Kairi: Okay, so this is just something I've had laying around in one of my folders for a few… um… well, at least a year now. I've got a bunch of plot bunnies written out for it, but I'm not sure if I want to post the whole story or not. So here's the prologue…
Kalin was impatient and uncomfortable. Yusei should have been back hours before. What was taking him so long? The blue-haired teen was sitting at the table, contemplating this, when Crow burst into the door.
"Kalin! We got a message from Yusei! He wants us to meet him over at the abandoned factory," the carrot-head said quickly. Kalin stood up.
"Could it be a trap?" Kalin asked. Jack ran in behind Crow.
"Even if it is, we can beat the idiots that laid it," he said. Kalin nodded.
"Alright. Yusei's been gone long enough, so let's just go. We'll find out soon enough," Kalin decided. The other two teens nodded, and grabbed their duel disks. Within a couple of minutes, all three boys were on their way to the abandoned factory. They were cautious, uncertain as to whether the message from Yusei was exactly that or a trap. However, as they reached the factory, they were beginning to fear that it was indeed a trap.
Not a sound could be heard. Yusei was nowhere in sight. But the chain that normally kept people out of the factory was broken, and it looked like something had smashed into the fence. Something big, and definitely heavy. Then they heard someone cry out in pain.
"That sounded like Yusei!" Crow shouted. Jack and Kalin nodded in agreement before all three of them broke into a run. The next thing they heard chilled them to the bone.
"W—Was that a roar?" Crow stuttered. And indeed, it had sounded like the roar of a dragon. The next thing the three of them knew, a duel gang was running from the factory, and they paid no attention to the fact that the Enforcers were between them and the gate.
"Run! Run away from the witch! She'll set her dragon on you!" one of the guys yelled frantically as they rushed to get away from the factory. Kalin, Crow, and Jack exchanged glances and stared up at the factory before deciding that they would investigate.
"We've gotta figure out where Yusei is," Crow said. And the three teens started moving again, though they were uncomfortable with what they might find. The climb up the stairs was a slow kind of torture for them. However, when they reached the fourth floor, one door was open. They exchanged glances again, and then approached the door. Inside the room, Yusei was bent over a small figure.
"Yusei! You alright, buddy?" Crow asked. Yusei turned his head and nodded, though the way he was holding his left arm told the other Enforcers otherwise.
"I'll live, though I'm not sure I can say the same about her," he whispered, nodding to the body on the floor.
"She can't be any older than twelve," Kalin said. "What was she doing here?"
"She wasn't here to begin with. That gang was chasing her, so I went after them in an attempt to help her. We lost them for a little bit, but she was exhausted. That's why I sent the message. I figured that you might think it was trap, but I didn't have many other options," Yusei explained.
"But the gang caught up to you two," Jack guessed. The raven-haired teen nodded.
"Yeah. She was in no condition to run, let alone fight or duel, so I did my best to protect her. It didn't go quite as planned, though. I think they might have broken my arm," Yusei said. Then he looked down at the girl on the floor. "I'm not sure how, but she made a duel monster come to life when she realized that I was in trouble. It scared them off, but it also caused her to lose consciousness."
"So now what? We can't leave her here," Crow said. Kalin nodded and knelt next to the girl.
"Did she tell you her name?" he asked Yusei. Yusei shook his head 'no.' Kalin sighed. "Oh, well." Then he picked her up, and was concerned when he felt how light she was.
"Damn, she's tiny," Jack said, helping Yusei to his feet. Kalin nodded, worried.
"Let's take her back to our headquarters for now. If nothing else, we'll at least provide her with something to eat when she wakes up. She's too light," he said quietly. Crow and Jack nodded.
The trip back to the half-fallen-down building that served as headquarters for the Enforcers was uneventful. Once there, Kalin deposited the girl in his bed before locating the First Aid kit so he could take care of Yusei's arm. It was, as Yusei had feared, broken, but it would heal. Jack and Crow, however, were concerned. Yusei was a part of their team, and they had planned to attack the Magicians Four within the next week. Without Yusei, the would be at a disadvantage.
"We'll have to postpone our attacks on the other duel gangs until Yusei's arm heals," Kalin announced later that evening. "The three of us should have no problem defending our turf."
Yusei's eyes found the floor of the room, and he sighed. "I'm sorry. This is my fault," he said quietly. Crow shook his head.
"You were trying to protect an innocent girl from a duel gang. There's nothing wrong with that. So our plans got pushed back a little; no big deal. We'll just take care of them later. At least that girl's safe. Who knows what would have happened to her if you hadn't stepped in?" Crow said. Yusei looked a little less depressed.
"Right. And it's not like it'll take years for your arm to heal," Jack agreed. Kalin nodded.
"Yep. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry," he said. Yusei sighed and shook his head, smiling.
"You and your stomach," he muttered jokingly. The four teens laughed, and Kalin headed into the kitchen area to cook. Yusei headed to the room he normally shared with Kalin and noticed that the girl was in Kalin's bed. Out of curiosity, he stood next to her bed and watched her sleep. This girl was different, he knew that. But something seemed to draw him to her. Then he shrugged and decided that he would think about it in the morning.
Far away from the Enforcers, in Neo Domino City, four teenagers stood around a Sector Security officer.
"Did you find her yet?" one of the two boys in the group asked.
"She's been gone for almost a month, you must have some kind of a lead!" the other boy added.
"No, we don't have anything yet," the officer said unhappily.
"But—" a red-haired girl started.
"You kids think I'm not worried? Sora's my daughter! I want to find her as much as you do!" he interrupted her. The teens looked amongst themselves sadly.
"She'll show up when she shows up, guys. And knowing Sora, she'll be alive and happy too," the second girl said calmly. This girl had long, purple hair with gold highlights and black bangs. Her crimson eyes shone out with a fierce determination. "It's getting late. We should be heading home."
"How can you be so calm about this, Yuri? Sora's been missing for almost a month, and all you can say is 'she'll show up when she shows up'?!" the red-head yelled. The officer placed a hand on her head.
"Relax, Miyoku. We'll find her. In the meantime, you kids had best take Yuri's advice and head home," he said. Miyoku crossed her arms.
"Fine," she muttered. Then she and the two boys headed towards the residential area of Neo Domino City. However, Yuri stayed behind for a moment.
"Is something wrong, Yuri?" the officer asked. The girl looked at her feet.
"I can't sense Sora at all," she whispered. "I've always been able to feel her, even when you two went to Egypt a few years ago. Now, it's like she's just gone."
"So you lied to your friends earlier so they wouldn't be too upset?" he asked. Yuri shook her head.
"No. Somehow, in my heart, I know that Sora is still alive. But this lack of feeling from her can only mean one of two things. Either she's in a coma, or worse."
Kairi: So… I'll go ahead and put the next chapter up whenever I get around to re-writing it (since all of the duels in this story are currently in script form, and FanFiction doesn't like that). But past that… if you want to read more, you'll have to let me know, because I won't keep writing this if no one is going to read it. So if you want more, review. If not… then why the hell are you still here?