Hello, everyone! Welcome to another chapter! I don't own rights to YuGiOh 5Ds!

Remove the Mask

Bird's Eye View

Crow POV

We were silent for the rest of the night, each of us unable to take our eyes from the photo that we had found. The fact that she had been taken when we were there and yet that we didn't remember it was making us question the figure holding her. None of us were heavy sleepers; even the slightest sound would have woken us up. There should have been no way that they would have made it inside and then left with her without waking any of us. I stood, catching their attentions. "I'm going for a ride. I can't think straight just sitting here."

Jack yelled at me to grab some coffee just as the door was closing behind me, but I didn't respond because of the thoughts going through my head. I couldn't help but think back to her birthday as I slipped through traffic, heading nowhere in particular; wherever the pavement lead, I guess...

Flashback Starts

The door opened to reveal Mr. Tanaka. "Let me in already!" I pushed against the door, her present tucked under my arm. "I'm late!" He chuckled, but let me through. I could hear her and Yusei chatting upstairs, so I kicked off my shoes and dashed up the main staircase, wiping away any traces of dirt from my clothes so that I looked nice. They were laying with a soft of disposable camera that she must have been given as a gift. "Akiza," I called, opening the door and revealing my gift. The words stalled as she stood, her face lighting up with a smile. She was wearing a light pink skirt with frills and a dark red top that almost matched her hair, which was styled into two tails and curled, that had lace around the neckline. "Happy Birthday!" I croaked as my body stiffened unconsciously as her eyes studied me from head to toe, taking in my brown shorts and dark orange tee that had a printed black bow-tie at the neckline.

She stood and walked up to me, her fingers gently rubbing my nose as she giggled. "Were you in such a hurry to get here that you fell on your face? It's completely covered in dirt!"

"Twice..." I admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of my head as she pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped my face, earning a groan from me. "Akiza-a..." I pulled away and held my present out to her. "I'm really sorry that I'm late, so here!"

As she took my gift, the light caught on something around her neck; she was wearing a silver chain that had a strange charm hanging from it. It looked like a small rose was enclosed within a teardrop shaped glass bead. I cast a look at Yus, wiggling my eyebrows and earning an eye roll. I almost missed the look that came over her face as she removed the tissue from my gift, making me glad that I spent four months of my allowance for it. "Crow, I don't know what to say!" She held up a small gold bracelet. Holding it up to the light, I saw her blink in surprise as our engraved names appeared within the inside of the bracelet, each name in a different font.

"I thought that you would like it, you know, since you're a girl and all," I chuckled, nearly jumping out of my skin as she hugged me tightly. "A-Akiza!"

"Thank you!" She pulled back, revealing a teary smile. "Thank you for coming!" I blanched, asking if she didn't like the gift. She shook her head. "Getting to spend it with my friends is the best gift I could ask for."

Flashback Ends

My brakes squealed and I slid to a stop just feet from the edge of a ledge. "The bracelet and necklace weren't in any of the boxes," I murmured, dismounting and removing my helmet. "They weren't in her room either. Her parents could be holding onto them, but maybe they aren't..." My thoughts swam and entwined as the sun began to rise; I had spent all night driving around and thinking. I winched as the tail mark on my arm began to burn. "What now?"

It felt as if I was vacuumed from the ground and into the sky, a familiar roar ringing in my ears. "Black Wing Dragon," I smiled as it rushed to me, almost smashing into me. "What's up, old pal?" He roared loudly in my face. "Is that so?" I chuckled, shaking my head. "You need a hobby, my friend." I yelped as he picked me up by the back of my vest, his wings flapping and we were off into the sky. "Whoa big fella! Where we going?!"

He roared, dropping into a nosedive and pulling up at the last second before one of the newer buildings in the city. It was owned by a newer company, the Arcadia Movement, I think. They were a group of scientists that were coming up with new biotech for hospitals and such. It gave me a look before it tossed me through one of the windows, roaring in a manner that sounded a lot like- "Yeah, keep laughing, you giant feather-brain," I yelled, rubbing my backside as I stood. "What was that for?" The sounds of people talking caught my attention, bringing it to a large TV that was hanging above the door.

There was a young boy sitting in a chair, talking to someone that was out of the camera's visibility. "I couldn't help it!"

"So you are saying that it moved on its own accord?" an adult spoke from somewhere.

"She made mad," the boy cried, his eyes beginning to tear over. "My big sister can be such a meanie, but I never meant for her to get hurt!"

The picture switched to one with a young girl no older than four wearing a duel disk and holding a card. Her face was crunched, beads of sweat trickling down her brow, then a look of horror crossed her features as the hologram of whatever monster card she was holding appeared. She screamed, dropping to her knees and holding her head, the card falling to the ground as the monsters wavered then vanished.

"What the hell is this?" I whispered as the scene changed to one similar to the first, only a different child was sitting in the chair. "This doesn't make any sense!" My mark burned as the scene changed again, revealing a figure standing before a window, a porcelain mask that had red lines stretching from the eyes to the bottom edge in its gloved hand. Everything froze as they put it on and pulled the hood over their head. Jack's words of what the barista had told him rang in my head as I was returned to my body, leaving me breathless. "Was that..." I shook my head, jumping on my ride and speeding off, calling Yusei's home phone to relay what had just happened.

...

I anxiously waited as the duels began, my eyes darting around the factory. When I had gotten back and explained everything, we all agreed that this person needed to be questioned. If this duelist was the same one that paid regular visits to the bistro, then we were headed in the right direction via elimination. I was near the south side while Yusei was north-west and Jack was north-east. Since we had been up all night we decided to try to get some rest before coming, but needless to say that we got zip. A yell came from the duel ringleader, symbolizing the dueling's conclusion for the night a few hours after our arrival. There had been no sign of the mystery duelist. If they weren't here, then where would they be?!

My body leaped into action as someone outside screamed. Did they finally show? I slid to a stop as I threw the doors open wide, revealing one of the side building replaced by a giant pile of rubble. "What happened?!" I asked, walking towards it. My mark burned sharply as a figure appeared in the smoke- a figure wearing a porcelain mask! Adrenaline shot through my body as it turned away and began to run. "Wait!" I cursed my short legs as I chased after them, losing them in the same manner that Yus had.

"Damn it!" Jack cursed, leaning against the alley wall. "What now?"

Yusei grabbed his phone and began typing. "We now know that they are the same person, so tonight wasn't a total waste."

"But it doesn't bring us any closer to finding her!" I yelled, waving my arms. My movements stalled as something reflected the light coming from the phone. Kneeling, I reached into the darkness and blinked in surprise as my fingers closed over something warm. My chest tightened as I opened my hand, revealing a small gold bracelet. "There's no way..."

An invisible force shoved us against the wall, the bangle falling from my grasp. It seemed as though time stood still as a cloaked figure approached, knelt and picked up the bracelet. It seemed to glance at each of us, it hard to tell since its eyes were shadowed by the mask, then spoke in a distorted voice. "Do not let me find you here again," they walked forward, its gloved hands rising to place the bangle inside the cloak's folds. "I will have no choice but to do away with you as I have with the others who have interfered before." It turned and stalked away, disappearing into the darkness of night.

We fell to our knees as the force finally released us. "Correction," I groaned, rubbing my neck. "There are TWO masked figures; one at the bistro and one that hangs around here. There's something bothering me though. The mask that I saw was different than the one this duelist was wearing; the mask that I saw had red lines under the eyes, this one had black lines."

"Can't anything be easy for once?" Jack grumbled, dusting off his behind.

"The more we search, the more questions arise instead of answers," Yusei huffed, taking down another note. He turned and glanced our way. "What do you think?"

I stood. "We keep going, duh!" Jack nodded in agreement.

The corners of Yusei's mouth tilted. "That's what I thought you would say."

We headed back to our rides, ready for food and a shower.

...

I was just stepping out of the bathroom as my phone rang, the caller ID said unknown, so I let it go to voicemail. There was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen that made my stomach growl: pizza! My feet seemed too slow as I hurried down the hall and slid to a stop next to the island where four boxes rested. "Please," I prayed, peeking inside them one by one. "Please let there be..." A gasp escaped me as I lifted the last one's lid open. "Yes! Garlic Parmesan sauce with pineapple and bacon pieces!" My phone vibrated again just as I was about to take a bit from a slice, unknown caller ID flashing across the screen once more. "If it's important, they will leave a voicemail..." I sighed, folding the slice and shoving it into my mouth. "So good!" It vibrated again as I reached for another slice, my temper reaching its point. "Do you not know how to leave a voicemail?!" I nearly shouted into the mouthpiece.

There was silence for a few seconds, tempting me to press the end button. A slow song began to play as my finger hovered over the end button, the notes eerily lingering in the air for a few seconds before they faded away. It sounded like a badly tuned piano, the sharps and flats sounding dull and lifeless.

"Hello?" The notes paused, then continued, followed by an equally eerie humming. My eyes widened as the tune echoed in my head; I knew it! The words left my lips as the music continued. "Catch me as I fall...Say you're here and it's all over now...Speaking to the atmosphere...No one's here and I fall into myself..." The music stalled, fading into silence before the line went dead. I looked at the phone in my hand in disbelief. That was Whisper by Evanescence. What was all that about?

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