When the demonic detective entered the bus garage, Professor Furiko moved to the side to turn on the lights. Its head seemed trained on the two students, watching their every move, moving to check to see whether Tekkan was still at the door every now and again..
On the third bus from the door that the group had come through, one of the windows was very obviously marred. The Professor did not say anything as the two might soon find out that all the doors to the buses were locked, though a key ring was located somewhere within the garage.
The Demonic Detective fiddled with his duel disk to get an appropriate mood set up for his investigation; that's when the lights turned on. The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell placed his palms together as he looked around the scene. From this starting point the garage seemed to be of an average design, with nothing in particular standing out. But what kind of occasional Demonic Detective be if The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell didn't thoroughly examine the investigation scene? He stretched out his hands with his palms facing outwards, "Finally, I can proceed with my investigation."
Fyodor slowly strode through the garage as saxophones played. The first bus didn't seem special, just a standard model. Then came the second which was the same as the first. But the third bus caught his eye. Konstantinovich went closer to take a look.
"Window's been smashed harder than a Hitotsu-Me Giant against a Big Shield Gardna; but not shattered." The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell took a moment to reflect on the statement and the scene. Briefly he focused upon simply breaking into that vehicle, but presumably if that window didn't shatter from what was likely his assault on the bus it wasn't getting broken into any time soon.
He'd try that method later.
For now the Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell and Demonic Detective would wax some poetics as he searched around the outside of the marred bus for any other abnormalities, such as loose hubcaps, strangely blocked exhaust pipes and potential compartments.
"The sun keeps on shining as the world acts like everything is just peachy. As for me, I skulk in these dark alleys they call Mystery. Like a rat I scavenge for the missing pieces that the rest of man leaves behind; it's the only way to solve the case. And now I've wormed into this place. Lights brighter than the gleaming sun out there, but the leads are still in the dark. So I'll keep searching like the Devil in the Desert until I find that one piece..."
Ayami shook her head no in response to Matt's question; browsing the shop was simply her priority, and her one-track mind had ended up leading her to want to buy packs. As it was right now, though, nothing in particular caught her eye. Nothing too important to buy as of yet, it seemed... Which was fine. For now, she could just buy a box or something; the problem then, though, was picking which box to pick...
"...Hm... I can't make this choice. Too many to pick from," she sighed, shaking her head before turning to Matt. "Pick a set for me, please."
Before she could go back to looking through the displays for something interesting, though, another group standing off to the side seemed to be vying for her attention. The girl, apparently enough, was trying to goad her into Dueling someone...
Which, considering how she had just forfeited the tournament... Probably wasn't going to have any major significance in the end.
"Ah... I don't believe I've the right to challenge anyone for this tournament, to be quite frank," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Rather than that, I've come here to look for cards to make my deck better; that would imply I don't believe it would have enough strength as it is, no?"
Something about the other girl's demeanor made Ayami thoroughly wary--she couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly, but that premonition was enough to keep her wary for the moment.
Carnel was a bit disappointed to see that the Duel would not be happening, but that was fine. There would undoubtedly be plenty of other opportunities to gather information. "I don't mind at all. Lead the way," Carnel responded to Rumi's invitation. Carnel also accepted her cookies and took a bite out of one. They were a bit hard and crumbly, nothing like the soft and chewy ones he was used to eating back home. However, he attributed that to the fact that the ones he ate back home were usually fresh out of the oven. Besides, it wasn't like it tasted bad. He popped the rest into his mouth, savoring it before finishing it off.
Professor Furiko waited silently as the Ghoulish Rider and Sinful Sleuth searched between the buses, finally finding what he was looking for. Though he had noticed the student attempt to break in, the robot professor did neither assist nor stop him. It was as if he were anticipating something.
Then, in Tekkan's view, a blue Toyota truck with various tools in the back had parked just in front of the school's gates, and out of them, a tan-skinned, gruff looking Japanese man, who slid out of the truck with a toolbox in hand. Clearly, he was a mechanic.
"Hey kid. You're one of the students here right? If you are, I'm gonna go in. I'm one of the school's mechanics."
"Ain't no worries baby girl. What you doin' changin' yo deck right in the middle of the thing though? I don't know if it be cheatin'. Ain't no rules saying you can't..." the girl tapped her chin for a second... "actually hey. That ain't a bad idea. Maybe I'll do it next time."
Using a sensitive touch and keen eye, that enigma wrapped around in riddles and clad in pure black known as The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell and Sinful Sleuth felt something in exhaust pipe of the bus. Konstantinovich mused, "Every dame has got got her secrets, what're you hiding in that sensitive area?" The Demonic Detective placed his fingers in the exhaust pipe and continued to feel around,
"Oh. I know you're hiding something, and I'm gonna take it." Fyodor said as he fished out a ring with keys on it. There was certainly an expression on The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell's face underneath that helmet; but that was just between him and the Devil.
"But why would a key-ring be hidden there...? The case grows even more curious than that forty-percent scrapmetal robot." Fyodor mused aloud as he walked around back to the front of the bus.
"Now let's see if we can get a closer look here." spoke The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell and Demonic Detective as he began going through the assorted keys and looking to see which ones were similar to the bus lock. The Sinful Sleuth began testing these 'probable' keys by inserting them into the lock and trying to open the bus.
Glad to finally see some action, Tekkan grinned, booting up his Duel Disk as the man came closer. This guy would regret coming between him and his leader.
"Sorry, sir, but if you want inside, you're going to have to duel me first and win. No proof of membership needed." Of course, the man could very easily force his way past Tekkan, but where's the fun in that? It was a DUEL academy, after all.
"Unless you don't have a duel disk, of course." Tekkan shrugged sarcastically in an attempt to mock the man. "In which case, just beat it. We don't need your kind in there unless you have business with The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell."
Rumi smiled looking at Lua open up his hands for a few of them in comparison to Carnel just taking one and put a few in Lua's open hands and quickly decided to apologize in advance to Lua "Sorry if their not fresh from the oven they are a day old after all but I can always make more if you want, just feel free to ask. Oh I know I can let you try my signature Sweet Bread!" Rumi added and excitedly suggested them to try out her favorite recipe then looked ahead towards the most likely place for duelists to go "Onwards to the cardshop! I can smell duelists there already!" Rumi jokingly said leading the 2 older boys towards the academy's cardshop
Lua ate like a squirrel, his eyes darting left and right, nibbling quickly, his hands holding all the food, his back hunched. It was hard and cool, just the way he liked them. When she spoke he nodded and was surprised how many sweets she wanted to give to him. As they walked he finished his meal and swatted the crumbles off of his hands. When she motioned to the card shop, he grew giddy. He had much in terms of money, perhaps he could buy cards, and to finally get a duel in would be wonderful. He moved significantly faster now, wishing to see what was inside. He was eager, and it showed in the way he moved, like a kid to a candy shop.
"Can you smell what kind too? Oh, I hope they're good! Maybe I can pick up some better cards- what do you suggest?" @Satoshi Kyou
Matt laughed, "Decision making isn't so hard. Let's see what a good looking pack is..." Matt's voice trailed off as he glanced over the horde of assembled packs. "Hey this looks cool." He said, grabbing a pack. "Well I mean it's called Epic Dawn, it's gotta have some nice stuff in it right? Here i'll get one too." He said turning around to see Ayami had engaged in conversation with a confident girl standing in front and a somewhat more shy guy hiding behind her. Seemed she Ayami to duel her friend. Matt stepped up next to Ayami and handed her the pack he'd picked out, pocketing the one he'd taken out for himself for the moment.
"If it isn't in the rules it isn't cheating and it wasn't mentioned at the start which means its fair game." He said with a cheery wink at the black haired lass. Not that he expected her to care, if anything he expected a harsh rebuttal from the way she was looking at Ayami but you could never tell. It certainly never hurt to be friendly. "I'm sure some of the people hiding on the fringes are watching people and adding cards just to counter them before starting a duel. People do whatever works." Matt personally didn't feel the need to bother with such things, but he wasn't as committed to winning as some people were. A fine duel filled with excitement was more than enough for him.
"It's not cheating if I'm already out of the tournament, either," Ayami responded, taking into account Matt's choice of pack before nodding her head and placing a few bills on the counter for the shopkeeper to take. "In any case, six packs of Epic Dawn--three for me, and three for my friend here."
As she waited for the cashier to obtain the requested items, Ayami turned to look over at the girl once more before shrugging her shoulders.
"I think you can only go so far you can go with that sort of tactic, though. It might be better to keep to a single tactic in the long run, but keep a variant of the Deck in your back pocket as a backup. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing track of what you're running, and then everything likely devolves into a giant mess before you have to rework everything from the bottom up again."
That was purely speculation on her part, though; in any case, a Duel as part of the tournament wasn't an option for her any longer, so there was no harm done in discussing something like this in the meantime.
The engineer scratched his chin and quirked his brow. "Damn kids" he grumbled, getting into the back of his truck, shuffling through a good variety of things, taking several minutes. Then, finally, he turned back. "Alright kid. I've got a turbo deck on me. I'm not sure where I put the ground deck. You turbo duel?" he asked.
After several tries, the Satanic Sherlock had unlocked the bus door.
Inside the bus, underneath the steering wheel, was the brick Fyodor had thrown the day before, right in plain sight, as if the person who had taken it had no emotional investment in it whatsoever.
"Sounds pretty suspect to me. Not sayin' I don't trust y'all, but I sure as hell ain't lettin' you near my shit.
The shopkeeper robot held a metallic finger out. "ONE MOMENT PLEASE." it droned, rolling back behind the employee-only door. Apparently, it was busy with something at the moment.
"But uh. I'm still pretty pumped up from my last duel. Mhm!" the woman said. "Since the both of us have lost the tournament, you wanna duel me instead? My friend here's got time."
"Turbo duels, huh?" Tekkan scratched his chin, thinking. "I know what those are. I don't have my own runner, but if you give me one, I'll give it a good old academy try!" He pumped his fist in the air, excited for a duel. However, it wasn't just a duel runner that he needed, but he would learn that the hard way.
The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell had an expression on his face underneath his helmet as he finally found the proper key to unlock the locks; but that was just between him and the Devil. With a gentle touch Konstantinovich opened the bus door. "Ssssssh." Fyodor assured the bus as he began stroking at one of the sides of the newly opened door, "Oh dame, I know what you're thinking. Just quickly fork over what I want and I promise I'll go soft on ya." And so he strolled into the bus.
That is when he saw it. His brick! The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell, and Demonic Detective with no more case, picked up the brick and began tossing it up down, "Good to see you. But..." mused Konstantinovich as his thoughts soon turned to how the mystery was already solved. No one actively stole his brick, despite not returning it to him! Did they not understand the sheer majesty that occurred every time he threw a brick!?
...
A dramatic pause was utilized as a Hellish Command was worming around in The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell's head. There was certainly an expression underneath The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell's helmet; but that was just between him and the Devil. Fyodor quickly shut the bus doors and curled his brick down the aisle. Slamming the keys in the ignition, The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell turned on the ignition and pressed the starter button. There was a brief fiddling with the radio as Fyodor, opened his window, and shifted the gears. The Ghoulish Rider - Traveler of the Highway of Hell looked at the clicker that was surely built to open the doors and pondered for a moment.
And now it was time to put the pedal to the metal.
"GWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! GIVE WITNESS TO THE GHOULISH RIDER - TRAVELER OF THE HIGHWAY OF HELL! KNEEL AND BOW WHILE YOU CAN! THE REIGN OF LUCIFER IS QUICKLY APPROACHING! CONVERT TO HIS UNHOLY NAME AND MAKE WAY FOR THE SHEPARD OF FIRE! FOR I WILL ESTABLISHED HIS DAMNED KINGDOM! GWAHAHAHAHAHA!" howled out Fyodor with utter glee as he continued driving, thinking of a spot to store his spoils of a solved case.
The engineer rolled his eyes, stopping halfway, turning his attention to the garage door which had burst open, a bus flying through it. "Oh for fuck's sake..." he turned back, "kid. You be good. Maybe head over to the cafeteria. Have yourself some lunch. Yeah?" After his little goodbye, the engineer ran back into his truck, starting it up, beginning to give chase to the Traveler of the Highway to Hell- now with more wheels.
After examining the dashboard for a bit, one might notice a small microphone device attached to speakers on the outside of the bus.
"We sense within you the power of the sun." a vaguely masculine voice was heard from behind Aya, as she was suddenly left alone. "Yes. The power of Our greatest god, Ra, has blessed this area and We have deemed it as being sacred ground."
Behind her was a man clad in golden robes, face obscured by a golden mask shaped like the head of a falcon, gleaming in the sunlight. "Oh, blessed one of Ra. Could We interest you in a duel?"
Rumi scratched her head at Lua's question "I might have to ask my friend about that, He kinda put this whole deck together with me" Rumi responded while walking "You sure do seem excited about this don't you?" Rumi said noticing the way Lua was behaving "Not that I should talk I get quite excited when I see someone I recognize" Rumi said as the group started to approach the card shop where she immediately noticed Matt standing there "Rumi surprise attack Take 2!" Rumi whispered to herself and dashed towards Matt calling out his name again "Suprise attack!" she called out this time, once again tripping over her own legs again landing on the floor with a loud thud "N-Not again!" Rumi shouted before landing on the floor
"Whoa, somebodies feeling generous, now I'm indebted twice over." Matt said in response to Ayami's multi-pack purchase, not worrying about opening the packs for now. "I'm gonna have to spend some time thinking on how to pay you back." He assumed a hurt expression, at the black haired girl's accusation, "Aw no need to be suspicious, Ayami here is already out and good old Matt myself wouldn't think of cheating anyone, much less a lady like yourself." Any further commentary was interupted by a sudden yell from behind and a loud kuthud. Matt turned around feeling like he should be alarmed but somehow failing to be so. He crouched down until he was practically at face level with the small bakery girl. "Need a hand?" He asked, offering her a hand up. "And what's this about 'not again'? Did you try this once already?" Matt asked, barely resisting laughter at the thought of the small girl flailing onto the ground and slinking away before she was noticed, only to try the same thing again later.
"The card shop, huh?" Carnel remarked. "I could do with some more cards myself." He was not content with how his recent Duels had played out, and was keen on finding some cards that could provide solutions to his concerns. Following the two to the card shop, Carnel wondered if there were any other students there. If he had to guess, though, he'd say that there would be. No doubt there would be people who have already lost and are now searching for new cards to improve their decks. And so, Carnel expected to see just that.
What he did not expect to see, however, was Rumi completely failing to launch her "surprise attack" on Matt and making a fool of herself in the process. He sighed and shook his head as Matt was quick to offer assistance to Rumi. "She's an interesting one, I'll give her that," Carnel remarked to Matt, walking over to him and Rumi. "My name's Carnel. Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Carnel introduced himself to Matt, extending a hand for a handshake.
Aya's ears perked up, as she heard the voice. It was deep, and seemed to spit out cobwebs and intruige and to chew up fedora-toting adventurers with whips with every crushed consonant sound. It also seemed to be coming from behind her. Whatever pair of lungs this mystery man had on him, they were powerful enough to resonate through several inches of brick and mortar. She stood and turned, trying to signal to the whitehead, who was nowhere in sight. She was alone, next to a brick wall who was apparently trying to recruit her to a sun cult or something, she wasn't sure. Two options presented to her. She could run, get an adult, try and get this wierdo with the booming voice thrown out of campus, or she could stand her ground and fight.
Well, okay, they weren't really two options. Any duelist worth their deck would have stayed.
She clicked the big grey "accept" button on her duel disk, feeding her Kaijus into the machine's autoshuffler and drawing out five cards. She fanned her hand out, and tucked it back into the palm of her fist, hiding the size of her hand. Would have probably been a dick move to her opponent if he could see any of that. Or, y'know, wasn't a featureless expanse of brick wall the size of a school building. Or inside it, whatever. "Erm..." she began, feeling a little bit silly at addressing the wall this way. "You can go first, if that's alright. S-Stay where you are, i'll come find you in a bit, okay?" Aya turned, walking round to the door into the empty building.
Empty classrooms are real freaky places without people inside, aren't they? When there's people around, lockers and desks and chairs don't seem so frightening as when the light is shining all orange and mauve, when a single breeze sets the locker doors all clicking and clacking like a set of maracas during the day of the dead, when every wall is painted with upside down shadows of big metal spiders cast by each and every chair upturned onto the desks. Aya had once heard that that was done to clean under them, but she secretly suspected it was there to frighten lockpickers. Especially when it was the only empty class in a building full of people, and every so often you'd hear a table squeak or a muffled, tinny voice rattling through the walls.
No voice carried as well as the stranger's did, however. He stood in the middle of an abandoned classroom, all neat precision and geometric rows and him, with his robes and his tanned skin and his scary falcon mask that cast odd shadows everywhere the light hit it. Gulp. He'd just hit his standby phase as Aya found him, pushing aside the classroom door like she didn't belong. She'd barely had a chance to glance at her hand. She only had one hand trap, and she kept it right at the forefront of her hand as her opponent went about his play. Retaliating "C". An unusual choice, but it served it's purpose for her. With any luck it would serve it's purpose now. She waited with baited breath, trying to guess his deck.
EDIT: Just adding a line making it clear that while there are classes going on, there's none in the class they're at.
Tekkan's eyes widened with adrenaline as Fyodor and his 'pimpin' new wheels' blasted through the garage doors. Holy shit was this gonna be fun.
The youth quickly turned to the engineer and spoke before sprinting madly towards the bus. "Yeah okay cool see ya later BYE!"
Once he picked up enough speed, Tekkan jumped onto a railing near the bus's entry door and banged on the door rapidly with his fist. "HEY LEADER! LET ME IN AND SEE THE DESTRUCTION UNFOLD WITH YOU!" the youth screamed at the top of his lungs towards Fyodor, holding on for dear life.
