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myeagleexpert · 2 months

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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕻𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖆𝖌𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕳𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕬𝖜𝖆𝖐𝖊𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗

And if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Howl's Moving Castle x Twisted Wonderland Au

The starry night at NRC was a spectacle of beauty and mystery, with the meteor shower painting the sky in shades of silver and gold. Yuu walked through the dark corridors of the Ramshackle dormitory, lit only by the flickering light of candles and a few points of failed electric light. Grim, the talking cat monster with dancing fire flames, followed beside her silently, his yellow eyes glowing with an unusual intensity and worried for his friend.

Today had been one of those days for the young woman without magic: Waking up late and almost late, she was intercepted by Crowley who had given exhaustive work that he himself had not done, the chemistry test that she and the infamous ADeuce had was a disaster, her crush had given the cold shoulder, Grim got into a totally unnecessary fight with some idiots from the fourth year and as a result they lost their lunch and got some scratches, and the front of his beloved Ramsharckle dorm collapsed, the damp and old wood had given way. The bitter taste in the mouth was not enough to bring a revolt from within Yuu so that she raised a scream of fury and stepped on the floor, her tired body just looked at the mess and walked straight past, the dejected soul took a shower where she hoped for the deep in her fragile heart, the shampoo would clean the dirt she felt and the tears would mix with the hot water.

At least I Tsunotaro will come today.- the only hope she could have that night was to see her dear friend. She put on her less tattered pajamas and sat at the study table waiting for the famous green fireflies to appear.

Unfortunately he didn't show up, the prince didn't answer the call.

The lack of Malleus's gentle presence made schoolwork become heavier and the lump in the throat tightened more and more, the clock was counting down the seconds to….

“Henchman, are you okay? Your eyes are red” with the little self-control he had, Yuu nodded, avoiding his feline friend's gaze and focusing on the blurry letters of school work and just in time the light in the dorm was cut off.

“NYAAH” “It was just what was needed!” Could it be Crowley's irresponsibility? The electricity bill? Was it an attack? A short circuit? Either way, it doesn't matter anymore.

The tired body got up and silently searched for the candles until strange lights passing through the window caught the girl's attention. Ah, the meteor shower. Like a leaf carried by the wind, Yuu's steps, even without hope, led her to the front part of the ramsharckle, the same part of which fell and collapsed. Pushing aside some wood, the girl sat down on the floor and Grim followed her shortly after, not trusting that her friend would be okay alone.

“Henchman, what are we doing here?” "I don't know…"

Will I ever really go home? Will I live forever in this place being this weak? I would do anything to see my family again… I myself will find a way to find my way back, whatever the cost.

Loneliness and anguish weighed on Yuu's heart, like chains that tied her to a distant past, an overwhelming longing for her homeland. She longed for a home, for a place where she could be truly happy. Home….my home….my family….The starry night shone with a unique and mysterious beauty, the shooting stars cutting across the sky like tears of light. Each meteorite that fell seemed to echo the loneliness and anguish that Yuu felt inside her.

As she watched the shooting stars cut across the sky like sharp blades, one of them stood out, shining with a disturbing intensity that seemed to whisper Yuu's name as the golden ball of fire quickly fell towards the ground. Without knowing why the girl just followed her heart and with an irresistible impulse, Yuu ran towards the shooting star, her mind filled with a mixture of despair and hope that she didn't know where it came from.

The powerful ball of fire broke apart and reflected various colors and when the star finally fell into her hands. As she held the star in her trembling hands, Yuu felt a wave of magical power envelop her, making her tremble with emotion and fear. A magical energy enveloped her, and in an instant, the star fell apart, disappearing into her body. A warm feeling filled Yuu, and she felt her heart beat faster than ever. The star, now resident in her being, revealed its mysterious and enigmatic personality, whispering ancient secrets and dark promises in her ears and finally a deal was made between the magicless human and the fallen star.

As Yuu absorbed the star's powers, the old Ramshackle dormitory began to shake and transform in sinister and fascinating ways before his eyes. Walls contorted, furniture came to life, and the abandoned place metamorphosed into a lively castle, with sparkling towers and enchanted gardens. The magic of the falling star had awakened the true essence of the place, revealing its hidden beauty.

The animated castle, now filled with the dark aura of the shooting star, rose majestically from the ground, its dark towers rising like sharp claws against the starry sky. The enchanted garden has turned into a maze of thorns and shadows, where unknown creatures lurk in the shadows, watching with glowing, hungry eyes.

“H-henchman! What is happening??"

With an enigmatic smile on her lips, Yuu looked at Grim, whose gaze reflected a mixture of fear and confusion. "Let's go home," she whispered, her voice echoing like a whisper of unknown magic. The cat nodded silently and ran to the girl's shoulders, saving his questions for later, because maybe later Yuu wouldn't be looking like a crazy woman with a flying Ramsharckle.

The old Ramsharckle dorm floated to where the two were and the door opened waiting for the two to climb up to finally grant the previously magicless girl's heart's desire.

“I'll come back to say goodbye later”

Who knows if she would come back who knows if not

She looked back one last time, remembering her adventures with the troublemaking cat and all the friends she made there. And with a firm step the girl went up in her castle and felt more ready than ever to embark on this adventure.

As the castle floated toward the distant horizon, the lights of shooting stars and meteorites hovered above them, shrouding them in a veil of mystery and intrigue. Yuu felt a shiver run down his spine, but also a sense of determination and courage that had long been forgotten.

And so, enveloped by the darkness of the starry night and the sinister magic of the falling star, Yuu and Grim set out on a journey into the unknown, where ancient secrets and intertwined destinies awaited them in the shadows of their path. Amidst the darkness and starlight, Yuu and Grim's journey was just beginning, with the power of the shooting star guiding their steps towards their final destination.

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Every like, repost and comment is very welcome and appreciated. ♥

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yanmaresu · 9 months

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Can I ask sirens or mermaids come in packs or groups what if siren!Yuu decides on welcoming her siren side and join a pack or group of siren and feels safe as her pack is ranked 1# most powerful siren group/pack the group has a strong reputation and strong power to protect each other especially weak and fragile pack/group mate so there is a chance they that siren!Yuu will be protected and they have a little cottage in the human world!! Where they can hang out and chill in the sea that is where they sing like I know this is too oof I just want fluff for siren! Yuu ok ;-; because that baby needs some friends that can protect her their theme song is definitely "Birth of Venus"!!! It's too much but make fluff for here for a bit please🙏🥹🥹

ok first of all thanks for the song it's very good, it's now part of my family's playlist.

Second! The mc is actually half siren jsjs I'm not sure if I posted it before but the tragedy of the mermaid mc was that they were left behind by their bank for being too weak compared to all their siblings who were full sirens, mc also got hurt in a hunt and that's when their bank decided they didn't want the little one dragging them down. Mc was abandoned and had to survive on their own for a long time. That's why they fell for Leona and let themselves get caught in a net, because they admired the way the pirate ship worked together and there was no distinction between the stronger humans and those who may have been considered weak because they lacked a leg or hand. Something that would definitively get you kicked out of your bank in the sea, was seen as normal on the ship. The leader even lacked an eye and still looked so sure and fierce while commanding everyone. The mc admired Leona and wanted to be part of something desperately, they thought maybe those humans were different, those humans may accept a boney and afraid thing and not abandon it. We know how that ended.

But for the fluff, I didn't write it nor draw it but sometimes I think about it in the middle of the day. The mc is supposed to have a very happy stay with the Pomefiore trio! Leona's ship gets arrested after a very bad storm that weakened them, and most of their stuff was confiscated or sold in the black market, including the mermaid mc. Here's where most of the timelines divide, but in the pomefiore one, Rook buys the mc at an auction and takes them back home to Vil, who's working hard to finally surpass Neige in the theatre/opera house. Rook suggests that a mermaid might be the perfect singing teacher for Vil, and Vil while not convinced feels pity for the traumatized person brought to her who is too afraid to go back to the sea, and decides that as long as mc helps her get better at singing, teaches them that charm able to captivate everyone, she will provide them with a roof over their heads and three warm meals every day.

The mc eats their first warm meal when dining with the pomefiore trio, it was so tasty that it made the mermaid shed tears. They never thought it would become a normal thing for them with time, that they would learn to cook it, nor the effect it would have on their body. When they see the first belly roll form on their body while bending the sight makes them feel so weird but also so grateful. The mc discovers what a book is, and they hate reading but are fascinated with watching pictures of different animals and biomes on land, they are particularly fascinated with ants and bugs. They feel pride for the first time, not only for themselves but also for Vil whenever she perfects any singing lesson. The mermaid mc starts dreaming of being able to walk and bake every day to give people a warm treat, and sharing what they have with Vil, Rook, Epel, and those who don't have a family.

The problem is that the mc fears soon they will no longer have anything to teach Vil, and fear returning to the sea + Neige isn't happy about mc's involvement in Vil's life + Azul is looking for MC in land </3

#ask #tamaresurambling #mermaid mc au #twst mermaid au #twst mermaid mc au

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medea10 · 4 years

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My Review of Magical Girl Site

How did I get into this anime? I…huh…Good question! I don’t recall. Probably some other anime reviewers mentioned it and I put it on the Amazon/Netflix list hoping I won’t have to watch it any time soon. Two years later and here we are!

Aya Asagiri’s life is a living hell. She is constantly bullied at school and no one does a thing to stop it. Her teachers don’t care about her well-being. Her father barely notices she exists. And to top it off, her brother beats the crap out of her just for him to relieve stress! Is it any wonder that she wants to commit suicide? One night, her computer mysteriously turns on to a website, promoting Aya to become a magical girl. She brushed it off and thought nothing of it…

That is until the next morning when she finds a note and a gun in her shoe locker. After being tortured by her bullies and almost raped, she finds herself at the end of her ropes and pulls out the mysterious gun. When she pulled the trigger, her bullies disappeared. Turns out, the targets are transported to another place. In the case of some of her bullies, they were transported to in front of a moving train.

Karma, bitches!

It’s unknown why Aya was specifically chosen to become a magical girl, but fellow magical girl Yatsumura feels she could use Aya’s magic to combat a looming threat to other magical girls. But they must not overuse their magic, otherwise they will die.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: As of this moment, this anime seems to be in the capable hands of Amazon Prime. And we all know how well they treat animes, right?! Hahaha! Funny! Anyways, don’t expect a dub! The cast seems to be comprised of many female seiyuus I’m not particularly familiar with. I mean with the exception of Aina Suzuki, I hear her sounds every day thanks to the Love Live game apps! Add to that the creepy, raspy voice of Frieza playing the site administrator! One voice actor however I heard the second he let out a creepy, hygena-like laugh, I knew exactly who this crazy bastard was! Nobuhiko Okamoto plays a great psychopath. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

*Aya is played by Yuuko Oono

*Yatsumura is played by Himika Akaneya

*Sarina is played by Haruka Yamazaki (known for Ruka on Hayate the Combat Butler, Mero on Monster Musume, Aika on High School DxD, and Natsumi on Danganronpa 3)

*Nijimi is played by Yuu Serizawa (known for Shera on How Not to Summon a Demon Lord)

*Shioi is played by Aina Suzuki (known for Mari on Love Live Sunshine)

AUTOMATICLY THROWN ON DISLIKED LIST: Okay children, who automatically ends up on my hate list for life?

Fuckers who commit rape and fuckers who kill animals for fun!

Damn right! Give this anime some credit for not showing Aya’s bullies throwing a cat in front of a moving train. If this were 10 years ago, they probably would have animated it and I would have been puking afterward. I’m not sure which of Aya’s bullies threw a cat in front of a moving train, but for the time being, I’m throwing them all on the list.

And while I’m here, Sarina! She was like the ring-leader in the bullying of Aya. I’m almost certain she’s the bitch that killed the stray cat but I have no proof of that. With my history with horrible people like that, I have no sympathy for bullies in the slightest and feel she got what was coming to her. Bitch, you got that big, ugly scar on your neck for a reason. You got what was coming!

DEFINITELY BELONGS IN DISLIKE HISTORY: Now that I got the usual gripe off my chest, gotta add Aya’s onii-chan, Kaname! Sweet merciful crap, do I love hearing Nobuhiko Okamoto play a psychopath, but this is going way too far. And Kaname is just irredeemable! He has this complex that makes him think he’s on God-tier and everyone else is beneth him. Now I do have to hate Kaname and Aya’s father for placing this kind of pressure on Kaname and beating the shit out of him if he gets bad grades. But good fuck, this guy just pushes past the line of no return when he tries to manipulate little girls, steal their power, and lose control. And this wasn’t like he had no control over his own body and wants to stop this from happening! Kaname meant every thing he did to his sister and her friends. OH…and that one guy he forced to off himself! I just can’t even with this guy!

SHIPPING: I know a lot of people ship the hell out of Aya and Yatsumura and yeah, I can see that and I would ship them too. But for reals, I just want these two girls to live a life of peace together for as long as they’re around. For fuck’s sake, did you see the shit they put up with in their lives? Aya was bullied relentlessly at home and school. Yatsumura watched her whole family be slaughtered by a creep. These girls deserve some sort of peace! I know this is the shipping category, but I felt the need to say this.

STICKS: Okay anime, what are you doing? Aya uses a magical gun! Sarina uses a magical yo-yo! Nijimi uses magical panties (insert immature laugh here)! Yatsumura uses a magical remote! How hard is it to have them say that! And I probably shouldn’t put blame on the anime and holler at the manga! But calling magical items “Sticks”, that feels…I don’t want to say stupid, but I can’t think of any other word to go along with that. I just feel like the manga was on some deadline and they were frantically finishing what to call their magical items and just went “FUCK IT, IT’S STICKS”.

COULD HAVE FOOLED ME: In the “Could have fooled me” category we have a boy who identifies as a girl magical girl! Man, 2018 definitely was the progressive AF year! I mean, we had Lily from Zombieland Saga, we had the girls who transformed into magical buff men in Magical Girl Ore, and now THIS! So we have Kiyo! An openly transgendered magical girl that’s not a token joke! Okay, well done guys! Pearl points all around!

ENDING: Early in the series, we learned about a moment called “The Tempest”. A catastrophic even set to take place once enough negative energy is caught. There are a lot of Magical Girl Site administrators that take advantage of “POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS”. They pick the most unfortunate girls as pawns in their game. And once “The Tempest” hits, everyone will die and the world will start over anew. Aya and Yatsumura end up meeting new magical girl allies and even a few that were coersed by different administrators. Not to mention one of Aya’s bullies is a magical girl too with a score to settle! What could be worse?

How about we add Aya’s disgusting brother to this mix?! As I’ve mentioned before, Aya’s brother Kaname would use Aya as a personal punching bag in order to get rid of stress. When Aya became a magical girl, she would spend more time with Yatsumura or the other girls, leaving Kaname to go without slugging his sister. So fuckface over here manipulates another magical girl, Nijimi to do what he says. This leads to him stealing Nijimi’s underwear and gaining her magical power of mind control. I never thought I would have to say a sentence like that, but here we are.

Kaname went out of control with this power as he managed to injure all of the girls and give a fatal blow to Nijimi. But another possible enemy dropped a bomb on us when they kidnapped Kaname. THEN, these girls are targeted at Nijimi’s funeral and they almost died. Add another plot-twist, a police officer that’s been seen from time to time in a lot of the tragedies in the show is in cahoots with one of the magical girl site administrators. This keeps getting fuckier by the minute! Well, the girls felt it was time to take action and try to take out the administrators that screwed them with this doomed fate. But once they took out one of the administrators, they came across an ugly truth.

Sight administrators are magical girls who died previously!

Yeah, not that big of a shock! Madoka Magica gave us magical girls who end up so corrupt that they become witches they’re supposed to fight. While some of the administrators ended up falling to these girls, Nana (the creepy one we’ve been watching since ep 1) is the hardest one to take out. She ends up killing Yatsumura (because she used up too much of her power), but then manipulates her to become an administrator.

Once she manipulated Yatsumura, she ends up going after Aya. And after a lot of back-and-forth between the two girls, Yatsumura was able to snap out of Nana’s control and they managed to take out Nana. And we end the series with a brighter future for Aya and Yatsumura as their lives become a little less unfortunate.

Yeah, few issues here!

1.) There are still a butt-load of site administrators. Isn’t there still a “Tempest” going to happen? 2.) Aya and Yatsumura’s lives aren’t in danger anymore after using fuck-tons of their power? WTF?! 3.) What was the point of Aya shooting herself to get Yatsumura back? I am not following you. Is this some sort of Insception shit?! 4.) That detective! Misumi was his name? Why was he just casually talking to Nana a few episodes back? 5.) Why don’t we see him until the final few moments in the finale? 6.) WHY DID HE RAPE KANAME?! 7.) WHY WAS THIS SCENE A THING? 8.) I don’t want to say Kaname deserved it, buuuuuut… Uuuggghhh…Mumble, mumble. I can’t finish that thought. 9.) These site administrators are probably pissed and are going to want revenge on these magical girls. What’s going on here?

…Let me guess, I need to read the manga to get all my questions answered…

FUCKING FIGURES!

Seriously...what Misumi did. That scene is forever etched in my brain forever. Next to that scene of Kaname wiggling his junk in front of a guy.

This anime was pretty bad. No wait...

This anime was way too edgy for me! Episode 1 was just absolute torture porn involving Aya. The first episode managed to combine the bully scene in Vivid Strike, the puppy killing scene in Elfen Lied, and every bullying episode of Hell Girl all into one single episode. As for the rest of this series, they go above and beyond to grab some of the worst aspects of other animes and implement them here. Aya’s older brother almost has a God-complex that rivals that of Light Yagami of Death Note. Nijimi has a devoted fan that’s almost crossing over from the movie Perfect Blue. Body mutilation scenes on levels not seen since Higurashi! And fill this world up with the worst kinds of humans imaginable like in Elfen Lied! This was just too much hatred! Too much!

Add to that, there’s absolutely no resolution to this story. Yes, Aya and Yatsumura are alive and together. But guys, there are still some other-worldly strong site administrators looming! Tempest is still happening. KANAME IS STILL FUCKING ALIVE…literally and figuratively speaking! And with how much this anime has been panned by anime fans across the board, I doubt if this anime will ever receive a sequel. Guys, if you want a really good 12-episode anime about magical girls with an edge, just watch Madoka Magica. But if you’re a curious idiot like me, whatever, you do you!

As this anime is an Amazon Prime exclusive, I’m afraid that’s the only legal outlet for this.

Now that this is over, my next Amazon/Netflix/Crunchyroll anime is…

Grand Blue!

Oh, it’s set in a cute ocean town. Am I going to enjoy some cute absurdity like I did with Tsuritama?

Sort of!

OH GOOD FUCK, WHAT FRAT HOUSE WAS THIS BIRTHED FROM?!

#anime review #magical girl site #mahou shoujo site #aya asagiri #tsuyuno yatsumura #kaname asagiri #sarina shizukume

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higuchimon · 4 years

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[fanfic] Rewards of Losing: Chapter 22

Mizael considered as he hurried along, then tapped his deck. “Jinlong,” he murmured. “Could you go and check for me? See if that is Marufuji and what he’s doing here?” That chill warned him of something but he wasn’t sure what.

The golden dragon appeared before him, a very amused twinkle in his ancient eyes. “As you wish.” That was all he said and Mizael wondered what he had in mind as the spirit vanished.

Doing this wouldn’t get him information too much faster, but he would at least know if he should keep going or find somewhere else to occupy his time. He did pause to check on a couple of his favorite wisteria vines – for purely Healer reasons, of course – and headed on his way to where he’d seen them.

Jinlong swooshed back over to him, slipping to human form, looking even more satisfied than he usually did.

“It is Marufuji. And, it seems, his brother and a pair of friends from Fusion. From what I overheard, they’ve all defected to our side.”

Mizael’s heart jumped at that. He told it to behave itself. “Is that all?” There had to be something more. People didn’t just defect for no reason at all.

But now Jinlong turned a fraction more serious. “Yes. It seems that he’s frosted over.”

Frosted over. His fires turned inward and become ice. Mizael pressed his lips together. Then he turned and hurried on to his tent. He’d kept something there ever since it had become his current home.

Once he had it, he followed Jinlong’s directions to where Marufuji lay, sleeping off the change in his powers. He passed Rio along the way, who gave him a very amused look.

“You’re going to him, aren’t you?” Rio asked. He didn’t deny that. “He won’t wake up until probably tomorrow. Don’t try to change that. Kei’s with him.”

“All right.” The last thing Mizael thought he needed right now was anyone trying to matchmake. He and Marufuji could settle this on their own.

The other Fusion Firestarter regarded him thoughtfully as well. “So you're Mizael? I’ve heard a little about you. Tenjoin Asuka.”

“Himura Akane,” the other girl said, wiggling her fingers in a little wave. She looked more nervous than her companion did. “A pleasure to meet you.”

He nodded. “Perhaps we can have time to talk later.” He wouldn’t mind learning more about other Firestarters of Fusion. It might help in any number of ways to learn what they were like.

“Just let me know,” Tenjoin agreed before she, Himura, and Rio moved onward. Mizael continued his own trek, thoughts turning back to his own issues.

The closer he got to the medical tent where Marufuji slept, the lower the temperature became. The local foliage wasn’t iced over, but he suspected that had something to do with the Firestarters roaming the area keeping things in as much balance as possible.

There weren’t any guards outside of the tent. Perhaps with Kei there, they didn’t feel the need. He poked his head through the flap and looked around. Several cots filled the tent and a few people rested in some of them, mostly those injured thanks to those solid holograms Fusion used.

These were the lucky ones, who hadn’t been carded.

But then he spied Kei seated next to a cot, and on that cot – Mizael’s heart leaped up to his throat and he fought it back down. He pressed his lips together, then moved inside.

Kei saw him, of course, and probably smelled him as soon as he entered. The other Healers who moved here and there through the tent checking on their patients greeted him with quiet nods that he returned.

Marufuji lay on the far side of the tent, in a sheltered and quiet area that didn’t have any other patients around. Mizael stared at him for a few moments. He’d never seen the Firestarter – Frostflame – this quiet before. Granted, they’d never spent much quiet time together anyway.

Kei watched him, the tip of his tail twitching, ears pointed towards them. When Mizael said nothing, he chuckled.

“I would hate to say I told you so, but – I told you so.” There was definite smugness there. Mizael snorted.

“Did you?”

Kei flicked his tail a little more. “I did. I said that he might want to come back. You can ask him when he wakes up but what I can tell you is that his brother and I cleared out a lot of memory altering drugs and Firedamp from him.”

Oh. Mizael knew he should have been a great deal more upset over that. It really wasn’t that he wasn’t angry but – he didn’t even know. He wanted to talk to Marufuji. He wanted to hear his own words.

There was a slim chair not that far away. Mizael brought it over and settled down into it. He pulled out the card he’d dropped by his tent to pick up and looked at it.

Cyber Dragon Nova rose up from the card, looked around, then caught sight of Marufuji. He blinked, then peered down closer before he looked at Mizael.

“He’s a Frostflame now,” the metallic spirit murmured. “I – can’t say that I’m surprised.”

Mizael shook his head. “Neither am I.” There’d always been a hint of something there. He’d put it out of his mind with everything else that had happened.

Nova settled down on Marufuji’s other side. “Do you think he would want me in his deck now?”

“We’ll ask,” Mizael promised. Then something else occurred to him. “Have you found any of your friends here?”

The tip of Nova’s tail twitched. “I think so, actually. I haven’t been able to find out where but I think I can sense Cyber Dragon Infinity somewhere around here.”

“Maybe you can go looking later,” Mizael suggested. Nova nodded, settling down to watch Marufuji. Mizael leaned back into his chair and wondered how long it would be until Marufuji woke up.

Akane sent darting little glances here and there as they moved on through the camp. The more that she saw, the more her stomach tightened and turned and she wanted to find some nice place to upend the contents.

There were too many people crammed into this place that had once been a truly beautiful Garden. She could still see the Garden parts, but so much of it had now been turned into a place to grow food instead of having the freedom and relaxation to create beauty. Even the trees that provided shade also frequently had mushrooms or berry bushes growing underneath them and they looked young.

The people tried not to jam too much around themselves, but they weren’t always succeeding. There had to be more of them than this – and if there weren’t, then it was even worse than she’d thought at first. A thriving city that now had been reduced to little more than rubble and far too many people carded.

Even one person is too many. She wished she knew if the process could be undone. The question had been raised before – by one of the more bloodthirsty troop captains she’d known. The teacher who’d been asked merely replied that they didn’t need to know. The cards they collected were to be handed over and whatever happened to them after that wasn’t anyone else’s business but the Professor’s.

The Frostflame they walked with gestured to a tent ahead of them. “You two probably need to rest. We can talk about what else you can do after that.” She worried at her lip. “Be careful about who you talk to. Not everyone's going to be welcoming. Her smile was a sudden slash of ice. “But if anyone gives you trouble, tell them to take it up with me. I would have been First Flame if I didn’t frost over.”

Asuka nodded. “Not a problem.”

Inside the tent there wasn’t much – two cots, two chairs, and a small box that Akane guessed would be used for storage. She settled down on one of the chairs, letting herself relax for the first time since she’d arrived in Fusion with Kei.

“We did it,” she whispered. They’d fled Fusion, defected to XYZ. What came next she didn’t know at all. Only that they would have to do something.

Asuka sat in the other chair, staring down at her duel disk. “We did. And – thank you. If you hadn’t told me what was going on, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Akane managed to smile. It wasn’t a big one, more the faintest turning up of her lips. But she tried. “You would have figured it out. I believe in you.”

“Thank you.” Asuka’s smile was a little warmer. “But I might not have until it was too late.” She shook her head, glancing to the tent flap. “What’s important is that we’re here now. We can help.”

“And we will.” Akane didn’t even want to card Fusion soldiers, but she thought she could if she had to. It wasn’t as if they would go away if they were asked nicely. And if we do, we’re going to fight them fairly first.

Vector lounged back in an extremely comfortable chair, nibbling on a frosted doughnut, a cup of hot chocolate next to him. These weren’t his particular new quarters but they were suitable enough for now.

In point of fact, these were Yuuri’s rooms. Not his Garden but his room inside the school building itself. They were every bit as full of plants as any proper Healer’s room should be and every plant there currently was bent over Yuuri’s bed, trying to keep some sort of attention on him.

After all, plants didn’t have eyes.

Yuuri lay on his bed, tucked up under a warm blanket, sleeping a very deep sleep. He wasn’t going to properly wake up until his Garden thawed out and started getting back to normal.

It would be so easy to kill him right now. Vector knew that he could have his knife into Yuuri’s heart in a single breath. But he held back his hand. There were too many plants here that would probably tattle on him to any passing Fusion Healer and he didn’t want to have to put up with being chased by Fusion people.

He had other plans regarding Yuuri anyway. He’d had them ever since he’d first met Dennis.

I suppose I should get around to telling Dennis that I’m here. The spy would be checking on his friend sooner or later. He could wait until then. It would be so much more interesting to see Dennis’s reaction when their paths crossed again.

He sipped at the chocolate and considered his options. The Professor, arrogant jerk that he was, insisted that Vector stay with Yuuri until he woke up. Guards stood outside the door, and probably near the windows, making sure that Vector didn’t get any ideas about sneaking out.

As if he couldn’t pop back to XYZ whenever he wanted. They hadn’t taken away his stolen duel disk. But for now, Vector remained content to enjoy himself.

I think I’ll order steak tonight. He might even send it back a time or two, just to annoy whoever the kitchen staff was around here.

But that would come later. Right now he savored his doughnut and chocolate and kept an eye on Yuuri. The other Healer slept in the deepest of sleep – probably not much different from a coma. He could be kept alive with a judicious application of Vector’s own power, ensuring that he didn’t need to eat that much, which also meant he wouldn’t need certain other care.

The downside of that would be that when Yuuri got around to waking up, he’d be ravenous. Usually it was only Firestarters that preferred meat but after this experience he suspected Yuuri would want at least two steaks himself. Anything and everything that would work his strength back up.

A small flytrap nudged at Yuuri’s hand. It looked very young. Vector could hear it whispering.

Healer? Wake up, Healer.

“He won’t. Not yet, anyway. His main Garden’s been sent to the ice age,” Vector told the flytrap. The plant wiggled its leaves a bit, turning its head towards Vector before going back to Yuuri.

Wake up, Healer, the flytrap murmured again and again. Vector snorted. He understood plants but seeing how limited they could be got on his nerves. Though there were good sides to it – the loyalty of a plant never wavered, especially if you were the Healer who grew it.

His plants had all loved him. He’d spent so many long and happy hours in his Garden, digging and pruning and raising his favored plants by hand.

And these Fusion bastards came along and burned it. He’d felt every bit of it dying, seared to ashes.

He would bring all of Fusion down because of that. It might take a while – it surely would – and he would have to smile and simper at them. They would believe him harmless. They would believe him committed to their cause.

And they would learn differently.

Four traitors. And Yuuri is out of commission as well. Akaba Leo did not like the events of the day and to his annoyance, there wasn’t anything he could do about them. He didn’t have enough troops to systemically tear apart Heartland, not when he was preparing for another attack on another city in XYZ.

He knew that the girl he searched was in Heartland but spreading the assault out would provide more carded souls for the Arc-V device and he needed all the help he could get with that.

Could Dennis complete the task of taking the girl? It wasn’t impossible. He’d already met her and could be useful in luring her somewhere. But Leo wasn’t ready to take that step. It would be more useful for Yuuri to do the deed, especially since he’d already ordered Dennis to start getting ready for his next mission in Standard.

That one would take a while, as it involved establishing Dennis’s existence there as a matter of course, and making sure no one was going to find out it was all computer hacking and lies. It would have been more useful if he’d still had Marufuji ready to go there as well.

How had he misread Marufuji so badly? How could the boy have actually been so angry when he didn’t get what he wanted? It was only an XYZ Healer and a Cat. Neither of those should have been that important to him. The bonds between Healers and Firestarters flummoxed him even after all this time.

And a Cat. How ridiculous. And then Marufuji dared to frost over.

He sent out a memo – anyone who could bring in those four carded would receive a large bonus and command of their own battalion. Truth to tell, he wasn’t expecting it. Yuuri might be able to pull it off – he was vindictive enough that he’d probably go after Marufuji for freeing his garden – but anyone else wouldn’t be likely.

But perhaps someone would get lucky.

Word spread throughout the Resistance pretty quickly. Four defectors from Fusion – one of whom would be helping them figure out the ins and outs of Fusion duels disks, two of whom would help with the war effort itself, and the fourth – well, he’d just become a Frostflame and hadn’t woken up yet. It would be decided what he did once he recovered.

Shun heard all of that and dismissed most of it. If they were going to be useful, just as well. If not, then they could defect over and over and he didn’t care. He had more important things to worry about, like keeping an eye on Ruri and going out to find other Fusion fighters who still kept trying to card them and stomping them as hard as he could. The sooner that he got one of those disks that would enable him to card his enemies, the better.

Right now, though, what he did was start going through all of his card collection, the ones that didn’t work with his Raid Raptors deck but which he didn’t want to get rid of. He’d heard a lot of rumors about what these defectors used in their decks and something sparked a vague memory.

“Brother? What are you doing?” Ruri peeked in on him. “I’m going to go meet that new Firestarter, the one from Fusion. Did you want to come?”

“Are you sure that’s safe?” Shun glanced towards her. He didn’t care what the defectors did, as long as they didn’t do it around his sister. She would forever be n exception. She was, after all, the only family that he had left.

Ruri sighed. “Yes. I’m sure. Rio-san and Kotori-san will be there.”

Shun wasn’t entirely certain if that would be a good enough protection for her, but he knew how stubborn she could be. If he said she couldn’t then she’d just do it anyway. Just like she hung out with students from the other schools. That had come out well enough but in this case…

Well, if anything happened, they’d find out how hot his fire could burn.

“Ah!” He pulled the card he’d thought he remembered out of the box and stared at it. “This is what I was looking for.”

Ruri came over and peered at it. “That one? Why? It’s not one of yours.” She grinned. “Or one of mine.”

Shun rolled his eyes. “Of course it isn’t. Didn’t you hear? That new Frostflame uses Cyber Dragons. If he really intends to work with us, then he should have a proper deck, and that means using this.”

He stared down at it. The monster would never work in his deck, but it should be perfect for the newcomer. It even seemed to work with Fusion decks.

Odd, that.

“He’s still asleep,” Ruri pointed out. Shun shrugged.

“So I’ll leave it there if I have to.” He wanted to see the look in the other’s eyes when he saw the card, though. What would Marufuji Ryou’s reaction be to Cyber Dragon Infinity?

To Be Continued

Notes: The building blocks for the future beyond this fic are being set… Also, an unbonded Healer having their garden burned to ash? Vector’s lucky he didn’t go suicidal instead of homicidal.

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #ygobb2020 #ygo gx #ygo zexal #ygo arc-v #marufuji ryou #mizael #yuuri (Arc-V)#chapters: rewards of losing #au: healer firestarter

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higuchimon · 4 years

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[fanfic] Rewards of Losing: Chapter 19

Shou kept his arms tight around Ryou. His brother hadn’t ever been one for hugging, but he needed to keep him like this. If he didn’t, Ryou would fall. He could feel how unsteady the Firestarter was, both of them trembling, for very different reasons. It had been so long since he’d seen his brother – and he could feel all the drugs slugging around in Ryou’s system.

Kei nudged him. “We have to clear him out,” he murmured. “He’ll be more himself without all that going through him.”

Shou nodded. He wasn’t going to question if he could do it; not now, not when Ryou needed help. He would have preferred doing it somewhere else, but their options remained slim. Instead, he turned his attention back to Ryou and closed his eyes, searching for that core of power inside of himself.

He could already feel the brilliant blue-white flames that were Ryou – or should have been. There was something else there as well, and he wondered if that was the Firedamp. He’d never encountered it before, but there was something there. Kei was there as well, a perfect sphere of green-gold energy that wrapped delicate wisps of power all around Ryou.

They were indeed suitable to bond. Shou could see that, now that they were together and he stood next to them. He’d never tried looking at his brother and Yuuri like this. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to anymore. Not when he could see the way that Ryou and Kei’s powers intertwined.

Then Kei’s power reached out to him and wove around him, supporting him. Together they reached for Ryou, Shou’s arms around him, Kei leaning up against him.

Ryou breathed in a stuttering breath, trying even harder to stand and not having that much more luck. He trembled. Shou and Kei could feel the drugs in him, horrid things brewed up by Yuuri, ones that tore into Ryou’s memories, blanking some, rewriting others. One by one they began to undo the effects.

It wasn’t easy. It took time – though neither of them could have said how long that it took. Only that it seemed an instant and an eternity in the same breath.

In all of his life, Shou hadn’t ever seen tears on his brother’s face. He’d never known Ryou could cry. He’d seen him so strong no matter what happened, always convinced that what he did was right. He’d been praised from the moment of birth, told over and over that he was the best of the best, that he could not be wrong as long as he listened to the Professor.

Shou now could feel memories slotting back into place. He wasn’t aware of what Ryou remembered, only that they were there, returning to where they came, unearthing themselves from whatever hidden recesses of his mind that Yuuri’s drug drove them off to.

Getting rid of the Firedamp did something else. The longer they were in there, the more Shou began to shiver. He bit his lip and held back a whimper. Ryou wasn’t supposed to be cold. His flames had always been so bright and so hot, that even if someone had suggested Frostflame to Shou, Shou would have at once insisted that Ryou was far too hot to frost over.

Now he wasn’t so certain. Now he could feel the ice that formed around Ryou’s core. It hadn’t taken over yet – in point of fact, he thought it could be said that ice and flames were in perfect balance right now.

“We have to fix this,” he whispered to Kei. “He’s going to frost over if we don’t.” He’d heard that Firedamp used irresponsibly could do that. He didn’t want that to happen to his brother.

But Kei shook his head. “He can choose.”

Shou blinked, trying to pull himself out of their connection enough to give Kei a very confused look. He wasn’t succeeding very well but the concept came across regardless. “What?” But Frostflames were wrong. A Firestarter's power should never turn on itself like that.

“He can choose. He will choose.” Kei assured him. “One way or the other, he decides what his fires will do – burn or frost. But it’s his decision.” His tail swished as he regarded Ryou, whose eyes were closed and breath coming in short pants. “Let’s get him to sit down until he can walk. We have to leave soon. If this garden is anything like ours at home, then it will be warning Yuuri of our presence.”

Shou started to carefully urge Ryou to sit back down. Ryou, almost always the epitome of grace, all but flopped back. He was still awake, or so Shou thought. But he said nothing, only lay there and trembled as he never had before.

“He’s remembering everything Yuuri made him forget,” Kei murmured. “It started already, just by seeing me. But what we’ve done brought it all back.”

Shou nodded slowly. He chewed on his lip for a second. “You’re going to take him to XYZ, aren’t you?”

“If he wants to go. He will always make his own choices.” Kei assured him.

“Yes.” The word came from Ryou, half-croaked, his throat dry and pained. Shou’s head jerked up to see Ryou looking back at them, his eyes open. He wiped the tears from his face, blinked a few times, then jerked himself over to one side.

Shou heard what happened next. He tried not to look at it but he knew it was there regardless. A tiny part of him didn’t envy Yuuri the cleanup job that he would have. But he reached out to rest one hand on Ryou’s shoulder.

“Are you all right?”

“I’ll define that later. When I’m not here.” Ryou slowly sat back up. He’d never been this pale before but raw determination shone in his eyes. Then he looked at Kei, and Shou saw something else that he’d never seen before – Ryou’s eyes softening. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have listened to you. You were right.”

Kei nudged him. “Don’t worry about it. But what made you realize that?” His eyes rested equally fondly on Ryou. Shou hadn’t seen anything like that since the last time he’d seen a long-term bonded Healer and Firestarter. He’d wondered from then on if he’d ever be able to have a partner like that.

“I asked for you and Mizael to be spared. The Professor – he wanted to have Mizael brainwashed and you – Yuuri’s already said he’s going to card you.” Ryou shook his head. “I can’t let that happen. Mizael wouldn’t be Mizael if he were brainwashed. And you’ve done nothing to deserve being a card.”

His eyes hardened. “Yuuri is cruel.”

It wasn’t the first time Shou heard someone accusing Yuuri of that. It usually came with some flavor of respect or fear. He’d never met heard someone say it with the amount of frozen hatred in Ryou’s voice.

Kei nudged him again. “I think you and Mizael need to have a long talk. But first we need to get you back there. The war isn't going well.”

Ryou nodded, before he twisted over again and Shou heard those sounds he would prefer not to. Slowly Ryou wiped his lips, then started to get to his feet, his movements unsteady but certain. Kei supported him on one side, Shou on the other.

Then Ryou stopped, just as he was on his feet. Shou stared him, worried, until he saw Ryou reach for the necklace he wore. He had a moment to recognize it as red salvia. Only that one moment, because fire flared between Ryou’s fingertips as he yanked the chain off. Another flash, and the tiny flower and the chain attached to it were nothing more than a tiny mess on the floor.

“I will never wear that again,” he murmured. Shou nodded. In the few seconds he’d seen it he’d recognized it as Yuuri’s work. He wouldn’t have wanted to wear it either.

Together the three of them started forward to the outer area of the garden. Shou could feel something wasn’t right as soon as they did. The garden stirred – the garden started to look at them.

“Yuuri knows we’re here,” Kei murmured. “He’s trying to make sure that we don’t leave.

“I don’t know where my duel disk is – or my deck,” Ryou murmured. He had to carry most of his own weight, given how much taller he was than either Shou or Kei. They just made certain that he wasn’t falling. “I could get us to XYZ if I had them.”

“Maybe Yuuri left them around here somewhere?” Shou suggested. Kei breathed in deeply.

“I can check but you’ll have to wait here – and if I can’t find it, then I do have a friend who can help us get back there.”

Ryou nodded, trying not to wobble too much, and took a careful step forward. Shou helped; he’d never realized that his brother could be heavy. They had to get out of here.

Getting in had been easy. Getting in, the garden hadn’t helped them but it hadn’t resisted, either. Now as they struggled to get to the exit, things moved.

Keep them in there, Yuuri hissed in the language of leaf and blossom. Every stride he took brought him closer to his Garden and he wanted those who dared to invade it to still be there when he arrived. He would have everything restrained and ready to be mulched in a matter of moments.

He could feel another Healer next to him – but not one that tried to take over his Garden or take his attuned Firestarter away from him. That one only came along; this must be an ally. Yuuri wasn’t aware of much beyond the burning rage that filled him as surely as fire filled any Firestarter. But he knew who didn’t want to kill from those who would be nothing but food for his flytrap.

There were others in the area, Healers and Firestarters both. He identified each with a flick of his eyes and purred deep in his throat at the sight of them backing away from him. He wanted no one to interfere. He would take care of these intruders on his own.

From the outside, to ordinary eyes, there wasn’t a sign that his Garden had been intruded upon. Yuuri saw the trail of two Healers, the invisible marks that any Healer left behind them. They entered his garden.

Yuuri stalked inside, Vector a breath behind him, and the pathways opened up before them.

“How dare you enter my garden!” Yuuri hissed, hands clenching and unclenching. This didn’t require a duel. This only required blood.

With a flick of a finger, the trees encircling the three figures began to reach towards the two Healers. Here on the grounds of his Garden, Yuuri’s word remained law. There wasn’t anyone who could overrule him here.

“I’m not entering it,” Marufuji Ryou declared, cold eyes touching Yuuri’s. Yuuri held back a shudder that he shouldn’t have felt at all. Just looking there told him what he didn’t want to know – that the Firedamp no longer kept his powers in abeyance.

He would remember. With that look, he clearly remembered everything. Which meant Yuuri would have a great deal of work to do to get him back under control.

“You – go lay back down,” Yuuri ordered. “You shouldn’t be up regardless. You’re still not recovered.”

Marufuji shuddered at the sound of Yuuri’s voice. Exactly what Yuuri wanted. They’d attuned to one another – Yuuri was a Healer. Put those two facts together and there wasn’t any reason for his wayward Firestarter not to immediately return to his bed.

But he stayed where he was. He shook his head, a stubborn set to his jaw. “I’m not going anywhere except back to XYZ.”

Yuuri hissed between his teeth. “You’re not.” Why was he being disobeyed? That shouldn’t have even been an issue. He turned his attention to the other two there. They were just barely managing to keep the tree branches away from them. “What did you two tell him? What did you do to him?”

“We undid what you did.” The Cat declared, leaping above a stretching branch and landing next to Marufuji again, slashing out at a second branch with sharp claws. “You have no right to harm him like this, or in any other way.”

Yuuri couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He slashed one hand through the air and even more of the trees in the area began to move closer. Trees did not often move and they weren’t very fast when they did. But he could keep them here until things were back under control. He wouldn’t need those Firestarters that Akaba ordered around his Garden. In point of fact, he wanted them gone. They annoyed him by existing.

But first these. First he took three steps forward and glared at Marufuji Ryou. The younger one he paid next to no attention to. He knew how strong the brat was – or wasn’t. He might be more useful if he were bonded, but he wasn’t. Yuuri doubted he’d done anything useful at all other than perhaps whining his brother’s name a few times. He could fix what had happened. He just needed them gone.

“I said, go lay down. You stayed too long there. It damaged your mind. You need to heal and they’ve upset what I’ve done.”

“You gave me Firedamp. You stripped memories away that I treasure.” Marufuji bit the words off, fires flaring in defense of the two Healers next to him. Yuuri seethed at the sight. How dare Marufuji do that for anyone who wasn’t him! “I will not be your Firestarter. I won’t do anything for you, ever again.”

Yuuri sighed a long, deep sigh. He held in his temper, at least as much as he could, which really wasn’t much right now. Everything around him that lived and was rooted into the earth swayed and danced and reached towards his targets eagerly. Marufuji’s eyes flicked towards them, singeing their leaves and branches to drive them back. That only made Yuuri angrier and less likely to hold in his temper.

“This is what the Professor wants from you. He wants you to be the soldier you were raised to be,” Yuuri pointed out. “You wouldn’t be who you are if you didn’t.”

“I don’t care.” Marufuji replied without hesitation. “I’m not listening to him or you.”

Yuuri’s hand cut the air again and now two long vines from his flytrap wrapped around Marufuji, binding his arms to his body, then another came to wrap around his legs.

“If I have to rewrite your mind completely, don’t think that I won’t. You’re either going to be mine or if you want a Healer from there that badly, I can make sure you get one.” Yuuri slanted his gaze towards Vector, who stood there lounging against one of the thick-trunked trees, sharpening his knife. He smiled and waved.

“I know Mizael,” he said with far too much cheer. “Frankly, I think you could do better.”

Yuuri turned his attention back to Marufuji Ryou. The vines brought him closer, so he could rest his fingers on the side of his Firestarter’s face.

“Those are your choices. Him or me – and that’s it. But right now, your orders are to quiet down and behave yourself, and to drink your medicine like a good boy.” He gestured and one of the smaller plants lifted a vial from his storage case. He’d stored Marufuji’s deck and duel disk next to it; he’d meant to hand them over to the Professor but that hadn’t been necessary before now. From the way the Cat looked at them, perhaps he should have made the time.

“Let him go!” The command came from the younger Marufuji and the Cat both. Yuuri ignored them; they would have enough to do keeping his dear trees away from them. Their noises meant nothing at all.

Marufuji shook his head. Yuuri paid no mind to that either. He would resist until the medicine took effect. Yuuri was used to that. He picked up the vial and unstopped it. He’d always enjoyed having his ‘treatments’ be something that could be drunk. Those he gave them to needed to know they took it from his own hands and drank it willingly.

As close as he was, he could feel the temperature being off. It should have been warm. His garden needed warmth. But this close to Marufuji, the chill hung there. He’d felt it before, being close to Marufuji. But he’d thought it had something to do with the Firedamp.

Maybe it didn’t. Maybe he needed to -

“No.” Marufuji’s voice snapped. “I’m not listening to you! Ever!” He shook his head and Yuuri caught it.

“You can fight him!” That was the small Marufuji. Yuuri ignored that, even as he kept on repeating. Then the Cat spoke again.

“Decide for yourself, Ryou. Do what you should always do – make your own decisions about your path and your partner.”

Yuuri snorted. What a ridiculous concept. Firestarters were meant to serve Healers. He’d won Marufuji fair and square, and put in a lot of effort on building the foundation for a bond. Marufuji would not choose anyone else. Yuuri reached for Marufuji’s jaw. At the first touch, he pulled his hand back, gasping in shock. Marufuji’s flesh should not have been that cold. Nothing should have been that cold!

“I decide – for you to stop touching me!” Marufuji hissed, jerking his head as far away as his bonds allowed. Yuuri thought that so adorable. “Leave me alone!”

What happened next, Yuuri hadn’t ever imagined could happen or would happen. His garden wasn’t ever supposed to be this cold but in a breath, ice covered every single plant and tree that he could see, and even more that he couldn’t. He could feel everything in the Garden, and it was all iced. He stumbled and fell to his knees, gasping, heart racing.

What happened… why was this happening… he couldn’t think a single coherent though; his entire mind was nothing but a jumble of pain and cold. He felt hands on him, ones that he didn’t recognize, but those weren’t the hands of a Firestarter. He could hear words being spoken but they made no sense. Then, it was just him and the other Healer, and the endless spiral of deep freeze.

To Be Continued

Notes: Six chapters left. Next chapter is one of my favorites!

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #ygobb2020 #YGO GX #ygo zexal #ygo arc-v #marufuji ryou #mizael #yuuri (Arc-V)#chapters: rewards of losing #au: healer firestarter

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higuchimon · 4 years

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[fanfic] Rewards of Losing: Chapter 10

Ryou sagged back onto the couch as Kei vanished out of the window, muttering something to the effect of Ryou being an utter idiot. At the moment Ryou wasn’t sure if he agreed or not. Only a short time earlier he’d been about as happy as he’d ever been. While he still wasn’t certain about bonding to Yuuri, he did want to spend more time around Mizael, and perhaps that could help him make a decision. Having the small scrap of wisteria pleased him too.

He wasn’t sure of where Kei was going or what he had planned. But he also knew what he needed to do – get home. He wanted to talk to the Professor and see if he could get both Kei and Mizael spared from what was to come. He wanted to believe that the Professor would listen to him.

It took no time at all to get back to Fusion – merely the act of strapping his Fusion-built Duel Disk to his arm and activating the signal. Light blinded him for a few seconds, and he found himself in a room he remembered – one where Fusion agents usually appeared when returning from a field mission.

It was late here, too. He’d learned quickly that the worlds ran on more or less the same amount of time. At least Fusion and XYZ did. He’d never visited Synchro or Standard.

The Professor always stays late in his throne room. Ryou wasn’t certain of why the Professor had a throne room as opposed to an office but it wasn’t his place to argue the peculiarities of those higher ranking than he was. Especially not when he needed their help to get what he wanted.

But before he went there, he had one other stop to make. Reaching his own personal quarters from the transport room took a scant ten minutes and he took another few to get into his proper uniform. He needed to look his absolute best for this.

In some ways what he wore now resembled the average Obelisk Blue uniform. In some it didn’t. Golden epaulets adorned the shoulders of his white jacket; his pants remained the same shade of deep blue, but made of finer material than student garb. His leather boots came to mid-calf with slight gold fringes. He rather liked it.

Though he did tend to wear more black when he was in XYZ. It meant less effort trying to pick out something to wear and he’d never been the clothes-horse that Fubuki had been.

Satisfied that he would now be presenting himself as his true identity as a Fusion solider, he headed to the Professor’s throne room. Two guards, both of whom he recognized from his own days as a student, stood outside the door. One of them regarded him.

“We haven’t seen you back in a while, Kaiser,” he said, recalling Ryou’s school nickname. “You’ve been busy, I hear.”

“Yes, I have.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And I have business with the Professor right now. May I enter?”

The guards exchanged a glance, then the one who hadn’t spoken peeked inside. “Sir? Marufuji Ryou is here to speak with you.”

Ryou could not hear the reply, but the door was pushed open a little further. “Enter,” the second guard told him. “But don’t take up too much of his time.”

“Of course.” Ryou briskly entered, hearing his boots click on the floor as he did so. The click ceased when he arrived at the carpet that led up to the throne. When he reached the proper spot, he stopped to bow.

Akaba Leo wasn’t that old – probably in his fifties at the oldest. His uniform wasn’t much unlike those of his students and soldiers, save for the purple color. Only Yuuri wore a similar shade, and most people took that to mean that Yuuri was his most favored one.

“It’s been a while since you were here. I’m glad that you received the message,” Akaba Leo said after a few silent moments. Protocol demanded that he address Ryou before Ryou said anything himself. “I trust you had more to do than simply greet me now that you’ve returned from your mission.”

Ryou drew in a breath. “Yes, sir. I’m aware of the invasion happening. There are, though, two people that I wish to have spared. They have been of – interest to me.” Interest was a good word for this. He didn’t know a better one.

“The duelist Healer Mizael and the Healer Cat Kei.” Leo said quietly. Ryou tensed at that. “I’ve heard of them already.”

Ryou fought to keep himself in perfect stillness. He dared not let himself show a real emotion. Real emotions could get him killed. “From Yuuri, I presume.” Of course it would have been Yuuri.

“Yes.” Leo bent his head. “I've given orders in relation to them already. The duelist may be permitted to join us, if he shows wisdom. The Cat, however, will not. Cats are forbidden.”

“Why?” The word fell out of Ryou’s mouth without a second of hesitation. “There isn’t anything wrong with them.”

One thin eyebrow raised. “They’re forbidden because they are incapable of understanding our goals. They will attempt to dissuade you from doing what is right. That one has already attempted, hasn’t he?”

As much as he’d not been able to deny Kei’s words now he couldn’t say anything to the Professor’s. He forced himself to shake his head. He wasn’t being drawn astray.

Leo’s gimlet gaze never left him. “I think otherwise. I think you’ve been in that world too long.” He tilted his head back, thinking. “While I am pleased to see you returning of your own will instead of having to send someone to get you, that world has changed you in unsuitable ways. Your mission there is complete. You have no further need to recall anything from there.”

It took Ryou a few seconds before he grasped exactly what Leo meant by that. There were plenty of rumors about what the scientists could do to one’s memories. The least terrifying was just to read them in general. That wasn't so bad; it could be very useful when it came to spies relaying what they saw on their missions.

But other rumors spoke in twisted whispers and dark murmurs about how the scientists could rip away every single memory that the victim had, leaving them an empty shell to be rewritten in any way that the scientists – or whoever they were given to – desired.

He started to take a step back, when two pairs of firm hands rested on him. He jerked his head around to see two strange guards there. Both held onto him firmly.

“Have him taken to Memory Lab Thirty-one,” the Professor ordered. “And someone send a message to Yuuri. He’ll want to assist in the reprogramming.”

“Yes, sir,” both of the guards replied. Ryou wasn’t going to let that happen. Fire uncoiled from the deepest part of himself, lashing out at the two guards and knocking them away, the scent of burning flesh arising sharply. Both of them stumbled, hands going to their new burns.

Regardless of what else they thought of him, he was still the most powerful Firestarter in Fusion, and Yuuri wasn’t there to hold him back.

“Marufuji! Stand down!” Leo snapped. For the first time in his lie, Ryou ignored his orders. He kept up a ring of fire all around himself even as he backed out of the throne room and headed away.

He wasn’t at all sure of where he was going. Only that it had to be not here.

Mizael. Kei. XYZ. He would have to tell them the full truth. He would have to apologize for the lies and secrets.

He would have to help them against Fusion.

A thousand other thoughts raced through his mind. Not all of them seemed to be in his voice, but he didn’t have the time to stop and listen to any of them. Instead he closed his eyes and concentrated, lashing out tongues of flame as far as he could, growing the flames faster and faster.

Beyond the roar of his fires he could hear the alarms ringing and a voice ringing out over the intercom system. He wasn’t sure about the words but he suspected the gist of them – rogue Firestarter, do not approach.

He had to go back to XYZ. He could see figures moving beyond the flames and the flames whispered warnings – moments before cold foam started to damp them down.

All right. If this was what they wanted. Ryou reached outward and licked his flames at the base of their clothes, those sentries who would dare try to take him to where he’d get his memories taken away – his self taken away.

They leaped back, yelping in fear and pain, and Ryou smiled. He’d always enjoyed tasting pain himself. It helped him know that he was alive and that he’d won. But extending it to others had a certain appeal to it as well.

Especially right now, when it got him enough space to tap his duel disk. In that same moment, something flicked through the fires and buried itself into his upper shoulder. Ryou had time only to utter one startled cry before everything turned black and the world quietly stepped away.

Soft fingers threaded their way through his hair. That was the first thing that Ryou became aware of again. After that came the fact he rested on something soft. He twitched a fraction. The hand continued to soothe.

Was it – someone he wanted? Ryou wasn’t sure. Everything fuzzed in his head. He’d been somewhere – somewhere he didn’t think he wanted to be anymore. There wasn’t anyone there he wanted to have around. But there was someone that he wanted. Two someones?

A flicker of gold flashed through his memory, muddled and fuzzy and indistinct and he tried his best to seize for it, only to have it fade away again. A breath later, another image, this time of cool gray eyes, regarded him, backed up by black fur.

Fur? That wasn’t right. Shou had gray eyes but blue hair, a lighter shade of his own. This – really wasn’t right. He twitched harder, and the hand in his hair moved downward to rest against his throat.

“Are you waking up?” A familiar voice murmured. Oh, yes, he knew who that was. He just knew that he didn’t want to hear it right now.

His eyes flew open to see Yuuri smiling down at him. Not one of those smiles that meant anything good, of course. But a smile that meant Yuuri was about to hurt someone and thoroughly enjoy it.

Ryou tried to open his mouth to rage. He found a breath later that he could not – some sort of vine wrapped all around him and set between his teeth kept him from speaking, let alone moving. Yuuri chuckled as soon as Ryou’s reactions revealed he noticed.

“You’re not going anywhere until I’m ready to take us back to Fusion,” Yuuri said, tapping him on the nose. “The Professor is very angry at you. But I managed to talk him into letting me deal with you. We're still going to bond. At least we are unless I find I like someone else better. But regardless, until that happens, you’re mine in every sense of the word.”

Ryou tried with all of his might to wriggle out of his bonds. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t get his flames to ignite at all. Yuuri chuckled in amusement.

“You won’t be getting out of that. I hit you up with a very special little drug after I got here.” Yuuri gestured around and Ryou realized they were in his own apartment in XYZ. The vines were from the flytrap, which was a great deal bigger than it had been. Yuuri must have pumped it full of energy to get it that big in the span of – not very long? He thought?

Yuuri tapped to get his attention again. “Perhaps you've heard of Firedamp?”

Firedamp. Oh, he’d heard of it. Firedamp neutralizes a Firestarter's powers for – I don’t know. It depends on the size of the dose. How much did he give me?

Yuuri kept on smiling down at him. “I guess you have heard of it then. So you’re probably wondering how much I put in you. Let’s say – you’re not going to flame again until after you’ve been wiped and I’ve put into your memories exactly what I want you to have.” He leaned closer. “We can start with absolute obedience to me.”

Ryou shook his head relentlessly. He didn’t want that at all! Nor would the Professor want it – he couldn’t! But Yuuri didn’t stop smiling. He at least thought he could get away with it.

“Now, while I was waiting for you to wake up, I found this.” Yuuri raised up something and Ryou recognized it as the silk-wrapped wisteria vine Mizael had given to him. “You got this from him, I see. I can feel his power in this.” His nose wrinkled. “You really have been disloyal to me.”

Ryou wanted to say that he hadn’t – that what he felt for Mizael was so different from Yuuri, that he hadn’t cheated. But the vines wrapped around him continued to keep him firmly in place. He couldn’t so much as voice a squeak in protest.

Yuuri slipped the vine into his own pocket. “I’ll take care of this, and him, shortly.” He regarded Ryou thoughtfully. “But what to do with you for now? I do intend to have that duel – and card him in front of you.” He tapped his fingers on Ryou’s arm. “You won’t protest, either. Even if you wanted to, you won’t. I can assure you on that. But we have time left until the duel. So what do I do with you until then? I’d rather not wipe your mind before then. It will be so much more entertaining to have you fully aware of who that Cat and Healer are when I tear up their cards in front of you.”

Ryou strained so hard that he tasted the vine on his tongue. Yuuri tapped him on the nose again. “Stop doing that. You’re not going anywhere. If I have to put you to sleep again, I will. I probably should.”

Now Ryou tried his best to shake his head. He didn’t want to be that vulnerable around Yuuri. But Yuuri didn’t seem to notice, or care if he did. Instead, he turned his attention to the sunlight starting to pour in through the window.

Kei knows. Kei’s probably already told Mizael. Ryou bit the vine as hard as he could and gasped out a pair of muffled words.

“They – know -” He tried to say more but the tine tightened at Yuuri’s stern look. Yuuri drummed his fingers in thought.

“They know. They know the invasion is coming?” He tilted one eyebrow a fraction. Ryou tilted his head the bit he was allowed, staring down at his bonds. Without his flames he couldn’t do anything to get out of this The vines wrapped around his wrists and ankles, keeping his wrists held firmly behind his back, and another vine tight around his throat. If he fought too hard, it would cut off his air.

Yuuri’s lips pressed together before a joyous smile broke over his features. “Then I’ll just have to do a little talking to them. At least to that Healer – who knows where that mangy Cat is.”

Kei’s not mangy! Ryou mentally snapped. He hated not being able to call the flames. Was this how people who weren’t Firestarters felt? There was such a huge swirl of emptiness inside of himself. Nothing felt right. His stomach was empty and his head stuffed with cotton and he wasn’t sure how much of that was because of the drug that knocked him out, the Firedamp, or who knew what.

Yuuri rose up. “This won’t take me long. And yes, I know where he lives. I took the liberty of checking the number he gave you already. He really shouldn’t have done that, you know.”

If Ryou had had any notion of what would happen, he would have made sure that Mizael didn’t do that. But he couldn’t stop it now.

“Keep a good grip on him,” Yuuri ordered the flytrap, giving it another surge of energy. “I’ve got plans for when I get back.” His eyes glittered a cold amethyst. “Very painful plans.”

He wiggled his fingers. “You be a good boy while I’m gone. I want you right where you are when I come back. I might thin the dosage a little if you do exactly as you’re told.” Yuuri shrugged. “But I probably won’t.”

Yuuri strolled out the door, closing and locking it behind him. Ryou glared; he’d set it up so only someone he trusted could have locked or unlocked the door. That had been Yuuri, not all that long ago. Now that led to where he was now.

He dropped his head back as best he could. Again and again he tried to get to his flames but they weren’t there. It wasn’t that they were there and he couldn’t reach them. It was as if they’d never been there in the first place. It wasn’t right.

This is going to last for days. Until after the invasion starts. That wasn’t what he wanted. He still wasn’t sure what he wanted, let alone what he would be able to get.

All of his upbringing and his logic told him that what he needed to do was get back on Yuuri and the Professor’s good side. To submit to having his memories wiped and become the good soldier of Fusion that he’d been just the day before – right until being a good solider of Fusion threatened to take away people that he’d never imagined were that important to him until they weren’t going to be there anymore.

You never know what you have until you’re going to lose it, Ryou realized. He hadn’t lost it yet. But it hovered between his fingertips and his grip was slipping fast.

To Be Continued

Notes: And now the real evil begins! Insert cackling here.

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #ygobb2020 #YGO GX #ygo zexal #ygo arc-v #marufuji ryou #mizael #yuuri (Arc-V)#chapters: rewards of losing #au: healer firestarter

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higuchimon · 4 years

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[fanfic] Rewards of Losing: Chapter 9

Cyber Dragon Nova coiled around, peering with interest at all the different places in this apartment. It was small, of course, but it had all the comforts that a human needed, especially a Firestarter. He approved of the small fireplace, even though there wasn’t a fire burning there now. He presumed that the Firestarter – Marufuji Ryou, he reminded himself – would reignite the flames when he returned.

He wound his way over to a window and peered outside. Anyone who looked back wouldn’t be able to see him, unless they could see spirits. That wasn’t unknown in this world, as Mizael proved.

There wasn’t anyone out there though. Just as well; he wouldn’t want to see that other Healer, the one that tried to court Ryou and wasn’t meant for him. Kei could tell. Cyber Nova could as well. But Ryou wouldn’t be able to tell for himself until he stopped telling himself all those comforting lies.

From the moment that he’d become aware of Ryou’s existence, he not only knew how strong of a Firestarter the Cyber duelist was, but the way that strength could turn in on itself. That other Healer wasn’t the sort of person who could support a proper Frostflame.

“No. He isn’t. But Ryou is not yet ready to accept that.”

Cyber Nova turned at the voice and bent his head down at once. Any Cyber dragon would display respect in the presence of Cyber End Dragon – the greatest of their kind.

“Greetings,” Cyber Nova murmured. “It’s been a very long time, hasn’t it?”

“More time than I care to think.” Cyber End coiled himself together, all three heads staring downward at Nova. “Not since we were all in the Cyber Castle.”

Cyber Nova released a small sigh, or what would have been one with a more organic creature. “I remember.” There all the different Cyber creatures lived, those who were dragons and those who weren’t. Ogres and warriors and a few others, all working together to help one another. Their Summoning Types didn’t matter there.

“Have you seen Cyber Dragon Sieger lately?” Cyber End asked, coiling its great length all through the chamber. Nova shook his head.

“The last that I saw him, he was asleep, and likely to stay that way for a while. I don’t think this world has the skill to summon him,” Nova answered. Cyber End sighed himself.

“You’re probably right. We could have used his help to awaken Ryou to the truth.”

Nova twitched the tip of his tail. At least Cyber End didn’t seem to take his presence wrongly. “Then you want him to change?”

“All of us do, the Cyber Dragons and the Cyberdarks alike,” Cyber End told him. “We will welcome you into the deck when Ryou chooses to welcome you as well. We must make that happen – this world is too close to being invaded by another.”

Nova raised his head at once. “What do you mean, invasion?”

The tale that unfolded from there sent shivers down Nova’s spine and all through his body. An entire dimension, an army poised to sweep in and unleash destruction on a scale that this world couldn’t fight back against.

“How do we stop it?” Nova wanted to know, tail twitching even faster. There had to be a way. He just didn’t know.

But Cyber End slowly shook his heads. “There is no way that we can do it. Humans could – but there is no way for us to do it. We do not have a true form in this world, not one that could make a difference.”

“Can’t we tell humans?” Nova asked. “There are a few here who can see and speak to us. Mizael – he gave my card to Ryou – he can do it. He knows something is going on.”

Cyber End nodded his acknowledgment, three heads moving in unison. “But what could he do? The invasion will be soon. No one knows when, but to convince those in power to even prepare the beginnings of resistance? And is the fact that he can do this known? Would he be trusted?”

Nova’s head drooped, wings folding and unfolding. He’d not gotten out much into the world, waiting inside of his card for the proper duelist to come along. But he knew anyway.

“No.”

Cyber End nodded slightly. “I don’t know what we’ll be able to do. But Ryou must choose sooner or later. Probably sooner. The goals that Akaba Leo wishes to accomplish are wrong.”

“Then what we need to do is encourage him to not support Fusion anymore,” Nova said. It seemed a bit simple to him.

Again the three silver heads shook in denial. “He’s been raised his entire life to trust and obey Akaba Leo. Until the Professor does something to openly break Ryou’s trust, then he will not turn away from him.”

Nova growled out a word that by all rights should have set fire to the carpet and drapes. Cyber End gave him a reproving look, but Nova didn’t take back the word. He didn’t understand humans. It was so simple to see it all. Why could Ryou not see it?

End reached over to nuzzle against him. “Patience, young one. He is a true and powerful Firestarter. He will see the truth in due time. We must have faith in him.” The ends of their tail twitched lightly. “He has already made the first steps necessary by accepting ownership of you. If he hadn’t done so, even without being aware of it, you and I wouldn’t be able to speak now.”

“That's true,” Nova agreed. He tilted his head. “What about the rest of his deck?”

“They will speak to you another time. But we do need something from you, if you can make the effort.”

Cyber Nova rose as high up as he could, frill extending. “I can do anything you need me to do!”

“Call to him, then. Speak to his heart, as a spirit will to the duelist meant to be their partner. That can encourage him to stretch himself into new directions and doing that will encourage him to make the changes that will lead him away from Fusion's twisted path.”

“That I can definitely do!” Nova declared, head held high and firm. It would not be difficult at all to do this. He would have to wait until Ryou came home and was near enough to him to do it, but he could do it.

Cyber End nodded, then the center head tilted quizzically. “There is another in this world, isn’t there?”

Nova considered. He’d been away from most of the other Cyber Dragons since linking himself to the card. He’d been aware of the presence of one of the others but that one hadn’t made themselves known yet. Now he cast his awareness outward, reaching until he brushed against another.

There was a difference in the feel between all monsters, based off of their Summons type. A different set of tingles or their auras, whatever the words one wished to use, for Normal Summons, Rituals, Fusion, or XYZ. There were other sensations, or so Nova thought, for other methods. But those were the ones that he was familiar with to whatever degree.

Oh. So that was it.

“I haven’t seen him in ages,” he murmured. “Cyber Dragon Eternity.” Eternity could be called his elder, or something to that effect. Human terms didn’t always apply to spirits.

“Could he be of assistance as well?” Cyber End’s heads coiled gently around one another, metallic scales scraping together.

Slowly Nova’s frill retreated. “I don’t know. I can’t even tell where he is right now.” Tail tip twitched. “I can keep searching, though.”

Cyber End agreed. “Do the best that you can. We don’t know how much time we have left.”

Nova agreed. Perhaps if he could at least persuade Ryou to carry his card around, he would have a better chance to locate Cyber Dragon Eternity’s card. The other XYZ Cyber Dragon would be so very useful in the deck, and in helping Ryou become the person that he should be.

“Now, Nova. Speak to us of this other Healer, the one from this world.” Cyber End regarded him with a hint of amusement. “You know him, do you not?”

Nova's head ducked down at once. “Only a little. He wants to help Ryou too.”

“As we are aware. Would he seek to bond with Ryou?” Sharp eyes regarded Nova. “Or is there another purpose for his actions?”

That brought Nova to a quick halt. He turned slowly, frill rising some. “Another purpose?” He hadn’t heard Mizael talk too much about Ryou, but he knew that Mizael wouldn’t even think about poaching.

But would it be poaching when that other Healer was so very wrong for Ryou and both Mizael and the Healer Cat Kei – who still snored peacefully in the chair – were so much better for him? They would never hurt him, not like that other one did. Nova hadn’t seen him but just the feeling he got was enough to spark dislike.

“We shall see, then, won’t we?” Cyber End mused, and faded back into the deck, leaving Nova to his own very confused thoughts.

Ryou entered his apartment, closing and locking the door absently, his thoughts more on the scrap of wisteria vine enclosed in a silken wrapping than anything else. Mizael promised that he would find a way to seal it up in glass to preserve it. Ryou liked the thought of that.

He glanced around the room as he entered, snorting softly to himself at the sight of the Cat still asleep on the chair. He settled himself down on the couch and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling. He wanted to go to bed, but he wanted to rest a little first, to get his thoughts in order.

They didn’t know each other very well. They’d really only had two conversations between the two of them. Yet Ryou could not deny that he found himself more interested in Mizael than he was in anyone else. His true romantic options had always been few and far between. This was different.

He rested the vine on his leg, one hand on top of it. For a rare time in his life he found himself absolutely at peace. He wasn’t sure of how long it would last – probably not nearly long enough – but he would enjoy it while he could.

A tiny beeping interrupted his relaxation. He blinked, slowly realizing that it had been going on since he’d returned home.

At first he wasn’t sure of what it was – then he realized. It could only been one thing. He heaved himself up, taking care to set the vine down where it couldn’t be harmed, then stepped to the private safe hidden behind a painting. The painting itself was of something innocuous, a lovely snow-topped mountain that reminded him of the Cyber Dojo. But it hid the safe where he kept some of his most precious and hidden tools.

Not every hidden agent carried this. But now he pulled out the PDA that had a direct link back to the Fusion dimension. These were kept mostly by students but they were also useful to send messages to agents. Most messages he quickly cleared out; common school garbage.

But then the important one caught his eye and all color drained from his face.

It’s from the Professor.

“What's the problem?”

Ryou didn’t scare easily. In point of fact, he couldn’t recall the last time that he’d been afraid. Now he jerked in surprise, staring at Kei as the Ct strolled up to him. It took him a moment to recover, then he pressed his lips together.

“You have to leave here.”

Kei sat down and coiled his tail around his paws. “That doesn’t tell me what’s bothered you. I’m your Healer Cat. You can trust me.”

“You’re not -” Ryou started, then stopped. Kei wasn’t going to listen to him, so why bother. He suspected the Cat smirked at that. But he shook his head. “You still have to leave. To find somewhere safe.”

Kei regarded him thoughtfully before he reached up and swatted the PDA out of Ryou’s hands with one large paw and tugged it closer to him.

Ryou tried to reach for the PDA, but whatever other talents Kei had, swift reading and comprehension numbered among them. He peered up at Ryou, tail lashing and whiskers twitching.

“The invasion comes this weekend?” Claws slowly slipped in and out. “Tell me what this is, Ryou.”

There was an edge to the words; not quite the overwhelming force that a Healer could put in their words that would bring most Firestarters to heel. But there was a warning there regardless.

Ryou made up his mind in a breath. He picked up the PDA and settled back on the couch. “It’s exactly what it says. This weekend there will be an invasion of this world from mine – the Fusion Dimension. It’s why I’m here. Getting rid of those who would strive to rise up against our warriors when they arrive before they have a chance to do so.”

Kei coiled back up on the chair and stared at him thoughtfully. “As I said before, you know what you’re doing is wrong.” There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his tones.

Oddly enough, his eyes seemed to shift away from Ryou, tracking an empty speck of air for a few seconds.

Ryou shook his head. “No. This is for the greater good of everyone. XYZ will be better when it’s over. There will be a lot of pain at first, but out of the ashes will come a new dawn.” He smiled, thinking of all the lectures he’d attended where the Professor explained what he wanted of them. Now that glorious time was about to come to fruition.

Oh. That meant that Mizael would be in danger, and Ryou couldn’t do anything about it. He wouldn’t be able to warn him or give the slightest hint that something was coming. Not a word could be spoken. Kei would be the same way, if he hadn’t already read the alert.

He would ask if Mizael could be spared. He had time – the invasion wasn’t for two more days. Mizael remained a fantastic duelist. The Professor would certainly see the benefits of keeping him alive.

What about Kei? He wasn’t sure of what to think of that. The Cat simply installed himself into Ryou’s life and didn’t seem inclined to leave. Which meant that Ryou would have to be the one to do it.

He shook his head again. “If you don’t leave, then you’ll be in danger. You will be no matter what. Heartland is only the beginning. It will take some time but we’re going to take this entire world.”

Kei’s claws came out again, teeth sharp as he spoke. “Not so easily as you may think. This world will fight those who try to take it.”

“You won’t succeed.” Ryou pointed out. “It’s better if you just surrender.”

A sharp slap across his face came from a heavy paw and Kei stood astride him, glaring. “This world will not fall. And if it should, we will shake off your shackles and take back what it ours. We are not spineless, to fall because of stern looks or prattling of children who have forgotten to think for themselves.”

“Are you calling me a child?” Ryou snapped, raising one hand to push the Cat away, realizing at the same time how heavy the creature was. Kei didn’t go anywhere.

“Yes. I am. You’ve been hurting people and you plan to hurt more. Your allies intend to invade and conquer a world that isn’t theirs and you think that’s fine.” Kei’s gray eyes burned into him, brighter than his own lames, and hotter. “How can you do this? Why would you do this? And do not tell me an answer that even hints at that foolish Professor’s name.”

Ryou started to open his mouth and closed it again. There wasn’t an answer that he could give that didn’t involve Akaba Leo. Kei snorted as the minutes dragged on.

“I didn’t think so.” Kei pressed down harder. “There’s nothing you can do to stop this?”

“I wouldn’t if I could,” Ryou spat the words out. “What do I care about this world? Or any of you?”

Kei growled deep in his throat. “Can you say that you don’t care about Mizael? Or me?”

Once again Ryou wanted to say something but words failed him. His gaze fell on the wisteria vine. A handful of minutes earlier he’d been thinking about how rare it was to find someone that he could like the way that he cared for Mizael.

“I can keep him safe,” Ryou said at last. “I’ve done good work. The Professor would grant me that.” He swallowed for a heartbeat. “And I’m sure that he would do the same for you, if I asked.”

“Really.” Kei bit through the word as if he were biting through flesh. “You didn’t even know my kind existed. Do you think your Professor had nothing to do with that?”

Again all the words froze in Ryou’s throat. He wanted to believe that the Professor had nothing to do with that. Perhaps Healer Cats and Fire Cats just didn’t exit in Fusion.

The rules. No one could have pets of any kind. Determining who could and couldn’t bond. A practical arrangement to make certain those of the appropriate power levels bonded to one another or something else altogether? He could no longer be certain. Not with Kei staring him in the face with such fury.

Not when he’d heard Mizael's tales of how he and others had not quite courted, though he’d sort of wanted to. Surely someone of Mizael’s strength could easily find a Firestarter.

They’d not spoken much of Healing and Firestarting. Neither wanted to bring up the topic, not when Ryou courted another, and both were firm in not poaching or being poached. That was how it was supposed to work.

Kei nodded slowly. “I cannot say for certain. I would have to speak to any of my kin who live there – if they still do. But I would not at all be surprised to find out we were banned because he cannot control us – as he controls you.”

For a third time Ryou tried to open his mouth to deny Kei’s words.

For a third time, he could say nothing.

To Be Continued

Notes: Writing Kei verbally and mildly swatting Ryou was fun! Ryou needed that. Also, the Cyber Spirits may not be heavily involvled in what is to come but they do have a role to play.

#fanfic #higuchimon writes #ygobb2020 #ygo gx #ygo zexal #ygo arc-v #marufuji ryou #Mizael #yuuri (Arc-V)#chapters: rewards of losing #au: healer firestarter

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higuchimon · 4 years

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[fanfic] Rewards of Losing: Chapter 7

“Dark Healer?” Mizael hadn’t ever heard about that before. He shook his head, looking to Chris, expecting to see him as baffled. Instead, the older Healer looked more thoughtful. “Well?”

“I’ll have to do some research,” Chris said at last. He patted one of the blooms near him as he rose up. “But I’ll be in touch. Do you know when you might see that Healer again?”

“This weekend. We’re supposed to duel.” Mizael wondered now if Yuuri would even show up. He felt like a strong, true duelist, regardless of how cruel he might be. Being cruel wasn’t unknown in duelists. Some of the best ones were ruthless on the battlefield.

Chris nodded. “I’ll see if I can get back to you before then.” With a flick of his fingers in dismissal, he headed away. Mizael had seldom seen him this sunk in thought.

Dark Healer. It didn’t feel right at all. To think of that Yuuri as one did, but the concept itself sent chills all through him. He glanced back at the flowers, but didn’t ask. He wasn’t sure if they’d be able to tell him anything else.

A check of the time told him it would be best if he started to get ready for his dinner. Perhaps he would be able to ask Marufuji something about it – or Kei. Kei might know; Cats kept secrets behind their teeth often.

“Frostflame?” Ryou shook his head. “What are you talking about?” He knew the name. He knew what it meant. But the very idea was unthinkable. Those in Academia weren’t allowed to be Frostflames.

His power turning inward, transforming from the blazing cleansing flames to frozen ice? No. He would never, could never let that happen.

“Exactly. Only those who are of the highest strength can survive the process. I believe that you could.” Kei nodded. “And it might happen.”

Again Ryou shook his head. “No. I’m a Firestarter. I’m not going to do that.” He would be more willing to entertain the notion of adding XYZ to his deck than to be a Frostflame.

He focused on that instead, pulling the card packs from his pocket and setting them down on the table. Kei eyed them in amusement.

“Did you know that there are some D-Gazers and Duel Disks built for Cats? They’re rare but you could buy them.”

Ryou tensed. “I’m not going to.” He wasn’t sure of how often he needed to say that he wasn’t going to do anything for this Cat.

He opened one of the packs and flipped through the cards. Nothing Cyber Dragon related there – for which he found himself profoundly grateful. That wasn’t what he needed right now.

Also on the table rested Cyber Dragon Nova. Kei nudged it with his nose. “Nova likes you already,” the Cat observed. “He would like to be in your deck.”

“I’m a Fusion duelist, not XYZ,” Ryou snapped the words off. “XYZ is my enemy!”

Kei regarded him once more. “And why do you say that?”

Ryou tensed again. I didn’t mean to say that! What was it about this creature that made him want to open his heart up completely? To tell him things that he’d never even thought of, let alone told anyone else?

That sort of trust and bond was only supposed to exist between Healers and Firestarters. This might be a Healer Cat but he wasn’t Ryou’s Healer, not at all!

“Because it’s true,” he said at last. He wasn’t going to deny it. What could a Cat do, anyway? He wasn’t going to change his mind and he could leave for home if he needed to. “I’m only here for a short time.”

“And you intended to turn more of our duelists into cards,” Kei observed. “So that is why.”

Cats clearly weren’t stupid. He’d have to watch that – more so than he’d been. He regarded his cards again and started to sort through them, and told himself that it wasn’t because he didn’t want to see those gleaming gray eyes staring back at him. Why did the Cat have Shou’s eyes? Eyes that cut into him and made him wonder why he did his duty?

“I told you before. That’s going to stop. You don’t want to do this.”

Ryou ground his teeth together. “I don’t have to listen to you. I’m a warrior of Fusion.”

“You are a Firestarter. I am your Healer Cat.” Kei pointed out. Ryou stared harder at the next set of cards. This one held Cyber Dragon Drei – he could see where that would be useful in an XYZ deck. He set that one aside and looked through the next.

If Kei said anything else, Ryou made a point to ignore it, keeping all of his attention on the cards instead. They made more sense. They didn’t tell him things that he didn’t want to hear.

Then the Cat nudged him again. “It’s almost time for you to meet Mizael. You should get ready.”

Ryou’s eyes darted to the clock. The Cat was right; he had roughly an hour to get ready. That would be more than enough time. Then he jerked his gaze back down to Kei.

“How did you know about that?” Kei hadn’t been there when he and Mizael arranged that dinner. So far as he was aware, Kei hadn’t ever met Mizael.

Though what the Cat did when he wasn’t around Ryou, Ryou had no way to know. For all he was aware, the Cat lived with Mizael.

Kei only chuckled, eyes sliding away. “I have my methods. But does it matter?”

It probably didn’t. Not right now, at least. Ryou hurried off to get ready, hoping the Cat wouldn’t be there when he came back.

Kei shot another glance at the flytrap on the table as Ryou departed. It could not look innocent but if it had possessed a face, then it most certainly would have done its best. His tail lashed a trifle. He wasn’t going to destroy it. The flytrap was what it had been grown to be, through no fault of its own.

But that didn’t mean he had to like it. This flytrap would relay to its creator his visit. Whether it revealed Ryou going to dinner with Mizael he couldn’t be sure of. Nor could he be sure of Yuuri’s reaction. He didn’t know the Dark Healer, after all.

Nor did he especially want to. From the moment that he’d set eyes on the other, he’d wanted nothing more nor less than to ensure Ryou never went near him again. Normally he didn’t care which other Healers his Firestarter associated with. He trusted Ryou to know his own mind, even this early in their relationship – the one that Ryou insisted didn’t exist.

He would learn. He would not be able to stop himself from learning. The bond hadn’t truly begun yet – that did need Ryou’s agreement, and Kei wouldn’t accept it if Ryou didn’t choose to do so freely. But he knew it would happen. Ryou felt it like he did, no matter how hard he denied it.

For now, though, he leaped up into Ryou’s chair, curled himself into a ball, and slipped into a quick catnap. The next step was all up to Mizael.

Mizael stood outside the restaurant. He’d tucked his D-Gazer and Duel Disk into his pocket, just in case Marufuji wanted another duel. He remained more interested in the dinner and potential conversation than dueling, at least right away, but he liked to be prepared for anything.

A tingle swept over him and he looked up to see Marufuji Ryou approaching. The other wore a casual outfit in dark blue, darker even than his own hair, that made Mizael’s heart skip a beat or two. He’d seen plenty of people who were attractive. Marufuji Ryou seemed in a class by himself.

“Hello,” he said, forcing the word between his lips. What he wanted to say was how in the world did Marufuji turn so attractive! It shouldn’t have been possible by any reasonable metric and yet there he stood, elegant and amazing.

He’s courting for a Firestarter. I wonder if he’s - He tried to wrench his mind away from the intruding thought as Marufuji drew closer. He didn’t even know if Marufuji would be attracted to him.

But he knew that he was attracted to him. He’d always known where his choices resided, for as long as he could remember. He considered himself lucky in that aspect.

“Hello,” Marufuji replied with a polite tilt of his head. His gaze flicked away from Mizael for a few moments, as if searching for something or someone, then returned.

Mizael dragged his mind to focus on the matter at hand. “I made us a reservation Let’s go in,” he said, turning towards the door. Marufuji fell into place next to him, still giving little darting looks everywhere. “Is something wrong?”

Marufuji regarded him. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s wrong.” He considered for another few moments, then shook his head. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

Mizael wasn’t quite certain if he believed him, but he wasn’t going to push it hard. It was probably something to do with Kei. The Cat had entered Marufuji’s home and it wouldn’t be a great stretch to think they’d spoken. Marufuji probably wasn’t one to spill what he’d consider secrets.

Their restaurant, the Silver Wind, catered almost exclusive to Healers and Firestarters. It boasted a great deal of both traditional and modern food and drink, at a reasonable price, and the atmosphere encouraged relaxation, with clear lighting and dozens of small tables scattered throughout the dining area. It worked well for courting of every type and getting a reservation, especially on short notice, was worth the cost.

Though Mizael reminded himself consistently that he wasn’t poaching and this had nothing to do with courting. Considering it as a romantic venue wasn’t so bad, of course, even without knowing what Marufuji’s tastes were like. A hint of friendship and mutual duelist respect certainly helped. Though the thought of what it might be like to have such a strong Firestarter appealed to him in ways that he tried his very best not to think about too much.

Marufuji ordered yakiniku with grilled vegetables, and Mizael ordered shiitake yakitori. He’d always rather enjoyed the taste of meat and mushrooms grilled together, especially the way that they served it here.

It took a short time for their food to be brought to them and in that time, Marufuji watched the room around them. There was a sense of caution there, as well as absolute fascination. As if he’d never taken the time to watch other people in a long time.

“So what was it like back in your hometown?” Mizael asked. “I’ve lived in Heartland my entire life.” He shrugged; it was a nice enough place, but when one had known it all their days, one often wondered what the rest of the world was like. Someday he would find a way to see it all.

Marufuji glanced back at him. “I don’t remember munch. I left Shinokawa when I was about eleven years old to enroll at – school.” If Mizael hadn’t been paying attention, he thought he might have missed that little breath of a pause.

“Oh? I studied at Diamond School myself. Graduated about two years ago and I’ve been working at the card store ever since.” He wrinkled his nose. “Going pro never interested me. They’re not enough of a challenge.”

“I graduated two years ago as well,” Marufuji said, his eyes lightening a little. “I’ve had – odd jobs since then. But being a professional duelist wasn’t ever my goal, either.”

Mizael nodded. He couldn’t see how this man would ever be happy in that sort of situation. He thought he could do it – Marufuji had the necessary ruthlessness of temperament one needed to succeed – but certain other aspects of it, such as needing to please one’s sponsors consistently? The way the crowds could quickly turn on one at the first sign of weakness? Those points he couldn't be sure of, not with how little he knew him.

“Did you go to Clover or Spade?” He didn’t ask about Heart School. He’d never known anyone who attended Heart. It was rumored to be for the beyond elite – for duelists who had no peer in this world. He wasn’t sure of how true that was, but those were the rumors that he’d heard.

“Neither one. It’s one of those small schools. You’d likely not have heard of it.” Again he shrugged. “What’s it like living here all the time?”

A place so out of the way that they’d never heard of it, along with the inhabitants not having used XYZ or having heard of Healer Cats. Mizael wondered exactly where it really was. Shinokawa – he would have to look it up.

“I imagine it’s like growing up anywhere else. I’m used to it.” Mizael tapped his fingers on the table in thought. “I can introduce you to some of my friends if you like. Kaito’s almost as good as I am at dueling.” His lips twitched. “He plays a dragon deck as well. We argued all the time when we were kids about who was the true dragon master.”

One sapphire-blue eyebrow quirked up. “Oh? Did you ever decide who it was?”

Mizael smirked. “I am, of course. It took a long time before it got into his head, though.” He leaned back in his chair, thinking. “There’s also Christopher Arclight. He has a professional duelist for a brother and he’s one of the best teachers I know. He could give you a few pointers if you’re looking to incorporate XYZ into your deck.”

Marufuji turned his head away. “That I won’t do.”

“Did you find anything interesting in those packs?” Mizael wasn’t going to push. He didn’t see any spirits around Marufuji at the moment, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. Sometimes they chose to stay hidden and even he couldn’t change that.

“One or two,” Marufuji answered, resting a hand on the table. Mizael subtly admired it; long fingers, quite strong, with a few tiny scars here and there. When he turned his hand over, Mizael caught his breath at the sight of a long pale scar right over the palm.

Before he could restrain the words, he blurted out, “What happened?” He almost reached for it, but Marufuji pulled his hand back and turned away so Mizael couldn’t see the scar.

“An accident when I was young. It taught me several lessons.” His lips moved into an expression that wasn’t entirely a smile but came very close to being one.

Mizael stared relentlessly at him. He wanted to know what it was; what lesson could possibly have resulted in such a scar? He knew that he couldn’t force Marufuji to tell him, but perhaps – perhaps -

“I was seven,” Marufuji said at last thoughtfully. “I attended a – very remote school in the mountains, before the one I later went to. I had to climb to get there. There were thorns in the path along the way and I knew I shouldn’t have put my hand in them. But I did it anyway.” His lips thinned in an expression not quite amusement. “My parents told me that I Sparked before I could walk. I don’t remember not being a Firestarter. I thought I could just burn through anything. But those thorns – they were bred specifically to protect the school. They’re resistant to as many things as the Healers could make them - including fire.”

He closed his hand around the scar. “I think I was luckier than I can imagine.”

“They didn’t have any Healers there?” Mizael wondered. His own Healer instincts itched to heal that scar away entirely. He wasn’t sure if he could, but he wanted to.

Marufuji chuckled a little. “This scar is what was left after the Healers fixed the wound. It was the best that they could do.”

That told Mizael exactly how deep the original wound had been. Even a low powered Healer could heal a simple thorn scratch. But without a Healer’s power, Marufuji might not have ever been able to use the hand again. That would have been a terrible fate for someone as talented in dueling as he was.

The server brought their food and for several minutes nothing else was spoken of between them as they enjoyed the meal. Mizael savored every bit of it, including the cool green tea he’d ordered, and cast about for something else they could talk about. He wanted to ask if this could be considered a non-courting date – a romantic date – but the words refused to slide through his lips.

I wasn’t this nervous when I asked Kaito out! But there’d been no need to be nervous then. He and Kaito knew one another almost from the cradle. They knew everything about one another and they’d dueled each other more times than he could count before they’d even started at their respective schools. Diamond School and Clover School weren’t the kind of rivals that Clover and Spade were, but they did duel against one another now and then and Kaito and Mizael were the ones who did so most often.

Maybe he should get Kaito over here and introduce them. He already wondered what Chris would have to say to him.

“What sort of deck does Yuuri use?” He asked, recalling that he would be having a couple of duels against him in just a short time.

Marufuji shook his head. “He’d never want me to tell you that.” But he did seem amused as well. “But he’s even better than I am. You won’t defeat him very easily.”

All that did was make Mizael even more eager to duel Yuuri. He toyed with checking the cards he had in the shop and seeing if he had anything in particular to negate Fusion decks. The thought was tempting, indeed, but he suspected it would be more interesting to see what Yuuri’s full potential really was.

Notes: Yakinaku is thin sliced grilled beef. Firestarters have high energy needs and tend to eat a lot of meat.

#higuchimon writes #fanfic #ygobb2020 #marufuji ryou #mizael #yuuri (Arc-V)#ygo gx #ygo zexal #ygo arc-v #au: healer firestarter #chapters: rewards of losing

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