Sic Transit Gloria Mundi – Thus passes the glory of the world - Anon

Chapter One - Final

In the dark bowels of the stadium, the mechanical beauty growled.

Everything started as a faint purr. Louder and louder it became as the machine gradually floated out of its sleep of oblivion, screw by screw, inch by inch. The purring magnified itself as more and more of the metal came into life, ascending into an incoherent mumbling, a hoarse whisper, an escalating groan. The accelerator was pressed, again, and again, and the groan became impetuous, echoing desperately in the long endless metal corridor, its sound colliding and folding in onto itself in this constriction. Pieces of metal stirred and shook, threatening to burst out of its form. The exhilaration of promised movement sent the cogwheels rattling impatiently while the engine was revved. As its owner took it up to maximum power the D-Wheel broke into an explosive roar, screaming to demand its rightful place galloping in the air and sun, finally howling that it be let out onto its destined palindrome where it hungers for its life and breath.

But the rider on top of the D-Wheel kept this unleashed beast in check. His booted foot, resting steadily on the ground, rooted the machine tightly to earth. The blunt red metal curve behind his seat was still unready as he did not settle in, and no matter how the wheels twirled and twisted, the machine he built remained stationary under his hand.

In his own silence and stillness, even amid all the noise, that rider was listening for something. The sign that will tell him to move.

And before that time come, he will stay here, solitary and unchanging, just waiting.

Then, very faintly – trumpets rang out in the stadium.

Quickly, he tucked his leg into the D-Wheel. The curve he designed, looming up behind him like an ominous crimson moon, shifted to its premeditated tilt as he sat into the driving position. He fiddled one last time with his bright red helmet as the protective synthetic glass came down over his sapphire eyes, and he released the brakes as he anticipated the door of this passage to open and lead him out to the stadium.

With the fresh air came the screams and hollering of hundreds of fans. The cheerleaders, scantily dressed, were calling out his name rhythmically as they performed their choreography. He tilted the nose of the D-Wheel upwards and his machine flew out of the dark passage, landing squarely into the palindrome's smooth runway under a brilliant, perfect morning sky. The weather had been more than gracious for the final matches of this season. The sound of a full house almost drowned out the noise of his D-Wheel, so loud was their desire to see him battle.

"And here we are, the defending champion himself!" The MC was yelling into his microphone, as usual. A new wave of screams followed it around the stadium. "On his red D-Wheel rides our shooting star, the glory of Neo Domino City, the undefeated ruler of this stadium! Here he comes – "

His mind didn't take in the rest of that sentence. He already stopped at the starting line with his challenger, and at this moment all he thought of was the approaching game. Besides, there is no point in hearing, over and over again, his own name.

"Let's get this duel on then!" The MC proclaimed. The countdown counter showed up, and he tensed. "Get ready, duelists! Five, four, three, two, one! Riding duel, acceleration!"

That's right; a fleeting thought flickered past his mind the moment he accelerated into the first curve and felt the unimaginable ecstasy of this near-flight speed. Here on the battlefield, he was just a duelist. Nothing more, and nothing less. Momentarily freed from the weight that has been on his heart these days, the youth on the red bike that he built focused all his thoughts on the duel at hand.

His namewais Fudo Yusei, the only son of the renowned Professor Fudo, who devised the world's first eternal machine. He was the King.

-/-/-/-/-/-

"Look at this!" The MC's commentary went excitedly. "The King took out the challenger in three turns! The crown is still untouched! The King had remained undefeated for three years!"

One hour later, in a house situated in the picturesque luxury suburb of Tops, Neo Domino city, a young boy stared enthralled at the wide plasma screen.

"The King chose to go second this time." On screen, the MC had calmed his voice just a little bit as he went through the analysis of the duel. "Like many other duels, he started by playing Speed Warrior and attacked and destroyed the challenger's monster. Then, having done that, he placed three cards facedown. At that time, unexpectedly, the challenger – "

"Ru – Rua?"

The young boy jolted on the couch. He silently reprimanded himself for devoting so much attention on the TV that he didn't even hear his sister walking into the room. Giving one last brief, lingering look at the duel being replayed on the TV screen, the young boy jumped off the sofa and rushed towards his sister.

"Ruka, are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Don't worry." She gave him a weak, but comforting smile. He grinned back.

"Oh… it's the replay of this morning's duel, isn't it?" Her attention shifted onto the TV, in which the MC's voice had gone up an octave as the game reversed into the champion's favour again. He couldn't help but grin happily again and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I was just watching it. Sorry I didn't even hear you wake up with all this ruckus – "

"No. It's ok, Rua." His sister lowered her head, her fringe of green hair falling over her olivine eyes as she did so. "I'm the one who should be apologising. It's all because I suddenly got sick that you didn't even get to go see the duel."

"Ruka! Don't say that!" The boy was visibly agitated. "It's not your fault! Besides, Yusei himself is gonna come real soon. I'll have all the time in the world to ask him as much as I want, so I've missed out on nothing! Don't blame yourself."

She let the subject rest. He grabbed the remote control and turned the sound down. As he did that, the voices speaking in the next room became discernible.

"Are they still talking?" Rua nodded at his sister's question and turned the TV volume lower still. With the dimming of that source of liveliness, their spacious living room felt much emptier all of a sudden. The subdued muttering of the adults, filtering through from the lounge next door, didn't help with this feeling at all.

"I… were they worried about me, Rua?"

"They – " Seeing his sister's serious face, the green-headed boy sighed and dismissed his cheerful façade. "A little bit. Uncle Fudo thought of sending you to the hospital this time, but Uncle Goodwin and Uncle Izayoi said we should probably wait a while. You turned out alright, so we left you sleeping in your room to let you recover."

Ruka sank into the sofa, nursing her head. Rua had been looking forward to the final duel of the season for the whole week, and it was such a hassle getting two tickets, too. However, she just had to get one of her dizzy spells this morning, and promptly fainted. She could imagine how Rua must have panicked. Her brother always told her he would handle everything perfectly fine without her, but she knew better. She was glad that Professor Fudo, Director Goodwin, and Senator Izayoi were supposed to come over and were right on time to deal with things. Moreover, she knew just how much Rua wanted to see that duel with his own eyes, so she was relieved when she realised Yusei, the King himself, was meant to come over as well.

Speaking of Yusei, the sound of a D-Wheel's engine could be heard in the street below.

"Yusei's here!" Rua literally jumped in joy and sprang towards the door. Ruka chuckled at her twin brother's back, who was eagerly awaiting his friend and idol to come up the elevator with his D-Wheel. As if aware of the excitement of the children, the adults' voices in the next room dimmed down too.

After what must have been an agonisingly long wait for Rua, the elevator beeped, and the door opened. Yusei, carrying his red helmet under his right arm and his left hand resting casually on his D-Wheel, flashed his usual gentle smile at Rua, who almost sprang on him like a little puppy the moment the door parted. Laughing and fending off Rua's rapid-fire questions at the same time, the blue-eyed young man walked into the living room of Ruka and Rua's house, leaving his D-Wheel and helmet politely at the door. He paused a little when he saw that his duel was being replayed on the television.

"I was just watching the re-run!" Rua gestured. "You're amazing as ever, Yusei! How did you guess he was going to play that Speed Spell? And you had the perfect Trap down as well!"

"I knew his style." The young man replied evenly with his low, calm tone of speech. "Speaking of style, Rua, did the number of products with my face on it increase even more in this house?"

"You know Rua. He's always scooping up the King franchise, even when he can meet the real King." Ruka answered for Rua. Her brother pulled a face at her, and she pulled one back. Now that Yusei was here, she felt more secure and at ease, as it always has been whenever the blue-eyed young man was around. Seeing the twins mockingly sticking their tongues out at each other, Yusei grinned.

"Oh right, where's the computer chip your father told me to pick up, Ruka?"

"It's over in the top drawer." Rua got the words out before Ruka did. "And Yusei, address me next time when you want something in this house! I'm the man in the family with our parents gone!"

Ruka softly punched her brother's side. "I'm older! And I'm the one who should be responsible for the house." Turning to Yusei again, she continued. "Dad's chip is in that top drawer. He brought it back from Germany. It's the exact model you asked for."

Yusei walked up to a tall dresser and opened the said drawer, taking out a minute computer chip wrapped delicately in a plastic zip bag. He had asked Ruka and Rua's father, one of the most outstanding businessmen of Neo Domino City, to get a specific computer chip. The elder man had finally got it in his most recent trip. Putting this little chip, which would improve the performance of his D-Wheel greatly, into his navy jacket pocket, Yusei turned back to the twins.

"Are your parents gone again, Ruka, Rua?"

"Yep. Back last night, and gone before the sun came up this morning." Rua's arms were crossed, and he was pouting. "I barely got to see them before I fell asleep… but we've got the house all to ourselves again! Freedom to Rua as always!"

As the twelve-year-old little boy said this, he spread his arms upwards and closed his eyes in an expression of immense satisfaction. Yusei knew better. Despite being born in perhaps the richest family in Domino, Ruka and Rua had known preciously little about family life. Their parents used to hire caretakers, but after they turned ten the twins adamantly declared they were able to live properly on their own, saying they've gotten used to not having their parents around. Indeed, judging by the amount of time and the frequency of their parents' stay in this house, they might as well be the guests in their children's home. Besides, due to Ruka's frail physique, it was rare for Rua to go out at all. What freedom did the boy actually have, apart from staring at that television day and night?

Ruka noticed the solemnity on Yusei's face.

"Yusei?"

"Hm?" Coming out of his reverie, Yusei looked at Ruka expectantly.

"Your dad is in the lounge with Uncle Goodwin, talking over some Momentum business. Are you gonna stay a while and say hi to them?"

"Dad is here?" Yusei's eyes widened in surprise. "He's off work? And Uncle Rex too?"

"Sorry we didn't tell you last night," Ruka smiled apologetically. "They decided to come over this morning to catch Dad before he left."

"Not only them, but Uncle Izayoi is in the lounge as well!" Rua went on. "With even the Senator here, I'm pretty sure they're talking about some major issues, probably even more than the Momentum – ow, Ruka, why'd you punch me?"

Ruka was glaring at her brother for not watching his mouth. With a quick move of her eyes, she gestured towards Yusei. Rua promptly quietened down.

"Uncle Izayoi, huh?" Yusei muttered. He moved towards the lounge door.

"Yu – Yusei, are you ok?" Rua tried to amend things. "So – Sorry about that. I just thought –"

"It's alright, Rua. It's better for you to tell me that." Turning back to the twins, and with his hand on the handle, Yusei gave his friends that familiar smile. "I'll be fine."

With that, he opened the door.

"Yusei! You're here too?" Yusei was greeted by his father's surprised voice. Professor Fudo looked up at his son with his own blue irises, and Yusei gave a heartfelt smile back.

"I'm here to pick up something that Ruka and Rua's dad left for me. Dad, Uncle Izayoi, and Uncle Rex, you're all here?"

"Ah, yes. We wanted to speak to the twins' father this morning, so we all came." Rex Goodwin, the grey-haired Director of Neo Domino City Security Maintenance Bureau and once assistant to Yusei's father, replied smoothly. Yusei gave a small bow of respect towards Goodwin, and was about to take his leave when Izayoi Hideo, Senator of Neo Domino City, started to speak while trying to avoid the young man's eyes.

"Yusei-kun, about what happened three months ago… Please accept my apology." The Senator's face was averted from Yusei's direction. His hands clutched together, and he appeared to be trying to say what he had to say before his courage ran out. "I hope you'll forgive me, Yusei-kun. I know you keep saying it doesn't matter, but I feel that –"

Yusei turned his gaze to the elder man and kept it there.

"Uncle Izayoi, I've accepted your apologies long ago." The young man tone changed very slightly, but the small wavering was caught by everyone in the room. "If what happened hurt me, then the pain you experienced must have been ten times more than mine. You don't need to apologise to me, and there was never anything that you needed me to forgive, Uncle Izayoi." Yusei bowed towards him, even deeper than the one he gave to Goodwin. "Please don't think I'm holding any grudge against you. It's not through your fault that what happened had occurred." He straightened up, his long navy bangs covering his eyes. "I'm afraid I need to take my leave now. I still need to sort some things out with the Duelling Committee about the final match, and my D-Wheel needs a little tempering as well."

"It's alright, Yusei. Us adults have our businesses too." Goodwin answered softly. "And by the way, don't forget the party tonight."

"I won't. I'll be ready at 7 o'clock sharp."

After Yusei left and closed the door behind him, Rex Goodwin fixed his eyes on Izayoi Hideo with slight displeasure.

"Hideo, why did you bring that up? Neither you or Yusei need to be reminded of that again."

Izayoi Hideo shook his head. "Yusei-kun keeps saying he's fine, but I know he's not. I just wanted to apologise to him, yet he would never take it at all. He's changed… he's pushing people out of his life. If only he could stop saying it wasn't anybody's fault, maybe he can get over this quicker."

Professor Fudo sighed. "You're right, Izayoi-san. My son has changed in the past three months." He looked at Goodwin. "Rex, you think he guessed the topic of our discussion?"

Goodwin shook his head sadly. "With his brain, how could he not?"

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In Yusei's pants pocket, apart from the computer chip he picked up from Ruka and Rua's house, there was also a small, black velvet rose.

As he rode his red D-Wheel on the highways traversing Neo Domino City, he fixed his destination as the mountains looming up behind Neo Domino. The road he took left the gleaming blue sea behind and headed far away from the city centre. In here, half an hour's drive even with his D-Wheel's speed, the population was so sparse that some wild, natural land could actually be seen.

And it was also only in here that something extremely traditional – or by some politician's standards, extremely luxurious and unnecessary – can be found: a burial ground, a cemetery.

Trees ruled this place. There were a few housing complexes here, sparsely populated, and one building especially for the caretaker. Apart from them, there were no other human presences. Some call this a return to nature, some call this undeveloped and uncivilised, but he came here every week, regardless of everything else. This was especially so as he sought out more and more of the pieces of this puzzle that tore at his heart. Riding his D-Wheel up the low hill, he arrived at a spot that he had already itched in his memory.

Turning off the engine and placing the helmet carefully onto the seat allowed Yusei to recollect himself a little. He squatted down in front of the white marble, his eyes downcast as he took out the rose from his pocket and laid it in front of the grave. A picture of the occupant of this little plot was inlaid into the stone. He couldn't look right at it even if he has his own thoughts about the truth behind all this.

"You're not in here, are you?" Yusei murmured as he placed a gloved hand on the marble.

"You're not in here. I don't believe it." Yusei's voice was soft, gentle, and resolute, as if he was speaking to a wayward child, a sad friend. In a way, she was indeed the wayward child he took upon himself to keep an eye on, a friend whose sadness he wished to console. Before the incident.

"I know your father very well, and he would never give you up so easily." His blue-eyes were fixed to the ground, unblinking, while he spoke as if to himself. "I've been searching for answers, but no one would give me any. There is something here that I don't know, something fishy." He took a deep breath. "Your father apologised to me again today. I want to believe it's not his fault… but then, why is he so persistent about that? As if he really did something wrong, something that needs my forgiveness, something outside the scope of law?"

A soft breeze blew by, rustling the leaves above him. He remained unmoved. He was certainly lied to, but why? Why was this arranged? Did his father know? If he did, why didn't he tell his son? What really happened? The hard polish stone gleamed in the filtered afternoon sunlight after his hand glided over it, as if reflecting his questions back to the inquirer. The photo on the gravestone just stared back at him passively out of a beautiful, cold face, with the long red fringe rolled up neatly in the silver hairpin as if it has been tied only a few moments ago. Beneath the picture, in elegant, curving font, were written the words: Izayoi Aki, Requistat In Pace.

"I'll find you, Aki." The King of Riding Duels softly proclaimed, as much to himself as it was to the gravestone. "I'll find you as long as you remain on this earth. Please, hang on."