Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Wind To Thy Wings
Characters: Yuusuke, Honest
Word Count: 2,159||Status: One-shot
Genre: Friendship||Rated: G
Challenge: Written for the 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge, day #8; Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section D, #33, write in the friendship genre
Summary: [one-shot, Yuusuke & Honest; 2014 Advent Calendar Challenge; Diversity Writing Challenge] Yuusuke needs a break and it's up to his faithful partner to see to it that he gets one.
Yuusuke turned a page in his book, trying to keep himself focused and not doing a very good job of it. Whoever had written this book hadn't had the best handwriting in any world, and he had to peer closely in order to make sense of some of it.
For all that he enjoyed living in this world, he still couldn't entirely fail to wish that someone would get around to inventing the printing press. If he had any idea of how one went about it, he would've done it himself. Instead, he muddled through the best that he could, and rubbed his eyes a lot.
"Master?" He looked up at the voice and smiled. This was one advantage of living here: Honest was always with him, and he didn't have to worry about anyone who visited wondering why he 'talked to thin air'. They could see him as well as Yuusuke himself could. "You haven't gone out for days."
For all that he was a warrior angel, Honest could be remarkably like a mother hen, always making certain that Yuusuke ate, drank, slept, and got fresh air, no matter what caught onto his attention.
"I'm reading this for Pegasus," he reminded his partner, lifting the badly written book. "He's wanted a translation for weeks now." He'd made progress, but not nearly as much as he wanted, or could have if the author had grasped the concept of penmanship better.
Honest only peered down at him with a stern frown. "You won't be able to work if you don't get fresh air."
Yuusuke held back an amused sigh. This could be so much worse. It could have been Fubuki hovering over him. Fubuki wouldn't have asked. Fubuki would've simply dragged him off to the ocean and thrown him in, without asking if he knew how to swim (he did) or if he had swim trunks (he didn't). At least Honest asked, somewhat.
"All right." There wasn't any reason not to go out, really, despite what he'd said. Pegasus never put deadlines on his assignments, because he knew quite well how confusing and painful some of the translating projects could be. He'd visited here a time or two and seen what Yuusuke worked with first hand. "Did you have something in mind?"
Honest usually did. That was part of what he did for taking care of Yuusuke. Sometimes he would suggest that his master go for a long walk or go visit one of the half-dozen nearby villages. Once in a while he even returned to Earth, courtesy of Misawa Daichi and Taniya, taking care of needs such as 'catching up on the latest books' and 'seeing what his old friends were doing'. Not that he needed to do much of the last; Fubuki kept him very well informed.
What had he done the last time he'd been on Earth? Oh, yes, that was it. He and Ryou had spent hours together, simply talking to one another. He would have to do that again sometime soon. He still hadn't adjusted to all of the changes his old friend had experienced over the years he'd been gone, but he was working on it.
"I thought perhaps we could go flying," Honest suggested. "It's a lovely day out there."
Yuusuke blinked; that was something new. He knew very well that Honest could carry him; he'd found that out the hard way a month or two earlier when they'd run across some dinosaur monsters that wanted to try eating him. He hadn't wanted to kill them; he'd known enough dinosaur duelists to know that one or more of them could be partnered to someone, and he didn't want to hurt anyone's partner. So he'd started running, wishing all the time that he'd put more effort into his gym classes.
Honest hadn't let him run for long, flying down to pick him up and carry him out of there. The dinosaurs ended up confused and only the passing of a herd of Scapegoats distracted them completely. Yuusuke hoped that they didn't have partners either. He'd never met anyone had a Token or a Spell or Trap card for a partner, but he wasn't ready to rule the concept out entirely. Duel Monsters was a strange game and the rules didn't always apply the way one thought they should, especially in these worlds.
"That does sound like a good idea," he said after a few moments of thought. To take off with Honest just for the sheer enjoyment of it, instead of having to flee for his life? He could think of few things right now that he would actually like to do.
He set his book down and adjusted his clothes; he no longer wore the Academy uniform. After spending two years in this world, he'd grown a little taller and developed a little more muscle, which made the old uniform tight in some places and looser in others. Now he had pants and a shirt of a simple design he'd bartered for from one of the villages. He kept a couple of changes of more Earth-like garments in his storage space, for those rare visits back there, but this suited him much more now.
"I'm ready whenever you are, master," Honest said, stepping toward the door. Yuusuke cast one quick glance around the cabin, making certain everything was in place before he left. He worked a quick spell as soon as he crossed the threshold, something that would keep any unexpected visitors from trying to get in. He didn't know if it was a spell that had a card counterpart, but it was something Taniya had taught him, and it worked very well.
He'd built his cabin in a small dell surrounded by bush-covered hills, with a quiet stream trickling by that provided water for washing of all kind. It also made it a very defensible place, especially with Honest to guard whenever he was busy with his researches. He didn't really need the money Pegasus paid him; he had everything that he needed or wanted right here. But he accepted it anyway. When he did go back to Earth, it was nice not to have to depend on someone else to pay for his meals. Or to have to go trading for them, which happened as often as it didn't here as well.
Yuusuke headed up to the tallest of the hills; Honest could take off from anywhere, but the higher they were from the start, the better, at least in his opinion. While most of the hills were thickly covered with bushes and even a few small trees, there was a tiny little area here that was mostly bare. It would do to make certain he didn't get hit in the face by any stray tree branches.
I wonder if Fubuki and Ryou would like to come here and try this. Both of them had dragons they'd closely bonded to in their decks, even if they weren't quite partners in the same way that he and Honest were. They could probably still visit with them here. He hadn't yet had them over anyway. All their meetings had been on Earth.
Once he was up there, Honest fluttered down beside him. Both of them looked at one another for a few moments, trying to figure out how to manage this. Finally Honest simply picked him up, much as he had on the day that he'd saved him from rampaging dinosaurs.
"Is this comfortable, master?" Honest wanted to know. Yuusuke wiggled around a little; they were close to the same height, though he would never have Honest's impressive physique. It wasn't the same as riding a Firewing Pegasus might be, but he would never trade Honest for anything in any world.
"Wonderful," Yuusuke answered, wrapping his arm around Honest's neck for a little better grip. "Let's go."
Honest spread his wings and took off into the sky, with no more effort than if Yuusuke weighed nothing at all. Yuusuke drew in a deep breath; he'd probably stopped in good time, since the sun reached for the horizon with long scarlet fingers. The first stars would soon dot the sky and that all meant one thing: time for dinner and bed soon after. He had candles if he really wanted to stay up with his translating, but with what he'd been working on, that wouldn't help his eyes at all.
Wind gusted through his hair as they flew along, a soft and slightly chill kiss that sent thrills all through him. With each beat of Honest's wings they rose higher and higher, finally coming to a stop at a point where Yuusuke couldn't tell his little cabin from the woods around it. Honest didn't stay there long, however, sloping off in the direction of the ocean. This was a trip fit for a couple of days if Yuusuke walked it, but Honest's wings and speed brought them there in perhaps half an hour. Yuusuke couldn't be certain; he didn't wear a watch on a regular basis anymore. This place didn't seem to need to separate time the way other places did.
Now the wind that tousled and tugged at his hair tasted of salt and Honest took them low enough so he could hear the waves crashing on the shore. He could see several fish swimming, some he recognized and others he didn't. Pegasus would probably want to come here eventually, or send some of his artists, if he wanted to create new cards. There did seem to be several new kinds of sharks around.
They didn't stay long over the ocean, but swirled toward the mountains that rose on the far side. A few harpies were in the area; their hunting ground lay somewhere around here, though Yuusuke hadn't seen it for himself. He'd heard rumors that the Harpie Queen knew far more about Earth than she wanted to admit to anyone, but she was someone else that Yuusuke didn't know and hadn't met. Perhaps one day. For all that he'd lived here a couple of years, he didn't know as many of his neighbors as he would have liked.
The harpies gave them no trouble, however, recognizing Honest's superior speed and strength. At least Yusuke liked to think that was why they did. He did have something of a good opinion of his partner. He also carried his deck with him; if there had been trouble of any kind, then he and Honest would face it together.
He'd long since accepted that they were a partnership, and one that nothing could break, even if he'd tried. Even though he had tried.
Yuusuke didn't like to think of those days very often. He'd spent years in Darkness's realm, in a state that was neither being alive nor being dead, and he hadn't liked it nearly as much as he had thought he would when he'd first decided to try to go there. Now he knew better. Despite not liking being around people in general, he wanted them to exist, and he wanted to exist as well.
"Are you feeling better, master?" Honest asked, craning his neck around to look at him. Yuusuke found a smile easily came to his lips, warm and open.
"Much better." His stomach also put in its opinion on the situation, rumbling loud and clear. "I think it's about dinner time."
Honest nodded and Yuusuke watched the scenery underneath them go pouring by just a little faster than before. While on Earth, spirits didn't need to eat, their own worlds were different, and he and Honest had shared many a good meal together. They slept as well, which was why he'd built two beds for the cabin. He kept meaning to make two bedrooms, but there was never time, not with everything else he had to do to keep them fed and sheltered, as well as his work for Pegasus. It likely didn't matter in the long run. The two beds were comfortable enough and he didn't get visitors that wished to stay overnight.
Though, if he did invite Fubuki and Ryou to spend some time here, that could be a concern. He would have to think about it before he extended the invitation.
Honest dropped down in front of the cabin; landing was much easier than taking off in Yuusuke's opinion. He breathed in quietly and smiled. He felt so much better, not nearly as cramped, and his eyes not aching at all.
"I'll get dinner going," he said, starting inside. He had no idea of how he would live without Honest in his life. He didn't count those years with Darkness as living. He glanced back toward his partner and smiled. "Thanks, Honest. I really needed that."
The angel smiled back at him. "It was my pleasure, master. Whenever you'd like to fly again, let me know."
"I think I will," Yuusuke agreed. And he meant it.
The End