A small figure, with eyes glowing in different colors, stared intently at the two decks placed on the table in the darkness.
"These are Hoshino-nee's decks. If what she said is true, then this should be the rarest deck in the world."
"Do it, Akasha!" echoed Marik's firm voice in Akasha's mind, transmitted through the Millennium Rod.
"No matter whether it's truly the rarest deck or not, taking her deck back to us will significantly boost power and simultaneously eliminate the most unstable factor in this Battle City. This is a rare chance!"
"Yes, Marik-nii!" The delicate, pale hand that could even reflect the faint moonlight in the dark was now about to commit a sinful act.
"Akasha-chan…"
The soft, sleepy voice suddenly calling from behind startled Akasha, making her small frame tremble.
"Akasha-chan…let's go to Battle City and duel together…" Hoshino, still asleep, tightly hugged her blanket as if it were Akasha, muttering incoherent words in her dreams.
"Phew, it's just a dream." Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, Akasha refocused her gaze on the decks on the table.
"Don't waste time. Do it, Akasha!" Marik's urgent voice kept ringing in her mind.
"Mhm."
"Find opponents, win rare cards, and then form a deck that belongs solely to you, Akasha-chan~" Hoshino continued to mumble, now even smiling sweetly in her sleep, perhaps having a happy dream.
"Hoshino-nee…" Akasha wasn't frightened by the dream talk this time. However, another deck entered her sight.
It was an unfinished deck. Hoshino had scraped together what little money she had to put together this scattered deck, which sat beside the world's rarest deck. To someone like Akasha, who had seen countless rare cards and powerful decks, this incomplete deck seemed utterly low-tier, especially compared to the Servant deck.
"That's how it's supposed to be… That's how it should be…" Yet, in Akasha's heart, the weight of this low-tier deck gradually surpassed that of the Hoshino deck in the world.
"Why did she insist on building a deck like this for Akasha, even though she has no money…"
To outsiders, Hoshino's actions might seem like classic stubborn pride. Insisting on proving herself in front of Akasha, she seemed to be acting out of sheer vanity.
"Is that it?"
However, Akasha knew full well that wasn't the truth.
Hoshino's persistence was like someone reaching out with all their might, trying to pull a small soul trapped in darkness into the light. Even Hoshino herself knew that this small soul had been firmly imprisoned by the darkness.
"What are you doing, Akasha? Hurry up!" Marik urged her again, more urgently.
"..." This time, Akasha didn't respond. She hesitated, her trembling hands unable to reach for Hoshino's precious deck.
"Marik-nii, is this really right? Aren't rare card hunters supposed to win cards through duels, not stealing?"
"You lost the duel yourself, and now you're saying that!" Marik sighed in disappointment, his tone filled with frustration. "You disobeyed me now, Akasha. No matter, I'll take over."
Marik's voice grew cold as he abandoned any attempt to persuade Akasha.
"Millennium Rod, guide this lost soul to my side!"
This was the safeguard that the cautious Marik had placed on Akasha. He had put similar safeguards on all members of Rare Hunters. The Millennium Rod, with its power to control minds, could manipulate the memories of the person under its spell and turn them into Marik's puppet when needed.
"Ah… ah…" A golden eye appeared on Akasha's forehead, and she could no longer even scream in pain.
"Don't… Don't erase Akasha's memories… the memories with Hoshino-nee…" Akasha tightly held her head, struggling desperately.
Her memories of dueling with Hoshino, breaking into Kaiba Corporation together, teaming up to face the Labyrinth Brothers, battling evil gods, drawing cards together, and even blowing each other's hair dry like sisters…
But no matter how hard she struggled, an ordinary human could not resist the power of the Millennium Item.
"Hmph, the brainwashing is complete." Satisfied that he no longer felt any resistance from Akasha, Marik let out a pleased laugh.
Akasha's hands, steady and precise under Marik's control, swiftly picked up the duel disk and deck from the table. She slipped out of the room like a shadow, silent and swift. In less than a minute, Akasha had already stepped onto the dark streets outside the toy shop with Hoshino's deck in hand.
"Marik-nii, I've secured the deck," Akasha reported coldly, devoid of any emotion.
In stark contrast to her cold tone, Marik could not hide his excitement. "Excellent. Return now, Akasha. You're permitted to leave Battle City early and return to the base!"
"Yes, Marik-nii. I'll deliver the deck right away!"
The quiet, dark streets were barely visible under the faint layer of moonlight.
"This late at night, it's not a good time for kids to be wandering around!" Suddenly, a voice echoed from the corner of the toy shop, shattering the silence of the night.
"Who?!" Akasha was startled. She hadn't expected anyone to be around the toy shop at such a late hour.
"Forgot me already? We just had dinner together earlier tonight." Stepping out from the shadows was Yami Yugi, his expression stern as he stared intently at Akasha.
"Yugi… Muto?"
"Oh?" Yugi raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised at being called by his full name. She had been calling him "Yugi-nii" before.
"Heh, you were much cuter during the day~"
"Is that so, Yugi-nii?" Akasha's tone abruptly shifted back to her familiar playful tone.
"I didn't know Yugi-nii had a thing for little girls. Or are you here to sneak into Hoshino-nee's room?"
"Hmph, I've felt something strange about you since we first met," Yugi smirked coldly, clearly unfazed by Akasha's words.
"To think that behind such a pure and cute appearance lies a soul so dark and twisted."
"Oh? So what is Yugi-nii planning to do?"
"What am I planning to do? I'm going to make you return what doesn't belong to you!"
"What's Yugi-nii talking about? Akasha doesn't quite understand~" Akasha tried to play dumb, attempting to get away with acting cute.
"Can't understand, huh? Then I'll make it even clearer!"
Without wasting time explaining, Yami Yugi activated the Duel Disk on his arm, "Return the Deck you stole from Hoshino!"
"Tch!" Akasha clicked her tongue in frustration, her once pure and innocent smile vanishing instantly, replaced by a dark and resentful expression in her eyes, as if she were a completely different person.
"I've heard Yugi-nii is strong at dueling. Let's see if Akasha can test that out!" Knowing she could no longer fool Yami Yugi, Akasha boldly accepted the challenge.
"Akasha's not as easy to beat as she looks!"
[Akasha vs. Yugi Muto]
Duel…
[Warning! The Duel Disk has detected illegal cards in the deck, and the duel cannot proceed!]
"What?!" Akasha stared in confusion at the flashing red warning lights on her Duel Disk.
However, Marik, who could sense everything from afar, knew exactly what had happened. "Tch, looks like the virus Yako implanted into the Kaiba Corporation database has already been cleared. It didn't even last a day—how disappointing!"
"What do I do now, Marik-nii?" Akasha, now flustered by the Duel Disk's warning, sought Malik's guidance.
"The data on banned and counterfeit cards has already been removed by KaibaCorp, meaning your original deck is now unusable." Though the situation was unexpected, Marik, the leader of Rare Hunters, wasn't one to be shaken by such problems.
"If your deck can't be used, then use that one." Marik gave his next order.
"That deck? Marik-nii, you mean…"
"That's right. Since you've stolen it, it's now yours! Use Hoshino's deck to face Yugi. You've spent the entire day by her side, so you should have a general understanding of the structure of her Deck!"
"And here's something very important! Hoshino's deck has once defeated Yugi during the Duelist Kingdom!" Marik, confident in his plan, issued his command.
"Yes, Marik-nii!" Akasha's heart was full of confusion after having her memories altered. Her entire day felt like a dream. Even though she remembered everything, it felt as though those memories didn't belong to her. The contradiction between these memories and her own made the young girl feel lost.
The only thing she could do now, the only way to escape this confusion, was to follow Marik's orders.
"If I just follow orders… if I just complete the tasks Marik-nii gives me, then I can live better!" Akasha removed the deck from her Duel Disk, silencing the alarm, and reached for the Hoshino Deck strapped to her body.
But there were two decks…
In addition to the usual Heroic Spirit Deck, there was another one—a Lily deck that Hoshino had split off, the same one she used in her duel against Akasha.
"So, what's wrong? Lost your courage to duel after losing your banned cards?" Yami Yugi taunted, noticing Akasha standing frozen in place.
"Not at all!" After hesitating for a moment, Akasha clenched her small fists and inserted one of the decks into her Duel Disk.
[Akasha vs. Yugi Muto]
Duel Start!
"I'll go first!" Yugi confidently drew a card from his Duel Disk.
"My turn. I summon [Queen's Knight] in Attack Mode!"
[Queen's Knight★★★★ (Level 4)][LIGHT][Warrior][ATK 1500/DEF 1600]
The elegant knight in red armor materialized on the moonlit, dark street as the Duel Disk activated.
"Then I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"
Yugi's remaining hand: 3 cards
"It's Akasha's turn now. Draw!"
Akasha glanced at the card she drew and her hand, all familiar faces she had seen today. Even though it was her first time using this deck, she felt she could handle the duel with ease.
"I summon the [Heroic Spirit – Medea Lily] in Defense Mode!"
After some hesitation, Akasha chose to use the Lily deck that Hoshino had employed in their duel. This deck excelled at gaining card advantage, had powerful healing abilities, and balanced offense and defense, making it more suitable for Akasha's first time using it.
"Hmm!" Yami Yugi's eyes widened in surprise, clearly startled by the sudden monster Akasha summoned.
"So, you chose to use Hoshino's deck, huh?" His expression shifted into something more shocked.
"What's wrong? Is Yugi-nii scared?" Akasha smirked, noticing Yami Yugi's shocked reaction. "Are you afraid of losing to Hoshino-nee's deck again?"
Yugi's lips curled into a smirk. "No, I'm surprised you made a terrible choice."
"You!" Now that she had the deck in her hands and was using it, Akasha finally understood the versatility of this deck. Just from her current hand, she could think of several possible combinations.
[Heroic Spirit – Medea Lily ★★★★ (4 Stars)][LIGHT][Spellcaster/Effect][ATK 1000/DEF 1500]
[This card is also treated as [Heroic Spirit – Medea].]
The holographic rainbow glow of the Duel Disk's sensor illuminated the battlefield as the bare-footed Medea Lily materialized on Akasha's side.
"Since I successfully summoned Medea Lily, I activate the special effect of [Heroic Spirit – Medea Lily!]"
But nothing happened.
"What?"
"Haha…" Yami Yugi couldn't hide his pitying smile. "It's not working, is it?"
"How is that possible? She should have been able to search for a corresponding Spell or Trap card!"
"You… aren't Master, are you?" Medea Lily tilted her head and glanced back at Akasha, providing the answer. "Without being my Master, you have no right to command me!"
"How could this be…" For the first time, Akasha was confronted with such an impossible situation, her face filled with disbelief.
"Just as I expected." Watching Medea Lily's response, Yugi wasn't surprised.
Back during the Duelist Kingdom, when Hoshino added Medea to his deck and dueled against Bakura in a shadow game, Yugi had already noticed this.
For some unknown reason, Heroic Spirit cards wouldn't activate their effects unless used by Hoshino. They would simply act as normal monsters with stats.
"Using a blank deck like that, do you think you still stand a chance of winning, Akasha"
(*****)
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