The sun hung above the people of New Domino City, offering its warmth and light. Passing cars protected residents who didn't want the gift, and amplified it in a different direction. The large dirt alleys between houses soaked up the offered light, heating the bugs and worms and small rodents hidden in the hard earth.
Ringer was one of those, not bathing in the sunlight like the rodents, but chasing the small creatures. His black fur stood out against the sun, the yellow making it worse, but long ears flattened to his back and tail a few inches from the ground, lithe body brushing the dirt in a hunter's crouch. Just ahead of him a brown mouse nibbled on something, he couldn't see what, only the brown furred back of the small rodent against the metal fence.
Big red eyes watched his target, unaware for the moment. His black paws stepped lightly, not a step turned a pebble or made a sound. The fox kept his breathing even and short. He had to be careful, any sound or change in air movement could alarm his prey.
When they had to visit Martha and Yusei was fixing something Ringer couldn't help with, he would take up his second job; a 'mouser'. The woman's house was an orphanage and home to any rodent within a fifty-mile radius. It had become Ringer's job to chase or kill, any mouse, squirrel, and rat that made between the walls their home.
One day, Spark and Celeste were sent to help him, something about Jack needing to clean the gutters and Crow going to help, but neither fox could catch a cold. Crow's partner had the nose of a whale, unable to pick up a scent and follow. Celeste, on the other hand, was too noisy. She didn't know how to silence her breathing. Both, though, did try hard, copying Ringer's stance and movements. The good thing was Celeste and Spark probably scared every rodent out of the house.
The mouse froze, mussels in its back tightening. A small black nose lifted in the air, twitching and searching. Ringer had to act now, or his target would get away. The mussels in his legs tightened ready to pounce, but he was too far away. If he took the chance now, the mouse would have the chance to run, simply scared by the sound his paws would make once they hit the ground.
He took a couple more steps, careful not to alert the animal any further than what the mouse knew. Now, he stood a couple of feet away, the closest he has ever gotten. Ringer froze for a moment, searching for the direction of the wind, for the way his scent was being carried. Thankfully, he was downwind of the mouse, who couldn't pick up his strange scent.
Ringer readied his back legs, flexing his front claws for the grip he needed to hold the mouse. He didn't pay attention to the honks of passing road raged drivers or the sounds of mufflers needing to be fixed. Everything was trained on the mouse, on his target.
"Hey, Ringer!" a shout caught him off guard, surprised the fox and the mouse. The target scurried away under the fence. The shout caused Ringer to take the leap and crash into the metal mesh, the top of his head meeting the steel. The sound rang in his ears, fading with each throb of his skull. The fox shook his head in an attempt to clear the unpleasant feelings he gained in the crash. Frustration was one of them, directed to the person that scared the mouse.
The feeling quickly dissolved in delight when he saw who it was. Yanagi and Tanner stood before him, concern written across their features. "You okay? That was a nasty crash," Tanner asked. Ringer yipped happily, tail wagging. The teal haired man smiled and patted the fox's head.
"Sorry about that, Ringer," Yanagi spoke up. "I didn't think I would startle you like that." Ringer huffed, accepting the apology. "Where's Yusei?" The animal barked and trotted to the side door, the pair following close behind, then pawed at the thick, wood. Blister's angry shout could be heard from inside, probably complaining about claws marks going to develop on the painted surface.
"Hey, Blister," Tanner greeted when the brunette opened the door. The twenty-year-old smirked, casting his gaze from the fox and two ex-inmates.
"Why are you here?"
"Just coming to check up on a friend," he replied. He jabbed a thumb to the old man next to him, "This is Yanagi. He was Yusei's cellmate back in the Facility."
"Hi," the old man chimed. With cheeks pulled back into a smile, he showed off that gold tooth, wrinkling his small bead-like eyes. "So you're Blister. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Come on in," Blister huffed, moving aside to let the pair in. "He's in the garage, working on his runner." Both thanked the man and stepped through. Ringer followed, almost running into a finger pointed at his snout. "And you, stop pawing at the door. You're going to start leaving claw marks and I don't need to be fixing a paint job on a door. My landlord will notice."
The fox offered a sheepish whine, apologizing. Blister's calloused finger moved from his black nose, giving him passage into the house. Ringer trotted past Tanner and Yanagi, yipping to catch their attention, to show the way. Blister asked them a few questions along the way.
"Did you get Ringer's 'warm' welcome?" Both shook their heads and gave a confused expression. "He knocked me over last night. Wouldn't get up till Yusei called him," he ended with a chuckle. Yanagi joined him, snickering.
"Yeah. Ringer did that back in the Facility when we were sent where they keep the long-term."
"I thought he was going to rip Yusei to shreds," Tanner added. "That, or he was going to have a pretty bad bruise on his chin from hitting the ground so hard."
They shared a laugh, quickly interrupted by the fox's bark. The three adults stopped, looking at the animal. Ringer pawed at a dark green painted door, muffling the music and loud tinkering beyond it. Blister sighed and muttered something about neighbors complaining under his breath. They braced themselves for the loud sounds and stepped in. Ringer was more hesitant. The noise was a bit much for his long ringed ears.
"Yusei! Turn it down!" Blister shouted over the sounds. The teen didn't respond, staying kneeled at the runner's front wheel with a leather hammer, jacket dangling from the top. With hands clamped on ears, Yanagi hurried down the stairs and to Yusei's side.
"Yusei!" he cried near the ebony's ear, pulling his hands off the sides of his head and waving them in the air. This caught the teen's attention.
"Yanagi?" Yusei questioned in shock. The music was cut off and the adult's ears were saved, except the now throbbing that developed. Ringer didn't mind the throb, he could deal with it. "Hey, Ringer. How was the hunt? Find anything?" The fox nodded as he reached the teen. "I'm taking a guess and saying you didn't catch it." Ringer slid a glowering glare to the old man and ex-pro duelist.
"That would be my fault," Yanagi confessed. "I scared him when we arrived."
"When did you guys get out?" Yusei changed the subject. Ringer sat beside the duelist, panting happily. "I thought you would be in for at least a month."
"We got early release," Tanner answered. Gold eyes wandered around the room, inspecting the teen's new living quarters. They stopped after a few seconds, staying glued to something laying among the duelist's tools and damaged parts. He pointed to it. "Is that your's?"
Yusei looked to where the finger leads, trying to find the object buried in the clutter. It was his deck still locked in its card shuffler. He almost forgot Yanagi and Tanner have never seen his cards before, thanks to it being confiscated. "Yeah. Why?"
The teal-haired man smirked, placing his hands on his hips. "I think it's time I see those cards in action. What do you say?"
"Sure. But how about I clean this up first. Then, we can move outside," Yusei suggested. The ebony squatted back down and started grabbing his tools, placing them inside a wooden toolbox. Yanagi did the same, despite the protests of his old joints, handling the damaged and unused parts to toss them into a cardboard box. Soon, Tanner and Blister were helping, with Ringer snatching what was handed to him and sliding it onto shelves.
Once everything was put away and up, they grabbed their decks and walked out to where Ringer was hunting that mouse. The teen stood against Blister's house, Tanner across the way. Both had duel disks fastened on their wrists. The fox sat at Yusei's booted feet, Yanagi and the brunette taking the ex-pro's side.
"Since I took the first move last time, I'll let you go," Tanner stated.
"You got it." Yusei placed a hand on his deck, ready to draw a card he would never get to see. Thanks to a familiar white runner rolled between the two, the only break in the blank was something orange and yellow riding behind the driver.
"Hello, Yusei," Jack sneered. His partner gave a kinder greeting; a soft bark. Ringer responded to Celeste with the same, just a bit faster than Yusei could.
"Hey, Jack. Celeste." The ebony became fully aware of the other pairs of eyes on them, watching and listening to their conversation and movements. "What do you want?"
"I've heard you're competing in the Fortune Cup. Is Ringer invited, too?"
"Yeah," Yusei huffed. "But it's not like I had a choice." True confusion crossed the blonde's face, exchanging it with his passenger. Then, turned back to their 'friend', searching for an explanation. "Our friends in the Satellite," Yusei started, pulling the picture out of his inner jacket pocket. "That clown-like character- I think his name was Lazar- handed me this and said they will pay for everything I did if I didn't participate."
"I'm sorry, Yusei." Jack's purple eyes stayed on the picture, memories flashing behind them with every second he stared at it. "I had no clue about this." Yusei pushed the photo back to where it was. "I just came by to give you this." It was Jack's turn to dig for something, this time from his deck pouch to pull a single card. "When you duel me, I want it to be with this." Looking down, Yusei was shocked by what it was. He took it like a piece of glass.
Stardust Dragon.
Ringer had stood on his back legs, front paws balancing himself on the ebony's side. He wanted to see the card he was so happy to have on their field, dueling alongside their cherry red Duel Runner, once again. There was always something about it, maybe an aura or just some silly feeling, that made the strange mark on his shoulder itch.
"You know," Jack said, pulling their attention from the card. "You haven't changed a bit, Yusei. Always putting your friends before yourself."
"What about you, Jack?" Yusei inquired. "You promised Crow and Spark you would take care of his runner. Did you?"
"It's sitting in the garage."
"And Celeste," Yusei started, pausing to swallow the nervousness of an answer unwanted. "Do you collar her? That Lazar person gave me a collar with my information on it."
The blonde reached back and pushed his partner's fur back, revealing a hint of blue nylon with a metal pink heart dangling from a silver loop. Muttering something about it being 'safer' for her, Jack turned around and tore out, leaving them breathing in the exhaust and dust. The older teen probably didn't feel the blue eyes watching him leave.
"Please tell me that's the dragon card," Yanagi hoped. The old man scampered to the teen, eager to see his precious card. Blister and Tanner followed not too far behind. The card was held between a gloved thumb and finger, turning it to face its audience. Yanagi's eyes brightened up, widening to the side of dinner plates. He gasps, "You and Ringer are Signers!"
"That means Jack and Celeste are too. They're the ones who we were dueling that night." Yusei thought about it more, eyes widening slightly at a new piece of information: "Crow and Spark were there. They followed me here instead of staying in the Satellite. I'm pretty sure they had a mark as well."
"Hold on," Blister interrupted, hands held up as to block any further exchange. "What are you talking about? What's with this talk about Signers? And who are Crow and Spark?" Yusei opened his mouth ready to try his hand at explaining things when he was cut off by a suggestion.
"How about we walk down to the Daimon Arena; I heard there's a great duel happening. Along the way," Tanner pointed a finger at Yusei, then passed it to Yanagi. "You two can explain. From the beginning."
The youngest nodded, seeing the terms reasonable. They pulled off their Duel Disks and placed them inside, but placed their decks in their respective holders, dangling from their hips. The walk was long, maybe thirty minutes, but it was long enough to explain the important parts. Yusei started with the first day he met his partner, or what he considered one of the best days of his life. He spilled about his relationship with Jack, who he looked up to like an older brother. The days of dueling his 'little brother' were brought back and made the teen wish he knew what happened to Crow and Spark.
He talked about how he met his friends Blitz, Nervin, Tank, and Rally. The spunky teen had got along with Crow and Spark, but it took a bit for them to trust each other. Though, that was mostly due to the yellow fox protecting his partner.
The part of Jack betrayal ground Yusei's teeth into stumps. Ringer offered an ear for his partner to rub, to calm himself down. It worked and Yusei continue with how he wanted a better life for his friends in the city and he knew his card would get them there. The plan and how it was almost blown, courtesy of Trudge and a certain redhead who decided to follow him.
Any detail about the duel with Jack was questioned by Yanagi, who excitedly hopped by his side as they walked. Yusei told about Ringer's strange shoulder mark appearing on his arm, shining through his jacket and glove. When their dragons clashed, claws trying to tear away hologram flesh and teeth trying to sink into a long battle-scarred neck, summoned the Crimson Dragon. They crashed a few moments after, marks still burning their skin.
"Wow," Tanner said once Yusei had finished. "That's why you got thrown in the Facility? And you didn't even get your card back, until today." Yusei nodded, staying quiet to listen to Yanagi's explanation. It was short and wasn't much, due to the fact he didn't know a lot about the topic.
While he explained, Yusei took the time to look around. He couldn't see much, the area was a clearing surrounded by buildings either run down or occupied by the poor and homeless. The center of the clearing was crowded, causing his field of vision to be limited. They shouted and whooped as a duel went underway. His friends didn't pay attention, but he did. More specifically, two little kids strolling up to one of the watchers, Duel Disks strapped to their wrists. A little brown fox trotted by the teal haired boy's heels.
The teal haired boy and a little fox was familiar; it was Leo and Kari. The other was nowhere in the teen's mind. His white collared shirt folded over the strap of a red bowtie. Two strips of elastic stretched over either shoulder and clipped to the front of his navy blue shorts. His brown dress shoes were scuffed and dirty, protecting his white knee-high socks. Black glasses framed large, curious brown eyes.
"Excuse me, sir." The man turned to Leo, revealing a criminal mark. "Have you see the Black Rose Duo?"
"Why don't you go back to the nursery where you belong?" The man snipped, eyes filled with hate and anger, masking the joy he got from scaring a couple of kids. "That's the only place for people who believe that urban legend nonsense."
"Yikes," the brown-haired boy breathed and pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. Kari gave a low, threatening growl. The pair stepped away, disappointed by their find. "We're never going to find her at this rate. They don't believe us."
"Come on, Dexter." Leo turned to his friend, being careful as he walked backward. "We just have to keep looking. We'll find them eventually, just have to be persistent." The boy turned around, locking eyes with his watcher. "Hey, Yusei!" He ran to the group, Kari sprinting on little legs. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Yusei responded. "This is a dangerous place. You really shouldn't be here."
"We're looking for the Black Rose Duo." The brown haired boy came up behind Leo, careful of a hand being thrown into the air excitedly. He kept his brown eyes glued to the ground, almost in disappointment. When he did look up, they became large and fearful. "Oh, Dexter! This is Yusei and his partner Ringer, they fixed me and Luna's Duel Disks."
"Guys, this is Leo."
"Leo," the kid whispered fearfully. "They're all marked." Leo ignored his friend's fear and looked to one of Yusei's gloved hands, the cream-colored envelope with gold accents. The teen had pulled the picture out when he mentioned his Satellite friends, wanting to show the adults what they looked like. Then, folded it and slipped it into the envelope.
"You got an invitation! Now, we get you to duel you again!" The kid exclaimed. "This is going to be great, Kari!" The small fox yipped happily and leaping into the air. Her partner laughed at the excited energy. It masked Dexter's nervous one with ease.
"Leo." The boy looked to the Yanagi. "What was all this talk of the Black Rose Duo? Why are you trying to find them?" This sent the boy into a new level of excitement. Yusei could only assume this was a hobby of the boy's.
"The Black Rose Duo is probably the coolest thing ever!" Leo shouted, hopping from foot to foot, unable to contain his overloading excitement. "The Black Rose Duo is a partnership between a girl and a rabid wolf. The girl is amazing when she duels, her cards actually come to life. Her monsters are like real monsters. Her traps are like real traps! And her spells-"
"I think they get the picture, Leo," Dexter interrupted. The boy offered a small smile as an apology. Yusei heard Ringer huffed softly at the boy's habit to rant. Then, he continued the explanation.
"Her wolf is just as amazing. It can make things float in the air. There are accounts of their opponents going crazy and seeing things. I think some of them ended up in an asylum," Leo explained. "Dexter has been wanting to duel them for a while. Me and Kari, on the other hand, have a few questions. See, Luna's partner, Shard, was like Kari a few years ago. We have no idea why it happened, but when I found out about the Black Rose Duo, I just had to see if they have any answers."
"I know what you mean," Yusei agreed. He placed a hand on Ringer's head, rubbing the forehead ring lightly. The fox looked up and smile. "Ringer changed only a couple years ago. He was like Kari, but during a full moon, he changed. I think we may need to join you on this hunt."
"Wait a minute," Tanner said, holding up a hand to catch their attention. "Isn't the Black Rose Duo a myth?"
The fox flinched under Yusei's gloved hand and whimpered suddenly. His head whipped around sharply, licking at the strange mark on his shoulder. The teen kneeled down, trying to ignore the throbbing on his arm. Ringer's shoulder shone a bright red, the dragon head staring at his concerned partner.
This time, he could do something. Wrapping his arms around Ringer's neck and rubbing the forehead ring, Yusei was able to calm him down. They ignored their friends' cries and pleas for a response. But they did feel the ground rumble.
"It's just like… before," Yusei panted, trying to ebbe the heartbeat in his arm. The ground shook harder, then split open. Large thorn ridden vines split the earth apart, chewing it like a dog with a steak. Dust was kicked up, the crowd long gone. There was no way a hologram could appear through the fog, but it did.
Long vines slithered into the air, sharp thorns point to the ground. Through the airborne dust, Yusei spotted the dragon as it threw its head back and released a loud shriek. Its wings spread overhead. They were petal-like, fanning out like a rosebud.
Yusei winced and pushed the fabric dulling the harsh glow of his mark. It bit at his skin, almost burning the small hairs rooted around it. "That's no tattoo," he heard Tanner remark. "I knew about Ringer's but I thought that was just some weird pattern any normal animal has." The fox tried licking the red design, whining as his own burned the flesh under black fur.
"It's them," Leo whispered. He pointed a finger into the fog and everyone looked, eyes squinting to see what he was talking about. A little clearer through the thick curtain was a person, slender and tall. The cloak she wore was long and covered most of her appearance, her face hidden behind a white mask. Beside her, an animal was in a familiar hunters crouch. Yusei was unable to determine the type of creature due to a similar cloak covering its body.
"I need to talk to you," Leo shouted, standing up from where he fell and sprinting off. Kari was at his heels, trying to keep up.
"Leo!" Yusei called, trying to call the kid back, away from any danger. He didn't hear the teen. The ebony stood and raced after the teal haired boy. Ringer ran ahead, gifted with long legs, and caught up with the boy and his partner, frozen in one spot.
The Black Rose Duo perched on a rock, staring down Leo and Kari. "Leo," Yusei tried once more, this time succeeding. Through her white mask, she seemed to switch her glare to the teen. The animal next to her gave a low growl, daring them to take a step towards them. Ringer stepped in front of his partner, fur bristling and lips pulled back into a threatening smile. Then, turned his body, ready to take any blow willing to come their way.
"You also have a mark," the girl bellowed. Yusei looked at his arm, then to her other arm, the one a Duel Disk didn't occupy. It too was glowing that harsh red light. Through the cloak of the animal, the same shape could be seen over one of its shoulders.
"I do. So, what?" The teen questioned. He tested a step forward, only to be pushed back by his partner. His grin was gone, replaced by a curious glance as if asking permission to take that step. Ringer flattened his fur, head hung low to show he meant no harm and padded slowly to the Duo. The girl stiffened, sucking in a harsh breath in alarm and fear. Her partner, on the other hand, did the opposite.
It shook the hood off, revealing its face. Her ears were long and bent at the point. Two long tufts of purple fur poured out. Dark purple eyes stared at Ringer, standing out against her light purple fur. The center of her forehead had a dark red gem. She looked at the black fox, also curious. Something in those large violet eyes sparked, then she chirped. Ringer responded with the same.
"Stay away from her!" The girl shouted, throwing a card on her Duel Disk. The action caused the dust settling around them to kick up again, circling the pair. When it calmed, Yusei's mark disappeared, just like the Black Rose Duo.