Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or GX. Or Cthulhu.

Kira here! Time for the new chapter. I figure it's about time we get to find out a little bit more about Yuu.

Hikaru's heart was beating slowly. Her mind blocked out all the noise around her. Her own voice creamed inside her head, echoing like a cry in an empty hallway. 'You idiot! You promised Naota you'd get that part. He trusted you!'

Ériko laughed like a villainous clown. Her high-pitched voice scratched at the back of Hikaru's mind, trying to get in. However, the girl's defeat devastated her so badly that she didn't notice. Eriko tried to throw in a few more jabs. "Don't worry too much about being a good understudy. I'll make sure to be there for the play. I wouldn't miss this chance to be in the spotlight."

"Naota, I'm so sorry."

Naota added a few of his new cards to his deck. "I need to call him up and say thanks," he said with a nod. "These cards are all awesome."

Haruka grinned. "Then why not include them all in your deck? Reaper on the Nightmare may be weak, but you can protect him well with your trap cards, can't you? So you wouldn't take too much damage while he is on the field, and he'd be attacking your opponent directly and getting rid of their cards."

"But I'd need to pull out Polymerization and get Spirit Reaper and Nightmare Horse first. Then I wouldn't be able to use Reaper on the Nightmare unless I had enough traps on the field to protect him."

Haruka placed her hands on her hips and let out a grunt of mild frustration. "I swear, sometimes you're too scared of losing to win. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. The sooner you can get your opponent's Life Points to hit 0, the sooner the duel ends. Once the duel is over, you're safe. So instead of just defending until it's over, sometimes you need to try to take the offensive."

"That's what Shield and Sword is for." Naota explained.

"But that's just one card." Haruka countered. "You won't always draw it in a duel. Sure, it lets you do a lot of damage, sometimes it's even enough to win. But it won't always pull through for you. It isn't fair to your deck to put the fate of the entire duel into one card."

"But, I don't like playing monsters in attack mode that often. I don't know why. I just feel scared when they're in attack mode and open to attacks." Naota hung his head low and hugged a pillow tightly to his chest.

"You're curling up right now," Haruka pointed out. "You're afraid of what's going to happen. You're afraid of life, afraid of the future. When you duel, you put a wall between yourself and danger. You want to shelter yourself from what's going to happen. I know it hurts, but you have to face the facts and enjoy life while it lasts."

Naota's eyes began to water. They stung a little. "But," his voice quivered. "I don't," he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Haruka hugged him tight, like she was hugging her best friend. "If you want to make your dreams come true before you die, you are going to have to act fast."

An English song began playing inside Haruka's tote bag.

Come on and step out from the darkness

Walk into the sunlight

Scream those three words

You know them, right

Her hand quickly dove in and fished out her cell phone. "Hello Ashton, what's up bro?"

"Ashton called? Tell him I said hi!" Naota's mood swung the other way quickly. He forced out the negative thoughts. "And thanks for the cards."

"Yeah, that's Naota. He says thanks for the cards and hi. Yeah, I'm trying to convince him to use the cards you sent him. He's still putting up a resistance. So why the sudden call, you sound like something's wrong."

Haruka paused for a moment. "Wow that sounds bad." She sounded worried.

"What's wrong?" Naota asked.

Haruka turned to Naota. "It's Hikaru's mom, she's in the hospital."

Nayuta offered Hikaru a hand. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's just a role. It's not like losing it is the end of the world."

"I know," Hikaru said softly. She still hadn't fully recovered from the defeat. "But I promised Naota I'd get the lead role."

"I'm sure he'll understand you did your best." Nayuta reasoned.

"But I got his hopes up." Hikaru was ready to break down in tears. "I promised him I'd get on TV so that our friend Yuu would see me."

"Wait, who is Yuu?" Nayuta asked. The name sounded familiar, but she couldn't be sure."

"Yuu was our best friend when we were little. But we haven't seen him in years." Hikaru explained.

She was about to go further, but the PA began calling her name. "Hikaru Reinhardt, please report to the Chancellor's office. Hikaru Reinhardt please report to the Chancellor's office."

Eriko sneered. "Looks like somebody's in trouble."

They heard Hikaru's name on the PA and turned back to each other. Haruka was finishing her conversation with Ashton. "They just called her on the PA. I'm sure they're going to tell her. I'm going to go meet her and see if she's okay."

Haruka hung up. "I'll go make sure Hikaru is okay, I want you to be a good boy while I'm away. Can you manage that?" She teased.

Naota nodded. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but only one thing could escape his throat. "Hikaru."

Takuya laughed as he heard the news. "So Hikaru lost just as I expected." He turned to the duel spirit at his side. The creature was as tall as the building and as green as the forest trees, with a head that resembled an octopus. Its tentacles flailed wildly as if trying to grasp the air. Its wings spread out into the sky, casting a mysterious shadow on the ground below.

The creature simply nodded.

"Let's watch what happens next, my friend."

Naota shuffled the new cards into his deck and drew six. He ran through a duel in his head, seeing if he would be able to make use of Reaper on the Nightmare. "I play one card facedown." He set his monster onto the stand resting at his bed's side. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"There's someone here to see you." The nurse interrupted his mental game.

Naota gathered his cards quickly and turned toward his visitor. "Hi Nayuta, how did everything go? Is Hikaru okay?"

"Not really," Nayuta replied solemnly. "She couldn't get the part, and then she was called off to the Chancellor's office."

Naota forced a smile. "That's okay. I hope she isn't too worried for my sake. She did her best. I really shouldn't have asked so much of her. I was being selfish." He curled up into a ball and hugged his knees. "Anyway she'll probably need a friend really soon, someone who isn't an emotional wreck. She needs someone she can lean on, so that can't be me."

"Wait, what happened?" Nayuta asked. She felt her stomach going crazy with worry.

"It's her mom. She's in the hospital."

"Oh my God, what happened to her?" Nayuta's face was in shock.

"I'm not sure." Naota admitted.

"I'm going to go see if she's okay, but I'll be back to check on you soon." Nayuta rushed out the door.

Naota let out a broken laugh that rang throughout the room. The day was really starting to get to him. He rocked himself back to sleep.

A red sports car let out a loud shriek as spun out of control. Two children had been playing in the middle of the street, and the driver had been chatting away on his cell phone. He hadn't noticed the kids until it was almost two late. He hit the brakes and swerved, doing his best to avoid them. Naota tried to scream, but he couldn't make a sound. The car was going to hit him, but he couldn't move.

"Naota, look out!" Hikaru screamed. She rushed ran toward him, but she knew she would never make it in time.

Just when he thought it was all over for him, someone some one grabbed Naota's hand and pulled him to safety. Naota's heart skipped a beat and the fears pent up inside of him began to spill out as tears.

"Hey, don't cry," said his savior. "You're fine, so now we need to help the guy in the car." He pointed to the wreck. The car had slammed into a brick wall and knocked a small section over. The boy dashed over and opened the driver's door, offering the man a hand. He was visibly shaken, and obviously thankful for the help. "Do you have a cell phone to call 119? If not you can probably use my brother's phone, he should be around here somewhere. There he is."

He pointed at a taller boy across the street. He looked like he was around sixteen. He was tapping his foot angrily. "Yuu, get over here now. I swear to God I'm going to lose you and then mom and dad are going to kill me."

Yuu smiled innocently.

That was Naota's first meeting with the boy. But they would soon become best friends.

"So, you're going to go home after this and watch the Duel Academia School Play?" Naota asked. It was fall. Orange and yellow leaves were falling off the tress and gathering on the ground. They crunched beneath the children's feet as they walked.

"Yeah, I watch it every year," Yuu admitted. He took a large bite out of his chocolate bar and chewed quickly, like a mouse nibbling at its food. Hikaru covered her nose in disgust.

"What is that?" She asked. "It smells so bad."

"It's an ordinary chocolate bar," Yuu explained. "It just smells really strong, that's all."

Naota smiled as he watched his friend walk backwards through the street. He smiled.

"Hey, it's your birthday soon, isn't it?" Naota asked. "What are you asking your parents for?"

"Yep, and then I'll be eleven, just like you guys," Yuu answered. "As for what I'm asking for," he paused for a moment as the wind ran through his short silver hair. "I'm asking for a Duel Monsters Card."

"Just one?" Hikaru asked. "I'd ask for a whole deck. Your parents are rich so can't they afford to get you any deck hat you want?"

"They could," Yuu admitted. "But there's only one card I want to perfect my deck. Zodiac Mage Ophiuchus. It's the only one I'm missing and it's based on my favorite constellation." Yuu laughed happily. "Hey speaking of Duel Monsters, Naota, have you made a deck yet?"

The eleven-year-old nodded. "Yeah, Hikaru's been teaching me how to play."

"That's great, we should duel sometime. Let's head over to my house, the play doesn't start for a while." Yuu turned spun around to face forward. "Race you there."

Naota and Hikaru both ran as fast as they could, but neither of them could keep up with Yuu.

The inside of Yuu's house was quite beautiful. Expensive furniture decorated the room. Exotic rugs covered the floor. Beautiful paintings hung from the wall. It was an impressive display, to say the least.

"Hello, Yuu, I see you brought some friends with you," said the maid. "Would you like me to bring you some tea?"

"No thanks, Sayako." Yuu replied with a smile. "But could you bring us three Duel Disks, please?" He asked politely. It wasn't long before the maid came with three Duel Disks in her arms. She handed them out to the children.

"Thank you," the all said.

"Let me know if there is anything I can do for you." She said as she left the room.

"Wow," Naota said in awe. "You have real Duel Disks. I've always wanted one but they're so expensive."

"This is really cool," Hikaru admitted. "So how do we duel? Should we go for a three way free-for-all?"

"I was thinking we could do a triangle duel, the two of you against me," Yuu admitted.

"Heh," Hikaru laughed. "Naota may be new at this, but I'm nothing to laugh at. You'll regret those words soon enough."

The three children shuffled their decks. "It's time to duel!"

Yuu: 8000

Naota: 4000

Hikaru: 4000

"My turn!" Naota proudly declared. "I set two cards facedown and summon Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode." (1300/2000) Naota let out a gasp of wonder as the card sprang to life. "This is so cool."

Hikaru drew a card. "My turn!" She spun around like a ballerina. "I summon Maho Shoujo Emi to the field in attack mode!" (1200/1100) "So now I get to draw a card from my deck. Next I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Yuu smiled as he drew a card from the top of his deck. "I summon Zodiac Mage Cancer to the field in attack mode." (1300/1700) "When he's on the field I can Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand once per turn. So I Special Summon Zodiac Mage Aquarius!" (1200/1100) "Next I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two. He picked three cards off his deck and slipped two of them away. Then, I can use Aquarius's effect to Special Summon a Spellcaster from my grave, so I'll bring out Zodiac Mage Capricorn!" (1800/500) "Next I'll use his effect to move a Spellcaster from my deck to my hand. So I'm snatching Zodiac Mage Leo to my hand!"

The three cards all looked like slender humans wearing thick black robes. The only things telling them apart were the emblems on their chests. Each emblem was engraved with a carving of the constellation for which the card was named.

Hikaru smiled. "Sorry Yuu, but I know your cards weakness. I activate my Quickplay Spell card, Dimension Magic!" A metal coffin swallowed up Maho Shoujo Emi and spat out another young girl. "My Spell lets me sacrifice one monster to Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand. So I'd like you to meet Asuka!" (1800/1000) The young girl twirled her staff playfully. "Next, I can destroy a monster on your side of the field! So say goodbye to Cancer. And when he goes, he takes any monster he Special Summoned with him. So that gets rid of Aquarius. And when Aquarius goes away, you lose any monster he summoned. So that clears your entire field of monsters!"

All three Zodiac Mages burst into dust.

Yuu smiled. "I activate my Quickplay Spell Card. Spellcaster's Legacy can only be activated when one of my Spellcasters is sent from the field to the grave. I can Special Summon a Spellcaster from my deck. And he gets 300 extra attack points for every Spellcaster sent from the field to the grave this turn."

Another robed figure rose from the depths of nothingness. "This is Zodiac Mage Virgo!" (1000/1000) "Her effect lets me remove a Spellcaster from my grave to boost my Life Points by that much. So I'm removing Aquarius!"

Yuu: 9200

A green sparkle showered Yuu as his Life Points rose. "Next I activate the Spell Card Double Summon so that I can perform an extra Summon this turn. So say hello to Zodiac Mage Leo!" (2000/0) "I can use his effect to Special Summon a Spellcaster that has been removed from play. So I'll be bringing back Aquarius! (1200/1100) "And since he can Special Summon a Spellcaster from my grave, I'll bring back Cancer!" (1300/1700) "Next I'll use his effect to Special Summon Zodiac Mage Sagittarius from my hand!" (1500/700)

"Go, Leo, attack Asuka!" Yuu ordered.

Naota smiled proudly, "I activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to negate your attack."

"Sagittarius, what do we have to say about that?" Yuu asked quizzically.

Zodiac Mage Sagittarius fired a giant flaming arrow that shot through the Scar-Iron trap and hit Naota. The Scrap-Iron trap was destroyed, Naota was damaged and Leo showed Asuka with a magical light that had her exploding into dust.

Naota: 3500

Hikaru: 3800

"Once per turn my Sagittarius can negate and destroy a Spell or Trap that targets a Spellcaster and then deal 500 points of damage to my opponent." Yuu snapped his fingers. "Next I'll have Sagittarius attack your Giant Soldier of Stone while I activate my Quickplay Spellcard, Zodiac Starfall! I can only activate it if I have a Zodiac Mage on my side of the field. It gives all my Spellcasters a 200 point attack boost for every Zodiac Mage I control, but it lets them do trampling damage!" All of his monsters attacks zoomed up by 1000 points. Naota sighed, knowing that his facedown Iron Wall would be useless. The first attack came through. The Stine Soldier began to crumble as Naota's Life Points dropped.

Naota: 3000

"Now go, Virgo and Aquarius, attack Naota directly!" They fired off magical streams of light that merged into one and knocked Naota to the floor.

Naota: 0

"I'm alright," Naota promised.

"That's a relief," Yuu admitted. He turned to Hikaru. "Now go, cancer, attack her directly!" A stream of blue light washed over her and swept away over half her Life Points.

Hikaru: 1500

"I end my turn." Yuu watched his monsters' attacks drop.

"My turn," Hikaru warned. "I summon Maho Shoujo Chiyo to the field!" (1000/1000) "Her effect lets me grab a Spell from my deck. So I equip her with Axe of Despair to boost her attack points by 1000!"

"Big mistake," Yuu announced. "I can activate Sagittarius effect even during your turn!"

Hikaru was stunned by this revelation. A fiery arrow cut through her axe and reduced her Life Points by 500.

"I play three cards face down and end my turn." Hikaru wished she had used the facedown earlier, but she wanted to save them for an emergency. She was afraid a Heavy Storm would destroy them if she weren't careful. "Your move, Yuu."

The boy drew a card and smiled. "Sorry, but I think I'm going to end this. I activate Black Heart. Its effect lets me choose one Spellcaster on the field and have its attack doubled. There are a few drawbacks to using this, but that doesn't matter. See it has a unique effect that activates when negated. You see, if this card is negated, you take 500 points of damage. So I play Black Heart on my Cancer, and use Sagittarius' effect to negate it."

A hologram of the spell appeared on the field, only for a flaming arrow to shoot through it. The card released a black mist as it dissolved. Hikaru watched the mist hug the arrow as the arrow sped toward her, chopping through her Life Points.

Hikaru: 0

Hikaru fell to her knees in amazement. "That was awesome," she exclaimed. "I never knew your deck was that cool."

"Thanks," said Yuu. He let out a gentle giggle.

At that moment, Naota shot up in bed. His dream had been exactly the same as it had happened. It was one of the earliest duels he could remember, and one of the most amazing he had ever seen. Tears began to run down his face as he recalled all the fun he had with Yuu.

Well, its bed time now. See ya!

Anyway I hope that flashback dream didn't bore you too much. ^^ It felt a little awkward to me.