Did I listen to him?

No, as usual.

But, I did sit a bit numbly on the couch. I dunno when it all happened, but eventually, Akiza was over, her usual bouncy self, oblivious to what happened earlier. I doubt she'd really care, but I did.

And it was annoying me.

Yusei was trying everything he could to get away from me. I dunno what he wants me to do-be perfect? Be the Ennis to his Jake? The Brokeback to his Mountain? Damn that movie.

Alford offered us all drinks as usual, but we declined.

"Akiza, raise your sleeve."

I watched quietly as she does what she's told. On her arm, there's the foot mark, as clear as day. Yusei explains everything we've learned about the Signers.

"Oh." She mumbles, looking at her arm quietly.

Suddenly, Yusei jumps up, a fierce determination in his eyes. "We have to find the other Signers."

"How?" I ask, jumping up also. "We're still in school."

He looks at me for the first time since everything went down. "Jack Atlas," I couldn't help but to feel a thrill from him saying that. "Do you know who I am?"

Then he disappears down the hallway and shuts the door to the office.

I look at Akiza and she looks at me.

"Do you think we should follow him?"

I shake my head. "You can. I don't think he wants to see me right now."

She looks at me in confusion. "Alright, what did you do?"

I frown. Why did she assume it was my fault? It could've been his too, but they again, it's Yusei. He never does anything wrong. He's always perfect, blah, blah, blah-

"Jack, hello? You there?"

I flush embarrassed a bit. "Yeah, but I'm not sure what I did…"

I begin to tell her about what went down about the movie and us almost kissing and everything.

"You like him." Akiza says finally.

"I…don't." I add, hesitantly.

"YOU. LIKE. HIM. No wait, scratch that. You LOVE him." She repeats.

"No, I don't!" I argue back. "I'm a perfectly straight person!"

"But you almost kissed him."

"Yeah but-"

"And, you're always nice around him."

"But I'm-"

"And you always blush around him. Are those enough hints for you? Not to mention that you spied on him, everyday-"

I groan, defeated. I tried hiding some of those hints, but I guess it didn't work.

"Um, guys?"

I stare up into Yusei's eyes. His eyes always made me feel…weird. I couldn't quite describe it, but they made me warm and fuzzy inside? No wait-breathtaking. Those eyes were definitely breathtaking.

"What's up?" Akiza asked. "Did you somehow get us out of school?"

He smiles, another breathtaking feature about him. "Yup. We are now withdrawn from the New Domino High School for the Elite and Gifted."

Did I mention how much Yusei fascinates me? He somehow got us out of our school. Sure, we'd probably have Truancy on us, but, what could they do to us? All I have is Alford, and Yusei doesn't have anybody. Akiza's phone rang before I could ask any questions.

"I'll be back." She says, rushing outside.

Now that she's gone…

"How'd you—"

"In the Satellite, we were trained by the best in computer hacking skills. You guys have tutors, we have ourselves." His voice seemed edgy. All I did was ask a question. Did my presence really make him that on edge? Besides, his voice seemed snappy.

"I didn't ask for a smart remark." I reply, glaring at him.

"And I didn't give you one."

I whip around, grabbing a hold of his wrist.

"Watch it Fudo." I mutter darkly. "I won't hesitate to kick you out."

Yusei's eyes narrow. "Kick. Me. Out."

Our faces were very close to each other's.

A little too close.

"Am I interrupting something?" Akiza asks, staring at our compromising position.

"No, you didn't." Yusei replies, prying his wrist from my grip.

Akiza's eyes looked back and forth between me and Yusei. "Well, okay. So…who has Duel Runners?"

"I…do." I mumble.

"I'll get them." He says. I begin to follow him, but puts out a hand to stop me. "I don't need any help."

I frown and let him go, but I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him. I sit back down, still staring in the direction he walked away in. We're both silent for a moment before we hear a shout.

"Was that Yusei?" I exclaim, jumping up and taking down the hallway, Akiza on my heels.


"Yusei!" I shout, a sinking feeling edging its way to my stomach. "Where are you?"

No response.

'Maybe he fell..' I think, dropping to my hands and knees. I hear a rustling behind me and I slowly turn around to search for the source of it. However, I met up with a pair of eyes staring into my own. We both yell, stumbling backwards. Akiza rushes over.

"Jack, are you alright? Who's this?"

She helps me up, and I stare at the two intruders. They both looked like twins.

"Leo, we were supposed to be quiet."

Both twins get up and reveal themselves. There was a boy and a girl, maybe around 11 or 12.

"I'm sorry…" The girl mumbles in apology.

"Save the small talk. Where's Yusei? What did you do to him?" I ask, defensively, reaching for a nearby wrench. I didn't want to use it, but if I had to…

"I'm Luna, and this is my brother, Leo."

They both put out a hand to shake, and instantly, my mark reacted. Akiza's did as well.

'This Jack guy is weird…' Leo says.

'So, they're like us…' Luna thinks. She seems happy.

'I hope Yusei's alright. Jack seems to care about him…I hope Goodwin doesn't do anything to him.'

I quickly let go of their hands as soon as I heard that. Great, now I can read people's minds. Another stupid power.

"I am not weird! What do you mean like us? What about Goodwin?" I shout at once. They all looked at me oddly.

"Your thoughts!" I exclaim, hoping they understood.

"So you are like us!" Luna exclaims, with a soft smile.

Now it was my turn to look confused.

"Oh, what my sister means is that, well, we're Signers." Leo explains. "Apparently, you guys are too, correct?"

Akiza and I nod.

"And you have your card?"

We nod again, taking the card out. Instantly, I hear Akiza's card.

'It's nice that the Signers have all met.'

'Who..are you?' I ask.

'Oh, dear boy. You gave me quite a fright. I'm Black Rose Dragon.'

"We've been trying to round up all of the Signers, ever since we'd first heard about them," Luna says, breaking me free from Black Rose Dragon's thoughts. "I'm glad we found you guys, but we're minus a person, right?"

"Yes, Yusei." Akiza replies. "I guess it's apart of being a Signer, but I can..feel Yusei. His feelings, where he's at…but it's not just him. I could feel you too Jack."

"So, basically, you're saying that that's your power, correct?" I say, a bit envious. Sometimes, I wish I knew what exactly he was feeling. All I could do was read minds and talk to cards.

"On the topic of powers…" Leo begins. "Luna and I have powers too, ya know!"

I stare at the two twins. "Well, say them! What are you waiting for?" I shout impatiently.

"We can make cards come to life!"

That seemed really…weird, but what didn't seem weird over the past couple of days?

"I know, hand me a card!"

I quickly whip out Red-Dragon Archfiend and give it to him. The two twins join hands and close their eyes, simultaneously touching my card. Then, in a bright flash of light, Archfiend came out of the card. This time, he wasn't like a spirit, but he was actually physically out in the world.

"Woah…" Akiza says, her mouth wide open.

Archfiend looks down at us. "Stardust, reveal yourself." He yells. All of us cover our ears. His yell was terribly loud.

'Comin', comin'…' Stardust mumbles, his spirit moving from behind a box.

My eyes widen at his spirit. "You're Yusei's card!" I exclaim, pointing at it.

"No…crap." He replies, looking up at Archfiend, ignoring my presence.

Yep, he was Yusei's card alright.

"Yes, Archfiend?"

"Go with the Signers. Yusei Fudo was abducted by Rex Goodwin. You'll probably be of some use."

The spirit looks at all of us. "Fine…" he mumbles, getting back into card form and landing in my hand.

I slip the card in my deck pouch.

"Atlas." Archfiend says, staring down at me. "You better get Yusei back. He's more valuable than you know."

And with that, he takes card form also, landing in my deck pouch on top of Stardust. It's silent for a couple of moments.

"Let's go!" Leo and Luna exclaim together.

Akiza and I look at each other and nod. "Alright."

I'll get Yusei back. No matter what.


Chapter...12!

Guess what, it's going to be a split chapter! Yusei AND Jack. Great, no?

Here's the preview:


Yusei's POV

"Tail, Head, Wings, Foot, and Hand.." Goodwin takes a small pause. "Thus are the Marks of the Dragon."

"So, your point is?" I ask, trying to get the handcuffs off of me. "I kinda-"

"And with each mark is a different power. Tail and Hand can make cards come to life. Foot and sense emotions. But by far, Wings and Head are the most powerful. Wings can hear card's thoughts, read minds, and heal things, while Head can communicate with all of the Signers, see the future or the past, and get into the Spirit World, and possibly take people with that person."

I groan. He was purposely ignoring me. All I remember was being pissed off about...

"Where is it?"

"Where is what Goodwin?" I ask, completely clueless.

"The card!"

I stare at him bewildered. "Card..?" I repeat.

"Stardust Dragon!" Goodwin shouts in desperation.

I stare at him longer this time, seriously wondering what his problem was.