Juvenile Detention Center wasn't so bad, is what Yuma would be saying had he not been transferred to the facility after a week there. Something about not enough room. It was just his luck really.

The prisoners jeered as he walked past them. Yellow marker scared on their face, unlike his own unmarked one. He did not miss the look of surprise Tanner gave him. In exchange for not having a permanent scar, they slapped a mechanical cuff on him that gripped his left hand and weighed like a ton.

"Don't worry. Yanagi's been here before, he's pretty nice." The guard told him once they stopped in front of his cell. " Not sure about the Satellite though."

The man gently nudged Yuma into the cell before closing the door, leaving his roommates to stare at him.

"Oh my, aren't you a bit too young to be here?" The old man asked.

"Aha ha, yes. Soo…." Yuma trailed off as he casually claimed one of the bed. "...uh..What are you guys in here for? I'm here for underage driving and illegal Turbo Dueling."

"I'm sorry but did you just said Turbo Duel?"

(--.--)

Seven dragons, immortal evil, CRIMSON STAR.

Golden eye burst opened. It looked down on him. Judging him, assessing him before….

Yuma woke up with a breathless gasping. His hands dug deep into the thin blanket. He hesitated to lay back down to bed again. Too tired to do so.

"Yuma?" A raspy voice called out.

Slowly he turned to face the teenager from Satellite. "Yusei, you're back."

Yusei was what an eighteen years old should look like in Yuma's mind. Unlike Kaito who was barely taller than Yuma himself, Yusei stood tall over Yuma.

But those eyes. Sharp and hurt and kind.

That was something Yuma knew very well.

Moonlight revealed Yusei's weary face as he rubbed his right hand. "What did those guards do to you?"

Because Yanagi didn't answer Yuma when he asked earlier that day, neither did Tanner despite Yuma's best attempt to force an answer out of him. And it seems, so would Yusei.

"It's nothing, they just rough me up a bit."

For a moment, Yuma paused before getting off his bed and moved to help Yusei to lay down on his own bed. As he gently grabbed Yusei's hand, he thought about the Astral. What was the planet like now that chaos is once again integrated into it? Did its people healed from their broken form? And Astral…

"Yuma?" Yusei's voice cut through his thoughts.

The warmth left his fingertips and as quickly as Yuma realized what he had done he pulled his hands away from Yusei.

"Goodnight Yusei." He told the older boy. Trying to put the fact that Yusei was healed out of his mind.

(--.--)

Armstrong reeled back his fist and Yuma paced himself for the pain.

It had been what? An hour? Since Yuma was manhandled out of his comfortable cell and placed in front of Armstrong as a punching bag. Someone said something about magazines? He wasn't sure.

His body aches in ways he wasn't familiar with each hit and Yuma wonders if this is what they've been doing to Yusei every night. After what felt like hours, finally they let him go.

Armstrong's rough hand grabbed him and dragged him away. Numbly, Yuma didn't struggle. His only comfort was pretending that it was Gauche holding him.

(--.--)

Shaking fingers tugged at the armguard, trying and failing to pull something. Yuma presented his own hidden card. "Here, Yusei. It's one of my favorites."

It wasn't the original 'Half Unbreak' but it was a good reminder of home. Even now Yuma loathed to part with it. Still, "I've got a feeling you'll need it."

Yusei gently took the card and carefully placed it into his scrapped together deck, filled with similarly donated cards. " Thank you, Yuma. But for now you should rest."

The older boy pulled a blanket from another bunk and covered Yuma's still numb body.

How long had it been since he last got tucked into bed? Yuma used to sleep within his actual bed before his parents disappeared. His parents would always come in every night whenever they were home and told him all sorts of stories about their adventure.

Then they went on that trip with Faker and Byron and never came back. Akari and grandma were so busy in those first few years Yuma didn't want to bother them with the nightly ritual so he moved to the hammock in the attic to ease the pain.

But with his wish with the Numeron Dragon, his parents should be back now, aren't they?

And he couldn't be there to see them again.

Something wet trailed down Yuma's cheeks, he quickly wiped it away. Yuma didn't look at Yusei and Yusei didn't comment.

(--.--)

Yuma witnessed Yusei's victory over Armstrong through the cell bar despite the odds stacked against him. Then the head of sector security came and ordered the release of Yusei AND him.

"Got any plans now that we're free?" Yuma asked as the two of them walked out of the Facility.

Basking in the sunlight Yusei replied. "I'm getting my Duel Runner back. Hopefully this friend of Tanner can help me do that."

"It's most likely in the inbound center. One of the officials told me they threw mine out." Yuma whined. Like sure, it wasn't the most well built Duel Runner in the world but Yuma put his heart and soul into it. How could they just throw it away?

Suddenly Yusei stopped. The older boy looked around the empty, pristine street. "Are your parents not comminging?"

The question caused Yuma to wince. " No, I uh…live alone."

"I see." Yusei said slowly and didn't ask anything more. Instead he accompanied Yuma all the way to the edge of Daimon area, they talked about Duel Runner all the way and Yusei even give Yuma some tips on how to improve his own Duel Runner.

"Good luck Yusei!" Yuma bid the boy as he headed toward Blister's place.

"You too Yuma." Yusei replied.

(--.--)

"So how much money do I own you?" Yuma asked, hugging his barely held together Duel Runner that had been miraculously saved from being trashed.

"I'm still calculating." Blistered replied but Yuma could care less.