"You wanna fight again?!"
"Hey! Stop! This is a public street! I'm just trying to get home!"
Seeing Lancer tense up, Jonouchi frantically waved his hands in protest.
"Tch!"
Dropping her aggressive posture, Sakura Kyoko had no appetite for another brawl either.
She needed to find a suitable contractor fast. Otherwise, once her magical energy fully dissipated, she'd "self-destruct" and be eliminated from the war.
But at this juncture, where was she supposed to look?
Saber's side was out of the question. That camp was directly responsible for her Master's death.
Archer, Rider, Assassin, Berserker, she knew almost nothing about their Masters. Their personalities and dispositions were a complete unknown.
'Wait...'
A thought struck her: something she'd overlooked. Caster had said earlier, "Your partner... is she dead too?"
"You won't last much longer either."
"What a coincidence..."
"Same here."
Jonouchi could visually read the Life Points draining from Lancer's form. They were even lower than his own.
Before long, this girl would fade away from insufficient magical energy.
"Your Master died too?"
Lifting her gaze to the young man before her, Kyoko asked with guarded curiosity.
"Yeah. The serial killer who summoned me crashed into a wall and died right after the summoning. Real unlucky."
"If I hadn't scraped by using a few cards, I'd already be gone."
"But at this rate, I'll follow right behind you. Pretty hilarious, huh?"
Scratching his hair, Jonouchi genuinely had no solution.
"Aren't you going to attack normal humans to sustain yourself?"
Somewhat understanding this "fellow sufferer" of hers, Kyoko looked up and asked.
Servants were implanted with relevant knowledge. Draining blood or life force from ordinary humans could replenish magical energy. Masterless Servants, in desperate circumstances, sometimes resorted to such measures to maintain their existence.
"How could I possibly do something like that?"
"I'd rather die here."
"And if you're planning to do it, I'll spend every last drop of power stopping you."
Not a moment's hesitation. Jonouchi shot back immediately.
He even leveled a stern warning at this girl whose moral compass seemed slightly askew.
"Pfft... you're a strange one."
A wave of déjà vu washed over her, and Sakura Kyoko couldn't help but smile.
She saw the shadow of "Miki Sayaka" in this person.
The same energy, the same stubborn sense of justice.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. You just remind me of someone I know."
"Really?"
Sensing the candor in her tone, Jonouchi found it oddly disarming.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt civilians. Even if I made it through by doing that, a certain someone would probably throw a fit and lecture me for eternity."
Growl...
"Ugh!"
Her stomach's rumble made her face darken with embarrassment.
"Here."
Catching the apple tossed her way, Kyoko blinked in surprise. When she looked over, Jonouchi simply shrugged with zero fanfare.
"Fill your stomach with that for now."
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"Can't just leave you sitting there, can I?"
His inexplicable kindness was something Sakura Kyoko still struggled to comprehend.
How could someone extend a helping hand to an enemy they'd been battling just moments ago?
"Seriously, you're so young. Why would you enter a war like this?"
"Is there a wish you absolutely have to fulfill?"
Watching the girl bite into the fruit, Jonouchi couldn't understand.
"Hmph! Of course I have my reasons."
"What about you? You don't look more than two or three years older than me."
Turning away, Kyoko fired back.
She was here to save a friend who had "witchified." No ordinary method could reverse it, so what choice did she have but to pin her hopes on the Dragon Balls?
"Well... my friends had their souls stolen by a group of bastards."
"I got invited, thought maybe I could save them, so I came in on a 'worth a shot' kind of deal."
"Doesn't look like it's gonna work out, though."
He held nothing back, laying it all out plainly.
After witnessing the earlier melee, and given his current state, seizing anyone else's Dragon Ball was a fantasy.
The stronger the card, the more magical energy required to materialize it. He was practically running on fumes. Using Duel Monsters to defeat those monstrosities? Impossible.
"Wait!"
"You're trying to save someone too?"
Her chewing froze. Kyoko stared at the tall delinquent before her, emotions in turmoil.
"'Too'?"
"Don't tell me you are too?"
Looking at the girl, Jonouchi wore the same stunned expression.
What were the odds?
Both of them had lost their Masters. Both were teetering on the brink of elimination. And now, even their wishes were nearly identical.
This was really--
Growl...
"Ugh!"
Hearing his stomach answer in kind, Kyoko broke the apple she'd only eaten a third of and tossed half back to him.
"Well, look at that. You're pretty nice too."
"Even though I have spares."
Finding that the girl wasn't as prickly as he'd assumed, Jonouchi caught the piece without ceremony.
"Shut up! I just don't want to owe you anything."
Realizing her own unnecessary gesture, Kyoko flushed and snapped back.
"Hmm."
"Hahaha!"
"What are you laughing at?!"
Watching the blond young man burst out laughing, Kyoko bristled.
"No, I'm not laughing at you. I just thought of something interesting."
"Maybe my luck really is as good as ever."
As though struck by an idea, Jonouchi clutched his stomach, grinning.
Under Kyoko's wary gaze, he produced his Duel Disk.
"?"
Glancing at the passersby on the street, Kyoko was fairly confident he wouldn't start something in public.
"How about we try working together? If it works, maybe we can both stay in the game."
"Huh? We're both about to be eliminated. Do we really have a choice?"
She didn't know where his confidence came from, but Kyoko didn't refuse either.
At the very least, she didn't hate this guy anymore. So she chose to trust him.
Besides, they were both facing "self-destruction" from losing their Masters. If there was a way to solve both problems at once, she wasn't stubborn enough to decline.
Compared to begging total stranger Masters for a contract, teaming up with Caster was arguably the better outcome.
"This is the last card I drew."
"It's called Soul Relay."
"It has a pretty extraordinary effect. If it works, you and I might just be able to fill each other's gaps."
Pointing to the final face-down card on his Duel Disk, Jonouchi said with a faint smile.
"That mysterious card magecraft of yours?"
"What a bizarre fighting style."
"I still have no idea what kind of hero you even are."
"But we're out of options. Let's do it!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
PS:
[Soul Relay]: Can only be activated when your own Life Points reach 0. Special Summon 1 monster from your hand. Your defeat condition changes to: the monster Special Summoned by this effect being destroyed.