The following is a story of one man who has yet to discover the scope of his destiny.

"I just don't understand why they were in that rubble, and more importantly, how they're still alive."

"Yes, you mentioned that on the way over", Yusei commented tiredly, rubbing his temple as he patiently stoked the fire. The water in the pot suspended above it began to hiss and bubble, so he dropped one of the dog's kidneys into it, along with a few slices of onion. (Crow opened his mouth to object loudly, but wisely opted for an indignant grunt instead.) "And I still don't see why we couldn't have robbed them and left."

"Um, because saving them was the right thing to do", Crow answered. "Besides, they're obviously villagers. If we help them…and they're particularly grateful…."

"They might not be", Yusei pointed out. "What if we keep them here, attend to their wounds, give them our hard-earned food, but at the end of it, what if they don't appreciate a single second of it?"

"What?" Crow looked up. "Yusei, people aren't like tha-",

"Or, what if it all ends up being for nothing, and they die? Then we'll be at risk, too, because we shared our rations with a couple of obviously well-fed villagers instead o-",

"Yusei!" By now, Crow had stood up. "What's up with you? Stop being such a pessimist!"

"I'm not being pessimistic", Yusei spoke in a low tone, almost like a growl, and avoided eye contact. "I'm being realistic."

"Realistic, my ass. You expect us to die? I'm insulted."

Both Crow and Yusei swiveled at the same time. Out of the two people they'd dragged back from the collapsed tunnel, one had sat up in his sleeping bag. He glared indignantly at them now, searing violet eyes amidst pale, chiseled features. His white clothes appeared slightly luminous under the trembling lightbulbs.

Crow stared, immediately silenced despite not having been addressed. Yusei, predictably, was less impressed. "I don't recommend that you sit up quite yet", he advised their guest, poking at the flames before him. "You took considerable bruising along the spine." The man instantly lied back down.

"My name is Jack Atlas", he announced loudly, even though no one had asked.

"Yusei Fudo."

"C-Crow Hogan."

Jack paused, as if he was waiting for some kind of reaction. Yusei gave him none. Crow seemed like he was trying to work something out in his head.

"…Well?" Jack finally said.

"What do you want?" Yusei deadpanned.

This seemed to offend Jack for some reason, and he was silent again.

"…So, anyway", Crow began, desperate to end the awkward silence, "why did we find you two in that caved-in tunnel, anyway?"

Yusei added the dog intestines to the pot.

Jack caught sight of them and recoiled in horror. "Don't tell me we're going to eat that?" he wheezed in his intense disgust.

Great, Crow thought to himself. I've been ignored in favor of dog guts.

"Seeing as I've been preparing it for the last while now…no, of course we're not going to eat it, I'm just cooking it for fun. What in the world would make you think otherwise?" Yusei shot back.

Jack leered in wary repulsion at the mass of floating organs in the pot. "I'm not eating it", he declared.

"Suit yourself then, if you want to turn up your nose at some perfectly fine dog meat", Yusei shrugged. "I hope not all villagers are as picky as you, or they might die out soon." Crow got the tiniest impression that Yusei was rather enjoying the poor man's great displeasure.

"You're not bothered in the least by eating that?" Jack turned to Crow.

Crow hesitated, then shook his head, if somewhat bashfully. Upon seeing Jack's shock, he added quickly, "Well, that's easy for you to say. You're not the one it jumped on!"

"You were attacked by that large a dog?" another voice asked mildly. Jack's companion had sat up. This one was shorter than Jack, and looked a bit frailer. As he moved, he winced and glanced at his leg.

Crow puffed out his chest a bit. "Yup", he answered, displaying the cuts and bruises on his arms. "It ambushed me from behind!" He paused. "But, Yusei was the one who killed it. One shot to the head – bam!"

"What? I don't believe that", Jack put in. "Your friend here managed to hit a dog's head, while you were wrestling with it? It seems likelier to me that he would've hit you instead."

Crow scratched his head. "Well…believe it or don't, but if he hadn't killed that dog, I wouldn't be here now. So, yeah." He nodded to himself.

They were all quiet for a moment. Jack still appeared to be struggling with the idea of anyone being that good of a shot. Yusei seemed uncomfortable about being the center of attention, and wordlessly began to fill up small bowls with the soup.

"Oh, yes, I haven't introduced myself", the other villager realized. "The name's Kyosuke Kiryu. I assume Jack has already made himself familiar with you all?"

"Quite loudly, yes", Yusei confirmed.

"Ahh", Kiryu chuckled apologetically, but said no more. Yusei began to pass the bowls of soup around, specifically naming which was meant for whom, and Kiryu accepted his own quite graciously. But on the other hand ….

"Just take it", Crow nearly shouted in his exasperation, a bowl in his outstretched hand.

"I will not", Jack stated firmly. Sometime during the brief conversation with Kiryu, he'd managed to prop himself up against the wall with a handful of pillows. He seemed very determined, and would not even look directly at the soup.

"There is absolutely no reason for you to be so stubbor-!"

"Hey, this is pretty good!" Kiryu exclaimed with perfect timing. Jack sent a brief glare in his direction, quavering subtly in irritation. This time, Crow actually caught the minute smirk on Yusei's face.

"Really?" Crow noted. When Kiryu nodded enthusiastically, he set down Jack's bowl and picked up the chopsticks Yusei had provided. "Yeah, you're right! This ain't bad, Yusei. Good job." He grinned. "Could use some salt, though."

"Oh, I have some salt with me", Kiryu volunteered, and dug out a damaged, but still useable salt shaker, and began passing it around to Crow and Yusei, the former of whom seemed delighted.

"Thanks, er, Kyosuke?" Crow asked.

"Kiryu's fine."

Jack stared at the shaker as if it had single-handedly lynched his family. …Somehow. "Why", he began, "are you carrying salt with you?"

"I bought it the other day and forgot to take it out of my pocket", Kiryu answered sheepishly.

Yusei finished use of the salt, so Crow took it from him and was about to pass it back to Kiryu when he paused. "Y'know", he informed Jack, if a bit demonically, "you should just stop wasting all of our time and take the soup already. We all know you're going to, so you might as well stop pretending otherwise."

This appeared to have caught Jack off guard, because he bristled with annoyance, but said nothing.

Crow cheerfully sprinkled what he considered a fair amount of salt into Jack's soup and returned the shaker to Kiryu.

Jack kept silent.

No one saw Jack eat the soup, but when Crow was collecting the finished soup bowls for Yusei, all four were clean.

"So, why were you guys buried in that tunnel?" Crow asked.

Kiryu blinked, and looked up from his folded hands. "Er, we happened to be passing through, when it collapsed on us", he replied quickly.

"Impossible", Yusei interjected. He seemed to be fiddling around with one of the machines on the table, and had donned a pair of large, red-framed goggles. "If that were the case, you would've been at the very bottom of the wreck. We wouldn't have even seen you, much less been able to dig you out."

"Just tell them the truth, Kiryu", Jack spoke up suddenly. "I don't understand what you're so worried about."

Kiryu delivered an odd sort of smile. It looked strained. "Right", he said. "I…just don't know if they'll believe us."

"You don't know until you try", Crow pointed out.

Kiryu bit his lip. "Alright then", he gave in resignedly, "I suppose that's the least we owe you for having saved our lives." He contemplated this. "But, where to begin…?"

"Begin at the beginning, and reach the end", Yusei barbed.

"Yusei…." Crow warned.

"No, it's fine", Kiryu reassured. "The thing is, we involuntarily collapsed the tunnel. We crashed into it." He hesitated visibly. "From above. From…the surface."

"The surface?" Yusei glanced up from what he was doing, nearly dropping one of his tools. His eyes had gone uncharacteristically wide. It was jarring to see him this shaken all of a sudden. "You went to the surface?"

"More than that", Jack declared, "we were fighting the Earthbound Gods."

"What?" Yusei's tools clattered to the floor before Crow had time to react. He was staring Jack straight in the eye. "What the hell were you doing that for?"

Crow wasn't sure which alarmed him more, Yusei's abrupt display of emotion or the fact that two people had gone to the surface, fought the Earthbound Gods, and lived. In any case, Jack straightened his jacket and replied, "Isn't it obvious why? Those things oppress and terrorize our people! Your people, too! All of humanity! Honestly, that sort of reaction…. You ought to be glad anyone's standing up to them at all."

"Don't tell me how to react", Yusei hissed. "And you two…are idiots. For fuck's sake, they're gods. You may have survived this time, but you won't last long if you keep this up. Who ever heard of fighting gods? They were able to banish humanity for a reason, you know. I don't even know how the two of you are still alive."

Kiryu interceded with an unexpected smile. "I appreciate the…concern", he told Yusei, "but you're making one very large misconception here."

"What is it?"

It was Jack's turn to smirk. "That both of us fought the gods as just simple humans."

Yusei stared. Crow decided to cut in. "Wait, whoa, what?"

"Jack here is no ordinary human", Kiryu explained. "He is one of the great and lucky individuals chosen by our god, the Crimson Dragon, when it was sealed away ten years ago. He is a Signer."

"Wh…what does that mean?" Crow stuttered. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"It means", Kiryu continued, "that he can turn into a dragon."

The silence lasted for about three seconds.

"A…A DRAGON?" Crow gaped.

"Ah, I know it sounds kind of far-fetched, but –"

"A…are you kidding?" Crow almost hoped he was.

"No. I'm not." Kiryu set his gaze upon the floor. He seemed vaguely embarrassed. "But…it's also why we're here. If Jack hadn't been a dragon at the time, and he hadn't shielded me when we fell…. I wouldn't be alive right now."

True, it would provide a logical explanation for how they'd escaped with no fatal injuries, but Crow still wasn't sure what to think. "Then…if you aren't a Signer, what were you doing accompanying him?"

"Even the mightiest of beasts could use support", Kiryu reasoned. "Besides…you shouldn't underestimate me with a knife."

"So, now you know what happened to us and why", Jack interrupted with a firm nod. "Now, if you don't mind-",

"Oh! Wait!" Crow had just thought of something. "So, Mr. Signer, if your friend here says you can turn into a dragon…how about you prove it?"

"He can't, right now", Kiryu informed.

"Yeah? Why not?" Crow challenged.

"Because I'm wounded, you dolt", Jack answered haughtily. "I can't just transform whenever I please, you know. I need to regain my energy. And besides, even if I could right now, I wouldn't do it just for your frivolous doubt. Being a limited power, I reserve it only for dire situations."

Crow watched him warily. "…Sounds pretty fishy to me."

"It's none of our business anyway, Crow." Yusei had slipped back into his usual apathy once again. "In any case…what was it you were saying, Atlas?"

"About the two of us leaving."

"Oh, yes! About that", Kiryu instantly picked up the topic. "Would it be too much if we asked you to escort us to our village? Don't worry, we know the way there. We've gotten lost near here before."

"What?" Jack turned on Kiryu. "Why do we need their help? We can make it back fine by ourselves."

Kiryu smiled grimly. "Maybe you can", he replied, "but I can't. Not with this leg."

"What's wrong with your leg?" Jack demanded.

"Um, it's broken, just like your arm", Crow told him. "You didn't notice? What sort of a friend are you?"

Jack ignored him perfectly. "I could support you", he said to Kiryu.

But the man shook his head. "No, too inconvenient", he declined. "You'd tire out, and fast. And what if we were attacked by bandits? I'd only drag you down. No, there's safety in numbers. For the both of us", he added firmly, seeing Jack preparing to protest. He then addressed Crow. "So…how about it?"

"I...I guess", Crow said, "but I think Yusei needs a say in this, too."

"There's plenty of food at the village", Kiryu offered.

"Hell yes!" Crow yelled. "Er, I mean…." He glanced at Yusei.

Luckily, however, there was nothing to worry about. "We accept", Yusei agreed, and Crow was secretly glad that Yusei would never let his antisocial temperament override his rational nature.

"That's settled, then", Kiryu finished, obviously just as relieved as Crow, if not more. "Then, we should first all resolve to get a good rest today. We leave for the village first thing tomorrow. Is that fine with everyone?" They all concurred.

Crow rolled out the sleeping bags, Yusei flicked off the lights, and all four men were soon fast asleep.

Except Jack, who was recalling to himself how the dog meat in his soup had been patiently and carefully sliced into small pieces so as to appear less disgusting.

Author's Notes: Writing character interactions in a fanfiction is like drawing: it's ridiculously fun, but you never know whether or not you're doing it right. And Kiryu is particularly thin ice since one sees so little of him before he goes batshit insane.

Don't you love how I waited until the third chapter to voice my thoughts on this? I know you do.

Thanks in advance to reviewers. owo