I’m in Marvel, but I play Yu-Gi-Oh!?

The following afternoon, after classes ended, Alexander walked toward the parking lot with Ginny and a very giddy Chuck whose meeting with Julia's parents was a resounding success, at least, in his words.

The familiar sounds of students leaving campus surrounded them. Conversations overlapped in every direction, punctuated by laughter, the slam of car doors, and the occasional shout from someone calling out to a friend. For most of the students, the school day was over, and the remainder of the afternoon belonged to homework, games, friends, or whatever other plans they had made.

Alexander, however, wasn't particularly interested in lingering around campus.

As usual, his school bag hung over one shoulder, but his attention was already elsewhere because today there was somewhere he needed to be, and a potential problem to deal with.

Ginny seemed to notice that his thoughts were wandering and said, "You've been quiet."

Alexander glanced at her, asking, "Have I?"

"A little." She gave him a suspicious look before she observed, "You're usually better at pretending you're listening."

Followed by Chuck, who added, "That's right."

Alexander chuckled and said, "I am listening."

"Then what did I just say?"

"You said that you were worried about the history assignment."

Ginny blinked before she corrected him, "I said I was worried about the math assignment."

Alexander paused for a moment before he admitted, "Then I suppose I wasn't listening."

Ginny laughed, "See?"

Alexander shook his head, smiling despite himself, "Fair enough."

Their conversation shifted back toward school as they continued across the parking lot. It was an ordinary exchange between friends, the kind of conversation Alexander had grown increasingly appreciative of.

Once they reached the parking lot, Chuck got into his car, waved to them and drove away to pick up his girlfriend and spend the afternoon with her, while Alexander and Ginny reached his BMW Z1. Alexander unlocked the car and walked around to the driver's side. He waited for Ginny to get inside before taking his own seat.

The engine came to life, and soon they were on their way.

The drive to her house was uneventful as they chatted about school, homework, and the upcoming Duel Monsters events. Ginny was particularly enthusiastic about the upcoming Inter-School Championship Tournament, speculating about which decks might perform well and which strategies she expected to see, especially with the inclusion of the Tag Duels.

Alexander offered his own opinions whenever she asked, though part of his attention remained elsewhere. Blade and Hannibal's case, the strange incidents, and the possibility that something supernatural might be involved.

He didn't know enough yet to draw any conclusions, but the uncertainty itself bothered him.

Eventually, they arrived at Ginny's home. Alexander pulled up near the curb and shifted the car into park.

"See you tomorrow, Lex."

"See you, Ginny."

She climbed out of the car and waved before heading inside; Alexander waited until she had reached the house before driving away.

Only then did his expression become serious.

His destination was BorderLine Investigative Services, where yesterday Roland had already arranged the meeting.

The private detective agency was one of the less conventional investments Alexander had made.

Unlike Industrial Illusions, BorderLine didn't occupy several floors of a skyscraper in the commercial district of LA and several other areas, or employ hundreds of people. There were no expansive offices, reception halls, or rows of employees moving between departments.

The office was relatively modest and at first glance, there was little to distinguish it from any other private detective agency, but Alexander knew better.

The people working there weren't ordinary investigators.

Hannibal King and Blade had already handled cases that would have sounded completely insane to a conventional investigator.

Vampires. Supernatural threats. Creatures that most people would dismiss as fantasy until they were forced to confront one themselves. Things that conventional law enforcement wouldn't even know how to approach, and that experience made BorderLine uniquely suited for something Alexander couldn't afford to let ordinary investigators handle.

When Alexander arrived, Hannibal and Blade were already waiting for him.

Hannibal greeted him with his usual gruff demeanour, while Blade offered a simple nod.

After exchanging greetings, Alexander didn't bother wasting time and asked, "So, what did you find?"

Hannibal took the lead and said, "It's a strange case."

Hannibal leaned back slightly in his chair, picked up a nearby folder and started to talk, "About a few days ago, a man named Albert Colan hired us."

"For what?"

"His wife."

Hearing that, Alexander raised an eyebrow and commented, "Let me guess. He thinks she's cheating on him."

"Exactly."

Blade crossed his arms and said, "Not exactly the sort of case either of us enjoys."

Hannibal shrugged and added, "People still have to pay the bills. On top of that, these kinds of jobs are easy, mostly safe, and pay well."

Alexander couldn't argue with that, "Fair enough. So what happened?"

"Initially? Nothing interesting."

After saying that, Hannibal began explaining the case.

Albert Colan had been convinced that his wife was having an affair. There hadn't been any concrete evidence, at least nothing that would have stood up to serious scrutiny. Mostly, Albert had been relying on his own suspicions.

So they had followed her. Watched where she went. Documented her movements. Kept track of the people she met. And, eventually, discovered that Mrs Colan did indeed have a habit of flirting with other men, quite frequently, in fact. She was charming, outgoing, and apparently enjoyed the attention.

"But she never actually cheated," Hannibal continued.

Alexander nodded and asked, "And you figured that out?"

Blade snorted and declared, "Pretty quickly."

Hannibal gave a small shrug and said his piece, "Our conclusion was that she knows her husband is jealous and she enjoys provoking him."

Blade smiled lightly and confirmed, "Exactly."

Alexander couldn't help but chuckle and said, "So you were hired to investigate an affair that didn't exist."

"Pretty much." Blade's expression remained flat as he commented, "Not the most exciting case we've ever worked."

"If that had been the end of it," Hannibal said, "We would've written the report, collected the money, and forgotten about the whole thing."

Alexander noticed the subtle change in Hannibal's tone and said, "But it wasn't, was it?"

"No." The humour disappeared from Hannibal's expression as he explained, "While we were following Mrs Colan, we naturally ended up seeing the rest of the family, more specifically her daughter."

Hearing that, Alexander's attention sharpened.

Hannibal then continued, "She's a teenager. Her parents seem fairly strict, so sneaking out of the house isn't exactly unusual."

"Except?"

"She suddenly started doing it a lot more."

Alexander frowned and asked, "How suddenly?"

"Enough that we noticed."

Blade finally spoke as he added, "And then the incidents started."

Alexander looked toward him and once again asked, "What incidents?"

"Pets found dead. People attacked." Hannibal continued, "There was also a house that burned down during a dinner party."

Alexander's expression hardened before he asked, "Casualties?"

"Luckily, none."

"The guests had already left," Hannibal explained. "The owner survived, too."

Alexander nodded slowly before he commented, "I can see why you find it suspicious."

"Very."

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The details weren't enough to establish a connection, and individually, every incident could potentially be explained.

Pets died. People were attacked. A house caught fire. A teenager began sneaking out at night. None of those things was impossible on their own, but together? That was different.

"At first, none of the incidents seemed connected," Hannibal continued. "Different locations. Different circumstances. Different victims."

Alexander listened carefully.

"But when we compared the timing, we noticed something. That the incidents happened when she was gone."

Blade nodded and said, "Repeatedly."

Then Blade's expression hardened as he added, "Not every single time. But enough that it stopped looking like coincidence."

Alexander leaned back slightly and said, "That's when you started watching her."

"Exactly."

At first, they had simply followed her, then they had observed, and the more they watched, the less sense the situation made.

"At first," Hannibal admitted, "We wondered if she was responsible. After all, it isn't all that unlikely for someone to snap and start acting out violently."

"Understandable."

"Honestly, it would've made the investigation much simpler, but the more we watched her, the less sense it made."

In response to that, Blade silently nodded while Alexander frowned and asked, "Why?"

"She didn't behave like someone deliberately committing crimes." Hannibal's voice became quieter before he added, "And there were moments when she looked frightened."

"Or confused," Blade added.

"And sometimes," Hannibal continued, "She seemed to have little or no recollection of what she'd been doing."

Alexander's expression became thoughtful before he asked, "How much?"

"Enough to concern us."

"She'd leave the house, disappear for a while, then return as if nothing unusual had happened."

"And when questioned?"

"She couldn't explain where she'd been."

Alexander's eyes narrowed and observed, "So it could be possession."

The word hung in the room.

Hannibal nodded, "That's what we started wondering. Either that or some kind of mental illness, but we aren't so sure that's the case."

Alexander didn't immediately respond.

He had encountered enough supernatural phenomena to know that possession wasn't merely something from horror stories.

There were entities capable of influencing humans, entities capable of crossing boundaries between worlds and, most importantly, there were Duel Spirits.

Rogue Duel Spirits could take advantage of the counterfeit cards that represented them to enter this world and influence or take control of someone, just as Shadow Ghoul did a few months ago something that Alexander had already explained to Hannibal and Blade before, when he asked them to keep their eyes and ears open to unusual activities that may involve them.

The Spirit World existed, and the beings within it were real. And while most Duel Spirits seemed content to remain there or simply wait for the right human to connect with, Alexander knew enough not to assume that every Duel Spirit would behave the same way.

If one had somehow crossed into the physical world and if it had attached itself to a human being and had malicious intentions, possession wasn't impossible.

"There's something else," Hannibal said.

Alexander looked at him as he added, "We saw her playing Duel Monsters."

Alexander's expression immediately changed as he asked, "What?"

"With some friends." Hannibal said before he continued, "That's the main reason we decided to contact you, as we suspect that there is some connection."

Hearing that, Alexander remained silent for several seconds.

The room suddenly seemed quieter as Alexander went over everything he just heard, 'A Duel Monsters player. Strange, almost supernatural incidents. A teenager behaving as though she wasn't entirely herself. There is an obvious connection. Almost too obvious. I can't ignore this.'

Shortly after Alexander thought that, Hannibal said, "Considering everything, it is safe to assume that something may have attached itself to her. And considering the circumstances, it could be a Duel Spirit. Or she's somehow encountered something else, and the game has nothing to do with that."

Blade shook his head and added, "Or none of that."

Alexander looked toward him.

Blade's expression remained sceptical as he said, "We don't actually have proof that a Duel Spirit or something else is involved at the moment. For all we know, it could simply be an eerie set of coincidences."

Alexander nodded, agreeing with what Blade just said, 'He is right. That is the problem. The evidence is circumstantial. The girl plays Duel Monsters. She has begun sneaking out at night. Strange incidents occurred around the same time. She displayed behaviour that could potentially be interpreted as possession, but it could also be explained with drug use or a mental issue. None of that actually proves anything.'

Alexander had learned one thing from dealing with the supernatural.

Coincidences do happen. Patterns could be misleading. And sometimes the explanation that appeared obvious at first was the one most likely to lead an investigator in the wrong direction.

He leaned back and said, "Something is off about this..."

Hannibal raised an eyebrow and asked, "You don't believe it's a Duel Spirit?"

"I don't know." Alexander frowned before he added, "It's just..."

He paused as he couldn't quite put the feeling into words while thinking, 'Everything fit almost too well. A teenager played Duel Monsters. Supernatural incidents began occurring. She started behaving strangely. Then came the possibility of possession. It is almost the perfect explanation, and that is precisely what bothers me. This is Marvel, after all...'

In the end, Alexander said, "...A vague feeling. I can't even explain it."

Hannibal studied him for a moment, and Blade did the same.

Neither man questioned him. They had both seen enough to understand that Alexander's instincts weren't something to dismiss casually.

Blade nodded and declared, "So we investigate."

Alexander looked between the two men before he added, "Tonight."

A faint smile appeared on Hannibal's face, "That's what I was hoping you'd say."

~~~▽~~~

Several hours later, the three of them were positioned in a suburban neighbourhood outside Burbank.

The Colan residence was some distance away from the office, but they had chosen a position that gave them a clear view without attracting attention.

The neighbourhood looked completely ordinary.

Quiet streets. Darkened houses. The occasional porch light. A few cars parked along the curb. A television flickered behind one set of curtains. Somewhere farther down the street, a dog barked once before falling silent. Nothing about the place suggested that anything supernatural had ever happened there.

That normality was almost unsettling.

Alexander kept his eyes fixed on the Colan residence; Hannibal remained beside him, occasionally glancing toward the house through a pair of binoculars, and Blade stood slightly apart from them, his attention constantly moving across the surrounding streets.

"She normally sneaks out sometime during the night," Hannibal whispered.

Alexander nodded and said, "So we wait."

"Pretty much."

Alexander exhaled slowly.

Waiting was something he had never been particularly fond of, especially when he had no idea what they were waiting for.

Minutes passed, then more, until the silence gradually became uncomfortable.

Alexander checked the house again, but nothing strange happened.

The curtains remained closed. No lights changed. No doors opened.

Blade shifted his weight and commented, "Could be a quiet night."

Hannibal lowered his binoculars, "Could be."

Alexander said nothing.

Maybe they had simply wasted an evening. Maybe the girl's behaviour had changed. Maybe tonight would prove completely uneventful.

There was always that possibility.

Then Alexander felt something as his entire body tensed while his Spirit Senses screamed that something was coming.

It wasn't subtle, as the sensation washed over him like an alarm suddenly going off inside his mind.

His breathing stopped for half a second before he focused on the area in front of the Colan residence, yet still nothing.

The street was empty. The same parked cars. The same porch light. The same silent houses.

Then something appeared with no sound at all.

No footsteps. No vehicle. No warning.

One moment, the space in front of the house was completely empty, and the next, a figure was standing there.

Alexander's eyes widened.

Hannibal immediately noticed the change in his expression and asked, "What is it?"

Blade's posture changed at once as his hand moved toward his weapon.

Alexander didn't answer because his attention was completely fixed on the figure.

It stood motionless in the darkness.

Its features were difficult to make out from their position, but there was something profoundly unnatural about the way it had appeared.

Not the fact that it was there, but the fact that it had not been there a moment earlier.

Alexander's Spirit Senses continued screaming.

Whatever he was looking at, it wasn't the girl, and somehow, Alexander knew that their investigation had just become far more complicated than they had anticipated.