Me: Well, it's the first of June, and exactly half a year after I posted Crimson Feathers. I did say I was going to post Midnight Sun in June, and now it is. So I have the first chapter.

Sky: I'm just going to sit here and prepare myself for the worst.

Me: Hah, the evil won't really make a giant appearance for a few chapters. I mean, there are some strange lines here and there in this chapter… *coughcoughthelastlinecough* But not flat-out deathdeathdeathdeathbloodandviolence blahblah.

Sky: But then after that…?

Lucy: Deathbloodviolenceamnesia MWAHAHAHAHA!

Sky: …Of course.

Me: Lucy! Don't talk about the amnesia twist!

Sky: Amnesia twist? On who?

Me: Urk! Um… not saying.

Sky: Is it me?

Me: Maybe.

Sky: …Yusei?

Me: Maybe.

Sky: *Sigh* Shoshan?

Me: Maybe. Come on, that'll be my response to everyone you can come up with.

Rudolph: Arf! Arf!

Me: You're right, I should start now. Well, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs and basically the entirety of this storyline because now the anime doesn't exist as a guide. I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Midnight Sun!

Chapter 1

My Duel Runner skids to a stop, as does the one-wheeled one belonging to my opponent—my long-term rival and friend, Jack Atlas. He scowls at me, but ends up turning away and taking off again.

I don't blame him. We have Duels like these about once a year, and the title of King (or Queen, in my case) of Duels has passed between us quite a bit. The past year, Jack had the title, but I just beat him with a swift direct attack from Celestial Dragon-Quasar.

He'll congratulate me later, out of the eyes of the paparazzi. Right now, he's going to pull the angry-at-defeat card. Well, maybe that doesn't come too difficult for him and he isn't really acting, but everyone seems to think we have this rivalry even larger than the one Yusei created way back when he defeated Jack in the Fortune Cup.

Fat chance. Jack still wants revenge on Yusei for knocking him of the throne the first time. Whatever rivalry the press has created between Jack and I will always pale in comparison to the one between Jack and my brother.

I pull my helmet off, running a hand through my hair, and then grinning at the camera. "See? You can't keep a queen down forever!" I shout.

The crowd cheers, and on comes the swarm of reporters.

XXX

Ugh, one of the things I don't mind when I'm the one that loses is that I don't get that much attention from the press—they always want to put the spotlight on the winner. This year, they seemed to really badger me with questions.

So, Jack used Red Nova Dragon for the first time in a looooong time. So, I managed to outmaneuver his dragon without having to turn to a stalling strategy. I don't see what the whole fuss is about. Unfortunately for me, everyone else does, so that equals about five hours of constant questions. An hour longer than usual.

When I finally get finished, I head back to the flat Shoshan and I are renting. I'm met by the scent of freshly-baked cupcakes. Specifically, chocolate ones. A grin replaces my exhausted scowl, and I exclaim, "Cupcakes!"

Ever since Shoshan made a batch of them after my first win as a pro duelist, I have loved the cupcakes immensely. In fact, I have a tendency to make childish outbursts like that exclamation when I smell them cooking or when they're cooling.

"Nn? Oh! Sky!" Shoshan jerks around, dropping whatever he was holding. It clangs against the floor a few times, making me think it was a pot. "Yep, cupcakes," he replies, once he gathers his bearings. "Congratulations for beating Jack!"

"Yeah, yeah," I wave it off and grab a cupcake off of the cooling rack and shove the entire top into my mouth. Because that's how I eat cupcakes—shove half of it into my mouth, bite that part off, chew it up, then eat the second half. "Mmm! Mrmphk mou!" I swallow my bite, "I mean thank you! They're as good as ever!"

"Y-You're welcome," Shoshan stutters, rubbing the back of his head.

I finish off the cupcake, and just in time, too, because a computerized voice announces, "Incoming video call from…" a pause as the computer recognizes the name, "…Yusei Fudo. Accept or deny?"

"Accept!" I shout, because unless I'm asleep (well, sometimes even when I'm asleep), I'm always glad to talk to my younger brother.

The TV blinks into color. Yusei appears on the center of the screen, and he seems to be in a small room—the one I recognize as his office at his work. Strange, he looks really tired… I mean, he's got some dark circles under his eyes. I'll have to ask about that… "Hi Yusei!"

"Hi Sky," he says, smiling. "I didn't have the time to watch the full Duel, but you did a great job dealing with Red Nova Dragon."

"Especially considering I certainly wasn't expecting him to use it," I note. "Eh, I've had enough of talking about my Duel. How've you been, Yusei?"

"Busy," he replies, sighing.

I wait for a few seconds to see if he's going to add anything to that. When he doesn't, I ask, "Busy with what?"

"There's been an issue at work, and for some reason, I'm the only one who can fix it."

An issue at work…? That's potentially dangerous, considering Yusei holds the job our father did before Zero Reverse… "What's the issue?"

"I… I'm not allowed to say," Yusei replies, swallowing. "But I think I've finally got the entire thing under control—"

Someone bangs on a door really loudly, and for a moment I think the person is knocking on my door, but they're actually on Yusei's end. "Doc—Mister Fudo! Trouble again!" a muffled voice calls from outside the office.

"Give me a minute!" Yusei calls back. He sighs, "Well, looks like I'll have to talk to you later, Sky. Maybe once I'm allowed to go home?"

"Sounds good!" I reply, although now I'm really curious as to what is going on. Especially since Yusei's colleague called it trouble… "Bye Yusei!"

"Goodbye."

Eh, I'm probably just reading too much into it. Besides, I'll be able to talk to him later… when I'll be able to tell him the news I was going to before he had to go.

XXX

I just happen to be scrounging around for a snack at about two in the morning when Yusei decides to call back. I wasn't expecting the computer to just blurt out, "Incoming video call from… Yusei Fudo. Accept or deny?"

My response, at first, was to choke on a pretzel. Then I manage to croak out, "Accept…"

I'm still trying to dislodge the pieces of the pretzel from the inside of my throat when Yusei just starts talking. "Sorry I'm calling so late… uh… bad time?"

"You scared the crap out of me," I reply. "Two in the morning, Yusei? Seriously? You should be in bed."

"So should you," he points out.

"Late-night snack," I say. "What's your excuse?"

"I just got home from work, sensed you were awake, and called like I said I would," Yusei says.

Right. He sensed I was awake. We can't quite send coherent thoughts back and forth through our mind-link—the distance makes it weaker or something—but we can tell how the other is feeling and if they're, you know, sleeping or not.

"Dang. That must've been a really bad problem, to keep you at work so long," I say.

Yusei nods, yawning. "It lasted longer than the others."

I blink in confusion. "…What?"

His mouth opens into a giant 'O'. "D-Don't get the wrong idea! It's…" he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I still can't tell you what's going on."

"Please Yusei? You know I won't tell anyone," I say. My curiosity is really getting the better of me.

"Still can't. It's a legal thing," Yusei replies. He shrugs. "Well… you looked like you wanted to say something before the end of our conversation earlier. What was it?"

"Oh! Shoshan and I are coming to Neo Domino next week, and we'll be able to stay for a month or so!"

Yusei's face instantly brightens. "That's perfect!" he exclaims. "I was already planning a reunion for Team 5Ds… coincidentally, next week. You'll be able to see the others in person as well! …If they reply, anyways. I haven't heard back from Jack or Luna yet."

"Well, I hope Luna comes. I haven't seen her at all," I say. I've talked to her on the phone, but not in person in… eight years. Wow, has it really been that long since we all went our separate ways?

"I do too," Yusei agrees. He yawns again.

"Alright, you need to get to bed," I say.

"I know," Yusei replies. "See you in a week, then?"

"See you in a week!" I echo, ending the call.

Yep… just one week and I'll be back where I really call home.

Little did I know, this was all a part of a plan created by two beings of darkness, trying to get rid of me—and Reshiram—for good…

To be continued…

Me: …And that's the end of the first chapter!

Sky: *Facepalm* Of course you had to fit in a dumptruck full of foreshadowing.

Shade: But of course. It's the first chapter. If none was used, then there would be no hook.

Meri: Unless the first chapter was just chock full of evil stuff. Then there would be a hook. Hehehe…

Me: *Glares at Meri* Meri, stop talking.

Sky: Why? She wasn't spoiling anything… was she?

Me: …So, what did you all think of the first chapter?

Sky: Hey! That doesn't answer my question!

Me: Too bad! I don't have to answer all of them!

Sky: …Hmph. I'm taking it as a yes.

Me: …Okay. Well, I hope you all thought this was a good way to start. Please, leave a review or favorite/follow it if you want me to continue!