A/N: Legacy characters, especially the protags and rivals, have been suggested to me by a few people. I was mostly just thinking of some AU chapters here and there, and I'm going to include a few other legacy characters into the plot, but the fact that a lot of people are asking for it makes me want to cover the them more. I already have a bonus chapter planned after Rank (it's about Yuri ice skating), but I'll try and plan some more bonus chapters around it.

Fun Fact: The Yu boys/bracelet girls are strongest in their own dimension, and can actually forcibly take control of the body for a long time. However, they usually respect their hosts enough not to do that.

Chapter Summary: Yuu Sakuragi challenges Sawatari to a duel. Does he have what it takes to beat a Lancer?

The Maiami Championship's Battle Royal was infamous. Even after the war had ended, Maiami City still remembered the brave warriors who protected the city. The people who not only survived Academia's Invasion, but also conquered the Obelisk Force, would be recognized as heroes for years to come.

Forgotten were those who didn't succeed. Even those who still fought against the enemy, but lost, were never recognized.

Yuu didn't mind that last part too much; he couldn't stop Academia, and he ran away like a coward when things got too tough. If he would have been remembered, it would have been for being a coward.

Even though he was scared, he liked to believe that he still had the heart of a true duelist. And ever since that day, Yuu honed his skills. He trained almost every day. He studied Fusion Summoning to learn anything he could about its weakness. He spent his money on cards. And when LDS started to train people to become Lancers, Yuu signed up.

Still, the shame he felt was still in his heart. He had been carrying that weight for a long time now. But with the war over, he couldn't go out onto the field and fight. He had no way of reclaiming his honor or making up for his past mistakes. Everything he did to better himself meant nothing in the long run.

He recently had an idea, though. A small, fleeting thought that he hoped would put his mind at ease. He couldn't prove that he would have been a hero, but he could have proven himself better than them. If he was strong enough to defeat them, then he would have been strong enough to fight in the war, given the chance.

Yuu wanted to fight the strongest of the Lancers. Yuya Sakaki, the hero recognized through all the dimensions. Some saw him as a villain, after the Zarc debacle. But everyone recognized his skill and talent as a duelist.

But last he heard, Yuya wasn't in the Pendulum Dimension at the time. So Yuu decided to start from the bottom of the Lancer hierarchy and work his way to the top.

After school, Sawatari met Yuu in LDS's gymnasium. Although it was a lot smaller than a stadium, there was plenty of room to have an Action Duel. It was the perfect place for a private meeting, because sports were unsurprisingly unpopular among the students of a card game-based school.

Yuu sat on the first step of the bleachers, observing Sawatari as he entered the gym and sauntered over towards him. Sawatari had a big, goofy grin on his face.

"It's not every day that an upperclassman asks to duel me!" Sawatari said proudly. "Which is really weird, because I'm amazing and vibrant."

"Glad you could make it, Sawatari," Yuu said. "I was surprised that I could get you; you just sort of disappear after classes end, from what I hear."

"What can I say? I'm a busy man. Autographs to sign, places to see, people to visit..."

Therapists to meet.

"So, why'd you want a duel? I know I'm pretty good, but surely an autograph would be better; my penmanship is impeccable."

"I want to defeat a Lancer, and you were the easiest to get a hold of."

"I agree, I am very approach- wait, what?"

Yuu rose up from his seat. "You remember the Battle Royal, right? I was there."

"At the stadium?"

"On the field. The Senior Youth class's top 8 were sent to help fight off Academia. But we failed."

Sawatari lowered his head. "I see. So you were carded, then?"

"No. A boy on a motorcycle saved me before that could happen."

"Oh. Fusion."

Yuu clenched his fists. "I was saved, but I ran away like a coward. Instead of fighting."

Yuu flung his arm forward, activating his Duel Disk.

"You guys became heroes, and I've been living in shame," Yuu continued. "But if I beat you, I'll know that I'd have been worthy of being a Lancer."

"Wh-what?" Sawatari gasped dramatically. "I'm confused! Fabulous, but confused!"

"I want to duel you! It's the only way to reclaim my honor for not fighting in the war."

Sawatari bit his lip and brushed his hair back. He let out a long, flat sigh of annoyance, much to Yuu's annoyance.

"I should have stood with you guys, when you entered the stadium after the invasion," Yuu continued. "I could have been great like you guys. But I wasn't."

"There's no glory in war," Sawatari told him. "It's just something they tell duelists so they'll risk their lives."

Yuu let out a small gasp. His eyes stayed on Sawatari, unblinking, but the boy's words caught him off-guard.

Smart words, probably. But in reality, Sawatari lifted those words from one of his favorite video games.

"Be glad you didn't have to go through what we did," Sawatari said austerely. "Prison, enslavement, risking being carded every day."

"I see," Yuu sighed. "But I still should have been out there, with you Lancers. I'm going to prove it."

"Did you not listen to a word I said?" Sawatari scoffed. "War is hell, and such-like."

"I can't live with myself if I can't prove myself," Yuu said. "So turn on your Duel Disk and let's rock."

Sawtari let out yet another long, annoyed sigh. He activated his Duel Disk and pointed it towards Yuu. "Fine, fine. Just count yourself lucky that I get how you feel, because-"

Their Duel Disks spoke: "FIELD SPELL: CROSSOVER, ACTIVATE."

"... Oh," Sawatari said. "Duelists locked in battle!"

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters," Yuu added.

"They storm through the field!"

"Behold! This is the latest and greatest evolution of Dueling."

"Action...

DUEL!"

(Yuu: 1500 → 0)

Yuu watched as the Solid Vision monsters faded from the field. Sawatari was gathering his cards and inserting them back into his deck, whistling a happy little tune.

Yuu turned off his Disk and made his way over to the younger boy. He was heartbroken over his loss, to say the least. But he tried his best not to let his face show it.

"Gee gee, no ree," Sawatari said. "That's cool gamer slang for 'you're really skilled and amazing.'"

"I lost," Yuu sighed. "All that training and work was for nothing."

"You did great, though!" Sawatari offered.

"But I lost," Yuu said bitterly.

"But you still did great," Sawatari said confidently. "Look, you should be proud that you were able to give ol' Sawatari a run for his money."

"But I didn't win. So I couldn't have been a Lancer, then."

Yuu cringed. "I tried my best, and this was as good as I could do. If I couldn't be strong enough now, I couldn't have been a Lancer, then."

"Hmm. Maybe, maybe not," Sawatari replied. "I don't know what you were like then."

"I couldn't be one now, either."

Sawatari repeatedly slammed his hand against Yuu's back. "Now, now! I wouldn't say that! You lost to one of the strongest Lancers, after all!"

Yuu looked at the cards left in his hand. It was a bitter feeling, knowing that the cards brought him so far, but he couldn't do the same for them. He didn't even have the Lancers' signature Pendulums, because he wasn't worthy of them.

"Thanks for the platitudes, but I don't need them."

"They're not platypodes, you idiot!" Sawatari yelled. "Open your ears and listen to what I have to say!"

Yuu went silent.

"You're still a great duelist, so be proud of that!" Sawatari continued. "I'm not even in the Senior Youth class. Granted, that's only because I happened to face the one person strong enough to beat me..."

Sawatari glanced over at Yuu. Okay, so far his inspirational words didn't seem to be inspiring him. Time to get to the point.

"... But the way you're doing things is wrong. Living by your mistakes, dwelling on the past. Trust me, that's not how you want to live. Instead, think about strong you've gotten, and how much better you are than other people!"

"But I can't let it go," Yuu groaned. "You're all famous. And when I see you guys, I can only think of what I did wrong."

"How about this: think of the Lancers as your goals."

"I mean, I already kind of do that. I wanted to become strong enough to surpass you."

"Oh... Well, what about... thinking of us as friends?"

"I don't know anyone besides you, Shun and Reiji."

"Then what about this: shut up and stop correcting me."

Yuu grumbled, but otherwise went silent. This moment of peace allowed Sawatari to collect his thoughts and come up with something to say.

"Yuu, I know how you feel. I felt the same way. That I wasn't as good as the other Lancers, that what I did was pointless. Heck, I even trained hard, just like you."

Sawatari paused, waiting for any questions or gasps. Sadly, it looked like Yuu wasn't going to break his silence and express surprise in Sawatari's rare, rare moments of vulnerability.

"But I learned, completely by myself, mind you, that it feels good to have pride in what you did do, than what you couldn't do."

"I didn't do anything, though. That's the whole point-"

"You got stronger, and you learned from your mistakes. Don't you think you're way better off now than you were then?"

Yuu lowered his head for a moment. But after a moment of thought, he slowly rose to meet Sawatari's gaze.

"Be glad you're still alive, so you can keep becoming better and better," Sawatari said. "Fighting in a war isn't all that it's cracked up to be. But living long enough to see yourself grow that's more important than glory."

"Sawatari," Yuu said slowly. "I have a question,"

"Eh?" Sawatari questioned. "What is it?"

"Do you regret it? Fighting in the war? Risking your life?"

Sawatari looked away from Yuu. He slicked his hair back and made a small sigh.

"I'll be honest with you," he said quietly. "I still have a lot of stuff going on because of the war. I see a therapist for it, you know? I have... nightmares. Sometimes I get really paranoid when I see a Fusion Summon. When I close my eyes, I can see my friend... "

He turned back to Yuu. "But I don't regret it. I got those issues because I was helping my friends. Because I was protecting people, and the world I cared about. Because I know I was doing the right thing."

Yuu closed his eyes and sighed. And a small egao showed up on his face. "I think I would want to be a Lancer, then."

"Didn't you just hear me, idiot?!" Sawatari cried. "It's horrible and sucky! There's no glory in fighting!"

"I want to be like you!" Yuu responded. "To be a hero, and save people. If I improved, I want to use my new skills to help people."

Sawatari's draw dropped to the floor. His face turned a bright shade of red. And the corners of his mouth twitched, forming an egao.

"L-like me?" he gasped. "O-oh..."

While Yuu pressed his Duel Disk's screen, Sawatari cleared his throat. "Well, of course! It's only natural that you'd want to be like me. I'm cool, rich, and popular. Glad I could inspire you, as I do countless others. You know, you'd be even more inspired by reading my b..."

Sawatari looked down at Yuu's Disk. He could see Yuu reading some sort of text message. From where he was, he couldn't make out what it said. But judging from the small smirk on Yuu's face, it must have been a good message.

"What's that?" he asked. "A text message?"

"Oh, I just got invited to hang out with Momoe," Yuu responded casually. "I'm going to meet up with her at the mall soon."

"Momoe Hamaguchi!" Sawatari gasped. "The hot transfer girl from Fusion?!"

"Yes, that's her."

Sawatari fell to his hands and knees. Inside his chest, his beating heart shattered into a million pieces.

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyy..." he groaned. "Why did she notice you, but not me? Can't she see how amazing I am?"

Yuu patted Sawatari on the back, then started walking away from the scene. Sawatari was left groaning over his loss. He won the game of love, but lost the game of girls.

Well, at least Sawatari had one new fan. And when he got home, he would find two new friend requests for his Facebook page: one from a random spambot, and another from Yuu Sakuragi.

"Mother, Father," Yuto whispered. "Thank you for everything."

Yuto placed one flower on the grave of his mother, and another on the grave of his father. He gave the stone grave markers a small pat, brushing off the thin layer of dirt and dust that had started to gather.

"I did my best to protect Heartland, and try to keep more people from dying. I couldn't save everyone, but..."

But you still saved people, Yuya told him.

Yuto paused. His eyes drifted over the engravings of his parents' names. Their family name was written above their given names, carved neatly into the stone.

"Right," Yuto said finally. "I grew up to be a good man, just like you taught. And now, Heartland's been saved. It's being rebuilt, and everyone's okay now."

Yuto ran a hand on the engraving of his mother's name. "I knew it would happen, because I knew you were always watching over me."

You had a sister, didn't you? Yugo asked.

Yuto shook his head. "They couldn't find her body, so she's not buried here. But I know she's gone... I can feel it in my heart."

I'm sorry, Yuto, Yuya said.

At least you have three brothers now, Yugo offered.

"That's true," Yuto said with an egao. "Mom, Dad. I have a family now. You know that, right? A mom, a dad, and brothers."

Yuya and Yugo both nodded. Yuri, however, kept himself further away from the trio. While the other three overlooked the graves, Yuri hid himself inside their body.

"I'll never stop missing you," Yuto continued. "And no one would replace you guys. But I want you to know that my new family's always there for me."

Yuto rose from the ground. He looked over the many grave markers in the makeshift graveyard. Many people lost their lives during Academia's attack or during the war. People who weren't carded, but got murdered or killed by the fallout of war.

"Let's go back to Heartland Tower," Yuto told his brothers. "We owe Dad that duel, remember?"

Yuto turned away from the graves and started walking away. The sun set behind him, casting a soft, comforting glow over him.

I'm part of the Sakaki family now. But I'll always be Yuto Tsukumo. That will never change.

Next time: There's friction between Yusho and his family, and Yuri is gonna Shock the Casbah when he gets involved.