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“I want to add marking to my arms, similar to the ones on my face,” Mizael said distantly as he carefully stirred his cup of tea.
He was sitting on a couch in the living room of the part of Heartland Tower where Kaito’s family resided.
Mizael often ended up visiting Kaito when he wanted a bit of quiet. Kaito had offered to help him in any way he needed, after all.
Though it was hardly an imposition. Mizael was never the kind to rely too much of others.
The deep red stripes framing Mizael’s eyes had always intrigued Kaito. They were distinctly unnatural, but still unlike any tattoos he had ever seen in shape or texture.
At times he considered the possibility that they were related to a specific custom from Mizael’s previous life. Kaito had thought about asking Chris’s youngest brother, who was much more knowledgeable about history and ancient cultures than he was, if he had any insight into their meaning.
But he also remembered the fragments of Mizael’s memories he had seen during their duel on the moon. Mizael hadn’t had his markings as he died by Jinlon’s side all those centuries ago.
Kaito was left to assume they were somehow connected to his life as a Barian.
But if Mizael was already guarded about his past life as a human, he was even more secretive about his centuries of existence as an emperor in the desolate Barian World.
Ultimately, Kaito came to the conclusion the markings were a matter best addressed personally with Mizael when he seemed ready to discuss them.
“Why are you telling me this?” Kaito asked. He put down the tablet he had been using to meet Mizael’s gaze.
Mizael rolled his eyes.
“My original markings were created from Barian tenchology when I chose a human form,” he said.
“Obviously I no longer possess the same access to that technology, but I know you must to some degree. Your robot uses a Barianite crystal as an energy source. And you and your mentor have similar markings around your eyes when you duel.”
Kaito nodded. So that was it.
“We do keep a supply of Barianite at the lab,” he mused. “But I don’t know that any of us have ever tried using it to alter a permanent facet of our appearance. The duel gazers you see around our eyes when we duel are activated by the dueling AR.”
Kaito paused. He wasn’t familiar with all the science behind the duel gazers beyond the basics.
They had been designed by Mr. Heartland and his father years ago using whatever scraps of Barian technology they had been able to decipher at the time.
The notes about them were undoubtedly still kept on one of the servers in either Heartland Tower itself, or one of the satellite labs.
Logically, that technology would be a good starting point to develop markings that would appear visible at all times. But the thought of even looking at those notes filled Kaito with a heavy dread.
The procedure Kaito underwent to get his duel gazer had been incredibly painful. Unnecessarily so, he suspected, as Droite and Gauche had recovered much quicker and in much higher spirits from their operations.
But that had been typical once Kaito had established himself as the strongest duelist in their training group. Heartland often devised ways to either cut him back down, or give the other top prospects enhancements that would balance their abilities and keep their group distracted by competition.
And it had it worked. Kaito found it intensely aggravating when Droite or Gauche would use their teleportation abilities to sneak up on him. Abilities developed from Barian technology and given to them to even their advantages against his photon change, should he step out of line.
The division had fostered a deep distrust between them. At least from Kaito’s side.
And on top of all that, he was fairly certain his procedure had involved implanting a tracking device under his skin, which allowed him to be recovered when he tried to escape with his brother. He had been too careful to explain their swift capture otherwise.
But while Heartland himself was dead (killed twice over really), the whole affair was a painful reminder of all the times he had been let down by the people who should have been there to help him.
His father had been the one to give Heartland this power over him, and had ultimately allowed Kaito to collect souls he would have known to be innocent. And while it was understandable why he had left, Kaito couldn’t help but think Christopher would have advocated for him as well, had he been there.
It was something Kaito tried to let go. The delicate peace of his current home life depended very much on him choosing not to think about it.
And perhaps he would have made the same decision to hunt numbers to save Haruto anyway, even knowing the truth. His brother’s situation had been very desperate for some time.
“Is this something you could do yourself with Barianite, or would you need the technology to be developed for you?” Kaito asked Mizael.
“I can do it myself,” Mizael said. “I just need access to a Barian crystal.”
Kaito nodded. Simple enough! He could feel his heart rate returning to normal.
“We have several samples at the lab. You can use any of them if you’d like,” he offered.
Mizael’s eyes seemed to light up. He set down his cup of tea. “Great! Can we go now then?”
Kaito blinked. “I … suppose.”
He carefully put away his tablet, and Mizael sprang to his feet.
“I’ll show you where they are.”
————————————————————
Kaito punched in the code to direct the elevator to the lab, and leaned back against the railing on the inner wall. He and Mizael waited in silence for a moment as the doors closed and the elevator hummed to life, beginning their descent.
After a moment Kaito broke the silence.
“Am I allowed to ask why you’re doing all this?” he tried.
Mizael crossed his arms.
“They’re marks for a dragon tamer. I should have completed them originally,” he answered vaguely, his eyes focused intently on a screen in the corner of the elevator with bright blinking numbers indicating which floors they were passing.
Kaito exhaled slowly. “But why do you need them? Everyone knows you’re a dragon tamer,” he said.
“You wouldn’t understand,” Mizael said, and Kaito thought he heard him muttering something about warrior-attribute monsters under his breath.
Apparently now was not the time to ask.
The floor beneath them suddenly steadied and the elevator beeped sharply as the doors opened.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to tell me,” Kaito said as he brushed past Mizael and out into the hallway. It wasn’t worth it trying to get any information out of him when he was in this mood.
Kaito got a few paces ahead before he realized Mizael wasn’t following him.
He whirled around. “The lab is this way,” he called, motioning to Mizael.
Mizael huffed, but hurried along until he was walking beside Kaito, his steps carefully matching pace.
When they approached the door to the lab Kaito hesitated for a moment, his instincts to make sure he wasn’t being observed or followed deeply ingrained.
But there was no real threat anymore.
Kaito quickly pressed the wall tile to reveal the lab’s security pad. He quickly typed in his code and the pad receded back into the wall with a click as the door slid upward opening the lab.
Mizael watched everything carefully. While he often visited Kaito in Heartland Tower, he had never had the occasion to enter the lab he often worked in.
Kaito walked past several desks and computer towers to lead Mizael over to the back wall of the room. He typed in another code on a computer fastened to the wall and three giant glass vials rose up from a platform on the floor. Each tube contained a group of shimmering gem stones suspended in the center.
Mizael snorted.
“That’s a lot of security for materials most people wouldn’t even be able to utilize properly,” he said.
Kaito ignored him and approached the first container, full of deep red crystals.
“All these samples are roughly equivalent in energy density,” he said, sliding open the glass, and stepping back. “Feel free to take whatever you need.”
Mizael slowly approached the platform. He crossed his arms and tilted his head as he assessed the contents of the container, eyes narrowed.
“I suppose any of these should be fine,” he finally said, and reached inside the glass to select a decently-sized and somewhat flat stone.
Kaito couldn’t help but recognize the similarity in shape to the piece of crystal Mizael used to carry on his chest in his Barian form.
Mizael turned the crystal over in his hands, inspecting it carefully for a moment.
Then he slowly closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Kaito held his breath, as the crystal began to faintly glow deep in its core.
But then, just as quickly as it had flickered to life, it once again turned dark.
Mizael blinked.
Then he closed his eyes again, grasping the crystal tighter.
But nothing happened.
He opened his eyes.
“I don’t understand…” he said, voice shaking.
“Mizael…”
Mizael hissed, dropping the crystal to the floor with a sharp clattering sound. “This one must be broken. Or you messed it up in one of your experiments.”
“You can try again some other time with a different one then,” Kaito said gently.
“No!” Mizael growled, “You don’t understand!”
He dropped down to the floor, hands clutching his sides as he began to shiver. “It was so easy before…” he whispered, staring wide-eyed at the floor.
Kaito watched as Mizael started to cry, tears trailing the scarlet patterns under his eyes.
He knelt down next to Mizael.
“Mizael,” Kaito said quietly, “these marks are very important to you. I know you don’t want to tell me what they mean, but can I at least know why they mean so much to you?”
Mizael took a moment to steady his breathing before picking his head up a bit.
“It’s a foolish reason,” he said quietly.
“I doubt that,” Kaito said.
Mizael sighed. He lifted a finger to trace one of the markings under his eye, wiping away a tear.
“You’re wrong,” he said, resting his head on his knees. “I chose these marks to mimic Tachyon’s when I needed to take a human form as a Barian. I didn’t want to look too human then. I just wanted everyone to immediately understand my connection with my dragon when they saw my face.”
The glowing red lines carved into Galaxy-eyes Tachyon Dragon’s mechanical form were vaguely reminiscent of Mizael’s marking once Kaito considered it. They were symmetrical in a similar way, though more curved and organic looking on Mizael’s rounded face than on the angular dragon’s armor.
“That’s understandable,” Kaito said. “Galaxy-eyes was your closest companion for centuries. It makes sense you would want to be linked with her.”
“At the time, I suppose,” Mizael sighed, leaning back. “But even now that I know Tachyon was just a curse meant to chain my soul to the Barian World, I can’t help but miss my bond with her and the power she gave me.
“I didn’t remember anything about my previous life when I was reincarnated in the Barian World. Tachyon was all I had. And even now that I’m beginning to remember who I was before, I still feel more attached to that version of myself than I do any other.”
Mizael turned his gaze to the crystal that had fallen a bit beyond his feet.
“It’s pathetic. Still clinging to the life Don Thousand deceived me into. I’m sure he would be pleased to see how far I’ve fallen, even since his defeat.”
He grimaced.
“You can’t even imagine how humiliating it was, fighting him once I lost Tachyon. Finally free of my curse and ready to get my revenge, only to lose on my first turn! He didn’t even have to take his turn to defeat me. I was nothing without the power of the curse he gave me.”
Mizael was nearly shaking with rage.
“Mizael —“ Kaito started, reaching his hand out to comfort him.
“Stop!” Mizael growled, slapping his hand away. “I don’t need your pity! If I ever see him again, I’ll make him pay!”
Kaito paused, taken aback by the rage in Mizael’s eyes.
It was a look he had seen before.
In Chris when he tried to stop him from leaving Heartland Tower.
And he had felt it in himself, before dueling Tron.
Kaito took his hand back.
“When I dueled you on the moon, I was already injured from a previous battle that day,” Kaito finally said.
Mizael tilted his head up slightly, eyes narrowing as he looked up at Kaito.
“What do you mean?” he said.
Kaito hesitated.
“I mean… when I was collecting numbers originally I worked under this man who was close with my father. He knew about my father’s deal with the Barian World, and he knew the people possessed by the numbers weren’t bad people.
“But he lied to me and told me that they were, so I would be more willing to extract the numbers from their souls.”
Kaito paused.
“He took advantage of my love for my family and my fear of losing my brother. And whenever I asked too many questions he made sure to isolate me even more, taking my brother away from me so I had no choice but to keep helping him.”
Mizael pursed his lips. “And I’m guessing you never got revenge on him either?”
Kaito shook his head.
“Once I figured out what was happening, he tried to force Ryoga, Kotori, and me into an open portal to the Astral World. I ordered Orbital to stop him, and he ended up falling into the portal himself.
“You can’t imagine the anger in his eyes as he fell.”
Kaito closed his eyes, frowning slightly before he continued.
“But as you know,” he said, “souls filled with rage don’t go to the Astral World. And I found out later that he had ended up in the Barian World that day.”
Mizael scoffed.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me you were able to defeat him because of all the anger in his heart weighing him down,” Mizael said, folding his arms over his chest.
Kaito exhaled sharply.
“No. He tricked me into picking up a fake number card. I passed out from the pain it caused when the worlds were merging and I couldn’t finish our duel. I spent the next hours in and out of consciousness, and I still couldn’t see properly by the time I made it to the moon.”
Mizael frowned, but slowly sat up straighter.
“How did you survive if you had to forfeit the duel?” he asked.
“Yuma and Astral took over for me,” Kaito said.
“Of course. As they did for me,” Mizael said bitterly. “But that’s the problem. It wasn’t their place!” He snarled. “Or maybe it was. But now I’ll never be able to move past that moment. I’ll never have the chance to prove that I’m better than him!”
Kaito sighed.
“If I won that duel, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat you,” Kaito said.
“Any why is that?” Mizael asked.
“I don’t think the Astral World would have answered my desire to summon prime photon if I had given into my anger.”
Mizael looked exhausted.
“I still would never be able to let that go. I suppose that’s why you’re the better dragon tamer,” Mizael said.
“That’s not true. I meant it when I said you will always be the better dragon tamer,” Kaito insisted.
“I made a choice that day, to let everything else go and focus on that duel. You had just remembered you were human, and learned of how Don Thousand had manipulated you for centuries. Your will to fight had never been challenged like that, but even with your intentions wavering I could barely defeat you.”
He smiled.
“I know if we ever had the occasion to duel again, with nothing to distract us, I wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Mizael said nothing.
“I choose not to focus on the past and on revenge because I know it’s not worth it,” Kaito continued. “I don’t want my past to affect my ability to live in the present.”
“It’s not easy,” he continued. “It’s a choice I have to make constantly. But I know he would want me to be miserable and thinking about him every day. So choose not to.”
Mizael watched Kaito as he reached over to grab the piece of Barianite he had discarded earlier.
“You should hold on to this,” Kaito said, offering it to Mizael. “I think you’ll have a much easier time using it once you choose to embrace your connection to Galaxy-eyes Tachyon Dragon, regardless of how Don Thousand used her.”
Mizael sat up. He swallowed, staring up at the glimmering red stone.
He braced himself for a moment before reaching out and carefully accepting it from Kaito’s outstretched hand.
“… I think I understand,” Mizael said, carefully turning the gem around between his fingers.
“Although we met under unfortunate circumstances, I really am grateful for my time with my Galaxy-Eyes,” Mizael said.
His eyes fluttered shut as the gem began to glow again, this time brighter and brighter.
Kaito could feel the air in the lab changing, as if gravity was shifting around Mizael’s body.
Suddenly ribbons of bright light wrapped around Mizael’s arms, momentarily blinding Kaito before cooling into a familiar dull red.
Kaito blinked. The places where the markings ended on the tops of Mizael’s hands reminded him of the shape on the end of his own dragon’s tail.
Mizael stretched out his arms, admiring the new pattern briefly. He then grunted at he stood up, and leaned down to hand the gem back to Kaito.
“Thank you. If nothing else, I’m glad my relationship with Tachyon let me meet you.”
Kaito stood up as well.
“You can keep that. I’m glad to have met you too.”