Don't be scared of the word count, there's a duel in this chapter! It took longer than expected to make the duel (I revised this many times and had someone revise with me too) and it became longer than I planned at the start. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter XXVII

Glistening Dream

A faint sound of curtains flapping gently at the breeze spreads in the air, sunbeams coming through the open warming his face, then a soft, firm and unfamiliar voice calls:

"Ryou, wake up."

His eyes squeeze together before opening, directing at the source of sound, the surroundings nothing more than a blur, his head tumbles to the side, sinking into the pillow. A hand slides from his shoulder to his chest, so smoothly he could barely feel any weight.

"Now, don't be so sleepy," she plays on the lines of his torso with feather light taps "Ryou."

He wakes up in a flinch, his green orbs focus on the person sitting on the edge of his bed, flabbergasted, sitting up straight by reflex:

"Rie?! What are you doing here?"

She answers with a delighted giggle, hiding her mouth behind her hand in a princess-fashion. Her voice was not teeny or high pitched as from other girls he'd hear, instead it was just the right amount of softness that matched her appearance, such a kind, pleasantly girly tone. His eyes widen in sheer puzzlement as she speaks again:

"You have a duel, I came to wake you up!"

Supporting both hands on the fluffy mattress that bounces slightly at her movement, she leans backwards with a smile from a corner to another of her face. This is rare. His lips tremble before managing to gather a sentence together:

"This can't be true," a dry gulp descends his throat, this is far from a nightmare, but it's surreal "How do you have a voice? What about your scar?"

"What do you mean, silly?" she chuckles as if he told a bad joke "Which scar? You're acting like we've never talked before."

"We didn't… Like this…" he stumbles on words, stating the obvious "You can't speak, Rie."

"What are you talking about? Aren't you happy your girlfriend came to wake you up?"

This time, she leans onwards playfully, her hand reaching out to his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb tenderly, a shiver running down his body at her touch, since when was she so emboldened? It's so different from the Rie he remembers, the shy, troubled girl that could barely look him in the eyes, even more after their little episode at the obelisk dorm.

"Are you still drowsy? Maybe this will do…"

Without any ceremony, she plants a peck on his forehead. That warmth from her lips lingering on his skin, leaving him speechless. All those sensations, how can he feel it so intimately if this is a dream?

He snaps out of it after hearing her giggle merrily celebrating to have incited a reaction on him, turning around to hide her face, holding her laughter after a few seconds. She stops after listening to the bedsheets shuffling, he sits on the edge of the bed, right by her side, his gaze lost on the crimson carpet. Even at a moment like this, his rational side takes over:

"Where is everyone…?"

"There's no one else besides us here, if that's what you're worried about."

"How?"

He avoids looking at her, this has to be an illusion and he fears that if he takes another peek, it will all disappear.

"Everyone is waiting for your duel in the main building, so it's just the two of us here."

She flings her legs animated, smiling at him again, the corners of her eyes wrinkling in relish, a hint of bantering in her next sentence as she bends, her face halting a centimeter away from his, her sweet strawberry breath blowing hear his ear:

"Don't tell me you were having dirty thoughts because it's just the two of us."

"No!" he bristles up, shaking his head in denial, his muscles tensing "I wasn't-"

Her snickering fills the air with joy as she recoils once more, satisfied in making him flustered. She's his girlfriend, right? She agreed to spend time with him and to get to know each other better, but did they even talk about it? All they discussed was regarding her mission and not about them as a couple.

"You're still half-asleep, aren't you, Ryou? Time to wake you up fully…"

Decreasing the distance between them in a blink of an eye, she pulls his face closer, brazenly placing one of her hands on his thigh, the other hand grabbing his own and bringing it to her leg, making his body's temperature flare up as she glides his hand from her knee up, guiding it to her inner thigh, whispering sultrily:

"We can continue from where we left off last time…" her tepid lips brush on his and then…

His eyes open desperately, he sits automatically on the bed, the blankets covering him fall with a plop all around, his heartbeats wildly paced, his face burning, deep red as if he had a fever, his turvy sight traveling his surroundings, his hand taps the bed a few times, lifting the blankets, checking it thoroughly. There's no one there, for a moment, his heart skipped a beat.

His arm comes to shield his squinted orbs from the bright daylight coming through the open balcony. He glances under his blanket, a contained grunt of complaint escaping his throat, maybe he got too excited for his own good.

"It's just morning, just morning."

He mutters to himself, letting out a sigh to dispel his tension and bafflement at the same time, he had to check the bed just in case. One of those days Rie was truly sleeping by his side. Besides, it looked so real, he could almost feel her weight tugging down the mattress near him, but that was his imagination.

"What's with that becoming that kind of dream? Why was I…?"

Now he's definitely getting crazy, that's it. Dusting off those thoughts, he begins his morning routine, washing and rubbing his face a couple more times than usual to shoo away those scenes of Rie from his mind.

Inside the school building

Edo closes his locker with a click, his eyes landing on the side, at Ryou. The other just stares idly at some books on his locker, in a daze.

"We should talk later today," Edo calls, Ryou is momentarily startled "What to do about the professor, I mean."

"Right," he folds his arms, a pensive stance beneath his stoic demeanor "We know he's in it, but we didn't decide about how to best approach him, moreover he could just deny everything."

"It's a complex issue, that's why we should see how to best go around, and ask Rie what she thinks about it. We're stepping on eggshells and we don't know what those people are capable of."

"Sure, when you see Asuka, tell her to come too."

This time, Edo was a bit caught in surprise, they are classmates, but delegating the invitation to him was unusual:

"I will."

Rie comes to her locker as the first-year leaves, beckoning at them, her gaze latches on Ryou, he stares in her general direction, something about him isn't quite right, he's not only aloof but his orbs are a foggy green hue, unfathomable.

If Rie could speak, is this how she would sound? Like in his dream? Or would she have a different voice? The way she called his name, he enjoyed it, he wished he'd be able to confirm it in real life too. Those scenes can't be extinguished from his head, but there's no way Rie would be that outgoing, is there? Not the Rie he knows. That person in his dream isn't anything like her at all.

Under the long stare, her fingers rapidly preen her hair, wondering if there's something wrong:

"Is there something troubling you?"

Glances fly their direction, she quickly catches onto the dense atmosphere forming, people are starting to gossip. He sees the text, but his sight is lost on something beyond, he doesn't respond to it, his eyes narrowing at her as a response, almost in a frown. She weaves another message:

"Did I do or say something wrong? You can tell me, I'll try to improve."

In a more panicky attempt, she closes her locker with a bang, waking him up from the daydreaming, it takes him a moment to recompose and read the last text:

"You didn't do anything wrong," he says, closing his own locker too "Rie, aren't you bothered to always have to speak through messages?"

Her lips part at the question, why is he suddenly asking this? Her eyes linger on the keys, thinking carefully for seconds before answering:

"It's tiresome, yes, but even if I were to learn sign language, I doubt many people would be able to speak to me like that. There's nothing much I can do besides the messages. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing, forget it. It was a stupid question"

It's clear she feels distressed, to spend so many years speaking and then suddenly become disabled, that must've been a hard experience through and through. He ditches the topic, facing her front to front with another sentence:

"By the way, in the city you said you'd show me your deck one day."

"My deck? I'm surprised you remember that."

He isn't talking about her uncle or his schemes? Or about her tasks as a spy? Anything of the sort? It's so out of ordinary she short-circuits, but she did tell him most details at the lighthouse. Observing her bewilderment, he clarifies:

"Do you think you could show me your deck sometime?"

"You mean today?"

It sounds like he asked for her to show an alien, not just cards, albeit due to her abashed nature and how people have avoided her, maybe this is really a first for her, he conjectures mentally.

"Whenever you have time."

"I guess after class ends then?" a twitch angles a corner of her lips up, unsure if that's the right answer.

With a swift nod, he agrees, walking towards the classroom. She stays behind, her eyes roaming on the ground, until it dawns on her: was she just invited to hang out normally, no strings attached? No investigation? No anything? He's more of a smooth talker than she judged, she ended up consenting without batting an eye.

Lunch break

Edo walks on the corridors, a hand to his chin, his eyes cast ahead, oblivious to the people or to his surroundings. After the dialogue with everyone last night, he tried to contact Saiou, but wasn't answered. What's up with his manager? Is there anything wrong? He's been quiet about the predictions lately.

More than that, he's worried about the people who were behind Rie's orders, not only her uncle but the others she mentioned, given how low she was on the hierarchy, he doubts he can get more info from her, but… What if that man is among those people? What if he was there from the beginning and was one step ahead of Edo? What if he's already making a move on the cards? Saiou told him to be careful, is it possible his predictions pointed at this…?

"Edo."

His trance breaks, gaping a familiar figure standing beside him, her hazel eyes curiously contemplating the rough lines of his expression.

"You look perplexed."

"I was just thinking about yesterday, but there's no point in that. Ryou said we should meet and talk tonight."

"He did? Well, it feels like we still don't know a lot. I talked to Rie yesterday too, she told me everything."

"Are you not even a bit mad? Those people she worked for could be behind your brother's disappearance," he folds his arms "I'd be in your place."

"They could, but Rie isn't with them anymore, though she did lie, I believe her more after we talked. I don't think she meant harm to us, at least, if she wanted to harm me or Ryou she had plenty of opportunities, but it never happened. And I understand where she comes from, professor Daitokuji is the only relative she has, did you know? If me or my father were in the same situation, I just can't say I would never do what she did."

"Asuka…"

"Plus, ever since I started searching for Fubuki, I was never alone. Ryou and I were doing this together and then you started helping too, but she was trying to do it all on her own, trying to not stand out and not to interact with people more than necessary. How lonely must she have felt? I can't even be mad at her for that."

"I can't imagine…"

Saiou and D.D. have been with him ever since he was a kid and lost his father, while he did take the world on his shoulders and did his best, he had people by his side whom he trusted, had they not been there, how different would his life have turned out to be?

"My father had a mental breakdown after Fubuki. He was really paranoid about me coming to the duel academy. At the start of this year when I moved here, it was so bad he was calling every day at least ten times to know if everything was fine with me and the principal had to tell him straight that this could harm my studies too."

"Your father must love you a lot."

"He does." she bobs her head boastfully in affirmation "He's calmed down nowadays, we agreed I could send voice messages once a day, just to tell how the day was or if I'm in trouble."

"Voice messages?"

"He said anyone could write for me if it was just text."

She grimaces a bit, not wanting to make her dad sound too strict or come off as obsessive about her wellbeing, but that's understandable for Edo, given the circumstances her family has been through.

"He's a smart man."

"I know right?"

"You should take care of him too."

"I do."

She stops on her tracks, he's bemused, mimicking her to ascertain if he crossed a line there in bringing up the subject. Did it make her sad? Or did he word his phrases rudely? A smile blooms on her lips:

"Thank you for answering my questions yesterday. See you later."

With a fast wave of hand, she whirls around and ventures into the hallways of the school, he's taken aback for a while, watching her leave. People called her an ice queen, but she had such a pretty smile, maybe they never got on her good side to see it.

In front of the Obelisk male dorm

Late afternoon,

The pink-haired girl arrives, it's not the first time she comes by, but certainly the first she was actually invited and can enter it head-on. Some glances are cast her way, she'd prefer when sneaking and avoiding attention were on the menu, at the same time, it's intriguing that Ryou would choose here of all places for them to meet and a bit unnerving.

"Right on time. Come with me."

A tiny smile appears on his lips, she beckons, letting him lead them into the dorms, some boys pass by, following them with amused eyes, as usual, the Kaiser's posture is unfazed.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Instead of walking upstairs, he takes a way across the main salon that leads to one of the side corridors of the building. During her mapping adventures, she does remember covering all paths, but this side area didn't give her direct access to the rooms so she disregarded it when planning.

Along the way, there are minor side rooms used by the staff of the dorm, as soon as he opens the door at the end of the road, sunlight dazzles their vision, shining upon an outside garden: it's a whole open field of grass, adorned by victorian style cast iron furniture, all in white.

Plain round tables are spread over the area, empty chairs surrounding it. At the corners of the garden, there are benches that fit the same intricate pattern drawn on the whole set of furniture, flat square tables nearby, colored flowers paving the corners of the stone paths trailing to it.

The perimeter is fenced, walls of blue roses growing from it, the same shade as the obelisk's uniform, it's so peaceful they can hear the leaves rustling at the fresh breeze and birds chirping close by, a sight out of a movie.

"Here we are, we can take a seat anywhere we want."

He looks at her waiting for a direction, scoffing subtly at her reaction, she's thunderstruck at the beauty of the place. Finally, she points to one of the tables that have benches to sit instead of chairs.

They take a seat near the rose wall at the edges of the terrain, he takes a seat beside her instead of across from her, little distance between them, calculated enough to not invade her personal space, much to her surprise.

"Did you not know about this place, Rie?" she denies with a swing of her head "It's the backyard of the dorm, there should be something similar in the female dorms, but this one is bigger. Some students asked for a reform last year…"

"Why does the school have a garden like this? I mean, this looks so luxurious, but a bit out of place for a dueling school."

"You think so? This is a school of many elitists, I don't think it's out of place."

Now that he mentions, it's true all of the obelisk students hail from rich families. While she isn't sure about the people from other dorms, the duel academy was regarded as a high-society private school.

"The garden is part of the tea and dueling club. People come here to drink tea and duel without holograms, something about too much eye pollution, seizure inducing colors and potential risks to health."

"They dislike technology?"

"They like to duel surrounded by a more natural environment, having tabletop duels, like the old days. I also heard they dislike Kaiba Corp, or at least some families around here do, so there might be some merit to those rumors."

"How do you know such an area of the school? I didn't think you'd be visiting gardens of all things."

"Hmm," he munches on his words, ashamed to admit it "Fubuki found out about this place, he wanted to infiltrate on the tea club because it was popular among girls," he sways his head in disapproval "So he dragged us both here and it just so happens that, his schemes aside, it was a surprisingly relaxing place and we could duel some people too."

"That's a funny story."

She giggles soundlessly, wondering which kind of person Asuka's brother is, he's always mentioned flirting with girls, she can't portray a person like this hanging around with Ryou, but again, he's also here with her and she wasn't exactly a beacon of righteousness. Is the plot twist that he's a magnet for weird people?

"Does that mean you come here often?"

"Not really, but I do come here instead of the lighthouse at times. As you can see there aren't any people around at this hour, though during the middle of the afternoon, it's packed."

"I didn't even know anyone could just enter, I thought girls couldn't come to private areas of the boy's dorm."

"That's because you were always coming at forbidden hours," there's a pinch of warning on his tone, she reckons "Technically this is part of the school, Asuka used to visit Fubuki's room. It's allowed and that was before she entered the academy."

"She did? I guess that makes sense, she wasn't studying here until this year, right?"

"Yes, but she came from a middle-school duel academy like me. That's how most obelisk students are designated to this dorm, otherwise you have to climb your way up from the Ra or Osiris."

"I wasn't aware of this."

She trails off, her eyes are vacant as she looks at the ground, something that doesn't go unperceived by him. Daitokuji settled everything for Rie's transfer here, it's possible he didn't brief her on how it works for other students, and probably that he forged a background for her too. How much of her life here is real? Perhaps she's having a tough time thinking about it by herself. He interjects:

"They also take other things into consideration before assigning a proper class to the students, like age and previous records."

"You know a lot of this stuff."

"I'm part of the student council."

"You have time for that too?"

"I do. Why?"

"I wonder if you stretch yourself too thin for all your appointments."

"I have free time now if that's what worries you," he replies, missing the point of her concern "May I see your deck now?"

Her hands fumble, startled at his sudden request before she unattached the deck case from the belt on her waist, handing it to him: It's made of white leather with cherry blossoms imprinted on it and a golden button to close. Spreading the cards in a line on the table, his eyes gloss over the whole deck in a minute, he's done it a million times in his life.

The composure he had was dignified as he sat there, reading the cards, her gaze was drawn to his profile, agreeably he does have an aura around him worthy the nickname of Kaiser, a bit too intimidating even. Why would he want to see her deck? Not like she's one of the best duelists out there.

A click happens on her head, he said before Fubuki told him this garden is popular with girls. She brainstorms. Is that why he brought her here? He called her to hang out with her, but, wait… Isn't this the definition of a date? Does he mean he came with other girls here before? Was Ryou even interested in other girls?

Her gaze roams all over the place, there's a group of people that wasn't there when they arrived, but they're on the other end of the garden, this means they're practically alone here, right? Her hands land on her lap, her fingers curling inward to her palm, an almost squealing spurring, fuzzy feeling growing uncontrollably inside her, out of panic.

She never thought of Ryou in a romantic sense before, however she did care for him on many occasions, and she can't debunk the argument from his fans that he's handsome, her eyes take a peek at him as if to confirm it, instantly running back to the grass. How many of his fans wouldn't kill her to be right here in this spot she takes?

He's helped her on countless occasions, and was thoroughly considerate, meanwhile what did she do? Lie to him and try to keep appearances, what a great partner she is.

Everything has been so confusing and frustratingly knotted inside her head, he stated his intentions, but she still doesn't know what to make of it or if she should be here with him. What should she do and how should she behave in those situations? She doesn't know much about cues for romantic relationships and thanks to that potion it's even more meddlesome to discern what was her and what wasn't. In normal circumstances she would have hurdles even starting a conversation.

Even if she wants to be with him, is that correct after all she's done? Is she overthinking it? Is this how a person is supposed to feel on a date? Is this even a date? What does Ryou think about it? How does he feel? If he called her here that means he's fine with them knowing each other more, but is that really it? What should she expect from this?

His green orbs flash to her side, raising a brow as she hides her face onto her hands, is she ashamed that he's taking a look at her deck building skills or what? He takes in more of the cards on his hands, checking the descriptions.

"Adamancipators. I've never heard of those before," he lifts a shining silver card "I didn't expect you'd use synchro summons as the core of your deck, they're relatively new and people are testing waters."

His voice engenders a small spasm on her shoulders, she readjusts on her seat, sliding towards the side, to face him, her hand landing on the bench, grazing on his, even though his reaction is nothing more than a quick, uninterested glance, her heartbeats punch her ribs at the touch, she can feel her veins burning at the high blood flow, her cheekbones almost as pink as her hair as she recoils it nervously.

"Are you alright?"

With a hectic and heavy shake of her head, she confirms, albeit in his books, that enforces the idea she's been cornered by him, similar to when he questioned her about more serious matters before. To make her so nervous, maybe he does come off as too stern when he speaks? Or is it his expression? He'd like to break that image if possible or talking on a normal daily basis won't work, minding that his tone is calmer and lower, he continues:

"Why this pick?"

It takes a few second for the question to reach her brain, a wry smile makes its way on her lips as she types:

"Honestly, I just asked for help to mount this deck right before coming to the academy. I wasn't big on dueling before."

"Does that mean you never dueled?"

"No, I have dueled with colleagues in early school and with my uncle, he had me trained before I came into the school."

"Did you win against him even once?"

Her eyes squint, filled in distraught, her writing speed is discouraged as she confesses the last part:

"No. Since I often moved, I ended up having a deck more as a collector rather than a duelist, and I didn't have many opportunities to invest myself into dueling. I'm not even sure if my level is enough for the obelisk dorm, but everything was arranged for me, so I'm here. I assume my uncle also settled whatever requirements I needed to even enroll in this school."

Rie knows better than anyone else this isn't an admirable part of her life, yet he appreciates the honesty and that she's able to recognize the bad parts of it, but is it true that Daitokuji would forge her exam results or is that just a supposition on her part? Regardless of that, the least she needs now is someone to guilt trip her even more:

"Don't sell yourself too short. There are exams incoming, so whether you're an amateur unfit to stay in the obelisk dorm or not, we'll see, if you can't keep up with grades and a certain amount of skills required, you'll be demoted, it's that simple. Pressure does take a toll on even the best students, so keep that in mind too."

There's a very faint nod on her part, her stare looking at all the cards, for someone like her who seems to be striving with dueling, maybe it's best to start by finding out why she even duels or what she had in mind in the first place?

"Cards are an unique identity of a duelist, Rie, think of them as fingerprints. Why did you choose those cards in particular instead of other options?"

"I just liked the concept behind the cards, they're rock researchers who bring forth the powers of dormant beasts through their alchemy, it felt nostalgic. I thought it was more interesting compared to other picks and the usage of cards is not overly complicated. I had spellcasters before, but I never had a signature deck like yours, those cards are the most relatable I could find."

"As small of a reason as it is, it's better than not having any reason at all. And some duelists have more than one deck too. If you understand whether a deck is more or less complicated, that shows you have some awareness of the weight of your cards. If you respect this, I'm sure you'll do well."

"I don't know about that. I've dueled for school assignments, but I can't say this was my first pick of career, I wasn't even interested in it in earlier years of school, but," she shows the first part of the message, typing the second "The only reason I came here was for-"

Her fingers freeze, her brows furrowing up, isn't she just ruining the talk with her gloominess? The subject always orbits back to her uncle, isn't that improper of her when Ryou was making an effort to know her? Isn't this supposed to be a merry occasion? His lips are already half-open to make a shift in the topic, but she's quicker:

"What about you, Ryou? Why do you use Cyber Dragons?"

"The Cyber Style is a legacy from an ancient dojo along with a Cyber Deck. I've trained there and it was bestowed upon me, or rather, I was chosen by it."

His mind drifts off in thought for a moment between his speech and her next message:

"A dojo? I didn't know there were dojos related to card games."

"I took part in some duel competitions ever since I was young, one of them offered an opportunity to go and study dueling at a dojo for the finalists as part of the prize, they wanted to scout new talents. I trained for a few years, then I inherited the Cyber Style and I have been using its teachings as the core of my dueling ever since."

Unlike him, she didn't have motivations for dueling further than being dropped off at a dueling school, the more she thinks about it, she wonders what she should be doing here and what she should aspire, but all she can find is a blank canvas and she has no idea which colors to paint on it. Daitokuji told her to think about the future, was this what he meant?

"I've also learned martial arts there, they wanted to teach discipline and respect to kids, though I'm not sure where you learned it."

"You trained in martial arts as a kid?"

He gapes amusedly as she chuckles without a sound, she's been acting uptight and so uncomfortable this whole time he was about to stamp it as a failed attempt of a date, he didn't know she could smile so carefreely.

The mental image of a younger Ryou with a permanently grumpy expression wearing a martial arts outfit popping in her mind is funny enough to disperse all the previous tension in the mood, he's glad it made her smile, at least.

"I was very good, I'll let you know."

"I'm sorry, it's just hard to imagine you as a kid going to a dojo like that, but it seems to have worked out well for you."

Incoming footsteps interrupt their chatter, the group that was far away before stands across the table, two girls and three boys, all of them are obelisk students, the leader of the group greets them:

"What a pleasant surprise, the Kaiser in person," he bows respectfully, a hand to his chest, his wavy strands of brown hair falling over the sides of his face "It's an honor to meet you here in this garden."

"Koji." Ryou pronounces dully.

"And the lady," he puts a hand to his chin, a faint, but deceitful smile coming to his lips "Rie, isn't it? Aren't you our newest transfer student? My greetings too, m'lady."

He nonchalantly and kindly gets a hold of her hand, bending over, planting a kiss on it, the girls behind him squeaking as if he'd kiss their hands. Rie yanks her arm away, eliciting but a light giggle on him.

"I know you've already answered, but I'm inclined to ask again: Would you join our club, Kaiser? I'm sure we could profit from having someone as highly as yourself in our midst."

"I decline."

He declares dryly, standing up in a second a standoff stare at the leader of the group. Rie mimics him out of reflex, a dense vibe cracks in the air, did something happen between those two?

"Could I convince you to have a friendly duel? Maybe you could tell me some of the advice you had for the lady too."

"I'll pass, but if you can excel in the incoming exams and prove yourself an intriguing opponent, I'll consider your case. It would be a bore for me to duel just any student whenever they ask me."

Rie gasps, her skin losing color at the reply. It's obvious there's enmity between them, but she didn't expect Ryou would react in that manner, he wasn't just saying that to show off, in part, it suits his description as the Kaiser no one could best. His conviction in being the best duelist of the academy was a title he carried proudly, but she never saw him bragging about it, on the contrary, he never said it once, it was always others who spoke of him. That boy must've hit a nerve.

"That's a pity, what about you, m'lady? Would you care to stay for a teacup and grace us with a duel?"

"It's getting late, you should be heading back to the dorms."

Ryou taps her shoulder once, snapping her out of the shock that she was challenged to a duel, she tries to gather her cards, but a finger slides on the table, on one of the synchro monsters:

"Adamancipators? What are they? I admit some of them are cute, but don't you think those beasts are unbecoming for such delicate hands to deal with? Something more feminine would fit you better than this."

Her gaze lands on the deck thrown onto the table, mellowing subtly at the sight, those were cards she picked up with the help of Daitokuji. True she was inexperienced and needed advice to build it, and that she said there was no huge particular reason to choose them, but in truth, those cards were not just a random pick.

It's what they represent, because it reminds her of a time she'd rejoice hearing about alchemy or seeing those silly, failed experiments when she visited her uncle, before all those problems started or when her mother would come and enthusiastically tell her about the newest find from ancient ruins to cards, just like the draft behind Adamancipators who research, analyze and seek rocks, empowering their findings and awakening ancient beasts dormant for eons.

She felt a connection with those cards and how much they resemble both Daitokuji and her mother's jobs, of a time when the three of them were together, but she can't have that anymore, she can only dream.

Her hands scoop all them up shaping them into a tidy pile with light taps on the table, this time she looks deeply into the eyes of Koji, a defiant, indignant glimmer in her eyes, riled by his words.

"They're not unbecoming. I'll show you what Adamancipators are."

Ryou's breath hitches for a second, she fell for Koji's ruse, now she's tied into dueling him, he casts a scolding glare at the boy who smiles back at him, he got what he wanted. However, this was Rie's decision, maybe she will find a better resolution for her doubts if she duels now.

"The rules are simple," he stretches the duel mat over the table, pointing at spell and trap zones as well as monster zones "We'll each start with 4000 life points, the first one to reach 0 points is the loser, all calculations must be done by head and no devices are allowed."

He glances at her PDA, a sulky pout on her mouth as she shoves it to the side, the teal-haired boy grabs it before it slides off the table, pocketing it, tense at the unraveling of the situation. He'd never seen Rie dueling so he isn't sure of her capabilities, this might be hard to just watch.

"Lastly, no advices allowed from any mentors."

He dances his finger in a no towards Ryou, the other scowls at him as a reply, a contained laugh escaping his mouth as he sits across his opponent. The others from his group gather on the sides of the table, to not hinder the duelists as per etiquette of their club.

"Worry not, it won't be hard for you to duel like this, if you want to use spells or traps, just raise your hand, I'll stop my turn for you as a true gentleman."

He stretches his hand towards her, the girls behind him swoon over his mannerisms once again, much to Rie's annoyance, there's nothing enticing in it, he's just looking down on her.

"Kaiser, would you prepare the decks, for fairness?"

Ryou skillfully shuffles both decks, placing them at the side of the respective duelist, sitting on the opposite side of the other students, crossing his arms, an unapproachable air circulating around him.

"Why don't you start, m'lady?" he winks once, his condescending tone that boils her blood.

LP: Rie - 4000 Koji - 4000

Her first move is to summon is Adamancipator Seeker in attack position (ATK 1200/DEF 1000), flipping the card to him, she excavates the five cards on top of her deck, using the effect of her monster, with a dire glance, she points her finger at him to switch turns.

"Such an adorable sight. Nonetheless, my lady, there's much more beauty in my cards. Draw!" his smile enlarges cynically as he places a card set down "First, I summon my darling Aromage Rosemary (ATK 1800/DEF 700)! Now, I'll let you see my beautiful Aroma Garden, with its effect and the scent of flowers just like the garden we're at now. I gain 500 life points every turn if an Aromage is in my field. And it also boosts the attack and defense of my Aromages by 500."

LP: Koji - 4000 - 4500

Aromage Rosemary (ATK 2300/DEF 1200)

"Because I gained life points, the effect of my sweet Rosemary activates, I'm forced to change the position of a monster in the field and I'll change your Seeker to defense mode!"

Rie flips the card on the mat, he could almost hear a grumble on her part, chuckling delighted at her charming annoyance.

"Now, to the battle phase! I will have my Rosemary attack your Seeker!"

LP: Rie- 4000

"Worry not, your life points are intact. With this, I humbly end my turn."

Irked at his fake chivalry, she draws, summoning a monster face down in defense position. Koji smirks, declaring:

"I activate the continuous trap I set last turn, Blessed Winds! By using it I can send a plant monster from my hand to my graveyard and gain 500 life points."

LP: Koji - 4500 - 5000

"Now, should I translate it to you, m'lady? The effect of my Rosemary activates again, this time, I'll have this card of yours flip to attack position."

Forced to change it, the monster revealed is Adamancipator Crystal - Leonite (ATK 0/DEF 2200), she grits her teeth, unable to counter or respond to his advance, hearing the tittering of the group watching from the sides, Ryou remains silent and expressionless, his mind crafting theories as his gaze discreetly lands on Rie.

Her opponent is getting under her skin, her inexperience in duels oozes out and Koji is taking advantage of it. Does she grasp the true potential of her deck?

"My turn! Draw! I'll keep strengthening my delicate mages, from my hand I activate Aroma Gardening, a continuous spell, every time I summon a monster, I will gain 1000 life points! Now, I also send Aromaseraphy Angelica from my hand to the graveyard by activating its effect, when she's in my graveyard, I can target any monster there and gain life points equal to the attack of my target! I choose Aromage Bergamot (ATK 2400) whom I sent to the cemetery just last turn!"

LP: Koji - 5000 - 7400

"Now, I use another effect of Blessed Winds: by paying 1000 life points, I can summon an Aroma monster from my graveyard and I'll special summon Aromage Bergamot (ATK 2400/DEF 1800)! Since my Aroma Gardening is in effect, I'll gain 1000 life points, which means the downside of summoning with Blessed Winds disappears!"

LP: Koji - 7400

"Hm, since I gained life, I will change my Rosemary to defense position! And I activate my Aroma Garden's effect, gaining 500 life points! And I not only boost my monster's attack by 500, but Bergamot's effect activates, each time I gain life points, his attack increases by a 1000!"

LP: Koji - 7400 - 7900

Aromage Rosemary (ATK 2300/DEF 1200)

Aromage Bergamot (ATK 3900/DEF 2300)

"Bergamot attacks your Crystal - Leonite! And there your life points go away, flower."

LP: Rie- 3900 - 100

On the sides, the students whisper about the pathetic performance, on the mere 100 points left for the pink-haired duelist and laughing at how she's being utterly destroyed.

"I could've attacked and won, m'lady, but what is the fun in that? I want to see all you have to shown." there was a perverse inclination on his last sentence.

Ryou's grave voice distracts them. "Seems like your nasty habits are surfacing Koji. If you could end the duel, why did you not?"

"I want our fair lady to contemplate the beauty of Aromages," he chuckles, his eyes sharpening, cast at the teal-haired teen "Though, I must add, Kaiser you got your hands into quite the raw artwork here, she'll need a lot of counseling to be a proper duelist."

"You never change, even after our last duel you still don't understand the reason why I refuse to duel you, Koji? And the reason you lost to me the last time?"

The answer he gets is a twitch on the boy's expression, but he keeps his cool, not letting his smile crack.

"You have good cards and skills, but you let it get to your head, your dueling is haughty, you provoke your enemies, you become careless because you want to exhibit yourself, that's why you can't evolve, Koji. And that's why I will never duel you, someone who always underestimates their opponent, your dueling is disgustingly disrespectful."

"Ouch, I'm almost hurt," he scoffs, placing a hand to his chest in an act "How about we see the results of this duel first? M'lady, it's your turn, but if you don't hurry to show me the power of those Adamancipators, you'll lose. And I think I can portray a good reward: how about a date with me? Perhaps I can teach you better how cards work."

With a deep furrow of her brows, she draws, glaring daggers at him, slapping three cards down on her spell and trap zone. First, she summons Adamancipator Analyzer, as her hand reaches out to the top of her deck, he intervenes:

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"Adamancipator Analyzer's effect is that she can excavate the 5 top cards of her deck,"

Ryou supports his hand on the table leaning over to Rie's side, taking a peek at the card's description, startling her and Koji equally. Her heart accelerates at the proximity, her hand moving to the side so he can read it without coming much closer.

"I'll read the effects, since you made it as bothersome as possible for someone with disabilities to duel."

He points out, making the other boy jolt on his seat. Rie spreads the five top cards, taking one into her hand and placing the rest back on the bottom of her deck. Ryou recoils, folding his arms as she puts a monster on her field.

"The second effect is that Analyzer can special summon a rock monster that was excavated. With this, she summons Adamancipator Crystal - Dragite (ATK 0/DEF 2200). Also, its effect is that if special summoned, Rie can draw a card."

It seems his deck is not the only back-and-forth one. Koji has a distasteful curve on his lips as Ryou declares:

"Analyzer is a level four tuner monster and Crystal - Dragite is a level four rock monster, with this she can Synchro summon Adamacipator Risen - Dragite (ATK 3000/ DEF 2200)."

Rie places her hand atop her deck, is she excavating it again? Koji clutches the cards in his hand, but the most impressive of all is Ryou wasn't even looking at her cards to explain now, did he really know it by memory after looking at it shortly?

"Dragite's first effect says Rie can excavate the five top cards of her deck, and if she does," she flips 3 of the excavated cards to her opponent "She can bounce cards from your field to your hand depending on the number or rock monsters she finds there."

He sweats as she points at Blessed Winds, Bergamot and Rosemary, without hesitation, she points at his field, attacking it directly with Dragite.

LP: Koji - 7900 - 4900

"Who would've expected such a frail looking m'lady would be a savage. Well, if you're done with your card effects, my turn!"

Probing her reaction, he looks into her eyes, setting down two cards, then summoning Aromage Cananga (ATK 1400/DEF 1000), due to the summon, Aroma Gardening effects auto activates, but Rie raises her hand in a stop motion.

"What now?"

"Dragite's second effect activates, when you activate a spell or trap effect, Dragite can counter the activation, negate the effect and destroy the card, which means your Aroma Gardening is destroyed unless you can prevent it."

"I can't, but that won't be necessary," he smirks, taking the spell to the graveyard "I activate Aroma Garden's effect."

LP: Koji - 4900 - 5400

Aromage Cananga (ATK 1900/DEF 1500)

"Like all my other aromages, Cananga also has an effect when I gain life points, I can target one of your set cards and send it back to your hand!"

Once more, Rie stops him, flipping one of her set cards open, Forbidden Droplet, Koji gasps at the attempt, by discarding a card from her hand, Rie not only halves the attack of his Cananga but negate her effects until the end of this turn and prevents him from countering it as the description suggests.

"Fine, you won this round, but it's not over yet," he spouts sarcastically "As expected from an unseemly deck of beasts, it does not suit a lady. Turn end," as soon as her turn starts, he barges after her draw "Trap card open, Blessed Winds! I'll use its effect to send my Bergamot to the graveyard again, I hope you're prepared, m'lday."

"Dragite's effect activates," Ryou interrupts "Denying your Blessed Winds and destroying it, as well as all other effects that would give you life points."

Koji's tongue tickles to ask why Kaiser wouldn't let the girl play alone, but he dug this hole himself, by prohibiting all devices at the beginning. With a quick, defiant glance at him, Rie excavates her deck's top cards with Dragite's effect again, but no rock monsters are found, without stopping, she slaps Adamancipator Seeker on the field, pointing at its effect:

"If you control an Adamancipator monster except Adamancipator Seeker, it can be special summoned from your hand to the field."

Another card is placed on her field Adamancipator Crystal - Leonite (ATK 0/DEF 2200), sweeping both cards together, she brings forth another monster from her extra deck:

"Another Synchro summon, Adamancipator Risen - Leonite (ATK 2400/ DEF 2200)."

Sliding 2 cards on her trap/spell zone, she taps Leonite once and directs an attack to his Cananga, boosted by the Aroma Garden since the effects of Forbidden Droplet wore off.

LP: Koji - 5400 - 4900

"A minor setback," he shrugs off "Thanks to that, the other effect of my Aroma Garden activates, when an Aroma monster of mine is destroyed, I gain 1000 life points."

LP: Koji - 4900 - 5900

"You can be as aggressive as you want, milady, every time you throw your rocks, my life points will be boosted at a higher speed than you can take them."

Disregarding his babbling, Rie attacks his unprotected field directly with Dragite, the other students worry, trying to keep count of how many life points he'd have by now.

LP: Koji - 5900 - 2900

"I commend your passion, it does remind me a bit of a certain someone," he glares at Ryou "A bit less incisive, perhaps. Now, if you allow me, I draw!" he sets a card down "It's time to bring back my lovely Rosemary (ATK 1800/DEF 700), then I activate the effect of Aromaseraphy Angelica (ATK 0/DEF 0) that I sent to the graveyard, with her second effect, I can bring her back to my field! Now, Aromaseraphy Angelica tunes Aromage Rosemary to become Aromaseraphy Rosemary! (ATK 2000/ DEF 900). I activate Aroma Garden's effect to-"

Rie gestures a stop, showing Dragite his eyes narrowing, knowing what she means, continuing his sentence in the same placid, frilly tone:

"I understand, your Dragite's effect negates Aroma Garden, it's destroyed, but," from his hand he calmly places another Aroma Garden into his field spell area "I have another one and since Dragite's effect can only be used once per turn, I can activate it without problems, am I not correct, Kaiser?"

"Yes."

LP: Koji - 2900 - 3400

"As you may know already, every Aromage has an effect, and Aromaseraphy Rosemary can target a face-up card you control and negate its effects, I choose to negate all effects of your Dragite."

Rie takes another look at her hand, he could swear there were faint beads of sweat forming on her face as she pondered hard.

"Now, I think this duel is past due date, m'lady, if you excuse me, I'll be finishing it. Rosemary has another effect, when my life points are higher than yours, all Plant-type monsters in my field gain 500 attack and defense, do the math, my Aroma garden also boosts their stats by the same amount. Now, what do we have, darling?" his tongue slips off from politeness at the last part.

Aromaseraphy Rosemary (ATK 3000/ DEF 1900)

"Look at this, her attack is just enough to finish it, such a tremendous beauty! Isn't it? I'll have my Rosemary attack your Leonite. End duel."

Before his smile enlarges, she flips open a trap card, Butterflyoke, Koji snorts as she points at Rosemary.

"You're only buying time, m'lady. True, I'm forced to change Aromaseraphy Rosemary to defense position at your will, but there's always the next turn. The overgrowing life points from my garden will easily surpass yours. You're one step from loss, I end my turn."

With an exaggerated move of his hand he passes on the lead, Rie's hands shakes slightly, Ryou only observes her, a palpitation of uneasiness in his chest, can she make it?

Immediately after she gets a hold on the draw, Koji smirks, interfering with her turn again:

"I open Blessed Winds! You thought you got rid of it, but that wasn't the only copy I had in my deck, now I activate its effect to send my Bergamot to the Graveyard and gain 500 life points."

"Dragite's effect-" Ryou is cut off by Koji's voice.

"I was prepared for that! I flip open my quick spell: Forbidden Chalice! I can target a monster in the field and until the end of this turn, your Dragite will gain 400 attack points, but it can't activate any of its effects!"

Dragite (ATK 3400)

LP: Koji - 3400 - 3900

"You may continue, m'lady."

She shows him Adamancipator Risen - Leonite's card as an answer, using its first effect that can be activated in the main phase, excavating the top of her deck, spreading the cards like in a fan, her eyes lock onto one of them which she takes to her hand, returning the rest to the bottom of her deck.

The next second, she summons Adamancipator Crystal - Raptite onto her field, and flips a card from her hand, showing it to Koji.

"Adamancipator Researcher's effect activates, since Rie controls rock monsters other than Adamancipator Researcher (ATK 100/DEF 2100) , she can special summon it to her field."

Swiping the cards she just summoned away, she takes the third card from her extra deck, its silvery color shining upon the eyes of her opponent.

"Researcher tunes Crystal - Raptite to synchro summon Adamancipator Risen - Raptite (ATK 2200/ DEF 2800)," he continues as she taps the effect description "She can excavate the top 5 cards of her deck again, and if she finds any rock monster, she can special summon it to the field in defense position."

He finishes as she drags Adamancipator Analyzer (DEF 700/ATK 1500) to the monster zone, pointing at the effects again, Koji grumbles in such a low tone not even his friends could hear.

"You know the drill, Analyzer can excavate the top of the deck and if any rock monster is found, Rie can special summon it."

With a deep breath, she special summons Revival Golem (ATK 100/DEF 2100) after finding it on the 5 cards excavated from her deck, returning the rest.

"Even if you have all your unseemly beasts, that's not enough, m'lady."

Rie flips her last trap card open: Adamancipator Relief, Koji frowns, looking at Ryou as if he was supposed to know its effects, the teal-haired simply stares back at him, refusing to comply to his demand while Rie takes both Dragite and Raptite from her field and tosses them into the graveyard:

"By tributing Adamancipator monsters, she can destroy cards on your side of the field equal to the number of monsters used as tribute plus one."

"But that's che-"

She mercilessly points to Aromaseraphy, Blessed Winds and Aroma Garden, destroying all three of them from his field, then she fans open her graveyard, her gaze quickly scanning in search of a card: Adamancipator Crystal - Dragite.

"The second effect of Crystal - Dragite, Rie can target a water Synchro monster on her graveyard and return it to her extra deck, also she places this card on the top of her deck."

Gliding her hand on the monster field, she sweeps Adamancipator Analyzer and Revival Golem, placing her newly retrieved Adamancipator Risen - Dragite (ATK 3000/ DEF 2700).

Instead of starting the battle phase, Rie activates a field spell, Adamancipator Laputite, Koji's eyes widening, it was like a warning to him, or rather, a petty reminder of how he's been playing through this duel.

"Adamancipator Laputite increases the attack and defense of all Adamacipator monsters by 500."

Adamancipator Risen - Dragite (ATK 3500/ DEF 2700)

Adamancipator Risen - Leonite (ATK 2900/ DEF 2700)

Ryou whistles "That's a total of 6400 damage. Can you block it?"

Koji doesn't answer, his friends paralyzed on the side, watching as his smirk disappears, Rie declares the attack with a shove of her hand, a forced smile coming to his lips as he claps.

LP: Koji - 3900 - 0

"Marvelous, m'lady. You won today," he stands up and bows politely "But there are always other times. I do hope you can entertain us with duels on another occasion. You're welcome to this garden whenever you feel like, now as the winner, the place and the peace is all yours."

With a snap of his fingers, the other students quickly bunch up, staring at Rie from up to down in a downsizing way, following the lead of Koji who leaves quietly. As soon as they disappear, she supports herself on the table, standing up, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.

"It wasn't that bad, but had it been another duelist, you would have lost, Rie."

He unfolds his arms, her lips moving hectically into a silent language he can't make anything of as she gathers her cards in a pile again, looking at it afflicted. A PDA appearing in her peripheral vision, Ryou smiles faintly, giving it back to her.

"How did you know the card effects? I thought you hadn't seen this deck before."

"I never saw it before today, but I read it when you showed me. I have a good memory."

Is there anything on him that's not good? She felt the urge to ask, but held back her fingers from typing it. She's not even gonna compare herself to Ryou, he really gets the best duelist medal.

"That was terrible."

"Don't beat yourself too much, you did well for someone who hasn't dueled a lot."

"I'm sure you wouldn't have even blinked."

"It would be a one turn KO like my last duel, a bore, if I may add."

"I don't know if I'm able to do this."

Her attitude reminded him of Shou, he had this experience before and pushing Shou to his limit didn't drive him to surpass himself, in fact he even got a scolding form his father later.

"I believe you can do better than this. And you'll need to do better if you want to stay in the obelisk."

He comments mindlessly, gazing idly at the setting sun on the skies, thinking back on the cards and combos, drifting into his own world, until a realization comes to him:

"I'm sorry, this wasn't meant to end in a duel, I don't even know how it reached this point, I mean-"

"It's fine."

A message pops on her device's screen, she sways her head gently in denial, a faint smile blessing her lips as she looks at him:

"Thank you for today, Ryou, I enjoyed it."

He wanted to say more, but words won't come into his mouth, struck by her smile. Maybe his dream wasn't half a lie in the end. As she beckons, he stops her on her tracks, grabbing her hand in a whim:

"Wait!" he lets go of her, ashamed of acting on impulse, collecting himself "I… I didn't say this before, but we all need to meet tonight to talk about… Professor Daitokuji. Edo and Asuka will be there too."

Her eyes waver so briefly he could tell she was doing her best not to let sadness transpire into her face. With a weak nod, she confirms, looking at her Adamancipator cards.

If it were other people, she'd have lost that duel, it's a fact. She isn't good enough to use this deck is she? But they're more than just cards to her, they're a connection. If she got better, and dueled properly, would she be able to reach out to her uncle through a duel, not through words? For that, all she can do is try and improve.

Her coming here lost all purpose when she stopped listening to the wishes of her uncle, then she'll find a new way, a new purpose, this is what she envisions for her future. For now, at least.