Yu-Gi-Oh: P.O.D: Part 97

Lena got up and ran over to Xia. "S-Sister what's wrong!?"
    Kou staggered over, thinking about carrying Xia for a moment, even Kou knew he couldn't do much in his current state, so he looked over to Yu. "Yu-kun...could you take Xia back to the purple dorm please...?"
    Yu looked back at Kou. "What are you planning on doing?" He answered back, not liking this one bit.
    Kou grew a look of confusion. "Nothing, just take Xia back to her room, all she needs is some rest."
    Yu looked back at Kou for a moment. "You look like you could use some shut-eye yourself." He commented before walking towards Xia to pick her up.
    Kou thought for a moment. "No...I've done too much resting today...and now the Radiance might be here in full force..." Kou took his deck out, putting it in his duel disk. "I...I need to find out..."
    Lena gave Kou a worried yet serious look as Yu picked up Xia. "Kou! If my sister wakes up just to find out you're in worse condition..."
    Yu frowned as he looked at Kou. "This isn't the time to play hero!" He shouted at Kou, placing Xia's arm around his neck for support. "You look more banged up than Xia right now, so stop trying to act like you're fine, 'cause I can tell you're not. Marching in like that, you won't last five minutes!"
    Kou tried to stand straight. "No...I have to...if not then...it'll be just like last year..." Kou looked down. "I don't...want a repeat of last year..."
    Yu would have knocked Kou out if he didn't know he'd have to carry him, too. "You can't protect everyone all the time, damnit!" He cussed. "Stop playing Mister-I'm-too-good-for-your-help and give us some space, would ya?" He exclaimed. "Duking it out alone ain't what ADAD's about!"
    Kou stepped forward. "I..."
    However Kou's quote was cut short by Megumi running along and spraying something in his ace, making him faint into her arms. "Thank you Yu-kun..." Megumi stated as she held Kou up in her arms. "Now Naruki-kun, you really should get some rest." She whispered as she walked up the staircase.
    Lena looked back at Yu. "Yu, let's leave Kou with Kanjori for now, we need to get my sister back to her room so she can get some rest of her own."
    Yu looked at Megumi, then back at Lena. "R-right..." He replied before looking back at Megumi. "Yeah, I'll see you guys later."
    Meanwhile near the dock, Tacey and Yuri look about for opponents.
    Yuri looked worried. "This isn't looking good." He said. "The number of duelists is dropping too quickly. I was expecting more of a challenge, but it looks like the pros are too much for most of them."
    Tacey looked away. "I'm actually worried about everyone." She spoke. "Even Kou...I don't know how ADAD is holding in this tournament."
    Yuri smirked. "Well, maybe you could show them how it's done." He remarked. "I heard Yu was doing great. You think you could duel him?"
    Tacey rolled her eyes. "He's got heart, but I think I can beat him. If it comes down to it, I might just duel the others if there aren't any duelists left."
    Yuri looked around. "You sure?" He asked. "Because I think there's one of your group walking over."
    Seb held his head, looking pissed off. "Damnit...everytime I do something, I just keep messing everything up!" He cursed at himself.
    Yuri cocked an eyebrow. "Whoa, slow down, hot-shot. What's the story?" He asked, moving in front of Seb to stop him.
    Seb looked down. "If you really want to know, I dueled some high-class big-talker with his wooden puppets." He explained. "He wanted to date Etsuko if he won, but I beat him."
    Tacey walked over to Seb. "So, what's bothering you?"
    Seb shook his head. "Etsuko-chan locked herself in her room after the duel was over." He added. "I feel like crap..."
    Tacey folded her arms. "Why would you feel bad about winning a duel?"
    "He just wouldn't give up on trying to date her." Seb answered. "Couldn't get him off the Black dorm. She's probably waiting for him to leave. Frankly, I just want to get this off my chest."
    Tacey looked at Seb with a knowing smile. "Then how about a duel? That should keep you from thinking on it too much."
    Seb looked back at the two. "Are you sure I should...?"
    Yuri moved aside. "Break a leg, kid. You need it."
    Seb activated his duel disk. "Gee...thanks."
    Tacey activated her own disk. "Let's get this duel started. I'm ready when you are!"
    "Duel!"
    Tacey drew her opening hand before looking at Yuri. "Watch this." She said. "Kou taught me a thing or two while we were apart." Tacey looked at her opening hand. "This should be quick." She said. "I'll start by summoning Psychic Commander in attack mode." 1400 Attack. "Next, I play Instant Fusion to special summon a card Kou got for me, a little Fusion creature card called Fusionist." 900 Attack.
    Yuri cocked an eyebrow, examining Tacey's moves as her lifepoints dropped to 3000.
    Tacey continued her turn. "Next, I tune Psychic Commander with Fusionist to synchro summon Psychic Nightmare!" 2400 Attack
    Yuri smirked. "And here I thought you were still scared of Fiends. He looks demonic enough."
    Tacey shrugged. "Let's just say Kou gave me a reason not to be scared." She commented before continuing her turn. "Next, I play Emergency Teleport to bring out another Psychic Commander." 1400 Attack. Tacey looked back at Seb. "I know we're both ADAD, but it doesn't mean we can't go all out against each other..." She commented, "...because I tune my second Commander and Psychic Nightmare for a new synchro summon...Hyper Psychic Blaster!" 3000 Attack. "And now, I play Miracle Synchro Fusion to fuse Psychic Nightmare with Psychic Commander in the grave, to fusion summon the most feared Psychic yet, Ultimate Axon Kicker!" 2900 Attack.
    Seb cringed at the sight of the two immense Psychics, almost too scared to do anything.
    "I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn." Tacey finally added.
    Seb closed his eyes as he drew his card. "Looks like I can't win..." He said with a deep sigh. Seb looked at his hand for a moment before playing. "I'll start by playing Constellar Leonis in attack mode." 1000 Attack. "Thanks to his effect, I can Normal Summon another Constellar creature this turn, so I'll tribute Leonis to advance summon Constellar Spica in attack mode." 2300 Attack.
    Tacey looked at Spica. "She's pretty, but it's too bad she won't be staying on the field." She stated. "I activate Bottomless Trap Hole!"
    Yuri frowned as Seb looked down. "I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn..." Seb added, ending his turn.
    Tacey shook her head. "Sorry, but I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, hitting your the card on the right." She stated.
    Seb cringed as his face-down Call of the Haunted was destroyed.
    Tacey drew her card. "Seb, this isn't the time to mope." She commented. "The pros won't take it easy on you if you're not feeling right."
    Seb closed his eyes. "Just make it quick." He replied flatly.
    Tacey nodded. "You asked for it, so here goes. Hyper Psychic Blaster, attack Seb directly!"
    Seb didn't even make a move as his life points were dropped to a mere 1000.
    Tacey continued her assault. "Ultimate Axon Kicker, finish this! Ultimate Mind Blast!"
    Seb's arms dropped to his side as his life points dropped to 0. As his duel disk deactivated and his wristband marked him as having lost, Seb simply turned away.
    Tacey over at Seb. "Seb, what are you doing?"
    Seb let out a sigh. "You got your win." He replied with little emotion. "I'm out of here."
    Tacey took a step towards Seb, but was blocked off by Yuri. "Hey, what gives?"
    Yuri shook his head. "Just leave him alone." He said. "I don't know what Kou taught you, but crushing your opponents like that...this isn't you." He added before turning away from Tacey.
    Tacey looked confused. "What do you-hey!" Tacey shouted, noticing Yuri was walking off. "Where are you going!?"
    Yuri let out a sigh. "I got my own duels to face..." He answered before leaving.
    Tacey let out a sigh. "I...I don't understand." She uttered before letting out a heartfelt sigh. "Maybe I should talk to Megumi...I hope she'll be willing to listen."
    Meanwhile, Kary, Paige and Maya are sitting at the Black dorm cafeteria.
    While Maya is chowing down, Kary looks at the size of Maya's tray. "My goodness...you really should slow down, or else your stomach will burst!"
    Paige shook her head before looking at Maya. "Nah, she's just jealous that you can eat so much without packing in the pounds." She replied. "Go ahead and stuff yourself. I'm paying."
    Kary cocked an eyebrow. "You? Paying? That's a first." She commented, pointing at Paige with her fork. "Since when did you start paying for things?"
    Paige rolled her eyes. "Hello! Pro duelist here! I make a living dueling." She spoke back. "You should know that by now."
    Kary put her fork down. "Oh really?" She asked in slight sarcasm. "I didn't think you would mature."
    Maya finished her glass of lemonade and looked at the two. "Would it be possible for you two to stop arguing just for once?"
    Paige let out a sigh. "Anyways, K. What are you doing with a bunch of saps like..." She began, looking at the arm band before continuing. "ADAD..what's that even supposed to mean?"
    Kary picked up her fork and picked through her chicken caesar salad. "Association of Duelists Against Discrimination." She explained, not looking at Paige. "At first, I just wanted to confirm the rumors about Naruki, Kou...but then I met Tacey, and things just rolled from there, albeit with a few minor setbacks."
    Paige held her hands together before leaning down on the table, her elbows as support. "What kind of rumors?"
    Kary tilted her head. "Why does that matter so much to you?"
    Paige straightened up. "What makes you think he interests me?"
    Kary swallowed a piece of chicken before looking at Paige. "Your body language said it all." She explained. "Besides, you just said you were interested in him."
    "I did not!" Paige almost shouted, before Maya looked back at her with a sour face. "Okay, okay, so maybe I want to know a little." She stated, trying to calm down. "I just want to know what I could be up against once I face him in the finals."
    "You mean IF you face him..." Kary replied.
    "What-ever!" Paige exclaimed, folding her arms. "Just give me a little bit of skinnies, and I'll shut up."
    Kary put her fork back down as Maya picked up a slice of three-cheese pizza from her tray. "Let's just say that Kou helped a lot of people here...myself, for instance." She explained. "He's a nice guy, but I sometimes wonder why someone so kind can play such a power-oriented Fiend deck."
    Maya put her slice of pizza down. "What's wrong with playing Fiend cards?" She asked, still remembering how Obsidian Dragon helped her escape the labyrinth in her mind.
    Kary looked down at her plate. "Nothing. It's just-"
    Paige rolled her eyes. "So let me get this straight." She said. "He's a goody-two-shoes off the duel field and an ass-kicker on it?" Paige sat back. "Guess that's more than I thought I'd get out of you."
    Kary folded her arms. "What about you?" She asked. "You show up out of nowhere, make a show with that...what was the guy's name?" Kary thought. "The one that challenged Kou?"
    Paige took a long gulp from her can of soda before answering. "You mean Jun, what about him?"
    "What are you doing with someone like him?" Kary asked. "He must have promised you something..."
    Paige let out a sigh. "You really haven't been keeping up with the Dueling boards...first off, Jun is THE World Champ right now. Second, power deserves respect, and he's got plenty of it. Besides, the pros don't want to deal with him or me, and Jun's the only guy who doesn't think I'm trash."
    Kary shrugged. "So I suppose you won't tell me more about him, I'm sure everyone knows his deck, considering he is 'THE World Champ.'" She added, quoting Paige with the exact same tone.
    Paige frowned. "Laugh all you want. I plan on being there when Jun wins this tournament." She replied. "I don't mind getting sloppy second place if he's at the top to give me the respect I deserve!"
    Maya looked back at Paige's hamburger. "It looks cold. Do you still want to eat that?" She asked sheepishly.
    Paige snatched her burger off her plate. "Hey! Keep your hands off my tray!" She shouted, trying to push back Maya.
    Kary looked at the two with an amused smirk. "Just like old times..."
    Suddenly Nanjo got a tap on the shoulder. "Alright who the-?" Nanjo asked, turning around though his eyes widened as he blushed slightly. "J-J-Ji-Xi, Ran!"
    Ran gave Nanjo an innocent smile. "Pros aren't allowed in the dorms...and I wanted to challenge someone to a duel..."
    Nanjo produced a weak smile, rubbing the back of his head. "U-uh I...I could...go in and...challenge them for y-you if you'd like..."
    Ran let out a slight chuckle as she folded her arms. "Good...then give this message to Kanjori, Megumi..."