The ground shook beneath my feet as thunder roared, a bone-chilling feeling washing over me. Yellow lighting struck the trees, and one by one, they started to fall. My body shook as each tree hit the cold, fractured earth. Even though I knew it was coming, and I could brace myself accordingly each time it happened, my body would still jerk in fear. Regardless, I kept walking, paying little mind to the trees as I was generally safe so long as I kept moving forward.

I had almost reached the end of the path. I could see a fork in the road up ahead. I picked up the pace. The only thing on my mind, the most important thing I felt, was to get out of the Hellish forest I had wandered into.

My eyes locked onto a wooden sign and I slowly reached out, gently placing my right hand along the side of it.

The words carved into the sign were in a language I didn't recognize, but that didn't matter to me. As I stood at the crossroads, I could see where each path would potentially end up taking me. The left path stretched on, with more trees and a black sky, until it just came to a dead stop at a shrine surrounded by more trees. A severed head, neckline plunged into a pike of blood-drenched wood, was displayed outside it. I knew whose head it was right away. Taze.

I looked to the right path. I squinted my eyes to try and get a look at what else was waiting for me down that way, but beyond the tower that stood firmly amongst the other buildings in the distance, everything else was shrouded in a while mist. In spite of that, the sky was blue, the grass leading up to the area was green, and it was generally a much better-looking route. There was this feeling of warmth and comfort that I simply couldn't ignore.

I took a deep breath, recomposed myself, and began walking down the right road.

Where I wanted to be.


My eyes opened slowly, a long, unstable breath working its way out of me.

The sound of a hoarse smoker's cough from the apartment under me, no doubt belonging to the old lady living there, filled my ears. I groaned, pulling my duvét over me in a feeble attempt to nullify the sound, but she just started coughing louder, as if she could tell I was trying to block her out.

Within a few minutes though, the coughing died down and I was able to close my eyes and slow my breathing as I tried getting back to sleep.

To me it felt like a lifetime had passed, even though I knew it had only been a day since the Gala. Technically it had only been six hours, but I figured that since I had gotten some sleep that I could consider that everything that happened at the Gala was all in the same day. It was stupid, but I wanted it to be that way.

I didn't have any plans for the day, and I was perfectly content just spending all my time in bed, sleeping or listening to music. I'd have done anything really to get the events of the Gala out of my head.

I sighed, trying to think back to what happened in the dream. There was some part of me that felt as though there was something about it that I needed to know, or that held some sort of importance, even though with every second that passed, the memory of it all just became more and more unclear. However, the more I thought about it, the more I felt myself drifting back off to sleep.

I could feel it. I was just on the verge of falling asleep again when my phone went off.

My eyes shot open and I all but leapt out of bed, ready to ditch my phone against the wall. I snatched it from my bedside drawer as my eyes burned, looking to see what had caused my phone to go off.

A message from Jack.

Come to Yusei's. Need to talk.

I stared at the message on my phone until my eyes lost focus and my vision blurred. I looked up and over to the couch in my apartment, specifically the spot where Taze would sit and quietly strum away on his guitar.

I collapsed back onto my bed, sighing as my phone fell from my hand, landing softly beside me. It wasn't that I was afraid, I was just, quite frankly, too fucked to do anything. And I felt like I'd said everything I needed to at the Gala, which wasn't an easy experience for me, to say the least. I didn't think that I owed anyone a follow-up explanation, but then again, I really didn't know the reason why Jack wanted to see me. For all I knew, it could've had nothing to do with what went on at the Gala.

I sighed once more, looking over at my phone again. Hesitating for a moment, I picked up my phone and sent Jack a reply.

K. Be there in 10.


I wasn't sure what to think or what would happen when I rocked up at Poppo Time. I was a little perplexed to find the garage locked, and I couldn't see anyone inside when I looked through the window. I sighed, walking back up past the shop and around to where Zora's place was. I knocked on the door, assuming that if Jack wasn't in the garage, he might've been with Zora inside her place waiting for me.

I was a little later than I had planned to be, mainly because I'd gone to the bank to cash Joel's check in. I figured I'd do that seeing as I was already out, but I realized then that that mightn't have been a good idea, as Jack might've wanted to see me right away.

The door handle rattled, squeaking a little as the door opened, Zora standing on the other side.

"Hi, Tyler." She greeted.

"Hey, Zora. Sorry to bother you, but is Jack around? He texted me and told me to come by the garage, but it's locked."

"He's inside. Please come on in." Zora said softly. She offered me a warm, compassionate and assuring smile, so I knew right away that somebody, probably Crow, had told her about what I'd said at the Gala, for some reason.

I followed Zora into her place, walking past the kitchen as she stopped just short of her living room, motioning for me to go on in. As I walked into Zora's living room, I wasn't expecting to see everybody else. 'Everybody else' consisted of Crow, Akiza, Leo and Luna sitting on the couch with Jack. Yusei was nowhere to be seen.

"What's goin' on?" I asked.

Zora opened her mouth to speak, but Jack interrupted. "We thought we'd get you over here and sort out your issues." He said bluntly.

"Oh, God!" I groaned, turning away.

"Nice, Jack. Very direct…" Crow murmured.

"I'll get lunch out of the oven." Zora said, moving into the kitchen.

"What Jack meant is, we all want to help you." Akiza said.

"Guys, we went over this last night: I'm not gonna try killing myself again." I said openly. "It was stupid. I know that now, and I knew that right after Luna talked me out of it. Can we please, please drop the subject? It's uncomfortable for me to even think about, much less talk about!" I shouted. I sighed, realizing I may have been a bit too direct. "Look, I appreciate that you guys want to help me, but I've said what I've said, and… There isn't anything more to it. Really, there isn't. I… I'm fine… Well, I'm not fine fine, but… I'm coping…"

"That's not why we called you over here." Akiza stated.

"Oh?"

"Tyler," Luna started. "We're really sorry about what happened to Taze."

My heart skipped a beat. "I am too…" I muttered. I threw my arms up, pushing my hands against my eyes. "Look, I'm sorry if this seems like I'm pushing you away or that I don't want to deal with my problems, but I just… this isn't really something that I want to discuss."

"I… We just don't want you to feel like you have to bottle things up, Tyler. We're your friends!" Luna insisted.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked softly. "Cry about it?"

"Have you cried yet?" Jack asked.

"I… don't know if you're asking me that sincerely or sarcastically."

"Sincerely." Jack said, lying back against the couch.

I scoffed, and then shook my head. "No. I think I've been crying so much about other things that my tear ducts are just broken now."

"I'm not sure that can happen…" Akiza muttered, looking to both sides of her.

"Well whatever. The point is I haven't cried about Taze dying yet. If you'd like me to, I can, but I'm sure none of us want that." I said plainly. I sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? Look: As I've said, this j-it's just not something I'm comfortable talking about."

"Talking about… with us?" Akiza asked.

"No! Just talking about in general! I had the feeling that, if I were to tell you guys about my suicide attempt, you'd go 'Oh. Tyler's mentally unstable. We can't hang around him anymore until he sorts himself out.', and it's not exactly like I was gonna call you guys up and be like 'Hey, just wanted to let you guys know I tried killing myself!', 'cause that's just messed up all on its own. I don't even have your number. I've got Jack's, and I've got Luna's. That's it."

Akiza and I both stared at each other, neither of our gazes wavering. The rest of the group was silent. I had no idea what was going through Akiza's mind, but I expected her to get up and leave, or tell me to piss off.

"Give me your phone." She finally said.

"What?"

"Give me your phone." Akiza repeated, motioning for me to hand it over.

"Fine. Here you go." I sighed, reaching into my left pocket and handing Akiza my phone. She started tapping away at something on the screen and then looked up at me.

"If it weren't for you, and Yusei… I would've probably done the same thing. I know that you got me out of the Arcadia Movement before it collapsed, and Yusei got through to me during my Duel with him and made me reconcile with my dad. I have what I have because of you guys… And I am how I am because of you guys. We all owe each other a little piece of ourselves, and that's okay. I thought that all I was, all I could ever be, was a monster, an outcast… But Yusei… Yusei helped me, showed me I could change, and thanks to him, I was able to be a part of a new group of friends. I know what it feels like to be alone, Tyler, to feel like you can't talk to anyone about what's going on, but I promise you we can work through this, together – as friends."

Akiza then passed my phone to Crow, who tapped away and then passed it to Leo, who, after Crow whispered something to him, did the same before getting up and giving my phone back to me. I looked down at my phone to see what they'd all done and was surprised to find that they'd each put their cell numbers in.

"Guys… I…" I stammered. I honestly had no idea what to say or what to do, so I just stood there looking sheepish. As an action, it was something so simple, but to me, it meant more than I could've said. I looked back at the five people sitting on the couch. I knew that each of them cared about me in their own way, otherwise they wouldn't have been here, and I wouldn't have been called over.

"Lunch is ready!" Zora called.

I decided I had to do something. I walked over to Akiza first, kneeling down as I moved my arms under hers, pulling her to me and hugging her briefly. "Thanks…" I whispered, feeling her put a hand on my back as I moved from Akiza to Luna, who was sitting next to her. I did the same with the twins, hugging and thanking them. With Jack and Crow, I just nodded to them instead, as I didn't want to make them uncomfortable.

I got to my feet, hearing Luna groan as Leo rushed past me and into the kitchen. Luna offered me an apologetic glance, her hand brushing my arm as she walked past me, motioning for me to follow.

I stood still for a moment as everybody else got up and headed into the kitchen, Crow putting a hand on my shoulder. "C'mon, man. Are you coming or what?"

I sighed, following Crow into the kitchen, but only because I was asked. I wasn't expecting to be offered lunch or anything, though I was feeling kind of hungry. Truthfully, I felt that things were a little off now. I'd had this, in my eyes, intense emotional breakthrough, and then suddenly it was time for lunch. Maybe I was overthinking things a little, as I had a tendency to do.

Deciding not to say anything, I simply watched as everyone sat down at the table across from the kitchen counter, aside from Luna, who was talking with Zora behind the counter as she took something out of the oven. Crow pulled a chair out for Akiza, who smiled politely at him before sitting down. Jack and Leo also went and sat down at the table, and for some reason I just stood there, not moving until Jack spoke to me.

"Are you gonna sit down, or are you just gonna stand there?"

"I, um… I don't want to intrude…" I muttered.

"Don't be silly, Tyler! Sit down! There's plenty!" Zora insisted.

"Okay…" I mumbled, taking an empty seat as Zora placed a bowl of Macaroni and cheese in front of me. To be honest, I felt a little awkward sitting down at the table with everyone. The last time that I'd eaten with company was when I stayed at Leo and Luna's place seven months ago, and although that really shouldn't have mattered at all to me now, it did. I was nervous and it was stupid.

I waited until everyone else was seated and had a bowl in front of them before I even thought about making eye contact with anyone else. Luna sat down next to me and I saw her smile gently. I turned to her, politely smiling back, before looking to the food in front of me. Although we were all seated, Zora stood behind the kitchen counter.

"Zora, aren't you going to have anything?" Akiza questioned.

Zora shook her head. "Oh, no. I simply can't. You should all eat while it's hot though."

"If you say so…" Akiza muttered, although Leo was more than happy to start digging into what was in front of him.

I gently moved my fork to scoop up some pasta, moving it against the bowl before lifting it to my mouth and eating it. "Zora, did you make this?" I asked, turning to her.

"A-actually, I did." Luna piped up. "I brought it over. I thought maybe you'd want something to eat since I didn't see you have anything last night. I-I was going to bring it over to your apartment for you, but then Akiza called me and told me about what was going on."

"Really?" I said, mentally cursing myself as I realized my tone of voice could've come across as somewhat patronizing, which was not at all what I wanted or intended. "And what's this green crispy stuff on the top?" I asked, poking it gently with my fork.

"Breadcrumbs and seaweed."

"Genius." I said, before continuing to eat.

If it hadn't have been for Leo's loud chewing, there would've been complete silence while we ate. There was still something that bothered me though, but it wasn't really anything to do with me. Even so, I felt like I still had to ask.

"So, where is Yusei?" I probed quietly.

Jack and Crow looked to each other before shrugging.

"I don't know. He came home late last night - woke me up, and then left again very early in the morning." Zora explained. "I do hope he's okay…"

"Whatever's going on, he won't talk to us about…" Crow muttered.

"He's gone from stoic to catatonic…" Jack mumbled. "The last time he was like this was with Kalin, but even then… This seems like something else entirely."

I sat back in my chair, thinking back to the last time I saw him before he went back to the Satellite. "Well," I sighed. "I spoke to him before he left for the Satellite and he was fine. I wasn't, but he was."

"What if it's got something to do with the Ghost?" Crow suddenly asked.

"The Ghost…?" Jack muttered.

"Yeah. I mean, Yusei only barely won against that Meklord Emperor thing. Maybe the fact that he almost lost had been weighing on him for a while after, and then, once he had some time to think about it in the Satellite, he just… shut down…"

"Poor Yusei…" Luna muttered.

"Has he ever actually lost a Duel?" I asked.

"Only when he's not taking it seriously." Crow answered.

"He lost to me once." Jack stated. I was actually quite surprised to hear this, though I didn't doubt Jack for an instant. "He had this stupid strategy where he tried to take me down using only Monsters. No Spell or Trap cards. It was a lot like how he Dueled yesterday actually."

"Yesterday?"

"Yusei and Jack had a Turbo Duel just after ten in the morning. He wanted to try and defeat Jack without any Synchro Monsters." Crow explained.

"Wait… you said that he lost to you once a while ago. Does that mean he beat you yesterday without using Synchros?" Leo asked innocently.

"For your information, I called the Duel off. It was pointless, he couldn't have won." Jack said.

"But… you weren't going to let him at least try?" I asked.

"There'd have been no point." Jack repeated. "If Yusei was going to win against me then, he'd have won by topdeck. The Ghost is long gone anyway. It was a robot, and it exploded. Yusei beat it. That's it. End of story. There's nothing more to it."

"Explain why Yusei's 'catatonic' then, Jack!" Crow argued.

"I don't know! You explain it!" Jack retorted.

"Calm down, both of you!" Zora snapped. "When Yusei gets back, we'll talk to him together. Until then, there's nothing we can really do."

"I'm sorry." I apologized. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought any of it up."

We all went back to eating for a few minutes until an uneasy groan escaped Akiza's throat. "I-I'm going to go call him. May I be excused?" She asked.

Zora nodded. "Of course, Akiza. Go ahead."

Akiza pushed herself back from the table, got off her seat, bowed and walked back into the living room, presumably to make the call. My eyes followed Akiza out of the room before I turned back and looked down at the table as well.

"She's really fond of Yusei, isn't she?" Jack snickered, pointlessly verbalizing the obvious.

"Yeah…" I mumbled, before continuing to eat my meal.


The rest of the meal was quite uneventful, mainly just pointless bickering between Jack and Crow. Akiza was able to get hold of Yusei, and she said he'd be coming back soon. After we ate lunch, I helped Zora out a little with the cleaning. I decided I'd really only stay until Yusei came and then I'd help out with whatever needed to be said to get Yusei out of his funk, and then I'd head on home.

There wasn't really anything left for me to do at Zora's after all. No one else had brought back up what I'd said the night before, or asked how I was coping with Taze's death, and to be honest I was glad about all that, that no one was going on about it, but at the same time, it felt weird to me that no one was.

Zora handed me a plate, which I dried with a dish towel and then put away amongst all the other dishes. We'd been talking about soap operas for the past fifteen minutes or so, not really any in particular. Just general things, and then we'd occasionally talk about a specific show, as we were doing now.

"So have you seen any of the newer episodes?" Zora asked me.

"I haven't seen any of the new ones, but with the old ones, the reruns, I see Paul do all this hardcore stuff, and then someone comes along, guy or girl, and then they butt heads with Paul, as if one quick Google search isn't gonna tell them not to mess around with this guy."

"I never thought about it like that…"

I nodded in agreeance with my own statement. "I do like though, how they got the brother of the guy that Paul killed in the Lassiter's Fire as the guy who shot Kate. That was pretty cool, even though that storyline happened, what, seven years ago?"

"Well the fire happened ten years ago from then, but the episode that I think you're talking about… Yes, I remember that being on television seven years ago…" Zora turned to me. "You know, from what Yusei's told me about you, I never thought of you as a soap fan."

"Yeah, well there's nothing else really to watch during the middle of the day…" I muttered. "That, and I'm… not exactly the same person that I was a few months ago…"

"Yes, Yusei told me that you suffer from amnesia."

"Well… 'Suffer' is sort of subjective. I mean, I have amnesia, but it's not really something that bothers me anymore. I've got really good friends here in Yusei, Luna and everyone else and… there's not really much else I need or even want. To know that I've got the support of friends, people who treat me like I matter, it's a great feeling." I started smiling, taking a spoon and drying it. "And I could have it a lot worse, you know? I've got a place to live. I'm getting by. Some people don't even have that. I could be homeless, or have some debilitating illness. I could be…" My thoughts drifted to Taze. "Dead…" All of a sudden, it was as if a switch was flicked in my mind. My grip on the spoon loosened, and it slipped from my fingers, falling to the ground. I closed my eyes, throwing my hands up in anger. "I'm sorry!" I breathed, bending down and picking up the spoon.

"It's okay, Tyler. It's just a spoon. Don't worry." Zora said, a weak smile on her face as she took the spoon from me and rewashed it.

"It's not that." I admitted. "I, um…" I sighed. "Never mind."

Zora's smile faded, and a look of pity took its place. I turned away.

"Well that's all the dishes done." She said, taking the one spoon that was left and drying it. "Thank you for helping me with them."

"Glad I could help…" I muttered. Though I tried to sound happy, I was now feeling rather dejected. I looked down at my pants pockets before turning to Zora. "Hey, Zora. You wouldn't know where Luna is, would you?"

"I think she's with Leo, and he's watching TV."

"Ah." I nodded. "Cool. Okay, thank you." I bowed, leaving the kitchen and walking into the living room, where Leo was facing the TV, utterly enthralled by whatever was on, and Luna was just sitting next to him, almost twiddling her thumbs in boredom.

"Luna…" I spoke softly so as not to scare her. She perked up and looked over to me as I spoke again. "Can I see you in private for a moment?"

I saw Luna blush for a brief second as she exhaled sharply. "O-okay…" She stammered, getting up from the couch and walking over to me. I took Luna by the hand and led her out into the hallway, which thankfully was entirely vacant. Without a word, I retrieved my wallet from my pocket and rummaged through it, before placing a bunch of money from it into her hands. "Wh… What's this…?" She asked.

"This is the money that you spent at Treetop. I'd like you to have it." I smiled.

"Where did you get this?"

"Joel gave me a check last night, which I cashed in before I came here. I want to give you what I owe you."

"Oh, n-no Tyler, I can't accept this."

I sighed. "C'mon, Luna. Please. I owe you this, and I still feel really bad that you paid not only for me, but for you as well."

"No, Tyler, I… I don't need your money… I… You bought me chocolates… I like spending time with you… You don't owe me anything…" she mumbled, giving the money back to me.

"Okay, well…" I sighed, putting the money away. "If you won't let me pay you back in money, how about something else? I've got two tickets to a Jewel of the Sage revival." I began, closing my eyes. "Um… Taze bought them. He… Our band was weird and… he'd change his mind about so many things so often, I don't think I was ever on the same page with him. He wanted us to do Showtunes at one point, and so he bought two tickets for the two of us to go and see the show. He changed his mind a little while after that, but he couldn't get a refund, so he let me hold onto them. Would you like to go with me? You can say 'no' if you want."

"W-with you…? I-I'd love to go!" Luna chirped, bringing a smile to my face. "When is it?"

"In a few weeks. To be honest, I've forgotten the exact date. It's on the tickets, and I know it's a Friday night, and it finishes a little late. Maybe we could go and get dinner too? Since it'll be late after, I mean. Of course, I have every intention to pay for dinner. I'll text you the details and stuff when I get home and have a look at the tickets."

A soft inaudible sound escaped Luna's lips as she blinked. "…Th-that would be great!" she smiled.

I smiled back. "Awesome."

Luna and I walked out of the hallway and back into the living room. Leo was gone and the television was switched off. I turned to Luna just as Akiza came running in, an anxious, startled expression on her face. "Tyler! There you are!"

"Akiza, what's wrong?" I asked.

"I-it's Yusei… Something's happened to him!"

"What do you mean?"

"I got a call from his phone, but it wasn't him. He's been kidnapped!"

"Oh no!" Luna shouted.

"Kidnapped… Are you sure?" I asked, trying to process what I was hearing as quickly as possible.

"I'm positive. The man on the phone told me he's been abducted, but didn't say anything else." Akiza said.

"Wait, the kidnapper called you and told you what he was doing? Why the Hell would he do that?"

"I don't know!" Akiza almost screeched, the panic in her voice unmistakable. "It might be a trap! It probably is a trap, but we can't just do nothing! Please, Tyler! We need to get out there and look for him right away, before something terrible happens."

I sighed, thinking quickly. "Have you told Jack and Crow about this?"

"She has." Jack spoke. Luna, Akiza and I turned behind us to see Jack and Crow enter the living room. "We're going to look for him now. There's nothing to worry about."

"How can you say that?!" Akiza scoffed. "Yusei could be in terrible danger!"

"Chill out, Akiza. Yusei's not a child. If he did get kidnapped, he'd be more than capable of getting unkidnapped." Crow stated.

"'Unkidnapped' isn't a word, Crow…" Jack muttered.

"You know what I mean! He can take care of himself." Crow protested.

"Why are you guys acting like this is nothing?!" Akiza shouted.

"Because it is nothing." Crow asserted. "If it was any other person, then yes, we'd be worried. But this is Yusei. He's been through tougher stuff in Team Satisfaction than a little kidnapping scare. Not to mention the whole Dark Signer thing. Please don't think that we don't care about Yusei – we do. We are going to look for him, but you are overreacting just a little about this whole situation."

"I'm overreacting?!" Akiza asked incredulously.

"Can I just interject and say that I wholeheartedly agree with Akiza that this is a big deal, and more to the point, I think we should be getting out there and looking for Yusei as opposed to just talking about it and arguing with each other." I stated. Akiza and Crow both turned to me as I rose my hands up in defense. "I'm just saying."

"Well she's always extra sensitive when anything involves Yusei." Crow grumbled.

A blush quickly crept onto Akiza's face. "I-I am not extra sensitive! I just care about Yusei!"

I turned to Jack as he started walking off. "Jack, what are you doing?"

"You said it yourself. We should be out there looking for Yusei…" he simply said, walking out of the living room without looking back.

I turned to Luna. "Luna," I began. She looked over at me, seemingly completely focused on what I had to say. "Can you find Leo for me? And keep an eye on your phone, just in case Yusei calls, or the kidnapper decides to contact you as well, you can tell us where Yusei's being kept."

"Of course." Luna nodded.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"Alright. I'll head to East Valley, see if I can find him. If I have time, I'll head down and check the Junk Market and Oilslick Alley too." Crow said.

"Sounds good."

Crow and I started walking off, him heading down to the garage, and me going to head outside, but Akiza stopped me. "Tyler, wait. Take me with you." She called.

I stopped, looking back at Akiza. "What?"

"I'd feel so useless if I stayed here. I want to help, but I don't know how to ride a Duel Runner. I can't just sit here while Yusei might be in danger."

I walked over to her, trying to put on the best assuring smile I could. "Of course you can come. But you're not useless, Akiza. Think of what you did last night at the Gala. You put an end to that psycho guy's killing spree. If you hadn't have been there and done what you did, who knows what would've happened."

Akiza closed her eyes and turned away.

"Just stay here, I'll grab a spare helmet from the garage and be right back."


My Duel Runner roared along the causeway, moving in and out of the way of other vehicles on the road. I ignored the beeping of horns from other patrons of the road before settling into a lane. I think everybody was just a little agitated because a little while beforehand, a Turbo Duel had started, which meant we all had to change lanes.

I'd taken enough of the sun streaming directly in my face that I angrily threw the Runner into auto-pilot, the speed at which we were traveling decreasing suddenly. Akiza's body jerked as she stumbled forward, her chest pressing into my back for a moment. "Sorry. I should've told you I was going to do that." I apologized.

"It's fine…" Akiza sighed, though I could barely hear her. "I wonder if Crow or Jack have had better luck…!" Akiza spoke, this time much louder.

I looked down at my Duel Runner's screen, noting that neither Jack nor Crow had contacted us, and also that we'd been out looking for Yusei for probably just a little under an hour. "No idea. I hope so."

Akiza's hands moved from my sides to under my arms and against my chest as she moved forward, her head now next to mine as she spoke. "Something just tells me that something awful has happened to Yusei."

"We're gonna find him, don't worry." I assured her. The two of us traveled in silence for another few minutes until Akiza spoke up again.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why… Why didn't you tell me that you…" Akiza stopped, although I knew what she was going to say. "Tried to kill yourself?"

"Well," I pondered. "I didn't want to worry anyone, I didn't want to worry you, but… I think most of all, I was just afraid that you guys would think of me as… some messed up lunatic and… not want anything to do with me… like you wouldn't want to be friends with someone like me."

I could feel Akiza breathing shakily, her hands twitching against my body. "You really think I'd stop being your friend?" she asked. "I was persecuted for years because of my powers. I didn't have any friends growing up. Everyone thought I was either a monster or a witch. My parents wanted nothing to do with me, I was kicked out of school, even with the Arcadia Movement… I was still treated like more of a weapon than an actual human being. Yusei was the first person in a long time to ever treat me with any sort of respect… He was the first person to call me a friend and mean it. He saw how messed up I was, how I treated myself, how I thought of myself, but he didn't run away, even when I pushed. He stayed and fought for me. We're all messed up people, Tyler, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop being your friend."

As Akiza spoke, I realized that there was still so much about her that I didn't know. I felt a little guilty, to be honest. I hadn't really taken the time to get to know her, and the majority of the time that we'd spent together was either at the Arcadia Movement, or fighting against the Dark Signers, both of those times being less than ideal to work out personal issues, at least for me.

I had been so wrapped up in my own emotions and my own feelings that I hadn't really been thinking about other people, unless it was right in front of me like with Luna and Sly. There was so much more to Akiza than I realized or ever really thought about. It had probably been the same vice-versa, at least until my confession. Akiza had put in the effort, so now I had to as well.

"Thanks…" I muttered quietly, though I didn't think she heard me. "Thanks." I repeated, this time a little louder. "You're really awesome, Akiza. And… if you want to talk to anybody about anything, I'm happy to listen."

"Well you do have my number now…" Akiza smiled, before gasping suddenly. "Tyler! Take the next left!" She shouted. "It's Yusei! He's on his Duel Runner!"

My eyes widened. I leant forward, taking my Runner off of auto-pilot before speeding up just a little. I took the next left as she said, and as we turned, I caught sight of Yusei on his Duel Runner, who was riding right next to someone else. I sped up again, just a little more, flashing my lights at Yusei's Runner hoping he'd see and not mistake what I was doing as a challenge to a Turbo Duel.

I smiled as Yusei changed lanes and started slowing down, eventually pulling over, though he was quickly followed by that other individual he'd been next to. I slowed down as well, moving my Runner to the side of the road and gently pulling to a stop a little ways away from Yusei.

Akiza got up off my Duel Runner almost immediately, handing me the spare helmet as she ran up to Yusei. "Yusei!" she called. I sighed, also getting off my Duel Runner. I followed Akiza, though I was a little concerned when the person who'd parked next to Yusei, someone who I didn't recognize, got off their Duel Runner, and presumably looked over at us.

My heart skipped a beat as the figure took off their helmet. I was not at all expecting to see long blonde hair flow down from the back as the woman in white shook her head, straightening her hair with her fingers and briskly walking over to meet with Yusei.

The way she walked was rather entrancing. I could only imagine what kind of figure she had underneath all that padding.

"Tyler, Akiza, hey. I didn't know you'd be out here." Yusei said, walking over to us with the blonde woman in tow.

"What do you mean? I got a call from someone saying you were kidnapped, so Jack, Crow, Tyler and I have been out looking for you! We've been so worried! We thought something terrible had happened, but it seems like you've just been out here on your Duel Runner. Why didn't you call?!" Akiza asked.

"Well, actually, I was kidnapped." Yusei said, speaking as if it was only a minor annoyance. "To make a long story short, I was out at the Pier when members of some Duel team came up and started heckling me to join their team for the Grand Prix. I was knocked out and thrown into the back of a truck with my Duel Runner. When I came to, I escaped."

"That's when we ran into each other." The blonde said, her speech peppered with an accent I couldn't identify.

"And you are?" Akiza probed.

The blonde woman smirked. "My name is Sherry LeBlanc. I thought Yusei and I would make a perfect team."

"So then… You're a part of that team that abducted Yusei?!" Akiza asked, raising her voice.

"Absolument pas. It is but a mere coincidence that Yusei was kidnapped and we happened to cross paths." Sherry stated.

"What a load of crap! You can't expect me to believe that?!" Akiza shouted.

"Hey, now hold on a second." I cautioned. "First off, I haven't said a single word yet and I find that outrageous. Second of all," I turned to Sherry. "What accent is that, if I may ask? I'm curious."

"Septentrional French." She replied.

"Interesting." I nodded. "Okay, and third," I turned to Akiza. "If Sherry was a part of that Duel team that abducted Yusei, don't you find it weird that Yusei's not only perfectly fine, but that they both pulled over?"

"He's right. Sherry can be trusted." Yusei said. "She had nothing to do with those guys who got the jump on me. She'd never do that."

"How do you know that for sure?" Akiza asked. Sherry started laughing softly as Akiza turned her attention fully to the blonde. "Why are you laughing?"

"Yusei and I have a special connection. We understand one another perfectly. In the brief moments we've spent together before you came, we forged a deep understanding. Perhaps even greater than the relationship you share with him…"

"You don't know anything about Yusei!" Akiza snapped.

"Don't be so sure about that…" Sherry muttered. I'm sure she didn't mean it to come across how she did, but her tone really did make her sound smug and arrogant. And I could tell Akiza felt the same.

"Okay, I've heard enough! Just who the Hell do you think you are?!"

"Look at you… Thrown into a panic, sulking, all because Yusei didn't call you. If you ask me, you're just upset at being left behind…"

"I didn't ask that from you! But for your information, Yusei's been going through some things. Tyler and I, as well as Yusei's other friends, have all been worried sick about him!"

"Well he's fine now…" Sherry smiled. "I guess a Turbo Duel between two Duelists is all it takes to heal a wounded spirit."

"Turbo Duel?" I asked.

"We, um…" Yusei began. "We had a Turbo Duel a little while ago before you found us. Initially I was a little resistant, but… the Duel made me realize that… I might have been overeacting about my Duel with the Ghost. Well that, and, Crow told me about what you said last night… What you almost did…"

"Did he now…" I muttered.

"He did…" Yusei smiled warmly. "I also realized that my… fear… was nothing compared to how you've been feeling and what you've gone through. So I'd just like to apologize as well, for that."

"Hey, Yusei. You don't need to apologize. Everything that happened to me was internal, and… I could've reached out, but I didn't. That was my fault. I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself, and I'm sorry that we weren't able to respond to your abduction quick enough."

I felt a little weird, honestly, talking about my problems and personal issues with Yusei in front of a complete stranger, although as I glanced over at Sherry, I noticed that she wasn't paying attention to either myself or Yusei.

No. Sherry seemed to be entirely focused on Akiza.

"Alright, Sherry. Cut the crap! Just what's so special about a Turbo Duel anyway?!" Akiza suddenly shouted.

"Désolé, but it's not something you could understand simply by me telling you. You have to experience it." Sherry smiled again, and then turned to me. "You… I can tell you know what I'm talking about."

My face grew hot, and I knew that Akiza was now looking at me as well. "E-excuse me?"

"Don't be modest. I know you've felt it. Your mind and body dissolving in amongst the speed and harshness of the wind against your form, the trembling of emotions, the fear and anticipation of what each move, each new direction will bring. You know what it's like to fight in a Turbo Duel."

I thought back a little. The only Turbo Duel that I remembered doing was part of a License Renewal Test that I took just after getting my apartment in order, and I only did that because I didn't want to get into trouble with the Public Security Bureau for not knowing how to ride and operate a Duel Runner properly.

Of course, I probably did do a few Turbo Duels during my time in the Satellite with Crow, Jack, Kalin and the like, but I wasn't sure. I didn't remember anything like that, but perhaps Sherry knew something I didn't.

"Do I?" I asked softly.

"I've heard enough from you! It's time to Duel!" Akiza shouted, raising her hand before pointing at Sherry.

"If that's what you want, it's perfectly fine with me." Sherry smiled. "I'll just go and retrieve my Duel Disk." Sherry waved before walking over to her Duel Runner.

"Akiza…" Yusei muttered.

"You don't have your Duel Disk on you," I whispered to her. "How's this going to work?"

"I always have my deck with me, just in case. Would I be able to use your Duel Disk for this Duel?" Akiza asked me.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just get it from my Runner." I said, walking over to where my Duel Runner was parked. I glanced over at Sherry and noticed she was looking at me. I pressed a button on my Duel Runner as the display on the screen turned off, the wing of the disk lifting up as I slid my arm through the grip at the bottom. "What do you know about me?" I asked, turning to Sherry, who was now sporting a Duel Disk of her own.

"Everything I need to. I can see it all on the surface. You've experienced hardship in your life, and you're striving for a sense of purpose, and to not be a burden on others."

"I'd say that's about right." I said, trying to remain calm about the fact that this almost random woman knew so much about me, when I'd told her almost nothing. "What about you?" I asked, walking back with her. "What hardships have you experienced?"

"I don't know you well enough yet for me to divulge information like that to you." Sherry simply said. I took my Duel Disk off my arm, walked over and gave it to Akiza, who slotted it over her arm before sliding her deck in and adjusting the strap for her wrist.

"Thanks, Tyler." Akiza smiled, looking over at Sherry. "Ready when you are!"

Sherry smiled, taking a few steps back for space. Her eyes widened at the sound of a cell phone ringing in her pocket. She took it out hastily, before turning away from us and answering it. "Hm? …Yes, of course. Je vous comprendsÀ tout à l'heure." Sherry ended the call, put her phone away and turned to Akiza. "It seems something has come up. Unfortunately, it means I won't be able to indulge in a Duel with you today." She said, deactivating her Duel Disk.

"You're just going to walk away?" Akiza asked.

"I suppose it's for the best. After all, I want our first Duel to be something special. Besides, it's not as if Dueling right now would've been important or urgent."

"Y-you…" For some reason, Akiza was almost speechless.

"Au revoir, Yusei. Let's get together soon. You and me." Sherry winked, walking back over to her Duel Runner, and then speeding off at the next chance.

My eyes traveled from where Sherry's Duel Runner had been parked, and then back over to Akiza, who was now looking at the ground and seemed pretty deep in thought. "Akiza," I spoke softly. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" Akiza looked up and turned to me. "Oh, y-yes. I'm fine, Tyler." She looked down at my Duel Disk, taking her deck out, and handing my Duel Disk back to me. "I guess I won't be needing this now." She said. I took my Duel Disk and slotted it back over my arm, readjusting the strap. "I want to stay here with Yusei. I… need to talk to him… thank you for taking me with you."

"It was my pleasure." I smiled. "You're good company." I brushed myself down before turning to Yusei. "I'll tell the others that you're okay. See you around, Yusei." I smiled. Yusei nodded, and then I started walking back to my Duel Runner.

Once I was on my Duel Runner, I took one last look back and watched as Akiza slipped her one of her hands in between Yusei's. I faced the road ahead, revved my Duel Runner, and rode off in silence.