Author's Notes: I originally wrote this last summer so if it's not the best I'm sorry... I don't really want to go back and rewrite the parts that aren't so great. Please review; it would make my day AND it will determine if I keep updating this story. No review = dead story.

If I get reviews, then I will update weekly (more than once if by some miracle people absolutely love it). This chapter was too long so this is actually only the first half... the second will be up tomorrow regardless of whether I get reviews but if you wanna read anymore than that... well you get the idea^_^ and now I'm just rambling...

I don't own Yugioh 5d's... only the characters I created and the plot... enjoy!

Chapter One – And So It Begins

"So do you think you can fix it, Yusei?" Akiza inquired.

The two of them were in Akiza's garage next to her duel runner, Yusei kneeling, bent over the engine trying to find the reason it wasn't running properly, Akiza standing anxiously over him. The cement floor was scattered with tools, nuts and bolts, and several panels that normally covered the engine. There was also a work bench standing near by with a few more tools and Yusei's jacket draped over it.

"Hmm. To be honest, I'm still not sure at the moment what exactly is wrong," the raven-haired teen answered as he sat back on his heels and scratched his head. He could usually find the problem with - well - anything electronic fairly quickly, but this one baffled him.

Akiza brushed away a long burgundy strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face and turned as the connecting door between the house and garage was pushed open to reveal her mother in a white apron, holding a small glass mixing bowl in one arm and a whisk in the opposite hand.

"Hi mom," Akiza said. Yusei looked up from the engine as she spoke.

"You two have been our here quite awhile. Any luck getting that thing to run?" she asked Yusei.

" I'm afraid not, Mrs. Izinski," he answered. "I can't seem to find the problem."

"That's unfortunate. Well maybe in you take a break and come back to it you'll see something you missed." Mrs. Izinski turned to leave as a timer dinged in the kitchen, saying only "Better get dinner in the oven!" before exciting the garage through the same door she had entered only a moment before.

"Maybe your mom's right, Akiza. Let's take a break," Yusei admitted with a sigh as he walked toward the back wall of the garage - the only uncluttered space to be found. He sat down with his back to the wall, head resting against it, and heaved another sigh; Akiza sat beside him. Silence filled the garage; Yusei deep in thought, Akiza wondering what her friend was pondering. The only thing to be heard for some time were the crickets of the early summer evening singing their mournful song.

Without warning, the door swung open again and Mrs. Izinski poked her head through. "I almost forgot: Yusei, would you care to stay for dinner? There's plenty and we'd be glad to have you!"

Yusei nodded, a small smile appearing. "I'd be delighted."

"Wonderful! I'll set a place for you. It'll be ready before too much longer so why don't you two some in and get washed up." Her head disappeared back inside and the door clicked shut.

Yusei pushed himself up off the floor and offered his hand to Akiza, which she took. They went to the door and Yusei opened it saying only, "After you," to Akiza; together they disappeared inside.

The meal was simple and yet one of the best Yusei had eaten in quite some time. The fiery-headed Crow wasn't horrible at it, but nothing could compare to Mrs. Izinski's cooking!

When they had finished eating, the four of them - Yusei, Akiza, and her mother and father - ambled in the living room and sank into a couple of gray leather arm chairs and a couch of the same. They simply chatted and laughed for around half an hour before Mrs. Izinski proclaimed, "Oh, Yusei! You have got to see photos of Akiza when she was little!" Then: " Dear, would you hand me that black photo album there? Yes that one. Thank you."

"Mom!" Akiza protested. "Do we have to do this now?"

"Well, why ever not, daughter?" she asked as she flipped the album open. "Now these are of Akiza when she was only two!"

Akiza grabbed Yusei's hand and pulled him to his feet. "We need to get back to the garage and my runner!" she declared, quickly pulling him in the general direction of the door to the garage. "C'mon, Yusei."

"Thanks again for dinner," was all Yusei had time to say before being pulled from the room. However, he was not pulled through the doorway before catching a glimpse of Akiza in a pink bunny suit she had worn for Halloween; he couldn't help but smile at the image.

"Sorry about that, Yusei," Akiza apologized after reaching the safety of the garage.

"For what? The photos?" Yusei shook his head as he knelt back down over the engine and started tinkering once again. "I'd give anything to have memories like that from my childhood. I know it took awhile for your parents to get it right, but at least you had a family."

For the longest time, neither duelists spoke. The silence struck Akiza as quite odd; usually her raven-haired friend would chat with her on and off as he worked, telling her what certain parts were and how they worked, more than anything. As she watched him, it became apparent that something wasn't quite right: she could see that the muscles in his shoulders and neck were more tense then normal and his jaw was set in a hard line, like he was clenching his teeth. His normally calm blue eyes were troubled.

"Yusei? Is something wrong?" Akiza prompted, concern evident in her voice.

"No. It's nothing," he mumbled, ducking his head, bangs falling in front of his eyes. "Just... thinking. That's all."

Akiza knew that her quiet friend wouldn't talk about what was bothering him unless he wanted to, but at the same time, she couldn't let the matter go; she couldn't stand to see any of her friends hurting. Especially not Yusei after all he had done for her. He had been the first to truly care about her, though she couldn't see it at the time; he had been a true friend to her even before she had wanted him around. He had shown her that she didn't have to be alone. Most importantly, he had seen through her mask and had shown her that her powers and her mark of the Dragon made her beautiful, not a witch or a monster, as she had viewed herself for so long. He had given her a life she had never thought possible for herself; a life with her parents, with friends, with hope and love.Now it was her turn to do the same for him - but how when he wouldn't tell her what was wrong? Now, it was possible she was just overreacting - he could simply be so tense from trying to find the problem with her runner for several days.

...But what if there was something wrong?

Ding-dong!

Akiza raced down the stairs at the sound of the doorbell, hoping beyond all hope that it was Yusei. He hadn't been by in three days and she was starting to worry. Usually when he worked on her runner, he came by every day after work until he had fixed the problem, and this time had been no exception - until now. That night he had tinkered around for about another hour, not saying a word. It had startled her when he finally spoke to say that he still hadn't found the problem, to thank her mother again for dinner, and that he'd better get home. She hadn't seen him since.

Akiza threw open the door only to be disappointed by the orange-haired male that stood before her, riding helmet in hand. As she looked into his grey eyes, her heart fell. "Crow," she stated, "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I just came to ask you a question," Crow spoke bluntly.

"Uhm, okay. Shoot."

"What happened three days ago when Yusei was here? I know something did; I've never seen him this way before. He came home, didn't say a single solitary word to either me or Jack, and has been cooped-up in his room ever since," Crow reported accusingly. "Won't even eat."

Akiza closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. "I wish I could tell you, Crow, but I don't know myself. One minute he was fine and the next... . I don't know what happened, Crow..."

"There must have been something, Akiza. Think! Something you did... or something you said..."

"He was fine until we took a break from my duel runner. I didn't do or say anything!" Akiza retorted. To think! that she would hurt her closest friend! Of all the nerve, that Crow Hogan!

Crow sighed, and ducking his head, rubbed the back of this neck with his free hand. "I'm sorry, Akiza. I've just never seen him act like this before, and, to be honest, it kinda scares me a little."

Akiza relaxed. "And you can't get anything out of him?"

"Not a word," he responded, shaking his head.

"We've got to find some one he will talk to then! We can't just let him keep going like this..."

"State the obvious why don't you. I sent Jack - forced would actually be a better word - to find Kalin, but I thought if you knew something, it would save us the trouble of attempting to find him."

"Kalin? Why him?" Akiza was puzzled; she knew they had been close once, but now Yusei wasn't any closer to Kalin than to Jack or Crow.

"It might be a long shot but I didn't know what else to do. The two of them were closer than brothers back in the day, with the whole 'Enforcers' thing. Kalin was the only one that could ever get Yusei to open up when something happened. That's one reason, I think, that Yusei stayed when Jack and I walked away. Don't know if that's still true now, I guess, but..." He shrugged.

Akiza nodded in agreement and the two of them stood in an awkward silence for a minute. Crow was the one the finally break it: "I'd better get going and see how Jack's hunt for Kalin is going. Probably not well considering he's not concerned in the least."

"Let me know when you find our anything, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure." Crow stepped away from the door and towards is runner. As he walked away, Akiza couldn't be sure he meant it; she could tell his mind had wondered away from their conversation to finding Kalin.