Title: The Burden of Memory
Summary: She tried to shake her head clear of her conflicted feelings. Ruka found herself wishing she could forget she had ever met Lucciano. An then, as if she had summoned him, there he stood. Ruka x Lucciano, Giftshipping.
Notes: Takes place around a month after episodes #77/78. Follows canon.
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.
Rua opened the door to the penthouse he and Ruka lived in. Casting aside his backpack, he called through the house, "Hey, Ruka? You here? Sorry I didn't get here earlier, but Tenpei was telling me about…" He stopped as he heard a soft, slightly familiar sound. For some reason, he felt his heart drop in spirits. He walked into the living room and stopped short.
Ruka was perched on the window sill, sadly looking out. Tears streamed down her face and her hand was clutching her chest. Catching sight of her twin, she quickly wiped the tears away. The teal haired boy walked over to his sister. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you okay?" he asked with concern.
The youngest Signer tried to smile. "Yes," she responded shakily, but she said this as a new round of tears raced from her eyes. Rua felt helpless. It could be a number of things that was making Ruka cry – recalling Devack, recalling the Arcadia Movement, recalling the Fortune Cup…any myriad of things that came with the burden of remembering.
Ruka moaned into her hands, "I'm sorry, really…but it's just…Lucciano." Rua bristled at the mention of the creep who had dueled them roughly a month ago. He let Ruka finish her explanation. "It's…it's just…well, he was so nice and kind and –" And I liked him. A lot.
"And I thought he was my friend, and you and he could be friends too eventually. But then," Her voice began to hold a frustrated trill, "He was evil. And…he almost killed you!" She started shaking with her conflicted emotions, and stalked out the door. "I'm going out," she mumbled, grabbing the duel board Lucciano had gifted her not so long ago.
Rua could only watch as she fled. "Ruka, wait!" He fetched his jacket, planning to go after her.
He sighed. He hated Lucciano for putting his sister through this.
Ruka knew it was wrong of her to leave her brother like that, but she just really felt the desire to be alone. She took off on her duel board to the park near the Duel Academy.
She was panting and she came up beside the clear, burbling fountain in the park. It was seated in a garden-like patch of wildflowers. No one else was around, and the thicket of trees formed around the whole area made her feel like she was in a forest in the Spirit World. Sunlight shone through the emerald leaves of the trees.
The youngest Signer took a deep breath, calming down. She trailed her fingers through the clear fountain water and removed her helmet. Later, she would have to apologize to Rua. He was the most precious person in her life.
And Lucciano almost killed him.
She had poured her trust and feelings into him like water into a bucket. Her heart still ached.
But, she found she couldn't bring herself to blame him totally and completely. She had heard his Duel Spirits – he had his own wound in his heart. She presumed that was what had driven him to Evil's doorstep. It was a spooky feeling of déjà vu when she compared him to the Dark Signers.
She tried to shake her head clear of her conflicted feelings. Ruka found herself wishing she could forget she had ever met Lucciano.
"You've taken good care of it."
Ruka jumped a mile high. Heart pumping, she raised her head.
As if she had summoned him, there stood Lucciano. Youngest Emperor of Yliaster. Skilled duelist.
Supposed friend. First (current?) crush.
The enemy.
She shivered and stood up quickly. Lucciano's brow knitted. He wore a look that seemed to be aiming for contempt. Ruka sorely wished she could see his whole face, but between his eyepiece and white hood it wasn't happening.
The redhead gestured to the pink duel board at Ruka's side. He had apparently been talking about it when he uttered his last sentence.
Ruka stood there, feeling like an insect ensnared in a spider's web. "Yeah," she answered uncertainly, and then grasped ahold of the situation. "Did you follow me here?" she asked in what would be an angry voice, but she wavered. The wounds in her heart reopened.
"Obviously," Lucciano sighed. He took a step closer to her, to which she responded with an exact step back. She took care not fall into the fountain. Ruka briefly considered calling for help, but remembered she had left her cell phone at the house. Nearby, a bird began to sing.
Lucciano's expression flickered for a second when he saw how she reacted to him. He struggled to keep his sadistic persona in the forefront.
Images of Lucciano smiling kindly at her were intermingled with visions of Rua tumbling off the bridge, an inch from death's grasp, were spinning through Ruka's head. She looked up at the redhead before her, his chilling laughter from their last meeting ringing in her skull. She shut her eyes tight.
In her mind, it was as if Lucciano was balancing on a tightrope, between two people. One sadistic, loud, evil, manipulative…the other kind, accommodating, polite. She recalled how she had admired his style of dueling, and not before long it had been used against her. How she felt as if he had twisted a knife in her stomach when it was discovered he had been the one hurting her and Rua.
Ruka could even recall how the next day, everyone at school had blissfully forgotten the boy who was making her heart ache and her head confused. At the memory, an idea began to turn in Ruka's head.
Lucciano stood there, keeping a lid on his impatience. He didn't know why he had followed the Signer girl here, but he hadn't been able to tear his thoughts away from her since he had gone to her school undercover. He had done several things to gain her trust, but lines began to blur when he tried to pin exactly how much of their relationship had been fake and how much had been real.
Ruka looked back up at Lucciano, biting her lip. "…You repressed the memories of all my classmates, right?"
"Yes," Lucciano responded, wondering what she was getting at. He should have just stayed back 'home'. This could turn out to be a waste of time. What was he thinking?
"Then could you -" Ruka stopped herself short. Her face flushed a light a raspberry color.
"What?" Lucciano asked curiously. He took another step forward, but the youngest Signer shook her head vigorously.
"Nothing. It's nothing. Forget it…" She could have laughed at her choice of words. She hadn't finished her sentence because she worried it would offend the redhead before her. She was a sweet girl by nature, and didn't want to intentionally cause even the enemy pain.
"Spit it out!" sighed Lucciano, trying not to sound especially threatening (and sort of failing).
Ruka did as she was told. Her words came out in a jumbled rush. "If you could do that, well…could you – I mean…would you repress my memories of you?"
Stunned silence filled the air around them. Ruka, blushing furiously, refused to meet Lucciano's gaze. The two of them barely breathed. The fountain burbled like a third person trying to keep the conversation alive.
"…Why?" Lucciano's words felt empty in his mouth. He turned his head sharply away from Ruka so she couldn't see his expression.
The youngest Signer still didn't look at the youngest Emperor. "You know why."
And Lucciano did. He wondered if he had the opportunity to forget the turmoil of emotions he felt for the teal haired girl in front of him, would he take it? He couldn't answer the question.
He took the final step towards her, and this time she didn't back away. She finally looked him in the eye.
Speaking the quietest Ruka had ever heard him speak, the redhead replied, "I could." He brushed one of Ruka's side bangs behind her ear, sending a trill down her delicate spine. The Emperor of Yliaster contemplated what to do. "Are you sure you'd want that?" he asked, honestly curious.
Ruka paused. "I don't know," she admitted.
"Well, I won't," Lucciano responded almost automatically. "You know why?"
The twelve year old Signer was silent.
Lucciano leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Because I'm selfish."
And then he kissed her.
It wasn't a deep, long kiss – just a peck on the lips. But the message was clear. And neither twelve year old could sort their confounding emotions.
Before Ruka could react, Lucciano knew what he had to do. Lucciano cursed himself under his breath for going back on his word just seconds after he uttered it. The Emperor of Yliaster deftly removed the blue gem on his forehead and stuck it on Ruka's forehead. He leaned forward one last time and whispered a few words.
For a brief moment, the gem flared azure. Ruka's eyes closed, and Lucciano caught her as she fell forward. Shifting his weight so he could support her, he opened a portal with one hand. Passing through it, he was able to deposit the Signer girl safely on her couch. Thankfully, her twin wasn't there.
Lucciano took back the gem he had placed on Ruka's forehead.
He hadn't repressed her memories of him when he had betrayed her – he had only repressed her memories of the last half hour.
He hadn't done what she asked, but he had spared her from the additional burden he had bestowed on her mere moments ago. It was enough he had to deal with it. No use bringing her down with him.
Lucciano sighed, exasperated, and gritted his teeth. He hated and loved the girl in front of him – hated the emotions she was making him feel, but the loved her because…she was who she was.
He could hear someone coming up the elevator.
Hurriedly, he opened a new portal and transported away, carrying the burden of memory with him.
The End
Author's Note: …I rather like this one. It's basically a study of this pairing I love ^_^ Sorry if at any point it seemed too repetitive or OOC. I may edit this someday, based on reviews. Someday. Anyway, please review even if you don't like this pairing! Thank you.