Chapter 8: Friend

The morning breeze was cold. Despite the fact that Yuchi was having his thickest blanket on, the chill could still easily penetrate into his body, making him shiver vigorously in his sleep until he could not tolerate any further and finally got up out of frustration.

Yuchi greeted himself to a sleepy morning and proceeded to wash himself. The bath water was not of any better color and odor than yesterday. The water supply company had eventually grown tired of his repeated refusals to pay the bills and decided to cut off his water pipe, forcing him to collect rainwater for drinking and bathing purposes.

After a few moments of scrubbing and cleaning in the bathroom, Yuchi changed into his best clothes. It was a tattered dark blue jacket with a yellowish-white T-shirt inside, accompanied with a pair of old jeans bought from the nearest flea market using less than a dollar. Whenever Yuchi would go out, he would always wear the same kind of clothes. He had those clothes for about four years already and although he had grown a bit taller and bulkier, he rejected himself to buy any more new clothes.

He inserted his deck case and the pass to U.N.D.E.A.D. he obtained two days ago into his right pocket. He made one last check that he was neat and ready to meet other people, and left his apartment without any breakfast. He did not have any food for the past two days because he had totally missed his job at the convenience store for those days.

'I don't know what you are up to, but don't ever take such a long leave again, or I'll fire you!' was what the fierce shop manager threatened him.

'But I'm not "up to anything"!' Yuchi defended himself in his heart. 'I was saving to save the city from the Darkness Units, while you were enjoying your shelter!' He cursed and cursed his shop manager silently.

Someone was waiting for him outside the apartment. It was the same person, wearing the same white robes and his signature half-moon glasses as two days ago. He nodded to Yuchi as he was walking down the steps and towards his black sports car.

'Ohaiyo, Mr. Kendai.'

'Ohaiyo,' greeted back Yuchi. 'Just call me Yuchi in the future. I'm not used to being called by my surname.'

'Is that so?' laughed the man. His name was Wiles Euclid. Master Sergeant Wiles Euclid.

Wiles paused for a few seconds, and repeated what he was saying, 'Alright then, ohaiyo, Yuchi.'

Yuchi smiled. He was not the kind of serious, unfriendly person he imagined after all.

'Today as planned, you will be reporting to the Headquarters at ten,' Wiles said, looking at the digital screen that shot out of his wristwatch-like device. 'Is that alright for you, Yuchi?'

'Er… Alright.'

'But before this…' Wiles noticed that the time was eight thirty, which was still quite early. '…Why not we have some breakfast? I assume that you must be quite hungry, Yuchi.'

Yuchi suddenly heard his stomach growling out of hunger. He blushed in embarrassment.

'But… won't the Darkness Units attack while we're having breakfast?'

'Ha ha, fret not, Yuchi. We're eating at the Headquarters' canteen. Remember? Underground Level Fourteen?' he reminded Yuchi. 'It will be impossible to not reach the Commanding Centre if the Darkness Units attack anytime, yeah?'

He winked at Yuchi and invited him into the car.

'So I'm putting my hopes on you, Mr. Kendai. I'm sure you can help many people…'

'I'm sure you can help many people…'

'Many people…'

Yuchi opened his eyes. He was having a dream. A bad dream.

He looked at the surroundings. He was inside Wiles' car, moving on the lift towards the Headquarters. It was dark; the only light that was present was the glitter of the tower that stood magnificently below.

'Sleepy?' Wiles asked.

'No, not actually…' Yuchi tried to hide the fact that he had fallen into slumber the moment he stepped into the car.

He gazed at the tower and mused about the dream he just had. 'My… destiny…'

'What is it, Yuchi?' Wiles heard Yuchi mumbling about something.

'Oh, it's nothing…' he replied. 'By the way, how did the Unit Duel end two days ago? I remembered that I attacked the enemy with Supernova Angel Knight…'

'You won, Yuchi,' Wiles smiled at the teenage boy to his left. 'And then, you were unconscious until yesterday afternoon.'

'How's the enemy? Is he alright?'

'We did not manage to find him after the duel. We assume that like the other pilots, he disappeared along with his Darkness Unit after the duel.'

'Oh…' Yuchi clenched his fist. 'That Al-Magnum…'

'Yuchi?' Wiles noticed that Yuchi's speech suddenly became a bit more emotional.

Illuminated by the weak orange lights that were shone from the tower far away, Wiles could vaguely discover that there were tears in Yuchi's eyes. Wiles realized that he was bearing not to cry all along. He understood his feelings. Nobody could possibly stay calm seeing that happen, either to an ally or even to an enemy.

'Wipe your face, Yuchi,' Wiles said, handing a few pieces of tissue paper over to Yuchi. 'Commander Lupine won't be happy seeing his pilot like that.'

'T… Thank you…' Yuchi took a deep breath and did as what Wiles instructed.

'I'm sure he will be fine, Yuchi, I'm sure…'

'But he said…' Yuchi gave up what he wanted to say to Wiles. He understood that nobody would believe what he was saying. Even with current technology, mankind could still not explain whether if the concepts of 'heaven' or 'paradise' as depicted in ancient or religious texts really existed or not. The white place, the castle in the sky, the hourglass of Life… Everything must be an illusion. 'They could not have possibly be real…' Yuchi thought, mocking at what he saw together with the boy he was fighting two days ago.

'We're about to reach the Headquarters, Yuchi,' Wiles tried to shift the subject. Yuchi looked outside of the car. Indeed, the orange glow from the tower was getting stronger and stronger. Everything around him was no longer engulfed in darkness. He was relieved. He hated darkness the most, especially after that Unit Duel.

The lift stopped at Underground Level Fourteen. The Headquarters' canteen. Both the driver and the passenger got out of their car and stepped into the wide corridor welcoming them while the lift descended further underground.

'We're here, Yuchi,' Wiles pushed through the first door that they saw along the corridor. The sign on the door was clearly embedded with the golden words, 'Staff Canteen'.

Yuchi had never eaten out before so he did not knew what all those restaurants and cafeterias in the city looked like inside. But today, he finally had the chance to visit one of them. Now he could experience something he had never tried before.

He stared in awe as the 'grandness' of the staff canteen welcomed him. What other people viewed as ordinary and mundane could be extravagance to him. The place was vast, more than enough to hold a thousand people inside. Numerous U.N.D.E.A.D. staff was enjoying their breakfasts in pairs or groups, couching comfortably on soft, fluffy armchairs while chatting with their partners. The individuals were either studying or having their nice morning naps there. The whole place was well lighted and air-conditioned so it might seem no wonder why those people did not want to leave the place.

From far away was the sound of woks clanging and plates sizzling. Hearing these sounds only made Yuchi even hungrier, not to mention he could smell the aroma of hot, freshly prepared food everywhere as well.

'I think you're hungry now, am I correct, Yuchi? Come, let's sit there,' Wiles led him to a white square table with four red armchairs by the side. Yuchi looked around him and embarrassingly took a seat.

'You must be… Yuchi Kendai?' A deep voice from behind suddenly frightened Yuchi. He turned around, only to see the face of a stranger in his fifties.

'W… Who are you?' Yuchi was a bit scared.

'Ha ha,' Wiles laughed. 'He's Sir Bowman. I told you two days ago, he's the lead scientist at Level Thirteen.'

'Oh.'

'Nice to meet you, Pilot Yuchi Kendai. I've heard everything from Commander Lupine. You did a good job, young man,' praised the scientist. He was wearing the same white robe as Wiles. Yuchi assumed that both of them must have some relationship.

'Take this, young man,' the man named Sir Bowman handed over to Yuchi a small black box. He observed it. There was nothing special about it, just an ordinary black box the size of half of his palm.

Yuchi touched its top and suddenly the whole box vibrated. He touched the side again and it vibrated once more. Yuchi thought that this was fun and rubbed and rubbed the box continuously, causing it to shake so vigorously that the top eventually sprang open.

To Yuchi's surprise, out of it crawled out a tiny dog. He examined the dog. It was brown and furry, with a body size not taller or longer than two inches.

'What is this?' Yuchi enquired Sir Bowman. 'Is it… living?'

'Of course it's living! It's my new invention, the Midget Dog!' Sir Bowman laughed.

'I'm not a midget!' shrieked the dog in perfect Japanese. Yuchi paused for a few seconds and let out a short cry out of amazement. 'It can… speak?'

'You bet I do!' cried the dog, whose voice is so high-pitched it could easily beat the greatest soprano in the whole world. 'Woof!'

'Ha ha, seems like my creation is once again successful. Is it alright if I just leave the dog to you, young man? Ha ha!' Sir Bowman laughed once again and left both the Pilots, who were just dumbfounded by what they had just saw.

'Wait for me, Wiles. I'm going to find Sir Bowman and return to him this,' Yuchi said, referring to the Midget Dog. Wiles nodded and Yuchi rushed away to the direction where the scientist had left them.

But he could not find the man! Sir Bowman had already walked too far away. Yuchi realized that he might have returned to Level Thirteen and dashed out of the canteen. He ran and ran along the long corridor, wondering why was he taking such a long time to reach the lift.

Bang!

For some reason Yuchi could not explain, each and every second was passing extremely slowly at that moment. It was as if someone had pressed the button of a machine from a random science fiction and caused the law of time and space to disappear. He could vaguely make out each note of the romantic tune that was played from somewhere else far, far away. It seemed to be mocking at the rather awkward situation he had got into. He had just knocked down someone while in a frenzy to get into the lift. Both of them lost their balance and were falling down to the floor. Yuchi attempted using his arms to hold himself but found that they were numb. He could only close his eyes and await his destiny to save him.

A loud bump noise followed and the next moment he knew, his lips were tightly sealed onto something. It was soft and watery, with the faint fragrance of mint. He quickly jerked his eyes open to see what it was. To his front was the face of an infuriated teenage girl, her two big eyes glaring at him. Yuchi did not want to imagine what, or rather, who he was kissing.

'Sorry!' Yuchi apologized to the girl he had just bumped into as he reflexively pulled his face away from hers. He looked at the floor beside him. Thankfully, the midget bastard managed to escape before it would land into any trouble.

The girl was still staring fiercely at him. Her face was completely red.

Yuchi timidly bent down into a kneeling position. 'Sorry!' he poured the whole of his heart as he was saying that. He sincerely did not knock the girl down on purpose.

'B… Bugger! W… Why on earth is a… a person like you in the H… Headquarters? T… This isn't your place, you should know that!' the brown-haired girl burst into an outrage. Yuchi could only keep absolute silence as the furious girl gave him an earful.

'Sorry! I'm really, really sorry!' that was all Yuchi could say for now.

'I… I warn you! I… I'm going to tell my onii-chan (big brother) about this! Y… You're going to be in b… big trouble!'

She picked herself up and walked away. Yuchi was trembling. 'What should I do now? That girl does not look like any random person from the Headquarters! Who is she? Who's onii-chan? Oh, oh my… What have I done?'

'Yuchi! Are you alright?' from far away came Wiles' voice.

'It's alright!' Yuchi ignored the Midget Dog's complains and collected him back into the black box. He slapped himself a few times and returned to Wiles.

'Did you have a quarrel with Amaya Suzuki just now? I thought she was quite angry when she came into the canteen.'

'Who?'

'Amaya Suzuki. The girl with brown, long hair and is about the same age as you,' Wiles explained.

'Nothing, it's just a misunderstanding.'

'Is it so? Anyway, time is running out but I've bought you some sandwiches. Have them before meeting Commander Lupine,' Wiles handed over to Yuchi a paper bag.

But Yuchi was no longer hungry. He had just lost his appetite along with his first kiss just now. He smiled sheepishly to Wiles and followed him to the lift.

'Mr. Kendai, or should I say, Pilot Yuchi Kendai! Welcome back to the Headquarters!'

The old man named Commander Lupine welcomed him with a big smile on his wrinkled face.

'P… Pilot Yuchi Kendai?'

'Yes, and that means you are officially a member of our big family!' Wiles congratulated him.

'We are convinced that you have the necessary abilities after witnessing your duel,' Commander Lupine said.

'B… But am I good enough? I even refused to attack the enemy when you instructed me to!' complained Yuchi.

'Oh, that kind of thing… I believe every first-timer in your shoes will make the same mistake,' defended Commander Lupine in a confident tone. 'Come, Pilot Kendai, and I'll reintroduce you to the Headquarters…'

'Like I mentioned two days ago, my name is Wiles Euclid. Master Sergeant Wiles Euclid. Twenty years old. Nice to meet you,' the young man in white robes said warmly. 'And this person is…' he pointed to Tenshi who just entered the Commanding Centre.

'There's no need for you to help me, Sir. I can do it myself, thank you. Tenshi Ryuma. Technical Sergeant Tenshi Ryuma. Eighteen years old,' interrupted the most arrogant and self-centered person Yuchi had ever known in his whole life.

'And I'm Technical Officer Maya. If you are wondering anything, no, I am not a Technical Sergeant. I only work with computers, not weapons. Nice to meet you, Pilot Kendai,' the young woman at the back of the Commanding Centre introduced herself.

'Doctor Parvita,' said an Indian woman beside the Commander. 'Hello, Pilot Kendai.'

'Were you the one at the medical unit two days ago?' Yuchi enquired.

'I see you have good memory, Pilot Kendai,' praised the doctor, which made Wiles and Maya laughed. 'Yes, I'm the doctor attending to you two days ago.'

'T… Thank you,' Yuchi was not really used to saying these words.

'It's no big deal. Ah, Commander Lupine, I've just done the medical checkup for Pilot Amaya Suzuki. The report's on your desk.'

'Thank you, Doctor,' replied the old man.

'P… Pilot what?' Yuchi somehow had heard the name before.

'Pilot Amaya Suzuki!' a voice from behind made Yuchi jump up and tremble in fear. He turned back, only to find out that it was the girl whom he had bumped into minutes ago.

'Hgn!' Amaya smirked. 'To think that someone like you could actually get into U.N.D.E.A.D.… What a bugger!'

'W… What?'

'Don't think I haven't forgotten what happened just now, bugger!'

'Pilot Suzuki! Don't say anymore! Just introduce yourself to Pilot Kendai!' Tenshi barked.

'Yes, onii-chan!' her tone suddenly changed when she was replying to Tenshi.

She made a face to Yuchi. 'Amaya Suzuki. Technical Sergeant Amaya Suzuki. Fifteen years old,' she introduced herself reluctantly to Yuchi.

'She has just returned from Europe,' Wiles explained. 'From a twelve-month training program in the SAS.'

'Oh…' Yuchi was a bit calmed now.

He looked around him. 'I'm sure you can help many people…' those words kept ringing in his mind. 'But can I really help people by joining this?' he asked the voice in his mind.

There was a sudden pain in his head. It kept getting increasingly aching, until he could not tolerate it. Those dark memories of the past were returning to him. He wanted to forget all of them, but he could not. More and more memories kept returning…

His mother's grave… The times he was bullied by the 'elders' of his orphanage… His enemy spitting out blood…

'R.I.P. Sakura Kendai'…

'Ha ha, look at that "hero" Yuchi!'…

'H… Help m… me…'

He clutched his head and tried to focus to his front. But he could not see anything. The silhouettes of the people in U.N.D.E.A.D. were getting blurrier and blurrier. Everything eventually blackened out…

'Onii-chan! Amaya's really bored in Europe, so can we have a Riding Duel again, please?'

'Alright, alright,' Tenshi gave in to Amaya's demands. He had been treating Amaya like his own little sister ever since the first day he entered the military.

Ring. Ring. Tenshi looked at his phone. Wiles was calling.

'Yes, sir? How's Pilot Kendai?'

'Still in the emergency unit. Doctor Parvita is trying her best to save him now.'

'Thank you, sir,' he switched off his phone.

'Onii-chan! Amaya can't wait now! Let's start our duel quickly!' Amaya complained. She did not seem to be affected by Yuchi's condition. Her red D-Wheel was ready to move.

'I know!' barked an annoyed Tenshi.

He started the engine and declared together with his little sister, 'DUEL!'

...

'Yuchi! Are you alright? Why are you…?' Kaworu asked. Yuchi opened his sleepy eyes. Kaworu was visiting him in his house, after he fainted at the Headquarters the day before. According to Doctor Parvita, she could not diagnose Yuchi's sickness and since Yuchi had recovered by himself, he could go home. He would return to the Headquarters some other day.

'Kaworu…' Yuchi held his best friend's hand, and asked him, '… can I help other people, Kaworu?'

'…What?'

'Kaworu… can I join U.N.D.E.A.D.?'

'Yuchi, what are you talking about?'

'That day, when you were being evacuated, I was fighting the enemies…' Yuchi revealed the secret he had been hiding from his friend.

'Yuchi… Are you sick?'

'No, Kaworu, just tell me, can I join U.N.D.E.A.D.? Tell me, please! Please!' Yuchi begged his friend.

...

Wham!

The white-haired boy punched his best friend in the face.

'Kaworu… why…?' Tears came out of Yuchi's eyes as he wiped the blood off his nose.

Kaworu paused for a few seconds, calmed himself down, and said to his best friend, 'Yuchi… you're sick. Don't think about anything else for now, okay?'

'No… Please tell me, Kaworu! Can I? Can I?'

'I don't want…'

'W… What…?' Yuchi was mumbling.

'I said I don't want you to join U.N.D.E.A.D.! Just think about it, you fell sick when you were there, Yuchi!' Kaworu suddenly flew into a rage and growled at Yuchi.

'K… Kaworu…?'

It was too late. His best friend had already banged the house door close.

Preview of Next Chapter

In the next chapter, Al-Magnum's past is finally revealed!

Along with the real identity of U.N.D.E.A.D. and M.R.D.!

And then, Yuchi tries to convince Kaworu to agree with his decision!

But he faced even more difficulties when the Darkness Units launched a surprise attack on the city!

Don't miss… Chapter 9: Enemy!

Card of the Chapter

There is no card of the chapter.

...

A Note from the Author

Well, it seems that things in YGO! M.S. has finally got much more interesting.

I try to make this chapter a more 'light-hearted' one, since it's the introduction of the characters, while not forgetting the darker elements from previous chapters at the same time.

Transitioning between the light-heartedness and the darker elements is what I believe to be one of the most difficult things to do in this chapter.

After a bit of brainstorming, I decided to make a few modifications to my original plan.

To show the transition, Yuchi's headache happens earlier, and it is actually a foreshadow to what will happen later in the fanfiction.

Kaworu punching Yuchi was not in my original plans either.

But, in order to emphasize the intensiveness of the quarrel between them, I added in little details like this.

Such an intensiveness will be elaborated further in the next chapter.

From this and the preview, you can actually imply that next chapter is pretty heavy and action-packed.

Indeed, and hence I would take a bit longer to complete this time round, very sorry for that!

Anyway, please remember to review after reading, Arigatou ne~!

- Project M.G.