Chapter 27: Regroup
Akiza moaned as she opened her eyes, slowly taking in her surroundings. When she was fully awake, she realized she was in a hospital, a nurse standing over her.
"Oh good, you're awake! You gave us quite the scare for a while."
"How did I get here?"
"You were caught in the collapse of The Arcadia Movement. Luckily, the rescue team got you out without too much issue. You were in rough shape when they found you, but a week of rest will do you some good."
Akiza nodded.
"Did anyone else make it out?"
"Four people managed to escape before the building collapsed. They're the ones who alerted the rescue team that you were still trapped inside. Which reminds me, you have visitors, if you want to see them."
Akiza nodded, and the nurse opened the door. In came Leo, Luna, and Yusei, Leo immediately running over to her bedside.
"Akiza, are you alright? Were you scared!"
"Leo! She doesn't need you harassing her with questions, she needs rest!"
"Well,then why did the nurse let us in, then?"
Akiza smiled, and ruffled Leo's hair.
"It's okay, Luna, I don't mind. I'm just glad we all got out alright. What about you, Leo?"
Leo chuckled, and gave her a thumbs up.
"Nothing to it! Just a little sore, but I took my medicine like a man!"
"Oh yeah?" Luna asked. "Then why did you cry like a baby when they gave it to you?"
"Those were manly tears!"
Everyone chuckled, before Yusei began shooing the twins out.
"Alright you two, give Akiza some space."
"Aw, but I wanted to spend time with Akiza!"
"Read the room, Leo! Obviously they want to be alone!"
Once the twins were out the door, Yusei closed it, before handing Akiza the roses he had hidden behind his back.
"For the lovely lady."
"Oh, how sweet!"
Yusei smiled, and brushed the hair out of her face.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. Having to be in that place…"
"I'm fine, Yusei. Now that you're here…"
The two of them exchanged a smile, but Yusei's quickly turned into a frown.
"Yusei?"
"I saw Kalin."
Akiza's eyes went wide.
"Kalin? But they said he died in The Facility!"
"He did."
"So that means…"
"Yeah. Our old pal Kalin is a Dark Signer."
Akiza was silent for a minute, before speaking once more.
"What happened?"
"He challenged me to a Turbo Duel, and played me like a fiddle. Once he got this crazy monster out, I couldn't do anything. If my Duel Runner hadn't crashed just as he was about to attack…I'd be dead."
"Yusei…"
"I'm fine, Martha patched me up, but…"
"Does Kalin still blame us?"
Yusei nodded.
"I tried to talk some sense into him, but all he cared about is revenge. I hate to say it, but the Kalin we knew is gone."
Akiza was silent for a moment, before she spoke again.
"Then we'll have to beat him to save the world."
She tried to get up, but the pain in her body forced her back down, Yusei gently helping her.
"Easy, let your body heal, then we can worry about saving the world."
Akiza smiled, and relaxed in his embrace.
"Sounds good to me."
Hideo Izinski sighed wearily as he sat down in his hotel room.
"Stupid meetings…"
Still, he got the work he needed to do done, and earned a rest. Turning on the TV, he found a news report from New Domino City.
"We now continue our coverage of the destruction of the Arcadia Movement last week. Witnesses report seeing strange symbols in the sky during the attack, symbols resembling the…"
With a weary sigh, Hideo tuned out the rest of the report until…
"...We have confirmation that one of the people recovered from the debris is the Fortune Cup runner up, Akiza…"
When he heard that name, Hideo shot up. At first he couldn't believe it, but one look at the picture confirmed it.
"My baby girl…"