Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Rainbow Stardust (OLD)

Chapter 12: Ambassador Luna

When Goodman--no, Goodwin announced the losers' match, I started feeling a little bit uneasy again. Professor Frank's face was up there, along with the girl--no, the kid who lost against Greiger, the knight, and Hunter Pace.

"I bet Leo's excited," Yusei muttered under his breath as he stared at the screen. "I just hope he isn't too excited."

"Who's Leo?" I asked him.

Yusei gave me a side-eye and shrugged casually. "Just a new friend. I'm sure you'll meet him soon."

"The random results are in! The matchup will be between... The lovely Miss Luna and the Professor!"

A boy next to the girl--Luna--stood from his seat, but the spotlight and television focused solely on the girl still sitting beside him, with the pigtails and pink clothing. So then that boy was...

"That's Luna...?" I mumbled.

"The real one, no doubt," Greiger said. "The fake dueled pretty well, but I wonder how the real one will fare."

"The real... So then, the boy... Was he the fake? Is he Leo?" I asked Yusei.

Yusei, after a tense pause, nodded, but said nothing. I returned my attention to the screen.

It took a moment, but Luna and Professor Frank made their ways down to the dueling field in the stadium. I worried for Luna.

"...that Professor plays some tricks," I said. "I... I'm worried for Luna."

Yusei's eyes snapped to me. "What do you mean?"

"After I finished the duel... I was really tired," I went on. "And... I dunno if you remember, from way back then... When I suddenly fell ill..."

He did remember, and he straightened his posture, turning to me. "You think that's what'll happen to Luna, is that it?"

"Not... quite..." Yusei's sudden jumpy worry had me a little scared, but I went on anyway. "I... I felt tired after that duel, y'know? And I was tired when I woke up, too, and had that weird dream. Except..."

It wasn't a dream. I really did create a monster just by sketching and painting it in the Spirit World.

But I couldn't bring myself to complete that sentence. I just didn't have the words to describe what I needed to convey. Instead, I returned my attention to the screen.

"...Well, I just hope Luna can work through Professor Frank's mind games," I finally finished with a sigh.

Yusei turned his attention back to the screen, his gaze more intense than before, if that's even possible.

Luna started the duel by Summoning her Sunny Pixie in Defense mode, and then immediately turned it over to Frank, who started the duel with Symmetry Rorschach again. I groaned.

"...Not again..." I resisted the urge to pull up my sleeve again.

"You saw something unpleasant?" Yusei asked.

"...A lot of things, actually."

Symmetry Rorschach still morphed through the television, as though to mock me. I squirmed, uncomfortable.

"Yusei... w-what do you see when you look at that thing?" I asked him.

Yusei didn't answer for a few seconds, and I thought that he'd just ignore me and continue watching the duel. But he actually did respond.

"I don't see anything."

Whether he was telling the truth or not, I didn't care. Technically, seeing nothing was a valid response to the Rorschach test, so it was entirely possible he was telling the truth. Of course, Yusei could have been lying. If he was, I wouldn't blame him. I should've lied on mine, too.