And so life brought together you and I,

Time now seems but the glimpse of an eye,

So let's walk on this path that we share

And delve in our desires with dare


On a full moon winter night, inside an abandoned building deep in the woods, a woman in her thirties stood in front of a broken window, staring at the landscape beneath her. The few rays of the night's celestial ruler fell upon her, making her golden shoulder armors, bra and panties shine. Her long curly red hair fell upon her blue cape, hiding her golden earrings and a part of her golden necklace, and her black eyes showed nothing but hatred. Her hands with sharp red nails clenched around a large golden scepter with an eye symbol. The wind suddenly blew and she licked her lips decorated with red lipstick. Whoever she was waiting for had finally arrived.

"Nice night, isn't it, Hecuba?" a discrete female voice asked from behind.

"So you arrived at last." the red haired woman smiled and turned to see only two shining blue dots in the darkness.

"I'm happy that you and your family could make it all the way here, it must have been a bumpy ride."

"Heh, it wasn't easy, I can tell you that much, especially with a situation as mine."

"That's understandable. Even with your witch powers, travelling from the creature world all the way to Earth must have been a pain."

"You don't even know half of it… But that's not important! Tell me, is the cult safe here? I haven't been on Earth for almost a century."

"I can't guarantee full safety; your enemies are on their way to finish what they started in the creature world. I do suggest however that you all make good use of this extra time you have now, because later you will have your hands full."

"Indeed we will." Hecuba nodded and turned once more to face the moon. "Tell me, why the sudden interest in helping our cause?"

"Let's say that you and your cult are not the only ones who will benefit from the upcoming war."

And with that said, a small breeze blew into the room and the glowing blue dots were no more. Hecuba chuckled and whispered to herself:

"So it begins once again…"

The morning winter sky was clear as a whistle, allowing the sun to shine brightly upon the city and try to at least make the cold bearable. While the traffic in the air was way lighter than usual having in mind that it was Saturday and not many were working, Rad could fly his rocket happily and relax without any problems. However, he had something else in plan. He recalled seeing Rita going to Hellhole bar, Sora doing groceries, Edo eating at the candy shop and Tsugumi leaving the city by train for a few days.

"It's almost too good to be true." he said to himself with a small confident laugh. "Let's go home!"

Turning the rocket around, he flew with great speed to the city's outskirts.

"The train from Nova Port arrives in the station in a minute and leaves towards Sylvania Castle, White Park and Neo Tech City." a voice announced in the train station's speakers.

Tsugumi got up from her seat, put on her silvery winter jacket, pulled the two luggage bags with her and headed to the platform. In a matter of minutes she found herself relaxing on a skin seat from the 1st class wagon, enjoying a cup of tea and admiring the plain landscape from outside. A white haired teen wearing a light brown leather jacket sat next to her, face to face. Tsugumi looked at him with no surprise, a small smile on her face welcoming him.

"Glad you could make it on time." she said as she sipped more tea from her cup.

"You know I wouldn't miss this ride for anything in the world." Ren declared as he unzipped his jacket, revealing his yellow T shirt with the Light civilization symbol. "I must thank you for that ride you gave me back home."

"It's the least I could do after what you did for me."

"No, Tsugumi, you did way more for me! And I am forever grateful to share the same blood as yours. I swear… next time Subaru Geki will fall for good!"

"Yes…" the blonde girl reflected the duel that happened back at the castle between Subaru and Ren, the images of Alphadios giving the finishing blow and Genji Double Cross saving the black haired duelist persisting the most in her mind. "Next time there will be no escape…"

"So at which stop shall we get out?" Ren asked.

"The last station before Sylvania Castle, we'll have to walk for ten kilometers in the woods from there."

"That means we've got… forty minutes left." the white haired boy checked his watch.

"Good, until then we should rest. A long journey waits ahead of us, Ren." Tsugumi concluded and laid her head back, closing her eyes temporarily.

The curtains were drawn in Subaru's room, a 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign hung on its door. All was dark inside, except for a small lamp.

"Peace at last…" Subaru sighed as he walked out of the bathroom with only a dark blue bathrobe and a pair of plush slippers on.

Opening a box, he started checking for books to enjoy a nice read, but it was hard for him to find something that would suit his current disposition.

"Gone with the Wind…" he muttered as he picked the first book. "Nah, I want action happening closer to our day." he reasoned and put the book on his desk, after which he picked another one. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe… I'm so not in the mood for fantasy!" he complained and put that book next to the other on the desk. "Fifty Shades of Grey…" he shivered as he picked the next book. "How did this poorly written fanfiction end up with all the quality material in my collection?! Unless… Tsugumi…" Subaru sighed and tossed the book in the trash. "Romance of the Three Ki…"

Slam! Rad busted in the room while walking all dizzy and he landed straight into Subaru's bed.

"Rad!"

"What?" the red haired one moaned.

"What? You barged into my room… for the third time this month. There is a reason I hung that sign on my door. Or have you been drinking again?"

"Oh no, I… uh, I was just really tired after all that racing we've had today." Rad cooked up an excuse while looking around, being pleasantly surprised by the discrete atmosphere that the room exhibited.

However, Rad had planned his rude entrance… for the third time that month. He had made all those flying 'tricks' with his rocket just so that he could consume enough energy and blame it all on fatigue. The reason for all that effort, he wanted to see Subaru. Dear God, how much he wanted to be just the two of them. Ever since he had first met that introverted darkness duelist, he had always felt a sort of respect for his seriousness and strong dueling skills. But the more they fought together, that respect turned into camaraderie, eventually friendship. And ever since Rad returned from Feudal Japan with vengeful thoughts, he was impressed by Subaru's care for him and how the black haired teen stuck up for him even if he did terrible things in the name of vengeance. That friendship turned into a crush. And during their adventures in the following three months, that crush became a full blown attraction, like a bud blossoming into a flower. Rad loved spending time with him, the two bonding into great friends after having reading sessions together.

Rad's eyes were fixated on Subaru as the black haired male searched his box for a good book to read. The racer stared at him, entranced by his long hair and his body which was just covered with that bathrobe, almost as if the darkness duelist wished to reward him for being good. Subaru accidentally dropped a book and he leaned to pick it.

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff!" Rad thought as he stared at that rear.

He started delving deeper in his fantasies, slowly straying away from reality, until…

"Rad? Rad? Earth to Raddy!" Subaru waved his palm in front of his face.

"Huh?"

"What's up with you being so moody all of a sudden? Did all that effort finally get to you?" he asked with concern.

"Y-yeah, my head sorta hurts." Rad quickly began to rub his forehead. "I got one bad ache!"

"I got some aspirin if you want." Subaru suggested and Rad nodded.

"Anything just so that he won't find out." the fire duelist thought as he took the pill along with a glass of water.

"The pain will go away in a few minutes." the darkness duelist estimated.

"Yeah, I already feel better!"

"I'm glad I could help."

"Yeah, thanks. Oh, Subaru, there's was a thing I wanted to ask you."

"Yes?" asked the black haired teen as he resumed his search through his books.

"It's been some time since our last reading session."

"Right, over a week."

"Would you mind if we had another one today?"

"Of course not! I was looking for something to read just before you busted in. You can join me." Subaru patted the bed. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Don't mind if I do!" Rad began to stretch his limbs on it.

"I will also need some space, mind you."

"Hehe, yeah, sorry…"

Tsugumi and Ren wandered through the half snowy and half muddy roads of the forest. It was a hard walk for their boots, and the blizzards blowing through the fir trees and the overall ominous atmosphere did not make things pleasant for them the slightest.

"Are we there yet?" Ren moaned as he carried his heavy rucksack on his back.

"Stop whining! Just what kind of man are you if a simple walk in the forest is so tiresome for you?!" Tsugumi picked on him with a surprisingly cold tone in her voice.

"The kind that was not made for much physical effort…"

"Sheesh, even that weak Subaru is more of a man than you."

"Hey, don't you…"

"Then man up! If we are going to succeed in our mission, we will also have to put our bodies at work, not just our minds and dueling skills."

"Understood..."

Tsugumi returned her attention to the path ahead of her. Aside from the different weather, it all looked the same, almost as if time decided not to change it all those years and keep it there as a mocking reminder of that fateful night. One by one, she remembered it all. The bleeding bodies, that man's sadistic smile, the fires, the small passageway that gave her freedom, the escape on that forest road, those long kilometers she spent running far away from what used to be her home. And now there she was, going back to the place that was once taken away from her. After all those years, she would fully look at her past in the eye. Sure, she did it before when together with Subaru she had managed to bring down Mutsuhito Geki, but back then she had her hatred suppressed and thus she forgave him. Looking back at that moment, she started regretting her decision and even envied Tabitha for stabbing the man with the poisoned dagger.

Fifteen minutes of walking passed and they ended up in front of a large mansion's ruin. Most of its walls were burnt to black, a good part of its windows were broken and a few doors were fallen. Around it, the yard was fully covered in snow and only the fence made up of sharp metallic spears was the only thing that was still in place. However there was no padlock, meaning that the main entrance gate was open. This seemed odd to Tsugumi, as it said on the internet that the cottage had been locked by the authorities and left to rot. Did some beast take the lock away? No, then there would have been marks on the gate. That meant one thing, someone else had been there.

Tsugumi laid her luggage on the snow and pushed the gate open. A loud creak scratched both their ears. The duo then stepped inside the yard, the blonde girl noticing immediately fresh footmarks heading to the building. But before she could get to warn Ren, a young and almost effeminate male voice shouted:

"Halt!"

The two of them turned their heads to the fountain and saw a boy in his late teens with long red and white hair, a pair of wings coming out of his scalp and penetrating blue eyes decorating his face. His body was covered by silver garments and he held a golden scepter in his right hand.

"Who are you?" Tsugumi demanded.

"My name is Zorro Star and I am the leader of the Izanai, one of the highest ranks of the Oracle cult!" the boy answered.

"Oracles…" Ren gasped.

"But who are you, trespassers?" Zorro Star pointed at them with his scepter.

"I am Tsugumi Shirayama and he is Ren Ikazuki. We are the last survivors of the Shirayama and Ikazuki clans and we have come here to reclaim our family cottage!" the blonde girl explained.

"Heh, so there are still members of those families alive. This will be interesting!"

Zorro Star pulled out his deck which glowed with a golden, purple and white aura. Upon seeing this, Ren let his rucksack fall on the snow and took out his deck as well.

"If it's a duel you want, I'll give you one! If we win, we demand to know what the business of the Oracles at our cottage is!" Ren said.

"Deal!" Zorro Star nodded and two dueling tables appeared between them.

"Duel start!" they shouted unison.

After a few minutes of searching, Subaru pulled out a book from his box and raised it in the air, exclaiming:

"Evrika! Finally, something to read!"

"Oh?" Rad looked with interest.

"It's one of my newer purchases, Feel For You." Subaru shyly held the book up.

"What's it about?"

"Well… um… uh… how shall I explain this? It's adult fiction."

"So it's not for kids."

"Of course not, it has mature content."

"Yeah, as I said, not for kids."

"Oh for Christ's sake… it has sex scenes!"

"Really?" a wide grin appeared on Rad's face.

"Bring up sex and he's automatically interested, just typical…" Subaru thought.

"Just how early are they in?"

"That I don't know, as I have yet to read it. How about we find out?"

Tsugumi sat on her two luggage bags and looked at the duel between Ren and Zorro Star.

"I cast Faerie Gift and summon Pile, Izanai's Spirit Knight!"

A white haired humanoid with blue eyes, dressed in white garments and wielding a golden scepter appeared by Ren's side. Zorro Star chuckled and commented:

"So you also use some Oracles? How sweet!"

"That's none of your business. Turn end." Ren replied.

"Very well, I summon Tumeric, Floating Apparition." Zorro Star said and a white armored monk appeared in the battle zone by his side.

"A 3000 powered blocker. My Pile has 2000 power. I'll have to delay my plans a little." Ren thought and then he said. "I summon Gaga Pikarian and draw a card."

A white eyeless baby Alien piloting a mini submarine with propellers appeared next to Pile.

"I summon Cardamom, Loss of Comfort."

A purple muscular humanoid wearing white robes and wielding a black scythe appeared next to the monk.

"I cast Leaf Storm Trap! With its effect I send both Gaga Pikarian and Tumeric to our mana zones." Ren said and the baby Alien and monk got surrounded by green and disappeared, their cards being bounced into their owners' mana zones. "Pile, break his shield!"

The white haired Oracle jumped towards Zorro Star and swung its scepter, using it to break through one of his shields.

"Kourin – since Pile is tapped, I search my deck and put an Arc Seraphim with cost 6 or less into the battle zone. I put Ragmal, Spirit Knight! With its effect, I send both Ragmal and Cardamom to our mana zones!"

"My turn, I summon Cardamom, Loss of Comfort and Macuil, Fighter of Truth!" Zorro Star said and the purple Oracle wielding a scythe reappeared, followed by a white robed Oracle with long white hair and a red horn on its forehead, the humanoid wielding a staff that ended in a red cube.

"I summon Corteo, Spirit Knight!" Ren said and a pair of angelic twin statues floating above a fountain appeared and fired white beams upon Zorro Star's creatures, kneeling them. "With Corteo's effect, I tap both Macuil and Cardamom. Pile, break his shield! Kourin – I evolve Corteo into Elsar Baltis, Emperor of Spirits!"

The statues got surrounded by a golden light and grew in size, turning into a white armored knight riding two mechanical dogs.

"I summon Saicho, Satori's Oracle." an Oracle which wore white robes and wielded a golden sword with a blue gem appeared behind Zorro Star. "Cardamom, attack Pile!"

The Darkness Oracle attacked the Light one, both of them being destroyed due to Cardamom's Slayer ability.

"I cast DNA Spark and tap all of your creatures!" Ren said and a helix shaped light fell upon Zorro Star's creatures, enchaining them. "Elsar Baltis, double break his shields!"

The dogs barked and each fired a light beam from their mouths, taking down two of Zorro Star's shields. However, one of them immediately reformed into a card that shone with a bright purple aura.

"Shield trigger, I cast Terror Pit, destroy Elsar Baltis!" Zorro Star said and two demonic hands grabbed Ren's creature and crushed it.

"But since you used a shield trigger, I activate the effect of Elsar Baltis and cast Natural Snare from my deck to send Saicho to your mana zone!" Ren responded and many purple vines engulfed Zorro Star's Oracle and made it disappear into thin air.

"Tsh, my turn, I summon Magris Vizier of Magnetism and draw a card. Then I summon Zorro Star, Izanai's Tactician!"

"What the…" Ren's eyes widened as he witnessed his opponent jump from his dueling table into the battle zone alongside the creatures.

"He's a… creature." Tsugumi mumbled with shock.

"Macuil, break his shield!" Zorro Star ordered and the Zero Oracle smashed one of Ren's shields with its staff. "I now use my own effect and destroy Macuil to replace him with Saicho, Satori's Oracle!"

The smaller Zero Oracle exploded and it was replaced by its larger brother.

"I summon Prince Avaraldo, Cavalier of Thunder!" Ren said and then he revealed the top three cards of his deck which were Formation in the Springs, Panic Room and Pile, Izanai's Spirit Knight, the first two going in his hand and the last at the bottom of his deck. "Then I summon Aures, Spirit Knight and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone."

"It's time to show you the true strength of the Oracles! I summon Macuil, Fighter of Truth and cast Divine Punishment of Heaven to destroy Prince Avaraldo as well as tap Magris. Then I use my own effect and destroy Magris to replace him with Alternative, Sacred Cavalry! Alternative's effect destroys Aures!"

Two united dragon gods, one golden, the other of sapphire color, both wielding spears, appeared in the battle zone and used their weapons to destroy Ren's wooden statue Arc Seraphim.

"My turn, I summon Aures, Spirit Knight and cast Formation in the Springs to revive Pile, Izanai's Spirit Knight!" Ren once more brought back his creatures.

"I summon Macuil, Fighter of Truth! And now since I have three Zero creatures other than Saicho, aka Alternative and my two Macuils, Saicho now is a 20000 powered quadruple breaker!" Zorro Star exclaimed and then he gave the attack order. "Saicho, break all of his shields!"

The tall Oracle swung its golden sword and slashed all four of Ren's shields, leaving him defenseless. But much to Zorro Star's frustration, a bright golden light came from his opponent's shields, meaning that he hit a trigger.

"Shield trigger, I cast Slowly Chain! Your creatures can no longer attack this turn!" Ren said, Zorro Star spitting at his bad luck and ending his turn. "My turn, I summon Sarvatri, Thunder Spirit Knight and return DNA Spark to my hand. Then I evolve Sarvatri into Soldarios, Holy Emperor!"

A winged green knight riding a two headed bird appeared in the battle zone.

"Soldarios, attack! Meteorburn – I send Sarvatri to the graveyard and put Corteo, Spirit Knight from my mana zone into the battle zone! Corteo taps your Macuils and now I break your final shield!"

"No shield trigger…" Zorro Star uttered with disappointment.

"Pile, Izanai's Spirit Knight, todomeda!" Ren gave the finishing order and the white haired Oracle fired a blue beam from its golden scepter which blasted Zorro Star a few feet back.

"Once more you prove that you're a strong duelist." Tsugumi congratulated her white haired far relative.

"Was there any doubt?" a prideful Ren replied.

"No, there was none!" another voice echoed and the two light duelists turned their heads to the main entrance of the cottage where Hecuba was watching with her arms crossed and a satisfied grin on her face. "Welcome, Shirayama and Ikazuki, I have been waiting for you both!"

"And who in the world are you?" Tsugumi asked as she headed to the entrance.

"Allow me to introduce myself, kids. My name is Hecuba." the red haired woman bowed in front of them gallantly. "And boy will we have a lot of fun together, hehehe!"

Hecuba stood aside and gestured for them all to come inside. Shrugging, both Tsugumi and Ren complied.

Subaru and Rad were sitting together on the bed and enjoying the book, the black haired one accidentally resting his head on his friend's shoulder from time to time.

"Woah, dude, be careful!" Rad exclaimed as he was staring at the pages. "Did you get to the part where she peeps on him showering?"

"Oh yes, poor guy, he's so helpless now." Subaru chuckled.

"So when do you think he'll get her?" another question came from the red haired one.

"I don't know, Rad, you know my experience in flirting is almost next to zero." the black haired one confessed.

"Yeah, you just found the girl of your dreams and lived a happy life with her up to this point. You were all set. Of course you don't know anything about the efforts of actually getting together with someone!"

Subaru chose to ignore that bit of criticism and resumed his reading, Rad did the same. But after a few minutes, the fire duelist once more exclaimed:

"Oh yeah, it's about time!"

"Sex?"

"Hell yes!"

"At what page?"

"Ninety eight."

"Oh, I see. I'm still at ninety six. Hold on, I'll catch up quick."

"Ninety six?" Rad turned back a page. "Oh, where he's trying to get her to sleep with him."

"Aha, so that's why he called her all those corny epithets!" Subaru exclaimed ecstatic, as if he had made a great discovery.

"Subaru, you're a lost cause." Rad said as he playfully punched his friend on the cheek.

"No, I'm not." the darkness duelist replied and returned the punch in the same manner.

"You can't even see flirting when it's right under your nose!" the fire duelist stated and grabbed his friend's left hand.

"Well, probably not…" Subaru shrugged as he pulled his hand out of Rad's grip. "…but that doesn't mean I never will!"

"Maybe you're right, but then again, maybe I'm right!"

And with that said, Rad jumped on him and the two fell off the bed and started wrestling, laughing all the while. Rad enjoyed every second of those moments, it was probably the only type of physical contact he would ever have with Subaru again. But unfortunately for him, it ended as quickly as it began. They both lay on the floor, breathing hard and still laughing. Rad looked at his pants and immediately froze, for the bulge betrayed an obvious…

"Boner?" Subaru curiously looked at it as he got up.

"It's from the book!" Rad defensively replied as he also got on his feet.

"Are you sure? You don't seem too certain…" the darkness duelist responded with suspicion, feeling that he was being lied to.

Rad took a deep breath, his heart beginning to race as quick as he flied his rocket. The time had come, he had no way out of it anymore, no more last moment lies to cook up, he had to open up. And if the answer was no, he would just get over it. But if that was so, why was he still afraid?

"N-no, you're right, it's not the book." Rad gulped.

"You don't need to be embarrassed, Rad. This isn't typical of you. Besides, it's just a perfectly natural function of your body." Subaru reasoned. "You have a nice girl on your mind, right? Probably Rita, she seems to be your type and…"

"No!" Rad shouted angrily, disliking the secret admiration that Subaru showed for the girl ever since that New Year's Eve. "No, it's not a girl. It's quite the opposite actually…"

"A boy?" Subaru's jaw dropped.

Rad painfully nodded. Mumbling, the black haired male quietly added:

"Y-you're gay, R-Rad?"

"Even I don't know what I am, you idiot!" he finally snapped due to the amount of stress and tension that pressured him, but forcing himself to calm down in the end. "Sorry."

"I never expected you to… I mean…" Subaru barely had words.

"What do you mean?" Rad demanded an answer.

"You… you always acted so manly, tough and all that stuff. Way more than me, I just have you guys and my little corner." the darkness duelist explained, and then he also whispered. "To be honest, besides Tsugumi and a few others, girls do scare me a little. Especially Sora."

"I don't blame you."

"I know, but…"

"But what, Subaru?"

"You never said who the boy was."

"Well, it's, um…" Rad was once more failing at cooking up a lie, no matter how desperate he was.

"It's me, isn't it?" Subaru murmured.

Rad closed his eyes with shame and shortly nodded. When he heard no more from his friend, he opened his eyes to be greeted by the confused face of a Subaru who simply did not know what to do. The racer froze then and there, barely managing to say a few words:

"I-I g-guess you don't feel the same, d-do you?"

"No, no I don't." Subaru shook his head.

Rad looked into his eyes for a few moments, trying to guess what his friend felt. There was no sign of anger in those pools of brown, thing which somewhat relieved him, but there was lots of confusion and a slight hint of curiosity.

"Why, Rad? Out of everyone out there, why me?"

"Do you really wanna know why?"

"Yes, yes I do."

Rad turned away from his friend for a while and then he turned his looks back to him. That smile which always won him even in his angriest of moments was no longer there. He looked deep into those eyes, those beautiful brown eyes, and said:

"Where to begin?"

Subaru said nothing; he simply awaited the demanded answer. Once more Rad took a deep breath. In the end, if he were going to go all mushy and sappy, he might as well get it over with quick.

"I think it's because of whom you are, Subaru. Everything about you, your clever mind is quite a turn on, you know. You're also really kind and caring, no matter how big of uncaring dicks your friends can sometimes be, myself included. Your braveness to just jump in and help those you care for also touched me, especially after what we went through together back then with Tabitha. I honestly don't know how you could care for us all. And you're quite the looker too, that also helped. I never met a more handsome guy in my entire life. Subaru, I just…" Rad suddenly picked his right hand and held it tight. "…I just want to make you happy. That's all I wanted ever since I came back."

Rad's pain only grew when Subaru got his hand out of his grasp again.

"Rad… I need some time alone…"

"You're just kicking me out after all that?! But I had way more to say!" Rad protested.

"Leave it as it is, I can't take it anymore. Please, just go." Subaru motioned to the door.

If a few moments ago Rad thought he couldn't feel more hurt, he had just been proven wrong.

"If that's what you want…" the red haired one responded with a monotone voice as he slowly headed for the door.

"Rad…" Subaru said as he stared at the floor. "…I'm sorry."

"No, you have no idea." Rad sourly responded as he walked out of the room and closed the door.

Painful silence filled the entire room, silence that was broken only by a small sniff of Subaru's.