I know how annoying cliff-hangers are, and I promised that this chapter would come up as soon as possible , so here it is.
Please enjoy.

A tightly wound thread of concern started to unravel in Aki's stomach.

"No…I don't think he's told me anything to do with today. Why?"

"On this day, in the year Fudo-sempai turned 6, his father went missing." Surprisingly, the answer had come from Riva, and not Crow. The tattooed boy glared suspiciously at her.

"How did you know?" Delphine also gave the younger girl a look. Although she had not known Yusei for as long as Crow, she had been part of their circle of friends for a very long time.

Riva looked down at her lunch, some of her black hair falling over her eyes, in her usual shy manner. Then she looked up and gave Crow an intense look.

"Papa was one of the reporters covering the Toru Fudo case in the papers." She explained.

Delphine didn't seem to buy it "Really? But you know, that all cleared up 14 years ago. Hardly anyone remembers it."

"Papa keeps all his articles and research." Riva said everything quietly, like she didn't really want to be dragged into longer conversation. Aki looked briefly at Riva. Her mannerisms sometimes reminded her of Yusei. She wouldn't have been surprised if they were actually related.

Delphine sighed in exasperation. "Well , since Crow knows the most from being Yusei's friends since forever , and Riva has the advantage of her journalist father's knowledge , why don't the pair of you get on with it and explain to Aki. She has a right to know!" Aki allowed herself to giggle quietly at her glamorous friend's fieriness and then composed herself so she could listen to the story.

Crow and Riva alternated when telling, first him, then her and back again.

"16 May, the year Yusei turned 6. Don't ask what year that was, I'm crap at maths unlike you lot. But anyway, one day Rikka-san goes to wake Yusei's dad up and he's not there. First Rikka-san thinks that he has simply stayed in his lab for the night, she doesn't worry, instead, she goes and helps little Yusei get ready for school."

"But once Yusei was in school, she remembers that Toru Fudo can't have stayed there, since he came home that night. They had roast dinner that night, and Toru Fudo is not the type to stay in the laboratory all night , unless it is absolutely despite being known as a genius in his field , he is very good in everyday life –charming , popular , a devoted husband , a brilliant father. There was no reason for him to have simply upped and vanished in the middle of the night. But there didn't seem to be any other explanation for his absence."

"Rikka-san's a calm person though. Before calling the police, she called his work place, In case he had left early for whatever reason. He hadn't. I remember even Yusei had registered that something was up, at school that day he said to me that 'Daddy left early today . Isn't that weird?'"

"Rikka Fudo called the police in the afternoon. Investigations turned up nothing."

"Well, for an exact year they didn't. Yusei practically worshipped the ground that his dad walked on, and that entire year was total hell. Then, 16th May, the year he turns 7…"

The story paused there. At that moment , Emmy and Lily joined them. When they sat down , Lily instantly unpacked her lunch and started to munch happily at it , oblivious to the tense atmosphere around her. Emmy , on the other hand , picked up on it , and asked.

"What's going on?"

"Telling Aki –Chan about Yusei." Crow replied.

"Please don't call me that." Aki muttered. Then she turned to Riva.

"What happened next?"

Riva hesitated. Then she said.

"Toru Fudo turned up dead that day. "

Aki blinked. She had known that Yusei's father was dead, but never that he had disappeared then turned up exactly a year later.

"How?" she wanted, needed, to know.

Riva opened her mouth to answer, but then Delphine said.

"I think Yusei needs to tell you that himself."

Crow nodded agreement, and then added. "The whole thing was mad, and for a long time both Rikka-san and Yusei was hounded by reporters and the like. Especially Yusei, despite him being so young. In other words, confidentiality because he was under 18 was just thrown out of the window."

At that comment, Riva looked a bit guilty.

"You were a baby at the time, Yuki-Chan. "Emmy pointed out, noticing the look. Riva smiled at her, discreetly ignoring the fact that she too had addressed her by her middle name rather than her first.

Yusei's absence made a little sense now, in the light of these answers, but she was still a bit confused.

"So , what do I do now?"

Nobody had an answer to that, so they changed the subject, and the conversation emigrated to the back of their minds.

3 textsfrom Emmy, all a random anecdote from the day before. Two from Lily, more silly anecdotes .One from Sayuri, asking for details on any homework she missed. One from Riva, a reply to something she had sent to her a couple of hours ago. Nothing from Yusei. And how many messages had she sent him in the past 4 days? Near enough 30. Pathetic. She should have been annoyed at him for ignoring her, but instead she just felt sad. Sad that he hadn't told her about his past. Sad she couldn't do anything to help. Well, it's not like the past could be changed. Just look at the scars on her arms. But still…

Quickly , she tapped out a reply to Sayuri's message , then turned off her phone, got up from her desk , and left her room.

Downstairs , she went straight into the kitchen and stuck her head in the fridge to find a snack.

"Looking for snowballs?"

"Dad!" Aki pulled out of the fridge , laughing "You scared me!"

Hideo laughed.

"What you up to?"

"Food." Aki replied.

"I see. I think your mum bought some brownies yesterday. They're in the cupboard above the oven."

As soon as he had finished the sentence, Aki was over by that cupboard, tiptoeing. After a few seconds of searching, she turned and grinned, holding the tub. She opened it and said.

"Afterwards, I'm going to see Yusei and Rikka-san."

Hideo nodded.

"Be back in time for dinner. Don't tell you're mum that I was the one who told you where to find these."

"Roger that." She pulled out one of the brownies and munched, and her dad left the kitchen.

"Yusei does tend to get a little emotional around this time of year. So do I, but having my shop helps. And I wasn't the one who saw Toru die. "Rikka smiled apologetically at Aki as they sat in the small living blinked. She hadn't known that Yusei had witnessed his father's death. That put a spin on things. She didn't show her surprise , however. She had developed a skill of not appearing stunned by anything by now.

"Does he usually ignore everyone?"

"Well…I don't know. Past years, he's been mute, so I don't really have anything to compare from."

Aki nodded.

"Well, if it's OK, can I try talking to him here quickly? Not too long. I have to get home for dinner."

Rikka gave a half-shrug, as if to say "why not?" so Aki got up and went to Yusei's room door.

She knocked.

"Yusei?" No answer. She repeated his name. And waited.

The door opened slightly. She could see some of Yusei's face in the gap. His expression betrayed nothing.

"Hard time?"

Yusei nodded slightly.

"I know." Then she backtracked. "Well, I don't know exactly, since I've never been in your situation but I know the feelings…You know." Aki was starting to confuse herself.

Yusei laughed. The door opened completely, and they stood facing each other.

"What have you been doing then?"

"Wandering around. Visiting the .Studying."

Typical Yusei, not wanting to fall behind, even in the middle of a sad was as a loss as to what to say next. Then she noticed Yusei was signing someone.

*How did you cope with yourself?*

Aki blinked. Then her thoughts collected themselves. Here was the chance to tell him what she was thinking, these days of his absence. But she didn't have the words. Finally, she said.

"To be someone's saviour, you don't always have to make miracles. Sometimes, all you need to do is exist , in order to be someone's saviour." There was silence following the words. Then Aki noticed the time.

"I better go. I'll see you at school tomorrow." She left, saying good bye to Rikka on the way.

Her mood had brightened up somewhat after seeing Yusei. By telling him that she'd see him at school, she knew she was assuming a bit too much. But she knew for sure that he had understood her answer, which was why she believed that he'd be there.

These days , it was a lot easier to put her faith into things.

I hope this was a satisfactory chapter for you. I think that either the next chapter or the one after will end up being the last , depending on how I decide to move things on from here.

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