The three of us stood in the center of the practice arena several minutes after arriving at the Arcadia Movement. Upon entering, Divine had excused himself to deal with some business matters, promising to return within a few minutes. Kaze was currently entertaining Ida by trying to communicate with her spirits for her, but I couldn't gather enough interest to listen to the conversation. I was trying to watch the practice duels going on around us. While observing the duelists get flung back by wind or staggering back from a blow, I wasn't sure whether I should be surprised that Divine didn't lie or comforted that there truly was hope for me to master my powers.
"Thank you three for waiting," Divine's voice said, drawing our attentions to him as he walked up to us, hands folded behind his back.
"It's fine. We were just talking anyways," Ida smiled, apparently not noticing that I wasn't involved in their conversation.
"That's good to hear," Divine smiled back before continuing, "If it is alright with you three, I would like to start off by testing your powers."
Ida slowly raise a hand in the air, as if we were back at Duel Academy and she needed permission to speak. Divine gave her a glance, prompting her to continue. "Well, um… I don't really have any powers, sir," Ida began sheepishly. Suddenly a wave of guilt came washing over me. Would Ida be barred from either joining or participating because she didn't have any powers? If that were the case, just what were we going to do? We couldn't very well just abandon her after all of this.
"Ah, yes, I'm aware of that. You can still busy yourself with normal duel practice. Two of our senior members are occupying that large room," Divine paused, pointing a gloved finger to a door not too far away from where we were, "and they should be able to help you. Be it dueling itself or strategy, they are experts," Divine said. Dueling or strategies? Weren't strategies a part of dueling already? It didn't quite make sense to me.
"Really?" Ida asked eagerly. When Divine nodded, she exchanged glances between Kaze and I. "Guys, you practice up on your skills and in the meantime, I'll become the best duelist there ever was!" the gray-haired teen boldly declared before rushing off without so much as a wave good-bye. I held back a sigh, instead turning my attention back to Divine.
"I can see how you'd test Aki's powers, but mine aren't like hers. How do you plan on testing me?" Kaze pondered. Divine stared at him for a few seconds, probably considering his options, before turning and motioning to someone far away with a few waves of his hand. A short while later a boy our age walked up in what I assumed to be the Arcadia Movement uniform, given how often I had seen it on the people we passed. He seemed fairly tall with spiky blonde hair and a pair of glasses resting upon his nose, but aside from that, I couldn't find anything notable about him. The feeling seemed to be mutual, however, as he stared blankly at the two of us before shifting his attention to Divine, though even then he didn't say anything.
"This is Kage Hikari. He's a bit of a unique member of ours and he'll be helping you with your testing," Divine introduced the teen.
"So you have the power to talk to spirits as well, then?" Kaze asked, earning a glance in his direction.
"Sort of. I actually have quite a few powers, but I can't wield them all very well except for my psychic powers," Kage said. Having quite a few powers? Was that even possible? Even though my knowledge of Psychic Duelists was very minimal, I had never heard of someone with multiple powers. Kaze might seem like he might, but since Brionac was enchanted, anyone could technically become a Psychic Duelists with it. That being said, his 'powers' were from external means, so he only had the ability to communicate with duel spirits. Was this Kage some sort of wild card duelist? I couldn't help but be wary of his presence. Kaze didn't seem to notice anything off, however.
"I've only met one other person who could communicate with the spirits, so it's nice to meet someone else with the same powers. Does that mean we are going to have a conversation with them to test it?" Kaze continued to ask questions.
"Like I said, I'm not very adept with talking to spirits, so I'll actually just be monitoring your brain signals and the like as you communicate with them. Nothing too big," Kage muttered and Kaze nodded in agreement before turning towards me.
"Aki, will you be alright by yourself?" he asked. I went to respond when I suddenly felt a hand land on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, Kaze, Aki will be fine. I'll be taking care of her, after all," Divine smiled. It didn't seem to ease Kaze's worry, however, as he quickly looked between the two of us.
"Really, I'll be fine. Divine is a Psychic too," I tried to offer some reassurance. Though still noticeably hesitant, Kaze seemed to know that arguing would get him nowhere, as he turned to his partner of sorts. The blond didn't say anything, choosing instead to simply start off towards an unknown location. Kaze sent one glance back at me before following Kage.
"Well, with all of that out of the way, why don't we start?" Divine asked, smiling slightly as he released my shoulder. Upon receiving my nod as an answer, he led me over to the closest duel field and then went over to the other side. A woman walked over, carrying a gold duel disk in both arms as she did. So, that was the style of duel disk Divine used… It certainly seemed extravagant. He seemed to take good care of it… and more than likely, I'd end up ruining it in this duel.
The thought sent a sudden rush of fear through me. I couldn't control my powers. I couldn't tell them to stop. I couldn't stop them from harming Divine in any way. I couldn't stop them from…
Divine sent a reassuring smile in my direction. It did little to calm my fears but I felt obliged to activate my duel disk and act like it did anyway. "Ladies first," Divine called out from across the field, prompting me to take my draw.
[Aki: 4000 LP] [Divine: 4000 LP]
"I'll start things off by setting one card face down. Then I summon Witch of the Black Rose!" I declared. Usually, I would have summoned the monster without a card face down, but at a time like this, when I had no idea what Divine's deck revolved around, I had to play things cautiously. With this move, my purple themed witch would stay on the field no matter what. [Witch of the Black Rose: 1700 ATK] "Now I activate my Field Spell, Black Garden!" Thorns and vines erupted from the floor, shooting up and creating a sort of dome that separated us from the other duelists. Divine looked around, a bit of surprise evident in his eyes, but said nothing. "That ends my turn."
"Very well. I shall also set one card before I summon my Psychic Jumper in defense mode," Divine said. When he placed the card down, a blue-skinned man in a brown coat appeared before shifting to a dark blue hue. [Psychic Jumper: 1500 DEF]
"Even so, my field spell still cuts it attack in half and gives me a Rose Token," I explained as a rose branched off of the vines around us, placing itself in front of me. [Rose Token: 800 ATK] [Psychic Jumper: 100 - 50 ATK]
"Is that so? Well, I suppose that ends my turn," Divine shrugged lightly, seemingly not too impressed with the card's effect since he was playing defensive.
"To start, I'll sacrifice my Rose Token in order to summon Gigaplant," I began. The rose on my field slowly began to open up until a white light erupted out of it. When it faded, the large green Plant monster was there, though now slightly covered in vines thanks to my field spell.
"If I'm understanding your card correctly, your monster also suffers from the effect?" Divine inquired.
"That's right. It serves its purpose quite well, though, since you gain a Rose Token," I said as said monster appeared on his side of the field. [Gigaplant: 2400 - 1200 ATK] [Rose Token: 800 ATK] "Now, my Witch of the Black Rose will destroy your Jumper!" I ordered. The purple-haired girl nodded in response before charging forward, slamming her staff into the blue-skinned man and shattering its hologram. "Then Gigaplant, destroy his token!" Even hindered by the vines, my monster still charged forward, chomping through the rose and shattering it to bits as well. Before the monster entirely disappeared, however, some of its shards flew back, tearing small lines in Divine's shirt but not drawing blood. [Divine: 3600 LP] "That ends my turn."
"I see. Seeing your powers first hand, I can tell that yours aren't the basic kind," Divine muttered as he placed his free hand on his left arm, checking to see if he sustained any wounds. Finding none, he shrugged, deciding to take his draw instead. "I'll summon Doctor Cranium in defense mode," the man said as a small man in a lab coat appeared in a flash of light. Vines quickly shot out, ensnaring the monster that was shifting to a blue hue while a rose popped onto my field. [Doctor Cranium: 100 - 50 ATK / 100 DEF] [Rose Token: 800 ATK] "That's not all, though! I activate Telekinetic Power Well to special summon Psychic Jumper from my Graveyard in Defense Mode! Due to Power Well's effect, I take damage equal to his level times 300!" Divine narrated. A hole appeared next to Doctor Cranium, bursting to life with a whirl and flash. When it disappeared, the blue-skinned man from before was back, again getting covered by vines as another Rose Token appeared on my side of the field. One thing that I noticed was that, while Divine claimed to be a Psychic, he didn't seem pained as his card's effect took place. That being said, my powers never hurt me, but I never used them against myself. Was this a normal thing or a sign that his powers were far more advanced than mine…? [Divine: 3000 LP] [Psychic Jumper: 100 - 50 ATK / 1500 DEF] [Rose Token: 800 ATK]
"Your monsters are still way weaker than my Witch. You're just wasting your Life Points," I pointed out. As soon as I recalled the monster's effect, however, I quickly wished I could take the words back.
"That would be the case if I didn't have Jumper's effect. But first, I'll equip him with Telekinetic Charging Cell, which negates the part of his effect where I have to pay Life Points to activate it. With that out of the way, I use his effect, which allows me to switch control of our monsters. Of course, as you so kindly pointed out, your Witch of the Black Rose is the strongest monster on the field, so I will be taking it and giving you Doctor Cranium in return," Divine said. The helmet that Jumper was wearing shot to life, but instead of shocking Divine, it shocked the aforementioned monsters, prompting them to switch positions. With that combo pulled off, unless I could draw a card that destroyed Black Rose Garden or Witch of the Black Rose, I would lose this duel. Divine could destroy every one of my monsters.
It was at this point that I realized a mistake in Divine's plan. He left Cranium in Defense Mode. He could have pretty much halved my life points if he just changed it to Attack Mode before switching it. Did he simply just forget or was he going easy on me…? Was he stalling so this duel would go on even longer? "Witch of the Black Rose, destroy Gigaplant!" Divine shouted. I quickly braced myself as the woman charged forward, staff at the ready. When she slammed it down and destroyed Gigaplant, however, nothing happened. I suppose that wouldn't be correct since the monster was now gone and my life points were going down, but psychically nothing happened to me. [Aki: 3500 LP] Does this mean… Divine has complete control of his powers? "That ends my turn," Divine's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"First I'll change all my monsters to Defense Mode. Then I'll summon Hedge Guard in Defense Mode as well," I declared as I threw the card down. As my monsters changed state, another Rose Token appeared, this time on Divine's field. [Rose Tokens (Aki): 800 DEF] [Hedge Guard: 2100 DEF] [Rose Token (Divine): 800 ATK] "I suppose that ends my turn."
"Stop holding back, Aki. I can sense it. This isn't the true extent of your powers. Show me them. Show me the true Black Rose, or this duel won't end in your favor," Divine shouted as he took his draw. The true extent of my powers…? But I… If I did that, then… then… Images of Kaze from our first duel flashed in my mind. As far as I knew, the burns were still there. I… I couldn't do that again…!
As if sensing my distress, Divine's eyes softened a bit before he continued with his move. "I summon Mind Master in Attack Mode!" A small machine emerged on his field with a flash of green light. As my field spell reduced its attack, another Token appeared on my field. [Mind Master: 100 - 50 ATK] [Rose Token: 800 ATK] "I'll use Jumper's effect to switch Master and Hedge Guard. Again, thanks to my equip spell, I don't have to pay the 1000 life points to activate his effect," Divine narrated. So I was right earlier in thinking he was stalling. It seemed that his patience had run out, though. He was going to end this duel if I didn't get serious. But, if I got serious… "Rose Token, destroy Cranium, and Witch of the Black Rose, destroy Mind Master!" Divine continued his assault. The monsters charged forward, destroying their designated targets, but once again they inflicted no real damage to my body. [Aki: 1850 LP] "That ends my turn. Show me the duelist that I saw in the alley, Aki."
I tried to swallow down my fear as I took my draw. Right now, I had a few Rose Tokens, but they wouldn't defend me from Rose Witch. Any other monster would probably get switched with Jumper's effect. Even if I could draw a monster, though… Slowly, I turned the card over so I could see what my draw was. Twilight Rose Knight. With this… With this, I could… "I summon Twilight Rose Knight!" I shouted. The small Warrior monster appeared on my field while yet another Rose Token took its place on Divine's side. [Twilight Rose Knight: 1000 - 500 ATK] [Rose Token: 800 ATK] "Don't get too used to him, though! I tune my Twilight Rose Knight with my two Rose Tokens!" I began. Divine just watched as the monster turned into green rings and stars, a spark of interest in his eyes. "Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"
Divine quickly raised an arm to protect his face as rose petals scattered about. A few more cuts were made on his jacket, but this time they cut through his arm, causing blood to now seep down. Fear quickly made my body go rigid. "Aki, don't be afraid. Keep going. Finish what you started," Divine urged me. But I… I… "I'm not afraid of you, and you shouldn't be either."
"When Black Rose Dragon is Synchro Summoned, I can use her effect to destroy everything on the field!" I said shakily. Once again rose petals tore across the field as my dragon let out a cry. The petals destroyed everything on the field, that's for sure, but they also delivered a few more cuts to Divine, who didn't let out any sign of pain except a wince. "That ends my turn," I muttered. I tried to force myself to stare straight ahead and not stray away from the wounds that I was inflicting. This is… this is what I am. This is who I am. No matter what, I'm going to end up hurting those that are only trying to help.
"… and that ends my turn," Divine's voice pulled me back to reality once more. I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to see what had changed while I spaced out. It seemed that he only set one card face down and that was it, which means he had no defense. Nothing to stop me from winning this duel.
"I summon Violet Witch in Attack Mode!" I shouted. There was a burst of yellow light followed by a gust that carried in a few leaves. When it all disappeared, a woman in purple garbs and a few leaves appeared wielding a staff. [Violet Witch: 1100 ATK] "Violet Witch, attack him directly!" Upon receiving the command, the Spellcaster monster let out a cry before throwing her staff out. Yellow lightning shot out of it, quickly enveloping Divine, who let out a soft groan. Much to my surprise, however, he began walking forward, even with the attack still in effect. The pain was evident in his face, but he didn't stop. Why…? Why couldn't he just stay away? The closer he got, the more Violet Witch would hurt him…! Why couldn't he understand that?
"You can't keep holding back like this, Aki. You need to face the truth," Divine began through gritted teeth, "Your parents abandoned you, feared you, and so did your peers… but you have a new home now, with a new family and friends who accept you."
"But I'm scared…! Don't come any closer! What if I hurt you just like everyone else?" I shouted. Once more, images of Kaze's wounds flashed through my head. Then images of Ida, freshly shocked, appeared. Oh, god, what if I did that to Divine…? He needed to stop! He needed to go back so Violet Witch would stop attacking him!
"Being afraid is good. That just means you made the right decision. Arcadia and I can make you feel better. You aren't a monster, Aki. You're you," Divine forced a smile despite his pain. That took me back, almost like a quick jolt back to reality. Didn't Kaze say something like that…? Could it be that Divine and Kaze were the same? With the both of them, could I… My thoughts were cut off by Divine suddenly enveloping me in a comforting hug. "Don't trust anyone outside the movement. They'll only want to hurt you with false hopes and empty promises. Just trust me," Divine whispered. Trust him…? Could I do that…? Of course I could, he just freed us from the underground, but… Divine's blows didn't hurt me, so he had control over his powers… With his help, certainly, I could control my powers and stop hurting everyone.
My words decided not to work, so I numbly nodded my head instead. With a smile upon his face, Divine pulled away, deactivating his duel disk as he did, ending the duel. "I'm glad you came here, Aki. I'll help you control your powers," Divine said.
"A-about that… What did you mean by not holding back?" I pondered. It seemed simple enough in theory. It meant pushing yourself as hard as you could. I had no hold whatsoever on my powers, though, so how could I even try to push them?
"You can't be afraid of your powers. You need to embrace them. They're a part of you. A dangerous part, but a part nonetheless," Divine explained. A dangerous part…? That was true, but…
"Kaze said that my powers are a good thing… that they could help," I spoke my thought aloud. Divine raised an eyebrow at that.
"But Kaze doesn't have powers beyond talking to spirits. He can't possibly understand you like I can," Divine said.
"He does. He can materialize Brionac," I explained. This seemed to take Divine by surprise. Had I not told him earlier…? I suppose it must have slipped my mind with all that happened.
"Brionac…? He can… make it appear outside of a duel?" Divine slowly asked, almost as if he wasn't comprehending it. I couldn't blame him. It didn't make sense to me at first, the whole enchanted card thing, that is.
"Brionac is enchanted, you see. It allows anyone, psychic or not, to summon him like a psychic would. He's learned to control Brionac, though. Brionac has helped him and others plenty of times," I elaborated. The man before me nodded slightly, taking the facts into consideration.
"Yes, he may have control now, but how do you think he gained control over it? He certainly didn't spend his time cowering from Brionac. He embraced it, befriended it… just like you need to do with your powers," Divine countered. He certainly had a point there. Kaze said he practiced at his Duel Academy to gain control over Brionac. It didn't happen overnight and certainly didn't happen by leaving Brionac hidden away in his deck.
"So how can I use my full powers? I don't have control over them," I said.
"Of course. I didn't expect you to. We'll be taking baby steps. You'll be training with me, one-on-one, from now on. I'll give you my undivided attention," Divine smiled warmly. As tempting as it was to just agree, something nagged at the back of my mind, saying that I couldn't.
"What about the other members, though? You're in charge of everyone, not just me," I voiced my concern.
"They'll be fine. You're more important. Now, I have to go arrange your rooms. Why don't you go check up on your friends in the meantime," Divine suggested. As he turned and left, I noticed a sort of warm feeling throughout me. It almost reminded me of the long ago time, before my powers emerged, when life was simple. The warmth of my parents' embrace… I…
I quickly shook the thoughts away. Divine was right. They fear me. They abandoned me. The Arcadia Movement is my home now. Those poor excuses of parents don't mean anything to me anymore.
Since Kaze had be escorted off to an unknown location, I decided to head to the training room where Ida was residing. When I entered, I found three people inside. One was Ida, of course, and the other two were adults in Arcadia uniforms. They both had short cut black hair, but it still somehow managed to cover their eyes. I briefly wondered how they could see through the long bangs before deciding to walk over to my friend's side.
"And, ah… So, now, I have Tethys, Goddess of Light in Attack Mode!" Ida declared as she slapped down a card on the table before her. The man that was sitting across from her continued to stare on with a straight face. "And, so… with her on the field, I…" Ida began to trail off as she looked over the field again. I took this chance to skim the field of the duel as well. On the man's side there was four cards, three Marshmallons and one Gravity Bind. Ida had her recently placed Tethys, Goddess of Light, as well as a few cards in her deck. Since when did Ida posses a card such as Tethys, Goddess of Light, though…? Didn't she wield a Zombie deck? And her nickname was Dark Queen, after all…
"Welcome, Miss. Can I help you with anything?" the woman at the adjacent table made my presence known to the dueling duo.
"Oh, no, I'm just here to watch Ida. Don't mind me," I quickly dismissed her concern.
"Aki! Aki, you have to help me! This is the fourth time I've tried this puzzle, and no matter what I do, I always lose!" Ida complained.
"So you surrender?" her opponent asked stoically.
"Ugh..! I hate it, but yeah! I'll figure this out eventually," Ida muttered as she picked up the cards, placing them back into a pile that couldn't be more than ten cards total. So it wasn't an actual deck…? Regardless, the man took the cards back, separating them into three piles on the corner of the table.
"Ida, just what have you been doing?" I questioned. Now free from her duel, Ida turned herself to face me.
"It's a duel puzzle. These guys set you up with some cards and a scenario already in the middle of a duel. You can look at all of your cards and even theirs too, if you want. There's only one way you can win, though, and it's some secret combo or something," Ida explained.
"It really isn't," the man muttered, but was promptly ignored.
"The first one was easy! You just didn't Synchro Summon so he couldn't activate his trap! Now, he has three monsters and my monster can't attack. Even with Ryko's effect, I still can't destroy them," Ida elaborated a bit. So these duel puzzles… Basically you were put in a foreign situation and you had find your way out of it using the resources at hand. It certainly seemed like a useful skill. Maybe this was what Divine meant when he had said strategies earlier.
"Do you mind if I give it a go?" I asked the man. He opted out of giving me a verbal response, instead taking the cards back into his hand once more to deal them out. Ida quickly stood up, allowing me to take her spot in the chair.
"Aki, you have to win this! For the Justice Brigade!" Ida cheered me on.
"Oh, but if our fearless leader, the Dark Queen failed, what chance do I, the lackey, stand against him?" I commented icily as I picked up the cards that were to be my hand. Ida jumped back a bit, laughing nervously as she did.
"Y-you're still kinda mad about that, aren't you?" she asked.
"Whatever are you talking about? Of course not," I said before turning my attention back to the duel. If not to better my dueling skills, solving this puzzle should end Ida's whole lackey idea once and for all. To start things out, my opponent had the same cards on his field, with each Marshmallon possessing 300 attack and 500 defense. On my side of the field was a face-down monster, Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, and two face-down cards, Jar of Greed and Solemn Wishes. My hand consisted of one card: Tethys, Goddess of Light. My deck consisted of Wulf, Lightsworn Beast; Jenis, Lightsworn Mender; Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid; Celestia, Lightsworn Angel; and Judgement Dragon, in that order, since I assume that's important. My opponent had 3000 life points while I only had 100 life points. Since the Lightsworn monsters centered around discarding cards to activate effects, it was obvious that I had to use that in some way. All I had to do was execute this duel in such a way that I could get Judgement Dragon out on this turn.
That's exactly what I ended up doing, too. It certainly wasn't the most obvious solution and it never would have occurred to me during a real duel, but I found it nonetheless. First, I had to use Ryko's flip effect to destroy himself. I then summed Wulf due to his effect of being Special Summoned when he is removed from the deck to the graveyard. Using him, I Tribute Summoned Tethys. Solemn Wishes came next, followed by Jar of Greed and Tethys' effect, which allowed me to show the monster I just drew in order to draw another card, the Judgement Dragon. Using his effect, I was able to Special Summon him and then use his other effect to pay 1000 life points, which I had thanks to Solemn Wishes, in order to destroy every other card on the field, allowing me to finish my opponent off in one swift move.
"Nicely played. You certainly are a great duelist," my opponent remarked as I passed him back the cards.
"N-no fair! Aki, you've done this before, haven't you?" Ida accused me. She had been on the edge during the whole duel, constantly questioning my moves, but I didn't answer her simply because it would have distracted me.
"No, I haven't. To be honest, though, it was quite the combo to pull off on the first try. I just had to run over the scenario a few times in my head before the answer become apparent," I said. This didn't seem to satisfy my gray-haired companion, however, as she just huffed and crossed her arms.
"Still…! It's no fair! You solved it on the first try! That just means I have to get better, as leader of the Justice Brigade!" Ida declared, regaining some of her optimism. I couldn't help but turn and level a glare with her.
"Excuse me…?"
"A-ah… I mean… Um," Ida struggled to find a response, eventually deciding to just bow her head in defeat. I continued to stare at her for a few moments, expecting her to eventually bounce back with some quip, but she never did. It honestly concerned me a bit. It couldn't have simply been from not being able to solve the duel puzzle, though… Was something else bothering her…?
"Hey, look, why don't we try the next one together? I'll try and help you out," I suggested, trying to pull Ida out of her thoughts. As vexing as her antics could be at times, a depressed Ida was a lot more worrisome than a happy one. Thankfully, Ida's head shot up at the offer before she bounded over to my side, eager to give a new puzzle a try. That was how I spent the next few minutes, offering hints to Ida and explaining why her current strategy wouldn't work. Like I saw in our very first duel together, Ida tended to worry about the present and quick damage rather than the big picture. She'd rather deal 2000 points of damage in one go and leave her field open than deal only 500 and have a solid defense.
"So… that does it…? That's it?" Ida questioned as she slid the monster card forward, signaling her attack.
"That's it. Congratulations," the man before us smiled. I wasn't expecting it when Ida suddenly turned towards me and hugged me.
"Aki! Aki, we did it!" Ida cheered. Clearly she was forgetting that I just nudged her in the right direction… the rest was all her. As Ida pulled away, I couldn't help but wonder about a certain brown-haired friend of ours who had been missing for quite some time. He had to be done by now, right? Since we just finished a duel puzzle, it seemed like the perfect time to go find Kaze. All we had to do was ask Divine where the testing room was and…
Before I could finish the thought, a familiar blond walked into the room. "I'm just here to let you know that Kaze was feeling some nausea after the test, so I took him to his room. As soon as you're ready, I'll be taking you to your rooms as well," Kage announced. His timing was almost uncanny, but I paid no heed to it.
"Ah… and you are…?" Ida asked. That was right, she left before the duelist introduced himself. Of course she would be confused. The blond in question leveled his gaze with her, just as he had done with me when we first met.
"My name is Kage Hikari. It's nice to meet you," Kage eventually said, but his tone suggested that he actually wanted nothing to do with us. That wasn't important, however. Something else was more pressing.
"What do you mean Kaze was nauseous? He's never felt anything like that before," I pointed out. Another cold stare in my direction.
"I can't speak for him. All I know is that I summoned a monster of his to communicate with him and halfway through, he starting mumbling something about a voice calling to him. It gave him a nasty headache, I guess, as he started grabbing at his head. Around that time Divine came by with your rooming arrangements, so I took Kaze to his room to rest," Kage summarized briefly. A voice calling out to him…? That certainly wasn't out of the ordinary. Kattapillar had called out to him and put him in a trance like state, but causing headaches? That was new. Could it be that the level of the monster reflected the discomfort he felt? I couldn't talk to spirits, myself, so I had no idea what was happening or how to stop it. If the level affected anything, though, wouldn't Brionac have some kind of effect? It just didn't make any sense.
"Hey, Kage, can we go see him? Kaze made sure to lift my spirits when I wasn't feeling good, so I want to return the favor," Ida spoke up. That seemed to be the ideal solution to all of my questions. The blond didn't seem to mind, either, as he solemnly nodded before walking off. Ida and I gave a quick goodbye to the man who had helped us with the duel puzzle before heading after him. As we followed Kage, I tried to mentally map the layout of the Arcadia Movement, but it was a hopeless endeavor given how fast our guide was moving. When he finally stopped, we were standing in the middle of a long hallway.
"This is his room, A114," Kage noted. Ida placed a hand to her chin, staring at the door knob deep in thought.
"You don't… happen to have a key, do you?" she pondered after a while. The blond simply shook his head, causing Ida to let out a defeated sigh. If this was Kaze's room, however… "Hey, Aki, what are you-" Ida started to question as I walked forward. I gave the door knob an experimental twist and it opened right away, much to my companions' surprise. "W-whoa! Psychic powers!" Ida gasped in surprise, but she was clearly excited at the notion of my having lock picking powers.
"More like Kaze doesn't lock his door," I deadpanned as I finished opening the door. Inside was a fairly simply lay out. The room was in a beige color theme with one bed and a couch along the wall. On said couch a familiar brunette was collapsed. Kaze was sprawled out in such a way that it looked like he went to bed as soon as he hit the pillow. It was cute, in a way.
"Haha, he really does look like a big teddy bear," Ida mused softly. I wasn't so sure about that notion, however. I suppose Kaze did look rather relaxed, though, which was nice to see after the whole mess with Keisuke.
"Come on, Ida, let's go. We shouldn't wake him up," I said as I began to leave the room to give Kaze some well deserved rest. As soon as Kage and Ida were outside the room, I closed the door softly.
"Well, your room isn't too far from here. It's A118, so two down to the right," Kage said as he turned towards Ida.
"Ah, so I get to room next to Kaze! Awesome! Maybe he can come over and help me with my deck again sometime," Ida began cheerfully. Suddenly, her smile turned into a frown as she met my stare. "But… that means… Aki, we won't be rooming together anymore, will we?" Ida asked. That struck a chord inside me. At first, I just tolerated Ida's company because if she was closer to me, it'd be easier to protect her. Somewhere along the way, I guess we really did become friends… Kaze was always only a few seconds away at the arena too… It would be too quiet by myself again… "Don't worry, Aki! I'll visit you sometime, and I'll bring Kaze with! It'll be just like old times!" Ida insisted, almost as if she has known what my concerns were. I couldn't help but give a light smile. Of course, everything was going to get better after this. It would be a bit lonely at first, but we'd still see each other every day, right?
"Then, Aki, your room is A145," Kage spoke, drawing me out of my thoughts. Ida gave me a big grin and a wave as the blonde began departing. I paused only long enough to return a wave of my own before taking off after Kage. Upon arriving, I turned to face him.
"Thanks for showing us our rooms," I said. He stared at me for a few seconds, slightly unnerving me. Before I could say anything else, though, he shrugged.
"It's no big deal. I don't mind," he muttered. "This is where we part ways, though. Divine said to let you know that his office is at the end of this hallway if you need him," Kage said this almost with a bit of spite, but maybe I just imagined it in his voice. Divine was a great person. He couldn't have hated him or anything. Maybe he was just upset about his own rooming arrangements? The blond in question didn't seem to have anything else to say, however, so he took his leave. Left with nothing else to do myself, I turned towards my room and opened the door.
The first thing that I noticed was that it was a lot more luxurious than Kaze's. My room had a maroon and black color scheme with a large bed against the wall. There was a couch, just like Kaze's room had, but it looked a lot more plush. While Kaze's room was fairly barren in terms of accessories, my room had a wide screen television and some sort of monitor attached to the wall. I figured that luck was in my favor and that someone higher up must have left the Arcadia Movement for some reason, so I received their room. It was nothing I needed to worry about, anyway.
Making my way over to the bed, I let out a sigh. This day just seemed like it'd never end. Just this morning, we were all still trapped in the arena. Then Divine showed up, destroyed the video, and offered us a safe haven. After that duel with him, I was sure that Keisuke's suspicions were wrong. Divine was like the father I had always wished I had, after all; a kind and caring man who would always be there for me with comforting words and a loving embrace. With these kinds of thoughts in my head, I slowly drifted off into a well-deserved sleep.
Notes:
- The duel puzzles that Ida is tackling here are from Reverse of Arcadia. The two people she's with are also from Reverse of Arcadia. The man is in charge of duel puzzles while the woman is in charge of structure deck duels.
Reviews:
- Anonymous: Thanks for pointing that out. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story. As a note though, considering that a vast majority of my stories have bases in Tag Force, the Tag Force canon takes priority over the anime canon for me, and so I have to have my own AU canons for the story to work out. I suppose it's just lucky when the story works with the anime.
- Lion Heart Leon: Oh, no, no, I totally got what you were saying, but I since you said that you couldn't see it happening, I felt like I needed to find a way to make it happen, just to see if I could get any shippers on board. Knowing you guys, being 16 chapters in and all, you'll probably be AkiXKaze no matter what.
- Tyler Nator: You're tempting me. He might, if I find the right spot to throw him in in the midst of the drama, but as of now, I don't have a set plan for him. As for my take on Divine... it's rough, needless to say. This is my first time writing out his character (without just directly referencing his lines from the show) so forgive any OOC that slips in.