Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Divine Record

by Frost190

At the age of 7, Kento Hijiri was kidnapped. Ten years later, Kento receives an anonymous package containing an avatar and coordinate that leads him to the destroyed Cyberse World where he encounters a Duelist who urges him to fight alongside Playmaker if he wants to move on from his past. Taking the name Holysaber, Kento's battle begins. OC insert and partial rewrite.

3. Dragon Princess - Ryuki

RESPONSE TO REVIEWS:

Big thanks tsukikami02, HunterHQ, Guest, Hell Kaiser Younes, Ulrich362, T.V. 2000 to for reviewing the previous chapter!

HunterHQ & Guest: Since answering may spoil some things, I'm sorry to say that I cannot answer your question.

Hell Kaiser Younes: Aoi will have more importance later in the story, you'll have to be patient though. Windy is still reprogrammed by Lightning.

I hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter.

---

Chapter 3

Dragon Princess - Ryuki

竜の姫君「竜姫」

Ryū no Himegimi "Ryūki"

---

Hospital – Den City – 10 Years Ago

Kazue stepped inside a hospital room. She sneaked in while her parents were talking with another couple right outside the room. She looked at Kento who was lying on a bed next to the window with oxygen concentrator attached to him, providing necessary oxygen to the little boy who was sleeping soundly. Kazue took a seat on the chair next to the bed. Her left hand held the sleeping boy's left hand while her right hand gently caressed the boy's unkempt hair.

It had been a week since he was rescued. After six long months, she finally could see Kento again. She was beyond happy when she heard they had found all the missing children. According to the doctor, when Kento was found, he suffered from malnutrition and fibrillation, but his condition was stabilized once he received treatment. However, he hasn't woken up since then even though physically he's getting better. The doctor deduced his coma was attributed to his mental condition. Traumatic experiences may cause people to go into a deep sleep.

Every single day, she always came to visit him, sitting at his bedside while holding his hand until the time was up. She was always reluctant to let go of his hand, afraid that he'd be taken away again. She always held his hand while praying with all her might that he'll open his eyes. She promised that once he wakes up and is discharged from hospital, she'll take him to play whatever he wants.

Then, it was as if her prayer had finally been answered.

She felt the fingers of the hand she was holding twitching weakly. Slowly then, the hand she was holding held her hand back.

"Tsurugi?" Kazue called her friend by his nickname, gaze shifted from his hand to his face.

She began to tear up when the closed eyes slowly opened and looked at her.

"Ka...zue...?" He spoke with a weak voice. Judging from his unfocused gaze, he was still drifting between consciousness and slumber.

"Yes! It's me, Tsurugi! Wait, I'll go call Auntie and Uncle! A-and the doctors too!" Kazue was about to let go of his hand and ran out of the room, but Kento's hand tightened, stopping her.

"No... I gotta go..." He suddenly said, closing his eyes tight again.

"Go? Go where?" Kazue walked closer to Kento again, now holding his hand with both of her hands. Looking at him again, she could tell he was still not fully awake.

"Mom and Dad..."

Kazue felt something crack in her chest when she heard what he said. She didn't even realize that her hold on his hand tightened all the while trembling. His parents were already dead. Why was he calling for them? She wondered that. No, she knew what he was about to say. She just didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to hear it.

"Mom and Dad are waiting for me... I want to be with them..."

---

Living Room – Hibiki Residence – Den City – Present Time

Kazue was watching TV with her brother when the news about Playmaker's return and Holysaber's appearance using the rumored DIVINE-Attribute cards suddenly interrupted the program she was watching with her brother. She was taken aback by the news. She and Kento were wondering how to get into contact with Playmaker, and here he was, appearing in LINK VRAINS again after three months.

What surprised her most, however, was that Holysaber also appeared right after Playmaker. She already told him to tell her first before meeting with Playmaker if they ever found a lead about his whereabout. And yet, he logged int and chased after Playmaker without informing her first. She doubted that he had any plan in mind since Playmaker only appeared moments before him. He must be in a hurry to log in after hearing the news about Playmaker's return.

"Big Sis, are you okay? You're frowning." Minoru asked worriedly.

"Oh, sorry, Minoru. I'm fine." Kazue patted her brother's head to assure him.

"By the way, when will Big Bro come here? He's coming here today, right?" Minoru asked.

"He's a bit busy right now, but he'll come here as soon as he can. Be a good boy and wait for him patiently, okay?" Kazue smiled at her brother, who nodded repeatedly and sat back to watch TV again.

Kazue watched the news in concern. Kento had made himself a center of attention with his DIVINE-Attribute deck. The media would make a fuss about him and Playmaker. At this moment, it must have already been filled with news and discussion about them. She knew it wouldn't help much, but once this was over, she'd delete any footage and pics about Holysaber spreading online. Kento would delete his history log too once he logged out.

"Kento, you better return here soon..."

---

Cafe Nagi – Central Plaza – Den City

After he logged out from LINK VRAINS, Yusaku immediately checked on Ai who got affected by an anti-Ignis program planted by Haru, a boy who is allied with Bohman, the Duelist who stole the consciousness of Kusanagi's younger brother, Jin Kusanagi. By the time he returned to the real world, Kusanagi was already there, trying to find the culprit who attacked his brother who was just beginning to recover. Yusaku felt guilty for his failure, but Kusanagi didn't blame him and told him to focus on restoring Ai instead.

The anti-Ignis program implanted by Haru was undeniably harmful but not deadly. It could only incapacitate Ai temporarily. Even if he left it alone, Ai would be able to restore himself eventually. However, Yusaku has no intention of waiting. The program was only meant to incapacitate temporarily, so removing it is not a difficult task for someone of his skill.

"It's probably this." Yusaku pressed the finishing touch. A spark came out from his Duel Disk before Ai emerged from it.

"Where am I? Who I am?" Ai said while looking around him. Hearing Ai's usual act, Yusaku smiled.

"You're finally back." Though he didn't show it, Yusaku was relieved to see the Dark Ignis no longer whining in pain.

"Oh yeah. I ate a bad program." Ai felt disgusted as he remembered the program he ate. To put it into words, it made his mouth feel dry and pinched, his stomach flared up like something literally burning from inside him. Whoever made the program knew well about Ignis's programming.

"You're a glutton." Yusaku commented. Thinking back, whenever Ai took someone else's program, it always required him to change into that monstrous form and ate the data. He doesn't know the details of how it works, only that absorbing and processing data is equal to consumption like the way human eats food, or so that's how it seems to be.

"Kusanagi! You're back?!" Ai ignored Yusaku's jab at him when he noticed Kusanagi sitting next to him, also busy with his computer.

"Yeah. Nothing I can do from there. I came here to find the culprit." Kusanagi is in a state of distress. Just when his brother made progress in his recovery, someone attacked him, putting him into a deep sleep. And while that happened, he couldn't do a thing to help his brother. Because his consciousness data was stolen, Jin who is lying on the hospital bed is no different from an empty shell. Waiting next to him won't wake him up. If he wants his brother to return to him, he must act.

Ai was given the summary of the situation about Kusanagi's little brother. It was honestly shocking. Never had he heard it was possible for someone's consciousness to be digitized directly from his physical body.

"But to digitize and steal a person's consciousness... That's far more impressive than Hanoi's computer virus." Ai recalled those times when they fought Hanoi three months ago. The Knights of Hanoi were skilled hackers, but even with their skills, their capabilities only extended to corrupting a person's consciousness that prevented them from logging out. In Jin's case, his consciousness was literally taken away from his body.

"That's right! The new enemy is formidable." Kusanagi slammed his fist to the table, barely restraining his frustration. Knights of Hanoi was already forbidding enough, now they must deal with even more formidable opponents. Why did they steal Jin's consciousness? For what purpose? What if they did something to Jin's consciousness? Kusanagi didn't even want to imagine the worst happening to his brother.

Yusaku could see clearly what was going through Kusanagi's mind. Seeing Kusanagi like this, Yusaku felt even more frustrated by his failure. He was so close on catching up to the kidnappers with the help of two people who took on opponents who were getting on his way, even then, they still managed to get away. Kusanagi looked so happy when he told him that Jin was starting to show signs of recovery, only for this to happen. Kusanagi had been waiting for ten years for this sign of recovery. He won't let Kusanagi and Jin suffer any longer. That's why he must save Jin as soon as possible.

"I promise to find him and retrieve your brother's consciousness!" Yusaku stood up as he declared so. Kusanagi had been helping him all this time. Now, it's time for him to help his partner.

"Thanks, Yusaku." Kusanagi said in gratitude. He knew he could always trust Yusaku.

"Sorry for changing the subject, but what happened to Holysaber?" Ai raised his hand, finally bringing up one of the things that he is curious about the most. He was out cold after eating that disgusting program. Kusanagi also arrived later, so the name was unfamiliar to him.

Yusaku started explaining what happened from the beginning. When Blood Shepherd appeared to challenge him, a Duelist named Holysaber appeared and challenged Blood Shepherd in his stead. Similarly, after Yusaku defeated Bohman and chased after him, another Duelist named Soulburner appeared to take on Bit and Boot, Duelists also working together with Bohman. The rest was as they already knew, Bohman and Haru escaped to the supposed restricted area of LINK VRAINS, forcing him to log out.

"So, after Holysaber, there's another Duelist named Soulburner who helped you. Anything you know about him?" Ai asked.

"I don't know about Soulburner, but Holysaber left his mail address for me to contact him." Yusaku answered, showing the said mail address before turning to Ai again. "Ai, you know him, right? Who is he?"

"Well...to be honest, I don't know much about him. We just met two days ago in the Cyberse World." Ai scratched his head, recalling his first meeting with the Olympios Stratos user.

Ai explained how he arrived at the Cyberse World, only to find it already destroyed and his Ignis friends were nowhere to be seen. He only found Linkuriboh and Saint Kuriboh. It wasn't long after he found Saint Kuriboh that he met Holysaber and his friend, Ryuki. And immediately after they met, they were attacked by a mysterious Duelist, but Holysaber helped in driving him out. Ai didn't get to ask many questions to Holysaber because the Duelist logged out shortly after the Duel, and so did Ryuki. In the end, the only things he knew about Holysaber were assumptions based on what he heard and his observation of Holysaber's behavior.

"Yusaku, I think Holysaber is also a victim of the Lost Incident." Ai revealed, remembering what the mysterious attacker said and Holysaber's reaction.

"What?! Are you sure?!" Yusaku asked, Kusanagi also gasped in shock.

"Yeah. When the masked guy who attacked us mentioned about you were trapped in the same place as him, I asked Holysaber if he got kidnapped and forced to Duel when he was little. Judging from his reaction, he is also a victim." Ai was almost certain of it. His reaction, Saint Kuriboh's attachment to him, and his proficiency in using Olympios Stratos deck, all of them were too much to be a coincidence. He is related to the Lost Incident, or to be precise, to the Divine Ignis.

"That's why he said he wants to know about the Lost Incident." Yusaku muttered. It all made sense now. No wonder Holysaber knew about the Lost Incident and asked him to share information about the incident.

"I don't think he has moved on from the incident. He looked pale when I asked him about it..." Ai added. Holysaber's terrified face when he mentioned the incident was still fresh in Ai's mind. And that moment when Holysaber fell on his knees while holding his trembling body...that must be due to his trauma resurfacing.

Yusaku went silent hearing that. Yusaku recalled the time when he was still haunted by his past. Every time he slept, he always had nightmares of still being trapped inside that white room, being forced to Duel, and electrocuted when he lost. The nightmare chained him, as if trying to keep him trapped in darkness, forever reliving his suffering. Yusaku knew well how painful it was to live with that nightmare over and over again. If he can help in bringing Holysaber the closure he needs, then he'd willingly lend a helping hand.

"If he is like you and Jin, then he has the right to know about the Hanoi Project." Kusanagi was also thinking the same. Though he wasn't a victim himself, he knew from watching Jin and Yusaku that the incident left a huge scar in their heart.

"Let's contact him then! Tell him we'll meet up tomorrow! The sooner the better!" Ai was eagerly pointing at the mail address that hadn't been touched.

"I'll ask him to meet after school hours." Yusaku started typing the mail. All the kidnapping victims were children of the same age, so Holysaber should be the same age as him. Since he logged into LINK VRAINS and decided to learn about the Lost Incident, it doesn't seem Holysaber is in the same unresponsive state as Kusanagi's brother, he should be attending school.

Aside from Specter, this would be the second time he'll meet a victim of the Lost Incident. Unlike Specter who enjoyed those days during the incident, Holysaber was in the same predicament as he was. Holysaber's time has stopped since then.

As someone who shared the same pain and overcame it, Yusaku wishes to help his fellow victim to find the peace he needs.

---

Kazue's Room – Hibiki Residence

Kento was taking a sip of his tea that was served by Kazue. After he logged out, he went straight to Kazue's home, deleted his activity logs to ensure nobody could track him, and finally explained everything to her when she showed him a footage (which she quickly recorded for herself and then deleted the footage online) of his Duel against Blood Shepherd in LINK VRAINS that has been spreading on the internet like wildfire. People have been talking about him because of his use of DIVINE-Attribute Cyberse-Type cards. This was bound to happen sooner or later as Kento had already decided to become active, and Kazue knew that, but she preferred it if he consulted with her first before just jumping into action. But again, Kazue could understand why Kento decided to chase after Playmaker right at that moment.

"I'll cut you some slack for this once." Kazue finally said after Kento finished his story. At least he has contacted Playmaker, that's one objective achieved. Now, they just need to wait until Playmaker sends an e-mail to them.

"Are you okay? When dueling Blood Shepherd, I mean." Kazue saw how Holysaber was faring after Blood Shepherd destroyed Elpizo Harpe with Battledrone General. She could tell even from the screen that Holysaber almost had a panic attack at that moment if it weren't for Saint Kuriboh's help.

"I can't say I'm completely alright, but I don't feel bad either. Thanks to our little buddy here."

Kento's gaze turned to a white-colored ball that was as big as his palm. The white ball rolled closer to Kento and then jumped to his palm. The ball then revealed its face, having a pair of purple eyes. From the four small circular lines, two in the middle, and two below, four green limbs came out.

"Liking your new body, Saint Kuriboh?" Kento asked the Duel Monster who is now occupying a small robot.

"Kurikuri!" Saint Kuriboh cheered, jumping here and there inside the room.

"Looks like Saint Kuriboh is happy with the body you provided. Nice work as always." Kento said to Kazue.

"Never thought the prototype of pet robot I'm developing would be tested like this." Kazue was pleased with the result of her work.

For her own personal project, Kazue is in the middle of developing a pet robot aimed for young children. Due to the popularity of Duel Monsters, she decided to create a small robot based on a Duel Monster. Because of its simple yet cute appearance, she chose Sphere Kuriboh to be the model for her first pet robot. The machine was already finished and all that was left was to give it a simple AI program. Who would've imagined that instead of a simple AI program, a vagrant Duel Monster program instead was placed into the body. Taking consideration of Saint Kuriboh's appearance, she changed the color from brown to white to fit its design.

It wasn't her intention to have Saint Kuriboh occupy her robot. She placed Saint Kuriboh and the rest of Kento's deck inside his Duel Disk next to the newly finished robot while she was in the process of materializing the cards. When she realized it, Saint Kuriboh had already taken over the robot and moved around like it was its own body. Seeing how happy Saint Kuriboh was and the opportunity to observe how her robot is functioning, Kazue decided to let Saint Kuriboh use the robot as its body. She instructed Saint Kuriboh to return for a moment until she finished materializing its card and then placed the card inside the robot, allowing Saint Kuriboh to occupy it. So far, there has been no problem with the machine.

"Speaking about robot, you also have another robot with you, right?" Kento shifted his gaze to a small but bigger robot than Saint Kuriboh.

It was the robot that was sent to him along with the flash drive. He and Kazue had it checked, and they didn't find anything malicious. It was just an ordinary maid robot with an AI program programmed for gardening work. Rather than throwing it away, Kazue decided to fix the female robot and let her help with the garden of her residence.

"It is nice to meet you, Mistress' guest. I am Astra." The robot, now named Astra by Kazue, greeted Kento.

"Hello, Astra." Kento shook the robot's small hand.

"Are you sure I can keep her? She can help with your garden." Kazue asked. She had been thinking about wanting another robot maid specialized in gardening, but she could always ask her father to provide her with one or build it herself. Because Kento was the one who received her, she believed that Kento by all rights should be the one to keep her.

"No need. My aunt prefers to tend to her garden by herself. As you know, she is very meticulous." Kento declined. Having a robot maid would be useful, but when it comes to gardening, his aunt refuses to let anybody take care of her precious plants. The last time he made a mistake, his aunt gave him a long explanation that took up most of his time. Since then, both learned that it'd be better for her to handle the garden herself while Kento would just assist her if she asks for him.

"Back to the topic, Kento, the next time you're going to meet Playmaker or possibly Dueling someone, please at least inform me first. I'll help you to the best of my ability." Kazue knew she might sound meddlesome, and that's something she'll accept as long as she can help Kento.

"I will. Thanks, Kazue." Kento smiled gratefully.

"With that settled, I'll go get Minoru. He has been waiting to play with you again." Kazue left the room to call her little brother. When Kento came, Minoru immediately asked to play, as usual. Again, Kento and she must convince him to wait for a while until they finished talking. Now that they were done, Minoru would be jumping with joy, finally allowed to play with his 'Big Bro'.

While waiting for Kazue and Minoru, Kento noticed a book fell from the shelf. Picking it up, it was an album. He opened it and a nostalgic smile was formed when he saw photos of him and Kazue as children. The date was eleven years ago, meaning he was 6 years old, and Kazue was 7 years old when these photos were taken. A year before the kidnapping.

Seeing the photos, a certain memory came to him.

---

11 Years Ago

Kento was sitting on a swing at the park.

"Ken-chan!"

He twitched when he heard his name being called by the voice that he knew all too well. On the other side of the park, Kazue was standing there, waving her arm at him, but Kento looked away angrily, his mouth pouting. Seeing the gesture, Kazue had to approach him.

"What's with that face?" Kazue asked.

"Stop calling me, Ken-chan already. I'm a boy! At least don't use 'chan' with me!" Kento protested, still pouting.

"Why does it matter? There's also another boy in my class that we called with suffix 'chan'." Kazue couldn't understand what was bothering him when he didn't say any objection whenever people called him by the nickname. And she knew some boys who were older than them being called with suffix 'chan' by others as sign of affection or fondness.

"But I don't like it! If you want to give me a nickname, give me a cool one!" Kento demanded, finally facing Kazue.

"You're so cute when you're pouting like that, you know." Kazue giggled as she saw his pouting cheeks were like chipmunks stuffing its mouth. The smoke coming out from his ears and nose only made him even more adorable.

"Big Sis...!" Kento whined in annoyance. He was glaring, but in Kazue's eyes, his glare did nothing to make her afraid. It was no different from seeing an angry puppy.

"Okay, okay, I'll come up with a different name then." Kazue would like to tease him more, but she felt that making him angrier would make the boy refuse to talk with her for a while and she'd like to avoid that.

Kazue hummed softly while thinking about a new nickname for her friend. He certainly wouldn't want a cute name, so she'll scratch names that sounds cute or girly. A nickname is given to the person based on their characteristics or something relating to them. Thinking of all the knowledge she has about Kento and his name, the name that would be fitting for him and cool would be...

"How about 'Tsurugi'?" Kazue suggested.

"Tsurugi?" Kento repeated questioningly.

"Yes. The first kanji on your name can be read as 'Tsurugi'. It's a double-edged sword." Kazue explained her reason for picking that name.

Kento contemplated the name. He didn't know about the kanji since they hadn't learned kanji yet. Kento must praise Kazue for already studying kanji on her own despite her age. He learned kendo, but he had never heard of the type of sword called tsurugi. He'll have to ask his uncle later. Aside from that, 'Tsurugi' sounds better than 'Ken-chan' at the very least.

"I like it." Kento nodded at the new nickname that Kazue came up with.

"Okay. From now on, I'll call you Tsurugi." Kazue's face beamed pleasantly as she began to call him by the new nickname.

---

Present Time

It was a sweet memory. One that he would never forget. Back then, he was happy to have a nickname with such a cool meaning. It also fits with how he was training kendo under his uncle's tutelage. However, ever since that incident five years ago, Kazue had stopped calling him by that name.

"You have been reborn as a new person. You're not the same boy as you were before. That's why, from now on, I'll call you by your proper name."

...was what Kazue told him when she decided to drop the nickname completely. He was a bit saddened that Kazue never called him 'Tsurugi' again, but he also felt that it was the right thing to do, so he never protested. And people who don't know him might mistake his name if Kazue continued to call him by that nickname. Better to avoid that. Instead, he used his old nickname as a pseudonym for his side-job as a hacker.

PING

A notification sound came from Kazue's computer. A mail just came in the inbox of the mail address that he used for his covert work as a hacker. The sender was someone he had been expecting.

Playmaker.

That was earlier than he expected. He thought it'll take at least a whole day until Playmaker will finally give him a reply. Not that he minded. Reading the mail, Playmaker asked to meet up tomorrow in the previous LINK VRAINS server after school. If Playmaker was the victim of the incident ten years ago, he'd be the same age as him, a highschooler. Playmaker must've thought the same, that's why he decided to wait until school is over to meet up.

Kento typed his agreement to meet up at the specified time and place and then sent the reply. He leaned back on the chair, looking up at the ceiling.

Tomorrow. He'll finally get the answer about his past.

---

Highschool Section – Den Academy – Den City - The Next Day

Kento yawned as he arrived at school. He couldn't stop thinking about today's meeting with Playmaker that he lacked sleep. As the result, Kazue went ahead to school before him. She actually went earlier than usual because of her club matters. She said she wanted to go with him to meet Playmaker after school if she could finish her club business on time. Kento won't expect her to come though, since from her voice this morning, it didn't sound like the problem with her club was so simple. He'll still inform Kazue later when he logs into LINK VRAINS.

"Hey! Did you see the Duel yesterday?!"

"You mean Playmaker, right? He's finally back at LINK VRAINS."

"Yeah, but there's also Holysaber! You know, the Duelist who used DIVINE-Attribute Deck!"

"Right! I watched his Duel when I was in LINK VRAINS! He's amazing!"

"I know what you mean! Never thought he could use Pendulum Summon that way."

"His DIVINE-Attribute monsters also looks powerful."

"How did he get DIVINE-Attribute cards? Do you think we can get some too?"

"Maybe we can start looking and found some!"

Kento twitched as he strode into school. As expected, Holysaber became the topic for everyone to talk about. He truly had done it. He must be extra careful when logging into LINK VRAINS as Holysaber from now on. It was a good thing that he already posted a notice of temporarily not accepting any job offer as Tsurugi. If it weren't for that, his chatroom would've already been flooded with requests to investigate about Holysaber and DIVINE-Attribute cards by now.

"Excuse me."

Kento stopped when he heard a voice behind him. Turning around, he was facing a boy his age with fair skin, blue eyes, grayish white hair with red highlights. He was also wearing a pair of green-framed glasses. Other than the violet-colored necktie, his attire was the standard Den Academy uniform, so he must be a student of Den Academy. He never saw his face in his class, so Kento assumed that he was from a different class.

"May I help you?" Kento asked politely.

"I just transferred here and looking for the teacher's office." The bespectacled student said. He suddenly gasped as if realizing something and bowed politely to Kento. "My name is Takeru Homura. Starting today, I'll be attending this school."

"My name is Kento Hijiri. I also just transferred to this school a few days ago. Nice to meet you, Homura-kun." Kento extended his hand to the new student for a handshake.

"We're the same, then. Nice to meet you too, Hijiri-kun." Takeru accepted the handshake as they got acquainted with each other.

He still has some time before the first period begins, so Kento escorts the new student to the teacher's office. Going to the office made Kento remember Kazue mentioned about having to meet up with the teacher to talk about the club. Maybe he'll meet Kazue there. The teacher's office was right in their view when the door slid open and Aoi Zaizen came out from the room.

"Good morning, Zaizen-san." Kento greeted her.

"Good morning, Hijiri-san." She greeted him back.

"Have you seen Kazue? She should be here already." Kento asked. Since she's the younger sister of SOL Technologies Security Chief, Kazue frequently delivered messages and the sort in her father's stead through Aoi to be given to her brother. He had seen her a few times speaking with Kazue, perhaps she knew where Kazue was.

"If it's Hibiki-senpai, just now she is–" Aoi pointed to the hallway to the right, but suddenly paused.

Following her gaze, Kento saw Kazue speaking with a male student. If Kento remembered it right, he helped Kazue carry some boxes to the clubroom when she was showing Kento the clubs around the school. She didn't seem to be close with the guy though. Right now, she was using her business face while speaking to him. If she's using that face to someone who is not associates of Hibiki Enterprise, that could only mean one thing.

"Sorry, Homura-kun, please wait a moment." Kento walked his way to Kazue, ignoring questions from Aoi and Takeru.

Kazue was smiling politely. But on the inside, she's irritated. In the past and even now, many people have asked her to request her father for various things like the latest Duel Disk or robot models or recommending them to her father for a future job, and so on. She has consistently rejected them for many years to this day. Most of the time, she just told them off nicely.

"...I'm afraid that is not possible. Even if I'm the one who asked, my father won't give the latest model to just anybody. He is very strict, you see. He won't spoil me just because I'm his daughter." She told him. That was her telling people off nicely.

Any person with a brain should understand that she's drawing the line here. There was one time someone still insisted, and she was forced to resort to calling her father and had him himself to tell off the person who tried to take advantage of his beloved daughter to use her connection with him. She preferred not to have to call her father though. She didn't want to trouble him with something trivial when he was already busy enough.

"Ah, please, just one. Just think of it as paying the favor for helping you last time." The guy retorted. He was clearly not reading the underlying message there.

Kazue's smile started to crack at the guy's shamelessness. Who does this guy think he is? They're not even close, where did he get such audacity? Also, a favor? She never even asked for his help, he was the one who insisted in helping her. He snatched the box she was carrying without her permission.

"Just because you helped her over something trivial, she must pay you back by gifting you something expensive like a Duel Disk? That's stupidly ridiculous if you ask me."

Kazue and the guy turned to the side and saw Kento standing there. He stood protectively in front of Kazue, glaring at the guy.

"Huh? This is none of your business. This is just between me and Hibiki!" Again, the guy couldn't read the air and still insisted on getting what he wanted.

"You only helped her carry some stuff. That's not something that needs to be repaid with a Duel Disk." Kento said the obvious. It was ridiculous to demand such a big reward when the so-called help he did for her was not even a big deal.

"Besides, it's already wrong that you helped her only to expect something in return. When you help others, good things will be bound to return to you. But that is only if you're sincere. If you're just going to take advantage of Kazue, then buzz off." Kento had met a lot of people who approached Kazue with pretentious kindness, trying to get on her good side in hope that they'll get a direct connection to her father. Thankfully, Kazue's father had expected this and taught her well to be able to tell the difference between people who are sincere and those who are not. Unfortunately, there are still shameless people like this guy, and that's when Kento would decide to step in.

"What? Just because you're her childhood friend you think you can just meddle in our business? You said that, but I bet you used your connection with her to get as many advanced Duel Disk and robots as you want. Must be nice to be her childhood friend." The guy sneered, not knowing he had stepped on the landmine.

The next thing the guy knew, he felt a stinging pain in his left cheek. Kazue, who was supposed to be standing behind Kento was now in front of him with her hand raised. Gone was her polite smile, now replaced by a furious glare. Kento took a step aside, knowing there was no stopping her once her button had been pushed.

"I've been patient and listening to your nonsense, but you've crossed the line. If Kento is like you said he is, then he wouldn't be wearing that old model Duel Disk on his wrist right now." Kazue pointed at the Duel Disk Kento was wearing. She really hated it when it came to this. Whenever people failed to impress her, they tried to degrade Kento, trying to convince her with stupid lies like he was just taking advantage of their friendship and whatnot. Those people must've thought of her as an idiot to think she'd believe the nonsense they were spouting. She'd be willing to resolve this problem peacefully, but if they went as far as dragging Kento into this, she saw no reason to hold back.

"You have two choices: stop bothering me with your demands and leave quietly or I'll inform my father you're harassing me, and he'll inform all the shops with our products to never sell anything to you. Which will it be?" She was just bluffing, of course, but she knew well that a guy like this doesn't have the brain to see through her bluff. Besides, her father does have the authority to issue such order, only that he would never go that far even if she was the one who asked him, he'll suggest her to try other option.

As the guy didn't say anything, being too intimidated by her threat, Kazue took that as him finally getting the message across and instantly back to her polite smile.

"I believe our business is done here. Let's go, Kento." Kazue didn't bother to look back at the guy, pulling Kento with her to the front of the teacher's office where Aoi and Takeru were still standing.

"Hibiki-senpai, are you okay?" Aoi asked worriedly. She already had a bad feeling when the guy suddenly called for her, but her senpai told her that she could handle this herself.

"As you can see, I am okay, thanks to Kento." Kazue assured her underclassman.

"Nah. That ultimatum of yours was what shut him up." Kento wished to help her, only for her to stand up for him.

"But only because you're there for me." Kazue retorted. She then noticed Takeru who was looking at them nervously. "Who is this? I don't think I've ever seen him around."

"This is Takeru Homura-kun. He just transferred today. I'm showing him the way to the teacher's office." Kento introduced the transfer student.

"N-nice to meet you." Homura greeted his new senpai.

"Sorry for leaving you like that, Homura-kun." Kento apologized. He couldn't blame the guy for being surprised to see such a spectacle on his first day at school. He could only hope they were not giving a bad impression to him.

"It's fine. If I were you, I would've done the same." Homura smiled in understanding. He got the gist of what happened based on their conversation. He was ready to step in if necessary, using excuses like asking for directions since he was a new student or such.

"Let's go in, Homura-kun. I'll see you again later, Kazue, Zaizen-san." Kento urged the new student to go inside the office, leaving Kazue and Aoi outside.

Kazue sighed. It was still early in the morning, and she was already tired. She already had her hands full with her club problem and then this happened. And then there's a matter with the meeting with Playmaker after school. Kento said he'll be fine going alone, but she still wanted to come and see for herself what kind of person Playmaker is personally, not the one she knew based on news and rumors.

"Senpai, are you still bothered by what happened?" Aoi asked concerned.

Kazue just realized that she got immersed in her thought that it must have shown on her face.

"Oh, sorry. I'm okay, really. I'm already used to this. Kento is also with me, so I'm not worried." Kazue wasn't lying. This wasn't the first time, and she knew she could always depdn on Kento to help her when needed.

"Hijiri-san must be a good friend to you, for you to went as far as threatening that guy." Aoi said. In her eyes, her senior was a kind, mature, and dignified person. She was always smiling and kind to everybody. She almost looked like an adult, in fact. That's why it was shock to see her get mad to the point of being threatening for the sake of defending her friend. For Hibiki-senpai who always kept her composure to threaten someone must mean she's beyond furious.

"Yes, he is. He is one of the few true friends that I ever have. I'll even say he is the person I trust most." Kazue smiled, thinking fondly of her childhood friend.

"That must be nice..." Aoi murmured while looking at the teacher's office, not even realizing that Kazue could hear her.

Kazue blinked as she saw Aoi's expression. She was smiling but it was a sad one. And the way she's looking at the door to the teacher's office, Kazue could see envy reflected in that gaze. Kazue understood then what her junior was thinking.

Ever since the first moment they met, Kazue felt a sense of kinship with Aoi. The two of them are kindred souls. Just like how she is often approached by people because of her father being the owner and CEO of Hibiki Enterprise, Aoi is also approached by people because of her brother working in SOL Technologies and having a high-ranking position at that. Being approached by people who only want to exploit them could lead to trust issues.

Kazue has Kento by her side, so she's faring better. Aoi, however, other than her brother, didn't appear to have a close friend she could lean on. Whenever she saw her junior at school, she was always alone. It's clear that she's keeping a distance from others. She couldn't help but be skeptical of those who approach her. They will either ask for the newest Duel Disk model on the market, or even for connections to get a job at the company. Kazue could understand how frustrating it is.

"I'm sure you'll find one too, Zaizen-san. A true friend who'll see you and be there with you for who you are." Kazue told Aoi. She's not saying this as a consolation. She said so because she was certain that would happen. Her junior is a good girl at heart. Someone with a kind heart will attract another kind-hearted person.

Kazue smiled at Aoi again before leaving her dumbstruck junior. Aoi could only watch her senior walking away until she couldn't see her anymore. She held her hands together, her expression downcast as she thought about Kazue's words. Aoi realized Kazue must've seen through her envy. She thought she hid it well, but she obviously failed. Other than her brother, Aoi knew that Kazue is trustworthy. Because they are in a similar situation, she could relate to her senior.

Kazue herself had also shown that she had no hidden agenda whenever she was interacting with Aoi. Kazue always kept their conversation short, concise, and to the point. Her senior never forced her to engage in small talk, knowing her issue and kept herself from crossing the line that Aoi had made unless Aoi herself allowed her. Aoi appreciated her for that. Despite acknowledging Kazue to be trustworthy, however, Aoi still couldn't find the courage to open her heart to Kazue. Now, knowing her senior turned out to have a close friend she could count on, Aoi felt envious of her. Ever since she was little, she never had friends because she and her brother kept moving from one town to another due to his work.

Except one.

But in the end, she also must leave behind the one and only friend she had. They never met again since then, and other than her, Aoi hadn't met anybody whom she could trust enough to be her friend, especially after her brother worked for SOL Technologies. Ten years had passed, but she couldn't forget her. Kazue said she'll eventually find someone she could trust and lean on, but she doubted that she'll find someone like her first friend.

"Miyu-chan..."

---

LINK VRAINS

In the end, Kazue couldn't come with him because she was still busy with her club problem. Holysaber didn't want to make Playmaker wait, so he went ahead to his house and logged in. He waited at the promised coordinate in LINK VRAINS, telling Kazue only through mail right before he logged into LINK VRAINS. He'll surely get an earful from her later for leaving her just like that.

It didn't take a few minutes of waiting until Playmaker arrived.

"Hello. Thank you for contacting me, Playmaker." Holysaber greeted him.

"I'm here too!" From Playmaker's Duel Disk, the A.I. from before came out.

Holysaber then noticed that Playmaker and his A.I. didn't come alone. There was another person accompanying him. Holysaber recognized him as the guy who was with Playmaker when the latter failed to apprehend the Duelist in yellow yesterday. This person logged out shortly after he caught up to them. From his Duel Disk, an A.I. with similar features to Playmaker's A.I. came out.

"I believe a proper introduction is necessary. Once again, my name is Holysaber. Nice to meet you." Holysaber reintroduced himself. Playmaker and Dark Ignis already knew him, but the other haven't. He's sure that Playmaker already told them about him, but it's only proper to introduce himself again when he haven't been acquainted with the other two.

"And I am Playmaker's A.I. partner, Ai-chan!" Playmaker's A.I. finally gave his name. Holysaber blinked at the simple name. Before, he was referred as 'Ignis', so Holysaber assumed that was his name. If not, then that means Ignis is not referring to his name as an individual. Well, he has no objection or problem with the unexpectedly cute and gentle-sounding name like Ai. Personally, he prefer Ai than Ignis as a name.

"Now that you mentioned it, you haven't given me your name back then. Hello again, Ai." Holysaber smiled briefly at the A.I. before turning to the other two people.

"I'm Soulburner and this is my A.I. partner, Flame." The Duelist in red introduced himself and his A.I. partner.

"My name is written with the kanji indomitable soul dream, pronounced Flame. Cool, isn't it?" Flame explained, crossing his arms and raised his chest proudly as he did so. Name written in kanji but having English pronunciation is rare but a forced reading is not uncommon thing in Japan.

"Again? Do you really need to explain your name to everyone we met?" Soulburner gave his partner a look in response to his introduction. Judging from Flame's behavior and Soulburner's reaction, the AI explaining his name is a common occurrence.

"Nice to meet you too, Soulburner and Flame." Holysaber greeted them. If his intuition was right, they'll start bickering if he didn't interfere. He decided to quickly shift the subject. "Blood Shepherd called you Ignis yesterday, so I thought Ignis was your name. But since you just told me your names, I take it that 'Ignis' refers to the type of A.I. like yours?"

"Correct. You're quick to notice that detail." Flame looked impressed. Most people didn't bother with such detail until they know the importance of the Ignist to both Knights of Hanoi and SOL Technologies.

"We heard that you are a victim of Lost Incident like us. Is this true?" Soulburner asked the question they've been meaning to ask now that they have gathered. He and Flame only knew Playmaker's identity as another victim of the incident and Ai is the AI based on him. They didn't expect that they'd meet one more victim of the incident.

"'Like us?' Does that mean you were also kidnapped and forced to Duel in that white room ten years ago?" Holysaber faced Soulbuner in shock when Soulburner and Playmaker nodded in confirmation. Not only Playmaker, but Soulburner is also a victim? That's why he came with Playmaker to meet him.

"Please tell me. What exactly is this Lost Incident?" Holysaber asked. He had been dying to know about the incident that ruined his life for ten years.

"We will get into that. But first, we'd like to know how you ended up in the Cyberse World two days ago." Playmaker replied.

Hearing Playmaker, Holysaber straightened himself up. He was the one who approached them first and asked them to meet up. It's only fair for him to be the first to share his story.

"Of course. I was planning to exchange information with you." Holysaber then started to tell his story. From how he received a mysterious package from an unknown sender to how he met Ai, Linkuriboh, and Saint Kuriboh in Cyberse World and helped them driving out a mysterious attacker.

"In short, you received an anonymous package containing your current avatar and the coordinate of the Cyberse World. You went to Cyberse World because you thought the sender of the package is waiting for you there." Ai summarized Holysaber's whole story, which Holysaber affirmed with a nod.

"The person behind that masked Duelist knew about you and the Cyberse World. He even sent that package after the Cyberse World was destroyed. The timing is too much to be a coincidence. The person behind that masked Duelist most likely is involved with the attack on the Cyberse World." Flame deduced.

When Flame first heard about the masked Duelist from Ai, he only half-suspected the masked Duelist had some sort of relationship with the culprit because the masked Duelist was not present when the Cyberse World was attacked. Only a few people knew about the existence of the Cyberse World. They are Knights of Hanoi, SOL Technologies, and the Ignis themselves. He thought that it's a possibility the masked Duelist Ai told him was a Duelist hired by SOL Technologies to capture the Ignis. However, that possibility was now scrapped. If the masked Duelist was connected to SOL Technologies, they wouldn't contact Holysaber and instruct him to work together with Playmaker, even pitting him against Blood Shepherd whom they hired. That leaves the suspicion that the masked Duelist is related to the culprit of his home world's destruction as the only possibility.

"On that topic, can you explain it to me now? About the Lost Incident, Cyberse World, and Ignis?" Holysaber asked. He already answered their question, now it's his turn to get some answers from them.

Playmaker decided to do the explaining. Playmaker started from the Lost Incident, also known as the Hanoi Project. How the Knights of Hanoi kidnapped seven children to create Ignis, seven A.I.s with free wills each based on the kidnapped children. However, the Hanoi then deemed Ignis as a threat to humanity based on the simulations they did, leading to the Knights of Hanoi nearly destroying the network three months ago in their attempt to destroy the Ignis.

All the while listening to Playmaker's story, Holysaber couldn't hide his surprise. He had a few speculations about the reason behind his kidnapping, but never in his wildest imagination that it would be for something like what you would see in sci-fic films. Normally, this is something that you'd just brush off as bullshit, but two of the Ignis are right in front of him and he could tell from their behaviors that they were not like ordinary A.I.s. There's no way a program without free will would be capable of behaving like people do. Ai and Flame are the living proofs that supported Playmaker's story.

"I think you are based on the Divine Ignis." Ai said. When Holysaber turned to him as if asking what made him so sure, the Dark Ignis continued, "Saint Kuriboh is shy and reclusive to other people except a few. But Saint Kuriboh immediately grew attached to you the moment you two met. He must've been able to sense you are connected to its master."

"There's also the fact that you show strong affinity with Olympios Stratos deck even though it hasn't been that long since you gained that deck." Flame added.

Holysaber remembered the dream he had about Ai and the Divine Ignis yesterday. After listening to the whole story, he couldn't dismiss it as a simple dream anymore. Does that dream have something to do with him being the Origin of the Divine Ignis?

"Where is this Divine Ignis then? Are you not together?" Holysaber asked. Perhaps meeting the Ignis based on him directly would explain the dream he had.

"No. We got split up when the Cyberse World was attacked. We barely made it out alive." Ai answered sadly. Five years had passed since he and Divine Ignis split up and he hadn't heard even a single clue about him. Since Flame didn't know anything either, that means Divine Ignis never returned to the Cyberse World before its destruction.

"I know it must be hard to believe, but it's the truth." Playmaker understood that the story would sound ridiculous to people who don't know the whole situation. He himself was skeptical about Ai being an AI with free will until their battle at Tower of Hanoi.

"Oh, I assure you that I'm not doubting you. I believe everything you've told me." Holysaber replied. Yes, there's the fact that Ai and Flame exhibit human traits, but even without them, Holysaber could just tell that they were telling the truth. He didn't know why. He just had a feeling for it.

"Why don't you join us?" Soulburner suddenly suggested.

"Pardon?" Holysaber blinked, not sure that he heard it right.

"Like you, only recently I learned about the Lost Incident, Knights of Hanoi, and Ignis. The Hanoi are gone. But the Cyberse World was attacked. There's a new incident. So, I decided to confront my life together with Flame. Why don't you come with us too? We can overcome our past together." Knowing Holysaber is just like him, still struggling with the memories of their horrid past, Soulburner couldn't stay quiet. He had done some stupid things because of his inability to let go, making trouble for his grandparents and his friend back in his hometown. Now that he has decided not to run away, he wants to help Holysaber too. Alone might be difficult, but together, it's possible for them to overcome their past.

"That's a good idea! Besides, who knows what that masked guy and the one behind him will do if you don't fight with us like they told you to? There's no guarantee they won't attack you again!" Ai added to the persuasion. Having more people by their side would make it better for them in fighting against the new enemies. Plus, if they stick around with Holysaber who is Divine Ignis' Origin, the possibility of meeting with the Divine Ignis would be quicker.

Holysaber didn't answer right away. He finally got the answer he had been waiting for about his kidnapping, but let alone feeling relieved, he became more confused because now he has more questions more than answers.

Confronting his life, his past, that indeed perhaps is the only way for him to truly let go of his past. But that was easier said than done. Facing his past means he must duel again, and most likely one that would endanger his life. He may have to experience the same pain as he did ten years ago. Though he had dueled twice and emerged victorious without his trauma overwhelming him, there's no telling them that he can do the same next time. In those two occasions, the only reason he could get ahold of himself was thanks to Ryuki and Saint Kuriboh being there for him. What if he is in a situation where he is only by himself with no one to help him? He'd be helpless. If he screwed up, not only may he break, but he'll also become a hindrance for Playmaker and Soulburner.

He's afraid. Afraid of disappointing himself and letting down the people around him because of his inability to confront his fear.

"I'm sorry... Please, give me some time to think this over. I'll contact you once I made my decision." Holysaber finally answered them.

Ai looked like he was about to say something more, but Playmaker blocked him from saying anything.

"We understand. It must be too much to take in so quickly. Take your time." Playmaker only needed to see Holysaber's downcast expression to know that the idea of fighting together with them and confronting his trauma is no different from reliving that very same past he tried hard to forget. It's not something that other people could force him to do. It'd be meaningless if Holysaber himself doesn't have the will to fight for himself. Soulburner also didn't say anything to object either. Both of them understood Holysaber's fear more than anyone, because they were in his position before.

Holysaber logged out, thanking Playmaker and Soulburner in his mind for allowing him to recollect himself.

"Why did you let him go? We could've convinced him if we push a bit more." Ai asked his partner, not understanding why his partner didn't let him speak up to persuade a potential strong ally.

"He is still in dilemma. Pushing him to join us when his heart is struggling wouldn't do him and us any good. This is something that he must decide himself. We can't do anything about this." Flame answered instead. The Fire Ignis could sense similarities between Holysaber and Soulburner. When he first met Soulburner, he was also reluctant to confront his past. It took a lot more than his encouragement to convince his Origin.

"As Flame said. Holysaber needs to sort out his mind. This is an important decision in his life, one that would determine his future." Playmaker couldn't agree more. After all, it took him years until he decided to take up his deck again and fight.

All they can do now was waiting for Holysaber's answer.

---

Kento's Room – Hijiri Residence

Kazue tried her best to finish her club before Kento's promised time to meet Playmaker, but unfortunately, she had too much on her plate, so she missed out reading Kento's mail. She checked her phone only until after she finished her club, which was 10 minutes since Kento sent the mail to inform her. He didn't tell her the place of the meeting either. Thus, Kazue now was waiting for Kento in his room, comfortably sitting on the cushion while drinking the tea that Kento's aunt had prepared for her.

After 45 minutes of waiting, the blue sphere that surrounded Kento disappeared, meaning that Kento had logged out from LINK VRAINS and returned to the real world.

"You're back. How is it?" Kazue asked.

However, Kento didn't answer her. He didn't even move from his chair, just sat still with his head looking at the ceiling.

"Kento?" Kazue called out worriedly.

There was five seconds pause before Kento finally opened his mouth.

"Other than Playmaker, I met a Duelist named Soulburner. He is also a victim like me and Playmaker." Kento told her without looking away from the ceiling.

"So, what the masked Duelist told us was true." Observing Kento's tired face, Kazue knew there was still more to it. "What did you talk about?"

Kento slowly facing her. Seeing him eye-to-eye, Kazue saw variants of emotions from his eyes. She didn't say anything, waiting until Kento started to reveal his entire conversation with Playmaker and the other lost incident victim, Soulburner. The Knights of Hanoi were responsible for their kidnapping ten years ago. They were forced to Duel repeatedly for six months all for the sake of creating seven AIs with free wills called the Ignis. The AI they met at the Cyberse World before was an Ignis. The Ignis were created for the sake of becoming the successor to humanity. However, the Knights of Hanoi then decided to erase them after deeming them a threat to humanity instead. Now, the Ignis split up after their world was attacked. Playmaker and Soulburner offered him to join them.

"I see... How awful..." Kazue clenched her fists. She couldn't believe that Kento and the other victims suffered under the excuse for the sake of humanity. They're just treating Kento's suffering as a necessary sacrifice, only for the A.I.s born from those sufferings being deemed as a threat and became targets of elimination. Then what did Kento, and the others suffer for? They claimed that they did so for the good of humanity, but to her, it was nothing more for the sake of self-satisfaction. All lives would eventually come to an inevitable end. There is no meaning in eternal life.

Kazue slowly breath in and out to calm the anger swelling up in her. The thing about the incident and Ignis can wait. What matters most now is Kento's state of mind. All these revelations must be too much to be taken all at once. And most of all, he's thinking about Playmaker and Soulburner's proposition to him.

"You are still unsure what to do, aren't you?" Kazue stood up to get closer to Kento. Looking at him closer, it's obvious in his face that he's torn between wanting to accept to move on or rejecting it to keep himself in his comfort zone.

"Sorry, Big Sis, I think I'll take a nap for a bit..." Kento moved from his chair to his bed, slumping his head to his soft pillow and let the fluffiness take away his consciousness. He was too tired to even bother taking off his socks. It didn't take three minutes for him to drift off to sleep.

"Kento..." Kazue murmured quietly, watching Kento's sleeping face.

It's been a long time since he slipped to calling her 'Big Sis' like he did when they were children. His state of mind must be more in a shamble than she imagined to the point he reverted to calling her that. Seeing him asleep like this, for a second, she saw him back as a little boy who liked to cling to her whenever he was anxious. She had an urge to ruffle his hair when seeing his restless sleeping face but refrained as to not waking him up. To make his sleep more comfortable, she loosened the collar of his uniform and removed his wristband.

The last time she remembered him sleeping like this was after the kidnapping when he stayed over at her house. In the middle of the night, he screamed in terror, waking up the whole people in the house, including her. He was having another nightmare about when he was still imprisoned in the small white room. It took hours to calm him down and lulled him to sleep again. She decided to stay up watching over him in case he was having another nightmare. While he didn't wake up abruptly, she could tell from his expression that his dream was not a good one.

It pained her to see her friend suffering. On one hand, she wanted to wake him up from his nightmare. On the other hand, his body needed rest. Though it pained her, she decided not to force him to wake up because she deemed a rest necessary for him.

The next day, when she took him back to his house, she regretted not waking him up that night.

---

8 Years Ago

After sleeping overnight, Kazue took Kento back to his house with her father. Kento looked worn out throughout their way back to his house. His aunt and uncle couldn't help asking him what happened. Kento only told them that he couldn't sleep well because of the nightmare, prompting Kazue's father to explain what happened last night. After knowing the whole story, Kento's aunt and uncle told him to take a rest in his room since he's obviously still tired. Kento complied and went back to his room while his uncle and aunt talked with Kazue and her father.

Hoping to cheer up her nephew, Kento's aunt decided to bake his favorite pound cake and asked Kazue to call him. His room was on the first floor and not far from the kitchen, he should be able to hear her voice, but Kazue didn't want to put Kento in a bad mood because of her shouting, so she went directly to his room. Though he was tired, she doubted he could get any sleep out of fear of the nightmare.

"Tsurugi! Tsurugi!" Kazue knocked on Kento's room as she called him. However, there was no respond coming from inside. She held the doorknob and found it wasn't locked. She peaked in and saw his room was quite dark, the only light coming from the thin window cover and the bathroom.

"I know you're here. No use trying to pretend that you're not." She didn't hesitate to come in and went straight to the bedroom where she knew he was hiding when he still didn't answer her.

"Auntie is calling for us. She said she's baking your favorite cake for snack. Let's eat it together." She stood in front of the bathroom, giving her friend last chance to come out himself.

Now that she was close to the bathroom, she heard continuous running water. The faucet hadn't been turned off completely. It's strange for Kento not to turn it off. No matter how much he's trying to hide, he won't let water be wasted like that. Getting impatient, Kazue finally barged into the bathroom to drag out Kento herself.

"Tsurugi, what are you doing–"

Kazue froze when the floor was stained by red-colored water that came to her view. Her body began to tremble before she even realized it herself. Then, as if enticed by a spell, she slowly turned towards the bathtub where the water came from. Her blood ran cold when she saw who was in the bathtub.

Kento's back leaning on the bathtub with his right arm dangling from the tub while his left arm was submerged in the water. Not far below his dangling arm was a sharp blood-stained razor.

"Tsu...Tsurugi...?" Kazue's entire body trembled seeing Kento's face become paler in every second.

A low moan from Kento was what snapped her out. She dashed out of Kento's room, shouting for help with all her might, not caring about her hurt throat nor the tears that dampened her face.

"A-AUNTIE! UNCLE! FATHER! HELP! TSURUGI... TSURUGI IS...!"

It didn't take long for everyone in the house to respond to her shouting. Kento's uncle quickly administered first aid before they took Kento to the nearest hospital in her father's car. She remembered her father telling her to wait back home, but she insisted on waiting for Kento's result. As she was the first one to find him and in a state of shock, she was taken to a doctor, accompanied by her father, to check on her psychological condition. But Kazue didn't care for any of that, all she hoped for was for Kento to be saved.

After hours of waiting, to everyone utter relief, the doctor announced that Kento was finally in a stable condition. If Kazue had found him any later, the doctors wouldn't be able to save him. However, this relief was short-lived, because now they realized that Kento's mental condition was far from getting better. His trauma had affected him in the worst way possible.

---

Present Time

Kazue carefully touched the scars on his left wrist as the memory came to her like it just happened yesterday. That was the first suicide attempt. Since then, he required constant monitoring to prevent him from trying to take his own life whenever he could. It was a struggle. When slitting his own wrist didn't work, he tried various methods to end his life. No matter how many times they consulted with therapist, Kento didn't get any better.

His attempt five years ago, when he was 12, was the closest attempt to being almost successful. Afterward, his attempts have diminished, but not stopping altogether. She always worried about leaving him alone and would insist on accompanying him as often as she could even if he'd find her annoying. She would rather be being treated as an annoyance rather than let him die outside her watch.

She looked away from Kento's sleeping face to a photograph on his desk. In the photo was her in the middle, Kento on her right, and then a young man with brown hair with darker shade of brown spikes and fair skin. She was wearing her Den Academy uniform, but Kento and the other guy were wearing the standard navy blue-colored gakuran with yellow buttons.

"It was only after he met you that he stopped wanting to die." Kazue murmured, touching the face of the person next to Kento in the photo. Her eyes stared at him with evident affection, one she would only give to the one whom she gave her heart to.

Recalling the times spent with the person in the picture, she smiled sadly. Since Kento hung out with this person, his suicidal urges only came out during panic attacks. Both she and Kento considered him a savior, the light that pulled Kento out from the pitch-black despair that was haunting him. That's partially why she fell in love with this young man.

"I don't want to lose another person precious to me..." Kazue hugged the photo tight to her chest. That person was not here anymore to pull Kento out from the brink. She was the only one by his side now. She must be the one to stop Kento from opening death's door.

Kazue carefully placed the photo back in its place. She looked at the person in the photo determinedly.

"Please lend me your strength."

Borrowing Kento's laptop, she logged into her mail account and started typing,

Playmaker,

I'd like to talk to all of you again. There is something important that I must tell you. Please come to this coordinate tomorrow after school hour.

I'll be waiting for you.

Holysaber

She then pressed the 'sent' keyboard, sending the mail to the address that Playmaker used to contact Kento before.

She won't stay quiet. As Kento's childhood friend, she'd help him in any way she could.

---

LINK VRAINS – The Next Day

Ryuki had chosen the perfect time to execute her plan. After school, she had asked her brother to keep Kento busy in real life by playing with him when he came to visit until she's done with her business here. Since Kento already promised to play with Minoru before, he wouldn't refuse her little brother's request. Even if he found out and came here, by then, it was already too late for him to interfere. It's not that she didn't trust her childhood friend. It's just, as someone who cares a lot about him, she must see for herself the people who offered a helping hand to him. There are things that you can only know with your own eyes rather than hearing second-hand.

It didn't take a few minutes and the recipient of her mail arrived, riding on their respective D-Boards with their two AI partners popping out from their Duel Disks. When Ai saw her, he pointed his finger at her. Though she couldn't hear him from afar, she could tell he still remembered her and was surprised to see her there instead of Holysaber.

"Hello, gentlemen." Ryuki greeted them once they landed.

"It's you!" Ai yelled while still pointing an accusing finger at her.

"You know her?" Playmaker asked.

"I also met her in the Cyberse World. She is Holysaber's friend that I told you about." Ai reminded.

"Yes. My name is Ryuki. It is a pleasure to meet you. I wished to meet you after hearing the story from Holysaber yesterday." Ryuki revealed.

She then held her hand up. A yellow digital orb appeared on her palm, flying up and then spread into a dome that covered the entire area.

"This is a special program to make sure outsiders can listen to us. I don't want any interruption either." Ryuki explained before they misunderstood her intention.

"You're the one who sent that mail?" Playmaker guessed, to which Ryuki replied with a nod.

"I apologize for deceiving you. However, I wish to clarify something." Ryuki's demeanor turned serious. Her polite smile had gone from her face.

"Clarify? With us?" Soulburner repeated in confusion.

"I'll be honest, I do not trust you." Ryuki didn't beat around the bush and spoke out her mind. "Holysaber already told me everything. After visiting the Cyberse World myself, I believe that your story is not a lie. But that's not what I want to discuss."

The thing about the Ignis and Cyberse World were important, but her priority right now was not knowing more about their circumstances, but to see the kind of people Playmaker, Soulburner, and their A.I. partners were and if whether she can trust them enough to be Holysaber's companion.

"I was the one who told him that perhaps meeting the other victims who shared the same pain as him would help him find his answer. But trusting you to fight together with Holysaber is a different matter." Sharing the same traumatic experience doesn't make them friends. Each person has a different way of coping with their trauma. Unless they're capable of understanding each other like the way her deceased boyfriend did with Kento, she can't trust them to help Kento in his path.

"I believe you don't need me to tell you if you are victims of the incident, I'm sure you know how hard it is after what happened. There were many times Holysaber was close to his breaking point. Watching him suffer was painful for me, especially when I could do nothing to ease his suffering." Ryuki always cursed her helplessness. No matter what she did, she couldn't get Kento out of his shell. She stopped him whenever he tried to end his life, but that's it. Nothing she did can convince him to stop wishing for death.

"Facing one's trauma is never easy. One wrong step, his soul might break forever. At worst, he may lose his life in the process." Ryuki clenched her fists from remembering Kento's hard times. After years, he finally started to recover, for Kento to revert to the way he was is something Ryuki would never let happen.

"That's why, I want you to show me the proof." Ryuki raised her Duel Disk. "Show me the proof that you have what it takes to support him."

"A proof that we can support him? Haven't you seen what we are capable of in the battles against Knights of Hanoi? We are strong enough to defeat enemies in our way! And with Soulburner and Flame on our side, we have more strength on our side!" Ai argued, not seeing the point of Ryuki's challenge.

"That's not what she meant." Playmaker told Ai without removing his gaze from Ryuki.

"Huh? It's not? Then what is it?" Ai asked again, looking at his partner and then at Ryuki.

"Ai, to support someone through thick and thin requires not only skill to see it through, but also determination to commit to it. If our wills are weak, then we don't have the right to say we'll help Holysaber." Flame explained, inwardly sighing at the Dark Ignis' slow thinking.

Playmaker and Soulburner didn't say anything. They knew that what Flame was saying was right. Playmaker already settled his past. Soulburner had set his heart to fight. Playmaker could accept Soulburner's help and trusted him because not only they are fellow victims, Soulburner had helped him chasing after Jin's kidnapper and Ai trusted Flame while the latter also providing them with bits of information. And to Soulburner, Playmaker is his hero who fought against the people responsible for their suffering ten years ago.

Holysaber was quite different. Though he was also a victim of the Lost Incident, he was still wavering. From the way he acted when they met yesterday, his condition seemed to be worse than both Playmaker and Soulburner imagined. It bothered them when Ryuki went as far as saying that facing his past may put his very life on the line. Why did she say it like that? True, the battle ahead of them would be dangerous, but they have a feeling that Ryuki meant something else. There is more to Holysaber than he lets on.

"Alright. Let's do this then." Soulburner stepped to the front, raising his Duel Disk in response.

"Soulburner...!" Playmaker was a bit surprised that Soulburner took the initiative to accept her challenge.

"Playmaker, let me handle this. Holysaber is just like me. The two of us are still trying to face our past. Besides, I'm the one who first suggested that he join us." Soulburner said. He was serious when he said that Holysaber should join them to face their past together. He sincerely wants to help Holysaber, like how Playmaker inspired him. He'll convey his sincerity and determination through his Dueling.

As Ryuki didn't want to attract attention from outsiders, they settled to do Master Duel inside the dome.

"Duel!"

Ryuki LP: 4000

Soulburner LP: 4000

"I'm taking the first turn." Ryuki doesn't know anything about Soulburner, but if he is working alongside Playmaker and a victim like Holysaber that decided to face his life, then he's not someone to be underestimated.

"From my hand, I summon Hieroglyphic Dragon – Dragon Nuit." Ryuki summoned a humanoid dragon with a silverish body and golden armor with a tail and pair of wings.

Hieroglyphic Dragon – Dragon Nuit (DRAGON/LIGHT/EFFECT/ATK: 1700/DEF: 900/LV: 4)

"I activate Equip Spell: Dragon Shield of the Egypt. Dragon-Type monster equipped with this card cannot be destroyed by Battle or card effects. Neither player takes any Battle Damage involving this card." Ryuki equipped a round-shaped green shield with golden dragon-shaped pattern to Nuit.

"I activate Nuit's effect. When this card is targeted by Spell, Trap, or monster effect, I can Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type monster from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard with its ATK and DEF becomes 0." Ryuki summoned a purple-skinned dragon with similar gold armor to the zone next to Nuit in Attack Position.

Hieroglyphic Dragon – Dragon Aset (DRAGON/LIGHT/EFFECT/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)

"I activate Magic Card: Hieroglyphic Seal of Supremacy. I can Special Summon 1 Hieroglyphic Monster from my hand." She summoned a red-eyed yellow-skinned with gold armor in Attack Position next to Aset.

Hieroglyphic Dragon – Dragon Geiv (DRAGON/LIGHT/EFFECT/ATK: 1800/DEF: 400/LV: 4)

"Appear, the circuit of protectors!" Ryuki summoned the Link portal on her field.

"Arrowheads confirmed. The summoning condition is two Dragon type monsters. I set Nuit and Aset to the Link Markers! Circuit combined!" Ryuki set Nuit to the bottom-right arrow and Aset to the bottom-left arrow.

"Link Summon! Come forth, Link 2, Hieroglyphic Seal of the Celestial Sphere!" She summoned a sphere-shaped monster emitting bright, orange-colored energy in the Extra Monster Zone.

Hieroglyphic Seal of the Celestial Sphere (DRAGON/LIGHT/LINK/ATK: 0/LNK: 2/LM: Bottom-Right, Bottom-Left)

"Appear once more, circuit of the dragons!" Ryuki set Geiv to the left arrow of the portal.

"Link Summon! Appear, Link 1, Guardragon Elpy!" She summoned a limbless black-winged wyvern-like monster with shining yellow orb on its chest to the zone pointed by Celestial Sphere's bottom-left link arrow.

Guardragon Elpy (DRAGON/DARK/LINK/ATK: 1000/LNK: 1/LM: Left)

"I activate Dragon Shield of the Egypt's effect from my Graveyard. When I have a Dragon-Type Link Monster in the same zone of the monster previously equipped with this card, I can move that Link Monster to the zone next to it by banishing this card from the Graveyard." Ryuki banished her Equip Spell to move Elpy to the zone right below the Extra Monster Zone.

"I activate Guardragon Elpy's effect. Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can Special Summon 1 of my Dragon monsters from hand or Deck to the zone that 2 or more Link Monsters point to." From her Deck, Ryuki summoned another copy of Aset with its ATK and DEF intact. She summoned it to the zone pointed by both Seal of the Celestial Spheres' bottom-left arrow and Pisty's right arrow.

Hieroglyphic Dragon – Dragon Aset (DRAGON/LIGHT/EFFECT/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200/LV: 5)

"I end my turn." Ryuki concluded.

"Wow. True to her name, all her monsters are Dragon-Type monsters." Ai said with awe at all the dragons on Ryuki's Field. "But all of them have a rather average ATK and DEF."

"Three dragon monsters on the Monster Zones, no set card, and only one card in hand. She paid a lot to set up her field, but all the monsters she summoned didn't have high ATK or DEF. What is she planning?" Playmaker wondered. He doesn't think she's bluffing when she challenges them. She has full confidence in her skill as a Duelist. This first move was perhaps to observe how Soulburner will respond.

"My Turn! From my hand, I activate Salamangreat Meer's effect! By sending a Salamangreat monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Meer to my field!" Soulburner sent Salamangreat Falco from his hand to the Graveyard and then summoned Meer in Attack Position.

Salamangreat Meer (CYBERSE/FIRE/EFFECT/ATK: 800/DEF: 600/LV: 2)

"I activate Salamangreat Falco's effect in my Graveyard! By returning a Salamangreat monster I control to my hand, I can Special Summon Falco to the field!" Soulburner returned Meer to his hand, replacing it with Falco.

Salamangreat Falco (CYBERSE/FIRE/EFFECT/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)

"As Meer is added to my hand other than my normal draw, I activate its effect to Special Summon It!" He summoned Meer again back to his Field.

"And then I Normal Summon Salamangreat Jack Jaguar!" He summoned Jack Jaguar in Attack Position next to Meer in the Main Monster Zone.

Salamangreat Jack Jaguar (CYBERSE/FIRE/EFFECT/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1200/LV: 4)

"Appear! The circuit that changes the future!" Soulburner summoned the Link Portal on his Field.

"Arrowheard confirmed! The summoning condition is two FIRE Effect monsters! I set Meer, Falco, and Jack Jaguar to the Link Markers! Circuit combined!" Soulburner set Meer to the top-center arrow, Falco to the bottom-left arrow, and Jack Jaguar to the bottom-right arrow.

"Surging flame, awaken the king of beasts that runs through the fire prairie! Link Summon! Appear, Link 3, Salamangreat Heatleo!" Soulburner summoned his ace monster to the Extra Monster Zone.

Salamangreat Heatleo (ATK: 2300/LNK: 3/LM: Bottom-left, Top, Bottom-right)

"I take it that's your ace monster?" Ryuki asked while staring at the summoned Heatleo.

"That's right. Behold the power of Heatleo! Go, Soulburner!" Flame declared.

"Battle! I attack Seal of the Celestial Sphere with Heatleo!" Soulburner started his Battle Phase, pointing at Ryuki's monster with the lowest ATK.

"At this moment, I activate Seal of the Celestial Sphere' effect! Once during the opponent's turn, if this card is in the Extra Monster Zone, I can Release 1 monster from my hand or Field to return 1 face-up card on the Field to the hand!" Ryuki released Aset, changing the dragon into purplish flame that energized the spheres. Ryuki then pointed at the incoming Heatleo. The spheres around Celestial Sphere revealed their wings and then flew towards Heatleo.

"I activate Salamangreat Hyena's effect from my hand! When my opponent activates an effect during my Battle Phase while I control a Salamangreat monster, I can send this card to the Graveyard to negate that effect, but the Battle Phase also ends!" Soulburner sent Hyena to the Graveyard, allowing Heatleo to dodge Celestial Sphere's attack at the cost its own attack had to be cancelled.

"I activate Aset's effect. When this card is Released, I can Special Summon 1 Normal Dragon Monster from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard, and make its ATK and DEF 0." Ryuki summoned a monster resembling Celestial Sphere, in the far left of the Field.

Hieroglyphic Seal of the Dragon God (DRAGON/LIGHT/NORMAL/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 8)

"She quickly replaced the dragon she just tributed with another one!" Ai commented in surprise.

"That's why she chose to summon another copy of Aset, so she could use its effect to summon a new dragon." Playmaker added, looking carefully at Ryuki's Field.

"But its ATK and DEF are 0. It's also a Normal Monster, so it doesn't have any effect. What can she do with that dragon?" Ai tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Soulburner, don't let your guard down. She's no amateur." Flame warned his partner. Ever since the Duel began, he could feel her fighting spirit. On the outside, she might look small and delicate, but that was nothing but appearance. Her will to fight was evident in every move she made.

"Yeah." Soulburner took that to the heart, because like Flame, he could also feel her determination. For now, this should be enough. "I set a card and end my turn."

"My Turn. Draw." Ryuki looked at the card she just drew. She kept the card before picking the other card in her hand.

"I activate Magic Card: Contract with the Dragon Lords! I pay 2000 LP to draw cards equal to the number of Dragon-Type monsters I control on the field!" Ryuki has 3 Dragon-Type monsters on her Field, so she drew 3 cards from her Deck, halving her own LP in the process.

Ryuki LP: 4000 = 2000

"Appear! The circuit of protectors!" Ryuki set Seal of the Dragon God to the right Link Arrow of the portal.

"Link Summon! Come forth! Link 1, Guardragon Pisty!" She summoned black-colored dragon with white wings and crimson red rob on its chest to the Extra Monster Zone, replacing Seal of the Dragon God.

Guardragon Pisty (DRAGON/DARK/LINK/ATK: 1000/LNK: 1/LM: Left)

"I activate Field Spell: Dragon's Save Haven. Once per turn, I can send one card from my hand to the Graveyard to move a Dragon-Type Monster to an empty zone in both Extra Monster Zone or Main Monster Zone." Ryuki moved Pisty from Extra Monster Zone to the Main Monster Zone, next to Elpy, only separated by one empty zone.

For a second, Flame was confused why she bothered moving her monster to another zone. He then recalled Pisty's effect. And save for their colors, Elpy resembled Pisty. "Wait, don't tell me that she's planning to...!"

"I activate Pisty's effect. Once per turn during my Main Phase, I can Special Summon a Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Deck to the zone that two or more Link Monsters point to." Ryuki pointed at the now empty zone where Elpy just occupied a moment ago. Green whirwild emerged from the zone along with a sillhouette of a monster within it.

"I knew it! It has the same effect as Elpy!" Flame was both shocked and astonished.

"The monster can only be summoned to a zone pointed by two or more Link Arrows. That's why she activated that Field Spell." Soulburner stared at Ryuki's monster zone, wondering what kind of dragon that Ryuki would summon now.

"Two-headed dragon who commands the wind, ascend and blow away the fog that led people astray! Come forth, Guardragon Andrake!" Ryuki summoned Andrake from her Deck to the zone pointed by Elpy and Pisty's Link Arrows. It has the form of a two-headed dragon, the left head and wing were green in color with white fur, while the right head and wing were black in color. A green, emerald sphere etched on the dragon's chest.

Guardragon Andrake (DRAGON/WIND/EFFECT/ATK: 2000/DEF: 600/LV: 4)

"When Guardragon Andrake is Special Summoned from hand or Deck, I can double this card's original ATK and DEF until the end of the next turn."

Guardragon Andrake ATK & DEF: 2000 & 600 = 4000 & 1200

"Let me guess, this dragon is your ace monster?" Now, it's Soulburner's time to ask Ryuki.

"Correct. You better not underestimate Andrake." Ryuki smiled proudly at the appearance of her ace monster. Time to set the preparation for her counterattack.

"I activate Contract of the Dragon Lord's additional effect. I can banish this card from the Graveyard to Special Summon a Normal Dragon-Type Monster from my Graveyard." Ryuki revived Seal of the Dragon God in Attack Position.

"From my hand, I summon Aset." Ryuki summoned a third copy of Aset in Attack Position in the Main Monster Zone.

"She summoned another copy of Aset again? Is she planning to summon another monster with its effect?" Soulburner wondered. But remembering Aset's effect before, she can only summon a Normal Monster with its ATK and DEF become 0. Is there any point to activate that effect now?

"Aset can be Normal Summoned without Releasing, but its original ATK became 1000." Ryuki revealed just as Aset's prowess was weakened.

Hieroglyphic Dragon – Aset Dragon ATK: 1900 = 1000

"Hey, hey, not only that dragon can only Special Summon Normal Monster with 0 ATK and DEF, now it's ATK became 1000. Isn't this a bad move?" Ai pointed out. No matter how he looked at it, Ryuki's move was only detrimental to herself.

"No. This is part of my plan." Ryuki replied, smiling softly.

"I activate Aset's additional effect. Once per turn, I can target 1 face-up Dragon-Type Normal Monster on the Field, the Levels of all face-up Hieroglyphic monsters on the Field become the level of that monster until the End Phase." She chose Seal of the Dragon God, changing Aset's own Level from 5 to 8.

"Now she has two Level 8 monsters." Playmaker pointed out.

"Don't tell me...!" Ai paled as realization hit him. When there were two monsters with the same level on the Field it could only mean one thing.

"I Overlay Level 8 Seal of the Dragon God and Level 8 Aset!" Ryuki held out both of her arms, palms flat and facing downward representing two monsters that she declared, before placing her hands over one another, causing her Duel Disk to shine and yellow-colored sparks shot above her, opening the Overlay Network. Seal of the Dragon God and Aset became particles of data and entered nodes on the Overlay Network. Energy flows in four beams past Ryuki creating a portal in front of her from which her Xyz Monster emerged.

"Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 8, Hieroglyphic Heavenly Dragon – Ennead!" Ryuki summoned a red-skinned and golden armored dragon to the Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position.

Hieroglyphic Heavenly Dragon – Ennead (DRAGON/LIGHT/XYZ/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2400/ORU: 2/RNK: 8)

"For real?! An Xyz Monster?!" Soulburner gasped, almost dumbstruck by the appearance of the Xyz Monster.

"Soulburner, the situation is not good for us..." Flame said with barely concealed nervousness. "Well, at least, even if we lose, I won't be taken away or anything."

"Hey! I haven't lost yet!" Soulburner protested at his partner for already thinking about the end.

"Battle! I attack Heatleo with Ennead! Ray of Heliopolis!" Ryuki declared her Battle Phase. Ennead shot a stream of fiery purplish red blast from its mouth straight towards Heatleo.

"Not so fast! Trap Card: Energy of Fire! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can shuffle a Salamangreat monster in my Graveyard to my Deck and gain LP equal to its ATK, and prevent my monster being destroyed by that Battle!" Soulburner opened his Reverse Card. He shuffled Jack Jaguar back to his Deck from his Graveyard, increasing his LP by 1800.

Soulburner LP: 4000 = 5800

The attack continues. Ennead's blast burns Heatleo, but the Salamangreat monster endured the scorching flame with its own until the blast dissipitated and Heatleo kept standing tall on Soulburner's Field.

Soulburner LP: 5800 = 5100

"But I still have three dragons on my side!" Ryuki reminded.

She had expected the possibility of Soulburner foiling her attack. That's why she summoned Ennead in the first place. It was the right decision. Even though Soulburner had stopped Ennead's attack, she still has Andrake to destroy Heatleo, since the Trap's effect only worked once to prevent destruction. And once Andrake destroyed Heatleo, Soulburner would be open for Elpy and Pisty to attack. Even though it won't be enough to defeat him, his LP would be depleted greatly.

"I also activate Dragon's Safe Haven additional effect! When I have more than 2 Dragon-Type monsters on my Field, all Dragon-Type Link Monsters I control gains 500 ATK!" Ryuki increased Elpy and Pisty's ATKs.

Guardragon Elpy & Guardragon Pisty ATK: 1000 = 1500

"I attack Heatleo with Andrake! Serpentine Squall!" Ryuki commenced her second attack.

Andrake spread its wings. The gem on its chest glowed brightly, filling the two-headed dragon with energies sparkling like gemstones. The winds gathered around Andrake in whirlwind motion until the dragon's wings closed momentarily before spreading it wide open along with a roar, sending gust of winds at Heatleo, cutting the Salamangreat monster until nothing was left.

Soulburner LP: 5100 = 3400

Soulburner was blown away several steps back. He quickly got back to his feet, but that didn't last long as another dragon flew towards him.

"Next, I attack directly with Elpy!" Ryuki commenced her second attack.

Elpy tackled Soulburner to the ground again with its tail, sending him onto his back.

Soulburner LP: 3400 = 1900

"Lastly, I attack directly with Pisty!" Ryuki didn't bother waiting for Soulburner to stand up. She won't hold back.

When Soulburner was still on his knees, Pisty also used its tail to once again send him sprawling to the ground, knocking the wind out of the Salamangreat user.

Soulburner LP: 1900 = 400

"Argh! This is bad! This is bad! Soulburner got his butt kicked!" Ai started to panic as he watched Soulburner beaten up.

"To think she read his move that far." Playmaker never thought that Ryuki would do this well. She's more skilled than he imagined. If they Duel, even he wouldn't have it easy.

"I set a card and end my turn." Ryuki concluded. Seeing Soulburner struggling to get up, she said, "I hope this is not the end for you. If you're done only because of this, then I must ask you to forget about supporting Holysaber."

"Are you okay, Soulburner?" Flame asked worriedly.

"Y-yeah. I'm not done yet! This won't be enough to take me down!" Soulburner stood up again, ignoring his body's pain. Even though he's at a great disadvantage, his heart was beating so fast, his entire body was shaking with excitement. It's been a while since he had such a thrilling Duel.

"My turn! Draw!" Soulburner looked at the card he just drew. He grinned as he activated the card immediately.

"I activate Magic Card: Flame Revival! I can Special Summon a FIRE Monster from either player's Graveyard, and then draw 1 card! Come back to me, Heatleo!" Soulburner revived his ace monster back to his Field before drawing a card from his Deck.

"I activate Field Spell: Salamangreat Sanctuary! When I Link Summon a Salamangreat Link Monster, the effect of Salamangreat Sanctuary allows me to use a monster with the same name as Link Material instead!" Soulburner activated the second card in his hand.

A red summoning circle appeared above his Field. Heatleo changed into a flame that went into the portal, and then an even bigger and fiery flame burst out of the portal in the shape of a beast.

"Surging flame, awaken Heatleo's true strength with the power of purification! Reincarnation Link Summon! Be reborn, Salamangreat Heatleo!" The flame surrounding the beast dissolved, revealing Heatleo in the Extra Monster Zone.

"I activate Heatleo's effect! When this card is Link Summoned, I can shuffle a card in my opponent's Spell and Trap Zone into their Deck! Resounding Roar!" Soulburner pointed at Ryuki's Dragon's Safe Haven. Heatleo unleashed flame from its mouth, blasting the said Field Spell, shuffling it back to Ryuki's Deck.

"Additionally, as Heatleo is Link Summoned using a card with the same name as Material this turn, I can activate its effect to change an opponent's monster's ATK to that of a monster in my Graveyard!" Soulburner chose Ennead and made the Xyz Monster's ATK to the same as Meer that was in the Graveyard.

Hieroglyphic Heavenly Dragon – Ennead ATK: 3000 = 800

"Battle! I attack Ennead with Heatleo! Heat Soul!" Soulburner declared his Battle Phase.

Heatleo whirled its body, forming a twister of crimson flame that incinerated Ennead into ashes blown away by the wind. Ryuki was thrown a few steps back from the impact of her monster's destruction but managed to keep her standing.

Ryuki LP: 2000 = 500

"I set a card and end my turn." Soulburner concluded his turn.

"Since my opponent's turn has ended, Andrake's ATK and DEF revert to its original ATK and DEF." Ryuki stated. Andrake's power up only lasted until Soulburner's current turn. Now that it has ended, so did the power up.

Guardragon Andrake ATK & DEF: 4000 & 1200 = 2000 & 600

Soulburner remembered well Andrake's effect. That's why he opted to destroy Ennead whose ATK would still be higher than Heatleo even after the end of his turn, rather than Andrake whose ATK was only superior until his current End Phase. With this, Andrake's ATK is now lower than Heatleo, it won't be able to destroy the Salamangreat Monster.

"Good job, Soulburner! Now they are even!" Ai cheered.

"I'm glad that you're not holding back in the slightest." Ryuki commented while patting dust from her clothes.

"If I want to prove myself to you then holding back is not an option. I won't be able to face my past with half-hearted resolve. That's why I always give it my all in Dueling." Soulburner replied.

"After ten years, what made you decide to finally confront your life?" Ryuki asked. Earlier, he said that he and Holysaber are still trying to face their past. Still trying. This meant that it hadn't been that long since Soulburner made the decision to fight alongside Playmaker.

"In my attempts to forget about that incident, I had done many stupid things and caused trouble to my family and friend back home. I'm just going with the flow, not really caring about my future." Soulburner was a bit taken aback by the sudden question, but he didn't object to answer it.

"But then I met Flame. From him, I learned about what happened to me ten years ago and about Playmaker. For the first time, I found hope." Watching videos of Playmaker fighting against Knights of Hanoi, the people responsible for the Lost Incident, and emerged victorious, a small ember lit up within Soulburner. The ember of the flame that he had long forgotten.

"It's difficult to confront my past and put it behind me. But Flame and Playmaker showed me that it's not impossible, especially if I have people who support me. I was never alone, yet I didn't realize something so obvious until recently because I was too caught up in my own self-pity." He spoke while remembering how he acted until he met Flame. His grandparents and his friend always scolded him for his foolishness, but he always ignored them because he was in denial. He denied their intention in trying to get him to put the past behind him.

"I don't want to run away anymore. For my own sake and for the sake of people who believed in me." He had made his grandparents and Kiku wait for so long. He won't make them wait any longer than they already had. He'll settle everything with his past and return to them with his head high, ready to walk alongside them to the future.

"Now you said it, Soulburner. As expected from my partner." Flame found himself proud of his Origin. He still has a long way to go to settle his past, but he had taken a huge step to change. Very different from how he did when the Fire Ignis first observed his Origin after ten years.

"You said that, but that doesn't mean you think you already won this Duel, aren't you?" Ryuki asked.

"Huh? You're saying you can turn this around?" Ai asked back from the side.

"Yes. I can." Ryuki answered confidently. She started her Draw Phase. She looked at the card in her hand and then at Soulburner's Field, specifically his Spell & Trap Zone, at the zone where he set up a Reverse Card. She then looked at Andrake and smiled.

"Appear once more, the circuit of protectors!" Ryuki called forth the Link Summoning portal.

"The summoning condition is 2 Dragon-Type monsters! I set Celestial Sphere and Andrake in the Link Markers! Circuits combined!" She set Celestial Sphere at the top-center arrow and Andrake at the bottom-center arrow of the Link Markers.

"Link Summon! Appear, Link 2, Guardragon Agarpain!" She Link Summoned a legless grey-spike scaled dragon wearing white-colored armor with a purple-colored orb attached to its chest to the Extra Monster Zone, replacing Celestial Sphere's position.

Guardragon Agarpain (DRAGON/DARK/LINK/ATK: 1500/LNK: 2/LM: Top-Center, Bottom-Center)

"I activate Guardragon Agarpain's effect. Once per turn during my Main Phase, I can Special Summon 1 Dragon Monster from my Extra Deck to an Extra Monster Zone or Main Monster Zone I can summon to, that 2 or more Link Monsters point to." Ryuki revealed as Agarpain roared, forming a magic circle at the empty zone where Andrake used to be.

"What?! Summoning directly from the Extra Deck?!" Soulburner stared wide-eyed at Agarpain in disbelief.

"And she can place it in either Extra Monster Zone or Main Monster Zone!" Flame was equally shocked. To think she had such a card hidden behind her sleeve.

"Come forth! Rank 6, Hieroglyphic Dragon King – Atumus!" Ryuki summoned indigo-colored scale dragon with golden armor and violet wings to the Main Monster Zone pointed by Agarpain, Elpy, and Pisty's Link Arrows.

Hieroglyphic Dragon King – Atumus (DRAGON/LIGHT/XYZ/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2100/ORU: 0/RNK: 6)

"Another Xyz Dragon." Playmaker commented, once again amazed by Ryuki's summoning.

"But because she summoned it without using any monster as materials, it doesn't have any Overlay Unit. Xyz Monsters cannot activate their effects without Overlay Units." Ai pointed out the deficiency of summoning the Xyz Monster with her way.

"Perhaps she summoned it for the sole purpose of destroying Heatleo before, and then use Elpy or Pisty to deliver Direct Attack." That was the only plan that Playmaker could think of. Atumus' ATK is still above Heatleo even if it's just 100-point difference, still enough to destroy the Salamangreat Monster. Once Heatleo is destroyed, Soulburner's Field would be empty, and he'll be an easy target for Elpy and Pisty to attack.

"But Soulburner still has a Reverse Card. Maybe that Reverse Card can pull him out of this predicament." Playmaker stared at Soulburner's Spell & Trap Zone. Seeing Soulburner's gesture, though he was surprised by the appearance of a new Xyz Monster, he didn't look worried.

"Battle! I attack Heatleo with Atumus!" Ryuki immediately declared Battle Phase. Atumus flew forward, mouth opening for a bite at the Salamangreat Link Monster.

"That's what I've been waiting for!" Soulburner grinned cockily. He pointed at his Reverse Card and flipped it open.

"Trap Card: Salamangreat Rage! I target 1 Salamangreat Link Monster I control that was Link Summoned using a monster with its same name as material. Then, I can destroy cards my opponent controls up to that monster's Link Rating!" Soulburner instantly opened his Trap Card, choosing Heatleo as the only Link Monster on his Field. Heatleo is a Link 3 monster, meaning Soulburner could destroy three cards on Ryuki's Field.

"I choose Atumus, Agarpain, and Elpy!" Soulburner declared. Heatleo's body unleashed deep red blazing flames that gathered at Heatleo's hand. The Salamangreat Link Monster then shot three balls of flames that burned the three said monsters, destroying them completely.

However, despite having most of her monsters destroyed, Ryuki smiled, confusing her opponents.

"I say the same to you! I've also been waiting for this!" Ryuki declared as she opened her own Reverse Card.

"What?!" Soulburner and Flame gasped.

"I activate Trap Card: Link Soul! When a Link Monster on my Field is destroyed by a Battle or an effect, I can Special Summon one of its materials from my Graveyard to my Field!" The moment Agarpain was destroyed, Ryuki revived Andrake in Attack Position in the Main Monster Zone.

"I activate Andrake's second effect! When this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, I can target 1 monster my opponent controls and destroy it!" Ryuki countered.

"No way!" Soulburner did consider her Reverse Card, but Andrake having another effect like this was not in his speculation.

Just as three of Ryuki's monsters were destroyed, Andrake flapped its wings, forming a twister that obliterated the Salamangreat Link Monster in retaliation.

"Tch. I have no choice then!" Soulburner looked at his Graveyard and pressed one card from it. This was the only way for him to get out of this situation.

"I activate Salamangreat Hyena's effect from the Graveyard, when a Salamangreat Link Monster I control is destroyed by Battle or card effect during Battle Phase, I can Special Summon this card and end the Battle Phase!" Soulburner revived Hyena to his Main Monster Zone in Defense Position. The hyena-link monster blew out a blast of flame that kept Andrake and Pisty away, ending the Battle.

"You still manage to survive even this far. Your tenacity is impressive. I end my turn." Ryuki concluded. She really thought she had him this time. Whoever thought the monster that he previously sent to the Graveyard turned out to have that kind of effect. The way he countered her strategy was even similar to her own.

"Let me tell you this as well, due to Link Soul's effect, you cannot attack any Link Monster I control until your next End Phase." Ryuki added.

"That means Soulburner can only attack Andrake who has higher ATK than Pisty." Playmaker stated. Soulburner was already in a pinch with his Field being almost empty. Unless he summons a monster with higher ATK than Andrake, Soulburner has no chance of winning.

"You're the first person to drive me to the corner like this. You're amazing!" Soulburner couldn't help but develop respect for the Dragon-user.

Ryuki blinked at Soulburner's reaction. It has been on her mind since a while ago, but Soulburner looked like he enjoyed Dueling. Since he's a victim of the Lost Incident, and only recently decided to fight, she thought he'd be more aversive in Dueling like Holysaber does. Playmaker also didn't show any sign of enjoying Dueling in the footage she had watched.

"You looked like you're enjoying this. I thought after what happened, you wouldn't like the idea of Dueling. Even if you Duel, you won't enjoy it." Ryuki decided to voice her opinion directly to the said person.

"I did. After that incident, I decided to never Duel anymore. It was thanks to Flame pushing me to accept a Duel challenge that I rediscovered my love for Dueling that I had forgotten." Soulburner smiled fondly at the memory when he finally remembered the sensation that he had forgotten during a Duel that he accepted at Flame's urging.

Ryuki turned her gaze from Soulburner to Flame. He was the one who encouraged Soulburner to face his past. How did he do it, she wondered? No, why did he encourage his partner in the first place? Was he not afraid that urging Soulburner to fight would backfire?

"Flame-san, why did you decide to fight together with Soulburner?" Ryuki questioned the Fire Ignis.

"Because I sensed that Soulburner, my Originator, has unlimited potential. That's why I approached him. I told him everything because I believe he can overcome every trial and tribulation he'll inevitably face in the future. I have faith that my partner can eventually put his past behind him." Flame answered firmly. Having Holysaber by their side would be beneficial for them in the long run, especially when this also concerned the Ignis. But most importantly, his Origin wishes to help Holysaber to be free from his past. As his A.I. partner, Flame would support his Origin's noble intention. And if it weren't for Holysaber enduring those days of despair, then Divine Ignis, his friend, would never be born.

"As the one who convinced him to take this path, it's my duty to guide him however I can. I'll make sure that he won't stray from his path and help him break the shackles of his past." The moment he made up his mind to contact Soulburner directly, Flame also swore that he'd guide his Origin to the right path, the path towards the future where he can be proud of himself and never looked back to his painful past again, completely breaking his ties with it. Soulburner is still young, still growing both in body and mind, he'll make mistakes like any people would. That's why he needs someone who can warn him of the consequences of his actions and admonish him when he makes a mistake.

Ryuki stared sharply at Soulburner and Flame. Only a fool couldn't see the strong unbreakable bond between them. They have the strength and conviction to back up their words. Even now, even though the odds were against them, their fighting spirit didn't diminish even one bit.

Maybe they really can do it. If it's them, they can do what she cannot. They can help Holysaber.

"Can I ask you one question?" Soulburner intruded her thought. When Ryuki nodded, he asked, "You said that making Holysaber face his past is the same as putting his very life on the line. What do you mean by that?"

"I'm afraid that is not something that I can tell you." Telling them about Holysaber's many suicide attempts would make it easier for them to understand what she meant. However, that wasn't her place to tell. Holysaber wouldn't want anyone else to tell his story. If the story is to be revealed, it should be told from Holysaber's own mouth.

"Maybe I'll try to help you convince Holysaber if you can defeat me on this turn." Ryuki challenged them. She has the advantage, but Soulburner had gone beyond her expectation earlier. A part of her was hoping for him to surprise her.

"I'll take you on your words." Soulburner looked at his hand. He only has Hyena on his Field and Coyote in his hand. Only them alone won't be enough to summon a monster powerful enough to defeat Ryuki's Andrake.

"This Draw will determine everything." Soulburner muttered, holding the top of his Deck. He bet everything on this one Draw.

"My turn! Draw!" Soulburner looked at the card he drew. His eyes lit up upon seeing the Spell Card in his hand. He can do this.

"I activate Magic Card: Salamangreat Recurrence! I can target 2 Salamangreat monsters in my Graveyard with different names to add them to my hand." Soulburner added Meer and Falco back to his hand.

"From my hand, I activate Salamangreat Meer's effect! By sending a Salamangreat monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Meer to my field!" Soulburner sent Salamangreat Falco from his hand to the Graveyard and then summoned Meer in Attack Position.

"I activate Salamangreat Falco's effect in my Graveyard! By returning a Salamangreat monster I control to my hand, I can Special Summon Falco to the field!" Soulburner returned Meer to his hand, replacing it with Falco.

"As Meer is added to my hand other than my normal draw, I activate its effect to Special Summon It!" He summoned Meer again back to his Field.

"This is the same move he did on his first turn!" Ai remembered the first move that Soulburner did in his previous turns.

"Is he going to summon Heatleo again?" Playmaker couldn't think of another way for Soulburner to repeat this move.

"But even if he summoned Heatleo, its ATK won't still be enough to deplete her LP." Ai said nervously. Due to Ryuki's Spell effect, Soulburner could only attack Andrake. Heatleo has higher ATK than Andrake, but Ryuki's LP is at 500. She'd only received 300 points damage and still have 200 LP left if Andrake is destroyed.

"No. I only have two copies of Heatleo and both of them are in my Graveyard, so I can't perform Reincarnation Link Summon like I did before." Soulburner revealed, dismissing Playmaker's guess. He wasn't bothered though. Because he has a better alternative.

"But, thanks to Salamangreat Recurrence, I can turn things around!" Soulburner smiled with anticipation as he took the last remaining card in his hand.

"From my hand, I summon Salamangreat Coyote!" Soulburner summoned the last monster in his hand, now making his hand completely empty.

Salamangreat Coyote (CYBERSE/FIRE/EFFECT/ATK: 1000/DEF: 200/LV: 3)

"Now he has four monsters on his Field... Is he planning to...!" Ryuki realized what Soulburner's intention.

"Appear, the circuit that changes the future!" Soulburner called forth the Link Portal.

"Arrowheads confirmed. The summoning condition is 2 FIRE Effect Monsters! I set Meer, Falco, Hyena, and Coyote on the Link Markers! Circuits combined!" He set Meer at the top-center arrow, Falco at the right arrow, Hyena at the bottom-center arrow, and Coyote at the left arrow.

"Link Summon! Appear, Link 4, Salamangreat Pyro Phoenix!" Soulburner summoned his Link 4 Link Monster in Attack Position in the Extra Monster Zone.

Salamangreat Pyro Phoenix (CYBERSE/FIRE/LINK/ATK: 2800/LNK: 4/LM: Top-Center, Right, Bottom-Center, Left)

"An ATK of 2800?!" Ryuki was surprised. She could still hold on until her next turn if Soulburner's monster has the same ATK around Heatleo's. But it's not possible against Pyro Phoenix with her LP only at 500.

"Battle! I attack Guardragon Andrake with Salamangreat Pyro Phoenix!" Soulburner declared his one last attack.

The crimson flames that served as Pyro Phoenix's wings turned bright blue as it heats up. Pyro Phoenix's cupped its hand, concentrating its energy into a sphere of blue flames between its hands. It then thrust its hands forward, shooting out a streaming, powerful blue flames in the form of a phoenix bird, burning down the dragon until nothing was left of it.

Ryuki fell on her knees as her ace dragon was destroyed and her remaining LP depleted to zero.

Ryuki LP: 500 = 0

That last move was beyond what she could calculate. However, despite her loss, she was satisfied with the result. He responded to all her attacks with equal strength. Even when he was driven to the corner, Soulburner's spirit didn't deter him in the slightest. If anything, his determination to win only grew stronger no matter how slim it is. He had proven not only his worth as a Duelist, but also his conviction and sincerity. There was nothing for her to doubt them anymore.

"You're amazing, Ryuki. That's a really fun Duel." Soulburner extended his hand for her.

"I could say the same thing to you." She accepted his hand, allowing him to help her back to her feet.

"I can feel your feelings from our Duel. I think I can trust you to watch over Holysaber. But that's just me. Holysaber is still the one to make the decision." She'll inform Holysaber that they are someone she's confident will watch his back, but she won't force Holysaber to accept their offer.

"I believe that's good enough."

Everyone was startled when Holysaber revealed himself, coming out from behind the wall where he was hiding.

"H-Holysaber! How did you get in here?! Since when?!" Ryuki asked.

"I made this program together with you. Making a program to penetrate it is a piece of cake. As to when, since you destroyed Soulburner's Heatleo the first time." Holysaber answered casually.

"I was wondering why your brother kept trying to stop me from meeting you. This is why." He sighed at Ryuki. After a while, he managed to distract Minoru with a new game he brought for him and used that opening to check on Kazue. Once he found the mail that he never wrote and sent to Playmaker, he realized what Kazue was doing and immediately followed her to LINK VRAINS.

"Sorry..." Ryuki apologized. She did feel guilty for doing this behind his back. She was ready to be scolded by him. Instead, she was given a pat on the shoulder.

"You don't need to explain. I appreciate that you're doing this for me. You've done enough. It's about time for me to make my decision." Holysaber briefly smiled at his childhood friend and then turned to Playmaker and the others.

"Have you decided then?" Playmaker asked.

"No. Not yet." Holysaber shook his head. Watching Ryuki's Duel against Soulburner, he thought he was starting to understand what he wanted to do and what he must do. To gain affirmation for this though, there is one thing that he believed he needed to do first.

"Before I'm making my decision, I think I also need to clarify with my own hands like Ryuki just did." Holysaber raised his Duel Disk, looking straight at Playmaker in the eyes.

"Playmaker, this time, would you please enlighten me with a Duel?"

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NEXT CHAPTER:

Chapter 4 – Taking the First Step: Still wavering with his decision, Holysaber challenged Playmaker in hope of learning more about Playmaker and helping him to finally make his decision. As both Holysaber and Playmaker clashed with their respective ace monsters, they began to reveal more about themselves.

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ORIGINAL CARDS

Ryuki

Dragon Shield of the Egypt (Equip Spell) – You can equip this card to a Dragon-Type monster you control. Dragon-Type monster equipped with this card cannot be destroyed by Battle or card effects. Neither player takes any Battle Damage involving this card.

Contract with Dragon Lords (Spell) – You can activate this card by paying 2000 LP and then draw cards equal to the number of Dragon-Type monsters you control on the Field.

Dragon's Safe Haven (Field Spell) – Once per turn, you can send one card from your hand to the Graveyard to move a Dragon-Type Monster you control to an empty zone next to that monster.

Link Soul (Trap) – When a Link Monster on your Field is destroyed by a Battle or an effect, you can Special Summon one of its materials from your Graveyard to your Field. Your opponent can only attack the monster you summoned through this card's effect until your opponent's next End Phase.

Soulburner

Salamangreat Hyena (CYBERSE/FIRE/EFFECT/ATK: 1000/DEF: 400/LV: 4) – When your opponent activates an effect during your Battle Phase while you control a Salamangreat monster, you can negate that effect, but the Battle Phase also ends. When your Salamangreat Link Monster is destroyed by Battle or effect during Battle Phase, you can Special Summon this card and end the Battle Phase.

Flame Revival (Spell) - You can Special Summon 1 FIRE Monster from both player's Graveyard, and then draw 1 card.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

What do you think of Ryuki's debut Duel? I hope it's enjoyable enough. There's a slight change I made in monster's effect. For the result of the Duel, I was thinking whether to make Ryuki lose or the Duel ending up in a Draw. I have no intention to make Ryuki a weak or inexperience Duelist, but after considering some things, I deemed it's better to have the Duel ended with her lost. Plus, I also don't want to be biased too much in regard to my OCs.

The idea of combining the Hieroglyphic archetype with Guardragon archetype for Ryuki's deck was taken from my cousin's friend who is a YGO fan and once played with the combination of these two archetypes. Since I've decided to make Ryuki to be a dragon-theme character, I thought 'why not?' and went with this deck.

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TRIVIA

- The kanji "剣" of Kento's name alternatively can be read as "Tsurugi". The word is used in the West to refer to a specific type of Japanese straight, double-edged sword used in antiquity (as opposed to curved, single-edged swords such as the katana). In Japanese the term tsurugi or ken is used as a term for all sorts of international long, double-edged swords.

- The idea of a robot that became container for Saint Kuriboh to move in the real world is based on Haro from Gundam franchise.

- Kento's uniform from his previous school, called gakuran, is the uniform for many middle-school and high-school boys in Japan. The colour is normally black, but some schools use navy blue.