A/N: Told from the perspective of Yusaku. There's a lot of dialogue in this one, so if you don't like that, then you might not like this. That being said, have fun reading!

Having come back from a near-hellish encounter in Link VRAINS, myself and Takeru logged out and found ourselves in Shoichi's van. Shoichi, who was watched over us, rushed to our aid.

"Hey, you two okay? That looked pretty rough."
"We're okay, not to worry," Takeru spoke for both of us. It indeed was rough, though Takeru and I scraped through nicely. Still, Shoichi could sense our exhaustion and fatigue. Telling us to sit down outside, he prepared to serve us some fresh hot dogs.

"I think you both need a short vacation." I sighed in response.
"Seriously Shoichi? I'm fine."
"You both need the break. You're both tired. Maybe a relaxing time somewhere quiet would help. It is the summer break anyway."
"Unnecessary. Besides, where would we go on such short notice?" Takeru stood upon hearing that.

"I have a place in mind! Trust me, it's a nice relaxing place." Both Shoichi and I turned to Takeru. "We could go to my hometown."
"Your hometown? Do we really have to go?"
"A vacation would be really nice!" The Ignis that hid in my Duel Disk manifested itself to offer his comment.
"Yes, it would be nice to return there." Takeru's Ignis also spoke.
"It's settled then. Takeru, I assume you can show me the way."
"Definitely." I simply sighed again and agreed to everything the other four said.
"Fine, we can go. But you'll be staying with us; we might need to answer a crisis in Link VRAINS." Shoichi chuckled.
"Got it, Yusaku."

And so it was decided: we were to go on a road trip to Takeru's hometown. I personally had no idea why Takeru would be so inclined to return to his hometown, so I inquired him.

"Takeru, why is it you want so much to return to your hometown to visit?"
"Well, my grandparents are there."
"I feel like there's something a little more to it than that."
"Well, how about this. I had a slight childhood crush on this one girl." That did it. Takeru? A crush? I had to know.
"Heh, so who's the lucky girl?"
"Well, she's this girl called Kiku."
"Interesting, very interesting. And why haven't I heard anything about her until now?"
"Now now, Yusaku. That isn't something you'd so casually bring up just like that."
"Oh well, if you ever get to see her, then I hope you'll tell."
"Tell what?"
"Tell her your feelings, dummy."
"Not so simple. We aren't staying for long, rather, this is a simple vacation. I plan on catching up with her, sure, but I can't pursue my feelings any more than that."
"Lame." Takeru simply chuckled.

Soon we arrived at our destination. Surprisingly, the town was very peaceful. No doubt about that. The tree leaves rustling in the wind; the ocean waves crashing against the shore; the sun shining bright - not too bright - in the sky. Such a sight to behold! Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Yusaku! I'm going somewhere for a moment, there's someone I have to meet."
"Let me guess. Kiku?"
"That's right."
"Alright, I'll leave you to it then. I'll see you around."
"See ya Yusaku, enjoy the town while you can." And with that, Takeru took his leave. I turned to Shoichi.

"Alright boss, I'll be out exploring the town."
"That's good Yusaku, you could use the outdoor breeze." He was partially right.

I took a short walk around the town. I wouldn't be roaming around for long, so I decided after a while of walking to take a rest. Suddenly, a girl ran towards me.

"Hey, mister, who are you? I haven't seen you around here. Are you new here?"
"Oh hey, I'm Yusaku. And yes, I'm new here. I'm just visiting though."
"Oh that's great, I hope you enjoy our lovely town."
"I will." With that, I thought our chance encounter would be over, until…

"Wait! That Duel Disk…" The girl pointed at my Duel Disk.
"What? This? Oh, it's an old model. I never really bothered with the newer models. It prevents my cards from being hacked since I have the physical copies."
"That Duel Disk is the same one Takeru has!" Takeru? As in Takeru Homura? Is this girl a friend of him?
"You know Takeru?"
"Are you from Den City by any chance? Please tell me you are!"
"Woah slow down miss. It's true, I am from Den City. You seem to know who Takeru is."
"Oh yes, I do! He was such a cute boy then, I loved going to school with him! Well, whenever he did go to school, that is."
"That's.. A lot of information." A lot of information I didn't need to know.
"Anyway, how's he doing now in the big city?"
"He's doing well. Though I'd say that no matter where he goes, he'll always find himself coming back here I guess."
"Oh, and why's that?"
"His grandparents are here. And his crush too."
"His...crush?!" What I said elicited shock from the girl, and in the next second, her expression turned to that of defeat. Feeling ashamed, I turned away.
"Y-Yeah, a crush. She's called Kiku."

I couldn't see the expression on her face then, but a sudden silence hung between us. If I did see her expression, I would have seen her blush bright red right before me upon hearing that.

"K-Kiku? That's…"

"Hey! Yusaku!" Speak of the devil himself, Takeru suddenly decided to appear. "Oh hey, it seems you've met Kiku already!"
"Wait, what?!" Wait, she's Kiku?
"Kiku… that's me. Takeru… likes m-me?"
"W-Wait, how did you know I-" And it seems Takeru finally caught along. "Yusaku, did you tell her." Oh god no, what have I done?

"I didn't know she's Kiku!" Damn it, congrats on screwing this one up Yusaku.
"It's okay," Kiku spoke, and we both stopped to listen. "It's okay. Yusaku was it? Thank you for telling me this, Yusaku. I know Takeru wouldn't have been able to tell me. It's because I have a crush on him too!"
"W-Whaaaat!" Takeru's reaction was one that could've disturbed the neighbours.
"Well, it's been nice meeting you Kiku, I hope you two will enjoy your time together. Takeru, if you need me, I'll be back at the van. See ya. Bye!" I quitted the scene to allow the both of them some alone time together.

Well, I'm glad that worked out in the end.

A/N: Yes, I ship them too. As to why I do, I just find them too adorable to pass up (plus the huge amount of fanart I've garnered over the past week). Hopefully, you've enjoyed it!