At Days End: Planning for the Next Round

Zeon lead Ami back to her apartment, and stopped in front of the door, realizing that he didn't have the key to get into there.

"Um.... could you open the door please Ami?" As he was waiting for her to open the door, he decided to ask her something that had been bugging him since Ryan had talked to Ami.

"The Winged Dragon of Ra, exactly how much more powerful is it when compared to the other Gods? Ryan said that you would need both Slifer and Obelisk to beat it after all." If that god card was indeed that high above the others, then combined with Alison's new deck, then troublesome" wouldn't even begin to describe the duel that was going to take place between Alison and Ami tomorrow.

Ami smiled and pulled her keys from her purse and unlocked her door, allowing them inside. She frowned slightly, though, when he asked about the Winged Dragon of Ra. It was the third of the Egyptian god cards, the other two being Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon. But it was the most terrifying. She sat down on the couch and removed her shoes, curling her legs up under her.

“In ancient Egyptian myth, Ra is considered the god above all gods. He is said to be the creator of all the other gods, and is known as the sun god. The Winged Dragon of Ra is, perhaps, the most terrifying of the god cards, and many consider it to be the best and most powerful.” She shook her head and pushed some hair behind her ear. “That power comes at a price though, and if not used properly, could destroy the user in more ways than one. In the right hands, Ra could devastate anyone who rises against it.”

She had never witnessed the power of the Egyptian god, but she had heard of it. Stories of its powers and victims were told in nearly every history book, and were an especially strong topic amidst the Shadow Realm pieces she’d studied long ago. Most victims of Ra were sent to the Shadow Realm, or worse. Duelists had actually died at its mercy. She shuddered at the thought of that kind of power in Allison’s hands.

Zeon followed Ami's example, and took off his shoes and sat on the couch next to her, and put an arm around her. He could see that the subject was making her really uncomfortable, so he wouldn't ask exactly like what that card could do. But if it was really at that tournament, then he would have to be prepared for anything. Because if it was stronger then the Silfer he saw today, then he would have to make sure to throw everything he had at Ra if he ended up facing it.

He also knew that Ami was worried about her duel with her nemesis, Allison. Zeon used to have someone like that by the name of Merari. He had ended up losing the first two duels he had with her, and then won against her the last two times. although the final duel against her was completely and utterly bizarre, and he really didn't want to think about it. She was also the toughest duelist that he had ever fought in his entire life, since she was the only person to get the better of him twice. He definately understood Ami's predicament, including the part where his opponent upgraded to a better deck. Merari did that in her final duel with him, and it had caught him completely off guard and almost did him in yet again.

"No matter what comes our way, we'll be able to deal with it. We've seen the decks of everyone there, so we'll able to prepare for them properly. Even if the strongest of the gods shows up, we'll defeat it! Any powerful card or artifact is dangerous in the hands of the right person, even so, that doesn't make them unbeatable. " Zeon leaned backward into the couch slightly as he said these words. What he had just said was all well in good, but truth in told, he was worried about the tournament as a whole. Allison and her God card weren't the only things that were troubling him about that tournament.

"The students from that school, Wicken Academy, are a lot stronger then they should be. They've been defeating "pro" duelists all day, almost every one of them won their duels. Is it usual for students to be this strong? And that one I dueled had that strange, foreboding monster." Zeon was getting a strange vibe from those students, and he had a feeling that he should take heed of it.

Ami couldn't help but smile at Zeon's enthusiasm and optimism. She wanted to feel that much optimism...but she was a girl who knew numbers....and she was also a girl who had witnessed the power of the gods first hand. If he only understood what she knew...then perhaps he would understand why she was so concerned. But there was no helping the situation right now...at the very least, she could just relax before her big duel tomorrow.

Her frown returned, however, when he mentioned the strange luck of the students from Wicken Academy. It was true....many of them seemed to have an uncanny ability to win their duels today. And they seemed to have some pretty powerful cards at their disposal. What kind of academy was Wicken? "Students have varied levels of skill, Zeon. I've never heard of Wicken Academy, nor do I know what their teaching style or dueling system is like." She wasn't sure what to think about them. "Something does seem suspicious about them though..." She silently wondered if any of the others held the other two "anti-god" cards and just had not shown their colors today. Perhaps they were saving their power for the bigger duels to come. Who knew?

Now it was Zeon's turn to frown. How could an academy that produced students that good not be well known? Did they just decide to keep out of the limelight until now? Were they entirely new altogether? Zeon tried to come up with an explanation to this, but none of them made any sense to him. Things that Ryan had said bugged him as well, causing more worry to pile up in his mind.

"Ryan said that this entire tournament was a set-up by some organization to crush their enemies. Maybe Wicken Academy is connected to that organization as well. The Wicked Dreadroot did real damage to me: A direct attack from that thing would take out most people. And if the duel champion himself is in on this, then that just makes everything even worse then it already is. Ami, do you know anything about what that guy runs, or about the rest of the Wicked Gods? We need to know as much as possible about what we're going to be up against tomorrow." Zeon leaned back and sighed. It seemed like no matter where he went some sort of trouble seemed to follow him. But he would have to deal with it just like all the other trouble that he had come across in his path. This time was a bit different though: he had someone to help him deal with the danger that was to come. He looked at Ami and smiled softly: it was truly nice to have someone you could put your complete faith and trust into.

"No, I have no idea what he runs. Some kind of Vortex deck, but I know nothing about his cards." Ami suddenly began to feel like she was working now. This whole tournament seemed to be turning into some kind of crime case. She shook her head at the thought, knowing already what her boss would say right about now: ‘Ami, only you would find work to do during a vacation.’ There was just no escaping the work that needed to be done. That being said….

“I think tomorrow we should do some investigating,” she said softly, almost a whisper. If something fishy was going on, and there was most certainly something weird going on, then she could not just sit idly by and wait for it to resolve. She had to do something. And if she made an arrest during this vacation of hers, then so be it. She’d already tackled a man to the ground just a few days ago. Why stop there?

"He runs a Vortex deck?" Zeon knew about the card "Vortex Trooper", which was a standalone card in his world. But the Ally of Justice series in his world had cards that this world did not have. So it was quite possible that there was a Vortex series in this world. But Vortex Trooper was a monster who had no attack points and returned two cards from your hand to the deck to draw 2 more. It also allowed you to draw an addition card should it be destroyed. How would an entire series of those kind of cards even work? Ami then told him quietly that they should go investigating the next day, and the way she said it made it clear to Zeon that it was something that she dreaded to do, or at the very least the idea didn't appeal all that much to her. After what he had witnessed today, Zeon realized that something strange was going on, and there was no getting around that fact.

"Where should we start to look? Into Wicken Academy, or the champion and the organization he's a part of? We need a good plan to gather the information too. If we get careless and they catch onto the fact that we're looking into them, then..." Zeon didn't even want to think about what they would do if found out. If what Ryan said was true, then they would show no hesitation in disposing of them using their powers of darkness. Zeon certainly wanted to avoid that if he possibly could, and hopefully resolve this before things got even worse then they already were.

Ami flashed a defensive look towards Zeon. She wasn’t sure just what kind of career he kept back home, but this was her home turf, and she knew what she was doing. She didn’t need someone to tell her to be careful. Of course, she had to remind herself that he had only barely tasted her history, and there was no way he could know just how good she was at her job. She shook the defensive thought away, and then touched a finger to her lips in a thoughtful manner.

“I think it will be best if we split up. One of us should gather information on the Academy, and the other should see what can be found about this POD organization.” A thin smile barely curved her lips. “I think I should check into the Academy. I have experience with the workings of a Duel Academy, and I could easily pass as a teacher in need of a job.” She nodded slowly. The idea’s mechanics and details were already forming and fitting together like a puzzle in her mind. This part would be easy for her…and going undercover was always fun. At the same time, though, Zeon would be left with the more difficult option. He seemed to be quick on his feet, so he should be able to handle the task. Her main concern is that he had no idea what he was doing and could easily find himself in a world of trouble. Maybe splitting up wasn’t such a good idea…

Zeon nodded. "I'll go do some research on POD and the Champion himself. At the very least I'm going to figure out what his combos are and how his deck works. I'm also going to look for the connection between POD and Wicken Academy, assuming one exists." Zeon could sneak around and get info if he had to: he had even rescued someone from the clutches of his arch-nemesis right in her home without her realizing anyone was there until her prisoner was gone. If he played his cards right, then he would be able to handle it.

Ami nodded. "Then its settled. Tomorrow, after our duels, we will begin our investigation." She let out a soft sigh and stood to her feet. It was about time she began making something for dinner. She didn't feel like cooking a full meal...but they needed to eat. Some chicken, rice, and steamed vegetables would be a small but healthy meal for them. She moved to the kitchen and pulled out a skillet and a rice pot. She moved to pull out another pot for the vegetable, but then decided to make a stir fry instead of steaming the vegetables. At least then she could just throw the vegetables in with the chicken and be done with it.

As she cooked, she began to feel the weight of the day catch up with her. She leaned against the counter, staring at the floor, her arms crossed loosely over her chest. This tournament was turning out to be one of the most stressful matches she'd ever been to...and more was still to come. With perhaps the most important duel of her life, as well as a potentially dangerous investigation on the horizon, she was beginning to wonder if she was finally biting off more than she could chew, in a manner of speaking. Add her newfound love interest to the mix, and her plate would be considered heaping. She was used to stressful work, and she knew she could handle this. But still the doubt remained...there was no stopping it.

After Ami told him that they would begin the investigation tomorrow, it got Zeon thinking. His match was going to be one of the later ones, so he had time to find out a bit of information before it. Although he realized that the only thing he could look into was what the Champion's deck revolved around and how it worked. He looked over at Ami as she fixed dinner, and noticed when she slumped against the counter and stared down at the floor. Zeon gave out a drawn-out sigh: why couldn't things be normal just for once? He had escaped one series of troubles only to come across another series of troubles. They were putting a lot of stress on Ami and himself: he was sure that neither of them could handle all of this alone. They had to work together in order to preserver through all of this. Zeon walked over until he was next to Ami, ready to help support her in case the counter wasn't enough. He looked over at what she was cooking, and saw that it wasn't anything elaborate, but it looked good all the same. However, he had never cooked once in his life, so even this was beyond him. He needed to ask Ami to teach him how to do it sometime, although right now that was the last thing on his mind. She looked just so downtrodden that he had to attempt to cheer her up, despite feeling rather shaken himself.

"Ami, tomorrow is going to be a really tough day. Your confrontation with Allison seems to be unavoidable at this point, but we may be able to resolve the rest of it without the situation going completely out of control. I've already taken down one of their Wicked Gods, and you have two Egyptian Gods: we should have the edge right now. I won't anything happen to you, just like you won't let anything happen to me. We should get some rest as soon as we eat. I'm sure things will be clearer after a good-nights rest." Zeon smiled softly at her, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. The truth was that while he had been in way worse situations then this, he only had himself to worry about. Now he and Ami were together, and they had to watch each others backs. They were going to end up separating in their own investigations, so Zeon would have to make use of his powers in order to help out Ami if she got in a pinch. Zeon would absolutely make sure that nothing happened to her, no matter what twisted obstacles were thrown their way.

Ami looked up as Zeon approached her and stood beside her. He seemed to have sensed her mood, though it wasn’t too hard to sense, since she wasn’t trying very hard to hide it. It wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier when everything just came down on her, but it was still enough to affect her. As he stood there next to her, she found herself yearning for his closeness. She tilted her head to rest on his arm, her body soon following until she was leaning against him. Her breathing was light and relaxed, and his warmth seemed to comfort her in a way she hadn’t felt in years.

He was right, though. With the added firepower of Slifer the Sky Dragon, she had a better fighting chance against Allison…and against whatever Wicked gods she might face later. She had been granted guardianship over two god cards, and that meant someone was looking out for her. Perhaps it was the fate of the gods themselves to choose her…and that could only mean she was meant for something grand in the future. Now she just needed to accept the task she had been given. With her newfound power, her deck would prove to be more formidable than it already was.

And with Zeon at her side, pressed against her, she felt that she could really do it. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. How long had she waited to have a moment like this? She had not loved someone as her own since her early Academy days…and when that failed, she just focused all her efforts on her studies. After all, she was a prodigy. Studies and excellence were to be her defining points. But something had been missing all those years. She had been teased at her job for not having a boyfriend, but would always just smile and laugh with them, then turn back to her work. Honestly, she had never imagined she would find anyone. Yet here she was…leaning against a man whom the fates seemed to have just dropped on her doorstep….quite literally.

More time must have sped by than what it felt, because behind them, the chicken and vegetable stir fry began to sizzle madly in its sauce, and the smells of her home cooking began to waft through the air. She lingered for a moment, but then decided it a smart idea to tend to the cooking so that she didn’t burn everything. She stirred the stir fry, and fluffed the rice. Tapping the spoon against the pot, she signaled that dinner was ready. She pulled a couple bowls down and served the stir fry over the rice and handed it to Zeon, giving him a light smile.

Zeon watched as Ami ended up leaning against him, and took in the feeling of her soft body against his. She eventually closed her eyes and relaxed with her head on him, and a warm feeling spread through Zeon. It was the same feeling he had felt when he had kissed her in the stadium. He loved that feeling: the feeling of love and care that he only felt around Ami. He knew that he would never get tired of that feeling, and it would always be wonderful each time he felt it. Zeon knew that Ami felt it too, the connection that only two people in love could feel.He felt like a part that he never even knew was empty was full of his feelings for Ami, and those feeling made him feel truly alive.

Ami then got off of him to grab the food, and she handed him a bowl with the rice in it, smiling softly at him. Zeon returned his smile, a truly genuine one that reached all the way to his eyes. He couldn't help but feel happy right now. He went over to the table and took a bite out of the dinner, which tasted just as good to him as the meal she had fixed for him the first time they met.

"Ami, you really need to teach me how to cook sometime. You're really good at it and I think I'm going to need that skill in the future." Zeon didn't want to freeload of Ami entirely: he wanted to shoulder some stuff, and he liked to be at least a bit self-dependent. He had been self-dependent his entire life, and it felt strange when he had to rely on others for something. In this case, it felt really nice that Ami was taking care of him, but nevertheless he wanted to be able to take care of himself to some degree.

Ami smiled, blushing a bit at his compliment. She sat down across from him and clapped her hands together once in Japanese style and then proceeded to eat. “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was sent to the Academy, so I’ve learned my way around the kitchen.” She shrugged. “It’s not very hard to learn…it just takes some patience…and practice.” She smiled at him from across the table. “I guarantee, my first several meals weren’t the greatest. You just gotta keep at it, even if you make a mistake.”

A thoughtful look crossed her face and she looked up to the ceiling. “In a way, cooking is a lot like dueling…rather, it’s more like building a deck. You have to put the right ingredients in at the right amount and attempt a perfect recipe. You won’t always get it right the first time…but after some testing, you’ll get it eventually.”

Zeon nodded at Ami as he continued to eat his food. He supposed everything needed practice before you got it down correctly. Even prodigies had to start off as beginners, even if they were naturally gifted at a certain thing. Zeon would probably try to learn how to cook by simply doing it, with maybe a few pointers from Ami. He would probably get it wrong at first, wasting the ingredients that he would get from Ami. Although he was sure that Ami wouldn't mind if it eventually payed off and he learned how to cook properly in the process.

Zeon didn't realize how hungry he was until he had actually started to eat. In just a few minutes, he had managed to nearly eat all the food that Ami had given him. He was used to eating his food rather quickly, since you had to act fast to get food in his world. He then finished off the rest of his meal and looked over at Ami, who was still eating her portion.

"You know, after this tournament is over, I think we should do something normal and fun afterward. Maybe we could go to the library and read books, or do something else altogether. You know this city better then I do, is there any place that we can go to that would be really enjoyable for the both of us?" Zeon wanted to avoid talking about the tournament specifically, and make things as hopeful as possible for them by treating the tournament as an annoyance getting in the way of their fun rather then a possible fight for their lives. Of course, Zeon was genuinely interested in doing something with Ami after the tournament was over, since he wanted to relax and felt like if they managed to get through they tournament then they deserved to do something enjoyable together.

Ami smiled and nodded as she ate. She liked his suggestion, though she felt if she went to the library with him again, she might alienate him with a book or something. It was how she was with such things. She giggled softly at the thought. Poor Zeon….replaced by a book.

“That would be nice. I’m sure we can find something to do around here. This is a big city, after all. Maybe the arcade?” She hadn’t played at an arcade in years…not since her partners at work tricked her into going on the night before her coroner’s exam. She was certain that had been a form of kidnapping, but they denied it completely.

Zeon looked at Ami curiously when she giggled. He had no idea why she was doing so, but he couldn't help but grin in response to it.

"Sure, we can go to the arcade then. It sounds interesting enough." Zeon had absolutely no idea what an arcade was, but he figured that if Ami suggested it then it was probably fun. He made his way over to the couch, and sat on it, stretching his arms.

"I feel a little better now that I've eaten, and I think I'm going to try to go to sleep soon." Truth be told, Zeon was worried enough by tomorrow that it would take him awhile to fall asleep, if he could at all. Zeon usually dealt with danger that came at the moment, and never had to anticipate danger knowing that it was coming. That and the couch, while certainly not the most uncomfortable of this he had slept on, wasn't nearly as nice as sleeping on a bed, and it would take him awhile to go to sleep on that.

“Alright.” Ami stood to her feet and collected the dishes. She rinsed them off quickly, then placed them in the dishwasher. It was a good idea to get some sleep, though, and the earlier the better. Tomorrow would be a taxing day on her, and she would need all the energy she could get. Something told her that tomorrow’s duel would be everything but ordinary.

“Well, I guess I will head to bed, myself,” she leaned against him and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. She would never get used to this feeling…but she never wanted to either. It was too good of a feeling to just get used to. It made her heart flutter each time. “Good night, Zeon.” She hesitated for a quick moment, then smiled at him. She couldn’t say it…not yet. She gave him another peck on the lips, then turned to go to her room. She peeked around the corner once, then disappeared into her room.

She changed into her night gown and laid down on the bed, folding her hands on her stomach and breathing in deep. What a day today had been. Her emotions had been so out of whack today, anyone who didn’t know any better might have thought she was PMSing. But she wasn’t. That was just the kind of day it was. She pulled her deck from her nightstand and looked through it once. With the addition of Slifer the Sky Dragon, it seemed off. But there was no helping it now. She just prayed it wouldn’t affect her too badly.

Setting the deck aside, she curled on her side and stared at the covers on her bed. Hopefully, she could fall asleep. She began to hum a soft melody that she had known since she was a little girl. After some time, her humming became softer and softer, until she finally succumbed to the darkness of sleep.

"Night Ami." Ami looked like she wanted to say something for a moment, but then she went off to bed. Zeon thought about asking her about it, but he would have time to address it later, and she seemed to be rather tired at the moment. Zeon lay down on the couch, taking off his shoes and resting his head against the far end of it. Allison had him worried, but the Wicken Academy students worried him just as much if not more, all because of certain stuff they had played today. Expecially Optium, who used..... Zeon shook his head. It was just a coincidence, this world must have that archtype too. It took him awhile, but eventually he fell into a dreamless sleep.

(OOC, I guess I'll make a topic in the tournament thread with them arriving at the second round. Unless if you want to do a topic here where they just go to the tournament again).