This chapter in particular will be different than the previous one. Instead of one story, this chapter will be composed of several different stories, each divided with a line.
I do not own YuGiOh! Nor its spin-off series YuGiOh! Arc-V. The card game and franchise are owned by both Konami and Kazuki Takahashi.
...
She was grateful that things weren't at their worst.
Did she wish they were better? Absolutely.
Months have passed since Gerald initially moved out of his parents' house to live on his own, and not once has he responded back to their messages ever since. Ruri knew she couldn't just respond for him, either; They were technically one and the same, yes, but they were also different. His parents would immediately know something was up if she attempted anything.
So instead she went about this the only way she could think of: By confronting them directly.
Only a few seconds after knocking on the door and she already regretted driving and walking all the way here into the lonelier part of the woods, where Gerald's parents resided. This was the path she set for herself, however, and now she can't turn back.
Her thoughts came to a halt as she heard the sound of familiar footsteps approaching the door from the other side. The young woman recollected herself with a brisk, deep breath.
It's now or never.
The voice of an old, but mirthful woman suddenly rang as she slowly opened the door, "Who in the hell would be up knocking this early in the m..."
Both women looked at each other in silence.
"..."
"..."
Ruri could feel a lump in her throat by just seeing her previous identity's mother. What was she supposed to say? 'Hello mom'?
However before she even began speaking, the older woman raised a hand, "Just a moment", before reaching for her glasses and putting them on. "Okay, there we go", she mumbled to herself before looking at Ruri again, "Now tell me who you're supposed to be and what you want."
Ruri was at a loss of words once more, feeling just as intimidated as Gerald did whenever he misbehaved in front of his parents as a child. "W-well, uhh-"
"What's with all the ruckus you're causing up this early, woman?"
Another familiar voice, one that set Ruri's back hairs on end.
Behind the old woman appeared a taller, yet more thinner and seemingly-fragile man; His age more apparent than his wife's from the myriad of wrinkles strewn across his face.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?", the man also asked distrustingly.
Two cold set of eyes were pouring holes onto the poor woman, Ruri feeling more cornered than ever. However, she didn't forget the reason she was here, or who she was doing this for.
So, she took a sharp breath once more, and spoke in the clearest voice she could muster:
"Mom, Dad; It's me: Gerald."
"..."
"..."
Ruri could immediately begin feeling her own regrets voice behind her, however she ignored them as she continued, "I'm really sorry for not calling you two earlier. I was afraid of how you would react if you found out your son was, well... not a son anymore..."
Seeing as she heard no response, she carried on. "I've been doing pretty well aside from that. It's a new life to get used to now that I'm doing it all by myself, especially with all these changes, but it hasn't been that bad. And honestly, knowing that you guys are still alright puts a smile on my face", the woman finished with a genuine smile.
Neither of Gerald's parents said a word afterwards, almost as if waiting to see if the young woman did anything else. Ruri's smile began wavering out of nervousness until she heard-
"Well, only our son would say something so idiotic", the old woman scoffed before lighting up a cigar. "And there's no way he's capable of getting a girl that fast; I know he got that from his father."
The father's brows furrowed further as he raised an accusatory finger, "Yeah, you think you can- wait a minute, wha'?"
Ruri left a small sigh of relief escape her lips; If there's anyone who knew their child well, it was their mother.
"You mean to tell me that's him?", the father pointed at his child incredulously.
"Yes, now let him in, Reggie; The poor bastard's freezing", the mother hurried her husband out of the entrance to let Ruri come inside.
Gerald's father muttered something the lines of plastic surgery and whatnot and 'See this is why I moved out the city a long time ago', as Ruri walked inside and studied the home. It was strange; Nothing much has changed since Gerald left, yet at the same time this almost felt like a completely new place.
A few more minutes of studying the home before the young woman sat down at the dining table, Gerald's mother bringing a plate of cookies and leftover chicken at the center before she and her husband sat down.
"So, you have a reason for changing your appearance?", the mother interrogated while her husband grabbed a chicken leg.
"Well, I figured to go for something different and have a goal to work towards to", the young woman explained while looking down; It wasn't an exact lie. "Up until then I was just working to make enough money to get by. I didn't have an actual reason to live by then", she reminisced.
She then looked up hesitantly, "...You guys aren't angry at that, are you?"
"What, at you looking different? As if", the mother scoffed at the idea. "I wouldn't even have let you inside if I was. But if I can tolerate your father, I can tolerate anything else. I could care any less what you do with your life as long as you're still making good of yourself."
"Heh, well you're welcome", the husband sarcastically responded as he tore of a piece of chicken. He then turned to his child, "While I'm confused as to why you went for a change as big as that, it doesn't change that you're still our son. Or daughter, or whatever. You're still our child."
The young woman smiled in relief, "Son is fine."
The father harrumphed before tearing another piece, "Whatever rows your boat."
...
A few hours have passed since they all ate together. Gerald's father went to hunt for more food after they finished, while both Ruri and the mother sat in rocking chairs outside the porch to wait for him.
Ruri knew about and loved all animals, yes, but that didn't mean she didn't know it was natural for species to eat other; That too was part of nature. She respected Gerald's father for only hunting out of necessity despite his big talk about the gun, and not for mere sport.
"I swear I don't understand your father sometimes, and I gave up on trying a long time ago", the mother noted as she looked to the snowy distance, Ruri turning to look at her. "Even now he insists on getting food the old-fashioned way, instead of just following the path to the new mini-market they opened near here recently. That's something you got from your father, too; Working harder instead of smarter."
Ruri couldn't help but smile at the thought, "I remember you telling me that before I left", before looking at the baby-blue sky. "What did dad say then? Something about us being 'young strugglers'...?"
"Oh hush, you", the mother scoffed as she lit another cigarette, the young woman herself not helping but giggle. "The bastard thinks he's smarter just by saying a bunch of words; You better not end up like him."
"I don't think I will", she stated.
"Good."
"..."
"..."
"...You know", the mother began.
Ruri turned to look at her.
"I always wanted a daughter before you were born."
"Oh, hush you."
As Ruri entered the locker rooms after running around the track for a good while, she couldn't help but take note of all the progress she's made thus far. Yes this body was pretty, but she at least owed it a favor by taking care of it, whether it'd be through eating healthily or exercising. She made that one of her other goals besides rebuilding her Deck.
As she wiped the sweat off her forehead with a wet towel, she couldn't help but notice how several men were staring at her as she ran, which she supposed she couldn't blame them given how would she have given at last a small glance if she was still Gerald. After all, she was wearing a tight outfit consisting of a dark-purple sports bra and leggings that left nothing to the imagination. Not even the tight confines of her top could do much to hide her impressive bust size.
It took all her self-restraint to not begin groping herself right then and there. Nowadays she was more controlling of herself, but there were times where she was still a hornball. It didn't help much that her exercise routine meant that she could now crush watermelons with her thighs.
The young woman whined and whimpered as she slowly circled her hardened nipples with her index fingers, which were beginning to show even through the tight sports bra.
"hhgggnnnnnnn... stupid, sensitive nipples~"
The woman began feeling her bottom pooling beneath her, so instead of continuing, she decided to head to the showers. There she took off all her clothes and let the water run along her figure, before continuing to give herself her own ministrations. Not even handfuls were enough to grab all of her soft, massive tits.
"Annh! Ahnnn~"
She then began to shove her fingers deep inside her walls and prod at her sensitive clit, each forceful nudge sending a jolt of pleasure up her spine.
"Agh, ahh, agh, Ah~!"
It didn't take long before she began losing control of herself, the woman rapidly shoving her fingers in and out as her eyes rolled back and her tongue lolled out her mouth.
"AAANNNHHHHGHH, FUCK~!"
A few seconds after and she came all over the showers, the running water carrying away all of the evidence.
The young woman just stood there in silence, considering what type of lunatic she was to masturbate in a public area. She hoped no one was around to listen to her lewd noises.
She looked down on her sweating body, and she really considered sucking her own nipples, but eventually she decided against it, reasoning she had enough for today. She instead finished cleaning herself before putting her clothes back on and leaving the locker room, pretending as if nothing happened in the last 15 minutes.
Fuck, out of all times to get her period, it was during her personal Deck-building break.
It was one of the few things she hated about her new body. Being a woman meant a whole new wave of challenges as well as opportunities. One of the more prominent challenges in particular were her monthly discharge. She always dreaded each day it happened; She could not see herself getting used to this anytime soon.
Fortunately, it began hitting while she was home, so no one got to see her sudden change in behavior. She still needed to work on not reacting at the pains.
As she had a temporary rest from the miniature hell that was having her period, she considered how far she's come along since her initial transformation, today marking almost a full year some she's become Ruri. Even now she doesn't regret eating those birds seeds, knowing it was just another way of life throwing something at her like usual.
Yeah, even now life wasn't all that bad.
She sure wished things were better, though.
The snow outside looked more beautiful than usual. Was it the grey sky contrasting the bright blue colors?
Whatever the case was, Ruri couldn't help but admire the sky as she continued sketching the park's creatures. Getting to draw and sketch bears and deers back home was fun to an extent, yes, but small birds and squirrels were more of her forte. The yellow warbler she drew a year ago probably grew its own family by now, it's been a long time since she last saw it on that faithful day.
However, something new redirected her attention from her usual sketching. She heard something akin to faint crying, located to her right.
After waiting a few seconds to confirm she was listening to actual crying, the woman stood up and followed the noise, leading to a small girl bundled up against a tree.
The young woman's eyes widened momentarily, before looking around them. No one was around aside from the two.
So, she slowly approached the child, trying to be as least intimidating as possible. "H-hey", she started, the child looking up at her. Her eyes were all watered and puffy from her crying. "Are you alright? Where are your parents?"
The young girl sniffed, "I-I don't know", she tried explaining. "I was running around the park even when my mommy and daddy told me not to, and now I'm lost. I don't know where they are, and I'm scared. I shouldn't have disobeyed them, now I'll probably never see them again..."
"No, don't say that", Ruri approached the child, using her calm voice to try and sound as reassuring as possible. "Whenever your parents tell you to do something or ground you for not listening to them, it's because they care about you. I can bet you right now that they're looking for you", she added.
She noticed the girl was still not convinced, however. Sighing, Ruri took a deep breath and exhaled, before silently sitting next to the small girl.
The child was initially scared, but she didn't say anything after seeing Ruri not do anything else.
"...I was told by my mommy to not talk to strangers", she began as she looked to the distance, Ruri turning to face her. "I'm just doing mistake after mistake... I'm not a good child."
"No, it's normal to make mistakes", the young woman explained, the small girl's tears running out. Ruri now sounded like a different person. "You probably heard from your mom that nobody is perfect, right?"
The girl nodded.
"And she's right. Nobody is perfect, and that's what makes us human", Ruri continued. She then looked at an overhead branch, one with a familiar bird atop a nest. However, it also had a small chick beside it getting ready to fly. She could tell that the chick had already tried flying and failed several times, given by the shape of its feathers. And yet even now, the yellow warbler did not give up on its child.
"As long as we recognize our mistakes and learn from them, we can improve ourselves to not repeat them", Ruri continued as she watched the two birds. The small chick hesitated to fly as it looked below, however it eventually leaped into the sky. It was close, but it began flying before hitting the snowy floor, the chick now celebrating its achievement with its parent.
Ruri couldn't help but crack a smile. "That's why we're human, and that's why you're a kid; To learn and become a better person from your mistakes", she finished.
She then turned to the little girl to find she was no longer crying, and instead looking at the two birds celebrating. The girl's face was now more serene.
"Hey."
The small girl turned to face her.
"Promise me you'll become a better person for your parents, alright?", Ruri asked, before holding out a pinkie finger. "Pinkie promise?"
It took a while, but the girl eventually shook Ruri's pinkie finger with her own, the child showing her own bright grin. "Pinkie promise."
Ruri couldn't help but smile even more.
At that instant, both an adult man and woman arrived at the scene, the yellow warblers long gone by then.
"Melissa! There you are!", the man ran to hug the small girl, Ruri assuming it was her father. "Your mother told you not to run far from us!"
"I know, daddy, I know...", she began crying again.
"It's alright, it's alright", her father soothingly patted her daughter's back. He then faced her, fixing his small glasses as he did so. "We're just glad you're alright."
They both then turned to look at the mother, before all three turned to Ruri.
"You took care of her while we were looking, correct?", the mother asked. Ruri merely nodded in response. "Thank you", the mother bowed, Melissa quickly doing the same. "We appreciate you looking out for her and keeping her safe."
"It was nothing", Ruri rubbed her neck.
"Ah, but it was something", the father reassured her, before turning to the little girl. "Sure, she can be a little rascal sometimes, but Melissa is very important to us. We wouldn't know what to do if she weren't here", he stated as he hugged her.
"I understand", the young woman smiled.
"Do we need to compensate you for this?"
"No; It's alright."
"Please, we insist."
After giving some money to the young woman, the pair of adults grabbed their child by the hand. "Well, we thank you again for taking care of her. But we need to get going, it's getting dark already."
"Hmm?", Ruri asked before looking up to see they were right. Looks like she spent more time here than she realized.
"Let's go, Melissa", the father told his child as he moved her along.
Ruri hesitated for a moment before saying, "Wait."
The three stopped to look at her.
Ruri slowly stood up, before approaching the group of three. The snow continued falling as she kneeled in front of the little girl, grabbed her Deckbox, and got out a specific card. She then handed it to Melissa. "Here."
"Huh?", the child took the card. It read 'Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale' at the top.
"What's this?", the child asked.
"It's a Duel Monsters card", Ruri explained, the child looking up to face her. "It's a sign of the promise we made. Don't forget it, alright?"
The girl looked at the gift once more, before nodding with a smile to the young woman. "Yes!"
Ruri smiled back, before standing up to face Melissa's parents. "You've raised a great daughter."
"Well, we do try our best", the father scratched his head awkwardly. "Glad to know our efforts paid off."
"You better explain to us what this promise of yours is, young lady", the mother turned to her child, authoritative, but not punishing.
Melissa looked up to her mom with a grin, "It's a long story."
...
The three then thanked Ruri once more before splitting ways, the young woman walking back to her bench to pick up her sketching items. As she did so, she looked up at the night sky to look at two certain birds flying around each other.
The young woman then remembered Melissa's grin back then, unable to help herself but to grin as well.
"Maybe I need to get my own child one day, too. You seem to be having fun with yours", she stated.
Maybe I'll make that one of my other goals.
She then turned to the park exit, wondering if she would ever see Melissa or her parents again.
Considering what life's thrown at her, she probably will.
Ruri had been pretty excited to try out the new vibrator she ordered a week ago, the object recently delivered to her door in a discrete package for the woman to pick up.
After taking the purple object out of the packet and making sure it worked correctly, the young woman wasted no time on testing its capabilities, brushing the vibrating object against her nipples.
"Oh, shit~!"
What she got in response was a wave of pleasure rippling all over her body, the vibrator managing to massage the hardened nipple even through the shirt and thin bra.
The woman was unable to help but take off her top completely, continuing to vibrate her left nipple while pinching and pulling right one. Her breathing began to grow heavy as she entered her bedroom, lying against the bed as continued pleasuring herself with her new toy.
"Fuckin' helll", she slowly cursed out as she switched sides and vibrated her right nipple, almost jumping from the sudden change of pleasure. "This new toy's-hnngh! Great~! Fuck..."
The woman then unzipped her pants and took off her drenched panties to the lowest she could muster before lowering her toy and resting it against her aching clit. At that instant the woman arched her back in immediate pleasure. "Oh my GOD!~"
Her breathing grew even more haphazard as her face flushed beet-red, her hair sticking in sweat against her face as she groped her massive tits with one hand and vibrated her pussy with the other, her vision growing more blurred as her tongue lolled out.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck~"
She then began to push the toy in and out as slowly as she could to enjoy the different vibrations in her inner walls, coming closer and closer to screaming in release the deeper she went. It didn't take long before she completely lost it and began ramming the toy in and out inside of her in quick succession, her eyes rolling back to her head as she arched her back and screamed out, "FUUUUUCCCCKKKKKKKKK~!" before splattering her juices all over her bed.
"..."
It took several seconds for Ruri to finally recollect her consciousness and take a hold of her surroundings. Her breathing was still labored as she raised the drenched toy close to her face. This thing is amazing~!, she almost laughed to herself. Masturbating as a woman was infinitely more fun than she ever imagined being as a man.
*knock knock knock*
The noise on the entrance door immediately brought Ruri back to her senses, the young woman changing out of her wet clothes into a new outfit and hiding her gift in a drawer. Acting her best as if she didn't just have the best orgasm in her life a couple of seconds ago, the young woman walked over to the door and opened it, revealing quite an interesting individual on the other side.
Painted-wood mask, unkempt black hair, slightly bent posture, robes upon colorful torn robes worn in layers, large brown backpack, and dark brown boots.
For an instant, Ruri almost confused him with Skull Kid from Majora's Mask.
"..."
The young woman waited for him to say anything but got no response, so she decided to take the initiative, "...May I help you with something?"
The man seemed to perk up at her words, as if taken out of his thoughts, and stammered out to the best of his abilities, "A-At long last, I-I've found you, Natural Maiden of En Birds! It took some considerable time, but the efforts of The Great Darkness-sama have finally proven successful!"
"..."
"..."
"...Excuse me?", asked Ruri.
"A-and now that I've finally found you, I can relate to you the tragic story of my- Wait what are you doing?"
Ruri tried to close the door only for it to be stopped by the nervous man. "Okayokayokay, I'll explain why I'm here, just don't close the door!", the man stated, quickly taking off his mask to reveal a pair of oversized glasses and a nervous face.
The young woman wasn't willing to listen to anything else the man wanted to tell her. "No, just leave me alone!", she shouted.
"A-ah, but which 'you' in particular, Ms. Kurosaki Ruri??"
The young woman's breath hitched.
"Yeah, I-I know who you are!", the man stammered. "I know who you are and what series you come from!"
The young woman briefly considered her options, before opening the door against her better judgement.
"How do you know where I come from?", Ruri asked the nervous man. "The show hasn't aired for a long time."
"A-ah yes, but that is no challenge for dedicated anime enjoyers like myself, The Great Darkness-sama!", the man proudly pointed to himself, Ruri cringing at the name. "I've watched all the YuGiOh! series from start to finish, and I even have all the manga in my collection! Identifying you was no sweat!"
The young woman was at a loss for words, so the man continued, "Plus, I know you aren't the real Ruri. The real Ruri should still be around 15 years old and in her dimension. You're much older than that, aren't you?"
The young woman's eyes widened. Did he know where she came from?
"Then, you...?", she began.
"Yes, I know you used to be a different person!", the man exclaimed excitedly, Ruri shocked at his answer. "I don't know who you once were, exactly, but I know someone gave you something to transform you, and going by who you are now, she probably gave you something related to birds."
The young woman grew more horrified by his accuracy. He's talking about the bird seeds!
"T-then, what do you want from me...?", the young woman finally asked.
"To know more about you!", the man exclaimed. "I've come to find each and every single person here transformed by The Abysmal Witch!"
There he went again with the names. "The what?"
"The Abysmal Witch! She gives items to certain people of her choosing to change their lives! Some people change completely into a fictional character, and move to live in their world, while others retain their previous identity's memories and remain here!"
That would mean I'm the second type, the young woman mused.
"I'm here to find out who exactly the Abysmal Witch is, as well as what her intentions are, and I need to interrogate as many people affected by her to get all the information I need", the man explained. "It's all part of The Great Darkness-sama's Quest!"
"Okay, but can you tell me why you're doing this??", Ruri massaged her temples in exasperation. She could tell this guy was a complete weaboo.
"W-well", the man scratched his head, finally calming down. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. This has to do with my mother."
Ruri looked up to face him.
"A long time ago, my mom was still coming to terms with her divorce with my dad", the man crossed his arms and looked to the distance. "But she couldn't find within herself the willpower to move on, so the Abysmal Witch gave her a glowing pendulum as a remedy."
The young woman gasped in realization. "Then..."
"Yeah. That's who she transformed into", the man looked at her. His gaze was between distant and remorseful. "She forgot who she was, and proceeded to live in a completely different world. She didn't choose any of it, the transformation was all automatic."
"I've been alone since then, catching up on everything that was YuGiOh and traveling across the world to find those affected who remained here", the man finished, before staring directly at Ruri. "Like you."
The young woman was at a loss of words once more, she didn't know what to tell him. So the Abysmal Witch was the one who gave her the seeds that day?
"Though, if I were to be honest, I didn't expect to hear you masturbating all the way from the hallway", the man laughed awkwardly, finally getting a reaction from Ruri. "A bit disrespectful for The Great Darkness-sama, but-"
Ruri's face flushed, "You WHAT!?"
"Well, you'd have to be deaf to not hear it from here!", the man jumped backwards in defense. "Do you have any idea how loud you were!?"
"Y-You, you... pervert!", the woman shouted.
"Well you're the one moaning loudly, so who's the real pervert here, eh!?!?", the man retorted accusingly.
"Look, just tell me what you want to know from me!", Ruri decided to change the conversation, her face still tomato-red with embarrassment.
"Huh? Oh, yeah", the man focused on the original matter at hand, getting out a small notepad and pencil from his pocket. "What item did the Witch give you to transform into Ruri?"
"A bag of bird seeds."
"Did you have to eat them?"
"...Yeah."
"When did this happen?"
"About a year ago."
"And you've been living as Ruri ever since. Got it", the man finished writing and closed the notepad.
"That's... that's all you wanted to know?"
"Well, in terms of interrogation, yeah, but I also need to borrow you for a few minutes", the man stated.
"What?"
"Look, let me rephrase", the man pinched his nasal temple. "I told you that you aren't the only one affected by the Witch. I've found and interrogated many others transformed like you before."
He then got a glowing green orb from his other pocket, before throwing it behind him. A green portal suddenly erupted behind him, startling the young woman. "And I've gathered them all in one place."
"...H-How did you-?"
"The Abysmal Witch is still relatively new at what she's doing. She was more sloppy at the time of my mom's transformation, and I was able to confront her then", the man explained. "I tackled her in hopes of knowing why she's doing this, but she managed to escape from me."
He then unfolded his topmost robe to reveal a myriad of curious trinkets, Ruri's eyes widening once more.
"Of course, she didn't escape unscathed. I took more than a few things from her, including the Green Portalizer Crystal", he added, probably another made-up name. "It's how I've been able to travel across the world to find everyone."
"For instance", he got out a different item, this one resembling a long, glowing purple crystal shard. "I also have this."
Ruri's expression shifted into one of curiousity. "And what does that-AHHHHGHGHHH!!!"
The crystal glowed even brighter as the man lowered the item near Ruri's crotch, the woman feeling something slowly emerging from her snatch.
"This crystal reverts the transformation caused by the Witch, at least temporarily", the man explained, Ruri staggering to her knees while covering her private area. "The more I expose it to a specific area, the more that area will-"
"OKAY OKAY I GET IT, JUST PUT IT AWAY!!", Ruri shouted, the man fumbling with the crystal before putting it back inside his clothes. The shifting sensation inside the woman suddenly stopped as he did so.
The man then closed his robe before continuing, "In any case, we all have a role here on this universe; Me, you, the Witch, everyone else affected. My role is to figure out what her intentions are, and what she hopes by doing this."
He then outstretched his hand at the young woman, still recovering from the crystal, "And your role is to help me get there."
Ruri looked at the hand in silence, and then at the man and the portal. No one else was in the hallway.
"I'm no Yuto, but I can give you an adventure if you come along with me", he added. "You might even find something new about yourself along the way. Just give me a chance."
The young woman stood up to face him.
"..."
"..."
"...What's your name?"
"Huh?
"At least tell me your name", Ruri stated. "And don't say something corny like the Great Darkness or whatever. Just tell me your real name."
The man slowly took back his hand, looking at her with a forlorn expression.
"...William."
"Alright, William", the young woman began. "How long is this going to take? I have a life to live, you know."
"O-oh! Well, this shouldn't take long!", the man was back to his usual cheery mood. "It'll be a 20-minute adventure, in and out! Haha, get the reference?"
"Yes, I get the reference", Ruri huffed.
"Well, what do you say?", the man asked, outstretching his hand again. "Want to go on an adventure?"
The young woman looked at him again, before once again reconsidering her entire life for the past year, all of it starting ever since the fated day she ate those bird seeds.
"..."
She shouldn't have just assumed the magic was a one-time thing before living the rest of her life as someone else, the man in front of her proving evidence as to that not being the case.
"..."
She then remembered the challenges of living as a woman, Gerald's parents, Melissa, the yellow warblers:
And at last, William.
"..."
"..."
Life had a weird habit of throwing things at her, didn't it?
She slowly raised her hand to reach his.
But, it wasn't all that bad.
She was sure things couldn't get any worse.
She finally took his hand with hers.