...Hi, um, yeah I know. I'm really, REALLY late. I have a good excuse for that and that's writer's block and I was feeling awful after my computer died.

Ok, so it didn't die but it caught a nasty virus. It was a new one apparently because my cousin who is a comuter tech had never heard of it and it wasn't on google either. So I basically couln't use my computer for about 2 weeks because everytime I tried opening a program it would close it and even closed the antivirus which expired right after I fixed the computer. Yup, I fixed it after my cousin told me how to since he couldn't come personally because of all the snow and he was busy and other stuff. I have no idea what the heck I did to fix it and but it's working now. Seriously I'm bad when it comes to computers and stuff like that. Well, anyway the chapter which was pretty much done was nowhere to be found :( I lost some other stuff too because I had to delete some stuff.

After that I was really depressed over that and lost all my drive to write. It was like I had written something only to have to do it all over again? I didn't want to and then when I finally got over that I completely forgot what I had written. That's when writer's block kicked in and january ended. So after a really weird dream, this came out. This is how I know when I'm really obsess with an anime.

Well, I made it with a few minutes to spare on Valentine's day at least!

BTW, my dear friend MystiQueen made a drawing of Yori please check it out at deviantart, this is the link, without the spaces: mystiqueen. deviantart. com / # / d39ktku Thanks so much for this! I also did a few so please check my account nigsea. deviantart. com/

Anemos: thanks so much for reviewing as always. Though I've mention Lil'butterfly since the beginning of the fic, it's on the prologue. She's Cindy's best friend in real life. You must have overlooked that.

Elie: thanks for the review and if you want to know please keep on reading.

Ilikechocolate: thanks for the review. I agree with you, Yusei is a very interesting character to write though a little hard for me and I'm always worried on whether I'm doing it right or not. Though he does seem to be the type to be dense when it comes to romance lol

demonVie: I know! Sorry, but here it is.

Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter even though it's kinda short. Happy V-day everyone!

Chapter 22: Talking, Night Talking

"Onii-chan…" Sayori muttered still sitting on the floor in fetal position. She was completely lost in her thoughts, almost broken. "Onii-chan…" She closed her eyes.

"Yori," Cindy called as she looked down at her. It was different from the previous times, unlike before Cindy watched as Sayori stood up on her own feet in front of her.

Sayori's hair was long and wavy dark brown while Cindy's was straight; a slight difference. It really was strange comparing herself with someone who looked like her, almost like looking in a mirror. As Cindy looked closer she was able to see other small differences like the scars on their bodies, and the scars on their hearts. Well, those could not be seen but she had learned them when Yori had given Cindy her memories.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" asked Yori. "You wanted my memories; you wanted to be me, right?" Unlike before she seemed colder. "That's why your memories were being erased as you learned mine."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Cindy. "I don't get it." She shook her head as she tried to understand why Yori was being so cold. "I thought you and I were alike," she said as she looked down.

"You don't exist here," replied Yori as she moved away from the other girl. "You should just disappear or at the very least stay where you belong." She stopped on her tracks. "You had already returned to your world so why are you here again? How did you do it?" She looked back at Cindy, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I don't know how," said Cindy unsurely, almost shyly. "I don't get it either." She felt a little intimidated.

"Hmm?" Yori arched an eyebrow unsure of whether to believe her or not

"Why are you being mean? I thought we were getting along." Cindy said as she tried to understand the other girl.

"Why am I being mean?" Yori asked scornfully. "You're the one who is mean!" she pointed at Cindy and poked her strong enough to make her step back a step.

Cindy was utterly astonished.

"You don't want to go back. You are planning on staying here. I won't let you!" Yori glared, surprising Cindy and making her feel guilty. "Because if you do then I will be…I will be…" Yori never finished, she didn't need to.

"Erased." Cindy finished as she looked down. Yori nodded. "I'm sorry, I really didn't know and even though I rather stay here I know very well I can't." she said. "Please Yori," she beseeched the other girl. "Let me borrow your memories, this time I won't forget myself." She promised. "And when the time comes, I will go back. Till then I will make sure to protect you, I won't let anyone harm you; not even me." She added.

"It should be 'not even I' that's the correct-" Yori started but cut herself off when Cindy raised an eyebrow and her solemn expression was changing and looked like she was about to laugh. "Okay, I'll trust you but," she sighed. "But if you break your promise I'll make sure you get hurt. Since we are so alike you should know I hate when people break their promises and can be very cruel."

Cindy nodded. "Actually I was thinking of going back as soon as I find your uncle and he is put in prison for hurting you. My being here is meaningless, and if I stay any longer I'm gonna get hurt a lot worse than you could ever hurt me." She added.

"What do you- Oh, I see." Yori said when she realized. "It's that guy, Yusei, isn't it?"

Cindy nodded sadly.

"Do you love him that much?" Yori asked curiously.

Cindy shook her head. "No, all this time I have liked him. I have liked him since I saw him for the first episode. For me it was a crush, a huge crush on an anime character but only that. I knew it well," she explained. "I have known it all along. Sure, I got it pretty bad for him and actually like him more than I liked real guys but I really admired him. I really like how Yusei acted and talked and the kind of character he is but that was when I saw him as an anime character. When I saw him through the TV and computer screen but now…" she shook her head. "I'm scared." She looked down.

Yori stepped closer and put a hand on her head. "Why? Isn't he exactly like you saw him? Is he any different?"

"He is the same but different at the same time." Cindy answered.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yori was completely clueless; she had never liked anyone who was not an anime character. So she could understand her a little but at the same time she couldn't because to Cindy the one who was a fictional character was now a real person who was close to her.

"He is a real person now, and I don't know how to deal with it. I have never liked a real boy like this and I'm scared of getting hurt and hurting him because I can't stay here. Being close to him feels so good and makes me so happy but at the same time incredibly sad. I should have never wished for it. Why did I even do it?" she felt pathetic and like crying but she didn't.

"The reason you feel sad is because you know that you have to part with him, right?" asked Yori. "Then, don't think about it."

"Huh?" asked Cindy confused. "How can I not?"

"You have five months left to be with him. Isn't that enough?" asked Yori. "You can laugh, have fun and who knows you and him might even fall in love if you give it a try but if you only think of the time you have left and how much you're gonna miss him while you are still here then at the end you're not gonna have much. Instead of thinking of the future and what's going to happen, think about now."

"But if I do that then I could end up-"

"Heartbroken? Well, yeah but at least you'll have your memories, a sweet memory." Yori said but Cindy looked still unsure. "Isn't there a saying or something like 'it's better to have loved and lost than to never have love at all'?"

"I always thought that was depressing because the pain of a lost love is enormous, I don't think I'm strong enough to bare it." Cindy replied.

"Wow, I really don't know what to say," replied Yori, she had no idea of what else to say. "So, was meeting Yusei your only wish?"

Cindy thought for a second. "No, the reason why I wanted to meet Yusei was because I…" she stopped. Why? It hadn't been only for that. "Deep in my heart, I wanted to be a little like him. I wanted to learn to become strong and how to have courage. Yeah, that's right I wanted to become important to him so I could be close so that I could learn to become strong person like him and his friends."

"What for?" Yori asked curiously. "What's your purpose?" Yori asked again.

'What's your purpose?' she recalled Rin saying that to her too.

What's your purpose? Those words echo in her mind.

"My purpose…" Cindy murmured while thinking over it. "Yori!" she exclaimed suddenly as she watched the other girl fall.

"I-it s-seems…" she started talking like the other time when she was really weak. What was happening? She had been fine just now.

"Don't talk, you're tiring yourself out." Cindy said and took Yori's hand. "We can use telepathy right?" she said hoping it would work.

'I can't talk or move anymore,' Yori said through the mind link. 'It seems I've exhausted all of my energy by trying to send you back.'

"You thought I wouldn't go back on my own, that I betrayed you." Cindy said sadly.

'I've never had friends aside from Ralph and my brother, even Misato and Misaki aren't really my friends but two of the kids I knew. We get along but I don't know if I can trust them even if I often played jokes and spend time with them; at least in the last few years that we've lived in the city. I didn't know if I could trust you either.' Yori explained.

"Let me guess, all your life there have always been someone trying to hurt you and so you grew up not knowing who you could trust and not trusting anyone but those closest to you." Cindy said.

'Yeah, but I'm glad I was wrong about you. So please, go for it. I want you to be happy because if you are happy then those feelings also become part of me. I feel everything you feel and see what you see so if you are happy then it becomes my strength but because…' Yori made a pause as he eyes were closing.

"Okay, I won't say I'll confess to Yusei or that we would have a relationship since I don't even think he likes me like that but I will try to enjoy the time I spend with him." Cindy promised.

'That's good enough. For now I'll go back to sleep. My memories, please take care of them but remember who you really are too and who you want to be…' with that Yori's eyes completely closed and she fell back asleep.

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

Cindy opened her eyes and found herself back, back in Neo Domino City, back in Yori's bedroom. The room was completely dark since it was night, or rather very early in the morning. She remembered the little talk and realized Yori was right. With everything going on, she had not even once thought about going back. She had missed her home but the idea of wanting to go back had not appeared on her heart or crossed her mind. It was like it wasn't even on her plans. But, what she said about going back did that really happened or… "Was that a dream?" she murmured.

She turned around in the bed as if that would help her clear her mind. Her cheeks turned red immediately as she saw Yusei's face so close next to hers. He was sleeping peacefully next to her, on top of the covers.

"Yusei!" she gasped in a whisper. 'Yusei…' she thought, she felt to glad to see him but it also made her heart hurt a little. 'He looks so cute' she thought as she couldn't suppress a giggled or the grin forming on her face; all her worries forgotten.

She couldn't help herself but poke his cheek. He made a soft groaning noise as his eyes slowly open.

"Yori?" he said half asleep. "Yori!" he exclaimed rising his voice only slightly above a whisper. "You're awake." It was unfortunate she couldn't read any of his expressions but she could almost be sure that he sounded glad.

"Did I wake you?" she asked her voice low as his, he was so close she felt a little breathless. 'I wonder if he can hear my heartbeat.' She thought and made her uneasy so she sat up.

"It's okay," he replied as he looked up to her, he stayed lying down on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

She looked down at him from the side as she used her left hand for support of her head.

"I'm okay," she replied readily.

"Are you saying that because that's what you think I wanna hear or because you really are alright?" he asked taking her surprise.

"Heh," she chuckled. "You are the second person to actually notice that, Yusei." She confessed. Yusei wondered who the first one was but then realized it was probably Ren. "But, I really am fine now."

"Good." He replied. The obvious questions, answers and statements that usually come after an episode like the one she had were not mention. Why say that everyone was worried when she already knew. They stay in silence… neither of them knowing what else to say.

She lay back down and stared at the ceiling before she turned towards Yusei again. "So, um, why are you on my bed?" she asked feeling a little awkward. "Not that I really mind or anything," Yori added quickly "but I am pretty sure that there are more than enough rooms in the house."

He looked away without an answer. She had watched the show long enough and the same episodes a couple of times to know Yusei well and she guessed he was probably blaming himself for something that was not but thought was his fault. She had seen it before, in both languages.

"Just making sure but, please don't tell me you blame yourself for me fainting after the duel." Yori said hoping it wasn't that.

He looked back at her. "If I hadn't-" she shushed him but putting a finger over his lips.

"Yusei," she started gently and the moved both of her hands to his cheeks and close the distance between them a little and touched his forehead with hers. She kept her eyes closed if she had had them open she would've been too nervous to talk and the blush on her cheeks would've been more visible. With her eyes closed she could at least make believe it was Ren or Chris she was talking to. "If I really hadn't wanted to duel I could've refused. You don't really have any power to force me to do anything but I chose to duel you after what you said. Dueling actually helped me because it made me realized lots of stuff." She let go and parted from him a little.

He sighed and smiled a little, his usual smirk. "Good," he said.

"You wanna know what I realized?" She asked with playful tone.

"What?" he replied playing along.

"Get in bed first and I'll tell you. You must be freezing just laying and not covering; tonight is really chilly." Observed Yori.

"Uh, it's okay." He replied.

"Are you gonna make me freeze too?" Yori asked. "If you don't get inside, I'm going to kick the covers and then if I catch a cold now, that's gonna be your fault." she warned half jokingly.

"I'm fine, really," replied Yusei.

"Sure, that's why you're freezing and even shivering a little." She said sarcastically. "I promise I won't do anything, you're chastity is safe." She joked.

Yusei finally compelled with that statement. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

"Well, yeah, usually since in most cases it's the guy but really," she made a pause and gave him a look "if one of us is gonna do something I really doubt that'd be you. I can't even think of you thinking of anything perverted or anything. You are like too serious and… I don't know I just can't imagine you making a move on anyone."

He turned around so his entire body was facing her. "I'm still a guy." He said.

She copied him and faced him. "And I'm an eighteen-year-old girl who looks a like a kid, if anyone tries anything on me that would make him a lolicon," she joked.

"Only your face is like a kid," he pointed out. "And your personality," he added with a chuckle.

She laughed but remembered to keep it down. "I can't believe you're actually teasing me." She punched him lightly on the chest.

"So, what was it that you realized during the duel?" he asked.

"For one, you didn't go easy on me," she reproached. "And I'm sure you do know I'm still a beginner." She glared at him.

"Uh," he blinked. This was definitely not what he expected and had no idea of what to say.

"J~ust kidding!" she said in a sing-song voice. "Seriously though you really surprised me. I thought you were going to go easy on me but you didn't. As the duel went on I tried to duel like usual but it didn't work. I couldn't read your movements, and when I thought you were going to do something you did something different. I was so frustrated and all I could do was defend and then when I thought I could finally go on the offensive… you killed my monster and took over four-thousand of my life points." She sighed. "That was really impressive and it made me realize I still have lots to work on." Mada mada dane. (1)

"You'll get better, I'm sure." Said Yusei reassuringly.

"Thanks. You know, thinking about the duel now I can see more clearly. Also, I don't think I need it anymore." She thought out-loud.

"Don't need what anymore?" he asked.

She looked away from him to her night stand where her deck was. "Ren," she replied. "I don't need onii-chan anymore. I don't need him to protect me anymore. So I should give Ancient Sacred Wyvern back to him."

"Your synchro monster?" he sounded surprised.

"Yeah, Ancient Sacred Wyvern was his card originally. He gave it to me when he left to study so I wouldn't miss him as much. Quite silly, isn't it? I was a child then and so I thought it really was going to be like a part of him stayed with me. In a way it was, but now I know it was not the card that is the bond between us." She said. "Duels can really be amazing, huh?"

"If dueling made you realized all that, I'd say so." He agreed.

"Anyway, I'm getting sleepy now," she yawned.

"Well, a lot have been going on its no wonder that you get tired but you sure have been sleeping a lot." Yusei commented.

"How long was I sle~eping?" she yawned again.

"An entire day," he replied.

She moved closer to Yusei and made a small ball of her body and she nuzzled next to him. "Guess I was more tired than I thought. You don't mind if I sleep close to you, do you?" she asked as her eyes were beginning to close.

He bend his arm and used it as a pillow and use his other hand to scratch her head the same way he had done the other night when she had told him not to because it made her sleepy.

"Good night," he replied, she took that as an invitation and smiled as she cuddled against his chest.

/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\

The next morning Yori woke up when her phone's alarm started playing a song. The melody was soft and slow and gradually started becoming louder and louder. When she first opened her eyes she was a little startled to find herself in Yusei's arm and even more surprised when she realized she couldn't move.

Yusei, who was sound asleep, was holding her so close that whatever movement she could make might disturb him and she didn't want that. She tried to gently and slowly move, first the hand that he had around her waist, he groaned. She stopped in order to not wake him.

It didn't work.

"Morning," he greeted with a lazy half smile.

'He looks so sleepy! So cute!' She thought as she was going onto fan-girl mode. "M-morning, Yusei" she replied as she tried to keep herself sounding normal instead of squealing. Her voice however sounded slightly higher than normal, a little squeaky. 'Ok, Cyn don't go into fan-girl mode.'

"Is something wrong with your voice?" he asked as he released his hold of her and turned off the alarm.

She cleared her voice. "No, it's nothing. My throat just a little dry." She lied.

"I'll get you some water," said Yusei as he was about to get up from bed.

"Wait," she stopped him by pulling from his jacket. "There's something I need to tell you." She said.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Remember I told you if you could hack the school computer's so I that I could learn of Aoi's last name?" she asked going straight to the point.

Yusei sat back down. "Yeah…" he replied. He hadn't done it. He wouldn't hack another computer unless he had a good reason.

"There's no need for that anymore." She said as she got up from bed and walked towards her desk to turn on her laptop.

"Hmm? Why the change of heart?" he asked a little confused since she had seemed eager to know before.

"I told you I could see things more clearly, didn't I?" she said as she waited for the computer to load. "Well, I can finally see the whole picture," she smirked. "My opponent is a lot smarter than I thought; I gotta give him credit for that." She opened the browser and type for her uncle's name: Yako Tenma.

"What do you mean?" Yusei asked not following her.

His mouth opened slightly in surprise when she turned the screen towards him and showed him a picture of the dark-green haired guy he had met at the burger joint, who Yori had tried to evade. The Aoi guy was standing next to his father, Yako Tenma, Yori's uncle. Yako being the owner of a small company now which was related to the creation of cards, much like Industrial Illusions.

"Yako's company is under the wing of Industrials Illusions," she informed him.

Yusei looked at her surprised. "You knew all along?"

Yori shook her head. "No, I realized it just now when I thought I had to go to school and that I'll meet with that guy. Then, I remembered reading Yako had a child." She made a snorting sound holding in a sarcastic laugh "I just did the math. I'm not really sure but I have my memories now and I remember reading of the few companies under our family's wing. I'm sure Mirage(2) is one of them." She replied.

"You remember everything?" he looked surprised but glad.

"I didn't tell you?" she blinked. "I thought I did before, my bad" she giggled. "Anyway I do remember everything now."

"So, what are you planning on doing?" he asked.

She gave him a playful smirk. "I'm gonna play his game," she replied.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked not really liking how that sounded.

"Aoi-kun offered to help me, remember?" she asked the playful grin still on her face.

"Yori," Yusei started. "I thought you hated that guy."

"Hate? Not exactly, though I rather not have anything to do with him," she replied as she walked toward her closet now to take out her uniform.

Yusei just followed her with his eyes. He wasn't getting her. "I don't get it," he said.

She took her clothes out as she now headed towards the bathroom. "Yusei, sometimes a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do." She looked at him but let him know with her expression of resignation that she wasn't so thrill about the idea.

"If you don't want to, why?" he asked her actions were a little impulsive and it seemed reckless.

His question stopped her from entering the restroom. Her hand stopped at the doorknob. She thought for a second of what to say.

She sighed before answering. "I have my pride and I really do hate asking for favors and outsiders help, actually I hate asking for help period. However, I know when to swallow my pride." She replied. "If he can help me…I will take his hand even if I want to spurn it." With that she went inside to take a shower and change her clothes.

Author's note:

1. Mada mada dane: It's Ryoma Echizen's catch phrase and literately means "you still have lots to work on" or "no, not yet, you still have a long way to go"

2. Mirage: the name of Yako's company, something I made up.

Well, I hope you liked it and please review and let me know your thoughts, till next time! Probably March!