Episode 19 - The Basilisk

Mizumigawa Shin stood atop the Bosatsu dueling team's central building, her hair shifting slightly in the breeze. She watched as, beyond the walls of the dueling compound, Venomous Kyoru and Tendou Hibiki strode off into the distance.

The sunset blazed in her shades.

~

The light from the monitors flickered on Yukimura's glasses.

"She's not in any of this footage, Captain."

She and Ryoichi had gone over the surveillance footage from the duels again and again. Tsuki Masako, the Basilisk, hadn't shown up until after Kyoru called out to her.

Ryoichi stopped pacing, lowered his head. "She knows the blind spots of the cameras. She can hide from all of us in plain sight." He paused. "This means she can watch us at any time - has been watching us. The question being -"

"Why," finished Yukimura, still watching the screens. "What is she trying to learn?"

Jin stood suddenly, breaking his long silence. "My duel with her. What did she do to me?"

Ryoichi and Yukimura eyed him uneasily. She switched the central monitor to display the brief duel.

The events unfolding on the screen started as he remembered them. "Rock, Paper, Scissors." But just before the throw, his body went curiously slack, his movements slow.

"Shoot."

He had thrown Paper, Tsuki throwing Scissors as she took a step forward. Without stopping, she glided past him while he stared ahead dully, his hand still forming Paper. The other Bosatsu duelists were watching him in shock, as was Tendou. Tsuki paused after passing him, as his trance wore off. "Good try, Thousand-Devil."

Yukimura paused the video.

"I don't..." Jin shook his head. "I don't remember any of that."

"I can explain, Kotei-kun." Ryoichi looked grim. He made his way to the front of the room, silhouetted against the monitors in the dark room, and turned to face Jin and Yukimura. He glanced around the room briefly - he had sent Jihara to the school nurse, for his wrist, but where was Mizumigawa?

He put the thought from his mind.

"Decades ago, a trinary logician made a crucial discovery. He learned that any logical system has a fatal flaw. No matter what, there is input you can give that causes pathological behavior. They suspected that there might be ways to apply this principle to humans, images that could damage the mind directly. These images were named after the mythical beast that could turn people to stone with a glance..." He turned towards the monitor where Tsuki's image was frozen, a knowing smile on her lips. "The Basilisk."

"That's impossible!" Jin grabbed Ryoichi's shoulder. "Are you saying that she can use techniques like that?"

Ryoichi turned back towards him. "Not quite. You see, Kyoru Arashi is called 'Venomous' because of his insidious dueling style. He has a particular genius for turning duelists against themselves. His techniques are based on what he calls the 'Toxic Principles', a set of dueling-theoretical concepts that can be used to manipulate people in very subtle ways. Tsuki Masako is a gifted technical duelist, an 'esoteric art genius' specialized in using a particular Toxic Principle..."

Ryoichi swept his hand out to the side, a theatrical twinkle in his eye.

"Battle hypnosis. She has an incredible talent for influencing minds with subtle sounds and movements. That's how she's been staying hidden in plain sight, and that's how she beat you, Kotei-kun. And she's improving at an astounding rate. Last time we met, she was nowhere near this strong!"

Jin laughed nervously. "A team of powerful duelists who developed an ultimate technique, the 'Toxic Principles'... it almost sounds like you're going to tell me that Kyoru and Tsuki are members of Trefoil."

Ryoichi and Yukimura looked at him sharply.

"You know, Trefoil? The legendary secret team of master duelists?" He blinked. "It was just a joke."

There was a momentary silence.

"Right," said Ryoichi. "Of course."

~

Chiyoko Shizu's eyes focused on the page, but her mind kept wandering. She was trying to distract herself from the upcoming round of the tournament, but it wasn't working at all. Kohitsuji's dueling team had won their first round with ease, but they had been facing a weak team without much experience. From all of the information they had on Bosatsu, this round was going to be very different. The "Bosatsu Four" were a fearsome team before, and this new guy, Kotei Jin, was a wildcard, a powerful duelist who had mysteriously vanished for years.

Hairo Asahi gently nudged Choyoko to turn with the rest of the team as they walked down the hall towards the dueling arena. She corrected her course without looking up from her book.

Chiyoko and the rest of Kohitsuji had been training nonstop, studying their opponents' techniques and practicing their own, working on tactics and counters and counter-counters. Captain Hidaka had helped each of them develop their strengths, and more than that, encouraged them to believe in themselves and their teammates. Chiyoko really admired him as a captain, and knew that his leadership would be crucial if they were going to win. But she had noticed that, privately, he was worried. He was hiding it from everyone, even  his boyfriend Tetsu Karan. He thought he had to present a strong facade in order to motivate his team. She hoped he was doing okay.

She came to a stop in the elevator, turned around, and looked up.

"Uh, Chiyoko-chan..."

Why was everyone standing outside of the elevator...?

She looked around. The Kohitsuji duelists were waiting outside, and Hairo was giving her an odd look. They couldn't fit inside, because...

Because the elevator was already full.

"Uh," she started to say, as the elevator doors shut, leaving the Kohitsuji team outside, and Chiyoko inside, with the Bosatsu duelists.

"H-hello everyone," said Chiyoko as the elevator shot up towards the dueling arena on the 300th floor.

"Pleased to meet you!" Captain Ryoichi Kei bowed slightly, offering his hand-

-when suddenly the elevator screeched to a stop, and the lights flickered and went out.

"Hm," he said.