Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 29: The Next Threat
The next six months had passed with the speed of lightning. The winter had come and gone and now the air was filled with the scent of spring incoming, since some snow was still on the routes and in several areas, even though it was early February.
I didn't get to see my friends so often now when everyone was busy with their lives. Yusei and Jack had moved out from Martha's house to settle down with Crow in an apartment where they got to live in for free in Zora's clock shop. Zora was an old friend of Martha's and accepted the boys, even though I knew she could be very strict. Leo and Luna had convinced their parents to attend the Duel Academy and Akiza was back to her family, living a happy life and attending Duel Academy once again.
And what about my Duel Runner catastrophe? Well…
After Yusei had fixed the simple Duel Runner and made it have three wheels and I had managed to get control of the bike, I wasn't allowed to take the exam for both Duel Runner and Turbo Dueling licenses. Why, was the question. Trudge told me that I technically didn't exist in this dimension, so I was not registered in the world's catalogue of human citizens.
The truth was I wasn't so surprised about the news. I had a slight feeling my "freedom" was being limited in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's dimension, since I wasn't an original.
I felt really bad after that. Yusei had put so much time on the simple Duel Runner for me and now it got wasted because of the small "misunderstanding". I didn't think about the circumstances before I received the words from Trudge.
I had felt really bad and ashamed of it. I didn't tell my friends about the news at first because I didn't want them to feel sorry for me or kinda face Yusei's wrath, even though I knew he couldn't get that scary-angry as certain characters I've seen in manga books and anime back in my dimension. But still… If I had been thinking about the circumstances, he would have used the time he spent on the simple Duel Runner for something else.
I had kind of cut myself off from the others for a while. I didn't go to see them at the young men's place or meet up with Akiza and Carly for some girl hangout or Dueling with the twins. You could say that some old wounds from my past were slowly ripping up again inside my heart. I was afraid to get rejected again, even though I knew my new friends wouldn't do that. But my other side was still scared to get laughed at because I was not a usually twenty-two years old woman. I have been hurt too many times in my past… I often thought maybe it would better for me if I remained alone for the rest of my life; not having any friends, not finding a man to marry, not starting a family… I was so scared I couldn't describe it. But when I finally told them, they were all fine with it. They claimed they understood why I didn't tell them and Yusei was not angry at all, which had been a huge relief for me.
I still had the simple Duel Runner since I didn't have a real Duel Runner yet and I knew I would never get one while I was still in this dimension.
When the Daedalus Bridge had been connected, Martha used her contacts to find foster parents for the orphans that had lived with her and placed them in new homes. Now Martha's house was a daycare and a doctor's office in which Blister and I helped out with. Doctor Schmidt had moved in and had a small part of the house as his office in which I helped out with. We even had a service that I could go and be a babysitter for a couple of hours in the costumer's home if their child didn't want to be left alone or didn't want to stay at Martha's house. It was a bit difficult in the beginning, but I gained more pocket-money to buy small things such as cheap clothes, notebooks, pencils, and other stuffs. And the most important thing to me; a diary. I used the diary to express my feelings, reflect my thoughts and practice on my English to boost. It had been a habit back in my dimension.
XXXXXXXXXX
I was walking on the Daedalus Bridge, cleaning my head and to think about the upcoming events. The Meklord Emperors were next and so was the World Racing Grand Prix, even if there were six months away for the competition.
I stopped by the railing and looked at the sight of the sea. The sunlight reflected on the water, which made it too bright for my eyes. Luckily, I had my sunglasses onto my glasses, since I was slight sensitive to bright light.
I reached to my collarbone to play with a necklace I got from Yusei on the Christmas Eve. The necklace was a pair of silver feathers. I closed my eyes to remember the Christmas party we had in the twins' house.
*FLASHBACK*
The party was warm and colorful. The girls, meaning me, Akiza, Luna and Carly had been dressed in "half-sexy" Christmas outfits while the boys had kept their usual outfits. Akiza and I sang a couple of Christmas songs we had practiced on together while Carly had sneaked up behind the couch and tried to put on a smile on Jack's lips, which he had argued with a pair of red cheeks.
Once the current song was over, I sat down on the couch to rest a bit while pouring a small cup of non-alcoholic mulled wine.
"Lost breathe?" Crow snickered from an armchair.
"Yep…", I panted slightly before taking a sip of the mulled wine.
Just then, a new Christmas song was playing and it wasn't just any song. It was "Last Christmas (Single Version)" by Wham. I got so surprised that I nearly choked on my drink. I spat back the liquid into the cup and coughed hard. That caught the others in alarm.
"Estelle? Are you okay?" Leo who sat next to me started patting my back.
I felt my lungs getting better thanks to the boy's help. "Y-Yeah… Just took a too big sip of the hot mulled wine."
The group relaxed and continued to have fun; Carly and Luna dancing around with Crow joining them, Yusei and Akiza having a chat while Jack sat with his arms crossed, looking irritated but actually enjoyed the time.
I placed my cup on the coffee table and walked to the terrace. I slid open the glass door and stepped out in the winter night. I didn't need to put on a jacket because my power provided me an aura that kept me warm in the chilly air.
I walked around the empty pool and went to the edge of the roof. I hugged myself in comfort as I still could hear the song "Last Christmas" in my head. That was the song my parents and I played every Christmas ever since I was a baby.
It made me think about my situation. I was "trapped" in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's dimension with a quest, and after the quest would be complete I could return to my dimension. But… Did I really want to go back or did I even have a choice to stay? The Crimson Dragon hadn't told me any details yet what would happen to me once the mission was over. Besides, there was another puzzle. The few minutes before I got teleported to this dimension, I remembered I was sitting in Dad's car, going home after playing in the small Yu-Gi-Oh! tournament in Stockholm. Then something went wrong and there had been a crash…
The blood in my veins almost turned into ice and it was not by the icy wind. What if I had died in that crash and got reborn in this dimension?! I nearly got a panic attack, but calmed down by rubbing my forehead. It always helped me when I was in distress. The panic attack disappeared to be replaced with a stormy sea of sadness and confusion. If I really was dead in my dimension… My parents would be right now mourning over my death and even my dog would probably sense that something had happened to me. But… If I wasn't dead, but got teleported in time before the crash… I would probably be world-wide wanted all over the globe in my dimension.
I was getting more confused so I tried to shut out those thoughts and calm myself down. Between my parents, I stood most closely to my mother. She was the one who had always been by my side and helped me mature and develop into the young woman I was today, even if I still had slight difficulties because of my autistic behaviors.
Thinking of my parents made my eyes moist as I tried to hold back the tears. When a tear did escape from my eye, I wiped it away and looked up at the dark sky full of stars and a big moon. I kept looking up while being lost in thoughts so I jumped when I heard Yusei's voice next to me.
"Is everything okay?"
I turned to the left to see Yusei look at me with a worried expression. I rubbed off some stray tears from my cheeks before nodding. "Yeah… I was just…thinking about my family…"
Yusei looked a bit confused before he remembered. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot you're from another universe."
I chuckled lightly. "I almost forgot about it myself, but…that song made me remember…"
"Which song?"
"The song 'Last Christmas' by Wham. The one that was playing when I choked on my drink." I looked up at the sky again. "My parents always played that song every Christmas ever since I was a baby. It became very special to me at the Christmas Eve." I sighed and looked down. "I miss my parents. Especially my mother. She was the one I stood close to and helped me develop and mature… Making me stronger mentally…" I let out another sigh. "But I still have much to learn…"
I turned my eyes back at the sky, letting the cold air get into my lungs to calm me down. I didn't know what Yusei thought, but neither of us said anything until he broke the silence.
"You were lucky…"
"Hm?" I turned to Yusei to see him look at the night sky.
"You were lucky to live with your parents… Knowing and loving them…unlike me…", the young man mumbled, having a poker face to hide his inner sadness.
I could tell he was suffering about losing both his parents in the Zero Reverse incident, or at least his father. No one knew what happened to his mother since she had been reported MIA (Missing in Accident). I got that information from Trudge when I had asked him about Yusei's parents and he did say the information was classified, but he made an exception since we both were friends with Yusei.
I turned around and surprised Yusei by giving him a hug. I wrapped my arms around his waist as I pressed my body close to his. I felt Yusei's body freeze in surprise as I heard his heartbeat speeding up by the embrace.
"E-Estelle…?!" Yusei gasped.
"You may have never known your parents, Yusei…", I began. "But they truly and deeply loved you. They had you because they loved each other and wanted you in their lives. Your father sent you to safety because he wanted to protect you and let you grow up into the fine young man you are today." I felt new tears collecting in my eyes as I tried comforting Yusei. "Your parents wanted you to keep living as they will always watch over you from the place where their souls are resting in peace…" My voice was starting to shake. "N-Never think y-you were unloved, b-because…y-you are still loved b-by your parents' spirits…"
I couldn't hold back the tears any longer. I started crying for Yusei. I cried the tears that he might have been holding inside for a long time and never wanted to bring them out because he didn't want to consider himself as weak.
I felt his arms wrap around my shoulder blades, bringing me closer to him as he rested his chin on my left shoulder. I shivered slightly when I felt his breathe on my neck.
"Thank you…", he whispered.
I hummed in reply and kept my arms around him. I felt water drops hit my bare shoulder, realizing Yusei was crying. I lifted up my right hand and rubbed circles on his back to comfort him. It caused him to lean more into me, tightening his arms around me.
We stayed in the embrace for a couple of minutes until the muscles in Yusei's arms relaxed and his grip wasn't as strong as moments ago. Strangely, he hesitated to let me go as I took one slow step back. We looked into each other's eyes, both of us smiling gently. As I drew back my arms, they rubbed against Yusei's and when we reached to the hands, Yusei grabbed mine gently and kept them there.
My heart beat faster by this slight romantic moment, but I didn't want to get big expectations to only get them crumbled down in the end. We kept the eye contact and our smiles until Yusei spoke first.
"Thank you…"
I smiled warmly. "You're welcome…"
Yusei gave me a small smile before he let go of my hands to grab something from the pocket of his jacket. "I… I wanted to give this to you…in private."
I blinked confusedly when I heard his shy voice. It wasn't every day you heard that, and it was really cute.
Yusei held out a small but thin gift that was wrapped in purple paper with slight silver glittery decorations. It had a lavender ribbon around the gift.
I let a small smile reach my lips as I grabbed the wrapped present with both my hands. "Thank you… But you didn't have to go and buy me a gift."
"I wanted to", Yusei replied quickly. "It's a…thank you gift for everything you've done for me during the Dark Signers incident."
I nodded as I carefully unwrapped the present, not ripping apart the paper. I read once in my dimension that the wrapping of a present is just as valuable as the present inside it in Japan. Ever since then, I have been opening my presents on birthdays and Christmas with carefulness.
The gift was a jewelry box. When I opened it, I held back a gasp as my eyes widened. Inside the box was a silver necklace in the shape of a pair of feathers. I picked up the necklace by the chain and looked at the feathers.
"This is…", I mumbled.
"Since you gave me the Spell card A Feather of the Phoenix, I wanted to give something similar in return", Yusei explained.
Yes, I had let Yusei keep the Spell card since I thought it could one day be useful for him.
"I… I can't accept this", I said, still in slight shock. "This must have cost you a lot of money."
Yusei grabbed my hand in which I held the necklace. "Please. I insist."
I saw in Yusei's eyes that he would remain stubborn if I didn't accept the expensive present. So I gave up and nodded with a small smile. "Okay… If you really insist. Could you help me put it on?"
"Sure", Yusei replied.
He grabbed the necklace out of my hand and walked around me to stand behind me. I moved my hair aside and let him put on the necklace. I tried not to shiver when I felt his bare fingers brush against my skin. Once the necklace was put on, we walked back to the party in silence.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Ever since Christmas Eve, I had been wearing the necklace every single day. It was special to me because I got it from my secret crush and I had never received any jewelry from other men. I did once get a pretty cute keychain from a boy who had neurological disorders himself. The heart-shaped keychain was rather cheap, but I still kept it because of the same reason as my necklace.
I heard the sound of a Duel Runner approach me on the bridge. I turned around and spotted a familiar red Duel Runner. The motorcycle braked next to me as the driver rolled up the wind shield of his helmet before looking at me.
"Hey, Estelle", Yusei greeted.
"Hi, Yusei", I smiled. "What's up?"
"Nothing really", Yusei shrugged. "Jack, Crow and I are trying to build the new engine for our Duel Runners before the WRGP."
"Any progress?"
"I'm actually about to go home to install a few things that should do it. Want to come?"
"Sure. I've got nothing to 'entertain' myself this afternoon."
Yusei chuckled at my comment and made space for me to sit behind him. I sat down and wrapped my arms around his waist. When we were sure I wouldn't fall off, Yusei sped off with his Runner.
I blushed as I rested my cheek against his back. I was in a small conflict with my feelings for this man. I wanted to confess, but I didn't want to have his heart broken if I was going to return to my world once my mission was done in this dimension. Yusei didn't deserve having a broken heart. He had gone through a lot and the last thing he needed was a heart so broken that it might never get healed again.
XXXXXXXXXX
Jack and Crow were in the garage where they kept their Duel Runners, including the new Runner they had built to experiment on with the engine. Crow was still dressed in his Blackbird Delivery outfit, Jack dressed in his Turbo outfit and Yusei not wearing his jacket. I tried my best not to stare on Yusei's bare arms with slight muscles. As I might have mentioned before, I didn't like men with big muscles like Greiger's, but those muscles Yusei had were, dare I say, perfect.
Jack pushed on some speed, the engine making a comfortable sound for a machine. The rest of us monitored the progress on a laptop. Yusei had a pair of protective gears on his face, in case something would happen like an explosion.
"A few more weeks and we should be able to test this new engine on full throttle!" Yusei said with a loud voice to overcome the noise.
"Forget the few more weeks, Yusei! I say test it now!" Crow said excitedly.
"Why not?" Jack agreed. "With Jack Atlas on the driver seat, what could possibly go wrong?"
"A lot", I commented, making Crow chuckle.
Jack glared at me before starting speeding up more, causing an even louder sound that was too much for my ears.
Yusei shot up from his seat in front of me. "Jack, lay down the accelerator!"
"What?! Accelerate more?! Okay!" Jack replied, not hearing what Yusei said, and accelerated even more.
"No! Decelerate!" Crow panicked.
"Pull over!" I yelled.
As expected, an explosion occurred. I reached out one of my hands in time to create a shield around me and the two young men behind me. A piece of the Duel Runner hit the shield and leant against it as the smoke was in the air.
Once the turbulent was over, I let down the shield so Yusei and Crow could stand up properly. "Are you two okay?" I turned to them.
Yusei removed the protective gear. "Yeah, thanks to you."
Crow stood up, looking around. "Hey, did Jack blow up with the Duel Runner?!"
Jack shot up from the pile of the remaining parts of the experiment Runner. "Very funny, Crow!"
Yusei knelt down next to the demolished Runner. "We pushed it too hard."
"What do you mean 'we'? That was all Jack", Crow said, pointing at said man.
"I beg your pardon?! You were the one who told me to go full throttle!" Jack retorted.
I knelt down next to Yusei to help him find important parts of the Duel Runner that were still in good shape while we listened to Crow and Jack's bickering about whose fault it was.
"I'm amazed, Yusei", I commented as I dug my hands into the pile. "How can you bear to live with these two when they get as loud as now?"
"Simple; I ignore them", Yusei shrugged, picking up the engine the trio was working on.
I looked up and saw a crowd gathering by the windows to the garage, watching us or more precisely the bickering duo.
"Guys-", I called them.
"That's enough!"
We looked up at the stairs where the three men's landlord stood and glared down at us. The crowd gathered behind Zora as they tried to peek inside.
"Uh-oh, our landlord…", Crow mumbled nervously.
"She doesn't scare me", Jack snorted, acting like a big man.
"Oh, is that so, Mister Tough Guy?! Well, does living on the streets with the rats scare ya?! 'Cause I'm this close to tossing you bums out!" Zora warned.
"Wait, no, you don't understand!" Jack panicked. "That explosion… It was just-"
"Just nothing!" Zora yelled, causing Jack to shut up. "I'm sick and tired of all your excuses, so don't even bother with them!"
"Sorry, Zora. We've been working on the new engine again", Yusei apologized.
"Yeah, and I'm afraid we have to make some noise once in a while", I added.
Zora went into kind mode, seeing me and Yusei since we were well-mannered compared to Crow and Jack. "Yusei, Estelle dears! Say no more! You go ahead and make all the noise you want." She walked down the stairs to walk up to us. "After all, you did save the world from those Dark Signers." Yes, Zora knew the story since Martha had told her about the Dark Signers and everything about it. "I know the save was all four of you, but you two just really have to quit being so modest." Yes again, she liked me and Yusei most since we were her favorites.
"Sure, whatever you say", Yusei said with a confused voice.
Jack and Crow let out sighs of relief for not getting tossed out from the current place they were hiring. I chuckled at their reaction before we heard the siren of a Sector Security vehicle drive up to the house.
We walked up to the door to meet Trudge and Mina. Zora apologized immediately, thinking someone had called them due to the explosion, but that was not the case. Trudge and Mina stepped inside the garage with the rest of us while Zora chased away the curious people who still hanged around.
I stayed in the background, knowing what they would talk about. Trudge was surprised to see the young men were still trying to perfect the new engine prototype and use it for the WRGP. But then the topic went to the mysterious Turbo Duelist called the Ghost and the question if Yusei, Jack and Crow could help Sector Security. However, Crow was against the idea. He was so into preparing for the WRGP and completely refused, just as in the anime. He pushed out Trudge and Mina before closing the door. I decided to give him a small "punishment" for the way he acted by summoning Decoy Dragon.
Crow had just locked the twin door when Decoy Dragon bumped onto his head and shifted his head so it covered Crow's face. The carrot-head yelped and struggled to get Decoy Dragon off him. Decoy Dragon acted like a cat and remained on his head. Crow couldn't see anything and stumbled backwards, falling down the stairs and landed on his stomach. Once the young man was down, Decoy Dragon flew up and headed to me. Crow rubbed his face and sore head before looking up. Decoy Dragon flew around me before settling down my shoulder like Pikachu from "Pokémon". I smiled at my little dragon, scratching his chin as he made purring noises.
"What the heck was that for, Estelle?!" Crow asked irritably.
"Because, Crow, you shouldn't have acted like that with Mina and Trudge", I replied.
Crow stood up, rubbing his face. "Yeah, I know, but I want us to focus on-"
"The Ghost is just the prelude of the next threat that's coming to New Domino City", I interrupted him.
"What?!" the trio exclaimed in shock.
"The next threat?" Jack questioned.
"Why do you think we still have our Marks?" I asked, pointing at my right arm where my Star Mark was. "The Crimson Dragon has the power to remove them from the current holders and he could have done that after we beat the Dark Signers, but he didn't. It means our fight with Yliaster is still ongoing and the new darkness is the proof of it."
"And what exactly is this threat?" Yusei wondered.
"I want to tell you guys, but I can't", I shook my head. "It will break the possible chain of events, but I can tell you that the enemies are stronger than the Dark Signers. And this Ghost has a Monster that can do death-threatening damage if you lose against him."
The three men were about to ask me more when my cell phone rang in the pocket of my jacket. I picked it up and saw it was Martha who was calling. I denied the call, knowing she wanted me to come back home. "I have to go."
Decoy Dragon purred as he remained on my shoulder. The men were silent as I walked up the stairs to the door. I unlocked it and was about to step outside, but stopped for a second, playing with the necklace again to get rid of the nervousness.
"Once again, I'm sorry I can't tell you", I apologized. "But I'm warning you…" I looked down at the trio. "If you encounter the Ghost, do not use Synchro Monsters against him." With that said, I stepped out to the fresh air and closed the door behind me.
I was deep inside feeling really bad for not telling more to the boys, but I had to shut up and let the events go on as in the anime or else everything could get so messed up because of me. With a sigh, I summoned White-Horned Dragon and flew back to Martha's place.
