Me: Okay, I'm back online, sitting at the computer, soda ready at the side, and a good inspiration ready to go.
Aki: Sounds good!
Jack: I thought you were depressing.
(Jack's chair breaks beneath him and he falls on his but with a thud.)
Aki: What was that you said?
Yusei: Kemmeyz does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.
(Jack is glaring at Aki… uncertainly, it seems.)
….
Jack threw open the door and dragged Crow into the mansion.
"I am not putting up with that little monster a second longer!" Jack growled threateningly, pointing a deviled finger at the green haired boy sitting in front of the TV, loudly cheering for some super hero on the screen. Crow watched the boy for a moment, before replying,
"Jack, you know there's nothing more in this world I'd love to do than watch the kids." Crow walked into the kitchen and put his bag on the table.
"But we need to talk about Yusei and his D-Wheel." Crow pulled out a camera and at least a dozen photos of the accident. There were shots of the D-Wheel, the road, and the wall that it had broken into, leaving a gaping hole where it crashed.
Jack picked up a few and scanned them over.
"Where'd you get these?" He asked. Crow zipped the bag closed, replying,
"I borrowed them from Mikage."
"That's a nasty crash," He said without emotion, staring at a picture of the red bike. Crow sat down at the table and ordered the photos out so he could see them all clearly, and analyzed them all closely.
"Was there another car involved?" Jack asked after a few moments. Crow shook his head.
"Nothing. The bike crashed all by itself." He said.
"That's just stupid Crow," Jack threw the pictures back onto the table, scattering a few off the wooden object.
"A bike doesn't operate itself. It needs a driver," He growled.
"If Yusei wasn't on it, that means someone else was using Yusei's D-Wheel. Meaning someone stole the bike and crashed it." Crow said.
"You should check out hospitals in the area, and see if there are any new patients who suffered in an automobile accident," Jack instructed, but immediately took back his words.
Crow grew a creepy smile on his face, quickly grabbed the bag, and ran for the front door.
"No way! You're watching the kids!" Jack yelled. Crow smiled teasingly at Jack as he made his way outside.
"Oh, but you said, I had to check out the hospitals. NOT you." The red-head jumped onto his black and orange D-Wheel and put on his helmet.
"CROW!" Jack roared in fury as the boy drove away faster than you could say 'this isn't over.'
Jack stormed back into the mansion, to find that Rua was still watching TV. Ruka was still upstairs reading her stupid book. At that moment, Jack's cell phone rang, and he quickly pulled it out to answer.
"You better have something good," The blond growled into the receiver.
"I don't know," Aki said on the other end. "I just talked to Yusei a few minutes ago." She said.
"Well, what'd he say?" Jack asked, sitting down on the sofa.
"Well, he's been completely brainwashed. He could hardly remember me." Aki sighed. Jack rubbed his temples tenderly. He already knew that. But it was obviously confirmed now.
"Aki, I need you to tell me something." He said slowly, making sure she could understand him clearly.
"What?"
"Did Yusei have any… noticeable injuries?" Jack asked. Aki was silent on the other end. About five seconds later, she said,
"No. Not that I could tell. Why?" Jack silently debated whether he should tell her. Well, she was a part of the team, and deserved to know what was happening. After a moment of consideration, Jack came to a conclusion.
"Yusei's D-Wheel was found completely totaled. It had crashed into a wall on highway 87." Jack explained. Aki was silent. At that moment, Jack heard the sound of a door opening.
"I have to go," Aki said quickly, and she hung up immediately.
Jack grumbled to himself and closed his cell. Now he had to beat up Yusei when he came too, for making them all freak out over him. And make Crow pay for forcing Jack to watch the little demon Rua. Ruka never needed supervision. She was extremely mature for her age. Ruka would never do anything foolish. Little did he know how dead wrong he was.
….
Ruka ran down the street. The air was warm, but she felt so cold! It felt like a winter day. She sensed it may have had something to do with the Spirit World. Ruka was having a hard time traveling to the Spirit World lately, so she figured maybe if she found a sacred or spiritual place, she'd be able to contact them easily.
Jack would be furious when he found out she snuck out of the mansion. Until Yusei was better from whatever happened to him, Jack was supposed to be watching them. Making sure nothing would happen to them. It was only a precaution, but it wasn't necessary.
Ruka spotted a church a few blocks away. She didn't care what kind of denomination it was, as long as it was a place of spirituality or something. Anything with a religion would do.
Ruka slowed to a stop and opened the door to the large church slowly. The floor was wooden, and a long red carpet led from the door, up to the front of the church, where a platform stood. There were rows of chairs, or pews as some people called it, lined up, starting from the back to the front. There were three doors on the left, two on the right. They probably led to bathrooms, Sunday school classrooms, or offices. Who knew?
Ruka made her way to the middle row, and sat down slowly. She felt like a curtain was lifted between her and the Spirit World. Ruka closed her eyes, and concentrated as hard as she could.
Ruka heard the sounds of monster cries. Not evil monster cries, but that of Duel Monsters, playing together. Ruka opened her eyes and found she was lying on a grassy plain, and smiled. Kuribon was playing with Sunlight Pixie, and the Sunlight Unicorn was nibbling at the grass and sniffing the flowers. Not far behind the monsters, was the beautiful and enchanting Ancient Fairy Dragon. The dragon was watching the others play happily. Kuribon was chasing her tail happily, and Sunlight Pixie was trying to help.
Ruka sat up and stretched comfortably. It felt good to be back in the Spirit World. Ancient Fairy Dragon noticed her master quickly, and glided over to see better.
"Ruka… you have not been here in a long time." Fairy Dragon smiled in a kind dragon way. Ruka stood and nodded.
"Too long," She said, hugging her dragon lovingly.
"Ancient Fairy Dragon," Ruka said, "I have a problem." Kuribon and Sunlight Pixie immediately stopped playing, and stared at the green haired girl. Even Sunlight Unicorn was looking in her direction.
"What's the matter?" Ancient Fairy Dragon asked softly.
"My friend is in trouble," Ruka explained. "He's been kidnapped by an evil man named Divine." The green dragon curled herself around Ruka gently, comforting.
"He can't remember anything, and he thinks Divine is the good guy!" The dragon was silent for a long time, thinking to herself. The reason Ruka knew Yusei couldn't remember, was because she'd been listening in on Jack's calls, and the night they decided to have Aki infiltrate the Arcadia Movement.
"What can I do, Ancient Fairy Dragon?" Ruka pleaded. The dragon exhaled slowly, and brought her majestic head down to Ruka's eye level.
"You must help your friends. They will need you." Ruka nodded understandingly. "Okay."
….
Aki glared at the person who just opened the door. It was barely ajar, but enough to tell that it was open.
"I… knocked a few times, and I thought I heard you call me…" It was Yusei's voice. Aki opened the door all the way, revealing the teen. His eyes were, surprisingly, beginning to look normal. There was a small hint of cobalt in his eyes. It was just a faint, little streak, but it revealed his caring side. Yusei looked nervous. He was shifting weight from left to right, concerned about something.
"Are you okay?" Aki instinctively asked. Yusei stopped moving and stared at her. At times, she really wished she could read his thoughts. It was so hard to tell what he was thinking, all the time.
"Um… Yeah," Yusei replied. "I was just wondering… if you would…"
"Would what?" Aki asked, stepping a little closer to hear.
"I'm supposed to go look for some more psychic duelists. I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me." Yusei asked. Aki looked at her shoes, thinking it over. Divine, no doubt put Yusei up to this. But why would she want him outside and in the world so soon? She would think that Divine wanted Yusei as far from them as possible. She was obviously mistaken.
"Um, Sure," Aki smiled nicely, and she noticed his face paled for a moment. She was about to ask if he was okay again, but he stopped her.
"I'm fine," He said, smiling shyly. It was so unlike Yusei. He never came across her as shy. She always thought of him as strong, bold, courageous, unafraid; all those things. But he was a completely different person now.
Aki walked out into the hall with the Raven haired boy, and they went down the hall. He was silent, but that was the only thing that was normal about Yusei. He was quiet and mysterious. You couldn't guess his thoughts.
Aki looked up at his face, and found it was completely blank. His face and eyes were completely lacking emotion. The blue streak of cobalt was still there, but he… still wasn't the Yusei she knew and loved.
Once outside, a warm wind greeted them gently. Aki smiled at the feeling, just glad to think she was outside of that blasted building. The two stepped out into the street and were quickly hidden in the crowd of people. After a little while, Aki looked at Yusei again. But instead of trying to read his emotions, or any hint of his old self, she looked for what Jack mentioned; noticeable injuries. But there was nothing. He wasn't even limping. Aki wondered if she should ask… until she spotted green hair. And not just any green hair. Pig tails, blue-green, little girl.
"Ruka?"