I'm typing this early due to how slow I usually get this time of year (Interruptions and all), but it'll be around Christmas when I get it posted. In addition to 'Link into Domino City', this one is another Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS project I decided to do. I got the idea from Naito Writer, so you can thank him for it if it's good and blame me if it's bad. Since I don't know what Takeru's dub name will be, I won't use him in this one except for a cameo. Also, Yusaku and Skye are going to be slightly OOC, Yusaku more than Skye.
A Den City Christmas
In Den City, you can find that people here are just like anywhere else during the Holidays. The excitement's in the air as children and parents alike are looking forward to the big day. Of course, there were people in that rush to get those items that their loved ones wanted. Those are the ones who don't drop everything to enjoy the scenery. Some people, like Kolter and Ai, often find amusement in those cases since they'll usually slip up on some ice, not that Kolter hasn't done that himself.
At Den City High School, the students were discussing what they'll be doing on the Christmas break. One, however, wasn't enjoying himself as much as the others. In fact, he stayed away from the social groups. Not surprising since that one is Yusaku Fujiki. He saw the time, got his stuff together, and got ready to leave. Luckily, he had Ai on mute since he brought his Duel Disk. He welcomed the silence but felt that he'd have been better off if he left it at home. "…So, any idea what Yusaku is going to do this year?" one girl asked, changing the topic of conversation.
"Who knows?" asked another, concerned about the blue-haired boy. "He's always so alone."
"Maybe we should get him a girlfriend," another one suggested, not knowing that they were about to tick off the topic of the conversation. "He might even be in a much better mood."
"Hear that, pal?" a voice asked. Yusaku turned to find Naoki Shima, who also listened in. "They're not wrong, you know."
"If I didn't know any better, Shima, I'd say that you were standing there for a good five minutes," Yusaku said, a subtle glare on his face.
"How'd you know?"
"The anchovy breath left over from your pizza was a dead giveaway." The shock caused Shima to fall down the stairs, which got the girls to move out of the way. He crashed into the teacher's desk with swirls in his eyes. Yusaku shrugged and left the room, Shima hot on his trail.
"Maybe we should give ourselves to Yusaku," said the third girl. "He's smart, funny, and observant. Plus, he keeps to himself and that makes him cool in my book."
"Aw, come on, man!" Shima exclaimed. "You're really just going to leave those girls hanging? I don't know why, but they're nuts about you, especially that third one."
"If you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone," said Yusaku, again glaring at him.
"Man, it's like you were infected with a Humbug. Where's your Christmas Spirit, bro?"
"I'll believe in the Christmas Spirit when you leave me alone, Shima."
"Come on, man. I bet Playmaker would be in a good mood this time of year."
'Not likely, especially with bounty hunters on his tail,' Yusaku thought. As Shima kept swearing at Yusaku, another pair of eyes was observing him, sad that he was alone as well.
Skye Zaizen was on her way home thinking about how she could help Yusaku be a little more cheerful around Christmas. She had a crush on him after he found her comatose and brought her to the hospital, so she considered having a night by a fireplace with him. The two downsides were that she figured that he was on the stubborn side as well, and the fact that they wouldn't hear the end of it from Akira. Of course, she knew that her brother was always busy at SOL Tech this time of year, so she had time to formulate a plan.
Skye considered her options and thought of one idea: Paying him a visit while decked out for Christmas. The one problem was that she had no idea where he lived, and the food truck wouldn't be around the plaza. Skye took the elevator up to the penthouse that she and Akira lived in while thinking about her plan. When the elevator stopped at the penthouse she walked past the housekeeper robot and out onto the roof with a pair of binoculars. She kept looking for her blue-haired classmate to find out where he lived. "Now, where are you, Yusaku?" she asked. "I know you found Shima to be a pain on Day 1. I hope you'll open up to me, though."
As Skye looked for him, Yusaku walked towards the food truck, keeping out of her sight without knowing it. He opened the back and found Kolter at the computer looking over Link VRAINS. "Hey, bud," the cook greeted. "How was school?"
"It was okay," said Yusaku.
"I wish I had a camera, though," Ai said. "Yusaku made that Shima kid fall down the stairs with a comment about his bad breath."
"He's not wrong, though," said Kolter. "From what Yusaku's always said, Shima hardly has any hygiene habits to write home about."
"How goes the search in Link VRAINS?" Yusaku asked.
"Well, from what I've seen, nobody's logged in. Not Gore, not Blood Shepherd, not Ghost Gal, and not Skye."
"No Varis either, huh?"
"Afraid not."
"Well, that's good." Yusaku then saw a new file from his Duel Disk. "Ai, you were a camera."
"Oh yeah," Ai said. "Hey, Kolter. If you want to laugh, click that file there." Kolter did as recommended. He gave Yusaku a sly look when he heard the girls talking about him, which Yusaku returned with a glare. Kolter then busted out laughing when Yusaku's comment caused Shima to fall down the stairs. "See? Now that's comedy gold."
"Yusaku, you should go into stand-up," said Kolter.
"I'll consider it." Kolter and Ai saw Yusaku leave and head home without his Duel Disk. Kolter knew why, though: It was because Yusaku wanted to have some peace and quiet and Ai wasn't known for providing it.
What Yusaku didn't know was that Skye was still looking for him. She was getting cold, however, and was about to head inside when she spotted some blue hair. She got a better look and found that it was her lonesome classmate heading to his house, which surprisingly stood out from the houses it was connected to. "Found you," she said before crossing her arms due to the cold weather. She went inside and to her room to look for an outfit that was fitting for the season. She then spotted something that was bound to help lighten the mood. "Well, this seems perfect."
At Yusaku's house, he got some hot chocolate from his kitchen, sat down, and spotted a Christmas tree that was decorated by his maid-bot Roboppy. Knowing that she meant well, he didn't get angry with her like he did Shima. He checked his tablet and found a couple of new messages on a private channel. One was from Takeru, showing that he was enjoying his vacation back home with his grandfather and his childhood friend. Yusaku was happy for them, knowing that Takeru needed a break. He checked the other message and was surprised that it was from a girl he didn't know. Something told him to check the message since it was sent on the private server, so SOL Tech and Lightning couldn't locate her, much less the Hanoi.
He was surprised that it was a video message. The username belonged to a girl named Miyu, but the one who sent the message was an Ignis. "Hello?" she said. "Is this thing on? Okay, there's the light. Playmaker, I know you don't know me, but my name is Aqua. I'm using my originator's account to send this message. Miyu is comatose right now thanks to a virus she was infected with, courtesy of Lightning." Yusaku noted the disdain that was laced in her voice when mentioning her fellow Ignis. "As you can probably guess, Miyu, like yourself, is a victim of the Hanoi Project, myself being a result of it. I can sense the Dark Ignis with you as I record this, so I know of another connection you and Miyu have: Her childhood friend Skye Zaizen, who happens to be your classmate. I beg you, Playmaker. Please save Miyu. Help her and Skye to be happy again."
After the message ended, Yusaku sat and lingered on the words. Naturally, he was shocked that Skye's best friend was a victim like him. He cursed both Lightning and Dr. Kogami, the former for the virus and the latter for putting him, Jin, Miyu, and Takeru through the Hanoi Project. 'Dammit, Lightning,' he thought. 'Damn you, Kogami. It's one thing for me, Kolter's brother, and Takeru to go through that hell, but Skye's best friend? I wish I got to you much sooner.' Yusaku's thought process was broken when he saw Roboppy looking at him. "Sorry, Roboppy."
"No one should get angry during Christmas," said the robot. "I have prepared a playlist fitting for the season."
"You and Ai have been around each other for too long." The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Yusaku opened it and was surprised to see Skye. She had on a green ugly sweater, a red skirt, a pair of candy cane patterned stockings, and a brown coat. Yusaku even saw a holly berry in her hair as an accessory as well as her happy smile. He didn't know why, but the entire ensemble, especially the smile, made him blush as red as if he was a Christmas light. "Skye? What are you doing here?"
"I figured I should check up on you and see how you're doing," she said with a smile on her face.
"Thanks, but how did you find me? I don't have my address listed in the school's record. Remember that everything, including report cards, are done by email nowadays."
"Well, I may have looked for you using a pair of binoculars. It's a little old-fashioned, but you're hard to keep up with."
"Okay, so why are you here?" Yusaku asked.
"I want you to come with me," she said. "We're going out to have some fun. Who knows? It may lead to 'fun' for both of us if we can keep out of Akira's sights."
"Do I have a say in the matter? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly one of the citizens of Whoville in that Grinch story. I'm more like the Grinch himself."
"Nah, you're more like Ebenezer Scrooge, only without the riches. Yusaku, I won't let you be alone."
"I won't be. I've got Roboppy in here."
"It doesn't matter how useful she can be, a machine is no substitute for a human heart." To help emphasize Skye's point, Roboppy pushed Yusaku out the door, causing him to fall on Skye. Thinking quickly, he turned them around and landed on his back. They opened their eyes and saw that she was on top of him. Blushing up a storm, she got up, which allowed him to do the same. They saw Roboppy wave and close the door. Yusaku was about to storm back in, but Skye grabbed his arm, getting him to stop. "So, to answer your question, you don't have a choice."
"I noticed. Is your brother okay with this, though? I know he's overprotective when it comes to you."
"He doesn't even know. Besides, he likes you, especially after you found me and called the ambulance while I was in that coma, and even more after we learned you tried looking for me at school to see how I was doing. It's Playmaker he still has some slight issues with."
"I see." 'Great,' he thought. 'I'm both liked and hated by Zaizen. At least I can get along with both sides of Skye.'
"So, where do you want to go? Besides that food truck and either one of our houses."
"It doesn't matter to me. I'll let you pick." Skye smiled and lead Yusaku to the park. 'Kolter and Ai are going to have a field day with this one.'
They got to the park and saw that several people, young and old, were having a lot of fun. Yusaku spotted several couples on the benches holding each other. Given who he is, he thought it was to keep each other warm, not getting the concept of love. He felt a tug on his arm and saw that Skye was directing his attention to the frozen lake that other people were skating on. She didn't give him enough time to question the safety of the makeshift skating rink as they made their way to a bench. She gave him a pair of skating blades. "What are these for?" he asked.
"What do you think they're for?" she asked back. "We're going skating, you goof. Put them on the soles of your boots. They can latch on easily. After that, when you're done, you can unlatch them and take them off without removing your boots. Easy enough, right?" She giggled at the unsure expression on his face. After getting the blades on, he put his hood up, which Skye quickly took off of his head. "Look, it wasn't easy for me to do this either, but you and I need to get out more often. It's safer for the two of us here than it is for Blue Gal and Playmaker in Link VRAINS."
"I'll give you three reasons why I'm on the contrary for that: 1) I'm not like the rest of the world. I don't have anyone I can call my friend and hang out with just to hang out; 2) It's a bad idea in this case because you can get sick and die if you don't have anyone to take care of you; and 3) Shima couldn't get through to me and neither could those three girls in our class, so what makes you think you can?"
"Well, I've got three reasons for you, Yusaku: 1) Even the loneliest person could have a friend. It's a matter of opening up to that friend. While I don't know much about you, I know enough to know that you're capable of it; 2) I'm willing to take the risk of getting sick for you because you took care of me; and 3) I'm not Shima or those three girls. What makes me different from them when it comes to you is that I actually know more about you than they do. Plus, I don't mean to brag, but I doubt they could rock an outfit like this." While Skye didn't notice, Yusaku noted the close proximity, which made him blush again, but also notice a pleasant smell.
"Is that peppermint I smell?"
"Oh, sorry." She jumped away while blushing like he did.
"Don't apologize. It was a pleasant scent."
"Thank you. It was a new perfume I wanted to try. Anyway…" Yusaku took that as a cue to join her on the ice. She had a little trouble at first, but she got her groove and was skating like she was a natural. On the other hand, he was having quite a bit of trouble balancing on his skates. He slipped and fell on his back, getting a giggle from Skye. He took a quick glance in another direction and found Kolter laughing at him. "Judging from your glare, I'm guessing that's the owner of the Café Nom," she said.
"Yep," he said. "That's Kolter." He then got some help standing up and dusted himself off. "Let's try this again." He got his own groove this time, starting slow and coasting until he got the hang of it. Skye joined him, skating alongside him.
"Well, isn't that nice?" Kolter asked rhetorically.
"I'm just waiting for them both to slip and fall," said Ai. Kolter happened to look at the hill that was overlooking the lake, letting out an 'uh-oh' when he spotted Akira, which went unnoticed by Yusaku and Skye. She broke off from her classmate and performed an Axel spin, much to Yusaku's surprise.
"Nice spin," Yusaku complimented, getting Skye to smile and blush. He got his own momentum and turned around to coast backwards but wound up stumbling. Skye grabbed his hand to re-balance him but fell with him into the snow, much to Zaizen's concern.
"Skye! Yusaku!" he exclaimed in concern. "Are you two alright?"
"We're fine, Akira," Skye said.
"Yeah, it was just a little slip on my part, that's all," said Yusaku.
"Thank goodness," Zaizen said. "But you two need to be careful. Yusaku, I trust you with Skye's life, so I don't want you to do anything that could get either of you killed, understand?"
"You got it, Zaizen." The businessman and Skye helped Yusaku to his feet and helped him to dust off. "Thank you."
"As I said, just be careful. You're the first friend Skye has made in a long time. That is why we don't want to lose you. How would you like to join us for Christmas dinner? There's no reason for you to be alone this time of year."
"Thanks for the offer, Zaizen, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass. It's nothing against you two, but I'm afraid this time of year is when I'm at my worst."
"Yusaku," Skye said, getting her classmate's attention. "If your worst is being so savage that Shima falls down the stairs without anyone pushing him, then you've got nothing to worry about."
"That was me pulling punches. I'm afraid I might say something I'll regret."
"Pulling punches my foot. You probably choose to be by yourself."
"Skye…" Zaizen tried to warn.
"C'mon, Yusaku. Tell me I'm wrong."
"You're right," he said with a blank expression, surprising both Zaizen siblings. "I choose to be by myself at Christmastime because I'm at my worst…and I don't want to hurt either one of you, especially since you've been so kind to me. So, the least I could do is isolate myself, so I don't hurt you." He took off the blades and put them back in the case that Skye got them out of before leaving, leaving behind a dumbfounded Skye and Akira. He was shocked when he felt a snowball hit the back of his head, so he looked and saw that Skye was the culprit.
"You mean to tell me that you won't even stay for a snowball fight?"
"Nice try, but no thanks." As he continued walking away, Skye continued after him, leaving Zaizen and Kolter to ponder the relationship between the two teenagers.
The two of them got to the block that Yusaku's house was on when she caught up to him. "Look, Yusaku, I went through all this trouble to help you feel better and you're acting like a jerk. Why is that?"
"I told you that I'm at my worst this time of year, didn't I?"
"You did, but you haven't reached it yet. Whatever's biting you, you need to let it out. If it's that kind of frustration, I'm right here. Yusaku, I'll happily be the company you keep. I'm not giving up on you and you know it." Yusaku responded by tossing a pebble at the gutters and putting his hood up, which was followed by a mini-avalanche of snow falling on him and Skye. She popped up and glared at her classmate. "T-T-That was c-c-cold," she said, freezing from the snow.
"You're the one who threw a snowball at me," he said. "That was payback tenfold."
"Y-Yeah well, i-if I wind up having to sit in front of your heater with nothing but my underwear on, it's on you. But I bet you'd enjoy that, wouldn't you?"
"We're not even close to that stage yet." He started back to his house before turning back to Skye, who was still shivering as she was getting out of the snow. Yusaku helped her out and signaled for her to follow him into his house.
They got into the house, where he had Roboppy start up the heater. He gave her a towel and looked for a spare change of clothes for her to wear. "Damn it. I hate when a guilty conscience kicks in," he said to himself. "Skye's a little smaller than I am, but we're both wiry in frame. Maybe these will do for her." He then saw something in the back of his closet. He picked it up and saw that it was a Christmas ornament that his parents got him eleven years ago.
Now, he felt like a jerk for what he did to Skye due to the picture containing his parents. He brought the clothes to Skye while he had the ones she had in the dryer. He then put the ornament on his tree and turned around to check on his guest, who saw the regret he had in his eyes. "You feeling better?" he asked.
"Yeah, no thanks to you," she answered, biting him back with the same cold treatment she got earlier.
"I had that one coming. Look, I'm sorry for what happened. I'm not the nicest person to be around, so it kind of perplexes me to find out someone wants to be my friend, especially if I can't relate to them in any way."
"I understand. But that's why I want to be your friend. I know what it's like to be alone, Yusaku, and it's not a pleasant feeling. I'd rather have a cold friend than no friend at all. At least I'd have one." Soon, Skye felt warmer from the heater, so she got up and shed the towel, which got Yusaku to turn away since she was still in her bra and panties. "It's just the two of us, so you can look. You're the only one I trust with my skin. In fact, I trust you with it more than I would a friend of mine from my childhood. Her name is Miyu. I haven't heard from her in a long time."
"Do you miss her?"
"Yeah. You'd like her. She has a smile that could brighten anyone's day."
"Then why is it yours that usually brightens mine?"
"Because we have that special connection, Yusaku." When Skye got done, she had on a sweater and a matching pair of pants. The sleeves and legs were a little long on her, though. "A little bit big, but I can still move. What do you think?"
"It looks good on you. The only problem is that I couldn't ask for your size. Now, what do you mean by 'special connection'?"
"I don't know. I guess it's because we're two lonely people who don't socialize much because we don't have much in common with anyone else. There's a Duelist in Link VRAINS I became a fan of due to his heroics in saving it. I didn't know why at first, but now that I think about it, he reminds me of you. He's nothing like Domino City's heroes Yugi Muto and Yusei Fudo, but he inspires courage in other people just the same. He's the reason I want to be your friend."
"I see. They say Blue Angel does the same for many, bringing smiles to everyone, just like you do." Skye saw the kind smile that Yusaku had on his face. "Maybe there's a connection between them like the one you see between you and me."
"Maybe, but Blue Angel's merely a pop idol," she said. "You know who I'm talking about, right?"
"Of course," Yusaku said. "You're talking about Playmaker. You know, a lot of fans of the two ship them."
"True, but I've been hearing rumors around the school about you and me." The two of them looked at each other and laughed a little.
"You know, maybe I will take you and your brother up on that dinner. After all, you, Kolter, and Takeru are really the ones I can call a friend. At least I can be a good substitute until you and Miyu reunite."
"That's impossible. You can't be a substitute." Yusaku was about to ask why when Skye put her hand on his face to kiss him. He returned it in kind. "Because you're a special kind of friend that she's not." What ruined the moment for them was the dryer buzzing, signaling that the clothes finished drying. Yusaku went to get them and gave them to her. She saw that they were neatly folded. "I wish we could stay here and really get together."
"When the time's right and we're both ready. I'm looking to it myself. In the meantime, let's just keep this a secret from everyone else, okay? Shima can be a pain in the neck as it is."
"Oh, I know. In fact, I have an idea." Yusaku smiled when he saw the devious smirk on Skye's face. He knew exactly what she was up to.
The next day, the two lovers got together for Skye's plan. The sky was grey, and the ground and rooftops were right. Yusaku did as he promised and joined the Zaizen siblings for dinner, having relayed what happened to Akira without mentioning the kiss between the two teenagers at Yusaku's house. They got a plan put together with Yusaku acting as the bait. He walked on the sidewalk casually minding his own business when Shima came out of a card store. "Hey! Yusaku!" he exclaimed. "Wait up, bro!" As Shima kept talking, Yusaku started to get annoyed.
Skye took that as the trigger sign for the prank. She got a pebble and threw it at gutters like Yusaku did the previous day. He even put his hood up as Shima wound up with a mini-avalanche falling on him. Yusaku finished it up by gathering up a snowball, turning around, and throwing it at their target when he popped his head up. "C'mon, man!"
"See you at school," Yusaku said.
"I'm telling Playmaker!" The threat did nothing to phase Yusaku, who kept on with his walk. When he was out of Shima's sight, he was joined by Skye.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time now," he said, sharing a high five with Skye.
"Same," she said. "So, what now?" Yusaku smiled and took out a small box with a bow from his pocket. She took the box, opened it, and saw, to her surprise, a gold necklace. He helped her to put it on and saw the genuine smile she had on her face. She looked at him with loving eyes and pulled out a gift of her own to him. He opened it and saw a picture that was taken the previous night by Skye's robot maid. It was of the two of them holding each other and framed perfectly. Yusaku gave an amused smile and shared one with Skye. They kissed each other for a while before breaking apart for air. "Merry Christmas, Yusaku," she said.
"Merry Christmas, Skye," he said in return. "Want to go skating?"
"Sure thing. I got the blades." Smiling at one another, they headed to the makeshift skating rink to enjoy their day out. As they went on, Kolter and Ai were smiling, happy that Yusaku found the one person that he could count on to keep him anchored.
"Isn't that nice," Kolter said. "They build up enough trust and Skye can be part of the group."
"Why would she want to be part of the group?" Ai asked.
"Because we're looking out for Link VRAINS just like she is. Besides, they love each other and if anyone can keep Yusaku from going overboard without the 'three reasons' thing, it's Skye."
"You humans are something else, you know that?"
"At least we don't go around the internet deleting people's awesome cat videos just for fun."
"You're still blaming me for that!?"
"Fess up, Ai. I know it was you."
"NO! IT! WASN'T!"
THE END
Okay, so that's one of my Christmas projects this year. The other one is Chapter 48 of Big Leagues. If you're wondering what that last part was about, I saw a VRAINS dub clip where Yusaku, Kolter, and Ai were talking about the layout of the Tower of Hanoi and Kolter brought up a time where Ai gobbled up his collection of cat videos.
Anyway, Merry Christmas Everyone!