Chapter 8: Selection

{Sakaki Household: June 11th 2014, 6:29am}

Growing up as a witch – and in a family full of them – Yuya had long since learned the importance of dreams, and how they reflected internal problems that you couldn't seem to solve when awake, and also how they could be a gateway for visions of the future. While Yuya didn't quite inherit the gift of divination like his mother, he did have a few decent skills in it that allowed him to pinpoint as much vital information as he could with them. In his current dream, Yuya had just one the world championships, and become one of the greatest Duelists to ever be, but while doing so he had been able to stick by his beliefs as an Entertainment Duelist and really show off the skills that his father had taught him.

The dream was going well, his most trusted monster: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon had defeated Tyrant Dragon, and he felt as though he was on top of the world, that is until he'd been pounced on by one Sora Shuinin and fallen off of the moon – why his dream was set in the astral realms he wasn't sure – and into a dark abyss. It was cold there, hollow and devoid of all life; however, that all changed when the pain of hitting his head on the floor of his room greeted his senses. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Yuya was face-first on the ground. Having grown up in a family of witches, Yuya had also learned something else: bad starts to the day always meant a bad day, period.

"Dammit! Why does that always happen?" Yuya muttered as he started to get himself the rest of the way out of bed and onto the white and red tile floor of his room while his eyes adjusted to seeing the sunlight and read that it was still far too early for him to be up, but he accepted it nonetheless and got to work on getting ready for the day.

"Seriously, how many more dreams are gonna cause me to fall face first onto the floor?" he wondered aloud as he went to brushing his hair and teeth before washing his face as he went back into his room and began getting dressed for the day.

Without question, Yuya knew that waking up as he did proved that his day was going to be nothing short of weird if not stressful. Another huff left him as he finished getting ready and then looked towards his wrists as he sat on his bed for a few moments, completely focused as the pendulum crystal he wore swung between his scarred arms, stopping just short each time of being over both his scars. It had been a stupid mistake, and he regretted it every single day since it happened, and what made it all the worse was that Yuzu had been the one to find him. His dearest friend who he cared for deeply had been the one to witness the state he had placed himself in, and in all the chaos, never once left his side. Sighing, Yuya grabbed the two wrist bands he wore and pulled them over his wrists, hiding the scars as he started to exit the room, dressed with his usual attire on save for his shoes and jacket which were downstairs. As he started walking through the hall a bark caught his attention.

"En! Core!" he smiled as he crouched down to where a small corgi puppy and a strange, fat cat had come to him. The cat had a heart-shaped mark on its back, one yellow eye, and one blue, and wore a small tie that Yuya had put on it once out of boredom during an event where he had to wear a suit and tie – which was on his list of least favorite attires - and the cat hadn't allowed him to take it back since.

"You've become pretty heavy, En! Even though, when Mom picked you up from the street, you were so small you could fit in my palm, which is saying something seeing as you know I have tiny hands, huh?" Yuya said as he pet the small dog who barked at him as the large, strange-looking cat pawed at his leg, causing him to look at him.

"Good morning Core," he said to the cat who meowed in its strangely deep voice as he smiled a bit at the two animals and sat En down.

"Just as I thought, you were pretty hungry." The sound of his mother's voice caught his attention as he started towards the poll – similar to ones you would find in Fire houses – and then slid down it as though it was a simple task.

"Come on, eat as much as you'd like!" his mother stated as he hit the ground and started walking towards the kitchen.

"Mom, did you pick up something aga…." Yuya froze in his tracks.

"Ah, teach! Good morning!" Sora greeted as Yuya went face first into the ground.

"Why are you….?!" Yuya just about couldn't muster words at this point. Ever since he'd knocked Sawatari and his lackies out, Sora had been hanging around him like the Grim Reaper did hospitals. Yuya shook that morbid thought from his mind and looked back at the boy.

"Oh, you know…he was hanging around here. I saw that he was pretty hungry, so, I ended up picking him up," Yoko said with a smile as Yuya groaned.

"Mom! You shouldn't pick up humans! You know…" he rolled his eyes, looking down at his food in frustration.

"Well, he is your Duel student, isn't he?" she questioned.

"He isn't! What have you been telling her Sora?" the blue-haired boy kept eating his pancakes in peace.

"Hmm…I just told her that I was going to become your student. Teach, besides, as far as I'm concerned you're the best man for the job!" he answered as Yuya growled, gritting his teeth while Yoko eyed his behavior with a cautious gaze.

"I need to tell him about his magic soon, it's showing more and more in his attitude and that's not a good thing," she thought.

"I am not! Did you even sign up at You Show?" Sora smiled.

"Yep, the Principle should have my paperwork all sorted out now," he stated as Yoko watched her son sink down into his seat.

"I don't believe this…." Yoko smiled.

"Come on, Yuya give him a chance! I'll bet you'll be surprised by how nice it'll be to have a student," she assured her son who shot her a long look, scarlet eyes seeming to bore holes into her as for just a second his pupils flickered to fine slits similar to a cat's before returning to normal.

"Teach, it's fine! I won't cause you a lot of trouble, I promise! I just want to learn Pendulum Summoning!" Yuya gritted his teeth.

"Why are you hanging around my house anyways?" he questioned.

"Because, you're interesting, like I said and I think I'm going to like knowing you better! That, and your big sister's pancakes are so yummy!" Yoko looked to him.

"What? Big sis?!" she probed.

"Oh, aren't you? With how young and pretty you are, I assumed you were Teacher's sister…. but then again…. you guys don't really favor, are you his cousin or aunt?" Yoko felt a twinge in the pit of her stomach.

"Really? Well, I am Yuya's mother…." Sora felt his eyes widen.

"Whoa! You must have been really young when you had him, especially looking as youthful as you do," he said.

"Yes, Yuya was born when I was eighteen. I married early in my life and about five months later I found out that I was expecting Yuya…" Sora smiled.

"Wow! Then you didn't have a lot of time to prepare, did you? I had a cousin who had a baby and I remember it was really tough on her, was he a hard baby to have?" Sora questioned as Yuya began to sink further into his chair, contemplating a passage on paralyzing potions that worked on vocal chords in the grimoire and wondering how long the potion took too steep before it could be used.

"No, you see, Yuya was a premature baby…I had him when I was at the seven-month marker during my pregnancy," she explained as Yuya felt his eyes grow dim as he checked out for a bit, mind rambling through different bits of homework and information in the family grimoire.

"Oh…is that why you're so small teach?" Yuya snapped out of his daze.

"I AM NOT THAT SMALL!" Yuya roared only for Yoko to place a hand upon his head.

"Yuya, no yelling in the house, you know the rules," she told him as he sighed in defeat.

"I didn't mean to offend you Teach, I was just curious because I noticed you do seem more on the…. petite side?" Sora tried his luck with that statement and Yuya stood.

"Ya know, I think I'm gonna head to school now, bye!" with that Yuya left and Yoko groaned.

"Dear Ceres! That boy…. Yuya! You've gotta eat!" she called as the boy tugged on his shoes and raced out the door.

"Does teach not eat like he should or something?" Yoko looked back to Sora.

"No, he doesn't. I don't really know what to do with him sometimes," she said as Sora started eating and then glanced to the untouched plate of pancakes across from him.

"Well, personally, I think that you don't need to worry. Teach is a really healthy person ya know? It's kind of spooky how well off he always seems to be." Yoko paused as she heard Sora's statement.

"I take good care of him, that's why," she said as Sora nodded and went to deliver his dishes to the sink.

"There you go, I need to head on myself, but can I come back later?" Yoko smiled as she patted the boy's head.

"You're welcome back any time you want, now get going before you're late to school yourself," she said.

"Okay, bye!" with that, Sora left and Yoko took in a deep breath, shaking a bit.

"He's right…" she looked at her reflection on the surface of the pot of water that she had on the stove right then.

"We don't favor at all…"

{Road to School: 7:45am}

"Yuya? Are you okay?" asked Yuzu as she watched her friend slump a bit as he walked.

"Not really, this morning was just really crummy…" the pink-haired girl rose an eyebrow.

"How so?" she questioned.

"Well…first I fell out of bed, then I found out that the kid whose been following me around has found where I live and is joining us for breakfast….in addition, my mom's so smitten with him…I think she's likely to adopt him into our family…" the boy sighed in defeat again.

"Oh, that boy? Sora, that's his name right?" she probed.

"Yep…" Yuzu frowned.

"So, he's staying at your place now?" the boy shook his head.

"I hope not…" he muttered.

"Is it that bad?" she questioned.

"He's kinda driving me insane…. I don't know how he found me, but…he invaded our house, and I don't think pest control handles those kinds of situations." Yuya had put both his arms behind his head and was still walking, dangling his school bag behind him between his fingers.

"Come on now, he can't be that bad! He just looks up to you, calling you big brother or…"

"Teacher!" a voice called from behind and Yuya sighed.

"Yea, he says that a lot…wait! What?! When did you…" Yuya turned and saw Sora standing there with a bright grin.

"Hi, good-morning!" he said as Yuzu watched the interaction.

"Why did you tag along?" scarlet eyes meeting pastel green.

"Well, I'm your student after all, teach! I'll follow you wherever you go," Sora stated with a bright grin as Yuya stepped back in a slightly uneasy manner.

"Funny, I don't recall making you my student! How many times do I have to…" the blue-haired boy cut him off.

"Come on, make me your student! Watching your Duel was super exciting! Pendulum Summoning is so cool! I've never seen it before! I want to try it too!" Sora stated excitedly as Yuzu gave him a questioning look while Yuya sent him an exasperated one.

"Well, you can't perform a Pendulum Summon if you don't have Pendulum Cards." Yuya didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he didn't quite honestly have a choice at this point.

"Then show me again! Please, please, please!" Sora begged while Yuya put his hands on his hips, refusing to budge.

"I don't think so…" Yuzu sighed as Sora turned to her.

"Hey, Yuzu? Could you ask teach for me?" he questioned.

"Why me?" the blue-haired boy rose an eyebrow.

"Well, teach would probably listen to what his girlfriend says, wouldn't he?" Sora questioned.

"G-Girlfriend?" Yuya felt warmth rise to his face alongside Yuzu.

"What? Aren't you? I mean Sawatari called her your girlfriend during your Duel with him and you never denied it so…" Yuya and Yuzu jumped at the boy.

"No, I'm not!" Yuzu declared as Yuya looked at the boy.

"No, she's isn't!" the two glanced at each other while Sora smiled.

"H-Hey, I just assumed you were sweethearts…" Yuya pointed his finger at a still blushing Yuzu.

"Why would I date Miss Barbaric Strong over here?! As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing sweet about her! So why would I bother!" he snapped as Yuzu's fan appeared and she whacked Yuya across the face so hard he hit the ground and she stormed off muttering.

"What the heck are you talking about?! Who do you think I am? Gosh! Stupid boy!" Yuzu kept going as Sora looked at Yuya who was still reeling from the impact.

"Teach, are you alright?" he questioned.

{Maiami Junior High School: 9:45am}

Science class dragged its feet as Yuya sat there, listening to the drone of the teacher talking about how quartz reacted to one another and how a spark could be administered. They were going over earth sciences this semester, and to Yuya, it was quite honestly dull; therefore, he sat by his place at the window, one hand propping up his head as he contemplated the facts that he'd gathered thus far about the new method of summoning he'd created. Anyone could use a Pendulum Summon with the right cards, but seeing as he was the only one with them at the time, Yuya supposed worrying over that wasn't important at current, still his face remained serious while he thought of those details and then considered his dreams lately and why every time he started to awaken from them he'd be cast into a frigid abyss of darkness. None of it made sense, and that didn't go unnoticed by Yuzu who was trying to take notes, or Sora who had a serious look up on his face as he watched Yuya from a tree outside the classroom.

"Why is he got that serious look on his face? Something must be really bugging him…. maybe it's because I upset something between Yuzu and him? Or…is it because I know something about him and his mom that I shouldn't?" Sora contemplated aloud before turning right-side up on his branch.

During gym class, Yuya was put into soccer with the other boys, and quite honestly had started to grow annoyed by that point, not because of the game, but because of a certain blue-haired, orange pom-pom wielding cheerleader on the other side of the fence. Next was lunch which resulted in the same shock of being greeted by Sora out of the blue, then in class Yuya felt something bump his leg and looked down to find that it was Sora yet again, finally, Yuya retreated to the restroom, thinking that he could hide until the day was over from the boy, but low and behold, he appeared there once again.

Yuzu stared at Yuya who was dragging his feet by the end of the day, walking alongside her with a glum look upon his face. Sora had drove him to the point that Yuya had screamed at the boy, baring his teeth in a threatening manner until the blue-haired youth had backed away and told him he'd see him later. Yuya had missed two classes because of the fiasco and now he was relying on Yuzu for notes – something he wasn't fond of – only to then find out that they had a test. Yuya removed his goggles, musing up his hair the goggles slid down to rest about his neck and chest while the pink-haired girl looked to him.

"Yuya? Come on, cheer up," she said.

"I can't, Yuzu! Don't you get it! This kid is going to drive me insane!" she smiled.

"You do the same thing to me from time to time, so I guess you know how it feels now," she stated before hearing another long sigh leave the boy.

"Shut up!" the girl stared.

"Yuya…" he sighed in defeat.

"I…listen, I think I'm just gonna head home and cram for the test on Friday…I don't really wanna just…" Yuzu glared.

"Go to the Duel School, then go home and study. In fact, I'll help you out so long as you don't skip Duel School, am I clear?" she asked.

"Fine, I'll go!"

The ending result of Yuya's less than spectacular day had resulted in him nearly being crushed to death by a Five Nights at Freddie's imitation that came from Sora's Fusion Summoning while using his Fluffal Deck, nearly having a nervous break-down when he thought he'd failed to protect Odd-Eyes, laughing like a maniac when he had forced himself to just smile and laugh, only to find out that Pendulum Monsters go to the Extra Deck and then One-Shot-Killing Sora in their Duel only for the boy to denounce that he was going to be his student, and instead become his friend. Yuya wanted to give him a chance, but he was honest to god past the point of being able to sit back and take things at face value.

At current, he was sitting in the kitchen while his mother was cooking, a grim look on her face as he watched her in confusion. What had gotten to her was beyond him, but he suspected asking would not be in his favor, therefore he didn't. Sora had ran off somewhere after their Duel, and now he was busy trying to study two different forms of science for a test that he hadn't realized was going to happen due to Sora's interruptions. He contemplated the types of metals that reacted to magnets, then he considered the reaction certain gemstones and crystals had with one another, and that got his brain on the rabbit trail of a Duelist named Jesse Anderson who used Crystal Beasts and how other Gem or Crystal themed cards had come out since that person had been in his age group and what it must be like to go up against Rainbow Dragon.

"Damn! Focus, Yuya! Focus!" he said, slapping his cheeks hard enough to cause them to sting a bit as Yoko looked to him with a mournful glance as he started working again.

Yoko almost corrected him for swearing, but for some reason she couldn't find herself the mindset to do it. The things that Sora had said earlier that morning rang in her mind every time she looked at the boy sitting in the room with her working ceaselessly on his homework and the notes that Yuzu had made copies of and handed off to him. She sighed, momentarily pausing with her back turned to Yuya in order to clutch at the locket she wore, her eyes burning as she considered what she was thinking of talking to Yuya about. It wasn't going to be easy; however, Yoko knew several people personally who had to do this with their children eventually, and that it wasn't what one would call an easy feat.

"How can I tell him the truth? How will he take it?" she thought as she glanced back to him and he growled, defeated as he tried to get the basics down and make flash cards for him to remember the information. At this point, Yuya blew his bangs out of his eyes, feeling his reading glasses slip down the bridge of his nose as he did so.

"Yuya? Why don't you take a break?" she offered as he set to reviewing again, his bangs hanging freely in his eyes due to his goggles being upstairs in his room. He was dressed in his normal attire, but his shoes, belt, wrist warmers, and choker were completely gone, leaving him with just his shirt, pants, and pendulum crystal on.

"I've gotta memorize these stupid answers by Friday! It's Wednesday mom!" he groaned in defeat at this and Yoko walked over to him, seeing what he was studying.

"Yuya, you already know about reactions with crystals and gems," she said crouching down just a bit.

"But I have to give the mortal answer to this! Not the witchy one!" Yoko sighed.

"You know Alchemy, and you can't memorize this for science? Come now, you'll be fine, besides, your father and I…" she felt the words die on her tongue as the boy's warm scarlet eyes looked to her.

"Mom?" he asked as Yoko tensed, but then smiled.

"It's nothing, just do your best. Now, put it up and help me cook, you look like you could use a break." Yuya relented at long last.

"Okay, what are we having anyways?" she smiled.

"I thought we'd travel out of Japan tonight and try something else. How about Italian? I know you like cheese ravioli and grilled chicken, or do you feel like Spanish food? Maybe even creole?" Yuya gave her a wiry grin.

"That's something I think I'll leave to the chef," he told her.

"Then…Italian it is. I'm not good enough of a cook to make the pasta myself, but I do have a wonderful recipe from Reid Pepper for baked four-cheese lasagna with chicken and mushrooms, how does that sound?" Yuya nodded.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Well, the pasta needs to be boiled first, then we have to cook the meat and season and pre-cook the mushrooms, then we have to layer everything and put the sauce in it, so about an hour or so worth of work, sound okay?" he nodded quickly.

"Fine by me! So, I'll start with the pasta or do you want me to start with the vegetables?" Yoko smiled.

"Get the pasta started and then start chopping the mushrooms, okay?" she questioned as he nodded.

"Okay…"

Yoko worked on cutting up the chicken and getting out the rest of their ingredients while she watched Yuya work on the mushrooms out of the corner of her eyes. From the time he had been an infant to now, Yuya had always been her little boy, someone she loved and wanted nothing more than to protect with all she had; however, she was beginning to realize that he was growing up and it was time to start telling him some very important details, the first of which, related to his magic which with what she had seen, was indeed what she thought it was not too long ago. The prospect of this child being born with that kind of magic baffled her, but only to some extent as it was proven that certain types of magic were completely hereditary, and tended to go through generations.

However, she wasn't certain as to how Yuya would handle it, knowing that his magic was so different, and she didn't even want to contemplate what his reactions would be towards the other things she needed to tell him. Yuya paused in his chopping to empty the plate into a bowl where the mushrooms would be rinsed, seasoned and pre-cooked before going into the mix of cheese in between the shredded chicken. Yoko smiled as she eyed him once more, looking over his lithe structure and the features he had while he kept working. Yuya had a small nose that almost had a small pixie-ish upturn to it, very bright, wide eyes, high cheekbones, a slight jawline, fairly full lips, straight teeth that were white and pristine, and small ears.

His hair fell in a messy state, his bangs hanging in his eyes, the two colors in stark contrast with one another, but always seeming to look good. His body build wasn't very broad in any form, and that came from being premature and having colic as a baby. Yuya's shoulders weren't very broad, he had a slender column as his throat, a small torso, slender arms, tiny hands with long, slim fingers, small hips and slightly long, but thin legs. His skin was tan, but not extremely so, while he wasn't also very tall, being fourteen years old and only topping off at four-foot-eleven. Yoko sighed, knowing exactly who the boy looked like in every aspect right down to the complexion he had. Yoko clutched the locket once again, taking in a deep breath as she started getting everything ready to put the pasta together.

"Alright, the pasta should be just about ready, let's get the cheeses and then we'll can cook the chicken and get it all in the oven. How about we have salad with it?" Yoko asked as Yuya nodded.

"Okay mom…" Yoko didn't show the pain in her eyes as she smiled to the boy.

{Streets of Maiami: 8:25pm}

With a crackle of energy, two figures appeared within an alleyway, looking at their surroundings as they got their bearings after having jumped through a dimension to get to where they were now. The sharp, tawny-eyes of Shay Obsidian looked around as he pulled up his bandana and grabbed a pair of sunglasses that were in his jacket pocket. It would be vital to lay low only because they weren't certain what kind of environment they were in, let alone what the entirety of the situation was with the Standard Dimension and the war going on. Next to him, was Yuto who was looking around in momentary confusion before glancing towards his friend who nodded to him as they started out and Yuto pulled a pair of goggles up from around his neck.

"Yuto, that crystal of yours is glowing again," Shay stated as he pointed to the violet and black pendulum around his friend's neck.

"It's been doing it since that guy on the motorbike showed up…he had something glowing on him and his Dragon and mine don't seem very fond of each other…" tawny eyes met storm-cloud gray as Shay sighed.

"I guess there's not much you can do about it, but just be careful…if we split up we need to make sure we can find a way to meet back up in case we need to get out of here," he stated while Yuto thought for a moment only to a second later close his eyes.

Shay knew what his friend was doing: he was using his magic. Yuto was a type of creature known as a Phantasmal Imp, or at least, part of him was and that was where his black and purple hair came from; however, because of what he was, Yuto could use magic and one of the forms he was best at was dark magic which allowed him to access an immense form of spells and powers that even witches couldn't do normally. Yuto opened his eyes, and instead of the normal stormy-gray, there were black sclera with celeste-blue irises as he scanned the area in a quick pace before finally glancing back to Shay.

"Any ideas?" the boy nodded.

"The Pier, just to the north. There are old warehouses, meet me at the entrance dock if we get split up, also, try and remember that our Duel Disks have homing devices in them," Yuto pointed out as Shay nodded.

"Right…but…this city is massive, how are we gonna start looking?" the other smirked.

"Leave that to me on one end, I'll take the left side of the city, and you can take the right, sound good?" Shay looked him over.

"Are you sure you're okay with that?" he questioned as the boy gave him a confident smirk, his eyes returning to their normal gray color save for his right eye which was frigid blue with a black sclera still.

"I'm a Phantasmal Imp! At least, part of me is! I can handle myself Shay! Now start looking, I don't think wandering around in daylight is a smart move. If we see any Duel Schools we'll start doing some digging, for now…. good luck Nakama!" with that Yuto darted away, jumping up a series of fire escapes until he was on the roof and racing over them.

"And to you, Nakama…may the heart of the cards guide you," Shay stated as he started walking down the sidewalk, preparing to begin his search for his sister.

The two off-worlders wandered off from one another, each with their own plans in mind for searching for Ruri, Shay's little sister, and the one person who meant the entire world to Yuto. The two Xyzians, survivors of the interdimensional war, began to search, hoping for the best as they wandered by moonlight.

{….}

I'm tired of all these rockers sayin' come with me…

{…}

Author's Note: So, Shay and Yuto are back in the picture after a tiny break, Yoko is struggling with some secrets, Sora is driving Yuya crazy, and Yuzu is starting to admit that she has feelings for Yuya. In other words: all is so far right with the world. However, I should inform you that yes, we will be seeing a few Legacy Cameos outside of the ones that are already in Arc-V as well as some scenes with the KH group, but there won't be much as I should remind you that these events are taking place around the time of the Lost Two – Part II/Kingdom Hearts: Descending Shadows.

Trivia:

May the heart of the cards guide you was said by the Pharaoh Atem to Yugi during the Ceremonial Duel in Season V of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.

Nakama is the Japanese word for friend – as is Tomodachi – but it also means comrade or ally whom the person knows very well.

Yuto is a Phantasmal-Imp, and is a bit close to the Ghouls from the anime/manga series Tokyo Ghoul when it comes to speed, reflexes, and certain traits; however, he does not possess a Kagune of any kind, but he does know some seriously badass magic, and yes, you will get more Yuto screen time than in the anime.

Tell me what you think!

Sincerely,

ShadowDragon94.