IMPORTANT NOTE:

This fanfic is on hiatus ! I have another projects I'm focusing on right now, so I'm putting this one on a hiatus until I find time for it. I'll definitely finish this fic, though. Sorry for the trouble, and thanks for your patience.


I'm sorry the episode is out so late! I got really busy with tests, and in holidays I felt too tired to get back to writing... I apologize for it, and the update of Holographic Dreams (my other YGO fic) will have to wait a little longer, since I'm rearranging some things about the storyline.

Anyways, here's the episode, hope you like it!


Episode 02: Watching the sky

Yusei washed his face with water to wake himself up completely. It had been a tiring night, sleeping just a couple of hours because of the excitement. It seemed like it was going to be that way for the first few days. He heard someone knocking on the door, and he turned around to see Crow standing there, grinning.

-Classes are going to start. You wouldn't like to arrive late on your second day, right? -He said.

Yusei let out a sigh.

-I'm going. -He replied.

He followed his friend, and arrived in time to the first class. Yusei's eyes stopped at Jack, who was already sitting in his place. He looked back at Yusei and smirked. Yusei held his gaze for a few seconds, but the moment their instructor stepped in, he looked away, walking towards his seat. Crow sat next to him, noticing the tension in the room.

-Don't worry, we'll beat him. -He whispered to his friend, who rested his cheek in his hand, pressing his lips to hold in a sigh.

The teacher looked at everyone before speaking:

-I'm introducing you a teacher that just returned here after being a few years abroad. I know you will learn a lot from her. She knows about aircraft and maneuvers better than anyone at Top Gun.

Everyone waited for the door to open with expectation, wondering how the instructor could be. Then, a tall woman walked inside the room. Crow's eyes went wide open when he saw her.

-Hey, Yusei, that's Aki, right? -He said to him, in a quiet voice.

Yusei was as surprised as him, but there was also happiness in his face.

-Yes, she is… -Replied Yusei, staring at her.

They both couldn't believe seeing her there, but decided to remain silent to hear what she had to say. She stopped next to Ushio and looked back at the students, who were all curious about her.

-My name is Aki Izayoi. From now on, I'll be supervising your work. Let's all do our best. -She said.

Everyone answered with a "Yes, sir" at once, and Ushio nodded slightly at that, indicating that introductions were over. He started by explaining a few maneuvers that some pilots did the day before, with Aki standing behind, just listening and watching.

Ushio analyzed everyone's moves and showed which ones were the best ones. Of course, Jack's maneuvers were the example of perfect moves. Jack kept a confident smile over his lips while Ushio praised his good work, but it quickly faded when their instructor encouraged Yusei and Crow.

-You guys did it well. I know you are nervous, but you have to adapt to this fast. No one's going to be easy on you. But the maneuvers you did were perfectly done, no complaints over that point. You have to be more aware of the possibilities your enemy has, though. -He explained.

-Yes, sir. -Replied Crow, with a short smile showing up on his face.

He turned around to look at Jack, wanting to see some annoyed reaction from him, but he wasn't looking at them. Kiryû was, with a frown on his face. Crow's smile widened, proud to see he had pissed someone off, and he turned around again to look at Ushio and listen to the rest of his explanation.

The instructor showed on a screen other possibilities, and the tension of the class seemed to decrease slowly.

When the class ended, Jack got up of his seat quickly, walking towards Yusei with an expression that didn't seem very friendly at all.

-I'll be waiting for you to show me some entertainment. -He said, in a challenging tone.

He then walked away, followed by Kiryû, who turned around to let out a mocking chuckle at them.

Crow clicked his tongue, getting up. He was going to walk towards them and give Jack a proper answer, but Yusei grabbed him by his jacket.

-Hey, let's talk with Aki. -He said.

That seemed to calm Crow down quickly.

-Oh, yeah!

They noticed that she had already left the class, so they quickly left the classroom and tried to follow her. When they saw her walking down the corridor, Crow called her out:

-Sir!

She stopped, turning around to look at him. Surprise overcame her, as she hadn't noticed them before.

-Oh, Crow, Yusei! -She approached them, smiling- I didn't expect you to be here!

-Well, yes! -Said Crow, proudly- We finished our studies properly, and got recommended to Top Gun!

-That's amazing! I'm so happy for you both. -Her smile widened.

-But you're no less. You became a first-class instructor. -Commented Yusei.

-I guess we all worked hard enough. -She said, looking back at him.

-Things will be better with you around. -Added Crow, grinning.

-I hope so, but please let's not let old memories burden our work. -She replied.

She had certainly grew as a very responsible person. Of course, there was no room for irresponsibility in a place like that, but they were glad to see how she had matured. And they also had.

After chatting for a little while, they had to leave for the training practice. She continued her way while they turned around to go to the landing zone. When they arrived, they walked towards their F-14. As they were told before about the mission they had to do, this time they'll compete against other aviators into locking on their instructor, taking him down.

-We'll have to fly against Ushio... It's going to be tough, but exciting too. -Commented Crow, putting his helmet on.

-Yes. -Agreed Yusei.

Of course it gave him the thrills to see his instructor flying, since he would be able to see one of the best aviators in action, but they also were going to compete against Jack in that mission, so he knew that if they won that one, they'd be really well esteemed.

-Let's do this! -He could hear Jack cheering his team on, and that made him speed up on the preparations.

Yusei got into their aircraft, helmet already on.

-Are you ready, Crow? -He said.

-Always am! -Replied Crow, energetically.

Yusei smiled at that and took off, quickly followed by the rest of the aircrafts.

He flew avoiding the others, looking for a clear way to get behind Ushio's aircraft. But, of course, it wasn't easy at all. Ushio wasn't an instructor for nothing. He flew following all the rules, but at a high speed, not letting anyone get close to him. Slowly, the aircrafts began being targeted by him, being left out of the mission, one after another.

Yusei turned around to try to surprise him while he was busy locking on another aircraft, but Jack was faster. He flew past Yusei, following closely Ushio, and trying to aim at him. Yusei frowned, annoyed, since Jack was trying to take away his opportunity, but also paying attention to his maneuvers. But Ushio got to avoid them while taking down the aircraft he was targeting.

-Damn! -Let out Jack.

His intention was to be quicker than anyone else, to not let Yusei have any chance to lock Ushio on first.

Yusei, seeing this, flew right next to Jack. They were the closest ones to Ushio's aircraft, and it looked like there was no room for anyone else in that competition. Yusei tried to lock on, but Jack got in his way, with a really dangerous maneuver, forcing him to fly away to avoid a collision.

-What's he doing? -Mumbled Crow, annoyed.

He wasn't going to let them defeat him, not let anyone think that he wasn't the best. Kiryû tried to warn him that safety came out first, but Jack was too focused on winning. He was a truly self centered guy, and Yusei couldn't get in his way.

Ushio continued taking down other aviator's aircraft, leaving really few people out there.

Eventually, only Jack, Yusei and the instructor himself would be the ones left.

Yusei tried another plan: defeating Jack directly. If he was that focused on Ushio, he might fall for his trap. But it didn't happen like that. When Yusei got behind his aircraft, Jack quickly moved aside, not completely leaving his position after Ushio. Yusei clicked his tongue. Jack didn't leave anything unattended, so it was impossible to catch him off guard.

This time, tired of that useless persecution, it was Ushio who decided to lock Jack on. He did a great maneuver to turn around and get behind Jack's aircraft, and took him down.

-Only one left. -Said their instructor.

Jack let out a curse, flying back to the landing zone. He was really pissed off.

Yusei took that chance to get behind Ushio and try to lock him on. Sweat started to cover his hands, and he was so nervous that it was hard to concentrate on what he had to do. He was a few steps left from winning. Crow cheered him up:

-Come on, Yusei, you can do it! He's right in front of us!

Yusei breathed out, trying to relax, and narrowed his eyes to focus on his aim. Ushio escaped him one time and another, but he couldn't give up when he was so close to it. He speeded up, following him closely and trying to shorten his flying range. And he managed to do it. Ushio made a small mistake not turning around when he had a chance to, and Yusei took advantage of that perfectly. Trying again to lock him on, he ended up doing it. A loud cheer came out of Crow when he saw that they had won, that they took down Ushio. Yusei smiled proudly.

-Good job, man! -Said Crow- That's going to earn us many points!

-Yes! -Agreed Yusei, feeling joy growing up in his chest.

They flew back to the landing zone, and when the got out of their F-14, Crow approached him to pat him in the back in a friendly way. Of course, it was only training, but they felt really happy about their first victory. Not only they had proven Jack and Kiryû that they were better than what they thought, but they had also defeated Ushio. They weren't in Top Gun for anything.

Crow looked at Jack with a grin on his face, but the blonde guy turned around, ignoring him. Crow let out a chuckle.

-Now they'll have to take us seriously. -He said.

Ushio made a gesture to them to follow him into his office, and they gladly followed him, knowing that they would be recognized their greatness.


They were walking down the corridors, Crow talking loudly about how well they had done that mission, when they bumped into their rivals. Crow folded his arms, raising one eyebrow.

-Hello, guys. -He said, in a mocking tone.

Kiryû was the first one to react, frowning.

-Are you acting like this because of one victory? How childish. You don't get to be the best because of a single mission. -He replied.

A chuckle escaped Crow's lips.

-I know, I know. I just remembered how sure you were that we weren't going to surpass you. -Commented Crow.

-And you didn't surpass us. The one who took us down was Ushio, not you. -Kiryû was truly short tempered, and moreover, he had been in a bad mood since their instructor beat them.

It was at that moment when Jack decided to talk, remaining calm:

-Come on, Kiryû, it's good to acknowledge one's mistakes. It won't happen a second time, that's for sure.

The way he talked, like he was superior to everyone else, pissed Crow off. He knew he wasn't going to get along with him, no matter what.

-How can you be so confident about it? -The one who made that question was Yusei, who was standing a few steps behind Crow.

Everyone looked at him. Yusei had his eyes fixed on Jack, waiting for an answer. He wasn't a troublemaker at all, but he didn't like being looked down upon. Jack let out a sigh.

-Because we won't make any mistakes from now on. I thought lightly of you two until now, yeah, but I shouldn't have done it. -He said.

-Yes, you shouldn't. -Yusei said.

His eyes seemed to add "because we're not going to be easy on you two", but he kept quiet. They kept staring at each other for a brief moment, examining themselves.

Crow decided to break all that tension.

-We won this time, so yeah, you better take us seriously! -He said, starting to walk away from them- Let's go, Yusei.

Yusei let out a sigh and followed him, with Jack's eyes still on him.

Kiryû rested his hands on his hips, also looking at them as they left.

-That Crow is getting too arrogant... -He commented.

That made Jack chuckle lightly.

-You're one to talk, Kiryû.

Kiryû clicked his tongue, and both of them continued walking, taking another direction.


Yusei and Crow were in Yusei's room, resting from another tiring day. It was already late, and the only light from the room came from a chimney that was in a corner of the room, also giving warmth to the cold room.

Yusei was laying on his bed, resting his head on one of his arms. He opened the hand of his other arm, to look at his tag necklace. He was lost on his thoughts, staring blankly at it.

Crow, who was sitting on a chair close to the bed, looked at Yusei.

-I know what you're thinking about. -He said, in a low voice.

Yusei didn't look back at him, still focusing on the necklace. Crow fixed his gaze on the ceiling.

-About how we got into Top Gun... We walked a long way, huh? -He said.

Yusei nodded.

-And we still got a way to walk. -Added Yusei.

-Yeah, but I'm sure we'll have no problems. -Crow smiled- We already made it this far, after all!

Yusei's hand closed tightly on the necklace, pressing it to his chest.

He remembered clearly the day Crow showed up in his house to ask him to enlist together. He had a big grin on his face and managed to convince him somehow. They got accepted, and they quickly showed their skills, ascending to better positions. And then, in a couple of years, they got their recommendation to Top Gun. It hadn't been easy at all, but it had been worth it. That day felt almost like a dream to both of them.

And now, being in Top Gun wasn't going to make their ambition fade. They were aiming to be the best ones, and that lead to another thing that had been on their mind lately, their extra motivation: beating Jack and Kiryû, being better than them. They hadn't been able to take those thoughts out of their minds. Their pretentious smirks always annoyed them, wanting to force them to bite the dust as soon as possible.

Just when Yusei thought of taking a break from all that stuff by taking a nap, someone knocked on the door. Crow got up, stretching out his arms and letting out a sigh.

-We have no free time, huh…? -He whispered to himself.

He walked towards the door and opened it, surprised to see a classmate there. He expected it to be Tetsu, or another teacher. He frowned, trying to remember the name of the boy who was standing in front of him. He had to admit it: the only classmates that had some space in his mind were Jack and Kiryû. He didn't remember anyone else's name.

-Hi. I'm Bruno. Callsign, Dark Glass-Said the boy, smiling shyly.

-Ah, yeah! Dark Glass, right. -Said Crow, chuckling lightly- What's wrong, you need something?

-Tetsu is calling us for a short meeting. He has something to tell us.

Crow scratched the back of his head and made an annoying expression.

-Right now…?

-Yes. -Bruno nodded, and then started to walk away- Well, then… I'll see you there.

Crow waved at him as a goodbye and then turned around to look at Yusei.

-You heard him. Let's go. -He said.

The black-haired boy sighed and got up, following his friend.

When they arrived at the classroom they quickly sat down on their seats, waiting for Ushio to start talking. Everyone else had already arrived. The teacher looked at his students and nodded to himself.

-Well, break is over, boys. -He said- This meeting is to tell you that there's a new plan for the training practices.

Crow frowned.

-What does he want now? -He whispered to Yusei, who just shrugged his shoulders.

There was a short silence of expectation, and then Ushio spoke:

-You will be making teams for the practices.

And so, the silence was over. All the students started to talk with each other, some of them getting upset, some excited. Ushio coughed to quiet everyone. He sighed and then started to explain himself:

-Teams of four people. You will be competing with the other teams; the first to lock the teacher on, wins.

-Well, it's the same thing as before, but now in teams… But it could get interesting. -Commented Crow, looking at his friend- If we get some good mates we could beat that Jack and Kiryû!

-That would be great. -Yusei smiled.

-And I will be the one to choose the teams. -Added the teacher.

That made Crow's hopes vanish.

-What? Him? Oh, damn… -He rested his face on his hand and rolled his eyes.

Ushio showed them some documents he had on his desk.

-It's the list of the teams. I'll be reading it to you. -He said.

He started doing so, and everyone kept quiet, showing in their expressions if they were glad or not of being in their respective teams. Then, when most of the class already knew who they were assigned with, it was Yusei and Crow's turn.

-Now, Dragon and Blackbird… -Read Ushio, narrowing his eyes- You two are going with Phoenix and Giganto.

Kiryû hit his desk with a thud.

-What?! -He frowned, pissed off- I don't want to be with them!

Seeing that attitude, Ushio got serious and replied with a cold voice:

-You're not a kid, Giganto. This is how you have to work here. If you don't like it, you can always quit.

Kiryû looked away, clicking his tongue. Crow let a deep sigh.

-I can't believe it… Out of all the persons that we could have been paired with, it had to be them… -He whispered.

Yusei was also annoyed by that choice, but he was better at controlling his actions. He decided to remain silent and see how things would go that way.

Jack looked at Yusei, frowning. If they were in the same team, it would be impossible to compete. They had to "cooperate". And Yusei was the last person he wanted to cooperate with.

The teacher decided to end the meeting, dismissing everyone. Crow and Yusei walked back to their room, slowly.

-Jack and Kiryû… Great. -Mumbled Crow to himself, ironically. He was as angry as Kiryû, but he wouldn't let himself get as worked up as him.

-But Ushio said that once we lock him on, all this "team practice" will end, right? -Commented Yusei.

Crow looked at him, and a small grin showed on his lips.

-Yeah, that's right! Let's finish this as soon as possible! -He said, with his mood suddenly lightened.

They both arrived to their room, deciding that the best thing would be to rest, and give it their best shot the next day. Hopefully, or so they wished, they would be able to end that situation without provoking more tensions between them…