The night wind swept across the rooftop of Kaiba Corp First General Hospital.
Aleister stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking up at the stars scattered across the night sky.
He had never been the kind of person to stare at the stars and indulge in fantasies. To him, those stars hanging in the heavens had far more practical uses, such as observing the trajectories of the constellations to predict the course of the future and fate.
But now, as he looked at those flickering points of light, he realized that the road ahead of him was blurred.
It was a tangled mess. Nothing could be seen clearly.
Aleister recalled the scene he had witnessed in the hospital room during the day.
That guy had actually swallowed down the urge to run away just to avoid making his family sad, choosing instead to face those soft and troublesome emotions head-on.
Back then, when faced with Endymion and Rilliona, he had chosen a different path.
"Raku... really is a good guy."
Aleister tightened his grip on the staff in his hand.
"Perhaps I've grown as well? Is this what progress feels like?"
He looked up at the highest star, his gaze slowly sinking in the night wind. He made a certain decision.
….
The next morning.
Raku opened his eyes.
The sunlight made him narrow those dead-fish eyes slightly. Once his vision refocused, he saw someone sitting on the chair beside the hospital bed.
Aleister was wearing his trademark 'Great Sage' robe, holding a fruit knife from the hospital cafeteria as he peeled a red apple. The peel formed one long unbroken red strip in his hands, hanging all the way down to the floor.
"Seriously, you know this looks really creepy, right?"
Raku stared at the endlessly lengthening apple peel.
"How does your body feel now?"
Aleister flicked the blade in his hand, and the peel dropped to the floor. He handed over the perfectly peeled apple.
Raku subconsciously reached out to take it. The moment his fingers touched the fruit, he froze for a second.
"Mmm... it feels like my body has a bit more strength now."
The constant heaviness he had been carrying seemed to have faded considerably.
"Mm. Looks like those undead did secretly stuff some payment into you after all." Aleister leaned back against the chair. "That Skull Servant King gave you quite a bit of Soul Power."
"Although he didn't dare give you too much. Otherwise, you would've transformed into an undead yourself."
Raku rotated his wrist a little. His joints were still somewhat stiff, but they really didn't hurt anymore.
"So that's how it is." Raku took a bite of the apple and fixed his gaze on Aleister's face. "So what's going on? You seem to be in a pretty good mood."
Aleister paid no attention to the apple peel on the floor.
"Do you want to fully recover?"
"Of course I do," Raku replied.
If he didn't have to keep lying in a hospital bed all the time, or rely on soul drifting every day just to steal other people's bodies for a taste of life, he would laugh himself awake from happiness even in his dreams.
Aleister looked directly into Raku's eyes.
"Good. Then after I spend the next few months preparing, I'll take you to the Sacred Magic Nation in the Spirit World."
Aleister paused briefly.
"I'm going to retrieve a Spellbook. That Spellbook possesses the power to heal you. Even a damaged soul can be restored. And perhaps... you may even become stronger."
The apple in Raku's mouth stopped midway through chewing.
The Sacred Magic Nation? A Spellbook capable of healing souls? One that could make a person stronger?
Among all the Spellbooks, there seemed to be only one capable of such an effect.
Raku frowned.
"You mean Spellbook of Judgment?"
Aleister's expression froze for a brief second.
"Partner, you always know everything." Aleister placed the fruit knife on the bedside table. "Anyway, it's settled. For the next few months, just enjoy your life as a guardian spirit behind someone's back."
Aleister stood up and tugged down the wide hood to cover half his face, leaving only his back to Raku.
"I'm not giving you the chance to object."
He pushed open the hospital room door and walked out, seemingly worried that Raku might reject his proposal because of this.
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Duel Academy, Obelisk Blue Girls' Dormitory.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a long slanted shadow across the floor. Rikka sat up from her bed and stretched lazily.
Yesterday's crying fit seemed to have washed away all the gloom and confusion that had been weighing on her chest these past few days. Even her breathing felt much lighter now.
She turned her head and looked toward the other side of the room.
Her roommate, Eiko Phoenix, was already seated at her desk.
The girl with pure white hair streaked with dark brown highlights was wearing a tight dark undershirt fastened with black leather straps, her head lowered as she disassembled her Duel Disk. Her movements were swift, several tiny screwdrivers and polishing cloths switching skillfully between her fingers.
"You look pretty good."
Eiko didn't even raise her head.
"Mhm!" Rikka pulled on her oversized black trench coat, unable to hide the smile curling at the corners of her mouth. "Big brother woke up yesterday. Looks like he's recovering."
Eiko paused while wiping one of the Duel Disk's card slots.
"That's good." Eiko set down the polishing cloth in her hand. "Next time you visit him, don't casually bring malatang to the hospital. Bringing some fruit would be better. Patients need balanced nutrition."
Rikka's hand paused midway through buttoning her coat.
She looked at the girl's back with a trace of confusion.
To her, Eiko had always been a gloomy and difficult-to-approach girl. Those heterochromatic eyes always seemed to hide countless worries, and even her modified school uniform carried an aura that warned strangers to stay away.
She never talked about herself, much less interfered with other people's private lives. Over the past few days, while Rikka had been anxiously running around in circles every day, Eiko had only coldly maintained her cards off to the side.
Yet today, she was unexpectedly concerned about what she brought when visiting someone in the hospital.
Rikka walked over to her own desk. As she passed by Eiko, her eyes subconsciously swept across the tabletop. Spread neatly there was Eiko's Deck: [Destiny HERO].
Rikka's gaze stopped on the Fusion Monster card sitting at the very top of the Extra Deck.
A radiant monster engulfed in flames, striking the pose of a hero.
[Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer]
From the first day Rikka met Eiko, she knew she was a Duelist who used Destiny HERO monsters.
Albeit this Deck didn't contain Avian or Burstinatrix, the required materials needed to Fusion Summon Phoenix Enforcer. Not only that, Destiny HERO Decks rarely carried generic Fusion cards in the first place.
So why did Eiko keep a card in her Extra Deck that she could never summon?
Eiko noticed Rikka's lingering gaze on the table.
Her hand shot out as if shocked by electricity. She quickly pulled out [Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer], flipped it face-down, and shoved it to the very bottom of the Extra Deck case.
"You're entering the Freshman Tournament too, right?"
Eiko picked up a velvet cloth from beside her and forcefully wiped at dust that didn't even exist on the Duel Disk's surface, rudely dragging the topic elsewhere.
Rikka snapped back to reality and nodded. She remembered the warm look in Raku's eyes.
"Yeah! I have to let prison bro know how awesome I am. That way, he'll definitely feel relieved while he's in the hospital!"
Rikka clenched her fist, and the ahoge on top of her head bounced along with the motion.
Eiko's movements stopped.
She stared at the Duel Disk projector before her.
"Is that so?" Eiko turned her head, her dark blue left eye and bright blue right eye fixed on Rikka at the same time. "Then that makes us opponents too."
The atmosphere seemed to cool instantly because of those words.
Yet, Rikka wasn't hurt by that coldness.
"Yeah." Rikka looked at Eiko and revealed a smile free of any gloom. "So, when we Duel, please make sure to go all out. But..."
Rikka clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward a bti.
"Before that, let's all work hard together."
Eiko's fingers tightened around the edge of the Duel Disk.
She no longer looked at Rikka's smile. Turning back around, she picked up the screwdriver again and twisted it down onto one of the screws on the Duel Disk.
...
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