Chapter 50 – One Heart

Yuusei's POV

I blinked my eyes, feeling that somehow I must have fallen into a dream or something. A dream or nightmare, I wasn't really sure. I shook my head, astonished, refusing to believe what my eyes were seeing.

It was strange, unbelievable, but so strong and so alive. This place must have been playing tricks on my mind because this dream seemed so real; if I lifted my hand, I think I could touch it, but how? In the pensive of my memories I had a choice, a double door to cross, like I still had a chance. But in what life? Which door was the right one?

My heart was beating fast, but not in the same way of knowing it will have to stop soon. This time it was beating with a different kind of beat. I didn't care if this was another illusion, a fake image or something, because now I could move on in my path, smiling again, feeling lighter and happiness; because there, all alive before my eyes, were standing my very reason to live and keep breathing just for a little bit longer.

I saw their faces, confused and surprised just like mine, but also calm and full of emotion.

"Is this real?" I asked in a low voice placing, my right hand above my heart.

They looked puzzled, turning their heads, looking all around the room, blinking and gasping.

"Is this real?" Crow asked, turning his gaze upon me.

"Did we make it?" Aki gasped.

"We're here? We passed?" Rua was trailing his eyes from Jack to his sister.

His twin nodded slowly as surprise took the right words from her mouth.

"We passed," Jack replied slowly, trailing his gaze around the room and finally stopped on me, staring. "We are here."

"Yuusei," Aki's voice cracked and tears shone in her beautiful amber eyes. But why was she ready to cry?

Crow was staring at me like he didn't believe his eyes either. "Man, it's you? It's really you?"

I nodded slowly. Was I dreaming or not? What were my friends doing here? How did they come here?

"So it worked!" Rua exclaimed happily, eyeing the duel card he was holding, "It really worked; the cards worked!

"Yes, it worked," Ruka affirmed holding her card.

"Yanagi-grandpa actually had the real cards in his deck," Rua continued happily staring the card he was holding.

Yanagi? It worked? What are they talking about? As time passed, I had a hunch that this was no dream at all. My friends really were here. But…how? I saw they were now watching their cards instead of me or the room. All of them were holding one, except Jack and Crow who were holding two.

"What…how…?" I tried to ask, but the words chocked in my throat. I was too confused to think straight.

I could only conclude that they followed me into this realm using the cards they were holding, but I couldn't see what the cards were.

I felt dizzy, really tired, but somehow I also felt relaxed, forgetting for a moment of the upcoming and unknown future. All of my interest was intrigued to them.

"Guys…?" I called, trying my best to build the question, "What are you doing here?"

My friends lifted their heads, as their feeling of success was finally over. First they looked shocked and then replaced it with something else.

Jack glared at me. "What do you mean 'what are we doing here'?"

"We came for you, man," Crow empathized.

"You don't have to do this alone anymore," Aki looked like she was fighting some feelings inside.

"We are a team, right?" Rua asked with a hint of sadness.

"We are here to fight together, Yuusei," Ruka explained. "You didn't say a single word, but why, Yuusei? Why?"

"We are friends and the last one and a half mouths we did everything we could to find out the truth about your coma and everything else. And here we are, finally with you, finally all together to fight and save the world once again," her twin brother added.

Their words left me speechless. They found out the truth about the Hyper-fibers! And they came to fight with me? But I didn't say a word only to keep them safe, they don't have to die too, I didn't want them to die! I swallowed as fear suddenly gripped my insides like an invisible steel hand had squeezed them hard.

"You have to go back!" I shouted, "I don't want any of you to be in danger! I didn't say anything because I wanted to keep you safe. This is dangerous!"

Jack's POV

"Are you a bloody idiot, Yuusei?" I roared, anger flashed in my eyes, feeling heat on my face. "What the heck were you thinking?" I was furious, pissed off, actually.

"Jack!" Yuusei reacted, speechless.

"What's going on in that mind, Yuusei? Tell me!" I demanded clenching my fist.

It took every inch of self-control in me not to land it in his stomach. I did it once, years ago so this time it was pretty easy to do it again. And I didn't care if I hurt him. He caused it because of his stupidity! And I thought Crow was the stupid one. Fortunately for the orange-haired moron, and unfortunately for the raven-haired one, the latter proved himself a dozen times worse. So in short, Yuusei was the winner! I knew I would change my mind after all this chaos is over, or the next time Crow got on my nerves, but I didn't care right now. Yuusei was acting like an idiot and he needed to hear some words which I was more than willing to spill out into his face. Maybe this would shock his stupid brain and make him think straight.

"Jack, I don't want any of you to be in danger, I can handle it," Yuusei retorted. "I can to it myself, I can-"

I didn't give him time to say more. My blood roared in my ears. "That's bullshit, Yuusei!" I exasperated, making him to step back.

"Jack!" Crow exclaimed with warning, placing a hand over my shoulder, probably in an attempt to calm down my nerves, but I ignored him. I had more severe things to settle down, and it involved only the raven-haired duelist.

I growled, "You can handle it? You can do it yourself? Have you lost it, Yuusei, or are you pretending you don't know where this selfishness will lead you?"

"Selfishness?" Yuusei repeated, absolutely astonished, but I ignored him.

"If you want to close your eyes, let me remind you then: you-will-die!" I burst out.

Yuusei stepped backward, his eyes twitching. "I want to keep you safe," he stuttered, lowering his gaze.

"By leaving the world? You don't know, Yuusei, but I do!" I pointed at my chest, trying to ignore the bitter taste in my mouth. I bit my tongue to keep my voice steady. "I know! I know perfectly what it's like living in world without you in it."

"What are you talking about?" Yuusei's eyes widened in shock.

"Tell me, how many times have you put your life on the line?" I asked, feeling my anger abandon me and slowly being replaced by sadness. I didn't want to live in that future; I did once, but not again, never again. And I would do whatever it took to bring him back in his right mind.

"As many times as it's needed," he replied softly.

"And how many times have you been nagging about our bonds? That we are all together in this? That our bonds are eternal?"

My childhood friend mouthed like my words cut through him like a knife, but it was true.

"Jack…"

"I'm standing here, ready to honor those bonds. I will stand by your side with every faith you're carrying," I stated flatly.

Yuusei stared at me, astonished, but the time had now come for me to prove that I was not just the proud, arrogant man who thought only of himself. I had a heart too; I had feelings and for once, I could let my friends know them.

"And I don't care if I will die too. This time I will stay with you, I won't leave you, I won't abandon you again. I did it once, but I learned from my previous mistakes. You are my friend, Yuusei…no, you are more than that, you are my brother!" He is. He always was and always be. "We grew up together; you were there for me when I needed you. Even when I betrayed you in the worst way, you kept considering me as your friend and you forgave me, accepting me back as your brother again."

"Why you are saying all this now, Jack?"

I grunted. I'm perfectly sure that he would understand by himself so I didn't have to spell out every word. "We are here to fight with you. Everything else is just missing details."

I lifted my hand in the air in front of me in a fist.

"So what do you say?"

Crow's POV

"You are not alone, Yuusei! You never were and you never will be. You have us. I'm here to stand up with you and Jack," I declared.

"Crow, no!" Yuusei cried.

Jack really shocked me by saying all that. It was something totally unexpected, but very thoughtful of him. I knew he had a heart, I knew he felt and thought like the rest of us, but I also knew the he preferred to hide that side of him, showing himself as a hard, emotionless man.

But at least he was our hard emotionless man, and as much as he got on my nerves, and how difficult he was to live and be friends with, I had to admit that he was right.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but agree with Jack. Actually, I can't agree more. You are stupid if you think or have ever even thought that we were going to leave you to your fate alone."

"You can't understand, Crow, but-"

I stared at him, astonished. "I can't? Then make me to understand, Yuusei. But I will tell you this; no matter how hard you try to change my mind, you will have no progress. We are brothers, we are a team, and we fought together before."

"This isn't a tournament, Crow," Yuusei empathized and I simply ignored him.

"Yeah, I know. I really do and that is why I'm here now, ready to fight by your side. Because if it was a tournament, then I would let you take all the glory for yourself as one the best duelist I ever knew. But since it's not a tournament, I bet that you won't even bother to share the victory with me."

Saying that and without losing more time, I lifted my hand and I placed it above Jack's.

Aki's POV

"I'm in," my voice came out stated and strong, even if I wasn't.

My heart was bouncing in my chest and my breath was heavy, ready to brake at every minute, like I was running a crazy race or something. But I haven't felt any stronger or surer in my life. I knew what I had to do and I was ready to do it. I also knew all the consequences of my decision and actions and was ready to take every risk too. I raised my hand, ready to place it above Crow's.

"Aki!" Yuusei's eyes widened and he made a move to get in the way like he wanted to stop me.

I paused for a spilt of second, but then I shook my head to clear up my thought.

He saw my momentary doubt and tried to use it to change my mind. "Aki don't," he whispered.

I blinked my eyes a couple of times to chase my tears away. "I'm sorry, Yuusei."

"Aki-" he started again as I moved again.

I cut him off calmly. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm capable enough to think of what's best for me. Years ago you advised me to never let anyone control me and that I'm strong enough to think on my own. This is what I'm about to do; I will take my decision and ignore everyone else's voices, I will hear only what my heart is whispering."

I avoided looking at him.

"You don't have to do this, Aki," Yuusei said again.

"I know," I swallowed, doing my best to keep my voice from cracking.

"Aki…"

"I will stand by your side," I added and, taking a deep breath, I placed my hand above Crow's.

The two men gave me a slight smile and I tried to give it back.

"But if you are willing to die for us, Yuusei, then I'm willing to die for you," I bit my lips to hold my tears which were ready to roll down my cheeks.

I squeezed my friends' hands and lifted my gaze, finally finding the strength to look at him. Yuusei was staring at me. A strange feeling was mirrored in his eyes, in his beautiful cobalt blue eyes which always made my heart beat faster every time I looked at them. It's because it's his eyes, it's Yuusei's, the only man to whom I could give everything, give up everything, even my own life and that is what I said to him.

"My decision is final, so don't try to change my mind. I won't let you die, not if I can do something about it, even if the chances are against us."

Rua's POV

We had bonds, unbreakable bonds and those bonds were the reason of why we were here now. Because our friendship was too strong and was capable of changing everything. Even time itself; even Death himself.

I knew what I had to…actually what I wanted to do. Because there was a huge difference between what I must do and what I want to do. And right now, there was nothing I wanted to do more in my life. After all, I was not alone; I was here with my friends that were more like a family to me. Except Ruka who really was my twin sister. As long as I was with them, I didn't care what kind of threat or fate awaited us. We would fight together, just like the last time.

I felt my body moving on its own and my legs were leading me were Jack, Crow and Aki were standing.

"Rua, don't!"

"I'm sorry, Yuusei," I said, but the next minute, I glared at him.

This was maybe the first time that I'd ever gotten angry with him, and I mean really angry.

"You know what?" I snapped, "I'm taking it back, I'm not sorry at all. In fact, I'm glad."

"This isn't funny, Rua," Yuusei shook his head.

"I never said it's funny. Hell, sure it's not. What I'm saying is that I'm not regretting my decision to be here and stand by your side. I'm always by your side, cheering and supporting you. Why stop now?"

"This isn't like the other times, Rua."

"Why? Because we can't see our enemy now, just like with the Dark Signers or with Team New World?" I protested, rising my voice.

As much as I loved and respected Yuusei, I couldn't accept this stupidity.

"I mean this time-"

But I cut him off. He was wasting his time with me just like he did with the others. I didn't care about what he wanted to say just like…

"I don't care who we will have to fight this time, Yuusei. I simply don't. I'm not afraid…wait! That sounded wrong. Sure I'm scared, who wouldn't, after all? But my point is that I'm more than willing to take the risk one more time. I fought before, offering my help even when I wasn't a Signer myself or gifted like Ruka. Now that I'm both, do you think I will stay behind?" I shouted at him, a tense glance locked my eyes with his.

Yuusei didn't say anything. I'm sure he knew my answer already.

"Hell no! No way!" I exclaimed and lifting my hand and placed it over Aki's. "And there is nothing you can do or say that what will change my mind. You…"

I hesitated, biting my lips, wondering if I should tell him. But then again, why not? After all, it's true.

"You are like the brother I never had."

Yuusei was standing there speechless. "Rua…"

I can't blame him; I ran out of words myself.

Ruka's POV

I knew that everything my brother said was true and he fully believed in it. I knew he was a hero; he always was in my eyes, just like my protector and my strength. When he is with me, I know I can do anything. Maybe I'm afraid too. Actually, I was shaking from fear, but hearing Rua so determined, confessing that he was afraid too, but that he wouldn't give up, I was sure I was ready now too.

"I guess it's my turn now, huh?" I dared a smile and for a split of second I thought I saw Yuusei smiling too. "But I won't waste any more time with speeches. Everything I could possible say has already been told by my friends and my brother."

I set my gaze on them, feeling water in my eyes as some tears were ready to roll down my cheeks, but not because I was sad. Those were tears of happiness, as strange as that was. We were all one step away from destruction, with an unsure future, but I wasn't afraid anymore. I took a deep breath and placed my hand above Rua's, feeling a strange heat strike me like electricity.

Now all five of us turned our eyes to the last, but most important member of our team.

Third's POV

There were few times in Yuusei's life where he was at a complete loss for what to say. This was most certainly one of them. The only thing he could manage to do was to close his eyes and take a deep breath, feeling that he was the luckiest man on Earth.

He knew his fate from the beginning. He also knew how dangerous the enemy was this time. Yuusei wanted to keep everyone safe; they didn't have to put their lives on the line just like he did. And now all of them were standing in the same room with him, refusing to live their lives without him.

Yuusei looked at his friends, seeing them smiling at him and he gave them a curt nod, forcing his legs to move. Marching closer, he placed his hand above Ruka's. Suddenly, a strange wind started and the air was filled with a powerful howl from someone strong enough to make their forearms glow once again.

"The future is in our hands," Yuusei murmured.

"Mark my words, Yuusei: everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, then it's not the end!" Jack vowed.

And he was right…


Finally their hearts beat like one. Friendship is really powerful. Yuusei has really strong bonds with his friends. Or at least this is my head-cannon about their feelings and thoughts in front of a life-death situation. Crimson Dragon took them back in time so this time they managed to reach to him before it was too late again.

And yes! Old man Yanagi had the cards. I think it fit, since he holds a "Hidden Treasure" deck and also he was the one you first informed Yuusei about Crimson Dragon and the Prophecy and the Signers' fate. Why not know about the Hyper-Fibers in my story? ;) hehe

OMG guys and gals… one more chapter and the story is over! I'm thrilled. But there are still some things to be done… and since they succeed to get to him what future waits?

My thanks to: GoldenEndlessWitchBeatrice, The Man with Imagination, Ulrich362, ObsessedwReading, Karlina101, Moonlion 94, Blackwing Fray theHuntress, tmntlover2013, G.A.AnimeFan4 and Surgeon of Death for their reviews. And my Special Thanks to Pure Red Crane and EndlessNight025!

If you like it, review! If you don't, review anyway... ^_^