16. “I’ve got you." & angel or zinnia please !
16. “I’ve got you."
(Aoi/Yusaku)
Hi I bring angst, also it’s not super shippy.
When is this set? Who knows.
His body quivered as Naoki dealt the final blow to his life points.
No. He couldn't lose. Especially not to Shima.
But it almost happened in slow motion, and he blinked, leaving his deck and stepping away from the table as Naoki began to cheer.
He looked away, screwing his eyes shut and trying not to listen to the cheers.
He drew a dead hand. He was using a fake deck. He was far better at the game than Naoki. It was ridiculous that he would lose to someone who struggled at basic strategies. Naoki just got lucky.
All excuses to try and trick himself. His eyes cracked open, and he was left staring at the floor. The walls. Anything to take his mind off the loss.
His gaze swept across the room, looking for distractions. It passed Aoi, who was staring at him with a frown.
Then it landed on Naoki, cheering his heart away at finally having beaten someone.
His eyes glazed over and his vision went dark.
---
When he woke again, he was staring at a clean ceiling, and he shot up.
A hospital… Bad memories flowed back to him, putting him on edge.
"Fujiki? Are you okay?"
Blank eyes turned to stare at the voice, and everything came back into focus. Aoi was sitting by the side of the bed.
"Zaizen?" He asked. "Why am I here?"
She frowned. "Don't you remember? You collapsed out of nowhere."
And then he did. Naoki had beaten him. He'd thought it impossible, but somehow, it happened.
"You gave everyone a scare when you just fell like that. I only just managed to catch you."
He shook his head. "Oh… thank you." He frowned at the room. "But… why the hospital?"
Aoi looked away for a moment, conflicted.
Then she turned back and opened her mouth.
"Your heart stopped. Only for a few seconds, but it did. So we called an ambulance."
Yusaku felt his chest. Obviously, his heart was beating, but he heaved a sigh of relief anyway at the confirmation.
"Oh." Aoi said, and he turned to face her as she rummaged through her pockets. "I picked up your deck on the way out. Your bag is over by the wall, too."
He looked over to it, and sure enough, it was there. Alongside Aoi's bag.
She finally pulled a deck out of her pocket, and held it out to him. "Here. There shouldn't be any cards missing."
He grabbed the deck, and she let go.
The cards fell messily down to the bed.
They both stared at the pile of cards, baffled.
Yusaku reached out to gather them up, taking one between his fingers.
The moment he lifted it, his fingers loosened and the card fell again.
His eyes widened, and suddenly he could hear his heartbeat in his ears.
He snatched at another one, but the same result occurred again, and again, no matter how many times he tried.
His breaths became heavier, shakier, as he tried to calm down. He left the cards, focusing on composing himself, then looked at Aoi. She was just as shocked and confused.
He swept the cards off the bed, pulling the blanket off and trying to stand up. He immediately stumbled, and Aoi caught him before he fell again.
"I've got you." She said. "Get back into bed, I'll help you. What do you need?"
He reluctantly listened to her, making himself comfortable in the bed once more. "Zaizen. Can you get something out of my bag for me?"
She nodded, standing up and moving over to pick up his bag. "What is it?"
"There should be a second deck holder in there." The one that contained his real deck.
There was no time to try and keep secrets. He had to know as soon as possible.
He could see the mounting confusion on her face as she found it and removed it from the bag, walking back over to set it down in front of him.
He stared at it. Slowly, apprehensively, he removed the lid. He reached for a card, pulling it off the top.
Decode Talker fell face up onto the bed. He saw Aoi's eyes widen in the corner of his vision. He reached for another card.
Encode Talker.
Firewall Dragon.
Cyberse Magician.
One by one, he pulled cards from the deck and could only watch as, one by one, they fell from his hands.
His heart raced as he panicked. What was going on? He couldn't-
Drops fell onto the bed, and he raised his hands to his face. He was crying. He could feel the tears flowing, dampening his hands and face wherever they touched.
Aoi shook her head and rose from her seat again, kneeling next to the bed and reaching for him.
He let her pull him into an embrace, too shocked to refuse anything.
"Fujiki, what's happening? Talk to me."
He turned his head, and only succeeded in getting her shirt wet, before he spoke in broken, choking words.
"I- I can't duel anymore."
