I yawn, peeking in on the oven once more. Behind me, I hear Yuto humming quietly.
"Hey, Yuki, how much longer til you'll be done?" He asks.
"Give me about two more minutes." I call back. My twin is in the garden, picking out a bouquet of flowers. "How are you feeling?"
"Great, obviously." He pouts. "It's Yuya's birthday! Of course we're all gonna be great!" Sure… but I still can't help the bad feeling.
"Where's father?"
"In the lab. Think something important is happening right now."
"Ah, I see." I stare intently at the oven. The timer goes off with a ding, and I instantly open it. There we go~ "It's done~ Yay!"
"Honestly," Yuto sighs. "You're supposed to be mature."
"I don't have to be mature every second. Baking is fun~" I grin happily. "Besides, it's not like you are that much better than me at the moment." He huffs, before going back to making his onigiri.
"Really, Yuki?" I brush the cookies off the tray into a small basket to my side.
"You can't really deny it."
"I suppose that's sadly true." He agrees, still not looking up from what he's doing.
"Well, with that done, I suppose I'll go check up on Yuri. It'd do him some good to remind him that we have to leave soon."
"Ah, see you in a bit, little sis."
"Make up your mind already." I roll my eyes, before taking my basket with me and walking out to the greenhouse in our backyard. I found Yuri carefully preening a few bushes as well as picking a few flowers and he had them arranged carefully into a bouquet.
"Hey brother."
"Yuki-chan!" Yuri beams, before flourishing the bouquet in front of him. "What do you think of my work?" I smile back at him.
"It looks great." I reassure. "We have to leave soon. Most likely as soon as Yuto's done cooking."
"As if a mere boxed lunch could compare to my flowers!" He laughs maniacally.
"Come on, if you're done, let's go wait in the house." He smiles at me, before gently tugging me elsewhere.
"Here, I had these grown." He showed me a plantation of Ice Blooms. "What do you think?"
"What..? Yuri, why did you-"
"I felt like it. It happened to come across the seeds and decided to try my hand at growing them." He explains. "They've been coming along quite nicely if I do say so myself."
"It's… they're great!" I smile broadens across my face. "But still, it's time to head out. I appreciate the sentiment though." I quash down any of the remaining feelings from the foreboding feeling that I felt from this morning.
"Yuki? Something's bothering you." Yuri observes.
"Nothing important." I reassure. Or so I hope. "Anyway! Let's head back into the house and wait for Yuto. I believe he should be done by now." Yuri frowns.
"If you're sure." He backs off for now. I follow him back into the house. I hesitate a moment outside the door.
"Just what can this bad feeling be referring to?" I whisper quietly to myself. I shake my head vigorously, trying to shake myself out of such thoughts. I walk in to see the two butting heads in the foyer.
"It's finally done!" Yuri gloats.
"At last! It is complete!" Yuto grins with a gleeful look in his eyes. I sweat a bit before rolling my eyes. Those two and their mini dramatics… honestly. Troublesome.
"Hm?"
"What's that?" The address each other at the same time.
"Isn't it obvious?" Yuri sparkles confidently. "It's a bouquet for Yuya. What about you?" He sneers playfully. "What's that?" He gestures to toward the boxed lunch that Yuto held.
"Can't you see?" Yuto scoffs. "It's a boxed lunch with all of Yuya's favorites!"
"Are you trying to steal Yuya's attention with that?" He sniffs.
"What about you?" Yuto snarks back. "Are your feminine skills supposed to snag his favour?"
"I just want to celebrate today with him."
"Me too. After all, today is Yuya's birthday!" I could practically see the electricity between them.
"Knock it off, jeez." I sigh. I hit both of them on the head with the back of my hand, as the basket handle resides in the crook of my elbow.
"But Yuki-chan~~!" Yuri whines. "An ordinary boxed lunch isn't good enough for Yuya on his birthday of all things!"
"It's supposed to be a collaboration between all of us." I roll my eyes. "He'll be disappointed if he knew we were fighting. And at this rate, we're going to be late! Then you'll have to suffer through Go-kun being the first to gloat. I assume you don't want to deal with that?" They stiffen, eyes simultaneously darting to the clock.
"You're right." Yuri realizes.
"Shoot, Snow, you're right. Let's go!" We sprint for the train station, squeezing on to the platform. I sigh as we impatiently wait for the train to arrive. A small headache bothers me.
"Hey Yuki, wouldn't you usually work today?" I shrug in response to Yuto's question.
"I took a day off. Told my partner." Akaba should be fine… Well, Reiji did say that he was assigned more work today. The train to Maiami circuit pulls in.
"I still don't understand why you aren't dueling today." Yuri comments. "You are a turbo duelist as well."
"Well, I am in the tournament, but I don't have any matches today. My finals is next week for my division." He fake trips as we enter the train.
"You may have a match, but Yuya's birthday is today!" He argues. "You already took a day off work."
"It's fine, it's fine. The timing doesn't match up anyway." I laugh. "It doesn't matter." People whisper, most likely looking between us. I suppose we look give off the image of a peculiar pair of twins. We have similar hair styles, but my hair is mainly blue with yellow highlights. My hair grows out to my waist. We run off the train as we arrive at the station, but my bad feeling just keeps getting worse.
"How could dad have missed this!" Yuri cries out in frustration.
"He couldn't leave his research, so he's holed up in the basement lab." Yuto reminds calmly.
"And before you say he could've taken the day off like myself, the only reason he would've done that in the first place if it was important." I add. He huffs in exasperation.
"I extremely dislike it when you two gang up on me." He grumbles. "It's almost as bad when Yuki teams up with Yugo." He pauses. My headache gets worse. What the hell is this bad feeling?!
"Your bad feeling.. How bad is it?" He asks suspiciously.
"...very-" Rumbling catches our attention as we freeze. An earthquake-? People rushed past us to the exit.
"Earthquakes don't usually go on this long!' Yuto shouts over everyone."
"What do you think is happening?" Yuri mutters quietly in my ear.
"This may be no ordinary earthquake." I answer grimly. "I hate it when my bad feelings turn out right." Yuto's phone rings as we keep running toward the Circuit.
"Dad!" He cries.
"Yuto, Yuri, Yuki… listen to me." His face was set in a grim expression. "Something terrible is about to happen to the war. The Genesis Omega Dragon card is out of control!" I freeze.
"G.O.D…" Yuto echoes. My arms start trembling.
"I told you not to mess with it!" I screech. "I told you it was unstable, why would you continue experiment with it!" I seethe.
"Wasn't that the card that was discovered in the wormhole leading to the new dimension?!" Yuri realizes.
"That's right." He nods. "Professor Akaba took the card to a military facility for experiments. I brought the G.O.D. card here from the military lab. If this keeps up, it could emit a massive amount of energy and destroy the whole world!" It already fucking is! "And the only way to stop it is the world illusion." His image begins flickering. He must be getting too deep underground.
"It's the greatest magic trick I'll ever perform! I can use it to convert this rampaging energy! An emergency pod is in the entrance to the garden laboratory! Use it to descend to the basement! No matter what!" His image flickers out of existence as static obscures it and any audio. Shit.
"Dad!" I should desperately at it.
"Yuto! Yuri! Yuki!" A familiar voice shouts.
"Yugo! Yuya!" Yuto exclaims in relief. "You're not hurt!"
"We have to hurry!" Yuri gestures to the exit.
"Hurry? Where?" Yugo demands.
"To dad's lab!" Yuto answers.
"We'll explain on the way! We just have to leave now!" Yuri and I grab Yuya and Yugo respectively before sprinting the hell out of there. Buildings crumbled behind us as we ran. Something pushed us forward as we all stumble forward as the rubble fell around our little brother.
"YUYA!" I scream. Yuto rushes back, placing two fingers against his neck before relaxing slightly.
"He's got a pulse! He's alright!" He picks him up.
"Talk about reckless…" Wait we just came from a duel. I'm so stupid!
"I'll carry him!" Yuto shouts. I rummage through my deck quickly.
"I summon Nature Druid Dragon!" I slam the card down on my duel disk.
"What are you-"
"I'm a psychic duelist! I don't need solid vision!" I shout. "NOW EVERYONE, GET THE HELL ON!" As we took to the skies, explosions happened beneath our feet. We land with a thud in the garden and the dragon vanishes back into my deck as I collapse from exhaustion with a major headache.
"Yuki!" Yuri catches me before I fall forward. I cough up a small pool of blood. Only a small side effect of what's happened.
"Thanks." We're faced with a single pod that somehow remains miraculously undamaged.
"Only one of us can go, huh?" I comment weakly.
"So.." Yuto begins.
"Who's it's going to be?" Yuri murmurs.
"That's obvious!" Yugo laughs. Yugo and Yuto gently place Yuya within the pod as Yuri supports me in the background. My headache has slightly subsided, but I'm still coughing up serious amounts of blood. The pod closes, shooting off into the earth.
….
"Eat up, everyone. I was unable to present it to Yuya." Yuto breaks the small silence between us, offering us the onigiri he made earlier.
"Feel free to help yourself to some of my cookies as well." I offer the basket forward.
"At a time like this?" Yugo sweats.
"Yes, this is the perfect time." Yuri agrees, taking one onigiri as well as a cookie. "Because this is our last supper?"
"Seeing as we're going to die very soon." I shrug. "I agree."
"Yep." Yuto agrees as we lean against the railing watching the city being destroyed in front of us.
"Yum~!" Yuto cries tears of happiness from his rice ball. I hum a bit at the flavour as well.
"This is delicious!" Yuri compliments.
"Seconded."
"Oh… that's good." Have some reaction Yuto!
"The world is falling apart but this tastes awesome." Yugo gobbles down the rest of it in a few bites.
"You'd have been a find housew-husband. A nice house-husband." He smiles pleasantly, as if he just didn't say that on purpose. I roll my eye as Yuto scowls lightly. "Your cookies are pleasant as ever, Yuki."
"Thanks, Yuri." I nudge him. "You've gone and gotten Yuto all emo now."
"I'm not emo." He protests before his expression turned to that of acceptance. "But that future will never happen." Yugo gazes out into the city.
"The end of the world… is kind of beautiful." I observe softly.
"So let's make it more beautiful." Yuri holds out his bouquet, giving some flowers to each of us. "I wasn't able to give him my gift either." We silently accept the flowers. On a nod, we toss it out into the city. Tears brim in all of our eyes.
"Happy Birthday!"
"You'd better survive this!"
"Make sure to do what we never could!"
"Yuya!"
I pull everyone into one final embrace, summoning Nature Druid Dragon who covering us with his wings as a last ditch barrier against the explosions.
"It was a great short life, everyone." I whisper, teares trailing down my cheeks.
"To meeting again!"
And we were consumed by light.
"Hey, Yuri?"
"Yes, Yugo?"
"Why do you think Yuki isn't with us?"
It was one of their long trips around Yuya's mind.
"..."
"Sorry, sensitive question."
"...She'll be fine."
"Do you know-?"
"We are twins… we're linked across space and time. If she's still aware..."
"She's okay right?"
"She might be the one in the most pain."
"..?!"
"Think about it. We're all together, we still have Yuya, and each other. She's alone."
"...I miss her."
"...I miss her too."
"She always held us together when we would fight and Yuya wasn't there to take our attention to stop fighting. She may have been our only sister, but she was always more than that as she took up the mantle of caring when Dad got too busy with his lab work to come home."
"Doesn't mean she could cook properly though."
"Yuto could cover that just fine."
"What's happening?!" Yuya yells over the sound of the world they were in crumbling. Reiji narrows his eyes.
"Whomever is there. Come out." He orders. There was a small sigh.
"I was hoping… I was hoping to not have to show myself." The voice admits quietly. It's clearly female.
"Yuki-nee?" Yuya person steps completely into the light.
"Hey, Lil' bro." She greets. "I'm sorry I didn't come to greet you soon." She was sitting casually on one of the roots of the tree.
"What's happening?!" Sawatari screams.
"Too much changed." Yuki smiles sadly. "The world is rewriting itself."
"Rewriting itself?" Yuzu echoes. "What do you mean?"
"Well for one thing, it was destroyed in about seventeen years from now. And now it won't." She stands up stretching a bit. "G.O.D's rewriting it all, alongside Fate right now."
"Then what did we fight for, Yuki?" Reiji snaps. "You know how much I dislike wasting my time."
"Please, do calm down, Reiji." She closes her eyes momentarily, before opening them to reveal aqua eyes.
"She looks like Yugo." Yuzu whispers. Yuki smiles gently in her direction.
"Greetings, all. My name is Yuki Sakaki. Yuya's older sister." She intones quietly. "Fate brought you all here." Kurosaki narrows his eyes.
"Cut to the chase, what do you want?" He demands.
"I don't want anything. Not from you, but what I want is something I can't have." Her voice is tight. "All I come to do is to inform you of the significance of your presence here."
"W-wait, Yuki-nee, why are you here?" Yuya asks, his eyes wide.
"I… it's not important." The smile never slips off her face. "I am only a messenger."
"Ane! What did you do?!" Yuya demands.
"Perhaps a later time." She murmurs. "After you have matured in your new life."
"New life?"
"Frankly, this whole universe is going to collapse very soon. So, it's being altered so it that it doesn't happen like that. You will all be reborn, but not with your memories. As the winner of the duel," She nods toward Reiji. "You will be the first to receive your memories. I will give you back the solid vision first so you can recreate it, but your personal memories will be returned at a later time." Reiji strides forward, reaching out to grasp Yuki's wrist in his, like many times before when they worked together. It was always much more effective when they need to grab each other's attention. His hand passes clean through her. His eyes widen. Yuki smiles sadly.
"I'm dead Reiji." She whispers. "All I am, is simply a ghost. A ghost that continues to grow and mature as I watch over this world."
"You sacrificed something to ensure your brothers would be with Yuya." He breathes. She nods.
"I promised that I would watch over the world until dayl Yuya is born once more." She explains quietly, and for only Reiji. She turns her attention back. "No one will know this had happened. Only the people in this room will remember." Her eyes began glowing. "My time is up. I'm certain you will all meet again."
"Yuki-nee, wait-"
The world was enveloped in white once more.
A teenager watches with sadness reflected in her eyes, watching over one of Zarc's shows.
"Such a bright soul…" She murmurs. A tear falls down her cheek. "How sad." Four cards hum in her pocket. Odd Eyes Phantom Dragon, Clearwing Fast Dragon, Dark Anthelion Dragon, and Starving Venemy Dragon. Deeper into the universe, she could feel the roar of God-Eyes Phantom Dragon.
'It wishes to be reunited with Yuya once more.' She realizes. 'Something that won't happen soon.'
"Please, be patient." She murmurs, continuing to watch over Zarc as he progresses through life, slowly becoming more and more jaded from the society around him. More and more broken… until the day it's too much. And the universe is split into four separate dimensions.
It had surprised her at first. What would be eventually known as the Original Dimension had been progressing steadily for the past few centuries, a change like this was not foreshadowed in any way. She ended up in the one that primarily used XYZ summoning. Though she wasn't aware of how or why. She walked down the street, exploring what resembled Heartland, the previous hub of all XYZ summoning. A small body barrels into her. Her eyes widen. A familiar head of purple and black was sobbing.
"Sorry." He mumbles. Before he can run off again, she pats her head.
"Hey are you alright kiddo?" She asks with false cheer, hiding her own reaction to seeing her older brother. He sniffs.
"Please, let me go." He sniffs. "They won't leave me alone." She checks over his shoulder. Sure enough, there were two adults behind him.
"Hm, you want to avoid your parents?" She questions.
"I…" He has trouble responding, instead nodding. She sighs.
"Fine, but you better go back later, alright?" She proposes.
"I can do that." Placing a hand on her shoulder, she swirls around. A moment later, they disappear and reappear on the top of Duel Academy.
"Careful now, kid. We're pretty high up." He squeaks, gripping tightly onto her. His eyes stayed wide eyed. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come here." She realizes. "Oops. Uh, close your eyes once again, okay?" His grip doesn't falter. A moment later, they're on the wall that surrounds Heartland City. "It's safe now." He cautiously cracks his eye open. He blinks.
"How did we move so quickly?" He inquires curiously.
"I'm special." She smiles. "So, what's got you riled up?"
"...my foster parents." He mutters. "Well, my foster family in general. They were being mean. As per usual." She frowns.
"Do you know why?" He had the grace to look embarrassed.
"Well.. I may have disappeared again for a while. But I came back! Like I always do.." He trails off as his fist clenches.
"Maybe that's just their way of showing worry." She says gently. "Maybe being overbearing is the only way they know to get through to you." He blinks.
"Really?"
"Yes, really." She smiles, nodding. "Do you feel better now?" He nods. "Do you know how to go home from here?" He nods once more. "That's good."
"Hey… Miss?" He asks softly.
"Yes?"
"Have I met you before?" Confusion laces his tone.
"No." Her smile tightens. "You haven't." The sun sets behind me. She pulls out a card. "Here." He takes it with awe, his eyes widening.
"This is-" His wide eyes look up at me. "Are you sure?" The card in his hand is Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon. Not Dark Rebellion Anthelion Dragon.
"Yeah, I'm certain. The same feeling that assures me that you'll become a great duelist someday." He looks down at the card.
"Thank you, Miss…?" When he looks back up, Yuki is gone.
I'm sure of it.
Her voice echoes on the wind.
"I will!" He whispers in response. He clutches the card close to his chest, eyes shining. "I'll become a duelist!"
She visited the Synchro dimension next. She was more relaxed there than in XYZ. Perhaps it's due to her nature as a Synchro duelist. Not that she duelled here. Another small child bumps into her again. He looks up with tearful eyes.
"Miss, do you know where I am?" Messy yellow bangs amongst blue hair.
"Do you need help going home, lil' b- one?" She corrects herself at the last moment.
"Please! I need to find Rin, I didn't mean to wander off this far." He blabbers on incoherently as tears slowly began leaking out of his eyes.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to take you back to your friend."
'Figures,' she thought, 'that you would find your best friend again in a different life.'
"Really Miss?!" His eyes instantly brighten.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt." She noticed that he held a box filled with parts. "Take my hand." He took it with no hesitation at all, and with a whoosh of her cloak, they disappeared and reappeared outside of Yugo's residence. Which wasn't saying much really. She frowns.
"Thanks, Miss!" He smiles brightly before sprinting into the back. "Rin! Rin! I got them!" Her eyes widen.
'Rin…?' She followed them back. There she found two kids building a duel runner. Yugo plops the box of parts that he found beside them, before animatedly chatting with her.
"Wait.. who is she?" Rin whispers. "Is she from Topside?"
"Ah, no, sorry for the confusion, but I'm not… from around here really." She smiles easily. "I'm sorry its just… do you know how to use a duel runner?" They shifted around nervously.
"Uh… it's just a big puzzle!" Yugo declares. "Once we put it together, it'll be all fine… right?" Rin nods along with him.
"...I guess I won't leave yet." She mutters quietly. "Unfortunately, a duel runner is not just a puzzle. If you don't put it together right, it could fail while you're using it and you two could get seriously hurt. Not to mention the fact that I doubt you know how to ride one." Yugo laughs sheepishly.
"We're commons, we'll pull through somehow!" He grins easily. "But what did you want Miss?"
"I'll admit, I'd like to stay and teach you both so you won't get injured." She tells them straight up. "I'll drop by during the day, and I'll help you alright?" The two agreed, not wanting to overlook the offer.
"Thank you, Miss!" Rin beams. "But, what do we call you?" She pauses.
"Call me… Yuk- Yurei. You can call me Yurei."
"Here, this goes here." She gestures to a screw as well as the corresponding slot. Her hand phased through metal as she indicated the correct slot. "You both did a good job but you were about to hit the tricky bits. You see where that goes?" The two meticulously worked on the bike. She waited a few hours before telling them to stop.
"What is Yurei?" Rin asks.
"I want to show you two how to properly ride a D-wheel. Just to minimize risks and so you don't wreck your work just because you don't know how to drive it." Yugo gave her a confused look.
"But if you could buy a D-wheel, then why would you be here?"
"I can't make a real D-wheel. But I can imitate a duel runner for training purposes." The confusion still remained. She waves her hand and two duel runners that looked identical to the one they were building appeared.
"Woah! So cool!" Yugo gushes. "How did you do that?"
"Trade secret. I'll just let it go after you guys leave for the night." She winks. "Now, time to get used to a duel runner!"
It was completed after another few months.
"We're gonna be entering the Friendship cup." They shifted nervously in front of her. "Do you think we'll do well?" She smiles.
"You'll do well. I have some gifts for you two." She held out a card for each of them. "For Yugo, I have Clearwing Synchro Dragon. For Rin, I have Windwitch: Crystal Bell." They took the card with awe.
"These are for us?" Rin echoes in surprise.
"Yup. Now, go have fun in that tournament." Yugo looked back up from the card.
"Why does that sound like-" She was gone. "-goodbye?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. But my name is Yuki."
"Yurei?" Rin shouts out. "Yurei-nee-san?!"
"Why did she…?" Tears brimmed in Yugo eyes. "Why would she just leave?"
"Yurei… Yurei… doesn't that mean ghost?" Rin realizes. "Was she only a ghost this entire time?"
"Nah, we wouldn't both be able to see her." Yugo shook his head. "There's gotta be a reason… but she wanted us to go have fun at the Friendship Cup! So let's go!"
"Yeah, let's make her proud." Rin sniffs.
She observed the two as they zoomed around during the Friendship Cup. Wide grins on their faces. With a sad smile on her face, she allows herself to be taken to the next dimension.
The first thing she noticed was that the world was unusually dark. A frown danced around her lips. She gazed around the halls that she appeared in. Her eyes cleared up in understanding.
"Ah, it's the duel academy." She realizes. "I remember Yuri taking a course here before…" She stretches a bit as her body begins to fade.
"What are you?" She freezes. "What business do you have here?" She slowly turns to face the voice, coming face to face with a purple and haired child.
"Hm…" She 'ponders' the question. "I have no such business here really. And let's just say I'm a ghost for simplicity." He appeared to take her words at face value.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just happened to drop by." She yawns. "Well, I suppose I'll be on my way. Honestly just looking for a garden to haunt for a while-"
"What kind of ghost would want to haunt a garden?" He scoffs. She shrugs.
"I figure that since I'm here, I may as well haunt a garden to honor a… memory. Would you care to point me in the direction of one?" He gives her an unreadable stare.
"Follow me." He orders. As soon as he no longer faces her, the pain reflects deep within her eyes. Her expression remains pleasant, but the loss reflected deep within. A few minutes pass, and they arrive at a room. He pushes the door open to reveal a garden that's relatively out of shape.
"I'd like to restore it, but I can't figure out how." He admits. "If you're going to haunt a garden, haunt this and help me make it better." She hides a small snicker.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt me to do so." She strokes a leaf. "It'll take me some time."
"Well, don't leave. I'll return when I'm able." With that, he swirls around and leaves. Yuki waits for a moment longer before taking refuge within a tall tree.
Outside, Yuri was leaning against the wall shaking.
Sometimes, Yuri would dream. Dream about a life in which he had a family. Dream of a life where he had a sister who understood. And a ghost who looked exactly like the one in her dreams appeared.
I leans casually on her shoulder as she makes modifications to my disk.
"Make it pink!"
"It's already pink!" She protest.
"Make the blade hot pink! Pleaaaaseeeeee~"
"Alright, alright, just stop whining in my ear!" She wail.
"Thanks, Yu~ki~"
"It's so weird when you do that." Yugo sighs from the doorway. "Anyway, Yuki, when you have time, could you check over my D-wheel please?"
"I'll do it when I finish up with his disk!" She calls out over her shoulder.
"I'm so glad at least one of us can do this kind of stuff!" He sighs in contentment. "Saves us work."
"You're the best, Yuki."
"Stop." Yuri whispers. He takes off in quick strides before promptly locking himself in room, shuddering.
"And that's a win for me!" Yugo cheers, as they finish racing around Maiami circuit for fun. They high five each other, much to my ire from watching in the stands.
"Are you two done yet?" I grumble. "You've left me hanging for a long time now."
"Well, if our younger brother wants to learn how to Synchro summon, who am I to prevent his dreams?" She teases. "You're just irritated you don't have a disciple to teach Fusion summoning."
"Hmph." I huffs.
"Anyway, Yugo, do you have a better understanding of the duel runner aspect of this?" He beams up at her.
"Yeah I do, thanks Yuki-nee!" He chirps. "You went easy on me though with a test deck!" He pouts. She laughs, messing up his yellow bangs, and I stand there laughing along with them-
"...no." He growls to himself. "They're not mine."
What he wouldn't admit to himself is that those dreams of happiness were the light of his life.
"I'm surprised you've stuck around as long as you have. Aren't ghosts supposed to move on once they become satisfied?" Yuri asks as he waters a plant. Which happened to be a Venus Fly-trap.
"I am due to leave soon. I can feel the pull." Yuki replies easily. Yuri freezes.
"Why?!" He demands.
"I go where fate pulls me I suppose." She shrugs. "Perhaps we will meet again."
"I don't want you to go." He abandons the watering can in the middle of the rejuvenated garden, approaching Yuki. "You will stay."
"It will not be my choice." She says firmly. "There is nothing you can do." He hugs her. Or tries to, as he phases through.
"I know you can become solid." Yuri demands. "Become solid."
"It's simply a sign that I won't be here much longer."
"Stay!" Yuri yells. "You can't leave!"
"...my time here is up. Take these." A potted plant is beside her with a card in it.
"An ice bloom?" He says in surprise. "Where did you..?"
"I suppose if you must have a name to attach to face, it's Yuki." She fades out at too quick a speed for Yuri to respond.
"No." He whispers. "You can't. You can't leave me again. You can't-!" He grabs the card. Starving Venemy Fusion Dragon. "I will find you again. No matter what."
She breathed in deeply, staring out at the water.
"Standard huh?" She murmurs to herself. "I can't give one directly to Yuya… but Yusho should be here if he wasn't with any of the others."
"Do I know you?" She flinches. She faces the owner of the voice.
"Oh. Uh. So that's a thing that happens apparently." She allows a smile to slide easily onto her face. "You are… Yusho Sakaki, correct?" The man in front of her wore a red suit with a dark top hat.
"Yes, I am." He seemed wary.
"Good, saves me the effort of having to look for you." She beams, before holding a card. "This card is for your son, but I can't exactly approach him." He still takes the card warily. Odd-Eyes Dragon.
"For what reason?"
"Laying the foundations for what the world wills." She shrugs. "I don't really want to approach him." That was a lie. "But I would like to get the card to him somehow."
"...Are you two, by any chance, related?" Yusho asks.
"That is a complicated question." She hums. "But no, we aren't related." Not anymore.
"Do you know who his parents are?"
"No." She stretches, feeling a tug on her being. "My apologies but I have to go. We may or may not meet again, who knows?" Some light was emanating from her satchel.
"Who are you-" She disappeared. "?!"
"Everything will be fine." She reassures herself, landing far away. She was pulled to the last spot she was before she died. "Why am I here?" She shook her head and started walking forward. "I should go find Yuya anyway, I just can't approach him-" She walked into a barrier. "..What?" Pressing forward with a hand, she felt a smooth barrier in front of her. Her eyes widen.
"I can't leave." She breathes. "I can't leave, why? Why do you have to do this G.O.D.? Haven't I done enough for you yet?!" She screams. There was no response. Her knees gave out below her and she sat in silence.
Yuri sat within his memories. It wasn't hard for him to get lost within his mindscape, especially when the others didn't like him much. He expected nothing less, frankly. So now, he wastes his days away within his dreams and the garden. He leans against a tree, simply watching a younger version of himself, and a younger version of her obsessing over a botany book.
"So we should attempt to grow this, shouldn't we?" She says, excitement filling her voice.
"I think we have enough time before the school year begins to at least begin the extensive care process." Younger Yuri agrees. Yuri's fist clenches at his side.
"I promised to find you." He whispers to himself. "But how can I even do that from within here?!" There was a knock at the door. The mirage around him dissipates with a thought. The door cracks open.
"What?" Yuri snaps. It turns out to be Yugo.
"The others are worried." He states flatly. "So come out of your damn room."
"There is no need for me to do so." He grumbles. "The three of you are perfectly find on your own." Yugo takes this moment to look around Yuri's mind room. It was relatively empty, except for an ice bloom and a picture.
"Doesn't change the fact that the others want you to get out there." Yugo points out.
"Aw, does Fusion care?" Yuri mocks in attempt to get Yugo to leave him alone. "Well, I won't be out of here anytime soon, if you must have an answer." Yugo's eyes narrow in on the picture.
"I've seen that person before." He muses to himself. Yuri freezes.
"Where?!" He demands. Yugo backs up a bit.
"Woah there, it was a long time ago. She was the person who showed Rin and I how to make a duel runner and ride it." He shoves his hands into his pockets. "And she gave me my Dragon."
"...She gave me my dragon as well." The two of them fall into a silence. "Coincidences like that don't exist." Yuri sighs to himself. "Well, you'll get your wish. I'm going to go interrogate Yuto on where he got his dragon."
"Woah, wait, Yuri, what's with the change of heart?"
"I promised myself that I would find her again." He hisses. His room flickers through memories, some that never happened to him, and the rest of the garden. The final thing that shows is Yuki disappearing right before his eyes. "If I must leave to accomplish my goal, so be it." He strides out the door angrily, pulling Yugo along with him. Inwardly, Yugo was mildly panicking. The two of them pop out within Yuya's view, startling him.
"Yugo, you actually got him to come out!"
"Yuto, how did you get Dark Rebellion?" Yuri inquires, ignoring Yuya. Yuto looked surprised at being addressed.
"Does it matter?"
"Answer the question." He growls.
"Hey, you two, don't fight!" Yuya tries to intervene. Yuto goes thoughtful for a moment.
"It was given to me when I was younger by a girl. Now that I think about it, she looks like you but with Yugo's hair colors." He admits. "What does it mean to you?"
"No way… so the three of us all met her at some point?" Yugo's mouth was wide open with shock.
"She didn't give me a name to call her by." Yuto shrugs.
"Yuya. How did you get Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon?" Yugo asks.
"Well, Odd-Eyes Dragon evolved into Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon." He answers. "But I got Odd-Eyes Dragon from my dad."
"Something doesn't quite add up." Yuri mutters to himself. "Then where did he get the dragon?"
"Hey Dad!" Yuya shouts, exiting his room to find his father. "How did you get Odd-Eyes?" Yusho blinked his eyes open blearily. The man happened to have been taking a nap.
"Odd-Eyes Dragon? Let's see… there was this disappearing girl that asked me to give it to you." Yusho smiled wryly. "Honestly, I thought she was related to you at first, but she said she wasn't. She disappeared into thin air after though." The smile slipped into a frown. "I never got a name."
"There is no way this is a coincidence." Yugo exclaims. "We were all in different dimensions- I don't even know if the other dimensions knew we existed then."
"...She was last sighted here." Yuri muses. "Yet didn't show up during the war at all." Yuya's phone went off.
"Hello?" Yuya greets.
"Yuya, Declan went off somewhere, and we have no idea where he is! He was last sighted in your area! Can you go look for him?" Claude's frantic voice came from the device.
"Oh sure."
"If it's not too much trouble, do you mind following him? He's been disappearing for a while." He requests.
"No problem."
"Thanks Yuya!" A click signified the end of the call.
"Well, let's just go out and look for Declan-" The doorbell went off. Yuya sprinted and ran down to get it.
"Yuya. Come with me." Declan Akaba stood in front of the door.
"Wha- Declan?! Claude was looking for you." Yuya exclaims.
"There is something I must show you." Declan insists with narrowed eyes. "Before it's too late. I'll head back after."
"...sure?" Yuya quickly slips his shoes on. There was also another assortment of people standing not so far away.
"Where is Zuzu Boyle?"
"Er.. she should be at the You Show Duel School right now. Why?" Confusion clearly showed on his face. Declan pauses for a moment.
"No, it would be better to check first…" He mutters. "Follow me, everyone."
"What did you want?" Sawatari snaps. Declan closes his eyes.
"Something must be returned before it's too late." His eyes open. "The person would come meet you but… it's nearly too late." His fist clenches. "So let's go."
"I-Isn't this a really haunted area of Maiami?" Zuzu stammers, having met up with them along the way. "W-why are we here?" At first glance, there were only a bunch of dark trees, and the whole place had an ominous feel to it, giving off the impression of 'go away'. Declan leads them to the side, where there was a series of stairs.
"Come." He begins ascending the stairs. The others from Standard hold a small panicked look.
"Declan, why are we here?" Sora's lollipop was in his hand. "What's the point? I highly doubt it's for the view."
"It'll be explained." Was his only response. Yuya had stayed silent the whole time. Mainly due to his counterparts arguing.
"Why does this feel familiar?" Yuto wonders.
"We can't have been here before." Yugo points out. "I was never in Standard."
"Shut up you two. There has to be something here that's generating the feeling."
"Yuya." Yuya looks up to see Shay giving him a look. "Do you mind asking Yuto how he feels about this?" Yuya met Yuto's eyes.
"It's safe. But still weird." Yuto admits. Yuya repeated what he said. Shay relaxed a bit.
"I see. Thank you." Soon they came across a house. Declan knocked on the door.
"Snow?" Declan calls out. "I came with visitors."
"...damn it, Reiji." A weak voice replies. "I told you to bring them, after I died." A hacking cough came after. Declan had a look of alarm.
"Wander the house if you must, just don't entered the closed rooms." He snaps as he runs into a room, slamming the door behind him.
"Let's follow him." Yuri decides.
"Oi, Yuri, are you sure that's a good idea?" Yugo argues. "It's rude."
"Eavesdrop outside the door then." Yuri concedes. Yuri leaned against the wall. The two were having a discussion inside the room.
"Reiji- Declan." The person inside the room coughs. "Why are you like this?"
"Don't you want to see your brothers one last time?"
"...it's painful." She cries. "They won't know. Only the memories from the second timeline will be restored. My twin will be so mad…. I couldn't even give him back the memories if I wanted to, I don't know where they are!"
"Calm down!" Declan snaps quietly. "Going hysterical will do you no good at this point."
"...I'm not going to be here much longer. I made… I made them bodies. For Ruri, Rin, and Celina as well." A yawn was heard. "I knew.. I knew Ruri and Celina in the past life. Ruri wanted to be an artist and… well, Celina was my twin's frenemy."
"Come on… One last time. Give it back in person."
"This is a different world, Reiji. I don't exist. I never did. I made such a mistake with Zarc… I should've reached out, done something… It hurt for them. They were crying out in pain… God-Eyes wanted to be reunited with Yuya… G.O.D. is safely within your hands now… I don't have to stay here, right? I'm old."
"One last thing." Declan insists.
"...must I?"
"It'll give you closure." He promises.
"...Give me a few minutes-"
"Yuya, w-what is this?" Sylvio stammers, pointing to a picture that he had flipped up out of curiosity. Yuya froze entirely. Yuri rejoined them, only to gawk at the picture. Shay's eyes widened.
"What? They all lived in different dimensions- what?!" Shay could only mutter incomprehensibly Yuri's eyes scans the room, before beginning to widen in recognition.
"This is the house from my dreams." He realizes. "But.. why does it exist?"
"And who is she?" Sora asks. There is another girl in the picture, who looked similar to Yuri.
"Yuki." Declan answers, returning to the group. "Come with me." Sawatari was only extremely worried as they were lead into a room. There is a lone figure on a bed.
"Hi, nice to meet you all." The person greets. Her skin is pale. "My name is Yuki. Um… let's see… I suppose… uh, start with the people Reiji hired?" She seems to nod to herself. "Yes, that would be a good idea…...wait, I can't move. Hm…" She pulls a card out, half-heartedly placing it onto a duel disk that no one noticed that was attached to her wrist. "I summon Nature Druid Dragon." There is a roar. "Be small. You can't fit into the room." There was a small wooden dragon that popped out of nowhere in particular. Sawatari jumps.
"Wait… Yurei-nee-san?" Yugo yelps. She met his eyes.
"Mhm, Yugo?"
"You can see me?"
"I'm not quite normal. I did tell you I was a ghost." She attempts to shrug but her bedridden form wouldn't cooperate. "Ah… Yuri." Yuri has the most murderous expression on his face.
"Why did you leave?" He asks. "You weren't supposed… You weren't supposed to leave!" He yells. "You were the only sane person in the whole damn facility! I saw you in my dreams, we were so happy, why the other three were in it, I have no idea, but we were all so happy!"
"I had no right." She murmurs quietly. "I had no right to come back into any of your lives."
"But you taught Rin and I how to ride our D-wheels and make them!" Yugo protests.
"You cared for the garden with me!" Yuri yells. The other Bracelet girls were now phased out beside Zuzu.
"Why, Yurei?" Rin cries. Yuki closes her eyes.
"Please, wait a moment."
"She can see the others." Sora realizes. "How?"
"It's not… completely important." She nods toward the dragon, which picks up three objects, leaving them with the trio. A scarf for Obsidian, a piece of candy for Perse, and a dart for Sawatari. "I understand that these may be objects you already own, but these were the objects that were easiest to associate with you. A dart for Shingo-kun, a scarf for Kurosaki-kun, and a piece of candy for Shiunin-kun." Everyone was confused for a moment. Declan sighs.
"Shingo is Sylvio, Kurosaki is Shay, and Shiunin is Sora." He elaborates.
"Ah, my bad…" She smiles sheepishly. "Ano… if you have weird dreams for the next few days, they were memories that belonged to your original selves."
"Original?"
"The… well, I suppose second timeline." She shrugs. "They were to be returned to you at some point." She closes her eyes.
"Ah, let's start with the… Ruri, Rin, and Celina?"
"It's Lulu, and Serena." Declan corrects.
"My bad." Other objects were given out. A palette for Lulu, a wrench for Rin, and moon brooch for Serena. "Here." Their bodies glow.
"I don't understand what that did. Are we supposed to get memories as well?" Lulu asks. Shay instantly has her in a crushing hug. "B-brother?!" Her eyes widen. "You can… you can touch me?"
"In your case, you don't have memories that can be returned. Except for Yuzu, I suppose. So I returned your bodies." She smiles gently. "Here, Yuzu."
"Erm… my name is Zuzu." Zuzu corrects hesitantly. A note brooch was brought over to her.
"You should receive some memories as well." She continues, ignoring her. "And now… you four. I have memories for you all, except for Yuri." A frown dances on her face. "I… lost my grip on them. They'll be entirely different lives."
"Wait, why are you even doing this to us?" Yuya asks.
"...it's… not important." She mutters. "There are happy times that I don't want to be lost. So… I returned them. And you must have an understanding of what happened."
"What do you mean, 'an understanding of what happened?'" Yuto asks.
"...something closer to why something that would be known as the Original dimension was formed." She explains reluctantly. "An onigiri for Yuto, a crystal rose for Yuri, and a trophy for Yugo. Yuya…. I have a deck for you as well as the others." And so, the various items were handed out.
"Why these items?" Yuya asks. She stays silent.
"Why even bother giving me a trophy?" Yugo wonders.
"These items have some form of significance… but what?" Yuto muses.
"It's because these are what we meant to give Yuya, wasn't it?" Yuri speaks. Yuki's eyes widen.
"You knew?" She whispers. "Ah, I suppose you got your memories back much earlier than intended."
"We were a family once. You wanted us to know it." Yuri held up the deck. "If I went through this, I would find Starving Venemy Dragon, and Starving Venemy Lethal Dose Dragon. And they would be pendulum cards."
"Ah…. mou, you're right. Yuri." He strode forward, and no one stopped him.
"You were my sister- my twin." He looms over her. "The significance of those items… they were gifts for Yuya. You made cookies that day."
"So you do know." She murmurs. "I'm sorry." He bent down to hold Yuki in a crushing hug.
"Just what deal did you make with G.O.D. to ensure that this would all happen?" He whispers.
"Four become one, then one became four, and became one once more." She says mysteriously. "I just want to restore things to how I believe they should be- with you all as different people."
"What did you do, Yuki Sakaki?" Yuri repeats. Everyone freezes at the last name.
"I'm old, Yuri. So, very old." She smiles, half in a daze. "I watched the whole world be formed once more. As people discovered dueling and for it all to come crashing down with the split of the dimensions. For all of you to be reborn again!"
"Who are you?" Yuto asks. "Just what happened to you?"
"Hm… I was Yuki Sakaki. Third eldest sibling in the Sakaki family. Yuri's twin." She muses. "A family that no longer exists because everything broke down. Everything got destroyed on what was supposed to be a happy day." She sighs. She begins to fade a bit.
"Yuki, you can't leave." Yuri states.
"I have no choice."
"Stay with me."
"I can't." Her voice breaks. "My time long passed. I know this. You know this."
"I'm a selfish being. I will defy the natural order of things if I must, just stay with me." He grits out. Her body slowly gets more and more translucent.
"It's too late." She whispers. "I'll wait for you, but you better not come for some time yet."
"No, Yuki, you can't do this to me, NO-!" Her body becomes even more pale. "...please no, you can't, why, you can't leave, not again." He sobs, holding the body gently yet tightly at the same time. She strokes his back gently.
"I'm sorry. But my time to leave has arrived." She speaks quietly. "I'll be looking down on you all." With her last words, she fades away from existence into the afterlife.
"Yuri?"
"What?" He snaps.
"What did she mean by it should've been a happy day?"
"It was Yuya's birthday. The same day that the world ended."
Actual word count-8240
now the A/N
So, there's this great thing called 'not having a life'. All I really wanted to do, was just connect manga with the anime I never watched. So some people are definitely OC and I know it, but I'm too lazy to correct that. Trying to still keep with my trend of posting something every month. Hence this one shot. Originally, this was going to be a reincarnation fic, with Yuki being reborn as Yukiko Kanzaki, but this became easier. And my trashy attempt at angst.
Yurei-Ghost
Ane-informal way of saying older sister
Japanese names-manga aka first and second timelines
English names- anime
Hope that clears up any confusion, and half of you definitely hate me now haha.
