Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Standing silently by Kiryu's side after Jack and Crow walked away was one of Yusei's biggest regrets.

Of course, leaving with them would probably have been even worse. Yusei could see the desperation in Kiryu's eyes when he'd turned to him, asking in an uncharacteristically fearful tone if he was going to leave him too. Under that pleading golden stare how could he possibly have given any answer but "no"?

But he should have done something, anything, to try and fix the situation.

He should have tried to convince Crow and Jack to stay. Their leaving was the first brick that crumbled in Kiryu's already frail mental state, leaving him wobbly and unstable. He should have known the effect their loss would have on him and he should have taken steps to prevent.

He could have at least tried to make Kiryu see how dangerous his thoughts were becoming instead of just sitting quietly and letting him get carried away in this elaborate fantasy of destroying Security. He should have spoken up against him rather than letting him believe that his silence meant he was in agreement, letting Kiryu's delusions be reinforced by his assumed support.

He should have done something.

He shouldn't have let Kiryu out of his sight. He shouldn't have walked away from him, he should have known Kiryu was too stubborn and too desperate to just let something like this go.

He shouldn't have run away and assumed Kiryu would follow when they all ran, and he shouldn't have left him alone—again—while he tried and failed at dealing with Security on his own. If he had just stayed by Kiryu's side like a best friend and team-mate was supposed to, maybe none of this would have ever happened. If he had stayed to play the part of Kiryu's crutch instead of ripping away the last bit of support the already breaking man had, maybe Kiryu would have gotten better instead of worse.

He should have known better. He should have thought of a better plan than just leaving Kiryu—again—and hoping that Yusei alone would be the first to cross paths with Security. Hoping that they would just accept his words despite how widely known kiryu's position as leader was. He should have thought of a plan rather than rushing in recklessly.

Kiryu would have thought of a plan.

Kiryu always thought of a plan. He was the one who set up ambushes, scouted out enemies' ambushes, deduced the best time to invade enemy territory. It was Kiryu who was blessed with the abilities of a strategist and a leader.

He was stupid to think he could do the same. His skills with strategy were reserved to duelling alone, it seemed.

He should have made a better plan. Or maybe he should have just taken Kiryu and the others and run, hiding away in a sewage dump or something until things died down a bit. Maybe they could have escaped to New Domino together, like he and Jack later did? They should have at least tried.

And then when the guards grabbed Kiryu and threw him into that truck... He should have stopped that. He should have single-handedly fought them off and dragged his friend back to safety. At the very least he would have been thrown into the Facility with him. At the very least Kiryu wouldn't think he was responsible for every bit of suffering he felt from that point on. He should have tried.

He should have done more…

Why didn't they ever try to reach him? Why did they all abandon him as a thing of the past that they would never get back. He was imprisoned, not dead. (At first, at least...) They could have snuck in— Crow snuck into Security buildings all the time. How was this any different? They could have formed a rescue plan. Surely risking everything to try and save Kiryu would convince him that Yusei was just as loyal as ever, that he hadn't sold him out. Even if he failed, it would have been worth for Kiryu to know that.

They had visited a few times, of course, but they'd let themselves be turned away.

"Kiryu doesn't want to see you."

They had taken the answer and left, not wanting to push their luck with Security. Their team was on their bad side enough as it was, ever since the Kiryu incident.

But that wasn't the only reason.

Yusei was afraid. Afraid of how Kiryu would react to seeing him, the one he thought had turned him in.

He should have pushed past that. He shouldn't have let his fear of seeing Kiryu look at him with that cold, frantic hatred hold him back from doing everything he could to see his friend again.

And then, it was too late. "Kiryu doesn't want to see you" changed to "Kyosuke Kiryu is dead."

Kyosuke Kiryu is dead.

Kiryu is dead.

Kiryu.

Dead.

He should never have given up on him so quickly.

Yusei doesn't consider his duel with Kiryu a success. He doesn't consider what he had done 'saving' his friend. Because whatever his intentions were, and whatever Kiryu might have believed by the end, he hadn't saved him. He had duelled his hardest and called the finishing move fully knowing what happened to Dark Signers when they lost. He had killed Kiryu that night.

He should have stopped the duel. He should have surrendered and let himself be swallowed by darkness. At the very least, it might have made Kiryu see that he never wanted to hurt him. And if his death meant Kiryu would be spared, he would have eagerly accepted it. Someone else could save the world. He should have saved Kiryu.

He should have done a better job convincing him. If he had just said the right words, if he had found a better way to show Kiryu that he was still his friend… He'd been so close when the duel had ended, if he had just convinced him one turn sooner...

If he had just tried a little harder.

Of course Yusei responded to the mysterious letter from the equally mysterious "Barb". He had no idea what she was talking about but he couldn't possibly just ignore it, not when someone might need him.

It never once crossed his mind that this "old friend" Barb spoke of might be Kiryu. The familiar clawing of guilt immediately washed over him at the sight of the silver blue hair in the distance, the colour offset by a yellow marker and bright gold eyes. No, not bright. Kiryu's usually golden eyes were a dull brown, completely devoid of the life usually shining inside them.

The more he studied his friend the worse Kiryu looked. His hair wasn't silver-blue so much as a dull bluish gray that hung on his head like strings, as dry and empty of all life as his eyes. He had the air of a man too absent, or perhaps too indifferent, to take care of himself. Choosing instead to stand by as his life slowly withered away.

Yusei knew that he wasn't going to leave this town until he had saved Kiryu.

He would do everything he could, and more, to see his friend safe again. He would fight as hard as he could and he wouldn't give up on him no matter what. Not again. He would never repeat those mistakes again.

And if he died here fighting for Kiryu, at least it would be better than living knowing that he'd failed him yet again.

Yusei had never been one to put his own concerns, or his safety, very high on his priority list. But this was on the extreme side even for him. He joined a mob-like group of duellists for hire and signed up for what was essentially a duel to the death with his best friend. Even with Barbara's plan in place, it was still a pretty big risk to both of them. But he wouldn't back out. He couldn't, not again. He was going to save Kiryu this time, he swore it. Even if it was the last thing he did.

He was faced with a whole new wave of guilt when when Barbara betrayed him and both he and Kiryu got taken away. As usual, it was easy to fall into the pit of "I should have"s. He should have known better than to trust her, he should have had a backup plan, he shouldn't have let himself fail again thanks to his own stupid naivety…

No. It was too early to count this as another failure.

He managed to snag a nail from an abandoned board on the ground and use it to disable the shock collars they'd snapped onto the two duellists, his mind already working to form an escape plan. Don't mess up, don't give up, try harder.

The hardest part of his plan was convincing Kiryu to go along with it. Apparently Kiryu felt just as much, if not more guilt than Yusei himself did. Which, in a way, was also Yusei's fault. But he wouldn't fail at convincing Kiryu that everything was going to be okay, that everything was okay. Not this time.

In the end he had to use force to get Kiryu out—force had always been the best way to make Kiryu listen anyways. Why hadn't he tried that back then?—but it didn't matter. They were out. He had saved Kiryu, physically at least. Now he just had to work on the rest of him.

Luckily, two of the kids from Crashtown arrived to help with that. Nico and West, children of one of the miners, managed to ignite a spark in the part of Kiryu that was so familiar to Yusei. The part that fought for the things he wanted and believed in, the stubborn part that never gave up no matter the odds. The part he'd always admired.

He helped, of course. After seeing the life that lit up in Kiryu's eyes, how could he not? He threw himself head-first back into the mines, and then again at the guards and Lotten. There was nothing he wouldn't have done to save Kiryu.

And in the end, that's just what he did.

Even though the time eventually came for him to leave the newly renamed Satisfaction Town, to leave Kiryu, he was still happy. Or perhaps the better word would be satisfied?

He was leaving Kiryu, but he had saved him. Kiryu was alive, and happy, and he had helped. And even though he was leaving him, he knew that they would see each other again. That there was nothing standing in between them this time. Not Security, not the Dark Signers.

Nothing.