Chapter 16: Ghost of the Strawberry Dorms
A couple of days passed since Nagisa’s breakdown over losing Shizuma. She was in better spirits, but still not quite up to attending classes. Jaden was trying to put more effort into finding the Wicked Gods. Partly because of what Yubel had told him about what might happen if someone like Nagisa were to find one of the Wicked Gods. Jaden had not only become worried about Nagisa finding one of the Wicked Gods, but also about his other friends on Astraea Island finding them.
Still, Jaden could not get the problem of Nagisa and Shizuma off of his mind. He wanted to do something to help at least one of them. Sure he helped to bake those treats for Nagisa, but that didn’t quite seem enough. Especially since cooking wasn’t his best skill. As Jaden walked past the Strawberry Dorms, Winged Kuriboh suddenly appeared before him. The Duel Monster Spirit sometimes appeared before him to tell him of some supernatural occurrence. Not that Winged Kuriboh could speak, but the little fur ball often led Jaden to spots where it sensed some kind of disturbance.
“What’s up buddy?” Jaden asked his little winged friend. Winged Kuriboh took off like a rocket, causing Jaden to chase after it. “Hey, wait up!”
Winged Kuriboh led Jaden to the Strawberry Dorms. Though he wasn’t exactly allowed into the building, Jaden decided that if Winged Kuriboh was leading him in there, it had to be important. The little Duel Monster stopped in front of a room on the second floor.
“You want me to go in there?” Jaden asked.
“Kuri, Kuri!” Winged Kuriboh responded. Jaden took that answer as a yes.
Jaden tried the knob of the door and found that it was unlocked. He opened the door and found that it was vacant. It looked like it had been vacant for years, yet it looked like it was regularly taken care of, as if it were some sort of shrine. Jaden had a feeling that he knew who the room once belonged to. Once he stepped inside, the door closed behind him. Suddenly, an apparition in the form of a young girl appeared sitting on the bed. Jaden knew that it was a ghost. After all, it wasn’t the first one he had seen.
The spirit in question was wearing a Miator uniform without the duel disk. She had pale white skin, which made her seem even more transparent, and short black hair that had a large pink bow on the back. A sad expression was on the dead girl’s face. Jaden recognized the spirit immediately from a picture that he had seen.
“Are you Kaori?” Jaden asked the spirit. The transparent girl looked at Jaden in surprise.
“You can see me?” Kaori asked.
“I can see a lot of stuff like you.” Jaden answered. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m worried about someone.” Kaori replied sadly.
“Is that person Shizuma?” Jaden asked.
“You know her?” Kaori asked with a hint of hope in her voice.
“I know her a little.” Jaden replied. “I’m kind of worried about her too.”
“She’s sad because I died.” Kaori said sadly. “I don’t want her to be sad though. I want her to find happiness, even if it’s with someone else. I even left her a letter telling her that. She hasn’t found it though, and I won’t be able to rest until she does.”
“Where is this letter?” Jaden asked.
“It’s in the top drawer of the dresser, inside of a box that has a red pendant in it.” Kaori answered.
Jaden walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Inside he found a large box with a glass lid. It prominently displayed the red pendant that Kaori received when she and Shizuma became Etoile. Jaden opened the box, and under the piece of white board that held the pendant in place he found an envelope with Shizuma’s name on it.
“Is this it?” Jaden asked as he held up the letter.
“Yes, that’s the letter!” Kaori exclaimed happily.
“Don’t worry, I promise that I’ll get this to Shizuma.” Jaden said reassuringly.
“Thank you.” Kaori said with a smile as she turned into sparkling golden lights and faded away.
As if on cue, the door suddenly opened, and Shizuma was standing in the doorway with a look of shock, confusion, and anger on her face.
“What… how…?” was all that Shizuma could manage to say.
“Don’t worry. I was just leaving.” Jaden cut in. “I just want to give you something before I go though. This is something that Kaori wanted you to have.”
Jaden walked over to Shizuma and held out the letter to her. Still shocked and confused, Shizuma took the letter. Once the object was in the silver haired girl’s possession, Jaden walked out of the room. He stopped a few feet out to say one last thing however.
“It’s past time that you started living again Shizuma.” Jaden said without facing the silver haired girl. With those words, Jaden walked away, leaving Shizuma alone.
Outside of the Stawberry dorms, Jaden walked with a sense of satisfaction.
“That was unexpected.” Yubel said as she appeared next to Jaden. “Maybe you were able to help Shizuma a little after all.”
“Do you think that letter will help Shizuma to move on?” Jaden asked.
“I have a feeling that it might.” Yubel answered with a wry expression. “At the very least, you were able to help that poor dead girl move on to the next life.”
“I guess I did.” Jaden said with a satisfied smile. “C’mon, we have cards to find.”
* * *
Back inside Kaori’s old room, Shizuma looked at the closed letter with confusion. She wondered if it really was a letter from Kaori. Shizuma looked over at the dresser. The display case for Kaori’s Etoile pendant was not only opened but also taken apart. Shizuma figured that the letter was probably in the case. Even more perplexing was how Jaden could’ve gotten into the room. Both Shizuma and Miyuki always made sure that the door was locked. Miyuki eventually arrived and walked into the room.
“Shizuma, we were supposed to start packing up Kaori’s things. We can no longer keep this room closed.” Miyuki sternly reminded her friend. “What is that envelope?”
“Apparently, it’s a letter from Kaori.” Shizuma replied.
“A letter from Kaori?” a stunned Miyuki asked. “Where did you find it?”
“I didn’t find it.” Shizuma replied. “Jaden Yuki found it inside the case where Kaori’s pendant is kept.”
“Mr. Yuki? How on Earth did he get in here?” Miyuki asked sounding even more stunned. “Well, I guess that isn’t important. Aren’t you going to open it?”
Shizuma sighed a little. It was time that she took a look at what the letter had to say, though she was nervous to find out. Carefully, Shizuma opened the sealed envelope and took out the letter. She decided to read it out loud so Miyuki could also hear what it had to say.
‘My dearest Shizuma. By the time you find this letter, I will be gone from this world. I want you to know that I do not regret anything. You made my last days on this earth the happiest days of my life, and I would not change any of it. As I think of, I think of the flowers in the Etoile greenhouse that we loved taking care of. I am like those flowers, too fragile to survive in the outside world. You are different though my precious Shizuma. You are strong and can thrive in that world, and that is what I want you to do. I want you to move on with your life and find happiness. And if you find someone to share that happiness with, then you will also make me happy wherever I am. Forever yours, Kaori.’
Shizuma was greatly touched by the letter that Kaori had left. A tear rolled down Shizuma’s cheek. Miyuki was sobbing next to her. It seemed that Shizuma wasn’t the only one touched by the letter.
“You’re still a crybaby Miyuki, even after all these years” Shizuma said with a half smile.
Shizuma put the letter back in the envelope, thinking about what it said. She also thought about what Jaden had said to her before he left. Shizuma realized that after Kaori had died, she had started pushing everyone away, even those closest to her, like Miyuki. She had shut herself away, clinging on to Kaori’s memory, and Kaori wouldn’t want her to do that for the rest of her life. Kaori wanted her to be happy, not lonely and miserable.
“Miyuki, I want you to know that I think of you as my closest friend.” Shizuma said to the girl who had just finished sobbing. “I’m sorry if I’ve pushed you away.”
“Don’t worry, I understand why you did.” Miyuki said with a tearful smile.
* * *
Later that night, out near a forest on the outskirts of Spica territory, Amane was having a ride on her horse to clear her thoughts. Over the past few months, Amane had been growing closer to Hikari, but she was a little confused about her feelings for the blond girl. Amane wasn’t sure if she was feeling love or something else. All she knew was that she couldn’t get Hikari off of her mind. Amane suddenly stopped riding and looked around. She felt as if something was calling to her.
Right near the spot where Amane had stopped was an old abandoned church. Amane thought that it was probably built before the three academies. She felt that whatever was calling to her was in the church, so she dismounted her horse and went to investigate. The inside of the church was covered by years of dust and cobwebs. Some of the floorboards had rotted with age and gained holes. Amane felt that whatever was calling to her was at the head of the church. She went behind the church alter and found a small chest painted in the Spica school colors. The latch on the chest was cracked, and almost looked as if someone had punched it. Suddenly, Amane heard a voice speaking to her.
‘Open this chest.’ The voice said in a deep, almost demonic tone. ‘Open it and you shall gain the power to crush all who oppose you and to take what you desire.’
Almost hypnotically, Amane opened the chest and found a card inside. It was a monster card that depicted a muscular green demon. The name of the card was, “The Wicked Dreadroot.” Amane picked up the card, and she was suddenly overcome by an intense headache. It felt like her head was going to split open. The feeling passed though, and suddenly Amane felt invigorated. More than invigorated actually, she felt invincible.
It was at that point that Amane realized what she most desired. She wanted Hikari, that beautiful blond angel. Amane wanted to completely possess her, and she would do whatever it took to have her, destroy anyone who would stand in her way. Amane didn’t want to stop there though. She wanted to prove her strength by crushing everyone on the island. They called her a prince, but Amane would see to it that by the time she was finished, they would call her a king.
