Chapter 20: Training
It had been about five days since Amane came out of her coma, and the Etoile Tournament was fast approaching. All of the couples that were entering the tournament had begun training themselves for the event. As Jaden was entering the large Spica stadium where the tournament was going to be held, he was meet by a blinding flash of white light that had vanished as soon as it appeared. When the light cleared, Jaden could see that Hikari and Amane had won a practice duel against two Spica students that Jaden had never seen before. Watching the duel from the sidelines was Shion. The blond student council president of Spica had her arms crosses over her chest and a confident smile was on her face.
“Six wins in a row! There’s no way that Spica will lose the tournament!” Shion exclaimed. She turned and noticed Jaden standing next to her. “Oh, hello Mr. Yuki.”
“Hey Shion.” Jaden greeted back. “Um, if you don’t mind I’d like to be called Jaden.”
“Sure thing.” Shion replied. “So, have you come to check on Spica’s champions?”
“You bet.” Jaden answered. “I’m actually a little worried about Amane though since she only just recovered from her coma.”
“She’ll be fine.” Shion reassured. “I’ll see to that, and so will Hikari.”
In the middle of the stadium, Amane started to collapse. Fortunately Hikari got over just in time to catch her by the arm, and Amane had managed to catch herself as well. Hikari gave the blue haired tomboy a worried look.
“I’m fine.” Amane said to her girlfriend with a reassuring smile. “I just need to rest for a minute.”
“I think we should quit for today.” Shion suggested. “Your sparing partners look like they’ve had enough.”
“I’ll be ready to go again in about five minutes.” Amane replied.
“You shouldn’t push yourself Amane.” Jaden told the tomboy. “You only just got out of the infirmary, and besides, the tournament is still six days away.”
“Jaden’s right Amane.” Hikari agreed. “I don’t want you trying harder than you have to.”
“…Oh, okay. We’ll call it a day.” Amane relented. She couldn’t say no to Hikari.
“If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to be off.” Jaden suddenly said. “There’s something else I want to check on.”
“Does it have something to do with those Wicked God cards?” Shion asked.
“No, but it might be just as important.” Jaden replied.
* * *
A little later at the Miator auditorium, Nagisa and Tamao were also practicing for the tournament, and they were not doing as well as Hikari and Amane were. They had run five practice duels and had lost three of them. Jaden walked into the auditorium just in time to see defeat number four. From the spot where he was standing in the back row of the auditorium, Jaden could see Miyuki sitting in the front row. Though her face was not visible, Jaden was sure that Miyuki was very displeased that the two girls that she had chosen to become the next Etoile kept losing to their sparing partners. What was surprising to Jaden was that Shizuma was also there, standing in the front row coaching both the girl that Jaden was sure she was in love with and her rival for that girl’s heart.
“The two of you aren’t in sync.” Shizuma said to the two tournament competitors. “In a tag duel you have to be able to anticipate what your partner is planning to do. You have to learn what each other’s strategy is and play off of it.”
“I think we can end our practice for today.” Miyuki said as she got up from her seat. “Thank you for your help Shizuma.”
Shizuma nodded and headed toward the auditorium door that Jaden was standing next to.
“I surprised to see you helping out with this.” Jaden said to Shizuma just as she was about to open the door.
“I’m just doing my part to make sure that Miator wins the tournament again this year.” Shizuma answered.
“Aren’t you against it at all?” Jaden asked sounding a little surprised. “Look, it probably isn’t any of my business, but I’m pretty sure that you have feelings for Nagisa. I’m sure that you don’t want to lose Nagisa to someone else.”
“My feelings aren’t important.” Shizuma answered coldly. “I have to do what is best for Miator. Tamao and Nagisa are the best chance that the school has of winning the tournament. As a student of Miator, it is my duty to make sure that our academy wins.”
“No offense, but that’s just stupid.” Jaden replied. “Sure academy pride is important sometimes, but it should never be more important than your own happiness. You’ve been sad for a long time Shizuma, and Nagisa might be your best shot at being happy again. If you let it slip away, you’ll probably regret it for the rest of your life.”
Shizuma didn’t respond to what Jaden had just said, though her expression did soften a bit.
“Well… I guess I’ve told what I wanted to say to you.” Jaden continued. “Don’t deny your feelings Shizuma.”
With those words, Jaden left. Down in the first row of the auditorium, Miyuki had overheard the whole conversation.
* * *
A little bit later outside the auditorium, Jaden was heading off to go meet with Chikaru and the other girls from Lilum. They had given up on finding the final Wicked God card, but they had decided to focus on finding the enemy that had been taking the cards.
“I would like a word with you Mr. Yuki.” Said a voice from behind as Jaden was walking away from the auditorium. Jaden turned around to see that it was Miyuki.
“What’s up Miyuki?” Jaden asked.
“I am going to say this once, stay out of Shizuma’s affairs.” Miyuki said sternly. “Her relationship with Ms. Aoi is none of your concern.”
“You’re probably right,” Jaden replied, “but I’m just trying to help Shizuma. And I think that she and Nagisa…”
“YOU KNOW NOTHING!” Miyuki shouted, cutting Jaden off. “I am doing what is best for both Shizuma and Ms. Aoi! You may not approve of my methods, but you may end up thanking me later.”
With that, Miyuki walked off, leaving Jaden a bit surprised, but also made him realize something.
“Wow, that was a bit harsh.” Yubel said as she appeared. “Though I guess Miyuki does have a point, Shizuma’s relationship with Nagisa isn’t really our business.”
Jaden half ignored his Duel Monster partner, thinking about something that Miyuki had said.
“Did you notice how Miyuki said ‘you may end up thanking me’?” Jaden asked Yubel.
“Yeah, so what?” Yubel replied, not understanding what Jaden was getting at.
“That girl who’s been after the Wicked Gods said almost the exact same phrase when she took The Wicked Dreadroot.” Jaden explained.
“Wait, are you saying that Miyuki is the one who’s been taking them?” Yubel asked with a tone of surprise.
“I think we may at least keep an eye on her.” Jaden replied.
