Crimson Star Priestess

VS Yusei

I was mentally exhausted after my duel with Akiza, but it was worth it to save her. We walked down the corridor quietly as I kept my arm around her shoulders. She stayed close to me and held onto my shirt while she leaned her head against my side. She was like a scared child that was seeking comfort from her mother. Her long front bangs covered her face, so I tucked them gently behind her ears. Her brown eyes looked at me as she moved her arms so she could wrap both of them around my right arm.

I heard footsteps ahead and looked up to see Yusei walking toward us. Akiza snapped her head up when Yusei stood in front of us, but her emotions were still stirring around as her grip on my arm tightened a bit.

Yusei glanced at me, ignoring Akiza's hostile eyes. "Are you okay, Estelle?"

"Yes." I nodded.

Yusei turned to Akiza with his expressionless face. "And you, Akiza?"

"I'm fine." Akiza replied with a slightly tired voice.

I could tell Yusei had questions, but he held himself back when he saw both mine and Akiza's exhausted condition. I was glad he didn't pour all his questions on us right away.

"Estelle!" Two voices called.

The three of us turned our heads to the source of the voices and spotted Leo and Luna. They were running down the corridors while they both had happy expressions. They were probably worried about me after the intense duel with Akiza and wanted to see if I was okay.

"You're okay, Estelle!" Luna sighed in relief.

"You were so cool out there-" Leo began, only to stop and gasp in shock when he spotted Akiza. "The witch!"

I felt Akiza's body flinch from the nickname. I turned my eyes to her and saw she was glaring at the boy, but not as intimidating as she usually did.

"Why don't we refer to her by her real name." A voice cut in.

We noticed Ash approaching us.

"Akiza Inzinski." He politely greeted Akiza.

She was caught off guard. Not many people outside the Arcadia Movement address her by her real name.

Akiza let out a soft sigh as she leaned her head against my shoulder. "I'm tired and just want to go home."

By home, she must have meant the Arcadia Movement. As much as I wanted her to stay with us, I knew right now she felt safest in the place she thought was a sanctuary for people with psychic powers.

"What's going on back here?" A new voice spoke up.

We turned our heads toward the new voice that came from the clown known as Lazar.

"Everyone getting along nicely?" He asked with fake curiosity. "Quite the duel now, Ms. Estelle. Very impressive." A weird smirk grew on his lips, which didn't give me a good feeling. "Before the last duel of the semi-finals gets underway, Director Goodwin has a few things he would like to talk to you about. I'd say more, but it's confidential. Why don't you come with me and we-"

"If I may interrupt." Another voice spoke up.

We turned around once again and came face to face with Sayer. He had two Arcadia Movements that stood behind him, both of them looking emotionless and acting like robots.

"And you are?" Lazar asked, turning his attention to the leader of the Arcadia Movement.

"Don't play dumb, Lazar." Sayer retorted calmly. "Your reputation precedes you. We both know you don't like surprises, so let's not pretend you haven't done your homework like I have." He turned to Akiza while removing his trench coat. "You did your best, Akiza. Now, how about we go back home and you take a nice long bath?"