The Duelists of Solstice

Chapter 6: Returning Foes and the Missing Heart

Ocha smiled brightly at their reflection. They had gotten all cleaned up after the tournament. They had their special sunflower-print yukata on, and they were ready for the festival.

"Ready to go, Amy?"

"Of course!" Amy's yukata was covered in little roses, and she looked as excited as Ocha and Boba did.

As they walked into the festival, Ocha looked around hoping to see Blaze. She didn't seem to be there though. Ocha sighed, disappointed. "Maybe she'll come later..." they whispered to themself.

They took in the beauty of the festival, even if Blaze wasn't there. Scattered stalls offering food and games, lights everywhere, so many beautiful yukata... Ocha was having a fantastic time with Amy and Boba. Within five minutes, they all had candy apples and were playing a goldfish-catching game that neither Amy nor Ocha succeeded at.

"It's okay," Ocha put their hand on a frustrated Amy's shoulder, "the thing that makes festival games fun isn't winning, it's failing with friends!"

They laughed and moved on to a yakisoba stall. Still, Ocha kept glancing around for Blaze, just on the off chance that she would be there...

Suddenly, there was a ring on Amy's phone.

"Huh, you're even taking calls here?" Ocha asked.

"Hey, even if I stepped down as head organizer, a hero like me needs to be on tap," Amy winked. "After all, if I weren't still important, would I really need an intern to help me clean up messes? Even if I have mostly donated you to the research team, since I've been spending more time on adventures for a while now."

Ocha laughed nervously as Amy answered her phone.

"What?! You're kidding..."

Ocha was startled at Amy's shock a few moments after she answered the phone. The worry was evident on her face.

"So, there's a possibility she's in the area... Got it. I'll keep watch carefully, and take her out if I can find her," Amy ended the call and looked down.

"What happened?" Ocha asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"Remember the recent villain you encountered in the Sol Kingdom, Dr. Hedyll the Hare?"

"Yes, she was really creepy! She was a researcher who specialized in studying the Phantom Ruby, and by extension, the Phantom Heart. She had that tiny broken Phantom Ruby shard embedded in her eyepatch and everything! I still have nightmares about her sometimes..." Ocha trailed off.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that there were sightings of her around Restoration. I just spoke to Jewel. Somehow, despite all of our security measures, she infiltrated and found the Phantom Heart, not that I know how she knew where it was located..."

"Wow, that is extremely bad!" Ocha squeaked, looking around suspiciously. "D-did I hear you say that she was in this area?"

Amy sighed. "Yes. The last sighting indicates that she's somewhere in this area. Stay extremely alert. She's more dangerous than usual if she has the Phantom Heart."

"She doesn't have the Phantom Heart," Blaze said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Ah, where did you come from?!" Ocha continued squeaking. Blaze was still just wearing her normal outfit with the grey cloak, so at least Ocha knew that they hadn't been avoiding them at the festival.

"I just received a similar report from the organization I work with, and thought that contacting you might be a good idea."

"What 'organization?' Ocha told me about how you threatened them! You've come a long way Blaze, and it's good to see you even under these circumstances, but what are you up to?"

"They told you that I threatened them, now did they?" Blaze asked while glancing at Ocha. "Well, I take my position as a phantom thief very seriously, and I can't afford to let them interfere with the bounty I'm currently pursuing."

"And what bounty would that be?" Ocha stepped in.

"The Phantom Heart. May we return to your room at the inn? We have much to discuss."

Amy nodded, and Ocha followed her and Blaze towards the inn.

But the group didn't make it very far. There was a scream from a thicker patch of trees nearby, and the group immediately stopped to run towards it.

They found Uemura the mouse, the man from the opening ceremony, leaning back on a tree and shaking, eyes full of horror.

"What happened?" Blaze asked immediately.

"This woman was sneaking by, and I stopped her to ask if she was lost. She hit me with this... this cube of some kind and everything around me got very strange for a few moments."

"That has to be Dr. Hedyll. I can't believe she's so close by... I'm going to do a perimeter search—Blaze, Ocha, I'll meet you at the inn in 15 minutes, okay?" Amy summoned her hammer and ran in the direction Uemura had pointed.

"Are you okay, sir?" Ocha asked, turning to the grey-bearded man.

"Yes, thank you. It was just a momentary scare... I don't understand what's going on, but she seems to know what she's doing, right?"

"Yes, Amy is very competent, and an opponent who commands respect. You should feel free to enjoy the festival, but keep an eye out for anything strange."

"Are you sure it's safe to assume that Amy will catch her that fast? Is the festival safe?" Ocha asked as they approached the inn.

"If she had been planning to attack the festival, she wouldn't have been trying to get by quickly. Besides, especially because she lost the Heart, it wouldn't be a well-calculated risk to attack a festival full of highly powerful duelists."

"Oh, that's right, what happened to the Heart? Do you have it?"

"Unfortunately, I do not. Just wait for Amy. I'll explain everything," her eyes seemed to soften as they met Ocha's, "I promise."