This is written for akiakizaizayoi's birthday. Inspiration: the recent ice storm .If you like it, voice your approval and ideas for future stories.
The day started out like any other in the New Domino metropolis. People were at work and children were at school. The current climate had the skies a grey color and a slight chill in the wind. That's what normally comes with winter. This particular day was different, however. The forecast was calling for two separate rounds of ice storms, with ice accumulations predicted to reach at least one inch. With a technologically advanced society like New Domino, if threats of world destruction didn't bring the city down, an ice storm would.
Yusei Fudo had just finished installing several fail-safe systems onto a company's IT network. When news went around of an ice storm heading for the city, he was being recruited by companies to implement different kinds of measures to prevent data loss in the ice storm. Work was work and Yusei took whatever task he could get. The leader of Team 5D's walked out to where his runner was parked. He looked up at the skies to gauge what was already there. He got onto his ride, revved it to life, and slowly inched his way into the gridlock of cars and trucks. As Yusei slunk along with the other commuters, his on-board computer beeped. Someone was calling him.
"Yusei, please tell me you're on your way home," Crow asked, slightly worried. "This ice storm thing is getting to all of us. Where exactly are you?"
"I'm stuck in traffic," Yusei answered back calmly. "I just finished that IT job."
"Well, just try and get home safely," the Blackwing duelist sighed. "The last thing any of us need is for you to get injured by the ice. I'm heading out to bring the twins back, Jack's holding down the fort, and Bruno's out looking for salt. Watch out for any buildup." Yusei turned off the communication feature and brought up a radar map. The ice storm was still a good ways away but it was heading toward the city at a steady pace. It wouldn't be long before it would reach New Domino and ravage the drivers still on the road. All Yusei could do was wait. Eventually, the gridlock opened up and he got moving again.
It took Yusei over an hour to complete a normal half hour trip from the city to Poppo Time. He had managed to get home just as the freezing rain was starting to come down. He rolled through the open garage door to find Jack watching the news on the freezing rain. Yusei walked up to see what was happening as well. Across the bottom of the screen, the news ticker was updating on travel restrictions and school closings.
"Has there been anything on Duel Academy?" Yusei inquired.
"They're off until further notice," Jack answered. "That's pretty much what every school has." The former champ grabbed the remote to adjust the volume on the television. Just as Yusei began to walk back to the garage door, Bruno drove through on his mini runner with a stoutly built wagon towed behind filled with several bags of rock salt.
"I've got salt," he announced as he took off his helmet and brushed off whatever precipitation had fallen. "It's a good thing too. There were three bags left and I took 'em all. I also got a pickax." Bruno reached into the wagon and pulled it out to show Jack and Yusei.
"I hope you don't expect me to go out there and hack away at the ice like a miner," Jack said as he stood up and walked over to Bruno. "That's not what Jack Atlas does." He did, however, grab the bags of salt and carried them to where the shovels were.
Just then, Crow came through the door with the twins hanging on his back. They had seen the first brunt of the falling ice: the visor on Crow's helmet already had some ice on it.
"Did you three make it all right?" Yusei asked.
"Not quite," Luna answered first as she hopped off Crow's runner. "There's a flu floating around the school and Leo caught it." The male twin sneezed like a cannon onto the back of Crow's vest.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't sneeze on me," the Blackwing duelist warned the boy as they got off. "You better not get me sick, man." Leo wandered in a daze to the couch near the bottom of the staircase that led down from the front door and flopped down on it.
"He must be really sick," Yusei concluded. "Luna, there's some cough syrup in the top right drawer next to the sink upstairs. Give some to your brother." The female twin nodded in agreement and lightly jogged to the kitchen to find it. As the girl went upstairs, Yusei's cell phone rang in his coat pocket. It was Akiza calling him.
"Is everything okay on your end?" Yusei asked as he picked up the call.
"Not exactly," Akiza answered back. "My runner hit an ice patch and slid into a shallow ditch. I'm stranded out here." That immediately got Yusei's attention.
"Whatever you do, stay where you are and try to stay warm," he said with urgency to her. "I'm coming to get you." He clicked his phone off, put his helmet on, and got on his runner.
"You're not seriously going out in this ice, are you?" Jack questioned his friend. "That ramp's probably iced over by now."
"Akiza needs my help, and I'll do whatever's necessary to get her to safety," Yusei said with confidence. He got on his runner, brought it to life, and wheeled it out the garage door. He was in luck: the ramp that led up to the street was still usable. With time working against him, Yusei powered his ride out into the cold.
"Godspeed, Yusei," Jack said silently. "You've proven that nothing is impossible."
The bearer of the dragon's head mark turned on his runner's locator to find Akiza. Wherever her runner was, she would be there as well. Low visibility didn't hinder Yusei's vision too much, but the ice was gradually accumulating all around his ride. He had to work fast or else his runner would be frozen solid.
On a lone stretch of road, he saw a lone figure standing at the side. A beep on his monitor confirmed the identity: it was indeed Akiza. He reduced his speed until he came to a complete stop next to her.
"Going my way?" he asked with a warm smile. "A girl like you shouldn't be out here by herself."
"Are you here to mock me or are you taking me with you?" Akiza asked rhetorically through chattering teeth. He moved forward so his female accomplice could squeeze behind him.
"Hold on tight," Yusei reminded her as he turned the runner around and drove back to his waiting friends.
As the two navigated through the freezing rain, Akiza found it comfortable holding onto Yusei. His body temperature was toasty and permeated into her shivering figure. She even laid her head on his back and watched the right side of the road zoom past her. She nuzzled her head lightly so Yusei wouldn't notice.
The two made it back in one piece just as the storm was picking up in intensity. As they rolled inside, Bruno hurriedly pulled the door down and latched it shut.
"Akiza, we're here," Yusei spoke up to get her attention. It was the end (for now) of being close to her living and breathing space heater. While Yusei got off his runner, Akiza grabbed his hand, pulled him down to her level, and locked lips with him. Nobody was looking, much to Akiza's relief.
"Thanks for…warming me up," she said with a blush. "It was cold out there."
"No trouble at all," Yusei replied. "If you need help in winter weather, just say so and you'll get another feel of a living source of heat." He gave her a wink and walked away to check up on the ailing Leo. During that one wink, Akiza must've felt her heart swoon. Even in the most unfortunate of circumstances, Yusei would always be there to light and heat her way home.