"So you still ran away?" Aleister's voice came through just one second before the consciousness link was cut.
"Just a strategic retreat." Raku stood still in the corner of the pyramid-shaped mental space, looking at Phila, who was visibly anxious.
Phila was pacing back and forth across the carpet in her small leather shoes. One moment, she walked in circles–the next, she stood in front of the large full-length mirror, introducing herself.
Her lips moved rapidly as she rehearsed her greeting for their first meeting.
"What are you so nervous about now?"
Phila jumped in fright and froze in place, the black lace trim of her skirt swaying with the motion.
"That voice… It's the other me!" Phila clasped her hands in front of her chest. "You're back from resting?! I have no idea what to do right now. I hope she's easy to get along with. Maybe we can become friends."
Become friends. This was her first day in Obelisk Blue. She absolutely couldn't mess it up.
"I'm not another you. I'm just a wandering soul."
Raku looked through her eyes at the white-haired, red-eyed girl in the mirror. "What's the name of the other roommate? There should have been a notice."
"Mhm, let me check." Phila quickly walked to the bed, took out her phone, and checked the arrangements in the Obelisk dorm group chat. "Niobe…"
Bang!
A loud, heavy crash came from outside the suite door, abruptly cutting off Phila's words. It was followed by the harsh scraping sound of metal against wood, as the door handle was violently forced downward.
Phila's fingers slipped, and the phone fell onto the soft white bed.
"Finally here! These damn stairs are harder to climb than a scrapyard conveyor belt!"
The suite door was pushed fully open. A girl dragging a chipped metal suitcase strode into the living room.
The girl wore the Obelisk Blue female uniform jacket wide open, with a black athletic tight tank underneath. A red-and-black plaid shirt was messily tied around her waist over her pleated skirt.
Phila took two steps back, her back pressing against the wallpaper.
The newcomer lifted her head. Her bright, electric-blue eyes locked onto Phila by the wall.
Her hair had a gunmetal gray base, streaked with fluorescent orange and capacitor blue highlights; most of her long hair was tied into a high ponytail with a large red floral scrunchie, while the remaining short strands stuck out in all directions as if gravity didn't apply to them.
"Wow!" The girl let go of the suitcase handle, the metal wheels slamming onto the floor. "You're my roommate? That's so cool!"
The girl raised her hand and rubbed the tip of her nose with the back of it, leaving a streak of black machine oil across her cheek.
That white-haired girl who defeated the examiner! It's really her!
"I've heard about you!" The girl strode forward, her heavy steel-toe boots thudding against the wooden floor. "You're the one who crushed that scary Kaiba Corporation examiner in the practical test, right?!"
Phila grabbed the sides of her skirt, her fingertips turning pale. Her lips pressed together, and she couldn't force out a single word.
"My name's Niobe."
The girl extended her right hand. Several of her finger joints were still wrapped with a couple of loops of silver insulating tape. "Nice to meet you! Your deck is super cool!"
Phila stared at the outstretched hand. Then her gaze shifted aside, landing on the brown leather tool pouch strapped to Niobe's right thigh. The handles of several screwdrivers stuck out from the opening.
"Ah." Niobe glanced at her own palm and immediately pulled her hand back, wiping it hard on the plaid shirt tied around her waist. "Sorry, sorry. I was tuning this thing on the train earlier and forgot to wash my hands."
Niobe patted the Duel Disk hanging on her left arm. Half of its outer casing had been removed, exposing red and blue wires inside. The load-bearing parts were even wrapped with a large chunk of industrial tape.
"These fancy carpets in the Blue dorm feel kind of weird under my feet." Niobe grinned, revealing two small canine teeth.
Her left hand rested on the patched-together Duel Disk, while her right hand pulled out a soldering pen from the tool pouch on her thigh, spun it once in her fingers, and then slid it back in.
"So, since we're living in the same room now." Niobe leaned forward slightly. "While there's still time before class, how about we duel? I've been wanting to see your plays for a while!"
Phila's back pressed tightly against the wallpaper, her ruby-like eyes widening slightly in shock.
Niobe blinked those electric-blue eyes and looked at the white-haired girl shrinking into the corner. Her raised hand paused midair as her gaze moved from Phila's tense shoulders to the fingers gripping her skirt until they turned pale.
"Sorry, sorry." Niobe withdrew her hand. "I'm just too excited, being here for the first time."
She scratched her messy gray-white hair, the large red floral scrunchie swaying along with the motion.
"I used to work at a factory, so I'm not very good with words."
Phila's chest rose and fell once as she moved her back away from the wall.
"Mhm…" Phila shook her head and said softly, "It's fine, it's fine. My name is Phila."
Phila extended her right hand, which had been gripping her skirt, her palm covered in cold sweat.
Niobe grinned, revealing two small canine teeth, and immediately reached out her right hand. Just as her fingertips were about to touch Phila's pale hand, she suddenly thought of something.
Her hand stopped abruptly and pulled back. Niobe wiped it hard on her red-and-black plaid shirt, rubbing it several times. Only after confirming there was no machine oil left did she reach out again and grasp Phila's hand.
Her rough fingertips pressed against Phila's soft palm.
"Niobe." She gave their joined hands a small shake. "I used to work at an old factory in the Satellite area."
Niobe let go and lowered her head to glance at the expensive carpet beneath her feet.
"If there are any rules here, just let me know."
Phila withdrew her hand to her chest, her fingers intertwining.
"Not…" Phila looked at the faint streak of black machine oil still left on Niobe's cheek. "Not that many requirements, really."
Niobe tilted her head, her blue eyes lighting up.
"Oh! You're actually really easy to get along with!" Niobe pulled the chipped metal suitcase to her side. "I thought you were some kind of arrogant person before."
She rubbed her chin.
"Well, I guess it's just a stereotype. Strong Duelists are usually arrogant, or something like that."
Phila's face flushed instantly, the heat spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.
She wasn't some arrogant powerhouse at all… In that practical exam, the one who truly dismantled the examiner's field and set up the three-color negation lock was that ghost residing in the Millennium Puzzle.
At the time, she had only dared to tremble with her eyes shut, not even daring to send cards to the Graveyard.
"N-no." Phila lowered her head, her voice extremely soft, her gaze falling onto the worn suitcase. "Do you want to settle in first? I can help you unpack."
"That would be great!" Niobe snapped her fingers. "I just happened to have brought a whole load of stuff!"
A whole load.
Inside the mental space, Raku raised an eyebrow as he watched the scene through the Millennium Puzzle. The Obelisk Blue dorm might be spacious, but it probably couldn't fit a whole load of things, right?
Niobe turned around and pointed toward the wide hallway outside the door.
"Let me show you the D-Wheel I assembled myself!" Niobe turned back, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "It's not fitted with a perpetual motion engine yet, so it's using a normal engine."
She patted the leather tool pouch strapped to her right thigh, stuffed with screwdrivers and soldering pens.
"I heard that Synchro Academy offers an elective on how to build and install perpetual motion engines! I'm definitely going to study it properly!"
Phila looked up at her energetic roommate.
So motivated.
And compared to that red-coated examiner who had put immense pressure on her during the test, this girl, who would wipe her hands on her clothes because they were dirty, wasn't scary at all.
"My D-Wheel is parked on the lawn outside. I'll take you to see it!" Niobe reached out and grabbed Phila's left wrist, turning toward the suite door.
...
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