Starting Notes:
Welcome back! It's been a while, and it'll be a long while before the next update—I'm going to be overly busy for the next two weeks. Hope you enjoy this though! The chapter isn't very dueling heavy, since the last one was a bit too heavy on duels.
Chapter 28: Lens of Rebellion
The boy with light grey hair stared directly at the short girl, who had grey hair with a slightly purple tint as well. In between them, the grey-haired boy's mother spoke up.
"This is Reira. They will be living with us from now on."
The grey-haired boy raised his head, looking directly at his mother. He didn't respond. He had seen the file that his mother had on this girl.
"I'll leave the two of you to get acquainted." His mother walked off, and the two of them stood there for a moment, one unsure how to begin talking and the other simply waiting to be dismissed.
"Let's go sit down," Reiji finally said. The girl followed him to a nearby table, and they sat down together. The girl had hollow eyes. Reiji didn't like that—who was this girl, what had she been through, and why had his mother sought to use someone so helpless?
"My name is Reiji," he said. He considered how to continue the sentence, running through several possibilities in his mind, before he settled down on a single one.
He was determined to do anything to face his father and force him to acknowledge him. At the same time…
He could not stoop so low as to use a child that didn't even know what she wanted. Who didn't even know who she wanted to be. Reiji… could not bring himself to be that callous, and that was a terrible realisation to make about himself.
So there was something that could stop him after all, when he had sworn to do anything.
"I'm your big brother," Reiji said after a moment.
"... brother?"
"Yes." Reiji put a hand on her shoulder. "... I cannot go against mother. I am sorry, but… as your brother, I promise to protect you as much as I can. You never have to worry that you're not safe when you're around me."
"I trust you, onii-san." Reira said calmly. As though it was that simple.
Well, Reiji had always wanted to be an older brother.
They met up with three of the other Lancers in the Tops area. No one dared to approach them—even after a night of walking around, Reiji Akaba still gave off an aristocratic air that could not be denied by anyone, not even the snobby 'Tops' that populated this city.
"Reiji Akaba," Nue greeted. Her expression was clearly saying 'you idiot'. Gongenzaka and Hitoda were there as well. "Where are the others?"
"We are still searching for information on making contact with the government and the other Lancers," Reiji said. "We have not found the rest yet." It was a bit of a white lie—if Nue knew that there was a chance that the others had been arrested too, she might run off on her own. "We're going to go and talk to the government now."
"How are you so confident that they will listen to you?" Hitoda asked. "We have no power in this city…"
"That is true." Reiji Akaba pushed his glasses up. "However, I suppose I can teach you one of the rules of being a CEO. If you look confident enough—"
"—you can do anything."
Reiji strode into the Council's headquarters with his head held high, looking completely like he was supposed to be there. The rest of the Lancers were behind him as well, as they walked directly through all the guards. Reiji shot a disdainful look towards them, portraying an air of being above it all.
No one stopped them as they walked up towards the office, and Gongenzaka was just staring in disbelief the entire time. How could no one be questioning any of this?
Reiji's majestic red scarf drifted through the air, with some of the guards staring at it while they walked past.
They finally made it to the office, and Reiji knocked on the door.
"Come in," the voice of an old man spoke up. Reiji opened the door and strode in. There was a man with dark purple hair there, who looked at them, seeming puzzled. "... did I have an appointment today?"
"No. You did not." Reiji strolled forward to the man's desk. "You are a member of the High Council, I assume. I am Reiji Akaba. And I have business with you."
In that moment, Gongenzaka, who had never cared about figures of authority other than his own father, understood how Reiji Akaba could have become a CEO at such a young age.
This confidence was startling.
"Miharu? Where have you been?" Yuzu asked. Miharu had vanished for an entire day, only to show back up at the orphanage again. Her blonde-haired counterpart shook her head, still with her usual impassive look.
"... talk in private." Miharu gestured for Yuzu to follow her. Yugo was still cooking, and so, Yuzu and Miharu managed to sneak out to the area behind the orphanage. Yuzu could tell that Miharu was bothered by something, even if the other girl remained as unemotional as usual.
"Yes?" Yuzu said kindly.
"Yesterday morning, my duel disk picked up a signal," Miharu said quietly. "But the code and coordinates were scrambled due to the dimensional travel. I was fixing it throughout the afternoon. I could only track Yuno, because I have remote access to his duel disk's code, so I could repair the tracker I had in his duel disk. But when I got there, he and Myojin-san had lost to Security, and there were some other Security members there, so I couldn't go in and get them out. They were arrested—one of them by Arisu-san, one of them by—"
Yugo and her had talked about that ghostly girl that was his sister, but Yugo hadn't mentioned that girl to Yuzu yet, so Miharu didn't bring her up directly.
"Another Security member. Reira was there too, but they were rescued by a ninja, who I'm assuming is one of their comrades." Privately, while Miharu was worried about Yuno, she was glad that Reira had at least escaped. "Regardless… the rest are finally here."
"Then Yuya is here too," Yuzu said, breathing out a sigh of relief. It seemed as though a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Can you… can you figure out a way to find him? Can we find Yuya?"
"You truly have a one-track mind," Miharu said flatly. It wasn't an insult, but she was certainly calling Yuzu out for only caring about Yuya's safety. Yuzu blushed slightly. "I'm sorry. I cannot track him—I never managed to get my hands on his duel disk."
"It's alright," Yuzu said after a moment. "It was just… I just hoped—" She shook her head, slapping her hands against her cheeks. "It's alright. We just have to find him!"
"... you really like him," Miharu said.
"Um—" Yuzu's blush grew more intense. "I—geez! You really don't hold back, huh? What about you? You clearly have a crush on Yuno!"
"I don't," Miharu said after a moment. Saying that I have a crush on him at this point is just discrediting whatever is between him and me. "Regardless… I plan to figure out how to break Yuno out of wherever he's been taken to."
"Then I'll come with you," Yuzu said, clenching her fists. "We'll do this together!"
Miharu looked at her. "... if you say so," she said. "I'll let you know when I have more information then."
"—I see. So you claim to be from another dimension. Well, your cards certainly back up that claim—we have never seen anything like that, in this city."
They were now on a call with four other people there, who had been introduced to them as the High Council. Nue had no words for how ridiculous this situation was—the fact that apparently, the ruling group had so much free time that they were just lounging around, waiting for a call…
God, who exactly was running this city?
"However, we will test that claim for its truth." The man in the room, Gael, pointed forward with a finger. Nue realised with a start that he was pointing at Reira, a literal child. "That child is likely the weakest of your group. Correct?"
"It certainly appears so," a man with bulging large eyes, Gray, said.
"We cannot trust you based on a simple claim, Reiji Akaba," Azul, a blue-haired woman said.
"So we will have an investigator face against the weakest member of your party, to make sure that they are less likely to be able to hold back," Bordeaux, the fourth member said. "Isn't that right?"
"Yes, Bordeaux," the fifth member, White Taki said.
Reiji tensed up. "I will not throw a member of my group into an interrogation," he said sharply, before Reira tugged at his shirt.
"... nii-san," Reira said quietly. "I'll do it."
"... Reira?"
"They were kind to me," Reira said. "I… want to save them."
Reiji stared at Reira, seeming surprised for once. Nue wouldn't deny that she was surprised too. Reiji leaned down, patting Reira's shoulder.
Reiji didn't speak up, but he was thinking to himself. 'I want.' Is that you finally growing a sense of self, Reira?
I am very proud of you. And I don't want to stunt your growth. No matter what mother says…
"If you think so," Reiji said, making sure to keep his voice calm—it wouldn't do to let everyone see how proud he was now, he would let Reira know about it later. "Then, I won't stop you, Reira."
Reira turned around.
"Very well," Gael said. "We will call our professional dueling interrogator here. Please wait right here."
The man who showed up was a middle-aged man with a rather unassuming face, hazel eyes and a head that was nearly shaven bald. He was wearing a dark cap and black and grey priest-like robes with orange trim.
"This is Professor Frank Dostoevsky," Gael introduced. "He will be deducing the truth of your intentions in your duel today."
This man looked innocuous. But Reira looked at him and didn't trust him in the slightest. Kindness was a gentleness that bled through the actions of others. Not an appearance or a smile or positive words. Reira had dealt with all three and seen the malice that could hide behind them.
(Kindness was a card tucked into her hands and you have no light so you must capture the light of others for yourself. Kindness was a stuffed turtle and a sandwich and I'm rooting for you, no matter what, Reira. Kindness was a gentle smile and a pat on the head and I know, Reira, we'll find Reiji, alright? It was ocean waves and blooming trees and a gentle voice. Kindness was never superficial.)
(And this man was nothing but superficial.)
"Well, little boy?" The man said, sounding rather self-centered. "I would rather not waste my time here for much longer. You'll have to open your mind to me eventually."
Reira stared at him, not intimidated in the slightest.
What's in my mind is too scary for you to imagine. And I'm scared of all of that—
But I'm not scared of you.
She raised her duel disk. Her opponent raised his duel disk too.
What else was there to add? Reira was just here to fight—anything else was unnecessary.
[DUEL!]
Reira Akaba: 4000LP
Professor Frank: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Reira] [H:5]
Starting first… wasn't optimal, but Reira wouldn't be deterred by just that.
"Setting a monster and a card facedown," Reira said stoically. "I end my turn."
"Just like that?" Professor Frank chuckled. "Like a caterpillar that has yet to turn into a butterfly, you hide away in a shell of your own."
"That's called a pupa, smartass," Nue muttered, but considering that everyone else was silently watching the duel, her voice definitely travelled across it. Everyone glanced at her for a moment, but she had no visible expression other than sheer scorn. Professor Frank cleared his throat.
"Well, it's fair that an inferior brain such as yours might not comprehend the sheer archives of information that I have access to." Nue rolled her eyes. "Nor am I interested in what a wench like you has to say."
"Do not speak to a lady like that," Gongenzaka said in his deep, protective, rumbling voice. "Or this man, Gongenzaka, will step in."
"As if I would be afraid of someone who's all muscle and no brain," the professor said.
[Turn 2: Professor Frank] [H:6]
"Draw. First, the Continuous Spell, Supply Squad. I will then activate the Continuous Spell, Graydle Impact." Two Spell Cards appeared in front of Professor Frank. "And now, I shall set a card facedown. And I shall Normal Summon the Graydle Eagle!" A yellow eagle appeared in front of him, looking rather metallic. At the same time, its body looked almost liquid-like. It had strangely-shaped silver claws.
[Graydle Eagle (3*/1500/500/WATER/Aqua/Effect)]
"Attack his monster!" The eagle flew forward. Reira watched placidly as his monster was flipped up, revealing a purple-skinned mage, with black robes, with a film tape looped around its head. It had green hair, with a purple hat over the top of its head. Despite the eagle pecking at it, it wasn't destroyed.
"Film Magician cannot be destroyed by battle," Reira said quietly.
[Film Magician (1*/0/0/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Quite a proper defensive move, that is." Professor Frank narrowed his eyes. "I will end my turn. Graydle Impact allows me to add a "Graydle" card from my deck to my hand."
[Turn 3: Reira] [H:4]
"Draw." Reira said quietly. "I will Normal Summon C/C One-Eyed Past Eye." A peculiar red and black spike appeared with silver swirls around it. A red eye with blue sclera peered at her opponent from within the long spike.
[C/C One-Eyed Past Eye (3*/1400/1000/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]
"And I will activate the Continuous Spell, Persona Shutter Layer 1," Reira continued. "I can target a monster you control and Persona Shutter Layer 1 will be Special Summoned as a monster with the same name, Level, Type, Attribute, attack and defense points as that monster."
[Persona Shutter Layer 1 (3*/1500/500/WATER/Aqua)]
"Activating Spell Card, Montage Fusion. I will fuse Persona Shutter Layer 1 and C/C One-Eyed Past Eye. Water knight of the river of shining scales! Dwell in this eye and give me your power! Fusion Summon! Appear now! The sword of water which slices through everything! C/C/C Water Lancer the Embodiment of Fused Arms!" A thin lance made of sparkling blue metal appeared, as long as a human was tall. Water swirled around it as it floated in front of Reira.
[C/C/C Water Lancer the Embodiment of Fused Arms (4*/2000/0/WATER/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)]
"So this is the Fusion Summon… but fusing using a copy of my monster?" Professor Frank seemed surprised.
"I will activate the Continuous Spell, Nightmare Past Loop." Reira said stoically. "With its effect, I will tribute Film Magician." The spellcaster dissolved into water. "I will have C/C/C Water Lancer the Embodiment of Fused Arms attack Graydle Eagle." The blue lance drove forward, stabbing towards the bird. "And when Water Lancer battles a WATER monster—it automatically wins." The eagle exploded.
"Well, that means that I don't take damage, child." Professor Frank gestured to Graydle Eagle's smoking remains. "When Graydle Eagle is destroyed by battle or a monster's effect, I can target a monster you control, equip Eagle to it and take control of it!" Yellow, bubbling metal rose up on the field, and Reira understood why she felt so apprehensive. She could feel this man's malice.
She could also feel that she shouldn't let him take control of her monsters, or something terrible would happen.
"Nightmare Past Loop's effect. Since a monster was tributed for its effect this turn, I can tribute a Fusion, Xyz or Synchro Monster that was summoned using C/C One-Eyed Past Eye as material, and revive C/C One-Eyed Past Eye." She revived her main monster, and Professor Frank's effect misfired.
"Well, since a monster was destroyed, I can still draw another card with Supply Squad's effect."
Reira nodded. "Since C/C/C Water Lancer the Embodiment of Fused Arms was sent to the graveyard, I can draw a card. C/C One-Eyed Past Eye attacks you directly!" The spike with a large eye dashed forward.
"Ah, ah, don't be so cocky, child. Set card, activate—Graydle Parasite! Once per turn, when my opponent's monster declares a direct attack, I can Special Summon a "Graydle" monster from my deck. Come in Defense Position—Graydle Slime!"
A large, alien creature emerging from a strange egg-like structure made from the same material as its body appeared.
[Graydle Slime (5*/0/2000/WATER/Aqua/Tuner/Effect)]
Nearby, Nue recoiled slightly from the appearance of the monster, while Hitoda didn't seem affected at all. Reira was closer to the latter's reaction—she was more disturbed by her opponent than by the cards that they were using, but in general, she felt very apathetic to it all. "Ending my turn."
[Turn 4: Professor Frank] [H:5]
"Draw," Professor Frank said. "And now we shall peer into your intentions. I Normal Summon Graydle Alligator!" A strange mercurial alligator appeared, with oddly shiny green scales that melded to silver, oddly-shaped feet.
[Graydle Alligator (3*/500/1500/WATER/Aqua/Effect)]
"And then, I will tune the Level 5 Graydle Slime to the Level 3 Graydle Alligator! King of the aqua, he who takes control of his subjects, descend onto the field now with the force of a tsunami! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Graydle Dragon!" A freakish mishmash of different monsters with differently coloured scales appeared, most of its body shining silver. The name 'chimera' might have been more fitting than that of a dragon—Reira could see a snake, a bird and a cobra within the monster's body.
[Graydle Dragon (8*/3000/2000/WATER/Aqua/Synchro/Effect)]
"For each of its WATER materials, I can destroy a card you control. I will choose your C/C One-Eyed Past Eye and your set card. Possession Washaway!"
Reira's set card flipped over, with her remaining unfazed by the effect. "Quickplay Spell, Past Tuning. I will change your monster's Level, depending on its current Level. Since it's Level 7 or higher, it becomes Level 5."
[Graydle Dragon: 8* → 5*]
"And then, Past Tuning Special Summons itself as a monster with the same Level as Graydle Dragon." The Spell Card glowed. "And then, I can treat C/C One-Eyed Past Eye as a Tuner and perform a Synchro Summon, but that monster is destroyed during the End Phase. I will tune the Level 3 C/C One-Eyed Past Eye to the Level 5 Past Tuning. Supreme ruler of the river of shining scales! Synchronize with this eye and give me your power! Synchro Summon! Forward! Forged weapon of water that blasts through everything! Level 8! C/C/C Water Sniper the Embodiment of Tuned Attacks!"
A large blue gun appeared, with a large eye in a slit in its middle. It fired off a shot of water that splashed against the ground.
[C/C/C Water Sniper the Embodiment of Tuned Attacks (8*/3000/0/WATER/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)]
"So your effect doesn't matter now."
"3000 attack points?" Professor Frank frowned. "But it destroys itself during the End Phase. You only have a single card in your hand though, so I will be patient and wait a while longer for my inevitable victory. I will end my turn, and use Graydle Impact's effect to add another "Graydle" monster to my hand."
"During your End Phase, Water Sniper is destroyed," Reira said. Water Sniper was destroyed a moment later.
[Turn 5: Reira] [H:2]
"Draw." Reira said. "Activating the Spell Card, Camera Capture. Shuffling two "C/C/C" monsters from my graveyard into the Extra Deck to draw three cards." She swiped up the three cards. "Then, I will Normal Summon another copy of C/C One-Eyed Past Eye. And now I will activate the Spell Card, Past Overlay. I will target your monster and make it Level 8, since it is Level 7 or higher. So nothing changes. Then, I can make C/C One-Eyed Past Eye the same Level as that monster, while also treating Past Overlay as a monster with the same Level. I will overlay the Level 8 C/C One-Eyed Past Eye and the Level 8 Past Overlay with its effect, but this monster is destroyed during the End Phase."
Her two monsters flew up in streaks.
"Overlay… another strange summoning method…"
"Flowing water that takes the solid form! Reside in this eye and give me your power! Xyz Summon! Appear now! The ultimate protection that repels all pressure! Rank 8! C/C/C Water Chainmail the Embodiment of Overlaid Armors!" A large chestplate with dripping chains made of water appeared, ice crystals floating around it.
[C/C/C Water Chainmail the Embodiment of Overlaid Armors (R8/3200/2700/WATER/Fiend/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"With Water Chainmail the Embodiment of Overlaid Armors' effect, I can detach an Overlay Unit from it to increase its attack points by the total defense points of all WATER monsters on the field other than itself. And I can do that more than once." Two Overlay Units vanished into particles of light.
[C/C/C Water Chainmail the Embodiment of Overlaid Armors: OU:2 - 2 = OU:0; 3200 → 7200ATK]
"What?" Professor Frank shouted, before Water Chainmail decimated his field in an instant.
Professor Frank: 4000 - 4200 = 0LP
Winner: Reira Akaba!
Reira blinked.
Was something supposed to be learned from this?
"Professor Frank's interrogation works through the destruction of the opponent's monster, or taking control of them," Gael elaborated after a moment. "For a duel with him to complete with no monsters affected at all… your brother is quite skilled."
"That is unsurprising to me," Reiji said. "But are you expecting us to simply keep on dueling until one of us is weak enough to lose to something like that?"
Professor Frank sounded annoyed when he spoke up. "I wonder what you're hiding, if you refuse to let anything about you be seen."
"This is entirely a skill issue on your part," Reiji said calmly. "If you're not skilled enough for your job, it shouldn't be your client's fault."
Reira heard Nue snort from behind Reiji.
Gael seemed to be talking to the other High Council members, and afterwards, he nodded to Reiji. "We will grant you a night's stay in rooms in the headquarters here today," he said. "We will request another discussion with you tomorrow, however."
"Appreciated," Reiji said. "We will take our leave then."
"That was an excellent show of skill!" Gongenzaka praised Reira as they walked out.
"I did say that they were strong enough to follow us here," Reiji said neutrally. Hitoda tilted her head from next to Gongenzaka, raising an eyebrow, before smirking.
"Strong enough," the green-haired girl repeated, fussing with her bun. "So, Reiji Akaba… how do you plan to get them to search for the other Lancers?"
"We will ask again tomorrow," Reiji said. "Best not to push for everything right now. Do not head around the city alone—stick around here for now."
Nue narrowed her eyes. Reiji noticed it in the corner of his eye.
As the rest all ducked into the rooms for a moment, the black-haired girl strode over next to him. There was something defiant to her eyes, rooted in something dark.
"... I am not your enemy, Nue Kamisoka," Reiji said after a moment.
"I am well aware," Nue said bitingly. "And I hope you're aware that I'll stop at nothing to find Yuto and make sure that he's safe."
"... what makes you so protective of a brother that is capable of taking care of himself?" Reiji said, curious despite himself. "Your brother is one of the stronger Lancers…"
"He's still injured," Nue said. "And what about you? Why aren't you protective of a sister that is clearly mentally incapable of taking care of themselves?"
Sister—
Nue didn't even seem to view it as some big revelation. Had she just assumed that Reira was a girl from the start?
"Reira is strong—"
"I'm not disputing their strength," Nue said, gesturing outwards dismissively with a hand. "They're strong. I'm well aware of that, after seeing their performance today. It's about fragility. It's about how the mind handles stress. It's about how a person changes when they have to deal with war. It's unpredictable. And a child as scared as that… they shouldn't be in this war. We do a lot of things that we're not proud of when we are afraid."
"... are you concerned for her?" Reiji raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought that you only cared about what was 'yours'."
"That is true," Nue said. "My people are all that matter to me. But at the same time, it offends my personal pride to see another older sibling putting their younger sibling in so much danger, and in a position where it will only worsen them as a person."
"Your brother is in this war," Reiji pointed out mildly.
"His girlfriend got kidnapped and our home collapsed on us; do you think that I could keep him away if I tried?" Nue waved a hand through the air dismissively. "Regardless. For now, I trust your judgement. But if Yuto is hurt even a little… well, 'insert something rather violent here' and all."
"I will keep that in mind," Reiji said. "Is that all that you wanted to say to me?"
Nue snorted. "I'll let Myojin carry on being your keeper. She seems to be the only one that can tolerate your bullshit. But yes, that's all I have to say to you for now. The moment that you know where Shun and Yuto are though, let me know. I'll fetch them myself."
The dark-haired woman walked off.
Reiji sighed, clutching at his scarf for a moment.
"Well, that definitely looked tense."
Reiji turned around. Hitoda had snuck up at some point during the conversation, and she was now leaning on the wall, looking rather amused. "And what are you doing here?" He said, rather tired. He wasn't sure which Lancers he would prefer being stuck with right now—the more excitable half in Sawatari, Yuno and so on, or this group of… difficult personalities.
"I mean, I'm not outside, so I'm still following your instructions," Hitoda pointed out. She looked somewhat calm—and perhaps even comfortable.
"... that's fair enough."
Hitoda looked him over. "You look horrible," she said, with no sense of compassion to the words. She stood up straight, smiling in a rather demure manner. "Well, Reiji Akaba, I think that there's a coffee shop downstairs for the people that work here. Shall we go?"
… was she trying to get him to sit down and eat? That was a little more kind than he had expected from her—
"After all, I would never miss the chance to make use of your wallet."
… right.
"What are you doing?"
Yuto glanced up. Crow's friend, Shinji, was standing there. Yuto glanced back down at the small bottles and trays that he was leaving outside. Rainwater was spilling down from the sky, hitting the roofs constantly, loud continuous thuds blending into an uneven rhythm. "Well, I thought that since we were guests here, and we're laying low until we hear more information about the rest… I should do something useful." He gestured to the containers. "I'm collecting rainwater. I know that you do have a source of water, but this way, you all just have… more water to use?"
Shinji was staring at him searchingly. Yuto lowered his gaze, turning back to the containers of water.
"We have a dengue problem here," Shinji said after a moment. "Collecting water in open containers might make that worse."
"... oh."
"The bottles are fine though. I normally do that myself." Shinji sat down on a box nearby. "I guess I should've guessed from your appearance that you're the kind that knows survival tips."
"... we were in a situation where there was no reliable source of food or water," Yuto said, thinking about everything back then. "Where going out to scavenge for things might lead to our death or the deaths of the people that we loved. Where the air stunk of trash and rubble and smoke and we couldn't ever push back our oppressors. We could only just survive."
Shinji was quiet for a while. His fingers tapped against the wall for a while.
"I think," he said after a moment. "I think I might have misjudged you—" His voice sounded a little rough.
Yuto thought about Shun's lack of trust towards anyone, born from the war and everything that it came with. "It's fine," he said. "I understand. It's hard to trust anyone as someone who's not a threat, when you've gone through the kind of stuff that… yeah." He began capping the bottles.
"I thought that you all would be threats to Crow and the kids," Shinji said, and his voice was a little distant—clearly, he also wasn't looking at Yuto. "But you're not here to do anything at all."
"... hearing about the Tops and Commons," Yuto ventured to speak, hearing Shinji go completely silent in the background. "I can't help but feel that for all of you to grow up in a society like this… it's awful. It sounds like what we've been dealing with for the last year, except that you all have had to deal with it your whole lives."
"Some people say that we're at fault," Shinji said, a low, rumbling volcano ready to explode. "That we simply wait and complain without ever trying to change things. And then they judge us for wanting a revolution."
Yuto snorted. "Bullshit," he said bluntly, even though he wasn't really one for curses or expletives. The tension between them seemed to relieve itself like a balloon deflating instantaneously. "Anyone who can say that… is someone so coloured with privilege that there's no point listening to them."
Shinji laughed. There was something surprised to it. At the same time, Yuto heard another voice—Crow had joined them at some point, as had Yuya, and both of them had shown up just in time to hear his opinion.
"What makes you think that way?" Crow asked, sounding surprised.
"Well, I mean… you all said that the Tops suppress your capability to progress in society, right? So even if Security are the enforcers, the ones to be blamed more for it are the Tops, rather than Security. It's like comparing a person that hits a Common to someone that rejects a Common's job application. Both are culpable, but the second one is more subtle, and can ruin a person's life more. No matter who is in power, the misfortunes, the pollution, the squatters and slums grow like cancer, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer."
Yuto knew very much about the problems with long-term classism, if only through his parents and Kaito's father, who had worked together closely on charitable donations to assist in providing education to the less fortunate in Heartland. He had seen how the children in Crow's house didn't even have a school to go to. How could anyone look at this helplessness and say that these people were to blame for it, as though it wasn't an entire society working against them, as though they could change it in any way except for protesting and violence?
To put it bluntly—Yuto despised those who suppressed others. Maybe that was why he and Dark Rebellion got along so well. Two beings who longed to tear down societal structures and to do whatever they wanted, according to their own morals and wills.
When Yuto looked at Shinji, he saw that the young man was smiling slightly.
"You're alright," Shinji said after a moment, patting Yuto's shoulder. "I… want to put the Tops beneath us. I want to make them regret that they ever treated us so poorly—that they thought that they had the right to control us just because they were born more fortunate."
Yuya spoke up. "But doesn't that make you just as bad as they are?" He said.
Shinji snorted. "You're naive, then," he said. "What I mean is that I want them to be punished for what they've done to us. Obviously, I don't intend to make them slaves that waste away in factories just to feed themselves. I don't want them to be locked up like rats and forced to destroy each other for the hope of seeing the sunlight again. I don't want them to watch their loved ones die of disease and infections because they don't have the money to pay for medicine—and even if they did, it's not legal to sell medicine to Commons and 'waste' it." He sounded bitter. Yuya's face was ashen. "But them, in their glass houses with shutters on and hands that are completely clean of any work—I want them to face reality. I want them to be on equal footing with us. And I want them to acknowledge that they were wrong about us. That we deserve to be human in a way that isn't for their entertainment."
He spat out the last word like it was an expletive. Then, he turned around and walked back into the house.
It was far too silent. Raindrops accentuated the silence.
Crow sighed, patting Yuya's shoulder. "Not your fault," he said. "Shinji just gets sensitive about all of that, and he was taking it out on you. Most of the time, that dream of a revolution is the only thing that keeps him going."
"I didn't mean—do you all really go through that kind of stuff?"
Crow sighed. "My parents died in a factory accident when I was six," he said. His lip curled in anger. "You'll find that the mortality rate for Commons is far higher than you might expect—no matter how high you think it is, it's even higher than that. Shinji's father died of illness around that time too, so that's how he and I met. It's been us against the world ever since."
There was a fondness to his voice when he talked about Shinji.
"What do you dream of?" Yuto asked, when he finally found the words to speak again.
"… a better life for the kids," Crow said. "They're all so smart, so resourceful… if only they were born Tops, they'd be the top of the class, they'd have such a bright future ahead of them… and instead, they're just stuck here. And we can't ever escape, not until this world changes from the bottom-up."
Yuto and Yuya were the only ones outside after Crow went back in as well—and then, Yuto heard someone speak up from above.
"So that was pretty heavy, huh?"
"… Sawatari," Yuya said in surprise. Looking out at them from the window above was Sawatari, with Kyorin next to him. They were protected from the rain by the roof's overhang.
"It was pretty heavy," Kyorin agreed. "I feel awful about it… it feels weird to be here, when I was so privileged in my life. I was adopted by one of the wealthiest people in my dimension, and I never had to worry about much…"
"Don't feel bad about living a happy life," Yuto said, directing those words at all three of the others, because he could feel them moping. "It's not like we could've done anything in our own worlds, and it's not like us being happy stopped them from being happy."
Yuya nodded after a moment. "Then we have to change this," he said determinedly. "Now that we know, and we have the chance to change it—as the Lancers, if we want to protect the worlds… we can also try to change them for the better, right?"
Yuto glanced at Yuya speechlessly. To come face to face with something so impossible and yet to say that they could change it… how optimistic.
And yet, that optimism was perhaps Yuya's strongest point.
"If we can," Yuto said—not committing to anything, but allowing himself to have a brief moment of hope. "We can try to change things. Don't be upset if we can't though. It's one thing to defeat opponents… another thing to change mindsets like this."
"Agreed," Kyorin said.
Sawatari shrugged. "My papa told me that I deserved any privileges I had," he said. "But… leaders are meant to help others, right? So yeah! I guess that the great Sawatari will help you out in any way you need!"
Yuto cracked a smile.
It was a naive dream, but…
Maybe together, the Lancers could really do the impossible. Defeat Academia, and save the world—every single one of them.
It was a naive dream, but a nice thought.
"Am I naive?" Yuya asked that night. The two of them were sharing the floor in the living room. For a moment, he thought that Yuto might be asleep, but then his dark-haired counterpart turned over, dark eyes glancing at him.
"I don't think so," Yuto said a moment later. "I think you have a dream. I think that you want to make everyone happy. It's naive, but you are a good person, in that sense. No one can fault you for that."
It was subtle, but Yuya caught the implication. "Then, what can they blame me for?"
"... for not understanding," Yuto said. There was something gentle to his voice. "There is… some strength that's earned in sorrow and despair. Strength to face certain things… and I don't mean this as an insult, Yuya, but I don't think that you've properly understood the magnitude of despair that we have."
"No, definitely not." Yuya rolled over, glancing at the ceiling. "... but I hope that it gets better for you someday, Yuto. Even if you think that it's made you strong, no one should have to suffer."
… now, on the other hand, that part of you… it is naive.
"It's rather late at night." Aki Izayoi tilted her head, smiling.
Miharu looked at her.
"I need your help," she said. "I… didn't know who else I could ask for something like this."
Aki looked at the blonde girl. While the girl had looked so empty the first time that they had met, there was something alive to her eyes now. She must have found what she was looking for.
And well…
Aki wouldn't deny that she'd always had a soft spot for the broken.
"What do you need?" She asked.
Deep below Security, in the section under high security—no information ever leaving it, on the threat of the person who leaked anything being executed immediately—there was a single machine whirring away. This machine never stopped running—the sound of its whirring was something that everyone in Security was used to at this point.
This machine had eyes. It had lips. A nose and a face. The machine sometimes made noises when it thought that no one else was listening. It sometimes thought that it was human—that it might have been human once—but those thoughts were quickly submerged.
The machine was a machine. Nothing more.
But sometimes, when those people came in and prodded at it, they spoke a word that made the machine dizzy. They made it think.
Such was the case now. There were three people in the room. One was poking and prodding at him. The other was giving orders from above. And the third was sitting by a laptop, keying in words.
(The machine could read. It could see the scrolling lines of text in an instant.)
(What it could not do was comprehend.)
("Subject does not respond to questions, nor does he respond to pain or physical stimuli.")
(If those words had a meaning, it did not understand.)
… there were four people in the room. Volume levels were high. The person above appeared to be shouting at the other people in the room. The machine stayed there, whirring idly.
("I need him ready by the Friendship Cup! What have you morons been doing this whole time? Fix him!")
And then, there was one person there. No one seemed to have noticed them, when the rest had left.
The person was looking at him. Then, in flawless, crystal clear Japanese, they said something that pierced through the clouds of the machine's mind.
"... Sergey Volkov."
And the machine reeled—
The figure headed for the door immediately.
"Wait."
The figure came to a stop.
"Say it again," the machine said hoarsely.
The person looked back at him, every bit as inhuman as he was. They were… different from the last time that he had seen them.
The person looked away again—only then did they seem to gather the courage again. They hooked the string of their mask around their ear.
"Your name is Sergey Volkov," the person repeated.
And the machine—Sergey—flung his head back, letting out a wild, mad laugh. He laughed and laughed and laughed until the other, noisy people came in with their weird-smelling chemicals to put him to sleep.
(But they could not make him forget again.)
Duel 1 Summary: Reira Akaba vs Professor Frank
Turn 1: Reira Akaba
Reira sets 1 card and one monster facedown. She ends her turn.
Turn 2: Professor Frank
Professor Frank draws. He activates Supply Squad and Graydle Impact. Then, he sets a card facedown and Normal Summons Graydle Eagle. (3*/1500/500) Graydle Eagle attacks Reira's set monster, which is Film Magician (1*/0/0), who cannot be destroyed by battle. Professor Frank ends his turn. Graydle Impact allows him to add a "Graydle" card from his Deck to his hand.
Turn 3: Reira Akaba
Reira draws. She Normal Summons C/C One-Eyed Past Eye. (3*/1400/1000) Reira activates Persona Shutter Layer 1, Special Summoning it as a copy of Graydle Eagle. She activates Montage Fusion, fusing C/C One-Eyed Past Eye and Persona Shutter Layer 1 to Fusion Summon C/C/C Water Lancer the Embodiment of Fused Arms (4*/2000/0) in Attack Position. Reira activates Nightmare Past Loop, tributing Film Magician. Water Lancer attacks Graydle Eagle, and destroys it with its effect. Professor Frank activates Graydle Eagle's effect. Reira uses Nightmare Past Loop's effect and tributes Water Lancer to revive C/C/C One-Eyed Past Eye. She draws a card with Water Lancer's effect. Professor Frank draws a card with Supply Squad's effect. One-Eyed Past Eye attacks directly. Professor Frank activates Graydle Parasite, Special Summoning Graydle Slime (5*/0/2000) from the Deck in Defense Position. Reira ends her turn.
Turn 4: Professor Frank
Professor Frank draws. He Normal Summons Graydle Alligator. (3*/500/1500) Using Slime and Alligator, he Synchro Summons Graydle Dragon. (8*/3000/2000) He targets One-Eyed Past Eye and Reira's set card to destroy them. Reira activates her set Past Tuning, Special Summoning it as a Level 5 monster and tuning it to One-Eyed Past Eye to Synchro Summon C/C/C Water Sniper the Embodiment of Tuned Attacks. (8*/3000/0) Professor Frank ends his turn and Graydle Impact allows him to add a "Graydle" card from his Deck to his hand. Water Sniper is destroyed by Past Tuning's effect.
Turn 5: Reira Akaba
Reira draws. She activates Camera Capture, shuffling 2 "C/C/C" monsters from her GY into the Extra Deck to draw 3 cards. She Normal Summons C/C One-Eyed Past Eye. and activates Past Overlay to Special Summon it as a Level 8 monster. She uses the two monsters to Xyz Summon C/C/C Water Chainmail the Embodiment of Overlaid Armors. (R8/3200/2700/OU:2) She detaches 2 Overlay Units from it to activate its effect twice. (CCCCWCTEOOA: 3200 → 7200ATK) It attacks Graydle Dragon. [PF: 4000 - 4200 = 0ATK]
OC Cards:
C/C/C Water Lancer the Embodiment of Fused Arms
(4*/2000/0/WATER/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)
"C/C One-Eyed Past Eye" + 1 Level 4 or lower WATER monster
If this card battles a WATER monster, during the start of the Damage Step: Destroy that card. If this card is sent to the GY: You can draw 1 card. You can only activate this effect of "C/C/C Water Lancer the Embodiment of Fused Arms" once per turn.
C/C/C Water Sniper the Embodiment of Tuned Attacks
(8*/3000/0/WATER/Fiend/Synchro/Effect)
"C/C One-Eyed Past Eye" + 1 non-Tuner monster
Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; its ATK becomes 0. When this card declares an attack: You can have this card gain ATK equal to the total Levels of all WATER monsters currently on the field (other than this card) x 300.
Camera Capture
(Spell)
Target 2 "C/C/C" monsters in your GY; shuffle them into the Deck or Extra Deck, and if you do, draw 3 cards.
C/C/C Water Chainmail the Embodiment of Overlaid Armors
(R8/3200/2700/WATER/Fiend/Xyz/Effect)
2 Level 8 monsters
During either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; this card gains ATK equal to the total DEF of all WATER monsters on the field other than itself. If this card destroys a WATER monster by battle: It can declare a second attack in a row.
Different Card Effects From TCG:
C/C cards - Anime-only cards. Special note to Nightmare Past Loop, whose effects are treated as Quick Effects.
End Notes:
Reira Akaba is a character with so much potential, and I will never forgive the Arc-V writers for wasting her potential. Like, you have a traumatised child soldier who is a living deconstruction of everything that your series stands for, and you're just going to ignore her for most of the series except for like a few scenes, and then Zarcify her? Reira's whole thing is that she doesn't have a sense of self, and the ending that she gets is to have another person's soul be sealed into her and subdue her sense of self?
Anyway. I wanted to write a duel for Reira. I think you'll all notice that her character arc has been shifted forward slightly—that the part with her making genuine connections was shifted to the Standard Arc, and she's now blooming into her own person earlier than before. Why? Because the idea that Reira's development was linked to her not wanting to duel Shinji felt very odd to me. I felt like it should have been linked to people that she had a closer connection to, and thus, I tried my best to give her a wider support system here. Also, since this is mostly from Reira and Reiji's POV, Reira is referred to with female pronouns.
I gave Professor Frank Graydles because in canon, he uses a deck that's a bit too small. I didn't feel like making new OC cards for him—even though as a Psychology student, I did have quite a few ideas. Dostoevsky is a reference, of course, to Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Reira gets the OCG card names for her cards just because they sound better.
Shinji and Yuto also get a bit of a moment to bond here. I would have liked to write a scene where Shinji and Shun talk because of their similarities, but in the end, I thought that it would be more meaningful for both Shinji and Yuto to talk to someone different from themselves even with a common experience of suffering.
I used the following quotes but modified it a bit. "Who is in power now is different to who was in power then, but the squatter camps grow like cancer, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer." This comes from Athol Fugard, who's a playwright that I admire the work of quite a bit. Similarly, "There is prodigious strength in sorrow and despair" comes from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.
*coughs* full worldbuilding overwrite, anyone? Anyway, the message of Six Dimensions is not that both Tops and Commons are equally to blame. Of course the Commons are helpless to change their circumstances. They have a generational gap of wealth that is impossible to overcome. It is a learned helplessness that tells them that the circumstances are all impossibly against them. Clearly, the society that exists in canon cannot exist if a Commons can become a Top that easily, and thus, that society is not a society where a person of the lower caste can rise up through just effort. Thus, unlike most writers on this site—I agree with Shinji to a large extent. I think that the message that "there is always a peaceful way" and to "forgive and forget" are alright lessons, but not when faced with a structure of systemic classism. That's the kind of stuff that people on top say to downplay the suffering that people below deal with.
Also, small early cameo from Sergey :3
Review responses!
To phantomdragons, I hope you enjoy Reira and Reiji's interactions here too! In terms of whether I ever considered writing an SI OC, I will say that if I write another fic, it's not likely to be an 'from real life' OC. I prefer writing characters who are integrated in the world rather than isekaied in. I do have plans for two other fics, but I'm not writing them for now because, well, I have no time. If I were to write another fic at the same time, I would make the writing style of it a lot more simple than Six Dimensions, so that it's a faster read.
To naminexriku2468, oh, I love the Heart archetypes! I play Tearlaments, actually, and I do have a basic understanding of Scareclaw and Kashtira. For now, I don't have a plan for them to show up in a major capacity though. I have no idea what you're talking about with the OP, it must be a coincidence. :) I do love Reira's character, and yeah, Rin will get to be badass later on.
To DSpaceZ, yeah, calling back to one of your first reviews, when you mentioned that you would like to see Ghoti, I actually grinned from ear to ear. I do love Crystron quite a lot myself too.
To T.V. 2000, glad that you enjoyed it! Yeah, since everyone already knows that Roget is a spy for Academia, I don't see much point in trying to hint at it in that way.
To marcusns. mills, I appreciate the idea, but I don't think it will work for what I have planned. Either way though, thank you for the review!
And that's all! Thank you to those who favourited, followed or reviewed, and see you in a week or so!