I'd just like to apologize for the huge wait on this chapter. It was kind of a pivotal point and between the tedious writing and school, it took longer than I would have liked. Regardless, here is the long awaited sixth chapter.

I sat in the garden all alone, left to my own devices. Today was the last day of Kaze's transfer. Tonight, after dinner, he'd be on a boat heading home. The only thing that was undecided about the matter was whether he was going by himself or if I was going to accompany him. That's how I wound up in the garden, wondering just what I was going to do. Kaze had asked me one final time if I had wanted to come with him, but truth be told, I hadn't thought about it since he asked me the first time, what seemed to be years ago. So while he was packing and getting ready to leave, I was sitting in the one place where I felt relaxed and at home, surrounded by flowers of all kinds.

There was no real downside to accepting with his offer. After all, there was no cost to enter any branch of the Duel Academies. All you had to do was pass the entrance exam and duels. Since Kaze had done so much for his school, he'd have no problem convincing them to let me attend his school, so there was almost no trouble in the matter. The thing that could be considered a downside to it all was my parents. They'd have no idea that I was gone. Then again, it's not like they'd ever bothered to contact me here and I had no plans in the near future to visit them. I doubted they even missed me, so there really was no harm in the matter. As far as I could see, I would only benefit from going to the main branch.

In my head, I imagined that picture on Kaze's phone - the one with him surrounded by friends. Then I tried to imagine myself with them, right alongside Kaze.

Yes, there was definitely no downside to this. All I had to do... was get on the ship with Kaze. Easy enough.

At least, that's what I thought. Of course, nothing would ever go my way. Just as I began to leave the garden, an Obelisk duo approached me. It seemed as though they had been waiting for me, though that wasn't much of a surprise. After all, it was Yumi and Hidaka from nearly a week ago. "Hm? Just where do you think you're going, Witch?" Yumi asked.

"That's none of your business. Now move aside," I said. Seeing how neither of them did as I told them to, I tried to walk around them, but they moved to block me.

"She asked you a question, so answer it, you slacker," Hidaka growled.

"I did answer. I said it's none of your business," I replied as evenly as I could, which seemed to irritate him even further.

"Look here, you-" Hidaka started to threaten when Yumi held her arm out, stopping him.

"Honestly, it's not that hard to figure out. You're going to see Kaze before he leaves, aren't you?" she questioned. In the brief period that I was silent due to my surprise, Yumi quickly gathered that she was correct. "I'm not sure what you think is going on between you two... In a month or two, you'll just be a thing of the past! He won't even remember you," Yumi accused. It was funny that she was speaking as if she knew him. The only contact that they had was when he flat-out rejected her offer at partnership. Simply put, she had no right to be speaking in such a way.

"As a matter of fact, I'll be leaving with him to the main branch," I said. Yumi opened her mouth to respond with some other lie when the words registered. The two Obelisks then looked at each other, each relying on the other to cover for their own lack of works. When I began to make my way around them, it forced them into action.

"You really think you'd be able to fit in with normal people?" Hidaka asked out of the blue, causing me to pause. Once he realized that he had actually said something that made sense, he decided to go with it. "I mean, it'll be the exact same as here. Normal people won't accept you. You'll be alone."

"That's right! You can go with him to the main branch if you want, but you have to have realized that you're nothing like Kaze! You should have realized that he's a victim just like the rest of us! He's only siding with you so that he doesn't get hurt! He's probably only taking you back to his academy for extra protection," Yumi added to what her partner said. I couldn't help but laugh, which unnerved the two quite a bit.

"Is that what you think? Really?" I mused.

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid!" Yumi snapped out of instinct. Hidaka then put a hand on Yumi's shoulder, attempting to calm her down. He probably realized all of the things that I could come back with, be it verbal or physical. Either way, it wouldn't have been pretty for her.

"Look, don't mess around with the witch," Hidaka spoke, taking me by surprise. Was he suddenly seeing reason to all this? If he was, then maybe I could just leave and be done with all of this drama. "After all, she'll never believe us. Why don't we show her the truth? That way, she'll have no choice," Hidaka smirked lightly, his partner mirroring him seconds later once she understood.

"That's right... If you think Kaze is really going to take you with him…" Yumi trailed off as she turned around, her eyes now on something in the distance that I couldn't pinpoint. "You see that ship in the harbor, don't you?" Yumi asked me. Now that I had an actual location to look to, it was easy to find the aforementioned area where a single ship had pulled in, awaiting its cargo.

"Well, that just happens to be Kaze's. If I'm not mistaken, it's leaving in just a few minutes," Hidaka continued where his fellow Obelisk left off.

Leaving in a few minutes...? No, that didn't make any sense... Kaze told me that I'd have a few hours and that he'd come get me long before he had to leave. He knew exactly where I was, so it was impossible that the ship down there was his. Well, not necessarily impossible, seeing how it could just wait for a while before leaving, but still... it didn't make any sense.

Just before the panic set in, I remembered who I was dealing with. How could I have even considered for a second that what they said was true?

"Tick tock, Black Rose. Looks like he isn't your friend after all. Then again, he isn't the only one who'd do something like this. I'd put on a ploy too and then escape when you weren't looking," Yumi mused to herself as she and her friend stepped to the side, giving me a clear path. I slowly began to walk forward, making sure to watch them for a while to make sure they didn't try anything else, but they remained there with their vexing smirks. While I didn't run down to the harbor, I didn't necessarily walk either. I knew that they were lying, they had to be, but I still had to give Kaze my answer, and the sooner the better. The sooner I got out of this place...

As I entered the busy harbor where sailors and workers were darting to and fro, the first thing I noticed was that the ship Hidaka had pointed out was gone. Though gone was a bit of the stretch, as I could still see it in the horizon.

"Miss, you weren't planning on getting in that boat yonder, were you?" a voice questioned, drawing my attention to a sailor approaching me, a small box tucked under one of his arms.

"No, I was just passing through on my way to meet someone," I explained briefly to the man. He seemed relieved at that, though I had no idea why he was worried for a near-stranger.

"Well, that's good. That there was a ship with some students on it headed for somewhere. It'd be a shame if you missed your ship," the sailor said, readjusting his grip on his box once more before turning to leave.

"Hold on... There wasn't... a boy in red with brown hair on there, was there?" I asked. Thinking back on it, I really wish I would have just left the harbor and let the man be. But no. I had to try and be safe. I had to ask the question. The man paused, pondering back to several minutes ago for a few seconds.

"There was quite a few, but there was this one who seemed really eager to be getting out of here. Something about meeting up with his girl or something. Gotta love them youngsters in love," the man mused to himself as a grin spread across the face. I, on the other hand, felt nothing joyful about the situation. There was nothing to be smiling about. Someone who was excited to go… Someone who had a meeting with his girl… I thought back to a certain message.

'Speaking of the tag tournament, when you come back, there's something that I've been meaning to talk to you about.' Throw that on top of the fact that Kaze was supposed to be leaving today...? It all equaled one simple conclusion: Yumi and Hidaka were right. Kaze really did leave without so much as a good-bye. How... how dare he…!

Soon enough, I was seething with anger. He had told me that he would stay long enough to check up with me, but he never even made the attempt...! I didn't bother giving a response to the sailor, instead choosing to storm off for the boy's dorms. Somewhere inside me, I had the tiniest of hopes that I was wrong. After all, it was Yumi and Hidaka who suggested this notion. That in itself made me not want to believe it. We had been together for a whole month, after all. He even tried to befriend me before he knew I was the Black Rose, so it couldn't have been for protection, like everyone else suggested. So it didn't make sense that he'd simply up and leave like that…

I was so caught up in my thoughts that it only seemed like mere seconds, instead of nearly fifteen minutes, before I arrived at the second floor and then Kaze's door. There was one thing that would answer this question. Whether Kaze was here or not.. It all depended on... I reached my hand out and grasped the door knob. When I gave it a twist, the definite click of a locked door reached my ears. That meant…

'Why would I lock my door...? It's not like I have anything to steal.'

I quickly found myself trembling. It wasn't out of fear or anything like that. It was just pure anger. "Hehe... told you. Look at the Witch. She didn't believe us," a familiar voice sneered from below. I slowly let go of the door knob and turned around. There was Yumi and Hidaka once more, this time on the ground beneath me, the first floor.

"I told you from the beginning, he was only using you! Why else would he choose a freak like you over someone like me?" Yumi questioned as if she actually had a redeeming trait about her. She was a third-rate duelist with an absolutely obnoxious attitude. The first and only time we dueled I beat her without taking any damage. So in response to her question, I saw plenty of reasons why anyone with a brain would pick me over her.

My arm reacted long before any rationality did, taking a card from my deck and placing it on my duel disk, not caring which monster appeared. They would perform their duty just fine in delivering this long-since-deserved punishment. Soon enough, the grass next to the duo began to pulsate, shivering as my powers began to command the appearance of my monster. A red bulb appeared out of the plants, flashing its multiple rows of pointed teeth. Yumi was the first to notice my forming monster and she instantly began to pull at Hidaka's sleeve. As soon as he noticed Gigaplant and its widening grin, the Obelisk latched onto his friend's hand before attempting to flee. I didn't stay to watch it though. After all, if someone saw, they'd know it was me and I doubted I'd go unpunished. Their screams told me all that I needed to know.

As I left, I really had no destination in mind. My feet simply carried themselves away from the boy's dorm, away from Yumi and Hidaka, and eventually away from Duel Academy itself. It was just as I was about to leave through the gates that I heard a pair of rather quick footsteps. My first thought was to believe it was a teacher or some other faculty member coming to punish me for actually attacking two students. That's how my previously peaceful walk turned rather quickly into a sprint. Of course, if need be, I could have used a monster to stop them just as I did with those two earlier, but if I did that enough times, eventually they'd grow wise and not just use teachers or students. They'd say I was an actual threat and bring in the police or some similar department. At least this way, I could claim we were in a duel, even if they detected it as the lie it was.

So I ran at least for several minutes with this person still trailing behind me. Every passing second of this stupid game of tag only irritated me further. Just as I began to draw a card to stop them forcefully a voice called out to me, "Aki, stop!" Whether it was the voice or the command, I have no idea, but my arm instantly froze, as did my legs. Taking advantage of the fact that I had stopped, the brunette quickly finished the gap between us. Once Kaze stood beside me, he allowed himself a brief rest to catch his breath. Why was he here…? Everything pointed to him being long gone by now, but somehow, he was still here. While that may be the case, it certainly didn't stop the emotions I was feeling nor the words flowing to my tongue at that moment.

"Why are you still here?! Why aren't you going back to Rei like you apparently were so eager to do?" I questioned, not bothering to keep the spite out of my voice. Kaze seemed surprised at the accusation, though between his panting he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"What are you talking about?" Kaze asked in return.

"I saw the boat! You weren't going to wait for me at all!" I shouted. It was only upon saying this that I realized the fault in it. If Kaze had really left, as everyone said... then how was he here before me...?

"Aki, my ship isn't even getting here for another three hours," Kaze said, taking me by surprise. His ship hadn't even arrived yet? But... the ship that had arrived... then the man at the harbor...

"Your door," I tried to fumble with my excuses, causing Kaze to raise an eyebrow, "It was locked."

"I was supposed to turn in my key about an hour ago and they told me to lock it. I was on my way to meet with you afterwards, but the main office is on the other side of campus, so it took a little longer than I expected. When I got there, no one was there, so I started to go to your dorm when I ran into Hidaka and Yumi," Kaze paused in his explanation, as if a bit apprehensive about how to bring up what I did. While I didn't see it with my own eyes, I could certainly imagine the extent of the damage.

I soon found myself looking away from him, turning my attention instead towards the pavement beneath us. It was much easier to speak to him without looking at his face.

"At the harbor," I began with no specific purpose in mind, but Kaze seemed interested none the less. "There was a sailor... He said there was a ship that was leaving and... it held students, so I," seeing no point in continuing my floundering, I stopped trying to explain myself.

"Aki, you have to believe me... I would never leave without you!" Kaze insisted. Upon hearing the firmness in his voice, I willed myself to look up at him, even if it was only out of the corner of my eyes. "I told you... You and I... we're friends..." Somewhere along the way I ended up facing him fully, subjecting myself to his gaze head on. For a while, neither of us said anything. I suppose the ball was really in my court, so to say, as I'd have to respond to his remark. To deny it or accept it.

Trying to stall for the time to work up my courage to speak, I turned my attention to the scenery around me, which provided me with the distraction I needed. I wouldn't say that it was a good distraction, but a much needed one. It was a simple playground that held one memory that I thought I had long since forgotten. The screams, the horrified looks on their faces, just like my father's... The pain as my father struck his palm against me... It wasn't so much the physical pain, but the mental. My own father called me a monster before he raised his arm and-

Suddenly a hand was placed on my shoulder and I flinched out of instinct. When I turned around, I saw Kaze with a worried look on his face. Of course, considering how I told him about my past... I tried to offer him a smile, so that when I shrugged his hand away, it wouldn't seem so distant.

"This is my home town," I explained briefly. A look of understanding washed over Kaze's face before he did a double-take at the playground that I had been fixated on moments ago. After a few moments of silence, Kaze walked over to the rusted swing set and slowly placed his hand onto one of the poles. The seconds ticked by slowly as the brunette just continued to stare at the pole before him. It wasn't as if there was anything interesting about it... Had I accidentally hit it during one of my attacks as a kid...? Is that what he was observing...? Or was it…

"We should probably be getting back to Duel Academy," Kaze spoke out as he removed his hand from the swing set and returned to my side. I found myself reaching into my pocket for my phone to check the time, a slight sense of panic setting in. Did he waste so much time coming after me that he missed his ship? Thankfully the time had just seemed to go by faster than it really had, leaving Kaze with around two hours to spare before his ship arrived.

"You've still got some time. How about we stop at my place so you can rest for a while?" I suggested offhandedly. In truth, I didn't even think about the offer before I said it. Kaze seemed just as surprised as I was.

"No, it's fine, I really don't want to impose on you or your family," Kaze quickly denied my offer, clearly thinking the worst. I didn't know if he was imagining that they would resort to violence and force me away, or thinking of the more peaceful route, where they accepted me with open arms and he would only be a hindrance? As if they would actually be home to do either of the choices. Granted, my mother would probably be home, but my father would definitely not be. His job had him away almost constantly, which is why my mom had to be a stay at home mom instead of being out working. That being said, my mother would probably enjoy Kaze's company. She'd be glad that I'd made a friend, though I'm not sure how she would take it if she learned about Kaze's powers... She never reacted like my dad did with his shouting and rare slaps, which was part of the reason that I felt like I could face her. If she hated me, she never blatantly showed it. My father, on the other hand? Let's just say that I'm glad he's never home.

"It'll be alright. Come on," I said before beginning the walk home, giving Kaze no chance to argue. Making sure that he was still behind me, so he wouldn't get lost, I took a leisurely pace. Though I imagined it to be a rather simple visit, in the silence my mind plowed through multiple scenarios, how I would react to each question my mother may give me and the like. Just as I was beginning to feel like I had an ample amount of thought invested into my responses I saw my house appear from around the corner. It seemed that a year away hadn't made my mind forget the way home, if I was still able to call it such. As Kaze and I drew closer, I noticed that the dining room light was on. So my mom was home, just as I thought.

"Uh... Aki?" Kaze broke the silence nervously as I was about to head for the door.

"What is it?"

"Well... It's just that I was thinking of hanging back until you explained everything. I don't want to freak out your mother or anything... Besides, I'd probably just get in the way. This is your first time coming home, right...?" Kaze questioned innocently.

"Yeah, I haven't been here since…" my voice trailed off as a question reasserted itself. Was I even still welcome here? It's been a year... Though my absence was for me to control my powers, wasn't it? Kaze was here and he could control his powers. Maybe if I introduced him to my mom, she'd let me leave my Duel Academy and transfer to his, as I was planning. That being said, it was as Kaze pointed out. If we just walked up and told her I brought another person with powers like mine, her reaction could be anything from joy to panic. The safest route would be to explain things and then tell her that I'd be leaving, right...? "It won't be too long. You'll stay here until I call for you, won't you?"

"Of course," Kaze smiled warmly before making his move to hide, I took it. It was quite the peculiar thing, thinking back upon it. Within a single month I went from despising and mistrusting everyone to taking solace in a teen's smile. Maybe if he was here I really could patch things up…?

Steeling my mind to any doubt, I began to walk to the front door. Just as I was about to ring the doorbell, I heard a pair of laughs. Pair? That's odd. Did my mom have company over? It sounded like a man's laugh though…

Curiosity took over and I found myself wandering over to the dining room window. The sight before me... Watching my parents from outside my house, sitting together, talking, laughing, as if I didn't exist...Well, I don't know how to phrase it, but I don't think I've ever felt more angry, more betrayed, than I did right then. Of course they'd be having fun while their daughter was away, being ridiculed and mocked day in and day out! While I was out having the worst time of my life and wishing I could just leave it all, they were here enjoying themselves...! When I was a kid, I would stay up until the sun began to rise to wait for my precious father to arrive home and he never once showed up...! Not even on my birthday! But now that I'm conveniently gone, he's back home before the sun sets. He has time to actually sit down at his meals? Don't make me laugh...! These pathetic excuses of parents before me... They don't care about me at all! And why would they? I'm just a monster with a wretched mark to them! A roadblock in their way to happiness! A freak-

My father's gaze fell upon me and the laughter ceased instantly. My parents looked utterly aghast seeing me outside their window, watching their happiness... Their happiness without me. My thoughts quickly turned to a much darker direction, 'you two would be better off if I was gone permanently, wouldn't you...? Maybe that's what I'll do then! Oh, this won't be a happy little reunion at all. Why don't I just show you the monster that you've created..!' "Aki!" my father's voice penetrated through the glass. It was precisely his voice that propelled my hand to my deck and it was precisely his voice that made me insert the card that would destroy my old home without a single regret.

As my duel disk whirled to life, so did the air around me. Gusts of wind flew towards the building, shattering all the glass into millions of pieces. I heard my mother shriek, though for what reason I couldn't tell. Was it me? Was it the glass? What was it? Why wasn't I satisfied with this? Why didn't it feel as good as I had hoped...! Why didn't-

"Aki!" my father drew me out of my thoughts once more, prompting me to turn and run. I had no doubt that he would stay where he was, so I don't know why I ran. He was happy without me... He was laughing... Why would he choose to come for me? The answer: there was no reason for him to. He was probably taking another toast of good riddance with my mother...!

"Aki, I heard a-" Kaze's voice drew me out of my thoughts almost immediately. I hadn't noticed where I was running and plowed straight into his chest, nearly sending us to the ground. It was then that I realized how heavy my breathing was and how much my chest hurt. Soon enough, I found that the adrenaline that had propelled my actions was gone, leaving me stationary before Kaze, who had his hands on my shoulders to keep me steady. After a few seconds passed, Kaze slowly took a step forward, but before I could question his intentions, he enveloped me in a warm embrace. I expected him to say something, some lecture about how everything was alright and that I should try again because they were my parents. He did nothing of the sort, though, just keeping me in his arms, careful not to crush me.

Suddenly, I felt a wet drop on my face. I slowly looked to the sky, but there wasn't a cloud in sight. Then I raised my hand to my face. Was I... crying...? Upon realizing it, the tears began to pour even quicker. Is this the reason why Kaze hugged me...? I must look pathetic right now... I must look like a freak... I... I'm such a monster. But I wasn't a monster alone…

Slowly, I reached my arms out and wrapped them around Kaze, fearing that if I didn't hold onto him, he might end up disappearing. I slowly tightened my light, awkward grip as more tears fell. Life was too cruel. It was far too cruel. Taking Kaze's parents from him and leaving him with Brionac... Cursing me with the wretched mark on my arm... Leaving us outcasts... Did we do something to deserve this? Or did the world just hate us? Why did we have to-

"Aki! Aki, come back!" my father's voice shouted. My body quickly went rigid and I even felt Kaze tense up. Of course, leave it to him to try and ruin everything...! I quickly pulled myself out of Kaze's grip and grasped his hand before running off. Kaze seemed to be lagging behind a bit, so I turned to urge him to keep the pace, but he was looking far behind us to the figure of my father.

"Kaze, come on...! We've gotta go!" I insisted as I gave another tug at his hand. It seemed to be enough to draw him back to reality because he began to take the lead, now dragging me behind him.

"You... you scum! Get your hands off of my daughter!" my father continued to call out to us, as if it would make us stop our departure. Scum, though? Was he trying to accuse Kaze of what I did? Saying that he corrupted me or something of the like?

"Aki," Kaze spoke my name suddenly. As I was focusing on running, I didn't verbally give him a response, but I did turn to him, which prompted him to continue, "Your father is going to catch up to us soon. I want you to go run ahead and hide somewhere."

"But what about you?" I asked. Kaze paused for a moment, considering what to say.

"I'll be fine. He won't be able to hurt me," Kaze decided. Was he referring to Brionac? Would he actually use Brionac if the time came? Though the fact that he would even consider it, if I was right, would mean that my father truly wouldn't be able to touch him. Slightly reassured, I gave Kaze a nod to show that I understood. Kaze gave me a light smile before letting go of my hand and slowing to a light jog. As soon as the next crossroad came up, I turned to the right, where I knew a telephone pole waited. I then placed myself beside it, allowing myself to catch my breath as I waited. I heard faint clanking and crashing seconds later, which slightly unnerved me. Was that my dad, or was it Kaze? Who was attacking and who was being attacked? If I went out there, would I only get in the way?

I had to try this trust thing and leave it to Kaze... because if I went out there, I didn't know what I'd do to my excuse of a father. Whether Kaze was beating him up or trying to convince him to back down, I really didn't care. Either way, I hoped that it made him leave us alone, that it made him realize that we're all better off without each other. They could live their quaint little life together without me while I live my quaint little life on Duel Academy Island. There was no reason for us to be together if all we brought each other was pain.

So I spent my time in hiding like this, brooding and musing about what would life be like without my parents. Going to Duel Academy Island, meeting this Rei girl, going on these exotic adventures to defeat villains with Kaze... Anything to distract my mind from the pain that I felt inside.

That's when I heard a low rumble. A few drops of water hit my face, slowly increasing as time passed. It was starting to rain. No, not just rain. It was going to start downpouring soon, and Kaze was no where to be found. I was quickly struck with fear. What if my dad had somehow gotten ahold of Kaze and was turning him into the police...? He was saying that Kaze was scum...! If... if he so much as laid a hand on Kaze, I…!

My thoughts faded as I felt something being placed on my head, protecting me from the rain. When I looked to see who it was, I saw Kaze in all his glory, though his jacket was missing. If that was the case, then... I reached up and pulled what was on my head down a bit. It was indeed his crimson jacket. But if he did that…

"Your dad won't bug us anymore. Come on," Kaze spoke curtly, slightly unnerving me.

"K-Kaze? Are you alright?" I asked. Kaze seemed taken aback by my question, so much that he didn't respond at first.

"Everything's fine. I just dealt with your father, so you won't have to worry about him anymore," Kaze said. I found my eyes widening at the notion. Did he... Did Kaze end up killing my father...? I was more surprised by that possibility than I was concerned for my father's health. That just goes to show how inhumane I really was... Upon seeing my reaction, Kaze quickly went to clarify. "Oh, no, your father is fine. He just... he'll leave you alone."

There was another rumble from the sky, though a little louder this time. The downpour seemed to increase in response, causing Kaze and I to become aware of our surroundings. "Let's get going," Kaze suggested, to which I nodded. As this was my home town, I took the lead. With each passing minute, the downpour seemed to increase tenfold. Somewhere along the way, I must have taken a wrong turn, presumably due to the rain, resulting in us standing in the middle of a street that I didn't recognize. "Aki... We need to get out of the rain. I can get us somewhere to stay, but I... I need you to trust me and stick close to me," Kaze spoke apprehensively, clearly not liking the idea. It puzzled me about the way he brought it up though. He must have known this place for him to be able to get lodging on a moment's notice. To top it off, the place that he brought up seemed to be dangerous, given how cautious he was about bringing it up, as if it were a last resort. Truthfully, I didn't care about danger. Kaze had a point, we had to get out of the rain. We had to regroup. We had to find a way back to the dock before Kaze's ship left. More importantly, we had to stick together.

I found myself reaching my hand out and grasping Kaze's hand, intertwining our fingers to strengthen the hold. With that, Kaze led us off to this unknown destination, and to be honest, I wasn't scared of what might face us. Not knowing what was ahead... Possibly facing danger... It was actually... exhilarating.

Extra:

(Kaze PoV)

'I'll be fine. He won't be able to hurt me.'

That's what I told Aki to get her to run away, but truthfully, I didn't believe my own words. I saw the pure hatred in his eyes as her father glared at me. I heard the spite as he called me scum. It wasn't something I was unused to. It was like back in the day... only this time I had someone that I had to protect. Someone who needed to be protected. Someone who was counting on me.

I quickly made to set my plan in motion, taking hold of a nearby trash can and tossing it to the ground. I continued on my way, knocking over every object that I could in hopes of slowing the man pursuing us down. If it even stopped him for a few seconds, it would allow me to lose him by using Brionac to fly away to wherever Aki was. All I had to do was stall. If I could do that... then I could get Aki out of here and back to DA. That's all I had to do... Just a few more cans and then we'd be back in safety. Just a few more and-

Suddenly, I was falling. I managed to catch myself with my hands before my face hit, and the panic overrode whatever pain resulted. Given how there was a pile of garbage right next to me, I guess that I must have tripped over something inside it in my fervor. Just my luck...! If I didn't get going, Aki's father was going to-

Just as I was getting to my feet, said man's hands latched onto my shoulders, keeping me defenseless on the ground. I heard Brionac growl defensively from my deck, surely wanting to jump out into his physical form if he could. Neither of us could escape our bonds, though.

"Who are you..!? What have you done to my daughter?!" the man above me demanded, shouting unnecessarily loud given how close we were. My mouth reacted before my mind did.

"Why don't you just leave us alone? You've done enough!" I snapped in return, taking the man by surprise for a second before his grip on me increased in intensity.

"You...! You told her to do that, didn't you? You told her to attack us! You've corrupted my daughter! You scum! You-," Aki's father started to accuse me.

"Would you just stop and listen for five seconds!" I quickly cut him off. The man seemed as if he wasn't about to give me the time of day for quite some time. Just as I was about to give up hope, he let out a sigh in defeat and sat up, removing his hands from my shoulder.

"Very well. But you'll only get that. The more time I waste with you, the further away Aki gets." Well, that's not a total victory, but I'll take what I can get…

"Mr. Izayoi… It's not like we came here with the intent of totally destroying your home and ruining your evening. We really weren't planning on coming here at all, but after an… incident at Duel Academy, Aki decided that she was going to go back with me to my branch, and, well…" I tried to explain our situation.

"So you are corrupting her," Aki's father said out of the blue.

"W-what? No, I didn't say that! I didn't say anything like that!" I defended myself, but the brunette still seemed skeptical. Oh, what am I going to do…? I've never really had to deal with adults before. It usually was a bunch of teenagers, Professor Medici, or spirits, and while the spirits looked like adults, they never acted like ones. I mean, look at Camula; she wanted a doll of Kaiser. Aki's father, on the other hand… I just got the feeling that dueling him wouldn't solve anything.

"Then what are you trying to say?" he prompted, clearly still not believing me.

"Look, sir," I began carefully. "Aki's been through some hard times. Really hard times, especially since being sent to Duel Academy. Nobody there accepts her there, and she feels that you won't accept her here." At this point, Aki's father seemed as if he was about to rebut what I said, but I just continues anyway, "I want to take her to my branch with me, but not to take her away from you, not to corrupt her. You see… I," my words trailed off. At this point, my actions would speak louder than my words. I reached for my deck and pulled out Brionac.

"Hey, what are you trying to pull here? If you're done wasting-" Aki's father's words quickly died in his throat as Brionac coiled around us, trying to fit in the narrow alley way. "You're one of them… Like Aki," he let out breathlessly. Well, I don't quite know about that. Aki had full usage of her powers, while I just had Brionac. Regardless, I had to offer her father some security.

"That's right. As you can see, I can control Brionac. If you'd let me, I'd like to be able to teach her to control her powers as well. At the main branch, nobody is judgmental or spiteful of supernatural powers. It's the perfect place to learn to control them. Once our three years at Duel Academy are up, she'll be able to come back. Like I said, sir, we have no intent of harming you or your wife," I offered some reassurance as I removed Brionac's card from my duel disk. Even so, he still seemed skeptical, and to be honest, I could see where he was coming from. Some guy comes out of no where and tries to convince you to let your daughter go with him. Regardless of what history he and Aki had, I understood where he was coming from. That didn't mean I could back down if he didn't agree, however. What with Aki's mental state at the moment, returning to her Duel Academy was the last thing she needed.

"Say that I do let her go with you. That I let you train her… how can I be sure that I can trust you?"

"Well… You have an e-mail, right? I could e-mail you about how Aki is doing! I mean, we'll be on the main branch too, so you could come down and visit if you wanted. Other people have done that," I suggested, recalling the time when Hayato's father came to the island to take him back. While I wasn't sure if that was necessarily with the rules, they never seemed to punish him for it.

Once again, Aki's father put on his pensive face, crossing his arms as his did. And just like last time, he resigned with a sigh before digging into his pocket and handing me a business card, which I cautiously took. It had a phone number and e-mail on it. "Alright. I'll trust you. Don't make me regret this decision," Aki's father spoke gravely. I simply nodded.

"Thank you, sir," I said before moving to take my leave.

"Before you go," he began suddenly, causing me to stop. "Don't tell Aki about this. If she thinks you are in cohorts with me in some way… more than likely, she will lose faith in you… just like she lost faith in me," Aki's father murmured. That was the first time that I actually looked at him. Not at face value, but actually looked at him. Up until then, I had a narrow vision of him based off of what Aki had told me. I had imagined a cold-hearted bigot who I wouldn't be able to reason with. What I saw then, however, was something else entirely. It was a father. A father who was worried for his kid's safety.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I figured he would have wanted Aki to know that he cared, but he seemed adamantly against it.

"Yes, it can wait until everything has blown over. Just take care of her for now. That's all I really need," the business man smiled fondly. Out of instinct, I reached forward with my right hand to shake his own. Aki's father seemed startled by the action, but didn't protest it physically.

"You have my word, sir." After that, we both went our separate ways without another word, and I slipped his business card into my right pant pocket. I had been walking for a minute or so when I heard a rumble from above. When I looked up, a few drops of rain hit me in the face. Well, that certainly put a damper on things. We were quite aways from the docks, so maybe we could stop by a store to get an umbrella before…

Wait...! Aki was out there alone and it was raining! I quickly ran the rest of the way to where I saw Aki turn and followed the path. Surprisingly, she was almost right next to the turn, apparently deep in thought. I took my jacket off, the same one that had given me so much torment for what it represented, and placed it upon Aki's head to protect her from the rain. Unlike myself, she had no hat and no means to protect herself. "Your dad won't bug us anymore. Come on," I said.

"K-Kaze? Are you alright?" Aki asked almost nervously. Her tone took me by surprise. Did my thoughts make me sound off…? I hoped not, because Aki had already been through enough and if she thought that for some reason that I now hated her or was upset with her…

"Everything's fine. I just dealt with your father, so you won't have to worry about him anymore," I answered her question. It was only when Aki looked at me with a bit of horror that I realized how she took my words. She imagined that I had killed him. "Oh, no, your father is fine. He just... he'll leave you alone," I clarified before Aki got too worried, making sure to keep our promise a secret from Aki. As if to make the circumstances even worse, though, there was another rumble of thunder as the skies darkened and the rain poured harder. "Let's get going," I suggested. Aki nodded before taking the lead.

As time passed, however, Aki's pace slowed from confident strides to a cautious walk. Had she somehow forgotten this part of town in her absence? Looking around me, though... Aki may not recognize this place, but I... Unfortunately I knew it quite well. It was from when I was a kid, wandering around the nearby towns for duelists to face. This is where that duel club was... Sure, given how much time I spent there, I should be able to get a room for an hour or so until we could get a taxi, but... Aki shouldn't be exposed to those kinds of people. Not after what she just went through. But on the other hand…

I shifted my sights to Aki, who somewhere along the way had begun to shake slightly. I... I'd just have to protect her, no matter what...! She couldn't leave my sights, that's all. Just one hour... Then we'd in a taxi and on our way. Nothing could go wrong. Nothing... right..? "Aki... We need to get out of the rain. I can get us somewhere to stay, but I... I need you to trust me and stick close to me," I said. Aki didn't give me any response as first, causing me to worry that I had made some kind of mistake along the way. During my worrying, I didn't notice Aki reach her hand forward and clasp mine. I even more surprised when she intertwined her fingers with mine. It wasn't so much the action as…

Do girls always have such soft skin?

Gah, stay focused...! How are you going to protect Aki with that kind of thinking!? You have to protect her! No matter what! No matter what…

Reviews:

- XJustified: First of all, thank you. Secondly, that way I read it was basically because I didn't see the last bit at first due to my browser. I read it as 'Your story is vague' as in like an insult kind of thing, but then I saw there was more, so it's all good.

- Lion Heart Leon: We'll see if you're opinion of him will keep up in the next few chapters, given how controversial they may seem, especially given how they'll all be from Aki's PoV and without his personal thoughts (You can get a preview from the oneshot, though it really doesn't reveal too much plot wise) As to your other comment about Kaze, that is sort of his goal, hence the constant repetition of 'I have to protect Aki' in the extra. I may have not repeated it enough for emphasis, but oh well.

- Lucarai: I'm glad that you think so, since that's only what I can hope for. If you want to talk about pondering what will happen next, unfortunately this chapter and the period between the next will probably be a bit worse than the last. Though, it was either this cliff hanger approach or another month or so, and so I chose this method.

- Anonymous: As a matter of fact, there is a prequel that has been in the making, though it's being made quite slowly. Though it was originally going to start at Rei's arrival and be from her point of view, but now that you bring it up, a follow up/side story of Kaze's beginnings from his point of view might be interesting too. As for the one in the works, I'll elaborate a little more: it's currently from Rei's PoV and will cover everything from then up to the point of their separation in the Jealousy chapter. If you wish to look at it from the ABRiB view, there will be a section, which I will note, where you can insert the events from this story to make it ABRiB cannon.

- MysticTyler: I'm glad that you've enjoyed it. It's been great working with you on these chapters. Though as a reader, you aren't really in the dark since I have to prod at your brain so much. Still, I'm glad that you can enjoy it.

Notes:

- Whoever gets the soft hands reference (Aside from MysticTyler) will get a virtual cookie.