[Epilogue: Day 4]
[The following occurs in the late night hours of Asuka's fourth evening on the island, beginning shortly before his being spirited away to Econtra - time elapsed in his own world from that point until his return, about thirty seconds. There's only one person who knows that, though...]
There weren't that many things that surprised Fubuki all that much anymore. While he hadn't obtained any kind of psychic powers in death, he had still existed (he couldn't say lived, per se) through a lot of things that most people probably would never have to dream of experiencing. He'd seen his best friend cross the threshold of no return, even if he technically hadn't died until a couple weeks later. He'd been possessed by the cosmic incarnation of Darkness itself, and died because of it, becoming a mere spirit, visible, audible to approximately two(-ish) individuals on the island. He'd watched student after student fall to the cosmic incarnation of Light, and was essentially fighting a war in order to stop that. He'd even had to possess his own sister in order to keep her from falling to that same war - it was bad enough that she'd recently had a nightmare of a war so terribly detailed that she constantly referenced it in her notes (something called 'Econtra'). And yet while it wasn't pleasant stuff, and he would have avoided it if he could, it was something to expect, given his lot in existance.
He had not, however, been expecting to see Manjoume just vanish. Fubuki had been watching over his sister and her protector ever since the latter had fallen asleep - it wasn't as though ghosts needed to sleep, after all - so he knew Manjoume hadn't gotten up and walked away while he wasn't looking. One moment he was there, fast asleep (and rightly so, from exhaustion), the next he was nowhere to be found.
He had just enough time to realize that what he had seen had really happened (because how could it not have, even if it was impossible), and to look about the cavern to make sure he wasn't anywhere to be found - about half a minute, in total - before suddenly, Manjoume was back, as though he hadn't just vanished at random. Except...
Something was different. This was the same Manjoume - there was no doubt about that, because there was no way to doubt that - but something had changed. In fact, as Fubuki made to recreate the protection he had created in order to keep the Light from taking Manjoume over again - because it would, if given the opportunity - he found that somehow, such a thing was no longer necessary.
Had he really been freed of the Light of Destruction simply by vanishing for a tiny amount of time? People weren't Duel Monsters cards - they couldn't be returned to the hand with a simple spell and then summoned anew when there was something ailing them. This didn't make sense!
A soft groan, and Manjoume stirred a little, though he didn't open his eyes just yet, still a little bit overwhelmed by his trip. He could tell he was sitting, propped up against a stone wall of some kind. The area wasn't particularly well-lit, not that he minded that. The air was cool and slightly damp, as though he was in some kind of basement...
Slowly, he opened his eyes and confirmed it. Yes, this was the Abandoned Dormitory's basement. It definitely was, this time - apart from the fact that he definitely remembered the Entropi being defeated, it just felt right in some kind of unexplainable way. There was the one small (multi-part) souvenir that he had decided to bring home with him from the compound, tucked inside his coat. There was Asuka, still sound asleep just down the wall, looking surprisingly peaceful despite everything that had happened.
...And there was a familiar-looking, transparent young man, physically probably no older than Manjoume himself was (but who ever said ghosts went on to physically mature further after death?), standing a few feet away and looking as though he had seen a ghost.
"You're..." Manjoume began, but found himself unable to figure out exactly what to say to Fubuki's ghost - the Fubuki of his own world.
Thankfully, he didn't have to, as Fubuki responded, "You can see me?"
"I... guess I can, yeah," Manjoume replied, still mentally readjusting to the fact that he wasn't in Econtra anymore. "Now, anyway."
It didn't matter that Fubuki was intangible. He still leapt excitedly onto Manjoume with a cheer and wrapped him in a big hug. No one could fake being able to see spirits, after all. "I don't know how you did it, but that's great, Manjoume! You can see me, and if you can see me that means you can see all the other spirits again too, and the Light is gone from you..."
"You knew it was still in there?" Manjoume asked, in a tone that dripped of 'why didn't you mention this sooner'.
Fubuki nodded. "That's why I said I was keeping you from being taken again - if it was completely gone, it wouldn't be able to get you without a duel. But it usually doesn't go away completely without a duel either. I would have told you, but... well, by the time I got out everything else that needed to be said, I'd already been at it a good amount of time, and you know I don't want Asuka to get hurt..." He paused and decided to ask, "How did you get it out, anyway?"
"It's a long story," Manjoume sighed, but when Fubuki's expression clearly stated that he was interested and there was time, he continued. "You're not going to believe this, but I just got back from fighting a war in an alternate universe."
"A war in an alternate universe... Econtra?" Fubuki asked. In life, he hadn't been an Honors student merely for his good looks.
"You know about it?"
"Asuka's written the name down in the journal she's been keeping these past few days. I had thought it was some kind of detailed nightmare she'd had, but..."
Manjoume's expression turned briefly to one of relief. So they were from the same world after all. "It wasn't a dream, even if it was weird as anything. There were alternate versions of a lot of people I know there - there was a second version of Asuka there, too, and a version of you, actually, and they were from a world where you didn't... you know."
"Really?" Fubuki considered this. "Ah, how lucky he is. But anyway, continue."
"Pretty much, there was a version of Judai there who actually isn't a total coward. And... well, that thing that was inside me eventually showed its face, and we dueled, and he got it out."
"Manjoume, to be fair, Judai just needs a little push in the right direction, and to realize that accidents don't happen every time." When Fubuki's statement led to a look that stated 'I've heard this a thousand times' from Manjoume, he continued, "But unbelievable as that admittedly sounds, whatever happened, this is so great, Manjoume! I have to share the good news with my friend, and tell him there's been a change of plans. You should be safe for tonight, so if you'll excuse me for a little while..." Fubuki started to leave.
"Your friend?"
Fubuki smiled. "A friend of a friend, really. You'll meet him tomorrow. Just someone I've met since I've become a ghost who agreed to help me out with things. I think you'll like him."
And with that, Fubuki was gone, leaving just Manjoume and a sleeping Asuka in the underground cavern. Manjoume breathed a sigh of relief, adjusted himself slightly so he was more comfortable, and decided to get a little more sleep - he'd probably need it.
He was really home.
There weren't that many things that surprised Fubuki all that much anymore. While he hadn't obtained any kind of psychic powers in death, he had still existed (he couldn't say lived, per se) through a lot of things that most people probably would never have to dream of experiencing. He'd seen his best friend cross the threshold of no return, even if he technically hadn't died until a couple weeks later. He'd been possessed by the cosmic incarnation of Darkness itself, and died because of it, becoming a mere spirit, visible, audible to approximately two(-ish) individuals on the island. He'd watched student after student fall to the cosmic incarnation of Light, and was essentially fighting a war in order to stop that. He'd even had to possess his own sister in order to keep her from falling to that same war - it was bad enough that she'd recently had a nightmare of a war so terribly detailed that she constantly referenced it in her notes (something called 'Econtra'). And yet while it wasn't pleasant stuff, and he would have avoided it if he could, it was something to expect, given his lot in existance.
He had not, however, been expecting to see Manjoume just vanish. Fubuki had been watching over his sister and her protector ever since the latter had fallen asleep - it wasn't as though ghosts needed to sleep, after all - so he knew Manjoume hadn't gotten up and walked away while he wasn't looking. One moment he was there, fast asleep (and rightly so, from exhaustion), the next he was nowhere to be found.
He had just enough time to realize that what he had seen had really happened (because how could it not have, even if it was impossible), and to look about the cavern to make sure he wasn't anywhere to be found - about half a minute, in total - before suddenly, Manjoume was back, as though he hadn't just vanished at random. Except...
Something was different. This was the same Manjoume - there was no doubt about that, because there was no way to doubt that - but something had changed. In fact, as Fubuki made to recreate the protection he had created in order to keep the Light from taking Manjoume over again - because it would, if given the opportunity - he found that somehow, such a thing was no longer necessary.
Had he really been freed of the Light of Destruction simply by vanishing for a tiny amount of time? People weren't Duel Monsters cards - they couldn't be returned to the hand with a simple spell and then summoned anew when there was something ailing them. This didn't make sense!
A soft groan, and Manjoume stirred a little, though he didn't open his eyes just yet, still a little bit overwhelmed by his trip. He could tell he was sitting, propped up against a stone wall of some kind. The area wasn't particularly well-lit, not that he minded that. The air was cool and slightly damp, as though he was in some kind of basement...
Slowly, he opened his eyes and confirmed it. Yes, this was the Abandoned Dormitory's basement. It definitely was, this time - apart from the fact that he definitely remembered the Entropi being defeated, it just felt right in some kind of unexplainable way. There was the one small (multi-part) souvenir that he had decided to bring home with him from the compound, tucked inside his coat. There was Asuka, still sound asleep just down the wall, looking surprisingly peaceful despite everything that had happened.
...And there was a familiar-looking, transparent young man, physically probably no older than Manjoume himself was (but who ever said ghosts went on to physically mature further after death?), standing a few feet away and looking as though he had seen a ghost.
"You're..." Manjoume began, but found himself unable to figure out exactly what to say to Fubuki's ghost - the Fubuki of his own world.
Thankfully, he didn't have to, as Fubuki responded, "You can see me?"
"I... guess I can, yeah," Manjoume replied, still mentally readjusting to the fact that he wasn't in Econtra anymore. "Now, anyway."
It didn't matter that Fubuki was intangible. He still leapt excitedly onto Manjoume with a cheer and wrapped him in a big hug. No one could fake being able to see spirits, after all. "I don't know how you did it, but that's great, Manjoume! You can see me, and if you can see me that means you can see all the other spirits again too, and the Light is gone from you..."
"You knew it was still in there?" Manjoume asked, in a tone that dripped of 'why didn't you mention this sooner'.
Fubuki nodded. "That's why I said I was keeping you from being taken again - if it was completely gone, it wouldn't be able to get you without a duel. But it usually doesn't go away completely without a duel either. I would have told you, but... well, by the time I got out everything else that needed to be said, I'd already been at it a good amount of time, and you know I don't want Asuka to get hurt..." He paused and decided to ask, "How did you get it out, anyway?"
"It's a long story," Manjoume sighed, but when Fubuki's expression clearly stated that he was interested and there was time, he continued. "You're not going to believe this, but I just got back from fighting a war in an alternate universe."
"A war in an alternate universe... Econtra?" Fubuki asked. In life, he hadn't been an Honors student merely for his good looks.
"You know about it?"
"Asuka's written the name down in the journal she's been keeping these past few days. I had thought it was some kind of detailed nightmare she'd had, but..."
Manjoume's expression turned briefly to one of relief. So they were from the same world after all. "It wasn't a dream, even if it was weird as anything. There were alternate versions of a lot of people I know there - there was a second version of Asuka there, too, and a version of you, actually, and they were from a world where you didn't... you know."
"Really?" Fubuki considered this. "Ah, how lucky he is. But anyway, continue."
"Pretty much, there was a version of Judai there who actually isn't a total coward. And... well, that thing that was inside me eventually showed its face, and we dueled, and he got it out."
"Manjoume, to be fair, Judai just needs a little push in the right direction, and to realize that accidents don't happen every time." When Fubuki's statement led to a look that stated 'I've heard this a thousand times' from Manjoume, he continued, "But unbelievable as that admittedly sounds, whatever happened, this is so great, Manjoume! I have to share the good news with my friend, and tell him there's been a change of plans. You should be safe for tonight, so if you'll excuse me for a little while..." Fubuki started to leave.
"Your friend?"
Fubuki smiled. "A friend of a friend, really. You'll meet him tomorrow. Just someone I've met since I've become a ghost who agreed to help me out with things. I think you'll like him."
And with that, Fubuki was gone, leaving just Manjoume and a sleeping Asuka in the underground cavern. Manjoume breathed a sigh of relief, adjusted himself slightly so he was more comfortable, and decided to get a little more sleep - he'd probably need it.
He was really home.