Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's - Wake Up
~ by Yusei ~
Summary: "Rua looked so terrified upon seeing Yusei's Birthmark. But why would he fear something he could never recall seeing? Oneshot for Easter"
Disclaimer - I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's nor any of the characters.
A / N - I've wanted to write something on Rua and Ruka, otherwise known as the "Twinnies" to a group of friends and myself. Thinking about to Episode 14, the idea about why the Claw Birthmark appeared lingered in my mind. Everything comes from Rua's [Lua / Leo's] PoV and takes place during Episode 14.
- WAKE UP -
Tenpei continued to moan the entire journey down to the Daimon Area, his lack of adventure made me wonder if I should just leave him behind. I was desperate to witness the legendary Black Rose Witch in action, maybe she and Jack Atlus would come face to face one day. That would be amazing! I could do with a good exhibition of duelling skills to heal the wounds left from Yusei leaving, I missed him. He helped so much in the space of a single day and had to run? Why would someone with such a good heart have a Marker? Ruka shrugged it off and guessed it had been to do with whatever led him to crash downstairs and lead us to him. Naturally, I protested that it was a bad judge, anything to protect what was left of good in his name.
The sky had been painted pink and purple over the blue of the day, the evening sky could be so calming sometimes. The first of many stars twinkled from the heavens; it caught my eye and my mouth opened enthrallingly. We were so tiny in the world and the world was so tiny in the universe, everyone meant nothing to such giants around us; the same could be said for Tenpei, Ruka and I.
The crowd of cheering duellists with their backs to us, lined around the outline of a duel field painted on the ground brought me back to earth. My mouth hung open with astonishment. I had heard of the Daimon Area being a place where duellists Marked and even from Satellite hanging out and duelling, but I never imagined it to be so lively. So many duellists, so many decks. But no Black Rose Witch. Tenpei moaned about how sinister some of the duellists looked or would look, I shrugged it off. Honestly, where was his sense of adventure? Why were we friends again? A dying snarl of an orc creature rang out, despite the fact we were still walking up to the backs of the spectators, we could see glimpses of the battle between each body. What I could tell was a large werewolf-liked creature I hadn't seen before had slashed across its chest, spraying a blue light in the place of blood before it exploded into golden pixels. The end to another duel it seemed. The brunette man who had lost his monster gasped through locked jaws while the blonde at the other end of the field celebrated.
"Give it up, you!" someone called behind him.
"I win" the blonde stated with exhilaration from the duel fresh in his tone.
My bottom lip fell further, this place was amazing! Some of the men did seem to fit Tenpei's stereotype of looking aggressive and untrustworthy, but I knew the truth. They were just here to duel. I stepped forward; no way was I going to miss anymore action! Especially when the Black Rose Witch was going to show up and display her powers to these guys. I approached a silent man, Tenpei naturally trailed; at least his moaning had stopped, he was beginning to get into the spirit of things, finally. I was brushing off on him; maybe he could be more active when we duel. We stopped behind them and began to tap his back with a single finger.
"Ojii-san" I called, that alone was enough to turn his head slightly. "You ever duelled against the Witch?"
"Huh?" he sounded; it was like he wasn't even interested. He raised a hand like to grab a door handle to kick us out, waving it to search while his eyes closed under eyebrows arched in a sceptic manner. "Don't even joke about that Witch stuff. Beat it, you two".
He turned and walked away, uninterested in whatever more we had to say. He was escaping before we could protest; to him, we were just a couple of lost kids with no place in the Daimon Area. Geez! I turned my head towards the duel field and the temporary open gap, my hair swishing from its base as I did so. My hands met my waist in frustration. I really wanted to see the Witch.
"I wonder if anyone's seen her" I muttered.
"But since everyone knows about her, she must be here" Tenpei stated. Yatta! Tenpei wasn't looking for a way out. I could have leapt in the air and called praise to the heavens, no matter how many eyes I turned.
I turned my eyes to him; he had a point at the same time. But based on that guy, we had no proof anyone would talk about her. "I know, right?" I sighed. "I wonder if she'll hurry up and show herself".
We didn't have forever; Ruka was at home doing what she wanted. If we stayed out long after the sky darkened, I'd get the mother of all lectured when I were to return. Tenpei raised his Duel Disk, gazing at his deck. I knew he had remade it into its best form; we wanted to see what we would be up against. The Witch was like an idol, but nowhere near as cool as Jack Atlus. You can't beat the Duel King.
"I wonder if I'll have the confidence with this" my chestnut-haired companion muttered.
Its working wonders so far. But there was one thing we hadn't spoken about her yet, I had to bring it up to remind him. It was rare for him to come out of his shell, but I cared for him and I didn't want him to come out too far if the Witch showed because of it.
"But the Witch's strength isn't any ordinary strength, right?" I questioned.
He stepped forward and turned towards me, his eyebrows had fallen into a descent that would meet between his eyes. He actually looked like he could be ready for a fight any second.
"Mm-hmm" he sounded with a nod. "When the Witch attacks, the ground really quakes".
"And when she activates a Trap or Magic, it really happens, right?" I added curiously.
Tenpei seemed to swallow nervously, his eyebrows had risen in the opposite direction; fear clouded his features. And… there went feeling proud out the window. He looked like he could begin trembling, I wanted my palm to rise and meet my face.
"Then maybe the stuff about getting exterminated is true…" he wavered.
That was it, time for me to step in. I leaned over with a teasingly look on display; he turned his head away at the sudden appearance of me standing there like that.
"Whazzat, Tenpei? You scared?" I teased. There was one upside to having someone like him around.
"I am not!" he screamed in my face, his eyes tightly shut in a blind fit of courage.
Something caught my eye during his yell. I couldn't be sure, but who was I to waste time and potentially lose my discovery. My mouth hung open cheerfully as I left Tenpei to yell blindly.
"Ah! Yusei!" I called, that would be enough to snap him out of it. "Yusei!"
He was walking towards me; a second or two was enough to confirm my original suspicions, especially as I had been gazing in the corner of my eye. I paused after calling to him a second time, looking back over my shoulder at Tenpei.
"Tenpei, c'mon!" I demanded contently, waving my Duel Disk by my head. "He's the one who cusmatized this Duel Disk for me!"
He mumbled something, but I paid no attention, I was already sharply decreased the distance between Yusei and myself. I couldn't believe my luck! I could see the guy who fixed not only my Duel Disk, but Ruka's as well. He stopped in his approach as though he hadn't moved; I ran up just in front of him and halted immediately, hearing Tenpei's footsteps against the concrete behind me.
"So, you're here too, Yusei" I stated proudly.
"Why are you here?" he asked, still not an ounce of emotion in his voice. It was something I liked about him; he could be calm in the roughest of situations. I bet he could even face the Witch and not lose his cool. "This isn't a place for kids".
Behind him, three guys approached, three that weren't with him last night. Maybe they had bee the reason he left, they seemed like his posse. How cool! The largest standing directly behind him was someone I recognized; Jin Himuro from the Pro-League. Since his last duel with Jack, it looked like he had picked up a Marker, two halves reaching for the bridge of his nose that never met. Beside him was a brunette man who wore a white shirt and opened sleeveless jacket, the thing about him that stood out was the thin moustache over his top lip and the hairs on his chin, he looked like he could be a good duellist. And in front of him, closer to Yusei's side, stood a shorter elderly man. His hands had withdrawn behind his back, the dazed look on his face said to me he was friendly enough; to be hanging out with Yusei, he'd have to be.
"Where is Ruka?"
Yusei's voice snapped me out of my very brief analysis of the men behind him; I looked up at him with a smile to answer his question
"She's looking after the house".
Tenpei appeared beside me, freezing in his tracks. I heard a gasp; clearly the first thing he had noticed was Yusei's Marker. I was ready to hit him over the back of the head; he was going to start quaking just like when he was talking about the Witch. Don't embarrass me here, Tenpei; Yusei can be trusted. I began to wonder if he'd believe me if I defended him.
"Hey, Rua… that's a Marker, isn't it?"
Cue the internal sigh, didn't I already tell him Yusei's helped me? I lifted my Duel Disk with a smile; I was going to convince him no matter what. Not everyone with a Marker was evil and I was going to prove it!
"But… he did this for me!"
The older guy leaned forward, he was grinning in a friendly way; I smiled back when he spoke with a sincere tone.
"Who might you young'uns be?"
Now was time to find out. "These are all your friends, Yusei?"
"Right" he answered, he looked like he was smiling! I felt joy swelling inside of me; maybe it was just a time of nothing bothering him that got him to smile like that. His head turned to Himuro-san and then to the brunette man. "This is the kid from the Tops who took me in for shelter".
"I'm Rua" I stated before dragging Tenpei a step forward, he was going to enjoy meeting Yusei and his friends whether he wanted to or not. "This is my friend, Tenpei".
"P-Pleased".
"Oh right, Tenpei. Why don't you duel against Yusei? He's super strong!" That was a perfect way to get Tenpei going and to prove to him that Yusei was alright.
"U-Umm…" he sounded uneasily.
Yusei's smile had gone and he was staring like he didn't like the idea. I suppose it was a step up from looking completely uninterested and bored during the time he was duelling with me.
"Aah! Look at that!" Tenpei called suddenly.
My eyes caught the centre of attention, fists raised close to my chin excitedly. Yusei was holding an invitation to the Fortune Cup! I stated what I had mentally noted. What's more, with both Yusei and Ruka competing, maybe I could see what Yusei really had; we could hang out with him more! My heart leapt with joy, he couldn't run away so easily now. I stepped towards it, the passion rose in my words, Yusei held the envelope close to my face as though telling me to take it and look. I gazed up at him before I thought about doing so.
"You're entering too?"
"Yeah".
Too late to hold back, I was bouncing like I was on a trampoline. I was going to get to duel Yusei again! I had been going crazy over what he would be doing since he disappeared some time during the night, now I knew. My heart was going to leap out of my chest and bounce across the city, I felt that glad we had met him and he had been invited to take part in the Fortune Cup.
"Yatta! I get to duel against Yusei again!" I yelled. Then I remembered what I was doing, landing on the ground and pointing to him in a serious way. Our rematch was going to be the best duel in the tournament. "Yusei, I'm not going losing this time. See now, Tenpei? Yusei's a duellist awesome enough to enter the Fortune Cup".
Tenpei gazed up at Yusei with an open smile, finally! Mission two of the evening was accomplished! All that was left was to find the Wi-
Yusei sucked in his breath and fell to his knees with a subtle cry of pain, clutching his right arm. My eyes widened, what could possibly be happening to hurt him out of nowhere?!
"Yusei, what's wrong?" I called. I wanted to help in anyway I could, just when everything was running smoothly, he had fallen out of nowhere.
"An-chan" Ojii-chan mumbled.
"It's the same as that one time…" Yusei said. I had no idea what he was on about; it had to be something he had discussed with his friends. Something he hadn't had time to talk to Ruka and me about. Or maybe that had been part of the reason he wanted to leave, to protect us from whatever.
"That one time?" Himuro-san asked. Hm… he didn't know, did any of them?
"When that Crimson Dragon appeared…" Yusei whispered. His left eye was closed and his right was halfway there, he looked like he was in agony. Even in such a terrible pain, he was keeping his composure, had I not been so worried, I would have complemented that fact, but I was worried, even his words sounded in pain. What was happening to him?
Behind us, the field where the duellists had been playing began to tremble, yells of terror and surprise rang out into the air. Panic had gripped the area and Yusei's friends looked up at the chaos.
"It's the Witch!" someone yelled.
"The Witch?" I called, my heart was jumping again. Yusei's pain would subside, but I couldn't miss the Witch now that she'd finally appeared. That would complete my target triple-play! "She really showed up? Where? Where?"
The men were running like cowards, fleeing for their lives in the face of power. What was up with that? Didn't they come to duel against the Witch too? All those decks against a single duellist and they were running!
"It's the Witch!" the cry echoed several times.
"We'll get offed! Run!"
One man remained, someone that had been duelling, but his opponent was nowhere in sight. In his place, a gust was building in a singe spot. It was her, it was really her! Wait 'til Ruka hears about this!
"What Witch?" Ojii-chan asked.
"So, she's here now, huh?" the brunette guy mumbled."She?" Himuro-san asked.
"We'll get dragged into this. We need to run" he replied.
All the words passed over Yusei's head, if he had collapsed, how was he going to run? They were all so worried, was everyone abandoning their courage when it came to this Witch? I'd show them how it's done. The ground began to shake around us, my heart was beating against my chest, nothing exciting ever happened to us and now we were in the middle of a tremor. I couldn't remember feeling so excited! What looked like giant tentacles with thorns sticking out of them rose from the ground, piercing buildings, ripping the ground apart, I couldn't believe my luck. Another came towards us, that's when I remembered what Tenpei said, I was ready for the fun in being targeted to end. But it didn't, the tentacle rose and knocked us all from the ground; Tenpei and I were thrown in the opposite direction of Yusei and his friends, crashing against the ground uncomfortably. The roar of a dragon rang out; I pushed myself up from the ground, gazing at it until I heard something from Yusei's direction.
"Sonny…" Ojii-chan muttered.
"Hey, when did you get that?" Himuro-san asked.
"This is the symbol of the dragon, the Dragon's Birthmark" the short man continued.
I stared at the mark, it looked like a face moulded; a shining crimson face that wasn't on Yusei's arm the night Ruka and I found him and took him in. What was going on?
"Dragon's Birthmark?" I asked.
I looked scared, I felt scared. I didn't know what was happening, was this something to do with the Witch? The image of a matching 'Birthmark' appeared in my mind. Where did all this come from? 'Dragon's Birthmark'? That face? That claw? I stared at Yusei's arm until a bright light came from the direction of the dragon; there was no doubt that was the Witch activating something else. Everyone was covering their eyes to protect them from the intense brightness, the whimpers of the man that had stayed on the duel field reached us. That dragon screeched again when the light began to fade."What's that monster?" I asked, not expecting an answer. I knew one thing; it was the Witch's monster.
Yusei stood up, clutching his shining arm, I was glad he could stand again; but before I could even think, he raced off ahead. I called out to him, rushing after him into the veil of smoke. He as running into trouble again, this time I wouldn't let him face it alone. I passed through the smoke after him. The air began to clear by the time I caught him up, he was staring at the Witch, clutching his arm still. I had never been so excited and terrified at the same time, but with the quakes and tentacle attacks gone, I could put my fear to one side. What worried me most now was Yusei's arm, but seeing the Witch - the real Witch standing right there in front of us! - negated the worry with exhilaration, I was left with the confusion.
"The Witch…" Yusei muttered to himself."So, that's the… Witch?" I asked, stepping forward. Yusei's hand left his glowing arm and hovered in front of me, telling me not to get too close. While I was fascinated, he didn't want me to get hurt. I stopped, obeying his silent command. The footsteps and pants of the others came to our ears; we were reunited behind Yusei who seemed to stare down the Witch like she was an old rival.
"The Black Rose Witch is real…" the brunette man who's name remained a mystery to Tenpei and I mumbled in the same tone.
"Well… I'll be damned!" Ojii-chan gasped.
Silence hung beyond the smoking damages of the Witch's arrival, her head shot back slightly. With that mask on, we could neither identify her nor see what it was that had caught her attention. But I'm no fool; I had a pretty good idea what it was.
"You as well?" she asked, her voice was as emotionless and gentle as Yusei's when he spoke.
Yusei's eyes met the sight of his Birthmark again; I looked from her after she spoke the words to him. They seemed to share something. Maybe she had a Birthmark like he did.
"'You as well'?" he echoed, his eyes meeting with the sight of her.
Keeping his arm in front of him like it were a shield, he began to move towards her. I was tempted to follow, but clearly this was just between Yusei and the Witch. He had only move forward a short distance when she pulled back."That wretched mark!" she yelled, using one of her cards to engulf her body in a tornado of the same bright blue light that had come from the orc monster when Tenpei and I arrived. A sudden gust tried to push us all back. Yusei was back down onto one knee; both Tenpei and I were knocked to the ground from the sheer force of the wind.
It died as quickly as it began, the dragon and the Witch were gone; Yusei stood up again. Everyone was staring in shock; Ojii-chan even had his hand over his eyes to check as though a light was trying to blind us all. I clung to Tenpei just as he clung to me, we had just witnessed the most amazing thing ever and the shock was too much for our bodies, we grinned sheepishly.
"She's gone" Himuro-san stated.
"What the heck was that? How was she able to blow us back with her Magic card's power, even though it's just Solid Vision?" Ojii-chan called
"She is… She is real" Tenpei spoke.
"I'm so glad we didn't get offed…" I added after hearing what the fleeing duellists had been saying. We survived, we would live on and I could tell Ruka, I could still get my chance to duel Yusei in the Fortune Cup.
"That reaction when the Witch saw you caught my interest" the brunette guy said to Yusei.
He lifted his arm to look down at the glowing Birthmark, but… it wasn't there! How did that happen? His arm looked just as it did when Ruka and I brought him in; I was amazed by the strange disappearing Birthmark.
"Aah? It's gone" I stated in surprise."Why? That's a shame!" Ojii-chan cried out.
"I'm positive… the Witch has a Birthmark too" Yusei mumbled.
She had one too? I was right. But it didn't answer about her power or the Claw that appeared in my mind or about Yusei's Birthmark. One day had raised so many questions; maybe we could see the Witch again if she really did have a Birthmark. The subject was fascinating.
Yusei had told me he was staying with his friends in during the night; the brunette guy had a garage they were staying at, so I felt relieved they wouldn't be sleeping on the streets. Tenpei and I retraced our route back to the Tops and returned shortly after the sky had grown dark. We told Ruka all about the Witch and Yusei's Birthmark. It was amazing! Ruka's eyes lit up at the mention of Yusei, saying how glad she was that he was alright and wishing she could thank him for customizing her Duel Disk. Time passed and Ruka fell asleep in her room while I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. That Claw…
It looked familiar.
We had been three when we began duelling for fun; Ruka was described as a prodigy. It made me proud to have such a wonderful sister, we duelled each other often. It had been another normal day when I whined about wanting to duel when it happened. We began; a couple of moves and then Ruka just collapsed! I had no idea what had happened, she had just pulled her Kuribon card and she fell in a way that sent terror through every nerve in my body. I thought she had just fallen asleep, but she didn't wake up. I cried and cried until our parents came out and found as together, I was on my knees by her side still shaking her body in the hopes she would wake up. Our mother rushed to Ruka's side, dropping to her knees close by to examine the prodigy.
"I'll call an ambulance!" our mother cried.
"Rua, watch over your sister while I get some things to help" our father instructed.
I nodded, knocking more tears from my eyes. They both rushed inside, they were always so busy and that had been why they weren't outside with us when it had happened. I pulled Ruka's head onto my lap, constantly calling her name, begging her to wake up. Her arm began to glow - her right arm was glowing! Something definitely wasn't right. I gripped it and pulled it into view, seeing what looked like a dragon claw; the outline of a claw belonging to something glowing a bright crimson through her sleeve.
"Ruka! Ruka! What's happening?!" I cried. "RUKA!"
Her mark faded before our parents returned, partially because they had carried out their self-appointed tasks and partially because of my screaming. I tried to explain to them it was there, but they shrugged it off as imagination, almost scolding me for trying to mess with their minds at such a time. I protested through my fear over what was happening, I said many times that I hadn't seen the mark in my mind, it had really been there. No matter what I said, they didn't believe me.
Ruka was transported to the closest hospital and admitted into Intensive Care while the doctors tried to determine what had happened to her. I said nothing to my parents the entire time, furious that they didn't believe me; that mark had never shown before and Ruka had never collapsed before, they had to be linked. My thoughts remained on Ruka, the only reason why I didn't say a word, staring down the white corridor and lifting my head every time someone walked along towards then past us. My parents clung onto each other; fearful Ruka had suffered a medical mishap and would die from it, never speaking the words loud enough for my ears to pick up. My sister… my amazing sister… they had given up on her. I would never give up on her.
After a while, a doctor came down the corridor briskly and finally stopped in front of us, we could learn what had happened to Ruka. He explained that her condition implied she had fallen into a coma, our mother broke down; her face soaked in fresh tears. Seeing her cry was enough to push me to tears, I had no knowledge of what a coma was; for all I knew, she was dying. The doctor said to me it was like she had gone to sleep, I didn't let him finish before the outburst that I had tried to wake her up. He came back with that she would wake up when she would, not when anyone else wanted her to. We were allowed into a room they had made for her. She was laying like she was asleep.
I sat by her bedside, clutching her hand as tightly as I could. It was my vigil; I vowed I wouldn't leave her side until she woke up. Days passed without a sign that she would open her eyes or know I was there. Our parents travelled between home, work and the hospital, only I stayed by her side constantly, always believing she would wake up. I fell asleep against her bed every night, clutching her hand tightly enough so our parents could carry me away, so they couldn't separate us. Ruka may have been the one everyone praised as a prodigy, but she was my sister, she was a part of me. I couldn't let her go, I wouldn't let her go. No matter what everyone said, no matter how much they told me to leave her in her sleep, I wouldn't part with the person that meant more than the world to me. She was my world.
Over the days that passed into weeks, the only time I left Ruka's side was to relieve my bladder and my body from backing up. I rarely ate, feeling guilty about stuffing my face in front of Ruka who could do nothing. Her eyes never opened, I clung naïvely to the hope she would awaken at any moment; I began to lose weight, my body was slowly drained of everything, my personality suffered a complete breakdown. I wasn't the energetic boy; I was gradually becoming little more than a shell waiting for the return of my sister. My parents began to spend more time around us when the signs of the bedside vigil I had taken upon myself began to surface.
What horrified me was that one night little over three weeks after Ruka's collapse, once I had fallen asleep during the night from pure exhaustion, my parents had tried once again to pry me from Ruka's bed. My grip on her hand had weakened enough for them to move me into a Day Room and lay a blanket over me as I slept with my body straight for the first time in weeks. When sunlight laid over my face in the dawn of the next morning, I couldn't believe that I had been moved, Ruka wasn't there when I opened my eyes. I cried out in horror, it couldn't be that something had happened to her, could it? Our parents rushed in, crowding over me when they heard my panic.
"Wh-what's going on? Where's Ruka?" I asked, tears streaming down my cheeks.
"Rua…" our father muttered, laying a hand on top of my head, brushing his palm against my hairs as if I were a cat or dog. "You were exhausted, we were just thinking of you. It won't do your back any good to keep sleeping against Ruka's bed like that".
"But is Ruka okay?" I cried out.
"She's fine. Nothing's changed, we moved you for your sake" our mother replied with a warm smile.
They cared, but their actions to prove it didn't satisfy me. They escorted me from the room and practically dragged me to the canteen in the hopes of forcing me to eat something. Resistance was futile with them, I surrendered and consumed at least a quarter of the food in front of me to satisfy them, while it wasn't the ideal outcome, it was as close as they were going to get.
On our way back to Ruka's room, we passed through a number of corridors; I paused when I noticed a room much different from any other I had seen, staring inside at an altar lined with varnished wooden pews. The room intrigued me, I parted from the path my parents took and strolled to the threshold, gazing up at the statues placed in various positions.
"This is a place where people pray" a voice stated.
The voice came as a complete surprise; I turned to a pew positioned just inside of the entrance to the right. An elderly man sat alone, a thick white moustache covered his mouth. He glanced at me, the movement of the skin around where his mouth would be beneath the hairs shifted to indicate to me that he had smiled.
"Have you come to pray?" he asked gently.
"Ah… I just noticed this place on my way back to my sister's room" I answered, unsure what he would say when he learned I hadn't come for the same reason he had.
"Your sister?" he echoed, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"Mm…" I sounded, nodding my head. "She fell into a coma a while ago; I've been staying by her side, waiting for her to wake up".
"Comas are complicated matters" he sighed. "I'll pray that your sister awakens to you soon then".
"Arigato" I replied with a nod of my head, I appreciated his thoughts for Ruka. I was about to race after my parents when my body froze, turning back to him, "Ojii-chan, who are you praying for?"
His eyes set themselves onto me; he hadn't expected me to ask about his own life. His smile grew wider, the skin rippled further at the corner of his mouth, pausing back his cheeks more visibly.
"I am here for my wife. I'm praying that she, too, can go home soon" he answered in the sincerest of tones.
"Then… I shall think of your wife just as you think of Ruka" I called, raising my fists in front of my chest passionately.
He nodded his head in agreement; I smiled at him once more before I left the room, racing after the parents that had strolled off ahead of me.
A couple of days passed since meeting Ojii-chan, I stayed by Ruka's side; thinking of not only her, but Ojii-chan and his wife. I wanted both to get well and go home; I know Ojii-chan was thinking the same. I peered out of the window in Ruka's room, seeing the entrance to the hospital. There, I saw something that made me gasp; Ojii-chan with a woman that I could only hazard a guess was his wife. I fumbled with the lock of the window rapidly, there was no way I would be able to run after them and catch them up, not with the size of the hospital. The window flew open and I pushed myself forward, my head hanging outside in the mid-morning air.
"Ojii-chan!!" I yelled.
The distance between us made me doubt the chances he would hear me, but he turned in my direction, raising his hand. My smile expanded, my bottom lip falling further, I began to wave back wildly. It was my wish for them to live happily together forever. I knew nothing of the real concept of death; when Ruka fell into her coma, I believed that she would sleep, always living. Forever.
Shortly after Ojii-chan and his wife had left the hospital grounds, I scooped up the Duel Disks that I had brought when Ruka was first admitted to the hospital, attaching mine to my left arm and clutching Ruka's to my chest, like her life was inside of it and depended on my caring for the machine. I raced back to the room I had learned was a chapel inside of the hospital, a place where those that followed a religion could pray to their Gods for their loved one's health. I entered the chapel set as it was the last time I visited, pacing anxiously down the aisle, Ruka's Duel Disk still pressed against my chest. Her deck caught my eye, I pulled the top card: the Kuribon I placed on top after I placed the cards that had been removed back on top of her deck. I held it out for the altar at the end of the aisle.
"Please… Kami-sama" I spoke meekly, wrapping my arm around Ruka's Duel Disk tighter. "Ojii-chan told me this is a place where people come to pray for those they hold dear. I beg of you, please let Ruka wake up. She's a prodigy; she has a gift people have watched grow since we first began playing Duel Monsters. I'm not asking you for me, I'm asking for her. I don't want her to miss the world; her life would pass her by without her even knowing. Please, let Ruka live again".
I stood for a moment, Kuribon standing between my fore- and middle fingers and my thumb, Ruka's Duel Disk pressed between my chest and my arm. I had never felt so hopeless, so desperate. I just wanted to see Ruka wake up, I missed her. After a moment of nothing, I slipped the card back into the deck and bowed respectfully before the altar, turning away and beginning my exit of the place.
Nothing happened over the next few days, my hope was diminishing; I didn't know how much longer I could last. I knew Ruka was going to wake up, I had done as Ojii-chan said, it wasn't for my sake; it was so Ruka could live. I was unimportant in the matter of saving Ruka, I clutched her hand as tightly as I had the day she was admitted, my hope renewed by Ojii-chan and his wife. He didn't give up, I wouldn't give up; Ruka would wake up.
Strolling back towards Ruka's room, I noticed a small shop, one where visitors could purchase something to keep them entertained. I remembered a small amount of money I had kept, that I had been saving for the next set of Duel Monsters cards to be released in the city. I pulled the money from my pocket, examining how much there was, there was enough for my plan. I raced inside.
About a week had passed since I had visited the chapel; morning had come again to turn the number of days Ruka had slept. It had been about a month now, time passed too slowly for me to even remember anymore. Ruka's lively days felt like a life away; a life we would live again together. My sense of time had been lost; I relied on the sun and the clocks I would find around. My hope in the prayer, or rather the wish, I had sent in the chapel had reached wherever the God was I spoke to, much more time had elapsed for us, maybe Ojii-chan had been more than once, maybe he visited even after we met. If that was the case, I would visit as much as I could each day, anything to see Ruka wake up. Our parents entered the room, seeing my eyes set on Ruka's still face, they continued to insist that I go home for a while, regain who I was, they said I had become like a hawk over Ruka. What they couldn't bring themselves to say was I was more like a vulture watching over Ruka's corpse. Each time I protested viciously, I felt I was becoming overprotective about what happened, but it was still for Ruka.
Morning passed into afternoon and my body began to stiffen, I shook and shook the lazy limbs. My body continued to protest that my parents were right, that I should let Ruka sleep alone and go back to who I had been. But without her, that wasn't possible; my heart and my soul argued back. Without Ruka there was no Rua. Even our names were so similar as to highlight the fact that we were twins, that we were closer than any other brother and sister. I sat and stole a glance at the Duel Disks laying side by side, my eyes were beginning to feel heavy; doing nothing had brought down just how long I could stay awake, it was al fatigue. Exhaustion on more than one level, my mind was being pushed to its endurance with my hope; my body was simply tired from doing nothing.
A soft groan came to my ears, my eyes widened to their limits; there was no-one else in the room my head shot to Ruka. Her eyebrows were twitching, she was waking up!
"Ruka! Ruka!" I called, almost to chant it in order to guide her back to us. To me. "Ruka! RUKA!"
Our parents burst into the room upon hearing my calls, realizing it wasn't me simply imagining things. I kept calling her name, no-one stopped me, even if they wanted to, I wouldn't silence. I kept calling, her eyelids twitched, it was working! I called out again, my eyes filled with tears of relief that Ojii-chan had come through for us. It felt like a dream, I dreaded the feeling that I would wake as soon as Ruka laid her eyes open me and then I would stir only to find it was a delusions, that my dreams playing with me. Her eyelids began to rise; I could see her golden iris.
"Ruka! RUKA!!" I continued to chant, to cry; to almost scream to her.
Her eyelids rose higher, higher! I could see her pupils when the rise paused halfway, she was dazed. She couldn't open them completely, but she was there. She was back!
"Ru…a…" she breathed.
My cries ceased, tears streaming down my face at her voice, she had called me first! I reached beside the Duel Disks that sat on the night table by the bed, reaching out for the bear I had brought with the money I found after visiting the chapel. A brown bear, with a caramel coloured upper lip and pads on its feet.
"Here, Ruka" I replied, holding it out to her.
"Rua…" she repeated in the same manner.
"Yes, Ruka. I'm here. I'm here" I answered, wrapping my arms around her. "And what matters, is you're here".
She couldn't have understood what had happened; she clung to the bear I had passed her. I didn't pull back, I didn't want to let her go; ever. Ever again.
Since that time, she had kept the bear close by, a reminder of how much we meant to each other. How that, even if we fight, we loved each other more than any other person in the world could or would. She expressed her love for it when she was able to regain her complete consciousness after a few days; we stayed by each other's sides. I had never been so relieved; I always thanked Ojii-chan from afar. And the God that had granted my wish.
The world seemed to shake and bounce back with the sound of a voice. I opened my eyes to see Ruka standing over me, shaking my body that had been wrapped in the thin bed sheet. It was the typical morning when something important happened; how I would have survived without Ruka is beyond me, Ruka had forgotten the events of the time over the years, all she remembered was the bear that I had given her, the sacrificed cards; it wasn't like they would make her feel better. She stepped back while I pushed my back from the bed, rubbing my eyes wearily.
"Come on, Rua. We've got to get ready" she instructed. 'We'? She was already dressed and wearing her Duel Disk! "Today's the beginning of the Fortune Cup, remember?"
The Fortune Cup! Of course. I mentally scolded myself briefly for forgetting. I quickly followed her example of dressing and loading my cards into my Duel Disk. Before we left, we stood before each other; checking for anything out of place, trying to remember anything forgotten. I hesitated when Ruka prepared to turn her back to me and make her way to the door.
"Ruka…" I managed.
"Hm?" she asked, turning back to me."When we were little…" I tried. "Do you remember anything about a glowing Claw mark on your arm?"
"Huh?" Ruka asked, raising one of her eyebrows in utter confusion. "Did you have another strange dream, Rua?"
"No… "I answered with a smile. "I just… remembered something".
She mirrored the smile with a hint of "Rua-you're-so-hopeless-sometimes" hidden within. That was what I loved about her, maybe that was what she loved about me.
"Hey, Ruka" I added. "You know I love you, right?"
"Of course. That's why you'll duel for me so I don't get tired" she giggled naïvely. "Rua, you know I love you too. Why bring up this now? Is something the matter?"
"No" I replied, shaking my head. "I just thought I should remind you. We're going to have fun at the tournament. No matter what, no-one will break us apart".
Her expression hinted she was beginning to worry about why I was speaking of such matters, I chortled lightly to evade being asked, patting her shoulder gently.
"I'm proud to call you my sister" I stated with a grin."And I'm proud to call you my brother, Rua" she answered, her expression softening from the sceptic look of bewilderment at the same time she rested her hand upon mine. "Let's go".
I nodded, sounding my approval at the same time. She didn't remember about the month she slept, she didn't remember about the Claw mark on her arm. But I would protect her from whatever that mark meant. If it were anything like the evening before, I would lay my life on the line just to protect Ruka; I was her brother that was my role.
Until then, I had the Fortune Cup to enter in Ruka's place and show off what we could really do. I'd show Yusei, Ruka, everyone, what I was capable of!
- WAKE UP -
- END -