Missing Yu

Chapter 1


The morning Winter gust greeted Yuzu on her way to school. She hugged her warm brown coat tighter, warding off the invading cold. Despite doing so, a sudden chill wrapped around her and goose bumps sprang up from her skin. Finally, after the wind subsided, she let out a deep breath she was holding. Fluffy white puffs of vapour clouded her hands, and she rubbed them together retaining what little heat she could.

Students around her fell into similar positions. This Winter was hitting particularly hard, and it seemed nature was conspiring to bring the next ice age in Japan. Yuzu flipped her head side to side, trying to spot a friend she could walk with. It wasn't that she craved the need for company but she enjoyed the presence of someone familiar—it always helped pass the time at least.

Upon further searching, she spotted Akane—one of her old classmates from the previous year—and she jogged a few steps to join her.

"Morning," Yuzu greeted.

"Oh, hello Yuzu," Akane grinned, showing her pearly white teeth. Her black haired ponytail swung as Akane turned to face Yuzu. "Heh, you looked pretty wrapped up there. Are you sending yourself off as a Christmas present?" Yuzu shoved her friend slightly. It was the kind of teasing she come to expect from the girl.

"And you're wearing too little. You're not even wearing a coat! How can you possibly stand the cold with just the school uniform? What's your secret? Thick skin? Special clothes? Or are you secretly a robot?"

"Don't be daft, I just have great blood circulation. It's one of my many advantages over mortals like you."

Yuzu giggled, mist forming as she did so. "Mortals? Whatever you say."

And just like a normal day, they proceeded to school with their conversation on lighter topics.

The school Yuzu attended thankfully had air conditioner installed, and she let the warmth wash over her like a warm bath as soon as she entered the main building.

After changing to their indoor shoes, Akane went her separate way, heading towards her homeroom class. Yuzu waved her friend goodbye with promise to talk again. Once Yuzu reached her own classroom, she settled herself into her seat near the far back. She glanced over to the adjacent chair. For as long as Yuzu attended, that seat was always empty. It was strange she thought. There were days where she expected someone to sit there dozing away, head resting on the table like a cute animal. It was ludicrous, she knew but her fancy always took off in that peculiar direction.

Yuzu shook her head gently, her homeroom teacher had just entered, and it wouldn't do to fall behind.

The minutes ticked by, and she found herself glancing at the empty chair next to her. She wasn't exactly sure why she did beyond a vague sense of wrongness, but she found her eyes always drifting back to the desk. Still, she jotted down her notes faithfully for later revision, and she put the event behind her.

Lunch time came, and while Yuzu normally enjoyed eating her lunch on the school bench outside, the cold made it a challenge at best. She instead sat by the window, settled in and opened up her bento box. A few of her other classmates joined her, and the conversation kicked up about the latest action duels. The Ryozanpaku School were in the news again as one of their members, Isao Kachidoki if Yuzu remembered correctly, had qualified to participate in the Maiami championship.

"It's completely ridiculous," shouted Hinata, sweeping his chopsticks from side to side. "There's no way that barbarian should be allowed to continue. It's inhumane I tell you."

"He isn't breaking the rules," replied Takashi. "Sure, he's borderline but you can't stop him from responding to action cards. Even if it's rough, he's allowed to defend action cards that way."

Hinata huffed. "Rules, rules, rules. Whatever happened to common sense? Argh, if I was running things so much would be different, right Yuzu?"

"Huh? Oh er yeah."

The two boys stared at Yuzu. "Hey you OK? You've been pretty quiet," asked Hinata.

"Yeah, usually by now you would yell with us at how stupid it is."

"It's nothing, I'm just a little tired."

"That's what they always say," said Takashi. "Really, are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes! It's just, it's just that chair is irritating me." She pointed at the chair earlier. "It's...empty and it shouldn't be I guess. I don't know how else to put it." Yuzu crumpled into herself, she knew it sounded stupid but she found it nearly impossible to express her turmoil.

The boys caught each other's glance, and Hinata shrugged.

"Er, I guess I'll move it away," said Takashi.

"No, don't bother. It's just nothing. I'll live."

And the chair didn't get mentioned again.

It was, except for that particular conversation, a very normal lunch time.

And yet Yuzu couldn't shake off the feeling that something was missing.

It was snowing when school ended. Not the blizzard you see in harsh winds but the gentle gliding of snowflakes that seemed to float on air. Taking an umbrella from her bag and flinging it open, she trotted down the path home. Unlike the morning where you have to climb up a steep hill to reach school, walking down was much less exhausting.

Yuzu's thoughts drifted back to that empty desk. It was about as ordinary as far as she could tell, there wasn't any distinguishing marks that made it special. It was old but serviceable, and to anyone else it would blend in the classroom naturally.

A blue car slowed to a crawl as it kept pace with Yuzu. The obscured windows rolled down revealing Yoko Sakaki. Yuzu didn't notice, her head was too deep in thoughts about today's events.

Yoko's voice broke her out of her contemplation. "Oh my, is that you Yuzu?"

"Ah, Ms Sakaki! How are you?" said Yuzu, smiling. "What are you doing out here?"

Ms Sakaki smirked. She was wearing her typical blue sweater, and her long blonde hair was tied up in a way that spoke of experience. "If you think I'm letting you walk in this weather then you got another thing coming. Come on in."

Yuzu reached for the door handle but paused halfway there. Her smile dropped. That amiss feeling returned, rattling in the corner of her mind like an intense burning nostalgia, and Yuzu didn't know what to make of it. There wasn't anything immediately jumping at her, but somehow this very scene before her, the kind act of Ms Sakaki driving her home was wrong. It was encapsulating and bitter, her heart ached and Yuzu was terrified to find out why.

"Yuzu?" Ms Sakaki was staring at her with concern on her face. "Are you ill? You look as white as a ghost. Come on in, we'll get you home quickly."

"R-right, thank you Ms Sakaki."

It was a quiet ride for which Yuzu was thankful for. She was under the distinct impression that Ms Sakaki was worried about her episode, and she didn't want to explain what the cause might be. She didn't think she could even if she tried—she had a hard time understanding it herself.

Ms Sakaki dropped her off outside her house, while Yuzu protested Ms Sakaki insisted that she walk her to the door.

"You don't hate my company that much do you?" She feigned a hurt expression. "Am I too old to hang out with you now?"

"No, no," Yuzu raised her hands. "It's not that far of a walk. I'll be fine."

Ms Sakaki got out of her car and locked the door. "Well you can't stop me from taking a walk now, can you? And if I just so happen to walk in the same direction as you well," Ms Sakaki smiled, "it would be a nice coincidence."

Yuzu sighed. "All right, let's go then."

A thin layer of snow covered the ground. Every step Yuzu took, there was a soft crunch. A lot of people complained about the cold week but Yuzu took delight in these rare opportunities. It was childish, not many her age would even agree with the sentiment, but there was something golden about walking through the snow like she was gliding on clouds. The feeling didn't last, it really was a short walk, less than a minute even. Yuzu unlocked the door and took off her heavy coat.

"Dad, I'm home."

"Oh Yuzu," Shuzo Hiragi, Yuzu's father, popped his head from the doorway, "you're just in time for my hot blooded training. Come join in, you'll be burning up hot enough to melt ice."

"Maybe later." She set her bag down.

Shuzo glanced at the other occupant. "Oh Yoko, it has been a while. Thank you again for picking up my daughter."

"No problem, I had some spare time anyway. Shuzo can I speak to you in private?"

Shuzo's eyebrows went above his hairline. "Of course, oh Yuzu," He turned to face his daughter. "I got some new cards for you. Why don't you have a look at them? They're in your room."

"OK thanks dad."

She spared a final smile at Ms Sakaki and headed to her room. Once out of sight and in her room she dropped limply on her bed, pressing her face against the soft covers. The bed squeaked, and she let her muscles relax.

Her mind flashbacked to when Ms Sakaki picked her up. That was the strongest emotional attack yet and Yuzu somehow doubted it would get better. She wanted to curl up, forget the event even occurred, but Yuzu knew that Ms Sakaki would be talking to her father about it. She was ashamed she was caught out like that. Her dad would be worried, alternating between cheering her up and consoling her. He might take her to the doctors, get her checked up for any illnesses, but she didn't think they would puzzle out her problems.

She rolled over, glancing at the new cards her dad brought. Yuzu reached out, parsing through the cards. They were mostly incompatible with her deck, either focusing on different archetypes or spells and traps that just altogether didn't fit.

It wasn't until she reached the final card that she got up. The card didn't exactly work with her deck, its effect worthless in a deck like hers but she couldn't let go of the card for some odd reason.

"Swing of memories huh?" she said to herself.


It was about when Yuzu was halfway done with her homework that her dad knocked politely on the door.

"Come in."

Yuzu's dad walked in, hunched over like he had a great weight on his back. He was dressed in his favourite red jacket and trousers that he wore more often than Yuzu wore her school uniform. His hair was slicked back into a wild mess. She heard some people describe it as uncouth, Yuzu just thought it suited her dad like a lions mane and she wouldn't have it any other way. "Ah Yuzu, almost finished with school work I see. Good good, keep on burning," he settled himself on Yuzu's bed.

Yuzu waited expectantly.

"So Yuzu, how was school?"

Taking the conversation starter for what it is, she recited the day's events. She omitted the incident at lunch time as she didn't want to worry her father even more—he was already nervous enough as it is.

"A very productive day then," He nodded in approval. "And nothing else then? Yoko said you didn't seem yourself when she came to pick you up. It has been a cold week, are you feeling under the weather? Is school being too hard on you?" He narrowed his eyes. "You're not getting bullied are you?"

Yuzu leapt to her feet, alarmed. "No, I'm not getting bullied, it isn't anything like that."

He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Then what is it?"

"Ah-" Her reply died as it came. How could she possibly explain she thought. That the chair at school was bothering her? It was ridiculous at best, and she would be insulting her father's intelligence if she expected him to drop it with an explanation like that.

She fell back on her seat, groaning and took a moment to compose herself. She didn't know even where to begin or if there even was a beginning. Her turmoil continued and the longer she thought about it, the further her heart sank. After a minute of silence Yuzu mustered the courage to look at her father. He was still waiting patiently, neither overbearing or pressuring but with an air of acceptance.

Yuzu drummed her fingers nervously before deciding on a line of explanation. "H-have you ever had the feeling you've forgotten something, something important?"

He blinked several times before he laughed heartily. "All the time. Locking doors, meeting points or when I'm packing for a trip. I'm always racking my head to try and remember if I forgotten anything." He grinned. "I once forgotten to buy some groceries so I went to the local store. We lived in a different house back then and it was only across the street so it wouldn't have taken much time. I thought if I was quick about it, you wouldn't even notice I was gone." His lips twitched before he calmed himself. "I still don't know how you did it since you wouldn't have been able to reach the door handle, but you somehow broke out of the house and made your way there. You were crying so loudly at the entrance that I knocked down several shelves and broke a few freezers to get to you. Fruits rolled everywhere, cans spilled open and there was a huge puddle of milk when the entire fridge collapsed in itself."

"Eh, I did? Wait, how did you manage to make a fridge collapse inwards?"

His grinned widened and even from a small distance, Yuzu could feel his amusement radiating. "With my hot-blooded training of course!"

She rolled her eyes. She was tempted to give a good smack with her fan but restrained herself. For now at least. "Is this at a different store we go to?"

"No, it's the one we always shop at." Shuzo leaned back, lost in memories. "I remember the manager yelling at me afterwards. I would've gotten banned from that shop if it weren't for you. Even back then you were as cute as a button. Just as he was about to blacklist me, you grabbed his legs with your stubby little arms. You looked up with watery eyes, and the manager lost whatever anger he had. I met up with him later on, and he said you reminded him of his daughter. We grew a solid friendship after that."

"Oh is that why we always shop there?"

He nodded. "Ever since then I shopped there, it might be a little farther than we would travel for the main supermarkets, but friends comes first."

"So even though you caused all this trouble because you forgot your shopping you were better off for it."

"That's how it went."

Yuzu brought a hand up, stroking her chin. All this time, she was under the impression that what she felt was wrong. That any normal person shouldn't be experiencing these thoughts but maybe that was a mistake. Her dad wasn't what many would consider normal, he was loud, abrasive, passionate and though she sometimes had to smack him with her fan, he was her constant. He was familiar, as sure as the blue skies or as true as his love for her. Who cares if she had these thoughts? Who cares if they weren't normal? They were her own and she would accept them and move on.

Yuzu couldn't help let the grin on her face split open. Maybe it would get worse, maybe it would get better but the one thing she could count on was that her father would always love her. It didn't solve her problems, it didn't lead to a clue and she didn't have any great revelation but maybe with the warm glow inside her chest, she would find a way to find her footing.

"Thanks dad, really, I'm glad we had this conversation."

Shuzo was clueless as to what he said to improve her mood but seeing her honest smile, the worries plaguing him lessened. "It's what I'm for isn't it? Hey, how about you join my hot-blooded training? I promise we'll go to your favourite restaurant for dinner if you do."

Yuzu let a bubble of laughter escape. "All right just this once then."

"OK, get changed and be ready in ten minutes." He pumped his fist in the air. "The Hiragi family is on fire today!"

Yuzu sighed, but it wasn't a tired one. She simply felt content.

The next day was the weekend, school may have ended but You Show Duel School was still running. She was the first student to arrive as her father needed to be present earlier to set up class. She idly went through her cards, while they were powerful in their own right, she felt they could be improved. Maybe a new combination? Or a new ace? It was hard to decide what card could be dropped and what could be added, she felt every card already deserved their place. More importantly, what could she do that would entertain the crowd more? Unless she found a new evolution to her deck, she decided that she would stick with her Melodious.

The sound of the door opening caught her attention. Three children walked in, a loud racket accompanying them. They were the three youngest students of You Show duel school, Tatsuya, Futoshi and Ayu. They were each dressed in coats that was comically too big for them, their parents obviously deciding comfort over looks. Despite the precaution, their cheeks were cherry red from the frigidness of the outside air.

"Big sis Yuzu," said Ayu with a wide smile. "How are you today?"

"Hello you three and I'm just fine Ayu. I hope the cold didn't bother you too much."

"Nah its fine," replied Tatsuya. "Our parents made us wear these big coats. They all got together and went on one massive shopping spree. Ayu's parents took forever to decide on a coat."

Ayu scratched her cheek, slightly embarrassed. "They just want what's best for us."

"Exactly, they didn't want us to get the shivers. Too many could be bad for you." said Futoshi.

"Well you can take them off now, if you wear them for too long here you'll begin to get hot."

They each chorused a yes and marched off to hook their coats on the coat hanger. She smiled as they went by, she just couldn't help it they were too cute. Tatsuya had some trouble reaching the hook and Yuzu bent down to help.

"Thank you Yuzu."

"No problem," she replied. Then she frowned, a faint echo of a memory rang somewhere in her mind. She bit the inside of her cheeks before deciding to ask a question that just began bothering her. "Say Tatsuya, why did you join You Show again?"

"Huh? Why? That's because I want to be a great duel performer like you."

"Is that all?"

"Yup, I saw you at the exhibition match when you dueled Sora. You were both so amazing that I had to join the school. You were playing the amazing heroine and Sora was playing the evil villain. The role fit really well with his deck."

"I-I see."

He tilted his head. "Don't you remember? I asked you for the application form."

"Ah really? Sorry, must've slipped my mind."

"Geez, Yuzu," He pouted. "Please try to remember these things."

"I promise I will."

He nodded happily and joined up with the other children. Now that Yuzu thought about it, she did vaguely recall a duel like that at the beginning of the school year. She wracked her head of hair for the details, but no matter how hard she thought she couldn't get anything beyond a fuzzy image of her victory.

"Yuzu, what are you spacing out for?"

Yuzu nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to face the owner of the voice. "Sora! Don't scare me like that!"

Sora was resting his arms on his head, a lollipop sticking out of his mouth. He was sporting his usual blue jacket and grey shorts that covered down to his knee high socks. He regarded her, unfazed at Yuzu outburst before shrugging. "It's not my fault you weren't paying attention, I was calling your name and you didn't reply."

Yuzu deflated. "Oh right sorry, lost in my thoughts for a minute there. What were you saying?"

"Class is about to start. I was calling you over."

"Right sure, let's go now."

They walked together to the class. The door slid open and Yuzu peered in. Her father was already standing at the front and the three kids had sat at their assigned desks. Yuzu made an aborted move at the empty desk beside her but shook her head. She thought she caught a glimpse of someone sitting there, like a flicker of hair, but it was empty.

"There you two are! Come in now, class is about to start," said Shuzo.

They both nodded and sat at their respective seats.

Shuzo cleared his throat before starting. "Now usually we would cover a few topics now but today is a special day. Instead of theory we're going to do some hot-blooded practical action duels."

"Why? I thought you said earlier that we won't be doing practical's today." said Yuzu.

"Ah well," He scratched his head sheepishly, "I forgot that our new student is arriving today and I wanted to show her a good first day."

There was a moment of silence where everyone processed what he said.

"We're getting a new student?" said Ayu.

"And it's a girl," said Tatsuya, "what do you think her dueling is like?"

"I hope she gives me the shivers," cried Futoshi.

"Now now, everyone calm down. She'll be here in a minute. For now I want you all to be as welcoming as possible."

Three knocks on the door, and everyone in the room twisted. It slid open revealing a dark skinned girl with black shoulder length hair. Her eyes were sharp, and Yuzu knew instinctively that she was a powerful duelist. She scanned the room, pausing at Yuzu, before her gaze returned to Shuzo.

"Welcome, why don't you come here and introduce yourself," said Shuzo.

The girl nodded and made her way to the front. She turned, hair trailing, and with a voice that spoke of clear confidence. "My name is Masumi Kotsu. Please take care of me."


AN: Hoped you enjoyed it. Please review and tell me what you thought of it.