Central Park

Central Park... Located, well, in the center of the city, kinda near the Neo Superbia Academy. Why? Because students like to be lazy in a park and not be stuck on campus all day. This park is open to the general public for picnics, walking dogs, etc. Seriously, it's just a park. It's not a rocket science facility.

Dahlia made her way from the Arena to Central Park without delay. Why the park? Well, why not the park? She was called the Poisonous Flower after all, and she liked to just relax in nature. As much relaxing as she could get anyways with there being some kids running around playing games and people walking their dogs while chatting. It was a peaceful scene, one that let Dahlia sit on a park bench by herself and just... think...

So far her day has been sort of normal. She watched another set of Pros go at it, which was only really surprising because of the duel disk on wheels that was debuted. Then the Sabres showed up, wanting to recruit the boy who barely just got out of the Academy. Was he really that special? And did she have to be special like that to join the Sabres? Why was she even considering on joining the Sabres in the first place? Maybe it was because Dahlia felt like she wanted to do more than just put on a good show in the Pro League Arena, but was the Sabres really the answer? She couldn't be sure. So for now she wallowed in her thoughts, spacing out as she leaned back slightly on the park bench and stared up at the sky. "Just what is it that I even want to do?... I never thought about what I would do after becoming a Pro... Is this really all that I'm capable of?..."

After being spotted by the "fearless" Sabre leader, Shin had to withdraw from the arena. The Guardian walked aimlessly among citizens in busy streets, his mind still in awe and anger that his prideful stealth was easily broken. That aimless walking eventually led him to the park. A much more quieter place where he can simply take a moment of its relative peace.

It's been odd. Since joining the Guardians, nothing has really happened outside of a few small-scale skirmishes with the Sabres. Can we really save the world from that accursed D.E.S.?? Shin thought to himself. He then proceeded to nod a no as if asking him why say such a silly question. Of course they can. Humans have limitless potential within them, to stay stuck in relying in such a power is nonsense. By his own hands, he knows for sure that he can show the city the grave error that they are in. The D.E.S. is not to be trusted, it is a power never meant to exist in this world...

While sitting on a bench by the man-made lake, he overheard a voice asking if whatever she has going in is all that she is capable to do. Curious, Shin got up and approached to the direction of the voice. Not sure what I'm doing but if I can maybe convince her that she is capable of even more, then maybe her eyes can open...

"Of course not... you are capable of more. I can tell. You have a power hidden inside, all you need to do is to center yourself to open it." The Guardian approached and said to the young woman. This tone of willing to help makes it really hard for people to even think he could be part of the Guardians honestly. But he has been through a lot and even though his whole world came apart, he can't be angry at the innocent people living normal lives. No. His grudge is against those who continue to promote an unstable power as a means to a better future. How many more lives are at risk? How many more would one day lose their lives or loved ones should the D.E.S. go unstable again? No. No more. Shin won't allow that to happen. To save those from experiencing a similar fate is his mission and bring humanity back to taking a hold of their own future, with their own hands.

Dahlia sat up quickly when she heard a voice, lowering her gaze from the sky above to see a man approaching her. She didn't mean to speak out loud, but apparently he had heard her questioning her own capabilities. But what did he know about her? True, she was a Pro, so it would be easy to tell who she was, but she knew nothing about this man. She raised an eyebrow but remained seated, placing a hand over her bag which held her duel disk protectively. "Can I help you? I apologize for interrupting your day here with my own mumblings, but I don't quite understand what you mean. A power hidden inside? Centering myself?" she repeated, but his words took root in her self doubt. "I don't see what you see in me, and again I'm sorry if I interrupted your day here at the park... Maybe it's just better if I was left alone..."

"No worries, my day is nothing special for getting interrupted. I just couldn't help but reach out after overhearing your self doubt." The Guardian explained. At this moment, Shin was being his normal self, a compassionate soul that is not aligned with any of the two factions. "My name is Shin Takahashi, no one special, just a wandering soul who seeks to further improve my own abilities with my own two hands. And yes, a hidden power. Each individual is gifted with potential locked within, we just need to find ways to unlock it. Shin said as he looked up to the sky. A small, light breeze picked up as he closed his eyes. He then opened his eyes and looked at the young woman whom he recognized as a Pro Duelist. Her name however, escaped his mind at the moment. With a small smile, he felt the inner fire as a duelist burning up. It's been a while since he had a duel. He would of been a Pro Duelist as well if that tragedy never happened. "I'll leave you alone, but I also wish to show you what I mean. Of course, I'll show you and hopefully open your eyes to your own potential with a duel. How about it?" The challenge was sent. It's been a while since Shin dueled for himself, and not for the Guardian cause. What comes of this is up to the cards.

"Shin Takahashi... I will not forget your name. I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Dahlia, and I agree to your duel," Dahlia answered, relaxing a bit in this man's presence. He didn't seem to want to cause any harm, and what harm could there be in a friendly duel? Maybe it really would show her this potential that he could see in her but she could not. She withdrew her duel disk from her bag and readied her deck, already feeling a bit better about her current situation.

"Alright Dahlia, I'll let you go first," Shin answered, to which Dahlia thanked him and began with a draw. (Due to Character skill), Dahlia was able to bring forth her Venom Swamp Field Spell from her deck by paying 500 Life Points, and played Field Barrier from hand to help protect her beloved field spell. With one monster face down in Defense, she ended her turn. Shin was quick to summon Reinforced Human Psychic Borg, which gave Dahlia an idea of his deck. "Psychics? That's unique. I don't see a lot of those..." she mused, smiling a bit even as he attacked her face down monster, which was Reptilianne Gardna, something with about 500 more Defense Points than the Human Psychic Borg could handle. Nonetheless, Shin proceeded by setting two face down spell/traps and ending his turn.

Of course, this meant that Venom Swamp kicked in, and his Borg lost 500 Attack Points as it gained a Venom Counter. "It seems you are familiar with my Venom Swamp," Dahlia hummed, looking over her cards as she tried to decide what to do next. "Indeed I am, I'm well-versed in many deck types. I as well have seen you in the Pro League." "So I have a fan. Nice to know.... I summon Reptilianne Scylla, and while keeping Gardna in defense, I'll attack your Reinforced Human Psychic Borg with Scylla!"

Unfortunately, Shin was prepared for such, activating the Past Image Trap Card, which banished Dahlia's Scylla for the remainder of the turn. Without anything else to attack with, it was Dahlia's turn to place a couple face down spell/trap cards and ending her turn. This meant another Venom Counter on his Borg, while she got her Scylla back during Shin's Standby Phase. "Now all the pieces are set... I activate my face down card." Emergency Teleport, which brought forth Psi-Reflector from his deck. With this card special summoned, he could bring a card that had "Assault Mode Activate" in its name or card text, which he used to grab Assault Beast. The Beast was quickly discarded to bring the actual Assault Mode Activate to his hand, while using Psi-Reflector's second ability to revive the Assault Beast and change its level to 8. Thus, he was able to Synchro Summon into what appeared to be his Ace monster, Hyper Psychic Blaster!

He also hadn't Normal Summoned this turn yet, so he summoned Pandaborg while setting another card face down in his spell/trap zone before attacking Dahlia's Reptilianne Scylla with Psychic Blaster, causing a decent dent in her life points. "Now for a face down of my own, Damage = Reptile! I took 1200 points of damage, so I can summon a reptile from my deck with attack equal to or less than that. I'll summon Venom Cobra in Defense position." "My turn is not done. I have yet to show you my potential..." (Due to Character Skill) "I send the Assault Mode Activate from my hand and Tribute Hyper Psychic Blaster from my field... Unspeakable Knowledge, Unshakable Wisdom, Only through our own will can we shape the future! Assault Change! Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode!" The new and improved Hyper Psychic Blaster quickly took out Dahlia's Cobra, and she took another dent to her life points thanks to its skill.

With Shin's turn finally over, more Venom Counters hit the field (which destroyed his Reinforced Human Psychic Borg) while Dahlia drew. "I think I can see what you mean by your potential... Unfortunately for me, there isn't a lot for me to do it seems... Perhaps I don't have the potential you think you're seeing..." She set another monster in face down defense position before activating Reptilianne Spawn, which summoned two tokens of 0 Defense to her field to at least protect her life points for the time being. That's about all she could do, so with her own end phase, more Venom Counters hit the field, starting to make progress as they worked on Shin's side of the field. "Those tokens are annoying..." "So is your Hyper Psychic Blaster, if I do say so myself." "Hyper Psychic Blaster has been with me for as long as I can remember..." "So its your Ace. I'm glad you have such a connection to a card." "And you don't?" "I... do not believe so..." "There has to be a card you always go to. One that never fails you." "Perhaps... There is one card, but at this rate, I don't believe I'll have the chance to Summon it..." "What a shame.. Now lets continue."

Shin proceeded to tribute his Pandaborg to summon Overdriver Teleporter, using it's effect to sacrifice some of his own life points in order to summon two Level 3 Psychic Monsters, which ended up being Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit as well as Serene Psychic Witch. "Another Synchro?" Dahlia asked, noting that one of those monsters was a Tuner. "Heh. Not quite. With my Level 3 Ghost Ogre and Psychic Witch... Overlay!" To Dahlia's surprise, Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut hit the field. "Lets see if we could try to end this here... Battle!" Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode attacked Gardna, dealing some extra damage to Dahlia's life points due to its skill, but at least she was able to pull a Reptilianne monster from deck to hand after Gardna's defeat. Overdrive Teleporter and Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut attacked her tokens before Shin ended his turns, leaving one face down monster still on Dahlia's field. "Looks like I couldn't end it here." "Although I'm only hanging on by a thread..." With the end of Shin's turn, Venom Counters hit the field, and Dahlia drew a card. "Show me more of your potential. You survived this long."

"My potential just isn't here it seems... For that, I apologize... But, I won't quit just yet. For now, I'll tribute my face down monster to summon Reptilianne Medusa. And by using her effect, I discard one card to drop Hyper Psychic Blaster's attack to 0 and it can no longer change from its attack position." But rather than trying to finish off the Blaster now at 0 Attack, Medusa attacked Overdrive Teleporter, then Dahlia ended her turn. More Venom Counters, though at this point Hyper Psychic Blaster was already at 0 so it didn't matter. It still counted against Chronomaly Crystal Chrononaut, especially when Shin only summoned a face down monster of his own and set a spell/trap card before ending. His powerful monsters were dwindling quickly.

Dahlia's turn, and she got a card she didn't think would come to her at all. "This... may be a risk... But I summon Reptilianne Hydraling without using its ability... You asked to see my potential, and so I will show you what the best I can do is! I activate Fusion Substitute! Fusing my Medusa and Hydraling, I bring forth a card that I have long trusted. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"

Shin did not take kindly to this card. It looked like he saw a ghost, but he wasn't afraid. More like... it was more like Dahlia could see anger seething to a boil. However, she continued with her turn, borrowing Chronomaly's remaining attack points and Hyper Blaster's skill to attack Shin's face down monster. This gave her a little boost in life points while dealing damage to Shin directly due to Hyper Blaster's skill. With that, she ended her turn, reducing Shin's attack points even further. He didn't even do anything on his own turn, simply drawing a card and ending his turn, which in turn ended his Chrononaut once and for all due to Venom Swamp. "You asked to see my potential. And for once.. looking deep down, it came to me. For that, I thank you," Dahlia said earnestly, despite the behavioral change in Shin. He still seemed angry, his cool and calm composure slowly breaking down, especially as she summoned Reptilianne Viper, stealing Hyper Blaster because it had 0 Attack. This left Shin's field wide open for a direct attack from Starving Venom Fusion Dragon before she ended her turn. After all, both Viper and Hyper Blaster had 0 Attack. They couldn't do much at this point.

"You... You call that... THING... your potential?! That dragon... should not exist in this world!" Finally, Shin boiled over, confusing Dahlia further. "What do you mean?" That dragon is one of the very things created by the D.E.S. and I will not stand by and see it being tagged as someone's potential!" He summoned Pandaborg, attacking his own Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode which dealt damage to Dahlia due to it being at 0 Attack. "THIS IS POTENTIAL! HYPER PSYCHIC BLASTER, COME TO ME!" The original Hyper Psychic Blaster (not assault mode) returned to Shin's side of the field at full power, and aimed its sights on the 0 attack point Reptilianne Viper. "Begone from my sight!"

With that, the poor little Viper was blown to bits, ending the remainder of Dahlia's life points. As their monsters faded from sight, Shin started to speak, to reveal the truth behind it all. "I am a Guardian, and it is my mission to rid of these things, and everything the D.E.S. stands for, and burn it down. We are our own potential... Your dragon, no matter how powerful, will never be your potential."

All of this left Dahlia not just startled, but confused. What was once a calm and cool-headed man was someone who was deep down a vigilante, someone who associated himself with the rumored Guardians that wished to destroy the D.E.S. He was part of the reason that the Sabres existed at all. And it was... it was her own dragon that was part of the problem? "I don't... I don't understand! First you are such a nice person, trying to help someone out of the dirt and going on about deeper potential... But I can't believe you. Starving Venom is just a card, a card that I trust and have trusted for some time now. I won't let you look down on my treasure!" She had to leave; she had to get out of here and away from this man. But something kept her rooted in place. She needed to know more. This was a chance to find out as much as she could about these so called Guardians. "So what now? Are you going to try to take my card by force? Are there more like me? Just what do you Guardians have planned for those of us possessing "unnatural" cards?"

That duel left a sour taste in Shin's mouth. His calm, kind persona did a 180 degree turn when he saw Starving Dragon hit the field. The Guardian just couldn't hold it in. His dueling spirit felt insulted. Disgusted that a potentially strong duelist like Dahlia would even consider that cursed dragon to be her potential as a duelist. Now that was left of him was as the Assault Guardian, the most stealthiest of the faction and potentially most dangerous due to his drive to further push his own human limitations. Now what could of been a friend, or a follower of his cause, or an ally to the Guardians, is now nothing more than a target that needs to be removed. His face now of a more cold, emotionless nature. No... I won't allow the D.E.S. to ruin more lives...

Each step closer he gave towards Dahlia, all he could see were the graphic flashbacks of that tragic day. How in the matter of moments, what was once a happy normal life became one of ruin. One where the gods played a cruel joke and left him as the sole survivor of his neighborhood. How his parents disappeared before his very eyes. "What we have planned is of no concern to you. And just a card? You are yet ignorant of the unholy and unstable power you hold in your hands. You say treasure? Wrong, that is a curse. A curse that needs to be purged from existence. Has it ever occurred to you how you got that card? Have you given thought as to when it appeared to you? Don't bother answering... this ends here."

Shin took a step and looked like he disappeared and next thing Dahlia knew, he was right in front of her almost like he punched the air right next to her. "However, this is supposed to be my off time... I didn't stay in this park to break the peace. No go, get out of here. But let this be burned into your soul. That card is not you real power. That card will only hinder your own progress. And will one day be a danger to this city..."

Stepping back, Shin proceeded to walk away himself as well. The relative peace the park had is too great to break now. But before he left, in that "strike", he left a tracker on to Dahlia's duel disk. She is too valuable of a target for the Guardians to lose sight of.

Dahlia's eyes widened as Shin started to approach her, matching each of his steps with a step backwards of her own. Was he going to take the card by force? What was he talking about, about the card being a curse and that it shouldn't exist in this world? True, he had one point. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon didn't feel like a normal card, and it came to her out of the blue. One day it was simply in her deck, and she never knew how it got there. She took it as a sign of her own evolution taking form, but clearly... clearly this man thought differently.

That's when Shin disappeared briefly, appearing directly in front of her and barely missing a punch at her. If he was that fast, he should have been able to hit her, so why did he miss her on purpose? She was left with shaking legs as he turned away from her, vowing that Starving Venom would be a danger to the city one day. Dahlia merely took the chance to grab her bag and hurried out of the park. But where could she go? She just fought a Guardian!... That thought alone gave her the idea to make her way for Sabre HQ. What she learned here today in this duel might be useful..  and she held her own against him. She was also now a target. She needed help...

Around this time of day, it looked like Central Park was quiet, just as Astrea had suspected. A few stray strangers wandered by, walking their dogs, but paid no attention to Astrea and Yamiyo. The pale haired female took a seat at a bench and withdrew her water bottle to take a sip from it. If Yamiyo bothered to pay attention, it wouldn't smell like water, but she didn't expect him to ask about her drinking habits. "Let's see here.... Aha. Found it." The female was digging into her bag and found a business card, which had Senju's name and the name of the organization they had joined: The Guardians. On the back was Senju's number, to which Astrea sent a quick text message.

Hey Senju. It's Astrea. Yamiyo and I are here in Central Park, and I think we could use a quick get-together to learn more about this organization of your's. Stop by, if you would.

Once she sent the text, she expected Senju to take his time arriving, if he decided to come at all. So in the meantime, Astrea turned her icy gaze to Yamiyo and patted the  space next to her on the bench, obviously gesturing for him to have a seat. "I just messaged out "contact" with the organization. Here's his number for your own future reference... While waiting, did you want to talk? It seems like you have quite the eventful day with your sister and her academy friend, and even facing two other Pro League duelists."

Yamiyo walked with Astrea to the park. There they both sat on the bench and Astrea left Senju a message about meeting up with both of them. Then Yamiyo spoke to Astrea.


"I knew you had that guys number and I knew we had business to take care of. So I got us away from that crowd to do just that. By the way I have a question for you. You barely know me but you were concerned about me wanting me to take a break. How come?"

"Why was I concerned?" Astrea repeated, taking a moment to think. She looked up at the sky above their heads and hummed softly to herself as she thought, taking another sip of her water bottle before giving a quiet sigh. "Well, I'm into fortune telling, and according to my most recent reading, I was supposed to be making a new friend today. I narrowed it down to you. So I hope you can think of me as one as well," she explained, though never adverting her gaze from the sky. "Perhaps you think I'm crazy for it, but its what I believe to be true. And a friend looks out for one another. If I'm correct, you would have dueled six times today. Even for a renowned Pro Duelist such as yourself, one would be tired after all of that. Especially since we got ourselves into some organization that we barely know much about. Rumors say the Guardians are people trying to destroy the D.E.S., and while I don't really have a say either way if the system is good or bad, I'd rather not see innocent people hurt."

"Well I appreicate the concern, but I can take care of myself. Its good to see people have good intentions like yourself. We need more good people in the world like you. Also you could say that this is the start of a friendship."

Words Yamiyo himself thought he would never have said. But people do change. And despite being filled with darkness, Yamiyo knows that most of the people he met today aren't bad. There just like him, trying to reach the finish line

Astrea couldn't help a small smile when hd admitted to being friends. Somehow it just made her feel better inside, despite the fact they were waiting for the mysterious stranger from before. Whatever they got themselves into, it felt like it was her responsibility to keep an eye on Yamiyo. Maybe not for her own sake, but for his sister. It seemed the both of them had gone through a lot. "Well I'm glad... and hopefully despite this organization and whatever its goals may be, let's try to remain friends, shall we? Through thick and thin, we should do our best to keep one another safe. I don't really have other family to think about, but you have your sister. Be safe so that you can watch her grow."

"If you can prove to me that I can trust you, I will give you something that will represent the friendship that has started between us"

Yamiyo didn't comment on the "keeping each other safe" part because he knew that he lived on the dangerous side of things. Just like he told Akane, he did his business alone but in this case he was working with a team of people. So maybe he would let others protect him but it wasn't certain

"If I can prove to you that you can trust me..  hmm.." Astrea mused, sipping slowly at her drink. "Well, what does a loner like you consider trust? You're the infamous Lightning Assassin, and I'm just a reader of cards. Much like my Arcana Force, I let Fate decide my path, and in turn, I've become Fate's Eye. I watch, I wait, I listen, and then I make a move." After another sip of her drink, she turned her gaze to Yamiyo. "So you tell me, Lightning Assassin... What do you perceive as trust in this world of yours?"

"What is trust?

Honestly, Yamiyo couldn't even answer that. He had been alone and hurt for so long that you truely didn't know what trust was. He couldn't answer Astrea's question

"Honestly I.. dont know.."

Astrea held back a smile at the fact that Yamiyo couldn't answer her. She knew he wouldn't. So she turned her gaze out to the park around them, taking in the quiet scenery as she began to speak in an almost philosophical tone. "Trust... The firm belief in the reliability, truth, or strength and abilities of another... The certainty that one will never let you down..." A quiet sigh, followed by a glance out of the corner of her eyes at Yamiyo. "So, the loner known as the Lightning Assassin.. The real question is not if I'm trustworthy, but if you are able to trust anyone besides yourself?"

"I was betrayed as a child. Parent's murdered. Sister taken away from me. Everything was like I was in a horror movie. All I had was myself and my cards. But I fought my way to where I am today by myself. But with everything Akane showed me today and how she wants to be in my life again, I know that I can trust her. But I don't want to put her in harms way because of the business I do. And honestly with the way you are concerned for me.. maybe... uh.. I can trust you too"

Yamiyo said that last part in a very shy tone. He really didn't have friends or anyone. But he was happy people were in his corner.

Astrea smiled as Yamiyo spoke. She was glad that he was going to do what he could to let his sister back into his life. He needed family, and friends. And it looks like her reading today was right after all; she found a new friend. Slowly but surely, she could gain his trust. "I'm glad I'm worthy of your trust. Before today, I didn't do much on my own, or rather I did everything on my own without much purpose. But finding a friend, and joining this... organization, I can only hope I play my part correctly."