Chapter 32:
Kami couldn't help but wonder why the security team hurried into the academy's main building with a stretcher between them. A strong gust briefly revealed what was underneath the blanket covering the stretcher. While she saw it for only a few seconds, she paled at the sight of a severely injured Shinji, his clothes and skin torn, bruised, and bloodied.
She didn't know how long she stood at the entrance and looked after them, but she was eventually shaken out of her stupor by a tired looking and yawning Blake.
"What's gotten you so out of it?" Blake asked after she'd turned towards him, an eyebrow raised in question.
Kami looked around before pulling him away from the main entrance. Now with a bit of space between them and the other students entering the building, she quietly responded. "Security just brought in Shinji. He looked, well …"
Blake looked at her neutrally, but she swore she could see a twinkle in his eye. A noncommittal "huh" was all he said to that.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's an awfully weak reaction to the fact that the person you probably hate the most right now got practically hospitalized. You know something, don't you?"
"No idea what you're talking about." He shrugged.
"Don't play games with me." Kami hissed and angrily poked his chest. "It's great we got our partnership on the way, but that doesn't mean I'm starting to take shit from you. And don't think I forgot that I wanted you to tell me about all this magical, supernatural, or whatever card nonsense."
"Right, forgot about that. Might want to include Bastion in that as well, just in case his explanation makes more sense to you than mine." Blake said. "But I'd say we talk about that stuff later, unless you want the other students to think we're making out in the corner." He gestured behind him where some students – mainly girls – tried to hide and see what they're up to.
She blushed and promptly took a few steps back from him and cleared her throat. "Good, then we'll do that during lunchtime. Our usual spot, bring your friend if you can. I for one must meet the Chancellor later regarding the competition for my soon-to-be title."
"I'd rather not bring Bastion to make out with you during lunch hour." Blake said sarcastically, and just loud enough for the girls listening in to them to hear too. They had various reactions; giggles, blushes, and even shock.
That earned him a hit on the forearm. "Don't spew such nonsense!" Kami shouted, now even redder than before.
"Gee, learn to take a joke, princess." Blake said with a smirk. The noise of his PDA receiving a message stopped him from continuing their banter. "Speak of the devil. Looks like I have a meeting with Sheppard too. Right now."
"No doubt about what happened to Shinji …" Kami mumbled before she glared at him once more. "I'm already working on fixing your reputation, don't make this even harder than it already is."
"I'll try."
"You better be. And you'll tell me about that too." Her eyes narrowed.
"What makes you think I know anything about what happened to the shithead?"
"Because I know you better than you think." She said simply, wiping the smirk off Blake's face. "Now get going, can't let the Chancellor wait."
With an annoyed grunt, Blake turned and left, causing the onlookers to scatter as well. Kami remembered how she'd told him that she wouldn't mind if he got a bit more hands-on with creeps going after her, but to the extent of the injuries she saw Shinji have? There was a chance he hadn't been responsible, of course, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case.
She entered the academy's building shortly after, fighting back a groan when she saw the eyes of her female peer's flicker to and away from her. Great, now she had to deal with rumors about them getting physical with each other as well. As if she didn't have enough on her plate to begin with. The only silver lining was that it would keep the other girls away from Blake, most importantly that love-sick puppy of a Ra girl.
Although after what she helped causing, Kami doubted anything would come of it, if the two would even go back to a talking basis. Wondering what would happen if
Sheppard didn't seem all that happy to see Blake when he entered his office, which turned out to be true when he cut right to the chase. "What did you do?" He all but growled.
"You gotta more specific than that, Chancellor." Blake replied dryly. It was about what he'd expected.
"This isn't a game, Blake." Sheppard raised his voice sternly. "A student was hospitalized at what appeared to be the brink of death. A student that just so happened to be someone you've already assaulted in public before."
"Sounds like a lot of accusations you're throwing at me here." Blake said and crossed his arms. "But it also sounds like you have no proof about me being the perpetrator whatsoever." He'd hidden his Shadow Charm, of course. Neither her nor Jinzo manage to find a way to get it off. Not was it wise to do so at the present time in the first place, when he still needed to pose as one of the Shadow Riders. So, he'd done his best to pull his remaining sweatband over the charm, along with actually wearing the long-sleeved Ra jacket for once.
The man grimaced. "Be that as it may, it'd be too much of a coincidence if you weren't involved in this."
"Oh, it certainly did involve me. Just not in the way you'd want." Blake lied smoothly and pulled out an open envelope he'd prepared for this exact situation. "There."
Of course, neither he nor Banner had wanted to sabotage his position as the double agent inside the Spirit Guardians. That's why he'd asked the good professor to prepare something that'd not only take any blame from him, but also heighten the danger of the Shadow Riders. And hey, it might even work well enough for the Chancellor to finally stop being a bitch and give him the Cyberdarks.
The content of the letter inside the envelope was a simple offer to join the ranks of the Shadow Riders in exchange for Blake getting his revenge and a big payout on top, denouncing the faculty and staff for even putting him in the position he'd found himself in. He didn't disagree with anything written in it if he were honest about it. Nor could Sheppard.
That's why he had to hold back a snicker when Sheppard's face turned red, followed by the letter getting thrown on his desk. The cursed item on his arm seemed to share the sentiment, intensifying the dark joy he felt for outplaying the man. Blake wondered if he'd feel even better when everything came crashing down on Banner and Kagemaru. Now that he thought about it, after the weeks of getting his sleep stolen by the Sacred Beasts, wouldn't it be fitting to pay them back by getting their power for himself?
They could certainly help against the Light of Destruction and whatever fuck-up Yubel would inevitably cause – even if she wasn't driven crazy by said light. He'd have to find a way to stop them from eating up all the spirits and wreck the planet before that, but he could try and workshop that with Jinzo later. The Sacred Beast cards weren't too bad, after all. Decisions, decisions …
Seeing as Sheppard was rubbing his temples after he'd sat down, Blake couldn't help but give into the temptation to further his own position. "So, seeing as our foes have no quarrel targeting the regular student body, don't you think it'd be better to get rid of them asap?"
The man glared at him. "I'm not just handing out some of the most dangerous cards ever created so easily."
"Oh? Need more casualties then? Explaining this one will be bad enough when Kaiba hears about it, much less the parents." Blake pushed. "Or do you need one of your guardians to fall before you actually contribute anything yourself?"
"I have faith my students will be able to deal with this." Sheppard remarked sharply. "And giving you access to all the cards in the store isn't what I would call nothing."
Blake shrugged at that. "If you say so. I'm just saying that it would minimize the risk of us students."
"You know I can get you expelled at a moment's notice, don't you?" The man sounded genuinely irritated. Delightful.
"Only if you want to deal with Umino Corps lawyers, not to mention the flak you'll get from Kaiba once I speak up about everything that's happened on the island." Blake countered smoothly. It was nice to be in a position of power for once. Not just in a duel or physical confrontation. Huh, he'd really have to make it up to Kami for all the work he'd given her and will continue to give.
Sheppard sighed heavily. "Considering my last talk with Mr. Kaiba I'm not sure whether or not I'll even stay in this job by the end of the year."
"All the more reason to really kick shit up, no?"
"That's … one way to look at it." Sheppard said, sounding surprisingly … lighthearted. The man hummed to himself before nodding resolutely. "Alright, I'll give you the cards. But only if you can pass my test, both in duel and character. But only after I'm done with all the work both from the incident with Mr. Matou and the one you caused by having Miss Umino challenge Miss Kohinata."
"Eh, I can wait another day, I guess." Blake shrugged. "And look at the bright side; you'll be rid of all the pressure once I have them. Keeping the student body occupied with whatever little game you come up with for the fight over the title will also make it easier for us to deal with the Shadow Riders undetected."
"If only things were that easy …"
After Blake and Bastion had told Kami about everything they knew about DE, duel spirits and the like, they were interrupted by a surprise announcement to gather in the academy's entrance hall after lunch. There Sheppard had announced that due to the nature of the game he'd come up with to decide whether Kami would be allowed to duel the current Queen in a one-on-one for the title all classes would be cancelled for the week. To say the students were ecstatic would be an understatement, which probably had earned her a few more supporters too.
This was an easy way for Sheppard excusing his Spirit Guardians from classes to focus on protecting the keys, of course. It also enabled them to roam the island and search for the enemy, while simultaneously spreading the student body of the academy out to fight for their respective side in the wargame Sheppard came up with. That way collateral could hopefully be minimized, as well as hiding what was happening from the other students in plain sight. 'Special events', those life-threatening duels would be called.
Kami had shoved her elbow into Blake's side a few times to stop him from laughing when the Chancellor had explained the rules, although he couldn't help but admire the man's way of dealing with the situation. What better way to keep the energetic teens away than giving them a massive game to focus on instead of classes?
He'd tuned out when it came to the specifics. Kami could focus on that, he'd enough to deal with enough other things already. Like the parasitic piece of dark magic leeching off of his DE and prompting him to commit more evil deeds in return. And if the almost constant income of "Hey, wouldn't it be fun to kick that guys teeth out?" and the like wasn't enough, it really grated on his mood.
Thankfully, the gathering wasn't the only surprise the Chancellor had decided to reveal today, which put his mind on the task ahead.
The whole guardian group, along with Banner, Crowler, and even Sheppard himself, would go visit what Banner had called a "Nexus of dark energies" in the forest to the north. He'd explained finding the place because it'd disturbed his experiments in some way – which was complete bull, of course – and appeared as some kind of ancient ruin.
With the sudden addition of Sheppard, whatever protests Blake had about all of them throwing themselves into a place that would obviously be hostile to them fell on deaf ears. He really wanted to kick himself for somehow managing to get the Chancellor involved, unintentionally even. If the man listened to whatever he'd said that got him here in the first place, why wouldn't he listen to perfectly valid reasons of this being a stupid idea?!
After a few hours of tracking, their group had arrived at the location Blake vaguely remember seeing in the show once before. Unlike then, Crowler wasn't trying to loot the site for valuables with a group of random students, so that was a plus. They stopped when they were in front of what seemed to be the entrance. Blake shot a look towards Banner, who nudged his head in a way that told him to take the lead. So, he did.
"Alright everyone, listen up." Blake said with a loud clap of his hands. "Since I couldn't stop the Chancellor from sending just a few of us here I've come up with a plan on how to most efficiently deal with whatever this place is." He briefly sent a glare to the man in question.
"Who made you the leader?" Chazz asked with an irritated notion.
"The plan is as follows." Blake continued, completely ignoring the now fuming Chazz. "Given we have three teachers with us, we should split up into three groups. This place looks rather big and I reckon we want to get done before nightfall. No idea about you guys, but I'd rather not duel in the darkness of the night against people that have 'Shadow' in their name."
"But isn't that always the point where the group gets taken apart one by one in those horror movies?" Jaden raised.
"Splitting the party when going into a dungeon usually ends in disaster …" Sheppard mumbled.
"Yeah, but this is neither a movie nor a game. We'll be fine." The irony of what he's saying wasn't lost on Blake. "And if we split up ourselves, we have control about our teams, rather than waiting for the enemy to do it for us."
Bastion nodded. "That way we keep our momentum and can work in teams that suit us best. A reasonable plan." Alexis, Chazz, and Kami agreed, so did Crowler, and with that the matter was settled. Not without Banner shooting him a look he couldn't really decipher.
While it reassured Blake that Bastion's approval caused the others to agree, he couldn't help but feel that his best buddy was staring at him. 'Did he see me leave to confront Shinji last night? Has he seen the Shadow Charm on my arm? Can't be, we were careful enough not to get caught.' Blake thought to himself before focusing back on the task at hand.
"Kami, you're with me and Banner." He began. She raised a brow, no doubt about his choice of Banner accompanying them rather than Crowler, but complied nonetheless.
"Zane, you'll take Alexis and the Chancellor." Blake continued with a slight smirk. "I heard the Chancellor was a bit rusty, so having you around should hopefully get him back on track. I'm sure together you'll manage to find something regarding you-know-who as well."
The Kaiser's eyes widened when Blake looked at Alexis as he spoke, catching on to the hint about this place potentially holding answers about what happened to Atticus. His senior nodded back at him, with a steeled resolve building in the older student. When Alexis looked confused upon their interaction, he leaned over to her and whispered something that got her visibly pumped as well.
"Bastion, I trust you'll manage keeping these guys from doing anything stupid." Blake finished, sweeping his gaze over Jaden, Chazz, and Crowler. Jaden let out a light-hearted laugh and gave him a thumbs-up, while Chazz grumbled something to himself. Crowler didn't look all too happy with being paired up with Jaden, but didn't raise any complaints either, no doubt thanks to the sharp look Kami sent him.
"You can count on me. I'm already running the calculations for our best way of action." Bastion replied with a smile.
"Then let's show them that no one messes with Central Academy."
"Man, this place is nuts!" Jaden exclaimed, his bright eyes taking in the odd structure as they walked down a corridor. "How come nobody found this before us?"
That's what Bastion wondered himself. There's no way a place as large as this could've gone unnoticed. Then again, he felt a distinct aura coming off the walls that reminded him of his experiments regarding DE with Blake. As did the sudden influx of this aura with Blake, although it was strangely concentrated on one if his forearms.
"It makes me wonder what the surveillance efforts of our prestigious academy are focused on indeed." Doctor Crowler mused as he led the group further inside.
Bastion looked to his side, where Chazz was following along silently. Every now and then he looked up and seemed to almost speak to himself, then go back to being focused on the way ahead. Similarly, Jaden's head whipped around quite frequently, as if reacting onto a new stimulus. But even if the hieroglyphs along the walls changed, Bastion found that sort of reaction strange. It reminded him of the times Blake cautiously glanced over his own shoulder seemingly out of nowhere.
Did this have anything to do with the duel spirits Blake had told him about? If so, what did they look like? Why were they with these people specifically? Why didn't he have any encounter like that, when he was the one understanding DE the best out of all of them? Just before his thoughts could spiral out of control, the conversation of his companions caught his attention.
"I really hope we can get this over and done with quickly." Crowler said with a heavy sigh. "I can't imagine the terror Miss Hibiki will unleash once she finds out about this."
"Oh man, I've gotten her angry before and let me tell you; she's really scary when she's angry." Jaden said in a mix of joy and fear.
"It doesn't surprise me that a slacker like you managed to make her angry in the first place. But she hasn't been at the academy for a couple years now. How comes you know her?" Crowler asked, visibly intrigued.
"Eh? Because I met her and Koyo in the hospital." Jaden replied simply before looking up. "We actually shared a room; can you believe it?"
"You … shared a room with Koyo Hibiki. A three-time world champion who's dueled in the champions tournament against people like Wheeler and Muto himself?" Chazz said slowly, as if not believing anything Jaden had said.
"Yup." Jaden quipped happily. "He taught me a lot during my stay and helped me with my Elemental HEROs. But I don't think so much would've sticked with me if it wasn't for Miss Midori having me repeat it again and again. It was nothing short of torture."
"That'd explain your dueling skills, which highly contrast with your academics." Crowler begrudgingly accepted, but not without throwing shade at the boy. "You are aware of how she'd react when she saw your grades, yes?"
At that, Jaden shivered. But it was Chazz who spoke next. "Is that why you have his cards?" He inquired.
"Huh? Oh yeah." Jaden answered before turning uncharacteristically solemn. „He gave them to me after our last duel, before he fell into a coma. Said he wanted to see how far I can improve until he wakes up and that I'd be easier if I were to combine our decks."
Chazz looked flabbergasted at the reveal, and Bastion couldn't help but agree with that sentiment. With the deck of one of the best duelists in the world to practice with, along with being taught by its owner and being a natural when it came to dueling on top of that, it was no wonder Jaden was as great of a duelist as he was.
"That is something I can see young Koyo do indeed." Crowler said as they turned the next corner. "Unlike you, he was a model student, however. In that regard, I believe Monsieur Princeton and Misawa have you outclassed."
"Eh, really?"
"But of course. Or do you think his sister would even let him out to duel if he wasn't done with his studies?" The man laughed.
"Aww man." Jaden's head drop as he chuckled. "Guess I really have to study before she comes back, don't I?"
"It'd be in your best interest, young man. If not your grades, then for your own health." Crowled chided. "If Miss Hibiki was here, she'd make sure you actually pay attention in class. And you wouldn't have to deal with this whole fiasco. Nor would the whole Slifer dorm have turned into a pool of failure. Ever since Professor Banner took the position of its dorm head its students have stagnated. Not only that, more students than ever have been demoted into the Slifer dorm." He grumbled.
"Professor Banner isn't that bad of a teacher." Bastion said. He followed the man's lessons along just fine.
"He's a crazy scientist that couldn't explain his way out of a wet paper bag." Chazz countered. "There's a reason his class has the lowest average grades. It regularly takes Alexis and me far too long to work through all the bull he assigns us."
"Alright, that's enough small-talk, messieurs." Crowler clapped to get their attention. "We have a job to do."
Blake looked at Kami as they rounded yet another corner. "Already got a plan on how to win the little game the Chancellor came up with?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." She threw him a side-glance. "I doubt this is the right time and place to talk about it, however."
"What, afraid Banner will tell on you?" He replied with a smirk. The professor was a few steps ahead of them, quickly taking notes and pictures of their surroundings in a comedic fashion. The man really hopped around like a cartoon character.
"No." She deadpanned. "But after what happened to Shinji, I'd rather stay vigilant." She nervously rubbed her arm and looked back the way she came.
"Fair enough." Blake admitted, but put a hand on her shoulder regardless. "We'll be fine, though."
"Confident, aren't you?" She jabbed. "You know what they say; twice the pride, double the fall."
"Maybe I take after my partner?" He replied with a smirk. "Or maybe I'm just that awesome."
Their banter was interrupted by the sudden start of strong tremors throwing them off balance, along with what sounded to be shifting stones. Not even looking towards Banner, Blake put his arm around Kami and pulled her in as he leaned on a nearby wall. Soon after, a loud bang could be heard, accompanied by a cloud of dust shooting through the corridor.
When the dust settled and the tremors subsided, Banner was nowhere to be seen.
"W-what happened?" Kami said, trying to regain her footing.
"No idea, but we kinda lost our teacher."
She looked up and ahead, confirming his words. Noticing his arm still around her, she sputtered away from him and dusted herself off with a cough. "Then we should continue on and look for him."
Amused by her antics he wanted to start some banter again, but with her visibly on edge he instead opted for getting this over with. "Alright, let's go."
They continued onward for a few minutes before finding themselves in a small, square room, with one path coming from each of its sides. Moonlight dripped in from the ceiling, where a few glassless windows showed the night sky above. Just as they looked around, Zane and Sheppard came through the way on their right.
"Blake, have you seen Alexis?" Zane inquired hastily. "We got separated when the building shook."
"No, and Banner's gone too ..." Blake replied when it slowly dawned on him.
A weaker quake shook the building, and through the windows in the ceiling, they saw a bright golden light erupt somewhere else, bathing the night in light for a few moments.
"Oh no …" Sheppard mumbled.
"Chancellor, what was that?" Kami asked with a gulp.
"One of the gates has been opened."
Sorry guys, Shinji's "alive". How alive, you'll have to find out another time, cause shit's going down. So yeah, Sheppard decided to join the crew after some, arguably justified, questioning and Kami finally got her answers. But while the Spirit Guardians got even more manpower, something must've gone wrong. Other than that, I decided it to be a good time to add some more background on the Hibiki's as well as smooth out the relationship of the four-man-squad a bit. Bastion's feeling a bit left out, but perhaps he finds a spirit for himself, wink wink nudge nudge. And in case you were confused, the sister is called Midori Hibiki, and Jaden is the only one calling her by her first name – other than her brother. That's just a quirk he had in the manga, for which I saw no reason to change. Suffice to say, they will play a role once we get there.
Coming to the reviews.
Thobitor - I've looked up the anime effect of Cyberdark Dragon and ho boy, is it better than the one we got. I'd like you guys to decide on whether or not to use the anime or TCG effect of that thing.
Kazikamikaze24 – Thanks! Glad you enjoy his character. There's been quite a few, guest, comments about him being too edgy as of lately. Good to see not everyone dislikes that :D. He certainly wants to get rid of the charm, hopefully he can do that before it gives him even more trouble.
Peter Kim – Thanks for the good analysis of the Shadow Riders in the reviews, which may or may not turn out to be true. If the students decks get upgraded, who's to say their opponents don't get some too, after all.
Quarttzblade12 – Blake going rogue is an idea I've played around with for quite a while, but we'll just have to wait and see ~
Heavenly Sage – Welcome, thanks, and happy to have you. You're right, Blake should've known better, but he was kind off stressed out. Dunno about Blake and Kami's relationship being unreal. They started off on the not-so-right foot, yeah, but after her reassurance and him having increasingly better interactions with her, along with his talk to Bastion, and Dorothy, I thought it fitting for them to grow closer. Maybe even closer than they'd like and know. Blake really didn't want to get one of the keys, but with Bastion AND Kami joining in I felt it enough of a reason for him to try and keep things under control. Along with getting something out of it himself, of course. What better way to try and get the Cyberdarks and other powerful cards, after all :D.
Thank y'all for reading and reviewing. Next time you'll get a special duel, I promise. Until then, have a great time everyone ~