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Chapter Text

Monday, 1:55

Yusho's match with the sledgehammer is in exactly 3 hours; Yusho knows this and knows that his family is anticipating his participation alongside his fans. Yet in this moment, he had more important things to do.

Reiji Akaba had sent him an interdimensional travelling device a few days ago, an incomplete one at that, and yet here he is activating it.

He knows this isn't the wisest decision he has made, but he needed to dissuade Leo from whatever he was planning to do.

And with this, he enters the tube.

--

Monday, 4:57

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a big applause to the one and only strong sledgehammer!!!"

Sledgehammer went on the stage.

"Be ready to be crushed!"

Some started clapping their hands.

"And on the other side, the man himself, the duentainer, the leader of your show school, Sakaki Yusho!!!"

A death silence.

Yoko, Yuya's mom and wife, began to feel a little uneasy, especially with Yuyo's latest involvements.

Yuya, Yusho's son and an 11-year-old boy, turned to his mother in confusion. "Where is Dad?" he asked.

"Don't worry, Yuya; I'm sure your father will show up soon."

"You sure?!" Yuya replied, hopeful.

"I'm sure."

His father didn't.

--

Monday, 11:33, night 

Yuya's father seemed to have evaporated into thin air, because wherever they looked, they didn't seem to find him.

They tried his school, lab, home, cafes, cinemas, etc., all of which led to nothing but the disappointing word "we couldn't find him."

His mother, ever the nice and supportive mother she is, told him to be patient and not worry about it. She cooked him his favourite food, sang him to sleep, and whispered supportive words to him.

His best friend, Zuzu, along with Gongenzaka, decided right away that it was time for a sleepover together. They played games, watched movies, and shared a lot of funny stories together.

Despite this, Yuya couldn't shake the sad emotions he was feeling. He wanted to smile, just like his father told him, but he would be lying if he said he didn't want to cry a little.

He couldn't believe that the person he looked up to the most was suddenly gone.

A few days ago, his father was with him, playing card games with him, trying to cook a cake with him( and failing miserably), and shocking him with his magic tricks.

Now that seemed like a faraway dream, and Yuya didn't know what to think of that.

--

Tuesday, 6:30.

"Yuya, Gon, Zuzu, time for school!"

Stretching his hands, Yuya tiredly got up from his bed and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth alongside his two friends.

"You look tired; are you okay?" Gong asked with a hint of worry.

"Yeah, just a little sleepy, that's all."

"Alright, if you say so."

They quickly ate breakfast, opening up a little small talk there and there.

"You're going to have to hurry up if you don't want to be late," his mother suddenly interjected into their conversation.

Staring at the clock, showing that it's 7:20 and his school starts at 7:30, they ran.

---

Luckily, they made it on time, with one minute to spare, but it left them completely exhausted.

Yuzu and him said goodbye to Gon, as he attended a different school than them, and proceeded to head to class.

No matter how much he wanted to focus on the material, his mind was somewhere else, constantly repeating the memories of yesterday over and over again. Why didn't his father show up? Did he get hurt? Did he get kidnapped? Or worse, he was perhaps...dead?.

Thousands of questions stormed his head, yet he couldn't answer any of them.

---

9:05, break time

While Yuya was in his head, a group of people started approaching him, not the friendliest looking either.

Sensing this, Zuzu stood in their way.

"What do you want from Yuya?"

The leader of the group, or so he called himself, took a step forward.

"Get out of the way, girl, or else your pretty face won't stay pretty for long."

"There's no way I'm going out of the way; Yuya is my best friend!"

Hearing the loud commotion, a teacher walks in.

"This won't be the end of it." The leader says this before running off with his gang.

Zuzu, after seeing them go, approached Yuya quietly.

"Yuya," no reply.

"Yuya!" No reply either.

"Sakaki yuya!" Finally, this seemed to snap him out of his mind.

" Zuzu? What is it?"

Zuzu, seeing Yuya so quiet and distant, was clearly worried.

Yet she knew that the boy needed some space and time, so she'd have to be as gentle as she could be. It's not everyday that you lose your father, so Zuzu wanted to try her best to be a good friend to him.

"Class is over. Want to go to a café together? I'll pay."

Yuya immediately lit up, "Sure!".

---

They've chosen a small café,one close to Yuya's place, called 'Paradise 'Cafe'.

Yuzu wasn't so hungry, so she simply ordered a strawberry milkshake while watching Yuya devour a seemingly billion pancakes. It was amazing how much Yuya could eat.

They ended up talking about trivial topics( aka complaining about math, card games, and how to lick your own elbow), and Yuya seemed to feel a little better after that.

"Yuya, I'm there for you if you need me, okay?" Zuzu says it suddenly.

Yuya looks at her, surprised, before nodding.

They made a step forward, Yuzu notes.

---

Wednesday, 7:30

Another day, another school day. Yuya quickly hurried to his seat, stopping suddenly as he read what was on it.

"Your father's a coward." "You should be embarrassed of yourself." "How does it feel to be born into this world knowing you are the son of a little coward?" "Your father disappeared because of you."

Yuya would have cried, but he can't because he promised to smile when he is sad, so Yuya doesn't do anything but take his seat.

This continued on for a few days before the culprits were found. Thanks to his mother's and his friends efforts, the culprits, being a previous fan group of Yusho, thought they had the right to judge their idol and, by extension, their son.

They were expelled from the school, but the damage was done.

---

Saturday, 7:00

It was a sunny day. Birds were chirping, nature was as beautiful as ever, and yet Sakaki Yuya couldn't feel any worse.

Perhaps it was really his fault that his father had disappeared. He cries too much, he does badly at school, and most importantly, he can't entertain as his father does.

Yuya slapped himself; he didn't want to continue this line of thinking. His father told him to smile in tough times; instead, he is sulking like a baby. Yuya should be better than this; he shouldn't be sitting around like this; he should do something about this.

So, Yuya took his stuff and went looking for his father himself.

---

Jaden was having a very wonderful day when, approximately 20 minutes ago, he almost got killed by another evil guy trying to destroy the universe because, apparently, that's how you save your loved one nowadays.

If Jaden had a nickel for every time this happened, he would have 3 nickels, which is weird because it happened three times. People could, *cough* *cough*, go to therapy. But hey, who is Jaden to judge?

Anyway, this guy, Kevin or something, while absolutely terrible at taking jokes, was a beast in battle. Jaden is kind of glad he fused with Yubel now, because there was no way he would have survived that long otherwise. The man was slicing buildings off with his sword with seemingly no effort and didn't have any intention of stopping. Also, he appeared to have some sort of connection to the light, unlike him, and he seemed to be too far gone, just like sartorius.

Just like when Jaden became the supreme king.

' Jaden! '

Jaden quickly snapped out of his thoughts; now was not the time.

To be honest, Jaden is not sure how the hell he is going to stop the guy from destroying all of existence, but you always gotta try, right?.

Slash

Ah, he was falling down.

Before he could call any of his monsters, a giant 'hole?' absorbed him, and Jaden blacked out.

---

60 minutes later, location:???

Jaden slowly opened his eyes, taking in the environment around him. It wasn't anything he was familiar with.

For one, there were these giant buildings all around him, looking pretty futuristic too—definitely something not of his time.

Then there was this huge lake too, and a Studium in the middle of it.

Was he in the future?

Another dimension?

Was he in the afterlife??

Yubel appeared behind him and said, 'I don't think you are dead yet, Jaden, but this is definitely somewhere I'm not familiar with'. Yubel quickly added, 'From my observation, we seem to have landed in some sort of different dimension, not somewhere I'm familiar with though.'.

Great, Jaden can tick that off; he wondered when that would happen.

'Seeing as you are able to make jokes, I assume you should be fine. I think we should start looking for information on what this place is.'

So, like a normal person would do, he went to ask people around about this place (even the dead ones, pros of being able to see spirits).

After asking a few locals, he found out three things:

1. He was in a city called Miami City.

2. They don't use yen.

3. They use this new technology called augmented reality combat, or real solid vision, in their duel discs, which makes your monsters real.

The first two didn't really shock him or anything; it was a new place after all, so it's only natural that they have their own customs. But for the latter, he definitely knew for sure that it would probably cause a world-ending disaster sooner or later.

Well, that has nothing to do with Jaden, because as soon as he finds a way back home, he is going home. People should deal with their own problems for once.

---

Jaden did not find a way to go back.

Something, someone, must have brought him here, yet he couldn't detect anything really out of the ordinary, even with Yubel's power.

So, his only choice now was to find a place to rest, and he could figure out the rest later.

"AAAAH!!!"

Jaden looked around him; that sounded like a little boy, a terrified little boy, and it was coming from the north.

Jaden ran, even though he didn't want to involve himself in any more problems. Letting a small boy get hurt is definitely not something he'll let happen, not on his watch.

Finally, he seems to be reaching where the boy was, eventually coming to face with four kids surrounding a... A tomato-haired boy is the best way he can describe it. One of the boys stepped up, grabbing the boy's necklace and looking at it in a mocking way. "Awwww, is little Yuya sad that I took this necklace from him?" The boy, who now knew he was Yuya, tried to take the necklace back. "If you want it so much, then you can swim for it!" And with that, he threw the necklace into the water.

Jaden had enough; this was enough.

"Oi"

The boys now turned around to see golden eyes staring at them, right into their souls, as if it could see anything they didn't want it to see.

They ran off.

Now that they were gone, his eyes returned to normal, and before the boy could even talk to him, he jumped in the water.

Finding the necklace was definitely harder than he liked; it almost sank too deep into the depths, but he was determined to get it back because it clearly seemed like an important thing to that boy.

----

Yuya was lost.

He forgot how big Miami City is because he seems to be walking endlessly.

Luckily, he did bring his phone with him, so he could probably text his mother to take him home, but he didn't want to rely on her; he needed to be strong on his own.

He could really use a navigator, though.

Yuya shook his head. He can do this! He can go back on his own!

"Look who it is! The famous Yuya boy in the flesh!"A voice behind him spoke.

It was Ojim, the leader of the gang, who apparently did all those 'fancy' drawings on his desk, with his gang, of course.

"Because of you, I got expelled! I'll make your life hell!"

Then, without waiting for his reply, he snatched his pendulum from him.

Realising what happened, Yuya quickly tried to get it back.

"You want it so bad? Then swim for it!"

He stared at it before throwing it in the water. Throwing his father's pendulum in the water. Throwing the only thing he has of his father in the water.

Throwing it away

Throwing everything away

Throwing smiles away

Throwing- Throwing- Throwing-

THROWING THE ONLY REMAINING THING OF HIM

"Oi"

An unfamiliar voice.

The baddies are gone.

Someone is going after his pendulum.

Someone is going after his pendulum.

Oh.

Turning around, he sees him go deeper and deeper into the water.

Yuya is scared.

Yuya doesn't want to be bullied.

Yuya doesn't want anyone to get hurt.

He wants to be strong.

And

He wants his dad with him.

Something tapped him.

Looking in front of him, the same guy who went after his pendulum and made the baddies go away was in front of him.

"You okay?"

Yuya couldn't help but cry right there and then.

The guy doesn't seem to mind it, though, as he hugs him and lets him cry his heart out.

Yuya knows that strangers shouldn't be trusted, but Yuya is tired.

---

Jaden almost died for the second time this day. It looks like death is on the menu today.

However, he did expect this, as the necklace did quite fall quite deep into the water.

What he hadn't expected was the boy crying when he asked him if he was okay.

Jaden dealt with all sorts of situations. Visiting a haunted dorm and participating in a shadow game? Any day. Duelling a monkey? Why not? . Fighting against a cult of crazy people that his friends were part of? Of course! But taking care of children? No idea here; usually he was the child being taken care of.

'Let me take over,' Yubel suddenly said to him.

"You know how to deal with kids?"

' I had to deal with you when you were young, so I think that qualifies me enough'

Right in his heart, she struck that arrow.

He wasn't that childish!

"..."

Okay, maybe he was.

" Alright."

As Yubel was taking care of the boy to the best of her or his abilities, he was trying to figure out what that strong power in the air was. It seemed to be coming from that boy, but he really hoped it wasn't; he really didn't want the boy, Yuya, to suffer, as nobody deserved to suffer for their simple existence anyway.

Besides, that boy was like 11? Boys of that age shouldn't be thinking about such complicated problems so soon.

---

After a while, Yuya eventually calmed down. Seeing it as his chance to talk with the boy finally, he and Yubel'switched''. "If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears." If he didn't want to, that would be fine, because Jaden would never force someone to talk about something they didn't want to; he learned that the hard way.

"My father...has gone missing lately."

Oh.

That made sense.

"Is that pendulum a gift from him?"

Yuya nodded.

Jaden didn't really want to push the boy too far, but he really wanted to know who these guys were and why they were after Yuya.

"Why did these guys target you?"

Yuya stayed silent for a while.

"They were previous fans of my father; after he didn't show up for the duel against the sledgehammer, everyone, including them, thinks he is a coward."

He paused again.

"I'm his son, so I make for a pretty easy target to get their frustrations out on."

...

"They drew some things on my desk and harassed me with words when Yuzu and Gon weren't there; they only stopped doing it at school because the school expelled them."

Jaden, frankly, was at a loss for words here.

Part of him wanted to get out of there and never involve himself in any of these situations again because they were too complicated.

And the other part of him wanted to protect Yuya from everything and anything, because this boy wasn't even a teenager yet! He was a child! It is not a thing for people to bully for their own satisfaction.

Naturally, he chooses to listen to the latter, because no matter how much Jaden wants to pretend he doesn't care, he does, and worse, he can understand and emphasise the boy's experience.

While he wasn't exactly bullied when he was a small boy, he had little to no human interaction because of his parent's working time and the small Yubel accident, which caused basically everyone at his school to fear him, so he may know a little about it.

He thinks he can hear a sorry from Yubel.

Jaden just laughs it off; it's all in the past now; he has friends and a 'family' (his duel monsters) who care about him.

---

Yuya isn't entirely sure about the stranger that helped him just now, but he knows one thing: he's a nice guy; otherwise, he wouldn't have let him cry his heart out for so long while letting him rest on his lap for so long.

He had asked him a few questions about his predicament, but he seems to be holding back, like Yuya is just a fragile glass about to break in any second.

He gets why he gets this impression.

Yuya doesn't like being weak, though.

The stranger didn't seem to mind it, though, so maybe it was okay for now.?

"What's your name?"

Yuya didn't realise he asked that question until it came out of his mouth.

"My name's Jaden Yuki; nice to meet you!" He beamed a bright smile.

"Yuya Sakaki, though you already know that, probably."

Jaden stared at him before finally saying,

"So, Yuya, what are you doing here all alone?"

----

After a short explanation, Jaden can conclude these three points:

1. Yusho's advice kind of stinks.

2. Yuya looks up to him a lot.

3. Yuya gets into trouble because of that mentality.

4. Yuya ran away from home to look for his dad.

Now, he isn't a parent, but he's pretty sure that telling an 8-year-old Yuya at that time that smiling through tough situations is the solution to his suffering is pretty terrible advice. Sure, he can pick through those lines, but he doubts Yuya did, which probably will come to bite him in the face sooner or later, which he discovered today is the day. He's glad he's found Yuya, or else who knows what might have happened with the kid?

It looks like he has to take him home.

---

Maybe Lady Luck finally smiled at him because Yuya had his phone with him, with his mother's number on it and a battery.

Yuya told him he turned it off to save battery, and he has to turn it on again.

He looks at the screen.

300 missed calls from Zuzu, Mom, and Gong,  whoever these people were. But he could guess that 'mom' probably was Yuya's mom.

He calls her.

Beeeep

Beeeep

" Yuyaaaa!!!"

Jaden can swear he almost went deaf there for a second because that lady is loud. Is she in some gang or something?

"Uhm...hello?"

"Who are you? What have you done to my son? I swear I will come right to where you are and strangle you if you don't tell me where my son is!"

Jaden has to be as nice as possible.

Getting on a mother's bad side is never a good thing.

"Your son was being bullied by a few meanies; I chased them off and calmed him down."

"Those guys don't give it up, don't they? ....Thank you; what's your name?"

"Jaden, Jaden Yuki."

After that, they exchanged their whereabouts, and Yuya's mom thanked him again.

He really didn't do much.

---

When Yuya's mom, or Yoko, as she calls herself, comes to pick Yuya up, he thought it was just that, her picking Yuya and only Yuya up.

Instead, he found himself at this pretty fancy home with a gourmet-level dinner in front of him (though he's not sure if he can really say that since his idea of luxurious food is fried shrimp, but who doesn't enjoy a simple life?). and with the kid, the kid's friends, and his mom.

Now if you put 15-year-old Jaden here, he would love this; sadly, he isn't 15-year-old Jaden, and this much noise is killing him alive. He is way too used to the quiet now.

"And then Jaden scared those bad guys away!!"

Jaden snaps out of his thoughts, as all eyes are on him.

Jaden has been spacing out, so he's not really sure what they're talking about.

"Yes? "

"Is it true that you scared them away just like that?! " Yuzu, he assumes, asks excitedly.

"Truly, a manly man."

"Why did you do it, though?" Yoko catches him off-guard; he had expected a lot of questions, just not that.

Jaden tries to explain anyway.

"Yuya, I think he reminded me a lot of my childhood, when I was alone and had nobody to help me, so I wanted to be that person who would help him. Besides, are you running off to hopefully save one of your loved ones? I did that once. So I can understand where your son is coming from."

At that moment, all of them stared at him silently.

It remained like this for quite a while.

Until Yoko asked : 

"Do you have a home?"

"Uh, technically, no?"

"A job?"

" No?"

"Can you fight?"

"Uhm... sure?"

Jaden. exe is confused.

"Can you cook?"

" Probably...? I had to learn something on the road."

"Do you care about Yuya?"

"Well, of course I do."

"That's it; you're living with us."

"Sur- what?"

"You don't have a home, right? I'll provide you with one on the condition that you'll care for and protect Yuya."

What?. What?. What?. What?.

This woman wants him to take care of Yuya, supposedly as a big brother or something in that sense. He couldn't possibly ever possibly agree to this. I mean what could she offer that he would say ye-"We have fried shrimps."

" Deal."

"What??????!!!!" Yuya and Yuzu scream together in union. Gong just looks relieved for some reason.

Oh well, he wanted to investigate more about the boy anyway, plus free food!

' You only think with your stomach, Jaden.'

Yubel said

'do not!'

'Yes, you do'

Professor Banner says

' traitor'

They all burst out laughing. What has he gotten himself into?

Pharaoh just goes back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Jaden felt himself sinking into an endless void.

"Jaden!"

Was that Asuka?

"You stupid slifer!"

Manjoume?

"I knew I shouldn't have let my sister befriend you."

Fubuki...?

"How could you!"

Kenzan...?

Ah, he was here again. This memory just didn't want to leave him alone, did it?

He'll see them being sacrificed over and over, won't he?

But Jaden doesn't understand; he got his love of duelling back; he patched things up with friends; he visited them regularly; hell, he even went on a lot of holidays with them.

So why?

Why won't his brain finally stop living in the past?

Even though he knew the answer deep down, he doesn't want to admit it.

He's supposed to be a grown-up now, goddamit, yet he knew he had to accept reality as it is sooner or later.

.

.

.

Jaden woke up.

---

"Good morning," Jaden says in a tired tone. His nightmares didn't let him sleep that well after all.

"Morning ! I made you guys some pancakes; Yuya likes them, so I hope you'll like them too. Do hurry, as Yuya is not a merciful eater."

True to her word, he could see Yuya eating those things like they were apples or something. He chuckled. This reminded him of him back in the day.

'You're still the same in that regard'

Yubel said.

'i improvised'

'Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.'

It turns out that working with a spoon and knife is not as easy as these commercials show it to be. He was fighting for his life here!

So anyway, it seems like he has to do this in the old style.

---

"Thanks for the food."

Yuya turned to him.

"So you don't have school?"

Jaden shook his head.

"I finished that two years ago."

Yuya looked at him, a little surprised.

"How old are you anyway?"

"20."

"You don't look 20 to me," Yuya said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well, I must have aged like wine."

"You don't look that good now."

"Oh, please, I'm absolutely flawless!"

"You are not."

"Are."

While the two continued to have their "civil" discussion,Yoko noticed something about the clothes Jaden had brought, or the lack thereof.

"Son, why do you have the same pair of outfits seemingly a thousand times? Where are your other things?"

She had started calling him that; he hasn't corrected her yet, and she's sure he'll use that to her advantage.

"Well, I just wear this pair all the time, and it survived with me, so I saw no need to buy anything new."

Yoko turned to Yuya. "Off you go to school now!"

They're going on a shopping trip, and Yoko won't take 'no' for an answer.

---

Jaden's not so sure how it happened, but one second he was arguing with Yuya with his beauty on the line, and the other he's at the mall going through what feels like a bajillion stores for clothes.

He doesn't get the hype behind it really; all you needed were clothes that could last you more than a day in terms of resilience, and that for him was good.

Besides, when he used to wear different things, he used to live with his parents; they chose the clothes, and that was it. There is no need to overcomplicate it or anything. So choosing clothes and multiple ones at once? It seems like he's been stuck here for a while.

---

Jaden's taste in clothes is very simplistic, to say the least.

From what she gathered, he preferred practicality and resilience over the design, and he liked red a lot. Black seemed to fit him too.

If she ends up buying a whole closet for her adopted son, nobody but her, God, and eventually him will know.

She just hopes that he will accept it, because if she learned one thing from the whole thing, it's that Jaden doesn't seem to like other people.

'Maybe he feels like he's an inconvenience?' She thought.

She wonders what happened for him to feel so guilty about her buying him clothes.

When he asked her why she was happy with what she was doing, she simply answered,

"Because I'm your mother."

---

Jaden doesn't get his new 'mother'.

As if buying tonnes of clothes for him wasn't enough, she immediately leads them to an ice cream truck and tells Jaden to choose.

Jaden feels like a child.

It feels good.

He ends up taking raspberry, vanilla, and strawberry.

It tasted really good, and he wished he could share some with his duelling spirits right now, because he knows they'll definitely like eating that a lot, or eating just in general.

"Jaden."

Snapping out of his thoughts, he focused again on his surroundings.

"I want you to do a favour for me and for Yuya, if you can."

'Huh, it must be important if she brought me here alone,' Jaden thought.

"Could you make sure that Yuya is safe and sound when I can't?"

Huh? What did that mean?

Yoko, sensing his confusion, continued to explain herself:

"Duelling has become an integral part of our human society nowadays, with it undergoing so many advancements in the last few years. I would love to make sure that Yuya doesn't get hurt by this development, but there is only so much I can do as a mother."

"So, can you do that for me instead?"

Jaden didn't know what to say. He loved duelling, that's for sure, but did he like the crowd and all the brutality that came with duelling?

Yet he couldn't simply refuse her after she basically provided everything he needed for survival.

"If my strength is required, then I'll stand on Yuya's side."

"Thank you, son."

Somehow, he didn't mind her calling him a son this time.

' getting attached already?' a voice in his head said, and maybe he is.

----

At the same time, you show the school and classroom.

If someone asked Yuya what he thought of Jaden a few days ago, he would say he was the best thing to happen to him ever, period.

Now though? Yuya just wanted to whip that grin off his face forever.Brotherly love, am I right?

Yuzu once joked that he and Jaden are completely the same, and Yuya would reject it with every fibre of his being.

Sure, they both wake up late every day; sure, they are both clumsy eaters; sure, they both stink at keeping an attention span beyond 5 minutes, but they're completely different!

For one, Jaden seems to hate or find discomfort when talking about duels, especially action duels, flinching whenever he mentions them.

Yuya doesn't really get it, but as much as he wants to know, his mother doesn't let him ask. He doesn't understand.

Second, while Yuya enjoys the quiet moments in life, Jaden always seems so anxious.

Like,'someone is going to attack him from behind' scared?

Another thing that Yuya doesn't understand about his brother.

Thirdly, his 'aura'. Whatever these bullies of his saw in his brother's eyes must have really scared them, and Yuya's not sure if he wants to find out.

Another thing on the list is that he doesn't understand his brother.

The school's bell rang.

---

Outside of school, 14:00

"And then they both died in each other's hands."

"Wait, don't spoil it for me!!"

A pair of boys were talking about the newest anime.

"Why do we exist? Where do we go after we die? Why is everything as it is?"

"Let's just go home."

A pair of girls were feeling a little funny today.

Yuya just wanted to go home right now; his brain cells are in need of a big holiday.

"Yo, yuya."

Wait, that voice!

"Jaden? What are you doing here?"

"picking you up, of course."

"He's fine walking back home with me,Yuzu interjected.

To which his brother smiled.

"Who said anything about driving?"

It turns out that his brother decided that he was going to personally pick up Yuya after school every day. He's pretty sure his mother did something to persuade him, but his mother probably won't tell him even if he wants to know.

Though Yuya can wait, walking in the company of his brother every day sounded amazing, even if he hated to admit it.

---

Jaden dropped them off at home and said he was going on a walk. Yuya doesn't understand (again) because rain is never the best weather to go for a walk. Before he gets to stop him, though, he is out of sight.

----

Jaden is scared.

It's too quiet.

Everything is so peaceful and full of joy.

It feels wrong.

It feels wrong to experience joy without having to fight for it with every breath.

It feels wrong to sleep in his bed without having to constantly worry about anything.

It feels wrong to stay with Miss Yoko ('mom') and Yuya because he doesn't want them to get hurt because of him.

Yet he doesn't know what to do.

Yubel told him to stay because he needs support and, secondly, because he senses that something worse will happen if he's not there.

Jaden trusts Yubel.

So Jaden stays.

---

When Yoko opens the door, she sees a messy-haired brunette boy standing in front of her.

"You look terrible, son."

"I know, mom."

Things aren't perfect, as Yoko knows, but that doesn't mean they can't change for the better.

"You smell like garbage."

"Gee, thanks."

Chapter Text

Yuya’s brother is…something.

Mysterious, but like an open book.

Carefree like the wind , serious as a brick.

A social butterfly, yet silent as the night. 

Zuzu wants to believe that he harbours no ill intentions towards them, otherwise he wouldn't have saved Yuya from these bullies,Yuzu still has to thank him for that. It's a relief knowing that there is one more person to protect Yuya now.

Something in her head tells her to stay away though, a lot of things about this guy don't seem to add up, his words seeming to contradict his actions. 

Zuzu remembers that one time when she and  Yuya  had finished class a little earlier and were heading to the gates to walk home with him , as expected they saw Jaden standing at the gate presumably waiting for them. He was smiling and seemingly staring at something she couldn't see, but yuzu ignored that and instead chose to call out for him instead. The moment she did though, Jaden’s smile was gone and instead Jaden's whole body seemed to flinch but he  quickly regained composure. 

 A good actor. 

Jaden explained it as him just being surprised by their earlier arrival, but yuzu knows there was more than that, yet she chose to not address it, he'll tell them when he's comfortable.

So excuse her for being shocked at the boy asking for a tour around the city's culture, not just asking her but yuya and gong as well. A few days ago all that seemed on the boy's mind was food and spending as much of his time alone.

He was an amazing people magnet, but he doesn't seem to like his trait of his, often turning down their invitations to spend time together. 

That doesn't mean that yuzu isn't happy that the guy is starting to open up, even a little, no, Zuzu is   ecstatic that she finally gets to know more about this guy. He makes funny jokes, doesn't seem to care what others think of him and most importantly, Yuya has been smiling a lot more with his presence around. 

So, Zuzu isn't going to waste the opportunity by any chance. 

— 

Did this guy live under a rock? 

Yuzu almost believes that, because there's no way this guy doesn't know what a phone is. 

The man was gawking at every single building or technology she showed. 

"How the hell did they build that?!”It was just a glass building that was really high, Zuzu doesn't understand this question. 

“This robot can pick up the trash by itself?!” What? Did people in his place pick up the trash by themselves or something?.

“ So you can just order cards…online?!” Well, of course, nobody goes to a card shop anymore, it's just a lot more practical to find whatever card you need online. 

“What is with these duelling schools around here? Is duelling that popular nowadays?” Okay now Zuzu really needs to know where this guy is from, because there's no way he could have missed that half the job on the market has to do with duelling. 

“ Jaden-san, where the hell do you come from?” 

— 

Jaden knows he looks dumb right now, gawking at every single thing he sees in his way, the kids seem to be all taking this differently ,  yuya seems to find it funny for some reason, gong always has this rock face like expression on, so he doesn't know how he feels, Yuzu seems to be the most effected, switching from a shocked expression, to being just confused,to looking like she just wants to go to bed and pretend this is all a dream. He can understand her reaction, but he really needs to know how the hell this all came to be. 

And Zuzu, despite her reactions, explained all his questions in a calm tone, she kinda reminded him of Asuka. 

“ Jaden, where the hell do you come from?” 

That definitely caught him by surprise. 

“uhm…” 

What is he supposed to say here?

‘ I come from an another dimension which is also probably in the past and where you can play shadow games to lose your life.’

Yeah he definitely can't say that.

Speaking of home, he hopes that the others are alright. He kinda left them with a big boss to handle.

Oh right, Zuzu is still waiting for his answer, and the girl definitely looked like she wasn't willing to wait long. 

“ I come from the countryside, and I mostly spent my time exploring the wilderness, so I don't come in contact with such highly advanced cities often.” 

Technically, only half a lie, yes Jaden did spend a lot of time in the wilderness, but that didn't mean he didn't go around exploring cities too and also he really wasn't from around here.

Zuzu didn't look exactly convinced, the girl was definitely a smart girl for her age, but she let it go. He is glad she did, because he really didn't want to talk about his past at the moment. 

They spent the rest of the time trying out an arcade. Jaden doesn't want to brag but he is really good at these ‘ claw machines’ as yuya called them, getting 10 plushies in a row. Yuya looked so amazed ( and cute but Jaden rather die on a hill than admit that and boost his brother's already big ego) so he decided to give the plushies to him, totally not because he doesn't want his duel monsters to make fun of his liking of these incredibly cute plushies, they already do that everytime he spoils pharaoh, calling him weak to pharaoh’s tricks, and the worst? They weren't wrong. 

ANYWAY, they ended up trying a few more games. Jaden purposely led the kids away from these luck-based games, because even though he is really lucky, he knows that he is a one in a thousand case and that normally people wouldn't be so lucky, so he doesn't need the kids to develop an unhealthy relationship with these kinds of games. 

“ I'm going to the toilet, I'll be right back.” Jaden turned around and nodded at his brother's small announcement. Just as he was back to focusing on his game again, Gong interrupted him. The same kid who was mostly quiet in their little trip. 

 “ You remind Yuya of his father.” 

Jaden was confused, from what he heard of Yuya's father from Yuya himself, they rather seem to be the clear opposite. 

“Huh? Really? Why do you think so?” 

“Yuya’s father  is definitely more direct about it than you, but you clearly want Yuya's happiness as much as he does.” 

This kid's observation skill is too good for a 11 year old, just like yuzu, how the hell did yuya end up with friends like these?

Regardless, he thinks the boy seemed to have missed one thing.

“ That is true, but it doesn't mean that I'm not willing to make Yuya cry if it helps him in the end, which yusho doesn't seem to be a fan of, no?” 

Gong and yuzu both looked surprised at this, but before they could say anything, he continued.

“ It doesn't mean that I'm going to hurt yuya because I want to , but I'm definitely not in the opinion that smiling is the solution to all problems you face in life.” 

They stared at him for a long time, not saying anything, before gong seemed to finally find the words that he was missing. 

“ I can't say I expected that, and I can't say that you're wrong either. I think I understand your viewpoint a little, and it's really  manly.” 

Manly? He chuckled, this boy is just as strange as Yuya.

He then turned to yuzu, who was having a hard time with his answer. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked at him. 

“ I don't agree with you at all, but,  I can see that your intentions are good, so I'll try to accept it." 

He finally let a breath out, one he didn't realise he was holding. 

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” 

—

“What's going on with you guys? What's with the long faces?” Said the smaller brother. 

“Ahaha! What do you mean?” His older brother replied. 

The younger brother was sometimes oblivious to the situation that was around him, that is true, but he didn't need to be an expert to know that his older brother was lying.

“ You know what I mean.” 

His brother didn't speak for a while , just staring at him, while his childhood friends just turned away.

Surprisingly, it was yuzu who broke through the awkward pause. 

“ We talked about …we talked about your father.” 

She looked at the ground, shaking a little. 

Yuya looked at the other two, unsure of what to think of  what he just heard. 

“ What exactly did you talk about?” 

His brother seemed to have finally had enough with his silence, and without hesitation said: 

“ Gong compared me to him, I disagreed, I don't exactly subscribe to the philosophy that he follows.” 

Huh? 

Why? 

What's wrong with his dad's philosophy? 

Yuya looked at his brother, urging him to continue. His brother luckily took the hint. 

“ I don't exactly think that smiling when you are sad is exactly right.” 

What? 

“ Why?!” Yuya let out a scream, one he didn't realise he could make. 

His brother seemed to have taken his discomfort into account, as he spoke in a more gentle tone. 

“ We have emotions for a reason, yuya. When you're happy, your body relaxes and your friends don't need to worry about you.

When you're afraid, you run away because your body wants to protect you.

When you're angry, your mind is craving for a change, to fight injustice you faced. 

And when you're sad, when you let it out, you let your friends know that you need help. If you don't show it, then nobody will ever help you.” 

his brother gave him a pitiful look. 

Yuya was shocked. 

He was surprised. 

And most importantly?

He was angry. 

“ You're wrong! I don't believe you!”

Yuya ran.

He ran and ran.

His brother started following him.

“ Leave me alone!!!” 

Yet his brother didn't look like he was stopping anytime soon,his friends on the other hand have not followed him though.

It was like a predator and prey  game, and Yuya knew he was the prey, because soon his brother had pinned him against the wall. 

Yuya took a deep breath, and slapped him.

His brother took a step back, probably just noticing that he had slapped him.

In that second, Yuya ran.

— 

Since that peculiar event, their bond had taken a nosedive. 

They still greeted each other for breakfast, but otherwise ate in total silence. 

His brother still walked him home, but it was mostly just him and Zuzu talking alone. 

They still did small talks there and there, but nothing deep.

He kept the plushies, because while he did not agree with his brother, it didn't mean that he didn't love him, that, and they were super cute.

Yuya wanted to apologise, his brother wasn't exactly wrong, but, but! He was insulting his father! The father he so looked up to, who was always there when he needed him. What did his brother know about the real world anyway?! 

Eventually, his mother noticed and asked them about it. He didn't want to talk about it, nor did his brother seem to want to either. 

—

Yoko was having a great day, until she wasn't. 

Lately, her two sons haven't been very talkative towards each other. Yuzu and Gong filled her in on what happened.

Yoko’s a patient person, so she knows she should just let them talk it out. 

Cut to 10 days later, and they seem to be as unwilling as the first day.

Yoko knew when enough was enough and decided it's time to talk about it, or so was her plan.

Both of them were unwilling to talk about it, her younger son reacting in an angry tone,

“ No way!!” 

While her older son reacted in a more calmed manner, though clearly affected.

“If he's not ready to talk about it, then so am I.” 

They continued to eat in silence.

Chapter Text

3 years later, sakaki residence 

“Yuya, wake up!!”

“Yeah…Yeah…”

The older brother can't imagine that he ever would be the one waking people up, it's him usually being yelled at.

Well, since his brother seems so insisted on sleeping…

“If you don't wake up right now I'll eat your portion of pancakes!!”

“Huh…?” 

“No wait brother!!” 

That's how Jaden found himself being chased by his brother at 7 o’clock in the morning, and him running away from him to supposedly eat his portion. 

“Good morning bo-” 

They both sat at the table at lightning speed. 

“So, mind telling me what happened this time?” 

“Jaden said that he would eat my portion of pancakes if I didn't wake up!” 

“I don't remember saying such a thing.” the brother gave his most innocent looking face.

“You did!” 

“Did not!” 

“You absolutely did!” 

“I absolutely did not.” 

And that's how they both found themselves hit by a fan.

“Ah! Good morning zuzu! You look as cute as ever “ his mother greeted his brother's childhood friend, ignoring the crime she just committed on them. 

“Ah, thank you, sorry for the inconvenience.” She said, as she sat on a chair.

“No problem! Yuya’s friend is my friend, so eat up.” Yoko hands Zuzu a plate of pancakes.

They ate in silence, as despite his relationship getting better with his brother over the years, the main issue still prevailed, which left out 80% of the topics he or his brother wanted to talk about.

Zuzu, noticing the silence, finally addressed the other elephant in the room. 

As in why Jaden is even awake at this time.

“Mom wants me to take you to school as well, apparently.” 

He made eye contact with her, hoping she'll get the hint and continue.

“ Yep, you're spending too much time inside, you need to go out more.” 

Jaden wanted to say that he does spend time outside, just not exactly with ‘people’. 

“And no, you disappearing from my sight there and there does not count.” 

Man, she was good.

He heard giggles from around him and looked around only to see that it was in fact Zuzu and Yuya laughing at him.

“Haha. Very funny.” 

That caused them to laugh even more. 

“Mom…” he gave her the most pleading look he could muster.

“Nope.” 

Ah, it seems like there is no escape. Jaden really didn't want to get on Mom's bad side, she can be terrifying. 

“Alright, we shall be going!” 

Yuya seemed ecstatic, as he clearly had the audacity to grab him by his jacket.

“Yuya If you don't let go right now I wi-” 

His brother let go. 

Jaden sighted but decided to not address it any further.

“We'll be going with mom’s motorcycle.” 

Zuzu and Yuya looked at him shocked and a little bit terrified. 

“You can drive?” 

“Well, you just have to wait and see.” He smirked. 

—

His brother could drive surprisingly well.

His driving style was so cool too! 

He felt like he was a tiger! 

Zuzu on the other hand…

looked like she wanted to throw up.

Jaden promised to drive slower next time. 

— 

14:20 , School gates 

As usual, his brother was waiting for him at the gates. What he said next, though, shocked both him and Zuzu. 

“I'm going to go to ‘You show school’ with you.” 

Was that another thing his mother forced Jaden to do, she really didn't have to! 

Yuya knew how uncomfortable the topic of duelling was to his brother. So he really wanted to know what caused this change.

“Why?” 

“ I don't know, I just felt like it.” 

Zuzu, like him, looked unconvinced.

“ Fine, fine, I wanted to see this solid vision system in action and I heard ‘you show school’ got one.” 

“But why now? You could have done that ages ago you know.” 

Jaden avoided making eye contact with him.

“ I had some…business to deal with.” 

Yuya sighted, he knew he wouldn't get any more information than this, his brother never tells him what he does when he is away. But wait, that meant…

“ So you're gonna stop disappearing on us?” Yuya said hopefully. 

“Uhm…well, it definitely will happen less.” 

A little disappointing, but Yuya will take what he can get. 

— 

You Show school, 17:00 o’clock , duelling area

Yuya and gong were having a duel right now, though he would rather say that gong was having a duel while Yuya was doing…stuff. 

“Yuya! Take this more seriously.” 

He heard Zuzu yell next to him, and god, she can yell. 

Gong had two monsters on the field with 2600 life points left while Yuya had 4000. 

To be honest, if he ignored Yuya’s ‘unique’ behaviour, he could call this a duel. 

And he was enjoying this a little, he must admit.

Yuya seemed to have no intention of stopping said behaviour and Zuzu seemed to have enough and…

Destroyed the control panel. 

Oh, this could be a problem.

— 

You Show School, 17:20, meeting room.

Zuzu’s father, Skip,came rushing into the scene, panicking. 

“Noooo!!! How are we gonna attract students like this!”

Apparently, he learned from Skip, most duell schools relied on the solid vision system to duel, and any school who didn't have it became instantly less in demand. 

An annoying change, he must say, duelling shouldn't be restricted to this one system and this system only. 

Anyway, that's how he found himself in the meeting room of the school, with Skip, yuya, Zuzu, gong and three small kids he had no idea what name they had, trying to find a solution to a seemingly unfixable problem, while Zuzu and Gong were scolding Yuya’s behaviour and comparing him to his father. 

This made him angry, in his opinion, Yuya didn't have to be like his father, but should be his own person. 

And he made that known. 

Gong and Zuzu were surprised by his response, where Yuya just looked at him confused before muttering a 'thank you’ to him.

Then out of nowhere, this man with a dark beard and funny costume comes into the room. 

“I'm sorry for interrupting…whatever you were doing, I'm Nico smiley, the manager and promoter of the current duelling champion, the sledgehammer.” 

The other people around him all reacted In shock, which clearly meant he was missing something. Gong noticed his confusion, and told him that the guy was the manager of the duellist that was supposed to battle yusho 3 years ago. 

Ah, that explains a lot. 

“The Sledgehammer has informed me that he would like to invite you, Yuya sakaki, to duell him at fan appreciation day.” 

Yuya jumped from his seat.

“ What?!” 

Nico smiley smiled. “ You heard me right, so, what's your choice?” 

“Not in a million years!” Zuzu yelled behind him. 

“Zuzu…” 

“I won't let yuya be made fun of! This is clearly a trap!” 

Skip quickly joined his daughter in her disagreement.

“As You Show school principal, I won't allow it!” 

Nico smiley looked a little baffled, but regained composure quickly, the sign of a pro manager. 

“Please reconsider! If Yuya ends up winning, LID will donate its newest solid vision gear to you, for free, and I see that you are quite in need of it…” 

Yuya looked at him, almost begging him to help him decide.

“I think it's worth it. If you win, you'll prove that you're a strong duellist, people will stop calling you a coward, and You Show gets something too. Even if you lose, it'll show the world that you are no coward and you and your father aren't the same in that regard.” 

“You think so?” His brother asked hesitantly.

“Yes.” He replied without hesitation. 

Yuya turned to Nico smiley.

“I'll do it.” 

—

On the way home, 18:00 O'clock

Gong and Zuzu, as expected, weren't fond of the advice he gave nor Yuya's decision.

“What If he hurts Yuya?!” 

“What if he cheats?!” 

“The Man, gong, thinks this is a very bad idea.” gong added. 

“So? What do you suggest? That he runs away even longer? Eventually, the problem will catch up to him, whether he likes it or not, he's just speeding up the process.” his eyes turning gold for a second, before disappearing. ‘I know that a bit too well.’ 

“I hate to admit it, but my big brother is right, the only way to get rid of my problems is to face them.” 

Zuzu and Gong probably saw the resolve in his brother's eyes, as they stopped trying to convince him otherwise.

“Do your best out there, okay?” Zuzu said.

“The man, gong, wishes his best friend the best of luck.” 

Yuya turned to him, staring at him, as if expecting something.

Oh.

“beat the hell out of him, okay?” 

His younger brother laughed.

“ Of course!” 

— 

Dinner time, 19:00 O'clock 

It's been a long time since dinner time was as lively as this. 

Her two sons were talking, she repeated in her head talking with each other for more than 10 seconds. 

Clearly, something good must have happened right? 

She absolutely needs to know.

“ So, what got you two in such a lively mood?” 

Suddenly they both stopped talking, as they seemingly realised what they were doing.

Finally, Jaden spoke up.

“Yuya is facing the sledgehammer tomorrow.” 

Out of everything she expected, this wasn't it. 

“What?”

“I'm going to stop running away and show the world that my dad wasn't a coward, nor that I am.” 

Yoko was shocked.

Yoko was confused.

But most definitely, she was proud. 

“I'll be cheering you on.” 

Yuya smiled, before his smile dropped and he looked at his brother.

“You will be there,right?” 

“Huh?” Her older son didn't seem to have expected that, as he stopped eating. 

“For the duel.” Her younger son added.

“Uhm…I'm not sur-”

“Please?” Yuya gave him puppy eyes, right here and there.

Yoko had the duty to support her son, even if it meant her other son might not enjoy it so much.

“Fried shrimp for dinner tomorrow.” 

Jaden looked at her and yuya, before sighting.

“...Fine.” 

Yoko and yuya vs Jaden 

Results: 

Yoko and Yuya won. 

— 

Next day, 15:00 , LID Studium 

A huge crowd has gathered here, Jaden observes. 

‘Is sledgehammer that popular or is it because of the nature of the duel itself?’ 

Jaden just has to wait and see, it seems. 

He sees Nico smiley taking the stage, gripping his microphone, before speaking

“Hello everyone, are you ready?!” 

The crowd yells in affirmation, but to Nico smiley, it seemed that wasn't enough.

“ I can't hear you! Are you ready?!!” 

This time, they were definitely louder, maybe this is a common occurrence? 

“Alright, then one last time, are you ready?!!!” 

This time, the noise was too, too loud. Jaden had to cover up his ears, he didn't want to go deaf just yet. 

“Alright, then let's welcome to the stage, our beloved championship, the poster duelist of LID, Sledgehammer!!” 

Sledgehammer, with a smirk on his face, appeared on stage. 

Again, the crowd was too loud. 

“And on the other side, the beloved son of Yusho sakaki, and student of You Show school, Yuya Sakaki!!” 

His younger brother surprisingly was wearing his school uniform, his mother eyed him, laughing. 

“Like brother like brother, eh?” 

Jaden would like to disagree. 

Jaden focused on the stage again, unsurprisingly, but disappointedly, few people ended up cheering for Yuya, and more people ended up making fun of him, as he expected. 

Zuzu tried to shut them up, Jaden agreed.

Maybe violence is the ans-

Before he knew it, his mother was holding both him and zuzu in her hands. 

How strong is this woman?!

— 

On the stage, 15:05 

Nico Smiley continued his speech, despite the reaction of the crowd.

“ since both duellists are now gathered, we can finally commence this duell!” 

“The field spell for this battle is…Castle of Chaos!” 

Suddenly, the whole stage transformed into a whole different form. The ground was covered with grass and trees and a castle formed itself on the previously empty floor. 

“Duellists, activate your duel disks!”

Both sledgehammer and Yuya activated their disks.

“Action duel, on!”

Nico Smiley snapped his fingers and action cards spread around the field. 

“Duel!”/ "Duel!"  They both said in union. 

“My turn!” Yuya yells. 

“ I play the performapal hip hippo (800 ATK /800 DEF level 3 earth) in the attack position!” Yuya quickly gets on the hippo and starts running.

“I end my turn.” 

Sledgehammer stares at him, before laughing.

“That's all you have? Pathetic!” 

“ My turn!” 

“ I draw!” sledgehammer looks at what he has drawn, before smirking.

“I activate the spell card feast of the wild LV5! This card let's me special summon two 5 level warrior-monsters from my hand, but with their effects negated.” 

“Appear! Lava Battleguard(1550 ATK/1800 DEF Level 5 earth) and swamp Battleguard (1800 ATK /1500 DEF level 5 earth)  !” 

Two monsters appear on the field, falling to the ground.

“Next I use the two to perform a tribute summon. Appear! Battleguard king (3000 ATK/1100 DEF Level 8 earth) !” 

The two monsters from before disappear, revealing a much bigger monster, with higher attack points. 

“3000 attack points?!” zuzu yells in fear. “Huh, so he has some skill, this sledgehammer guy.” 

Jaden says, ignoring the reactions the others gave him.

“Sledgehammer has summoned his ace monster, Battleguard king! What an amazing move!” 

The crowd yells in agreement. 

“yuya! You won't escape like your father this time! Battleguard king, block his path!” 

Battleguard king raises his club, stopping Yuya's movement.

“Now! Battleguard king! Attack performapal hippo hip!” 

The monster raises its club, seemingly crushing Yuya's monster.

“Yuya!!!” Zuzu screams.

“Don't worry, he is fine.” Zuzu was about to ask him what he meant, when she saw the smoke dispersing, with Yuya's monster not destroyed. 

“How?!” 

“I activate the action card! Evasion! This lets me negate an attack on my monster for the price of 300 life points!”

Yuya rolls with his hippo, evading the attack but losing 200 life points.

[Yuya’s LP 4000 ~> 3700 LP]

“Told ya.” Jaden smiled. 

“Tch, impressive, so you do know how to play. But you can't run away forever.” 

“ I activate my monster's effect! If Battleguard King has been tribute summoned using a battleguard monster, it can attack again!” 

“What?!” Yuya exclaims in a panicked tone. 

“ Now! Battleguard king! Attack Yuya again!” 

Battleguard king raises his club again, attacking Yuya's monster again, creating a smoke. 

Once the smoke disperses, Yuya alongside with his monster can be seen on the field.

“I activate the action card, miracle! My monster isn't destroyed and the battle damage is halved!” 

‘Action cards sure are handy, a bit too much too.’ Jaden thinks to himself.

[ Yuya LP 3700 ~> 2600 LP] 

“Tch, you just got lucky, I set one card and end my turn.” 

“My turn! I draw!” yuya yells. 

“ I activate performapal hippo hip effect! Performapal hippo hip can be used as two materials for a tribute summon!” 

“Come forward! Odd-eyes Dragon (2500 ATK/2000 DEF Level 7 dark)!” A red dragon, with purple jewels in its chest, appears on the battlefield. 

“Then I activate the continuous spell card, Wonderballons!”

Yuya finds three action cards and discards them to the graveyard.

“Is finding action cards that easy, or is Yuya just really good at it?”

Jaden asks, he is still a bit new to all this action duelling. 

His mother replies.

“ No, action cards are usually well hidden, which means…” 

“... yuya must have been looking for them, disguising it as him running away.” 

Both zuzu and gong are surprised by this revelation, suddenly watching the duels even more intensely than before.

Sledgehammer must have realised this, as he began to sweat.

“Now for each card I discarded, Wonderballons reduces the attack points of a monster by 1000” 

“I choose Battleguard king!”

Battleguard king gets surrounded by balloons.

[Battleguard king 3000 ATK 1100 DEF ~> 0000 ATK 1100 DEF] 

The crowd , surprised at the turnaround of the battle, started cheering for yuya.

—

In the crowd, Jaden and the others.

“He'll win!” Zuzu says ecstatically.

“ We can't say that yet.” Jaden interrupted her.

“ What do you mean?” 

“ Sledgehammer hasn't used an action card yet, which means…” 

“He can still turn this around.” Yoko completes for him.

They all hold their breath.

— 

On the stage.

“No way!” sledgehammer screams in surprise.

“ Battle phase! Odd-eyes Dragon attack battleguard king!” 

“Spiral flame!” 

“Odd-eyes effect activates! If he battles a 5 level or higher monster and destroys it, he deals half of the original attack points of the attacked monster additionally to the owner!” 

Sledgehammer, realising the meaning of this, quickly goes looking for an action card.

“ I activate the action card miracle!” 

[ Sledgehammer 4000 LP ~> 2750 LP ] 

— 

In the crowds, Jaden and the others.

“ Tch, I knew it.” Yoko remarks bitterly.

“I'm sure Yuya can defeat him next turn, right Jaden? Jaden?” 

“Huh…? Yeah I'm sure…” Jaden replies with a weak voice. 

The others rush to him.

“ You okay?” 

“ It's fine, just a little headache that's all.” 

The others knew it was more than that, but they knew the boy was stubborn so they decided to let it go. 

—

What the hell is that? 

What is this power emanating from his brother? 

It's dark, terrifying, and it doesn't feel like his brother at all.

The last time felt anything like this was when he rescued his brother from these bullies. 

It's like his power, almost, but it's much more crueller and sadistic than his gentle darkness will ever be.

Where did Yuya even get this power from? 

His father? Too nice.

His mother? Also too nice. 

Then from where ? What is he missing? Why him?

It doesn't make sense.

He didn't detect any supernatural things around here, but Yuya's power is clearly not an illusion.

Jaden has so many questions, and so little answers to accompany him.

Jaden almost felt enticed to ask Haou about this, but quickly shot down the idea.

That would be the last measure.

— 

On the stage, yuya and sledgehammer.

“furthermore, I activate the continuous trap card Battleguard rage! when I take damage, i can increase the ATK of my Battleguard monster by 2000! I choose Battleguard king!.” 

[Battleguard king 0000 ATK 1100 DEF ~> 2000 ATK  1100 DEF] 

Yuya grit his teeth, but due to having played all his tricks for this turn, he has to end it.

"I end my turn." He said.

"Since your turn has ended, Wanderballon effect wears off and Battleguard king regains its remaining attack points." Sledgehammer smirked.

[ Battleguard king 2000 ATK 1100 DEF -> 5000 ATK 1100 DEF] 

“My turn! Draw!” Sledgehammer smiled a devious smile as he analyzed his hand.

“I attack odd-eyes Dragon with Battleguard king!” 

[ Yuya 2600 LP ~> 100 LP] 

“Next I activate my continuous trap card battleguard rage second effect ! This returns the destroyed monster to the opponent’s hand!” Sledgehammer exclaims.

The crowd, including Yuya, is confused until sledgehammer continues.

“I follow it up with the spell card  battleguard magic! This lets me regain Life points according to the half the attack points of the monster returned to hand!” 

[ Sledgehammer 2750 LP ~> 4000 LP] 

“ Since odd-eyes wasn't destroyed, I can't attack twice with my battleguard, but next turn you're done for. I'll show you that you are no better than your cowardly father.” 

“ I set one turn and end my turn.” 

“ my turn !” Yuya says in a desperate tone.

He looks at his hand, ‘I only have monster cards in my hand…I'm done for.’

‘don't give up!’ 

Huh? 

Was that his brother's voice?

He turns around, he doesn't see his brother around him.

So how? 

‘What would yusho…no your father think if you gave up now?’ 

He would be disappointed, probably.

He really is a failure of a son.

Yuya feels like crying.

Then he remembers his father's words, telling him to smile when he feels like crying, because then the smile will spread from him to the others. 

‘do it then, make people smile, in your own way’ 

That's right.

Yuya won't give up.

Yuya will rise to the challenge.

Yuya will show the guy that he isn't a loser.

“ I draw!” 

Suddenly his pendulum started swinging and he felt an unimaginably strong power trying to overtake him.

‘Calm down yuya, I'm here.’ 

His brother's voice rang in his head, he's definitely not escaping his questions later but for now…

Yuya saw his pendulum swinging, turning his cards into his hands…new ones? Some even changed their art and name, as his odd-eyes changed to odd-eyes pendulum dragon.

‘Set chronomancy magician and astronomy magician in the pendulum zone.’ 

A voice in his head said, this time it was an unknown one and he couldn't hear his brother's voice anymore, but he listened, he needed to win this duel.

“ I set chronomancy magician and astronomy magician, setting the scale from 1 to 8.” 

‘ Now you can summon monsters from level 2 to level 7 at the same time.’ 

He could? Is this legal? The system doesn't show any error, so it must be, right? 

Alright, then here it goes! 

“ I can now summon monsters from level 2 to 7 at the same time!” 

The crowd questioning what was happening.

“ Come forward my friends!  pendulum summon ! First, performapal whip snake (1700 ATK/900 DEF  Level 4 earth) , then, Performapal sword fish(600 ATK/600 DEF Level 2 water) and lastly, Odd-eyes Pendulum Dragon( 2500 ATK /2000 DEF level 7 dark) !” yuya yelled.

“ Three monsters at the same time?!” one of the people of the crowd commented 

“ How is that possible?!” another one added.

“Oi! Nico Smiley! How is this possible?!” Sledgehammer screamed at his duel desk.

“ The system isn't showing any error…” Nico Smiley began explaining.

“...which means it must be legal?!” Sledgehammer continued for him.

“Next! I activate Whip snake’s effect! Once per turn, it can switch the attack points and defence points of a monster!” 

“ I choose Battleguard king!” 

[ Battleguard king 5000 Attack points 1100 Defence points ~> 1100 Attack points 5000 Defence points] 

“ Then I activate sword fish’s effect! Once per turn, it can target one face up monster on the field and decrease its attack points by 600! I choose Battleguard king!” 

[ Battleguard king 1100 Attack points 5000 defence points ~> 500 attack points 5000 defence points] 

“Impressive! Yuya has totally turned the table around with his new monsters, decreasing battleguard king attack points from an astounding 5000 to a mere 500!” 

—

In the crowd, Jaden and the others.

“Pendulum cards? What's that?” Zuzu turned to Yoko.

“ I wish I could answer your question, but I have no idea myself.” 

Yoko answered in a tired tone.

“And Jaden has been awfully quiet, it's like he's not here, but somewhere else, I hope he gets better soon.” 

All of them looked at the now quiet Jaden, there with them, but at the same time worlds away.

“...yeah, the man agrees ,Jaden has been too quiet, gong wishes his betterment too.” 

—

On the stage, yuya and sledgehammer

“I attack battleguard king with Odd-eyes Pendulum Dragon!” 

Yuya yells.

“ Not so fast! I activate trap card battleguard howling! this returns the attacking monster to hand and deals it's attack points to you as damage!” 

“ I use my chronomancy magician pendulum effect! Once per turn, when a trap card targets one of my pendulum monsters, the activation is negated!” 

Sledgehammer runs around with his monster, trying to find an action word, eventually finding one, showing it to be evasion.

“ I activate the action card eva-” 

“ I won't let you! I activate astronomy magician pendulum effect! Once per turn, during battle phase,when a pendulum monster is targeted by a spell card, it negates the effect and activation of it!” 

“Battle phase! Odd-eyes pendulum dragon! Attack battleguard king! Spiralling strike burst! ” Yuya said.

Battleguard king is destroyed and sledgehammer takes damage.

[ Sledgehammer 4000 LP ~> 2000 LP] 

“Tch! You're good, but next turn I'll defeat you.” sledgehammer said arrogantly.

“There won't be a next turn!” 

“ I activate my Monster’s effect! During battle phase, when destroying a 5 or higher levelled monster, it doubles the damage!” 

Yuya revealed.

“What?!” 

“Finish him odd-eyes! Spiralling strike burst!” Yuya screams.

Odd-eyes orbs glowed as he charged an attack and then released an impressive shot of dark and red matter at the sledgehammer.

“Nooo!!!” 

[ Sledgehammer 2000 LP ~> 0 LP] 

[ Winner : Yuya Sakaki ] 

—

A death silence took place in the Studium.

Yoko couldn't believe it.

Her son, her world, her everything, won against the sledgehammer.

It was both exciting and confusing.

Exciting, because nobody can call her son a coward anymore.

Confusing, because, well, Yoko has no idea how it happened.

“Hm? Is it over already?” A familiar voice spoke next to her.

Wait ..that voice…

Jaden?! 

Zuzu slapped him with her fan before she could start scolding him at all.

“ Geez! You're finally talking again! Stop making us so worried!” 

“Haha, sorry.” her son replied, but still averting his gaze.

“So did he win?” 

“ Look for yourself.” Zuzu said with a grin on her face.

Jaden finally looked at the big screen in the middle.

“ Oh, cool.” 

“That's it?” Yoko replied to him unamused.

“Well, I knew he would win.” 

Somehow, Yoko believed him.

Eventually, the whole Stadium erupted into applause.

— 

30 minutes ago, LID tower

“We're sensing a strong summoning activity in the city!” 

“ Investigate it immediately!” 

The researchers tapped frequently, before one of them spoke.

“ The summoning method is…Pendulum!” 

“Pendulum?” A new person ended the room, or to be exact, reiji akaba. 

“Find who did it, how they did it, every little detail you can dig up on it, I want.” 

“Yes, sir!” 

What an interesting day indeed.

—

After an endless flood of questions from journalists, which he answered in the most vague way possible, Yuya could go home.

It's not like he didn't want to share his pendulum summoning technique, it's just…he didn't want it to end up in the wrong hands.

He noticed someone tapping him and realised that it was his brother.

“Yo.”

“Don't ‘yo’ me! How the hell did you do that?” 

 “do what?” 

“ You know what I mean! How did you talk in my head?” 

“Talk in your head?” Zuzu asked in a confused tone . Oh right, the others were also here.

“ I have no idea what you're talking about.” 

“ Yes you do!”

“Nope.” 

At this, Yuya just groaned. Of course his brother won't tell him.

—

Next day, You show School, 15:30 

There was a huge crowd In Front of the school, Yuya notes.

Second, they all wanted to enter You show school.

Third, They all seem to be here for his pendulum summoning.

Fourth, he suggested doing a showcase for them.

And fifth…

He couldn't believe he was saying this , was his brother asking him to be his opponent.

Chapter Text

You Show school, control room 

In the control room, Zuzu Boyle was having a wonderful day. First, her childhood friend is challenged to battle the sledgehammer to restore his family's honor, then his brother's weird behavior at the match, then Yuya…Yuya uses a summoning method she has never seen before and wins. 

‘And now this?’

Frankly, Zuzu has no idea why Jaden changed his mind so suddenly, the guy didn't seem too keen on dueling like ever. 

‘but again, Jaden has done anything but be predictable’ 

Soon, he'll tell her that he is an alien from another world and Zuzu might seriously believe him.

She'll just hope that nothing goes wrong this time.

—

‘Jaden, are you sure you want to do this?’ 

A Duel monster with a mix of white and purple hair, with an eye in the middle of it, appears behind him.

‘yes, I'm sure, I'll be fine Yubel’ 

‘but…’ they said in a hesitant voice, clearly worried for the other.

‘I need to do this. If I can do anything about this new phenomenon, then I will.’ he said with conviction.

Yubel simply sighed again.

‘so, what deck are you using?’ they replied.

Jaden took a pile of cards from his backpack and slowly revealed them to yubel.

‘This!’ they said in surprise.

Jaden simply smiled.

—

His heart keeps pounding, a serious amount of things happened today and now, he's facing his brother? 

He's excited, of course, but a little bit nervous, since he never saw his brother duel in his life. 

Yuya will face this challenge though, and come on top. 

— 

“It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Today on our beautiful stage, our awesome student Yuya Sakaki will face the super evil, Jaden Yuki!” Skip said in a dramatic tone.

Both Jaden and Yuya got on stage. 

The crowd started cheering for Yuya, while many ignored his opponent.

“Let's kick things into action! Action field….” 

Skip clicked a button on the solid vision system.

“Abandoned castle!” 

The scenery changed to a foggy and empty place, except for a big grey castle standing alone.

Jaden blinked in surprise at the a bit too familiar sight before him.

Eventually,Jaden focused his attention back on Yuya, a smirk forming on his face.

“It seems like I'm the villain this time, let's have a fun duel yuya!” 

Yuya grinned in response.

“ Yeah!” 

“Duel!” / “Duel!” 

Jaden took a step forward.

“Since you believe yourself to be better, Yuya, I'll let you have the first turn.” Jaden said.

The crowd shouted in approval, awaiting Yuya’s move.

Yuya, still not used to the amount of attention he was getting, just looked around himself in confusion, before regaining composure and looking at Jaden again.

“Alright, My turn!” 

[ Yuya: 4000 LP , 5 cards in hand ] 

“I play Performapal Hippo in Attack position ( 800 ATK/800 DEF Level 3 earth ), then I end my turn!” 

Jaden crossed his arms shaked his head, and faked a sight.

“ I expected more of you, Yuya! Well, Looks like I'll crush you easily; it's my turn!” 

“Since my field is empty, Evil Hero Infernal Prodigy (300 ATK/600 DEF Level 2 dark)  lets me special summon him from my hand, come forward, my servant!” 

A muscular winged monster, with black and dark pink colours appears on the field.

“But he won't be here for long! I tribute him to summon evil hero malicious Edge in Attack position (2600 ATK /1800 DEF level 7 Earth )!” 

“You need two tributes for that! Stop cheating, you villain!” a girl among the crowd said.

“That's where you're wrong! When my opponent controls a monster, I can Tribute summon Evil Hero Malicious Edge with only one tribute.” The crowd, alongside Zuzu and Yuya, gasped in shock.

“You're not the only one who has these fancy tricks up his sleeves, Yuya!I set two cards face down. Now, malicious Edge! Attack performapal Hippo!” The giant monster leaped at Yuya's monster, ready to destroy it with the scissors attached to his hands.

Yuya gritted his teeth, hopped on his hippo, and charged forward looking for an action card.

‘huh, what is he doing?’ Jaden was once again confused.

‘looking for an action card, probably.’ his partner answered him.

‘What's tha-’ Jaden cut himself off, remembering the duel between his brother and that sledgehammer. “I won't let you!” Jaden took off running, trailing after the other and catching up surprisingly fast.

‘How fast is he?!’ Yuya and Zuzu thought together.

Jaden grabs the action card before Yuya does, then turns around and smiles.

“Is that all you can do?!” 

Yuya gets off his hippo and takes a step back in hesitation.

Jaden grins.

“go malicious Edge! Attack Performapal hippo!” 

The monster charged again and slashed Yuya's monster in half.

“Ugh!” Yuya covered his face with his hands.

[ Yuya : 4000 -> 2200] 

“That's not all, I activated the action card burning barrel! Since I have destroyed your monster via battle, burning barrel lets me deal extra damage equal to half of your monster's attack points!” 

[ Yuya : 2200 LP -> 1800 LP] 

Yuya was once again pushed back.

“Yuya!” Zuzu, and now Gong, screamed in horror.

—

“I knew that Jaden knew how to duel, but this…” Zuzu said in concern.

“...IS AMAZING!” Skip appeared out of nowhere, his eyes glittering with excitement.

“At this point, we'll have 100, no 200 hundred people who want to join our school!” 

Gong and Zuzu looked at him unconvinced, and then simply chose to ignore him, and turn their attention on the field.

‘Yuya…’ 

—

“This is all he can do?” A person among the crowd began, and the crowd started murmuring about the ‘disappointing’ performance Yuya had shown.

Yuya looked down at the floor, his eyes furrowing.

‘I…’ 

His father appeared in his memory once again.

‘I can't give up yet!’ 

—

“My turn!”His hands were trembling a little, but he tried to focus on the match.

“I draw!” 

He looked at what he drew, causing his mouth to open, and his eyebrows raising. 

“l…” he breathed in and out, closed his eyes and looked down. 

Then, finally, he opened his eyes again, a smile forming on his face.Jaden, seeing his brother’s change in demeanor, felt his blood boiling.

“The fun has just started!” Yuya took two cards in his other hand.

“I set Timegazer magician and Stargazer magician in the pendulum zone!” Then a burst of light overtook the field, making everyone unable to see anything for a second before two monsters and a pendulum emerged on the field.

“Swing, pendulum of my soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Come forward my monsters! First, Performapal Cheermole (600 ATK/1000 DEF Level 2 earth) !Then, Performapal drummerilla(1600 ATK/900 DEF Level 5 earth)! And lastly, Odd-eyes pendulum dragon(2500 ATK/2000 DEF Level 7 dark)!” 

As the three monsters came in a burst of light on the field, the crowd went wild, alongside Skip, and for a bit zuzu and Gong were surprised, before focusing their attention on the duel again.

—

‘3 monsters at once…so this is a pendulum summon.’ On Jaden's face, a smile began to form.

‘Looks like this is going to be an exciting duel after all.’ 

“Let's go! Odd-eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack malicious Edge!” Shouted Yuya with determination.“

"huh? But odd eyes and malicious Edge attack points are the same, what is yuya thinking?!” Gong raised his voice in disapproval.

‘he must have some trick up his sleeve' Jaden thought shortly.

“I activate my drummerilla effect! When one of the monsters I control battles, it gains 600 attack points!” 

[Odd-eyes pendulum dragon 2500 -> 3100] 

“Then I chain one of my other monster effects, Cheermole! When a monster has its attack points increased, it gains another 1000 attack points!” 

[Odd-eyes pendulum dragon 

3100 -> 4100] 

“4100 attack points?!” Jaden screamed in shock.

Yuya raised his hands in the air.

“Go Odd-eyes pendulum dragon! Finish him! Spiralling strike burst!” 

Odd-eyes orbs began to glow, as it charged its attack, and before long, blasted the opponent monster, creating a heavy smoke.

Everyone held their breath as if time itself had stopped.

“just kidding!” Jaden said suddenly.

“I activate the counter trap card negate attack! which as the name suggests, negates your attack and additionally ends the battle phase!” 

Odd-eyes pendulum dragon comes to a halt and returns to Yuya's field,causing Yuya to grit his teeth.

“I end my turn.” 

“Now, your monster attack points return to normal,” Jaden added.

[ Odd eyes pendulum dragon 4100 ATK -> 2500 ATK ] 

“My turn!” Jaden drew a card.

[ Jaden: 4000 LP, 4 cards in hand] 

Jaden looked at his hand and beamed.

‘You sure are having fun.’ Yubel commented on the sidelines.

‘no kidding, it's been a while since I had so much fun in a duel.’  

“Looks like this is the end of the show, Yuya!” 

“I reveal my face-down card Dark Fusion. With this, I can fusion summon one fiend monster from my extra deck, using monsters from my field or hand as material!"

"Fusion summon?!” The crowd, alongside Yuya and his friends, were completely baffled at the scene before them.

– 

Yuya was feeling an avalanche of emotions.His brother, which he didn't know he could duel, just because of how uncomfortable he seemed around that topic, totally screwed with his perception of him. 

He summoned such a high-attack monster on the first turn! 

On the first turn! 

Then, just when Yuya thought he won with his monsters, his brother smiled and simply negated his attack. And maybe now he should address the elephant in the room, as in why his brother decided to use a fiend archetype in the first place.His brother was mysterious and eerily quiet at times, but never would he take him for a person who enjoyed inflicting pain on others.

Suffice to say, Yuya is pissed.

While he talks with his brother about anything, save for a…few topics he avoids, his brother seems to be intent on keeping everything to himself, never talking about his past or anything that brings him the slightest discomfort.

For the longest time, that had applied to dueling.

So, his brother Fusion summoned.

Yuya’s not sure about anything anymore.

—

“I use Malicious Edge from my field and Caius the shadow monarch from my hand to fusion summon! Come forward! Level 8! Malicious Fiend ( 3500 ATK/2100 DEF Level 8 fire )!” 

“It was a fun duel Yuya, but everything has an end. I attack your cheermole Performapal! ” 

“This is the end! Malicious strike!” Jaden shouted.

Jaden monster charged at Yuya's smaller monster with its wings, and destroyed it in half. 

[Yuya : 1800 LP -> 0 LP] 

[ Jaden wins!]

Yuya fell on the floor , as his life points turned zero.

“Yuya!” Zuzu yelled in worry.

The crowd went dead silent, trying to process what they just saw before their eyes.

— 

As Yuya fell to the ground, he still couldn't believe it, he lost.

He lost.

He lost.

He lost.

He lost.

Pulling his goggles down, Yuya took a second to collect himself.

“Gotcha!” 

He heard his brother's voice suddenly.

Yuya looked up, to see his brother towering over him, his middle finger and index finger pointing at him.

‘Huh?’ 

His brother stared at him for a short while, before crouching on the floor.

“Yuya? You okay?” 

He waved his right hand In Front of his goggles.

Yuya decided to look away, his brother was surely toying with him again.

“Ah, I'm sorry. I know it was your time to shine, but when you shone so brightly, I couldn't help but want to give it my all. I had lots of fun.” 

Yuya turned to his brother again, surprised by the confession.

“Really?” Yuya asked in a hopeful tone.

“Really! That pendulum summoning of yours is honestly amazing! You gotta tell me all about it when we get home!” 

Jaden stood up and reached out a hand to Yuya.

He in response, lifted his goggles, and reached out his hand, letting himself be lifted from the ground by his brother’s hand.“

"Sure!” 

The crowd, seeing the friendly display between the two, quickly clapped in excitement.

Soon, the clapping died down, and a part of the crowd decided to approach the two, specifically, Yuya.

A boy in the crowd surprises the two, by asking Yuya to see his pendulum cards.Jaden looks at Yuya, before asking gently if he can show the cards to the kid, to which Yuya hesitantly agrees.

He takes out a card from his deck, Sparkman, and a card from Yuya's deck, performapal silver claw.

“Huh, yours has two text boxes, I have never seen this before in my life.” Jaden comments in confusion. “Huh?!” The crowd erupts again, this time in confusion.

“You cheater!” The boy who just asked him to show his cards told him, before running off.Soon, the rest of the crowd joined him, even with Skip’s best attempt to stop them.

Yuya stood there, frozen in place. Jaden looked at him.

“Just ignore them.” He said.

“Huh?” His brother asked.

“Ignore them?! They called me a cheater! They think that I avenged my father through cheating!” Jaden yelled in frustration.

“So?” Jaden replied.

“ 'So?’ So?!, I have to prove them wrong!” he retorted in anger.

“Don't waste your effort on these people, instead don't you want to meet your first fan?” Jaden grinned.

“first fan?” Yuya asked in confusion.

A blue-haired boy appeared behind gong.

The kid explained that when he saw Yuya's duel against the sledgehammer, he was fascinated and wanted to duel like that and that this duel only strengthened his wish to learn.

Yuya couldn't believe what he was believing, being shocked, but the good kind.

“Well, looks like you have to do your best from now on, Yuya, no more running away, right?” 

Jaden said.

“The man, gong, agrees with Jaden in every word. You'll, no, we'll have to face every challenge head-on.” 

Yuya looked at his friends.

“You guys…” 

“So where do I sign up?” Tate asked.

“What?” Skip asked.

“Here,” Tate said bluntly.

“Right here!!” Skip held out a paper, clearly excited.

Jaden, looking at the scene, realized that it was the best time to slip away now, after all, he had finished what he had come here for in the first place.

….only to be stopped by some…extremely,strong grip.

“Where do you think you're going?” Zuzu asked in an intimidating tone.

‘Oh, how lovely of luck I have today.’ Jaden thought.

“Er…away?” he hesitantly answered.

Yuya, gong, and the other 3 kids were done with whatever they were doing, and they all turned to him.

Skip and Tate, on the hand,were out of sight.

“So we can't ever ask you whatever you did just now?” 

Yuya said bluntly.

Curse him and his brother's uncanny ability to read him sometimes.

“That's not very manly, Jaden.” Gong added.

Looks like he isn't getting out of this one easily.

— 

“So you can duel!” Zuzu started first.

“Well…yeah.” He replied, well, no use hiding it now, the cat's out of the bag.

“So if you can duel, and by my observation, you seem to be enjoying it, why did you avoid dueling, or the topic of dueling in general, so much?” Gong said accusingly.   

“I had my reasons.” He replied shortly, he didn't want to exactly reveal that he was afraid of them being targeted, (because trouble always follows him when he does that) which would inevitably make them question what that meant and probably lead them to want to help him anyway.

They were still young, granted he had his adventures at a young age too, but he wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. Well granted, it's going to happen now anyway, because of his display a second ago.

“Next question.” He said.

The others saw his unwillingness to answer his question, and Yuya murmured ‘next time’ under his breath.

Yuya took a step forward.

“So, how do you know how to duel? Fusion summoning too.” 

‘Ah, this is an easy one.’

Jaden thought happily, recalling his time at duel academia.“I went to a dueling academia for 3 years, there we learned how to duel while also being taught other subjects. As for fusion summoning, I self-taught myself and gradually got better in Duel academia.” He confessed.

A silence overtook the group.

“What?” He said exhausted from trying to read the room.

“Nothing, it's just unlike you to tell so much about yourself.” Zuzu finally broke the silence. And seemingly the other two agreed with her, as they both nodded.

As Jaden thought about it, he concluded that they were right, he usually just brushed any question about the past.

Well, there's a first time for everything.

“I just really had fun with you in that duel, so I guess this is my way of thanking you.” He admitted loudly.Yuya averted his eyes from him and quickly gathered with Zuzu and Gong to talk about…something.

Then they all looked at him, with a hint of mischievousness in their eyes.

“oh really?” Zuzu answered.

‘I shouldn't have said that.’ 

‘you shouldn't have said that.’ yubel said in agreement.

But to his demise, he did, so he can't go back on his word now, can he? 

“Alright, I'll answer one more question to the best of my abilities.” 

The group clapped their hands in victory. A second later, they all approached him again.

“So, Is the deck you used against me truly your signature deck?” Yuya kept his eyes focused the entire time as he spoke his question, it was almost creepy.And as to that question, Jaden must compliment his brother for being such a smart kid, he had no intentions of ever answering that question, but now, he was forced to.

“It's not what I usually use, but it's part of my deck” He answered honestly.

“Then why did you use it?” All of them asked in union. “I wanted to test something.” the older boy stated.

“Test? What were you testing?” Zuzu said in concern.

Great, he practically let himself cornered, now, even if he ignores them the whole time, they would probably not stop bothering him about it till he talked since he let them have the go ahead. 

“I noticed something wrong with Yuya during his duel with the sledgehammer, specifically, right before he ‘transformed’ his cards into Pendulum monsters” Jaden began.

“Huh? What exactly?” Yuya asked immediately.

“Well, your aura changed for a second. Before then, your aura was calm, maybe a bit excited but right before you transformed your monsters, your aura was almost unreadable. It's like you were surrounded by… something.” Jaden continued.

“Aura what now?” The 3 of them asked, their eyes furrowing.

“Basically , it's a distinctive atmosphere that surrounds a person.” Jaden explained.

An awkward silence took place.

“...I see.” Gong was the first one to recover.

“And how were you able to notice that? We weren't exactly close to the Studium.” Yuzu commented.

“Let's just say that my senses are better than most people and leave it at that.” Not the best answer, but the kids will have to be satisfied with that for now.Suddenly a look of realisation dawned on Yuya, as he made eye contact with his brother.

“Is that why you challenged me to a duel?” He asked curiously.

“Yes. I wanted to see that maybe if I pushed you into a tight corner again, maybe that “thing” would appear again and I would be able to observe it better, unfortunately or maybe fortunately, nothing happened.” He confirmed his brother's hypothesis.

“I see.” Yuya said in a quieter tone than usual, if Jaden had to guess, he was probably having a not so great time dealing with that bombshell he just gave him.

“If I find any little hint of information on the topic, I'll tell you, how does that sound?” He tried to reassure his brother.

Yuya turned to him.

“It's unusual of you, to share so much with me.” He said in a mocking tone.“

Yuya….of course I care about you,it's just that some things are better left…undiscovered, for your own good.” He replied.

“I just want the best for you, brother.” He added.Yuya sighed, and looked at him.

“I know, but it still stings.” His cheeks puffed.

“One day I will, but for now, just focus on becoming a better duelist, okay?” He said in a gentle tone. “... Alright, you promise?” He asked in a hopeful tone.

“Promise.” Jaden replied.

His young brother jumped at him and tackled him to a hug.

Jaden hugged back.And before he knew it, Gong and Zuzu joined in too.

“Everything is going to be fine.” 

He wanted to believe his own words for once.

—

When Skip finished the paperwork for Tate’s enrollment, He came back with Tate to the others, only to cross an interesting development of the situation prior to his leaving. 

Yuya, his friend's son, and Jaden, the boy that had suddenly entered their life's a few years, alongside his daughter and her childhood friend hugging each other in silence.The other two kids,Ally and Frederick, seemed to be as confused as they are.

It seems like he's gonna have to be one to address this sudden change.

But before he could even start talking, Jaden withdrew from the hug, causing the others to do so as well.

“Huh? Why did you stop, brother?” Yuya finally said something.

“Well, just turn around.” The boy commented.

And soon enough, he was being stared at by not just Yuya, but gong and Zuzu as well.

“Ah father! Sorry we didn't notice you coming, we were kinda…preoccupied as you've already seen.” His daughter started almost immediately the second she saw him.

“Anyway, Tate is officially a You Show school student!” He began.

“I'm sure before we know it, hundreds of people will want to join you show school!” he continued.

The others gave him an unconvinced look.

He ignored them and only focused on Jaden.

“So…. Jaden, could I ask you to become a teacher at this school?” 

He said.

—

If Jaden was drinking any water now, he would be choking.

Him? A teacher? 

In what kind of universe was he in? 

He barely passed his last year at academia, and now he is offered to be a teacher.

No way.

Never.

Not in a million years.

“Please?” He heard his brother say, with the cutest face he had ever seen him make.

Soon, the small kids joined him in his plea.

‘Ugh…so cute, but that doesn't change the fact that I suck at teaching’ he thought.

‘Professor banner could help you.’ yubel added helpfully.

He sighed.

‘As much as fun running around in the night is to get some clues on what's going on, I feel like what we need is already here.’ She continued.

‘but…’ he wanted to come with a comeback, but nothing came to mind.

He sighed again.

Looks like he'll have to make a compromise. “I guess I could teach Fusion to those who are interested.” he started.“But, anything else, and I'm completely useless.” He added.

“Of course, that's completely fine!” Skip replied.

“Just fill these .” Skip gave him a pile of paper.

Oh, dear. 

—

It took forever to fill in everything, curse you paperwork, but with his signature at the end, he is officially a teacher at You Show school.

But since it was already so late, Skip simply dismissed them and told them to get some rest.

“Man! Today was such a crazy day!” Yuya said behind him.

“Mhm.” He simply said.

Then, out of nowhere, he saw Yuya starting to run.

“The last one at home has to share their portion with the other!” He yelled from far.

Oh, he's on.

“See you Zuzu and Gong! Come home safely!” he said to the other two.

And with that he took off after his brother.

— 

His brother ended up winning.

It's not that Yuya’s not fit or anything, it's just that his brother is a monster at it.

“I win!” He said, not even looking exhausted.

Then out of nowhere, pharaoh jumped onto Jaden and scratched his face.

“Haha, Sorry pharaoh for forgetting to bring you along,I'll definitely won't forget next time.” He knelt down, and pressed his palms together.The cat, simply, jumped to Jaden's shoulder before going into his backpack and Jaden simply smiled.

“Welcome home you two!” He heard his mother say.

Both their stomachs growled.Their mother chuckled.

“I made curry, so feel free to come and dig in.” 

Suffice to say, there was nothing left by the time they were finished eating.

—

0 clock, garden. 

Jaden had sneaked out of his bedroom and come here, he still had a few things to discuss with yubel and professor banner.Mainly, to inform the professor of the changes and to discuss further plans.At least,they were trying to.

The second Jaden mentioned that he is going to be teacher at You Show school, the professor simply bursted out laughing.

‘It's really not that funny,is it?.’

His other spirits, including winged kuriboh, the little traitor, simply started laughing too.

“So I am a teacher, now I need your help.” He simply refused to entertain them any longer. “Oh Jaden, don't worry, I'll help you alright.” He said in a too calm tone. this guy…Well, there's no getting out of this one now, so he might as well just take it. “By the way, did you find anything else when you duelled Yuya?” the professor asked.

He shook his head. “No, not really. When I attacked him first with my malicious Edge though, I did feel this darkness around him again, though less than last time. By the next round, it was gone.” He summarised what he found.

“Looks like we're in here for the long ride.” The professor replied.

“Seems so.” He replied.

A comfortable silence overtook the group, having been used to their presence.

“We'll be with you Jaden.” Yubel said.

“Thanks.” He smiled gratefully. 

— 

Outside of LID, night.

“So you just want me to steal his pendulum cards, and you'll give me the rare cards I've been looking for?” the blond man said, while throwing darts at something.

“Yes, whoever you do it, I don't care, but bring me his pendulum cards and you shall be rewarded greatly.” A voice came from his duel desk.The blond man smirked. “You have a deal.”And with that, he ended the call.

Then he picked up a dart again and this time, hit the middle of Yuya Sakaki's portrait.

Chapter Text

Wait…stop…

Noooo!! Don't hurt me!! 

I promise I'll be a good student! 

Please no! 

I didn't allow you to speak.

Ah!-

“AAAAHH!!” 

—

Jaden snaps his eyes wide open. His body was covered in sweat while his heart was pounding. He looks around the room in panic and slowly recognises that he is still in his room and that, in fact, he is fine.The sun was shining through his window as brightly as usual, his duel disc was placed on his table as usual, and there was in fact nobody around him.

‘What was that?’ He thought not only of himself but also of the spirit that was now his forever companion.

Weirdly, Yubel didn't answer for a long time.

‘What are you talking about?’ they finally answered.

‘the dream.’ 

‘The dream?’ 

‘You mean you didn't see it too?’ 

He asked worriedly, because if Yubel truly didn't see what he saw, then that means...

‘no.’ Yubel said it bluntly through their telepathic communication.

Shit.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Yuya came bursting through the door.

He had a concerned look on his face and immediately headed in his direction.

“Are you okay, brother?” He asked in concern.

Jaden clenched his hand into a fist.The thought of telling him came to his mind.

No, he shouldn't worry about his little brother; he already has so much on his shoulders.

“No, I'm fine.” He pulled out the best smile he could muster.

His brother seemed unconvinced, though, as he crossed his hands.

“I'm not leaving till you tell me what's wrong.” He said it plainly.

‘This snarky little guy...’ 

He sighed.

“I had a nightmare.” 

“A nightmare? About what?” His brother sat on the bed with him, holding his hand tightly, while looking him in the eyes. 

“Well, it's over now.” He said it vaguely.

His brother held his hand even more tightly.

“Alright, but if it happens again, you can tell me.” He said this while looking him straight in the eyes.

“Sure,” he said.

‘No, I can't.’ He thought privately to himself, His problems are his problems. 

“I mean it.” He began again.

“You're always there for me when I need it; I want to be there for you too,” his brother said again,not taking his eyes off him for a second.

And when he looks that way at him, he can't help but be overcome by the desire to tell him everything.

About himself, Yubel, the light of destruction, the shadow hunters... Everything.

“Please?” His brother says it again.

Well, he might not be able to talk about everything, but...

Talking about his nightmares? 

He could maybe do that.Maybe.

“I'll try.” 

—

Yuya is, first and foremost, an entertainer.

Other things were, of course, important, but to him, entertainment was the central point of his world. 

And of course, his entertainment was a way of upholding his dad's legacy in its own way. It was one of the few things that stayed after his father wasn't there—physically, at least. 

‘smile, and the audience shall smile’ and ‘when you feel like crying, smile.’ 

That's how Yuya lived.

So when he became a dueltainer—officially—this time, he promised himself two things. 

The first was to make his audience smile. 

And secondly, he wanted to make his brother smile.

Now, these two may sound the same, but a stranger’s smile and his brother's genuine smile are all but the same to him.

He wants him to smile, just like he helped him rise up again.

Not that smile he gives him when they're both playing around, nor that smile when he congratulates him on something, nor that comforting smile of his when he feels like burning.

Those were great smiles,and Yuya appreciated them more than anything, but...

There were those days where his brother wouldn't be anywhere in sight, till the evening, that is, and mostly, he always had some injuries or dirt on him when he did.

Yuya would ask him what happened, and Jaden would tell him ‘it’s fine.’ every time. 

It rarely happens nowadays,but...

Even when his brother is at home, he never seems fully relaxed, as if he's carrying a thousand rocks on his back. 

So when he heard his brother scream, he resolved right there and there that he wouldn't let his brother hide his pain from him anymore. 

His brother was adamant on not sharing his experience, though, quickly brushing off his concerns (like usual) and presumably already planning to change the topic altogether.

But his brother should know that he is a motivated kid.

It didn't work as intended, but Yuya feels like they're taking a step in the right direction, and that's a win in his books. 

–

The rest of the morning goes like usual, with him eating his breakfast before saying goodbye to his brother and mother and then walking with his friend Zuzu to school.

His social life hasn't also changed much after his duel with the sledgehammer. Sure,he gets congratulations and praises there and there; some people ask him about pendulum summoning; and some people even apologise for their behaviour towards him. It was all great, but Yuya had much more pressing things on his mind right now.

Mainly, his pendulum cards and this strange ‘aura’ his brother described to him.

And that voice…

It all doesn't make sense, no matter how he looks at it. 

Nobody seemed to have an idea of what's going on too, except maybe his brother, but Yuya wants to stop relying on him so much and find the answers himself.

Sadly, he has no idea how he should do that.

‘Maybe Zuzu or Gong might have an idea?’ 

“-Yuya Sakaki!” A voice shouted and snapped him from his thoughts. ‘Ah, the teacher.’ 

He stood up and bowed down, apologising for his lack of attention during class. 

‘Looks like I'll have to figure this out later.’ 

—

Meanwhile, Sakaki residence 

“I'll be on my way.” 

“Hm? Where are you heading this early already?” 

“I'll be home before 7.”

“Ever mysterious, aren't you? Well, be safe.” 

“Thank you, mom.” 

—

Jaden ran and ran.

He didn't know where he was running, but anywhere was better than to show his sad existence at home.

It would only worry the two, and they already had enough to do.

He was in total confusion, he must finally admit.

He travelled dimensions before he time-travelled before; hell, he’s not even human.

Admittedly, there wasn't much to worry about yet. But Jaden could feel it brewing, but this time he had no idea what to do. 

Before, his objectives were always clear. 

First, get to the enemy.

Secondly, convince the enemy to stop or, in the worst case, defeat the enemy. 

He never had to looked for the thing itself, because trouble was just that attracted to him.

Usually,he hated it.

Now, he wishes it had happened so he could finally have some answers on what's going on.

Pendulum summoning… the darkness within Yuya... this whole dimension as a whole, they shouldn't be. Yuya’s darkness felt... It felt like his when he was confused and out of control. 

But... could he ever bring himself to hurt his brother if he truly is ‘evil’ like he was? 

He felt it. When Yuya used that power within him to turn his monsters into pendulum monsters, he felt every single motion of it.

Come to think of it, when did he come to care for the other so much? 

After he finds a way back home, he will go home—he has to—for the balance of his dimension. 

Yet that thought does nothing but make his heart ache. 

He breathes in again; he needs to calm down; now's not the time to get so emotional.

Right, ‘the nightmare’.

Or was it a nightmare? Or something else... 

Who was that in his dream? Why did they scream for help? And who was that other guy? 

Jaden stops running and pants.

He starts to take in the sights around him—anything to take his mind off all the questions in his head.

‘Ah, I must have run quite far,’ he notes.

To have run to the bridge in this city... oh well.

‘Though the sea is quite beautiful from here...’ 

‘Ah, finally snapped out of your thoughts?’ A voice in his head commented.

“Yubel?!” he yelled before covering his mouth. Luckily, he seemed to be alone here.

‘I’ve been trying to talk to you for a while now, but you weren't listening,’ they say.

Oh..

‘Though I heard everything you said, I only have one piece of advice for you: stop worrying so much.’

‘But…!’ 

'no, ‘but’, Jaden, you are not that small child from 8 years ago. You grew up so beautifully, and now you have many friends who are willing to fight by your side. And don't you ever forget that I'll never leave your side. So what if trouble comes? You, no, we can handle it.’ 

‘Yubel's right,even though I can't help much in combat, I can always help in other fields.’ A professor banner was added. 

‘You guys…’ He says he is surprised.

‘We promised to stay together forever,no?’ The duel spirit smiled.

His other monsters appear too; from avians to Neos, all of them were there.

‘We’ll always be there with you.’ Neos said, while the others nodded.

Jaden is taken a little back by his monster’s, no friends, straightforwardness, but it's true, and Jaden can't help but feel a little better.

‘You too…?’ he says, tearing up a little.

Then, he heard a growl.

Only to open his backpack and see Pharaoh in there.

How the hell does he do it? He doesn't know.

But he isn't annoyed at all.

No, it felt right.

Here with his friends, it felt like home.

Right, he wasn't alone; he’ll never be alone again.

Still, a bit of investigation couldn't hurt.

Well, it looks like it's time to beat up some guys and hopefully find at least something.

— 

Jaden ended up finding nothing.

Well,not nothing, to be exact, just not the answer he was looking for.

Whether dead people, rich people, thugs, police,

They all gave him the same answer. 

To ‘simply' go to Leo Duel School. Well, if only it was as easy as they claimed!! 

That place is full of security guards, traps, and cameras everywhere.He must admit that if the guy leading this ‘LDS’ had done it purposely so that nobody besides him knew what the hell was going on, he was doing a very good job at it.

Still, he could break into it.

It wouldn't be very hard, with his control over his power, but...

He’d rather not cause a scene and make an enemy of potentially the most influential man in the city. If it goes, Jaden would like to not fight with anybody this time. 

Ring…Ring…

Ah, his phone was buzzing.

“Brother!!! Where are you?!?” A loud voice sounded the moment he picked up.

‘Wait, how late is it?’ He looked at his phone's clock.

‘wait… 4 o’clock?!!’ He thought in shock.

He was supposed to pick up Yuya at 3:30! 

Wait, so where was his brother? 

“Uhm… I kind of forgot about the time...” 

He heard the voices of the others talking about him, but he couldn't make it out.

‘They’re probably just missing your presence.’ Yubel reassured him.

“Anyway, where are you? I'll come to you right now.” He tried to change the subject.

“Oh! We're at LDS!” He heard his brother, along with the others, yell.

Wait…LDS?!!

“Huh?!”

—

It turns out that one of Yuya’s classmates was a LDS student and, according to him, a big fan of Yuya.

The boy apparently wanted to duel Yuya, to see his pendulum summoning in action or something.

And too conveniently, he also reserved the whole duelling Studium for them there. 

‘Something about this is fishy.’ Yubel said.

‘You see it too?’ 

‘Yes, if this guy's story were true, then why would he invite Yuya to duel at his school? Wouldn't he want to see the school that made Yuya this way?’ He nodded.

‘To add to that, if he did have any ill intentions, the best way to execute them would be to corner his target where he is most familiar. If he really wanted to only see pendulum summoning, why would he go through so much trouble to reserve that whole hall? And that's the thing—he wouldn't. So he must want something more from Yuya.’ 

Jaden clenched his feast and looked forward.Then, just as he wanted to tell his brother to turn back, the call ended.

He needs to catch up fast.

— 

Teleportation isn't one of Jaden's specialties. 

It's an exhausting process of using memory, energy, and will.

Especially the memory part,He couldn't teleport to anywhere without having some sort of memory connected to it. 

The energy used for it too, depending on how far the destination is, can go from him facing no consequences or collapsing after a teleportation.

‘LDS…’ 

That should be fine, surely.

So he lays back and lets himself be sucked into the shadows.

— 

“Those are some fine pendulum cards that you have.” Slyvio and his friends took his cards from his hands and stared at them in wonder. 

“Thank you,” he replied, unsure how to respond to the scene before him.“Then I'll be taking them now.” 

What?

What? 

“What do you mean you're taking them?” Zuzu raised her voice in anger.

“Simple, they're mine now. Easy to understand, right? Or do I need to say it slowly again?” Slyvio said it in a mocking tone.

“You…” Zuzu looked really angry now; it's so rare that he sees her like that.She stepped forward, her eyes furrowing.

But Before she could do anything, though, Slyvio's friends held her in place and dragged the rest of the kids along too, somewhere.He tried to stop them, but they were too strong for him.

Slyvio gave a sinister smile.

“Let's duel right now. The winner gets to keep the pendulum cards, and the loser loses everything.” 

Loses everything? What the hell did he mean?

A voice from Slyvio’s duel disc told him to just take the cards and leave, but before that voice continued speaking, a new voice, one he was too familiar with, came across.

Akaba reiji.

So he was the one behind this?! 

First, he doesn't tell him what happened to his father, and now this? 

“Fine, let's do it!”

Just as he was about to put his duelling disc around his hand, a clapping noise came from nowhere.

“I must admit, if your goal was to piss me off, you certainly succeeded.” 

The figure slowly came into view, but he didn't need to see it because he knew that voice too well. 

“Brother!” he screamed, relieved a little.But his brother didn't seem to even acknowledge his presence, his golden eyes focusing slowly on Slyvio, it seems.

Huh? Golden eyes? 

As far as he knew, his brother always had warm chocolate eyes.But now, his eyes simply looked gold, almost emotionless.

The sight isn't completely new to him, though, he feels.

“And you are?” Sylvio answers, irritated. 

“The name's Jaden Yuki,but I'm better known as that idiot's big brother.” 

Ouch, way to rub in the salt.

Excuse him for not knowing everything! 

“Hm? This coward has a brother.”

Thud

Thud 

Thud 

Yuya watched as all of Slyvio's friends fell to the ground, unconscious.

His brother was approaching Slyvio.

“Would you like to repeat what you said?” He said it, smiling.

Sylvio threw the pendulum cards to him and then took of running.

— 

His brother sighed before turning to him and giving him a smile.

Then he collapsed.

It took him a full second to notice.

But, when he did, he, along with the others, all ran to his side.

He crouched down, trying to do anything to help.

“He's fine.” Zuzu said next to him.

“Just exhausted.” She continued.

And his brother called him an idiot?

— 

Reiji’s plan was going wonderfully, until it wasn't.

When he assigned Slyvio on this little mission, he didn't expect too many setbacks; after all, Yuya Sakaki and his companions were certainly duelists, but they weren't fighters. 

Meanwhile, Reiji wasn't just a duelist; yes, that was one of his identities,but he was a strategist first and foremost.He accounts for every single variable and uses that to create the best possible outcome for him, usually. 

This task wasn't supposed to be any different.

And it wasn't at first; Sylvio successfully got the cards, and his minions stopped Yuya’s friends from interfering.

The stage was set, and the characters started playing their roles.

The characters indeed played their roles, that is, until a new character came in.

With brown hair and golden eyes, that character ruined everything.

Reiji stood up from his seat and, before heading to the elevator, simply said: 

“Investigate everything you can find on Jaden Yuki; I want every single detail you can find, even the most trivial, do you understand?” 

“Yes, sir!” 

And with that, he left the room.

‘Just who you are you?’ 

He thought alone.

– 

What a truly interesting development! 

To think he'd not only see a new summoning method but also meet one of his fellow soldiers here~ 

It's truly surprising, though; the guy seemed like a good fighter, so why was he in slifer red? 

If only he could find out! 

Oh! he could! 

He never thought the odds would be so much in favour of him. Observing the pioneer of pendulum summoning while in the company of a fellow soldier?

This was going to be a piece of cake! 

Sora can't wait to meet this guy

Chapter Text

In a dark alley, a figure was leaning against a wall, alone.

They had their arms crossed and an unreadable expression on their faces.

‘Looks like my plan is moving along.’ 

They looked into the sky. 

‘Now surprise me, Jaden Yuki.

Otherwise, “I” will have to take control of things.’ 

—

Yuya and Zuzu had no idea how to carry Jaden back home.

He was too heavy for the both of them and clearly needed to be treated with care.

That's when they thought of the idea of calling Yoko to pick them up.

They didn't have a car, but for this time, surely Yoko could get them a taxi, right? 

They just needed to call her, and everything would be fine.

“Jaden did WHAT now?!” 

Or not.

— 

By the time the taxi got them back to the Sakaki residence, it was already late at night.

And having no other choice, Yuya and Zuzu had to carry the older boy through these last steps.

When they finally got into the house, both took a moment to collect their breath.

The red-jacketed boy, on the other hand, looked as peaceful as he was when he first fainted.

Yoko came rushing at them and crouched to the floor to check on the fainted boy. 

“What have you gotten yourself into?” She said,worriedly.

“Slyvio, a student from LDS, tried to steal Yuya’s cards on the pretence that he simply wanted to see Yuya in a duel against him.” Zuzu explained.

“So how did this lead to Jaden fainting exactly?” Yoko asked, a hint of annoyance coming through her voice.

“We don't know how exactly, but Jaden came and beat that guy's friends up and then suddenly fainted.” Zuzu added.

“Just like that?” Yoko said it in both shock and confusion.

“Yeah, we don't get it either.” Yuya admitted.

“Whatever, let's just wait for him to wake up, and then we can figure out what to do from there.” 

Yoko said she was defeated.

They both nodded.

—

They ended up carrying Jaden together to his bed, making sure he was alright, before all leaving and heading to sleep as well, including Zuzu, who slept in the guest room.

Well, that was the intention, at least.

Yuya lay on his bed, swinging his pendulum, deep in thought.

He had relied on his brother again to get him out of a tough situation, even though he had promised himself to assist him too.

He was completely cornered in his fight with Sylvio, his only saving grace being his duelling skills.

That's what he would like to believe, but he knows the reason why he didn't fight off Sylvio's friends.

He didn't like violence. Making people smile was his specialty.

His athletic skills weren't that bad; he probably could have fought these three off.

But…

His father wouldn't like that, would he?

‘Ughhh! This is so confusing!’ 

He rolled around.

At that time, when Sylvio took his pendulum cards and his friends , he felt genuine anger, betrayal, and worry for his friends safety.

He wished his father was there to tell him what to do, like he always did. 

But Yusho Sakaki wasn't here.

Instead, his brother showed up.

Right. “His brother”.

He doesn't even know much about the other boy, and he had to wait until yesterday to find out anything about his brother’s past.

He just existed for a long time. 

After his fight with him at the arcade, he expected the other boy to hate him or something similar to that.

Instead, his brother let him do what he wanted and pretended that they never had that fight when he eventually decided to start talking with him again.

And whenever he’s in trouble, the other is quick to follow and help him with whatever problem he has.

So… Yuya respected him a little, never as much as his father, but Yuya eventually began to see him as his older brother.

But his brother worked very differently from his father and mother. He didn't enjoy social gatherings, tending to spend the most of his time in his room and eventually, with his mother's insistence, with his friends.

Mix that up with his mother's opposite attitude, and you get a disastrous guide on how to deal with situations.

He realised that this dilemma wasn't going to solve itself anytime soon and decided to just count sheep. Maybe that'll help. 

—

When Yuya went down the stairs to go eat breakfast, his brother was, as expected, not there.

Instead, a strange creature was in his seat, eating from his plate, using his own cutlery.

The creature had light blue hair, his hair tied up to a ponytail.

“Wait, you actually came?” he asked, irritated.

In fact, he had met this creature yesterday when he was trying to get Jaden back home safely. It offered to help him carry the boy too, and in exchange, he would accept him as his apprentice.

Yuya was too tired to think at that time and thought that making such an important decision that would probably change his life would be unwise.

So he simply rejected the boy and told him to come later.

He hadn't expected him to actually come back later.

"Well, of course, you practically invited me into your home!” 

Sora said, a bit too cheerfully for his taste.

"Oh, Yuya, don't just stand there! Come on and eat!” 

His mother basically forced the pancakes on him.

“Sora here is such a nice kid! He kept complimenting my food! Such a sweetheart!” 

She said it ecstatically.

“Mhm! This food is delicious! Do you have more?” Sora said.

His mother gushed again, took his pancakes, and gave them to Sora.

“Mom!” 

“Eat up!” 

Okay, maybe he judged his brother too harshly.

Because Shiunin Sora was climbing through the ladder of most devilish people very fast.

–

It didn't stop with breakfast.

The boy seemed to have no intention of stopping to follow him anytime soon.

“Come on! Let me be your apprentice! I promise I'll make a very good one!” He said it for the billionth time now.

Yuya admired his dedication, but no, he couldn't simply decide something so important on a whim! 

“Come on, Yuya, give him a chance.” The pink-haired girl said.

‘Even her?!’ he thought.

Ugh… He wished his brother was here; he would at least provide him with some type of answer, even if it was stupid at times.

“Look. Just meet up later at You Show, and then we'll talk business, alright?” 

There,that should work.

Sora pouted, but as he probably realised his lack of interest in listening to him any further, he simply said ‘fine’ and went off running.

‘What a weird boy.’ 

— 

When Yuya finally finished school and got to your show, he had expected Sora to show up.

But he hadn't expected him to be there by the time he got there.

Sora was surrounded by the three kids and Skip. All too eager to talk with him.

They hadn't even taken his and Zuzu’s presence in for a while.

But when they did, Skip, not Sora, came rushing at him and told him that Sora had signed up to study at their school.

‘Great!’ he thought ironically.

The others kept asking him where he knew Sora and told him all kinds of stories Sora had told them.

And sora… Well, he continued his endless plea to let him be his apprentice.

Yuya sighed.

‘Okay, calm down. Why does he even want to be your apprentice?’ 

So he asked that.

Sora said lots of things, but from what he could gather, it was a mix of two things.

First, he wanted to entertain people with his duelling.

And secondly, he wanted to learn how to summon Pendulum because it simply looked so amazing.

Totally valid reasons, really, but he had to disappoint the kid on the second one.

“You need pendulum cards for that.” He said it plainly.

Is he starting to behave like his brother? 

"Oh, I know! I heard people talking about it, about your duel with... what was his name again?” he asked.

“Jaden. He is my brother.” 

“Ah yes! Your brother! Though you look completely different, 

“Because we're not related, mom just kind of adopted him three years ago.” 

“Oh really? Interesting. Though anyway! I don't really care about the summoning being limited to pendulum cards. I'm sure I'll find a way, or LDS will eventually.” 

He shrugged.

That's true…

Though LDS has access to his pendulum cards,? 

Somehow, that thought terrified him.

“Haha. Right. I'm still not too sure about this, though." He scratched his head.

“Fine, how about this? Let's have a duel. If I win, I get to be your apprentice. If I lose, I'll let the whole apprentice thing go.” Sora suggested.

‘A Duel?’

Now he's speaking his language.

“Alright!” He said it excitedly.

---

Both he and Sora got to the duelling area and activated their duel discs.

Zuzu and her father stood next to each other, ready to announce the duel.

“Duelist locked in battle!

kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!

They storm through this field!”

Skip then picked a field that he thought was suitable for this battle.

“Action field… Wild West Duel Town!” 

Sora looked around, probably surprised by the change in scenery.

“This is the best you have? Boring!” 

Huh?

This entitled Brat!

“Uhm..” Skip looked sad, the poor guy.

“Well, how about this?”

He selected another field from what he could see.

Suddenly everything changed again, as the old field disappeared and a new field with candy houses and schocklade ponds appeared.

“Oh!!! This one is so much better! Thank you, old man!” 

Sora said it in a frantic tone.He thinks he can see skip blushing.

Anyway! This is taking too much time! 

“Come on, let's duel already!”

Sora turned to him and smirked.

“Alright!” 

He said it happily.

“Action,” he began.

“Duel!” Both of them said.

[Sora 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand, vs. Yuya 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand] 

“I'll take the first turn! From my hand, I summon Performapal Whip Snake in attack position (1700 ATK /900 DEF Level 4 Earth)! Then I set one card and end my turn!” A purple snake with a hat appeared on a field with a card behind it.

“A four-level monster with 1700 attacks?" Sora said it in awe.

“Amazing!” Zuzu and the kids cheered.

“I won't disappoint you either! Teacher!” Sora exclaimed too loudly.

“Stop calling me a teacher!" 

“Right, right.” He saw Sora sigh.

“It's my turn; I draw! I activated the continuous spell card, toy vendor! Once per turn, I can discard one card to draw one card. If it's a four-level monster or lower, I can special summon it; otherwise, it goes to the graveyard.” 

He saw him discarding a card, though he couldn't see what it was.

“I draw again!” Sora said.

“I drew a fluffal dog! I special summoned it in attack position (1700 ATK /1000 DEF Level 4 earth )! Next, normal summon Fluffal Bear (1200 ATK /900 DEF level 4 earth )” 

Sora continued.

‘Two monsters on his first turn?!’ 

Yuya thought, and it seems his friends shared his sentiment as they all gasped in shock.

Yuya was surprised, too. Even his brother hadn't managed to do that.

‘As far as I have seen anyway.’ 

Yuya shakes his face. He needs to focus on the duel.

“I'll set one card and end my turn.” Sora said.

“My turn!” 

[Yuya 4000 LP, 3 cards in hand] 

“I draw!” He smiled at what he drew.

It's good to see you again, buddy.’He held the card close.

“The fun has just started! I set the pendulum scale with a chronomancy magician and an astronomy magician.” Two familiar wizards appeared in the pendulum zone as a light enveloped the field once again.

“You're finally going to show me pendulum summoning?!” Sora's eyes looked like they were sparkling from how excited he seemed to be.

“Of course!” He returned his excitement.

“Swing the pendulum of my soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum summon! Come forward, my friends! performapal swordfish (600 ATK /600 DEF) and Odd-Eyed Pendulum Dragon (2500 ATK/2000 DEF Level 7 dark )!” 

“Here it comes!” Ayu smiled.

“I'm getting the shivers!” Frederick commented.

“Now, I activate Whip Snake monster effect! Once per turn, I can switch the DEF and ATK points of a monster! I choose fluffal dog!” 

[Fluffal dog: 1700/1000->1000/1700] 

"Next, I activate my swordfish’s effect! Once per turn, I can lower the attack points of an opponent's monster by 600! I choose fluffal dog again!” 

[Fluffal dog: 1000/1700 -> 400/1700] 

“Wow! He was able to reduce Sora's monster attack to such low numbers!” Tate commented.

“He's giving it all, alright.” Zuzu added.

“Battle phase! I attack Fluffal dog with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!” He said.

“Odd-Eyed Pendulum Dragon,

With these dual-coloured eyes, lay waste to all you see!

Spiral strike burst!”

The dragon orbs shone as it loaded up its attack, and a burst of red energy came out of its mouth that headed in the fluffal dog direction.As the burst of red energy hit the fluffal dog, smoke enveloped the field.

As the smoke dispersed, he saw that Sora's monster was gone and that the burst of energy hit him too. He also saw that the attack caused Sora to fall into a pile of candy.

[Sora LP 4000 -> 1900 LP] 

He heard his friends cheering for him.He turned to them.

“I'm just getting started!” He looked at Sora again.

‘I'll keep improving and improving! With or without action cards!’ 

“Now Whip Snake, attack Fluffal Bear!”

The snake suffocated the fluffal bear until it was destroyed, and Sora had to stumble back.

[Sora 1900–>1400]

“And lastly! Sword Fish! Attack Sora directly!” Yuya's last monster charged forward at Sora and slapped him in the face.

[ Sora 1400 LP  -> 800 LP ] 

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! You're such a meanie, teacher!” 

He pouted.

“I'm not your teacher! For the last time!”

The others giggled. Those traitors.

He sighed again.

“I end my turn.” 

“My turn!” 

“Since you've been giving it your all, it's time I get serious too!”

He heard him proclaim.

“You've been holding back?!”

That's unacceptable, totally unacceptable!

“doesn't matter! I activate Toy’s Pot effect again!”

He discarded a card and drew a new one again.

“Come forward! Edge imp sabres (1200/800)!” 

A scissor-like monster came on the field, with eyes hiding behind the scissors. That is the best way he can describe this thing in front of him.

‘Come to think of it, brother also used a scissor-themed monster; do these guys know each other?’

He hoped not.

“I activate the spell card Suture Rebirth next! It lets me special summon a fluffal monster from my graveyard, but with its effect negated. I specially summoned Fluffal Bear from my graveyard.” 

He heard Sora say it in an unusually serious way.

“Now the preparations are ready! Let's get to the main menu! I activate polymerization from my hand!” 

‘huh?!’

“He can summon Fusion too?!”

He heard the kids exclaim.

Sora halted his movements.

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘too’?” 

He had a riddled look on his face. This guy...

Well, it doesn't hurt to tell him, right?

“My brother can summon Fusion too.” 

Then suddenly, he saw Sora giggling. Before he could comment on it, though, he had stopped, and a calm look appeared on his face again.

“I see.” He simply said.

— 

This is just getting more and more interesting! 

First, Yuya shows himself to be a worthy opponent, and then his suspicions about his so-called ‘brother’ are confirmed!

Next, he’ll find some XYZ-scum and make the professor, oh, so proud! 

Though... there is something that bothers him a little.

What the hell is the slifer red doing? 

As far as he can tell, nothing.

From the looks of it, he seemed to be enjoying a peaceful life with Yuya and nothing more.

(Fitting for their reputation)

What the hell was the professor thinking when he sent the guy away? 

Ugh, this doesn't make any sense, so he’ll just focus on the duel and worry about it later.

—

“Anyway! Welcome to the newest addition to this cast! Come forth, horrifying beast that shreds all, Frightfur Bear (2200 ATK /1800 DEF Level 6 dark)!” 

A new monster appears on the field, a bear, but soon he sees its stomach being shredded open by scissors and its face splitting in half, revealing menacing eyes behind it. 

‘So scary…’ 

He thought.

He saw Ayu, Frederick, and Tate all hiding behind Zuzu.

“Don't worry, everyone! I'll protect you!” He reassured them.

“Don't be so sure of yourself! Battle phase! Frightfur bear! Attack swordfish!” 

The monster charged forward and cut his swordfish in half with its scissors.

‘Are all fusion users scissors fanatics or something?!’ 

He groaned.

[Yuya 4000 LP -> 2400 LP] 

"Next, I activate my monster’s effect! When it destroys a monster, I can equip it with it, and it will gain the attack of that monster.”

“What?!” He and everyone else shouted in unison.

[Frightfur bear 2200/1800 -> 2800/1800] 

“It's sad that I can only attack once, but I guess it can't be helped. I end my turn.” 

This guy!

“It's my turn!”

He looks at the card he drew, Performapal Hippo, and puts it in his empty hand. 

"I summon Performapal hippo in DEF position. (800/800)!"

“I use my whip snake effect! I switch the DEF and ATK points of the frightfur bear!” 

[Frightfur bear 2800/1800->1800/2800]

“Way to go!” Zuzu cheered.

He smiled at her.

He thinks he sees her face turning a little red, or is he not seeing things correctly? 

He shakes his face. Not now; he has a crowd to entertain!

“Go Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Attack the frightful bear! Spiral burst strike!” 

He says it loudly to his beloved dragon.

As the red energy heads in a frightening direction and he thinks it's done, he sees Sora moving at lightning speed, going behind the candy house.

Then he saw him emerge again, this time with an action card.

‘Oh no!’ 

Sora giggled.

“I activated the candy coat! protecting my monster from trap cards, spell cards, and destruction by battle this turn!” He said it with a smirk on his face.

“Well, maybe next turn.”  he was a little annoyed.

‘Action cards are just too handy,aren't they?’ 

Sora jumped on the candy house, now in his sight again.

“Now the frightful bear attack returns to normal!” 

[Frightfur bear: 1800/2800 -> 2800/1800] 

“My turn!” As he watched Sora draw his next card, he saw him smile again.

“This is the end!” He heard him loudly proclaim.

“I activated the spell card toy parade! When a toy monster or a monster with the name toy in it, it can attack as many times as they have equipped cards attached to them.” 

Huh? 

“But doesn't it mean it can only attack once anyway?” Ayu said his thoughts out loud.

Wait…! 

Zuzu took a step back; maybe she also came to the same conclusion as him?

“No! If Frightfur Bear attacks Performapal Hippo, he can equip it to itself and gain its attack! And due to the toy parade effect, it can then attack again! It’ll attack Whip snake ; gain it's attack, and Yuya would be finished!” He heard the others gasp.

What can he do? Is there anything he can do at all?

He wants to move, but he is too afraid. 

those scissors! They look like the terrifying monster his brother had summoned. 

‘Come on! Move!’

He told his body.

But his body didn't listen.

—

“I attack Hippo with  frightful bear!” 

The scissors rushed forward and destroyed his monsters in half, making him take a step back.

‘I’m sorry, Hippo.’ 

He thinks to himself.

“I equip the destroyed hippo to my monster!” 

He heard Sora shout.

[Frightfur bear 2800/1800->3600/1800]

Three…thousand…six hundred…

“Yuya! Snap out of it!” 

Huh? 

Zuzu?

He looked at the little cube where Zuzu and the other kids were.

“You promised to give it your all! So don't give up and show us your entertainment duelling!” 

He heard her shout.

“Seriously teacher. I'm so bored! I expected more of you. Well then, I attack Whip snake this time, since I'm so nice.” 

Those words…

“Is that all you can do?” 

No! Yuya will prove himself this time!

“I activated my set card! Draining shield! If my opponent declares an attack, I can negate that attack and gain life points according to that amount!” 

He shouted.

Truly… This card doesn't fit with him at all; nothing about it mixes with his other monsters well, but that's exactly why he chose it.

After all, he will aim for higher heights now. He promised to.

“What?!” He heard his friends and Sora shout.

He wishes his brother would be here; he would be proud.

“Amazing,” he hears Sora murmur to himself.

“You're simply amazing, teacher! I'm glad I challenged you to this duel!” He said it louder this time.

His friends were amazed as well, going off by their expressions.

[Yuya 2400 LP -> 6000 LP] 

“But I'm not done yet!” Sora said it excitedly.

“I attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with a frightful bear!” 

Oh.

His beloved dragon got destroyed in half, and he fell back and fell into the schocklade pond.

[Yuya LP 6000 -> 4000] 

Odd-Eyes…

—

Odd-Eyes was always there for him.

Whenever he felt lonely, Odd-Eyes would emanate warm light from itself, making him strangely calm.

Whenever he lost it, he would find it again in a maximum of a half day.

It was always there with him.

Hell, he can't even remember a time when it wasn't with him.

So to see it destroyed, it hurt too much.

He got out of the pond and stared at the floor.

“Teacher? What's wrong with you? Ah, you're no fun! I'll leave you alone and simply equip the destroyed Odd-Eyes.” 

He saw Frightfur Bear looking for Odd-Eyes.

Odd-Eyes…

Don't leave me now...

Please..

He wanted to put his goggles on to hide again, but...

“No more running away, Yuya.” 

These words rang in his ears again.

“Hm? Why can't I find Odd-Eyes?” 

Sora said it in a confused tone.

And suddenly, a light from his extra deck emanated.

But... he didn't have anything in his extra deck? 

He trembled and clicked on the extra deck.

There…

There…

Was his Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

Before he knew it, a big smile spread on his face.

‘Thank you, Odd-Eyes, for never leaving my side.’ He thought in gratitude.

“Odd-eyes pendulum dragon isn't in my graveyard.” 

“Huh?” Sora said. 

“It's in my extra deck.” 

“Huh?!” He heard everyone exclaim in surprise.

He must have been defeated too fast by his brother, or else he would have noticed this earlier.

But, oh well.

“Since odd-eyes isn't destroyed, I can't equip it and attack again. Amazing, teacher.”

“My turn!” He draws, and it reveals cheermole performapal.

‘Now with this, I can finish it off.’ 

He leaped onto a candy house and stretched his arms out.

“It's time for the finale! Are you ready, everyone?” 

Sounds of approval came from the cube.

“Alright! Then let's welcome the star of this show again! Swing the pendulum of my soul! Create an arc of light in the ether! Come back, Odd-Eyed Pendulum Dragon!” 

The red monster appeared before his sight again, and he couldn't be more happy.Sora smiled at him, and the others were smiling too.

"Then I normal summon performapal cheermole in attack position (600 ATK/600 DEF level 2 earth)!"

“I'm not done yet! I activated the action card, Nanana!” 

“What?” Sora said to him, shocked.

“Since when did you get an action card?” 

He simply gave him a smile back. Sora’s eyes widened.Well, now he probably knows. The others simply continued to cheer for him.

“Cheermole! It's your turn! cheermole effect activates when a monster on the field has their attack points changed. Since my monster's attack has increased, she increases my monster’s attack by 1000 more!” 

[ Odd-eyes Pendulum Dragon 3200/1800 -> 4200/1800] 

“Now odd-eyes have more attack!” Tate said it from the sidelines.

“I'm getting the shivers!” Frederick added.

It looks like his audience is entertained.

He chuckled.

“Battle phase! Odd-eyes pendulum dragon, with these dual-coloured eyes, lay waste to all you see! Spiral strike burst!“ 

His dragon charged up his orbs and launched red energy at the frightfur bear, destroying it successfully. 

[ Sora 800 LP -> 200 LP] 

"Odd-eyes Pendulum Dragon doubles the damage if it destroyed a level five or higher monster. Go again odd-eyes! Spiral strike burst!"  

[Sora 200 LP -> 0 LP] 

Sora fell on the floor.

[Yuya wins!]  On the screen it showed.

The others clapped for him and were running for him already.

But Sora was too silent. So maybe he should check up on him first.

"Hi, are you okay there, buddy?” 

Sora didn't say anything for a while before suddenly giggling and getting on his feet again.

“That was... so cool, Yuya! I didn't expect you to turn this around at all! It was simply so fantastic!” 

Wait, ‘Yuya’? 

“Huh, why are you addressing me with my first name?” He asked, confused.

“Well, since I can't be your student, I'll simply be your friend!” 

He said, Too happy, to him.

“Wait! I didn't agree to this!” 

The others joined them.

"Oh, come on, Yuya, it won't hurt to have another friend.” Skip said.

This guy… He probably just wants Sora to attend the You Show.

Well, to be honest, Sora kind of scared him, but...

His brother had used a similar deck, yet he knew he was a good person.

So maybe this guy isn't what he represents himself to be with his deck? 

He sighed.

Well, if he can give his brother a chance, he can give Sora a chance.

“Alright. Alright. You can be my friend.” He finally said.

Sora jumped in ecstasy, claiming that he wouldn't regret his choice.

Meanwhile, Skip shoves the paperwork for Sora’s entry into You Show almost on his face.

He really hopes he doesn't regret his decision.

—

So he lost. Strangely, he can't find himself to be mad, though.

Yuya Sakaki proved to be a formidable opponent.He'll have to become even stronger, it seems.

But now's not the time for that.

Since he became Yuya’s friend (he isn't), he definitely wanted to ask him about his brother.

When he asked him, though, all he was told was that Jaden had entered his life three years ago and that he was a fusion user (which he already knew).

Though, why was Jaden here so early? 

Maybe to keep the standard dimension under control? But as far as he knows, the boy had done nothing to prevent the development of this dimension.

Maybe to keep an eye on potential strong duelists? Maybe, but he can't confirm that.

He stopped thinking about it when Yoko presented him with pancakes again.

He'll surely think about this later.

—

‘Save me…!’

He heard one voice say.

It was frightened to death.

‘No! Not them!’

Another, different voice said.

It was full of guilt and anger.

‘Please, I only have her!’

A desperate and sad voice, a different one again, said.

‘I'll never forgive you.’

A voice, a hellish mix of frustration ando desire for revenge, sounded in his head.

This one is different again. 

He kept hearing more voices, and he couldn't stop it.

He was sinking and sinking, and only sinking.

Yet he couldn't do anything about it.

—

“Where are we?” A purple-haired boy asked.

“I don't know, but we must be wary, Yuto.” A boy with a mix of dark blue and light blue hair answered.

The other boy sighed.

“Don't go too hard on them, okay?” He said he was defeated.

“I don't promise anything.” He replied.

Yuto simply gave up. There was no reasoning with Shun when he was angry.

“Alright,” he said.

Chapter Text

???,???

Today was a special day.

His girlfriend (his girlfriend!) was having her birthday today.

A year ago, he finally gathered the courage to finally tell her how he felt.

Now It's been a year since that.

And he's absolutely thrilled to make today the best he can. He and Shun had already bought her gifts, and his parents generously offered to pay for the decorations. He'll absolutely make sure to give it his all to give Ruri a great memory. She deserves it and so much more.

And, well, he had promised Shun to take good care of Ruri.

“Stop spacing out and help me out, will you?” A voice spoke from behind.

He turned around to see Shun carrying a few boxes in his hands.

“What are these?” He asked.

“Your parents gave me them; they apparently have the decoration stuff we need for this party.” Shun said it with a straight face.

“Huh. They really didn't hold back with the shopping.” He responded.

“Well, it's a special day, after all.” Shun had a smile on his face now. It's always a great sight for him.

“You should smile more like this.” “...Tch. Well, I am happy.” Shun admitted it reluctantly.

He beamed at that confession. And then Shun apparently decided that this conversation was not worth it, as he stopped looking in his direction and instead focused on pulling something out of the box.

“Anyway, as I said, I need your help with putting this banner up on the wall.” He took the banner out of the box.

“Here. Hold it from the other side." He saw him hold the tip of one side of the banner.

He went to the other side and held the tip there.

“Good. Now be careful as you climb the stairs; don't forget to hold on.” Shun said to him, as he was already climbing the stairs on the other side.

He did as he was told and eventually reached an agreeable height to hang the banner.

After that, it didn't take long before the banner was hanging on the wall.

And with that, both he and Shun got down to the floor again.

The next thing they decided to do was make balloons, as it was an easy task and would make the banner look less lonely. 

It sure was exhausting, though, and after 5 or so balloons, they both decided to take a break from all the blowing. So they both took a seat at the table in the living room.

And actually, the whole time they were working, they didn't talk and just focused on the task.

But now that they are free, it is getting a little awkward.

Thankfully, Shun began speaking before he could comment on it.

“What did you get for Ruri?” He asked in a light tone.

If he blushed, Shun didn't comment on it.

“Well… I got her an album.” He said it shyly.

“An album?”

“Yeah, it's an album full of pictures of our childhood. I know that Ruri isn't really the materialistic type, so I hope she likes this instead.” 

"Oh, I'm sure Ruri would like it; she practically likes anything that you make.” Shun chuckled and then continued talking.

“Thank you again, Yuto. It's been an awful time for Ruri since our parents died in a car crash. I try to make her happy, but I can only do so much as her older brother.”

“Shun…”

“Don't get used to it.” Shun replied to him.

“Of course.” He giggled.

—

After a few minutes, his parents also came home from work and helped them out with blowing out the remaining balloons.

Though he began to question where Ruri was, even if they were technically distracting her from coming home so early,.

So the only logical thing he could do was to go around and ask if anyone had seen her.

“She's coming, but apparently on the way here she met an old man who had his cane stolen, and now she's trying to get it back from the guys who took it.” His mother supplied it helpfully. 

He decided to take his mother's word and just focus on finishing up the little details that needed to be fixed with the decoration.

And true to his mother's word, Ruri eventually did come back home.

“I'm sorry for being late, everyone; I got a little distracted!” He saw her panting; she was probably running to not come home late.

He came up to her and simply gave her a smile in reassurance.

“Don't worry about it; we wouldn't ever start without you.” He said.She smiled back.

“Great! So what sort of surprise did you prepare for me?” 

“That will be for me to know and for you to find out.” He replied.

Yet he couldn't hear Ruri’s reply because the noise of a bang made him unable to.

He warily ran to the window of their house, the others following him too.

When they looked outside, meteors were falling on Heartland, monsters were in high amounts, and weird masked men were getting out of portals.

He hoped he was dreaming.

—

He wasn't dreaming.

He realised that when Shun hit him in the face.

“Snap out of it! Now we can't afford to space out! We have to get to safety!” He shouted at him.

“...but where? Where are we supposed to go?” 

“Anywhere but here!” He grabbed him by the arms and ran for the door.

He looked behind him and saw the others following suit.

Though, before any of them could open the door, the door opened itself.

Specifically, it was opened by someone from outside.

As he looked to see who it was, it revealed itself to be one of the masked men that he saw get out of these portals.

“Who the hell are you?!” He heard Shun shout.

The man smirked and took a step back to reveal two more similarly dressed men.

Then he began speaking.

“We're from Academia. The best of the best soldiers of it. That's all you need to know, because you won't be here for much longer!” He pulled out his duelling disc.

What sort of joke was this?

“What do you mean?” Shun continued his questioning, even though he could see him start trembling a little.

“Simple! You either win this duel or...

You get turned into a card.”The man smirked.

He and everyone gasped.

‘Get turned…into….cards?!’ Yet before he could even say anything, Ruri stood before him.

“So you want a duel? I'll duel you! I won't let you hurt everyone I love! I'm not letting that happen again!” 

‘Ruri…’

Shun joined her side.

“I’ll help.” He said.

He saw Ruri smile in relief, and he couldn't help but also get by her side, even if he was a little scared.

“Then I'll help too.”

She nodded.

“3 against 3, huh? Well, it doesn't matter. You are no match for us.” He saw the other two seemingly activate their duelling discs.

He, Shun, and Ruri also did the same.

As for his parents,Well, they watched on the sidelines; they were never duelers to begin with.

He hopes nobody else will show up soon, or...

No, it is best not to think about it and just focus on the duel.

—

It didn't stop with these three.

No, it kept on going and going and going.

Before he knew it, a week had passed, and Heartland—well, it wasn't the same and probably won't be the same for a long time.

They eventually found a place to rest, for now.Other people were there too, all sharing a hopeless look on their faces. 

Cheering up others was never his specialty, so he basks in the gloomy atmosphere because there is nothing he can do to change it.

A tap on the shoulder awoke him from his thoughts.It was Ruri.

“Are you okay?” She asked him, yet he's pretty sure she knows he's not.

“I know we are not in the best situation right now, but I promised I would try my best to help everyone.” She wrapped her hands around him.

“It's probably hard for you to lift yourself up, and I totally understand that, but we still have each other, no? We'll just have to get over this hurdle, and then we can start picking up the pieces again.” 

“Ruri’s right, son, I might be useless in a duel, but I know this city like my back. We'll help you in any way we can.” His father gave him a smile.

“I don't think it will be that easy.” 

Shun cut through the moment.

“I mean, have you looked at their numbers? Even if we're pretty good duelists, they have the advantage of numbers. We need a plan.” 

He was right; he hated to admit it, but he was.

Ruri and his parents also looked like they were reflecting on Shun’s words.

Shun spoke up again.

“I'll go and gather food; we'll make a plan after I return.” 

He watched Shun get on his feet again.

“I'll come with you.”

“No. You need to protect my sister.” 

And with that, the conversation was over.

—

It's been a while since Shun went to get supplies.He was getting a little worried.

But then, as he heard footsteps approaching, he ran to go and see what had happened to him.But it wasn't Shun.

In fact, it wasn't anyone he knew.

From the shadows, a boy with purple and pink hair emerged.

“Oh my~ so many people here! All waiting to be turned into cards. I can't tell you how fun it is to hunt you down!” 

“The last one I hunted got a little clever and touched my Duel disc, but I won't let that happen again.”

Was he talking about Shun? Was he alright?

“What did you do to him?!”

“Oh, I wish I did. But I have no idea where he is.” 

This boy is definitely part of the academic bunch.

Strangely, though, his clothing doesn't seem to match academia at all. He saw some red and yellow-jacketed students amongst the blue bunch that attacked them, but never a purple jacket.

Didn't one of them talk about some supposed ranking? Red being the lowest and blue the highest? Then what was this boy’s rank?

“Oi,wimp, eyes on me~” The boy had a carefree expression on his face, clearly uncaring of the atrocious things academia had committed.

He wanted to take out his duel disc and fight him, but as soon as Ruri caught up to him, he was absorbed into a white light.

—

And that's how he got here.

He didn't expect to go find Shun here too, but apparently he got here by tapping on that boy’s duel disc; it didn't seem too outlandish when he saw these people come from literal portals.He hoped Ruri and his family were okay, but he had no idea how strong that boy was or if Ruri was strong enough to take him on. 

He hoped so.

Shun wasn't so optimistic, though.

He had grabbed him by the shirt and stared too deep into his soul.

“You got ambushed by academia and then somehow got teleported when Ruri caught up to you? That doesn't make sense! Even if it's probably true, it still means that Ruri and our family are still there fighting that guy alone.”

He was clearly pissed and probably scared as well.

“I'm sorry…”

"Sorry, won't cut it! All those people who died... and now, and now, I don't know if I will ever see them or Ruri ever again!” He began sobbing.

“Shun…” He didn't know what to say.

He saw his friend get on his knees, a few tears showing on his face.

“We'll have our revenge, Shun.” He finally decided to say that.

“It's not fair! It wasn't supposed to be her! She should have had a normal and happy life after losing our parents, yet instead, I can't even protect her!” He decided that no matter what he said right now, it wouldn't help, so he just hugged Shun and let him quietly cry his heart out.

—

“Is he awake yet?” 

"No, I'm still asleep as a baby.” 

“I see…”

Sora was again over at the Sakaki household; he had hoped he would get to talk with this Jaden guy.

“And he's just asleep?” He added to their conversation.

“Yeah. No scratches or anything; he's just unconscious. The only thing that's off is his behaviour sometimes.” Yuya's mom helpfully supplied.

“What's wrong with his behaviour?” He and Yuya asked in union, the latter’s voice being more filled with worry.

“I don't know... Sometimes he just moves suddenly when I check up on him or he randomly starts talking; I can't understand anything he says.” she sighs.

“I'm a bit worried.” 

“So he still has nightmares even now?” Yuya said in a raised voice.

“Nightmares?” He needs to know about that.

Yuya averted his eyes, like he just regretted what he said.

“Yuya…” Yoko had begun interrogating him before he could.

Yuya looked at her for a second before looking at the floor.

“Jaden has been having nightmares even before he fainted; he hasn't told me anything they are about, though.” He heard him confess.

‘Nightmares on a constant basis? That's…something.’ 

“Can you guess what the cause may be?” 

“We don't know. We hardly know about Jaden's past; we only know that he wasn't exactly the most beloved person in school,had not the best childhood and that he can fusion summon.” Yoko said to him.

‘School? As in Academia? That's the only type of school the fusion dimension has.’

If he wasn't liked by the professor, that might explain his presence here a bit more. Maybe he somehow managed to escape? 

But that's impossible; nobody can escape the professor's clutches.

“I see. Well, let's hope he gets better!” He said it with a forced smile.

“...Yeah.” Yuya looked strangely at him just now. Did his acting skills get worse? 

“By the way, Sora, where do you come from?” Yoko asked.

Ah, this isn't fun at all.

“I come from abroad. I actually was planning to study at LDS, but you know, Yuya's pendulum summoning is just way cooler!” He tried to give it his all to sound excited about everything.

"Oh, my little boy has got so many fans now!” Yoko looked pleased with his reply.

“Ahaha…yeah.” Yuya said.Yuya has been too quiet for his taste. 

“What's wrong, Yuya?” 

“Hm? No, I'm fine.” 

Ugh, a stubborn boy. He's also pretty sure that whatever is troubling him will definitely help him get his mission done faster.

Before he could question it further, Yuya's mom smacked another plate of pancakes on the table.

Well, maybe later. 

—

“Please? Please? Please?” 

Yuya and Sora had surrounded her and been begging endlessly for ice cream since they got to You Show.

Just because they both performed a great duel doesn't mean she will get them what they want!

“No.” 

"But, sister Zuzu, I really want to eat ice cream right now!” He gave her these goddamn cute eyes again.

Ugh… must resist…

“Why don't you two go? You seem to have a lot of free time on your hands. She gave them a glare.

“We just battled yesterday! We're so tired!” Sora said it dramatically.Yuya nodded multiple times at that.

She sighed.

“Or, you and Yuya can go get the ice cream together! Like a date!” Sora continued.

She blushed red as crimson, and Yuya seemed to do so too.?

Maybe it's just her imagination.

“No!!” They both said it at the same time.

Sora shrugged and just put another candy in his mouth.This little guy!

Ugh, this isn't getting them anywhere.

“Fine, I'll go get it.” She said it in a defeated tone.The rest cheered at that.

“I'll help too!” Ally said.Maybe there are angels in this world after all.

—

The weather here is nice.

This place also looks similar to how Heartland used to look. 

Since arriving here, he and Shun have decided to split up to cover more ground, meeting again every third day or so to give updates on their findings.

For now, he is sitting on top of one of the many storage units this city has with his eyes closed.

The sun is almost setting, so there's no need to continue looking in the night, where the streets were mostly empty and there was no sight of academic students.

He is not even sure that these were Academia students—more specifically, the Academia students that attacked them.

Shun didn't seem to care, though, as he always defeated them without a hint of hesitation.

It's…almost scary.

To turn back the clock and be with his loved ones again—that's what he wants. But reality is cruel.

He's not strong enough to protect them; because of him, Ruri and his family are possibly cards or even dead now.

“You’re doing your best, Yuto, and that's all that matters’’

His mother once told him when they were hiding away, but was that really true? If he had stopped hesitating, would the outcome have changed?If he fought alone, would they not have been endangered?

Huh, this isn't good; he is getting distracted again.

Opening his eyes, he sees that the sun is almost at the horizon now, meaning that he let himself be consumed by his thoughts for too long.

Unusually, he heard some noises around him—the sound of footsteps—though it seemed those were more rushed.

Looking down, he saw a couple of ‘academia’ students heading to one of the storage rooms, with panicked looks on their faces.

Ah, wait, he saw two students enter a bit earlier too; maybe they belonged together?

But it doesn't seem like he has to worry about anything, as they didn't even spare him a glance.

As he was standing up and preparing to leave, the sight of the newest addition stopped him.

It...was Ruri.

He stopped his legs from running to her and wrapped her in his arms, however hard it was.

He should think about this logically.

Why would Ruri be here? Did that guy teleport her here too? Why is she wearing different clothes? Those clothes look a little bit like a school uniform. Did she betray them? No, Ruri would never do that. So why? 

And why would she follow these academic guys? That doesn't make sense.

He realises that standing here and doing nothing isn't going to solve any of his questions, so he jumps off the building and runs straight for that unit Ruri entered into. 

—

Zuzu will make this guy pay.

So what? What if he's rich? What if he's one of the best students in LDS? This guy could be the boss of LDS, and she wouldn't care. 

Because that guy clearly had no good bone in him, he almost took Yuya’s cards and let her be dragged away by his friends to who knows where; this alone was enough to convince her of that.

“Duel me.” She said she was fully confident in herself.

“You? Pfft, you're no match for the boss.” The green-haired guy said.

"Yeah, you should just give it up.” The one with the ponytail continued.

Slyvio's reaction was the funniest, though, as he choked on his food, which caused the others to run and go help him.

‘Heh, serves him right.’ she giggled.

Seeing her laugh, he quickly recovered and pointed a hand at her.

“Fine! I'll defeat you and then defeat that Yuya and Jaden guy at once.” He said it in an arrogant voice. 

“Yeah, yeah. Mr. I ran away because my friends got knocked out. Even if you had the best deck, you would only be a one-rate duelist just because of that fact.” She laughed in front of him.

She saw him grit his teeth and walk towards her.

“Fine! Let's duel! Me and you, right now!”

Before they could get out their duel discs, though, the door was forcefully opened, and one of Slyvio's friends who was trying to stop the intruder got kicked to the wall.

They both warily looked at who was interrupting them, much like kicking a guy so easily to a wall.

A boy with light purple spikes in the front, supported by dark hair upward in the back. His clothes looked ragged and old, and his face was covered by a mask, revealing himself.

“Who are you?!” She exclaimed; she was maybe a little scared.

The guy weirdly took a step back at her comment.

He shook his face and then looked at Sylvio.

“I'll make you pay for this! Duel me!” He said it angrily.

Slyvio looked a little scared. Oh, he must be getting deja vu.

“A-alright, Alright!” He said it hesitantly at first but gathered himself up again the second time.

Wait.

Is she getting sidelined again?

She doesn't care who this new guy is; she has something to settle with Sylvio.

“Get out of the way! I'm going to duel him! This is none of your business!” She said she was pissed.

He came to her side and reached his hand in front of her as she was putting on her duelling disc.

“No, I already failed to protect you once; I can't fail again this time.” He looked her in the eyes, a hint of sadness coming through his voice.

She's sorry for whatever happened to this guy, but... she can't let herself be protected the whole time.

So, she pushed his hand away.

“No. I need to fight on my own; I need to protect myself on my own.”She said she was determined.

She doesn't really know what the other’s face looked like, but he looked a little shocked as she could see his eyes widen.

“But it's too dangerous for you, Ruri!” He said it with a loud voice.

Wait, who the hell is Ruri?

As far as she knows, her name is Zuzu.

“Who is this Ruri you're talking about? I'm Zuzu?” she said, confused.

“You're not… Ruri?” He stumbled back, clearly more shocked now.

“I see,” he continued.

The guy looked a little too sad for her taste, so she did what she did best.

“Look, I don't know who this Ruri person is. But one of my friends told me that the best way to know someone is through a duel, so you can join me. We'll figure out where the person you're looking for is later.” She tried to cheer him up.

It looked like it worked as he prepared his duelling disc. 

“Alright.” 

—

Slyvio was not having fun.

First, this girl just barges in, destroys his ego, and then challenges him to a duel, and then another person shows up, kicks one of his minions, and then also proceeds to challenge him to a duel? And worst of all, they have ganged up on him.

Well, whatever! If he wants to defeat Yuya and Jaden at the same time, then this will be good target practice.

“Fine by me! Let's do it! You two, against me!” He said.

They both looked at him now, annoyance showing in their eyes.

“Sure! I'll beat you up for breakfast!” The girl proclaimed it proudly.

Though an awkward silence took place soon enough.

“So, how exactly are we doing this?” The girl said.

He's glad she asked!

“Since it's two people against one, you'll have to share the same field and life points, but I guess you'll have the advantage of playing one after the other and more cards to use. Meanwhile, I have the field and life advantages. But we have fewer cards to play around with and fewer turns to turn things around.” 

He explained, hating how much he sounded like a professor.

Well, you can't be the best with just duelling skills. 

They both contemplated his words before nodding.

Turning on his duelling disc, they all got into their positions.

It's been a while since he had a ‘normal’ duel like this.

“Duel!” / “Duel!” “Duel!” 

[Slyvio 4000 LP vs. Yuto and Zuzu 4000 LP]

“Take the first turn, knight, I insist.” He said, mostly because he's curious about how strong the guy is in duelling too.

The guy looked at him for a second, surprised, before he placed all his hands face down in the spell and trap zone.

Huh?

“Huh?!” All of them said it in unison.

The girl turned to him, clearly as confused as him.

“Uhm, I don't know what you're doing, but I'll try to trust that you made this move on purpose.” 

She said that, though he was too busy laughing to hear the rest.

“My turn! I special summon Solo, the melodious songstress, in the attack position (1600 ATK/1000 DEF Level 4 light ) because of her effect, where if there's no monster on my field, I can special summon her. Next, I set Serenade, the melodious diva, in defence position (400 ATK/1900 DEF Level 3 light). With this, I end my turn,” she said. Two monsters, with colourful clothing and notes, got on the field. 

“It's my turn! Since you have two or more spell or trap cards on your field, I can special summon Escher the frost vessel (800 ATK/1000 DEF Level 4 Water)!” A monster with a red cape and partly light blue and partly dark blue clothes, which was meditating on ice, appeared on his field.

“Just 800? Seriously?” Zuzu deadpanned.

“I'm just starting! I use Escher the frost vessel as a tribute to summon Mobius the frost monarch (2400 ATK/1800 DEF Level 6 water)!” The previous monster disappeared, and in its place, a similar-looking monster appeared, this time with more armour and a blue cape covering it.

—

“2400 attack points?” Ruri(?) said.

It's a lot more original than what the other Academia goons were playing. He thinks.

“And now I use its effect! When it is successfully summoned, I can destroy two spell or trap cards on the field! I destroy two of your face downs!” The monster charged a beam at the cards, destroying both of them successfully.

“Then I play the card tribute carnival! If a tribute summon was performed this turn, I can do it again.” He loudly shouted in excitement.

“I tribute summon Mobius the Mega Monarch (2800 ATK/1900 DEF Level 8 water)!” 

“A tribute summon after a tribute summon?!” Slyvio’s friends said.

“You're amazing, boss!” The green-haired of them also added.

“This monster only requires one tribute if the tribute itself is tribute  summoned! Now I've activated its effect! When it's successfully tribute summoned using a tribute monster, I can destroy three spells or trap cards on the field.” 

His remaining set cards broke into pieces.

“I attack Solo, the melodious songstress!” He said.

The now-bigger monster released an attack on Ruri’s monster, destroying it.And with its destruction, he and she also took a bit of damage.

[Yuto and Ruri (?): 4000 LP -> 2800 LP] 

“It's a shame I can only attack once. I end my turn.” Slyvio sighed.

It looks like that's it.

“Ruri, can I use your monster?” He twisted to her.

“I told you my name isn't Ruri! It's Zuzu! ... but you look like you have a plan, so go ahead.” Zuzu—not Ruri—said.He's going to have a good conversation with her later, but for now...

“I summon phantom knights of cloven helm (1500 ATK/1000 DEF Level 4 Dark)!” He calmly began.

“Then I switch Serenade from the melodious to the attack position.” 

[Serenade the melodious diva

1900 DEF/ 400 ATK -> 400 ATK/1900 DEF] 

“Now that I have two four-level monsters on the field, I can build the overlay network!” He said.

“Overlay?!” Zuzu - not Ruri?  -  sounded surprised.

That's definitely not Ruri, or did these guys really erase her memory?! 

“It's impossible! Only LDS teaches about XYZ summoning! And I never saw you in any course!” He saw his opponent take a few steps back.Well, let's just get this over with. These guys will pay.

“From the pitch-black darkness. Rise up against the foolish oppression, Fang of Rebellion! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon(2500 ATK/2000 DEF Rank 4 Dark)!” His protector came on the field.

“He really Xyz summoned!” The ‘friends’ of his opponent said.

“Do you always just stand idly by and let everyone else do the work for you? You have pathetic comrads, academia minion.” He said it without remorse.

These guys would be crushed if they were the ones fighting.

“Why you!!” The guy was mad now, he guesses.

“Well, it's over anyway. I use my monster's effect! By using one overlay unit, I can half the attack points of a monster on my opponent's field and add these attack points to my monster! I target Mobius, the mega monarch, and use one of my overlay units!” He exclaimed loudly.

A shock wave surrounded the mega-monarch, halving its attack points in half. The shockwave then got absorbed by the XYZ dragon, increasing its attack by that number of attack points.

[Mobius the Mega Monarch:

2800 ATK/1900 DEF -> 1400 ATK/1900 DEF] 

[Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon:

2500 ATK/2000 DEF->3900 ATK/1900 DEF] 

Slyvio looked frantically around, probably lost on what to do. It's too late for him to do anything anyway.

“And again!” He commanded his dragon.

Another shockwave enveloped the mega-monarch, halving its attack points successfully and adding them to XYZ dragon. 

[Mobius the Mega Monarch:

1400 ATK/1900 DEF -> 700 ATK/1900 DEF] 

[Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon: 3900 ATK/1900 DEF->4600 ATK/1900 DEF] 

“Haha! Even if you attack me now, I'll survive till the next round.” Slyvio said.

“You're forgetting something.” He reminded him. “Zuzu plays after me; she'll finish you off. Your rules, aren't they?” His blood was rushing a little.

His opponents eyes wide in realisation.

“Now then, Dark Rebellion XYZ  dragon, destroy him!” 

His dragon charged with his black wings, and his fang lit up in a light purple light.

“Revolt of the lightning!” 

His opponent's monster crumbled into pieces, and the huge attack caused him to hit the wall.

[Slyvio 4000 LP -> 100 LP] 

The building also took a bit of damage as soon as some parts of it began to fall off. Even hitting his mask and breaking it.

Ah.

Everyone suddenly looked at him, shocked, like they'd seen a ghost.

“Yuya?!” 

—

That's definitely Yuya's, right?

But it can't be Yuya.

But his face…It's identical.

Maybe a secret twin that Yuya never met or something? 

This doesn't make any sense! Zuzu is a bit confused.

She'll finish this battle and then question this boy till he is dead.

“It's my turn! I attack with dark rebellion Xyz dragon!” The monster charged again, finishing Sylvio for good this time.

[Slyvio 100 LP -> 0 LP] 

Well, at least she got one thing done.

Before she could go and ask the guy anything, though, he charged at Sylvio and grabbed him by the neck.

“What have you done to Ruri?" He shouted angrily.

Who the hell is this Ruri person again?

“I have done nothing!” Slyvio looked a little lost right now; it kind of made her feel bad for him.But again, he kind of deserves it, she thinks. Yuya’s lookalike let go of him, but not before throwing a frustrated look at him.

He then quickly approached her.But before any of them could say anything, he disappeared in a flash of light.

“Zuzu!!” She heard a familiar voice behind her.

Turning around, she saw the all-familiar Yuya Sakaki approach her.

But..how?

–

Ugh… Why is it so hard to get up?

Opening her eyes, Ruri looks around curiously at her surroundings.

This isn't Heartland.

This is the first conclusion she can muster.

“Oh, you're awake,” she said, hearing a voice close to her.

Focusing on the source of the voice, she looks around again.

Only to lock eyes with the same guy that she lost that duel to.

“Who are you?! What did you do to me?! Where am I?!” She said, in a panicked tone,  there was no reason to be civil to these guys.The guy laughed a little and then shrugged.

“The name's Yuri, the best student in Academia, and I captured you and brought you to our headquarters~!” He said it with a smile on his face.

The best student in academia...That would explain the violet uniform.But why the hell did he capture her?

Don't they always just turn people into cards or kill them?

To be honest, she would rather have that than be stuck here.

Anyway, she needs answers.

“Why?” She began simply. 

The guy looked like he was thinking, the first time she saw him do so.

“No idea!” He said  happily again.

Wait, what?

“Huh?!” She said. She was confused.Not even he knows? Thankfully, he continued.

“The professor is the one who commands us all; we simply follow orders without hesitation. Though for me, I do it because it's simply so much fun~Though I'm a little annoyed that he didn't let me turn you into a card! That would've been so much more fun!” He grinned. So this guy is crazy.

“Anyway, don't even think of escaping. The professor let me take your deck, and you're trapped in a high tower with only one exit available that only a few, including me, have the key to. And don't worry, I won't help you!” He chuckled.

Ugh… Is she really trapped here, like a princess?This professor guy stinks.She's teaching him and this guy a lesson once she gets out of here.

...if she gets out of here.

“Well then, see you around~” The guy left the room, and she heard the door being locked.

Now what?

—

“I swear! This Yuya guy is crazy! Not only does he knock me to the wall but his brother also knocked my friends unconscious!” Slyvio screamed.

“I'll make him pay!” He continued talking to himself.Then the door to his room clicked wide open, revealing none other than himika akaba in front of him.

“Oh, you say it's his fault? Tell me everything, please.” She gave him a smile.

Oh, looks like not everything will go wrong today.

Finally.

Chapter Text

What is wrong with this place?

People here, no, that's not right, puppets, that would be more fitting, were constantly monitoring her cell, never ceasing their task. 

It's unfamiliar, strange, and bad in all ways.

She wants Yuto to be here to save her.

…

She slaps herself.

It hurts, but she deserves it.

She's so weak, isn't she? She also didn't do anything when her parents died, she could have warned them, but she was too slow.

Too slow.

Could she have gotten to Yuto if she was a little bit faster? 

Probably.

Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic.

She is so useless and pathetic.

Yeah.

Couldn't save mom and dad.

Couldn't save Shun’s smile, he probably won't smile ever again because of her.

And couldn't save Yuto, the one who welcomed her wholeheartedly and without judgement.

Can she even do anything? 

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID , STUPID, STUPID,STuP- 

“Good morning, beautiful violet!”

…

..

Not this stupid guy again.

She'll just ignore him. Yeah, that sounds like a solid plan.

“Oi” 

…

“Oi”

…

“I'm talking to you, you know?”

…

He's standing in front of her bed, so she can't look away from him anymore.

“Don't you have something better to do than bother innocent prisoners?” 

She said, irritated.

He looked at her happily, hummed, and then finally clapped his hands together.

“Nope!” 

Great.

“What do you want then? To make fun of my state as if you haven't for a thousand times now?” She replied, annoyed.

He twisted his head to the left, making an innocent expression, and held his ring and small finger under his head, thinking. 

“You must be wondering why you are here.” He said it in an unusually calm voice. Geez, who would have guessed?

"Technically, I should be loyal to the professor, but I'm still pissed he didn't let me turn you into a card! So, as I was saying , I was just coming back from my fun hunts, and on my way back to my dorm, the professor passed by me, murmuring something about you looking so similar to ‘her’ or something, and didn't even notice me. ” He explained.

And she didn't understand a single thing.

Similar to ‘her’? Who the hell is ‘her’? She's pretty sure that there's only one version of herself, that being herself.

She sighed.

“How is this whole academia legal anyway? Where's the police? Nobody is really stopping this thing?” She asked angrily.

He chuckled. Loudly.

"Oh, please, money can buy everything. All the professor really needed to do was throw some money at news stations to quell any bad calls about us, then he bought any competition out. The students don't leave this place unless absolutely necessary too. Besides, nobody would notice our attack on the XYZ dimension because they have no idea there's more than this dimension anyway.” 

He shrugged casually. That raised the question on how the professor guy was so rich to begin with, but she didn't want to open up that rabbit hole. Wait, he called her home the “Xyz dimension.”.Why would he call it that? 

And he said ‘this dimension’ when referring to this place.

Does that mean she isn't even in the old dimension she used to be but in a whole new one?! 

“Yes. You aren't in the XYZ dimension anymore~." Yuri laughed next to her.

Huh, did she say that out loud?

“Now you did, but no, I read it from your face~ it's such a beautiful face of fear!” He hugged himself creepily.

This guy…! 

“Oh, Oh, now you look exactly like Serena!” He leaped on the bed and held her hand.

…

She kicked him.

“Wait, who's Serena?” She said, confused.

“Ah.” 

“Looks like I've run my mouth a little too wildly. Well then, I should get going then!” He suddenly turned to leave.

She stretched her hand, though not sure if she did it because of her need for answers or the effects of isolation working on her.

“...Bye.” She resigned in the end.

—

‘Ugh! When is this going to end?’ Sora thought to himself.

Currently, he is taking class with Yuya and Zuzu, and it's been killing him. 

He can't help it, okay? He had this material at least a hundred times in academia, he can be tired! 

The worst thing is that he can't even distract himself! Yuya and Zuzu have been whispering to each other for an eternity! 

Just what was so important that they can't tell him? Were they planning a prank on him? No, their faces were too serious for that. They saw academic soldiers? No, they would tell that to at least the father of Zuzu. 

Did his disguise get discovered? ａｎｄ ｎｏｗ ｔｈｅｙ＇ｒｅ ｐｌａｎｎｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｍａｎｉｐｕｌａｔｅ ｈｉｍ ｔｏ ｄｏ ｔｈｅｉｒ ｂｉｄｄ-

Huh, what was that? 

Oh, right, he was studying with the others.

There was no need to worry, no need to act.

—

“H.. He had the same face as you, the exact same.” Zuzu said, stuttering.

“How?” He asked back to her, How was it possible for it to be two of him? 

“I…don't…know.” She averted her eyes away from him, instead opting to stare at the space before her.

So, there is another of himself out there, and without any supervision.

Another of himself. Another of himself. Another of himself! 

No… He needs to calm down and needs to assure Zu.

Right, he should ask what he's done to get Zuzu so scared.

“So what exactly did he do?” He asked in a calm tone, trying not to pressure Zuzu into answering.

She answered almost immediately, which shocked him to great levels. 

“He helped me defeat Sylvio and knocked him and one of his goons down. Though he seemed to have mistaken me for someone else.” 

“Huh? Mistaken for someone else? Who?” 

“Someone by the name of Ruri.” 

“Never heard of that name before.” 

“...”

“...” 

“So, what do we do?” 

“How about waiting for my brother to wake up, then we'll figure something out?” He said, exhausted, he really needed all the support he could get. That guy doesn't seem to like messing around, and the last time he carelessly trusted someone…

Well, it's not happening again. 

“... Alright.” Zuzu said, her voice and posture having grown softer from before, then she began walking away slowly.

“And thank you for believing me.” She continued.

Before he knew it, a smile spread on his face.

“Always.”

—

“Aaah!” Yuya stretched his hands out, tired.

“Ugh, this week just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Next thing we know, an alien might visit our planet!” He said both tired and a little bit curious. How would that actually go? Would the aliens speak their language? Would it look like them? What would it want? 

Ah, so many questions, and so little answers, like his current predicament. 

It's fine; it'll keep it interesting that way! 

Or so he tells himself.

“Oi, look at it. It's the guy that beat Slyvio up!” 

Huh? 

Focusing on his surroundings, he sees minions of Slyvio standing right in front of their school.

‘Seriously, what do they want? Haven't they learned when enough is enough?’

He was irritated, mostly because he already had a few headaches to deal with and that they were part of said headaches.

“What do you want?” He tried to put on his best smile. He still needed to check up on Jaden, find out what power he has, find out why he has a clone of himself appear out of nowhere, and find out who that Ruri person is. 

So, he would love to end this as quickly as possible.

Then he stopped in his tracks.

“The guy that beat Sylvio up.” 

But that wasn't him; that was his brother.

“He helped me defeat Sylvio, and knocked him and one of his goons down. Though he seemed to have mistaken me for someone else.” 

Ah.

They're referring to that guy.

“It wasn't him!” A voice from behind said, belonging to anyone other than Zuzu. 

Despite Zuzu's words, they kept laughing like they heard the funniest joke ever.

Then the green-haired of them, which he didn't know the name of, approached them with a smirk on his face.

“Don't lie to yourself! It was clearly him! You're just saying that because you don't want your sweet Yuya to end up in trouble!” He pointed at her accusingly.

“Oh really? Then how about I report you for an attempt to steal Yuya's cards? That would be clearly fun, wouldn't it? I'm pretty sure LEO Corporation has a video of it somewhere.” Zuzu said back. Clearly, she was pissed, and that's not good.

No, he'll just cheer her up! And those guys too!Fighting is not good after all.Well, that's how his mother and dad ended up together anyway! So he should do the same! 

So he put himself between them, just in case any physical violence came to be.

“Stop!” He said it as loud as he could.

“Get out of the way!” The green said.

“No! Leave us alone!”

“As if! Boss got really badly injured! You gotta pay!” 

“I told you, Yuya didn't do anything!” 

“What's going on here?” Zuzu’s dad, Skip, came outside the school rushing to them.

“It's his fault/it's their fault!” 

Zuzu and these guys said simultaneously. Glaring holes into the other eye. Their fire’s not extinguishing a little bit.

“Oh my, I seem to be interrupting.” 

A new voice joined the chaos.

Suddenly, all three of Sylvio’s friends stopped talking and just looked at the new person, happily—a little too happily.o

Turning himself in the voice’s direction, he sees a dark pink-haired woman with no doubt an abundance of wealth on her. 

“Chairwoman!” These guys said. 

Skip, who was on his side, almost fell on the floor.

Definitely an important person.

The woman chuckled before speaking.

“I'm Henrietta Akaba, chairwoman of LDS, but I'm sure most of you already know that. You must be confused, so I'll explain. Yesterday, Yuya Sakaki attacked one of our top students, Sylvio Shingo. He injured him so badly that the boy had to go to the hospital; it's simply unacceptable!” 

… He should set his expectations a little lower next time. 

–

Does all of LDS stink?

After today, Yuya can confidently say yes.

The woman clearly had no care for what she was going to ruin, only her end goal in sight.

He hates these types of people, eccentric and selfish.

She doesn't even provide any evidence that it was him! Sure, three people and one saw him doing it, but they all could be lying, for all he knows! 

He doesn't even know how to Xyz- summon! And he was with the kids until Ally came and told him about Zuzu's plan! Clearly, this woman didn't care.To her, he was more of an item to gain than anything else.

Well, she's a businesswoman, alright.

… Doesn't mean he'll let her have You Show though!!

(Strangely, she smirked as he said that)

—

Easy, Easy.

All they have to do is win against these three duelists (that were also the best of their course), and You Show would be saved! 

Totally doable.

He decided to go first, because it was because of him that You Show ended up in this mess anyway.

“Hahaha! I can't believe a pest like you managed to knock Slyvio like that!” A boy behind that woman said.

He looked at what he thought was his opponent, a boy with a constellation of stars on his purple hair, and saw him step towards him.

The guy must be good if he can confidently mock him like that.

The boy continued talking with a confident look on his face.

“I'm Dipper O’Brien, only the best student of the XYZ course.

I look forward to sending you to the stars.” The boy loaded his duel disc.

“Duel!” / “Duel!” 

—

During the whole duel, he was hit and hit again, with total disregard for his well being.

Dipper wasn't duelling him; no, he wanted him dead.

It was kind of ironic to insult him for apparently attacking Slyvio with his Xyz monsters yet for the guy to do the exact same thing to him.

Maybe for revenge sake? Who knows.

He was a strong duelist, that's for sure.

Ranking up his monsters, making his odd-eyes unable to attack him, and constantly catching him off guard ...It was kind of fun.

But it's his turn to have his fun now, because this stage can have two entertainers. 

(Dipper scuffed at that.) 

He wondered why LDS was so focused on him,was it truly just his pendulum summoning that Henrietta Akaba wanted? 

Or was there something more to it? 

He digressed; it's time to put on a show.

—

Calling the audience with his usual happy and cheerful phrase, he summoned trampolynx to the field and used its effect to replace his stargazer magician with his turn toad. Then he used his two monsters to pendulum summon stargazer magician and odd-eyes dragon to the field.

LDS chairwoman looked a little shocked at that.Did all of her students play so consistently? Kinda not fun if you ask him.

His friends just smiled at him, good, he was able to lift off some weight for them.

Dipper tried to end the show early, by using pleiades effect to send his monster back to his hand. Luckily, he came prepared.

Using stargazer effect, he returned odd-eyes with a bang.

Dipper looked shocked and a little bit terrified; he felt a little bad for making him lose his winning streak, but he needs to show what happens when you mess with You Show school.

He wants to protect what is left of his father.

To set up his climax, he used his turn-toad effect to switch the DEF and ATK of stargazer magician, making him have 2400 ATK.

Dipper looked at him warily, but he still looked confident that he could win.Well, time for the climax! 

Using his spell card magical star illusion, he increased the attack of all his monsters by the sum of their levels.

Dipper played XYZ monsters, didn't he? That's bad. He can't participate in the starry show.

Well, here he goes!

—

“Yuya!!!” He saw Zuzu, Gong and the kids rush towards him.

…Then they all jumped at him.

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch! 

“You were so amazing! So manly! That's why you're our best friend!” Gong said while crying tears of joy.

He felt a little embarrassed, but still, it also felt good, really good.

“I knew you could do it, I was a little scared at first, but you shone as beautifully as usual.” 

Zuzu said with a smile. Somehow, that made his heart race a little.

“Are you done with whatever you're doing yet, because you're boring me to death.” The girl of the LDS trio commented.

Zuzu, who was beside him, got really angry and charged at the girl.

“What did you say?!” She shouted.

The girl just grinned and lifted her hair with a smile. 

“What? Think you can oppose me? I don't think you can even put a dent into my perfect diamonds.” 

Zuzu got even more angry beside him, looking like a volcano that was about to explode.

“Fine, I'll take you on and show you who's the boss around here!” She said angrily as she loaded up her duel disk.

“Fine. I, Julia crystal, will crush you.” 

Chairwoman Henrietta smirked, clearly sure of Julia's ability to crush Zuzu.

Worst of all…he was unsure if Zuzu could take on Julia in her current state.

He made her worry a lot in the past and even more now in the present.

Part of him wanted to even interfere and tell her to stop.

No, he needs to believe in zuzu, she'll surely get through.

As he looked at Zuzu’s face when she was preparing herself…he didn't feel so sure anymore.

—

Surprisingly, Julia was okay with her needing a second before they inevitably clashed.

She should use this to her advantage, no? 

She went to another room, particularly the one where chairwoman Henrietta and her father gathered a second ago.

Now, how does she defeat the best of a LDS course?

She had some clue on what to expect, Yuya’s opponent used XYZ, so Julia must either use fusion or synchro. 

Pendulum wasn't entirely out of the equation, but she hoped LDS hadn't magically found the way to do just that.

Since she couldn't be one hundred percent sure, she needed a card that stopped all types of special summoning to happen.

Unless Julia used tribute, which was unlikely, due to chairwoman Himika's arrogance that she saw.

Now which card could she use…?

Ah!

—

“Took you long enough.” Julia smiled arrogantly at her.

“Yeah, let's do this.” she replied, ignoring the provocation attempt,she prepared her duel disc.

“Duelist locked in battle! kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!They storm through this field.behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of duelling!”Yuya and Gong shouted.

“Magic field… Crystal corridor!”

Skip ends.

Her surroundings changed, with glittery floors and walls replacing the tame colours that the duelling field once had. The wall was now covered with different shapes of diamonds, all with different colours. The field ended with a light blue and dark blue glittery door that almost reached the wall.And pillars made of diamonds appeared, adding to the grand look this field encompassed.

“Ah, perfect.” Julia smirked.“Go Zuzu! Dad believes in you 1000%!!!” Her father screamed, making her want to dig herself a hole.

She shaken her face—not the time for this!Instead, she put on the duel disc, as did Julia.

“Action….” She started.

“Duel!” /”Duel!” They both said.

—

“I'll go first, surely you don't mind?” Julia said in a once again provocative manner.

“Yeah, go ahead.”

 “Great! I'll teach you who's the real diamond around here! My turn! I use the spell card gem knight fusion from my hand! This allows me to fusion summon a monster using gem knight monsters from my hand!” She announced.

“I'll use gem knight tourmaline and gem knight emerald from my hand. Come forward! Gem knight topaz (1800 ATK /1800 DEF Level 6 Earth)!” A knight covered with orange coloured diamonds came onto Julia's side.

1800 attack…she could still deal with it.

“I set one card and end my turn.”Julia took a card and set it down.

“Go zuzu! I, gong, believe in you!” She heard him scream from the distant glass.

She nodded and looked at her hand. Let's see…Hm, this could work.

“my turn! I use the spell card 1st movement solo to special summon one melodious monster from my hand, since I have no monsters on my field. I special summon Aria the melodious diva (1600 ATK /1200 DEF Level 4 light )!” A girl-like monster with brown tops and an orange frilly skirt, with its back supported by a single harp-looking wing, came on the field.

“Then I activate Sonata the melodious diva effect from my hand! If I control a melodious monster, I can special summon her to the field. Come forth, Sonata(1200 ATK /1000 DEF Level 3 light)!” Another girl-like monster appeared, this time with green hair and a blue shaded dress, with a similar blue and green harp-like wing on her back. 

She then grinned. 

Time to get the music show started.

“I use sonata and aria to tribute summon…Maestra the melodious diva (2600 ATK /2000 DEF Level 8 light ) !” A new monster emerged from the two, one with a doll-like face, a red dress, and butterfly wings.

“Woah! Sister is so cool!” Ally cheered.

She'll even go higher for that cute face! 

“An ace from the get-go? Not bad.” Sora added.

Ugh, way to show support.

Wait, why hasn't Yuya said anything yet?

 She looked in his direction, looking at his face now; he seemed a little zoned out.Is he going to be alright?

Ugh, no, gotta focus on the battle! 

“Now, I will attack your topaz monster with my maestra!” Her monster charged forward and destroyed Topaz, dealing 800 damage to Julia, which caused her to take a step back and rub the dust off herself.

[ Julia 4000 LP -> 3200 LP]

“I set a card face down and end my turn.” 

“Not bad, but it could be better.” She said, arrogantly.

“My turn. First, I normal summon gem knight alexandrite(1800 ATK/1200 DEF Level 4 Earth ) to the field, but it won't stay here long, as I use its effect to special summon a gem knight normal monster from my deck, at the cost of tributing it. I special summon gem knight crystal(2450 ATK/1950 DEF Level 7 Earth) !” A knight with crystals on top of his hands armour appears on the field.

“2450 attack? That's still not enough to damage maestra.” She stated blatantly.

“Tch, I'm getting there. I use my set trap card fragment fusion. This trap card allows me to use my gem knight graveyard monsters by banishing them to fusion summo-” 

“I won't let you! I activate my set trap card, solemn strike! When a monster would be special summoned, I can negate that activation by paying 1500 life points!” She interrupted.

[Zuzu 4000 LP -> 2500 LP] 

“What?!” Julia said, looking genuinely shocked.

“Woah!” Sora looked at her more happily than ever now.Even Yuya snapped out of his daze and looked at her head-on.

“Go Zuzu!” He screamed.Heh. 

“Fine, I'll end my turn.” Julia said bitterly.Maybe she might actually win this?

“My turn! I draw!” 

“Since a melodious monster is on my field, I can special summon canon the melodious diva to its side too( 1400 ATK /2000 DEF Level 4 Light)!” A dark blue haired girl-like monster on the field, with golden goggles and purple and blue clothing.

“Let's go! Maestra, attack Crystal the gem knight!” Maestra attacked the monster with her notes, destroying it.Causing Julia to take a little of damage.

[ Julia 3200 LP -> 3050 LP] 

Next attack though…

“I attack you directly with cannon!” Cannon sang loudly, her voice hitting Julia badly, causing her to step back considerably.

“Ugh!” Julia grunted.

[Julia 3050 LP -> 1650 LP] 

“I end my turn with that.” She smiled.

“Julia! Gather yourself together and defeat that girl!” She saw the chairwoman get angry on the side.

“Great job, Zuzu!!” Meanwhile, her father looked ecstatic.

“My turn! I play Monster Reborn! I revive Gem Knight Topaz to the field(1800 ATK /1800 DEF Level 7 Earth)!”

Huh? Why that monster again?

“I attack cannon the melodious diva!” Julia continued. That's why? Her monster got destroyed, but the damage was minimal.

[ Zuzu 2500 LP -> 2300 LP] 

“I activate Topaz Gem Knight's second effect! When it destroys a monster by battle, it deals that monster's attack to its owner!”

Huh?!

Topaz charged at her and hit her with his blade.

[ Zuzu 2300 LP -> 900 LP] 

“Zuzu!”

“Zuzu!!” 

Ugh… That hurt a lot, but she smiled anyway to assure her friends that she was fine.So what if she took a little damage? Julia looked like she ran out of moves anyway.

“I…end my turn.” As she predicted.

“Not so confident now, are you?” She giggled.

“You're strong.” Julia said blatantly

.… That's surprising.This girl wasn't so bad after all.

“It's my turn! It was a very challenging duel, but this has to end! I summon Solo the melodious diva in the attack position (1600 ATK /1000 DEF Level 4 light )!” 

This monster…

It's the same monster that that guy used for an XYZ summon; who was he truly? Why did he look so similar to Yuya? What's his purpose?

… …. ….

Hehe, she's getting distracted again.

Hm, she should end this beautifully!

“I attack your topaz gem knight with maestra!” Topaz shattered into pieces, dealing damage to Julia.

[ Julia 1650 LP ->  850 LP]

 “Solo! Let's end this concert! Melodious hearts!” A big heart of notes hit Julia, making her fall on her knees in defeat.

[Julia 850 LP -> 0 LP]

 [ Zuzu wins!] 

—

Smack

“I'm disappointed. I expected better from you, Julia.” The chairwoman said.

Unbelievable… This woman really is something else.

Letting the kids do everything for her and then hitting them if they don't do enough? 

Skip doesn't like this woman at all.

“Hi! Stop that!” He saw Yuya get in front of her.

“You can't treat your students like that!” He continued protesting.

“They need to realise the consequences of their actions; this has nothing to do with you.” Chairwoman replied.At that response, he saw Yuya get even more angry as he clenched his feasts.

“So what if they lost? Duels are supposed to be fun! Not…this!” 

He pointed to the now-injured Julia.

“Hah! Fun. You're just a naive fool; no wonder he disappeared on you.” 

… … …

“Take that back!!!” He watched Yuya charging forward, his fist in the direction of the chairwoman.

Before stopping himself a few centimetres away from her face.

He saw him take a step back, now looking nervous.

He's having a hard time believing that person is really Yuya though, as he can swear he saw his eyes flashing red for a second.

“That's enough.” A new voice sounded.

He turned around, seeing everyone do the same too to the new person in the room.

“I'm Reiji Akaba, and if you really believe you can carry the legacy of your father with you, then show me your skills, right here, right now.” 

—

…

…

…

..

.

His head hurts.

It hurts like hell.

Ugh …

Blinking eyes open, sitting up, looking around, he sees a white space.

Trying to stand up, but a lack of energy causes him to fall to his previous position again. 

What is this place? 

He asks himself.

In your mind.

That's his voice. 

He asked himself.

Haou? 

Yes.

Why am I here?

You're in danger.

What? 

Your body is in danger.

That explains so MUCH. 

His other half sighed.

Your body is running low on power.

Seriously? 

I halted you from using all your energy at once, but it seems even that was enough to hurt you.

This doesn't happen usually, Haou. What's going on?

Somehow, I can't detect any light or darkness in this universe.

… But that's impossible.

I know.

Usually, and ideally, darkness is always accompanied by light, though it seems both of the light and darkness are simply not here.

That doesn't make any sense! 

Not only that, but I can't sense the duell spirit world here.

…

…

…What?! 

He tried to grasp his head around it—that a duell spirit world didn't exist here, but it was simply a thing beyond his wildest imagination. 

Wait, does that mean that duel spirits have ceased to exist? 

I'm not one hundred percent sure , but I think so.

His other self answered him.

…Explain.

It seems to have to do with how this dimension runs, and even though we're not by any means weak, this place is not our turf. So we can only get a few hints through our powers.

But, I can already make a guess or two on why your body is acting the way it is.

He hated how dependent he was on his other self right now, but there were no other options. Not if his existence itself was on the line. 

So? 

Due to the lack of any source of darkness here, your body is having a hard time producing that power into existence, it's simply using up all its reserves until there is nothing left. That's why you collapsed.

Oh…

What happens if I use our powers again? 

I don't recommend doing it, unless you have a death wish. 

Wow… Hearing you say to not use our powers is definitely not something I wrote on my bingo this year. 

Shut up. 

He sighed and looked at the white space in front of his vision , still processing everything his other half said. 

So all I've got to do is not use our powers? 

And return to our universe before this universe deals with you.

Huh? 

His other self sighed in front of him and turned his back to him.

As of right now, we're an anomaly in this universe’s world. 

We're not supposed to be here in the first place, so I won't be surprised if sooner or later this universe will find a way to deal with you, either by kicking us out, which would be amazing, or by killing us.

…

…

…

…

…

…

Great, another death charging to him.

No, he needed to focus. Needed to think of a way out.

The other half of himself was needed, running away was futile, even if it sounded so good in his head. 

…

..

What do you suggest I do then? 

Go home? 

Been trying to do that for quite a while.

Then try harder.

Deep breath, in and out; don't get angry.

Why do you even care? I thought you all cared about proving the world that you're the strongest.

That was your wish too.

…

Cat got your tongue? How pathetic you truly are. Fine, I'll assist a little.

I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! 

Oh? And how else are you planning on surviving, may I ask? You claim boldly to have accepted me, but all you're doing...

His other half stared directly at him in the eyes, with a...disappointed look?. He couldn't tell. 

You know what I mean.

A tense, pregnant pause spread out between them, with neither of them looking to give up their position. 

Then, his other half turned to the other side, staring at the endless space facing them.

I'm not Yubel, nor am I your friend. I am simply you, just the part of you that you still don't accept.

He gave him a smile, but he couldn't tell if it was true or not. 

If you truly want to help these people, then you're going to be on your own from now on. 

What the hell did you mean by th-

Crack

…

…

“Ha…Ha…Ha…” Jaden slowly opened his eyes, still shocked by the sudden kickout.

Slowly, multiple colours came into his vision again before deblurring, letting him see his surroundings better. 

And after sparing a glance, it was easily deductible that he was in fact home.

Well, as homey as it could get.

“How long was I asleep…?” 

—

“Duelist locked in battle! kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!They storm through this field!” Henrietta Akaba and Skip Hiragi shouted.

“behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of duelling!” 

“Magic Field, Acrobatic Circus!” 

Multiple floating balls, poles surrounded by platforms, and other circus-related structures appeared in a darkened room lit with coloured lights.

“Action…duel!” Both Yuya and Reiji spoke together.

As they finished, Skip snapped his fingers, making the action cards spread around the field.

“You can go first, since you let me pick the best field I'm at.” Yuya said.

Reiji looks at him confused.

“You're a weird one, Sakaki Yuya. Showing kindness even at this level of threat. This should be interesting.” He shows a little smile.

Yuya looked at Reiji, a little confused, but before he could ask him about it, he saw him start his turn already.

“I activate 3 spell cards from my hand. First, Dark contract with the gate! This card inflicts 1000 damage to me during my standby phase!” 

“Ehhh???!!” Everyone, except the LDS students and Henrietta, shouted in shock.

“In exchange, I can add one level 4 or lower D/D monster from my deck once per turn. I add D/D Carbeus to my hand!” He continued calmly.

“Doesn't seem like it's wor-” 

Before Yuya could fully end his sentence, Reiji interjected again.

“I activate another dark contract with the gate from my hand.This will deal another 1000 damage points to me in my standby phase, but I can add another 4 level or lower D/D monster from my hand. I add D/D Lilith!” 

What exactly is he planning to do?!

“And lastly, I activate dark contract with the swamp king from my hand! This deals another 1000 damage to me in my standby phase!” Reiji continued.

“That means he'll take 3000 damage points next turn!” Sora said in shock.

“This guy’s crazy!” Zuzu added.

He decided to stay silent, lest he get distracted and miss his chance to win.

“I activate Dark Contract with the Swamp King second effect! This card allows me to fusion summon a fiend-monster using monsters from my hand or field! I use D/D Carbeus and D/D Lilith from my hand!” 

“Huh?!” Both he and Sora gasp in surprise.

So he's a fusion specialist?

"Hellhound, which bares its fangs, seductress of dark night! In whirlpools of light from the realm of the dead, become one and give birth to a new king!”

The monsters vanish into a vortex as Reiji  declared.

“Fusion Summon! Be born, D/D/D Flame King Genghis(2000 ATK /1500 DEF Level 6 Fire)!" A warrior-like fiend wreathed in fire appears on Reiji’s side.

“Is Reiji really a fusion specialist?” Gong said.

“Look at this.” Skip slides his laptop, on it, a record of every recorded duel Reiji Akaba appeared on screen.

“He never used Fusion before…?” Sora noted.

“Is he just messing with Yuya?!” Gong said angrily.

“I set two cards and end my turn. Now, show me how capable you are, Yuya Sakaki." Reiji lifted his glasses.

Wait…that's it? This is going a little too well! Just what is this guy thinking? No, no, he gotta make the crowds shiver in excitement!

He ran and then leaped into the air, then covered his face with a smile, setting the perfect atmosphere for a funny duel.

“my turn! I call whip snake (1700 ATK/900 DEF Level 4 Earth) to the stage!” A purple snake with a hat appeared on the stage, and with its help, Yuya landed on a platform.

“Then I use its magical effect, which switches the ATK and DEF of Genghi!” Whip Snake swings the charm on its tail, hypnotising Genghis, and the large monster drops its massive sword.

[D/D/D Flame King Genghis 2000 ATK /1500 DEF -> 1500 ATK /2000 DEF ] 

“Let's go! I attack Genghis with Whip snake!” He declared.

“Not so fast! I activate one of my set cards, Dark contract with the witch! This trap card increases the attack points of all fiend type monsters I control by 1000, but deals 1000 damage to me in my standby phase.” Reiji countered.

[ D/D/D Flame King Genghis 1500 ATK /2000 DEF -> 2500 ATK /2000 DEF ] 

“Oh no, now the attack won't go through!” Frederick panicked from the sidelines. 

“But Reiji will lose next turn.” Sora commented.

“Huh…oh wait…right! Reiji has 3 continuous spells and 1 continuous trap card that will finish him next turn!” Gong added.

“Just what is his plan?” 

Zuzu said worryingly.

Yuya was too focused on the duel, though, as he leaped into the air, looking for any action cards that may possibly help him.

Luckily he knew this area like his back, and if he remembers right, there should be an action card right ahead.

He rushed forward, and he could see an action card on the next platform; he knew it! 

Jumping forward, he barely grabbed the card from the platform, causing him to fall down on the platform below.

But,he looked at what he got, and...yes! 

“I activate the action card high dive! increasing the attack points of whip snake by a 1000 until the end phase!” 

He shouted excitedly.

[Performapal whip snake 

1700 ATK /900 DEF -> 2700 ATK /900 DEF] 

“Now the attack can go through!” Frederick said.

“This is giving me the shivers!” 

He continued.

“Whip snake continues its attack!” He shouted.

Whip snake charged at Genghis, attacking it and causing a big smoke.

[ D/D/D Flame King Genghis 

2500 ATK /2000 DEF -> 1500 ATK /2000] 

As the smoke cleared though… Genghis was still standing.

“Huh?” Yuya said, baffled.

“I activated an action card myself, Evasion, to be exact.” 

[Reiji 4000 LP -> 3700 LP] 

“Haha! You're putting on quite a show!” Yuya felt his blood rushing again; this guy was seriously good! 

(...and he was playing fairly) 

Anyway, should he end his turn? Technically, Reiji should lose with the amount of damage he's going to take next turn, but after seeing how he plays, he's not so sure.

He can't do anything anyway, so he'll just himself be surprised, he was having fun too.

“I set a card and end my turn.” He said.

[ Performapal Whip snake 

2700 ATK /900 -> 1700 ATK /900] 

“My turn.” As Reiji started his turn, his contract cards all shattered.

“Huh??!” Everyone, excluding Henrietta, gasped in shock.

“But how?” he asked him.

Reiji chuckled, then moved aside, showing a shining trap card behind him.

“I activated this last turn, that's how. Contract laundering got rid of all these measly contracts and let me draw cards up to the amount I used, in other words, four. It's also the reason my Genghis attack got reduced before.” He explained.

“Amazing…” Zuzu said.

“This guy's really good.” Sora added. 

Yuya continued observing Reiji, curious what he'd do after that amazing move.

Pulling himself out of trouble in the last second, he really makes his blood boil with excitement. He kinda reminded him of his dad.

“Well, I should've expected that, but I'm kind of happy because I want to win with the dueltaining dad passed on to me. It may be a naive way to think, but to me, it's a very dear thing.” he said.

“With your father’s duelling?” Reiji asked him.

“Yes. And… Reiji, did you know my father? Personally, I mean.”

He asked hesitantly. He heard from his mother that his father used to have connections with LDS, but how far these connections went, she never told him.

Reiji in turn looked at him in shock, before lifting his glass and looking at him.

“Of course, I'm aware of Yusho Sakaki, who pioneered the current action duelling we now do. I respect him from the bottom of my heart.” he began. “So, show it to me today, the dueltaining that you inherited from your father! In turn, I'll show you the full extent of my abilities!” He declared.

That's sort of an answer...? He noticed that he only answered his answer vaguely at best, but he'll take what he can get and show him that he is in fact the real deal…soon. 

Wait, that last part—did he mean he was holding back all this time?!

He looked at him dumbfounded, but Reiji just chuckled and began his play.

“I summon the tuner D/D nighthowl(300 ATK /600 DEF Level 3 Dark) to the field. I then activate its effect! When it is successfully summoned, I can special summon a 4 level or lower D/D monster from my graveyard, but its attack and defence become 0. I revive Lilith(0 ATK/0 DEF Level 4 Dark) !”A plant-like Fiend emerges from a graveyard portal in front of Yuya, causing him and whip snake to be frightened a little.

“He has a tuner and another monster on the field now! He could…” Tate analyses.

“Synchro summon? That's exactly what I'm planning to do! I tune the level 3 nighthowl with the level 4 Lilith to Synchro Summon! Howls that tear through the night, with swiftness of a gales give birth to a new king! Synchro Summon! Be born! Level 7! D/D/D Gust King Alexander(2500 ATK /2000 DEF Level 7 Dark)!” Reiji continued.

“Synchro summon…” He looked shocked at him.

“Surprised? But I'm not done! I activate the monster effect of Genghis! When a monster is special summoned, I can special summon a monster from my graveyard! Come forward again! D/D Lilith(100 ATK /2100 DEF Level 4 Dark )! Then I activate my Alexander monster’s effect! It lets me special summon a monster again from my graveyard! Come forward too! D/D Carbeus(1800 ATK/600 DEF Level 4 Dark)!” 

“Huh?!” Yuya gasped.

What the hell is he planning now?! 

“I have two 4 level monsters on my field now, I'm sure you know what that means.” Reiji raised his glasses again.

“Wait… You're not planning to-” He heard Sora shout in shock.

"Oh, I'm absolutely going to! I set the overlay network with Lilith and Carbeus! In order to subjugate all that resides within this world, descend now onto the peak of the world! Xyz Summon! Be born! Rank 4! Wave King Caesar(2400 ATK /1200 DEF Rank 4 water )!” Reiji exclaimed.

“That's it. This guy can do anything, and I won't be surprised anymore!” Sora exclaimed.

“Woah, he really is good! I haven't seen a good duel like that since I battled yugi! Ah, the old good days.” A new familiar voice chimed in.

Wait…

Brother?!

“Brother!” he exclaimed. “Jaden!” 

“Hehe, sorry for coming so late. Wish I could have woken up sooner, but you seem to be doing fine.” He said.

“It's fine! Are you okay now? No injuries or anything? Just rest, and I'll handle this! I won't lose!” He replied.

He saw him stretch his hands in the air.

"Nope, everything's fine here, and I'll take you up on that offer. I'm still a little sleep-” 

“So you're Jaden Yuki. You're the one who knocked three of my students out. I heard a lot about you.” Reiji interjected.

Jaden looked a little apologetic at that before regaining composure.

“Sorry about that, but they clearly had something dangerous planned for the kids and Yuya. I couldn't just stand by.” He replied.

“Hm, I see. I'll deal with you later.” Reiji lifted his glasses and looked at him.

“Let's continue where we left off, shall we?” He said. 

“Alright!” He replied.

—

“...and here they go again.” He said.

Man, all he does is sleep for a few days, and Yuya has already gotten himself in trouble again.

He even made a new friend! 

From what he heard, the guy just came out of nowhere (like him) and crashed into the Sakaki household (technically like him) with a little bit of cute acting (was that the true reason Yuko sakaki adopted him?!). 

On top of that, he even had a similar uniform to him. The uniform is not totally the same, but he swears this could very well be an obelisk uniform!.

Maybe this universe is gathering all duell academia students here? Maybe that's why he's here? 

Should he ask this Sora kid about it? 

‘I don't recommend doing that.’ 

Yubel! 

‘Yes, yes, it's me. I'm fine; I just wanted you to recover before I asked you what happened.’ 

Well…uhm…

‘It's fine; you can tell me later. Just relax for now.’

Alright… So, why shouldn't I talk to him? 

‘Something about this guy bugs me; his whole demeanour seems fake to me. I say you don't get too close to him; get to know him, but put him at a safe distance just for safety.’ 

Hmmm…alright.

“Jaden!!!” Zuzu snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Stop zoning out and focus on the duel! Yuya needs all the support he can get!” She grabbed him and started dragging him to the glass window.

“Alright! Alright! I can walk there on my own!” She let go of him but looked at him expectantly.

Ugh, he's never getting a break like this.

Chapter Text

“Oh, this looks tough.” Jaden looked at the field before him while mumbling to himself.

“2 high-level monsters in one turn? And both from a different method too.

“This doesn't look good.”

“Still…” He took a deep breath and shouted.

“Give it your best, Yuya!” 

Yuya looked back at him and smiled.

“Of course!” 

“Hm, you seem to be awfully in a good mood, even though my turn hasn't even ended.” Reiji said, causing Yuya's attention to shift back to him in a mildly shocked and scared pose. 

“I continue my turn. My D/D/D flame king Genghis( 2000 ATK /1500 DEF Level 6 Fire ) attacks your whip snake!” The red fusion monster charged at Whip Snake with its big sword.

“Surprise! I activate my face-down spell card Hippo Carnival, which lets me special summon 3 hippo tokens in defence position. Come forward, hippo tokens!”

Three hippos appeared on the field, each with zero attack and defence points.

“Furthermore, you can't target any monsters besides them for attack!” Yuya exclaimed, which made Reiji grin a little in both delight and surprise.

“Not so bad, but you still have a lot to go. Genghis, destroy one of the tokens.” Genghis charged forward again, destroying one token.

“I'll do the same with D/D/D Gust King Alexander(2500 ATK /2000 DEF Level 7 Wind)!” The second token is destroyed by Alexander’s sword, leaving only one token remaining on the field.

“I don't get it. Even if Reiji destroys all three tokens on the field, Whip Snake would still remain on the field. So why is he doing it?” Frederick asked the others in confusion.

“I don't think he would attack him if he didn't have any monster effect to boost; after all, these are high-level monsters we're talking about here.” Jaden gave a thoughtful response.

Reiji lifted his glasses and raised his lips in what was looking to be a mischievous smirk.

“You would be correct. I activate my Alexander's effect! When it destroys a monster, it can destroy another monster! Say goodbye to your last token.” 

As he said, the hippo token shattered into pieces, leaving Yuya's with only a whip snake to protect him.

“...as expected.” Jaden groaned.

“Now my D/D/D Wave King caeser (2400 ATK/2000 DEF Rank 4 water) attacks your whip snake!” The purple shielded monster attacked whip snake with its heavy sword, cutting it to shreds and causing Yuya to hiss in pain at the attack.

[ Yuya 4000 LP -> 3300 LP ]

“Ugh…” 

“With this, I end my turn.”

“My turn!” Yuya shouted and drew a card from his deck in his duel desk.

“This is…” Yuya looked hopeful again.

‘Maybe I can win this after all?’ 

He thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Jaden and the others were watching in silence; it was quite nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time, and Himika's glare of confidence didn't make them feel any better.

“Hah! This is why you shouldn't mess with us, LDS! You're simply small fries compared to us.” 

She mocked them again, much to their chagrin.

“Yuya will defeat Reiji! Just you wait, old lady!” Zuzu shouted back, causing Jaden to almost burst out laughing.

“I set timegazer magician( <-> 8) and stargazer magician(  <-> 1) in the pendulum zone! Swing! Pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum summon! Come forth! my friends! First, Odd Eyes pendulum dragon (2500 ATK/2000 DEF Level 7 dark)!” The red dragon with red and green eyes emerged from the light again.

“Then, welcome the new star of the show! Performapal Fire Mufflerlion(800 ATK/ 800 DEF Level 3 Fire)!” A lion-like monster appeared on the field, with its head encircled in flames, and its body covered with circus clothing.

“Oh, a new monster! Maybe I should throw a look into Yuya’s deck when I get the time.” Jaden said with a curious smile on his face.

“No fair, I want to do so too!” Sora pouted.

“I fear that's only sibling privileges!” Jaden faked a dramatic fall. 

“Oh really? Miss Yoko has basically adopted me into her amazing home. I quite think that makes me quite qualified for it.” 

Jaden blinked in surprise at the new information that not only Sora Shiunin has stayed once at his “mom”’s home, but has been staying with them since that.

“Wait what?!” 

Sora chuckled and turned to walk in the opposite direction, then leaned against the wall. 

“Let's get along from now on, “brother”!”

“You-” 

“...” The childhood duo observed them in quiet before one of them spoke up. 

“Are they supposed to be bonding or fighting here?” Zuzu asked, confused.

“Who knows.” gong sighed.

—

“I attack your Genghis! Go odd-eyes pendulum dragon! Spiral strike burst!” The dragon launched a red beam of energy at the fire monster, hitting it in the chest and causing it to be destroyed. 

“Now odd-eyes pendulum dragon effect activates! If it destroys a level 5 or stronger monster, it doubles the damage, reaction force!!” Odd-eyes shot up in the sky again and dealt another blast to Reiji directly.

[Reiji 4000 LP -> 3000 LP] 

“Way to go!” Allie cheered.

“I now use my performapal mufflio effect! Since a pendulum monster destroyed a monster this turn, I can increase it's attack by 200 and let it attack again, but mufflio itself can't attack this turn.” mufflio roared and let loose an aura of flame that surrounded odd-eyes pendulum dragon as a ring.

“Yuya is really getting better and better, I can see him defeating me in the future... not that I would let it.” Jaden muttered under his breath.

“Yuya truly is a beast tamer.” Gong smiled with pride next to his side. “No, No! A dragon tamer would be more appropriate here. What we are witnessing is true entertainment! A burning and hot-blooded moment is happening right before our eyes! I can clearly see the influx of students coming if we did another exhibition match. Just imagine- ” Skip went on a long ramble that Jaden decided to tune him out—seriously, the guy's energy was endless—did he forget that pendulum cards are Yuya exclusive?

"I’m pretty sure LDS will figure out a way to duplicate these cards anyway."

Nevermind, he was just dreaming a little too much.

“I attack your Alexander next! Odd-eyes, leap into the sky and show him my determination! Spiral strike burst!” A stronger, flame-assisted, red blast of energy hit Alexander, causing the monster to be burnt to ashes. 

“...and I activate my monster’s effect again! Reaction force!” 

[Reiji 3000 LP -> 2600 LP] 

“Not bad,” Reiji said.

“That's all you got to say?” 

“...” 

“Fine.” Yuya turned away and started jumping around the platforms to find an action card.

As if the field could sense his urgency, he spotted a shining brown card a few steps away and flew, catching it using odd-eyes.

“I activate wonder chance! My monster can attack another time! 

Odd-eyes, go! Spiral strike burst-!”

“I activate my caeser monster effect. By sacrificing one overlay unit, all monsters destroyed this turn will be special summoned again, but I lose 1000 life points per monster still standing during my next standby phase.” Caeser momentarily faded from the field, but then quickly materialised again with Genghis and Alexander, but not before leaving Reiji scarred with a bit of damage.

[Reiji 2600 LP -> 2300 LP] 

“He got all his monsters back.” Zuzu said in fear.

“I set a card and end my turn! Now mufflio effect wears off too.” Yuya continued from the field.

[Odd eyes pendulum dragon 2700 ATK /2000 DEF -> 2500 ATK /2000 DEF] 

“And Yuya couldn't even deal double damage to him since caeser is an Xyz monster and doesn't have levels.” Gong added.

“They don't?” Jaden said in surprise.

“You don't know that?” Sora looked at him with an unreadable expression.

“No,” he admitted quietly, having his pride punched.

“Xyz monsters are special extra deck monsters that you can summon using 2 or more equally levelled monsters on the field. Most of them have to be summoned using monsters on the field that are face-up, while I only know a few cards that allow XYZ summoning via different conditions.” Sora bombarded him with a whole new set of information. After a while, he collected himself enough to talk again. “How do you know all of that?” 

“It's common knowledge.” Sora smirked, and the others around him looked at him with mixed reactions. Some were of amazement, some were of apprehension, and some weren't even listening to what he was saying. 

“It's not common knowledge at all.” “Wow, amazing! You're so smart, Sora!”

“...”

The reactions of the others made Jaden even more wary around the kid. He was definitely hiding something. And definitely not a typical boy. Though he kind of expected that, nobody got into Obelisk without having something they were strong at.

Though for now, it's better to play the idiot card, the way Sora looked at him was enough to convince him to do so.

“Oh right, must be because I never paid attention in class back then.” He replied with a practiced smile. Technically, he wasn't lying here. The short boy kept staring at him in a weird way but then smiled.

“Ah, is that so? I guess that explains the uniform.” Jaden looked at him with shock before regaining composure, deciding not to open that can of worms.

Suddenly, a shout interrupted their conversation. They looked at the source of the voice, only to see that it came from Reiji's duel disc.

“Sir! Reiji sir! Professor Marco was... "

“Wait a second, Claude.” Reiji adjusted the volume to a low amount, making them unable to hear what the other was saying.

“Now you can continue.” He said.

“---” “really?” “---” “when?” “---” “XYZ Energy?” That caught Sora and Himika's attention. “---” “I see. I'll be right there.” He ended the call and looked at Yuya.

“Unfortunately, it seems that this duel won't be seeing it's ending.” He began. 

"It's a shame; I truly looked forward to duelling you.” He added in a low voice which only he could hear. 

“I surrender.” Reiji said in a resigned tone.

“Wait, what?! You can't just up and leave!” Yuya said angrily.

“We still have to determine a winner!” 

“It can't be helped, but next time...” Reiji said. “I'll settle my score with you, and these pests too.” The word ‘pest’ being more directed at Sora than Jaden, but with that, he leaped from ball to ball, joining the other LDS people.

“Wait! I still have so many questions!” Yuya shouted again. But Reiji looked like he was no longer listening, as he and the others exited the building without a word exchange; the only thing they got was mocking and irritated glances from the others, but even that didn't last long as the last LDS student stepped out of their sight. An awkward silence took place after that, nobody knowing how to comment on what just happened. It was surprising to see Skip, who broke the ice.

“Don't take his abrupt leave personal, Yuya; I'm pretty sure he just ran away because of how good you were crushing him.” He said, clearly trying to comfort the kid.

“But I couldn't even beat any of his monsters! The second I think I got the upper hand, he pops up with a new strategy that I didn't see at all! I didn't bring anyone to smile, more like I embarrassed myself in front of everyone.” 

Yuya replied, furrowing his eyebrows and looking away from them. Jaden was slightly suprised. He knew that Yuya had some self-esteem issues, but not to this extent.

The even more depressing realisation that he made after was that Yuya—the idea of smiles so ingrained in him - probably forgets to enjoy himself too. His younger brother was probably trying so hard to move on with his life, smile, and not disappoint his father in the hope he'd come back, that he forgot to enjoy himself,maybe he even blamed himself for it. 

Though he looked like he was enjoying this duel strangely, maybe Reiji's admiration for his father helped him relax and have fun? Maybe Yuya always felt obliged to prove his father wasn't a coward, even though he won his match against the sledgehammer? Out of habit, basically? 

… Well, shit.

(In no way or form is Jaden ever mentioning his state to Yuya, EVER) 

By the way, why the hell did Yuya duel this guy anyway? 

“He wanted to see if I uphold my father's legacy.” Yuya said in a bitter tone. Oh my Ra, he said it out loud. Wait-

Oh. 

Abort. Abort. Abort!! 

He needs to convince Yuya he did good now.

Butmaybehewillsoundingenuine-

Just do it! 

"Well, he was older and more experienced, and you still managed to damage him more than he did you. Hell, you barely took any damage from three consecutive attacks of his high level monsters!” He rushed to explain.

Yuya still continued to frown, but it looked like he was at least giving his words some thought.

“You still haven't mastered your pendulum summoning, or else I'm pretty sure you would have kicked his butt.” Jaden continued with his encouragement, but that frown still didn't disappear.

Fine, he'll have to use his secret weapon then.

“You'll get to duel him again. I'm sure!” Now Yuya finally looked at him and opened his mouth in an O shape. As if he found the key to a hidden door.

“Right! I'll definitely win next time!” He said it with a big smile on his face.

“Still, I kind of wish it lasted longer, even if it meant being totally defeated. Just what is this sensation?” 

“You said something?” 

“No! No! I'm just fine.” Yuya assured everyone.

“I personally think you're going too soft on him, Jaden.” Sora interrupted their talk out of nowhere. “What?” Jaden widened his eyes at Sora’s words. Read the room, dammit! 

“In the champion tournament, you'll never get another chance to prove that you're better than the other person if you lose. You might be able to try again later, but it'll never be the same person nor the same place.” Sora shrugged nonchalantly, like what he said was known and accepted by everyone, but to the others, it was anything but fact. 

“Duelling isn't supposed to be about that, though.” Jaden quickly replied, surprising himself, because he isn't the one to talk about what duels should be. Not after that. Sora just hummed and then looked at him with a perfectly scripted innocent and happy look.

“Oh? Then what should duels be?” He can see that Sora doesn't really care to change his mind but is interested in the answer for something else he can't lay his hands on.

And, now that he asked him the question that he himself has been thinking about Nonstop for all time he was in Duel Academy—he still does now, but that isn't important—and been trying to avoid desperately without success. The words won't just leave his mouth. 

‘Duelling is supposed to be fun.’ 

Yugi taught him that day. He tries his best to practice that notion, but sometimes he just wants to punch someone.

‘You either win or you die. That's how life is.’ 

One of the first'monsters’ he duelled in the world let him into the hell they were living in.

‘I want to win; show him that I'm worthy of him.’ 

Shu once told him. His desire to prove himself to everyone was burning with passion. Dueling wasn't just fun to him. 

‘I want everyone gone! Nothing matters anymore! Because they're all dead! So I can't lose now!’ 

That vampire, Camula, confessed to him in her last moments before he cruelly ended her life.

So instead of answering Sora's question, he looked away to the sky before saying it with a solemn expression.

“Who knows.” 

Everyone has their own answer, after all. It's selfish to try and impose your beliefs on others; he learnt it the hard way. 

(The way Yuya looked at him that day only solidified it.)

—

“Yuya! Stop sleeping in class!” His teacher threw chalk on his face, causing him to panic and frantically move around looking for the source of the supposed danger, only to see that it was his math teacher calling for him.

“Um, ah, sorry!” He bowed in embarrassment, but that didn't stop the others in class from laughing.

“Just try harder to not fall asleep next time.” The teacher sighed in resignation. Though he felt bad for the teacher, he couldn't really sleep yesterday because his mind was going over and over again about what happened. 

‘It’s not like I'm disappointed,’ he thought to himself.

‘I just wished to prove myself to him and bring a smile to the crowd, especially my brother.’ 

He continued the train of thoughts.

though, He wondered if Sora and Jaden would get along while he was gone...

They did have that argument yesterday, and Yuya couldn't help but agree with Sora. 

You can't really bring a crowd to smile if you can't win. The only thing you would get were boos and tomatoes thrown at you.

Though he was a little curious about Jaden's response to Sora's declaration yesterday. Claiming duels aren't that yet not having an answer himself. 

He thought his brother had the answers because he was the adult here (with his mother), and adults really know what's best for you, right? 

“Yuya, it's lunch break. Stop dreaming in Circus Land." Zuzu stood before him.

“I wasn't!” 

“Sure. Let’s just go eat lunch.” 

Zuzu waited for him to pack his stuff, then both of them headed outside to eat together.

“Sooo,” Zuzu began with a smirk on her face.

“Hm, what?” Yuya asked.

“I qualified for the junior championship tournament!” She excitedly announced.

"Wait, you did? Congratulations, Zuzu! You totally deserve it!” 

“Hehe, thanks.” 

“Oh? So the perpetrator's girlfriend can duel! I thought you were backup folder.” Slyvio approached them suddenly. 

“...I crushed you in a duel.”

“Unimportant details! Unimportant details!”

“And why are you calling me the perpetrator? I thought I already proved that I didn't do it.” Yuya said, annoyed.

“that’s true. This attack did take place when he was duelling chef." Slyvio muttered to himself.

"ANYWAY! I look forward to duelling you in the junior championship tournament! I'll crush you first try!” 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Zuzu said uninterested.

“You-” 

*Ding ding* 

“Ah, looks like class is starting. I guess we sadly gotta go.” Zuzu smirked. “Yeah, what a shame.” Yuya added and walked away with Zuzu.

…

…

…

“I'LL DEFINITELY WIN! YOU JUST WATCH!” 

—

“Wait.” Yuya checked his duels and win rate. 

“No,No,No!!!” 

“I don't have enough wins to sign up for the tournament?!” 

And so, Yuya spent all school day looking for classmates to duel him, with utter failure.

—

“So you asked the whole school, AKA a school of at least 400 people, yet still couldn't find someone to duel you.” Jaden couldn't contain his laughing.

“It's not funny! I need these matches or else I can't become a pro, and if I don't become a pro, I can't become an entertainer, and if I can't become an entertainer, then I can't follow my dad's footsteps.” Yuya explained very seriously.

Jaden shrugged “I guess so.“

“But I'm sure you'll find some opponents; I mean, someone must be out there with hot blood like yours.” he tried to assure him. “Or you could ask Gong to help you; I'm pretty sure he won't turn you down.” Yuya sighed. “I don't want to rely on Gong too much; he already helped me to find over 40 matches,” he admitted. “Where are you going to find some duellists to duel then?” Jaden asked. Yuya stared at him.

“Heh. Sure. If you are ready to be absolutely crushed.” Jaden chuckled.

"Oh, by the way, do you know where the others are? It's unusual for me to pick you up alone.” Jaden was commenting on the lack of presence of Zuzu and the three kids.

“Actually, I'm not attending You Show school today. I thought we could spend time together, you and me, especially now that you are recovered. And yes, Zuzu’s father already put you in as sick today.” Yuya slipped casually.

“And Sora is there too?”

“I don't know; the others texted me an hour ago to ask me where he was.” 

“...So nobody knows where he is.” 

“You could say that, but—” 

“I'm going.” 

Jaden ended their conversation and went off running.

“Wait!  Ugh, he's already gone.” 

—

‘Don’t run too fast, Jaden; you're still recovering.’

‘I’ll be fine.’

‘Yes, because you're clearly not being killed as of right now.’ 

‘...’

‘...’

‘Let’s just go.'

—

So this is LDS Corp., Sora thought.

It looked quite fancy, with the whole building being made of glass.

He came here to duel Reiji, but it looks like he has to postpone this objective for later because this building was seriously surrounded in each corner with security officers! 

He could probably knock them down, but it'll create unwanted attention, therefore getting the professor's attention, which means he'll be stuck on the island forever and will be deemed incompetent.

The worst thing that could happen to you as an Academia soldier.

Ah, he's bored.

“Sora! Here you are!” He turned in the voices direction. A familiar brown haired man with a red jacket was running towards him. Jaden. Why is he here?

“Why are you here?” Jaden asked as he reached him.

“Just wanted to duel Reiji.” Which was kind of the truth; he was also curious why he so abruptly left. 

“I see. I tried the same thing before; actually, I heard this guy controls everything around here.” Jaden answered with a distant look.

“Really?” 

“Yeah, apparently he belongs to the family line of Akaba, which has run this place for generations.” Huh, Akaba-

Akaba?! Does that mean the guy is the professor's son?! He can see the physical similarities, but their personalities are totally not the same! 

“You okay?” Jaden asked him, looking more curious than worried.

“Yes, absolutely fine!” Whatever, it wasn't important if the professor hadn't mentioned it to him. Though, now that he thinks about it, there was something important that he needed to do, right now. The man next to him made it really hard for him to decide if he was an ally or enemy. He just didn't make sense. So when something doesn't make sense, Sora acts. 

“Let's have a duel right now; how about it?” 

“I refuse.” Jaden quickly answered.

Eh? He refused? Isn't this guy supposed to be a duelist? Does he think he is superior to him or something?

Aaaah! Whatever, he's duelling him whether he likes it or not! 

With that settled, Sora grabbed Jaden’s hand.

“Oi, what are you doin-" But he didn't continue to listen to him as he continued running to an unused storage house. When they were finally there, Jaden snapped his hands off his hold. So he is strong physically too, Sora notes.

“Now, explain yourself.” Jaden looked at him as a calm man would if you hurt his friends. 

But Sora saw too many things to really be afraid anymore, the professor's training really helped. 

“For a duel!” 

“I already said no.” 

“I still want to duel.” 

“You…” Jaden looked more annoyed than angry now. “Fin-” 

“No, you won't. You academic parasites will be facing me.” An unfamiliar, yet somewhat familiar, came from above their heads. Sora’s patience is running thin, whoever the newcomer is, they're in for a little cutting. He also didn't have to look for the person, as they came into his view, having seemingly jumped from the ceiling. Jaden widened his eyes in shock at him, and Sora couldn't help but do the same, as he looked so similar to Yuya in anything but clothing and the slightly darker hair. 

“Yuya…! When did you get here, no, who are you?” Jaden said.

“Who I am doesn't matter, because this will be your end route!” The Yuya-lookalike said angrily. Sora sighed. What a nuisance. 

“Fine. Fine. I'll card you and welcome you to my collection.” 

“What card-” But before Jaden finished his words, he and the boy disappeared into a flash of light.

“Sora! There you are!” Zuzu Hiragi showed up at the entrance of the storage room, alongside Yuya on her side.

“Have you seen Jaden?” She asked worriedly. Uhhh… How was he supposed to explain this? Whatever, let's just be blunt.

“He disappeared into a flash of light with a Yuya-lookalike.” 

The two looked at him dumbfounded, waiting for him to say it was a joke or that he has been having delusions or something; when he didn't, they practically screamed so hard it was a wonder his ears were still functioning.

“What?!?!” 

—

“Huh?” 

“Since when was I in a park?” 

“Did I teleport myself or something, huh?” 

“...I give up; trying to understand magic is like trying to understand complex math material when you still don't get the basics.” 

Chapter Text

Jaden discovered that he in fact did not teleport himself. It was something that he finally accepted after he asked Yubel for the thousandth time, and the answer was always ‘no’. Doesn't hurt to be too careful, right?

So, sadly forced with nothing else but to face the problem head-on, Jaden shook his head and finally asked. 

“Who, and how did they do it?” 

—

*Hicks*

Zuzu hiccuped out of nowhere; why did it always come at the worst time? 

—

But of course, he got no answer. 

He was only alone after all, though he did weird gazes from passersby. He’s been into these situations too much to not care. 

“Though it looks like I'm still in Miami, that's good." Jaden sighed in relief. He did not want to walk all the way from a different country that he didn't even know anything about.

Technically, he did do some studies about the other countries around here, but he pretty much forgot half of the things he learnt. 

‘Let’s just go home, Jaden.’ Yubel said with an annoyed undertone, no doubt still angry about the endless barrage of questions; the fact that it was always the same question did not help.

“Yes. Yes.” With that settled, Jaden began to walk back home. The sun was already settling down when he finally hit the Sakaki household small garden. 

Though he was used to walks like this, courtesy of his long years of travelling, his stamina had decreased slightly, most likely due to his lack of adventures in the past years. When he knocked the door, the door immediately opened—no, like literally—and Yuya and Zuzu came charging at him, pinning him down, much to his demise. 

“Can't breathe,” Jaden said in the hope they'd let him go so that he could finally talk without the threat of suffocating. Thank you very much for worrying, but he'd like to stay alive. As he said it, Yuya and Zuzu seemed to have realised what they were doing and let go of him.

“Sorry! Sorry. You just made us really worried; don't just disappear like that!”

Yuya replied, his concern plastered all over his face. He had a point; collapsing for at least a few days and then, to add to the trouble, disappearing shortly after would make anyone worry, or so did Yubel argue. If Yuya is this worried, he dreads his mother's reaction.

“You reckless troublemaker!” 

Ah, he can say goodbye to his weekly supply of fried shrimp. Truly a tragedy he lives in. 

“Do you know how worried I was? Yuya and Zuzu carrying all the way back home after you apparently beat up some guys and then collapsing, then now you go disappearing on us? Just so you know, you're grounded.”

Yoko said with a finality that showed that she isn't messing around. Though the look of worry on her face was showing through. Oh well, he kind of deserved it. Though he didn't teleport this time! He has to get the bottom of that mystery! 

“We have some information to discuss anyway.”

Nevermind, he guesses he could let himself relax and let the others explain what they discovered. As much as he hated to admit it, his solo work wasn't working, meaning that he has to further be a liability.

“So?” He said, preparing himself for the worst. His experiences told him to do so.

“We should take this inside. Get you to rest up first.” Yoko suggested before anyone could say anything worthy of note. Yuya and Zuzu quickly nodded to her and wrapped their hands around him. He felt like he was being treated like a baby; he didn't really understand it though; he was really fine. 

“I can walk, you two.” 

“...Right.” 

“No, really!” 

“...”

“...” 

“Fine. Just this time though.” He hopes they stop soon; he's not used to being cared off this way; it was kind of off-putting. 

—

Yoko went to get something to eat for the little group while they waited in the living room. It was very quiet, though in a serene way. Jaden could sit like this for a while. Zuzu and Yuya decided to get out some card games to play while his mother was busy. It was nice to know that some sort of card games existed too in this world that weren't duelling, like his. Maybe just like his world, but there were little people who actually played these games there.

He played a 4 blue.

All the people cared about was duelling, duelling, and duelling. While he didn't mind such things, sometimes he wished there was some more variety, something to keep his mind off duelling instead of being hit right and left with it.

Ah, a +4 to Yuya will absolutely ruin his friendship with his brother; will he still do it? Absolutely.

This world wasn't better per se—it was worse sometimes; the real mass of the monsters is enough to convince him so—but it was a world that was unfamiliar with him, one where he could be himself and nobody would recognise him. It was an escape from the sins he committed. He won't repeat the same mistake again, never, ever, as long as he lives.

“Earth to Jaden!” A hand gently slapped him over his face; it couldn't really be called a slap; it was more of a gentle touch with a little strength in it. He snapped back to his surroundings to see that it was Zuzu. Right, it was his turn; did he have any red cards in his hand? Oh, in fact, he does!

“Uno!” He called as he placed his last card on the floor. 

“And so, I won for the 5th time from the 5 times we have played.” He grinned.

Yuya and Zuzu looked at him frustrated but defeated, both groaning at his remark.

“I'm never playing luck games with you again.” Yuya said, exasperated.

“Duels are still based around luck somehow.” He countered.

“... Except that. Seriously, why do you always have some good counterarguments?”Yuya said the latter in a low-pitched tone, but Jaden could hear it anyway because they weren't that far away from each other.

“At least you're not in last place.” Zuzu commented, her remark being directed at Yuya more than him, but she looked furious either way. They laughed.

“I made dinner; come along.” Yoko interrupted their gaming session, looking tired from her eye bags but happy nonetheless, with that smile on her face being enough proof for him to deduce so.

He nodded and began gathering the cards with the two, bringing them into their box and setting them in their place. Then they all gathered around the table. Yuya, next to Zuzu across the other side of the table, and his mom sat on the chair centred in the middle.

Though, now that he finally looks properly around, he noticed that a certain blue-haired boy was missing, alongside Yuya's other childhood friend, Gong. Just as he started thinking about it, a ringing sounded from the door. 

“Ah, it's Gong; I'll go and open the door.” Yuya said to everyone and went to open the door. Not waiting for a response. And soon, Gong came walking to them.

“Sorry for being late; the man had to do some things in the dojo.” He explained. Jaden sometimes still feels unsure how to approach this particular kid, as he seemed too wise and at the same time naive like a child. Though he's gotten used to it by now, mostly.

“It's no problem, as long as you're fine.” Jaden has come to care for him, as he cared for Yuya. He didn't really come to develop a deep relationship with him yet, with their friendship being based on them both knowing Yuya. Gong sat next to him, though he didn't seem to mind it or thought the situation didn't call for a comment.

Now the only missing person was Sora; he didn't really care for him; in fact, he was quite wary of him; he looked like a child; he acted like a child in front of Yuya, but, despite all of that, Jaden couldn't shake that feeling of something being wrong. What happened yesterday was enough reason to keep his distance.

“So. What happened while I was on standby?” He put a joke in there to lighten the atmosphere. The others noticed and laughed a little.

“Nothing much… Is what I'd like to see?" Yuya looked down to the floor as he said the last part. “Yeah. Figured so.” He sighed.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Zuzu asked. Somehow he felt it was a trick question. “The good news, of course,” he answered. 

“Well, we're fine now.” He waited for her to continue, but realised that that was it. They survived. That's the good news. He realised that whatever must've happened wasn't good at all.

“And the bad news?” He enquired cautiously. “There's another Yuya running out there, another me probably, and LDS almost took over our school.” It looked like they didn't want to bush around the bush today. But seriously, how is he supposed to react here? 

‘Let's try to think about it logically’ he thinks. The only logical but unlikely explanation for this is...

“Did you have twins when you had Yuya, mom? And decided to only keep one?”

He got hit by a paper fan for that question, courtesy of Zuzu. He deserved it. So Yuya really got a twin running around in the city, with nobody knowing about his existence besides them? Wait...twin looked like Yuya. He feels like he encountered him before...

Ah! When Sora dragged him away to that storage warehouse! 

He did look like Yuya, scarily so.

“I did meet him shortly.” He announced. The others looked at him with interest; Zuzu looked more relieved than anything, though. “Did he have ragged clothes and a mask?” She asked. Yes, that was what he looked like! “Yes. He looked beaten up too.” He added.

“So there really is a twin, lookalike, or whatever you call it, running around doing terrible things under my name?” Yuya asked hesitantly, and Jaden couldn't help but be a little empathetic. That must have been stressful for him, but did he just say that the boy is causing chaos? Why? What's his goal?

“Do you guys know why he's doing that?”He asked and got no answers besides a long, enduring silence. They all had a regretful expression too. But, eventually, Zuzu did speak up.

“I was the one who met him; he wanted to protect me from Slyvio, and he also called me Ruri."She recalled her experiences to them. From that account, the guy sounds like a good person.

“Why?”

“He said the name academia.”

“Huh?”

Isn't that what he was called? The others looked at him curiously, waiting for him to explain himself.

“He called me an ‘academia parasite’,” he began.

He looked around to make sure that Sora really wasn't here before talking about the next thing.

“I seriously don't know why he called me that; I graduated a long time ago,” he said. “Oh right, you told us that before. He has a point; you never wear anything without that jacket, even though mom bought you so many clothes.” Yuya said while staring at him with an accusing look, which is not fair. He just likes his uniform very much and nothing else.

“It's just very practical.” He said.

"Still,” his mom frowned.

“Alright, Alright. I'll try to wear another jacket for once.” He said, but he's pretty sure he won't. His mom seemed to have read him and just sighed. Yuya clapped his hands together, then suddenly. “Getting back on topic. Four days ago you…” Yuya began but didn't finish. 

—

“Fainted.”

Gong continued for him, thankfully, even if he was going to talk about it anyway. He doesn't really believe his brother will talk about what really happened, but he needs to at least know if it's going to happen again and how he can prevent it. It's the least he could do. He looked at Jaden's face directly to see how well he took it. As he imagined, his brother crossed his arms and looked away for a second. A bad start. Is his brother sick or something?!

“If you need anything, any medicine or special diet, I'm sure mom can make it!” He tried to reassure his brother that everything was fine, but his brother still looked as uncomfortable as before.

“I'm fine. It's just…”his brother started, and they all waited for him to continue. After a while, Gong seemed to have gotten tired of waiting and spoke up.

“It's just what? Don't you know how worried everyone was? Yuya and the others might try to sugarcoat it, but I won't. I think we deserve the right to know if you need help or not.” Gong said with a steadfast resolve, something he was a little envious of.

His brother also seemed to be actually thinking about revealing what's on his mind. As he clenched his fists on his lap, he looked down as he spoke up. “I've been running around a lot, so I must have exhausted myself there.” Ah, that explained it. He should really pay attention to where his brother goes more. 

“I refuse to accept this explanation.” His mom slapped her hand on the table. Which…

He understood. Even if he doesn't like to dig deep into someone's past without permission, his brother was clearly not telling the whole truth. And he doesn't want him fainting on him again.

“I'm really fine. There is no need to worry about me.” His brother tried to act calm, but he could see that it was all an act and that he was anxious. Somehow that made his heart beat really fast, and the next thing he knows, he's standing in front of Jaden.

“Don't lie to me! I don't want something to happen to you too!” he screamed. He was getting tired of being in the unknown; he just wanted to have some fun and maybe have his father come back home; that's it. 

Jaden flinched at his tone. Did he make him scared? Is he… scary? “I didn't mean to scream.” He took a deep breath; getting angry won't bring anything. “No, I'm sorry.” His brother abruptly spoke. “I know how much you're worried about me. It's just really complicated and not the most pleasant story to tell. I don't want to put even more stuff on you than you already have.” He looked away as he said that, but Yuya could tell that he was being genuine. Just before he could even respond, his mom interrupted. “I won't push this time, but if something like this happens again...” 

—

His mom wasn't messing around. If her tone was anything to go by. He nodded. It looks like he can't escape this conversation no matter what. Just how the hell is he supposed to explain that he's... well... what... he... is? 

He could probably go on talking about himself for 3 hours and still only be halfway through. Every one of his reincarnated lives was something on its own.

Not to mention Yubel, the truth that he wasn't even from here, the powers in his universe, and 

the fact that he was actively dying? His body was hurting during the whole conversation. It got better now that he doesn't use his powers and uses Yubel’s, which surprisingly worked just fine. Ugh, this is all a huge headache! He might as well just start writing a book and give it to them instead of explaining. Which is a crazy thought because he hates writing.

—

“Yes, Yes.” Jaden said. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Zuzu had stopped talking when the topic shifted to Jaden; she focused instead on finding out the reason for his little fallout. And as per Jaden style, I avoided the topic AGAIN. She thought a line would be drawn at hiding secrets when it came to his health, but no—you shouldn't have expected any better—keeping his promise to them is another thing they don't know if he will do. She was a little frustrated but decided to stay silent anyway. She needed to address the next important topic. 

“Uhm, actually, there is one last thing we have to discuss before we're done.”She confessed. The others stopped with their previous discussion and turned their attention full to her.

“Hm, what else is there to discuss?” Jaden innocently asked her.

“The bracelet I usually wear... It started glowing after the Sawatari duel, and by the time it did stop, Yuya was already in front of me, asking what I was doing and why I was here. The grey-eyed Yuya was nowhere to be seen,” she began.

The others looked with shock at the new information. Jaden's reaction was the most interesting though; he looked like he was understanding something they weren't.

“It also glowed when we were looking for you, Jaden.” She tried to make Jaden open up with this additional information; he'll no doubt be curious why this happened if it affected him too. 

“Ah, then I guess I'll have to explain what happened to me after that, huh? It's quite simple; one second I was with Sora, and the next I was at a park I didn't know the name of, but luckily I was still in Miami City.” He recalled his experiences to them.

“So it... teleported you?” Yuya’s mom enquired, disbelief evident on her face. “Uhm…probably?” Jaden said, looking unsure himself. “You don't know?” She asked herself now. “Not really. It's just what I think happened.” He admitted, and she could see that he was being genuine, mostly. There was a little bit of hesitation before, but now it seemed to have disappeared or has been strategically hidden. 

Oh, and she hasn't heard what she did to Jaden; she just chose to ignore it for now. There was too much going on, so

She'll just think about it later. Yes, that should do.

“...is that all?” Jaden said. He looked at the others to see if they had anything to add, but they seemed to be done judging from their looks.

“Well, I guess I'll go rest in my room.” He said. “Wait!” Yuya shouted after him as he went to the stairs. He turned around in wonder to see what he wanted.

"Tomorrow...can we just hang out together, us two? You know, just like we planned to?” Yuya asked him, and he didn't see any problems with it. Not like anything had to be done right now. "Yeah, sure—wait, I'm on house arrest though; I can't go outside.” He complained. Thankfully, his mom picked up his message and sighed. “It's okay if you hang out tomorrow, but stay safe. And I repeat, stay safe.” She gave him a serious look, alongside Yuya.

“Yeah! Will do!”

“sure…” 

—

If anything good came out of this whole experience, it is that his ‘nightmares’ have seemingly stopped. His dreams were for once dreams. A good, comfortable sleep. He dreams about becoming the king of games or working together with his friends, or of a life where he was a simple boy with Yuya and the others on his side. Not that he knows the reason for it; he also doesn't care. Good sleep is good sleep.

“Good morning!” His brother opened his room’s door without knocking. Left the room. Didn't even say anything else. 

He thought of going back to sleep; the others wouldn't mind, right? 

‘I’m sure they do.’ Yubel blasted his bubble. ‘At least Yuya will; you promised to hang out with him after all.’ She reminded him. 

Right. He's going to hang out with his brother today, relax, and do nothing of importance. Right. Who's he trying to fool? He's pretty sure fate will play another joke on him today, like it has been recently. He's kind of glad that it's back to how it used to be, but in his heart, he will miss the peace and quiet.

He gets up from the bed, goes to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, and then heads back to his room to wear his regular clothes. At least that was the plan. Because when he opened the closet, none of his red jackets were there. So, he panicked. 

He threw all his clothes out on the floor.From one to one, check on each of them. Even looked under his bed or table, but no, they weren't there. And like the sane and responsible adult he is, he ran to his mom's room to interrogate—ask his mother where it is.

“Mom! Have you seen my jacket?” He asked with worry. His mother's face turned from confusion to a big smile as he finished, so she knows something.

“I threw them all in the washing machine; washing them all together is just more efficient than one at once.”

That's clearly a lie, and she knows it. Does she really want him to try something else so much?

“When will it be done?”

“A day or two probably.”

Ugh, whatever. He sighed and accepted his fate. Maybe he'll wear that green jacket he also had before today.

“I'll be right back.” He said. “You can head straight to the living room; Sora and Yuya are already eating there.” She said as he was leaving. Wait, this early in the morning? “It's past 10, Yuya, just let you sleep more.” His mom really is becoming too good at reading his face—kinda scary—he thinks as he goes back to his room. Hm, maybe he should switch it up a little bit today. It's hot outside anyway, so maybe a t-shirt is enough? 

A red t-shirt. If he can't have his usual wear, then he'll just have to compensate. He also decides to wear his usual blue jeans.That should do it.

He brings everything back to where it belonged and sorts his bed; then he quickly rushes down to not be late for breakfast. It was the weekend today, so he could relax, but still.

He sees Sora and Yuya fighting over the pancakes, with Yuya having that annoyed look he usually throws at him. It was kind of fun to see.

“You're finally here.” Yuya said with a mocking tone, though it was only for show, he knew, because Yuya was smiling brightly, unnoticed to himself. Though that expression quickly turned to shock, suddenly.

"Oh, you are actually wearing new clothes?”

He teased him again. He doesn't remember him being that daring when he first met him.

“More like I was forced to. How do I look?” He asked.

“You look fine.” He replied. “That's all you have to say?” He asked again.

Yuya stuck out his tongue. “Hahahahaha.” Sora laughed suddenly; this was probably front-seat entertainment to him right now. Then he continued eating in silence. Jaden didn't pout; he didn't. “Where do you want to go today?” He switched the topic quickly. Yuya looked complementary as he stared outside.

“I don't know. To me, anywhere is fine. I was more curious about what you'd want.” He revealed. What he'd want, eh? That's a interesting question to ask himself.

“I was thinking of going around with the motorcycle; it'd be easier to have fun in the city like that.” He suggested. In truth though, he just liked the feeling of going really fast while trying new things. It's a childish trait of his, really. Yuya beamed. “Yeah. Of course. Sure. Absolutely!” He stood up from his seat and placed his hands on the table. 

Kind of cute to see him so excited. Still. He was hungry.

“Food. Then hang out.” He waved his hand up and down, clearly telling the other to sit down. Yuya pouted but sat down anyway. Good. Now he can finally enjoy some food. 

He took his knife and fork, cut the pancake in half, and began eating.

Truly, his mother's cooking is divine.

—

Yubel wasn't sure what to think when they—her, Jaden, the cat, the professor, and the duelling spirits—ended up in this universe. Unlike other places they've been to — ̶d̶a̶r̶k̶,̶ ̶g̶l̶o̶o̶m̶y̶,̶ ̶r̶o̶t̶t̶e̶n̶,̶ ̶l̶i̶f̶e̶l̶e̶s̶s̶,̶ ̶m̶i̶s̶e̶r̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶g̶o̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶ ,This one is brimming with life, bright, happy, and comfortable. 

At first, she was wary, as was Jaden; they were similar in that regard and rejected its existence. They were both terrible people; as much as she hated to say such things about her beloved, they deserved no mercy. They both could only do their best and try to fix what still could be fixed. The massacre she caused Jaden didn't go away; Jaden's friends are still uncomfortable around them; even if they lie through their teeth and deny it, they can tell. They're still scared, uncomfortable, and even terrified of them. 

Yet, the more time they spend here, the more Yubel feels at peace? It's a strange feeling, one she rarely ever had in her life. Maybe once. When she was still a little child, having fun with her prince. Jaden is eating regularly, taking care of himself, and smiling genuinely. Nobody knows who he is; nobody feared him nor found him ‘interesting’. She can see how relieved he is by that, and she can't help but feel happy too. 

Must fate be so cruel then? 

They can't stay here; it's harming him. While he might be happy, they can't stay. Die. He'll die. Even though her beloved might have found a home. Home won't accept him.

Yubel can't help but laugh in pain.

She continues watching Jaden talk to Yuya, his body clearly relaxed. Oh, how she wishes this moment could last longer. 

But fate isn't nice to anyone, is it?

—

Both of them get on the motorcycle, with the older one taking the front. 

“Ah, it's so nice to use this thing again.” He said. “It hasn't been a week since you last used it.” The other replied.

“Still.” He laughed. He likes the freedom this thing makes him feel.

He switched the motorcycle on and pressed on the kickstart lever. Then squeezed the clutch lever, pressed down the gear shift lever to reach 1st gear, and then finally slowly released the clutch lever as he felt the motorcycle pull, twisted the throttle slightly, and increased the engine’s RPM’s.

“Alright 1…2…3, ready or not, we're going!” And so the motorcycle raced with life. 

It was a nice feeling, making him feel almost free.

Almost.

—

As he was driving in silence, thinking about all the things happening till now, Yuya tapped on his shoulder.

“Wanna go to an amusement park after taking a round around the city?” Yuya asked absentmindedly.

And really, he really needs it, because he doesn't want to think about anything right now. He needed some type of distraction. Did something change in him? Isn't he getting a little too carefree?

“Yes. That would be great.” He replied, but it sounded more like a plea rather than an affirmation.

—

They both stepped off the motorcycle and walked next to each other to the amusement park. It had been a little bit of a long ride because of them living at the edges of the city, so the centre took longer to reach.

Though luckily, it seems that there weren't that many people around at this time. The park looked bright and vibrant, the rides illuminating with lights (a waste of energy, Yubel whispered, he laughed), noises playing on top of each other, people spending time together, and, most importantly, a happy atmosphere. 

“Ah, it's been so long since I've been here!” Yuya exclaimed behind him.

He fixed his eyes on him and decided to reply with a shallow, surface-levelled comment.

“Is that so?” 

“What do you want to try first? We can try out the bumper cars, the condor, the slides, visit the haunted house, or... we could simply try out the carousel!” Yuya said excitedly. 

“A carousel, seriously?” Jaden chuckled. “Aren't you a bit too old for that?” 

“You never become too old to try a simple, plain carousel!” 

“My father sai- anyway! What do you want to try?” Jaden didn't miss him correcting himself but simply smiled and played along.

“Let's try the condor then.” 

“Of course you'd choose that.” 

“I'll go get the tickets then.” Jaden smirked, which already made Yuya regret not fighting for something else. 

Soon, he came back with two blue tickets, each with a green dinosaur drawn on them. 

“Never doing that again.” Jaden suddenly said.

“Huh? Why?” Yuya asked curiously.

“People.” Jaden simply said.

“You need to be more elaborate than that, you know?” Yuya replied, but got no answer back.

—

“Didn't know this amusement park was supposed to be dinosaur themed.” Jaden commented with a thoughtful expression.

“Something the matter?” 

“Just reminded me of a friend, that's all. Let's go.” 

Yuya stayed silent a little, wondering if he should push his brother to talk about it. But decided against it in the end.

“Alright.”

—

“Huh. This thing is kind of fun.” Jaden yelled.

“Right? I feel like I'm flying!” Yuya replied enthusiastically. 

“That's why it's compared to a bird, huh?” 

“...guess so.” 

“It's been a while since I felt so... free." Jaden muttered that part quietly.

“Huh? Can you say that again? I can't hear you; it's too loud up here!!” Yuya yelled. 

“Haha! It's nothing, just this ride is entertaining.” 

“We should come again!” 

“Yeah.”

—

“AH!” 

“... it's just a person with a veil, Yuya.” 

"Ah, it really is.” 

Jaden held Yuya's hand and continued walking through the haunted house, finding it amusing that his brother gets scared so easily.

“AAAAH!” 

“What now?” 

“In front of you...!” 

“...” Jaden eyed the hologram in front of him.

“It’s just a vampire.” He deadpanned.

“Just. Just a vampire?!” 

“Yuya, you fight monsters on a daily basis.” 

“...”

“Oh. Right. I was just scared because it popped out of nowhere. T-That's all.” 

“I see.” Jaden smirked.

Jaden won't mention that he met a real vampire.

—

“How about we go to the Ferris wheel next?” 

“Hm, why not something more exciting?” 

“You were literally shaking in your pants right now.” 

“So?” 

Jaden sighed. “So. Let's do something that won't scare the hell out of you.” 

“Ooooh. Okay.” 

“You're not going to listen to me, are you?” 

“Nope!” 

—

“This thing is pretty slow.” 

“We haven't reached the top yet, yuya.” 

“Oh right.” 

The car kept rising to the horizon, no doubt as a way to cause tension and excitement, though Jaden found it to be a little boring right now, as did Yuya. He thought a roller coaster would be more fun.

“We're almost there.” He said.

“Really? Wait…” Yuya looked around and noticed they're still very far away from the horizon.

Jaden cackled.

“You're insufferable.” 

It took a few minutes before they reached the horizon, but when they did, the car started to fall down at an extremely high speed down the terrain. It was the kind of fun that both he and Yuya enjoyed.

“The first part still could use some improvements though.”

“Like how?” 

"I actually don't know.” 

And so, Jaden spent a lot of time thinking about ways to improve the roller coaster only to realise that it didn't matter because he doesn't run this place and his standards aren't necessarily human. 

—

“This apple is delicious!” Yuya exclaimed. 

“It's a little expensive though for an apple dipped in chocolate.” 

“Really?” 

“... Nevermind. I forgot how rich your father is.” 

“Want one?” 

Jaden thought about it for a while; he hasn't really eaten anything sweet in a while, so buying one or two won't hurt.

“Sure. Get me a banana dipped in chocolate.” 

Yuya gave him a thumbs up before he went to the sweets stand again and bought him what he wanted.

“You really gotta talk with people more.” He said as he came back.

“No. Thank you.” Jaden replied as he munched on his banana.

“I have my sweet and absolutely best brother for that!” Is Alexis’s brother's attitude getting to him? Maybe. 

Yuya beamed at that for a second before realising his intentions. 

“You just want me to do the talking for you, don't you?” 

Jaden didn't reply but instead chose to simply smile back.

—

"Oh, by the way, Nicole Smile set up some duels for me. I'll probably be able to enter the tournament if I win these few duels.” Yuya commented offhandedly.

“Mhm. I see.” 

“And you?” 

“Me?” 

“Aren't you going to join in the fun too?” Yuya acquired further.

“Nope. I'm just going to laze around and do nothing.” He yawned.

“Seriously? We could be having so much fun!” His brother pulled at his arms and gave him his cutest smile—no, it's not cute; it's really just—okay, fine, it's cute. It was a little hard to refuse.

“I'll think about it.” 

His brother sighed at that response and let go. They were approaching the exit of the theme park.

“It was kind of fun, today,” he smiled. He meant it. Now that he has lived here for a while, he can somehow let himself relax. It's a nice thing. 

“Let's come again sometime. With dad.” Jaden was shocked at that response, so yuya really hasn't given up hope even after all this time. His brother has always been stubborn, and this is just one instance of that. But still, if possible, he wants to do that too.

“Yeah.”

He truly is stupid.