called, hoping to buy some time to snap Rio out of this slump. "You used Ice Barrier monsters before. Why change?"
"When I finally figured out what they were doing," he said with a shrug. "When I finally accepted what I was. It didn't seem right to be so weak anymore."
Three years ago…
"This is wrong!" Ken snapped, glaring up at Fate. "We're stealing their souls! We're practically killing them!"
"And?" Fate replied, folding his arms. "They're not dead, they can still walk and live their lives, and talk and act like normal. We're doing nothing wrong."
"But-"
"No buts," Pride said gently, coming up behind him. Ken frowned and gazed up at him. "Look, I know this must be a strange concept to you. You're young but you are talented. You could be great here, like my girls. Like Fate."
"I could?"
Pride nodded and kissed the top of his head. "You could. I chose you for a reason. Life has been cruel to you. None of them cared about you. Why have pity on them?"
Ken paused and glanced between the two older hunters. Fate smiled from under his hood and held out his hand. Ken hesitated for a moment before reaching over and taking his hand.
"We'll look after you now," Fate said. "We're like family. You can come hunting with me tonight."
Ken nodded and walked with him quietly. He supposed they were right. If they hadn't cared when he was on the streets why should he care about them? Fate and Pride had done more for him than anyone ever had. He should do his best to help them, shouldn't he? When he got souls, Pride gave him a place to stay and more money than most adults saw in a month. He could live a good life and they looked after him when he was hurt. Glory and Destiny were nice enough but whenever he saw them Destiny was helping Glory with her duelling.
"This looks familiar," Ken murmured as they walked.
"I know," Fate replied.
As they pushed open the door to a house, Ken realised why. This was his aunt and uncle's house. He gripped Fate's hand and Fate smiled down at him. After a long moment, Ken took a deep breath and smiled back activating his powers and letting Fate guide him inside. The duel a quick and brutal and for the first time Ken found himself enjoying watching his opponents squirm, knowing the fate that awaited them.
"Pride is right," Fate said once they were defeated. "You'll be great."
"And you guys will always be here?" he said, pulling open the draws. "No matter what?"
"I will be," he replied. "I can speak for anyone else, but no matter what happens, I'll always be here when you need me. Even when you start thinking you're too grown up to rely on me, and you start doing things on your own, you can always come back to me." Ken nodded, pulling open more draws. "What are you looking for?"
He pulled open more draws and finally grinned, pulling out a deck. "The deck my dad gave me, they didn't let me use it. Now no one will be able to stop me."
Fate smiled and nodded, gently wrapping his arm around his shoulders and guiding him away. Ken grinned, finally happy with his life. He had people helping him, he could make those who'd hurt him pay and he could forge his own path for once. What did it matter if a few people lost their souls in the process? Didn't he deserve to be happy now?
"I never regretted it though," Ken said, shrugging slightly. "They'd destroyed my life, who cared about them? I deserved to be happy for once. No one missed them."
"Shh," Miki murmured and Ken glanced over. "They don't matter. Make your move."
Ken smiled and nodded. "Right."
Ryoga frowned. How could anyone be so callous towards their own family? No matter what they did, was that really reason to take their souls? He wouldn't even wish that on his worst enemy. Rio looked just as stunned. Perhaps she was finally going to start duelling properly now too.
"I activate the spell Aqua Jet," Ken called. "This boosts my Abyssmegalo's ATK by 1000 extra points." The red shark roared as the jets attached to its back. "Now, Aybssgunde, attack Blizzard Falcon!" Rio atomatically used Aqua Gate's effect to bock the attack, probably wary of another face down that would bounce damage back at them, but Ryoga wished she wouldn't. At least if they attacked him, he'd be able to use some of his own stratergy. By focusing on Rio and locking him out they were restricting his options. "Next, I borrow Miki's Psychelone and attack Blizzard Falcon!"
Again, she used Aqua Gate's effect. Ryoga didn't even try to stop her. She wouldn't listen. He needed to get them to attack him. He needed them to focus on him rather than Rio or they'd get nowhere and with nothing left to defend them, he needed Rio focused more than ever. Well, he had not problems lowering himself to their level.
"It's pathetic," he said, glaring at Ken, who started slightly and stared back. "You act like you're not at fault. Like you didn't take their souls cruelly and without reason. Just because they weren't the best guardians you act like you're entitled to hurt them like that?"
"They deserved it," Ken replied, taking half a step back.
"No, you're just trying to justify your actions," Ryoga snapped. He hated the look of pain that flashed across Ken's face but it had to be done if they were going to win this duel. "You act like it was alright for you to act like that, that you have no regrets. And then you say that Miki changed you? Some change. I don't see anything different between now and then. You're as cruel and uncaring as ever. You make me sick."
"Ryoga…"
"Shut it, Kamishiro," Miki snapped. "He's totally changed, you don't get it at all. He doesn't fight for himself anymore, that's the difference."
"What would you know?" Ryoga replied, turning his glare on her. "You act like you're so tough, but you're just a silly little girl who hates being stuck in her big sister's shadow. That's the only reason you care about him. Because he's the only person in the world who doesn't see how much better than you Hibiki is."
"That- that's not true!"
"Not so nice when it's turned around, is it?" Rio muttered.
"You're no better!" Ryoga snapped. Rio flinched and stared over at him, eyes wide and confused. "If you're going to keep playing at a second rate level then you can walk away right now. I'd rather be in this duel on my own then have you at my side right now. I thought you'd improved after our duel the other day, but it turns out you're a useless without my instruction as ever. So, you either get a grip and stop being a dead weight or walk away right now!"
"Abyssmegalo," Ken snarled. Ryoga smirked. Lashing out at Miki had done the trick then. He turned to see Ken's eyes blazing, focused entirely on him. Was this how he used to be? Was this the rage that made him such a powerful hunter? "Tear Aero Shark apart!"
The shark roared and dove into the water before bursting up and slashing through Aero Shark. The explosion knocked him back onto the ground and he groaned, struggling up to sit up. They couldn't afford another hit like that.
Miki & Ken – 2900
Rio & Ryoga – 1100
"I activate Aquamirror Illusion," Miki called, her face down swinging open. "Using this I can special summon a Gishki ritual monster from my hand, though it can't attack and it goes back to my hand at the end of the turn."
"Then what's the point?" Yuma said.
"To tribute," Rio murmured.
"Oh, you were paying attention?" Ken sneered.
"I summon Evigishki Mind Angus!" Miki called.
The huge fish appeared on the field, baring it's fangs only for Abyssmegalo to slash through it. Ken grinned. "Let's go, destroy Rio's Blizzard Falcon! This duel is over!"
Rio froze and Ryoga clenched his fists. She had nothing to defend her. He hadn't wanted to do this so soon but he had no choice if they were to survive.
"Not so fast, I activate Zeus' Breath!" His card swung open and Abyssmegalo was blown back. "This negates your attack and deals 800 points of damage to you!"
The pair were forced back and Rio let out a relieved sigh. Ryoga would deal with her later, this wasn't how he expected her to duel. He wasn't supposed to be saving her every five minutes. Miki and Ken might have duelled like that but not him.
Miki & Ken – 2100
Rio & Ryoga – 1100
"Not bad," Miki murmured, straightening up.
Ken held up two cards. "These two cards are your end, Ryoga. Make this turn count or we'll tear you apart. I end my turn."
Ryoga hesitated. He had to draw a useful card. He had no card and only one card on his field. How had he been pushed into a corner so quickly? He clenched his jaw. He had no choice.
"My turn! Draw!"
He paused and glanced at the card. Not what he wanted. Not at all what he'd wanted. Ken laughed and called to him and Ryoga's head snapped up. "I activate Just Desserts."
The card light up and light blasted them, knocking the twins back to the ground as their friends called to them.
Miki & Ken – 2100
Rio & Ryoga – 100
"As I'm sure you know, Just Desserts deals 500 points of damage for every monster on your field," Miki said.
"Make the most of this, Ryoga," Ken teased.
"Is this how you used to be?" Ryoga hissed, getting back to his feet. "Did you let their life points drop and give them a glimmer of hope just to snatch it away?"
"Sounds familiar," Rio whispered.
"This is me giving you a chance, Ryoga," Ken replied. "Back then I would have waited until you inevitably summoned the monster you think can save you and then remove your life points completely."
"Really? What changed?"
"Miki."
Two years ago…
"Time to say your prayers! Evigishki Soul Orge, take out Abyssmegalo! Soul Crushing Tide!"
Ken froze. He had no answer to her attack. He had nothing. The attack landed and he was thrown back, slamming to the ground as his life points fell to zero. This was it. He'd failed. His soul was forfeit. Ken's eyes moved to the full moon, unusually bright that night and he smiled. At least the last thing he appreciated would be pretty.
"Oi!" His opponent's face filled his vision and long blonde hair fell around them like curtains as she leant over him. "You going to get up anytime soon?"
"Did I tell you whoever lost would lose their soul?"
She frowned and pulled the mask from his face and he deactivated his powers. "Are you dumb? Or don't Pride and Fate fill you in on things like this?"
"Huh?"
"Can't hunt souls on a full moon," she laughed. She grinned and offered him her hand which he took slowly. "I'm Miki."
"Ken."
"I know."
"You're a hunter too?" She nodded, ruby eyes sparkling. "What's your name?"
"Glory." His eyes widened. Glory? Pride's youngest child? And he'd duelled her under the impression her soul was on the line? Pride would have killed him. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned away. "Oi."
"Look, it's not my fault you wanted to put your soul on the line so recklessly," he snapped. "Get lost."
Miki huffed. "I'd rather lose in a blaze of glory and hellfire than live in such a cowardly way as your duelling."
"My duelling gets the job done!" Ken snapped, turning back to her.
"Sure, that's why I won."
There was a moment of silence as Ken approached her once more, glaring down into her eyes. Pride's youngest or not she wasn't getting away with talking to him or not. He wouldn't tolerate that. And she just glared back, grinning smugly.
"Say that again when the moon isn't full."
"You're a good duellist," Miki said. He rolled his eyes. He knew that. "Look, I'll be blunt. Destiny and I are setting off on our own. Come with us."
Ken frowned, folding his arms. Destiny and Glory leaving? What if this was a test of loyalty or something? And where would they go? Why would he leave? He had a good thing going here.
"Why?" he said slowly.
"You need something more than survival," she said. "And it'd be nice to have a brother. We'll still hunt and we'll still report back to Pride, but it'll be more fun. You need to learn to have fun and I need to learn not to. We can share." She laughed and held out her hands. "Please?"
Ken hesitated again. He'd seen Glory all the time. He'd met her and they'd grown up kind of together but he'd never known her as anything more than the boss' daughter. She was like no one he'd ever met. She'd put her soul on the line and laughed. She'd dropped her life points recklessly and laughed about it, joked about. Like she didn't care.
"How can you just walk away? Don't you care about the consequences?"
"Of course but sometime you have to dive in anyway, right?"
"No. That's how people get killed," he snapped. "You're insane. How can you be a duellist? How could I lose to a naïve moron like you? I must be a real loser to be beaten by you."
"That's mean," she muttered, pouting slightly. "Come on. Where are you going to get if you don't take a chance?"
"It'll be safer."
"I'll be boring." She grasped his hands and pulled him forwards. "Give it a chance."
He sighed and nodded weakly. If nothing else, he could use her to find new victims and report back to Pride. If they left town it would be a new town ripe for the taking. Just the thought made him grin and Miki smiled softly. She would be no trouble at all.
"And you thought I was a moron," Miki laughed, shaking her head.
"You acted like one," Ken replied. "Still do."
"But you love me."
"I do."
"That's enough," Ryoga snapped. He had no choice anymore. "I activate XYZ Crown! Using this, an Xyz monster gets its rank changed into a level! On top of that, it counts as two when used for an Xyz summon. And I chose Zerofyne!" Rio's eyes widened and she looked like she was going to snap at him for a moment before she thought better of it. "And now… I use Rio's Zerofyne and Blizzard Falcon to build an overlay network!"
"Here it comes!" Yuma cheered.
"Shark's ace monster!" the other's cheered. Shark rolled his eyes. "He's going to win no doubt about it!"
"Xyz Summon! Number 32: Shark Drake!"
The marine dragon burst from the water, showering them all as it appeared with a deafening roar. 4/2800/2100. Now he had enough power to take on Psychelone and if it weren't for Aqua Jet he would have gone straight for Abyssmegalo. Still, getting rid of Psychelone would mean Miki would have to summon next to turn and perhaps she would struggle to get out another high level monster. He only had one chance, if that face down wasn't another counter.
Ryoga hesitated, his heart pounding. If it was another counter…They couldn't take another hit but…
"Ryoga," Rio called softly.
"Rio?"
"Go for it. Win or lose, if I'd duelled better we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Probably."
"Hey!"
"I activate Ghost Fleet Salvage," Ryoga called. "This allows me to summon back Aero Shark and the monsters used to summon it." Aero Shark roared onto the field and Ryoga almost smiled at the cheering crowd. 3/1900/1000. And his Big Jaws followed right behind. 3/1800/300. Now was his only chance to win. "Big Jaws, attack Abyssgunde!" As expected, Aqua Gate's effect bounced his attack back and now was the true test. Was that face down going to activate on now Aqua Gate wouldn't? "Aero Shark!"
The torpedoes fired and Shark held his breath as they screamed towards Abyssgunde. Miki and Ken didn't even flinch as the mermaid was destroyed and winds whipped the field.
Miki & Ken – 1600
Rio & Ryoga – 100
His confidence that the card was something for next turn growing, and spurred on by the cheering of Yuma and his friends and Rio, Ryoga let himself grin as he glanced at Shark Drake. It was as blood thirsty as he was right now.
"Shark Drake, attack Psychelone! Depth Biting!"
The attack slammed home and Ryoga's grin grew. If they hadn't activated it now, they weren't going to. He was going to win this duel after such a hard time. It was going to be a real turn around.
Miki & Ken – 950
Rio & Ryoga – 100
"If this attack goes through, Shark wins!" Kotori cheered.
"Of course it will, it's Shark!" Yuma laughed. "He's the best!"
"Don't be so sure," Astral muttered. Ryoga's confidence plummeted and he glanced over. Obviously noticing, Astral gazed at the face down. "Be wary of it still."
"This is my last chance," Ryoga said, glaring at him. "We lose next turn if I don't risk this."
"Pricisely," Miki and Ken said at once. Miki flashed a smirk. "Better to go down fighting than waiting for death to come right."
"By detaching one overlay unit from Shark Drake, I can special summon the monster I just destroyed back to the field," Ryoga called. "Only this time with 1000 less attack points. This is over!" Psychelone returned to the field and Rio smiled. "One more time, Shark Drake! Depth Biting!"
Again the attack shot forwards and Miki and Ken raised their arms, bracing against the attack as it hit. The group on the side lines erupted in cheers and Ryoga let out a sigh of relief. It had been tough but he'd got passed Rio's distraction and their tactics.
Ryoga was about to take off his D-Gazer and admit that it was a good duel when light exploded from the dust and enveloped their monsters, destroying them. He whipped around and found Miki and Ken still standing, and Mirror Force shinning on their field. Ken smirked and Miki laughed.
"No… way…" Rio breathed. "They- they waited that long to activate it?"
Ryoga's stomach churned. There was nothing left he could do. He'd got no hand and no monsters and nothing on their field. It was over.
"I… end my turn…"
"My turn," Miki said softly. "Draw! Psychelone, direct attack! Sorrowful Ocean Melody!"
Psychelone began to play and the shockwaves tore across the water, slamming Rio and Ryoga back and throwing them to the ground in a cloud of dust and water.
Miki & Ken – 950
Rio & Ryoga – 0
A stunned silence fell across the field as the AR Vision faded. Akina cheered and ran over, throwing her arms around Ken and telling him how amazing he was. After a moment, Ken set her down and made his way over to the twins as they sat up. Half way he was intercepted by Hiro, who caught his wrist and whispered to him. Ryoga was sure he saw pain and horror flash through Ken's eyes but it was gone a moment later and he carried on over.
"That was a great last move, Ryoga," he said, offering his hand.
Ryoga nodded slightly, taking his hand and letting Ken help him up before snatching it away. "You should have been honest from the start."
"I know," he muttered, lowering his head. "You'll forgive me though, right?"
"Is that all you want for winning?" Rio said, folding her arms. "Ask for something a little more."
"Of course that's not what I want," he laughed.
"Then what-"
Ryoga was silenced by Ken's fingers closing around his chin and his lips falling over his. This was becoming too much of a regular thing. For a moment Ryoga was furious that he'd dare to kiss him not only without warning- again- but in public. He could hear everyone's shocked gasped and whispers and for a long moment he just wanted nothing more than to punch him right in that smug mouth. But the desire quickly subsided in favour of pulling him closer and kissing back. He wasn't even sure why. He didn't know what it was, but something about Ken sent something warm and comforting coursing through him and made him want nothing more than to be close to him.
"Forgiven?" Ken murmured as they pulled apart.
"No," Ryoga snapped, punching his arm.
"Hey, I'm not making a big deal about what you said about me and Miki."
"I said that to make you attack me."
"I know. So you could use Ghost Fleet Salvage."
"Hey," Yuma called. "They're leaving without you, Ken."
They turned slightly and Ryoga frowned at the sight of Miki being tugged away by Hibiki and Hiro guiding away Akina, both looked rather distressed at the idea of being separated from their brother. Ken smiled weakly and nodded.
"Turns out Hiro doesn't want a hunter in the house," Ken muttered and Ryoga's eyes widened. He'd been kicked out? "I'm not welcome back home anymore."
"But Hibiki and Miki are hunters too," Rio argued.
"But they're not the ones rebelling against Hiro's control."
"You can stay with us for a while," Ryoga said, turning and walking away. Ken and Rio ran after him, falling into stride beside him and the others not far behind. "Don't look so surprised, you're useful."
Ken grinned and nodded and before Ryoga could say a word his fingers were entwined with his. He turned his gaze away from Ken's refusing to even consider the fact that he was blushing and ignoring Rio's giggling about how cute they were. Given that he'd got Ken into his mess by forcing him to admit his past, he didn't have much choice anyway. And the way Ken smiled at him made him feel funny. He couldn't say no.
18 months ago…
"Miki?" Ken called quietly.
There was another furious scream and crash and Ken bolted up the stairs to Miki's room. The blonde was sitting in a destroyed mess of a room, tears streaming down her cheeks. Ken's heart wrenched and he didn't know what to say or do until he caught sight of the scissors in her hands.
"Miki!" He ran forwards and yanked them from her hand, tossing them out of reach and wrapping his arms around her. "It's ok. It's ok. Whatever it is, I'm here now. I won't let anyone hurt you."
Miki laughed sadly, slowly holding him back and crying into his shoulder as he struggled to soothe her. "Am I a monster?"
"No," he said, stroking her hair. "Not you. Never. You're a princess."
"Then why does Hibiki hate me?"
"Why do you think she hates you?"
Miki pulled back and stood slowly, searching out the scissors again and pointing to the TV. It was that tournament Hibiki had just been eliminated from. Miki had been there but she'd come home early, apparently having had an argument with her sister. She sighed and laid her hand against the face of one of the finalists as his stats came up.
"It's him," she murmured. "It's his fault. He made her want to stop hunting. He made her hate me." She laughed softly and ran her fingers over his face. "I hope you suffer. I hope you lose. I hope she destroys your life with her sweet poison too."
"Miki…" Ken breathed, staring up at her.
He'd never seen her like this. There was no humour or laughter in her eyes. Just pain and tears. And seconds later her silky blonde hair fell to the ground, chopped off to her chin. He frowned and she smiled down at him.
"I won't be in her shadow anymore."
Ken nodded and climbed to his feet, wrapping her arms around her again, letting her cry into his shoulder as he watched the boy on the screen. "I won't let anyone cause you pain and get away with it, Miki."
In the Next Chapter: Ryoga confronts Rio about being in contact with Thomas, ends up somewhat regretting his decision to let Ken stay and Kaito pops over to make his day that much worse.
The Tough Life of a Shark
