Call of the Dark Spirits

"Not really." Yuki lied as she scratched her face. "The explosion at the Arcadia building lured me and a bunch of other people in. Met that guy trying to help his friends."

"Friends...?" Zeiya repeated. She gasped and took a step forward. "Was there an angry girl with pink hair? A-and a guy with a black pigtail?!" She quickly said.

"Well...the pink haired girl and that Security hulk were there." Yuki said, avoiding her begging gaze. "Didn't see a pigtailed guy..."~Though, why the hell do I have a sinking feeling he reminds me of ANOTHER idiot...?~

"Oh...." Zeiya said, drooping her shoulders. "At least we know Seiki's ok..."

Yuki instinctively twitched out of Zeiya's view. ~....This kid is suppose to be me?~ She thought. ~Damn it...she acts more like my sister than anyone else!~

Darren walked into the hospital, seeing a young man in a sport jacket. He thought nothing of it as it wasn't too out of the ordinary. He looked up at the Operating Room light to see that Seiki was still in the middle of surgery. He let out a small sigh as he lightly said, "I probably shoulda done more back then... but this is their fight, not mine anymore..."

Shuho looked at Yuki with a confused expression. She seemed to be very talkative considering that they'd only just met. He then turned to Zeiya upon her statement and said, "You need more confidence. As long as our friends are all together, of course it'll all be okay. Are you sure you're alright, Zeiya? You've had a lotta doubts since the Arcadia incident."

The man glanced up as he saw Darren and Seth coming in before focusing his gaze on the ground. He had an uneasy feeling around the two older men, but tried not to show it or make eye contact. Getting tired of resting his chin on his fingers, he tilts his hat down and legs his arms hang off his legs, one of them shaking up and down in impatience.

~Oh look, a resemblance...~ Yuki thought, her eye twitching in annoyance. ~I was always the weaker one of the group, being the easiest to take control of....god damn it, man!~

"Well, duh!" Zeiya suddenly said, turning to Shuho as her face puffed up. "I mean, I was being partially mind control! I couldn't do anything! I doubted you guys and was turned against you, too!" She opened her mouth to say more, but suddenly clamped it shut as Yuki's fist made contact with the blue haired girl's head. "OWWWWW!!!!" she cried, kneeling down and holding her head in pain.

"Damn brat, stop whining and grow up!" Yuki spat, glaring down at the girl. "What's happened earlier is in the past! Forget about it and do something that'll help you and your friends! Damn, no wonder they sent me to you...Come on!" She then grabs Zeiya's ponytail and starts to drag her away.

"Owowowowowow!!!!!" Zeiya cried out as she tried to get Yuki's hands off her hair. "What do you mean?! Let me go!"

Shuho started to run after them, holding his hand up as he tried to grab his friend. "Hey, what're you trying to do with Zeiya? Let her go and pick on someone your own age!"

Safe to say, the pigtailed boy was certainly not going to allow the pretty red-head in his arms to suffer. He had walked to the hospital as fast as he could after a moments of searching. He got a lost for awhile but slowly made it soon enough, getting unnerved glances at the sight of the gleaming marker under his eye. He quickly got the attention of whoever possible before making his demands clear, handing the girl over onto a rolling-bed after giving her a glance. His pigtail seemed to move nervously behind him as he watched her be taken away by those helping, his eyes blinking slowly as he turned on his foot,

"Aki..."

That duel was not something he desired, but he felt something he couldn't truly explain why doing so. He brought up his pale hands and clenched them into fists, eying flickers that danced around his deck before fading without a word. His gaze snapped to a mirror on the clean-washed wall, attracted to the crimson streaks that were jetting out through his hair and fading rapidly into pure blackness once more. He had seen this happen once before, but he thought it was a mere trick of light. It was easy to see it was not. It was almost like red dye had been threaded into his hair and was losing it's sheen, once burning red.

He had never used such a thing.

"Freaky.."

Still, what could he say? He had just had a duel that certainly bent ideas and sense. It wasn't like he could exactly ignore such a thing...

Suddenly, a flying piece of metal flew by and hits Shuho smack damn in the face. Yuki glares at the boy, her outstretched arm indicating she threw the metal.

"S-Shuho!" Zeiya cried out as she managed to pry her hair free from the woman's grasp and runs to Shuho.

"Damn punk, I'm trying to help this kid!" Yuki hissed, crossing her arms. "Look, I don't know much about it myself, but something bad's gonna happen soon! You may be fine, but this kid can't even defend herself right now!" She points at Zeiya, who squeaked in response. "Either I get your act together or you're gonna get fucked up!"

"H-Hah...." Zeiya managed to say, blinking as she looked at the older woman. "What do I do...?" She muttered to herself.

"I'm not too happy about being sidelined either."

Seth followed darren, sitting beside him. His coat folded underneath the weight, cradling around his legs as he crossed his arms. Drakemore looked to Darren from under the raven hair that fell just over his eyes.

"Can't beat yourself up. This is battle, people get hurt."

Shuho was seeing stars on the ground. The metal had caused him to flip in the air and hit the ground hard. He had no ability to respond, be he could hear everything. It only took him a second to come to. He raised one hand and said, "Do... what you gotta do... Zeiya. I'll take care of Seiki and the others, so you just... get stronger. Can't have me... beating you so easily, right?"

Darren gave a light sigh and turned to Seth. He wasn't use to being on the side, but he already knew there was no choice. This wasn't his world, his place. Even if he did do something, it would only last as long as he did in the world. "Yeah... you're right," he said softly. "But to me, its all the more reason we do our thing and make sure they can handle it."

"Eh? Eh?! EEEEEHHHHHH?!?!?!?!?" Zeiya blinked and blinked, her face paling as she attempted to reach an arm out to Shuho. "S-Shuho, you're gonna leave me with HER?!"

"Well...that's settled with. Come on, kid, we're going!" Yuki said as she drags the terrified Zeiya by the back of her shirt. "The hospital's not too far! Don't get lost!" With that said, she throws the now unconsious girl onto her own Runner and gets on the runner herself. After inserting Zeiya's deck into it, they drive past Shuho and out of the garage.

The light over the emergency room turned off, causing the man to quickly get up. A nurse comes over to the three males, looking at each of them. "The surgery for the young lady is finished. She's still unconscious, but stable right now." she said to the man before turning to Darren. "The officer you two brought in is awake as well. They're both in room 103: go through the door behind me and take a right. It will be the second door to your left."

"Ah...T-Thank you very much, nurse!" The young man quickly said, bowing before rushing over to the direction she indicated.

Shuho closed his eyes lightly as he started to stand. He didn't know why, but he felt he could trust the crazy girl. After all, if she'd wanted to harm Zeiya, she would have already, or made an attempt during the tournament. He turned and went to his Duel Runner, deciding that his place was at the hospital with his friends.

Darren turned to the room and started to rush that way of where Seiki and Trudge were. He turned to the door and saw Kai with a woman. "Hey Kai... you're late to the party, dude. Hey... what's with the girl? She doesn't look too good."

In the room, Trudge was trying to rest after the surgery. Though, it wasn't easy considering what was that was near him. He didn't much care for hospitals or the sounds from within. It was the main reason he was usually careful on patrol. His hands were to his ears as he tried to find a moment of peace.

"Yeah, yeah it is." Seth answered. He stood up, straightening out his trench coat before looking up the the sign telling everyone in the room that surgery was over. "Then I guess I need to find them."

Meanwhile, black boots meet the face of the Neo Domino City streets. A sigh of relief left pale lips. A hand wiped sweat from beneath golden hair, tossing it to the sidewalk. Cerulean eyes scanned the streets. This place was so big! The people were so lively! He didn't know where to begin!

"Made it."

A fist pump symbolized the victory, he had arrived.

"Where would Dad be?"

He processed the thought, rubbing his chin in a scholarly manner before shrugging.

"Not going to find him standing him."

Hands folded behind his head, the boy continued down the street.

The door flew opened as the young man stood there, panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Ignoring the officer covering his ears, he walked over to the unconscious girl.

The room echoed with beeps and breathing. There were so many things attached to the sleeping, bandaged girl that it was insane. The beeping of the heart monitor was eerily slow as well as the girl's breathing in the oxygen mask. An IV fluid line was connected to her right arm and a blood pressure pump on her left, which was entirely bandaged from chest to fingers. The expression on her unconscious face was that of a weak body receiving horrible pain.

"How horrible..." he muttered, shaking his head. He turned to the officer, hesitating before he spoke. "Sir...tell me, what happened to her? How did she get in such an injured state?" Unknowning to the man himself, his hands were shaking as well as his voice. He swallowed slowly before asking again. "You were with you, right? What happened?"

Trudge turned to the boy, seeing his mouth move and looked down as he said, "We were saving someone important to her... she got hurt because I let someone there get the drop on me. Its my fault she's like that... Wait, why do you know about her?"

Shuho rode through the city, searching for the hospital. He only had one problem, he didn't know where the hospital actually was. As he rode, he saw a single boy with his fist in the air ahead of him. Maybe he could know where to go. He slowly stopped in front of the boy with a light smile and said, "Hey, you know where the hospital is around here?"

"U-Uhhh....errmm..." He hesitated and stuttered. "I'm a friend of hers...b-before she left Neo Domino. A neighbor said he saw her and directed me to this hospital." Although he says the truth, he seems unusually nervous, tilting his hat down again and avoiding the officer's gaze. "S-She's gonna be ok, right?"

The boy stopped, hands slowly lowering as he turned to the stranger. Were people all this friendly around here? "Uh, nope. Sorry friend I'm not from around here." He answered with a hint a disappointment that he couldn't help the guy, but he probably knew less about the area than he did. He then stopped, turning back to the stranger, or more specifically, his runner. The boy's eyes lit up with excitment, flashing over to the vehicle and examining it. "Oh man, is this a Duel Runner?!?! Awesome!" He poked at the tires, looked himself in the eyes in the paint job. A real life Duel Runner! He was amazed. Just then, he stopped, realizing how creepy this was. He stood up straight, scratching the back of his head and smiling to the stranger. "Heh, sorry about that. We don't have them at home." He then wide-eyed "Wait, you said the hospital? I think......someone might be there I know. Sounds weird but can I come with?"

Trudge looked at the boy, his shaky expression was a sigh that he had something to hide. What's worse was the fact that he remembered Seiki wasn't much of a people person. Something about it sounded wrong. Trudge started to sit up, aching in silence as he did so, and said, "She should be fine. She's a fighter, after all. More importantly, who exactly are you and how do you know her?"

Shuho looked at the boy with a small smile. He would have done the same thing if the situation was reversed as he loved Duel Runners as well. He tapped his Runner lightly and said, "If you wanna ride it that bad, I'll give you a lift." He didn't think much of his statement, thinking that he merely said that to get a ride on his Duel Runner. He didn't mind either way as it was no bother. "So, if you're that into Duel Runners then that must mean your a Duelist, right?"

"Well......" The boy gave a cheeky grin, finally ceasing to scratch his head. "Nope. Well not yet at least!" He began to get defensive, as he thought about his statement again. "I love dueling, it's awesome! I just can't afford a Duel Runner......or a Duel Disk....or Cards." He sighed, shrugging it off and walking closer to the runner. "I only have one and that was a gift. I always wanted to duel, though, it looks so cool." With that, he hopped aboard the Runner "Hey thanks for this, uhhhhh......?"

"I told you, I'm a f-friend of hers..." He repeated, looking straight at the ground. "I was a friend of hers when she was in the Arca-argh!" Suddenly, he backs off and groans in pain, holding his right arm in pain before he hits a wall. "S-Shit...not now..." he muttered before glancing at the small desk next to Seiki. On it was the scattered remains of her deck, some of the cards were tatterd and torn. He walked over to the table and grabbed a card at random.

"S-Sorry...I'm gonna need this back for a bit..." he muttered to the girl before turning to the officer. His cap was raised a little without him noticing, showing off a dark eye under his hair and cap. "Please...Don't tell her about me being here." With that said, he ran out of the room in full sprint, pushing past Darren and Kai beforoe he disappeared around the corner.

Shuho gave a small laugh And turned to the boy. He reminded Shuho of himself so long ago. He thought about it for that moment, when he had no cards himself and little knowledge on how to duel. All he had was his dreams, and Darren was the one who changed all of that, taught him all he could and gave him some of his first cards. He turned to the boy lightly and said, "Name's Shuho. You know... we've kinda got a few things in common. Almost hard to believe there's guy like you in the city when I came from the Satellite not too long ago."

Trudge looked at the man with blinking eyes, wondering what he'd taken from her cards. It was strange for him to say any of her cards were originally his. He laid his head back down, unable to actually stand and do anything.

Darren turned to the boy as he was talking to Kai. He looked at the boy with confusion as he wondered why he was in such a hurry. If he were a different person, he'd probably go see about it, but he was too dense for that.

The young man brushed his platinum locks from his eyes. He returned the motion with another grin of his own. "I'm Harley. Harley King, nice to meet ya." He leaned back a bit, gripping up as to not fall off. "I didn't get a chance to go to Satellite yet, been kinda busy. You seem like a nice enough guy, though, so I'll have to chekc it out sometime." He took in the surroundings as they passed him by "and we hey, common ground is always cool!"

Shuho gave a small smile at hearing Harley speak of things. He was a good guy, and his spirit and heart was something he could feel from even there. Though, he didn't know why they seemed to get along so well, it wasn't a bad thing in the least. Shuho saw the hospital up ahead. He started to slow down as he turned the bike sideways to help himself stop. He had just enough time to see a boy running out of the hospital. He blinked lightly and said "That guy must be in a hurry to leave. Guess I couldn't blame him."

Few days later...

Everything at the hospital seems normal ever since Seiki and Trudge came in. The only complications was that Seiki has not regained consciousness. The doctors have determine she was in a coma and moved her into a different room so that Officer Trudge wouldn't be distraunted by the machinaries and the frequent visits from the doctors. Everything was quiet and peaceful...

"Seiki!!!"

Zeiya came running down the halls and bursts through the room Trudge was in. She panted slightly, trying to catch her breath as she looked around the room, seeing nothing but the officer.

"Sludge! Where's Seiki?!" she said. "That lady with the black hair told me that she was in the same room with you!"

Kai was elsewhere, though still near the hospital. He was stood outside and was waiting for the word about Aki, wondering how she had been for the past few days since their duel, tossing a penny up and down in his hand to ease stress and his general boredom. The pigtailed boy had visited quite a bit since she had passed out and was now left wondering what the hell to do, having already picked up a certain Duel Runner with the break in time. All in all, he was still clueless about what happened while he and the red head were fighting, nor had he met the "Past" legends of a aged academy.

"We're sorry, Sir, but there still hasn't been any check-ins by the name Oliver King. If there is we will let you know." A woman spoke in a calming yet instructive tone to a young man on the other side of the counter. Harley let out a sigh with the bowing of his head. This was the third time since he had arrived that he asked the receptionist at the hospital for his Father, and the third time he was denied. He just wasn't there. "Th-Thank you anyway." He turned back, a tint of disappointment to him, but he brushed it off. Dad was alright and he knew it, it was just a matter of finding him! He decided the take a walk, strolling down the hall with his hands behind his head, pressing the bright blonde hair to his scalp. "Kinda strange taking a walk alone."

"You're not alone."

"Be quiet!"

Harley snapped to the side of him, the empty hallway somehow speaking. He looked around, then continued his walk. As he turned the corner, he crossed paths with another, almost bumping into him. "Oh, sorry sir." The man stopped, turning to him "It's no problem." The man slipped his hands back into his pockets, his coat swaying as he walked in the opposite direction. "Was that?" Harley stopped "......naw, there's no way."

Trudge raised his head as he looked the girl. Her yell had awaken him and he didn't really know what she was talking about. "Seiki... what? She's right..." he said weakly as he started to point at an empty bed. When he raised his head he saw that it was with no one inside. His eyes widened and he yelled out, "What the heck happened?!"

Shuho was on his way to the hospital, walking instead of using his Duel Runner because he "set up shop" close by in case anything were to happen. He saw Harley walking by him, and he was about to speak before his arm started to burn again. He held onto it with confusion as he had no idea what it meant. "Ahh... What the..."