So here we go, after a bit of a break, back with Dragon Pact. This chapter is going to be more of a chill chapter for Yusei. I think he kind of needs one. The poor kid's been through enough trauma and confusion for now.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who's been supporting the story so far! You guys are amazing, and you sometimes give me the inspiration to write even when I don't feel like I have any, so thanks a ton!
Thanks to everyone who has favorited and followed the story! It means a whole lot. And sorry for not saying your names, but at this point I decided it was getting way too hard to mention everyone by name. Thanks anyway and know that your support is appreciated. 13 Favorites and 10 followers! That means a whole lot!
Anyway, let's get on to the chapter shall we?
Chapter Ten: Oncoming Storm
Yusei was taking it easy for a while, mostly because Anzu had insisted that he did so. She reminded him a lot of Martha, the perfect kind of woman to make a kind and loving mother. Besides, it WAS doctor's orders for him to not push himself and Star wasn't letting him get away with anything. So he was taking it easy so the two girls would calm down a little. Leo seemed capable of an endless stream of energy and wanted to talk to Yusei and hang out with his "superhero", but his sister had dragged him away to give Yusei some peace and quiet.
The twins were playing with their Partners, who were both in their dragon forms. The Life Stream Dragon was a young (but still large) dragon that was mostly a brown in color. It had a crown like formation on the back of his head and stood on its back legs like Star did in her dragon form. It had a lighter brown armor that covered its body and a darker brown part under that armor. The fingers on its right hand were red while it had a red sort of shield on its left arm. It also had a long tail and four wings that were thin and hardly seemed adequate to hold its weight. However the dragon was zipping around in the sky with a beaming Leo on his back just fine.
Luna was also flying on Monarch's back but watching Quake and Leo preform tricks rather than actually doing much more than glide contentedly. The Ancient Fairy Dragon had a long blue body like a snake that had orange eyes and mint green hair. Her wings were pink and reminded Yusei somewhat of a butterfly, and she also had pink fin like structures on her face. She had on a gold helmet type thing with red markings on it and a dark blue gem, and she also had thin shoulders and arms which had a chest plate with red gems and bracers with red gems as well. She had a green tuft on her tail as well. She was very considerate of Luna as she flew around.
They were on the roof of the building, which was actually technically part of Yugi's house. It was more like backyard, and since Yugi and Anzu were the only people living on his part of the building it was the perfect place for the kids to go out and enjoy the warm weather and nice day. Luna and Leo were flying around with their dragons over the pool (in case they fell off) and Yusei was also with Star up on the roof and glancing up occasionally at their antics with a smile.
Star was also in her true form, resting peacefully as she watched the younger and smaller dragons flying around above her and letting out a purr as she did so. Her large silver body seemed to glow and shimmer in the sunlight, making her seem even more beautiful than she had before. However Yusei knew that it was the star and moonlight that made her hide sparkle and shine brilliantly. She was a creature said to be made of starlight after all, so it came as no surprise.
Star was crouched to sit down as much as she could in her dragon form, having her back legs bent about as far down as she could go. Her tail was again wrapped around her feet for balance, and her left arm was hanging down to the ground. Her right arm was on top of her leg so she didn't have to constantly hold it up. Her claws were curved slightly so she wouldn't hurt her precious cargo, because Yusei was sitting in her palm that was turned upwards. His back was leaning against her sharp claws, but he didn't fear her at all and was completely at ease. His injured side was facing her chest while his left side was facing outwards. Her head was close to the boy as she continued to purr to him, and every now and then he would look up and pat her nose or chin with a smile.
He had a book in his left hand, bracing it against his legs as he continued to read it. It was about the size of a novel but was thicker than that and had much smaller sized print. It was a book on the genealogy of dragons and how they could be recognized in their human forms. It went through all the more well known ones, even up to less well known ones like Cyber End Dragon and Rainbow Dragon. There were no mentions of ones like Life Stream Dragon, Ancient Fairy Dragon, Red Dragon Archfiend or Stardust Dragon. He didn't expect there to be, but since he was now pretty much surrounded by dragons twenty four seven he had decided that it would be a good time to revisit the book. Crow had got it for his fifteenth birthday (maybe stole it? He wasn't sure) and at the time Yusei hadn't known just how relevant the book had been. Now, he was grateful he had it. It made him feel a little less confused, even if it had no real answers for him.
Star was at one of the side walls, facing the door that led out here and also the twins as they flew around in case she had to jump forward to catch them. Star turned her eyes away from the twins a moment to look at her Partner, who looked more at ease than he had in a while. It had been about a day now since he had come here, and he had taken to the twins and their Partners (and them to him and herself) instantly.
She liked them as well, so she was more than willing to help him play baby sitter over the weekend until school started again. They of course understood that they were going to be learning from Yugi soon and his secrets about casting magic and such as well as attending other classes, but for now they were fine here.
The boy however still had a wary look in his eyes. He knew that something was growing on, but he had no idea what that could be so he was very nervous. Star let out a louder purr than she normally would have, again assuring him that she would be right here to protect him if he needed her. Yusei laid his book against his chest to keep his place and looked up at her in response.
He gave her a little smile and reached up to scratch her chin again. Her purring grew louder and she narrowed her eyes in pleasure at the movement. It really did feel good, and she knew that she could trust him with it. Besides, she had to admit that she did like to see him smile, and he smiled almost constantly whenever he petted her.
Though it was warm outside, Yusei was wearing his jacket again and his gloves. He couldn't help but feel a little self conscious about the scars that he now had on his arm and chest. Even though his arm was still in its sling and the stitches had been removed by Dr. Schmidt before he had left the Satellite he still feel nervous about showing it to anyone. He didn't really want anyone to worry about him, and he just didn't feel like showing his arm to anyone, especially not with that strange dragon mark on his arm. Star nudged his left shoulder gently with her nose.
"It's going to be alright," she purred gently.
Yusei let out a soft sigh but still smiled as he scratched her chin. She was probably the only one who completely understood his full confusion in the problem at hand. She was admittedly part of it, but he knew that he could trust her. She'd probably protected him twice now, against Kira (and whatever she and her "big brother" wanted with him) and against that Shadow Spirit. Star was probably one of his best friends now, even if he didn't admit that to anyone else but himself. He didn't really think he had to though, and just told her how much he appreciated her silently by scratching her chin gently as she purred to him, rumbling his whole body with the thunder that rang through hers.
The glass door slid open suddenly and Jaden came outside, followed by two people that Yusei had never seen before either. He paused a moment as he looked up at them, and Star raised her head a little to look at them as well, her eyes fully opened now and warily watching them. Yusei felt her claws flex just slightly behind his back. She was ready to defend him if they proved hostile, but he really didn't get the feeling, with how friendly Jaden was being to them, that they had anything to worry about. Then again, Jaden did seem pretty much friendly with everyone.
There was a woman and a man. The man seemed about Yugi's height and had light blue hair and dark blue eyes. His hair seemed to be fluffed out a bit, and he wore glasses. He still looked rather youthful, and his skin was rather pale. The woman on the other hand was taller than Jaden but still around average height. She had blonde hair that was cut short, (an honestly rather large chest) pale skin and brown eyes. Both of them froze in the door as they saw Star, starring at her open mouthed. It was obvious in the lack of interest that they knew of Jaden's students and their strange dragon, but Yusei knew that Star was something else.
She was both beautiful and terrible, powerful yet strangely gentle. Her eyes seemed to have a piercing gaze, and though she wasn't being overly aggressive towards the two newcomers she wasn't being friendly either. They seemed unsure of her, but Jaden just smiled at them. Yusei quickly marked his page in the book and closed it, getting the feeling that he was about to be introduced to them. He wondered how many more new people he was going to meet before he actually ever got to Duel Academy in the first place. They were too far away to hear clearly, but Jaden turned to speak to his two friends.
"She's beautiful isn't she?" Jaden asked with a grin. "That's Star, something called a Stardust Dragon."
"T-That's Yusei Fudo's Partner?" the male asked, seeming a little shy (or terrified as the case might have been) to see the dragon. "She's so big!"
"She certainly is," the woman said, blinking a little in surprise. "And where's Yusei?" Jaden smiled and pointed.
"In her hand," he said. "She hardly lets him out of her sight. Besides they're really close already."
The three looked up at the boy, whose knowing eyes were now locked on their faces with some curiosity in them. His dragon Partner however still seemed to be largely unnerved by their presence, but neither did she seem as she had with Yugi and Jaden when she had first seen them. Since she reasoned that she could trust the adults here with her Partner, she wasn't eager to try and attack the people he had brought with him. She was watching now, neither aggressive or friendly, until she could be sure of their motives.
The short man didn't look like he was entirely sure he wanted to go over and say hello to her and her Partner, or if he wanted to sink into a little puddle on the ground as quickly as possible to hide from her sight. The woman however, after seeing a nod from Jaden, grabbed the man's arm and dragged him with her right over to the two of them. Yusei looked down at them as he waited, curious as to who these people were. He was sure he'd probably heard something about them. They had probably helped Jaden fight his war or something. There were always several people who fought these wars. Jaden followed behind them, and upon reaching Star, bounding right up her leg and knee and sat on the edge of her hand right next to Yusei.
"Hey Star," he said. "How are you doing?" Yusei smiled a little, amused. He was pretty sure that Jaden was the only one who would just walk up to Star and do that when she was so on edge. Star turned her great head to look at the man.
"Fine I suppose," she said. "Yusei and I were relaxing and enjoying each other's company until you interrupted us."
"Sorry sorry," Jaden laughed in response. "But I thought it was time you two met some of my friends, and a few of the professors at Duel Academy. Alexis and Syris were the only ones who could make it out here today but it's better than nothing. Say hi guys."
"Same as always," the woman sighed with a smile. "You never do change, do you Jaden? My name is Alexis Rhodes. I teach the class for Physical Education. You'll probably be having class with me, though by the looks of it, we might have to take it easy on you for a while." Yusei nodded to her and looked at Syris who jumped a little.
"H-Hello," Syris said. "My name is Syris Truesdale. Well, my magic isn't as strong as my older brother's, but I really do like machines. I heard that you like to build and fix things from Yugi, so I think you'd probably like my class. I think you'd probably have a class with my older brother too though."
"You don't have to be so shy Syris," Alexis sighed, but also with a smile.
Syris seemed to look down and looked like he wanted to disappear from sight as soon as she looked at him. Star seemed to be looking at them with greater interest now. It was obvious that they were all really good friends, and they were at ease with each other even though there were obvious differences between them. They reminded Star suddenly of Yusei's friends from back in the Satellite.
"Sorry about that," Jaden laughed. "Syris tends to be very shy, but he's still my best friend. Get him in front of a machine though and he's a completely different person. It's kind of amazing the change that comes over him."
"I like them," Star finally announced, relaxing her wings as proof of it and leaning over for Yusei to scratch her chin again. He did so with a bit of a smile and Jaden laughed.
"Hey guys you pass the test," he said. "Star likes you. Congrats."
"Th-That's good," Syris said, not seeming sure whether or not he entirely believed that.
Alexis just looked up and gave Yusei a long and hard look, as if measuring him up. It was true though that he reminded her a lot of his father (which she had admittedly dated at one time). He had the same careful and calculating eyes, but there was still kindness there in his eyes. She also decided that though he was like his father, he was also a completely different person. There was something far more wary in his eyes. But she found she liked the smile on his face. It was a gentle smile that graced his face, just like Yoko's had been. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she thought of his parents. She knew they'd be proud to see the young man their baby had become.
"You look a lot like your father," she said, gaining the boy's interest again. "But you also look a lot like your mother. Of course, you aren't like either. But I still think they'd be very proud to see you. I know our friends were glad to hear you'd somehow survived. They'll be happy to see you too I think. We haven't seen you since you were tiny."
Alexis seemed to giggle at the thought of the tiny infant that had once been Yusei. Yusei on the other hand gave her his favorite face, one with no emotion at all. Yusei did understand though that these people had once known him, a people that came from a time when there was no Satellite and no New Domino City. Once there had been peace and just one big city where everyone had been happy. However even he knew that peace often didn't last long. He scratched Star's jaw again to distract himself from the dark thoughts.
"Yeah," Jaden said with a teasing smile, erasing the dark thoughts for now. "I'll say Yusei's neither. He's one of a kind for sure. He can see both Yubel and Yami and has talked to both."
Both Syris and Alexis looked up in surprise at the news. Few people could see their illusive and invisible friends, and those that could were generally very special people indeed. But both Yami and Yubel? Without being connected to them at all? That wasn't just uncommon but abnormal. Both were now far more interested in the boy than they had been before. What could all of this mean? They weren't sure but they knew they were probably going to find out. That's usually how all of this worked. They'd done it before.
At about that time Yusei looked up as Leo leaped off of Quake's back towards the group. The boy landed heavily on the edge of Star's hand, but Yusei reached out and managed to grab the back of his shirt and keep him from falling off. Luna on the touched down more carefully on the crown of Star's head and sighed, shaking her head at Leo as he quickly stepped back. Jaden also gave an exasperated sigh. Even if the boy was always around dragons he shouldn't have been taking risks like that. Yusei got the boy steady on his feet again and silently watched the boy in case he should try anything else dangerous like that.
Star remained very still as Luna carefully eyed the move down. Seeing that Yusei was watching her now she slid down the dragon's head and jumped down where Yusei steadied her as well in case she was to slip. She recovered nicely and put her little hands on her hips as she frowned at her brother. Both Quake and Monarch settled by Star's sides in a relaxed manner, knowing that the older dragon would keep them safe for now. Yusei looked around himself.
Jaden was sitting just a little in front of him, and he was giving Leo the most severe look he'd ever seen the man give anyone. Leo was giving him an abashed smile. Yusei was sitting still and not really seeming too interested in this whole situation (as usual) and Luna was standing just behind him and looking about ready to give Leo an ear full again. Star's hand looked really crowded now, and he could see the surprised faces of Syris and Alexis down below. This kind of crazy situation was both expected and normal around Yugi's house though. The twins were as rowdy as normal, Jaden both laid back and vigilant, and Yusei taking it all in his stride.
Yes, the dragon's hand seemed rather crowded now, and it seemed like a miracle that the twins had managed to fit in the space on her hand. Even with as big as her hand was, it wasn't quite that big. But it was comforting to Yusei in a way. He was comfortable with these people, even if he was in a new place and in a world he'd never seen before now up close. It was confusing, but he knew that he could trust them. They were as good as family as any he had here.
"Leo you need to be more careful," Luna chastised her brother. "You could have hurt yourself or someone else. Don't just jump off your dragon like that. If Yusei hadn't caught you, you would have fallen off."
"Oh yeah," Leo said, pointing an accusing finger at her. "And you didn't jump off? You were just on Star's head, how did you get in her hand?"
"I didn't jump," Luna replied, crossing her arms and turning her head away. "I slid off her head carefully. There's a big difference. I was being safe."
"Don't you two start again," Jaden warned strongly. Yusei just reached over and ruffled Leo's hair.
"Be more careful," he said. "That was dangerous. Don't just go jumping off your dragon like that, alright?"
To Alexis and Syris' utter surprise, Leo hung his head and looked ashamed. They had met the twins before and knew how much they seemed to like to argue. Of course, they loved each other, but that didn't mean that they didn't get on each other's nerves. Leo also had a tendency to try and argue with Jaden as well, even when Jaden was right. At the very least he always tried to defend his actions. Yet when Yusei said that he accepted it and hung his head. They found this a little surprising, but it was obvious that the twins looked up to him a lot.
"Yeah I know," Leo said quietly. Yusei just ruffled the boy's hair again.
"You're so hopeless Leo," Luna sighed. Leo gave her a mischievous smile that he was easily known for. He was a trouble maker alright.
"I'll show you how hopeless I am," he challenged. "I can beat you at anything! Just name it!"
"You two aren't doing any challenging today," Jaden said, stopping Leo then and there. The man crossed his arms. "You two are coming with me to finish your work."
"Aw really," Leo sighed. "Right now? Can't it wait?"
"No," Jaden replied, fighting back a smile.
"You've already put it off for two weeks," Luna reminded him, grabbing his arm so he wouldn't run away. "You're going to finish it already, and I'm going to make sure you do it this time."
Leo, now having no way to escape, just pouted at his teacher and his sister. Jaden carefully made his way to the ground, then helped Luna and Leo on their way down as well. He gave Yusei a wink as he led the twins off to do their work. As they neared the sliding door they were soon joined by Quake and Monarch who were now in their human forms and speeding away after them. Both Syris and Alexis smiled a little and shook their heads as they watched them go. The turned again to look at Yusei, and they spotted a small smile on his lips as well.
Syris just watched the boy a moment. He seemed comfortable enough, but he still found it amazing how he was still so kind with a face like that. He felt that those eyes had an ability to become scary in a moment's notice, much like Yami's had been once before when he had seen him and Yugi switch places. Yet now he seemed so oddly gentle. It was a little hard for Syris to believe that the boy had come from the Satellite.
Though, the two adults also knew that things were only going to get crazier for the boy from here on out. Soon enough he'd have to go into Duel Academy, a world that was far different from any that he had experienced before. Alexis nodded to Syris, and the two teachers turned and silently made their way into the house again, leaving Yusei to his book.
Before they disappeared into the house Syris took a single look back, noticing that he was indeed reading again and patting Star's face as she watched them go. He found himself suddenly thinking of the boy's parents as well, and he swallowed past the painful lump in his throat. He and Alexis had learned the truth of their deaths from the letter that Yugi had brought back with him, and it had reopened the painful wounds once again. The boy hadn't understood the letter before when he was younger, but they knew that soon he'd have to learn the truth of it.
In a moment of bravery that Syris had nearly forgotten since the end of the war he'd helped Jaden fight was awakened again. His fist clinched by his side as he followed Alexis inside, lost in some thoughts of her own. He knew though that all of their friends would want the same thing. They had to protect Yusei now that they'd found him. They owed that much at least. There was no doubt in his mind that there was something special about that boy.
He had no idea how right he was, and that soon enough they were going to find out just how special the boy was.
Lol that foreshadowing that no one suspected (the sarcasm is back). Well in the next chapter we're throwing Yusei right into Duel Academy where he gets a tour and meets a familiar face or two. He'll be going to classes soon enough but just because he's in Duel Academy doesn't mean that things aren't going to be interesting or hectic. Poor Yusei just can't get a break can he? Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because we're moving right along. Soon enough the war of his is going to start. So much fun right? ;)