Chapter Text
Reiji narrowed his eyes at what just transpired. This greatly complicates things. Shun was staring in astonishment as Sora vanished from the park altogether.
“What happened? Where did Shiunin go?”
“He was most likely called back by Academia. He was probably revealing too much information.”
Reiji took a heavy breath.
“This doesn’t look good. There’s a chance Academia might advance their attack on Standard now.”
Shun flinched. While it went unspoken, it was clear he meant that now this dimension might be in danger.
“If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. It’s my fault you’re in this situation after all.”
Reiji turned to Shun with his usual neutral stare.
“I’m glad to hear that but make no mistake. Academia surely had their sight set on Standard for a while now. This situation was inevitable, even if you hadn't travelled here in the first place.”
Reiji stood up from his chair. Reira looked up at her brother questioningly.
“Nakajima.”
“Sir.”
“We’re going to have some modifications to the tournament.”
After Yuya and Yuto called the others, they explained how Sora just up and vanished like that. They even had to assure they weren’t joking.
And the reactions were what you can expect.
“Sora just…disappeared?” incredulously asked Serena.
“On the spot. His disk emitted some kind of light that soon enveloped him and before we properly understood what was happening, he was already gone” confirmed Yuya.
The others were stunned by that. A person just disappearing was hard to believe but neither Yuya nor Yuto, for that matter, would make something like that up.
While everyone tried to make head of it, Yuri seemed really focused on his thoughts.
“Something on your mind?” asked Rin, who noticed his pensive look. He nodded.
“A person vanishing on the spot, leaving no clue of where they could have gone. Doesn’t it sound awfully familiar?”
Everyone instantly understood what he was implying. Sora’s case was surprisingly similar to theirs and Yusho’s.
“So you’re saying that there might be some connection between our disappearance ten years ago and Sora’s? And maybe even dad’s?” proposed Yuto.
Yuri flinched slightly at that, his brows furrowing.
“…Unfortunately, I do not have definite evidence for that. But it’s a possibility I’m not willing to overlook.”
Ruri clasped her hands together. Their strange appearance in Maiami City… Yusho's mysterious disappearance three years ago… And not only them…
“It might not be so farfetched though… If…there’s a chance he’s here…”
Yuzu turned to her, picking up on that last part.
“Who are you talking about?”
Ruri took some seconds to answer.
“…My brother Shun. There’s a chance he may be here in this city.”
That news caused another wave of shock between them, except for Serena, who already knew of it. Yuto now has a clear picture of why Ruri's behavior at the opening ceremony.
Ruri brought her hands to her chest and clenched them.
“That Shay Obsidian… I couldn’t make out his face but the cards he used were that of my brother. I was very little since I last saw them but I could never forget them.”
Yuto’s brows shot up at hearing Shay’s name. Sora mentioned him as well.
“Sora was after Obsidian as well. He said that he needed to ‘get rid of him’.”
Yugo scratched his head, surprised to hear something like that.
“What? Sora said that? It…doesn’t sound like him at all.”
Yuto looked down.
“The way Sora acted was completely out of character for him. He seemed like he had no other choice on the matter; like his own life was at stake. I never saw him act so viciously.”
Everyone stayed silent, processing the information. Serena sighed.
“Regardless, Sora is gone and Obsidian might be our only lead. I say we find him and make him spit everything.”
“Yeah, how?” asked Rin with a raised brow “By storming LDS and demand they bring him to us?”
“Well, I’m down for that.”
Rin shot Yugo a deadpan look, not amused in the slightest. Yuzu's eyes drifted down.
“I don’t think there’s anything we can do for the time being… We should go home for now; it’s starting to get late.”
In the end, everyone agreed to that. The eight soon went their way once they reached the district. When the four brothers arrived home, Yoko was already there.
“Oh, you guys are back. So, have you found Sora?”
Yuya and Yuto exchanged a look while Yugo scratched his head, not knowing what to say.
“No luck. It seems he disappeared without a trace.”
Thankfully, Yuri had an answer ready. It wasn’t a lie either but Yoko would never believe he meant it literally. The woman crossed her arms and sighed.
“Hmm… I see. That’s worrisome. I hope he’s alright.”
“I’m sure he is. He’s got tough skin” reassured Yuya.
After that, Yuri immediately went to take a shower while Yugo went straight to bed. Only Yuya and Yuto remained together. Both were sitting on the couch, trying to wrap their heads around this whole mess.
“Sora really did not look like himself back there” said Yuya after a while.
“…Before you arrived he told me we knew nothing of him. Looking back to it, he might not have been so far off the mark” commented Yuto.
They really didn’t know much about Sora. He normally tried to avoid talking about his life and none of them were particularly close to him. Yuto wonders just what could have gone through his head during these last few months.
Had he ever been genuine to them? Or was that only a ruse? Was the person they saw earlier at the park the real Sora, in that case?
Yuya noticed how deep in thought Yuto was.
“Hey, do you think we haven’t been good friends to Sora?”
“What makes you think that?”
“Clearly, he was troubled by something. Maybe if we were better friends, he would have confided in us. And maybe we could have helped him.”
A breath left Yuto’s nose.
“I doubt it. Everyone has their secrets and we can’t force them to tell us. And he might have had his good reasons for staying silent. We can’t expect Sora to tell us something he’s not comfortable saying, especially not after knowing us for so little time.”
Yuya understood what his brother was saying. If Sora didn’t want to tell them then they shouldn’t force him. Thinking about it, his mind suddenly went back to what he said earlier.
“Hey, Yuto, do you remember what Sora said right before he disappeared?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s been bugging me ever since. He said something like…‘Academia’. What was he talking about?”
Yuto shook his head.
“I have no idea. But I do know one thing” he leaned forward “We need answers. And we’re going to get them somehow.”
Yuya nodded firmly beside him.
Something was happening. And they needed to know what. Especially if, as Yuri proposed, it personally involved them.