IV. Eagle's Flight
Rua was attempting to make tea. It should've been easy; he'd done it a hundred times at home, because Ruka liked tea when she wasn't feeling well. Really, it shouldn't be a problem. Yusei and Jack and Crow had an electric kettle and they didn't even use tea leaves, only teabags. So why couldn't he even manage to pour water into the cups?
"Are you okay?" Aki asked. She stood in the kitchen doorway, watching him struggle with the kettle. One cup filled. Seven to go.
"Of course I'm okay!" He grinned at her, just as he had to put the kettle down. "Why shouldn't I be okay?"
"You're trembling," Aki pointed out. She stepped into the kitchen and took the kettle from him. Rua wanted to protest, but she was right, so he watched as she filled the remaining cups with jerky movements. She wasn't okay either. That probably made all of them.
"I just can't believe it," he said softly. "I mean, it's Bruno! It just doesn't make sense."
Less than an hour ago, Ruka had picked up the phone. Rua had assumed Yusei was just calling to make sure they were okay after that earthquake, but the longer Yusei'd talked, the graver Ruka's face had become, until finally she'd hung up with a quick, "We'll be right there." She'd told him they had to go to the garage, and that Bruno had his memories back, and that things weren't good. She'd tried to explain on the way over, but she was just as confused as Rua himself, so all he'd understood was that Bruno had somehow regained his memories, and somehow knew Paradox, and somehow came from the future.
It really didn't make sense. Bruno, of all people.
"I know," Aki said. She picked up three of the cups and carried them out of the kitchen. Rua followed with three more. The situation in the living room hadn't changed since he'd left it to make tea. Bruno, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. Yusei and Paradox, both looking at him. And Jack, Crow and Ruka, all avoiding each other's eyes. Aki put down the cups in the middle of the table and went back to the kitchen to get the remaining ones, while Rua sat down next to Ruka. She gave him a sad look. He tried to smile in return.
"What happened?" Yusei asked finally, after Aki had sat down on Rua's other side. Bruno opened his eyes but didn't look at any of them.
"You already heard most of it from Paradox," he began, voice quiet. "That's all true. He wasn't lying."
He took a step towards the table and grabbed one of the cups, then drank deeply even though the tea still had to be scalding. When he put it down, he seemed to have come to a decision. His eyes looked sharper than they had before, and now, for the first time, he actually looked at them.
"I was nineteen. I actually got lucky, because I wasn't in Neo Domino when the Momentum Reactor went out of control. I'd just finished a tournament in Tokyo when the news of Neo Domino's destruction came, so I got a very brief headstart before the Machine Emperors arrived. It wasn't enough for most people, but I managed to get away on my D-Wheel."
"Tournament?" Jack asked, "You dueled?"
"I'd gone pro the previous season, yeah," Bruno said with a brief smile. "Does that surprise you?"
Yes, yes it did. One look at Jack's face told Rua that he was thinking the same.
"You can't have been very good anyway," Jack decided.
"I placed first that year," Bruno replied, almost smug.
"He was pretty famous," Paradox said. Bruno snorted.
"As if you'd know. You had no idea what went on in the circuit," he said without any heat. It sounded like an inside joke. Rua chanced a glance at Yusei, who didn't look happy at all.
"What happened after that?" Ruka asked softly. Bruno sobered up again.
"I got away. My D-Wheel didn't last very long. It ended up getting blown up in an attack, so after that I hid wherever I could and only came out when the Machine Emperors were gone. In the end I made it to what was left of Neo Domino. I almost ended up dying there anyway."
There he hesitated and looked from Yusei to Paradox. Paradox shook his head so quickly that Rua wondered if he'd imagined it. No one else seemed to have noticed.
"I got saved, and eventually I met up with some other survivors. That's when I met Paradox. We were in the same building when it got attacked by the Machine Emperors."
"That's why you panicked during that earthquake," Crow said. Bruno nodded.
"The people who survived had to adapt quickly if they wanted to stay alive. We noticed pretty early on that being in a building under attack was pretty similar to being in a building during an earthquake, so we made a set of guidelines adapted from the earthquake safety protocols. If you could find a secure place to hide, you hid and waited until the attack was over, but most of the time we had to run. Staying still just made you a sitting duck.
"The basement was the safest place in a building. The first Machine Emperors were too big to make their way underground. Underground facilities were very popular during those days."
He sipped his tea again. "That's my side of the story. The rest you already know from Paradox. There were quite a few survivors at first, but in the end, we started dying from disease and finally old age, until there were only a few of us left. We had no chance of repopulating the planet again, so that's when we started to experiment with time travel. I won't bore you with the details—"
Yusei looked disappointed.
"—but suffice to say that it took a very long time. By the time we'd perfected it, we were already too old to undertake the journey ourselves."
"So you're like Paradox?" Jack asked.
"A copy of the original Antinomy? Yeah."
"And Yliaster is the same."
More hesitation. "In a sense, yes."
"How did you lose your memory, then?" Aki asked. "Did that happen because you traveled through time?"
"Time travel doesn't wipe memories," Paradox said.
"I was fine when I came here. I just… I ended up in an accident. When I washed up on that beach, I'd forgotten almost everything."
"So that was real," Jack said. Yusei hissed, "Jack!" but Bruno didn't look offended.
"I'd be wary too. But yeah, that was real. Until today I remembered nothing at all."
"If it was an accident," Ruka said hesitantly, "what were you supposed to do here?"
Rua's eyes widened. He hadn't thought of that. Paradox had been killing people, but Bruno couldn't have been planning the same, right?
Bruno looked at Yusei just a second too long before answering. "I was supposed to find people who could help and teach them ways to do so, but I never got very far. I lost my memory not long after I'd arrived here."
He sighed and finished his tea. "Well, that's my story. I suppose you guys want to discuss this among yourselves, so me and Paradox will be in the other room."
"Bruno, wait!" Yusei said, but he didn't come up with a follow-up question. Bruno gave him a few seconds before leaving the room, Paradox in tow. Yusei slumped in his chair.
"Well. I can safely say I didn't see that coming," Crow said after a minute of drawn-out silence. "So what do you guys think? Is he telling the truth?"
"He wouldn't lie," Yusei said, but Crow shook his head.
"He isn't the Bruno we know anymore. Not that I don't want to trust him, but I'm not sure if it's wise to do so."
"He's right, Yusei," said Aki. "We need to be careful."
"All right, but we're still helping him anyway," Yusei agreed reluctantly. "This doesn't change that he's still our friend."
Aki nodded. "Of course. For what it's worth, I don't think he's lying."
"I can't believe he was a pro duelist," Jack said. Crow made a thoughtful noise.
"He's not bad at dueling,"
"Not pro level."
"Guys, focus," Yusei said. Rua hesitated. He wanted to trust Bruno, really wanted to, but had he really been telling the whole truth? All those moments of hesitation, had he just imagined them?
"I don't think he's lying," he said softly, and everyone turned to look at him, "but I'm not sure if he's telling us everything."
"What do you mean?" Yusei asked, a bit sharper than he'd probably intended. Rua flinched.
"I dunno, it's just… There were moments where it looked like he was hiding things from us."
He was saved by Ruka, who nodded firmly. "Rua's right. I noticed it too."
That gave them all food for thought. "It's possible," Crow admitted.
"It doesn't change my decision. Bruno's still our friend so we should still help him. I don't believe he'd try to hurt us anyway."
Yusei was right, Rua decided. Bruno would never want to hurt him. So what if he'd kept some things secret? He'd only just gotten back his memories, so he was probably still very confused. Maybe Rua would've done the same in his place. Bruno was a good friend and Rua would always help his friends.
"What about Security?" said Jack. "Do we tell them?"
Yusei looked thoughtful. "It's up to Bruno of course, but I'd rather we don't. They're going to want to know exactly who he is and that could get us in serious trouble."
"Yeah, I don't want to explain Paradox to them," Crow said with a laugh. They all nodded. That would be more than a little awkward.
"So all agreed on helping him?" Yusei asked.
Their 'yes' was unanimous.
oOoOo
"A problem has come up," José announced.
Plácido ignored him. José had new 'problems' every week and most of the time they ended up being completely trivial and solved by a quick trip through time. Two weeks ago it had been Paradox, and that had been resolved by them doing absolutely nothing.
"Z-one has contacted me. Antinomy has regained his memories."
Plácido sighed and decided he might as well make the effort to look up. "Antinomy? So what?"
"He can no longer get close to Fudou Yusei in his current position, that's what," José said. That nonsense again. Before Paradox had arrived, Z-one hadn't even bothered to tell him that Antinomy was living with Fudou Yusei in the first place.
"Yeah?" said Plácido. "What's it got to do with us? Let him do something productive, kill Yusei in his sleep. That way we don't have to spend time getting rid of him."
José glared. "You know very well that Fudou Yusei must stay alive for now. Where's Lucciano?"
"How should I know? Probably poking bugs with sticks."
"Why do I even bother," José muttered. "There's been a change of plans. We will participate in the World Riding Grand Prix."
That actually got Plácido's attention. "Right now? We finally get to do something?"
"Correct." José pulled up the list with all the teams that had registered. "Team 5D's has to stay. Everyone else is replaceable, so you can go ahead and erase one. Try not to actually kill anyone this time."
Plácido shrugged. Killjoy. He studied the list, starting at the bottom and moving up, past T, past S, and onto R. That one ought to do.
"I'll just compel them not to register for the tournament. They're some foreign team anyway, shouldn't be much of a problem." Maybe they'd suddenly find out they didn't have the budget to travel to Japan and no sponsors willing to fund them. No random deaths at all. José could be happy.
"I'll do that tomorrow. So the three of us just participate? Is the kid even allowed to duel?"
"You should know full well that rules are no issue. If he isn't, he will be soon enough."
Plácido supposed he should be grateful to Antinomy. It had been far too long since he'd got to do something fun. Maybe this tournament wouldn't actually be excruciatingly boring.
"Well then, to Team— What do you want to call it anyway?"
"New World."
Plácido made a face. Could be worse.
"To Team New World."
oOoOo
"Bruno? Are you awake?"
Now he was. He yawned and looked up to find Yusei leaning over him. If Yusei was here and talking to him, that meant that Paradox was still fast asleep. He himself had only just dozed off an hour ago, the adrenaline and the rush of memories keeping him awake until long after midnight.
"What's wrong?"
"Can we talk?"
"Sure." He swung his legs off the sofa and patted the free space next to him, but Yusei shook his head.
"Not here, I—" He glanced back to where Paradox was sleeping. "Can we talk in private?"
"Of course."
Yusei led him outside and locked the door behind him. How strange that they'd trust him, but not Paradox. They were essentially the same anyway.
They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the way spring was slowly warming the nights. It was still chilly, and he was very glad that he'd brought his jacket, but the night air served to wake him up. Clear his thoughts. He could do with that.
There was barely any traffic this early in the morning. Neo Domino had reached the point where the night owls had gone to bed and the morning people hadn't yet woken up. It was a peace that wouldn't last for long and he was determined to make the most of it.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked Yusei. Yusei shrugged and stepped closer to him so they were walking side by side.
"Dunno. I think there's a park nearby."
That was how they ended up sitting on a bench in one of the small parks scattered around the city. Yusei was picking up small rocks and tossing them into the nearby pond. A duck quacked indignantly as one of the rocks splashed down next to it, and Yusei laughed. When the duck had swum off, still looking affronted, he leaned back and turned his head.
"So your name is Antinomy?"
"I've been using it for a long time," he said. Was his name really Antinomy, though? It wasn't really Bruno either. So where did that leave him?
"I just wanted to say that this changes nothing. We're still friends, okay?" Yusei said softly. Oh, he very much wanted to believe it, but a comforting lie was still a lie.
"You don't need to lie, Yusei. I know this changes things. If you don't trust me anymore, I won't blame you for it."
"But I do trust you!" Yusei looked at him, blue eyes wide and sincere, and he couldn't help but believe him, just a little. "Okay, you're right, things have changed. But that hasn't!"
"Thank you."
Yusei nudged him. "How do you feel?"
"Honestly? Weird. It hasn't quite sunk in yet. For so long…" He sighed and rested his elbows on his knees. Yusei put a hand on his back. "For so long I wondered if there was anyone out there who was looking for me. Knowing that there's no one… I don't know if that's better or worse."
"You have us," Yusei said.
"Yeah. And it's good to have Paradox back," he said. Yusei's hand disappeared abruptly.
"Paradox?"
He wondered if he'd imagined the edge to Yusei's voice. "Paradox has been my best friend since, well, since I was the age I'm now. It's weird to have forgotten him."
"That would be weird," Yusei agreed reluctantly. "Like forgetting Jack and Crow."
"I doubt you could forget them," he said, grinning against all odds. Yusei laughed.
"Yeah, I doubt that."
They sat in silence for several minutes, listening as the city slowly started coming to life. A few early-morning joggers passed them by, barely paying them any attention. He thought he saw one do a double-take upon seeing Yusei, but whether it was because of the criminal marker or because the jogger recognized Yusei from the Fortune Cup, he didn't know.
"What was Antinomy like?"
"The first one?" He shrugged. "Like me. Or well, technically I'm like him. There's no real difference. Different body, same memories."
He looked at Yusei, who was studying him carefully. "You're having a hard time believing that, aren't you?"
"I don't really get it," Yusei admitted.
"I have all his memories, and my personality is essentially the same. I just have the mindset of someone who's twenty, that's all."
"Doesn't that make you different?" Yusei insisted. "Different experiences, different mindset."
He felt himself growing a bit annoyed. Yeah, of course Yusei wouldn't understand that bit. He probably shouldn't even have bothered explaining.
"My individuality isn't exactly important, Yusei."
"It is to—"
"Don't say it!" He shook his head. "Just don't say it."
"Bruno…"
The hand on his back returned, this time rubbing in small circles. He almost choked on the memories.
"What was real for Antinomy is real for me too. The emotions, the memories… It's all part of me."
He remembered running, remembered having to give up Delta Eagle to escape himself. Remembered returning to Tokyo, finding what was left of his house. He tried not to remember finding his parents' pictures, or his sister's school books, partially burnt but still legible. He tried not to remember how he'd thrown them far away from him, how much he'd regretted it later on.
The harder he tried not to, the more vivid the images became.
Yusei's arm tightened around his shoulders, and he leaned into the touch, trying to hold back his tears. He wasn't going to cry now. It was so long ago. If he let himself get lost in his own memories, he'd never be able to save them.
"We'll change it, I promise. No matter what, we'll find a way to change it."
He swallowed. They would. But would Yusei really be able to go to the lengths they'd gone? Would he even understand why they had to? If his reaction to Paradox was any indication, he wouldn't, and that scared him. Would they be able to work together if Yusei couldn't understand them? Then wouldn't it be better if he just worked alone, away from Team 5D's? Should he still teach Yusei Accel Synchro, or should he try another way? Should he even tell Yusei that they'd dueled before? The longer he waited, the angrier Yusei would be when he found out, but he couldn't bring himself to tell him yet. He needed the peace of this moment. He'd lost too many people already. For now, he didn't want to lose Yusei too.
He sat back up and let his head fall against Yusei's shoulder. He was so tired already, and he hadn't even started yet.
"It'll be okay," Yusei whispered, tightening his grip.
He nodded against Yusei's shoulder. Somehow, no matter what the cost, he'd make it all okay again. He could only hope the cost wouldn't be too heavy for him, but if it was…
Well, that wouldn't matter anyway, would it?
oOoOo
"You were gone when I woke up this morning."
Antinomy nodded. "Yeah, Yusei wanted to talk to me, so we went for a walk."
Paradox frowned and checked the room, but they were alone. The team had gone off to do some last-minute check-ups before the start of the WRGP, and Antinomy had once again declined going along. Apparently they trusted him enough to not attack Antinomy, and Antinomy enough to not let him run off.
"What did he want?"
"We just talked. He wanted to know how I was doing." Antinomy fished his deck out of the inside pocket of his jacket, concealed by the tools. "I couldn't leave it with Delta Eagle," he said softly. "What if the water destroyed it? And I just wanted… Something familiar."
"I can call them for you, if you want," Paradox offered, but Antinomy shook his head.
"Not here. What if the others come home and see? They don't know about my deck."
"You didn't tell Yusei about Accel Synchro."
Antinomy sat down heavily. "No, not yet. I don't want to explain the Ark Cradle to him. Have you talked to Z-one? Is it still going to happen?"
"Yeah." He took in Antinomy's slumped form. "Is there a problem?"
"No, no, of course not."
Paradox knew him well enough to tell when he was lying, but he didn't press. Antinomy was probably just confused. Regaining your memories would do that to you.
"Did you know that Chiasma's here?" Antinomy suddenly said. "I didn't even recognize her at first. It's kind of funny."
"Yeah, I know that. She's not the same person, though."
"Let's hope it stays that way. How'd you know anyway?" Antinomy looked at him sideways. "I thought you weren't supposed to be here?"
Ah. That was kind of awkward. "I already saw the Ark Cradle descend," he admitted. "You guys died."
Antinomy didn't even ask for further clarification. "So the Ark failed. Otherwise you wouldn't be here." He rubbed his forehead. "If it failed, then why are we still going ahead with it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Doesn't it seem kind of pointless to you? It's already failed once, why would it succeed this time?"
That was exactly what Paradox had been thinking before. But now that Antinomy had his memories back, the Ark actually had a chance at success. "You're not backing out, are you?"
Antinomy narrowed his eyes. "You know full well that I will do whatever it takes. That hasn't changed and it never will. But repeating a plan that already failed once? What's the use? If it doesn't work, then we shouldn't be killing people needlessly. We're not like that."
"The city got evacuated," Paradox protested. Antinomy wasn't impressed.
"Details, and you know that as well as I do. It wasn't supposed to be evacuated."
"Things have changed."
"Like what?"
Paradox pointed. "You, for one. You didn't remember anything until you were on the Ark."
Antinomy rested his head on his arms. "So then what do you expect me to do?" he asked, voice muffled.
"I came here to change things."
Antinomy made a frustrated noise. "Obviously. We do little else. Look, I just don't want anyone to die if we can prevent it. What's Z-one say about this?"
"He says to go ahead." Paradox quickly repeated the conversation he'd had with Z-one. By the time he got to the end of the story, Antinomy was shaking his head.
"I just don't think it's a good idea. There are too many things that can go wrong. Do we really have no other options?"
Paradox shrugged. "Mutou Yugi and Yuki Judai, I guess. They don't seem to be doing much, though."
There was commotion downstairs. The team was returning. Antinomy sat back upright, eyeing the door with a certain measure of wariness.
"Give me two weeks," he said in hurried tones, as footsteps came up the stairs. "I'll go along with the Ark plan if I can't come up with anything better by then."
Paradox hesitated. It wasn't quite the change he'd hoped for, but it was change nonetheless. "Deal. Let's not tell Z-one for now."
"Okay." Antinomy got up when Jack entered the room, followed by Crow and finally Yusei. They looked tired but satisfied, and Yusei wasted no time in launching into an explanation about the things they'd done. It probably was his way of maintaining normality. Antinomy was nodding along and dutifully asking questions, but Paradox could see that his heart wasn't really in it. Yusei had to have noticed too, because he cut the conversation short after a few minutes. Antinomy looked grateful at the excuse to get out.
"Going to the beach," he told them, grabbing his jacket. "I need some time to think."
"Good luck," Paradox mouthed, ignoring Yusei's strange look. If Antinomy wanted to find a different solution, it was only fair to give him a chance. They might not have much time, but who knew, maybe he would be able to find something. Paradox wasn't putting much faith in it, but all things considered, the fewer people who died in the process, the better. And hey, change was change. No matter what was going to happen, it would be different from before, and that alone was promising. Things couldn't exactly get worse, could they?
oOoOo
Bruno had been working tirelessly on something, and he refused to let Yusei know what it was. As far as Yusei was aware, he wasn't even showing Paradox, though the latter seemed to have some idea of what it was. When he asked, the only answer he got was: "It's a project."
Paradox proved equally unhelpful, only telling him that it was none of his business and that he should just leave Bruno to it. Yusei didn't deal well with uncertainty, especially now when Bruno seemed further away than ever, so on the second day he decided to confront him.
"What're you doing?" he asked after lunch, when they were alone in the room. Bruno had appropriated a laptop and he'd been working on it since that morning. When Yusei leaned over, he closed down his files and pocketed the memory stick he'd been working with in his jeans.
"Project," he just said. Oh, not this again.
"Maybe I can help."
Bruno shook his head. "It's better if you don't get involved. Safer."
"I can't help you if you won't even tell me what you're working on."
A shrug. "That's fine. I can do this on my own. It's safer for all of you if you don't get involved."
Yusei was growing annoyed. How was he supposed to help Bruno if he wouldn't even let him get close? He'd promised Yugi-san and Judai-san, and he'd promised Paradox and most of all Bruno that he'd find a way to change the future. How could he do that if Bruno wasn't even going to trust him?
"Let me help," he said again. Bruno closed the lid of the laptop with a snap and got up.
"Yusei, I don't want to put you in any danger."
That was far too ominous for his liking. "What are you going to do?"
"Whatever it takes."
"You're not planning to put yourself in danger, are you? That's not worth it."
Bruno clenched his fists. "If that's what it takes, why not? I'm not worth more than all the people who will die if I don't do anything."
"You shouldn't be doing this alone." Yusei frowned. "What about Paradox? Or is he just letting you do all the work?"
Bruno tensed and took a step away from him. "We're trying out different ideas."
"And his ideas don't happen to involve people dying, do they? Don't tell me you agree with that," Yusei said, growing angrier with every passing second. Bruno wouldn't just sacrifice innocent lives. He wasn't like Paradox. So why was even considering this?
"If that's what it takes," Bruno said again, voice soft. "It's worth everything."
"You can't really be going along with that? Bruno!"
Bruno looked away.
"You can't," Yusei repeated. "You're far better than that."
And with astounding clarity, he immediately realized he'd said the absolute worst thing he could've possibly said. Saw it in the way Bruno's head snapped up, eyes wide and disbelieving.
"Bruno, I didn't mean to—"
But Bruno's eyes narrowed, something ugly crossing his face when his eyes met Yusei's. He bared his teeth in a feral grimace that only lasted a fraction of a second, but combined with the way he'd gone rigid, body all sharp angles and barely-contained fury, the message was clear.
"I'm better than that?" he said, voice low and monotone. He didn't move at all. Yusei wished he would. "How exactly am I better than that, Yusei?"
Anything he said would be wrong, Yusei realized. Yet the facts were there, incontrovertible. Paradox had killed people in cold blood. Bruno, the Bruno he knew, never would.
"What you mean is that I'm better than my friends. Why would I want to be better than them? Why would I want to be better than the people who sacrificed absolutely everything to save our world?" Bruno's voice was steadily getting louder. Yusei squared his shoulders. He needed to defuse the situation.
"Their methods are—"
Bruno moved, far faster than Yusei had expected. Suddenly he was alive again, no longer the statue carved out of fury. It should have been better. It was far worse.
"You mean you think I never killed anyone." Bruno laughed, a sound that really wasn't a laugh at all. "Why did I ever think you'd understand?"
He's deliberately trying to hurt me, Yusei thought. Then, It's working.
"I'm not saying they're bad people."
"No, that's exactly what you're saying. What's it like to live in your world?" Bruno ran a shaking hand through his hair. "It must be so easy for you, always doing the right thing. Never having to choose between the life of one person and the life of a thousand. You still get to be the hero at the end of the day. You get to go to bed with a clear conscience."
Yusei dug his nails into the palm of his hand, and the momentary stab of pain was enough to make him focus again.
"Murder isn't the answer. Whatever the problem is, there must be a better solution."
"How the fuck can you be so naive?" Bruno spat. Yusei stilled.
"Naive? Because I don't go around killing people left and right?"
"No, because you can't accept that sometimes that's the only solution!"
Yusei shook his head. Bruno was wrong. He had to be. "Look, I can understand that you think this is the best way, but—"
"Don't patronize us, Fudou Yusei. Come back when you've grown up and you know what it's like to have everyone you love ripped away from you."
Oh, that was just low. "Zero Reverse cost me my family!"
"A family you didn't even know!" Bruno shouted. "I lost my parents. I lost my sister! She was twelve and I couldn't do a thing to save her. I wasn't even there when she died!"
"Bruno, I'm sorry, but it's no reason to…" He hesitated. "What would she think if she knew what you'd planned?"
Bruno laughed. Loudly. "Oh man, I knew you didn't understand, but that settles it. That settles it all." He unzipped his jacket and shouted: "Paradox!"
"Don't bring him into this," Yusei started to say, only for Bruno to throw his jacket into his face. He barely caught it. "What?"
"Paradox, get your stuff, we're leaving," Bruno said when Paradox entered the room, voice not even wavering for a second. He walked past Yusei to grab his other jacket, the one with his tools.
"Bruno, stay here! Where are you going?"
"Away. I'm off your team, Yusei. You can keep that jacket because I don't want anything to do with it anymore."
"Antinomy, are you sure?" Paradox asked, but he still grabbed what few possessions he owned all the while.
"Very. Have fun with your tournament, Yusei. I hope you can afford to stay as naive as you are now." Bruno took a deep breath. "Oh, and for the record? My sister would hate what I'm doing. Absolutely detest me for it. And it wouldn't matter for a single second, because we, unlike you, cannot afford to have morals."
He walked to the door, Paradox in tow. No way. He couldn't just— He couldn't just—
"You can't just leave!"
"Watch me. Goodbye, Yusei."
And he slammed the door behind him, leaving Yusei standing in an empty room with Bruno's Team 5D's jacket and a birthmark that was very conspicuously not glowing.
Prochain chapître: Retrouvailles avec une vieille amie.