Chapter 12: Reunited at Last
That evening, a ship arrived to pick Akiza and her duel runner up from the docks to discreetly take Akiza to New Domino City. The entire ride over, Akiza's mind was on her friends, the coming tournament, but more importantly trying to not be found by her "parents"
After an hour boat ride, the ship finally docked, and Akiza was led to an apartment complex in the Daimon Area. After putting her duel runner in the garage, Akiza was handed her apartment keys and left to her own devices. With no other option than to go with Goodwin's plans, Akiza sighed and made her way to her temporary home.
"Well, might as well make the best of it."
The apartment itself wasn't too bad, actually. It was a fairly decent size, and being on the 3rd floor she had a decent view of the city. Still, it wasn't home to her.
She had just gotten settled when there was a knock on the door. Surprised, she opened it to find…
"Yusei?"
The teen smiled, and held his arms out to hug her.
"Hello, beautiful. Miss me?"
Akiza smiled, and ran into his arms, accepting his hug.
"God, am I glad to see you! These past few weeks…"
"Yeah, I know. Mind if I come in?'
Akiza nodded, and led him through the door. The two of them sat down on the couch.
"I guess Goodwin forced you to compete too, huh?"
Akiza nodded, tears in her eyes.
"If I had gotten there sooner, I could've saved them. Now, their lives are at risk because of us."
"Don't do this to yourself, Akiza. You couldn't have known. I don't blame you, and I know they don't either."
Akiza nodded, still teary eyed.
"What are we going to do?"
"The only thing we can do, which is to play Goodwin's game. Once we find out what Goodwin wants, we bust our friends out. But for now, we just see how things go."
Akiza nodded, still unsure of how things would work out. Yusei smiled, and gently wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Hey, don't worry, we'll make it work."
"You promise?"
"Promise."
Akiza smiled, and started to lean in closer to meet his lips when…
"Hey, Mr. Mystery Man! We were looking for you!"
The two broke apart mid-air when a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, appeared in the doorway. The girl sighed, clearly exasperated by her brother's antics.
"Geez, Leo! Can't you see they were having a private moment?"
Leo chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry, but I just wanted to thank Man in person!"
The boy raised his arm, proudly showing off his duel disk.
"See this? Mr. Mystery Man spruced it up for me! Oh, and my sister's too."
Yusei nodded, happy that he could help.
"Glad you liked it."
His sister sighed, and approached Akiza.
"My name's Luna. I'm sorry about my brother, he means well, but he's an idiot."
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
Akiza chuckled, reminded of Jack and Crow's petty squabbles.
"It's quite alright. My name's Akiza, it's very nice to meet you."
"Are you Mr. Mystery Man's girlfriend?"
"Leo!"
"What? What'd I say?"
Akiza just laughed.
"Yes, I am."
"That's so cool! You must be a super strong duelist. Are you competing in the Fortune Cup too?"
Akiza nodded,
"That's so cool! I'll be competing too. You'd better hope you don't go up against me, though, because I'm the one to beat."
Luna just rolled her eyes.
"Considering our friend here trounced you in your duel, I find that hard to believe."
"Hey, I had him on the ropes!"
"Yeah, right! Besides, I was invited, not you!"
"Well, maybe if you weren't such a scaredy cat, I wouldn't have to take your place!"
"Why, I oughta-"
The two left the apartment, still bickering. Yusei just rolled his eyes.
"Kids."
"I don't know, I kind of like them. So, Mr. Mystery Man, hmm?"
"Long story. I'd better make sure they get to the Tops safe and sound. See you tomorrow?"
Akiza smiled, and gave him a good night kiss.
"Let's win this."
Yusei nodded, and left to catch up with the twins. With a weary sigh, Akiza went to sleep, feeling a little better about her situation.