The Sun Scratched in the Stars
A Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS fanfic
Summary: A boy on the run from a dangerous home situation falls asleep at a dojo in the countryside. Discovered and taken in by the owners, he grows to understand what love – and loss of that love – truly means, with the help of a rambunctious, fiery-spirited boy close to his age.
Chapter 15
Izayoi-Hogan Residence, Neo-Domino
The white and purple-haired boy's eyes sparkled, his whole body trembling as though he were about to implode. Crow hadn't seen someone react so excitedly upon seeing him since those first few years after his retirement from the pro Riding Duel world. It filled him with intense nostalgia.
So that part wasn't weird.
The weird part, though, was no one's ever reacted like that to Aki. She had done her darndest to stay out of the limelight, focusing only on her medical career, after the team went their separate ways all those decades ago. The only mentions of her Crow could find on the web are on doctor databases, listing school after school, her residency, her practice, her awards, her accomplishments, every new treatment of a formerly incurable disease or illness she discovered credited to her name. Even the most skilled detective wouldn't find anything about Aki's past before she became a hotshot doctor.
And, well, this little boy—Ryoken—was a bit young to barely know of her time as a doctor, let alone her time as someone on Team 5D's.
Something felt off.
Before Crow could speak, however, Ryoken, uncharacteristically (at least, by Ryoko and Takeru's descriptions of him), took Takeru by the shoulders and shook him, Ryoken's eyes all wide. "Takeru, why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "That your other grandparents were the Crow Hogan and the Izayoi Aki?"
Crow chuckled. "The Crow Hogan," huh? Jack would've been very disappointed to know he wasn't the only Team 5D's member to hold the big and hotshot "the" in front of his name. He'd have to call him to gloat later.
"Waaaah," Takeru said. "You didn't aaaaaask."
"That's not the question here," Kiku said. "The question is, Ryoken, how do you know who Jii-jii and Baa-baa are already? That's kinda weird."
Ryoken stopped, and turned his head, face clearly red as day. Ah, there's the Ryoken Ryoko told him about. "I. I just do," he mumbled.
Crow laughed as he put a hand on Ryoken's shoulder. The boy looked as though someone famous were touching him. "Don't give him such a hard time, Kiku," he said. "It just means he knows many things. Right, Ryoken?"
Ryoken only nodded, face still beet red. Crow smiled. Forget all the ghost, spirit comparisons Ryoko and the three stuck-ups were making—he was more like him, if anything. The fact that he was pretty much a human Stardust Dragon only made it more so. It's no wonder Ryoko wouldn't stop talking about him when he first got to their house.
And it's really no wonder no one wants to see him leave either.
"Izayoi, though..." Aki said, arms folded. "I haven't been called Izayoi in so long. I'm surprised there's someone outside of Neo-Domino who knows that name."
"That's why I'm saying it's weird!" Kiku piped up, making Ryoken clearly more embarrassed. Before Crow could say anything else, his ever-the-fiery grandson yelled, "Can we eat now? I'm hungry!"
Crow and Aki laughed. Takeru was always hungry whenever he visited. This time was no different. They never feed Takeru before he traveled to their part of town, making him and Aki do all the cooking. Ryoko might've been sick, but what the heck were those other three doing?!
It's a good thing Crow was cooking all morning. He knew the drill after nearly six years.
Standing behind the three of them, Crow put his hands in the smalls of Takeru and Ryoken's backs and gently pushed them along. "Alright, you rascals, stop standing around before you get Jii-jii in trouble with the rich people. Get inside."
The small rascal band hurried inside as Crow and Aki watched them. Crow started to go in, but Aki grabbed his arm, her eyes concerned. He knew that look.
"You noticed it too."
Crow nodded. "You don't have any long-lost cousins or anything, right?"
"Absolutely not." Aki frowned. "Though . . . Ryoko did say she didn't know Ryoken's last name. And that Ryoken always acted like he didn't hear when she or Hisahito or his parents asked."
Crossing his arms, Crow hummed. Knowing the Izayoi name, but not wanting others to know his own. And his own most definitely can't be Izayoi. Had it been, he wouldn't have hidden it from Aki. He's much too young to even know to pull tricks like that with adults. Combine that with Ryoko's thinking that he came from an unsettling, possibly abusive home, the boy was just too mysterious.
"Let's just see what happens," Crow said. "It took even this long for Ryoken to open up to Takeru, someone close to his age. It'll take time for him to open up to anyone older. We got all the time in the world."
Aki laughed. "Mr. Everything Needs to Happen Now is saying to wait and see," she teased, a finger poking his chest. "Who are you, and what did you do with my husband?"
Crow scratched the back of his head as he walked ahead so Aki wouldn't see him turning red. God, he was too old to still be reacting like that. But being with Aki always made him feel like when they first started getting serious all those years ago. How such a well-to-do daughter of a high-up, snooty politician ever got to, chose to be with him, a multiple-time offender who spent as much time in the Detention Centre as he did in the streets, still boggled his mind.
He looked at Aki, who had caught up with him, as she smiled. He smiled back.
"I got a kid, a grandkid, a potential grandkid, and a grandkid on the way. Gotta change sometime."
Takeru sat in one of the dining room chairs, swinging his legs furiously. His stomach was grumbling real bad. He faceplanted onto the table.
"Hungryyyyyyyyyyy," Takeru moaned. It was way later than when he'd usually eat. Where was Jii-jii and Baa-baa? His head turned to Ryoken, still wide-eyed like a baby animal. It was a wonder he, Kiku, and Ryoken even got to the chandelier and painting decorated dining room with how slowly Ryoken was going. Surely, Ryoken's seen a house before.
But maybe it had to do with how Ryoken already knew who Jii-Jii and Baa-baa were.
Takeru poked Ryoken in the thigh. "Ryoooooooken, I'm hungryyyyyy."
That rattled the Pretty Boy out of his weird staring and into a pout. A first! Ryoken crossed his arms.
"So what, Takeru? We can't do much until your grandparents get here."
Kiku leaned with her elbows on the table. Ooooo, Baa-baa better not see her do that. "You mean—" she cleared her throat, "—Crow Hogan-san and Izayoi Aki-san, right?"
Takeru snickered. She sounded exactly like him! But Ryoken didn't seem to be a fan, his face getting red.
"Can you two stop?"
"We want to know why you knew who Jii-jii and Baa-baa were before I told you," Takeru said. "Come on. You can tell us, right? Come on!"
But not a word escaped from Ryoken. His attention was glued to the wall behind Takeru. Takeru was going to egg him on further, but a throat clearing that sounded like a car trying to start stopped him. Takeru quickly turned and saw Jii-Jii and Baa-baa standing there.
"Kiku, remember: no elbows on the table," Baa-baa said, removing Kiku's elbows as Kiku pouted. Baa-baa then sat at the table while Jii-jii went over to the stove top in the kitchen and turned it on. Takeru felt drool hanging from his mouth as the pristine smell of the dining room gave way to a sweet smell of . . . pancakes! Pancakes! The last time Takeru had pancakes, he was learning how to eat food without tossing it everywhere. Mommy and Obaa-chan said he had to eat healthy stuff. That's why they made everything else but pancakes for breakfast.
Baa-baa looked at Takeru, then at Ryoken next to him. Takeru stared back as Baa-baa smiled.
"You two are really close now, aren't you?" Baa-baa looked over at Ryoken. "Ryoko's told me all about it."
"They sure are!" Kiku spoke up, raising her hand. "Ryoken even has a cutesy nickname for Takeru now!"
Takeru felt his face getting warm, but Ryoken's face instantly turned red, so Takeru felt his color return. Takeru hadn't seen Ryoken make that expression before. "Kiku, don't do this to me," Ryoken whined. Just like Takeru did sometimes! "Not in front of Izayoi-san!"
Baa-baa laughed. Even Jii-jii cackled from the kitchen.
"Ryoken," Baa-baa said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "you can just call me Aki if Baa-baa is too much for you right now. You're part of our family now. No need to be so formal."
Ryoken's gaze went to the tabletop. "Okay."
"Oh, but feel free to call me Crow-sama if you don't want to call me Jii-jii or Crow," Jii-jii's voice carried through from the kitchen. In an instant, Baa-baa's face changed to sheer annoyance. Baa-baa sighed, and Takeru and Kiku both tried to keep from cackling themselves.
"He will definitely not be doing that, you idiot." Baa-baa put a hand to her forehead. Then, looking at Ryoken, she said, "You'll have to excuse my husband over there. He's very much a jokester."
Ryoken glanced at Takeru, then back over at the kitchen, then back at Takeru. Takeru tilted his head. "Hmmm, I see where Takeru gets it from now."
Takeru blinked, unsure what Ryoken meant by that, but it made Baa-baa laugh . . . and Kiku too?! Takeru sighed as he sprawled his upper body on top of the table. "Can we eaaaaaat?" Takeru moaned. His stomach was growling intensely.
"Almost there, Takeru," Jii-jii's voice replied. "You three must be starving."
On cue, Takeru's stomach growled again. Then, in turn, Kiku's, and even Ryoken's made noise. Ryoken clutched his stomach as Baa-baa laughed.
"You better hurry it up," Baa-baa said. "Everyone's stomachs are harmonizing."
Jii-jii, wearing the brightest yellow apron ever, appeared from the kitchen, a super tall stack of pancakes on a silver tray in his hands. "Crow-sama to the rescue!"
Takeru's eyes widened as he stared at Jii-jii setting the pancakes, syrup, butter, strawberry, grape, and blueberry jam, and other things Takeru had yet to figure out on the small table next to the big one. Takeru's eyes were glued to the pancakes. They were huge! Bigger than Takeru's head, even!
"Wash up, you rascals," Jii-jii said, taking the mittens off. "And get your drinks before you come back to the table."
Takeru was the first to the kitchen as he washed his hands, humming for twenty seconds like Mommy had taught him. Had to get aaaaall the germs off so he could enjoy his food. Then, taking the nearly empty milk carton, he poured a small glass of milk because pancakes obviously went best with milk and walked slowly back to the table. When everyone returned, everyone gave thanks for the food. Then, the fun began. Takeru grabbed one stack of pancakes, smothering it in butter and the blueberry jam.
"Takeru," Baa-baa said as they all ate, "be sure to chew before you swallow and drink your milk. Don't eat too fast."
Takeru gulped the pancake in his mouth down, flashing a grin. "Okay, Baa-baa!" Then he turned to Ryoken, who was slowly eating his pancakes.
"Can you eat any slower, Pretty Boy?" Takeru sighed. "There're more pancakes to eat!"
"Then you can eat them," he replied without pause. "I'll enjoy the ones I got, thank you very much."
Takeru pouted and huffed as he stacked more pancakes on his plate. Ryoken should be taking this chance and getting as many pancakes as he could. Mommy and Obaa-chan dun cook this kinda stuff often.
Suddenly, Jii-jii and Baa-baa laughed, and Takeru looked up, fork and knife in hand. "What's so funny?" Takeru tilted his head.
"Oh man, Ryoko was right," Jii-jii said.
"About what?" Kiku asked.
"About Ryoken and Takeru being like Jack and Jii-jii," Baa-baa said, taking a gulp of water.
"Hmmmmmm." Kiku hummed as she leaned off the back of the chair to stare at Takeru and Ryoken. "I guess they are, a little bit. But Ryoken talks so little. Not like Jack."
"Nobody talks as much as Jack," Jii-jii said, waving a hand. "But Ryoken's very well on his way there. He's got the attitude already."
Takeru looked over at Ryoken and grinned. "You know who that is, right, Pretty Boy?"
Ryoken crossed his arms. "King of Riding Duels, Jack Atlus? Winner of every single continent's national single rider Riding Duel tournament many times over? Of course, I know who Jack Atlus is, Take-kun. Anyone who has a deck knows who that is. I'm not stupid."
"Are you sure?" Kiku asked as Takeru processed Ryoken's words and Baa-baa and Jii-jii laughed until tears were coming out of their eyes. Once Takeru finished processing, he puffed his cheeks.
"Stop calling me Take-kun!"
Ryoken tilted his head, frowning. "But that's what friends do, right? Give each other nicknames?"
"Yeah, but…." Takeru was unable to finish his sentence, his face getting hot. He tried drinking more of his milk to cool off, but it was room temperature. But he just got it out of the fridge!
"Right, right." Jii-jii clapped his hands together. "Enough fussing. If everyone's done, everyone can help Jii-jii clean up. We got a full day for you rascals before we gotta send you back."
"Okay, Jii-jii!" Kiku said enthusiastically, raising a fist. Ryoken slowly lifted one as though imitating her. But Takeru felt too tired all of a sudden to react. Jii-jii and Baa-baa immediately stopped what they were doing. Baa-baa went over to him, putting her gentle hands on his shoulders. They were cool.
Baa-baa's hands were usually warm.
"Takeru? Is everything okay?" Baa-baa asked.
"I . . ." Takeru sniffled. "I dun feel so good."
Ryoken huffed. "You were eating too fast, Takeru. What did you expect?"
"No!" Takeru whined. Everything felt hot. "No, I . . ." Before he could finish his sentence, Baa-baa put a hand to his forehead, even cooler to the touch than before.
"He's a little warm. You're probably just tired, aren't you, Takeru?"
Takeru nodded. He had slept on the way, but, for some reason, that had done very little. By then, Jii-jii, eyes squinting, had also walked over and pulled up his bangs, also feeling his forehead. Jii-jii clicked his tongue.
"Yeah, probably just needs more sleep," he whispered. Then, stepping back, he said a little louder, "Okay, you can get off breakfast cleaning up duty this time, Takeru. But you're up for lunch duty."
Takeru smiled. It hurt a little. Baa-baa picked him up, and Takeru immediately snuggled against her chest. Takeru didn't know what was wrong with him, but he hoped sleeping would make it go away. He was finally at Jii-jii and Baa-baa's house after so long. For him to feel like this was silly. As Baa-baa carried him away, Kiku and Ryoken got up, and Kiku was saying something, probably to him, but no sound was coming out—the buzz in his ears was too loud. In little time, his head was on a fluffy-as-a-cloud pillow, his small body surrounded by weighty covers and blankets, the sun peeking through the blinds. Baa-baa was saying something, but all Takeru heard was buzzing. Then she got up and closed the door.
Takeru turned his head, sleep calling for him again that morning. He hoped whatever this was would go away soon.
"Jii-jii?"
Crow looked down to find Kiku tugging on his apron. She was frowning. He smiled as he bent down as best he could to her level.
"What is it, Kiku?"
"Will Takeru be okay?" Her voice was strained, the corners of her eyes tearing a little bit. It broke Crow's heart, but, at the same time, it did it good knowing Takeru had at least one friend who worried, cared about him. Crow smiled softly. It wasn't easy seeing a friend unwell in any way, even if the solution was simple. He knew that firsthand.
"He's a tough kid," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be just fine, Kiku. He's gone through tougher."
At that, Crow saw from the corner his eye Ryoken slowing down his wiping dishes and utensils dry, as if listening to the conversation. He walked over to the boy while he wasn't looking, giving him a good pat on the middle of his back. Ryoken nearly dropped the utensils and towels he was holding.
"You worried about my grandson too, aren't ya, Ryoken?" Crow grinned as the boy pouted, his cheeks a dusty red.
"N-No, I just—"
"You can admit it, it's okay," he said. "Takeru won't be offended."
Ryoken's eyes widened. "That's not—!"
"Crow, don't tell me you're teasing the boy now too," rang his loving wife's voice, clearly disappointed in his behavior. A sigh followed. Ah, there it was. The "act your damn age" sigh. "Takeru and Kiku probably tease him enough. You don't need to add to it."
"But, Akiiiii," Crow said, dragging out her name as long as possible before she smacked his shoulder.
"Stop it."
"If Ryoken's gonna be like Jack, I gotta get my teasing in! It's only fair!"
But she only went over to Ryoken, kneeling in front of him. "Ignore my idiot husband if he's giving you a hard time." Crow pretended to be physically hurt.
"Aki . . ." Ryoken said. ". . . will. Will Takeru be okay?"
"So you are worried," Kiku said in between sniffles. Crow knew it. But before Crow could even think to open his mouth, Aki gave him a look that zipped his mouth shut.
"He'll be fine," she said, turning back to Ryoken. "He just needs a bit more rest."
"Is that so?" Ryoken turned his head, frown on his face.
"But we can't wait around for him to get better now, can we?" Crow crossed his arms. "Ryoken, you mentioned before that everyone with a deck knows who Jack is, so... you a duelist?"
Ryoken shuffled his feet, not really responding for a while, before he whispered, "I... have cards. But Father doesn't let me play them with anyone. Didn't. Doesn't. Only against a machine. Or against his coworkers when they're not busy and when Father's not looking."
Crow looked at Aki, her eyes saying more than anything she could've said out loud. They both knew it. Something really was wrong. Forcing him to duel against a machine? It's like those buffoons keeping Takeru holed up in his room to study or whatever, but worse. Ryoko had been right. Ryoken had to stay with them.
But that was a matter to deal with later.
"So, when you're not dueling against a machine, do you have fun? Dueling, I mean."
Ryoken's eyes sparkled. That's what Crow liked to see it. "Very much!"
Crow cracked a smile. "Then whaddaya say you have a few go-rounds with me? See how you stack up."
"Ooo, I wanna see this!" Kiku piped up, raising her hand. Ryoken's eyes made it clear he was interested, but the words that came out of his mouth tried to hide it.
"But... I left my deck—"
"Then you can borrow Aki's. You're familiar with Team 5D's and our decks, aren't ya?"
"Yeah, but is that..." Ryoken gulped. "...is that really okay?"
"It's fine." Crow glanced at Aki, her expression curious. "Right, Aki?"
"Sure, sure," she sighed as she walked away. "I'll be back."
"Actually, can you bring the deck to the backyard? The one with the dueling table? We'll have the rounds out there."
Aki stopped, then hummed. "Really? We haven't used that table in so long. Not since you tried teaching Ryoko how to duel."
"I know, I know, but just this once," Crow said, folding his hands as though appeasing to a goddess. Aki smiled, disappearing from the kitchen.
Even if Ryoken didn't have his own deck with him, it was fine. How a duelist plays, how they treat the monsters—all was insight to how a person was. Crow and Aki knew that better than anyone. And if this was the only way he could get Ryoken to open up, then he'll do it.
Crow hadn't felt this excited to duel in such a long time.