The last night they spent together, Serena had been staring out her window.

It wasn't anything odd. When she thought Yuri wasn't looking, he had found her stealing glances at the mainland multiple times. Her wanderlust was far from a secret. If anything it radiated off every inch of her being.

Still something about the sight, that time had left him speechless.

Maybe it was the fact he had woken up to the image. Sleep had blurred the edges of his vision when he found her clothed in the moonlight shining through the glass. Despite being topless, (her usual attire having been discarded during their previous tryst) it wasn't desire that gripped him. Rather there was an artistic appeal to the way her pale skin was illuminated, the way the greens of her eyes turned a turquoise the same shade as the sea. It was like something out of a painting, so perfectly constructed and serene he didn't dare so much as cough, lest he disturb everything.

"You're going to have to leave soon." In the end it was Serena who broke the silence, yet her gaze didn't stray an inch from its target.

Something about that annoyed him.

Silently, Yuri straightened his outfit. Considering all the layers he wore, both of them had grown too frustrated and embarrassed to try removing more than just the necessary clothing. On one hand, it made it easier for him to cover any evidence of their meetings.

But on the other hand it meant he had less excuse to linger.

Even by the time he made himself somewhat presentable, she was still staring out her window. Ugh, this was turning from endearing to exasperating quickly. With about as much grace as an ancient gear soldier, he plodded down besides her and scooched so close to her that there was barely an atom between them.

(Yet even after having bent the rules so many times before, he could not force himself to break them.)

"What would you do if I took you there?"

Her ears flushed a pretty pink when his breath ghosted across her cheek. It was a delicious sight, yet she continued to evade his face, choosing instead to bite her lip and look down.

"To the mainland?"

"Doesn't have to be there. Just away from Academia." His words were light and loose. There was no real weight behind his suggestion, yet Yuri could barely contain himself as he waited for her response.

"What I always say I'm gonna do," She tilted her head back towards the window. "Go to the front-lines and prove my worth to the Professor."

"Sounds exactly like what a muscle-head oaf like you would do," He laughed.

Yuri laughed harder and harder, hoping that she didn't notice the smell of blood from how tightly he dug his nails into his palms.

He wanted her to look at him.

"You really need to go soon. You won't have the cover of night forever."

Logically he knew. He knew it would be the end of everything they had managed to build together if anyone stumbled on their secret. He knew he'd be punished severely for breaking the one rule he had to follow, and Serena would be taken away even deeper into Academia. He knew he'd lose her forever.

He knew. He knew. He knew.

Even so a part of him wanted to fortify this room. Barricade the door and window so that nobody could come in. He'd slip a letter under the door that they wouldn't cause any trouble or need anything else as long as they allowed him to have this one thing.

"Stay out of sight." Serena covered his hand with hers, and Yuri nearly forgot to breathe. She was so warm. As level as she kept her voice, they both knew they were playing with fire. Caring about each other was a dangerous thing.

But he knew that even if he pinned her to the mattress and ripped open her chest, he still wouldn't be able to grasp her heart.

As climbed out and headed to his room, he crossed her field of vision just to feel her gaze against his back.

The next day he had been sent on his mission to Synchro. He had hoped it would be a nice distraction from Academia for a few weeks, but his target ended up being a girl with Serena's exact face. The first time he saw her, the shock stopped him dead in his tracks. Thankfully, eventually his instincts kicked in, and he made himself scarce before he could be discovered by a boy who shared his own face.

None of it made any sense, but he had been trained to not ask questions. So as long as this was a different girl, he'd do his job. Plain and simple. He'd leave the hard thinking to those who were supposed to do that. For now, Yuri focused on memorizing their routines so he could plan the perfect time to snatch the target up.

However it grew more and more difficult to stay solely focused on the mission the more he watched them.

The two of them were as thick as thieves. Despite apparently not having any sort of physical relationship, they were disgustedly affectionate, hanging off each other at almost every moment. Their lives were boring and domestic in its joys and problems. While officially aligned with an orphanage, hardly any authority figure watched over their actions. Their entire world was each other, and they seemed to like it that way.

It really wasn't fair.

On the night the boy went off on his odd vehicle and the target was left without a duel disk, Yuri was more than eager to strike, to finally have those two out of his hair. Even so, he could help but toy with the target, terrorize her and brush against her ever so slightly before letting her slip from his grasp. If he wasn't allowed to play with his girl, then it was only reasonable he should be allowed some fun for now.

However the sound of an engine signaled that he should wrap things up soon. So in one quick motion, he slung the target over his shoulder and flashed the boy a smug grin.

In the moment, Yuri had thought it was nothing but a bit of well-deserved fun for all his suffering.

He had no idea just what he had started.

He didn't have much downtime between the Synchro and XYZ mission. The latter was much easier as Macfield had done most of the legwork. Yuri simply had to duel the target, which while inferior to the girl he really wished to duel, provided a decent substitute to sate his appetite.

But by the time he got around to visiting Serena's room again, she was already gone.

And on some level, he had known this would be the case and even expected it to some extent. She wouldn't have waited for anyone if it meant delaying her grand destiny.

That didn't stop him from carding three students who happened to have the displeasure of falling within his sight.

She could have at least said goodbye.

But Academia's conquest waits for no one, especially not bitter attack dogs. He had one more target to track down, Standard's this time. In theory everything would be done. He'd even have Macfield to help things go smoothly again.

Yet things wouldn't be the same if he never got to see Serena again.

He was moping a bit about this all when he arrived in Standard. A part of him toyed with the idea of blowing off the mission outright to card some victims and let loose a bit.

But then he saw a certain red uniform again.

Before he could get his hopes up too much, he realized that it wasn't Serena. Even if Macfield hadn't clarified that it was the target, there was too much fear in her eyes for him to be mistaken. The Serena he knew wouldn't be cowed by anyone or anything. Still this meant that she was at least in this dimension. Once he neutralized his target, he'd stop at nothing to track her down. Of course he'd let her also get in on the fun, show off her dueling skills to the world. Then the Professor would understand her and they'd finally be able to work and be together. The mere notion of such an idea made his heart pound and race. He could barely contain his excitement, even as he tracked down the Standard target.

Alas he was too caught up with his dream to recognize the familiar sound of the engine before he could react, and suddenly the entire world dissolved before his eyes.

For the first time in his entire career, Yuri had to returned a failed mission report.

The Professor's scolding washed over him in a wave of sound. Yuri was too upset to process a single word. All he could focus on was the fact this was not his fault at all, yet everything he had been hoping for was lost.

Luckily all had not been ruined. Macfield remained monitoring Serena's movements. The fact that he was allowed to simply observe and enjoy her company made him green with envy, but his luck was useful to Yuri. These Lancers were searching for the Standard target, so if he followed them, Yuri could complete his mission.

At first Yuri wanted to bide his time, waiting for just the right moment. He had been humiliated once before. He would not fail again. But then Macfield returned earlier than expected and their hand was forced. Even so, it wasn't as if he couldn't still be cautious. This time he'd be in complete control. He wouldn't miss a thing. He'd focus only on his mission and complete it without a single complication.

But when he saw her not ten minutes after he had arrived, even his most carefully detailed plans were unraveled in seconds.

She was on one of those weird Synchro contraptions. The very sound of its engine had become grating, yet he couldn't take his eyes off her. It must have only been a month, two months at most since he had last seen her, but yet his body ached as if they had been separated for years.

She wasn't his target, Shuinin had been given a second chance like him. By all means, he should be trying to earn back his flawless reputation. It would be terrible for the Standard target to slip through his fingers again, but for some reason...he didn't, it felt as if his feet were glued there.

She looked happy, smiling and laughing as she shouted weird phrases and played odd cards. There was an unfamiliar lightheartedness to it all. The Serena he knew only found satisfaction from the defeat of her enemies, but even as the tables turned on her, she kept that cheery mood.

Had she really changed so much so quickly? Or was this just another part of herself that she had hidden away from him and the rest of the world? Even when as close as humanly possible, bare skin pressed against bare skin, there had always been bits of hers he hadn't been allowed to grasp. Even ignoring the Professor's stupid rules, Serena was quiet and hesitant on certain subjects. Pulling out information from her when she didn't want to give it was like trying to pull teeth. In the end he had thought it no big deal since she hardly seemed to share those things with anyone, so he had tried to stay content with what was at least allowed to him.

Why should that other duelist deserve it though?

"Look at me." He didn't realize he said it out loud when she took off her helmet. If she glanced up, he'd be easy to spot. God, it would feel so nice if she smiled at him.

But no, she kept her gaze rooted firmly in front of her. Her happiness remained a secret she only told her opponent. The more they talked, the more his blood boiled and boiled. If Serena hadn't pushed him off herself, Yuri would have throttled him for daring to touch her.

In the end, Serena went on her way, sickeningly free like she had always wanted to be. However, her opponent seemed to actually notice his presence, because he turned around with a cautious tilt of the head.

When Yuri met his own face, he felt nothing but disdain.

The next few hours from then on got hazy. His lookalike-who he had taken to calling "Fusion Boy"- kept harassing him and asking for where the Synchro target was. While an annoyance, there was something comforting about finally interacting with him in person. Serena would never tolerate such a moron. The only threat he held would be the extra effort it would take to swat away such a fly.

Settled now, he grouped up with the recent Obelisk Force sent out to Synchro. When they reported having cornered a target, he rushed as fast as he could, more than eager to finally prove himself.

As happy as it made him to come face to face with Serena again, the joy didn't stay long once he noticed the state she was in-drenched in sweat, barely able to lift an finger. When their eyes met, all she could do was scrunch her face in fear. It was pathetic. How dare she be reduced to such weakness in front of him? She had shone so brightly for others not a few hours ago. Why did she look at him like he was an enemy?

This was going against the rules, but he couldn't stop himself as he tore a duel disk from an Obelisk Force's arm and threw it at her.

"Duel me."

For a beat she just stared at the device, like an idiot who had never seen it before "...what?"

"I said duel me." Yuri growled. "You're a soldier. You said it was better to go down with a fight rather than to just let yourself be taken away."

"Yuri-"

"-I said duel me!" They both knew he was breaking more than just one rule, but he might have strapped that duel disk on her, himself, if he wasn't worried about what else he'd do to her if he touched her. What was the point of playing with fire if you weren't willing to burn? Why should he force himself to care about anything besides her?

Slowly but surely, Serena rose, legs shaking like a newborn foal. In any other moment he would have rolled his eyes at such ineptitude, but he'd accept it for now. All he knew was that to sate the beast gnawing at his core, he needed this.

"I found you!"

With a crash he turned to find Fusion Boy with his damned vehicle posed to run him over. As intimidating as he tried to be, Yuri couldn't hold back the laughter that bubbled up his throat.

"My you're quite persistent..." Despite his grin he could not control the poison in his words. If Fusion Boy was King of anything, it was interruptions. Still at least now Yuri had him close enough to strangle his throat.

And this time things started going so much better. They were dueling and he had just brought out Starving Venom. His entire body felt electric, as if for the first time everything was starting to make sense. There was no grasping fool inside him, no pathetic hunger for something intangible gnawing him from the inside out. It was time for their revival. They would become one.

For a second he thought he heard Serena yell his name, and he turned in hopes of what? Looking back he couldn't say. But to be acknowledged, valued, ah he'd kill for it.

But all he saw was another girl like her reaching for a boy like him, before everything disappeared once more.

They say third time's the charm, but Yuri wasn't supposed to be the type to rely on third chances. He didn't return a report at all. Instead when he heard news of Yusho being located, he bolted straight for him. A good carding would calm his nerves. All he needed to do was tear something apart, and then he'd stop aching over nothing.

And it felt good. For a moment. Then he laid his eyes on the Standard target and before he could even thing of grabbing her, there was the whirl of an engine and he was already cursing as he dissolved away once more.

When he realized he was still in Academia, he didn't even waste time to study his surroundings any further. At this point he was running on empty, but he knew stopping would do him no good. He had to before he was forced to think about what had happened for too long. So he threw himself right back into tracking down Yusho. He picked a fight with the traitor girl and even used Super Polymerization but it wasn't enough. Still there had to be something that would bring back the feeling of that night. If Serena wouldn't give him what he needed, he'd find it somewhere else. He'd card the entire world if that would let him sate this longing.

But it didn't do it. And once Fusion Boy showed up again, he couldn't control himself anymore. He ate him whole.

"How does it feel to be beaten by your better half?" Yuri couldn't help but laugh, drunk on the energy flowing through the air. "How does it feel knowing no one will miss you now that you're gone? Serena won't care; it doesn't matter how many times you thwarted me because you are nothing."

Fusion boy bit his lip, shaking with exhaustion. It wouldn't be long before he was finally absorbed. And then it would be onto that Sakaki Yuya. And then...and then... he wasn't sure what would happen, but he would finally answer that siren song: become one, become one, become one.

"I still have Rin. Would anyone care if you disappeared?"

Yuri paused, just for a moment, but it was just enough to sour the entire experience as he chose that exact moment to fade from existence. Even as the added power flowed through his body, Yuri could not return to that high again.

"You really do ruin everything, Fusion Boy."

In the end, neither of them were satisfied.

A.N. So Rose's fic is great and has really stuck with me for a while, so I wanted to add my own spin on things, something I figured I might as well and try to finally finish out in time for angst week