Author's Notes: Hmmm... another not-so-great chapter in my opinion... Ah well...
(Once again, HUGE thank you to the people who review^_^ It means a lot to me!)
Chapter Six – Secrets and Pain
"Father!" Yusei whispered, eyes widening further.
"Mm." The man nodded once, his blue eyes shining with a brilliant light.
"But what's happening? Why is it happening? Two people have been killed and... I don't even know what happened to me."
"I cannot tell you every answer you seek, though I wish I could. However, I can say this: you are only unconscious, my son, like before when we met," his father explained.
"But you saved me then... does that mean this time - ?" Yusei couldn't finish his sentence.
"Yes," his father replied, reading his only son's mind. "Once again, it was not your time. I suppose I am, what you would call, your 'guardian angel'. Who was it, did you think, that second bullet was meant for? Both were not meant for Mr. Wacha, Yusei; the second was meant for you. And as for that traffic jam you got stuck in on your way to Mr. Davis' home... When I said I had never left you, my son, I meant it. Though you can't see me all the time, I am still your father, and I will still always protect you. Your duel with Kalin when he was a Dark signer... Meeting Alex in the Facility... Even when you simply fell down and scraped your knees... I was there with you, guiding you, protecting you.
"I will never leave you alone, Yusei," he whispered as he began to fade into the distance toward a greater and brighter light than the one surrounding him.
"Wait! Don't go! I have so many questions!" Yusei called desperately, breaking into a run.
"As for why this is happening, "Dr. Fudo answered, his voice fading with him, "look to the photos Mr. Wacha gave you, Yusei. They hold more than they appear.
"I love you, my son." With those words, he disappeared completely inside the light.
Yusei, determined to follow though he knew he couldn't, kept running towards the light, and then, to his surprise, was inside it. Once he had stepped in, he never again wanted to leave; it caused such life as he had never felt before to run through his veins, through his entire being. But just as quickly as this feeling had begun, the light began to fade until all was black once again.
Yusei was now vaguely aware that his eyes were again closed and he was lying on something soft. His senses were slowly returning to him and now he could hear someone moving about, as well. The next sense he could have done without: pain. It started as just a slight throbbing in his right elbow, but it quickly escalated in intensity until it burned. The pulsing sensation expanded from his elbow down to the palm of his hand and up into his shoulder. Not only that, but his whole body ached and his head pounded. Never before would he have thought he would wish for unconsciousness.
He slowly opened his sapphire eyes to a dimly lit room. At first, all he could make out through his blurred vision were shades of grey; no recognizable objects. He closed them again for a moment and when he reopened them, his eyes began to focus until he could recognize the room as his own.
"Yus'?" He shifted his eyes towards the voice and found his fiery-haired friend, who immediately came to Yusei's side. "How ya feeling?" Crow asked as he perched on the bed's edge.
Yusei closed his eyes again and swallowed hard; even the slight shift from Crow sitting on the edge was enough to intensify the pain times ten.
Crow winced as if the pain was his own. "That good, huh?" He stood up. "I'll go see what I can do about it." Yusei, eyes still closed, nodded almost imperceptibly as Crow turned to leave. It took only a moment for Crow to return, pill bottle in one hand and a glass of water in the other. As carefully as he could manage, he slid an arm under Yusei's shoulders to lift him slightly so he could take the medicine. The pain of such a small movement was almost unbearable.
"Crow," he asked after his head had been laid back down on the pillow, "what happened?"
The orange-haired male shook his head. "I wish I could tell you, buddy, but we don't know either. Kalin has a pretty reasonable theory, but that's about all." Crow then proceeded to relay the conversation that had taken place almost two days before with Kalin.
"This doesn't add up, Crow. I don't know anything so why would someone try to kill me?" Even as he asked, Yusei already knew it was true by what his father had told him.
"I don't have an answer for that either, but what other reason could there be for what happened?"
Yusei sighed and, before he realized what he was saying, told Crow, "I know it's true, that someone tried to kill me. I just don't know why."
"What?" Crow blinked, puzzled. "Whadaya mean you 'know'? We were just speculating..."
"I know because my father told me." Yusei continued telling his friend what he had seen. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to talk it over after the pain medication kicked in and made Yusei sleepy.
The subject would be left untouched for some time after.
One Week Later.
No one had mentioned anything from the past month to Yusei since Crow had talked to him after he'd woken up. He'd been in so much pain that he had been constantly asleep due to the effects of the medication so no one had said much at all about anything to him in the past week.
On this particular day, the whole gang was present at the small makeshift apartment. Jack was reading the paper and sipping coffee as always; Kalin was attempting to give Leo pointers as he dueled his twin sister, Luna; Crow and Akiza were laughing at Leo's various reactions as he ignored Kalin and continued to lose duel after duel because of it.
Out of nowhere, Jack stated, "Well, look who's finally up and about." Everyone turned their attention towards the blond at his words to see someone they hadn't expected.
"Yusei!" the twins exclaimed excitedly, jumping to their feet from where they had been sitting on the floor and rushing over to give him a hug. As they collided with him, Yusei winced but kept smiling, as he was happy to see them as well. Without his jacket on, Yusei's injuries were still quite obvious. His arms and neck were still bruised black, blue, purple, and, where he had started healing, dull shades of yellow and green. Crow knew that underneath his shirt, his chest and back almost certainly looked much worse.
"Hey, be careful!" Crow warned them.
Akiza spoke up then, to Yusei, "You sure you should be up yet? I mean, there's no hurry or anything, and you did take quite a hit."
"I feel much better, Akiza," Yusei reassured her. "Still a little sore, but I'm fine." He shook his head and gave a small smile. "Besides, I couldn't stand the thought of staying in bed any longer."
"We're glad you're ok!" Luna chimed.
"Yeah," Leo added. "Especially Akiza, I'm sure! You'd have thought you were dying, the way she talked!"
Yusei glanced over to where Akiza was seated on the couch; she only blushed and ducked her head, averting her eyes. He couldn't help but smile, knowing she had more than likely been the most concerned of all his friends. More than once when he had been only half asleep, he had heard her talking to Crow in the doorway, asking how he was doing. "Oh really," he responded. "Well at least I know some one was concerned about me." Akiza looked up at Yusei, and the raven-haired youth winked back, bringing a small smile to the girl's lips.
All were silent for a moment until Kalin spoke up. "So, what's the next move?"
"What do you mean?" Yusei questioned.
"Ah, c'mon," Kalin returned. "You can't tell me you're giving up the search."
Yusei sighed. "Actually, Kalin, I am."
"WHAT?" they all gasped.
"B - b - but you can't!" Kalin protested. "Just think about it for awhile!"
"Oh, but I am, " Yusei answered. "I've had plenty of time to think about it, and it's because I've had time to think that I've made this decision. Two people have been killed, Kalin; how many more have to die before you see it's not worth it? I just wish I had realized it sooner; it took my own injury to make me see it's just not worth the price anymore. I guess some secrets are meant to stay hidden in the shadows, never uncovered." Yusei closed his sapphire eyes, ducked his head so his dark bangs covered them.
"It's over, Kalin. I'm done searching."
Author's Notes: Don't worry people; the show's not over yet! But you'll have to keep reading to find out more^_^
As always, reviews are greatly loved and appreciated^_^
