4. A Clean Sweep

Repairs to the roads and duel tracks continued over the next couple of weeks. Still, the date that the WRGP was to continue was finally nearing. Jaeger had resumed his post as interim director of the Public Maintenance Bureau and Yusei and Bruno redoubled their efforts to complete modifications to the D-wheels—as though it were possible to redouble such a diligent effort.

Jack watched Yusei drift back into the rhythm of work with a little disappointment, but what did he expect? Their encounter after the appearance of the Final Moment was an exception; the urgent answer to surging emotion.

But the Final Moment was still there. Yusei had things to do to get them ready. Jack was left to his practice duels, occasional D-wheel testing, and training. He preferred to do his physical training off-site and he was more than happy to do so now. That way, he didn't have to miss Yusei with him sitting just across the room. And working himself until he dropped was the best way he knew to deal with frustrations of any kind.

He supposed that Yusei dealt with it by burying himself in work. He certainly didn't seem bothered by things. Not even that looming black island in the sky.

In some ways Jack was starting to feel a little like he was beginning to settle into a period of waiting. Even the WRGP was, in its own way, something that he needed to get beyond to get where he really wanted to be. Not that the WRGP wasn't important.

After all, the world had to be saved before you could do anything in it …

Still, the tournament was dragging on, and the situation was getting more dire. He wanted to stop waiting and start fighting: win or lose, get this show on the road. Well, win, because he refused to lose. Not to them.

One of these fine afternoons found Crow walking in the door, whistling, only to find a damp sponge hurtling toward his face. He deftly plucked it out of the air and spotted the source: Jack, out of his riding jumper and in plain dark gray pants and light blue shirt, with a butcher's apron over them. "You? Cleaning? Let me call Yusei and see if I have today down in the pool."

"Nothing doing, pipsqueak. This is a surprise for Yusei. He's been so busy that things have gotten … well …" Jack shrugged. He hated a dirty house almost as much as he hated cleaning. "Want to help?"

"Anything to encourage this sort of behavior," Crow grinned. "Where are those two, anyway?"

Jack grimaced slightly at the word, two, but shrugged it off, saying, "They said something about 'combing junkyards' or something equally boring and headed out."

"Seems to me you used to love combing junkyards."

"For cards."

"Oh, pardon me, Sire."

"You're excused."

They started out scrubbing the kitchenette area together.

"I wonder how long it's going to take those two to get the D-wheels the way they want them," Jack said. "Or do you think they ever will get them the way they want them? Do you think that if they finish this upgrade, Yusei'll just come up with a new idea and start a new project before the WRGP starts again?"

"I think we'll be OK. Yusei will make sure they're ready when the WRGP starts."

"I just don't want him to overdo it."

"You and me both."

Jack wanted to mention that he was glad Yusei wasn't taking on repair work, but thought better of it. No need to give Crow an excuse to needle him about the money Jack wasn't bringing in.

"Jack," Crow said with a hint of hesitation, "I'm kind of impressed by the way you've accepted Bruno. I mean, the way he came in and all, I wondered if you could."

Jack looked at Crow. Why did he bring this up now, of all times? It was frustrating that Bruno was able to spend so much time with Yusei when he was so busy, but what could Jack do about it? There was no way he was going to become a computer or mechanical genius. At best, he was competent as a mechanic, and he'd never do anything much with computers. It's not like he could help Yusei.

"Jack?" asked Crow, obviously expecting an answer instead of an extended stare.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I sort of have accepted him, but …" he grimaced, "provisionally."

Bruno seemed nice enough. He was so friendly, and smart, and he was so damn helpful … but no matter how Jack tried to put them out of his mind—he certainly didn't have any reason to harbor them—he couldn't quite let go of his last lingering suspicions about him. Late at night, Jack still wondered how it could be that nothing—nothing!—had turned up about someone so apparently remarkable as him. Sure, amnesiac mechanical/computer geniuses just fall out of the sky serendipitously when you need them. Uh huh. Tell me another one.

"Still?"

"I'm not getting into it," he grumbled. How could he say anything?

He couldn't just tell Yusei that—or anyone else, for that matter. Now he'd just sound jealous. And, what's worse, he felt jealous … not of Bruno per se—after all, who would any sane person want, given the choice? Bruno? Or Jack Atlas? Come on!—no, he was jealous, ridiculously jealous, of the time that Bruno took away. Time that Yusei could have spent with Jack. That, and the fact that Bruno could speak Yusei's language: tech-speak. Bruno could satisfy an aspect of Yusei that Jack could never touch, and that annoyed him.

"Hey," he said, wanting to push the offending thoughts out of his mind, "let's talk about something else. How about the upcoming competition?"

The conversation turned to cards and competition, quickly lightening the load on Jack's mind. Between the two of them, the entire living space was spick and span in no time and even the garage area was tidied. A pleasant banter continued between the two all the while.

At last, the pair tossed themselves onto the couch. "You want to watch a video?" asked Crow. "I'm done with deliveries for the day."

He wants to hang out with me?

"OK," Jack said, watching Crow amble over to the bookshelf where a pile of DVDs awaited.

"What do you want to see? Action? Horror? Not a love story, I know how you hate that."

"Uh, whatever you want." Jack frowned a little, thinking about what Yusei had told him.

Crow fished something out and said, "This is perfect. Fantasy. I think you'll like it too." He put in a disk, then sat by Jack.

But before Crow located the remote, Jack spoke up. "Crow, Yusei said … Do you …" what, love me? Ridiculous. He couldn't ask that. "Forget it."

"No, what?"

Jack ransacked his brain for a subject that would fit into the conversation. There were plenty suitably embarrassing to broach, so he said, "Crow, when—when we were in Satellite, we hardly ever argued. Now it seems like we do nothing but. What is your issue with me, anyway?"

Crow looked into Jack's face as though that were the last question he'd expected Jack to ask. "C'mon, Jack," he said, "we were actually talking for once. Enjoying each other's company like old times. Why ruin things?"

"No, I really want to know."

Crow sighed and leaned back.

"Where would I begin?" Crow asked. "Setting aside the whole kidnapping, card-stealing, bailing-Satellite thing, you can't hold down a decent job and bring in money, you spend money you don't have, and you're not a team player. We're a team, Jack. You should be doing whatever it takes to help the team win, and you're not."

Jack stood, feeling himself becoming defensive and angry, but held on to what Yusei had said—what he had learned in Nazca—with everything he had. If he let himself respond the way Crow expected, Crow would skate free. Jack suddenly realized that this was a lot like dueling. Crow expected him to fight back, to try to overpower him. If he did, he'd just play into Crow's hands—he'd flip Jack onto his butt without breaking a sweat. But if Yusei was right, Jack should have every advantage. Didn't he have a new way of fighting? Instead of going straight to the offensive, he should try something different and unexpected. He took a deep breath.

"Crow, you don't understand. If I compromise in any aspect of my life—employment, for example—my dueling will suffer. I can't afford to put in less than my full effort into anything. If I'm doing anything to less than the best of my ability, then why am I there?"

Crow looked surprised. Obviously he was expecting Jack start yelling.

"But employers don't want you to spend the time and effort to perfect something! They want the job done! Efficiently."

"Which is why they fire me. I'm willing to accept the consequences. If they don't want me, they can hire someone else."

"Jack—!"

"If I compromise there, everything starts to erode, and I might as well quit dueling altogether because I'll be useless. Trust me. It's more important that I be fit for 5D's right now than I hold down a job. It's not just the WRGP now."

"I don't see how they're connected, Jack," Crow said, shaking his head.

"You think that you're a different person when you're doing different things?"

"Well, no …"

Jack shrugged as though his point were proven.

Crow rolled his eyes. There seemed to be no reasoning with him. "And the spending?"

"What, coffee and a suit? Are you going to complain about ramen now? I suppose I should have forgotten about the suit, but I wanted to make a good impression for 5D's at the gala."

Crow choked back his opinion of Jack's idea of a good impression and said, "We're talking about areas in which you could economize, Jack!" But Jack did have a point. "It's more than just that, and-and we can buy our own coffee when you're buying the most expensive variety at the cafe."

Jack sighed. Coffee was really the one luxury that he was loath to forgo. He'd never experienced it until he left Satellite and found it, from ritual to lingering experience, to be addictive and the one symbol and reminder of a higher station that he couldn't seem to give up. And the better the coffee—better brands were almost impossible to find except at cafes and high-priced specialty shops. This was not something Crow would understand. "I suppose …" he conceded. "But … I think I have improved on teamwork. Haven't I started using Trust Guardian? Granted, after seeing Team Unicorn in action, we all have—"

"Jack, yeah, you're a little better, but … let's face it. You're always going to want to take everyone on by yourself. I don't know whether it's because you want to hog the spotlight or because you want to protect us, but you'll always forget that you should be thinking about the guys following you. You can't carry the whole load on your shoulders, Atlas!"

"So you really see me as a screw-up? A …" the word stuck in his throat, but he managed to cough it out, "has-been?"

"Jack …" Clearly Crow was uncomfortable with this subject. Well, good, thought Jack, that makes two of us. Why should I have all the fun? "Uh, I wouldn't put it like that … it's …"

"OK, what is it like?" Jack demanded, fists on hips. No doubt Crow felt a little intimidated by this stance, but Jack hardly cared.

"Well, you've … you've had difficulties lately …" Crow began.

"And I've taken steps to address them." What was Nazca all about if not that?

"You … you used to be unbeatable, Jack."

In Satellite. It seemed like a million years ago. Jack didn't bother replying to this.

Crow took the opportunity to hastily add, "Although it's been a long time since I've beaten you."

"You've never beaten me, Crow."

It looked like Crow was about to say something, but decided not to. Jack wondered if he caught something in Crow's eyes. Was it …? Did he …?

Jack laughed. "You're … you're pissed at me because I let Yusei beat me, aren't you? He broke my feet of clay and knocked me off my pedestal, and you just can't forgive me for it."

"That's not it at all!" Crow shouted, but Jack couldn't help but notice the hint of fear in his eyes. It was almost exactly the same as the look in a duelist's eyes when he realized that he was going to lose. A duelist could have everything going in his favor and still get that look in his eyes … and when he did, Jack just knew. There was no way. And he moved in for the kill. Jack could spot it at fifty meters, let alone the short distance that stood between the two of them.

Jack reached out to pin him down, but Crow was faster, squirming away from under his grasp.

"You … you really …" he began, but Crow pushed past him.

"That's not it," he insisted. "I have to get ready, Jack," he muttered. "I have deliveries to make."

"But didn't you say—"

… you were done for the day?

"No. I—I have another shift coming up. I forgot." He scrambled around the couch and sprinted for the door.

"Hunh."

Author's Notes:

To those of you in the US, Happy Thanksgiving, guys! I know I'm a little early, but I bet you'll be busy tomorrow. And to those of you outside the US, I hope that you have many things to be thankful for.

I'd originally hoped to get this out about a week after the last, but things have been grueling at work and generally difficult, so I've put it off until I had a couple of days off over the holidays. Whew! Thanks for being patient ... I hope it's worth it! Maybe I'll get really enthusiastic and post another chapter over the break. (I can be encouraged ... ;) )

If you read my last chapter right away, you might have missed my thanks to my reviewers, which I realized I forgot to add and had to put in later on. As we all know, I'm a sucker for the support of my readers! So please feel free to let me know what you think! Speaking of, I'd hoped to see some feedback about the last chapter, particularly since it was built around canon events ... I wanted to see how I did! Oh well!

On a semi-related note, if you happen to read an old story (by anyone, not necessarily me) that you really like, do review and let them know! I received a couple of reviews for a story that I finished several months back and I can't express how encouraging that is! :) It really makes me want to get back to my stories and get them going.

It's almost a year now that I joined and started posting stories! Wow, hard to believe. I was thinking of posting a one-off for the occasion, but it doesn't look like I have a good idea for that, so I'll have to satisfy myself with posting a chapter here. Oh well.

Yeah, well, that's a lot of journal-type notes, guess I have a lot on my mind. Sorry about that. A couple about the story:

Let me ... see if I have today down in the pool: In case it isn't clear, Crow is insinuating that he and Yusei are part of a betting pool on what day Jack would initiate cleaning.

what he had learned in Nazca: Jack's new way of fighting is discussed in greater detail in Satisfaction.

Preview of chapter 5:

Aki stopped him, laying her hand on his shoulder. "What's his problem?" she asked.

"I think that was my fault. I need to learn to let some things go."

"You? Come on, Yusei. Jack's the unreasonable one. We all know that."

Yusei catches up with 5D's after helping team Taiyou.