Chapter VI

Stalker

Many years ago, a loud and dull thud echoed in a house whose interior was made of dark wood. Professor Hoenmann rushed over to the living room of his house, opening the door with a creak, to find a young, teeny Sylvia standing in front of the TV.

He gaped surprised, her cards tossed over the table behind her and on the ground like she'd angrily yeeted it. he gulped, a bead of sweat rolling down his face, she didn't turn to look at him, her gaze was set in that TV screen, on a duel tournament hosted by Chairman Pegasus.

The bright screen cast an ominous set of colors over the dark room, in the image, Pegasus shared a handshake with a young boy with blue hair and green eyes, he smiled cheerfully and abashed to be greeting the duel monster creator in person.

"Are you alright, Sylvia?" Hoenmann broke the ice.

"Tell me, professor," she started, in a low tone. "I went to every single excavation regarding them, I promptly helped, I worked hard for it, then why… Why is it that he gets them in the end? This boy with the frilly sleeves…" she spat the last part out of pettiness.

"I understand how you feel, sometimes, things don't go as planned and you must deal with what you've got," he landed a hand on her shoulder. "This is who the cards chose in the end, plus he fought hard for them. If you think you're more deserving, challenge him."

"You're right, professor, not everyone was born to be a duelist anyways, that just means I'll have to focus on something else."

"But you had fun dueling, did you not, Sylvia? You can do both things."

"I did, but that's in the past. If I can't get those cards… then I'd rather become a great archeologist."

"Sylvia…"

"I'll just have to be the best in my field, it's not impossible with your guidance, professor."

Sylvia stared at the ceiling, that memory lingering in her mind, she clicked her tongue, jumping out of the bed and splashing water onto her face. The mirror showed an unbecoming version of herself, an unkempt hair and faint bags under her eyes, this is all because she had that weird nightmare with the edgy Johan and then her mind was washed over with many recollections too and all she thought about all morning was him, now her head aches a bit.

"Nothing good will come from standing here idly, you should get some fresh air, Sylvia," she slapped some more water onto her cheeks, waking herself up from that melancholy.

Meanwhile,

Johan sat at an outside table of a cafe right beside the hotel Sylvia was in. Steam wafted from the scorching coffee cup. He folded his arms, glancing to the side, waiting for something or someone.

"Did he make a move yet?" he asked, running low on patience.

"No, and he's been there the whole night too according to Cobalt," Amethyst Cat said.

He sipped his drink to blend in seamlessly among other people, keeping his eyes glued to his target until he caught a glimpse of orange hair passing by, his gaze following her unwittingly.

"Johan!" Topaz Tiger alerted him. "Look, that guy is moving!"

Startled, he observed his target again, the man was on the phone, speaking some gibberish while looking at the street, then he got up and started following someone. Johan furrowed his brows, calculating where the man was looking at while tagging along from behind, inconspicuously.

Sylvia stopped by a small street vendor to buy some food, the man stopped too, at this point, Johan's suspicion grew exponentially. Is that guy following… her? But why?

"Eagle, please keep an eye on him from above, guys, you follow him from the earth, Ruby, you come with me!"

"Meowl!" the small cat jumped onto his shoulder.

He raised his arm and shouted loudly, calling her attention an energetic grin plastered over his face while running towards her:

"Hey! Sylvia!"

She arched a brow in distrust. "Johan? What are you doing here?"

She had this glare like she could roast him in a second, he gulped dryly sensing her annoyance, but it dwindled, her gaze mellowing out in a conflicted glint. Sylvia knew no matter how mad she was, it was pointless to be hung up on the past for something he was oblivious to.

While staring her anger away, she gaped subtly, sighting that red, shiny ruby over Johan's shoulders again, following its strange wagging with her eyes, Johan's voice woke her up from the trance:

"Are you busy now?"

"Not really…"

She paid for a couple apples, turning away from it. Screaming internally while deliberately deciding to ignore it.

"Great! I was wanting to kill some time right now, can I tag along?"

"What? Why? Didn't you have other things to do?"

He cast a glance to the side discreetly, the guy was still nearby, pretending to talk on the phone, his eyes squinting cunningly.

"I just wanted to hang around the city and thought you could show me the place."

"M-me?" she pointed at herself, flustered.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Gosh, Johan, you're a grown up, can you not do this alone?" she folded her arms, saying in a begrudging tone, but her cheeks were a teensy bit blushed. "Here, take this!"

She tossed one of her apples his way, he caught it expertly, blinking confused, she whirled around walking ahead, as if telling him to follow.

"Did you even eat breakfast? What were you doing?"

Did she worry because she expelled him from her room before? Or felt guilty? Was she trying to take care of him? A smile tugged at his lips at the thought, Sylvia was so cutely readable.

"I did… But tell me, what were you doing?"

"Finishing my reports, of course, I'm now done with the work from the previous excavation," she took a bite out of the apple, munching it.

"I didn't know you still had work to do regarding that. Sounds tough."

He tossed his arms behind his head, casting a glance to the side every now and then, that man tailed them.

"You have no idea," she sighed tiredly.

"What do you think about the Rainbow Dark Dragon that was uncovered, Sylvia?"

"What do I think?" she stammered in a nervous voice. "W-what do you mean? There's nothing much to think about. Is there? It's a tablet like any other, the structure surrounding it is not exactly fitting the age and place, but that aside, there's nothing…"

Her mind drifted to that moment where she saw the creature towering above her, shrieking, her lips quivered before she continued, breaking into a cold sweat:

"...Strange."

"If you say so…"

He caught on to something, but as a good investigator, waiting for the right timing to ask questions is always essential.

"Aren't you the expert here? What do you think?" she snapped out of the daze, munching her apple angrily, turning the table on him.

"I think… This tablet shouldn't exist. Is there any possibility it's a fake?"

"What?! No way, it's a hundred percent like the others! B-but there are tests that could tell the age of the stone and other aspects, I guess…"

Putting a hand to her chin, she got distracted upon sighting something ahead, her eyes widening. Without a word, she fast walked to another street stand, a petite-built girl tended to the stand, she had long black hair that covered her whole back, a tiara of small golden coins adorning her head along with a red dot painted on her forehead, she wore a yellow sari, her golden circular earrings tingling as she bent over the table covered with a red cloth and called people to her place, a smile brightening her face, her green eyes contrasting with her dark skin, spotting the other woman:

"Sisi! It's been so long!" she beamed. "I missed you!"

The sunlight made it look like her figure was sparkling, on the other hand, Sylvia's tone was much lower than her usual annoyed voice, Johan even saw a sketch of a smile on her lips for a moment.

"Rani, hello, I was busy."

Johan approached, waving his hand to greet the girl, she smiled back, confused, turning to her friend.

"Oh, my, is that handsome boy a friend of yours, Sisi?"

"A-ah, yes!" she nodded vigorously, patting Johan's shoulder awkwardly, giving it a tight squeeze. "We're best friends!"

Are we?

"This is Johan Andersen, and Johan, this is Rani, she's a local."

"I'm so happy for you! Sisi! Here, you can have this for free."

Her table was filled with the most various objects, from rocks, to jewels to parchments and even decorations. Among those, she picked a dreamcatcher and handed it to her girlfriend.

"Hang this over your bed, it'll protect you from bad dreams."

"H-huh? I-is that so?" her brows furled up at the accuracy of Rani's gut feelings. "Thank you so much, Rani! But I'll pay for it, I wouldn't want to be bad for your business."

"Ah, please, it's on the house, as for you," she glanced over her table, picking a small rock with ancient inscriptions on it.

"You should keep this, Sisi's friend, it can ward off evil spirits."

He gaped awestruck for a brief moment, his brows twitching down slightly in distrust, then he flipped his mood and smiled, scratching his head and saying between hearty chuckles:

"Haha, thank you."

Sylvia interrupted. "Rani, do you have anything new for me?"

They talked for a bit, Sylvia had this faintest smile, she looked like a normal girl and not like that rough archeologist he first met, it was a heartwarming sight. She left waving with a smile, but as soon as they turned the next corner, her grumpy expression was back, her lips curved down.

He went back to his relaxed pose with his hands behind the back of his head, following her aimless walking, wondering where she'd be taking him next. He started a conversation while keeping an eye on the man that had been following them nonstop.

"I didn't know you had a soft spot for girls, Sylvia. And I didn't know we were friends."

"Listen!"

She stopped abruptly, coming dangerously close to him, glaring daggers at his face, he almost felt the cuts opening.

"Rani is the most pure, innocent girl I know, I would never tell her that I don't actually have friends, it'd break her heart."

"So we're not friends?" he chuckled, probing her.

"We worked together for a short time, that's all," she folded her arms, unrelenting. "And I don't have a 'soft spot' I just don't often get the chance to talk to people my age! It's a golden opportunity!"

A tiny wrinkle formed between her brows as she thought of her situation, speaking her mind out without any censorship.

"Johan, get a grip on reality, I am surrounded by burly, sweaty men the whole day, the youngest people in the excavations are twice our age, and most are old men and women, I feel like an old lady myself! Rani is the only sunflower, the gentle ray of light in the murky excavations."

"Don't you have any school friends to talk about?"

"I didn't go to school."

"You didn't-"

He screamed internally, it wasn't his intention to go this far in his provocations to get her to talk, his posture stiffening because of his own blunder.

"I was homeschooled my whole life."

"Why?"

"I had to travel with my father often, so I couldn't stay in school."

"So your parents both traveled?"

"I don't have a mother," she admitted nonchalantly, correcting herself with a shake of head. "Or rather, I do, but my parents are irrelevant."

"I thought you admired and were inspired by professor Hoenmann."

"Ah, right, I forgot to mention, I'm adopted."

His arms behind his back came undone. "Professor Hoenmann isn't your biological father?"

"He adopted me after finding my parents trying to sell me off or something, I don't really care about them."

After unloading all that information on him, she stared into his eyes, free of guilt or resentment like they'd just have some small talk and asked:

"What about you, Johan?"

"Ahm, I have quite good parents. They are divorced, though."

"Divorced? Were you fine?"

"Yeah, it's not as bad as it sounds when you get used to it. I also had a fairly good school life, so I don't think I can complain."

There was a long pause, sometimes he got this impression Sylvia's silhouette looked much smaller than it actually was, her question came almost shy:

"How was it? School, I mean."

"Hm… How should I describe it? It was very fun and challenging, we had duels every day and I made plenty of friends. Of course, it also had bad parts…"

His expression turned into a mix of nostalgia and sadness as a load of memories flashed by: Martin's face, the three Sacred Beasts, Yubel's wicked grin and then, his reflection in the mirror when Yubel possessed him.

"... But all in all, it was a great time."

"You speak as if you're done studying. Aren't you still in high school?"

"Ah, yeah, I just graduated a couple months ago, so…"

"Congratulations. But wait-" she halted glancing over at him from top to bottom. "Why are you still using your uniform, then?"

"Ah, this," he pulled his trademark short obelisk blue jacket. "It's just more comfortable, I kinda got used to it, haha."

"Won't you enroll in the pro-circuit now?"

"I prefer taking some time to breathe, there are other matters of more importance to settle before I go, like finding out about Rainbow Dark Dragon."

"I thought you loved dueling more than anything else."

"I do, but I also got a whole load of it and I'd like to travel around, duel different people and learn all sorts of dueling styles before I set on the leagues. And my cards are important for me too."

"Sounds like you have your future sorted out."

"Talking about which, do you have a deck too, Sylvia?"

"Me?" she flinched. "I do… but I hid it in some drawer long ago. I don't duel anymore."

"Why?" he asked, concerned.

"Not everyone is a natural born talent for dueling, I chose my career path early on and it's not to be a duelist."

"Aw, that's a pity, if you change your mind, let's have a friendly duel one of those days," he smiled, unaware he was the very reason she gave up on it.

"Not like we will be seeing each other much longer, Andersen. I'll be transferring tomorrow, so you'll be on your own."

He halted, his body still swayed a bit forth in shock, his eyes broadened. "Tomorrow already?!"

"Yeah, but you don't need to worry, professor Hoenmann will take good care of the research, it's better that way."

"Does that not bother you? I mean being sent away in the middle of your work?"

"Of course… It does. But that's not my call to make, I just listen to my superiors."

That didn't stop you from disobeying orders and sneaking around into the temple, though.

Sylvia scrutinized into the intricate web crafting the dreamcatcher she received. She never believed in any mystical or supernatural thing, but the fact that Rani gifted her this after she had those nightmares, she hardly considered it as a coincidence anymore.

"The place where you're transferring to, where is it?"

"Just an excavation nearby, but I won't be here in the city or involved with the Rainbow Dark Dragon excavations for at least half an year, I recon."

"That's a lot of time."

"In your books, maybe, not so much for me, it's part of the job. Well, we're here."

Here where?!

They arrived in front of a museum, the streets were bustling with life and the man following them easily mingled in. She cast a side glance at him, giving a brief explanation:

"This is a small museum with artifacts from excavations around the area, most of them are stone tablets and other relics of the past, I'm sure you'll have fun."

"Huh? You're not coming in too?"

"I have errands to do, have fun, Johan," she waved with the back of her hand, leaving the precinct.

He scowled as soon as she entered the crowd, his smile vanishing, substituted for an earnest expression. He walked fast, hiding behind other people.

Sylvia turned in the next alley, the man stopped, leaning against the wall and peeking into the alley she just went to, she walked through some empty alley and streets until the sound of the crowd was far away.

She crumpled small rocks beneath her foot while whirling it around, pulling her gun out in a second, shouting in a threatening voice:

"Come out of your hideout, coward! I know you're there."

Johan flinched, so did the man, she knew she was being stalked? He shoved his hand forward for his gem beasts to go and help.

Her voice grew stronger, more restless. "There's nobody else now! It's just you and me, too scared to face a lady, huh?!"

The man slowly pulled his own gun before jumping into her sight, and before he pulled the trigger, Cobalt Eagle swooped to a window from the apartments forming the walls concealing the alley broke, the glass shards dropped to the ground astounding both parties.

Johan took the leap, seizing the man down, bending and holding his arms on his back, Sylvia gasped, astounded at his presence, then quickly tied the man up with her whip.

The hostage sweated aplenty, spouting some words in an unknown language, Sylvia glared down at Johan first, her tongue tingling to spit some acid and ask many questions, but she crossed her arms and concentrated on the man, she uttered entire sentences in the same tongue as the man.

He gulped, sitting up half bend onward, shaking his head in denial. They exchanged words a few times, but he wouldn't give in, a snicker escaping in short bursts like a pig oinking.

Sylvia gritted her teeth, shutting her mouth in a line, slitting her eyes in disdain. Johan watched her blood boil, her face reddening, her short temper taking over.

She stomped the ground, between his legs. "I won't miss next time, dumbass! You better have some answers!"

The man yelped, his eyes almost bulging out. Even Johan jolted at the move, scared of how convincing she could get in her threats.

"Me talk! Me talk!" he cried.

"Why are you here?"

She rubbed her feet on the sand, making a crackling noise, mimicking how it'd be if he didn't take her seriously.

He shrieked, closing his eyes. "Boss orders!"

"Who is your boss?"

"Me not know. Mystery man," he looked into her eyes, the panic making him sweat more.

"Describe him," Johan intervened, demanding from behind with a frown.

"Me not know face! Boss only has voice!"

Sylvia and Johan exchanged a distrustful glance, did he mean he received orders in audio? That lapse that lasted a second was enough of an opportunity, the man jumped up, still tied, aiming to hit his head on Sylvia's face, she slid her feet backwards on sheer instinct, avoiding the blow.

He attempted to run with a grin, but Johan, dealt a kick to his knee joints, hooking his arm around the man's neck. While he struggled to get free, some pictures flew off his robe, startling the boy, who unwittingly loosened his grip upon catching a glimpse of the images.

The man set off in a marathon, unbinding himself from the whip, Sylvia tried to match his speed, but stopped herself when a sharp pain stung her chest.

Taking a deep breath, her vision became half hazy, she noticed Johan stayed behind, squatting down and taking those pictures.

"What are you doing, Andersen, that guy escaped!" she said between her teeth, storming her way back to him while recovering from the pain.

"I think you should see this…"

He swallowed dryly, worried, flipping one of the photos, her breath hitching. It was her in that picture, a close up on her face while in the city, blurred silhouettes around.

"W-why was that creeper picturing me?"

"I don't know, but he's been at it since this morning," he skimmed through the other photos, some which featured him from behind or sideways. "He's been following you the whole day long…"

"I knew he was following me!" she exclaimed, irritated. "Why do you think I came here all alone?! I wanted to catch the bastard!"

"Ahah, yeah, I see you can more than fend for yourself," he scratched his head, laughing.

"Why didn't you just stay in that museum where I left you?!"

"I got worried because that guy was really suspicious, so I tagged along."

"So you were aware we were being followed at that time too?!"

"Too"? Don't tell me the reason why she randomly dropped me off at the museum was…

The realization dawned on him, but the damage was done. Sylvia felt like a fool, she thought of his safety first and he knew the whole time they were being followed.

"I can't believe you sometimes, Johan! So you pretended to hang around with me to use me as bait to drag that guy out?! Because you knew it all from the beginning that he was following me?!"

"No! I wasn't-" he stuffed his mouth with his own words, rephrasing. "That wasn't the reason, I thought it'd be better if we were together since that guy was up to no good."

"This is why we can't be friends," she mumbled in an exasperated, low tone, disappointed.

"I didn't use you as bait, you dropped me at that museum. I resumed following you because I knew that guy would try something-"

She interrupted in an overbearing voice. "Forget it, it doesn't matter… It doesn't matter at all…"

Her headache worsened, to the point her sight was warped with small, fading waves of rainbow color, like a defective TV, she her temples to attenuate the pain, her voice failing more and more as she continued:

"I am traveling tomorrow morning… Somebody will wait for me in front of the hotel, after that, this little investigation is your problem! I have plenty of problems to deal with."

"Wait, Sylvia-" he stretched his hand.

Turning around without a word of goodbye, she left, his fists clenching. He didn't mean to hurt her or use her as any sort of trap, but in the end this is what it culminated to.

"You messed up big time, champ," Cobalt Eagle came down.

"I did, didn't I?" His brows coiled up guiltily.

"You were also trying to protect her, so who cares if her feelings are hurt or whatever!" Topaz Tiger contested.

"That's not how it works for girls, genius," Amethyst cat rebuked with slanted eyes. "He should've told her the truth."

"She probably told you the time she is leaving because she is expecting you to come say goodbye," Sapphire Pegasus inferred.

"Ahaha, I should do something about it, then."

The next morning,

Sylvia had but barely a small suitcase to her name, that splitting headache tortured her on top of all. To add to her aggravation, Johan appeared amidst the busy throng waving and smiling cheerfully.

"Johan, what are you doing here?" she put a hand to her left temple.

"I came to see you off, of course," he declared proudly. "Even though you told me you don't like goodbyes."

She gaped, positively surprised with him. "So you do remember things people tell you…"

"I also wanted to apologize for yesterday, if that will make any difference for you," he scratched his head, embarrassed.

There was no point holding grudges, he did what he was here for, which is sniffing out whichever strange schemes were behind Melchior and his goonies and whoever was behind it all.

"I have no hard feelings, Andersen. You did what you were supposed to, I shouldn't have snapped at you. I don't want to leave on a bad note, so I apologize too."

She flashed a smile, but it was so automatic and distant, it worried him more than assured.

"I hope you'll do well in your next excavation, Sylvia," he stretched his hand in a friendly manner.

"Well, thank you for coming," she took off her glove, reaching out to his hand politely. "We may see each other again somewhen in those excavations, if fate so decides."

That's right, we may never see each other again…

A thump soared inwardly. A constrained, clutched palpitation as she held his hand. Her vision blurred, his image suddenly was so indistinct she could only tell colors apart.

Huh? What is wrong with me? My vision is all… Fuzzy. Am I… crying?

"Sylvia?!"

Why is he shouting so loudly? I…

Johan's hazy image moved ahead, the sky and everything swirled around, then she fainted.

He pulled her by the hand, bringing her close and dropping to one of his knees, supporting her body on the other, Sylvia's pale face and her fading warmth making his blood run wild. The gem beasts all gathered around him, watching in concern.

"Hey, Sylvia! Hey!"

The passerby stopped at the scene as he yelled, his voice reverberating in the street, drowned by the loud noise of the many voices of people going about their lives, occulting their silhouettes as sunlight scintillated above their heads. Just another day in the city for all its denizens.

What happened to Sylvia? And why did she collapse? How does it tie to the mystery of Rainbow Dark Dragon and the men chasing its secrets? Those inquiries just grew in Johan's mind.

He was yet to find the worst part, the echoes of the past that came to haunt those around him…