The week Toru left Crash Town, things picked up between the Malcom and Ramon Group. It got to the point where it was even too dangerous to be wandering around on one's own. This explained why Klaus was packing up the car with belongings. Tatsuya was in the middle of finishing up his packing when a knock came to his bedroom door. Tatsuya answered and let Klaus inside.
"Have you got everything ready?" Klaus inquired.
"Yeah. I just need to...load it into the car," Tatsuya stated, taking note of the serious expression on Klaus' face.
"Good. Get it to the car, I've got something I want to show you," Klaus said firmly.
It took Tatsuya only a few minutes for him to load everything he had into the car before coming back to Klaus to find out what he wanted. As he entered the room, Klaus was standing beside Tatsuya's bed next to the far wall. With a sigh, he moved the picture of Tatsuya's parents to the side to reveal a secret compartment, which he opened up to reveal a red button.
"I should have showed this to you after Toru left last week. I had to fight myself to do this, and though I don't like it...I think it's time you knew about this," Klaus grunted, pressing the button and waiting.
"Knew about what?" Tatsuya blinked, his eyes going wide as the bed began to move onto its side, revealing a trap door that slid open slowly to unveil a staircase leading down.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Follow me," Klaus said gruffly, marching down the stairs, Tatsuya following behind.
As the two walked down the dark staircase, their feet hit the floor below and Klaus flipped the switch for the light to come on. Tatsuya spotted something covered in a black tarp. His pulse quickened. He could tell by the shape of the figure that it was exactly what he thought it was.
"Go ahead," Klaus nodded, a somber expression on his face as he watched Tatsuya walk over to the tarp and slowly pull it back.
What he saw made him drop to his knees as he pulled the tarp completely back. It was a black, Lambda Frame Duel Runner with violet flames streaking across the sides of the vehicle. Two balancer wings jutted out from the side. A booster was installed on the back of the runner for extra speed. Tears welled up as he saw the initials on the side of the Runner. ST (Sydney Tokunaga) were the intials etched into the side.
Tatsuya placed a ran a hand over the initials and did his best not to break down and cry. It was his mother's Duel Runner. Memories of the times he'd spent riding in the side car as a child played through his mind. It was during those times, aside from watching them duel, that he knew he wanted to be a Turbo Duelist when he got older.
"Mom..." Tatsuya breathed, choking back tears as her face flashed into his mind.
"She would have wanted you to have it you know," Klaus said as he walked over and knelt down to comfort his grandson. "It was the only one that was salvaged from the wreckage. Your father's was totaled and so were Toru's parents. Sydney's was the least damaged and could be repaired."
Tatsuya couldn't bring himself to speak. All he could do was stare at the Duel Runner before him. Fight as he might, he couldn't hold back the tears that soon slid down his face.
"I should have just shown this to you when you defeated me the first time. But I was so caught up in keeping you safe, I didn't think of how selfish I was being by not letting you chase your dreams. I thought it would give me peace knowing you would be spared the fate of your parents, but what I was actually doing was causing you misery," Klaus sighed. "It's alright if you don't want to forgive an old man for his ignorance..."
"Don't be so hard on yourself old man," Tatsuya sniffed, wiping the tears from his face and standing up, turing to give him a determined look. "You only did what you thought was right. And that's what you're doing now, isn't it?' Tatsuya said with a faint smile.
It was Klaus' turn to nearly cry this time. As he looked at Tatsuya, all he could see was his daughter reflecting back at him. The same smile, eyes and even hair color were all there. He realized that by trying to keep Tatsuya from danger, he was only holding him back from the happiness he desired. Wiping his eyes, Klaus straightened out and breathed a heavy, deep sigh.
"Exactly right, Tatsuya. And now that you've got a set of wheels, you can chase your dreams and catch them a lot faster now!" Klaus grinned, giving Tatsuya a thumbs up, receiving one in return.
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Arc One - Tenth Turn - Rev It Up!
WRGP WC
The Dark Oppressor
West and Nico sat inside their hideout dueling each other when they heard the sound of a Duel Runner approaching the hideout at a rapid pace.
"Huh? Did Toru come back to visit?" West wondered aloud as he looked at his hand, contemplating what he ought to play next.
"I don't think so. To be honest, that sounds like a different engine to me. Toru's didn't sound this smooth," Nico observed, standing up to go out and see what all the noise was about.
When she opened the door to the hideout, she was stunned by what she saw. A jet black Duel Runner with a sleek, Lambda Frame was now parked outside the hideout. But that wasn't what surprised her the most. It was who was riding the Duel Runner that shocked her. The invididual removed a black helmet to reveal themselves to be none other than their friend...
"Tatsuya!" Nico exclaimed excitedly. "West! You've gotta come see this! Tatsuya has a Duel Runner!"
"What!? No way!" West shouted, scrambling to his feet to race out the door, only for his jaw to drop as he saw Tatsuya standing beside the Duel Runner.
"Tatsuya!? Where did you get that!?" West demanded, pointing at the Duel Runner he was standing beside.
Tatsuya smiled as the two rushed up to him. West knelt down to look at the designs on the side.
"Klaus had it stored in the basement. I didn't even know we had one," Tatsuya muttered. "To think this had been right below me this entire time," Tatsuya sighed.
"So wait...Klaus, the very man who didn't want you Turbo Dueling in the first place, just...let you have this?" Nico asked, clearly confused as to what was going on.
"Pretty much. I know, I couldn't believe it either. He told me he didn't want to hold me back anymore. And with things getting worse around here with the Malcom and Ramon Groups," Tatsuya paused, "well, we can't afford to stay here much longer."
"Does this mean you're heading out today? I thought you weren't leaving for another week," Nico blinked.
"Change of plans I guess. He's already informed your parents about it, so your mom's going to hire someone else to look after you two," Tatsuya said with a sigh.
"Awww! Does that mean we won't get to duel again?" West whined.
"Don't be ridiculous West," Tatsuya laughed. "We'll be able to duel again. I can come back and duel you anytime. Just call me up. Nico has my number," Tatsuya laughed.
"Right, I almost forgot about that," West laughed nervously.
Tatsuya smiled faintly and looked back towards the edge of town.
"I'd better get going then. Gramps is waiting for me. Thankfully the city isn't too far from here. I found a few issues with mom's Duel Runner. I'll have to get it checked out before I do anything else on it. The Dueling system is a bit glitchy so it doesn't work too well, even with my Duel Disk. Also, the engine, though it sounds good, sputters a bit every so often. I'm still gonna ride it into the city, but after that, I'm taking it to a mechanic," Tatsuya sighed.
"Just be careful while doing that okay?" Nico said in her usual worried tone, giving Tatsuya a tight hug.
Tatsuya placed a hand on her head and wrapped his other arm around her back. Ruffling her hair, he chuckled, watching as she frowned up at him.
"You know how long it takes to do my hair Tatsuya. Why do you do that?" She pouted.
"Oh relax, your hair is fine. And don't worry so much. I'll be fine," Tatsuya smirked.
"Never tell a lady not to worry, it'll only make her worry more," Nico smiled.
"Hey West, do me a favor. Look after your big sister okay? And listen to your parents. I know you guys like dueling late at night, but you really should try to go to bed at a reasonable hour," Tatsuya lectured.
"Tatsuya, we love you and all, but you're not our dad," Nico said firmly.
"I'm just messin' with ya Nico. Lighten up," Tatsuya chuckled. "I know they don't care too much about that sort of thing, as long as you're in your rooms and not out at sunset."
Nico and West nodded, giving Tatsuya one last hug before he got onto his Duel Runner and put his helmet on.
"I'll see you guys later. Be sure to keep in touch. I'll do the same," Tatsuya stated, Revving up the engine to start the Duel Runner. Holding tightly to the grips, he gave them a wave before blasting off towards the edge of town.
"See ya later Tatsuya!" West shouted loudly, waving as his friend sped away.
"Be careful! And good luck!" Nico shouted after him, waving as well.
Don't worry you guys. I will be. And the next time you see me, will be in the WRGP! Get ready Toru, because here I come!
Tenth Turn - Rev It Up!
End Phase