Chapter 12: Reasons
The eighth day of the tournament had arrived. The night before Jaden had another nightmare about the atrocities he committed as the Supreme King as a result of watching Striker and Kaname’s duel. That morning Yubel and Banner insisted that Jaden take the day off from dueling to relax. Jaden told them that he couldn’t afford to rest with the threat of the Orichalcos looming over the island, not to mention the whole world. But Timaeus and Critias appeared before him and told him that he could afford to take one day to rest, pointing out that he would be no good to anyone if he pushed himself too hard. So reluctantly Jaden agreed to take the day off.
That morning, Jaden was watching Jessie duel Momomi Kiyashiki, another member of the Spica student council and Kaname’s girlfriend. Momomi assisted in Kaname’s attempts to assault Hikari, so Jaden was not very fond of her. It was clear to Jaden that the duel was about to end. Jessie had summoned Rainbow Dragon, and Momomi had nothing on the field to protect her.
“Rainbow Dragon, finish this duel with Rainbow Refraction!” Jessie commanded.
The dragon opened its mouth and fired a beam of rainbow colored light at Momomi. The attack reduced Momomi’s life points to zero. After Rainbow Dragon vanished, the number on Momomi’s point counter dropped to zero, which caused the counter to beep as a signal that she was out of the tournament. At the same time, the number on Jessie’s point counter climbed to one hundred and flashed green, signaling that he had made it to the finals.
“I’ll make you pay for this one day!” Momomi declared before storming off in defeat.
“Great duel Jessie.” Jaden said as he walked up to the Crystal Beast user.
“Thanks J.” Jessie told him. “That girl really is a sore loser.”
“She’s probably ticked off because she was planning to up her reputation by beating you and it backfired.” Jaden guessed.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what we get for being so good at this game.” Jessie theorized. “But that’s all part of the fun too.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the horn of the intercom that was strung all over the island for the tournament.
“Attention all tournament participants!” Amane’s voice announced over the intercom. “We now have two more people that have made it to the finals. The first is visiting pro duelist, Jessie Anderson, and the second is visiting pro duelist, Clive Winston. As of now there are only four spots left in the finals, so you might want to get a move on duelists.”
“Well, looks like almost all of our little group has made it to the finals.” Jessie commented. “Hey, isn’t one of those Four Witches from Miator in the finals too?”
“Yeah, so we better be careful.” Jaden replied. “And she probably won’t be the only one.”
* * *
Meanwhile at the meeting hall of the Miator student council, Tamao and the Four Witches had gathered to discuss the developments of the tournament.
“Before we begin, I would like to congratulate Jane for making it to the finals.” Tamao began as she addressed the group. “Let’s hope that the rest of us do just as well. Now then, down to business. Hiyori, what is the status of The Great Leviathan?”
“We are over half way to our goal Lady Tamao.” Hiyori answered as she stood up from her chair. “The collector is generating twice as much negative psychic energy as it’s taking in. At this rate we shall resurrect the Leviathan by the end of the tournament.”
“Excellent.” Tamao said with a pleased expression.
“I still don’t get how this thing works.” Mika interrupted. “How does the collector put out twice as much energy as it takes in?”
“I’ll explain it one more time.” Hiyori sighed. “The collector takes in all the negative psychic energy of those in the vicinity, which covers all of Miator and part of the Strawberry Dorms, and sends it into the core of the machine, the fragment of The Great Leviathan itself. As the Leviathan gains more strength, it sends out twice the amount of energy at regular intervals. In short, The Great Leviathan is essentially feeding itself.”
“Okay, I think I get it now.” Mika told her.
“Well then, if Mika has finally figured out how we are trying to achieve our master plan, we should move onto our next order of business.” Tamao said to the group. “Jaden Yuki still poses a threat to our plans. We must prevent him from reaching the finals.”
“Why don’t you send me after him again Lady Tamao?” Mika suggested. “He blindsided me with that dragon of his last time, but this time I’m ready for him.”
“With all due respect Lady Tamao, I think we need approach this enemy with more strategy.” Hiyori interrupted. “If you will allow me to do some research on Jaden Yuki, I believe I can come up with a strategy that can defeat him.”
“Very well, I shall leave it to you for now Hiyori.” Tamao told the green-haired genius of the Four Witches. “The rest of us shall focus on getting into the finals. This meeting is adjourned.”
* * *
A little later in the day, Hiyori had gone to her room at the Strawberry Dorms. She had gotten out her laptop and was busy looking up any information she could find on Jaden, as well as the Legendary Dragons. Hiyori doubted that she could find anything on the dragons, but since they were the reason why Jaden was such a threat, she had to try and find something. As she worked, Mika suddenly entered the room, though she was not surprised as they were roommates. Though she did find Mika’s presence to be a distraction.
“Don’t mind me Hiyori, I just need to change into a new uniform.” Mika told her roommate. “Some spineless little first-year in the cafeteria who wasn’t watching where she was going ran right into me and spilled chicken soup all over me.”
As Mika stripped off her soiled uniform, Hiyori blushed when she saw Mika’s nude back. Immediately she averted her gaze and tried to focus on her work. The simple fact was that Hiyori was attracted to Mika, but she could not afford to act on them. A romantic relationship would only distract her from her work. Still, no matter how hard Hiyori tried, there were times when she found that she could not stop thinking about Mika.
“You know Hiyori, I really admire you.” Mika suddenly said as she changed into her other uniform.
“Why is that?” Hiyori asked as a heavy blush came to her face.
“Because you’re so calm and level-headed.” Mika explained as she finished changing. “You never let your emotions get the better of you. Me, I fly off the handle pretty easily. But you, you’re like ice. I kinda wish I could be a little more like you.”
“Well, I’ve just learned to focus myself over the years.” Hiyori said, trying to hide how flattered she was by Mika’s compliment. “As I’ve told you before, human emotions only cloud the mind and get in the way of progress.”
“You could be on to something there.” Mika said with a shrug. “Well, I better go crush more duelists if I want to get into the finals. Later.”
“Um, good luck.” Hiyori told Mika.
Mika responded by giving a wave as she left. Hiyori meanwhile tried to continue her research. She couldn’t believe that she had wished Mika luck. After all, luck was merely an illusion. Therefore it was unnecessary for her to say such a thing. Even so however, Hiyori found that she really did hope that Mika would do well.
* * *
Meanwhile, Tomoyo was in the middle of facing a Spica duelist. Already Tomoyo had summoned Swift Goblin of the South and had decimated her opponent’s deck with its effect. With one final attack from the goblin, her opponent’s life points fell to zero. The number on Tomoyo’s point counter rose to one hundred and flashed green, signaling that she had made it to the finals. With the duel over and her place in the finals assured, Tomoyo calmly walked away.
As Tomoyo walked, she found herself reflecting on why she was helping Tamao’s cause. And the simple fact was that she wasn’t doing it for Tamao at all. As far back as she could remember Tomoyo’s father had trained her in the art of combat. She never knew her father’s full reasons for doing this. The few times she did ask, her father simply told her that it was so he could get back at those who he thought had taken the life of her mother. He also told Tomoyo that if she loved him, she would help him in his revenge. So Tomoyo blindly did as her father told her, but not once did her father show her any love.
When Tomoyo was about ten, her father was arrested and she was placed into foster care. Fortunately the family that had adopted her was moderately wealthy. About three years later Tomoyo had stumbled into the world of Duel Monsters, which she found that she greatly enjoyed. However she found that she never had a purpose of her own. Before she only worked to carry out her father’s revenge against those he blamed for her mother’s death. That all changed however when Tomoyo came to Miator.
In the beginning Tomoyo only came to Miator because her adoptive parents told her it was a good place to hone her skills as a duelist. Then she met her roommate, Jane Hawthorn. Jane captivated Tomoyo the moment she saw her. She did not know if what she was feeling was love or not, but all Tomoyo knew was that she wanted to be close to Jane. Unfortunately, Jane wasn’t making that easy.
The problem was that Jane was cold and distant. No matter what Tomoyo tried, Jane always pushed her away. Then came the day that Tamao came before her and asked for her help in remaking the world. Tomoyo couldn’t care less about any mad scheme to change the world. But when she learned that Jane was involved, Tomoyo immediately decided to join Tamao’s cause. Tomoyo knew that Jane might be put in danger since she and Tamao were messing with some sort of magic. So she swore to do whatever it took to protect her, no matter what might get in her way, or who she had to destroy.
* * *
At about the same time that Tomoyo was having her duel, Tamao too was looking for an opponent. She wasn’t going to try and go after Jaden. After all, with the power of the Legendary Dragons behind him, Jaden was a formidable opponent, and she couldn’t afford to take any risks at the moment. Tamao had a completely different target in mind, and that target was Chikaru. Ever since the second day of the tournament when she saw Chikaru and Shion confess their feelings for one another, she saw it as another unfairness to the world, one that needed to be corrected. And Tamao would correct it once she trapped Chikaru’s soul and used it to help resurrect The Great Leviathan.
Just as Tamao spotted Chikaru, another girl passed in front of her. From her clothing, Tamao could tell that she wasn’t a student on the island. And yet Tamao was certain that she recognized her. That short tied back red hair was unmistakable to her. Tamao followed after the girl silently for a few minutes, but after awhile she found that she could no longer remain silent.
“Nagisa?” Tamao called to the redhead.
The girl turned around to face Tamao, and when she did Tamao could see that the girl was not Nagisa. Though the resemblance was uncanny.
“Um, I think you have me mixed up with someone else.” The redhead told Tamao. “But since you’re here maybe you could duel me. I’m fifty points away from the finals. So how ‘bout it?”
Tamao could believe how foolish she had been. She couldn’t believe that she mistook the girl before her as Nagisa, and even if it were it just would’ve rubbed salt in an old wound. However, Tamao did see this odd meeting as a good opportunity.
“Fifty points you say?” Tamao asked. “That’s just the amount of points that I have. Okay then, I’ll take you on. And it’ll be an all or nothing match.”
“Sounds good to me.” The redhead agreed, and with that the two of the activated their duel disks.
In the first turn of the duel, Tamao activated The Seal of Orichalcos. Within a few short turns, Tamao had defeated the redhead. The Nagisa look-a-like was terrified as the seal closed around her. After a column of green light shot into the air, the soulless body of the redhead fell to the ground face first. The number on her point counter dropped to zero. At the same time, the number on Tamao’s point counter rose to one hundred and flashed green. Tamao walked away with a very satisfied smile on her face.
* * *
A little later that day, Jaden was sitting out by the lake in deep thought. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the intercom horn.
“Attention all tournament participants!” Amane’s voice called over the intercom. “Two more duelists have now reached the finals. The first is Miator student council member, Tomoyo Mikage. The second is Miator student council president, Tamao Suzumi. As of now there are only two spots left in the finals, so the rest of you really need to take your game to the next level if you want to make it. Good luck!”
“Well, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.” Yubel said as she appeared next to Jaden. “If Tamao really is behind all this, then it’s no surprise that she made it to the finals.”
“I wonder if I should’ve gone after Tamao sooner.” Jaden thought out loud, not that he needed to with Yubel.
“That probably wouldn’t have been a good idea.” Yubel told him. “If she’s as powerful as we think she is, it would’ve been suicide to charge at her blindly. This way we have a better chance of coming up with a plan to beat her.”
“I guess you’re right.” Jaden agreed. “I just hope that whoever duels Tamao before we do doesn’t get hurt.”
* * *
A little later at the meeting hall of Miator’s student council, Hiyori was checking on the fragment of The Great Leviathan. At that moment Tamao walked in and presented The Seal of Orichalcos card to the psychic collector that was being used to resurrect the Leviathan. A green light shot from the card into a panel at the top of the machine. A picture of the redhead that Tamao had defeated appeared on the panel.
“Congratulations on making it to the finals Lady Tamao.” Hiyori said to her mistress. “The soul you collected should put the resurrection far sooner than last predicted.”
“Thank you Hiyori.” Tamao said to her underling. “Have you completed your research on Jaden Yuki?”
“I have my lady, and I believe I have found a way to not only beat him, but seal the power of the Legendary Dragons as well.” Hiyori answered. “It only took some minor modifications to my deck.”
“Very well then Hiyori, I will leave knocking Jaden Yuki out of the tournament to you.” Tamao told her.
“I will get to it as soon as possible” Hiyori said with a bow.
