A/N: Now, you have new on Yusei. But is it real or just good acting? We've all seen how good dark Yusei is at acting the part.


"You're Fudo Yusei's friends?" a nurse asked quietly. Jack, Kiryu and Crow looked up and nodded. It was about time they heard something, they'd been waiting three days. "You can see him now."

She smiled and led him to a private room, explaining how they were having difficulties but he could be checked out. Yusei was there, bruised and bandaged and just staring up at the ceiling. He didn't even acknowledge when the door opened or closed, just stared up at the ceiling blankly.

"Yusei," Jack said quietly.

He was still in a sling and a little wobbly on his feet but was otherwise fine. Crow had made a full recovery from his illness quickly, helped by the fact that the hospital gave him some strong antibiotics.

"You ok, pal?" Crow asked quietly.

There was still no sign of Yusei even knowing they were there. The three glanced between them. Whatever was happening to him during the duel, it had left him broken.

"Yusei?" Kiryu whispered. "Do you want to talk?"

"We're here for you, Yusei," Crow said. "Whatever you need, we're here."

"Is that thing still inside you?" Jack asked.

Finally Yusei turned his gaze to them. His eyes were dark and heavy. He stared at them for a moment before turning away. There was barely any sign he was even alive but the slow gentle breathing.

"You know, you're allowed out today," Kiryu said gently. "We're staying at Jack's place. We'll look after you." He hated to think that they were going to let Godwin have control and twist them, but Yusei was more important than his rebellious streak. "It'll be just the four of us again."

"Do you want to come home then?" Crow said.

"Just get me out of here," Yusei whispered.

They got Yusei out of the hospital as quickly as possible. They all tried to convince him to talk about what had happened, but none of them got anywhere. He was completely blank. They quickly came to the conclusion that he probably wasn't under the Dark God's control anymore. Kiryu was slightly disappointed. He liked the new Yusei, and he'd hoped, even if the Dark God was gone, Yusei would have learnt something about opening up from his experiences. He was silent the whole way to Jack's apartment, and once there, simply sat out by the pool, staring at the water.

"What now?" Jack sighed. "We might have well have left him there if he's going to be like this."

"No," Crow snapped. "He needs us. Maybe just being with us for a while will comfort him."

"You know how he is," Kiryu said. "After what he did while under that thing's control, if he remembers..."

"He's going to blame himself," Crow finished. "We've all seen him in the spiral before."

"Yeah, but usually he snaps himself out of it," Jack muttered. "At least he used to."

"Before you betrayed us, you mean," he growled.

"Crow," Kiryu snapped. "Now isn't the time for your stupid sibling rivalry. Sort out your problems on your own time. It's a shame. I sort of liked the darker side of Yusei."

"What? Why?" Jack snapped.

"Because it made me feel like less of a freak," he whispered. "I just wanted someone to understand that I'm not insane and I'm not a monster. This dark Yusei understood that. He made me feel like I was almost normal."

"What happened to problems on your own time?" he grumbled. "You sound like that Aki, preaching away about how she hated herself and wanted to be normal. Go back to Divine if you want to be around people like you."

"No," Crow snapped. "He's not going anywhere. None of you are. We only get into trouble when we're apart. Together we're strong enough to beat this."

"We just have to snap Yusei out of this depression then," Jack said.

"Has anyone thought about what if that thing is still there?" Kiryu whispered. "And what if he's just faking it really well?"

"Don't say that," Crow cried. "We're not going down that road! You two don't even know him anymore, you left!"

Crow turned and stormed off to sit next to Yusei. Jack sighed as Kiryu glared up at him. "What?"

"He was never that stroppy when I was around," Kiryu muttered.

"Don't blame me for him. It's been two years since I last saw him," Jack snapped.

"Come on, let's see if we can sort this out. And then we'll try and sort out you and Crow. Perhaps not in that order though."

They joined Yusei by the pool and Crow pulled Yusei close, almost protectively. They frowned. Did Crow honestly feel like he had to protect Yusei from them? Although, Jack wondered if maybe it was as much about comforting himself as it was about Yusei. Yusei didn't react at all, just stared down at the pool water. There was silence for a long while, none of the boys really knowing what to say, usually it was obvious what Yusei was thinking in this kind of situation and what needed to be said, but this was different.

"I'm sorry," Yusei whimpered.

"For what?" Crow said gently. "Whatever happened, we're your friends and we don't care what you've done."

"You expect me to believe that you can just forgive everything I've done?" he whispered.

"There's nothing to forgive," Kiryu said firmly. "No one got hurt."

"Speak for yourself," Jack growled. "He was constantly trying to kill me."

"I'm sorry," Yusei breathed, pulling out of Crow's arms and standing up. "I'm so sorry."

"Yusei come back," Crow called as he walked away. He turned and glared at Jack. "I can't believe you just said that. Are you trying to make him blame himself even more?"

"No, I just-"

"Why can't you just keep your stupid big mouth closed for five minutes?" he snapped. "And try thinking about what you say for once!" He sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean... it's just with Yusei and-"

"I know," he said. "I know. Kiryu, can you let us have a moment?"

"Yeah, of course. And the next time I see you I want you to be the perfect brothers again," Kiryu said and headed indoors after Yusei.

"Well?" Crow growled. "Do I get my answers yet?"

"I suppose I do owe you an explanation," Jack replied slowly. "You know, for a while, I couldn't really remember my reasons for leaving other than the fact that it was offered."

"That makes sense. You always were a selfish jerk."

"You said you didn't believe I had no other reason."

"And I don't. But I want to. It's easier to hate you, or at least try to. I've yet to manage it. What the hell would make you turn your back on us other than pure selfishness?"

"But that's the thing. I wanted to remember, I wanted to be able to give you a reason beyond 'because I wanted to'. I think, for a long time I wanted to forget that something had pulled me away from you, away from my home."

"And?"

"Yeager came to me. You know how if how Godwin is, he'll do anything to get what he wants."

"Tell me about it. He almost killed me to keep me quiet," Crow grumbled.

"Exactly. He told me if he wanted me Godwin wanted me in the city," Jack said quietly. "He warned me that if I didn't, then my family was going to get hurt. He made a point of that he knew one of the boys in my family had a habit of ending up the Facility, where all kinds of accidents can happen to a child." Crow's eyes widened as Jack's words sunk in. "He said it would be beneficial if I did as I was told."

"You should have told me," Crow sighed. "But of course you're far too proud to do that, aren't you? What did you think you could do by keeping it to yourself?"

"Keep the people I care about safe. If you hated me, the idea was you weren't going to do anything stupid."

"That worked well."

"Ok, I'm done with this," Jack snapped, standing up. "You've had your answers. We've got more important things to do. And if you tell anyone about all this- especially Kiryu- I will make your life hell. Got it?"

"Got it, no telling about the soppy stuff, yep, got it."

"Good."

It was quiet in the apartment, Kiryu was lying on the couch and Yusei had locked himself in the spare room. Crow had stayed out by the pool, playing absently with the ripples. Jack knew that was how he thought; he'd just sit around and mess with something until he got the answers he was looking for. It would take hours when they were kids. He hadn't seen him doing it for years before he left. He smiled. He was so amusing sometimes.

"So, you two are friends again?" Kiryu murmured.

"What are you up to?" Jack said quietly. "I know you're plotting."

"These Dark Gods and their Dark Signers," he replied quietly. "I just wonder... what did they actually accomplish by using him like that, and using us?"

"That's easy, they wanted to destroy us," he said. "Who knew Yusei could be so manipulative?"

"Do you think it really was Yusei?"

"I was told that a Dark God increases the negative feelings inside your heart until they overwhelm you and they become the driving force, so you'll do anything to satisfy the needs of those emotions. It wasn't truly Yusei, but it was his negative emotions concentrated. Everything he did was based on his desires, no matter how deep down and small they are." Kiryu sat up slowly and frowned. "What?"

"He told me I'd be a great Dark Signer," Kiryu whispered.

Jack frowned. After what he'd learnt about the Dark Signers he knew Kiryu would be a powerful Dark Signers as well, he had so much to hate and so much anger inside him that they could have twisted.

"Yusei wasn't doing it willingly, or at least not..."

"It was like brainwashing is what you mean, he can't be held responsible, because that thing took advantage of him when he was vunerable and he stood no chance, right?"

"Yeah. And if it was you, we'd forgive you too."

Kiryu nodded. "But what if it hasn't gone away?"

"Then we'll figure out a way to make it go away, right?" Jack replied. "No one else has ever helped us, we've always had to deal with trouble ourselves before, why should this be any different? But for now, I think we should just focus on getting Yusei better."

Jack, sat with him. Kiryu was always one for over thinking, Jack knew that. His mind never seemed to stop working. He just hoped that Yusei was coping on his own. They all knew he preferred to think on his own but sometimes it was the worst thing for him.