INTERLUDE – LAST NIGHT OF PEACE
The sun had set upon Maiami City.
Masumi and Yaiba, oblivious to the truth, had shouted and vented at how Markus Streiter had postponed his fate. But in the end, there was little else they could do, and they were reduced to taking the long walk back to Masumi's house for a late dinner, where they regaled her father with most—though not all—of what had taken place that day.
By the time she had finished telling of her Zirconia's heroics, Masumi found she was quite ready to stop doing … anything for the rest of the evening. She had exhausted her body and mind in that Duel once already; telling it in detail again was doubly so. Nor was she ready to talk about how her opponent had escaped justice by the skin of his teeth, or the particulars of the twins who'd dealt the decisive blow—and certainly not about her embarrassing tirade in front of Dennis in the hospital. And so, feigning loss of appetite, she and Yaiba had skipped dessert and retired to her bedroom. They lay there now, entwined within each other's limbs on the bed, too tired to change out of their clothes.
No words were exchanged. None were needed—perhaps, as fatigued as they were, none could even be summoned. But Masumi did not care. She was too relieved to be here right now—to be with him right now, after winning one of the most hard-fought Duels of her life. She was more than happy to save her breath—more than content to let her eyes do all the talking for the rest of the night. And so the Fusion ace did not waver her gaze an inch from Yaiba's face. He was too tired to argue the point—too tired to even kiss her—and so he stared back, smiling placidly, thinking the same thoughts she must have been.
We're here. I'm here. You're here.
And Masumi thought—as she and Yaiba slipped off into peaceful, happy slumber—what more do eyes need to say?
The stars shone bright over Maiami City.
Fuyu reclined on the edge of the hilltop near his parents' planetarium—the same one, in fact, on which they'd been fighting the Ædonai for the first time. His helmet was off, and he wore regular clothes instead of his usual Dueling suit. Hokuto lay beside him, eyes closed and looking so peaceful that Fuyu wondered if he'd fallen asleep already.
"Hokuto-san?"
A grunt. It sounded like he'd been well on his way. "What's up?"
"Do … do you think I'm weak?" The question had been on his mind ever since they'd left Ryōzanpaku—and only in the privacy of his lifelong friend did Fuyu finally feel it building up in his throat, begging to be answered.
"Wha—no! Of course not!" Hokuto spluttered. "You're one of the best Duelists I've ever met! For God's sake, we do Tag Duels together—you know how many of those we've won?"
Fuyu nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's right." His voice was scarcely audible over the hiss of the grass in which they lay. "That we won. You didn't win them—neither did I. But we did."
Hokuto sat back down. "Fuyu, are you still moping about what Markus did to you? All that crap he said about you? You know that's not true. Just because you're … you doesn't mean you aren't perfect."
"It's not that … " Fuyu stared intently at a crooked blade of grass. "Have you always noticed that it's Masumi who always wins the fights we get into? We saw it with that evil psychic doctor … and then that murdering cyborg … and now it's Markus. Every time, we've all lost so that she can win. Doesn't … doesn't that bother you?"
Hokuto was silent for a moment. "You might be looking at this the wrong way," he mused. "It isn't that Masumi wins—it's that she strikes the final blow. In my mind, you don't win a Duel with the last card—a good Duelist is supposed to win with the very first card they play. If they can keep the momentum alive from there, it's in the bag."
He sat up. "You know, Masumi told me a while back that at one time, she felt like she had a lot more to prove than we did with this whole LID thing. You might see it as fighting Fusion Summoning with Fusion Summoning instead of Xyz Summoning, Synchro Summoning—hell, I guess Ritual Summoning at this point," he laughed. "But for a while, she saw it as wanting to tell everyone who saw her Duel that Fusion didn't have to belong to the bad guys."
Fuyu noted the "for a while". "What … stopped her from thinking that?"
"She got the advice from Dr. Grimm, before she knew the truth." Hokuto pulled a face. "I think that sobered her up pretty quick—made her think that it wasn't all about her anymore. From then on out, it was all about us. Maybe she still makes the final blow—but it's only because of us that she's able to do that. And—well, I'm happy with that. It makes what we do seem more like a team effort, you know?"
The Xyz ace conceded a grin. "Though if I saw Grimm again, I wouldn't mind doing the honors myself one day." He frowned. "Well—besides you," he amended. "You've got more reason to beat her than I do, after all she did."
A pained smile twisted Fuyu's lips. He didn't like those dreams of sickness and torture, of weakness and false rage. They'd been popping up less frequently in recent months; the memories were starting to fade. But after today …
"You … want to stay with me tonight?"
"Hmm?" Hokuto had reacted more from his own distraction than in surprise. "Uh—sure, yeah. If your folks are fine, I can pull out the couch."
"No—I mean, do you … do you want to stay with me tonight?"
Hokuto frowned. Then his eyebrows arched as his friend's words sank in. Fuyu felt his cheeks color, and he hastily turned away—he hadn't meant to say it like that. They hadn't spent that much time that close together since he was seven—since he'd been sick to the point of nearly wasting away helplessly in his bed.
"Yeah." He jerked back. A small smile lined Hokuto's face—knowing, reassuring. "Yeah, I can do that."
Fuyu felt something inside him loosen up in relief. His smile felt less painful now. "Thanks. Knowing that woman is back … I'd sleep better at night, knowing you're close by."
The Xyz Duelist stood up then, and turned towards home. He could see his mother waving from the front door. "We should head back in," he murmured, "get some rest. I feel like we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow … "
A soft wind blew through Maiami City.
The last of the tourists had left an hour ago, and the plaza was deserted. Soon enough, however, the brick road that cut the park in two down the middle would be set upon by maintenance crews with sweepers and vacuums to pick up the detritus left behind by the day's visitors. Their only witnesses would be the cherry trees that flanked the road like so many sentinels—paragons of gentle beauty that drew thousands of people every day to this tiny slice of land within the urban sprawl and splendor of the metropolis that swallowed it.
Li Shen made even less noise than the wind that caressed his saffron tunic as he made his way up the footpath. The orange blade of the Synchro Duelist's snow-white Duel Disk had been ignited ever since he'd made his way to this plaza. But he had no intention of using it tonight. His intentions for coming here would never again be so base.
He had been tempted, briefly, to ask Masumi and his comrades in joining him tonight. They would be sympathetic; they knew enough of his history here. But they had not been here when that history had reached its ignoble end. In this, if for no other reason, he would forever be alone—and so he had come alone, and likely always would.
Shen stopped them. His destination was right in front of him. He knew it would have changed since last he saw it.
Would that it was so easy to prepare for change, he thought to himself.
The shrine had hardly been taller or wider at its roof than the biggest of the cherry trees that lined the plaza, even at the peak of its prosperity. But it remained a focal point to all who visited, and Shen himself had spent many a day here during his time here a year ago, tending to its cleanliness with the monks he felt more at home with than any of his fellow students, even Tōdō Yaiba, who he had known longer than anyone else in this city.
It was all gone now. The roof, ablaze with holographic hellfire, had collapsed before his eyes that day. He had been powerless to stop what had happened then, locked into a battle he could not win—desperate to rescue the sifu and brothers he could not save. Its woeful remnants had been demolished a week later, after he had left for China to give a eulogy for the funerals that followed. Only the blackened brick beneath his feet served to remind tourists of the dangers of technology when wielded in the wrong hands—an eyesore of visual spectacle, long since vanished.
But looks and visual spectacle meant nothing to Shen; such things were as fleeting as any one of the blossoms that bloomed from every twig. And yet he had felt a connection to this place like none save the remote monastery that had accepted him as a boy, and molded him into the man he was today. His first encounter with Masumi here was only the brightest of them, the one he would rather recollect more than any other. Losing this humble shrine would haunt him … but the losses that had resulted from its loss in turn would haunt him forever.
Shen bowed his head, and silently padded to the edge of the charring.
From inside his tunic he drew a small, crude earthen pot—one he had made with his own two hands in Shanghai, for this exact purpose—followed by three wooden sticks, each no longer than a pen, and no thicker at its nub. These he placed inside the vessel with care, breathing the incense their tips exuded as they passed beneath his nose. He did not light them. This place of peace had had its fill of fire.
The Synchro Duelist knelt long enough to place the pot at his feet. Then, he deactivated his Duel Disk, bowed three times towards where the shrine had stood, and finally laid his last gift alongside the incense: a broom no taller than he, fashioned from bamboo and rough straw—again by his own hands.
Only then did Shen speak, for the first time since the sun had set. "Shīfu … shīxiōng. Wǒ yǐjīng huíláile."
He sat down before his offerings, and closed his eyes to begin his obeisance to the dead—his lonely ritual of one.
Dawn would break before he spoke or moved again.
All was quiet in Maiami City.
Perhaps that was why Emina Rika woke with a start. She never liked it when things were still and quiet—she had to go to sleep with some kind of noise in her ears; the sounds of wind through a field or rain in a forest were the best at this. Tonight it had been the chirping of bell crickets in a garden, and the soothing tones still came from the speaker of her Duel Disk, propped up on the nightstand.
It wasn't her nightstand, of course. After taking Hotene home from the hospital, their families ate dinner together, and let Rika stay the night when they were done. She knew they were worried about her, too. The tiny Duelist hadn't said a word throughout dinner; more than once, she didn't even seem to know there was food on her plate.
When it came time to wash the dishes, Rika had helped out—her parents had always told her to be helpful around a friend's house, after all—but Hotene had gone straight to her room, and when Rika had entered to turn in for the night, it was to find the Junior Fusion ace in a nest of blankets on the floor, sound asleep.
Now Rika was wide-awake—by what, she could not say. She checked the clock on her Duel Disk, and groaned—she'd barely been asleep an hour. A quick look over the bed showed Hotene's rumpled nest of blankets, but not Hotene herself. Perhaps she had just gone to the bathroom, Rika decided, and so gave it no more thought … until she heard the click of a door from downstairs.
Hotene's bedroom was right above the door to her backyard, and it had been this that Rika had heard—she'd spent enough sleepovers in this room to know which door sounded like what. She crept to her window, and was instantly rewarded with the sight of her friend walking towards the large trampoline that stood in one corner.
Rika stifled a grin, and put on her socks to make as little noise as possible—both inside and outside. Within minutes she was quietly closing the door to the yard behind her, feeling the cool air wash over her face.
Hotene was barely visible in the center of the trampoline. She laid face-up, her limbs splayed around her—so still and small amidst her favorite backyard toy that even in the pale light of the rising moon, Rika had seen the indent of Hotene's body in the round mat before she'd seen Hotene herself.
As she tiptoed closer, though, she could also see the smallest of tear tracks lining the little girl's cheeks. Rika bit her lip. Instantly she knew her friend hadn't come out all this way to bounce the stress out of her brain.
"Can't sleep." Hotene made no other indication that she'd seen her friend coming.
Rika propped herself against the trampoline's purple pads. "Why not?" she asked, keeping her voice soft.
"Don't know."
But this sounded so unlike Hotene that Rika couldn't help but wonder if maybe she did know. The tiny Duelist's voice was stilted, almost robotic in its delivery. She was staring straight up at the sky—her damp eyes unblinking, unmoving. More and more stars were appearing in the heavens, but she did not seem to see any of them.
"Can I climb up with you?" Rika ventured. It didn't take her preteen intuition to know that her best friend needed cheering up, and fast. Staying close by seemed the best way to help with that.
Hotene didn't answer her, though—at least, not directly. "Don't feel like jumping," she said morosely.
"That's fine." Neither did Rika, if she was honest—they might make too much noise, and wake Hotene's parents. Maybe in the morning, she thought—if I can cheer her up enough. "Hey—I'll be right back out."
Quickly and as quietly as she could, Rika darted back inside the house. She returned five minutes later, carrying a few blankets and pillows from the nest Hotene had built for herself. She tossed them onto the trampoline—taking care not to hit her friend—and clambered onto the mat to smooth them out into a simple bed.
" … Thanks." But before Rika could say "You're welcome" back, the tiny Duelist became tinier still, shrinking into a ball. She made no other sound but for a thin, long moan.
Gingerly, she patted Hotene on the shoulder. "Are you sick?" Rika knew no one moaned like that unless something was wrong. But even as she asked the question, something told her that wasn't the answer.
Sure enough, the ball shook her head no. Then, after a long silence: " … He said I'd m-make a good soldier."
"Huh?"
There was a long, wet sniff from inside the blanket. "When Markus Dueled us … he was m-making us attack each other. W-we couldn't do anything about it. Then when my turn came, I Summoned my Rider Gaiapelio an' … an' he said he liked it. He l-let me attack anyone I wanted … 'cause of how much he liked my monster. Even him."
Rika frowned. "But you didn't just attack Markus, did you?"
Another shake: no. "Hokuto told me to attack him first … that he w-wasn't any good to us anymore. I didn't have a choice—I had to attack, but Markus was too strong for more than one monster! S-so I took my Rider Petolphin, an' t-told it to … " She gulped. "It was quick. I hope it didn't hurt. B-but I won't ever forget what Markus said after."
The Junior Synchro ace said nothing, only continuing to rub Hotene's shoulder as she continued to stammer out her story. "H-he asked me how it felt. Asked me what I-I thought of … holding p-people's lives in my hands."
"What did you say back?" Rika shifted slightly, and the springs of the trampoline squeaked under her. The question she'd asked had been far quieter in comparison.
Hotene shook her head a third time. "Didn't … say anything. Didn't want … want to make him happy." The little girl sounded like she was at the end of her rope. "But it … it felt good. I d-didn't feel anything like it since … "
She seized up here, and did not finish. Rika waited precisely one second. "Since when?"
There was a pause. "Since … G-Grimm."
Hotene spoke no more, and curled up tighter than ever. The ball of blankets that covered her shook with silent sobs.
Rika had learned the gory details behind how her friend had helped to found the LID. Immediately she understood why Markus had made Hotene feel this way. He had tempted her with a taste of power, just like the horrible woman who had tortured her—turned her into little more than a plaything. And Hotene, the brave, fearless little girl that she was, had nearly succumbed today … just as she nearly had back then.
As Rika watched her best friend—probably the best Duelist of her entire age group that lived in Japan—cry herself to sleep, there was only one thing she could possibly do now that occurred to her ten-year-old mind.
She tossed a second blanket over them both, propped a pillow under their heads, and slowly hugged her as tightly as she felt was comfortable. It didn't stop the tears from falling. Nor was it meant to. But as the minutes ticked on, and Rika felt her body grow leaden with fatigue, she heard the sobs trickle away into silence, and then to sniffing.
Eventually, even the shaking stopped, and the trampoline became still and silent once more. But by then, Rika was sound asleep. When Hotene's parents awoke next morning, they found both girls still lying on the mat, wrapped up in their blankets. The Junior Synchro ace woke up still clinging to her best friend.
Hotene, still asleep, was smiling. And for Rika—sweaty and sore though she was—that made it all worth the effort.
Akaba Reiji gazed out at Maiami City.
He drummed his fingers against the passenger window of the Range Rover Sentinel as the cityscape—lit by the last gasp of gold from the setting sun—blurred past him. He wasn't really taking it in; his mind was elsewhere at present.
" … If you're just tuning in now, viewers, we have a breaking news update tonight: Gōdagawa Ryōzan, founder and headmaster of the controversial Ryōzanpaku School, has just announced that he is stepping down from his duties effective immediately, after his Duel against Markus Streiter—the alleged mastermind behind the terrorist attack on Maiami City earlier today. Gōdagawa further confirmed reports that he is retiring from Duel Monsters, due to the severity of his injuries.
"Now we have also learned that Gōdagawa has turned himself in to police custody on charges of tax evasion and failure to register as a foreign agent, with the possibility of more charges to follow. In a verbal statement issued to the NTA and the MCPD from a private ward in the Maiami City General Hospital, Gōdagawa claimed that his ace student, Kachidoki Isao, had allied himself with Academia with his knowledge and consent, and that he had received multiple payments from them totaling almost two billion yen, which he used to furnish his own school, and to further found a second—the girls-only Kōrōmu Academy—with the intent of using the students in both schools to fight Academia. Already considered controversial in conservative enclaves for promoting the 'Skin Dueling' style … "
Reiji tore his eyes from the TV built into the headrest of the front passenger seat. "Nakajima, contact my mother. I need positive verification on that."
"Yes, sir." The aide dialed a number into the car's phone. Reiji, meanwhile, returned to the disappearing scenery of the metropolis as they drove through its outskirts, and the continuing drone of the news anchor. The first checkpoint for Château Pique-Diamant would be coming up in a few minutes. He felt for the black hood that sat in his lap.
" … Representatives of Kōrōmu Academy were unavailable for comment. An NTA spokesperson did not confirm or deny any rumors that both schools would be put into administration pending the outcome of Gōdagawa's charges. Gōdagawa himself expressed his hope that his students would continue to fight on … "
Reiji switched off the television. There was no point listening to any more; he had heard enough to guess how this would play out from here. Soon enough, his mother would approach these schools and take them over, as she had tried with You Show. Gōdagawa had provided her with a mountain of leverage that she would use to her advantage: vengeance for their fallen sensei would be enough to make the students flock to her on its own merit. He wondered if this would come up during her dinner with the EDS head tonight.
Nakajima snorted in annoyance just then. He was putting down the car phone. "No good; I can't reach her mobile."
Reiji tilted his head. "Did you try her private line?"
The aide nodded. That wasn't like his mother, Reiji thought. But then, she had taken Reira with her to Chuo City, though. No doubt his baby sister had suddenly needed changing. He'd had plenty of experience with that over the past few months. So he gave it no further thought, and decided to keep his phone on hand for when she called back.
"First checkpoint," grunted Nakajima. Reiji nodded, and composed a quick text to Himika from his Duel Disk: En route. Stand by. No sooner had he hit SEND then he reached for the drugged hood, and lowered it over his head.
Within seconds he was out cold, and would not wake until he was close to the Château—and inside, his father.
Slowly but surely, night fell over Maiami City—and for all who slumbered there, it passed without incident.
But elsewhere, a storm was brewing. Though Markus Streiter was beyond the reach of both Lancers and LID alike, they were not yet beyond his. For the final seeds he had sown in his war against the dimensions were sprouting.
His last material act would be a Duelist trap of unprecedented scope—and not one Duelist it had been designed for would ever have guessed how soon it would be sprung.
A/N: This was originally part of the previous chapter that I released alongside this one, but I felt like it deserved to be a "breather" of sorts—both for you and for me—and so I released them separately. Bit of a rush job in comparison with my other chapters, and it probably comes off forced in some places because of it. If there's one sin of a writer I'll acknowledge committing, it's that I can never bring myself to just end something, even when it ought to be.
I still can't believe I got this far with this story in … has it really been less than a year? What a whirlwind it's been. Whew. It feels like it's gone by so fast, all the days and nights have blended together.
Hope you enjoy this little nugget of words while I prep my fingers for the next part of the story. Thanks for reading! – K