The process of falling in love was often said to either be instantaneous or so gradual you didn't even notice it. In a way it made sense to Rin that whatever this was, it didn't resemble either of the two.

Some days it was like before she had learned the truth about Yugo. They would chat and do things together with the same casual hesitation, testing the waters without trying to show it. For a little while it would seem things weren't so different.

But if one of them made the first move, everything would shift. If Yuri desired her affection or if the cold got too overwhelming and Rin tried to latch onto him for warmth, they'd switch to trying to understand this strange beast that was the two of them.

In the former case Rin was better at staying strong. She'd emphasize again and again that she didn't love him, even if it meant invoking his jealous wrath. She knew it was dangerous to resist him, but it was getting harder to care about the possible results of such actions.

In the latter case it was much to easier to give in, to swap magenta for blue and relish the presence of another living, breathing person. She'd parrot the same arguments from before, but what did they matter when wrapped in his embrace?

In those moments of weakness, regardless of who instigated them, she'd talk of things she had never told anyone else. She'd ramble on about the hate and exhaustion and rage that festered inside her like an infected sore.

The worst part of that was because Yuri would affirm those darker sides of her. She'd see the same madness and destruction she felt tearing at her soul.

Maybe that's why the two of them had become drawn to the other despite the impossible circumstances. Maybe she had deserved to lose Yugo and be cut off from the rest of society like this, Maybe that was simply the appropriate fate for the both of them: a sociopathic murderer and a broken shell of a Commons girl.

Maybe it'd be better to keep playing this game a bit longer.

It was getting hard to remember life without Rin.

Rationally, he knew it existed. What was fourteen years in comparison to a number of days, or was it weeks, or maybe months? Whatever. It didn't matter at this point. The main thing was, intellectually, he knew there was a before-Rin and a post-Rin world for him.

Still the boy from that BR era seemed like a different person at this point. How could he have managed without her by his side? At this point the thought of letting her out of his sight was impossible to process. He didn't leave the bunker anymore, his plans of finding Sakaki Yuya thrown to the wayside. The only reason he left was to make sure they had enough food and other resources. But then as soon as he returned he was back in her arms, drinking in her existence.

Despite the fact she was his and his alone, that nostalgia for the Fusion Boy was insistent. Whenever he was reminded of it, it was like another slap to the face. And the worst part was he could never act out on the anger it brought on him. Anything that would put Rin at a risk was a line he would never cross. Still he wanted to convince her of the truth so bad. He wanted her thoughts to be of nothing but him, for the same obsession he possessed to be returned.

So when he began to have memories of riding on D-wheels together and tinkering with scraps of metal to no end, Yuri embraced them. He had stolen one thing from the Fusion Boy, might as well take the rest. It didn't matter what this turned him into. As long as it meant holding onto Rin, then he'd throw anything to the wind.

"We're the same type of people deep down," His voice shot out into the pitch black of the room. "Bitter and used. Tired of people and a world that would be glad to see you die. He can't understand you like I can."

He always seemed to say these types of things when the line between the two of them was at its blurriest. With his head pushed into her hair and his arm snaked around her waist, she could have mistaken them for each other.

"That's why I need him." She could only muster a small voice. "He's my sun. No one else can light up my life like him."

"You need him like a moth needs a flame. He would have burned you." His grip around her waist tightened, but Rin still decided to break his hold to roll over and face him.

"Is that what I am to you? A fire you can't help but jump into?"

"I'd jump into you willingly." His stare was so intense Rin thought she might really combust under it.

"Then what's the difference between me and you versus me and him?" She dipped her head into the crook of his neck, wanting this illusion to last longer. "How can either last if someone is burned to ash?"

"Your warmth merely soothes me. It's better this way. Now the world won't harm either of us." His hands wandered across her body, like lost things unsure of where they should rest.

Rin sighed. She was so tired. "Whatever you say, Yuri."

She kept her eyes closed so she could lie to herself a little longer.

It took Yuri a few days before he was able to broach the question to her.

He had never been a fan of this idea, but it would take an idiot to deny its necessity. Each time he went out to collect groceries and other necessities, the patrols around Academia got tighter and tighter. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility that one day they'd find the bunker and ambush them.

Yuri knew for sure how he'd act. He'd duel hundreds, thousands, just to keep Rin safe, but even flies such as those might overwhelm him by sheer numbers. If they could avoid that situation, it would be best for the two of them to disappear, never to be found by Academia.

So he slid the question to her over an innocuous meal.

"What do you think about leaving this place?"

Her entire body went rigid at his words. For a tense minute there was only silence between the two of them.

"I said what do you think about-"

"I know what you said," She snapped. "Just give me a second to process it." She cradled her head with one hand as the other tapped the counter insistently.

"Are you offering to free me?"

"No."

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"Have you seen Fusion's countryside?" His voice grew softer without him even realizing it. "It's a maze. So much green, so many hills. It would take them ages to figure they should start looking there. There's no way Leo would order an invasion on his own dimension. He'd have to send smaller, subtler groups and by then we'd be lost completely to them."

"What would we do there?"

Yuri shrugged, struggling to find words. "Whatever normal people do. You know about that better than I do."

Rin turned away, unable to look him in the eye. A few muttered words slipped passed his, but there was one that he managed to catch.

Him.

With a controlled fury, he walked around the counter to grip her chin so she was forced to look at him.

"Don't you dare be thinking what I think you're thinking."

"...and what's that?"

"Don't play dumb with me. It's what it always is."

"You just sound so similar when you talk about dreams like that."

"But I can make them come true. What do you want: a nice little cottage for the two of us? Another D-wheel? If you want I could card someone for you. Whatever it is I-"

All of a sudden, Rin pinned him against the wall in one brutal shove. Before he could react, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him with the passion of a dying sun.

Yuri's mind went completely blank. He had been trying to tell her something, but what did it matter? All he wanted to do was melt into this. He wanted to close the distance that remained between the two of them, to caress and touch every inch of his Rin. As much as his lungs begged for air, he'd have been happy to die like this. It didn't matter if she killed him like this. He'd accept a sword through his neck just to make sure this moment never ended.

However, when Rin pulled back, there were tears in her eyes.

"...Why are you crying..." His voice was hoarse as he tried to trace the side of her face, but she pulled away from the touch.

"I don't want this." Her words were so quiet they could have been stolen by a gentle breeze. "I don't want this, I don't want this, I don't want this, I don't want this!" Louder and louder they grew. Golden eyes glowed with an almost feral glint.

"I've tried so hard to forget what I had, to be satisfied with what I was left with, but it hasn't worked! I miss Synchro, I miss Yugo, and for all your sweet words you're still the one who murdered him! I don't want to be your little toy, I want to go home!"

Again he felt the similar rush of her jealousy flow through his veins, but before he could act on it she said,

"What are you gonna do? Kill me? Go ahead, I know I have nothing left. That still doesn't make things ok, and no matter how long you keep me alive that will always be the case. I didn't want my first kiss to be like this. I didn't want to live in a cage. I don't-"

"Will you shut up!" He grabbed her shoulders and began to shake, but the fear in her eyes pierced his heart in two.

She was utterly terrified of him. And for good reason.

The revelation left unable to move, to speak. Even as her arms tightened around his form and she dug her face deeper into his chest.

"I don't want this, I don't want this at all!" She sobbed.

And his only rational thought was that he agreed.

Rin didn't know if she really slept. After spilling her heart out to Yuri, neither of them had said a word, or even really moved. They just laid together like that, her shoulders still twitching like aftershocks of grief. By the time she started to process the world again, she could tell time had passed since then. Still she was unsure if her eyes had ever closed, or if her consciousness had simply been unable to recognize the world outside of her.

Both of them breathed in sync, chests rising and lowering to the same tempo. Then in a quiet voice, he finally spoke up.

"Rin..."

It hurt when he said her name like that. It was way too familiar for comfort. She didn't want to go back to that game. She just wanted to lay here until she faded away, but he was nudging her shoulder now.

"Rin, are you awake?"

She gave a slight grunt, planning to close her eyes as soon as she did, but the minute she made a sound, Yuri pulled her up and began to run.

Out the door, down the tunnels. It was so overwhelming Rin didn't know whether to fight or be led along. All she could was pump her legs along mindlessly as she tried to figure out just what was going on.

Oh god, we are escaping to the countryside like he suggested.

Once it hit her, they arrived in a man-made cavern with a small motorboat tied to a deck. Before he could lead her into the boat, she broke free from his grip and yelled,

"I told you already, I'm not-"

"Rin."

She looked him in the eye and couldn't help but gasp. They were the brightest blue she had ever known, and once she had been used to seeing that shade every day of her life.

"Yugo..."

"I'm right here."

Tears fell fast and hard. This didn't make any sense. Yuri said he was dead, but now, somehow Yugo was acting through his body. Had he been a ghost this entire time, haunting Yuri's every move?

Her heart sank at the realization. Dear lord, if that was the case that meant he must have seen everything. Not just her falling apart, but the kiss.

"Yugo, I'm so sorry I just-"

"Don't talk right now." He pressed a finger against her lips. "Just go. I don't know how long I'll have control, so you need to escape as soon as possible. Find Yusho. Yuzu said he could be trusted."

"Leave you, how could I? I don't know what's going on, but you gotta come with me. We'll make it back to Synchro and get a new D-Wheel. Don't leave me a second time!"

He gave a small smile, but it held none of that beloved warmth. "I want to go with you more than anything. But sooner rather than later, Yuri's going to be the one operating this body. I'd prefer suffering with him for an eternity than letting him be close to you again."

"How am I supposed to go at this alone!? I don't deserve to be the one who lives! I don't even know how to sail a boat, much less go back to a life without you!"

Gently, he cupped her head in his hands and pressed his forehead against hers. "You deserve the world, Rin. Don't ever believe otherwise. You can go and have an amazing life without me. You can steer this boat. It will just be like a D-wheel, pedal and steering wheel. Please, can you just do this for me? Run away from here as fast as you can. Find Yusho, please."

It felt like she was breaking into two. She couldn't even speak, but somehow she managed to nod her head and climb into the boat.

She did just as he said. She got away as fast as she could. Still she turned around just to get one last glimpse of him.

He had already turned to head back to the bunker.

When Yuri came to, Rin was not lying on him anymore.

Despite the shiver that ran down his spine at the realization, he tried to stay calm. Last night had been... intense. She probably needed some time alone to blow off steam.

Still, he'd rather catch a glimpse of her, just to ease his nerves. He wouldn't talk to her again until she was ready.

However when he went to check the bed, she was nowhere to be found. Unexpected, but no reason to panic. There was always the bathroom. No need to panic.

The door was unlocked, but still no Rin. He smashed his hand so hard against the glass it cracked.

"Shit, she's not gonna like this." His words came out in a shaky breath without him even realizing it as he watched the blood ooze down his hand. The last time he got it this cut up, he hadn't been paying attention while preparing them lunch after a long morning in the garage.

He stalked back out to the living area. All right, there couldn't be many other place she could be. The bunker was too small to afford many hiding spots.

Then a flash of inspiration came to him. Obviously she was just playing a joke on him, wanting to catch him off guard, like she had for that surprise birthday party when they were ten. He ran over to the bed and lifted it up, but there was still no Rin.

He threw it so it was laying upside down. "Where is she? I can't protect her like this this!" A restless energy had overtaken him, and it only grew stronger the longer she remained lost. "I can't protect her like this!" He tore down a bookshelf and smashed it in two. There was hardly any logic to his actions anymore, but the only thing that came close to sate his insanity was destruction. "If I'm not guarding her, the Professor might capture her again! Don't you understand? I CAN'T PROTECT HER LIKE THIS!"

Pure fury overcame him as he trashed the place, tearing the shower curtain in two, ripping the refrigerator door off its hinges. By the time he stopped to catch his breath, the entire bunker had been practically demolished.

Suddenly he was reminded of the Fusion Boy's existence.

"Fusion Boy! What happened?! Where is she?!"

"I have no idea," He materialized in front of Yuri, wearing a nonchalant expression as if discussing the weather.

He saw through his lie in an instant.

"You're going to tell me the fucking truth!" Yuri caught him a vice-like grip. "Either you do so willingly, or I make you!"

"Like hell I will!" He growled. "If you plan to beat it out of me, then you're only going to hurt yourself in the process. Just give up and leave her alone!"

"You think that will stop me!?" A sick laugh passed from his lips. "I'm not a failure like you! I will protect her, even if that means killing myself in the process! So go ahead and tell me where she is?!" His fist crashed against the Fusion Boy's face. Again and again he drove it into him, lost in the blood and screams.

Still once things were said and done, he had to admit one thing.

The Fusion Boy had lasted much longer than he expected.

That night was spent wandering the streets of Fusion in confusion. Her heart had been constantly hammering her chest, worried that Yuri or Academia would snatch her up before she found this Yusho. She had no idea who she was looking for, or what they even looked liked, but Yugo's words rang in her head again and again.

She had to find him, no matter what.

However she was interrupted from her mission when a quick hand grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt and pulled her in the nearest.

Rin fought and kicked, but her latest kidnapper blocked every blow, voice level and clear.

"You've been wandering around our hideout for too long. Submit and you will be mercifully detained. Resist and we'll... Ruri?"

Rin finally stopped to study her captor, a boy only a handful of years older than her and that looked as if he had discovered the secret to immortal life.

Despite his reaction she had no clue who he was.

"Rin," She corrected him and that joy vanished in a flash. Still she couldn't be swayed from her mission. "I need to find Yusho. Are you him?"

"No," He answered with a gruff sigh as he dropped her. "You're very lucky though, because I can take you to him."

Once settled, Rin found herself at a table with several other of the boy's comrades. At the head of it sat a man who seemed to be in his late 30's, another boy who seemed still a teen yet held himself like a general, and the Yugo lookalike she had seen while stuck in the tube.

The man was the first to speak. "So we've been told you're the bracelet girl that Yuri took off with back during our first invasion attempt."

"Rin."

"Yes, Rin. Was that you?"

"Correct."

"What was his purpose in doing so?" The general boy asked. "Since then he's been impossible to track down."

"We were hiding from Academia in an underground bunker. I don't know why he took me in the first place, but he said it was to protect me."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" The Yugo lookalike interjected, worry evident to all. Somehow that made the question sting. Was he thinking of his own Rin, whoever she could be?

"Not in the way you're thinking." She played with the fabric of her shorts. "But I couldn't leave. He wouldn't let me, but then somehow Yugo appeared and told me to find you, so tell me what should I do?" Her voice grew shrill.

"Calm down," The man patted her hand in a fatherly manner. "Don't worry, we'll take care of you. But we've been trying ever since to rescue the girls like you from Akaba. Can you tell us anything else that might be useful? The sooner we stop him the sooner we can get you home."

As nice as home sounded, the mention of the man who had ordered her kidnapping in the first place sparked a curiosity in her.

"Just what does this Akaba want with-"

Just then, there was a scream outside, followed by a symphony of more. It was chaos; however, beneath the noise there was one constant.

A rageful roar Rin was all too familiar with.

At this point, Yuri was running on nothing but pure vengeance. Not even the allure of duels could distract him from his goal. He ordered Starve Venom to knock away anyone who tried to approach him. A few managed to slip in and Yuri carded them point-blank. None of this mattered. Not any of the flies that tried to distract him or the blood dripping from his duel disk. He'd kill them all if he had to. He'd burn Fusion itself to the ground.

He was going to find his Rin, and not even a god would be able to stop his rampage.

The entire room was thrown into motion as people donned duel disks and went to work. Rin tried to do something anything, but she felt like she was only following them around like a lost child.

The screams would not stop. The more duelists that ran out to face Yuri the more they grew in intensity. The roaring was growing louder and louder and Rin didn't know what to do but join the yells as well.

Thankfully she managed to gain enough self control to avoid doing so. Instead she tried to think as rationally as she could in this situation.

He's only here because of me. The longer I stand here, the more people will get hurt.

The mere idea of having to see him again sent shivers down her spine, still Rin couldn't keep doing nothing. She might be damning herself to a life of nothing but Yuri, especially with how unlikely she'd be able to escape a second time, still she rather sacrifice herself than let anyone else die because of her.

She stepped forward towards the source of the mayhem, but before she could join it, she felt someone grab her hand.

"Don't worry, I'll stop him." She turned to see the Yugo lookalike smiling fondly at her. "I won't let him hurt you. Just stand back. Please I don't want to lose you again."

Before she could question his behavior, he ran out with his duel disk raised.

And Rin got a front row seat to watch the birth of the Devil.