"Ed, I need to talk to you. Can you come with me for a few?"
"Huh? Oh, sure!"
The two made their way to the rooftops of Endymion, and sat upon the top of their hotel as they overlooked the cityscape. Ed looked over at Ichirou and grinned widely. "So, what's up?"
Ichirou wasn't smiling at all. Ed's smile slowly faded as a result. The Dragon's Fang took a deep breath, and then spoke. "You said you saw most of what happened with Lila and me before. What exactly did you see of the final few battles?"
Oh. It was about this... Ed looked down at the ground as he answered. "I saw your final duel. I saw the shadow game, and the encroaching wall of fire on both of you. I saw your sister there, behind her. When the fire closed in..." He shook his head quickly. "...She was sacrificed in it to complete the Super Fusion card. I saw that. That's all."
"So 'pretty much everything' was 'just that one duel,' and you didn't see anything from before then?" Ichirou shook his head. "That's sloppy work. Daughtily is an incredibly dangerous opponent. You should have found out everything about her tactics that you possibly could have."
"Weh?! But... I already know she fought you and--"
"You didn't get her tactics. You can't hope to win like that."
"What's there to know..? She and you fought, and her early tactics didn't work on you, and she--"
"Ed." Ichirou said, putting a hand to his forehead. "I wasn't the only person who was out to put a stop to Daughtily that day. How did you miss that?"
Defensively, Ed waved his hands in front of himself, answering with a rushed tone. "You never mentioned any comrades before! I just assumed you were the world's biggest badass!"
Even when he was being a complete idiot, Ichirou had to admit that it was hard to be mad at the kid. "Well... I'm not. Daughtily isn't like the other enemies you've fought. She's..."
"Stronger?"
"Completely ruthless." Ichirou took a meaningful pause before continuing. "There were three of us that day. The others were named Otto and Megomi. We originally were going to take her on as a team. I was just the only one who survived."
"Oh... so what happened to--"
"We went into the council's shadow game in Tokyo, and at first things were okay. There were a few fights, against members of the council. Even against her superiors. We won then... eventually, with all of the top three done with, and the bottom four missing, dead, or our friends, we just had to deal with Daughtily. She'd run away after the shadow game collapsed. Number four, right? She shouldn't be a problem at all for the three of us."
Ichirou's voice became grim. "We knew she was there because she was weaker than the others, and we assumed that meant she wasn't going to be as large of a threat because we'd had her on the run. That was our first mistake." He spoke as though he was watching a far-off scene, replaying images in his mind. "She was expecting us. We weren't expecting that."
"What happened?"
"It was like something out of a demented action movie. There were traps and armies waiting for us, and we had to fight our way through them. We neared her office... and we were tired. Beaten, bruised. We expected her to be ready at that point... I was the strongest, so I broke down the door."
Ichirou's eyes shut, and he scowled. "The room was empty. I heard two gunshots. I turned around, and there she was. She knew I was the biggest threat... so she started off by killing the only two people left in the world I really cared about."
"Wait, but why would she--"
"Daughtily only pretends to be logical. That's not actually what drives her in a conflict. She cares more about making her enemy suffer than she does about winning. She gets some kind of sick thrill on it. If she gets the opportunity, she'll target everyone you've ever loved long before she goes after you in a fight."
"...Right. What else can you tell me?"
"Don't listen to her. At all."
Ed thought back to the last time he had, and rubbed his lower back without thinking bout it. "Don't worry. I won't let her trick me again."
"It's not just that. She'll try to convince you that you're in the wrong. That you're no better than her... that you're worse because she's open about her morals. She's effective at it..." Ichirou trailed off. "Look, you're a nice kid." he finally concluded. "I don't want you to face something like her questioning your every motive without being ready for it."
There was an awkward silence. Ichirou had spoken his piece, and he looked over at Ed, reading him carefully for a response. The boy was taking the information in... and after a long pause he finally replied. "So, I should bring some headphones and listen to music while I fight her?"
Ichirou put a hand to his forehead and sighed. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want something mechanical right next to my head anywhere near that woman."
"Huh. Good point." Ed replied with a grin. "...Thanks for the advice. I won't let you down."
Ichirou grinned back at him. "I know you won't. Your friends are counting on you."
"Hey. Ichirou?" Ed said, standing up.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for not killing her back then."
Ichirou raised an eyebrow. "You're thanking me? If I had finished her off, none of this would have eve--"
"Yeah, that's true." he replied, cutting Ichirou off. "But... her Seal is incomplete. If it had been set loose like that, there wouldn't be a universe left to live in today, either. So. Thanks."
Ichirou hadn't thought of it like that before. "Never thought of it that way." All those years blaming himself... but if he'd succeeded would the alternative really have been better? "I guess that was pretty lucky, huh?"
"Lucky? I thought you would have had to spare her on purpose back then..."
Ichirou gave Ed the single most 'You're kidding, right?' look he could muster. Ed just smiled widely. Finally, the Dragon's Fang put a hand to the boy's head and ruffled his hair. "...never change, Ed."
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"Huh? Oh, sure!"
The two made their way to the rooftops of Endymion, and sat upon the top of their hotel as they overlooked the cityscape. Ed looked over at Ichirou and grinned widely. "So, what's up?"
Ichirou wasn't smiling at all. Ed's smile slowly faded as a result. The Dragon's Fang took a deep breath, and then spoke. "You said you saw most of what happened with Lila and me before. What exactly did you see of the final few battles?"
Oh. It was about this... Ed looked down at the ground as he answered. "I saw your final duel. I saw the shadow game, and the encroaching wall of fire on both of you. I saw your sister there, behind her. When the fire closed in..." He shook his head quickly. "...She was sacrificed in it to complete the Super Fusion card. I saw that. That's all."
"So 'pretty much everything' was 'just that one duel,' and you didn't see anything from before then?" Ichirou shook his head. "That's sloppy work. Daughtily is an incredibly dangerous opponent. You should have found out everything about her tactics that you possibly could have."
"Weh?! But... I already know she fought you and--"
"You didn't get her tactics. You can't hope to win like that."
"What's there to know..? She and you fought, and her early tactics didn't work on you, and she--"
"Ed." Ichirou said, putting a hand to his forehead. "I wasn't the only person who was out to put a stop to Daughtily that day. How did you miss that?"
Defensively, Ed waved his hands in front of himself, answering with a rushed tone. "You never mentioned any comrades before! I just assumed you were the world's biggest badass!"
Even when he was being a complete idiot, Ichirou had to admit that it was hard to be mad at the kid. "Well... I'm not. Daughtily isn't like the other enemies you've fought. She's..."
"Stronger?"
"Completely ruthless." Ichirou took a meaningful pause before continuing. "There were three of us that day. The others were named Otto and Megomi. We originally were going to take her on as a team. I was just the only one who survived."
"Oh... so what happened to--"
"We went into the council's shadow game in Tokyo, and at first things were okay. There were a few fights, against members of the council. Even against her superiors. We won then... eventually, with all of the top three done with, and the bottom four missing, dead, or our friends, we just had to deal with Daughtily. She'd run away after the shadow game collapsed. Number four, right? She shouldn't be a problem at all for the three of us."
Ichirou's voice became grim. "We knew she was there because she was weaker than the others, and we assumed that meant she wasn't going to be as large of a threat because we'd had her on the run. That was our first mistake." He spoke as though he was watching a far-off scene, replaying images in his mind. "She was expecting us. We weren't expecting that."
"What happened?"
"It was like something out of a demented action movie. There were traps and armies waiting for us, and we had to fight our way through them. We neared her office... and we were tired. Beaten, bruised. We expected her to be ready at that point... I was the strongest, so I broke down the door."
Ichirou's eyes shut, and he scowled. "The room was empty. I heard two gunshots. I turned around, and there she was. She knew I was the biggest threat... so she started off by killing the only two people left in the world I really cared about."
"Wait, but why would she--"
"Daughtily only pretends to be logical. That's not actually what drives her in a conflict. She cares more about making her enemy suffer than she does about winning. She gets some kind of sick thrill on it. If she gets the opportunity, she'll target everyone you've ever loved long before she goes after you in a fight."
"...Right. What else can you tell me?"
"Don't listen to her. At all."
Ed thought back to the last time he had, and rubbed his lower back without thinking bout it. "Don't worry. I won't let her trick me again."
"It's not just that. She'll try to convince you that you're in the wrong. That you're no better than her... that you're worse because she's open about her morals. She's effective at it..." Ichirou trailed off. "Look, you're a nice kid." he finally concluded. "I don't want you to face something like her questioning your every motive without being ready for it."
There was an awkward silence. Ichirou had spoken his piece, and he looked over at Ed, reading him carefully for a response. The boy was taking the information in... and after a long pause he finally replied. "So, I should bring some headphones and listen to music while I fight her?"
Ichirou put a hand to his forehead and sighed. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want something mechanical right next to my head anywhere near that woman."
"Huh. Good point." Ed replied with a grin. "...Thanks for the advice. I won't let you down."
Ichirou grinned back at him. "I know you won't. Your friends are counting on you."
"Hey. Ichirou?" Ed said, standing up.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for not killing her back then."
Ichirou raised an eyebrow. "You're thanking me? If I had finished her off, none of this would have eve--"
"Yeah, that's true." he replied, cutting Ichirou off. "But... her Seal is incomplete. If it had been set loose like that, there wouldn't be a universe left to live in today, either. So. Thanks."
Ichirou hadn't thought of it like that before. "Never thought of it that way." All those years blaming himself... but if he'd succeeded would the alternative really have been better? "I guess that was pretty lucky, huh?"
"Lucky? I thought you would have had to spare her on purpose back then..."
Ichirou gave Ed the single most 'You're kidding, right?' look he could muster. Ed just smiled widely. Finally, the Dragon's Fang put a hand to the boy's head and ruffled his hair. "...never change, Ed."