Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's - 05-Dragon

by Yusei

Summary - "AU. Yusei and Jack, after years of searching, find the legendary Z-ONE, a utopia for all. However, there are other forces after the two and this paradise, ready to invade and spark an all-out war against the other world".

Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's or any of the characters.

A/N – It's probably clear, but there are going to be pairings hinted throughout this, more that will be clear in this chapter, though how they turn out will be seen in time. They've already been planned out, but I'd like to hear people's opinions on how the story, as well as the bonds between characters, is developing. Please read and review.


Hideo Izayoi paced around in an oval path, mobile phone pressed against his ear, chattering with his colleague over some private matter. His wife was seated nearby, a pale fist pressed against her rounded chest, wrinkles of worry building underneath her eyes while watching her equally-anxious husband's repetitive stroll around the room. On the other side of the opposite wall, a young Izayoi Aki peered through the narrow gap between the door and its frame, eyes shivering with anxious glimmers. The peculiar behaviour of her father disturbed her; he seemed to be anxious over a decision that the government had been in the process of debating for some time. As a senator, he held a seat in the political elite of Neo-Domino and the surrounding areas. The job only kept him from his family, and much of the time he spent with them was filled with calls from the offices; the latest matter not helping in the least.

Finally, her frustrated father pressed his thumb against the keypad, ending the call. Aki smiled, about to pull open the door, when her mother's voice interjected, drawing the senator to her side. The man dropped onto the sofa, leaning back and unleashing a heavy sigh, the woman laid her hands out onto his.

"Dear, you're pushing yourself too hard" she lamented.

Hideo smiled tiredly at his wife. "Don't worry, Setsuko. I'm fine; it's all for you anyway" he murmured softly, raising his hand, fingers brushing his wife's jawbone. "All I do is for you and Aki".

"But… could it be true?" the woman sobbed, verging on anxious tears. "Are the government really that brutal? What if Aki knew that this impending destruction could be because her father was working hard for her? She may never forgive us…"

"I'm not fond of the idea of the Reverse either" Hideo sighed. "But Director Godwin is concerned about criminal activity going on in the area".

"But how does that justify the Reverse?" Setsuko cried.

"I don't know, but Director Godwin isn't a man of destruction. Especially without cause" Hideo sighed.

Setsuko's head sank, her eyes tumbling to the floor with a guilty dampness about them; throughout Aki's childhood, she sulked and frowned, either feeling alone while her husband was dealing with political matters or distressed when one was presented that she refused to support. The Reverse was easily one.

"But… destroying Satellite…" she muttered.

Aki's smile diminished; as a child of the City's richest area, she knew little about Satellite. Destruction, however, was another matter. Was what her mother saying truth? Was her father involved in a plot to destroy Satellite? But what about the people there? The girl's eyes shuddered with fear; horrified that her father, of all people, could be dealing with such an issue, let alone actually consider it. And to blame her for it…

The girl pressed her hands either side of her temple, shaking it furiously while trying to rid the tears that filled her eyes. Her lids closed over them, teeth clenched and throat tightened to keep her distress locked away. The girl could see it in her mind's eye; columns of flames ripping through homes, people screaming and fleeing, their lives ending in the most horrific chaos. Children like her would become smouldering corpses, or left without parents, living on the streets and barely alive. The mental interpretations became too much and Aki flung herself forward without even thinking, bursting through the doors.

Hideo and Setsuko gasped while their heads snapped in the direction of their daughter, tears streaming through her defences, conceding and opening her blurred eyes.

"Papa, no!" she cried. "Please, don't do it!"

Setsuko raised a hand to her mouth, stunned in her realisation that Aki had heard the conversation; she had let slip the drastic plan, despite the fact that the two agreed they would tell the child that a natural disaster hit Satellite. The girl sobbed, pressing her small hands against her chest and inhaling quicker and deeper breaths than normal. Hideo rose from his seat, sighing heavy-heartedly; there was no hiding the truth from her any longer.

"Aki, please…" he whispered gently. "Listen, let's talk about this".

"No, because…" Aki sobbed. "Because Papa's going to become a murderer! Papa's going to destroy Satellite!"

"Aki!" Hideo pleaded, stepping towards her. This was more than an eleven-year old girl should have to handle.

The girl shrank, curling up tighter with each step towards her that the man took, his brown eyes fixed upon her small body anxiously. He didn't stop until he towered over her, slowly lowering himself to one knee and laid a hand on his back.

"There, there, Aki" he whispered tentatively. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just…"

"You're a liar, Papa" Aki protested, throwing her head up to unveil the soaked and reddened face. "You're going to hurt so many people when you destroy Satellite".

"Aki, please, listen to me" Hideo called, lowering his left hand gradually towards the cheek of his daughter's face.

"No!" Aki yelled, slapping her father's descending hand away. Hideo froze at the sudden violent temperament his child had adopted, the girl glaring at him through her tearful eyes. "I hate you!"

"Aki" Hideo snapped, grabbing her arm. "You've got to calm down now".

"No. No!" Aki protested, struggling against her father's firm grip. "Let me go. Get away from me!"

"Dear…" Setsuko whimpered.

"We have to deal with this" Hideo growled to his wife. "There's no avoiding it any longer". His head rotated back to the thrashing girl. "Aki, cease this now; you're better than this".

"I said leave me alone!" Aki yelled.

Without even thinking, Hideo made the mistake. A clapping reverberated throughout the room. The three Izayois remained still while the shock sunk in; Setsuko with her hands pressed over her mouth, Hideo remained on one knee with his hand raised in the air and Aki with her face turned from the couple, left cheek glowing from where she had been struck. Hideo's hand trembled while the man gazed in horror, eyes fixed on the throbbing blush.

Aki retreated a step, pressing her left hand against her glowing cheek, wincing at the mere touch of it. Hideo trembled, his mouth hanging open in guilty shock.

"A- Aki, I'm so sorry" he whimpered. "I never meant to-"

"Papa has changed…" the girl hissed. Her head rose to unveil her piercing auburn eyes. "Papa isn't who he acted like before; he's a violent person".

"What?" Hideo gasped breathlessly. "Aki, how could you say such things?"

"Because it's true, isn't it?" Aki growled. "You don't care about anyone but yourself. So long as you have this great house, you don't care for anyone else".

"You live here too, don't you criticise me for my lifestyle when you share it" Hideo hissed.

"I'd rather live in somewhere like Satellite and not have someone evil like you for a father" Aki hollered in retaliation. "I bet there are kids with better fathers there; I'd leave here in a heartbeat and find one better than you!"

Hideo raised his hand, about to strike the girl again. Bitter tears clung to the corners of the girl's eyes, mixed with the narrowed eyes and clenched teeth that completed a truly hateful expression. As Hideo's hand fell, the girl screamed out, causing a disaster she never meant to happen.

Flames rose up from the gap between herself and her father, an invisible force launching him back, crashing into the sofa that toppled over, and taking her mother with it. The two cried out while they suffered. Aki raised a loosely clenched fist beside her chin, the flames waving in front of her pale legs and eyes wide with terror. Her eyes were peeled from her climbing parents by a strange red glow emitting from her arm. The girl stared at the phenomenon in horror, draining her face of colour. As the light faded, a peculiar symbol in the shape of a long, narrow animal claw was left behind in its place, the chaos surrounding the three vanishing simultaneously with the glow.

With the destructive forces gone, Setsuko and Hideo picked themselves up, trembling with fear, Setsuko's hands on Hideo's shoulders, the man one knee. Aki clutched the marked arm, staggering closer towards her parents, heavy tears remained on the edge of her eyes.

"Papa… help me…" she whimpered. "What's happening?"

"Aki… st- stay back" Hideo yelped. "You called me cruel, but you're a monster!"

"Dear!" Setsuko cried. "Don't say things like that!"

Aki's world shattered around her frail body, shivering as though an earthquake struck. "I'm a… monster?"

The girl leaned forward, clutching her arm and wailing immediately, the tears streaming down her face as though they were rivers that would never run dry. Hideo stammered, trying to plead to his daughter that his choice of words was a clumsy mistake and he meant nothing of it. But she had none of it, before he could manage to speak even her name, she darted from the room, sobbing continuously into the scars that never healed.


03-Eve's Shadow

The magenta-haired woman who had experienced that day sat alone in the enormous garden in a peaceful area of Z-ONE, situated behind much o the residential sections so as not to disturb the wide array of blooming flowers. While seated on her knees, her fist clenched, recalling that day and the aftermath of it; drifting further from her parents without any chance of reconciliation. The woman pulled her teeth from her bottom lip, releasing her frustrated expression for a much calmer one. The rose garden had that effect on her; it reminded her of better times - before that day and after leaving home. The young woman sighed in and exhaled a deeper breath than normal.

"Divine…" she heaved.

A shadow stretched over the greenery, slipping over plates of grass and petals of the roses lined either side of the grassy aisle. The shadowy figure halted, its duplicate hanging over the young woman's back, the upper features overlapping her flat copy. The woman gasped at the sight of an intruder and twisted her head, jumping up skilfully, landing on her feet and facing the arrival using her reflexes alone. Her face softened when she realised she was far from danger, her auburn eyes softened upon noticing the man standing in front of her. Yusei simply offered a smile to her, grateful she had calmed down before blindly attacking.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"I'm sorry, I never meant to startle you. You just seemed a bit lonely" the boy replied. "Fudo Yusei".

"You came to keep me company? You approached a stranger for my sake?" the girl murmured anxiously. "I- I'm sorry, I never meant to accuse you of anything. My name is Izayoi Aki…"

"Izayoi?" Yusei repeated, tilting his head. "I think I heard that name when I was young. It must have been before the Reverse".

Aki gasped, setting her widened eyes on Yusei's face. "You- You're from Satellite, right?"

Yusei nodded in response, oblivious to the guilty past of the woman. She lowered her head, setting her downcast eyes on the grass between them; she had encountered people who had fled from the City following the Reverse, no longer willing to be associated with it, but… no-one from Satellite had made it from the ruins of their home. She couldn't possibly confess to Yusei where he had heard her name; there was a great chance he'd turn on her for her father's involvement in the disasters; directly voting within the committee over whether or not to go through with the immoral purge. By her side, her right arm shivered, stopping only when Yusei's hand grabbed it gently. Aki froze, casting her eyes down at his grasp and then to his face, regardless, the boy smiled at her; as though he was aware what was on her mind and silently worked at accepting her apology with blind forgiveness.

"I…" Aki whispered.

He reminded her of Divine. The same soft features that he smiled at her with.

Just as a faint blush; partially of embarrassment and partially of some other emotion, crept into Aki's cheeks, her right arm throbbed; exactly where the strange marking had appeared on her arm those years ago. She pulled back, feeling the muscles crying out and stretching themselves with a mind of their own. Simultaneously, Yusei pressed his right hand against his head, another of the sharp dagger-like piercing headaches cut into the edge of his head, stretching from the bottom of his bangs' roots across to the back of his head. Aki retreated a step, glaring with one open eye at the arm, left wondering why it was behaving strangely; it had only stung this way once before. Meanwhile, Yusei dropped to his knees, groaning quietly in a poor bid to keep the young woman from panicking further or even blaming herself.

Nevertheless, her pain quickly calmed, leaving no trace of the episode. She twisted her arm, ensuring that nothing remained out of the ordinary. Free of the strange pain, her eyes dropped to Yusei, whose left eye glared at the ground, the remained of his face screwed up in agony. Aki quickly dropped to her knees, laying her hands onto his shoulders.

"Is everything alright?" she asked quickly. "Should I get one of the bishops?"

"N- No…" Yusei grunted. "It's alright. It should subside soon".

"So… you've had this before?" the woman whispered.

"Ever since I left Satellite" Yusei mumbled. "We're not sure what causes them or why they started after we left, but it doesn't matter. I'm alright".

Aki relaxed herself, removing her hands gradually from Yusei's shoulders and dropping them onto her knees, watching him with a spark of fascination; a survivor from Satellite. Someone who had managed to crawl out from the ruins her father had left in his wake. A tear built in her eyes while she watched, imagining if Yusei had crouched in the same way back then, clutching his head, bleeding and his face soaked with cold tears while flames surrounded him. Her hands crossed over, wrapping themselves around her arms, as though she were hugging herself to deal with the guilt alone when no-one else could. Yusei's head rose slowly, catching the sight with an equal level of intrigue.

"Are you alright, Izayoi?" he asked, voice barely louder than an ordinary breath.

"Were there…" Aki whispered shakily. "Were there others that survived with you? Did you leave Satellite on your own?"

Yusei smiled; he'd seen this once before. In Rua, there was a soul tormented by guilt that belonged to someone else; a parent who had shrugged off human feeling and unintentionally dropped it onto the shoulders of their child. Aki was no different, clearly she was from the City, but he still remained in the dark regarding just how involved her lineage was.

"Yes" he answered. Aki's head rose to meet his, her eyes wide with surprise and a glimmer that he believed was an ounce of hope shining inside of her. "My friend, Jack Atlus. He's here with me".

"You made it?" Aki asked, staring at the dark-haired boy in awe. "Both of you?"

Yusei nodded. He lifted his left hand, supporting his body solely on his knees and laid it onto Aki's right shoulder. There was no explanation for the sudden bursts of pain that the two experienced at once, but that didn't matter; even if it were to happen again. The girl was exactly the same as Rua, she needed realising from her self-torment. Aki gazed into his eyes, finding the same warmth that waited in Divine's eyes every time they met.

"I'd like to know more about you" Yusei muttered. "If you'd let me. Placido told me that much of the community is likely to know almost everyone here. Jack and I were hoping we could be welcomed and be a part of that".

A light breeze swept through, ruffling their pair's hairstyles, though it was all as distant from Aki as the people she had left behind while she was staring into the face of this strange survivor, touched by his unusual concern and the hand he opened for no given reason.


Jack returned to the temple, his boots clapping against the stone flooring underneath the Five Dragons' statues, the girl identified as Carly Nagisa remained kneeling in front of the Red Demon sculpture. He had picked up on the fact that there were two doors either side of the collection; one beyond the floral tips of Black Rose's wings, the other to the edge of Life Stream. Upon each door was a mirrored symbol; what resembled the sign of omega; an incomplete blood-red circle bearing miniature features; wings sprouting from the top, claws protruding the curved belly, what may have been a head snarling towards the tail that resembled a face. In the front claw of the creature, a strange curved symbol with three circles on top. The peculiar symbol was repeated in the centre of the circular pattern in the stone slab fixed directly in the centre of the stone arch surrounding the door beside Black Rose, the tail face set in the centre on the slab next to Life Stream.

The blonde moved forward a step, curious of the two doorways apparently sealed, puzzled as to why they would have been closed if they had something to do with the dragon-like emblem. Carly remained as still as a statue herself, drawing the violet eyes of the man back to her, pacing forward. The girl remained deaf to his advance, her hands clutching on another in front of her closed eyes, rounded glasses laid out on the floor in front of her. As Jack neared, he could hear her mutterings.

"… Even my sight, I would surrender in exchange for forgiveness…" she whispered. "Each day I'm haunted by the face of that child, thinking of how many may have starved because of me… because I was so selfish as to try to keep only myself alive…"

Jack narrowed his eyes, tilting his head backwards towards the head of the towering beast, much more muscular than its comrades. Placido's voice invaded his head while keeping his eyes fixed on the creature's opened jaws.

"The Red Demon represents forgiveness and moving on, it was the one she turned to first, in order to repent for her crimes". His eyes narrowed while wondering how long she had been praying, crying over and over for the dragon to show her a sign that she had been forgiven. "But it seems she refuses to accept a simple apology, she wishes to continue to repent until she no longer recognises herself as the girl that committed those crimes".

"It's useless…" he murmured automatically.

Carly flinched and her chanting ceased immediately. Her body shivered and hands jumped forward to seize the spectacles laying in front of her, fixing them onto her face and twisting with a fearful shiver to find the blonde man towering over her; someone she had never seen before, speaking with a bitter tone and denouncing her constant prayers as pointless.

"Wh- Who are you?" she whimpered.

"Don't worry, I won't bring you any trouble" Jack murmured. "My name is Jack Atlus; I just arrived here a couple of days ago".

"You came here… seeking protection?" Carly asked timidly.

"Pretty much" Jack sighed, raising his eyes to the dragon in front of them once more. "But I won't pray for it, I'll find it myself". Carly's eyebrows rose while listening to the indirect advice the new arrival was presenting before her, Jack's, on the other hand, fell to taper his eyes and strengthen his gaze towards the dragon. "If I spend everyday praying, then I lose another day of my life to find what I'm seeking. Soon, years will pass and nothing will have been accomplished, I'll still be searching for what I could have found long ago. The only way to find protection is to seek it out; that's why Yusei and I travelled, somehow finding this place. We made it happen; not by praying, but through action".

Carly watched the blonde man in awe, aware of what he was saying and how he was using his own situation in order to link the two of them; show her how similar they were, and yet, how greatly they differed. The girl shivered, pushing her knees from the ground and gradually rising to stand at her full height, the peak of her head still a short distance below Jack's shoulders. The pale man turned to her, finding a smile imprinted on her face.

"Thank you" she whispered. "I cannot solely find what I'm seeking, but I understand what you're saying. That I've got to fight for myself. But still… these Dragons have never rejected me, I come here out of gratitude as much as I do guilt". She returned her eyes to the beast in front of them, widening her vision in order to capture aspects of the Black Rose beside the creature as well as Stardust's shimmering wing. "I will continue to come here, regardless of what you say".

"But you'll be spending your life in the shadows, asking for help that higher powers will be deaf to" Jack murmured.

Carly shook her head gently. "Not entirely, I know that they have heard me, and in a time of great need, they would hear me again" she insisted brightly. "I will work on my own, but I will not abandon the bodies of those that have done so much for me. They say that people are guided here and granted access because Zone chooses them, I want to thank Him and His Dragons in order to prove that I have reformed from the person I was".

Jack glanced at the girl in the corner of his eyes; it was as Placido had stated previously, she was continuingly trying to wash away the crimes that would be attached to her name and face, cleanse herself in order to deem herself worthy of living under Zone's divine protection. He slipped his hands into his pockets, his eyes travelled over the different textures of the dragon's stony skin.

"Then at least live while you're at it" he grunted. "Zone wouldn't have brought you here to hide away and pray forever. If he wanted that, He could have left you behind to get arrested. But that's not the case… He brought you here to have a life outside".

Carly leaned forward, watching Jack curiously, touched by his concern for someone whom he had never seen prior to the morning, aware that his friend had left him in search of what else Z-ONE had to offer. While they were separated, they continued to exist together - exactly what he was working so hard to tell her. A meek smile brightened the bottom of her face, throwing her hands around his right wrist and drawing his face down to hers.

"Then… show me" she chirped. "Show me what world outside you've learned to endure. Remind me what it's like to live".

Jack watched her with a touch of bewilderment in his face, but quickly brushing it aside, he smiled at her faintly. It was as though he were back in Satellite with Yusei, hiding in the shadows of the chaos that had torn their young lives apart and striving to remember what living was.


In the centre of the Security Headquarters, Sherry sighed, patting her hair down with her naked pale hands; her attire differed greatly from the tight outfit she was used to wearing. She pulled away and stepped into the mirror, examining her reflection; in the place of her pale outfit resembling a pilot's suit, she wore a tattered white hooded coat that hung loose around her, her fingers hanging out from the wide gaps at the ends of the sleeves and drooped over the tops of her thighs. A short black skirt ended barely any lower than the coat, long white stockings climbed up her legs, accompanied by black boots to complete the greyscale ensemble. Sagiri Mikage, the short blue-haired woman fiddling with a narrow strip of the woman's long golden locks, weaving them into a plait that would hang beside her face, the rest curled into a messy ponytail pinned against the back of her skull.

"LeBlanc-san" the blue-haired secretary to the Director muttered feebly. "Are you anxious about your journey?"

"No" Sherry replied bluntly, keeping her eyes focused on their doppelgangers. "I have a purpose behind this mission; I'll not let Director Godwin, or my parents, down".

A small frown developed on Mikage's face, her eyes falling from her model's head and to the tips of her locks laying on her pale hands.

"It must have been difficult…" she whispered guiltily. "We heard all about the French civil war… I'm sorry, I shouldn't bring that kind of thing up".

"It's alright" Sherry answered, closing her eyes firmly. "It was difficult; my parents' death effectively started that war, but… Otou-san told me that he would fulfil his role as a parent". Her eyes opened gradually, stopping halfway to watch her exposed right hand floating in front of her, no longer clenched into a fist, but open, as though offering it to someone, or waiting for her father's fingers to brush the centre of it like a fortune-teller. "He told me that a parent's duty was to protect their children, even if it cost them their life. Otou-san did all he could to protect me, and it's because of him that I'm alive now".

"But…" Mikage breathed. "Didn't you arrive on the day of the terrorist attack on the edge of the country?"

"It's because of me that that bombing happened" Sherry muttered bitterly. "There were many French refugees on that plane; myself and Mizoguchi included. People were determined to keep themselves safe and stop the French from launching an attack against Japan… but…"

There had been several explosions throughout the airport that day; people screaming and flying, corpses strewn across the wide floors and blood splatters wildly thrown against the walls. Thick black smoke lingered around the terminals, luggage thrown around and the remains of trolleys rattling. The young blonde girl who survived amongst it all remained on all fours, her emerald eyes wide with terror, blood slathered on her left cheek and her hair matted.

"…they killed people of their own country to stop us…"

Mikage paused, raising her eyes once more to Sherry's soft face, recognising the features of sorrow and regret; even years later, while wearing a stone mask, the blonde woman was haunted by the memories of the slaughtered designed to murder her.

"I never saw Mizoguchi after it started" she choked, her voice barely audible, even to Mikage whose ears were a number of inches from Sherry's shoulder. "He gave up everything to save me… maybe even his life".

"But what does this have to do with Havilah?" Mikage inquired.

"Apparently, the people suspected of killing my parents and sparking the civil war were from a group known as 'Yliaster'" Sherry replied without moving her eyes to the woman. "Godwin explained to me when we met that Yliaster is a religion worshipped in Z-ONE. Not to mention that there's evidence the assassins were people with Psychic powers".

"'Psychic powers'?" Mikage gasped.

"Yes" Sherry answered bluntly. "There was once an association named the Arcadia Movement that apparently took in people with these kinds of powers. They dispersed and fled after the Reverse began, worried that they were targeted by the bombings. I believe that Z-ONE is sheltering them… or at least some".

"So your journey is solely revenge" Mikage murmured softly, crossing over the ends of Sherry's hairs, slipping a small band over them and twisting it to secure the strands' tips.

Sherry didn't respond immediately, although her mirrored eyes shifted sharply to Mikage's blind face, the gentle woman's golden eyes remained focused on their task, a small smile grew onto her face with the completion of her minor task. She was unharmed, she had no idea of how cruel history had been, the bloodshed witnessed by innocent children. Those of Satellite, those of France. She was effectively an alien to the blonde woman's mental world; someone whose skin remained white rather stained with the stinking blood of dead relatives, friends and strangers, eyes clear of what the end of life looked like. The woman's fingers brushed down Sherry's plaited strip, her fingertips briefly testing the strength of each twist, all passing the test.

"There, you're ready" she announced with a motherly tone. "Are you leaving immediately?"

"When Godwin gives me the word" Sherry replied. "Then I can have my revenge. But… at the same time, everyone else can find peace". The additional motive froze Mikage, her large eyes blinking silently while examining the edge of the young woman's face. "I don't fight solely for revenge; I truly believe that the souls of my parents and everyone else who died as a result of Yliaster and the Psychics will remain restless until those people atone for their sins. What God commands them to slaughter innocent people, even those of their own kind?"

Mikage had no response, her nimble hands dropped in front of her white skirt and her eyes fell, disappointed with herself for being unable to continue the conversation with the scarred woman. Sherry rose from the seat placed in front of the mirror and turned away without checking the completely plait, striding towards the door. Her hand grabbed the knob with a great deal of force and ripped the door open, though she hesitated rather than storming out immediately.

"Thank you" she muttered.

Mikage flinched, shocked by the sudden gratitude and turned to the woman standing with the glassy sunlight pouring over her form, creating a shadow duplicate over the royal blue carpet.

"It looks nice" the blonde added without even glancing back at the suited woman. "You did a good job".

Mikage was almost lost in awe while Sherry departed, grateful for the compliment. She pressed a limp fist against her chest and smiled gently, touched by the stern woman's pause just to pass on the message. Perhaps she hadn't experienced loss or disaster, but she was alive in this world nonetheless; there was no guarantee that she wouldn't suffer sooner or later. It was a danger that came with living; to be hurt, to suffer. Death would only pass those onto people acquainted with the departed. There was a never-ending cycle of risk, suffering and departing that could never break. Despite these thoughts, Mikage continued to smile at the empty doorway.

"You're welcome" she whispered warmly.


Rua grunted while pushing the wheelchair in front of him. Between the straight metal arms, Ruka was seated, clutching a brown furry creature with large emerald eyes and a pink bow wrapped around its scaly tail. The girl remained dressed in her usual attire, taking in all the sights of the district she called home. Although she could walk perfectly, her body often failed her and rendered her too weak to use the tiny legs supporting her, leaving Rua to escort her around the area, though he never complained. The boy did everything his sister ever needed. The two neared the fountain situated in the centre of Z-ONE, the sparkling water revived a childish light in Ruka's eyes and refigured her lips into a small open smile.

"Rua, I'd like to go there" she spoke, pointing towards the watery monument.

"Alright" the brother answered with a bright smile.

Even if he had to transport her, having Ruka outside was enough for him. Her illness hindered them from venturing out much while living in the City, keeping them locked inside for the girl's sake, much to the common frustration of the boy. But once he realised how much she meant to him, he could no longer bear a grudge against her and worked solely in order to help her in any way she needed and care for her until she could be stronger. The wheels of Ruka's mobile seat creaked to a halt beside the concrete fountain, permitting Rua to leave his post and transfer to his sister's side, but before he could accomplish that, she picked herself up and staggered to the edge of the curved structure and seated herself on the edge, leaning back to find her reflection smiling up at her through the clear waters.

Rua joined her immediately, dragging the wheelchair around to stand by his legs hanging over the edge. Just seeing Ruka smile was enough to convince him that everything was worth it, remind himself why they left the City and that there was hope for her growing strong enough to become independent one day.

"Rua, its pretty, isn't it?" Ruka whispered.

Rua twisted his neck, peering down at his calm reflection with a gentle smile of his own, the water sparkled under the warm sunlight, like stars were winking up at them from the depths of the waters running throughout the underground of Z-ONE. Like the neon lights of the City's night streets, the best view coming from their home.

"Yeah" he replied discreetly. "Natural things like this are always beautiful".

Ruka lifted her eyes, beaming towards her brother in the corner of his vision, blind to her averted attention while watching the glimmering waves. Beyond his shoulders, the girl recognised Lucciano heading towards them, his hood vanished and long chestnut locks in a large plait exposed. The green-eyes boy smiled towards the female twin and continued his march towards them.

"You're doing well, judging by the looks of things, Ruka" he stated.

Rua peeled his eyes from his reflection to find the boy bishop standing beside him, his sole exposed eye fixed on the girl on the other side. Ruka's shoulders shuddered while she giggled discreetly.

"Thank you" she replied. "How are you doing at the church? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I appreciate your concern, but I'm alright, Ruka" Lucciano answered with a grin. "You holding up alright, Rua?"

Rua twisted his upper half, a vaguely surprised look across his face while catching up to comprehend the fact that the young bishop had addressed him. The two were never on bad terms, but the white-clad boy generally focused much more on Ruka, largely due to her mysterious power. As soon as he learned of it, Lucciano became much more interested in the girl, delivering news of her ability to his colleagues, who also monitored her; they claimed it was something that Zone had granted her - a gift that He had trusted within her frail body. The boy tucked his head between his shoulders, somewhat embarrassed by being caught off-guard.

"Y- Yeah" he muttered. "Ruka and I are both doing well".

"Glad to hear it" Lucciano answered with a bright smile. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard".

"I don't; I only push until I reach my limit" Rua mumbled. "I'll do whatever it takes to help Ruka, but I can't go beyond that. I couldn't risk doing something that would put me in harm's way… I don't want her to be left alone".

"Rua…" the sister breathed uncomfortably. "That sounds like-"

"If I were to be admitted to the hospital wing and Ruka was left home alone, then there's no telling what could happen" the brother continued, ignoring his sister's concerns. "I'm not saying she's irresponsible, quite the opposite. It's just… I can't risk her falling ill just because I'm not there to take care of her".

Ruka's eyelids dropped gradually, pausing halfway over her eyes while observing her brother with a guilty expression; he essentially put his life on-hold everyday so that he could pray for her and be there with her should something go wrong. Usually, kids would rather be apart from one another and play with their individual friends, arguing and spitting how they couldn't wait until they moved into separate homes. Rua, however, wasn't like that - he had dedicated the beginning portion of his life to her, rarely snapping out of secret fear that his enraged state could be the last memory she would ever retain of him. The boy's fists clenched tighter over his knees and his eyes sank into the crystal water behind the trio, unable to maintain eye contact with the brunette bishop boy.

"Don't forget" Lucciano added. "I'm here if you need anything; I understand how desperate you are, but you have to have a life of your own".

Rua discreetly bit his lower lip, tightening his throat in order to avoid a response; he was aware of what Lucciano was saying, he didn't plan on attacking it, nor the boy himself; it just hurt to hear that he should distance himself from his frail sister at times, even for brief periods. Privately, he was aware that his mindset had been turned to the darkest mode he was aware of; constantly fearing that his sister could fall ill and perish with ease. It haunted his days and haunted his nights, yet he never confided; he never wanted to confess that there could be a day where she wasn't there for him to care for. Without her, he had no purpose. Lucciano, oblivious to the teal-haired boy's self-torture returned his eyes to the girl seated beyond him.

"Ruka, have you experienced any of those visions you mentioned before?"

Ruka rubbed the lower end of her right arm anxiously, also taking her eyes from the brunette. "Well… there was one earlier. But it was brief, Rua arrived home and I snapped out of it quickly".

"Did you find any answers through it?" Lucciano inquired.

"No. There was nothing" Ruka breathed. "The truth is… I was just waiting in a forest, I didn't get very far before I came back. It puzzled me, but I suppose there wasn't supposed to be a meaning to this one".

"I'm not so sure; every vision you've described before sounds as though it has a meaning. Maybe this one does too" Lucciano replied, cupping his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe it ended too quickly without giving a complete message… or perhaps this one is just vague or clearly hidden. It could take some investigating into understanding what it was trying to tell you".

From the direction the twins had come from, now behind the backs of their heads, Yusei and Aki arrived onto the plaza. The dark-haired man paused as his eyes fell upon the trio at the fountain, remembering Lucciano as one of the bishops at the church and Rua from the Dragons' temple just a couple of hours before. Lucciano captured them in the corner of his vision, but continued to centre on Ruka, who nodded in response to his suggestions.

"I'll work hard to figure out what it could be" she answered. "Perhaps if I can experience another, I can use it to find the meaning to that one".

Lucciano smiled and closed his exposed eye briefly, lifting a hand and patting the girl on the head. Ruka's eyes sank to the concrete ring that she and her brother sat on, blushing lightly at the gently touch of the bishop who looked only slightly older than her brother and herself. While her vision was clouded by the structure underneath them, Lucciano opened his eye again, setting it on Yusei and Aki, who slowly approached the three, smiling peacefully to match the setting around them.

"Is everything alright, Rua?" Yusei asked, centring on the teal-haired boy whose face was tilted downwards towards the sparkling water.

Rua's head snapped upwards, recognising the voice straight away and twisting himself around in order to find Yusei standing nearby, close to Ruka, with Aki a step or two behind him. The boy's dim golden eyes lit up and he leaned towards the pair, smiling happily at the return of the dark-haired man.

"Yusei" he cried joyfully.

Ruka and Lucciano followed the path of the brother's eyes, locking onto Yusei standing beside the curved edge of the fountain, Aki just behind him with a combination of peace and shyness about her. Rua scrambled to his sister's side, his fists just beside her legs, beaming up at the young man. Ruka averted her eyes from the latest arrivals and back to her companions.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"This is Yusei" Rua answered, opening his palm towards the dark-haired adolescent. "He's new in Z-ONE".

Ruka twisted her neck to return to the man. "You came just recently?"

Yusei nodded simply in response, keeping his lips against one another in order to allow Rua to tell the story. Lucciano grinned cheekily and leaned towards the two children, his braided hair slipping over his shoulder.

"We were looking after him before, that's why you never saw him until now" he added.

"Was something wrong?" Ruka asked timidly.

"He was just a little unwell from wandering around in the desert" Lucciano answered.

Ruka offered a small smile towards Yusei. "I'm glad you're alright now" she chirped.

"Thank you" Yusei replied with a gentle smile in return.

"Yusei's cool" Rua added. "When I was praying to the Dragons, he said that he'd pray too. Even though he didn't know who we were, he would pray for you to feel stronger with each day that passes, just like me, Ruka".

"Is that so?" Ruka muttered, a faint blush creeping to the surface of her cheeks. "Th- Thank you…"

Rua smirked at Yusei, realising that he had just indirectly introduced the two to one another, passing their names and opening up the path to a bond forming between the two. Yusei slowly dropped to one knee, putting himself level with Ruka and opened up his gloved right hand, the girl fixed her eyes on it for a moment, then raising them to the young man's face.

"It's nice to meet you, Ruka" he said brightly.

Ruka opened her hand gradually, inching closer to the opened offer in front of her. As her hand crossed over his and inches of air alone separated them, the girl flinched, her vision locking with his, drawn to her dimming eyes. Ruka's pupils vanished, leaving her iris solid as happened each time she experienced the visions that Lucciano had referred to. Her hand dropped onto Yusei's heavily, sending a surge of invisible power through his arm, Yusei's eyebrows lifted from the tops of his sockets and remained fixed to Ruka's, following suit in his eyes darkening. The two were locked in a secret connection, their bodies frozen while they travelled from the scene in the centre of Z-ONE.

Standing over him, Aki grabbed her right arm, feeling a strange sensation. Rua, too, visually examining his right arm briefly, curious as to the unusual tingling he felt. Lucciano's playful demeanour dropped immediately, understanding that something odd was happening in front of his eyes, something that may or may not have been linked to Aki and Rua. He scrambled to Rua's side, watching Yusei and Ruka's bland expressions.

"Oi, oi!" he snapped. "Ruka, wake up!"

"Ruka?" Rua gasped, watching Lucciano with wide eyes and then snapping his neck around towards the pair on the other side of his body. "Ruka. I- is something wrong?"

"It's not just Ruka" Lucciano added, pointing towards the man opposite the girl. "Something's happened to Yusei as well".

"What?" Rua gasped. "Do- does that mean that he has the same power as Ruka?"

Lucciano furrowed his brow in frustration; he had no answers for the boy. Aki leaned forward, dropping her hands light weights onto Yusei's shoulders and began to shake him; initially gently, though growing in ferocity as her anxiety over the two grew swiftly.

"Yusei…" she cried. "Yusei, what's going on? This isn't like what happened before. Yusei, answer me".

The foreigner made no response; he continued staring into Ruka's eyes, just as she did his.


The environment around Yusei when his eyes opened was pale; like a forest with tall trees towering over the clearing he found himself in. He picked himself gradually, feeling the gravity dragging him back towards the soft grass underneath. But his thoughts were far from the unusually heavy physics of the plain, but rather more focused on the loss of reality as soon as Ruka had touched him, leaving him in the centre of this strange place. While picking himself up onto his hands and knees, Yusei grunted, puzzled by the event, leaving him in this unknown place. Yusei shook h is head quickly, raising his eyes to find Ruka standing opposite him, seemingly unfazed by their disappearance.

"R- Ruka…"

"I thought… something was strange about the last vision" Ruka whispered.

"Last vision?" Yusei repeated with a sharp breath.

"Most people in Z-ONE don't understand what lies under my skin" Ruka replied. "But you seem to be similar; the truth is… I have come here before. This is a place in the realm of the Five Dragons; the Ancient Forest where the soul of Ancient Fairy Dragon resides".

"What?" Yusei breathed uneasily.

"Lucciano told me this power was a gift from Zone" Ruka answered, cupping her hands over her chest, presumably where her heart beat calmly. "I can travel to the dimension where the Five Dragons, and possibly Zone, exist. I am like a bridge between our world and this place".

"I don't understand… why have you come here now?" Yusei inquired. "Why am I here with you?"

"You've never experienced a vision like this before?" Ruka questioned. "I believed you have the same power as me, but it appears not…"

"A vision?" Yusei gasped. Then it came back to him; the white scene he had experienced on top of the cliff. The strange shape in the centre of the pale void with the single blue eye staring at him through cracks in the mask. He lifted his head, finding the sky a glowing white, shrouding the edges of the leaves and branches waving high above their heads in the glowing light. "That's right… there was a vision".

"Huh?" Ruka sounded, lifting her head with surprise.

"The vision of that thing…" Yusei murmured, watching his right palm. "But… it wasn't like this".

Ruka's eyes widened slightly "It can't be…"

"Ruka, why are we here?" Yusei inquired, setting his eyes firmly onto the girl. "There must be a reason, and there must be a way back".

"There is a way back" Ruka answered. "But I don't know why…"

Yusei picked himself up, pacing across the clearing towards the girl until there a short distance between them. Simultaneously, they peered towards the trees behind the girl, as though there was something behind them, hiding amongst them. Ruka's eyes widened when she realised that there was a feature she had never seen before in the forest. The base could be any distance, perhaps on the edge of the woodland, but there was a staircase, leading up into the white sky, the top obscured by the brightness, but others like the rigid ascent could be seen, leading Ruka to assume there would be five in all. One for each of the Dragons and their domains. But where did they lead?

As soon as that question floated through her mind, Ruka's eyebrows sunk against the tops of her sockets, coming up with a solution, a rough explanation. It was something she had been told was possible, although how likely was never discussed; it was an outside possibility that the staircases led to the divine plain of the Dragons' leader, the one who brought them together. Zone's world. But… there was still a great possibility that it could be another setting, somewhere on the road to finding Zone's existence. After all, Ruka was the bridge, Zone's avatar would be the only one to reach him; the fact that the staircases had appeared for the first time supported the idea that they could lead to the God's temple, at the same time, they seemed too accessible to her. She was well aware that, as the bridge, she couldn't be Zone's avatar.

Her eyes travelled to Yusei, lingering in the corner of her vision; it felt like a dream to be sharing the secret world with someone else, but here he was; standing by side underneath the unusually bright sky, surrounded by the trees she had seen while communicating with the spirits of the other world.

"Yusei…" she murmured. "When we get back to Z-ONE, I would rather you kept as much of this secret as possible".

"Why? Why do you ask something like that?" Yusei inquired.

"This place is sacred, Lucciano bonded with Rua and myself in order to learn more about this place for the sake of his friends" Ruka answered. "He uses me, but it's for the good of people. But no-one else has ever seen this place; I wonder if your coming here will invoke a similar interest from Lucciano and his friends. I don't want you to be bothered by them in the same way".

"But…" Yusei whispered, clenching his raised right hand in front of his chest. "Placido already highlighted strange things about me; the headaches I suffered after leaving Satellite, passing out in the church. I'm not normal like others, but I'm not an outcast of humanity… am I?"

"Satellite?" Ruka gasped, her eyes shimmered with horror.

"Ruka!" Rua's voice cried, piercing the glowing heavens above the two.

Ruka lifted her head in the direction of the anguished cry, then dropped her sight to Yusei with a stern expression upon her face. "We might not be here much longer, so I'll have to make this quick" she said firmly. There are only supposed to be a few people with certain powers that can guide them here; I don't know what your power is, but you've got something special inside of you. Zone is the God of Destiny, He granted us these. We don't know why, but… something is happening. The wheel of fate is beginning to turn and it's likely you and I are going to be involved in whatever is coming. Zone may come, Rua may be drawn into everything, I don't know. But something is going to happen, please… be careful, Fudo Yusei…"

Yusei's eyes widened, he was shocked by the wisdom of the young girl, the knowledge she had of events to come, matching that of Lucciano's profession as a bishop under Zone's care. The world around the two began to brighten, and it was then that Yusei realised Ruka had uttered his surname, despite the fact that Rua had only passed on his first name. The young man winced as the light grew brighter, swallowing trees and kicking up gusts of wind; Ruka, on the other hand, remained standing amidst the storm. Yusei watched her with narrow eyes for as long as possible before the storm grew too strong and he was forced to abandon sight.


Yusei's body automatically shuddered and sucked in a breath violently, alerting Aki that he had returned from the strange catatonic state that had paralysed his and Ruka's bodies. Her shaking subsided, allowing his passage back to reality to run much smoother. Ruka blinked, erasing the darkness in her eyes and examined Yusei's face in the seconds that followed, despite the excited cries of her brother. Yusei's eyes brightened gradually and, as soon as he blinked, opened up as though nothing had happened. He pulled his hand back anxiously, allowing Ruka to withdraw easily, the girl nodded discreetly in the young man's direction, then turned to Lucciano and Rua, both with their wide eyes set onto her.

"I'm sorry" she mumbled. "I didn't mean to cause trouble".

"Yusei, what was that?" Aki inquired, leaning over the boy's shoulder. "Do you do something strange every time you meet a girl?"

Yusei twisted his head, finding Aki's face not far from his own, pausing while allowing her raised voice to sink in and smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"I'm sorry" he replied simply.

"You had me worried" the magenta-haired woman sighed. "I don't socialise with many people, even in here, I'm still a bit anxious. Pulling that kind of stunt when I opened up to you isn't something that helps".

"I didn't intend to upset you, Izayoi" Yusei insisted calmly.

Aki withdrew, standing over him with her hands pressed against her hips and shaking her head as though she were dealing with children alone. Yusei smirked at her display and then turned back to the three children seated in front of him, Lucciano's single green eye locked onto him sharply while Rua leaned forward.

"What was that?" he asked. "Did Ruka take you on one of her visions?"

Yusei glanced at the sister. "I'm not entirely sure, it's kind of a blur".

Lucciano narrowed his eye, suspicious over the vague account, as though he was aware that the two had made an unofficial pact on the other side of the incident. He jumped from the concrete ring and stretched his back, folding his arms over his chest.

"Rua, Ruka, I'm heading back to the church" he announced, followed by centring his attention onto the young man bowed before them. "Yusei, you need to come by later so we can discuss where you and Jack are going to live while you're here".

"Of course" Yusei answered. He could see the disappointed glint in the bishop boy's eye, well aware that he was intending to learn what had happened between the two in detail.

Without another word, Lucciano turned on his heels and marched back towards the church, leaving Yusei, Ruka, Rua and Aki gathered at the centre of the district, the ticking crystal water behind the twins reflecting sides of them to make up for the halves of their faces it remained blind to.


Answers are hidden. Souls of good and darkness approach. There is a mystery lurking in the corners of reality. Who bears the knowledge to open the eyes of the blind? "04-Nephilim".