After everything is said and done, Yuya still wonders if he deserves this. He has caused so much pain and devastation. Monsters like him don't deserve happy endings.
It was a dangerous train of thought, could easily snowball out of control. Still before anything bad happened, someone always pulls him away.
Sometimes it's Shingo. He's serious about their roles as entertainment dueling partners, often brushing away worries with an arrogant hmph and an egotistical remark.
Other days it's Gongenzaka, steady as a pillar. He never demands anything of him, and is always ready to lend an ear.
Still these days it is increasingly becoming the students at You Show. They are children untouched by war. To them the war is just another bedtime story, and dueling is nothing but a fun pastime filled with smiles and laughter.
It's funny how they almost act as a living legacy for Heartland. By now the city has been rebuilt for over a decade, but after such an attack, they can never truly return to how things used to be. So maybe the responsibility falls on Maimi to become the Heartland from before.
He wishes if anything to keep them innocent, to hide the ugly scars and let them continue to view the war as nothing but a story. Still when questions are brought up, Yuzu never holds her tongue.
"Get Mr. Sawatari to teach you how to participate in a Riding Duel. Last time I was on one, I got thrown into a building. These are not toys to race around on."
"A friend of mine was sprayed with nerve gas during one battle. She told me it was the most terrifying thing that had even happened to her. Please don't use that as a plot device for your performance."
She had never been one to hold back, still her bluntness surprises Yuya. It's hard to explain it exactly, but one night he manages to find the right words.
"Do they need to know these details right now? What gain is there from learning about things as terrifying as that?"
"It's not like I want to be the one to crush their innocence," Yuzu sighs as she pulls out her hair ties. "Still do you the others to be forgotten? Do you want those horrors to be treated so lightly? It would be disrespectful to those that have fallen."
"Maybe forgetting wouldn't so bad," After working so hard to regain those smiles, it was painful to force frowns to take their place. "Imagine if things had just been a bad dream."
"Still, they weren't. We're here and awake. It's not a dream." There's no bitterness to her words, only a defeated resignation as she climbs next to him in bed. "I see your appeal though. Maybe we can find a compromise somewhere."
"It's what we do best," He can't help but snake an arm around her waist and pulls her closer. To say they were simply partners ignored the history they had. From childhood, to the professional circuit, to now, she had always been by his side. "Maybe we should tone things down for the young ones. We tell the truth, but not the entire thing until they're ready."
"Let's sleep on it," She yawns before snuggling closer. "Night, Yuya. Love ya."
"Good night," He kisses the top of her head. "I love you too." It's unsatisfying leaving things as they are, but he's confident with them working together, they'll find the correct way to move on while remembering the dead.
A.N. Not very fluffy for a fluff fest, but I still enjoyed going this route. In general it is always hard to decide how much is too much when it comes to kids