A Shark's Greatest Enemy

KellyQ

Yuma, Tori, and Astral came running up a flight of stairs of an open car garage under construction. They saw some random duelists scattered by their feet when they reached the top. Yuma was the first to scan their surroundings; various male duelists, unconscious, littered the pavement. Yuma was shocked that Ryoga would go that far. He made his way over just as Ryoga took off his D-Gazer.

"Shark! What's going on?"

Ryoga closed his eyes, blocking out that Yuma was standing there. Ryoga started walking past Yuma, but he didn't get very far when Yuma called out.

"Shark, what happened to you?" Yuma asked, referring to the injured duelists on the ground. He knew it wasn't Ryoga's style to harm his opponents to the point they were cold. "This isn't like you!"

"Get lost, Yuma! Why I'm in this tournament is none of your concern!" Ryoga countered back.

"I'll make it my business if you-"

"I'm in this to get revenge …" Ryoga paused and turned around, giving Yuma a piercing stare. "So that means that you are also my enemy."

Ryoga looked away before he turned and started to walk toward the stairs. He wouldn't deal with Yuma when he had more important things to worry about.

On the other hand, Yuma didn't want to see Ryoga act like a bully. Yuma dashed forward and stopped right in front of Ryoga, his arms outstretched, preventing Ryoga from taking a step further. The key around Yuma's neck shimmed.

The look in Ryoga's eyes didn't change when they had their stare down.

"Move."

Yuma stood his ground, "no! I won't move!"

"If you don't move, I'll …" Grabbing Yuma's key and jerking it harshly, Ryoga growled.

"I don't care," Yuma cut in, shaking his head; he didn't think Ryoga would go that far like he did previously. Yuma remembered when Ryoga yanked the key off and threw it into a nearby bush. "I want a duel!"

The thought of watching Yuma squirm delighted Ryoga. "Interesting." A cruel smile made its way to Ryoga's lips. He jerked on the chain and yanked. "Sure. It would be fun to bash you about."

"Then bring it on, Shark!" Yuma challenged with a determined look. Yuma was ready for anything. He took a harsh hold of Ryoga's wrist, which was holding the key, and squeezed around Ryoga's wrist -hard.

Astral floated over to Yuma when Yuma got Ryoga to let the key. Yuma and Ryoga backed away from each other. "This isn't the time to duel him!"

Yuma gave the spirit an annoyed look, "Shut up! This has nothing to do with you!"

Astral was quite shocked that Yuma wanted to take on Shark when it was evident that something was wrong with him.

The two opponents decided to have their duel on the roof. They both put on their D-Gazers. The surrounding area became virtual, and both opponents had their duel disks activated.

Yuma had summoned Gagaga Magician as Ryoga had summoned out Big Jaws. By his point, dark negative energy was surging through Ryoga's body. The holographic image of a Shark went straight after the other image of who, like a magician in black. Gagaga Magician turned into pixels and broke apart after Big Jaws went head-first into it.

Ryoga was ready to hit Yuma with Hammer Shark, but he was prepared with a trap card that helped decrease Hammer Shark's attack points from 1700 to 700. The holographic Shark plowed right into Yuma, and he was knocked to the ground, reducing his life points from 4000 to 3300.

Both Astral and Tori cringed as Yuma sat up. She didn't understand why Yuma allowed Ryoga to be aggressive towards him.

"What type of attack was that?" Yuma provoked, getting to his feet. "That was nothing!"

Ryoga narrowed his eyes, "Really? How about this? I overlay level 3 Hammer Shark and Big Jaws …" his holographic monsters glowed and fused, and there was a new monster in its place. "Come on out, Aero Shark!" He then activated Aero Shark's unique ability, enabling the monster to attack Yuma.

Tori looked away when Yuma was hammered. She couldn't believe that Yuma wasn't even protecting himself, making it harder for her to stand by and watch every passing minute.

Yuma got to his feet again and summoned Gogogo Giant in defense mode, saying he would end his turn. Ryoga, Tori, and Astral were shocked by his decision.

"Attack me, Shark!" Yuma provoked again.

Ryoga then decided to summon out Black Ray Lancer in attack mode. The holographic beast appeared. Ryoga had it strike Gogogo Giant, and Yuma's life points went down when his monster was destroyed. Ryoga had Aero Shark attack Yuma directly. Tori and Astral watched with concern as Yuma was knocked to the ground.

Ryoga closed his eyes shamefully. He was starting not to like that Yuma was forcing him into hurting him so aggressively, and he wasn't having that much fun. Tori's voice jolted Ryoga from this thought when she called for Yuma. Ryoga opened his eyes to see Yuma struggling to get to his hands and knees. Ryoga's breath hitched at the idea of Yuma being in pain. His heart started to beat faster as he slowly began to realize that he didn't want to hurt Yuma; he wanted to do the exact opposite, and that was to protect him from harm.

Astral floated over to Yuma as he tried to get to his feet, "Why are you losing on purpose …?" Astral paused when Yuma started to stagger toward Ryoga.

"I don't care if you hate me, Shark," Yuma continued to walk closer to Ryoga, "because I know that you don't!"

Ryoga flinched with shock. He wasn't expecting Yuma to see past his mask. Tori started to realize that Yuma was trying to reach Ryoga's heart. She knew that Yuma had solid feelings for Ryoga, and it pained her to see that Ryoga tossed Yuma's feelings aside.

Anger and hurt are clearly on Yuma's face. "I know why you don't want people close to you …" Yuma paused momentarily, trying to hold back the tears, "It's because you don't want them to get hurt, right? That's why you keep pushing me away, right?"

"Shut up, Yuma! You don't know what it feels like to be unable to protect people you care about!" Ryoga shot back.

"I may not know what happened between you and IV, but this whole I want revenge thingy is eating you, Shark!" Yuma pointed out. "You were never the type of person who wanted revenge, and you never liked being aggressive! You care about people in your life and have respect for your opponents! If you continue to duel like this …this is what's going to happen!"

Ryoga continued to stare at Yuma with realization. The hostile atmosphere radiating off Ryoga's body decreased, and his eyes changed from hate to normal. A smile crept up Ryoga's face, feeling warmth in his heart as the view of the empty parking lot returned.

"This is stupid," he muttered. He took off his D-Gazer and stuffed it in his back pocket.

Yuma frowned, "Hey!" Before he could protest, his stomach growled. Everyone started at him; Astral sighed with annoyance after Tori shook her head.

"Didn't you eat before you left home?" Tori asked.

Yuma was about to object when he saw Ryoga walk away from the corner of his eye. "Shark!" Yuma dashed forward and stood before his friend with a big grin. "I'm glad you were able to get a grip on yourself. You scared me when you were acting all freaky."

"We'll continue this duel at the finals," Ryoga suggested, "and don't be stupid next time."

Yuma huffed, "I wasn't being stupid –" Tori moved next to Yuma and pulled on his ear. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Shark meant that he didn't like that you forced him into dueling you – right?"

Yuma blinked a few times and realized what he had done. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Sorry about that. I guess it was stupid of me to do that."

Ryoga rolled his eyes; "It was stupid …"

Yuma pouted playfully but grinned when his stomach growled again. He chuckled sheepishly.

"Go get something to eat before you faint," Ryoga grumbled.

Ryoga was about to turn, but Yuma stepped up and turned Ryoga around. He pressed his lips softly against Ryoga's. It took a moment for him to realize what the kiss meant that Yuma still loved Ryoga despite what had happened.

Ryoga stepped away first and smiled. "Get something to eat, and we'll see each other at the finals."

The End