Last Duel of No Regrets
Chapter 6

Ryou's enthusiasm had, briefly blunted. But Juudai had caught on too quickly, laughed, and claimed that Orisis had burnt Neos to a crisp. And then, by the sounds of it, gotten rebuked by said spirit for the wording.

It was hard not to laugh at that. And, unfortunately, Fubuki had chosen that moment to walk through the door with Johan in toe, and had caught sight of his expression.

The days were longer and less boring now. The feeling of inadequacy was once again replaced by his itch, but the desire to challenge something above, something out of reach. Wasn't that what he'd been waiting for, after all? The infection was taking too long to clear.

But with Juudai there, there was suddenly a lot more to talk about. Juudai had tales of recent travels, but it was beyond that. Ryou even heard a few new stories from Shou – Shou who had barely left his side since his surgery, back at Duel Academia. Juudai had tales of the Dark World as well, and though he was more cautious, he spoke of those as well. About friend and enemy alike who was reincarnated, and, slowly, reformed.

Or they were running around causing trouble of a lesser kind, like the goblins. They seemed to be like a gang on the street. Dogs whose tails one could never keep straight.

They weren't quite what he was waiting for, but now the day seemed to be days or weeks away instead of in some fuzzy semblance of the future. In the Dark World, it had been impossible. After he'd seized the initiative. After he'd challenged Juudai to a duel. It had been too soon. Or just the hammer of sense that had needed to be smacked on his brunet head.

And he'd never had a chance, enough time or a deck he thought to do it with, after.

But the time was coming, soon. And it made him feel energetic. Refreshed. And impatient.

He didn't think of what was beyond that. What could be beyond that. Why he was still there. Why, when the infection slowly got better, his heart felt heavier, more sluggish. Why, even as he recovered, he was needing to rest more. Why he felt he was saving himself.

He'd known he would die like this. Years ago. In the Dark World. At Duel Academia. Now.

He knew two more things. That he wanted to have the greatest duel he could before that. And that duel was with Juudai.

He also knew he wanted to die, figuratively speaking anyway, on his feet. Standing up. Still duelling. Still walking. Anything but lying down and wasting away. He could tolerate it now, only, he knew, because he was waiting for that duel.

He wondered if anyone else saw it.

Of course they did, he figured only moments after the thought crossed his mind. The doctors couldn't keep their prognosis to themselves. Nor did he particularly want them to. He wanted it frank. Straight. An explanation he could understand without years of science and medical knowledge underlining it. They were just like teachers, in a sense. Some were good at explaining things. Some were bad. Some gave the impression it was just a little blot clot. Some told him he was on his death bed.

He refused a death bed, so long as that choice was still in his hands. A daytime nap was a description he felt was more accurate.

And then, finally, his patience wore off. They dropped the contact precautions. His visitors no longer had to be covered head to toe. They could bring things in to him again. Liven the place up with more than chatter.

Of course, the first thing he asked – or demanded, as Fubuki said – was for Juudai to bring his deck and duel disk so they could duel.

They escaped to the roof for that, otherwise a nurse was sure to see and interrupt them. They didn't often, because the roof was cold and windy and Ryou was supposed to avoid such environments, but it was the best place to duel and duel undisturbed.

And he wore his robe. Though he got out of his wheelchair when they got to the top. He was going to duel standing.

Shou, surprisingly, did not rebuke the duel disks. He wasn't supposed to use them. Shou knew that. Ryou knew it too. And Fubuki and Johan. Maybe Juudai knew as well, or had been told. But nobody stopped him from clipping one to his arm. And nobody stopped Juudai.

Shou did not rebuke the lack of wheelchair either.

Ryou knew he understood.

Juudai grinned at him. His face, his eyes, they revealed nothing at seeing Ryou, frailer than he'd ever been and wrapped more thickly too, opposing him. 'I don't know much about your new deck,' he called. And he didn't. Only its key card. Only because that had been too important to keep a secret. 'I'm looking forward to seeing it in action now.'

'I'm looking forward to seeing what changes you've made to yours as well,' Ryou said back. His voice wasn't as strong as it used to be, but they could all hear him. Strong voice. Strong legs. Strong hand. All important things in a duel. All things he would, for that hour or two or however long it took, have.

He was breathing a little harder than normal already. And he could feel his heart, protesting. It hadn't had such effort for a month, or more. He ignored both. He would ignore both, until they brought him to his knees and then only if he could fight it no more.

'Come at me, Juudai!'

Juudai did.

.

It was every bit the duel Ryou had dreamed of. No match with Orisis, or the Phantom Demons, but it didn't matter to him because he had never faced them. Instead, he faced the best of Juudai's deck. Flame Wingman. Neos. Yubel. Their many combinations. Their many fusions. Their many forms.

It lasted long. Both of them had started that duel not to win but to play for as long as they could, and it showed in their moves. Showed in their slow start. In their even blows. If Juudai had duelled the way he had before his graduation, Ryou had no doubt he would have been defeated long before. But they had a different intent, a different rhythm. A duel that could end in three turns could also go on for ten, or more, and not because of punches pulled. It was to expand the field. Expand the play. Expand the game.

Ryou wanted to reach something high, and Juudai was offering it.

Then, finally, Evolving Dragon at its strongest, at level twelve, against Neos Wiseman.

And then the game ended. Still prematurely, except Ryou felt his body really could not go any more. Not then. He could die on his feet and it would be a wonderful death, but Juudai would not allow it. He would not be the hand to do it. He doubted Shou would allow it either, as much as he understood. They were still children, in his eyes. Even after growing up.

He smiled.

.

The doctors scolded him quite viciously and Juudai had needed to sneak in afterwards because they weren't too pleased with him either – or all of them, but Fubuki was dropping Johan at the airport then. It was no use talking for a few days though. But, finally, Ryou opened his eyes to see Juudai there and he had a stray thought in his mind he had to day.

'I do wish I could have seen God Neos.'

Juudai chucked softly, and a little sadly too. 'God Neos has only ever appeared once. Against Darkness.'

Ryou supposed he couldn't measure up to the Darkness.

His mattress sagged. Juudai had taken a seat near the end. 'I don't pull punches.' His voice had dropped further, and taken on a serious tone. 'You know that.'

Ryou did.

'We had a good duel.'

Ryou cracked his eyes open again. Juudai was smiling. Not quite that silly little grin he wore often in the past, but the sort that said "it's alright now."

'There is a long gap between us.' Ryou said that lightly, but he remembered their graduation match. What he'd said then. Perfection against limitless potential. And Shou – opening the door to him to strive beyond perfection. 'I have fallen behind.'

'You are still one of the strongest duellists I've met.' And he said that honestly. 'And your new deck is strong as well. And it suits you. The two of you will grow stronger.'

Ryou laughed. 'I wonder.' They both knew what he was talking about. Though Ryou wondered if that naiveté of his had returned – or, if in such matters, Juudai had not managed to grow up after all.

Juudai stood up again. The weight on the mattress vanished. 'You haven't duelled Orisis.'

Ryou would have snorted if he could have. His inhibitions seemed to have faded into satisfaction and fatigue. 'I don't have anything that'll take me through time.'

'You haven't duelled God Neos.'

Ryou accepted that. He hadn't.

The room seemed a little lighter. Juudai was heading for the door, it seemed. 'Let's have another duel, Kaiser,' he said, before he opened it and the light flooded. 'In another world or life if not in this one.'

'Sure,' Ryou said tiredly, closing his eyes.

'Then it's settled.' And the door closed.

.

'Aniki's left,' Shou said later, when he came to visit.

Ryou noted belatedly that Shou had never fallen out of the habit of calling Juudai that.

'He promised me a duel,' he said. He was still feeling drowsy. He'd been feeling drowsy since the duel. He wasn't sure if it was the medications or the strain. And he didn't, at that moment, really care. 'With God Neos, this time.'

'Really?' Shou sounded surprised, but a little happy as well. 'That's good. Something to look forward to…I guess.' He said those last words quietly and Ryou assumed that, over the hum of the machines, he wasn't supposed to hear. But he heard. That doubt. That understanding.

He might die tomorrow. Or he might live for another day, another duel. He'd had a duel he wouldn't regret, and the promise of another one.

He wondered if the regret of not facing a God would stilt him.

But he'd never really wanted to face a God. Just the strong.

Just the ones who pushed the boundaries of perfection.