NOVEL NEXT A Old’s Man Reunion
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
30 minutes before Dante sneaked into the warehouse, a figure in a dark blue hoody stood over the unconscious bodies of a dozen masked figures. Long black hair peeking out of the hood, with their Duel disk out and ready. Looking around, they smiled at the sight of their foes groaning on the ground. "Hopefully with this defeat they'll think twice before raiding more DM Stores, last time they came uncomfortably close to finding him." They murmured as they kicked the closest masked men. Once the figure was sure that their foes won't be getting up anytime soon, they started to make their way out of the warehouse. After turning their Duel Disk back to a watch, they put on a metal mask that only covered the bottom of their face. "Testing, testing, testing." As they adjusted a dial on the side of the mask, their voice would distort. They stopped at a masculine older voice before calling the cops on their Duel Watch.
"Hello this is the local Task Force, please state the emergency."
"Hello, I'm calling about a racket coming from the warehouse at Sunavalon Street. I'm pretty sure people are hosting illegal duels there as I heard shouting and what sounds like people being shocked."
"Thank you for calling, the proper authorities will be there in a few minutes, please avoid the area until they get there."
"Understood good sir, have a good day." The call ended with a beep, just as they left the warehouse. After locking the door behind them and removing any signs that they were ever there. They walked towards the nearest busy street, planning to blend into the crowds. As they walked they removed the metal mouthpiece, and black wig, stuffing both of them into their hoodie pocket. Right before they entered the crowds they removed their hoodie, revealing a head of shoulder-length silver hair with piercing red eyes.
They spent the next 2 hours visiting different restaurants, ranging from fast food to bakeries. Some of the places they would eat at the restaurant, while others they would just buy take out. At the 2-hour 30-minute mark they found themselves in front of a DM Store with their hands full of bags of food. As they entered the doorbell jingled, alerting an older man with silver hair of their presence. The man smiled as they waved at them. "Ah hello Alexandria, what can I do for you today?" Alexandria blushed.
"Come on dad! The cost is clear, you don't have to call me by my full name." The man laughed.
"There is nothing wrong with your name dear, your mom did choose it." Alexandria rolled her eyes.
"Yea she gave me her name, which isn't the most creative idea is it?" She placed her bags on the counter. "Well, at least it's better than any name you could have given me." The man gave an exaggerated hurt expression.
"I'll have you know dear, that I'm plenty creative." Alexandria giggled.
"Yea, I'm not trusting the word of a man who calls himself Mr.C about creativity. Really dad, Mr.C? Was that really the best you had?"
"Mr.C is a great name, it's easy for my customers to remember."
"Your main customers are children, dad." Mr.C nodded with a kind smile.
"Yes, it's easy to remember and straight to the point." Alexandria sighed.
"Whatever let's just go eat, I brought dinner." After changing the sign in front to say -Closed-, the duo went to the back to eat. Taking opposite seats on a wooden table, they talked as they ate their dinner of various takeouts. "So I took care of the group that was planning to attack the store tomorrow." Mr.C frowned.
"Alexandria I told you to leave them be, I could have handled them."
"I know you can, but I rather not have any more attention brought to you."
"-Sigh- Dear I know that you are worried about your old man, but I didn't show you how to access assault mode on your Duel Disk to go out and get yourself into trouble. I showed you it so you can defend yourself when needed."
"Dad, it's called assault mode, not defence mode."
"That's not my point and you know it." Alexandria pouted as they crossed their arms.
"Fine, but if I learn that someone is planning to assault the store, then I'm taking them down!" Mr.C sighed as they rubbed their forehead.
"You're just as stubborn as your mother." Mr.C looked straight at Alexandria. "Alexandria you are going to be starting your first year at DUEL Acadamy soon, you should spend your early years hanging out with friends and having fun. Not dealing with criminals who raid DM Stores for who knows what reasons."
"HEY! Don't give me that! I know how you spent your teenage years, and how dangerous that was." The father and daughter pair spent the next minute just staring at each other. Eventually, Mr.C sighed as they looked down.
"Fine, you win Alexandria. But at least promise me that you'll be careful and not to bring too much attention to yourself" Alexandria nodded.
"I can do that." They spent the next hour just chatting about how both of them are doing as they ate. After dinner, Alexandria was planning to leave, but before she can exit the store they were stopped by their father.
"Wait up, I have something to give you before you leave." Alexandria turned around and tilted their head in confusion. Mr.C walked up to them and handed them a red wooden box with carvings of a serpent-like creature. Opening the box, Alexandria gasped.
"Dad your really giving me your prized card?" Mr.C gave her a warm smile.
"They protected me through many hard times, and I would like you to have them so they can protect you in my stead." Alexandria giggled.
"That's pretty heavy for just a rare card." Closing the box, they hugged it before smiling at their dad. "Thanks, dad, I'll treasure it." Right before they left the store, Alexandria hesitated before turning their head to look at her dad. "Please try to visit mom, I know it's dangerous for her to be spotted with you but she really misses you." Mr.C's smile turned into a sad one.
"I'll try Alexandria, when you see her, tell her I love and miss her." Alexandria nodded and left the store. Mr.C walked back to the front desk and sat down behind it. He Took out a locket from underneath the desk and opened it up to reveal a photo of a man with silver hair beside a woman with piercing red eyes, a young girl between them. The trio looked towards the camera, grinning ear to ear as they hugged each other. Closing the locket, they placed it down on the desk and took out a deck. As they held it, it was clear to them how hollow it felt. A soft smile grew on their face as they thought back to the card they gave to their daughter. "A rare card indeed, I wish you luck old friend. She can be quite the handful."
Meanwhile, as Alexandria walked down the sidewalk, the red box she kept in her hoodie pocket started to emit a red glow. Amongst the sounds of the busy streets, a soft roar echoed inside the box. Alexandria stopped and looked around, before shrugging and continuing on her way. 'Someone must have forgotten to put on their earphones, I wonder what they could have been watching?' As she wondered what the sound could have been, the red box started to dim until the red glow fully died down.