Chapter VIII

Conflicted

Edo folds his arms, his finger tapping impatiently on his arm, his eyebrows making a wrinkle mountain rise on his forehead. All the students are concentrated on the dueling stage, Chronos is in the middle, a cocky smile on his lips, his gaze running around the faces and stopping on the two rulebreakers.

Shou jolts at the attention and Judai grins excitedly, the blonde professor claps his hands, a white panel lowers from the ceiling, all the lights are turned off, Chronos starts his speech:

"As you all already know, there were some students who broke the rules and our kindest Principal decided to give them a chance to prove themselves worthy of the academy in a tag duel! And today is the day we will announce their opponents!" He spreads his arms into the air.

Samejima has a distant semblance, observing from the bleachers, the buzzing of the students increase, the teacher smirks and ends the thrills:

"One of the opponents is someone from our school! Edo Phoenix!"

A play of lights flash from the ceiling, focusing on the duelist, he simply stares at the crowd around as they look at him back in shock. Judai's eyes sparkle as if the challenge motivates him, but for Shou, it stirs dread in his eyes.

"As a pro duelist, he will be taking part in the tag duel and maybe you can learn one or two things with him!"

He cackles in his mind, holding back his own laughter, his eyes darting to the side, narrowing upon seeing the figures of the two Osiris red students. His teeth gritting when he sees the stupid animated look on Judai's face.

"Now, about the next opponent that composes the duo representing our school… I'm sure you all heard about him… He's a very famous duelist, and he knows and has dueled the chairman of Kaiba corporation!"

He presses a button and the screen projects an image that stuns all: Blonde hair, a cheerful smile and a name carved into the history of duelists years ago…

"Jounochi Katsuya! One of the legendary duelists that participated in the famed creator of duel monsters' tournament!"

From the screen they can see Jounochi's face brighten as he speaks loudly and pumped up:

"Hey, you guys from the duel academy! I'm sorry, this is just a recording, I'm a bit short on time, heh! But I can't wait to meet you all, you too, my partner! Let's have a great tag duel!"

He beckons to the camera and the transmission ends, the "ooh"s of the students echo, from the ground, Edo's arms uncross, his lips opening, from all the people they could get, he didn't expect in the least such a famous figure to accept a duel like this, specially with someone they don't know as a partner.

"Jounochi Katsuya, Yugi Muto's best friend, he's famous around the world. That guy was third in Pegasus rating… A rank above me…" His eyebrows curl confused. "How did the professor get someone like him…? No, more than that… If such a duelist comes, then, those two…" His eyes land discreetly on the two boys. "They don't stand a chance."

From the upper corridors in which the arena could be seen below, Ryou stands in a stoic posture, his brows twitching at the sight of the lights in Edo, his eyes wandering towards the two Osiris, stopping on the blue-haired boy whose knees buckle in fear.

"I can't believe it! Edo… He just… He will participate in the tag duel against Judai and Shou?!" Asuka's fists clench slightly.

"The direction board seems to have a grudge against them, regardless, whether they stay or not depends on the outcome of the duel."

"But…! They're against known professionals. How can they…?"

Ryou lets out a deep sigh, turning around uninterested in the rest of the ceremony and all the noise, Asuka calls him multiple times, but his mind is elsewhere, she gives up.

"Ever since that night he's acting strange… Did something bad happen…?"

Outside the dueling arena, the teal-haired youngster can only hear as much as muffled voices, becoming more and more distant as he goes further into the calm parts of the building, his hand rummaging in his chest pocket, taking out the paper he stole from the hut.

"Fujiwara… I have the impression I've… Heard this name before… But why can't I remember? Was he someone unimportant? Or who was he…?" He halts, flinching at his own deduction. "Why… Why am I thinking it's a 'he' and not a 'she' just by the surname…?" He puts a hand to his head, squinting his eyes. "This is odd… I have the sensation I'm forgetting something important…" Shaking off his head, he takes a quick look at the paper, he can't understand a single letter. "It seems I'll have to spend a night in the library to make some meaning out of this…"

Tucking the page back into his pocket, he vanishes into the empty corridors. Unaware of the importance of that which was forgotten.

Inside the arena, Edo is surrounded by people again, Judai included, Shou, on the other hand is paralyzed, hands on the head and a terrified expression. Asuka watches the pro-duelist with a frown. Shou cannot hear the voices all around him anymore, his legs shake, becoming weak.

"No, no… This can't be…" He mutters.

Closing his eyes tight, he clenches his teeth and regains his strength to run out of scene, Judai's bright smile vanishes as he searches for the friend, but can't find him. Stopping on his tracks, dozens of people passing by him to speak to Edo.

The grey-haired duelist puts his marketing smile greeting people in a vibrant mood, until he feels the piercing stare stabbing his back, only one glance is enough to see an ominous and menacing aura pouring out from the blonde girl, she swings her head negatively, there's so much disapproval and despise it makes him feel a tad uncomfortable as she leaves threading heavily.

"Now, if you excuse me… I have some appointments for today and I also have to prepare for the… duel."

Dismissing his fans away he leaves using the same exit as her, closing the door behind, he looks to one side and the other to find her standing with a scowl. Her fists were so clenched he thought she might attempt to punch him.

"What is it this time? I could spare some less time listening to your senseless scolding and do something better with it." He complains with a bored scoff.

"I can't believe you! How could you accept to take part in the tag duel?! You know why Judai and Shou were there! You saw them that night, you were there too! If they were bad people, they'd have snitched on you already! How can you just duel against them knowing what is at stake?!"

"Well, I know it sucks, but being a pro can be like that sometimes, you have to do your job, I was requested to do mine." he shrugs off.

"For what?! You could've refused!"

"I'll gain some credits, plus I've been interested in dueling different people anyways. Why? Are you worried that trouncing them will get me even more popularity?"

"Popularity? Yeah, we know you're a snob pro duelist ever since you entered the school, so what?! This is not the problem, how can you…? Judai and Shou did absolutely nothing to you! Why are you making so many efforts to pose as an enemy to them?!"

"Are you listening to yourself? You want to call me a hypocrite for accepting the duel even though all of us shared an experience that night, but the reason you're so worried is because you don't believe in them, do you? You don't have an ounce of belief they can win this…"

She gasps, he stated it as a matter-of -fact, no doubt in his voice, his shrewd eyes staring at her with defiance, he was never prone to get scolded and he won't stand quietly after this has been repeated for at least a couple times.

Is this true? Her eyes waver at the thought. She wanted to fend for them and to tell him off for ignoring that they were all together that night and they should not betray each other like this, but…

"You say you are their friend, but you can't believe in them. What a great friend you are, standing here and doing nothing but exposing your lack of faith and how you belittles their skills as duelists. And you want to tell me I'm the villain here. Take a good look in the mirror, you're not supporting them or anyone but yourself here. If you're really their friend, you shouldn't be coming to bark at me, but talk to them and cheer them up instead."

Despite his calm tone, the words were razor sharp, he finishes his monologue, her brows curling up in a saddened motion. The sound of his steps walking away down the corridor only accentuates her thoughtfulness.

She looks at her own palm, wondering to herself. Has she really been treating them as if they are under her level? Not trusting them enough? Not believing they can overcome their own challenges? She didn't mean to… But what if she's just doing that for herself? What are the chances that they can win?

"No… Asuka, you shouldn't… Everyone also believed Fubuki's disappearance should be archived, but… I want to have hope… I should… Hope they'll make a miracle happen in that tag duel too… No, I know, if it's Judai and Shou… They love dueling, so they can pull it somehow, right? They have to…"

With a different mindset, she raises her head, looking at the place where the silver-haired walked towards. True enough he has been outstandingly annoying and rude, but right now… It felt like he wanted to tell her something under the rough words. To think she'd heard from his mouth a lesson about valuing and trusting friends. Perhaps she understood him wrong all along. But that's not important right now…

From the corner of the corridor, leaning his back against the wall, an angle she couldn't see, Edo observes as she leaves in the opposite direction, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Judai and Shou, you better pull your weight in that duel or I'll be as disappointed as your friend there…"

Standing straight, he disappears into the depths of the school corridors, thinking about his partner, the tag duel and contacting Saiou to consult him about the results, though he probably will get the same answer: victory.

In the forest,

Rhythmic steps produce a rustling noise on the leaves, the sound stops when the black legs reach plain ground, no trees around. Daitokuji halts in front of the witch's hut, the beams of the setting sun stretching a last time, a lingering warmth on the ground.

He looks around silently, then gapes upon seeing what looked like a crumpled paper throw to the side of the hut, as he bends down to pick it up, he sees yet other objects: a student PDA entangled in the thorny branches of a bush, her amulet is also trapped nearby. He ventures his hand in there, acquiring a couple scratches in the process, his skin peels off, but there is no blood dripping from it.

He pockets the objects and undoes the creases of the paper carefully, reading a very vague and strange note, confirming Rie's story that she was called there by someone else. His brows sharpen and he stares at the hut, trailing a path inside there.

During the night,

The guiding light on the lighthouse makes rounds on the sea, Ryou stands on his usual spot, unmovable, his face set in stone in the same inexpressiveness.

"Ryou…"

The blonde girl beckons with a smile on her lips, he casts a glance as a greeting, but turns his gaze to the dark ocean ahead. They stand in silence for about a minute, in a brooding mood.

"I don't have much time, because of the latest incident, I'll be invited to stay in my room exactly as the curfew dictates… Until I come up with a new schedule I can easily sneak out, it is…"

He admits tiredly. How much of a hassle will he need to go through to break a few more rules for the sake of the investigation? Asuka pauses, her gaze fixated on his profile, he blinks confusedly, looking at her. He didn't expect that question now:

"Why did you go to the hut alone yesterday…?"

Her brows furrow upwards, it was not a demand, neither she pleading him to answer, but the way her eyes stared deeply into him, she wanted honesty. Today she has been scolded about not trusting her friends enough, she wants to trust them more, but this is a two-way street and she needs to know whether the trust is mutual.

"I'm sorry… I… Thought it would be too dangerous for you…" his mouth shuts almost in a pout of disappointment in himself. "After what happened to you near the abandoned dorms… I didn't want to risk it…" He adds the last part after perceiving she's still staring at him.

"We could've gone together." She retorts in a half complaint and disappointment, but with a smooth tone. "You know Fubuki is important to me, and if there was any clue, I'd be the first to go there… Had I been there, maybe things could've been different for you too…" Her eyes wander in the horizon, saddened.

"I apologize, that was a misjudgment on my part…"

"I'm glad to hear you were worried," She smiles ruefully, in a sign of peace between them. "Now I'm more worried about what happened to you there… You were caught outside, had it been like Judai and Shou, you could've been expelled, but it seems they didn't want to go this far with you… I guess expelling the most popular student would be troublesome for them too…" She trails off. "Anyway, what's done is done. Did you find anything useful in that hut?"

"I did find something…" He discloses the paper to her, her eyes reading it quickly, a bewildered frown appearing in the middle of her brows. "As you can see, we can't understand a word of it… I was planning to stay this week trying to decipher it, if I can find anything about this language in our library…"

"There is a name at the bottom of the page…"

"Yeah, I've seen this, I don't know who they are… But the place where I found it… How can I explain? It looked like it came out of a fairytale about witches…"

"You were there with Rie-chan, right? You both got called to the chairman's office… What happened that night? How did you two get locked and… What was she doing there?"

"It's a complex story…" He turns his gaze to the side.

"I don't believe in the rumors of what people talked about Ryou, I know you're not the type of person they paint, but I still… Want to know what happened, as a friend."

He's slightly surprised at her words, a warm smile brushes on his lips for a second before he starts explaining the situation, except details he decided to omit for her own sake.

"This is so awful!" She exclaims. "You think the girls who beat her and tied her up are your fans? And they even took her PDA… Just how far do they intend to go…?"

"I didn't want to believe that too, but I fail to see which other people would have a grudge against her. Moreover…" His eyes become distant for a second, he awakens himself, breaking the sentence there.

"What happened after that? The teachers only found you two during the morning, right?"

"Nothing much, we just talked about finding an exit and searched the whole place up and down, unsuccessfully. After a few hours we were tired of trying, so we sat around and we fell asleep at some point until it was morning time."

"Wait, you two really slept in there?" Her eyes open wide.

"Yes… I mean, we were locked, not much could be done about it…" A drop of sweat forms on his face as he gulps. "But I don't even remember when I fell asleep, I only woke up when morning came, I thought it had been a dream…"

"I still don't fully get how you were locked, did you not see the face of the person who closed the door?"

He flinches and sweats more at the question, his lips sealing shut, taking a moment to elaborate his story. Her curious eyes exert an immeasurable amount of pressure on him, but he is not giving in to it.

"No… Like I said, the door was half open, I decided to enter it to check inside, and when I was there, someone slammed the door behind me. I tried to break it open a few times, but they sealed it from outside… I couldn't see their face, but… I doubt one of my fans would do it…"

"That's right. Hm…" She ponders, perplexed. "I take it Rie-chan was scared?"

"She didn't seem scared at first, but she panicked when we found the trapdoor."

"A trapdoor?" She almost stutters. "You mean… Like those in movies?"

"Exactly like that, it was half hidden under the bed, I could only find it because I happened to stumble upon it… It had some stairs leading to a strange room underground… You wouldn't believe me…"

"The entire story sounds unbelievable, but again, what on this island doesn't? Many strange things happened, enough for us to know there might be major forces in play…"

"It looked like an atelier or black magic room of sorts, there were any flasks that looked like potions, I would have investigated further if Rie wasn't there with me… In the end, all I could grab was this paper, but I'm planning on going back there to take a proper look."

"I see… You wouldn't happen to know who wrote this, do you?"

"I have no idea." He blurts out, followed by a sigh of dismay.

"Ryou, next time, let's go together, right? I think you had enough adventures on your own and I want to do this too, for Fubuki." She nods firmly.

"Right." He replies nodding back at her.

"Why do you suppose Rie-chan was scared, did it really look this creepy? Though, with how much of a hazard to your health she can be, I don't see a reason for her to be scared…" She chuckles, looking at his bandaged hand, he covers it with his other hand, feeling mocked. "I'm just joking, it must have been terrible to be suddenly attacked and wake up in a different place, I understand that…" She reminisces about the episode with Titan. "But what did she have to say about it?"

"I don't know…"

"Huh… But you two were called to the chairman's office, what did you tell the teachers? And did you not ask Rie-chan how she felt there or why she was so nervous?"

"We just told the true story, I went there out of curiosity and she was tricked to go there… And no… Why would I ask her anything else after we were finished with the school procedures?"

Asuka stares at him in some sort of disbelief, a subtle twitch on her left eyebrow as she asks again:

"What do you mean by 'what would you ask'? You said she had your PDA, after you left the chairman's office, did you not ask her a single time if she was fine? Or the reason she was scared? Did she really not want to talk about what happened there? About the people who could've locked you both? Anything?!"

"Now that you mention it…" His eyes close, remembering about the episode. "She did wait for me outside the office, I think she wanted to give back my PDA, but I just said she can have it until she recovers her own device."

The blonde girl lets out a troubled sigh, putting a hand to her forehead and shaking her head in shame for the cluelessness of her friend.

"What?"

"Ryou, I don't think she wanted just to give back your PDA, have you not considered maybe she wanted to talk about what happened? And who would even attempt to do this to you both, it can't be people who like you or her."

"Why? I told you nothing happened between us and with how my admirers have been causing her trouble, I doubt she'd want to spend even more time looking at my face and discussing those subjects. She even ran away before with the hate letters…"

"It's not about your fans or your looks, people are saying horrible things all over about you and about her. You may be able to ignore it, but some weeks ago, you were the one worrying your fans might be going too far with their harassment, right? Now, imagine what will happen with rumors spreading, you are the school's pride, the Kaiser and you spent a night locked in a hut with a girl that transferred not long ago… Of course I don't believe in whichever story they're trying to fake here, because I know you, but for a girl that has barely been here, it's really not okay to be judged by people wrongly like this… You know well because last year I was also harassed by your fans whenever I came to visit… Do you not remember?"

"I do… They tried many things, even putting laxatives on your food…"

"Yes and I had them eat it all so they learn their lesson! But this is even worse than what happened to me and both you and Fubuki were helping me, you berated them and they stopped. This year too… I dueled all the girls who disrespected me and won, it stopped after that, but it was frustrating up until that point in which they accepted they can't win! Then you have a girl that's having way worse harassment than me, you know that, but you're not even asking if she's fine after you've seen what your fans did?"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You can speak, you can ask all this. Those are not things you say out loud, sometimes you need to listen to people even when they don't say a word, Ryou."

Her words struck him with stupefaction, he has not been listening to her and to others? That's true, he ignored it because he thought it shouldn't concern him, that it did not affect his life, however, it did, he got locked and it could have been worse. She could have ruined his life there if she wanted to say anything bad about him out of spite.

"I know you've always been a reserved person, but that night you excluded me from going with you, then you didn't even ask Rie who has been locked with you for the whole night how she felt or if she's fine." Her eyes flicker for a moment upon seeing his fazed expression. "Even when Shou got punished and forced into a tag duel you didn't even say a word to him or tried talking to him, you were there too, you know it's not correct… You can't be forever avoiding people and their problems and pretend they mean nothing to you even when they are directly related to you, Ryou! You're just building barriers around you for everyone who tries to approach you. This isn't…" she stops herself right there, biting her lips in guilt after seeing his eyes lower depressed. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't want to reprimand you this much, I just…"

"No, you're right. Just being quiet and withdrawn isn't the right choice here, I could've done better. I'm in the wrong. I should've learned my lesson after our last talk too. I also ignored my fans and what they were doing and they tried to effectively harm Rie, I underestimated how far they could go and disregarded the other parts involved… As for Shou… I have my own reasons… And you… I wouldn't be able to face Fubuki or your father if anything happened to you too…"

"Ryou…" She is moved by his words, despite his cold tone. "I'm sorry really… It's just… I've also failed to be a good friend myself, or so I was told today… I don't want Judai or Shou to lose the duel, it was all because of me and they even got a clue about Fubuki… And I'm not sure if I can give them the support they deserve now…"

"I understand, don't beat yourself over it." He taps her shoulder lightly. "I have to fix some things too. We both have room to improve, it seems."

A drop of sweat rolls down her face, her burst of emotions only thickened the tense mood between them, his aloof expression looked a tad lonely.

"I need to go now, I have a lot to think about… Also, we can go to the hut together to check on the strange room and ascertain if we didn't miss any clue there… I will message y-"

His eyes open wider for a second when he realizes what he was just saying, correcting himself immediately after clearing his throat:

"I mean, I don't have my PDA now, but we can meet here after classes end, earlier than usual… If they're forbidding us to go out at night, we can just go during the day. I doubt anyone ever goes to that place during the daytime…"

"Ryou…"

"See you another time, Asuka. Thank you for your insight."

He smiles briefly, waving his hand as he walks off to the obelisk dorm, her eyes lingering on his figure as he disappears into the night. Edo's words still haunt her thoughts. Has she been a good friend to them? And did she have the right to scold Ryou when she also had her own issues to take care of? She just didn't want him to remain so impartial when things looked like they were starting to fall apart, but she knows well he was also bothered with all that.

She hopes they will both improve in their ways, be able to support their friends and fulfill their goals in searching for her brother. She also has things she must do to improve herself.

Inside the Osiris dorm

The screen of the computer lights the room dimly, in front of it, Daitokuji presses the send button on some sort of report before turning to the side to look at the guest sitting on his chair.

"I'm done." He takes a refreshed breath, chuckling while looking at the pink-haired girl.

"Am I in trouble?" She pouts showing the message on the screen, her eyes lifting timidly.

"More than you already are? No, no." he jokes, chuckling more.

"But I let someone find out about your atelier…" she stares at him, expecting to be released from the sense of failure.

"That was just an old place. It's been ages since I last used it and all of the things you saw were largely failed experiments and potions… I used to have a student helping me there, but they vanished." She sighs in relief, putting a hand to her chest and then, typing more.

"Ryou saw the room… I think professors Ayukawa and Chronos were too stunned about me and him being there to check, but I'm not sure if they went back there after they left us at the principal's office."

"You don't need to express your concern over that… Talking about which…" he turns around, calmly taking a book whose cover is a flask with a skull, paging it through slowly while asking: "The Kaiser. He didn't do anything to you while you were there, did he?"

He hears a soundly gasp, looking over his shoulder to the screen of her device shining in the darkness, as she complains abashedly:

"Uncle!"

"Did he try anything or did he not? It's a simple question, Rie." He skims another page of the book, a smirk appearing as he stops, taking a glance at the content, he found just the right thing. "If he did, you can tell me…"

"No! He didn't! I wasn't lying when I told this at the principal's office, he really helped me out of the bindings and gave me this PDA. And you know I could have defended myself from him even if he tried! The only problem was… Hm, he's too clever, I could barely stop him when he was about to check more on the potions. Had people not been spreading rumors about a witch hut, he'd have been even more distrustful…"

"So he didn't… I guess he's our best student for more than one reason, haha…" He clasps the book closed in a second, dropping it to his desk and giggling while scratching the back of his head. "By the way, I went back in there today and I retrieved this for you…"

Her eyes open big and oscillate as he takes out all the objects she had lost: the PDA and the amulet. He offers it gently and she takes them back caringly, holding it close to her chest.

"Now, now, don't cry…" He pats her head softly. "You can give back this borrowed PDA… But, Rie-chan, next time… Try to avoid calling too much attention."

"I will… I'm sorry… I got tricked, I thought someone really saw me out there while I was… Regardless, I'll try to be more careful next time…"

"You should, but if it ever happens that you are in a bad situation, don't hesitate to defend yourself with your skills, even if it calls attention, I'd feel more relieved to know you are safe than wake up in the morning with a call from the principal telling me someone hit you."

"Uncle…" he looks at him for a long second before nodding firmly.

"And this is just a suggestion, but it's better if you keep your distance from people Rie, don't forget our main goal here… I'm not prohibiting you from making friends and interacting with others, this is part of your school experience and I'd be happy if you could make friends and live as a normal girl as well… But you must be aware that the closer to them you are, the harder it will be later for you to do your job…"

His smile fades as he speaks in a serious, different tone than usual, without his cheerfulness. His hand landing on her shoulder as she lowers her sight, typing a message.

"I understand, uncle. I should remain in secrecy." Her fingers hesitating as she types the next text: "Uncle, will you really… When we acquire what we came here for, will you be healthy again?"

He's quiet for many seconds, as if thinking of the right answer to give as her blue eyes look at him, a hopeful glint on them.

"Yes. Those cards are astoundingly powerful. Things that we deem impossible will become tangible just by owning could even bring your voice back…"

"I can live without my voice, I got used to not speaking… But uncle, your health…" her eyes flicker afflicted, tearing up as she looks at him, her lips curving down.

"I'm elated you worry about me, you're a very kind girl, Rie-chan, I'm proud of you." He lands both hands on her shoulders. "However, we still have time. That;s why we should use this time to acquire those cards, as planned. Do you understand?" She nods.

"The principal and some other people are aware of the hut now… Will you be able to cover the traces and hints linking it to you or should I do something? Ryou saw the whole atelier, though…"

"You don't need to keep an eye on Ryou Marufuji, I'll be watching him more closely now, just make sure to know Edo Phoenix's moves, he's the one I'm more interested in and he has been sticking his nose everywhere on the island."

"Okay. I'll try."

"Also, Rie-chan…" He takes a small flask filled with a dark-blue liquid from his pocket, it's smaller than a finger. "Take this. It's a concoction I made recently, if you're ever in trouble like when those girls attacked you, drop this to the ground, it will release a smell that will make everyone around faint, nonetheless to say, you should not breathe when you break it and get away as far as possible."

"Uncle Daitokuji…" her semblance darkens at the thought, she gulps bitterly.

"Don't sweat it, it won't harm them, it's just a sleeping potion, if you want to call it that, a bit of chemistry like they do for pills in pharmacies. I know you can erase memories with the amulet I gave you, but sometimes it might be best to avoid using it unless it's necessary…"

She agrees with her head, a fond smile comes to his lips as he gestures for her to stand up and tilts his head towards the exit, ever since the incident, he was tasked to also make sure his niece is properly set inside the girl's dorm every night, and he will take her there in front of all of them to make sure the suspicion on her diminishes, not that he doesn't enjoy the night walks.

At the Obelisk dorm,

Edo makes a call to his manager, it rings a few times before he is picked. Saiou's voice is placid. The silver-haired starts:

"I wanted to talk to you. Today a professor asked for my services as a duelist, since it's just a school duel, I accepted it, but I wanted to hear your predictions. It will be a tag duel… You won't believe who my partner is. Third in Pegasus' book: Jounochi Katsuya."

"That's a curious development. I didn't expect you'd enroll in school duels outside your obligations as a student." he smirks on the other side.

"I can still refuse if you believe it's bad…"

"No, Edo. My predictions were also intriguing… I saw a change in your destiny…"

"A change…?" his eyes open, oscillating wildly. "What does that ensue? Do you mean I'll have problems with the duel?"

"The outcome of the duel is irrelevant. Your partner is someone that has been involved in shadow games before… You might have your interest piqued while dueling with him."

The teen squints his eyes, his friend just avoided the question about the duel, why? If he's not told, then Saiou must have had reasons, he shouldn't question it, but rather, accept this destiny.

"Should I continue as planned?"

"Indeed."

"Ah, Saiou… About what you told me the other day… That bad prediction… Someone got caught into a ruckus that day. I was following him that same night…"

"The other party has their eyes on you, Edo. Every move you do is watched. I do not know in which sort of powers they rely, but someone has been trying to tamper with my predictions, too bad for them, my powers cannot be matched. You'll be fine as long as you are aware where your toes are stepping and avoid calling attention. Do you understand?"

"I… I do…" He is slightly shocked to hear someone could even confront Saiou's predictions. "Saiou, are you fine?"

"Yes. You don't need to worry about me, like I said, they can't harm me… But they can attempt to hurt you, that's why you must listen to me when I say you are in danger. Keep your eyes open." He smirks, almost laughing at the apprehension imbued in Edo's voice.

"Right."

"Have you found anything new?"

"The day I was following that other student… He was going to some hut on the island, they call it a 'witch's hut'... I thought of checking it myself. All I can say is… There's something very shady going on here, some students went missing, but I don't see the school doing anything about it…"

"Missing students…?" He flips a card on the other side of the line, the hanged man upside down. "It seems the school is also trying to cover obscure tracks. Find more info about this, it could be related to our enemies…"

"I'll call you after I take a look at those things, or you can call me if anything happens."

He ends the call, a sensation of dissatisfaction with the results of his latest investigations. What change did Saiou predict? And why does he have the impression that the missing students matter is darker than he initially thought? Plus the tale about the witch hut, this school is no playground for duelists.

Next day

At the library,

Ryou plopped some books onto a table near the window, the sunlight revealing some dust floating on the air. He took a quick glance around, in distrust. All the other students are at far away tables, a disturbing quietness that irked more his tension.

He lands his hand on the cover of the book on the top. He brought an odd pile, titles from ancient language, old roots of languages, dark magic and… The last one looked familiar: Advanced Alchemy. Where did he see that before…?

"Kaiser." A voice whispers.

Two boys stand nearby, they are some of the students he tutors. They smile excitedly exchanging a glance before asking as silently as possible to not disturb the peace.

"Can you help us with some studying?" One of them scratches his head.

"I'm a bit busy right now…" He casts a discreet glance over his own share of "homework".

"Y-you can just recommend us good books!"

"Y-Yeah…"

They insisted, he cast a glance at both of them, they were freshmen from the obelisk, it won't take long to give some advice, will it? Specially after the talk with Asuka about opening more up, he has to face himself. With a resigned sigh, he agrees with an unperceivable nod and they guide him over some shelves filled with literature they were interested in.

When he leaves, soft steps approach the table where he left his belongings. Rie stops, peeking over her shoulder, watching over as Ryou was distracted by the younger students.

She takes a PDA out of her pocket, her eyes lingering on the screen, seeing her own reflection, her hands hesitated for a moment, her fingers twitch, finally giving up, placing the device atop the books.

Her eyes travel to the side, Ryou talks to those same students from before, even in the silence, she catches sight of the surroundings, some people read books together, a group of friends studies for the next exam, everyone around with their friends or acquaintances.

Amidst the crowd, she was the one feeling out again, alone. A pulse in her memory reminds her of Daitokuji's words, her eyes wavering conflicted. Perhaps, it's for the best if she doesn't have any connections to this school or to anyone here, she wasn't even supposed to be here if not for the situation with her uncle, plus when everything is over, she won't have time to think about friends, will she? Her eyes become empty with the thought, threading coldly far away from there.

A few minutes later, Ryou comes back to his seat, the other two boys still accompanying him and bathing him with praise for his suggestion while holding a pile of books each. His aloof expression is maintained through it all, they try to be polite, but it's hard to not think he doesn't care.

"Huh…" the two younger ones exchange a glance again, one of them bites the lips, grimacing as the other elbows him, incentivizing him to do something. "We heard… You got in trouble…" he gulps after seeing the Kaiser stare icily at him.

"Y-Yeah, is it true you got locked with that third year girl that is mute?" The other one jumps in a mix of curiosity and anxiety. "Did you two really…?" He blushes at his own thoughts.

They hear a deep, heavy sigh coming from him as he turns at them crossing his arms with a scowl, as if reproving their question and giving that as a last answer to stop making up stupid stories. They sweat aplenty while bowing down and apologizing.

There's a change in his posture when he looks at the table, something is on top of the books he left there, his lips opening as he reaches out his hand to the PDA.

"What is this doing here? This is mine… right?"

His brows angle down in reflex, confused at the occurrence, his brain processing it to understand the situation, he can't even hear as the other two students call out to him. He inspects the device around, to make sure he's not mistaking something, clicking a button, the screen had a message left open on the texting applications of the device.

"Thank you for lending me this and helping me out that night, Ryou. I'm sorry for inconveniencing you before and I hope we stop having these awkward meetings for our own sake. Don't worry about your fans, they probably won't be seeing me near you anymore."

His lips open inspiring air, his eyes wavering unnoticeably at the message, his eyes run through the surroundings, there are only strange faces everywhere, and silence, but there is no sign of her. His brows curl up worriedly.

Why would she leave his PDA there like this and vanish? The message was odd too. She inconvenienced him? Why does she think that? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Wasn't she the one with more troubles there?

He reminds himself of the time he just left the principal's office, when she came to give the device back to him, in hindsight, he was rude to her back there, it couldn't be only that, could it? True he was in a bad mood, but… No, he shouldn't sugarcoat it. He reacted badly and that's it. His eyes only waver more at the thought, what has he been doing all this time? His mind gives the final stab inside him as he remembers Asuka's words.

"Building barriers, huh…? I think I really need to rearrange my thoughts, Asuka…"

"Hey! Kaiser, are you alright?"

One of the students brings him out of his thoughts, approaching concerned, Ryou's expression cools off from the previous emotions, his voice standing low as per the rules of the place:

"Yes. I'm fine. Shouldn't you two be going now? Í thought you had some reading to so."

He drops his PDA to the side and supports both hands on the table, bending over the pile of books he left there, his face barely turning to look at them. For some reason, they felt as if he was weary, both of them perplexedly exchanging a glance. Maybe it's best if they don't talk to him now.

With a hint of conflict in their minds, that day goes by fast, each one with their own problems. Shou stands alone at the cliff, his eyes dive gloomily into the ocean; Asuka knocks at the door of the Osiris red dorm, being welcomed by Judai with a grin, his cheerfulness disappearing when her lips move, asking a question, a glint of seriousness on his orbs; Rie plays with the amulet in her room, looking at it from all sides, until she notices the green gem that is broken, gasping at the sight.

Ryou reads the books until late at the library, his mind drifting off to the recent events, the talk with Asuka and Rie's message that he didn't erase from the device; Edo locks himself in his room, with his notebook on his lap on his bed, he researches about his partner, the shadow duels and all the information he can, he ponder for a moment, his hand covering his mouth, then, his fingers act on their own, opening a tab on the side and researching about the missing students in the duel academy.

The more connections arise, the farther they seem to be from the truth, all of them entwined in the very same knot that intersects their paths.