Title: In Another World
Summary: Maybe, Lucciano reasoned, he hadn't loved her. But he could have. In another world. He would never live in worlds such as those, and she would never live again, period. Lucciano x Ruka. Rated T for character death, AU.
Notes: Takes place after episode #77/78, but is AU after. This story could be sensitive for some.
Rating: T for character death.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.
Lucciano swiveled his head from left to right to make sure Jose or Placido hadn't followed him. But why would they?
He was guessing it was around four in the morning, but what did time matter to him anyway? He had all the time in the world.
He ran through the cemetery, the only sound accompanying his footfalls being his heartbeat. His cloak flew out behind him, similar to ghost in flight or a spider weaving its web.
Finally, he reached his destined spot. The tombstone, the writing plain as day, was crafted out of pale pink marble. Being a child's grave and relatively new, it was clean and food offerings and flowers, among other things were clustered around. Lucciano squeezed his eyes shut tight, as if to make the grave disappear, then opened them again.
The grave of the youngest Signer, Ruka, still remained.
Lucciano fell to his knees and clenched the grass, as if seized by the sudden desire to dig, dig and find the coffin that would confirm this wasn't a trick his mind was playing on him. But he knew she was gone.
Hadn't he been watching her when it happened just days ago? High on his throne, the room empty, looking down on the Signer girl. She was alone, riding her Duel Board to the garage where the male Signers lived and the elder female Signer frequently visited. She was to meet her twin and companions there.
He had seen the flash of yellow as she rode across the crosswalk. She had looked both ways, but the car came virtually out of nowhere.
He had risen to his feet and screamed in disbelief, because she was dead. Dead on impact, the vivid red spilled across his vision. Dead on arrival, as the ambulance tried their hardest but failed. And, of course, she was still dead when her brother and the surviving Signers rushed to the hospital in a horrified blur, their hearts beating wildly seconds before the doctor told them hers had stopped long before they even knew of the tragedy.
Why did it bother him so? He himself had attempted to kill her, once. But he hadn't. That made all the difference in his eyes. The only person allowed to hurt her was him. It had been his assignment.
Yet, would he? If he had been offered a second chance to try and kill her, would he have taken it? If it really was about killing her, would he have felt the slight relief when he failed that first time? Wouldn't he have felt glee in her death now?
Apparently, that wasn't the case.
Lucciano, still at the grave, ran all this through his head.
He had watched the funeral the other day, too. The coffin was nailed shut; the few close ones to her had said their good-byes. Her brother was the living dead, torment clear in his eyes.
Had Lucciano loved that Signer girl? Was he still capable of loving? He may never know now.
There had been something there, something he couldn't place, when he had been with her that very short time.
Lucciano extended his pale hand as if intending to touch the tombstone, but withdrew it at the last second. The marble would be cold and lifeless, as was she.
"What did we have?"
He whispered this, though of course there was no one to hear him.
Why had he always been observing her even after their duel, observing her when he didn't need to? Why, that one day, did he keep showing off just to see the shine in those large, golden-grey eyes over and over again?
Maybe, Lucciano reasoned, he hadn't loved her. But he could have. In another world.
In a world where she wasn't a Signer and he wasn't an Emperor of Yliaster.
In a world where he was good like her, or she was evil like him.
In a world where he could have realized certain things sooner, in a world where she would have forgiven him for his wrongs and where people didn't drive drunk, disregarding the child in the road.
But they had never lived in worlds like those. He would never live in worlds such as those, and she would never live again, period.
Lucciano rose unsteadily to his feet and wiped his eyes. With impossible ease, his eyepiece fell from his face and landed softly in front of Ruka's grave. He stared at it for a long time, before he took off again, trying to leave it all behind him.
The Signer girl was dead, and with her died the chance of him ever loving again.
Author's Note: After my last drabble, I felt another urge to write some Giftshipping. I'm sorry if this seems rushed or too confusing. This is probably my darkest fanfic yet…and also something that doesn't fit into canon, for once. Please review even if you don't like this pairing, no flames. Thank you.