Lights glowed in the night's blackness, illuminating the now emptied park. The swings and slides seemed like dead people begging for someone to play on them in order to be resurrected. Not even the smallest of breezes did blow, there was no rustle from any tree nor any cricket chirping a shy requiem. Maybe that was why nobody dared to step inside even though it was still an early hour. What a silent and still place…
The rusted bench's painted steel felt awfully cold, even though his jeans were thick. A strange scent of wet leaves and grass persisted in the air, yet there were no signs of rain. It wasn't until that particular evening that he began to notice all those harsh truths of the park he used to frequent in his free time, and deep inside he wished he couldn't.
Hajime stared ahead at the dueling table, his eyes empty, his face devoid of emotion. He sat there all alone, still trying to take in the events of that day. It all happened so sudden, even though there were clues ahead that something was not right. He wondered if there was anything he could have done to prevent what had happened. Perhaps he should have gotten out of bed quicker to join his friend for a breakfast at the snack bar; it wasn't that far from where he lived, maybe if they were together, both of them could have fought back against the killer and nothing bad would have happened. Almost by instinct, he got up and placed his deck on the table, in a vain hope that maybe that would have made Ken suddenly appear in front of him, all safe, and everything would have been just a nightmare.
Nothing happened.
Staring at the stack of cards, it then dawned on him that something important was missing. It was as if a hole had been dug into his heart, one that he could not fill again no matter how hard he tried, and he had never felt such an awful sensation before. Yet, despite all this, the world would continue its normal pace, cold and uncaring to his loss, as it did countless times in the past. Life was truly cruel.
Trying to clear his mind of those thoughts, he recalled his final conversation with Ken. His friend was most likely killed on his way to college because there would have been too many witnesses on campus. That meant that the killer struck either at the snack bar or on the street, the latter being more plausible. And even if that was true, was the criminal a student at Sagakin University? Why else would they have dragged the body all the way to the cafeteria? Did they have a personal grudge against Ken? There were so many questions to which Hajime desperately sought answers.
All of a sudden he froze awake with the indistinguishable feeling of certainty that he was being watched. He dared not turn around, although his eyes raced in all directions from where he stood, surveilling as much as they could. A hand landed hard on his shoulder, startling him. He jumped, turning around to find a handsome brunette guy about his age with joyous green eyes and a confident smile, wearing a red cowboy suit, having even the trademark hat.
"Jack Thornton?" Hajime asked after sighing with relief.
"I sure hope I wasn't bothering you or anything, partner," Jack replied, a small hint of a Texan accent in his voice.
"Just don't scare me like that," Hajime bluntly instructed and pushed the other's hand off of his shoulder. "What do you want?"
"Why I just found out about what happened at the cafeteria and I came looking all over for you. This was really the last place I expected you to be at."
"Oh wow, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be at the place where I used to go with my best friend after classes." Hajime crossed his arms and turned away from Jack.
"Woah, don't take it like that, I just didn't know that you actually came here," Jack reasoned.
"Of course not, it's not like we have anything in common."
"Now hold it right there, you know very well how our grandmas-"
"I get it," Hajime abruptly interrupted, slightly exasperated as if he had had that same discussion before. "Our grandmothers were good friends as chosen duelists. But other than that, we share nothing in common. Besides, I was never a huge fan of Duel Masters, I only really played it with Ken," he concluded in a sorrowful tone.
"Look, I'm really sorry for your loss," Jack confessed. "I just came here because I wanted to let you know that if you need anything-"
"I'd sooner seek a therapist." Hajime rolled his eyes and then turned back to the dueling table. "If that's all you have to say, then I think we're done here."
That passive-aggressiveness was beginning to annoy Jack, who raised his voice, "Don't you dare give me the cold shoulder like I don't know shit!"
"What now?" Hajime groaned, growing more and more irritated.
"Just because you lost your best buddy doesn't mean you can treat others like garbage!" Then he calmed down a bit. "And besides, I wanted to tell you that granny Rita's got an idea about what's going on, but you were too caught up in your mourning."
"She does…?" Hajime turned back to him, his curiosity now etched. "What exactly is going on?"
"Now that I've got your attention…" Jack smirked and took out his deck from his pants' pocket. "Beat me in a duel to find out!"
"If this is just a ploy to get a duel out of me…"
"It's not, I promise."
Hajime pull his deck out of the backpack and placed it on the table, his opponent doing the same. Both set their cards and began their match. The sooner it all ended, the better. Hajime did need more alone time with his thoughts.
"I cast Jojojo Jokers." Jack tossed the spell in his graveyard. "With its effect I check the top 4 cards of my deck and take a Jokers creature to my hand. I'll take Yattareman."
"Wait a minute, those cards a white. Are they from the Zero civilization?" Hajime asked as he looked better at the one card in his opponent's graveyard and the other from his mana zone.
"Jokers civilization," Jack corrected him and pointed at the small J symbol on the card's mana number indicator. "It's colorless like the Zero civilization. My granny gave me these new cards on my birthday because she thinks they suit me more."
"Hah, interesting," Hajime replied as he charged mana and ended.
"I summon Yattareman." Jack placed a card that depicted a purple humanoid like creature with a trumpet for a mouth and a pair of drums hung at its chest. "With its effect, my Jokers all cost 1 mana less."
"Good support, let me show you mine – I summon Crysta, First Squad. With its effect, my Metallica also cost 1 mana less."
"A Light counterpart? Now this'll be a cool match. My move, Yattareman reduces its cost, so I summon Pali Nights for 2 mana," Jack put the card depicting a partier with a white suit and a disco ball head on the table. "With the effect of Pali Nights, I put Jojojo Jokers from the graveyard into my mana zone. Then for 2 more mana I summon Tutankhanen," He also put out the card of a safe with the head of a sarcophagus on its top. "With Tutakhanen's effect I draw a card. I end."
"Three creatures in three turns, not bad. Crysta reduces his cost, so I summon Bernine, Dragon Armored and draw a card. Turn end."
"I cast another Jojojo Jokers… and take Pali Nights to my hand. Then I summon a second Pali Nights and send Jojojo Jokers to my mana zone."
"You're keeping your hand and mana steady; you must be building up for something. Whatever it is, I am not going to make it easy for you! I summon Amber, Strange Stone and with its effect I tap your Yattareman and it can't untap at the start of your next turn," Hajime announced as he placed the card depicting the creature made of orange gems. "Bernine lets me draw a card. Then I also summon Faywon, Green Knowledge Silver and tap it to draw a card. Bernine also lets me draw again. Now, Bernine, destroy Yattareman!"
"You were right, I was building up for something, and that's my trump card! My turn, I summon Jolly the Johnny!" Jack excitedly revealed the card he just drew, showing a robotic cowboy wearing red clothes and riding a robotic horse.
"Jolly the Johnny…?"
"Yup, he's a speed attacker and master double breaker, meaning that he'll destroy one of your creatures before each shield break. Also, while I have 5 or more Jokers in my battle zone and mana zone, he can't be blocked and after the attack if you have no more shields and creatures, I win the game!"
"Woah…"
"Exactly, now go, Jolly the Johnny, double break his shields!"
"I untap Faywon and redirect Jolly's attack to itself!"
"Now isn't that a bummer. Oh well, Tutankhanen, break his shield! Pali Nights, break his shield! My other Pali Nights, break his shield! I end."
One by one, Hajime took the three shields to his hand and frowned at the fact that they were not shield triggers. Still, if he managed to stall that Jolly the Johnny, he would be able to avoid that deadly master double breaker.
"I evolve Crysta into Shouten, Stellar Guidance." Hajime placed the new card depicting a warrior made of sapphire and wielding an emerald sword upon Crysta. "I draw from Bernine. Now, Amber, destroy Tutankhanen! Shouten, destroy Pali Nights! Bernine, destroy the other Pali Nights! Turn end."
"Alright, my turn then, I-"
"Wait, since Shouten is tapped at the start of your turn, I bring out Wonder Turtle, Great Labyrinth Turtle into the battle zone tapped!" Hajime summoned the gem turtle with a labyrinth on its shell, after which he signaled to his opponent to do his turn.
"Now I didn't expect that big of a comeback." Jack then shook his head rapidly. "I mean, I summon Dotsuki Manjiro and send Wonder Turtle to the bottom of your deck! Jolly, break his final shields!"
"Shouten's effect, I untap him and redirect the attack to Amber. I'm guessing it's my move now," Hajime brought up and his opponent shortly nodded. "Good, I summon Amber, Strange Stone and freeze Jolly the Johnny. Bernine lets me draw. Then I cast Shine Arrow to tap Dotsuki Manjiro and draw a card. Lastly I summon Ka Doubler, Red Attack Silver tapped and draw again from Bernine. Shouten, destroy Dotsuki Manjiro! Turn end."
"My-"
"Shouten is tapped at the start of your turn, so I bring out White Night, Edge of Yin Yang tapped into the battle zone and add a shield. Now with its Labyrinth effect, since I have more shields then you, my Metallicas win all battles until the start of my next turn!"
Jack silently groaned, he was starting to get annoyed by how well Hajime was controlling the battle zone. For someone who claimed he played Duel Masters only as a pass time hobby, he sure was pretty skilled.
"I summon Danganoh, Super Special Q and with his effect I can attack you right away!" Jack brought out the card showing a robot made out of blue trains. "Go, Danganoh, break his final shields!"
"Shouten's effect, I untap him and redirect your attack to himself. Danganoh dies."
"Darn it, turn end," Jack spat.
"Perhaps you should have better skipped to the part where you just told me what was going on. It would've been way more productive," Hajime suggested nonchalantly.
"And miss all this fun? Hah, never!"
"Very well, I untap Ka Doubler. Then I summon two Andro Saver, Martyrdom Wings. Ka Doubler, double break his shields! White Night, double break his shields! Shouten, break his final shield!"
Now it was Jack's turn to take the shields to his hand, and he was not pleased at all to see that he had no shield triggers, at least not until the last one, which he quickly placed in the battle zone, saying, "Shield trigger, I summon Bainaradoor and send Bernine to the bottom of your deck! Now my move, I-"
"Shouten's effect, I bring out Wonder Turtle, Great Labyrinth Turtle tapped," Hajime once more interrupted him. "Now with Wonder Turtle's Labyrinth effect, my creatures can't leave the battle zone until the start of my next turn."
"Why you… I summon Yattareman and Helcopta. With Helcopta's effect, because I have five Jokers in the battle zone, I draw five cards. Now, Jolly the Johnny, double break his shields!" Jack desperately ordered.
"I untap Shouten and redirect the attack to Wonder Turtle, which destroys Jolly. Then since Wonder Turtle won a battle, I check the top 4 cards of my deck… and bring out Faywon, Green Knowledge Silver. I tap Faywon and draw a card."
"Darn it all…" Jack lightly punched the table. "Bainaradoor, break his shield!"
"I untap Faywon and redirect the attack to Wonder Turtle. Bainaradoor gets destroyed and I use the effect again… to bring out Bernine and draw."
"I… end."
"Wonder Turtle, todomeda!" Hajime gave the direct attack order, sealing his victory.
With the match finished, they both packed their cards, Jack then walking up to Hajime with a friendly smile, laughing.
"Haha, that was a great match, partner! I haven't seen such a good control deck in years."
"Thanks, I guess." Hajime shrugged and placed his hands in his pockets. "Now, what was it that your grandmother found out?"
"Oh right!" Jack snapped his fingers, almost as if he had forgotten the purpose of their duel. "Granny called earlier this day and said she's talked to your grandma Tsugumi about an old enemy of theirs, some kind of mass murdering psycho monster. Having in mind what happened today, they suspect that this thing might be back. Either way, she said we should stay safe because this is nothing to toy around with."
"I see. Thank you."
Jack walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder again, his expression more lighthearted than at the start of their encounter. "Hey, how about we keep in touch, just in case something happens? I'd like to help you out."
Hajime shrugged and replied, "Alright, feel free to add me on Facebook, I'm Hajime Shirayama there."
"Got it, see you tomorrow then, dude!" Jack waved at him good bye and ran out of the park to catch the bus.
Now alone, Hajime sighed as he stared once more at the dueling table. Ken would have been so proud of the way he handled that Jokers deck.
Unbeknownst to him, in the shadows Demon Subaru was smiling widely. He chuckled silently to himself as he realized that time had passed and his former enemies now had grandchildren, meaning that they had aged and weakened. But he still had a young human body, and it was more than enough to gain sweet vengeance. Concluding that things were going to be easier than he expected, he ceased stalking Hajime and left the park as well.
Back at the Shirayama mansion, Tsugumi was growing more and more scared and paranoid after she saw on the news that a mugger had also been found brutally murdered, near the university grounds no less. He did not answer her phone calls and emails as well, only serving to grow her fear.
"Good evening!" Hajime greeted as he took off his shoes.
"Have you heard of the news? There were two murders at your college today," Tsugumi instantly brought up.
"Wait, two?" Hajime stopped in his tracks. "I thought Ken was the only victim."
"Whoever it is, you're not safe there at all," Tsugumi argued as she walked up to him. "Hajime, you're not allowed to go back there, not until you better your dueling skills."
"What? Why? It's not as if that can save me from getting hacked into pieces!"
"You have no idea how wrong you are, child."
"How so? Is it because you think the one doing it is some killer monster from your past?"
His grandmother looked at him with a surprised expression. "How did you know that?"
"My frie- acquaintance Jack told me about your phone talk with Rita," Hajime replied, standing his ground. "Now who is this so called monster exactly?"
"That is none of your concern," Tsugumi retorted, although her hands began to shake.
"Are you alright?" Hajime asked, taking notice of her body tick.
She was quick to change the subject, "Your training begins tonight!"
"Wait, what?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I didn't consent to any of th-"
"Hajime, you must become a better duelist, it's the only way for you to stand up against what's coming!" Tsugumi interrupted him, her hands tightened into shaking fists.
"Oh no, I'm not going to throw myself blindly into this, not until I get some actual answers from you!" her grandson argued while approaching her, slightly hunched as he tried to assert his point.
"Your grandma knows what's best, and now you aren't ready to handle the truth!" she replied through her teeth, looking him in the eye with similar determination.
"Is that so? Why? Because you can't stop coddling me like I'm still a baby?" Hajime raised his voice as he got into Tsugumi's face. "Newsflash, I'm 20 and I think I can handle things on my own!"
"You're letting Ken's death get to you," Tsugumi reasoned.
"Just like you're letting your fear of this killer get to you," he retorted and backed off, ultimately running upstairs to his room.
Sighing, Tsugumi walked back to her computer and phone, still waiting for a sign from him and hoping from the bottom of her heart that he had nothing to do with the news of those horrifying murders. She knew they were all too old to handle the return of that nightmare, but the fact that their grandchildren were unprepared only made things worse.