Title: It's Complicated: Aki's Version
Genre: Romance, Drama
Anime: Yu Gi Oh 5Ds
Pairing: Aki x Yusei
Summary: Aki returns to Neo Domino for a few days in hope to reunite with some of her friends, but once she arrives she finds herself hesitating to visit Yusei, feeling insecure and anxious about the status of their current relationship.

The psychic duelist who went from being entitled as the Black Rose Witch, to Neo Domino's Heroine and now a Guardian Angel after stories about her patients' rare miraculous recoveries despite having to been in her medical career nothing more than a year. Aki sighed as she heard some of her co-workers gossiping about, within the past year it has quickly become one of the 'seven wonders' of the town she lived in. Honestly she preferred not using her abilities to heal patients, especially not wanting to create newfound hope that wasn't going to happen for everyone. Besides it wasn't that she helped create countless miracles. As far as she was concerned, she has only created three, but that alone was enough to be the hot topic in the hospital no matter how many months ago it's been. Striding into her office, she plopped herself down and let out a deep breath, massaging her forehead gently as she, as always would look at that one and only picture of their victorious celebration after wining the WRGP. A small smile crawled upon her lips as usual.

"Looking at that photograph again?" Aki looked up to see her boss, the head of the hospital with a clipboard in hand. She grinned at him, "That's correct. So what brings you here Mr. Cueto?"

The doctor glanced at his clipboard once more before glancing at the calendar, "Regarding your request to take a few days off." She stood up and bit her lips, "Is it too soon to request some time off?" the doctor shook his head, "No, in fact we're having one of our employees who had maternity break who specializes in the same subject as you do. Also since you aren't the one performing operations and sorts, this would be a good chance for her to get back into her groove a bit."

Aki's eyes widen, "So it will be alright?" her boss nodded at her before adding, "But keep in mind Aki, you won't be paid like the seniors here do, and it will be for only eight days." The young woman beamed at him, "That's more than enough time, thank you for granting my request." A small smirk crawled upon his face and replied, "Oh and by the way, your vacation starts tomorrow. So if you're planning to fly back to Japan like I think will be doing, you better hope there's some seats left on the plane." She gawked at him, "You're kidding!" and shifted her gaze to the monitor and pulled up her seat typing furiously at the keyboard to see if there were a plane ticket to claim within the next twenty-four hours.

It was early in the morning when Aki stepped out of Neo Domino's airport and inhaled the sweet spring air deeply. The sky was still dark and there were very few cabs waiting around. When she got one, she gave the cabdriver the directions to her parent's place and then sat back into the seat closing her eyes feeling exhausted.

She was barely able to catch the flight that she took to return to her hometown. For all she had packed, it was all strictly what she needed, a few pair of clothes, hygiene materials, her laptop, wallet, cellphone and of course her dueldisk– that was about it, but then again only something natural travelers would pack, but she had a hard time believing she still managed to pull it off within fifteen minutes since she ran into her apartment and out again. She didn't have the chance to eat either so she was left to have a distasteful meal on the plane.

She took out her cellphone and switched the time zone realizing that it was 4:45am, she dialed her home number nervously, feeling guilt that she wasn't able to give her parents a heads up about her sudden return back in town. However she was left surprised when there was no answer. She bit her lips as they pulled into the driveway where Aki stepped out and paid the cab before he drove up and stared at her dark home. She tried calling again realizing that the curtains in the living room were closed which only meant one thing, they were out of town. Groaning to herself, she used her cellphone as her source of light and dug into her bag where she was certain, still had her pair of keys for the house. Relieved that she found it, Aki opened up and went inside flicking on the lights muttering, "Thank god. I would hate having to call someone to crash at for the night." Leaving her stuff at the front door she went directly into the kitchen and opened the fridge only to frown, "How long were they planning to be out of town for?" She eyed the kitchen cabinets in hope she could find some canned peaches, soup or anything. She found a box of Pocky that her father would usually hide from her and smirked as she snapped open a new bag, "And he thought since his little girl was out of town that his Pocky would be safe~" she drew one out and quickly consumed it before drawing for a second one. Knowing that wasn't enough she continued searching the cabinets and pulled out a can peaches and shrugged, "Good enough for me." Then proceeded to opening the can and filling up the teakettle to prepare a cup of tea.

Glancing at the clock, not too much time passed since arriving from the airport and finding food. It was only a little past five which made her grimaced. It was far too early to call anyone, and now that she just ate some Pocky, she won't be able to sleep for a good long while now. While she watched her the kettle to boil, she returned to the entrance to grab her things and tossed it into her room and then back downstairs again. As she ate her peaches she snapped open her cellphone and stared at her contact list. There were only four people who were still in town who she could call first. Honestly one would think she'd call Yusei first, but to speak the truth, she wasn't sure how she was going to meet him.

Since their 'moment' as she calls it, in his garage before she left the next day, she always worried things would be awkward when they reunited, even if Yusei had completely forgotten and moved on or still remembered. The idea of Yusei being in a relationship with another bugged her. Not to he point where she could be considered as 'possessive' but it was more of feeling envious towards whoever the current lucky girl was. What made it even harder was at that moment the two of them at the time actually confessed their emotion in just pure silence and actions. It made her feel more guilty being too pre-occupied with her studies and work that they barely had any time to speak to each other. Actually now that she thinks about of it, just what was their relationship status? They kissed, talked, but now it's been eight freaking years since all that. Does Yusei still hold feelings for her, or are they nothing more than just friends? The woman groaned at the thought and buried her face into her pulled up knees, "What am I going to do…"

It wasn't till later that morning when Aki decided to call Carly first. If Rua and Ruka still lived in town, she would have definitely called them first, but over the years Carly and her have managed to make their relationship grow as pen pals, another reason why she felt guilty that she didn't devote enough time to talk with Yusei. Everyday she would slap herself for holding back. It annoyed her even more how she felt like she was sabotaging their bonds while at the same time she felt that because her heart thought about him everyday that it wasn't necessary to accept a date from one of her colleagues, it wasn't okay to attend a blind date, just being in a romantic relationship with another man was a big 'no no'.

The sounds of Carly's voice snapped her out of daze, 'Hello? Aki! How are you?' She smiled in response, "Hey Carly, I just wanted to give you a heads up that I'm in town for the week. I was thinking maybe we can meet up for lunch or at a pub tonight." Carly was silent for a few seconds leaving the background noise of wherever she was filling in her spot before answering, 'I can't make it for lunch but I'm available this evening. Which pub would you like to go?'

Aki grinned widely, happy to hear that Carly had time to hang out that day, she stood up to look out the kitchen window, "How about the usual one? I hope it's still around, I know it wasn't fairing well in business before I left." She added nervously.

'Don't worry; it's back in business. How about seven? I don't get out of work till six.' She replied as Aki bit her lips wondering just what she should do for the rest of the day to kill time, but was quickly snapped out of daze when she called her, sounding rather concerned, 'Aki?' she jumped and laughed nervously in response, "Oh sorry, with the major shift in time zone I'm feeling very out of it." It wasn't a complete lie. She did feel out of it, but it was mainly getting distracted that was at fault.

'All right then, get some sleep even if it means it's not going to help out much. I'll see you tonight.'

She turned away from the window and started making her way back upstairs to her room, "Yeah thanks! See you later!"

Perhaps getting some sleep was all that she needed to make her doubts and worries go away.

Aki woke up about an hour before she had to meet up with Carly at the pub. Without a doubt she just ruined her sleeping schedule for while she was back in town. She took a quick shower before getting dress and doing her hair before heading out the door. As she locked up she peered at the garage in dismay. It sucked not having her D-Wheel with her here. That was another thing she was sure to miss out doing whenever she gets around to finally reuniting with Yusei. She have somehow doubted that he had time to make a brand new D-Wheel just for the hell of it unless it was solely for business reasons or having to repair or upgrade it. As she walked her way into town she would stop every now and then to observe the minor changes to the city. Finally arriving at the pub, she was happy to see Carly waiting outside looking even more stunning then the last time she saw her, "Carly?" she called. The reporter looked up and beamed at her, "Aki! It's so great to see you!" The two of them exchanged quick hugs before Aki squeezed her hands and gushed, "Oh my gosh Carly, you look absolutely gorgeous!"

"What? Was I that ugly in the past?" she joked with a playful frown on her face. Aki just laughed as the two of them stepped inside, "Not at all, just wow. You have finally walked into the spotlight." Carly snorted, "You mean, literally walked into the spotlight. Ever since I've started keeping up with the latest trend getting reports, exclusive scoops and interviews has been a piece of cake."

Aki grinned at her, "Who would want to reject an offer to be interviewed by a beautiful woman?" Carly rolled her eyes, "Almost no one, and the ones who usually do only makes them suspicious about hiding something big." She looked at Aki, "So what brings you to town?" Aki folded her hands together resting them on top of the counter they sat at, "I needed some time to think. I also wanted to see how everyone was doing. It's been eight years since I stepped afoot here." The bartender greeted them wiping the countertop, "Good evening ladies, my apologizes for the delay, what can I get you?"

"Two shots please." Carly replied holding out the cash and quickly spared a glance at Aki, "I hope that's okay." The doctor just nodded and grinned in amusement, "I've grown used to them since that what my colleagues and I would do after a successful discharge with a patient who needed serious medical attention," Aki picked up her glass before adding, "and miracles." Carly's eyes widen, "Before I ask, cheers to the out of blue reunion!" Aki grinned as they tipped each other's glass and took their shots and Carly called, "Another two- actually make that three please!" Aki stared at her in bewilderment, "I didn't think you'd like taking shots so much." Carly shook her head, "Usually I don't, but tonight I need it." She eyed her, "And, what are these miracles you've spoken of?" Aki's eyes widen slightly and picked up her shot glass inspecting it. 'That's right, only the team knows about this power.' She settled it down again as she replied, "For the past year now since I've been working at the hospital we've had four to six cases of recoveries that are deemed as miracles." Carly smirked, "And they are connected to you?" Aki frowned, "What makes you think of that?" Carly's smirk only grew wider, "Don't underestimate a reporter's institution." She held up her glass and took her second shot before continuing, "Besides the fact you are a psychic duelist and I have done some major investigation learning that psychic duelists have some pretty wicked not to mention miraculous abilities, the way you worded it just gave it away." Aki opened her mouth to protest but Carly beaten her to it, "Also miracles aren't supposed to happen often. The fact that you said you have witnessed one way or another, that there were four to six cases, all within a year versus what you could have described it as part of the hospital's history clearly breaks it down to the point that you are connected to these miracles." Aki stared at her in bewilderment, astonished she was able to figure it out and explain how she did so quickly.

Carly held up her shot glass as if she were to make a toast, "And judging the way you are looking at me right now speaks for itself." Aki just scowled, "I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place." Carly laughed in response once taking her shot as Aki picked up her own and did the same, waving to the bartender again for more.

"And, what about you Ms. Nagisa." The psychic duelist replied, addressing Carly by her last name- something in which she only did when the reporter got something out her, "I've heard that you were scouted for a big journalism company and now working as a photojournalist." She turned to face her expecting her to smile, but instead she found the reporter groaning, "Everything been great, but-" she stopped as she grabbed the shot glass they've both received and clutched to the glass so tightly, Aki was worried she was going to break it.

"I just received a new assignment today…" she raised her glass to her lips and grumbled as she scowled, "And I accepted it despite knowing that I have to do an exclusive interview with no other than the Jackass." She gulped the liquor down before letting out a huff as the heavy alcohol burned her throat.

"You're in charge of getting an exclusive interview with Jack?" Aki gasped as reached for her third shot glass, "Why am I not surprised?"

"The word may have gotten around that I was close to him in the past. They probably think I can woo him or something and get a major scoop." Carly took her fourth shot and groaned, "Honestly, I know I shouldn't say this, but I don't think I'm ready to confront him yet." Aki made a face and rested her elbow on the countertop leaning her head against her knuckles to get a good look at the reporter, "That's right, you shouldn't say that." She paused looking up at the ceiling before gazing down again, "Then again, maybe Jack won't recognize you." Carly blinked and turned her head to Aki who was now tapping her cheek, "Hm, yeah. I mean he hasn't seen you in ten years and you look so different not to mention beautiful-,"

"Jack likes beautiful women, that's not going to help. Even if he doesn't recognize me he still might try hitting on me." Aki snorted in response and carefully leaned back on the stool, "There's no avoiding it is there." Then leaned back onto the counter again and sighed, "Well, Jack has a reputation of remembering people's faces, more specifically women' faces." She shot a sympathetic smile to Carly, "Looks like there's no way around it. If he acts as a jerk, just give him a nice wicked slap! Now that would be an exclusive!" Aki added enthusiastically, Carly just raised her eyebrows with a weak smile upon her lips. One of the strange things she knew about Aki was that she loved to tease Jack, although she didn't quite understand why though. The only reason she could come up with was Jack's brother-complex with Yusei. Her eyes widen and turned to Aki, "Oh yeah, now that I think of it, have you seen Yusei yet?" Aki stiffen and started batting her shot glass back and forth between her hands, staring at it intensely, "No, I haven't." she answered quietly.

Carly raised her eyebrows surprised, "Do you not like him anymore?" Aki's head shot up shaking in denial, "No! I… I mean, I don't know." She shifted her gaze back to the glass and sighed, "For some reason it feels like it's going to be awkward." She added softly. Carly raised her raise arm and patted Aki on the back, "It'll be fine. Oh that's right, I have to drop by his place tomorrow anyways, I wanted to ask him if he could fix my laptop." Aki bit her lips, "No it's fine. I'll drop by myself." Carly raised her arm for the bartender's attention and called, "Two shots more shots please!" Aki looked at her with a silly expression, "You have an admirable amount of tolerance for alcohol." Carly just shrugged, "It's good, but it's not healthy. I have to keep track of how many I have." She held up her glass, "Oh and FYI, last time I checked Yusei isn't dating anyone so you shouldn't be concerned too much." Aki just laughed at the remark and held up her glass as well, "Thanks, cheers!" they tipped each other's glass before taking the shot and paying for their drinks and leaving the pup then finally parted ways.

When Aki got back home the first thing she did was go to the kitchen to help herself to several cups of water and went straight up to her room. She closed her curtains and quickly changed into her nightgown before crawling into bed hugging her pillows close as her discussion with Carly about meeting up with Yusei plagued her mind. 'Oh and FYI, last time I checked Yusei isn't dating anyone so you shouldn't be concerned too much'. The thought of Yusei still being single was certain reassuring, but what he currently thought of her still scared her. 'There's no way of knowing until you confront him yourself.' Aki thought bitterly squeezing her pillow tighter.

The next morning Aki found herself woken up not by her cellphone, not by her alarm nor was itbecause she fell off the bed, but the doorbell. She hastily grabbed her silk housecoat and tied the sash to keep it closed as she hurried down the stairs to the front door. When she opened up, she immediately wished she hadn't.

It was no other than Fudo Yusei, the one person she wanted to avoid until she had the guts to face him herself.

"Hey Aki I heard from Carly that you were in town…" he paused observing the robe and smiled apologetically, "Ah… sorry did I wake you up?" The psychic duelist shook her head and stepped aside, "Come in."

Yusei eyed her as she closed the door behind him, "That's a lie, I can tell. I didn't think you'd sleep until noon." Aki's eyes widen, "It's noon?" she ducked her head into the kitchen to view the clock before gasping, "Oh god, you're right!"

The duelist smirked at her before crossing his arms, "Do you want to get dress first, then talk, or just talk then get dress, either way I don't mind." Aki looked at him raising an eyebrow, "I didn't think I've ever imagined hearing a statement like that coming out of your month." His smirk just grew wider, "I'm only speaking the truth."

"I'll take the first option." She answered hastily as she hurried up the stairs as Yusei retreated to the kitchen. She slammed the door behind her and holding her face as a zillion thoughts buzzed through her mind making her feel not only dizzy but also nauseous. 'Oh god, he's here. He's really here! Shit, and in the rain too! Oh god what am I going to do?'

She went through her suitcase and pulled out a few clothes and rushed to the bathroom so that she could multitask. It didn't take her long since she didn't bother putting on any makeup and just left her hair down after brushing it. As she returned downstairs she took a deep breath so that she could have control of both her thoughts and emotions.

"Sorry about that." She began as she entered the kitchen as he turned to her, sliding a coffee cup across the counter, "No problem, I'm the one who showed up without letting you know." He poured himself a cup of coffee before continuing, "It's been a while hasn't it." The psychic duelist studied him as he took a sip of his beverage. She nodded slowly and wrapped her harms around the mug to warm herself, "Yeah it's been too long." she paused biting her lips, her eyes shifted their gaze to her reflection in the mug, "I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep in touch with you much over the years." He shook his head as he leaned against the counter, "It's not too bad since it's not like you never did. Your studies were your first priorities and being a doctor is time consuming." He cracked a smile, "Which by the way, congratulations on that." She smiled back at him, slowly starting to feel more at ease, "Thanks. And how's the Fortune Momentum been doing?" Yusei gave her a thumb up, "Running smoothly so far. We shouldn't have to worry about having to deal with ZONE's future, not that I'm worried about it. " Aki laughed, "Well that's good to hear. I say you have had enough to worry about and deserve a peaceful life."

Before she knew it, silence had already engulfed them. Aki took a sip of her drink as she felt the tension in the room start to grow. So much for feeling relaxed. Now she couldn't help but start feeling awkward. The one thing she has come to realize was that Yusei had created a conversation right off the bat, quickly driving them off topic from their greetings. On top of that she was certain this whole conversation as mentally prepared as well. So caught up in her thoughts she didn't realize that Yusei opened the fridge and didn't hear him the first time making a remark.

"Aki?" Her skin jumped when she saw him in front of her, almost causing her to spill her coffee, "Are you feeling okay?" She let out a deep breath and rubbed her head, "Sorry, it might just be a small hangover."

"A Hangover?" Yusei frowned, "Just what were you doing?"

Aki sighed before answering slowly, "Carly and I went to a pub last night and we had a couple of shots." He raised an eyebrow and didn't bother pressing the matter any further, "How long have you been in town?" Aki closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair pushing back, "I only arrived yesterday morning. I slept for most of the day then when I woke up it was already time to meet up with her." Yusei stepped back and leaned against the counter again gulping down the rest of his coffee before asking softly, "How long are you going to be in town for?" The psychic duelist couldn't help but feel guilty, "Only for a few more days. I'm not getting paid as we speak because I haven't worked long enough to have earned official vacation days."

"Then why now?" Her eyes snapped open, finding herself caught off guard and shifted their gaze towards Yusei and then back at the gradient surface realizing that he wasn't looking at her. She swallowed and squeezed her hands around the mug to the point her fingers intertwined and finally answered, "To be honest, I'm not really sure myself." Yusei finally turned his head to her with an unreadable expression on his face, something she hadn't seen since their duel at the Fortune Cup and that alone troubled her.

Pushing himself off the counter, Yusei picked up his mug and settled it into the sink and stared out the window studying Aki's troubled face in the reflection before finally pivoting to face her again, "It's fine if you don't know." He said it so softly that Aki felt incredibly vulnerable in a sense she felt that like she was the one at fault. Wait, whom was she kidding? Of course she was the one at fault, she's the one who came back to Neo Domino in such short notice, she was the one who didn't bother working an entire year before requesting for some time off, she was the one who was at fault for not bothering to return to Neo Domino for what could have been a longer period of time before she decided to apply and work at a hospital! Now she was just frustrated with herself. Why does she always make mistakes like this? Why did she always make things more complicated than they should be or already were? And god why did she feel like she needs to kick Yusei out before her outer shell cracks any further?

Perhaps her distressful state was more obvious than she had thought. The moment she saw Yusei look concerned and reach for his jacket made her even more frantic, and the fact that he probably sensed it killed her.

Pulling on his coat and picking up his helmet Yusei "Sorry, I only intended to drop by for a short while. I need to get going, I'll call you later." She shifted her gaze setting her mug aside and followed him to the entrance.

She knew better that was clearly an excuse. Dropping by, making coffee her for and then trying to start a discussion, anyone would know that wasn't initially planned for a come and go visit. Moreover, knowing Yusei, Aki knew that he was far more organized than that and if he really did have business to attend to, he would have dropped by afterwards and if he didn't have it until way later on it would've made more sense when dropping by – not sticking around for like, what ten to twenty minutes? Was it even close to twenty minutes? Somehow she doubted it.

Aki followed him outside with her arms crossed with a hand squeezing her shoulder for reassurance. She watched him settle onto his D-Wheel in which she noticed had some minor adjustments and raised her hand waving slowly, "Bye."

He spared her a glance before nodding and wordlessly started the engine and roared off. The moment she could no longer see him she felt her body start to tremble as she went back into the house, barely making it inside as a wave of countless emotions came crashing down upon her, causing her knees to buckle and make her fall to the ground. Burying her face in her hands she mentally kicked herself for saying the one thing she haven't been able say to him face to face in eight years.

That was simply the one greeting, 'Hello'. Her fingers curled into her palm tightly, pinching herself with her nails that were sharply pressing against her skin and murmured, "How could I be so stupid?"

A:N: Well here you have it folks, the start of my new project "It's Complicated." I'm thrilled to try out this new style and see where and how it will go. I actually uploaded this a few hours ago, but I realized there was a major error so I removed it and put it back up again. XD;

So Aki is feeling rather insecure and anxious about her relationship status with Yusei-, not to mention awkward thanks to how they parted and lacked keeping in touch because they were both very pre-occupied. I decided to do this because it has occurred to me that, if they did kiss (and I am a happy believer that they did – thus written an entire oneshot about it in "Silent Confessions" which by the way IS connected to this) I figured if they weren't able to keep in touch because of being so pre-occupied, I thought it'd be rather fitting or more like expected for things to be awkward for one or both of them. I mean seriously, you kiss someone before you leave off to another country, you haven't seen them in eight years and haven't been able to contact each other much, what else do you expect? LOL! I mean in a sense, I'm trying to be realistic here! XD; Either way the whole situation is pretty bad right now and it's understandable why Aki is kicking herself.

Blah, I feel rather dissatisfied with this chapter. I actually had to remove it three times after catching some serious errors. D:

Also the whole doctor blah blah blah vacation thing and how it works – let me get this straight, I don't know how it works so I'm guessing and just going with the flow.

ONE MORE THING BEFORE I FORGET~

New Project: It's Complicated [YGO 5Ds | Yusei x Aki | Jack x Carly]IMPORTANT NOTES

- The ONESHOT, "What Hurts the Most" title will/has been changed to "It's Complicated (Carly's Version)" exactly like, "It's Complicated (Aki's Version) ", although I do hope to find another title and have their individual stories subtitled with "What Hurts the Most" and "It's Complicated".

- "It's Complicated (Carly's Version)" aka (What Hurts the Most) has been updated with very minor adjustments (tweaking a few words and fixing spelling errors or incomplete vocabulary)

- There will be TWO versions, both connected and sharing events and running at the same time. - Each one will be revolving individually around Carly's side of the story and Aki's side of the story.

- You will see shared dialogue between them when the two characters are together in the same place and time.

- I haven't decided yet whether I will have "Love is in the Air" be part of this project while was the source of my inspiration for this.

- "Silent Confessions" will be connected to this version, "It's Complicated: Aki's Story"