I was hoping to get this out earlier...but college popped up and demanded a more productive usage of my time. At least this chapter doesn't have a duel in it.

Let us enjoy this chapter, probably the closest thing to a collection of connected one-shots I've ever written, all shoved into a singular chapter in a story that has always held the same name ever since its inception!

Again, I don't own Yugioh ARC-V or any Yugioh series. If I did, I'd have made VRAINS more like Serial Experiments Lain.

Omen of Uncertainty

Act I – Scene 3: The Years Gone By

June 6, 2041

It was a warm, peaceful summer day in Crescent City. People were out and about minding their own business. Some were out with their families for quality time, some were on their own talking on their cell phones or looking up their notifications, and yet some others were heading back to the office after a late lunch.

Right now, in a park floating on a small, specially designed Laputa Module, not much could be said to be going on besides these aforementioned activities. The only really noteworthy event was that some children from the Aleksey Home, a local orphanage, had come on a small trip to the park. One of these children, a six-year old silver-haired boy, had pulled out a duel disk and accompanying D-Gazer, and challenged other children to duel him…and had been on a 4-0 winning streak until a girl his age with maroon hair appeared and…

"Duel me next!" she cried out, pulling out her child-sized duel disk and D-Gazer.

"Heh, sure, just make sure that you don't lose quickly!" the boy smirked. "I've been unmatched all day, and there's no way that a girl is going to beat me that easily!"

"Oooh!" several of the children snickered.

The smile remained on the little girls' face…but a dark shadow seemed to have come over it, which made it seem more ominous than any other face of rage. The boy felt a tad nervous upon seeing the girl quietly activate her duel disk, but was confident that he could defeat her.

The boy was surprised. The girl he was dueling played much more ferociously and strategically than his other opponents. Just when he thought that he had her cornered by summoning his ace monster, Odd-Eyes Dragon…the girl had activated Magic Cylinder and won the duel.

"Damn it!" the boy pouted, pounding his small fists into the ground before the girl walked up to him with a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Heh." She laughed, folding her arms superiorly.

"One more game!" the boy cried.

"Okay!" the girl replied.

At first, the match went about a tad more evenly than before. But much to the boy's surprise, the girl managed to weed his field of monsters bit by bit, and by the time the boy thought he'd obtained a strong field that would win him the duel on the next turn, the girl top-decked Raigeki and summoned her own army of monsters, and reduced the boy's LP to zero for a second time.

"Oh come on!" the boy cried, ripping off his D-Gazer and looking down sullenly.

"What was that about me not being able to beat you easily?" the girl smirked as she removed her own D-Gazer.

"Fine…I take it back." The boy pouted.

The crowd of children, losing interest, left to pursue other activities. Some left to duel each other, while others took the opportunity to run around like little children in a park tend to do. Soon, only the silver-haired boy and the maroon-haired girl were left. The silver-haired boy lay down on the grass and closed his eyes, no longer in the mood to move up and about like the other children.

After a moment of silence, the girl spoke up.

"So…what's your name?" she asked.

"Um…I…uh…" the boy stuttered, opening his eyes with a start. The girl was still there? "Um…uh…"

"What's wrong?" the girl asked innocently.

"I uh…don't like saying my name…the others...think it's dumb." The boy mumbled.

"Oh, come on! My name's Ray! Now does that sound dumb?" Ray asked.

"…It sounds like Rei…" the boy mumbled. "That's a name."

Ray put her hands on her hips and looked down on the boy, who was now sitting up and looking nothing like the confident challenger that he was at the start. "But my name isn't Rei! It sounds like it, but it isn't! Daddy says that it's a homonym!"

"What's a homonim?" The boy asked.

"It's a word that sounds like something else!" Ray said, cheeks puffing up with pride.

"Oh…" the boy mumbled, still not willing to say his name.

"Come on! Tell me! I promise I won't laugh!" Ray said.

The silver-haired boy looked at Ray, and sighed. Plenty of children made fun of his name already. One more wouldn't hurt…okay, it would still hurt, but at least she didn't live at the orphanage. She wouldn't be around 24/7 to mock him.

"It's Zarc." He said quietly.

"Zarc?" Ray asked.

"Yes…" Zarc mumbled.

"Why is your name Zarc?" Ray asked again.

"Apparently, when the orphanage found me…there were letters on my blanket." Zarc said, walking over to a sandbox and drawing what he had been shown. Ray watched as Zarc picked up a stick and wrote 'Z-ARC' in the sand. "I didn't have anything else with me besides my deck, so they just decided to call me 'Zarc'."

Ray studied the English letters as Zarc prepared to hear her laugh at him. He was surprised when instead, Ray turned to him with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Okay! Nice to meet you then, Zarc!" she said, beaming.

"Y-you don't think my name's stupid?" Zarc asked, dumbfounded.

"It's unusual…" Ray admitted, causing Zarc to cringe, expecting taunts to come at last, "but it's not stupid!"

Zarc snapped to attention. "Really?"

"Sure!" Ray confirmed.

"ROWAR!" A dragonic voice growled out, as if responding to Ray's declaration in affirmation.

Ray stood frozen in place, paling at what she thought she heard. She looked around in a fright, while Zarc seemed confused at Ray's reaction.

"D-did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Zarc asked, even though he knew exactly what he had heard.

"Th-that sounded like a dragon just now!" Ray exclaimed, before recognizing the sound. "The dragon you played in our duel!"

"Y-you can hear Odd-Eyes?" Zarc asked, taking out his deck and pulling the monster card out.

Ray puffed up her cheeks and nodded fiercely, causing the roar to occur again. When Ray looked up, her eyes widened as she saw Odd-Eyes hovering above Zarc like a transparent ghost.

"There! Up there!" Ray stammered, causing Zarc to look up in a way that suggested that he was used to it.

"You can see him?" Zarc asked.

"Yes!" Ray said, causing Odd-Eyes to roar. "And I can hear him! What's going on?"

Zarc sighed. "I don't know. I've always asked why I can hear Odd-Eyes and Astrograph Sorcerer…but the other kids think I'm crazy and the people running the orphanage think that I'm confusing all of the rumors about the Legendary Duelists for reality."

Ray looked at Odd-Eyes nervously…and put out her hand tentatively. Unfortunately, it merely passed through Odd-Eyes' translucent beak. She was fascinated by the marvel in front of her...she'd heard voices in her own deck, but she'd never been able to identify which monster was potentially speaking and had never actually seen the monsters appear in front of her. This was a major first.

"Fascinating…" a deep, quiet, stoic voice said.

Ray blinked as a second translucent apparition manifested above Zarc. This one looked human, except his skin was blue and his body and cape seemed to be made out of stars. His face was covered with a mask, so Ray couldn't tell if he was smiling or not.

"A-and you are?" she asked hesitantly.

"Astrograph Sorcerer." The duel monster replied. "I must say, it is a rarity to meet another duelist who can see us duel spirits, let alone hear them." He then looked down at the still moping Zarc. "You should be friends with her Zarc, she'd make much better company than those…uh…" Astrograph looked at some of the children running around the park. A group of them had begun roughhousing in a patch of recently watered grass and were getting covered in mud. "Other children".

"Of course, we should be friends!" Ray said, clamping Zarc's hand, flustering the boy even more. "It's not worth going through life if you don't have anyone close to you!"

"U-um…" Zarc mumbled nervously.

"Ray! Time to go!" a woman's voice called out.

The two children turned around to see a magenta-haired woman and tan-skinned man with short hair gesturing for their daughter to return to them.

"I'll see you later!" Ray called out.

"W-wait, later?" Zarc asked.

"Of course, dummy! If you want to play again, just come back here when you can! My family comes here once a week like we did today!" Ray called out as she ran towards her parents.

"…Okay." The boy mumbled, feeling a warmth in his chest. He looked up at Astrograph Sorcerer, who seemed to be nodding in approval, while Odd-Eyes looked like a dog who sensed that his master was happy.

A friend, eh? That…that was new.

September 13, 2044

"So…you don't look very happy today, Zarc." Ray said as she took Zarc by the hand as they settled down on a park bench.

"I know…" Zarc sighed.

Ray noticed that even after three years, the times when Zarc would sink into a melancholic sigh never really seemed to go away. It was honestly saddening how easily he could get depressed…but then again, perhaps it was stupid for Ray to assume that Zarc would be happy. He had recently been turned down for adoption again. According to Zarc, it was because he had blurted out that he could see and hear Duel Spirits…which had turned out to be a very bad thing to say to a rather religious family who had come to the orphanage earlier that day. They had immediately rejected Zarc and moved on to the next child.

The only reason Zarc wasn't completely depressed was because every other child previewed by that couple had also been rejected, so he could at least take solace at how the other children at the orphanage were miserable.

Ray wondered how people could be so callous and uncaring. She remembered the reign of terror that a blond-haired boy at her school had caused. The boy, whose name was Moetsu was cruel, mean, vindictive, and had made everyone afraid to duel during recess, and much to Ray's chagrin, he had managed to defeat even her. It didn't help that duel disks had gone back to solid vision, with the metallic blades being replaced by ones made of hard light. It meant that his attacks felt more realistic and downright dangerous, not unlike some duels in the pro-leagues many years ago. Not even the hyperactive Shogeki stood a chance against Moetsu. She was glad that the bully had moved to another school. It meant that Ray, Maho, and the new girl, Aiyo; would never have to deal with him again.

She wondered why adults had to be so cruel sometimes too.

"Cheer up, Zarc!" Ray comforted. "Maybe I can convince mommy to adopt you!"

Zarc's eyes widened incredulously and in disbelief, not even daring to hope at what Ray had just suggested.

"R-really?" he asked, not daring to even hope.

"I mean…I asked daddy once, but he said that we didn't have enough money. But mommy's out on a really important business trip! She said that we'd have a lot more money when she gets back! Maybe mommy and daddy will want to adopt you then!" Ray replied. "It'll be like we're brother and sister!"

Zarc blushed, flustered at Ray's proposal.

Ray smiled at Zarc…but then saw her father walk over to them in a rather funny way. He seemed tired for some reason. Why would he be tired? It was still daytime. When Leo got to the two children, he wet his lips nervously, pocketed his cell phone, and looked down at them.

"Ray…I…Just…come back home with me." He said.

"But we just got here!" Ray whined.

"I'm sorry, but we have to leave." Leo said hoarsely. "Something bad happened in Shirogane."

Ray swore she could feel her heart stop for a moment. Shirogane. That was where her mother was right now. What happened?

"S-something bad?" Ray asked nervously.

"Fire…there was an…explosion…a bombing…Himika was…" Leo muttered. "J-just, we need to go home."

A great deal of fear began to manifest in Ray. "O-okay." she complied. "Um, bye Zarc."

"B-bye." Zarc said, waving goodbye.

Zarc watched Leo stagger out of the park, with Ray trudging along behind him. It seemed that everyone was having their hopes crushed these days.

September 14, 2044

Ray woke up with a start. It had all been a dream. It just had to be a dream. Mommy was still in Shirogane on a business meeting. There hadn't been any scary explosions. There wasn't any fire that Ray swore took on the face of a demon at times. The sudden, violent screaming that cut into the broadcast at times had never happened. Yeah, it was all just a dream. She got up hesitantly and walked into the living room. Just a dream. Just a dream. It was all just a dream.

Except it wasn't.

Ray looked at Leo, who had fallen asleep on the couch listlessly. The holographic television screen was still turned on. Still turned on…and the woman on the screen continued to talk.

"Still no words as to what motivated the mysterious attack on Shirogane yesterday. The official death toll is 8,410, and is likely to increase in the following days. Investigators believe that the cause may have been due to civil unrest caused by a noted increase in income divide, which has plagued the town's local economy for several years now. Others are pointing out how the attack is eerily similar to –"

Ray turned off the hologram. There wasn't any need to talk about more scary things.

Leo woke up from the couch, and turned around, and much like his daughter, hoped that the events of yesterday were just a nightmare. Yes, Himika was still at the Hotel Shikin. She hadn't been killed in an overly destructive bombing.

"Good morning, Ray." Leo said.

"Daddy…what they said on the news." Ray mumbled.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay. Himika is okay. Himika is okay. Himika is okay." Leo began to rant.

"But, they said 8,000 dead…" Ray said, tearing up.

"Himika is okay…Himika…Himika…" Leo murmured quietly…before switching to mourning silence.

Death…despair…it seemed that it was everywhere…

September 20, 2044

For an entire week, Ray had avoided the living room. It seemed that the holographic news features just would not shut up about the violence in Shirogane. Ray had hoped beyond hope that Himika was just injured…but the fact that the Hotel Shikin had been completely collapsed not unlike the Twin Towers had during that attack in America 43 years ago put that hope to bed.

Perhaps Zarc could comfort her…she'd done the same for him…maybe he'd return the favor? They were at their usual spot in the park, with Ray revealing what had happened to her mother…before bursting into tears once again.

"Umm…well…" Zarc said, not knowing what the hell to do. Normally it was Ray who helped him through depressive spells, not the other way around.

"I mean…I…well…." He stammered. He really didn't know what to do.

"M-maybe Astrograph can help?" Zarc asked.

"How?" Ray asked, eyes red.

"Um…well…" Zarc stammered, pulling Astrograph's card out of his deck, causing the space-time magician to appear in his spirit form above the children. While neither Zarc or Ray could make out his full expression, his eyes were solemn.

"My condolences to your loss, Ray." He said simply. "But if you want me to help via borrowing my powers, I am afraid that I cannot do much."

"I don't really need that kind of help Astrograph." Zarc said.

"I am aware." Astrograph sighed heavily. "The loss of a loved one…it is…a rather shocking event."

"Gee, thanks Captain Obvious." Ray said bitterly.

"I…I've never had parents…." Zarc said shakily, trying to figure out just what he wanted to say to his friend. "B-but…maybe…it…"

"Maybe?" Ray asked, a dangerous growl appearing in her voice.

"U-um…" Zarc stammered. Yeah. He was REALLY bad at comforting people. Astrograph just kept on looking silently. He knew what he was going to say next was stupid, really stupid…but he could not help himself from blurting out the words.

"I mean…since I've never had parents…I've never known what it's like to lose one…maybe…maybe it isn't all bad?"

A grain of wisdom about children…they do not always know how to express themselves, and can stumble and trip over their own words and thoughts. Were Zarc older and more confident, he might've been able to word his sentence in a way that would allow him to emphasize with Ray. But unfortunately, Zarc met none of these criteria.

"Isn't all bad? ISN'T ALL BAD?!" Ray roared in anguish. "OF COURSE, IT'S BAD! My mommy's dead now and nothing can bring her back! She's dead! Dead, dead, dead! But of course, you wouldn't know. It's like you said, you've never had parents!"

"W-wait, Ray, I, I never!" Zarc tried.

"FORGET IT!" Ray cried, running away.

"Ray!" Zarc called out, only for the calming hand of Astrograph Sorcerer to touch his shoulder.

"Let her be Zarc…she is undergoing a great amount of pain right now." He said.

"I…I just wanted to help." Zarc said, tears coming to his eyes. What if Ray started to hate him after this screw-up? "I...I just…"

"Ray needs time to heal. This ordeal is not something that can be solved in the span of a day. Give her time to recover. She's angry, hurt, and distraught." Astrograph soothed to his charge. "After she winds down, try to help her then."

Zarc looked up at his Duel Spirit, and managed a small smile. Ray was right that he'd never known parents…but sometimes he felt that Astrograph was the closest thing to one. That being said, Zarc still wanted to do something to help Ray, anything that could help. But what else did Zarc know except dueling? He wasn't that great a student during the orphanage's classes, and he didn't have many friends at the Aleksey Home. Either you were just there, or you hated the other child's guts.

Wait…dueling.

Zarc looked at his deck, seeing Odd-Eyes' card on the bottom, and then looked back up at Astrograph Sorcerer. An idea began to form in his head, one that he really wanted to let out.

"Astrograph…do you think I could help Ray by dueling?"

Astrograph rose an eyebrow. "Right now? Or…"

"No, I mean, after you said to give her some time. What if the next time I duel…I try to help her with that! You know, try to make her happy with dueling! Maybe…maybe I could do that!" Zarc replied, a fire now beginning to burn in his soul as he became consumed with passion at his idea. "I could try to make Ray smile again by dueling other people! What do you think?"

Astrograph looked at Zarc, and was surprised by the light in his owner's eyes. He had never seen Zarc look this determined before. While Zarc's idea was admittedly a tad naïve, the fact that he'd actually come up with such an idea of his own initiative impressed Astrograph. Perhaps, with the right training, that childish thought could mature into a fine ideal.

"...That's…actually a rather impressive idea Zarc." Astrograph complimented.

Zarc's eyes shone with glee, and he jumped off the branch to run back to the orphanage.

Astrograph was surprised that Zarc was excited to leave. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the orphanage! I need to get some practice!" Zarc replied.

"…If you would like me to help guide you along, I will be happy to do so." Astrograph said, a surge of pride swelling up towards his master.

"Thanks Astrograph! What do you think Odd-Eyes?"

Odd-Eyes roared in the affirmative. Zarc smiled. Yeah, he'd do it. He'd become the best duelist there was. He'd make Ray happy again…and that thought alone brought a determination Zarc never thought he'd feel.

He'd do it. He'd really do it. Dueling to make people smile. He would make it a reality for sure.

September 28, 2044

Ray wandered about the park, wondering if Zarc was there. She hadn't talked to him for two weeks…and was honestly feeling horrible about it. She wanted to apologize for her outburst, which was made rather difficult by her father forbidding her to go out after school. It had taken a great deal of begging just for them to be allowed to go outside, and even now, it was hard for her to make progress without her father telling her to not wander off too far, despite their familiarity with the park.

Ray quickly glanced at her father. He had become very jittery in these past weeks, keeping his eyes peeled, almost like he was looking for the monsters that took mommy away. It made Ray feel rather worried. She didn't want them coming after her daddy too and, and…

She shoved that thought out of her head and continued looking for Zarc, if he was still there. She heard a commotion a few feet away and saw that a crowd of children had gathered and ran towards them.

"Ray, wait!" her father called out, trying to keep his daughter within arm's reach.

Ray began pushing her way to the crowd's inner edge, ignoring the protests of the other children, until she came near the center and saw…

"And now, for my next trick, I will have Odd-Eyes attack Axe Raider!"

A duel was going on, with Zarc dueling his current opponent. But it was different from his previous duels. For one thing, the field was covered in lights, with numerous colors, though these played a supporting role to the blue-and-silver that seemed to cover the field. It was much flashier than before, that was certain. Even Odd-Eyes' attack on the axe-wielding warrior had more flare than normal, with the monster turning to a colorful firework display as it was destroyed.

Ray looked at Zarc, who was immersed in the duel. He seemed to be playing up the spectacle for the crowds, gesturing to them like a stage magician. When his opponent recovered from Odd-Eyes' attack and retaliated with Cosmo Queen, Zarc used the opportunity to summon Astrograph Sorcerer, who resurrected the dragon in a spectacular fashion, making it seem all the more dramatic by shining spotlights and creating the images of falling stars as Zarc's field was restored.

"What's Zarc doing?" Ray mumbled to herself.

A hand then tugged at her. "Hey Ray!"

Ray turned and saw Aiyo and Maho had been standing right next to her. The two seemed happy that Ray had left her house for once.

"Aiyo, what's going on?" Ray asked.

"I don't know, but this guy's dueling is really sparkly! I like it!" Aiyo gushed.

"Not dark enough…" Maho muttered. "It needs more black."

"It does not!" Aiyo argued, cheeks puffed up.

Maho merely breathed heavily out her nose, not bothering to reply.

"My turn!" Zarc announced with a flourish. "Ladies and Gentleman, I can now declare that this will be our final turn! I activate United We Stand! Now Odd-Eyes gains enough ATK to take down Cosmo Queen, with the help of Astrograph Sorcerer!"

Odd-Eyes roared as Astrograph Sorcerer hovered above Odd-Eyes, letting down a ray of blue light that empowered the dragon.

Odd Eyes Dragon/ATK: 4100

"Alright, Odd-Eyes, let's close out the show! Attack Cosmo Queen!" Zarc ordered. "Spiral Flame!"

Odd-Eyes lept into the air, and let loose a flare of black-and-red fire at the purple-skinned Star sorceress, causing her to dissolve into a flurry of shining purple dust.

"And don't forget, Odd-Eyes gives you damage equal to Cosmo Queen's ATK! Reaction Force!"

"Oh, come on!" Zarc's opponent whined as he fell to the ground in defeat.

"That was amazing!" one child cheered

"It was so sparkly!" another one cried out.

"More! More! More!" a third demanded.

"Zarc!" Ray cried, running up to the silver-haired boy.

"R-ray?!" Zarc stammered as Ray came up to him.

Aiyo and Maho were surprised, then it clicked. "Wait, THIS is the kid from the Aleksey Home you've told us about?"

"Yeah!" Ray replied.

"U-um…hello." Zarc said nervously to the two girls. He then looked at Ray…and then looked down at the ground, since it made him feel less nervous…especially since he still remembered their last meeting.

An awkward silence filled the park, causing the crowd of children to disperse. Soon, only Zarc, Ray, Aiyo, Maho, and a dark-skinned boy who was hanging out further away were left on the field.

"I'm…sorry about before." Ray apologized, "I, I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry Zarc."

"I'm sorry too." Zarc sighed. "I…really didn't know what to do back there."

"…Friends?" Ray asked.

"Friends." Zarc replied.

Aiyo nodded her head. Suffice to say, Zarc hadn't been the only recipient of a trauma-induced temper tantrum and ergo, it hadn't been the only time Ray had apologized for her behavior. Maho remained solemnly quiet, mouth hidden under her sweater which some considered too large for her small size.

"So…am I next?" the dark-skinned boy asked, having walked up to the group.

"What do you want Shogeki?" Maho asked.

Shogeki pantomimed shock, "I'm going to duel this guy, duh! I like the way he plays! He's better than Moetsu!"

"Oh, uh…sure!" Zarc replied, readying his duel disk for another game.

By the time Leo had caught up with his daughter, the children were already engrossed in their game once again. The widower watched as his daughter's face seemed to lighten up for the first time in weeks, and saw the silver-haired boy she had talked about dueling Shogeki with a large amount of circus-like flair.

Leo remained quiet as his daughter and her friends 'oooh' and 'ahhhed', but kept a close eye on all four of them. It wouldn't hurt to stay on his toes.

November 3, 2051

"Please evacuate to the earthquake shelter immediately, repeat, evacuate immediately"

"What the hell is all of this?!" Shogeki griped as duelists ran out of the stadium in a panic.

Just a few seconds before, a massive rumbling began as the ground began to shake. Laputa Modules began to waver in their levitation, some coming dangerously close to crashing into others. Hovercars, regular cards, D-Wheels and regular motorcycles fell onto their sides as the earthquake's tremors intensified.

At the Dueling Stadium, Zarc, Ray, Shogeki, Aiyo, and Maho were caught in the panicking crowd as they raced towards the exits. The stadium itself was earthquake-proof, but that would be a moot point if the ground they were on collided with another section of levitating land and broke apart, sending them down into the abyss below.

The five tried to stay together, but it was no good. While Japan is hit with earthquakes daily, these are minor cases that residents have become used to. This particular earthquake was much stronger, and indeed, would register a 7.2 on the Richter Scale in Crescent City…for a brief amount of time. The shaking lasted for about only 30 seconds, but it was enough to send people into a frenzied panic. News reports later down the line would speak of minor damage caused throughout all of Japan due to the tremors and minor tsunamis…but Crescent City would remember the event more of the hysteria it produced due to the catastrophe that nearly resulted.

Zarc and Ray were separated from Shogeki, and then from Aiyo and Maho as people rushed to what they perceived as safety.

"Damn it!" Zarc cursed. "Don't let go Ray!"

Ray nodded quickly, grabbing hold of Zarc's arm and clinging onto it…much to the silver-haired teen's brief panic before he remembered that they were dealing with a damn stampede of people and tremors. For a few seconds, Zarc and Ray clung together as people piled near the doors…only for Ray to see what was about to happen and pull Zarc away. A human crush was about to form as people crowded near the exits in their hysteria…despite the fact that by this time, the shaking had ended.

"This way, Zarc!" Ray called, dragging him with her back towards the arena.

"Agh! G-got it!" Zarc replied as he kept near Ray, eyes peeled for Shogeki, Aiyo, and Maho.

It was hard work trying to move against the crowd of people instead of with them at first, but as the crowd density piled near the doorways and out of the seating area, it became easier to move about until Zarc and Ray returned to the seating area, which, while not completely abandoned, wasn't as congested with people. The two finally reached an open space…and didn't watch where they were going and slipped onto the ground.

BAM!

"Ugh…" Zarc moaned, head resting on something relatively soft and squishy…

Wait…soft…and…squishy…

Ray noticed the weight that had fallen on top of her…and realized that Zarc, who was slightly shorter than she was, had fallen on top of her when they had tripped…and in…well…Ray had to hold back a blush as she realized where precisely Zarc's head was.

"GAH!" Zarc yelped, recovering quickly as he got up. "I'm sorry! Sorry! Sorry!"

Ray grimaced in annoyance…but got up smoothly with a huff. She couldn't hide the redness on her face…but of course, neither could Zarc as the two became quiet in a sudden lull that had overtaken the stadium.

"Just…don't tell my dad about this." Ray commanded, causing Zarc to nod quickly in compliance.

Despite their little fall, Ray's judgment had been right on the money. When the two got to a better vantage point, they gasped at the grisly sight before them; almost a hundred people had rushed towards one of the corridors at once…creating a bottleneck that had caused them to trample one another and create a pile of bodies that blocked the entrance into the arena.

Ray put a hand to her mouth in horror. "Oh god"

Zarc was silent, but his eyes kept scanning the disaster for signs of Shogeki, Maho, and Aiyo.

It would be a few hours before everything was cleared up. The duel stadium's evacuation policies would later be altered so as to ensure that another accident would not happen again, and the corridors were widened. The casualties stood at 7 dead, and 34 injured. Thankfully for Zarc and Ray, their friends had managed to avoid the human crush and exited via other corridors.

Of course, the rather disturbing event would still occasionally be in their minds…

April 6, 2054

Zarc and Ray traveled along the city roads on their D-Wheels, white riding alongside pink, heading towards the café that Ray had in mind. Despite the fact that he was finally having a date with the girl of his dreams, Zarc had a sinking feeling about the place Ray wanted to go.

'Please don't be the vegan place, please don't be the vegan place, please don't be the vegan place'

Ray was the only member of the group who actually liked eating there. Shogeki found the food disgusting, Maho refused to even enter the restaurant (It's full of pretentious SJWs and Hippies! She would say), Aiyo politely ate the food…before rushing over to a nearby Burger World to wash the taste out. As for Zarc…his strategy to survive was to douse the food with as much soy sauce as possible. It wasn't that vegan food was bad or evil…it was just that Ray's strange sense of taste made it so that she actually found the cooking of the obnoxious/incompetent head chef there good.

Zarc recognized the streets he and Ray were traveling on…and he prayed to whatever gods existed that Ray had chosen the coffee shop a few buildings down from what Maho called "Green Hell".

"So…where are we going?" he asked.

"We're almost there!" Ray chirped.

Zarc gulped, awaiting the horrors of Quinoa…and then found that the Egyptian Gods had been merciful and Ray had chosen Jerry's Café and not Sylvan Mountain. He breathed a sigh of relief as he and Ray parked their D-Wheels and entered the coffee shop…to discover that the place was packed.

"Great…a line." Ray muttered darkly. "Maybe we should've gotten a gluten-free muffin from Sylvan after all."

Zarc's eyes widened in horror. "No, no!" he said, waving his arms in panic. "I think it would be okay for us to wait!"

Ray rolled her eyes and kept on grumbling as the line moved slowly. "Hmph."

Zarc breathed a sigh of relief as the line moved relatively quickly, ensuring that Ray's grumbling quickly faded away. The two placed their orders and moved to take a seat…only to bump into the person who was behind them in the line.

"Watch where you're going!" the man growled, violently shoving Zarc and Ray away.

Both Zarc and Ray maintained their balance, and looked at the man who was glaring at them. He was around their age, being perhaps about one or two years older, and had smooth pitch-black hair with yellow-green hexagon patterns on his forward bangs and the very back, sickly yellow eyes and pale skin. The man wore a plain-brown riding duel suit with green patterns that reminded Ray of eyes. Of course, that thought soon faded away as anger quickly took her over as well.

The man angrily shouted at the two. "I don't like having to deal with idiots who don't watch where they're going!"

Ray's left eyebrow ticked, much to Zarc's horror. He almost felt sorry for what was going to happen to the man. "Listen here bub!" Ray hissed. "most people don't try punching or shoving people who accidentally bump into them."

"Well, I guess you haven't met me then!" the man yelled, raising his fists, only for Zarc to hastily step between him and Ray.

"Look, I'm sorry we bumped into you! That doesn't mean we have to fight!" Zarc pleaded, not wanting to get kicked out of the coffee shop.

Zarc heard the roar of Odd-Eyes…but said roar seemed to be one of…recognition rather than an affirmative, as he was occasionally inclined to do. It was then followed by another screech, very much like Odd-Eyes…but different…and it was coming from the man who seemed liable to get into a fistfight with Ray.

"Wait…that sound…" Zarc mumbled, voice trailing off, eyes glazing over as if he was in a trance.

The man was preparing to shove Zarc out of the way and beat the crap out of Ray, only to hear the same roar. Before he could be dragged into a similar trance, he bit his tongue, drawing blood as the pain kept him from succumbing.

"Oi! Stop that right now or I'll kick all three of you out and call the cops!" the man at the cash register called.

"O-of course!" the black-haired man said hastily, bowing and quickly leaving the coffee shop. "Sorry for that ma'am! I've had a rather busy morning!" he called out to Ray, who was still fuming.

Blood trailing from his mouth, Kurose hopped on his D-Wheel, and sped out of the parking lot. Despite the fact that he had caused a scene, something no assassin should ever make…he couldn't help but feel glee.

"Yess….I felt it there. That was a dragon much like my pet…That man…heh, heh…I will make that power mine."

Kurose gave a low, maddening laugh, the scale-tattoos re-appearing on his face. He knew he'd have to repress those again, but he couldn't help it. It seemed that things were about get interesting. Yes…very interesting indeed.

And thus, another chapter is out of my hair, and we see more of the mysteries and tragedies here in the United World...who is responsible for it all? What will happen next? What were your thoughts on the chapter? Let me know via a review!

-Epsilon Tarantula-