Yusei's Pov~
I stared at the duel between Akiza and Koda. Akiza had started out strong, but I was surprised to find out that she went to duel academy.
"And the plot thickens." I heard Cristina muttered as we heard more of Koda's story, "Oh my god, get over it four-eyes! That was years ago. Bringing up the past, the idiot…Rip his head off-"
"Someone is more revved up than usual." Tanner said as she glared at him, "I'll stay quiet." I stared at Cristina… something is bothering her. I could still see that she was herself, but something is just off…Did something happen?
"I want to use powers to help people!" Akiza cried out as Cristina looked up again, breaking from what looked like a trance.
"Oh my, he's…he's a jerk! I want to-"
"Does the next line have to involve a knife?" I questioned as she drily laughed and nodded… I got off my bike and got in front of her. I hesitated for a moment before gently grasping her wrist that she was holding. I noticed that she grimaced a bit whenever she held it, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She said, looking up at the ceiling.
"Well…are you okay, and I mean internally…" I asked as her smiled dropped and she sighed. All she did was shook her head and pout, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really… but do I have a choice?" She asked as I smirked, "I'll take that as a no. All right, let's go sit down somewhere…Tanner, we will be back."
"Sure." Was all he said. I started to walk as Cristina followed…
"You want to start?" I asked as she smiled a little and shrugged.
"Sure…let's start off with this…am I predictable?" She questioned, which caught me off guard…I can't find her predictable…, "You know, like…I do stuff all the time, repetitive?"
"Unless this is about your 'good luck' charms than no, you're not predictable. Why do you ask?" I asked as she rubber her temples.
"The guy I'm facing, he's… he is a bit…unorthodox…if that word would make sense. He knows…practically everything about me." She said as I raised an eyebrow in amusement, but it grew in concern as I saw worry in her eyes, "He even knew about my obsession of plushies!"
"You have an obsession of plushies?" I said as she looked at me with a small glare, "I'm a little shocked, but keep on going."
"He's like…I don't know, but he really know too much about me, like he analyzed me…He's kind of like another Koda, but a little creepier, if that is possible." She said in a slight whisper and I realized that it is really serious, "I'm not sure; I'm losing my cool; I mean, being a stalker one thing! But when you are facing a stalker is another thing… I'm…I'm not sure if my cards will be enough-"
"Cristina, what happened; I never saw you like this." I said as I stopped her as she sighed and slid to the ground as I followed in suit, looking at her.
"He…he made me feel vulnerable. I didn't feel safe; I didn't feel the comfort that I was use too…I felt exposed and weak." She mumbled.
"Did he do anything to you?" I asked, hoping he didn't do anything risky that would cause her to act like this, "Did he hurt you?"
"Y-yean, and no…well, yeah…" She said as my eyes traveled down to her wrist and I grabbed it gently, "Well, he did that. I kind of wanted to punch him, but he stopped it-"
"He doesn't have the right to put his hand on you." I said, feeling a little loathing for this guy, "He-"
"I know… I don't think I'm going to do well." She said as I went wide-eyes. Did he really break her spirits so deep that she is acting like this?
"How about I'll help you." I said as she stared at me, "I'll help you with your deck so that it will be impossible for him to know your moves, But you have to do something for me…"
"Umm…what is it?" She asked, pouting a little that made me crack a little smile.
"You can't give up, no matter what. You have to believe in your cards and yourself; that's the only way of you winning. From the last few days, which felt like months, the Cristina I know would not act like this. Her eyes would have too much energy to contain, her attitude wouldn't falter for anything, and she would not step down from a fight. I'm starting to wonder if the real Cristina has been replaced." I said as she looked down…did I say something wrong-
"What the hell am I doing? I'm gonna kick that guy's butt!" She yelled, but I saw a few trickles of tears in her eyes, "Gosh, that was my moment of sadness that you'll never see again! I'll show that, weird-o bastard who I am!"
"I hope to never see that moment of sadness again." I said as she looked at me and grinned.
"Thanks again." She said and I smiled when I felt her arms around me. I chuckled a bit before hugging her back. She pulled back quickly and cradled her wrist again.
"Do you want to get some ice for that?" I offered as she shrugs and stood up. I stood up as well and took her wrist. I looked at it carefully before kissing it softly. I heard her laugh and looked at her. It was amusing to see her face turn a bright red.
"What was that?" She asked, biting her lip which I noticed was her common thing to do.
"It was a get-well kiss."
"Well…maybe I should get injured more often." I crinkled my eyebrows together before shaking my head in amusement and walking down the hallway with her.
"All right, I think my deck is prepped up in its randomness position." She said, shuffling her deck without a care as I raised an eyebrow.
"I know you want to be unpredictable, Cristina, but are you sure this is the best way to go...?" I warned her as she sighed and leaned back, putting the ice on her forehead.
"No, but I cannot think of anything else." She muttered and sighed, "I might as well wing it."
"Winging it won't let you win; you have to believe in your cards…here, let me fix your deck." I said as she turned to look at me.
"You sure?" She asked, removing the ice-pack, "I mean…this is kind of a waste of time-"
"If it involves helping the people I care about, then there's no time wasted." I interrupted her as she smiled and closed her eyes, "What are you thinking about?"
"If my dad is watching me, from TV. God, he's probably shooting steam of out his ears." She muttered and chuckled, "Imagine his face when I get on my duel runner."
"Speaking of duel runner, do you have yours?" I asked as she smirked and closed her eyes, "I'll take that as a yes, what it looks like?"
"You'll find out once I'm facing you in the Finals." She said as I smirked.
"The confidence is still there." I said as she gave me a teasing glare. I shuffled through her cards, and tried to put it as best as I could that would be like Cristina's battle strategy and a part of me felt guilty. If we do verse each other in the finals, I am seeing all her cards; it wouldn't be fair-
"Don't worry about it; even if you see my cards, don't feel guilty about it. I don't mind." Cristina said out of the blue as I stared at her in shock; how did she-
"You tend to talk under your breath, do you know that?" She asked and flashed me a smile before putting the ice pack on her forehead again, "It's adorable."
I shook my head and kept on fixing her deck.
I sat on the couch, relaxed and all, and stared at the TV. This was the third battle of the quarter finals, and another battle away from the semi-finals. Tanner had gone back to his seat with Luna and the others. I could have gone back to my bike to make sure it was in top-condition, but Cristina was on, I had to make sure she didn't lose her nerve during the battle. I shook my head, I shouldn't doubt her, she will make it through; I know she will…
"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome back to the third battle of the quarter finals; just one more way the to the super fantastic, jaw-dropping, spectacular, championship finals!" I smirked and crossed my arms; I could imagine what Cristina would look like when he said that. "On my left, we have the man with the plan, the heartthrob, the man with all the answer, Zeke!" I blinked in confusion as I saw the crowd, mostly girls, having posters… And I thought Jack was popular for the wrong reasons… "On the right is our lovely angel, the flame that lights every fan-boy heart-" I narrowed my eyes slightly; what fan-boys? "The lady with the power in her hands…The breathtaking Cristina Witen!" Cristina came onto the platform and waved happily at the at the crowd, but I saw that her eyes were focused on a certain place; maybe where Leo and Luna are. She slightly jogged into her place and took a deep breath. It seemed like she was calm and collected; that was unusual. Usually, she would have been still in her moment and smirking at least…I think she's freaking out in the inside.
"Are you ready, Cristina?" Zeke asked, bowing lowly as I heard from the TV, and outside the yelling of thousands of girls, "Hope you don't disappoint."
"Shut up and duel." She snapped before activating her duel disk. I clenched my fists and looked at the TV; Cristina what are you doing…this isn't the girl I have grown to lo-…adore…
*Well, I felt a bit mushy today and was like, "Hey, I want to do something very crazy" and here it is. Please review and tell me if Yusei is going a bit too fast or not. Thanks!