Neo Babylon Hospital

Equipped with all of the latest technology and medical advancements thanks to the D.E.S., the hospital has become the beacon of hope for all who suffer from illness. Chronic or acute, almost anything can be treated. Almost, anyways, and It just may vary how many trips to the hospital are needed. Let's see how much trouble we get ourselves into.

Another day, another day. That's all Aokakesu could think about as she walked into the hospital doors. She held onto her sister's hand as per usual, until she was to be taken for the treatment. Even then, once she had her blood drawn and an IV stuck in her arm, she still held her sister's hand. Sukikyo was her one and only support in going through these treatments, quite literally since it was her sister who was able to pay for them. The sisters had gone through so much over the passed five years after the Cube and the D.E.S. came into place. They lost their home, their family, and it was only because of Sukikyo making it to the Pro League of Dueling that they were able to survive on their own. This bothered Aoka to an extent, because it was all her fault. She was the sickly one and always had to be taken care of while Sukikyo bore the brunt of the burden...

Aoka sighed, laying in a bed in her usual room in the hospital while the IV did it's thing. With the IV in her left arm, she held onto Sukikyo's hand with her right, and tried to smile for her elder sister. "Hey Suki?... Can you turn up the TV? There's supposed to be a Pro duel broadcasted soon. I think that Yamiyo guy is supposed to be there, but I don't know a lot about this Kaen guy. They say he's bringing something special to the match today." That's right. Maybe a duel will help her sister. She didn't have to worry about winning or losing in this match; they could just sit back and relax together. The TV was situated in the corner of the room up high, probably out of most patients' reach for a reason. Aoka looked up at Sukikyo with her one good eye, her right eye, as her left eye was still covered by a patch. "Please?... And who knows. Maybe we can have a duel together in the arena one day too~

"Right..." a worried voice said, as the owner of the voice still flipped the TV on while still holding the hand of the poor sickly girl in the hospital bed. That voice is no other than Sukikyo, the older sister of the currently ill Aoka. Ever since the Cube and the D.E.S. came into existence, their lives came to an unfortunate turn of events. Home, family, friends. All lost due to the uncontrollable power of the Cube. If it wasn't for Sukikyo's dueling prowess and making the Pro League, who knows what would of become of them. The money earned was basically being spent on Aoka's care.

Even then, Sukikyo was getting bored. Everyone she faced, the so called "Pro Duelists" are all weak. Weak willed people with hollow and pointless goals and desires. All of it combined doesn't measure up to what these poor siblings have to go through. Sukikyo wants power, power to change their fates, power to give purpose to what feels like their meaningless existence, power to curse and overthrow whatever sick minded people or deities or whatever it was that thought it was okay to destroy everything they held so dear. Power... That's it. That's all that matters. If power is what brought them to this state, then power is what is needed to come out of it.

"I suppose... I can watch. See what they do, see if they are worth challenging one day.." Sukikyo replied to her little sister but also pondering to herself. Looking over the night table next to her little sister's hospital bed was her greatest possession, her Red-Eyes deck. The last remaining memento of her family. Her father's deck, back then when he was known as the Red-Eyed Duelist, famous for his crimson red eyes which Sukikyo inherited. It's as if fates wants her to continue that legacy. Looking over to her little sister, what was a lifeless, emotionless face suddenly became full of life and emotion when she gave Aoka a bright and warm smile and said "Yeah, we will one day. That's my big sister promise to you."

Aoka smiled brightly as she finally got her sister to smile a genuine smile. It was all she could hope for, strive for. The little girl just wanted her sister to not be so over burdened with her medical expenses, but there wasn't much that she could do there. Maybe if they had more of a family to rely on... if their parents didn't pass away... Or what if they had even more siblings, siblings like the other Pros that could help support them. Aoka just wanted more family, a happy family...

"Oh wow, Sukikyo! Look! That guy Kaen is riding a motorbike with a duel disk on it! I bet it can go super fast!" The small child sat up more in bed as the TV continued to broadcast what would be one heck of a duel. "He could make a red one just for you! Then you could like... like race! Race like the wind with your dragons. Like flying!" She wondered what it would be like to race around an arena, or even on the open road with such a cool bike, something that allowed dueling at break neck speeds. But how would that work with traffic? Aoka's excitement didn't die down at the thought, more that she was even more curious about how it could work. And what color her own bike would be. She wanted to ride around too, but that was an impossible dream to fulfill given her current state.

Speaking of, a nurse and a doctor came into the room just then. The nurse adjusted the IV bag, inserting some other medication into it via syringe and a secondary port. Meanwhile the doctor drew her attention away from the TV for a while to remove the patch over her eye. Unlike her right eye, which was a bright crimson like her sister, her left eye was pale, like a fading pink. "Seems that the treatments still aren't affecting the eye as we hoped... Tell me, Aoka, how many fingers am I holding up?" The doctor held up three fingers while Aoka knew to cover her good eye. After a few attempts at squinting for an answer, the young child sighed and shook her head. "Two?" When she uncovered her good eye and saw three, the girl could only frown. At this point, she stopped listening to the doctor and nurse as they started to chat, focusing more on the TV.

"It seems the treatments still have no affect on the decaying vision. We'll have to run more tests to determine the extent of the vision loss, but its better to save that for another day... More importantly, the IV treatments have shown improvement in her bloodwork. Her body is finally starting to produce what it needs on its own. She may have a normal childhood a little later than everyone else, but I'm certain that this is the beginning of true recovery," the doctor explained, expecting Sukikyo to be listening to at least the last bit. It was good news, even if it would still be a long road of recovery.

At the very least, it caught Aoka's attention from the TV for a brief moment. Was it true that she could one day play like everyone else? Even if it still took years to recover, she could go to Neo Superbia Academy like every other duelist dreamer and earn a place in the Pros alongside her sister.

A motorcycle duel disk... to believe such a thing existed. A small grin appeared on Sukikyo's face, she feels like this is the challenge she needed. Defeating this motorcycle duelist can bring her one step closer to even greater power. If a newcomer can beat a known Pro Duelist, then he is worth facing. "Yes Aoka, that would be nice someday. You can see me go as fast as father's Red-Eyes. Maybe I could modify it and have you sit with me! No, I promise you that will happen!" That thirst for power and idea of defeating this new opponent instantly became a warm-heart reply to her little sister.

Midway, they were interrupted by the doctors that came in. Her eye is still losing it's light. As depressing that can be, the small glimmer of hope the doctor said gave Sukikyo to strive for. To gain the necessary power to help her little sister speed her recovery up and live her life as a normal child. "One day... things will get better... I know it will, I will make it happen. Whatever it takes..." Sukikyo said softly to herself as the doctors then left as she held her little sister's hand with one hand and clenched the other in a fist of determination with the other as the strange new and exciting duel continued.

As the duel reached its completion, so did Aoka's treatment for the day. The nurse returned totake out the IV in the little girl's arm, bandage up the area, and to give her a new package of eye patches to wear. Aoka thanked the nurse, the the two were free to leave. So with the eyepatches in one hand, the girl held her sister's hand with the other like usual as they left the hospital together. "Where do you wanna go, Suki? Maybe we can find the motorcycle duelist and ask him about making one for you~" she suggested brightly, though doubted that was what her sister wanted to do. With the duel having ended, there's no way to tell where the guy might be. Maybe he would still be at the Pro League arena, but it was a long shot. And who even knew if he would say yes or not?

So Aoka began thinking, followed by a series of "hmms" and "uhms" and more "mmms". "We could... go to the park... or the theme park?... or maybe the beach... or... well, wherever you wanna go is fine. Maybe somewhere where we can find some strong duelists to fight! That rumor of the Guardians is still going around, so we need to be super strong like the Sabres!" The idea sparked a question in the little girl's mind, making her tilt her head up at Sukikyo. "Why don't you try to join the Sabres? Is it because of me? I bet they get paid a lot too, and I don't see why you can't be a Sabre and a Pro League Duelist too. You're super strong too, so I bet they would love to have you against these Guardians!"

The dreaded hospital visit is finally dealt with. Sukikyo held on to her little sister's hand, holding it firmly, giving Aoka the assurance that she is safe with her as long as she held her hand. Now the question to be answered... where to go from here? Aoka made a good but unlikely suggestion to find the motorcycle duelist. However the odds of that happening were probably not so good right now. "As much as I like your idea, that can wait for another time. How about..." The older sister turned and took a knee to be at eye level of her little sister and with a nice and warm smile that no one else ever sees but Aoka, "How about we go to the school I went to? If the doctor's say you can have a normal life again, it would be a great idea to show you around to the school you would go to!"

It was decided, the siblings would take a leisurely stroll to Sukikyo's school. The place where her dueling career as a Pro Duelist was given foundation. "As for joining the Sabres... maybe, who knows. I would do anything to keep you safe, but we will cross that bridge when we get there." But deep down she wasn't sure. She has heard of the cause for the Guardians and why they are so hellbent in ridding of the D.E.S. and she doesn't blame them. Why protect the very thing that ruined their lives? But why ruin the lives of others as well? Does it really matter? Honestly, Sukikyo could care less. All that matters to her is the living soul that is holding her hand. Her remaining reason to live and if either the Sabres or Guardians offer the power necessary to protect her, then it doesn't matter what happens to the world.

School? School! Dueling school, the one place that she would one day be able to go to if she was able to live a normal life: Neo Superbia Academy! Aokakesu nodded and giggled happily, already feeling better after being stuck again at the hospital. "Yeah! I wanna see everything!~ One day, I'll go there too with my Fortune Ladi- I mean.. Fairies. Fortune Fairies, and I'll be able to show everyone what I can do!" the child said brightly, but caught herself when talking about her deck. To this day, five years after they lost their home, she never told her sister about the cards she had obtained. Truth be told, she probably should have; but its been five years! Would Sukikyo be mad at her for keeping this a secret for so long? The child was petrified at the thought of having the one and only person she cared about in the world being mad at her. But maybe... well, Sukikyo was a Pro! Maybe she could help the girl learn about her new cards and how to use them to the best of their abilities...

"Hey Sukikyo? When we get to the Academy, can I show you something? It's something important, and I don't think I can keep it from you any longer. It's dueling related, so it can wait until we get to the academy." Aoka wanted to wait until they had a place to sit down and talk, and surely at a duel academy there would be places to sit, right? And the talk about the Sabres and Guardians could wait until later. It didn't really involve them anyways, right? So, to the academy!!!!