Chapter 12: A Special Friendship
Two days after Hikari’s date with Amane, Jaden was doing his usual patrol of the grounds of the three schools. He was become more and more frustrated that he couldn’t find the Wicked God cards. It seemed like he and the members of Chikaru’s God Hunter Club had searched the grounds a hundred times. Jaden decided that wherever the cards were, they were probably in places on the island that were off the beaten path. After all, the cave where Chikaru found The Wicked Eraser was on the outskirts of the island. Jaden decided that the only way to find the cards was to search the outer parts of the island. It was a lot of territory to search, but it was the only place left to look.
As Jaden was leaving the territory of Miator and entering Spica territory, he suddenly heard a scream, a scream that sounded like Nagisa. Afraid that something was wrong, Jaden ran in the direction of the scream. What he found greatly surprised him. Instead of Nagisa in trouble, Jaden found Tamao listening to a recording device. The screaming was coming from the recorder.
“Uh, hi Tamao.” A rather confused Jaden greeted. Tamao was greatly startled by Jaden’s sudden arrival.
“Oh! A J-Jaden! What are you doing here?” Tamao asked as she quickly turned off the recorder and hid it behind her back. Tamao’s face was as red as a tomato.
“I was just passing through.” Jaden replied, seeing the awkwardness of the situation. “It’s probably none of my business, but were you listening to a recording of Nagisa screaming?”
“That? Well, uh, you see…” Tamao began, her mind racing to find an excuse to explain what Jaden heard. Suddenly, Nagisa showed up, making the situation even more awkward.
“There you are Tamao, I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Oh, hi Jaden.” Nagisa greeted in her usual enthusiastic manner. The redhead was completely oblivious to the current situation. “What’s going on?”
“Ask Tamao.” Jaden replied, putting Nagisa on the spot. Nagisa looked over at Tamao, who was frantically looking around frantically for something she could use to change the subject.
“Um, uh, oh look! Isn’t that Tsubomi over there?” Tamao asked pointing over at a girl with long light-pink hair and a yellow sweater over her Spica uniform.
“Yeah, it is.” Nagisa replied looking over at the Spica student. “And she looks kinda down. Let’s go see what’s bothering her.”
With that, Nagisa started heading in the direction of the pink haired girl. Tamao followed close behind, breathing a sigh of relief that she had successfully diverted attention away from her “special recording.” Jaden hung back for a moment before he finally shrugged and joined the two girls. The Spica student they were about to visit with was Tsubomi Okuwaka, a first year student. Tsubomi was a girl who acted mature for her age, and was often hot tempered and a little outspoken. Tsubomi was in the Spica School Choir with Yaya and Hikari, and thus had become a friend of theirs. As a result, Tamao and Nagisa had also become acquainted with Tsubomi, and Jaden had met her a few times as well.
“Hi Tsubomi.” Nagisa greeted. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, hi Nagisa, Tamao, Jaden.” Tsubomi greeted back in a depressed tone. “There is something bothering me actually.”
“What is it?” Nagisa asked.
“Well… Yaya and Hikari aren’t speaking to each other.” Tsubomi answered.
“How come?” Tamao asked.
“They won’t tell me.” Tsubomi answered. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t worry Tsubomi. We’ll figure something out.” Nagisa said reassuringly. “Why don’t we go see Hikari together and try and find out what’s wrong?”
Tsubomi nodded, and the three girls went off to go find Hikari. Jaden on the other hand hung back to figure out how he could help out.
“You want to help out too, don’t you?” Yubel asked as she appeared. Jaden nodded. “Fine, what do you plan to do?”
“I think we need to go find Yaya.” Jaden answered.
* * *
Nagisa, Tamao, and Tsubomi all went to the one place where they knew Hikari was probably at, the fountain out by the church where the Spica School Choir practiced and performed. As the three girls expected, Hikari was there, sitting on the stone bench in front of the fountain, looking a bit sad.
“Hi Hikari, we’ve been looking for you.” Nagisa greeted as she walked over to the sitting Hikari.
“Oh, hello everyone.” Hikari greeted back as she looked up and saw the three new arrivals. “What brings you here?”
“We heard you and Yaya were having some kind of fight or something.” Nagisa answered. “So we came to see if we could help.”
“Thank you, but I’m not sure that there’s anything you can do to help.” Hikari replied sadly.
“What exactly happened between you and Yaya?” Tamao asked. Hikari looked back down at the ground with a sad expression on her face.
“…I had just gotten back from my date with Amane.” Hikari began. “I was talking to Yaya, and suddenly she jumped off her bed, pushed me up against the wall, and started kissing me. I was so shocked I pushed her off of me onto the ground. She hasn’t spoken to me since.”
Nagisa, Tamao, and Tsubomi were all shocked by Hikari’s story. Nagisa sat down on the bench next to Hikari and put a reassuring arm around her friend’s shoulder.
“Now Yaya won’t talk to me.” Hikari continued, her voice indicating that she was on the verge of tears. “I don’t know what to do. I really cherish the friendship I have with Yaya.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out.” Nagisa said reassuringly. “I think all you and Yaya need to do is talk.”
“How are we supposed to get Yaya to talk to Hikari?” Tsubomi asked with a frown. “Yaya is going out of her way to avoid Hikari.”
“I think I may have an idea.” Nagisa said with a grin. “We need to go find Yaya.”
* * *
Meanwhile, Jaden was on his own search for Yaya. He decided to go look in the church for the raven-haired girl. Jaden didn’t really know where else to look. As he walked, Jaden was having a conversation with Yubel about the strange incident before the whole Yaya and Hikari issue came up.
“Don’t you think it weird that Tamao would have a recording of Nagisa screaming?” Jaden asked his Duel Monster partner.
“Not at all. I think it’s kinda cute actually.” Yubel replied with a wry expression.
“You would.” Jaden said as he rolled his eyes at the Duel Monster. Yubel wasn’t as deranged as she was in the past, but she was still a little weird. “I think it’s a little creepy.”
“Tamao just has a little crush on Nagisa.” Yubel countered. “I’m sure it’s harmless.”
“It seems more like an obsession to me.” Jaden countered back. “Here we are at the church. We’ll continue this later.”
Jaden entered the church, and sitting at the front, he saw the raven-haired girl that he was looking to find. Yaya was looking down at the floor with a sad expression on her face.
“Well, it looks like I finally found you.” Jaden said as he approached, surprising Yaya.
“Jaden! What are you doing here?” Yaya asked in surprise.
“Looking for you.” Jaden replied. “I heard that you and Hikari are having some kind of fight, and I wanted to see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“I don’t think there is.” Yaya said sadly.
“What happened?” Jaden asked as he took a seat next to Yaya. The raven-haired girl remained silent for a moment.
“…Two days ago when Hikari got back from her date with Amane, I threw myself at her.” Yaya finally answered.
“Threw yourself at her?” Jaden asked, not understanding what Yaya meant.
“I’m in love with Hikari.” Yaya answered. “I’ve been in love with her since I first met her.”
“I see…” Jaden replied, immediately beginning to understand what Yaya meant.
“It hurt me that Hikari was in love with Amane,” Yaya continued, “but all I cared about was Hikari’s happiness, even if it meant losing Hikari to someone else. Then I started thinking about something Kaname said just before you dueled Momomi, that thing about showing someone how you feel about them by taking that person.”
Jaden knew what Yaya was talking about, and was a little surprised that she followed the advise of someone like Kaname. He said nothing about it though. Yaya was already feeling bad enough.
“I know that I shouldn’t have listened to her, but it set something off in me.” Yaya continued. “I couldn’t take Hikari not knowing how I feel about her another moment longer, so when Hikari get back, I pinned her against the wall and started kissing her. She was so shocked she pushed me to the floor and started crying. Now I’m sure she hates me.”
“I don’t think Hikari hates you.” Jaden said, trying to reassure Yaya.
“Why wouldn’t she? I’m just as bad as Kaname now.” Yaya responded.
“You’re not as bad as Kaname.” Jaden countered. “If you were, you wouldn’t think that you did anything wrong. You only made a big mistake.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that Hikari hates me.” Yaya replied.
“Have you talked to Hikari at all about this?” Jaden asked.
“I can’t bring myself to do it.” Yaya answered. “Besides, I don’t think she’ll speak to me.”
“You should try. You and Hikari have too good of a friendship to let it be torn apart like this.” Jaden replied. “If you want, I’ll go with you to talk with Hikari.”
Yaya was silent for a moment. She pondered what Jaden told her, and realized that he was right. Yaya didn’t want to lose Hikari as a friend.
“Okay, let’s go find Hikari.” Yaya said as she stood up. Jaden nodded, and the two left the church to go repair a friendship.
* * *
When Jaden and Yaya exited the church, it didn’t take long for them to find Hikari, fro she was walking towards them with Nagisa, Tamao, and Tsubomi following close behind.
“Hikari! What are you doing here?” a startled Yaya asked as Hikari and the other girls approached.
“I’ve been looking for you.” Hikari answered. “I’ve come to challenge you to a duel!”
Both Jaden and Yaya were greatly surprised by Hikari’s challenge. Yaya looked at Hikari for a moment and saw the determined expression on the blonde’s face. There was no way that Yaya could turn away from Hikari’s challenge.
“Fine, I except your challenge.” Yaya replied. The two girls activated their duel disks and prepared to face off. Jaden walked over to where Nagisa and the other two girls were standing.
“Why is Hikari challenging Yaya to a duel?” Jaden asked Nagisa.
“It was my idea.” Nagisa answered. “I thought that it would be easier for them to talk things out if the were dueling.”
“I see…” Jaden replied with a small smile on his face. Jaden thought that Nagisa’s idea was a good one.
The life points of both Yaya and Hikari were set to 4000 and the duel began.
“I’ll go first!” Hikari announced. “First I play a Field Spell, The Sanctuary in the Sky!”
The area that everyone was standing in suddenly transformed into an ancient Roman style temple that was high in the clouds.
“Next I summon Nova Summoner in Defense Mode!” Hikari announced. A wreath of orange crystal with small white wings and a green orb hanging in the center appeared on Hikari’s side of the field. “Next I set two cards on the field and end my turn!”
“First I summon Goggle Golem in Attack Mode!” Yaya announced. A humanoid rock monster with black pants, black fingerless gloves, and a pair of goggles hanging around his neck appeared on the field.
“That’s a Gemini monster!” Jaden exclaimed.
“What’s a Gemini monster?” Nagisa asked.
“A Gemini monster is a monster that’s treated like Normal monster while it’s on the field and in the Graveyard, but becomes an effect monster when it’s Normal Summoned a second time.” Tamao explained.
“Wow, I could use some of those in my deck.” An impressed Nagisa responded.
“You use mostly Normal monsters in your deck, right Nagisa?” Jaden asked. Nagisa nodded.
“My Nagisa has the cutest strategy!” Tamao exclaimed happily as she threw her arms around Nagisa, surprising the redhead. Jaden was taken aback by Tamao’s display of affection, remembering the recording that the blue haired girl had of Nagisa screaming.
“Next I activate Double Summon!” Yaya announced. “This Spell card lets me perform a second Normal Summon this turn, so I resummon Goggle Golem!”
Goggle Golem momentarily flashed with a white light before putting his goggles on.
“When Goggle Golem is Normal Summoned a second time, its ATK becomes 2100.” Yaya explained.
“Wow, I had no idea that Yaya was such an awesome duelist!” Tsubomi exclaimed. She was greatly impressed that Yaya had summoned such a powerful monster during her first turn.
“I’ll take this moment to activate my Traps, Solemn Wishes!” Hikari announced. “Now whenever I draw from my deck, I gain 500 life points for each of my two Trap cards!”
“That means Hikari will gain 1000 life points at the beginning of each of her turns.” Nagisa realized.
“Goggle Golem, attack Nova Summoner!” Yaya commanded. “Rock Fist Punch!”
The rock monster leapt into the air and delivered a devastating punch to Hikari’s monster.
“When Nova Summoner is destroyed in battle while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can Special Summon Airknight Parshath from my deck!” Hikari announced.
Appearing on Hikari’s side of the field was a creature that looked like a cross between a centaur and an angel. Parshath’s upper body and front legs were clad in blue and gold armor. The horse half of Parshath’s body was white, and white feathers grew from it.
“I set one card on the field and end my turn!” Yaya announced.
As Hikari drew her next card, white sparkling lights briefly surrounded her. Hikari’s life points rose from 4000 to 5000.
“First I equip Parshath with Cestus of Dalga!” Hikari announced. Two golden blades replaced Parshath’s sword and shield. “Not only does Parshath’s ATK rise from 1900 to 2400, but I also gain life points equal to the battle damage that he inflicts!”
“Why is Hikari trying so hard to increase her life points?” Tsubomi asked.
“If Hikari is using the deck that I think she is, she’ll need all the life points she can get.” Jaden answered.
“Parshath, attack Goggle Golem!” Hikari commanded. “Avenging Blade!”
One slash of Parshath’s blades, and the rock monster was reduced to rubble. Yaya’s life points dropped from 4000 to 3700. At the same time, more sparkling lights surrounded Hikari, and her life points rose from 5000 to 5300.
“Not only do I gain 300 extra life points thanks the effect of Cestus of Dalga, but I get to draw one more card because Parshath inflicted battle damage!” Hikari announced as she drew another card. Once again, sparkling lights surrounded Hikari, her life points climbed to 6300.
“I activate my Trap, Gemini Trap Hole!” Yaya announced. “When a Gemini monster that has its effects activated is destroyed in battle, all of my opponent’s monsters are destroyed!”
Parshath disappeared in a powerful explosion, leaving Hikari’s side of the field wide open.
“I set one card on the field and end my turn!” Hikari announced.
“Why did you challenge me to this duel?” Yaya asked as she drew her next card.
“I wanted to talk to you about what happened between us.” Hikari answered. “I want to know why you kissed me like that.”
There was a long pause before Yaya spoke.
“It’s because I love you!” Yaya finally answered, surprising Hikari. “I’ve been in love with you since the first day I met you!”
There was another pause after Yaya’s declaration. Nagisa, Tamao, and Tsubomi were all shocked to hear what Yaya had said.
“Yaya… I don’t know what to say.” Hikari finally answered.
“You’ve already made your feelings clear. I know that you hate me now.” Yaya said with tears in her eyes. “I activate Polymerization and fuse Chthonian Emperor Dragon into Infinity Dark to summon Superalloy Beast Raptinus!”
A large dragon that looked as if it was stitched together from parts of different monsters suddenly appeared on Yaya’s side of the field.
“While Raptinus is on the field, all of my Gemini monsters have their effects activated.” Yaya explained, still a bit tearful. “Now I summon Blazewing Butterfly!”
A large butterfly with wings made out of fire appeared next to Raptinus.
“I activate the effect of Blazewing Butterfly and tribute it to summon Chthonian Emperor Dragon from my Graveyard!” Yaya announced.
Yaya’s butterfly suddenly exploded into a pillar of fire, which faded and revealed a large green dragon with huge wings and a serpentine body.
“Raptinus has 2200 ATK, and my Chthonian Emperor Dragon has 2400 ATK.” Yaya explained. “Plus Chthonian Emperor Dragon can attack twice. This duel is over!”
Nagisa, Tamao, and Tsubomi all seemed to agree with what Yaya had said, but Jaden was eyeing the card that Hikari had set on the field. He had a feeling that it was a card that could turn the whole duel around.
“Chthonian Emperor Dragon, attack Hikari directly!” Yaya commanded. “Chthonian Flame!”
The serpentine dragon shot forth a stream of fire from its mouth. In a split second, Hikari reacted.
“I activate my Trap, Mirror Force!” Hikari announced. “Now all of your monsters are destroyed!”
The dragon’s flame hit a barrier of light, causing a backlash that created a huge explosion. Yaya’s field was left empty when the smoke cleared.
“…I end my turn.” Yaya announced. Hikari drew her next card. Sparkling lights surrounded her once again as her life points rose to 7300.
“Yaya, I could never hate you.” Hikari suddenly said, surprising Yaya. “I do love you, but not in that way. My heart belongs to Amane, but I’ll always consider you to be a special friend.”
Yaya was greatly touched by Hikari’s words. Though she wished that they were a little different. Still, Yaya found that she would at least like to have Hikari as a friend than not have Hikari at all.
“First I activate Graceful Charity!” Hikari announced as she continued her turn. “I draw three new cards and discard two!”
More sparkling lights surrounded Hikari as her life points increased to 8300.
“Next I activate Celestial Transformation!” Hikari announced. “This lets me Special Summon a Fairy-Type monster from my hand, though its ATK gets cut in half. So I summon from my hand, The Agent of Judgment-Saturn!”
Appearing on Hikari’s side of the field was a purple skinned angel with dark purple wings and white and blue robes that looked like they were from Egypt.
“Now I activate Saturn’s special ability, Final Judgment!” Hikari announced. “When my life points are higher than my opponent’s while the Sanctuary in the Sky on the field, I can tribute Saturn to inflict damage to my opponent equal to the difference!”
Saturn raised its arms forward and exploded into a white light that washed out everything on the field. When the light finally cleared, everyone was back outside of the church, and Yaya’s life points were at zero. Hikari walked over to Yaya.
“I’m sorry I forced myself on you like that.” Yaya said to her friend.
“Let’s just forget that it happened.” Hikari said with a smile as she put her hand on Yaya’s shoulder. “Now why don’t we get something to eat?”
“I’d like that.” Yaya said as she wiped away a tear. With that, the two friends walked away.
“Hey, wait up you guys!” Tsubomi said as she ran to catch up with Yaya and Hikari.
“We should get going too Nagisa.” Tamao said right after the others left. “After all, you have some homework for French class to work on.”
“Oh, right.” Nagisa said with a grimace. “We’ll see you later Jaden.”
“Later.” Jaden said as the two girls left. Once they were gone, Jaden turned to leave himself.
“Well, that was an interesting afternoon.” Yubel said as she reappeared.
“Yeah.” Jaden agreed. “It looks like things between Yaya and Hikari are okay now though.”
“Now all we have to worry about is finding the Wicked Gods.” Yubel responded.
“I guess so.” Jaden responded. He was still a little concerned about Tamao and Nagisa, but he decided that it would be a problem for another day. Jaden still wondered though if Tamao and Nagisa would have a conflict like the one that Yaya and Hikari just hand, and if their friendship would be able to survive it if they did
