"Mr. Fudo, there's nothing wrong with her."

"Are you certain? She hasn't responded to anything since she got here."

"Nothing showed up in the scans. She's reacting to stimuli, sir." Sigh. "I think she's choosing not react. You mentioned Ms. Sasaki endured some trauma."

"That's right."

"Then, there's nothing we can do. We can prescribe therapy, but beyond that, I can't think of anything. There's no physical injuries that we can treat."

Pause.

"We thank you, Mr. Fudo, for what you did for this City, but this is something we can't treat."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"She can now be discharged. You'll just need to sign some papers since you're her emergency contact."

I hear a door close and Yusei sigh. I'm in a hospital. At least I think I am. I blacked out after getting out of the Ark Cradle, then I woke up in this bed. Yusei hasn't left the room since I woke up. I can't bear to look at him, so I haven't opened my eyes.

The memories of the other Yuuka are still ingrained into my mind. Snippets of her life just loop inside of my head. I'm not sure where she starts and I end. I'm trying to cycle through any memories in my head. Anything in the Satellite. Me. Anything to do with being a semi-professional duelist. The other Yuuka. Anything to do with duel gangs. Me. Anything to do with the Machine Emperors. The other Yuuka. Anything to do with Yusei…

Yusei…

My body starts to react at the mere thought of him. I feel uncontrollably hot, like I'm doused in fire. I feel Yusei press a bare palm to my forehead. Oh gods, I'm sweating. I try and force myself to calm down. It seems to work. Yusei retracts his hand and sighs.

I don't think things will ever be the same between us. Maybe that's why I haven't opened my eyes. When I look at him, I'm scared that I will see Z-One. What he could become if everything goes wrong again. Could my Yusei even become that in the first place? He was willing to sacrifice himself without a second thought. Did he even think of me? Were his possible last thoughts of me? He promised me that he wouldn't die. Look how that turned out. I'm angry, I'm absolutely livid. I want to give him a piece of my mind. How dare he. He promised that we'd both make it out alive. He tried to get himself killed. The only reason we're sitting in this godsforsaken hospital room together is because Z-One managed to throw himself into the reactor before Yusei did. Which was my doing, apparently.

I hate this.

I hate my life and everything it's become. And, honestly, I want to die. Why didn't Z-One let me throw myself into the reactor? Why do I have to sit here in a foul smelling hospital room, with a boyfriend that I can't bare to look at, playing a game of real or not real with myself? How did my life get to this point? How did I go from perfectly average foetus to absolute suicidal trainwreck? On what day did I wake up and the universe decided that I was never going to be normal ever again? I'd love to know. Like really love to know.

"Yuuka, I'm sorry please." I hear Yusei say. He grabs my hand, reminding me how burning hot I am. "This is all my fault. Just please open your eyes."

I don't.

Does he even deserve that wish being granted?

What am I saying? Of course he does.

But.

He's completely destroyed my trust in him. I don't know if I can ever forgive him, or learn to trust him again. Can I? I don't have the answer. I don't know if I ever will. I have some trust issues, I admit it. Which may or may not be a consequence of being manipulated by Raiden Kimura, despite us never being in an official relationship. That is beside the point.

Yusei fucked up big time.

And I don't know what to do.

I hear Yusei sighing before getting up and leaving the room. I feel auras outside moving towards him. Oh gods. Jack, Crow and Aki are outside. Aki's aura moves faster towards the door. It gently opens before closing again. I hear Aki sitting down in the chair that I imagine is by my bedside.

"Yuuka, can you hear me?" Her voice is soft. I scan for Yusei's aura, it's definitely outside and far enough away that he couldn't figure out what's going on. I open my eyes slowly. I hear Aki gasp. "Hey." She smiles at me, but I don't do the same. Her mouth forms a hard line when she realises that I'm not going to smile back. "Are you doing okay?" I don't answer, I just blink slowly at her. "I thought so. You didn't react to Yusei at all." My eyes move around the bare hospital room. I notice the news channel playing silently on the small television set mounted on the wall. "We brought you here, you have a panic attack and blacked out. You were out for a few hours. We took the twins home, I made sure that Kaoru and Kasumi got back home safely." She moves the hair stuck to my sweaty forehead. "We were so worried."

I stare at Aki's face. There's very visible dark circles under her eyes. I try to imagine what those few hours were like. Then I remember that ever since I woke up, I've wanted to kill myself so I find myself being unusually apathetic.

"They're letting you come home." She says. "I know you hate hospitals so you're probably glad." I stare at her again. "I brought clothes from your house when I saw Kaoru and Kasumi, so you can wear those. I thought you would want something comfortable."

There's another beat of silence as I don't respond. I just blink at Aki very slowly. I look at her, and see the other version of her. The other Yuuka's Aki. Almost the same but not quite. She's more tolerable to look at, compared to Yusei that is. She stares at me slightly wide eyed, surprised I'd say. I probably look worse that she expected, if I look how I feel that is.

"I'm going to need you to get dressed for me, Yuuka." She says, gritting her teeth a little. Aki is smart, she knows that I am not willing to move in the slightest. Especially if moving means looking at Yusei, even if it's just for a second. "I'll help you, come on." She helps me sit up. She lets me get used to it for a while before I move again. I manage to get into a pair of pants, a loose fitting white t-shirt and some slip-on white shoes to match. "Look, you're doing so good." Aki sits back on in the chair beside the bed, as I stay on the edge of the bed. I freeze. Aki's eyebrow raises as she looks at me. This is one of Yusei's shirts. I had taken it so I could sleep in it back at Kasumi's one day, since it smelled like him. It doesn't smell like him anymore since it got washed. But I know it's his. Aki puts her hands over mine. She tells me to take deep breaths. I try. She keeps nodding until I feel more in control.

"Okay," she says after a few beats of silence. "Do you want to try walking?" I don't really give an answer, but Aki makes me get up anyway.

I just stare at the floor as Aki walks me through the endless corridors of the hospital. I can't see them but I feel the auras of Yusei, Jack and Crow a little bit behind us. Aki doesn't comment on them at all. She walks me straight out of the hospital, right past the front desk. I feel the guys going over to it. I'm glad that I have Yusei as my emergency contact, just so I didn't have to drag anybody else into this mess.

I feel Kaoru tugging at our mental connection, but I ignore it. My head is already messed up as it is. I don't need his thought stream running in the background of my messed up head.

Aki gets us a taxi. It's still bright out, but there's a tint of orange to the sky. Aki engages in some light conversation with the taxi driver. She's surprised that he's working so soon after everything happened. Wouldn't miss out on the opportunity, he says. A lot of people have been calling for taxis today, since everyone is misplaced after the evacuation. The taxi driver brings up Yusei's name and I sink into the seat. He talks about how great he is and how brave he is for saving the City. Aki glances at me nervously. I think she realises that Yusei is a no-go right now. She practically jumps out of the taxi after giving the taxi driver the fare, opening the door for me. She links my arm as we walk back into Poppo Time.

I take a deep breath when I step inside. I haven't been in here since before we left for the Team New World duel. It feels like a lifetime ago, even though it couldn't have been more than two days. Everything is where I remember it being. The other Yuuka didn't have Poppo Time. That makes me feel better. Knowing that all of the memories from here are mine and mine alone.

I walk past the couch in the garage. Aki stares at me as I slowly make my way up the stairs into the kitchen. I sit myself down on the loveseat and stare at the kitchen. Aki, after making her way upstairs, looks at me and sighs. She sits down beside me as I pull my knees up to my chest.

"Yuuka…" She mutters. She takes a lock of my hair in her hand and stares at it. It's nothing but a permanent reminder of the other Yuuka. My hair was at the longest it had ever been before all of this, sitting a bit below my collarbone. Now, it falls to the dip in my back. Far too long, if you ask me. I just look at the wall. I don't know what else to do.

I really don't know what to do.

The Ark Cradle is gone. We saved the world. That's it. There's nothing more to do. I've fulfilled my purpose in life. Yusei is still alive and the City is still here.

What am I supposed to do now?

Aki doesn't know what to say so she doesn't say anything. We sit in silence for a while. Aki's gaze still rests on my face, occasionally moving to my hair. She sighs. Her hand moves to my arm. She takes a deep breath, about to say something. Her arm lowers and we go back to silence.

I hear the rumble of D-Wheel engines and I jump. Aki's hand goes to my arm again.

"It's okay, Yuuka. It's just the guys."

Jack comes up into the kitchen first. I don't look at him, but I know it's him. His feet stop a little bit in front of the couch.

"I brought your D-Wheel back." Oh? I had actually forgotten about that. Wait. D-Wheel. I look up at him. He actually flinches. The look on his face softens just a little. I look to Aki and then back to Jack. "What's wrong? Aside from y'know..."

"Raiden?" Aki asks, and I nod. "He left just as you got back, we don't know where he went."

We don't know where we went.

I look back at Jack and I suddenly feel ill. The image of a raging fire clings to my thoughts. Why can't her memories leave me alone? Why does Jack have to look the same as he did? It's terrifying how similar he is to the other Jack.

Jack just walks away. Aki puts a hand on my back and sighs. She moves me so I lean into her. How distraught must I have looked? At this point, I cease to care. I just want to curl up somewhere and die, to be perfectly honest. Aki rubs my back for a while. I move back away from her at some point, returning to my default state of not responding.

Aki leaves.

I just glance over to her and she's gone.

I sigh. I remember her mentioning her parents at some point, but not her leaving. Of course, she has to think of her parents. That's natural. I can't face Kasumi, Kaoru, or even my dad right now. I'm closer to them as the other Yuuka was to their equivalents. But still. It's a lot to deal with right now. Looking at my own friends, then Jack and Crow who are like brothers to me.

I know Aki was trying to help, but I am well past that point. I don't know if this can ever be fixed.

I sit there and stare at the wall.

I try to come up with something that justifies all of this. Yusei is alive. The City is safe. That was my end goal. The victory is earned. I tell myself. But I'm stuck like this.

The City gets to recover, but I never will.

A few cuts and scrapes, some small memories to repress. No big deal. This? An entire lifetime forcibly shoved into my head. I'm forced to sit here and live through these memories, and feel what she felt. That is impossible.

Crow comes into the kitchen after a while.

"Sorry, had to check on the kids." He says. He peels his gloves off and throws them on the counter. His Signer mark stands out clearly on his arm. Huh. I had almost forgotten that he was a Signer.

There's a beat of silence. He looks at me when I don't respond.

"Hey." He mutters, barely over a whisper. I look at him. Torturous memories flash inside my head, and I decide that's enough of that. "Jack told me that you were bad, but I didn't think you…"

Silence.

"We're all sorry for what happened, Yuuka. If there's anything- anything we can do, just let us know, okay?"

Crow sighs.

"If Yusei's right in saying that you can have all of the other Yuuka's memories, I can imagine that you don't want to look at us. But, we want to help you to get through this."

I close my eyes.

"If you want us, Yuuka, you know where to find us."

Crow goes up to his room. I hear the door close. I open my eyes again.

I feel bad, I'll admit that. My friends want to help me, and I won't let them. But they can't help me. They'll just make everything worse. They were all there in that other life. The Signers, Kaoru, Takumi, Kenta. No one can make me feel any better. I'll look at them and remember how everything played out.

They all die.

I even see some of them die, or I see their corpses.

My eyes close as I try to push the horrid imagery from my mind. No one deserves to see that, or live through it.

One person didn't die, I remember. It was worse.

Yusei lived through all of it. The marks of the Crimson Dragon assembled on his back until he had the full brand. He was the last remaining Signer, and he had all of the Crimson Dragon's power. It slowed down his aging, it kept him alive. The Crimson Dragon thought he could save what was left of the world. It was wrong. Yusei was the last person alive, or should I say Z-One. The Crimson Dragon's power allowed Z-One to time travel, just as it allowed Yusei once. I don't remember it happening, but Yusei told me about it. The rewriting of history blanked it from my mind. Z-One changed the past of his world, creating the alternate timeline that we live in now. One in which the Zero Reverse happened. He was unsuccessful, he kept trying until the Ark Cradle finally fell. Yusei beat him in a duel, but I was the one who convinced to stop the Ark Cradle from falling. He threw himself into the reactor with the other Yuuka, allowing Yusei and I to keep on living. Shaping the future that they never had.

The future.

Yusei.

Tears start falling down my cheeks. I don't realise it at first, but I allow them to keep going. I don't have a future now. I've completed my purpose in life, and I know it. I stopped Yusei from dying and the Ark Cradle from destroying the City. Now, I'm forced to live this shitty existence until I die. This is the reality in which I live.

Somehow it's become pitch dark. It must already be nighttime. The clock on the oven is waiting to be reset after the power went out before we went on the Ark Cradle. So I have no idea what time it is. Light shines into the kitchen from the garage, barely blocking out shapes in my vision. I stand up and walk slowly down into the garage.

Yusei stands, looking around the room. He hears my footsteps on the stairs and turns to look around at me. His eyes widen as I make my way down the stairs. He doesn't say anything and neither do I.

I reach the bottom of the steps and he jolts forward ever so slightly towards me. I don't- no, I can't look him in the eyes. I just stare at his feet and read his aura. There's so many emotions going on inside him. He's confused, sad, scared. But most of all, he's grief stricken and sorry.

"Yuuka, I-"

He starts but his words fade away along with his courage. We stand in silence for a few seconds. It's awkward at best, but I'd call it tense.

I look around the room, avoiding Yusei at all costs. He's covered up his D-Wheel in a giant sheet, as well as the desk with the computers. I start to wonder why, but then I remember.

Bruno's gone.

Yet another person who sacrificed himself for Yusei. It wasn't in vain. Yusei used the new summoning method that Bruno taught him to defeat Z-One.

It doesn't feel real that he's gone. I feel like he'll walk down the stairs with a cup ramen, and ask to see some pictures of Kasumi's cat. Maybe it's because I'm so out of it. That I'm trying to process so much more that his death doesn't register in my mind. Maybe because I didn't see it happen, I only saw the aftermath. But he's gone, so is Z-One and the other Yuuka. Yusei and I are forced to pick up the pieces of what they left behind.

"Yuuka, I'm sorry." Yusei finally says. "I broke my promise, and you have every right to be mad at me. I just wish that everything can go back to the way it was. I hope that, one day, you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

I look in the eyes. I take a good, long look at his face. That's my Yusei alright. The hair not as long as Z-One's was. The look in his eyes more akin to what I am familiar with. They're the eyes I missed every day for four years until I saw him again, only to wish I hadn't. The eyes that welcomed me back even after I came back from the dead to kill him. He wasn't even mad at me, he just blamed himself. He always blames himself. Even for the Zero Reverse, because of his dad. Even though both of them are blameless. We know now that it was Z-One's fault. He's probably feeling more guilty now than before. He's blaming himself right now.

What do I think?

He should.

He broke his promise, my trust in him, and my heart. I don't think I could ever forgive him. No matter how much he tries and beg for it.

"Yuuka." He walks towards me. He goes to place a hand on my arm but I jerk it away. I turn around. He tries to move in front of me. I look at the ground, not at him. He freezes in place. He takes a step back. I take a deep breath and look at his face again. His eyes widen as he looks into my eyes.

"Yuuka…" He mutters as my shoulder brushes his. I feel him turn around as I walk past him and back up the stairs.

I sit back on the loveseat in the kitchen. I try to stop myself shaking as I feel his aura shatter and break downstairs. But, there's nothing I can do to stop the tears as they roll down my face.