Chapter 258: Sakuya's 90-Affection Skill - "Ultimate Circuit Connecting to the Future"
Amano had heard a classic thought experiment about relativity in his previous life.
If you sat alone in a sweltering room for two hours, every minute would feel like a week. But if you spent those same two hours with an attractive member of the opposite sex, the whole block of time would pass without you noticing.
Amano was fairly sure he was currently experiencing the second scenario. With an hour and a half left on Hacker Invasion, the time had nearly melted away on its own.
As for where the "attractive member of the opposite sex" was in this scenario.
To be clear upfront: Amano had no narcissistic tendencies.
But spending time in Nanki'in Sakuya's body meant that on some level his soul had been shaped by the physiological influence of inhabiting a girl's frame. Looking over at his own unconscious form on the sofa, he kept catching himself noticing details: the jawline, the knuckles of his hands, the line of his collarbone. His eyes kept drifting back to his own body without permission. Even his rate of swallowing had gone up noticeably.
Sakuya had probably picked up on the awkward energy partway through, because the voice in his head, which had occasionally surfaced with things to say at the start, had gradually gone quieter.
Even in a strictly 2-plus-0 configuration, the atmosphere in the room had still managed to develop a distinctly charged quality.
Amano: "Class President. Talk to me about something. Anything. Help me get my head somewhere else."
He needed to keep his composure by force if necessary.
Sakuya: "Oh. Oh, right. Amano. How many children are you thinking of having someday?"
Amano: "Literally anything except that."
Sakuya: "..."
Was that genuinely the only topic that came to mind? Idiot class president!
Fortunately, in the final stretch, Nanki'in Sakuya's Eva Terminal received a message from Muramasa that gave Amano's attention somewhere to go.
Muramasa reported that the Jinguuji family's people had been firmly escorted out of the banquet hall, leaving only Nanki'in family members in the space. Which made sense. After losing the duel, with everyone now aware of what the family head had attempted to do, the Jinguuji side had no face left to show and had no reason to linger.
Sakuya: "We owe this to you once again, Amano. The Nanki'in family will absolutely find a way to repay the debt."
Amano: "I didn't do this to collect on a debt from the Nanki'in family."
Sakuya: "I know. That's your way of doing things. Your sense of honor."
Amano: "You can read it that way if you want."
The skill duration ticked down to zero. After a brief moment of disorientation, Amano returned to his own body.
The instant he settled back into his own physiological framework, the strange pull vanished completely. He had no idea what he had been experiencing just now.
Even with the soul returned to its proper place, the ambient quality of the room had not entirely dissipated. Nanki'in Sakuya, sitting beside him, had a visible warmth at the edges of her otherwise composed expression, a flush that was higher on her cheeks than usual. The girl was pressing her lips together lightly, as if working something over in her mind.
"Time to head out, Sakuya."
Even with Muramasa fully in the know and unlikely to misread the situation, the fact remained that a boy and a girl had been shut in a private room together for a full hour and a half. Whatever anyone might or might not say about it, the thoughts that would form in the minds of the Nanki'in retainers who had watched Sakuya grow up were beyond anyone's control.
Whatever the teasing nickname "young master's wife" implied, creating a situation where people might wonder about Sakuya's reputation as a young woman over something that had not actually happened was not something Amano was willing to do.
Especially tonight, with her mother right here in the building.
And returning to his own body had also jogged his memory on something he had managed to forget entirely.
He had left Shio behind.
It had been an emergency. The Dark Game situation had come out of nowhere, and he had told his sister one thing and disappeared. Shio was sensible, and at a high-end hotel like the Heavenly Chalice Dragon Pavilion she was in no actual danger on her own. But she had been sitting there since he left, obedient as always when he gave her a direction.
"Wait. Amano."
Sakuya, still pressing her lips together with that conflicted look, called out just as he reached for the door handle.
"What is it?"
At that exact moment, the system notification flashed across his vision.
[Nanki'in Sakuya] [Affection +1] [Affection: 90]
[Affection at 90. New romantic skill unlocked: Ultimate Circuit Connecting to the Future]
He had not even worked out what happened. The two of them had spent an hour and a half in a room. And that last critical point had just cleared on its own?
Before he could open the skill menu, his instinct immediately jumped to the threshold pattern that had established itself as a personal rule: 90-affection always comes with the kill shot.
Sakuya had just cleared 90. She was calling him back right now in a closed room with just the two of them. This was not going to be...
What he felt a half-second later was a brief, light press of something soft against his lips, followed by the sensation of Sakuya on her tiptoes beside him, and then the faint, particular clean scent of a girl that drifted from her.
"That's my reward for your sense of honor."
Having caught Amano completely off-guard with a quick kiss, Nanki'in Sakuya moved first. She pushed the door open and half-jogged out of the room, leaving Amano standing in place with no idea what expression he was wearing.
He had survived.
That was it?
Was that a good thing?
In the mild fog that had settled over him, Amano opened the skill menu.
[Ultimate Circuit Connecting to the Future]
[Can be activated in duels that have an Extra Deck Zone open. In the turn this skill activates, the number of available Link Summons increases by 1. After the turn ends, the remaining Link Summon count resets to zero. While this skill is active, temporarily unlock 1 Link monster that is not currently in the Extra Deck.]
Which made sense coming from the girl who had just awakened a Sky Striker field. Sakuya's 90-point skill was Link-related as well.
The Link Summons count going from two to three was straightforward. The catch was that all three had to be used in the activation turn, or the extras would not carry over. Use it or lose it.
The back half of the skill was the part that raised questions: "temporarily unlock 1 Link monster that is not currently in the Extra Deck." Which Link monster exactly? The skill did not specify. The description was being deliberately vague.
And unlike the "Card of Unknown Significance" skill, this one could not be tested in a regular duel. Normal duels did not unlock the Extra Deck Zone. It would only trigger in a Special Duel that the system recognized.
He would have to wait and see.
Out in a corridor of the Heavenly Chalice Dragon Pavilion hotel, away from the crowd, Nanki'in Sakuya had found a corner and slowly slid down the wall until she was crouching on the floor, all the energy drained out of her.
The porcelain-white of her cheeks had gone fully, deeply red all the way to her ears.
"I actually did it. I went and did something to Amano without his consent. I... I really am sneaky, aren't I."
The sudden guilt felt exactly like the time she had grabbed Amano's wrist in front of Finesse out of nowhere and put him in an awkward spot. That same sensation.
Sakuya knew clearly enough. She was not the only one who had feelings for Amano.
And what Amano did for her was not special treatment that belonged only to her. That was simply who Amano was: someone too decent to stand by and watch a friend in trouble.
Finesse at the time of the Wicked God battle. Rin Seiya during the Riding Duel. Amano had stepped in for both of them.
Neither of those two would have any less affection for Amano than Sakuya had.
She touched her own lips and replayed that brief moment.
And still she had used Amano's good nature as cover to sneak something past him.
"I'll talk to Mother about it tonight when I get home. Something about that didn't feel right."
The banquet, with its borrowed glamour, had ended early because of the Jinguuji family's disruption. There was too much to handle in the aftermath for Muramasa to come and say goodbye before Amano's car left. Nanki'in Yukihime herself came to see the Amano siblings out to the hotel's main entrance, with Sakuya following behind her.
There was nothing readable in Sakuya's expression as usual, but she spent the whole walk down to the door with her head slightly lowered, not quite meeting Amano's eyes. Something about her manner carried the unmistakable energy of someone who had done something a little guilty and knew it.
"See you later, Yukihime-san." Shio beamed. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"Shio, any time you want to visit, you're welcome at the main residence, no reservation needed." Yukihime ruffled Shio's hair gently, a warmth in her smile that was entirely maternal. Then her gaze shifted to Amano.
"You too, Amano Rei. Please do come visit when you have the chance. There are things I'd like to talk about with you, not only about Sakuya, but also about a certain set of Millennium Items."
"Millennium Items? Then you know about..."
"Tonight isn't the right time for it. Sorting out the Jinguuji family's Millennium Item situation is going to take some work over the next few days. Let's save the conversation for next time. I'll be looking forward to seeing you again, Amano Rei."
"Of course, Yukihime-san. Good night, both of you."
As Amano stepped toward the car, Yukihime gave a small wave and made sure to remind the Nanki'in dedicated driver to deliver them home safely.
Right at the last possible moment, Sakuya finally got her head up: "See... see you at school next week, Amano."
"See you at school."
In the car, Amano Shio, who had been cheerful and energetic in front of Yukihime, immediately deflated against the back seat like a balloon someone had pressed.
"What's wrong, Shio?"
Shio pointed at her own midsection. There was a noticeable roundness to it, and it was firm to the touch.
"I ate too many carbs, Big Brother."
"How much fried rice did you actually put away? Next time there's an occasion like this, eat the seafood. It's just as filling."
"Seafood... shrimp is okay, but I am absolutely not eating fish."
He had not known Shio was a picky eater. Then again, back in District 32, seafood from Eden's artificial marine zones was an expensive luxury they had never once had access to. In that light, his little sister was operating on a true slum budget when it came to her palate.
Because the banquet had ended early, when the Amano siblings got back to the villa they walked in at exactly the same time as Kikawayu arriving home from evening study hall.
"Hic. Kikawayu-nii, good evening, going to bed now, hic."
"Shio, what happened?" Kikawayu looked with genuine puzzlement at Shio's retreating back as she disappeared without turning around.
"Overate," Amano said.
"Right, you went to the Nanki'in banquet tonight." Kikawayu turned back and looked at Amano with a slight tilt of the head. "But Rei you look more tired than usual today."
"Do I? Really?"
Amano had not noticed it himself, but his best friend had caught it.
Tonight had involved more than its share of events. No physical exhaustion, but mental fatigue was a real thing.
"Make sure you rest properly, Rei. Remember: your body isn't just yours."
"Whose else would it be?"
"Heh. You'll know when the time comes." Kikawayu smiled in that deliberately mysterious way and turned toward the stairs to head back to his own room.
The door to Kikawayu's room closed. The illusion dropped. Yubel appeared at the edge of the bed.
"Yubel. Was it true, what you said?"
"Yes. Super Polymerization has been behaving strangely for the past few days. Eva's main core must have been involved. The exact reason is unknown, but the odds are high it has something to do with Amano Rei."
"How could that be? I haven't done anything that would expose us, have I? Or... did I let my feelings show too obviously lately?"
"No. Your containment has been solid. No signs of exposure recently. My guess is..." Yubel paused. "Amano Rei unlocked a special Duel Chronicle. Because of that, Eva has been drawing on the energy of our Super Polymerization."
"A Duel Chronicle? Is it Jaden Yuki again!"
Every time Kikawayu sulked about Jaden Yuki, Yubel's expression shifted into something that was half amusement and half affection. The look of someone watching a person they loved doing exactly the kind of thing they always did.
Back in his own room, Amano closed the door and felt, now that he was actually still, exactly the kind of fatigue Kikawayu had picked up on. He dropped onto the wide bed with a long exhale.
"??!!"
There was something moving in the bed.
What was that? This was extremely unsettling.
Amano launched himself upright, pulled back the covers, and found Finesse underneath them, looking up at him with a knowing, layered smile.
That was even more unsettling.
"Finesse-ojousama. What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious? I was waiting for you."
"Waiting for me?"
"You went to the Nanki'in family's banquet tonight. After doing something so unconscionable to me, you don't think you owe me some compensation?"
"I haven't done anything that unconscionable..." Amano started, and then the memory of the class president's parting move surfaced for a moment and his delivery lost its footing for an involuntary beat before he rallied: "Nothing like that happened."
"You'd better be right." Finesse smiled and tugged him down onto the bed. The heroic upper-body strength that had once carried his unconscious form through a District 11 alley at a brisk walk had not gone anywhere. She pulled him into the bed with zero resistance available on his end.
"I've been tied up with family business for days and it's been making me stir-crazy. And tomorrow's Saturday, so tonight we're not sleeping."
After mental exhaustion from a Dark Game, physical exhaustion was apparently not going to be optional either.
"Fine. You do the work then," Amano conceded.
"Hmm? Which time has it not been me doing the work?"
From this one data point alone it was quite possible to measure the significant physical gap between Finesse and Rin Seiya.
While he still had the conversation going, Amano asked the thing that had been genuinely on his mind. "Family business keeping you busy. Did something happen with the Wein family recently?"
The system's occupation-recording mechanic had activated again tonight during the Dark Game, which gave him a faint worry that this might somehow connect back to the Wein family's Puppeteer situation.
Shiyue Yi was gone. But technically, Amano had never officially received the "Puppeteer" occupation entry in his system.
Finesse, between catching her breath, answered: "My eldest sister is probably getting married soon. I've been spending time with her. That's mostly what it is."
"Your sister? Latir? She's getting married? Already, that's fast."
Amano's memory returned to the last banquet, when he had crossed paths with Latir. She had passed him Karl's wedding gift with a worried expression and commented that she was the only one of the three sisters still single.
That had been about a month ago.
"Flash marriage?"
"That's how she wants it. She says she found her true love. Father isn't fully on board, so I've been stuck in the middle trying to smooth things over."
Of course. Classic large-family drama. He had not expected Finesse's father to be quite so traditional about this.
"So do you think the person is reliable, Finesse? Her partner."
"The person? Which person?"
"Your future brother-in-law. Latir's spouse."
"Not a brother-in-law. My eldest sister's partner is a woman."
Well. Finesse's father was being quite moderate about it considering, which actually made Amano feel like maybe the man was not so traditional after all.
Sleep proved unavoidably out of reach for a while.
Given how thoroughly exhausted Saturday turned out to be, the Amano of that Saturday spent the entire day catching up on sleep. Sunday, as per long-established tradition, he and Kikawayu spent the whole afternoon collapsed on the sofa together doing absolutely nothing.
Amano found himself struck, somewhere in that afternoon, by the feeling that this was the actual point of everything. A lifetime of running and scrambling, from District 32 to the Academy dormitory to a genuine villa with a garden pond. The practical result of all of it was a better sofa and a slightly different weekend arrangement with his best friend.
Monday morning. Amano had barely opened his eyes, still half-submerged in sleep, when a VSN notification from Kaiba Chiaki arrived on the Eva Terminal.
Chiaki-senpai: [Chronicle run? You free?]
It was six thirty in the morning. Did she actually look forward to this that much?
Though the Chronicle in question was the one they had unlocked last week: Alternate World Arc: Decisive Battle at Supreme King Castle! VS Supreme King Jaden! Rating: SS+.
The amount of time that was likely to take meant starting early was not a bad idea. They could always pull a full day by having Kondo excuse them. Kondo would definitely agree.
So Amano's reply was short and direct: [Yes. Let's go.]
At seven fifteen, Amano and Kaiba Chiaki were on-site ahead of schedule, logged into the virtual network access point and ready to go. But what Chiaki had not expected: even at this early hour, two small tails had attached themselves to Amano.
Kikawayu and Finesse. Finesse had never once followed along for a Chronicle before.
That was the result of a conversation the night of the banquet, where Amano had casually mentioned the Chronicles and caught her interest. If even Nanki'in Sakuya had done one, she had declared, she was not going to miss her turn.
Kikawayu, meanwhile, appeared to have been prepared in advance. He was already standing outside Amano's door at the crack of dawn, leave of absence from Kondo already arranged, all ready to go.
"Fine." Chiaki gave a resigned nod.
Since last time the Chronicle had been Chiaki's own, she had asked Amano not to bring others along. But this was Amano's own unlocked Chronicle. Chiaki had no standing to refuse him his companions.
Standing at the Chronicle access terminal, the screen displayed the entry Amano had unlocked the week prior.
[Alternate World Arc: Decisive Battle at Supreme King Castle! VS Supreme King Jaden!]
[Difficulty Rating: SS+]
[Possible card drops: Evil HERO Infernal Rider, Evil HERO Malicious Edge, Evil HERO Dead-End Prison, Evil HERO Toxic Bubble, Dark Fusion, Dark Contact]
Today differed from last week in one key respect: the Launch button was no longer grayed out. It was active.
Kikawayu muttered under his breath: "Supreme King Jaden. What's that?"
Yubel, internally: "I know roughly what it is... but I'm not sure why."
Yubel shared the same confusion as Amano. In this timeline, Jaden Yuki had Amano beside him throughout. With that support in place, how had this version of events still produced the Supreme King?
"Everyone ready?" Amano confirmed. He pressed the button.
A second later, the virtual system activated. The familiar weightless drop closed around him completely.
In the fall, that timeline's stored memories washed into Amano's mind like a background narration.
[Amano Rei, first-year student at Duel Academy. Osiris Red.]
[In the year since enrollment, you resolved crisis after crisis within the Academy. You defeated the Seven Stars, the dark duelists who threatened the school, and rescued Alexis Rhodes's brother Atticus.]
[Then, together with Jaden Yuki, you stopped Academy chairman Kagemaru's plan to absorb the life energy of every Duel Monster using the three Sacred Beasts in exchange for immortality.]
[Along the way, you built deep bonds with your fellow students. Alexis saw you as the person who rescued her brother. Zane Truesdale and Atticus both regarded you as a worthy rival. And Jaden Yuki was absolutely certain you were the most trustworthy partner he had ever had.]
[You thought that after the Sacred Beasts incident, the Academy would finally have peace. But that was only the beginning of the chaos.]
[Second year. The Society of Light, led by Sartorius, delivered a prophecy of destruction. Using the power of the Light of Destruction, Sartorius twisted the minds of the Academy's students one by one.]
[Through your combined efforts, yours and Jaden's, the Society of Light's scheme was stopped.]
[Finally, to give your friend Jaden Yuki a clear path to compete in the finals and win the Genex Championship, you made a decision without hesitation: you would go in his place to stop the plans of Brron, Mad King of Dark World, and face Sartorius himself in the decisive duel.]
[But after the final duel against Sartorius, you vanished. Completely. As if you had ceased to exist.]
[Everyone searched. No one found a single clue.]
[As time went on, there were even rumors that you were dead.]
[Jaden Yuki, who had won the Genex Championship and become the King of Games, did not feel any happiness about it at all.]
[After you were gone, Jaden would often climb to the roof of the Academy and stare up at the sky.]
["Rei... I guess dueling isn't always going to be fun."]
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