Title: Unexpected Wings
Pair: Kaito x Edo/Edo x Kaito
Word Count: 1,078||Chapters: 1/1
Genre: Drama||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing (YGO Soulmates) C14, K rated; YGO Arc-V Rarepair
Notes: First, sweet thanks to Arc-V for giving me one of my rare interseason 'ships. Second, this is a combination wings/soulmate universe. Further details in the story. Third, there will be other fics in this universe. I have Plans.
Summary: Under one of two circumstances, wings are born. Either when one finds one's truest passion or when one finds their soulmate. Kaito expected it to be the first: until the second took him by surprise.

One thought rang through two minds at that precise moments.

No. Not him. It can't be.

But even as their eyes met, energies ran through Tenjo Kaito and Edo Phoenix, gathering at their respective shoulders. Kaito hissed, trying to ignore the rising sensation that something was changing, growing, emerging from inside of him.

He wanted to ignore it. But it was all but impossible to do so, not with the way that sensation transformed from a ripple of energy centered on his shoulders, to the unmistakable awareness of something now emerging from there.

If he lifted his head just a little to see the Commander in Chief – he absolutely refused to think of the other as having an actual name – then he knew that he'd see the same thing, only in somewhat different colors.

When he looked a slightly different way, he saw what he really didn't want to see: the arcing spread of feathered wings bursting from his shoulders, the exact same shade of silver-white that Phoenix's hair was, edged faintly in sky blue, broad and wide enough to carry him into the skies. Or they would be, once they'd finished drying out. That could take a few days, from what he'd heard from others who'd sprouted their wings.

"No." The single word could have fallen from his lips, but instead it came from Phoenix. Kaito found himself looking that way regardless. He could be wrong, of course. Not all bonds were mutual. It could be something else altogether.

And yet when he saw Edo Phoenix's new wings, the same shade of gold as his own hair, edged with blue-gray, he knew. The wings having emerged at the moment of their meeting had been a strong clue, but the coloring itself set it down firmly.

Few things were consistent across dimensions. The fact that a person could develop wings at one of two points in their life was one of those things. It could either be when one discovered the life's passion that would consume them for all of their days, or when one met the most important person in their life, whomsoever that might be.

Sometimes that person was one's closest friend or a relative who meant everything to one. But more often than not, it was the love of one's life. Kaito even knew of one or two people who'd developed their wings at the start of the war.

Frankly, all things considered, he found himself surprised that he hadn't. For months now all that he'd dedicated himself to was the freeing of XYZ from Fusion, restoring it to the glory that it had once been. And yet that hadn't caused a single thing, not so much as a feather.

But now he stared at someone that he hated above all others short of the Fusion Professor himself, who he'd never met and had made many plans to destroy whenever the time came. And his wings folded close to his back in colors he'd never dreamed that he would see on himself.

Again Phoenix shook his head, before he took a shaky step forward. What he was doing out here without his minions and soldiers, Kaito didn't know. Nor did he care. He'd stepped out himself only to have the chance to crush the Commander in Chief, to card him after absolutely ruining him.

Maybe even trade the card for someone else, or for information or supplies, or something useful. Shun would appreciate knowing where his sister was, beyond the vague 'Fusion' they already knew. If that couldn't be done, then he knew other people who were worth a thousand Commanders.

"You are not my soulmate." Phoenix spat the words out as if he'd never imagined he would ever have to say something so soul. Kaito would have agreed, if the situation weren't what it was.

"You're not mine, either." If he couldn't find a true passion to devote himself to, then he knew several other people who would have made a better potential partner.

Phoenix's lips pulled back into an expression that couldn't have been a smile unless one didn't have the faintest idea of what a smile should actually look like. He moved his arm briefly, as if to call his duel disk, then turned away.

"You're not worth my time." He said it as if he expected such a statement to be common knowledge. "Don't try to find me again."

"I didn't in the first place. You came to my world," Kaito pointed out. "Don't do it again."

"This is our world now. We'll do as we please." Phoenix didn't even look at him. He stalked away, new wings quivering as he took each step.

Kaito would have gone after him, if he weren't so unsteady on his own new wings. They hung awkwardly on his back and he suspected he was going to need a new coat. He somewhat reluctantly glanced over his shoulder, a nibble of vague curiosity about Phoenix and his own wings and that ridiculous cape of his.

Too bad he was out of sight. Kaito suspected this wasn't going to be the last time they saw each other. If he bothered to tell anyone else why he'd sprouted his soul-wings – which he suspected he wouldn't – then that most of them would probably just be sympathetic for his bad luck. Phoenix would have to explain things to those who were higher up and lower down than he was.

Maybe the wings would even get him demoted. Or expelled. Or whatever the Fusion army would do to their Commander in Chief when it was revealed that his soulmate was one of the most notorious XYZ resistance soldiers.

I think I'll cause them even more trouble. Doing that would cause more for Phoenix sooner or later. He could definitely get behind that.

He wondered for a few breaths if it would be possible to dye the feathers once they dried. As much as he wanted to cause trouble for Phoenix, he'd rather not have to deal with it for himself. He'd had enough trouble for himself already.

Perhaps Shun would know, if he ever turned back up. He'd had his wings for months, though exactly who his soulmate was Kaito didn't know. Such an odd shade of pure purple on his feathers…

He'd figure it out later. For now, he had Fusion soldiers to card, and issues to cause other people. He did so hope Phoenix heard about this soon.

The End

Notes: There will be many more fics in this universe. If anyone has questions on a character or ship and their wings, feel free to ask. Just as a heads-up, though, Yuuya, Yuugo, and Yuuto do not get theirs from meeting a soulmate, but for finding their life's purpose. Same goes for the bracelet girls. Yuuri and Shun on the other hand...