(81.2) Ready For Anything…

Ahhh, boring time, the perfect opportunity to catch up on the news, chat with people you haven’t in a long time, or even get up and learn a new hobby. In reality, none of these were options for me at the moment. No GlobalNet connection meant that anything I would want to do right now stuck in my room was locked behind an activation screen, because yes, online DRM is the best!…

‘DragonFruit, DragonFruit, you know things are bad when I can’t even access my goddam’d personal care products I paid oh so very many @’s for.’

I wasn’t the only one bored out of my mind here, as another girl in the room complains. “God dammit! Why did it have to be now!? I have an assignment to submit tomorrow!” She has long, flowing brown hair and is currently lounging in a separate bed from where I’m laying.

From the couch, looking back at us with a blank holographic screen in front of her, a girl with toxic pink hair styled in a short pixie cut shoots back. “Well, you’re the one who advised us to get DragonFruit phones.” Her eyes inch to the ceiling as she strokes her chin. “If we think about it like that, then it’s Naeko’s fault for us not having anything to do right now.”

The other girl sitting on the couch, a tall girl with light-brown skin and long black hair, chips in. “Hey, come on Haruna, we’re all bored, but there’s no need to point fingers at each other.” She pauses, glancing at her transparent DragonFruit phone for a second before continuing. “The only ones we can blame here are those idiots who attacked a station full of duelists.”

Haruna looks back down, her eyes closing. “I know… Sorry Naeko. I just can’t believe this! It’s been an hour since we got here and yet there’s no news about what’s happening out there! All that the station security guards say is: ‘We’re looking into it.’ It’s infuriating!”

Suffice it to say, we are all getting cranky with this situation. The guards have given us zero updates about the situation outside, and I don’t believe they’re withholding information from us. They know we’re the ones providing protection here. ‘No data connection for games or movies, and worst of all, we have to hold up in tiny hotel rooms designed for sleeping and not much else.’

The temptation to say ‘fuck it’ and run to the control room is barely contained by the thought of not knowing if there are other soldiers around.

Sparling myself further on the bed, I growl. “Can something happen, for fuck’s sake?”

*Crash!*

The door to our room swings open, with a station security guard barging in. “WE HAVE A SITUATION!” His voice reminds me of the guard who escorted us here initially.

While we try to hide it, I’m pretty sure everyone’s reaction is a mixture of relief and worry.

‘Finally!’ I tell myself while rushing to the guard with the other 3 cheerleaders following me. “What is it? Are they back?”

The guard recoils and takes a step back. “Hmmm, ladies? Could you?…”

I look around, trying to see what he’s so hung up about. Our choice of clothing comes to mind—We’re in our underwear—But he’s the one who rushed into a hotel room of four teenage girls. I don’t know what else he expected to see.

Still, with much grumbling, we step away from the guard and go about dressing up. He shambles back through the door and waits for us out front.

While I’m pulling my NWDA uniform shirt down, I ask him. “What’s going on exactly? it must be pretty serious for you to rush in like that.”

He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he mumbles through batted teeth. “Just a minute ago, one of our lookouts found a large group of soldiers making their way through central Park. They’ll be here any minute.”

…

We four pause what we’re doing, our faces elongating.

Haruna turns around, still half naked, and demands. “What!? Didn’t you say there was just one large group!?”

While I can’t see him, I hear him mumble. “That information was from centcom—Err, Central Command—We have gotten no contact from them since the explosion, we’ll have to assume the worst.” He pauses and practically whispers. “For all we know, we’re all that remains of the security staff.”

…

A solemn silence forms around the space…

…Yet, there’s no point in moping now. I finish putting my NWDA uniform on and yell. “Well, even if that’s the case, we won’t go down without a fight!” Rushing through the door and facing the guard, I raise my duel disk. “Just point where you want us and we’ll do the rest!”

The guard looks up from the ground. “Are you sure? This didn’t go well for you last time.”

This all but confirms my theory of him being the same guard who escorted us here, but unlike last time, I have an answer for him. “Don’t worry about that…” I look back through the door to our room, finding the rest of the cheer squad geared up, donning their blue rank academy uniforms. “We won’t back down this time! There are civilians here to protect.”

Haruna walks behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “And we’re here to back her up should something happen. You don’t have to worry about us.”

Naeko follows, raising her duel disk and grabbing a card. “Yeah! We’ll deal with anyone who thinks they can just walk over us!”

Finishing the trio, Nanako also stands behind me. “And we’ll look good while doing it!”

While some would argue the relevance of what Nanako said, it still impresses the guard. He scoffs. “Hmm, well, I hope your skills match your drive. Now, let’s stop screwing around! Follow me! I’ll show you our plan.”

—

Outside, a drastic transformation had taken place. Instead of the welcoming entrance, the bright park outside had turned into a stronghold. Dining tables from outside cafes laid turned on their sides along the perimeter, forming a makeshift wall around the entrances.

Behind these walls, various duelists stood proud with their blades extended, donning diverse uniforms, all of which I’d seen before associated with an academy taking part in the tournament. A massive force-field emanated from the joined solid-vision projectors of their disks.

I realized in an instant that we were not the first ones being called for the defense. Neither was everyone staying put, as a massive column of civilians exited through a small opening in the force-field.

Glancing at the guard, I ask. “Where are they going?”

He sighs, mumbling. “We can’t just force everyone to stay here when we know they might be in danger. We gave them the choice of holding out here, or leaving for the escape pods.”

“That’s incredibly dangerous!” Warns Naeko. “If they meet a group out there, there’s no saying what could happen!”

The guard lets out another defeated sigh. “We warned them of the possibility, of course. But they wanted to risk it over staying here and relying on you.” He turns to us. “You four have to understand that everyone here is terrified. Sure, they came to see dueling up close, but they weren’t expecting real fighting to break out…”

Underlining his point, I spot an angry blond teen wearing a crimson red uniform yelling at one of the security guards. “Who do you think you are!? It’s your fault that we are in this situation! FIX IT DAMMIT! DO YOUR JOB!” He has a duel disk on his arm, a sign for me to intervene.

Yet, a tan girl with green hair wearing a red NWDA uniform beats me to it. “That’s enough!” She yells, grabbing his arm.

He hastily turns to the girl, ready to spit some more venom. But he stops himself, recognizing her face. “Y-You’re…” His hands begin to shake and his entire body trembles. “YOU’RE THAT DAMMED NWDA BITCH THAT SCAMMED ME OUT OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP!” He swats her arm away, jumping back and drawing his disk. “DUEL ME SKANK! I’ll prove to everyone that you’re just a hack right here and now!”

She stumbles back, putting her arms up. “Calm down, you idiot! Don’t you see the situation we’re in?!”

But he remains steadfast, huffing and puffing. “I don’t give a shit! You humiliated me in front of the entire city! I, Trion The 2nd of the Nahom Dynasty, won’t let a slight go unpunished! Prepare to suffer!”

‘Solus, how spoiled do you have to be to say something like that?… Still, how to I deescalate this without giving him what he wants?’

It’s then that I hear Haruna whisper something in my ear. “Yuumi, didn’t you say your family name is Katayama?”

I turn to her and whisper back. “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“The Nahom family runs a solid-vision experimental development lab in Dragoon City. I remember seeing their name on a list of companies which went under after the united army pulled their solid vision development contracts.”

“So he’s no longer as rich as he appears? What about it? It’s not like reminding him he’s poor now will help with anything.”

She shakes her head. “That’s not what I meant. Katayama holdings bought up most of the companies on that list.”

I raise an eyebrow. “They did?”

Haruna leans back. “Yes, Yuumi. Do you even know what’s going on in Dragoon City?”

Scratching my cheek, I reply. “Errmm, not really?…” I’ll admit, I’ve been ignoring most of the news coming in from planet side. I know that the war between the union and the protectorate that the Director briefed me about is underway, but other than that I’ve been busy with other stuff…

Haruna facepalms and Nanako moves in with a simpler explanation. “Okay, Nepotism 101, here we go… Basically, your family’s company probably owns his. Maybe. Like… Use it to your advantage?… I don’t know…”

I look back at Yasuna, who’s trying to calm the brat down. “I’d be more than happy to beat the shit out of you in any other situation, but we can’t be fighting right now! What if the soldiers arrive when we’re distracted!?”

“I don’t give a shit about that! You will draw your duel disk right now or I will force you to!”

The situation seems to be reaching its boiling point.

‘We can’t have a fight breaking out here.’ Armed with the information Haruna gave me, I confidently make my way over to the two.

Yasuna spots me first, calling out. “Yuumi! Thank god you got here. This guy is about to mess this all up if we don’t stop him!”

The aforementioned guy turns to me with an annoyed expression, practically ready to throw a punch. “Great! Now this bitch also joins in!” He points to the distance and tries to order. “Get the hell out of here. This has nothing to do with you!”

Crossing my arms, I reply. “Nah, it has a lot to do with me. Actually, it has to do with everyone’s safety here. What the hell do you think you’re doing? Stop it before anyone gets hurt.”

He takes a single step towards me, his duel disk plainly visible on his arm. “Who the hell are you to tell me what to do, you bitch?”

‘That’s my cue.’ “Name’s Yuumi Matsunaga Katayama. Daughter of Liam Katayama and Miranda Katayama. Owners of Katayama Holdings. ‘Nice’ to meet you.” I tell, offering a fake smile and a satirical handshake.

His reaction is instant. His face immediately scrunches up as he stumbles back, his duel disk immediately thrown to the side. “N-No, that’s impossible! You’re bluffing! The Katayama’s don’t have any children!”

A particularly cruel joke comes to mind, and I tilt my head. “They don’t?” I look back at the entrance with a teasing smile and say in a satirical tone of voice. “Did you girls hear that? I’ve been disowned!”

The three do their best to hold in their laughter, but Nanako straight up loses it.

Meanwhile, Yasuna just looks on, surprised, silent.

The brat looks on with a long face, his skin tone turning paler. “Wait, that purple hair, those lilac eyes… Y-You really are… Oh my god…” He falls to the floor on his knees, practically prostrating himself in front of me. “I DEEPLY APOLOGISE FOR ANY OFFENCE, I DIDN’T KNOW!”

I look down at the guy shaking on the ground and something washes over me, a feeling of deep satisfaction at having taken this imbecile down a peg with my name alone. ‘Woah, so this is what it feels like to have a strong backing… He just turned into a puppet the second I told him who I was… Fucking hell, I’ll have to be careful. If I rely on this too much, I’ll turn into someone like him.’

Putting my hands on my hips around the hem of my uniform’s yellow skirt, I offer a deal. “We’ll do this. You follow what the guards tell you to do, within reason, apologize to Yasuna, and I happen to develop a sudden bout of amnesia about all of those nasty things you called me. Deal?”

He looks back up, his eyes open wide. “R-Really? Yes! Please… I’ll do anything! Just… Don’t tell them!”

I sigh. “Just get the fuck out of here and join the line… Or run away. I don’t care, just don’t bother anyone else.”

Nodding vigorously, he stands back up and runs to the guard he was screaming at before.

I stop paying attention to him, turning to Yasuna who, going by her expression, is a little more than startled by what I just did. “There, the problem’s resolved.”

She takes a few steps towards me, saying with a shaky voice. “Should I be worried? I didn’t see you for someone who’d throw around her family’s swagger like that.”

My lips form into a smirk, and I shoot back. “I don’t intend to, but you have to admit that was effective, to say the least.” I glance back at the guy. “That reckless idiot turned manageable the second I told him my name.”

Yasuna also looks back at him, her face betraying a hint of suspicion. “Let’s just hope that stays that way. We can’t have a wildcard like that running around, endangering everyone.”

I’m suddenly reminded of why we were called down here. “Right… So, what’s the plan? From what I can see, we’re making a stand here.”

She nods. “Yes, basically, that’s the gist of it. We have duelists from a bunch of academies who are also not keen on letting whoever those guys are kidnap random people for who knows what reasons. Defense wise, we’re fine to protect the hotels with solid-vision force-fields. We just need someone who can reliably take care of pesky duelists.”

My smile only grows. “Sounds like fun. I did want to stretch my legs a bit after staying put during the entire tournament.”

Yasuna’s lips form a smirk. “Then congratulations. You got the job.”

I raise an eyebrow and ask in a teasing tone. “What? You’re the boss around here now? When did that happen?”

She shrugs. “Never, but everyone here seems to pay attention to what I say, so I guess it just happened?”

I try to make sense of that in my head for a second, but let it go soon after and shrug. “Well, okay then. Just point to where you want me.”

—

I end up in a position in the middle of the makeshift wall, with Yasuna to my right and a security guard to my left. Taking the opportunity to look around, I find myself stunned by the sheer quantity of duelists staying behind. ‘I guess it makes sense when you consider those soldiers specifically targeted duelists until now. Wouldn’t want to risk finding them out there and possibly having to fight them off alone.’

Yet, a question still echoed in my head. ‘What do they even want with us? Does this have to do with the war? Maybe they’re from the Protectorate and came to take out duelist reinforcements? Then why were they asking around for everyone’s names? Weirder than that, when Anna told them her name, they didn’t react, but when she told them Aya’s, they pounced right away. I don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking the world revolves around me, but the only pattern I can spot here is that they’re after people linked to me; Aya, Mia, Aiko, Yasuna.’

I let out a worried sigh. ‘I just hope I’m not putting them in danger again just for being friends with me. I know Yasuna already said to not think like that, but I can’t help but worry about their safety.’

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