Expired Promises
Crow's POV
The news was exploding across the social network; genius pro duelist Fudo Yusei had committed suicide in his home. Now normally I wouldn't believe a single word of such news without any facts to base them on; there has been fake viral news about celebrity's deaths in the past. But I've been trying to reach Yusei for the fifteenth time and I am getting more and more worried each time my calls end with a voice message. As I attempt to calm myself down; trying to rationalize the itching thought that the news may actually be real, I received a call; the caller's name was Kiryu's. I immediately picked it up, hoping that maybe he would have some answers to our friend's whereabouts.
"Hey Kiryu, do you know what's being posted on the net about Yusei? Do you have any idea what is going on?" I jumped straight to my point.
"Hi Crow. Yes, I saw it. The news… is somewhat true. Damn, I should have seen this coming with all those people crowding around when the ambulance arrived." He gave an audible sigh over the phone.
"Yusei… Is he… Is he… gone?" I prepared for the worst, it couldn't be; how could it be the best of us to be the first to go?
"No, that wasn't what I meant when I said the news is somewhat true. Sorry." I could picture Kiryu's distress from all this; he rarely says sorry. For him to be so out of character meant that something serious had occurred. "I'm in a hospital with Yusei right now; he did attempt suicide." He continued but paused when he said about the attempt. Only then did the reality of the situation truly sink in.
I took a deep breath, collecting my thought "I don't think I'm able to leave anytime soon; I'm in the middle of a tournament right now. I'll travel right back to Neo Domino City when I can immediately. Until then, is there anything I can do to help? Have you talked to Lua and Luka? Or Aki? Maybe Jac-" I tried to offer as much assistance as I can before Kiryu cut me off mid-sentence.
"You go ahead and contact the twins since you're closer to them than I am, I had already planned to contact Jack after you." Kiryu paused for a few moments before he continued, "Yusei got rejected by Aki; she's got a boyfriend now. I don't know… if we should inform her."
"Look, the doctor is about to come out at any time; contact the Twins and I'll contact Jack. I'll get back with you once I talk to the doctor. Yusei… he's in very rough shape right now." He hung up even before I could wrap my head around that Yusei and Aki weren't an item. What happened to him?
...
Kiryu's POV
The door was unlocked, something that I did not expected when I had knocked the door to see if Yusei was home. I killed the engine on my D-Wheel, wanting to open up the garage door to Yusei's house and parked it inside; I never got the chance. When I entered, the stench of the place was the first to hit me; rotten leftover food and gear oil permeated the interior ventilation. It was coming close to evening so I tried to turn on the lights, flicking the master switch a few times before I gave up and continued my exploration to find Yusei. I discovered him in the garage and what I found made me sick to my stomach; cups of ramen were everywhere, tools were carelessly discarded onto the floor and I could see cockroaches scurrying around. In the middle of that disaster laid Yusei's body, empty magazines and bullet casings surrounding him.
At first I thought the worst had happen, I jumped immediately to his side only to see his body move in a breathing rhythm. I breathe a sigh of relieve, only then did I realize that he hadn't bath in like weeks, the flies buzzing around and the stench was what I could consider putrid. I had more and more questions growing when a friendly visit is turning into a nightmare.
"Hey Kiryu," he shocked me by speaking up first, "Where were all of you when I needed you?" before he pressed a handgun onto my forehead.
...
Crow's POV
"Isolation, depression, bipolar disorder; the doctor said lots more but that was what stood out from his assessment. The doctor also said that it would be best if the people who were close to him could visit and generally being positive around him. He's in very bad shape Crow, far worse than we thought." Kiryu had called back after our quick conversation, updating me on Yusei's condition.
"I'd informed Lua and Luka, they are able to visit in the coming week. How did Jack respond? Is his pride still wounded after the fallout between him and Yusei over his breakup with Carly?" I had already started planning when I could leave and be on my way back to Neo Domino City. To see someone I treat practically like my own brother fallen to this state… It hurts in the heart.
Memories brought me back to that battle between Yusei and Rudger during the Dark Signer War at the location of the first Momentum, when he poured out his heart about how he truly felt he was responsible for me, Jack's and the rest of those he called friends their parents, that he caused them their happy life had his father not caused the Zero Reverse Effect; the darkness of his heart. At that time, in my lifetime with Yusei, I had never known those dark thoughts within him even though I saw him as my brother. And yet now... I forgotten once again that this brother of mine, this person who I treated as Superman, had his own kryptonite; that when he needed me the most, I wasn't there. I failed him.
"Jack… he's still hurt by what happen but he actually suggested the three of us to visit him together so that things don't go south with us around; at least this shows he cares. While he is waiting for, and I quote 'your lazy butt' … he's gone to visit Aki." I snapped out of my sea of thoughts; Kiryu answered yawning, I guess he hadn't slept since finding out Yusei was in such a state. It made me feel bad that now Kiryu was the one shouldering the burden.
"I see… At least we can know what happened between them." I tried to be positive in this disheartening situation, "Look, if you need help or anything just ring me up and I'll do my best to help." I felt guilt, guilt that I wasn't there when my brother needed me the most. At that decisive moment, I made up my mind that I won't allow this to happen again. "You know what, I'll go find my manager right now; he needs to replace one of his team members and if he isn't happy about that well he's going to lose a team member."
"Thanks Crow." Hearing Kiryu's relieved; I knew that this was the right thing to do.
"No problem brother. Hold the line for a while more, Crow the Bullet is on the way!" We ended the call there and now I had to scratch my head to convince my manager not to kick me off the team.
Kiryu's POV
I wanted to tell him the good news that I got so far, hoping to cheer Yusei up. But to see his unshaved and rugged face, his limbs restrained to the bed, his eyes so devoid of life, it was like looking at a corpse. Before I could find a way to come up with a suitable way to deliver the news, Yusei was the first to open his mouth yet again.
"Tell me Kiryu," his voice was totally lost of any radiance, "do promises expire?"
I contemplated the various answers I could give and I settled on saying something positive about him, "Well, your promises never do."
At that moment, I could see Yusei transformed before my very eyes, like what had transpired in his home; the lifeless corpse suddenly awaken and fuelled by rage and despair; his eyes turned bloodshot and his restraints were barely containing his sudden outburst. "I ASKED YOU WHAT YOU THINK! NOT WHAT I FUCKING THINK! I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOU PEOPLE TELLING ME MY 'STRONG' POINTS AND THEN JUST DUMPING ME WITH THE HEARTBREAKING NEWS! IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SAY, SAY IT FUCKING DIRECTLY! DON'T MAKE ME FIND OUT MYSELF WHAT THE FUCK YOU MEAN!" He was cursing; he rarely ever cursed while his eyes begun to water.
I was utterly stumped at his reaction, I didn't have a clue on how to response back or if he even was referring to the current situation.
My silence increased his agitation even more, "I KNEW IT! I FUCKING KNEW IT! YOU ARE ALL LIKE HER; LIARS AND BETRAYERS! ALL OF YOU! ALL OF YOU!" His long untrimmed fingernails were digging into his palm, his hands begun turning blood red from the bleeding. The bed restraints were bruising his arms and leg, violently shaking the whole bed; if it weren't for them he would practically be biting me like a rabid dog.
The doctors and nurses had heard the commotion from a mile away and had tried to calm him down before opting to give him a sedative, one of them asking me to leave the room while they did their job. As I was pushed out of Yusei's ward, I could hear him continue to scream, "SHE SAID WE COULD STILL BE FRIENDS! HOW THE FUCK DOES THIS LOOK LIKE WE ARE STILL FRIEND?! SHE'S A LIAR! SHE'S A BETRAYER! ALL OF YOU FUCKING ARE!" all this while Yusei was crying his heart out before the sedative finally kicked in.
I've condemn thousands of souls before, stared at Death in the eye; I've been through rough shit myself. But… seeing the hospital staff coming out from his room like they had just been through a warzone, with Yusei's screams still echoing within me and to see of all people, Fudo Yusei to become so damaged like this…
I broke down and cried as well.
Author's note:
I don't own 5D's or any of its characters. If you could, please leave a review or favorite the story if you enjoyed it. If you identified a spelling or grammatical error feel free to just point it out.