I'm so curious about what's going on back in Standard while the Lancers are off on their adventure. How is Maiami City preparing for the potential invasion? Do the people even believe that there was or will be one, or do they think it a hoax? How are the characters we were introduced to that remain in Standard coping with their missing friends and family (whether because those people joined the Lancers or because they fell victim to Academia)? How do they deal with the fear and uncertainty? I really hope Arc V addresses this at some point, but unfortunately I think there's just too many characters that they need to focus on.
So I wrote this fic to explore some of that.
It was 3:57 in the morning, and still Yuu Sakuragi had not fallen asleep. He hadn't been sleeping very much or very well lately – not since the Maiami Championship. Nightmares plagued him, replaying his classmates' final moments over and over in his mind – sometimes exactly as it had been, sometimes twisted and more terrifying, the masked faces of the enemy becoming grotesque and larger than life.
Sometimes Yuu's savior did not come.
Tonight, Yuu was also kept up by the short conversation he had overheard between his parents earlier.
"I want to pull him out of that school," his mother had said, and from the sound of it, it hadn't been the first time she had said it, either.
"He's worked very hard to get where he is. Pulling him out of LDS…that would throw all that away, shut off his future as a professional duelist. It's what he's always wanted; we can't take that away from him!"
"He's already losing it! His grades are slipping – both at LDS and at high school, he's become a nervous wreck, he hasn't been dueling, he barely comes out of his room…and it's all because of that stunt! I can't talk sense into him – he's really afraid of this invasion nonsense. How can those damn Akaba's live with themselves? Terrifying their students – no, the whole city - and making them live in such constant fear that they shut down – and all for what? To boost their enrollment? To expand their schools? It's despicable!"
Yuu clenched his hand around the bedding, scrunching it tightly as though it would somehow change things. It had been that outburst that had affected him the most. His parents, like many people in the city, believed that the invading forces that had disrupted the Championship were just a farce – a fearmongering publicity stunt to drive up LDS's enrollment and allow easier acquisition of more schools. And how could he blame them, really? Invaders from another dimension, duels that turned the defeated into cards? It sounded like an absurd, fantastical notion. And there was no denying that Principal Akaba had been making great efforts lately trying to expand LDS – and she had certainly used the footage to promote enrollment at the school. It was no wonder that people were incredibly cynical about the whole affair.
Yuu certainly wished he could be. He would give anything to be able to believe that it was all some elaborate marketing scheme. Anything to be able to laugh about it, to joke about how much LDS must have paid the "victims" to hide out and their families to make a scene, to be able to look at a duel disk without shaking, to not jump at every noise or hint of movement, to be able to sleep again, to close his eyes and not see those horrible masks and that horrible flash of light and those horrible cards falling through the air with the faces of his friends on them, as the memory of cruel laughter rang in his ears…
He threw off the covers and stood up. There was no way he was getting any sleep at this point, and lying in bed was not going to do anything for him. He had to get out of the house. Walking alone, in the dark, and out in the open was probably not the best thing to do when every little thing set him on edge…but he couldn't stay in his room any longer. He had spent far too much time there already.
Quickly pulling on clothes, Yuu grabbed his house keys and went out into the still morning. It would still be a few more hours before most people would wake up, so the streets were deserted. Yuu walked warily at first, glancing off at every shadow. But as he walked, he found himself relaxing a little.
…Until he heard the unmistakable sounds of a duel. Yuu tensed, fear and adrenaline shooting through him, and he fought the urge to flee. He nearly did flee when he heard the words "Fusion Summon!" uttered. His mind and heart raced. Were they here? Again? Why? Had the Lancers failed? Was this retribution? Was he to meet his end before the sun rose for one more day? He hadn't brought his duel disk or even his deck with him. He had no way to defend himself, not that it would do him much good if he could.
He drew in sharp, quick breaths, and he was certain he was shaking. If they were here, there was no use in running – the terrifying strength the enemy forces possessed would certainly overwhelm the city in a short matter. However, he could at least warn people, contact Principal Akaba – but he had to be sure. If he warned of a threat that was only in his mind…
Reluctantly, Yuu crept forward towards the sounds of battle. He tried futilely to control his shaking as he darted his eyes back and forth around the park, praying that he would remain unseen. Slowly, the duelists came into clear view, and Yuu felt his fear subside as he realized that there were only two people, neither of which was dressed in the garb of Academia's forces. In fact, he was pretty sure they were LDS students. They had been in the Championship, he recalled. His breathing became less shallow, and his shaking lessened, although was still present. He stood still, unsure what to do now. His fears had been unfounded, but why would anyone be out dueling at this time of the morning? He watched as the duel concluded with a finishing blow from the girl who had shouted the words that had terrified Yuu only moments ago.
"You'll have to do better than that, Yaiba! That's the third time in a row that you've lost to me," the girl said as her opponent stood back up.
"Yeah, yeah. You caught me at a bad time, that's all," Yaiba said, rubbing his back where he had landed.
"You know we can't afford to have 'bad times'." Her face hardened. "They could strike us at any moment. We can't be anything less than our best, ever." Although her voice was determined and confident, Yuu could sense the undercurrent of fear that plagued him and everyone else who didn't dismiss the assault as a publicity stunt. He finally had an inkling of why two middle schoolers would be dueling in the park at this time.
"H…hey," Yuu said, stepping forward. The pair turned and looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing out at four-thirty in the morning, dueling? I was out walking because I couldn't sleep and you guys…" he hesitated, embarrassed by how easily frightened he had been. "...you guys startled me," he finished, hoping he didn't sound as pathetic as he felt.
"We're training," Yaiba answered simply. His companion continued:
"You're from LDS, aren't you? So you must know how overwhelmed they are with trying to get as many people ready as possible – so top students like us aren't getting any of the instruction unless we can get into the Pendulum classes – and we're still on the waiting list, and probably won't be getting in anytime soon. They can't print off Pendulum cards fast enough, after all, so they're reserving it for the elite."
"Uh…yeah," Yuu said. In truth, he hadn't been going to classes. He could hardly even look at his deck or duel disk. "They've really got a lot to manage. Especially when a lot of people still think it was an elaborate hoax." He was unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. The looks of disgust on the pair's faces echoed his own.
"Yeah," huffed Yaiba. "Masumi here 's already given a lot of those guys a piece of her mind. They shut up pretty quickly after that."
"Serves them right. How dare they think this was all some sick recruitment plan?! How dare they mock everyone who mourns their missing family or friends?!" Masumi turned to Yuu, her anger yielding to grief. "Our friend…he was one of the first to fall victim to the assault. We train, not just to protect ourselves, but to avenge him as well. And Yaiba and I both agreed to challenge each other at unusual times, so that we could be prepared when caught by surprise. That's why we're out here right now."
Yuu felt both admiration for the pair's dedication and shame at himself for hiding away in fear. He ought to be training too, to become strong enough to fend off the enemy so that he did not need to fear the dreams where his savior did not arrive. To let himself be paralyzed by fear as he had been was to let the enemy win.
"That's good," he said. "You need to train like that, train hard. They're…tough. Really tough…and beyond terrifying…"
"Did you fight them?" Masumi asked, amazed. Yuu suddenly was aware of how intently she and Yaiba were staring at him. He felt his throat grow tight, but continued:
"During the championship, the entire team of Youth contestants were sent out to fight off the invaders. I…I was the only one who…made it. And…that was a sheer miracle. Someone – I don't know who he was – he came out of nowhere and saved me at the last moment. I…never even got the chance to thank him. I know that I would have met the same fate as my companions if he hadn't shown up. And…no one even believes that they've truly gone…"
Masumi and Yaiba were silent for a moment, whether out of sympathy or awe, Yuu couldn't tell. But soon, Masumi broke the silence.
"If you've dueled them, then you know their strategies! You know how they fight! You can help us come up with ways to defeat them," she said, unable to contain the excitement in her voice. "Yaiba and I have been trying forever to get a copy of the invasion footage – LDS likes to keep it to themselves – but firsthand experience is just as good, perhaps even better!"
"Yeah…I guess…I was incredibly overwhelmed by them that I…I don't know how much help I could be in that regard. But if I can…"
"So, want to train with us? It'd be good for us even if you can't tell us much on their strategies; we can only improve so much facing the same person all the time. Mixing up the dueling with someone we've never faced before would be great for all of us," Yaiba said.
"…Sure," said Yuu. He needed to get back to dueling, and these kids could at least understand some of what he was going through. Even if they hadn't witnessed the horrors firsthand, they had lost a friend. They understood what was at stake. "I'll join you. I need to get stronger, myself." He offered out his hand.
"I'm Sakuragi Yuu. I look forward to training with you."