Kenta
The next gang comes so quickly that I don't have enough time to come up with a plan. I consider telling Yuuka about Takumi. Telling Kaoru doesn't seem like a good option. Outside of Yuuka, I can't seem to figure out where his loyalties lie. Maybe the next gang comes so quickly, because they made the first move.
I'm awoken by another phone call at four in the morning. This time, it's not about Yuuka. But Yusei. I get Takumi to put the phone on speaker. Kaoru tells us that Yusei has been missing since the afternoon, and Yuuka is convinced that it's The Cardinal Dragons. I agree with her, and so does Takumi. Kaoru tells us to meet them at Poppo Time, where Yusei lives, and sends us directions. We get a taxi since they're taking Kaoru's D-Wheel.
Yuuka's friend, Crow, opens the door. He seems surprised to see us of all people, which is fair.
"I'm guessing that you're Kenta and Takumi?" Aki Izayoi asks. She makes a face at Crow, who seems confused. She must have figured out what's going on.
"What are you doing here at this time?" Jack Atlas asks next.
"We have an idea where Yusei is, but I'll let Yuuka do the explaining." I turn to Crow. "Could I be able to get a cup of coffee? We'll be needing it." He merely nods at me before going to do it. When he's back with the cup, he's on his phone and he opens the garage for Kaoru's D-Wheel.
Yuuka freezes upon noticing Yusei's D-Wheel in the garage. We can't track him that way, that's what she's thinking. There will be a ransom call soon, no doubt.
"Yuuka? What's wrong?" Izayoi asks as Yuuka begins to pace around the room. She makes her way to where I'm standing. She seems unable to breathe.
"Drink this," I hand her the cup. "I know you haven't had any." She gulps it down. It looks like it shouldn't spill, but Yuuka is walking so fast that it's questionable.
"Yuuka?" Crow asks. Turns out, Kaoru has enough anxiety about Yuuka spilling coffee that he holds the cup for her.
"It's my…" Yuuka mutters. "It's my fault." She finishes when Crow asks her to repeat.
"What does that mean?" Izayoi asks. Yuuka's knuckle turn white. She presses her fists even closer to her chest.
"Answer us!" Jack shouts. Yuuka finally stops pacing.
"It's my fault Yusei got kidnapped!" The room goes silent.
"What?"
"I was right," Izayoi mutters. Everyone's eyes go to her.
"What do you know?" Takumi asks, trying to keep a straight face.
"Yusei and I were attacked a few months ago by a duel gang, but some members of Team Liberations saved us. I thought it was impossible because we were saved by two guys, but no." Aki pauses. For once, Kaoru's composure breaks. "Yuuka and Kaoru were the ones who saved us."
"Yuuka, is this true?" Jack glares at Yuuka. Interesting that Jack Atlas was the one to get the most reaction out of Yuuka. She makes herself smaller, with a guilty look in her eyes.
"So you're the infamous Yuudai, huh?" Crow's eyebrows furrow. "The one who gave Black Flag to? You never gave up gangs in the first place. You lied to us."
"No." Yuuka coughs. "I mean, yes. But I did it to protect all of you." She takes a deep breath. If I could describe her aura, right now, in one word, I'd call it unstable. "Gangs here are different from the Satellite. If my identity got leaked, you'd all be in grave danger." I notice that her fists are trembling.
"So you had this planned from the start?" Yuuka's composure only begins to crack more and more.
"I had this planned before the Fortune Cup, okay? Then all that shit happened so it only started after Christmas."
"You could have told us." Crow steps closer to Yuuka. "I thought you trusted us!"
"I do," Yuuka keeps stepping back in my direction. We're getting nowhere. "I just don't know-"
"This is an argument best saved for another time." I step between Yuuka and Crow. Everyone seems surprised by my intervention. "But Yusei Fudo has been kidnapped, and we need to get him back. I suspect we'll get the ransom call soon." The room goes silent, finally.
"Do you know who it was?" Jack asks.
"Most likely a gang called Cardinal Dragons. They're the only gang whose territory we haven't conquered." Takumi stares at Yuuka. He looks like he has an idea about something, maybe why they decided to target Yusei.
"You've gotten that far?" Crow asks.
"There weren't many gangs left after the fall of Black Flag. A huge turf war started and about half of them got knocked out." Yuuka nods.
"Wait a minute," Jack interjects. "I fought the leader of the Cross Syndicate a few weeks ago."
"They were a gang that we knocked out, but we still allowed them to keep doing whatever illegal stuff they were doing and just took their territory." Kaoru answers. "Apparently, they were more known for their illegal stuff rather than being a duel gang."
The room fades back into silence. Yuuka starts pacing, not that anyone is paying attention to her. She passes by Takumi and I, then Takumi's phone starts to ring. He hands her the old block phone, the one specifically for gang stuff.
"Hello?" She answers. A pause. "That's me." We wait as she listens to the person on the other end. I hear the phrase Cardinal Dragons. Our intuition was right.
"We were right. It is Cardinal Dragons." Takumi says, putting the phone back in his pocket. "They never specified that you come alone so we'll leave as a team."
"What about us?" Crow steps forward. "We can help too! Jack and I were in a duel gang before, we can help."
"I can help too. I'm a psychic." Izayoi chips in.
"Where's Bruno?" Yuuka asks. I'm assuming he's part of this friend group.
"Out looking for Yusei. He's been searching for hours at this stage, we need to tell him to come back." I'm barely listening to Crow because I'm watching Yuuka as she starts to run up the stairs.
"Where do you think you're going?" Jack all but shouts at her.
"Getting changed, I'm bringing the fight to them. We're going to conquer their territory and settle this once and for all." I follow her up the stairs. I manage to catch up to her in the kitchen.
"Wait a second."
"Kenta, I don't-" I shush her. I reach into my backpack which contains my disguise.
"Here's a binder." I place the folded-up pristine white binder into her hands. "You told me you were using ace bandages, so I got you this so you weren't hurt yourself again. I know that's why you passed out during the thing with Cross Syndicate. I just kinda guessed with your size, might be a bit big."
"Thank you," Yuuka has this sad smile on her face. Right now, I know that's all she can manage. "I mean it. You didn't have to go to all this effort for me."
"No problem, I needed a new binder too anyway." I try to play it off, but she chuckles, which makes me embarrassed. "Hurry up getting changed." I wave my hand at her, telling her to go. I turn to go back downstairs. Then, I remember something crucial. "Oh, you step into inside out and pull it up."
"Thanks," she nods ever so slightly. I can't help but chuckle as she makes a confused face. A look of realisation spreads across her face when she looks back down at the binder, which she's unfolded. She nods at me again, before climbing up the ladder to the next floor.
After we win against The Cardinal Dragons, silence hangs in the air. No one knows what to think. My brain is still trying to comprehend everything. Yusei was completely fine, sitting in their so-called base alone and tied up. After freeing him, the leaders found us in the Daimon Area. The second stabbed Yuuka, breaking her mask and wig in the process. They already knew who she was. They tried to break her mentally. He told everyone that she did something horrible in the Satellite, gave herself alcohol poisoning to try to forget it, and then when that failed, tried to kill herself. Not only that, but whatever happened in the Satellite was so traumatic for her that it caused Kaoru's powers to manifest and that's why they can hear each other's thoughts. Which explains too much. All of this happened, only for Yuuka to go berserk. Anako Senmatsu, a powerful psychic who vanished from Black Flag a long time ago, appeared and declared her love for Yuuka. While pretending to be Yuudai, Yuuka's disguise. That part confuses me. Kaoru did tell her, turns out. I don't care at this particular moment in time. Yuuka gave her Team Satisfaction speech, convinced the second to come to our side. Then, the leader gave her the ultimatum, fight off the remaining members of The Cardinal Dragons or lose everything. We fought and won. Yuuka got me to use the glimpse of Shinji's aura, which I'm not questioning right now, and make it into Raiden's, which it's very similar to. She used Raiden's dragon, which Jasper attacked her with on two occasions, her own dragon, and Yusei's too. Only for her to pass out from blood loss and overuse of her powers.
Which leads to this exact moment, in which I'm waiting for Yuuka to wake up again.
Nico, everyone's favourite psychic doctor, arrives to check on Yuuka. I don't even pay attention to what he does. Or what anyone around me says. Something, something, Yuuka has a boyfriend.
Yuuka, despite supposedly being unconscious, decides to start shouting in Spanish. The sudden shouting gives me anxiety, so I stand besides Takumi, and from him just being in the general proximity makes me feel better.
Kaoru gets angry, probably about the boyfriend thing. Apparently, no one knew that Yusei and Yuuka were dating. Which I find to be bullshit because that was obvious.
"Kaoru, how'd you not know they were dating?" I hear Shinji start laughing.
"Dude, I don't even think he's noticed that Kenta and I have been dating the entire time?" Takumi absolutely howls with laughter.
That catches my attention.
"What?" Kaoru exclaims as his face falls. His face is contorted by the confusion. He looks to Anako, who just shrugs her shoulders. I see disbelief, and a hint of betrayal in his eyes. Have I missed something? Has there been more going on with Takumi than I've realised?
As quick as the question enter my head, they leave because the leader of The Cardinal Dragons is admitting defeat to Yuuka. Just as soon as we have that satisfaction, it is ripped away by a phone call. Not just any phone call, one from Raiden Kimura himself. Guess I'll have to come and snatch it back. I feel the vomit rise in my throat.
That's one more problem to add to the list. Another ex-gang leader who just wants power. Like we haven't seen that before.
Takumi plans a giant night out for everyone in Psycho. And by everyone, I mean Team Liberation. Plus Shinji, for some reason. I know the reason. Because he's friends with Takumi, and the night is celebrating how great Takumi is for doing all of this. Like Yuuka and I didn't do most of the work.
At this point, I'm just constantly annoyed at him. But still, I'm afraid of what he could do.
Takumi insists we bring our duel disks to the party, in case we, meaning everyone there, want to duel for fun. I go to question him, but I don't. I doubt he realises that letting psychics duel while they're losing their inhibitions to alcohol is not a good idea.
I'm wondering if I should just leave. Even if it means being on my ass.
But I don't have a gang to turn to this time. I would really be out on my own.
I manage to avoid Takumi at the party, without raising suspicion. I make rounds around the room making small talk. Given everything I've heard about Yusei Fudo, especially his reluctance to give press interviews, I'm surprised how friendly he seems to be. I suppose Yuuka must have put in a good word. Then, I notice him making a face at Takumi when he approaches Yuuka for shots. Has he caught on? Because he doesn't seem to care when Shinji does the same.
"Help me," I say to Yuuka once she finishes her shot.
"He's not drunk yet." She laughs, clearly a little buzzed already. Takumi being drunk is hardly the worst of my problems.
"I know, but Kaoru's nearly there." I shake my head, going along with it. "I don't know what he's like drunk. You're not drunk thankfully."
"You first met me when I was drunk." Yuuka says, sounding a little nostalgic. The only nostalgia I get from that memory is happier times with Takumi.
"It wasn't a good first impression, though." I sigh. "It was the time I went to a club with Takumi, it was literally just as we started dating. He's drunk, walks face first into a streetlamp. You and Shinji are also drunk. You lose your shit laughing and then walk into the same pole."
"Classic story," She laughs again. "But we're friends now and that's what matters."
"Yeah, I guess." I never would have predicted that I get along better with Yuuka over Takumi. Gods, how bad have things gotten? When's the last time Takumi even pretended to care about me?
"You consider us friends?" Yuuka puts a hand on my shoulder. For once, I don't jerk away. "I feel so blessed right now." She wipes away a fake tear from her eye. I roll my eyes. She's definitely a bit buzzed now. I say goodbye to her before she gets drunk. That's Yusei's job to deal with.
I walk back to the only person in the room who I haven't properly talked to. Miguel, the former leader of The Phantom Riders. He joined my conversation with Felix earlier, but that wasn't anything proper. He meets my eyes before I get to him. He stands there with a smile on his face, aware that I'm walking towards him.
"Great party, eh?" He holds up his red plastic cup, presumably full of alcohol. "The name's Kenta, isn't it? We didn't get a proper introduction last time."
"Yep, that's me. Now, you know my real name, instead of my fake one." I shrug with a chuckle. There's not much rum in this cup, half a measure, but it's definitely affecting me.
"I like that name. It means big and strong, doesn't it?" He ruffles the top of my head. My head doesn't even go past his shoulder, now that I'm standing beside him. And his shoulders are so broad. I feel him making fun of me, but I can't feel but notice how well that meaning fits him.
"Thanks, I picked it out for myself." I note his reaction carefully, now that it's out there.
"Good choice, taking over the City is no easy task." No reaction. None at all. Then I realise something important. Miguel is from the Satellite, which is notorious for having a shit ton of orphans walking around and forming gangs. Gods I'm stupid.
"Yeah, that happened." I'm trying to brush off my embarrassment. I basically admitted I'm trans to a cute stranger, just to see his reaction. Maybe he didn't figure it out. Maybe it's fine. Did I just admit I think he's cute again? I'm in a relationship. It may just be in name only, but the point still stands.
"Your face is all red, are you okay?" He puts a hand to my forehead, and I have to resist the urge to collapse on the spot.
"This always happens when I drink." I wave my hand, which makes him pull back, thankfully. "But I have a question for you."
"Shoot," he nods.
"Why did you come help us when we were fighting against The Cardinal Dragons?"
"Well," he exhales. "Felix had already helped you before. I wanted to help too. I heard the fighting from my apartment, and I just couldn't help it. Yuuka inspired me. She said that this cycle of violence should be broken. Gangs don't need to exist. They don't help anyone, as much as they bring them together. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Doing it without using violence, breaking that silence. Trying to let people live their own lives. This isn't the Satellite anymore. You don't need to join a gang, just to save your own neck. I wanted it to stop, just as much as she did. The world's changing right now, so we should too."
"Yeah," I mutter as I stare at his face intently. "I have another question." He nods again. "If you could stop gangs all over the world, Team Liberation style, would you do it?"
"No," he shakes his head. "If this revolution inspires the world, so be it. But you knew this City, you don't know the rest of the world. I don't want to speak for people who can do that for themselves. I don't want to fight their revolution for them. This revolution was dangerous enough. You need to stop, because you've earned the right to." He sighs. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason," I say as my eyes go to Takumi on the other side of the room. I catch Miguel following my eyes.
"So, you all are going to Psycho tonight?" Miguel swiftly turns the conversation around. "I haven't been, but Felix is badgering me to go with him."
"Well, if you like nightclubs, you'll like Psycho." I shrug my shoulders. "They let Takumi in, so they'll let you in."
"Good to hear," he nods. "Oh," he gasps, "I found something out tonight that I think you'll like. Turns out, that gang I was part of back in the Satellite, before Team Satisfaction disbanded them, they were called Fear Unit." The name is familiar to me somehow. "They wanted to kidnap one of Team Satisfaction to weaken them before striking. Turns out, that person was only friends with them, and not part of the gang. And guess who that was?"
"Are you telling Yuuka wasn't actually part of Team Satisfaction?"
"Yeah, why-"
"I can't believe that bitch was smart enough to keep that lie going for like three years." Miguel bursts out laughing at this. "No, I'm serious. That's what she told everyone. She told the story different for Team Liberation to hide her identity, but no, that's what actually happened." I turn to look at Yuuka, who's currently giving Yusei heart eyes, so I decide to pull her up on this later. "I can't believe that."
"I can tell that by looking at your face." Miguel chuckles. Then I realise my jaw has kinda been hanging open, and I quickly shut it. "Okay, that's the funniest thing that's happened tonight. And I've had Jack Atlas squint at me across the room because I said he once punched me in the face."
"Was that because your gang kidnapped Yuuka?"
"Yeah, they left me guarding the door."
"At least he didn't break that nice jaw of yours."
Miguel stares at me in surprise. Then I realise that I'm slipping again. I need to stop drinking this rum, or I'll say more embarrassing shit. No one wants this. Except for Miguel who will inevitably get a string of compliments.
Everything gets worse when I catch Takumi staring at me from across the room. He starts to move outside. Oh gods.
"I need to go talk to Takumi about something-"
"At least let us trade numbers first." Miguel interrupts. "I don't know about you, but I want to continue this conversation later." He hands me an open flip phone, already on the add contact screen. I didn't even notice him do that. I nod rapidly, just going along with it. I give him my phone, and put my number in his. "Have fun," he gives me an eyebrow raise as he lets me go. I feel dirty. I didn't do anything bad. Just the way we talked makes me feel like I'm betraying Takumi. I sigh to myself, and follow Takumi out the big shutter doors out of the garage.
Takumi stands out in the courtyard, not facing me. I see him holding the bag with our duel disks in it.
"What do you want to talk about?" I ask him tentatively.
"I see what you're doing." I freeze. Miguel and I may have casually flirted and swapped numbers, but nothing bad has happened yet. I haven't stepped over a line yet.
"What are you-"
"I heard you ask Miguel if he would continue Team Liberation." He turns to face me, he looks pissed off. "Did you get the answer you want?"
"I did." I state bluntly.
"And what was that?"
"Don't speak for people who can speak for themselves. Don't fight their revolution for them. If they're inspired by us, so be it. If they want us to help, we'll help them. But we shouldn't get involved in their fight, not when they don't want us."
"Really?" Takumi scoffs. "Are you that arrogant to think that gangs all over the world know what we've done. Are you saying that they definitely realise that they need to change? You think that these are separate revolution for every single city, for every single country. You're foolish, Kenta. This is only one revolution. Gangs only exist to service that cycle of violence. Once a revolution starts, it will never end. If we don't continue our work, this will all have been pointless."
"You're wrong." I blurt out. "You lied, Takumi. This was your intention all along, wasn't it? You said Neo Domino, and then we could live in peace. This goes against all that entirely. All I want is to be happy. I don't want to keep fighting."
"That wasn't my intention from the beginning." Takumi shakes his head. "You're just exaggerating things. I knew we had to continue this work when Yuuka won us The Red Serpents. The way she was able to win a gang, all without having to raise a fist or duel disk. I knew it had to be this way. Listen to me, Kenta. This is the way it has to be."
"No, it doesn't."
There's a pause. The silence is so thick that it's almost tangible.
"I see how it is." Takumi glances at the bag of duel disks on the ground. "Remember you once said that dueling is the best way of seeing someone's true intentions. I think we should put that to the test." He throws my duel disk at me, deck already in the holder. Do I trust myself to duel? Between the emotions and alcohol, can I really control my powers? Takumi stares me down, waiting for me to activate my duel disk. So I do. I throw away any care of losing control of my powers. Maybe then, he would understand how I feel.
He doesn't.
The duel goes on and I feel like I'm yelling at a brick wall. He feels the same. But there is one thing I know. Whatever good intentions Takumi started with, they are now gone.
"X-Saber Souza attacks Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" The duel ends just like that. I just stand there as everything fades.
"What's going on?" Yuuka shouts as she comes out into the courtyard, followed by Shinji and Kaoru.
"Nothing," I answer. I stare straight at Takumi, avoiding Yuuka's eyes at all cost, and Takumi only stares right back at me.
"Kenta." She says with more urgency. I turn my eyes to the cloudy night sky, unable to reply. I want to tell her what's going on. I just need to wait until the right time.
"Come on!" Takumi claps his hands together. "Are we going out or not?" That's right. Brush all this under the rug and move onto more important things. Like celebrating Takumi's glorious achievement in leading Team Liberation to a complete and utter victory.
"I'm not going." I reply almost immediately before anyone else can get a word in. Yuuka looks very surprised. Her eyes shift between Takumi and I. Maybe she'll figure it out before I tell her.
"Sure, I'm already tipsy, why not?" Shinji answers Takumi next.
"I'm not going if Kenta's not going." Yuuka say with a harshness in her words. So much that Takumi grits his teeth.
"What about you, Kaoru?" Takumi turns to look at Kaoru. I see what he's doing. I can see it from a mile away. Kaoru has to choose between him and us. Will he choose Takumi or Yuuka?
"Uh," Kaoru's gaze shifts between Takumi and Yuuka, as expected. "Sure, I guess." I have to blink to make sure that I'm seeing this. Kaoru picked Takumi over Yuuka. Something is going on here that I don't like.
"Look after it, will you?" Takumi throws his duel disk to me. Like I'm nothing. He leaves without saying goodbye. Everyone looks confused. Kaoru and Shinji follow Takumi, leaving Yuuka and I alone.
Does he even care about me anymore? He threw his duel disk at me, like I'm someone who just looks after him. Like I'm not someone he cares for. Like I'm not his boyfriend. At this point, I just feel like a pawn in his game. I'm just a powerful psychic that he uses to get what he wants. So is Yuuka. So is Kaoru. We're all just pawns to him now.
"What's going on?" I hear Yuuka ask once they're out of earshot. I don't say anything, because I can't. My very soul feels like it's weighted down with the knowledge that my world is crumbling around me. I start to walk away. I try to suppress the sobs threatening to take over me. It's a long walk home alone.
The front door slamming shut jolts me awake. I check my phone, four in the morning. I probably cried myself by one. I hear Takumi rooting in the kitchen. I think he's getting a glass of water. He starts whistling as he keeps moving in the kitchen. I wipe the tears off my face, even though they have dried up. My face feels crusty because of them. The bedroom door finally opens again. The bed shifts as Takumi sits down on it. The gentle light of his phone on the lock screen fills the room. He takes his shoes off, then his pants. Finally, he swaps his dress shirt for a t-shirt. He checks his phone before setting it down again, the light disappearing. Then, he lies down. The bed creaks from the change.
"Have fun?" I whisper into the dark.
"Yeah," is all he says. He turns in the bed so his back is towards me. His breathing slows down within a few seconds.
That's it? I don't even get a goodnight. I remember when not getting cuddles before going asleep was like treason. I remember when that progressed to kisses. Now we're here. I can't help but start to cry again. I sense Takumi shift, but he just continues to lie there.
Another week passes. Takumi barely interacts with me. We might as well be living two separates lives. Yuuka texts me sometimes, but I can't tell her what's wrong. Kaoru has stopped texting me. No one even interacts with me at all. Except Miguel. We've had full conversations everyday since the party. I should feel bad about talking to him more than my own boyfriend. But I don't think I can honestly call Takumi my boyfriend anymore.
"Do you think Yuuka will agree with you?" I say to him one day, while we're both sitting on the couch, not interacting at all. "Honestly."
"Of course," he answers. "Yuuka is smart. She'll understand that this revolution is too big to stop now."
"I think she's smart enough to realise when to step down."
"Kenta-"
"What about Raiden? He's threatening to take everything away, and probably murder Yuuka while he's at it."
"She's strong enough to take him on." He answers casually. "Raiden's just a blip in our plan."
"Yuuka was in the hospital for a week the last time she faced him."
"She's stronger now, that's irrelevant."
"Why don't you ask her? I highly doubt she'll agree with you." Yuuka flinches every time someone merely mentions his name. She doubts she can take him now, even when she's become stronger. Raiden is supposedly one of the strongest psychics in the City. She doesn't know if she's strong enough.
"Fine," is all he says.
The first thing I do is text Yuuka. She asks me why Takumi wants to talk. I just tell her that she'll find out. I don't want to sway her. I want to show Takumi that I'm right about her. Yuuka and I arrive at the agreed meeting point, the same gazebo where Team Liberation started. To my surprise, both Kaoru and Takumi are already here. Kaoru is standing in the middle of the gazebo, while Takumi stands at the back, looking over the water. Yuuka looks at me, and I bite my lip. Kaoru and Takumi being here before us? Suspicious. Did they come together? Has Takumi been poisoning Kaoru's mind? If could convince anyone that he's right, it's Kaoru.
"Takumi," Yuuka finally speaks up. He turns around, leaning on the railings. "What is this about?"
"I'm sorry to have called you here, with the WRGP starting and all." Takumi puts a fake smile on, and it's obvious. "But we have urgent business to attend to."
"Then, get on with it." Takumi seems taken aback by my snark. He likes to make things seem far grander than they actually are. He's not going to twist Yuuka's mind, because I won't let him.
"Well, we thought we were finished." Takumi starts pacing. Yuuka leans on a pillar. I make her move over so I can lean on the same one. Right now, she's the only one I trust in here. "But." Takumi turns, facing Yuuka and I. "Ben got a phone call. Raiden Kimura." I feel Yuuka shiver at the mere mention of his name. "He threatened to take our territory and come for Yuuka personally." Yuuka's head lowers slightly. "We need to determine if this is actually a real threat-"
"It is," I answer. "We're talking about Raiden here."
"That's true." Takumi continues pacing. "What are we going to do?"
"How about after the WRGP is over, I go into an underground bunker and come out once everything's blown over?" In any context, I would have taken this as a joke. But I know Yuuka too well, it's not.
"I would suggest having someone with you, twenty four-seven." My brows furrow slightly. "With that person preferably being a psychic. I mean any of your friends are also good choices, especially Izayoi."
"You're right there." Takumi says. "But what are we going to do about our territory? That's the most important thing here. Especially after we worked so hard for it." Yuuka turns to look at me. I glance at her. Disbelief and a hint of betrayal. She's definitely on my side now.
"More important than Yuuka?" I feel myself scowling and it takes all of me not to start yelling. "If Raiden gets to her, he might very well murder her. But no, you think our territory is more important." I feel Yuuka starting to collapse on herself beside me.
"That's not what I meant." Takumi throws his hands up. "I believe in Yuuka's ability to not get murdered. She survived last time pretty well."
"Barely," I interject. "From what she's said, that's only because she went berserk then which accelerated her healing factor. Meaning she was mostly healed by the time she got to hospital."
"What?" She mutters.
"The feelings you described when you fought Ben and Jasper, and the other time you fought Raiden. They're the same. The same feelings of electricity and your eyes burning. My guess is that you went berserk that time too, you just didn't realise it. Considering your emotional state during both, and it's a sound argument."
"Not that," she answers. My head tilts, letting her continue. "You called me Yuuka. You've never called me that before, you've always just called me Sasaki."
"Uh yeah," I'm too embarrassed to meet her eyes. "We're friends, aren't we?" Is this really my first time calling her Yuuka to her face. "Wait, I have called you Yuuka before. You were berserk at the time so I don't think you remember."
"That's true." She chuckles, making light of the situation. "Most of that time is a blur, so it makes sense."
"Back to business," Takumi interjects. "How will defend the territory? We can't let months of work go to waste." Silence hangs in the air. "Guys." The desperation is evident in his voice.
"Wait until Raiden shows up." Yuuka sighs. "We don't how know or when it's going to happen. He'll come for me first, I can almost guarantee that. My plan is to fight him straight on. Don't even let him come near our territory. This is my fight alone."
"Seems fair," Takumi answers. "But what if you fail? You always need a backup plan, you know that."
"I fail, I die. Simple as." That's all she says. It's unsettling how accustomed to death Yuuka really is. She treats death like an old friend. Maybe that's why her skin is always cold to the touch.
"You won't die," Takumi tries to convince her otherwise. "But your idea of intercepting Raiden before he can do anything is an interesting idea." He turns to Kaoru, who's been silent the entire time. "What do you think?"
"Getting rid of Raiden is my first priority right now," Kaoru says bluntly.
"I agree," I say before looking towards Takumi. "Our territory comes after that."
"I guess," he huffs in response.
We dissolve back into silence. Takumi just paces. Yuuka keeps her eyes on me, which makes me more nervous than I already am. I glance back at her. There seems to be an understanding in her eyes.
"What do you suggest we do?" Yuuka asks. I think she's cracked it.
"I have an idea," Takumi mutters. "I haven't fully thought it through yet. Keep coming up with ideas until I've got this planned out."
"Aren't we supposed to be doing nothing with our territory though? Now that we've conquered it all." I say, looking at Takumi. His eyes darken as he stares back at me. I'm riling him up, and he knows exactly what I'm doing. I'm dragging him and his stupid idea right into the spotlight, and there's nothing he can do about it.
"Technically yes, but if we don't want it to be taken off us, we have to take care of it." Takumi casually leans on the railings of the gazebo.
"Seems tedious," I huff, which makes Takumi more irritated. That's not what we have to do. We've taken out all of the major figures in the gang world. Any attempts to recreate it will fail because no one with any power is left.
"That's a sacrifice we're going to have to make."
"What's this idea of yours?" Everyone's eyes turn to Yuuka. Impatience is starting to show in her voice. "What do you think we should do?"
"Well," Takumi hums. "Increase patrols. Tighten our defences. I want to be ready when he strikes."
"And after that?" She prompts. He's stalling.
"We take him down, once and for all."
"No. I mean, after that." I say. Panic flashes in Takumi's eyes for a split second.
"I thought about increasing our power." Takumi turns his back to us, looking over the pond again. "Taking the fight to where it really needs to go."
"Takumi," I grit my teeth.
"This City isn't the utopia it claims to be." He starts speaking, but ignores me completely. "It mistreats its citizens. Isolating and discriminating against psychics and Satellites alike. That's why gangs are such a big thing here. I want to get back at this City. Get to the root of the problem and get rid of it. Only then can we be free."
"You can't be serious." Yuuka's brows furrow heavily while she shouts at Takumi. "That can't fix this problem. There's no way we can solve this with violence."
"Yuuka, don't be silly." Takumi huffs. "You think words can solve this? This City has never listened to us. I had some hope that it would change with the unification with the Satellite, but it's solved nothing. Satellites and psychics are still treated like second-class citizens. The only way to fix this is through force. Make them see that they can't treat us like this."
"Takumi, that's not an option." I jump in before Yuuka does. Takumi couldn't possibly understand what we go through. "Using violence is only going to make them crack down harder on us. We need to hold marches and demonstrations. Sign petitions, go on strike. Not fight a system that's already punished us enough with more violence."
"What after that?" Yuuka asks, and it breaks Takumi's composure for a split second. She must be able to tell that's not what the big surprise is. "What if we fail? What if we succeed?"
"We keep going," he answers. "We can't stop until psychics and Satellites are treated the same as everyone else. Everywhere."
"Everywhere?" Yuuka echoes.
"Why stop at this City alone?" Takumi's eyes grow wide as if a new world has opened up to him. "This problem exists everywhere in the world. I can't sit back and watch this happen."
"Takumi!" Yuuka's entire body tenses. "What are you thinking?" She moves off the pillar, and stands in front of him. "You told us Cardinal Dragons was the end. You lied to us." Takumi backs away from her. "Unless." He gulps. "This was your plan along." He stays silent, not meeting her gaze. "Takumi."
"This is not your fight." I join Yuuka, right in front of Takumi. "You are neither a psychic or a Satellite. You have no place making this decision."
"I do," Takumi says. "I am neither so I have the loudest voice. No one would listen to you otherwise."
"You're gaining power from our plight." Yuuka's body starts shaking. Her aura flares. Do I change it? Do I calm her down? I could. But that would be mercy for Takumi's sake. "You're not helping us, Takumi. You're using us. All you gain from this is power."
"That's not true!" Takumi shouts back at Yuuka. "My boyfriend is a psychic. Most of friends are psychics. You're from the Satellite. I can't stand and watch all of you get mistreated anymore. I have to do something."
"This is not the answer!" Yuuka gets right up in Takumi's face. His back arches back, but his feet remain firm in their spot. "Our answer was to conquer gangs peacefully. I stand by that. If you want to cause a revolution like that, I won't have any part of it." She steps back. The tension which built up in the atmosphere dissipates slightly. Takumi exhales loudly. Yuuka looks to Kaoru, who refuses to meet her eyes.
"Then, you're turning your back on your people." Takumi glares at Yuuka. "There is no revolution without force. Once a revolution starts, it will never end."
I feel something inside Yuuka's aura snap. She moves so quickly that everything is a blur. I feel her aura, I know what she's going to do.
"Yuuka!" I throw my arm out. With a flick on my wrist, I can her anger from a boiling rage to a calm, collected anger. Yuuka's fist stops, milliseconds away from punching Takumi in the face. Her fist lowers slowly. Takumi flinches, but Yuuka just takes a few steps back.
"You want a fight then?" Takumi asks.
"If that's the only thing that will make you come to your senses, then yes." Yuuka takes a deep breath. It's hard work keeping her so calm.
"I won't duel you," Takumi replies. "Kenta manipulating your emotions will only last so long. Once that's over, you'll use your powers to beat me to a pulp." He's right. While he got her reaction wrong, he still knows her pretty well.
"Then what?" She scoffs. "Hand to hand?" I feel Yuuka's aura starting to flare again.
"Not that either." He shakes his head. "You're stronger than me and we both know that." Yuuka starts squinting at him. She's wondering about that statement, because there doesn't seem to be that much of a power gap.
"You scared?"
"No," he answers bluntly. "You're thinking that there's not that big of a power gap between us, aren't you?" Takumi smiles like he knows he's right, and he probably is. "I imagine your aura's flaring right now, judging by Kenta. You're always stronger when you're like that."
"You're right about that," I answer. Lying here would be pointless. Yuuka smashing Takumi to a pulp won't change anything, I know that.
"So, you won't fight me? That's what I'm hearing."
"That's right." Takumi turns his back on us again. "Kenta already lost a duel to me. There's nothing you two can do to change my mind."
"What if we leave?" The words fall like venom from Yuuka's lips. "Don't doubt me, Takumi. You know I will."
"Kenta won't." Takumi turns back to Yuuka with a fire in his eyes. "I can just find someone to replace you."
"You're wrong." I move to Yuuka's side. "You won't find anyone out there like us. Move on."
"Kenta," Takumi mutters. His eyes are wide and don't move from mine. Is this the first time he's considered the fact that there is somewhere he can go where I won't follow? Is he really that naive?
"Kaoru," Yuuka turns her attention to her brother who has been completely silent so far. "Join us. Don't let him convince you that this is a good idea." He refuses to meet her eyes. "Kaoru." He says nothing.
"Kaoru!" I shout at him, but nothing.
"I see how it is." I notice Yuuka's fist clench again.
"See Yuuka," Takumi shakes his head. "Kaoru can see the sense in what I'm saying, isn't that right?" Still, Kaoru says nothing. Does he actually agree with Takumi?
"He's not taking a side," I realise and sigh.
"But Yuuka…" Takumi trails off, looking to the side. "If you're not with me, you're against me. You do realise that?"
"If you're sacrificing our friendship because I won't follow you, then so be it." She glares at him, like they can drill some sense into him. At this point, I know it's pointless. He merely raises his eyebrows at her.
"Then, I guess this is it." Takumi shrugs his shoulders, walking slowly between Yuuka and I. "You're on your own now, Yuuka. I hope you realise that." Takumi stops at the bottom of the steps into the gazebo, and turns his gaze to Kaoru. "Come on. We're done here."
Kaoru pushes himself off the pillar with his foot. His shoulder brushes Yuuka's as he goes to walk down the steps. Yuuka gasps and jumps down the steps, watching them walk away. I follow her, standing silently behind her.
"Kaoru. You've betrayed me." Venom starts flowing from Yuuka's lips. "I hope you know that. You're going against everything we've fought for. You're going against me." I start moving closer to her. Her aura is flaring and tears are starting to fall. She's feeling the emotions that I've been feeling for the last few months. It hurts to see my friend go through this, but it was inevitable. "I just wish I had let you rot. Turned you away when you needed help. Because that's what you had done to me." She stares at their backs as they walk away. She remains silent until they're out of sight. Then, her aura snaps.
"Yuuka," I whisper and place a hand on her back. She immediately falls to her knees, so quickly that I don't have time to catch her. Sobs shake her entire being. She bangs her fists on the ground, stone lodge themselves into her skin. Her body keeps shaking as dusk's last light disappears. Her aura heats up again, I try to calm her, but that sensation vanishes just as quickly as it appeared. Yuuka is silent for a few minutes. I don't say anything, it doesn't look like she'll respond anything.
Then suddenly, her aura lights up again. She springs back to life. She looks at me, terrified, but says nothing. She glances around us, scanning every single inch. She begins to cry again, and runs off, leaving me in the silence. I stand in the darkness of the park, the street lamps being my only companion. I fiddle with my phone in my hands. I think about my situation.
My only friend has run off because I'm unable to comfort her, only because I'm feeling all of the same things as her. My boyfriend has taken my only other friend, I guess not anymore, and betrayed me. Life is looking pretty shit right now, and I can do nothing as it falls apart in front of me.
I open my phone and traverse to Yusei's number, which we swapped out of convenience after The Cardinal Dragons incident. I type the message very quickly and press send. Yuuka's on her way back now. Please take care of her. She needs it.
Takumi doesn't come home that night. I lie awake, waiting for him. Then, at five in the morning, I decide that he's just not coming. I wake up the next morning, I say morning, but it's one in the afternoon. I turn on the television. It's the first day of the WRGP. I manage to watch the last turn of the Team 5D's duel, where Yusei apparently beat the entire team by himself after the other two lost to the first wheeler. Miguel texts me. His team isn't playing until tomorrow, and he's nervous about following that act. Meanwhile, I tell him that I'm making my morning coffee.
Kenta: Can you come home? We need to talk.
Takumi: k
I keep texting Miguel to keep myself sane. We're literally talking about coffee, and how ridiculously expensive Starbucks is. I slowly get dressed. I make sure I have my keys and phone, because I'll need those. Then, low and behold, Takumi shows up with a Starbucks. He doesn't say anything, and just sits on the couch. I've made up my mind, and I think he has too.
"What are you going to do now that Yuuka won't follow?" I ask him.
"Well, Kaoru is still on my side. I need time to think it through."
"So you're continuing with this? Despite everything we've said?"
"Yes," is all he says.
"Then, Takumi," I sigh. "I don't think this can work?"
"This as in?"
"Us, Takumi."
Takumi sits back on the couch. His head tilts back and he stares at the ceiling. Silence hangs in the air. I try reading his face, but nothing. Does he even care?
"I suppose."
"Is that it?" I clench my fist. "We're breaking up, Takumi, and that's all you can say? I suppose. At least act like you still cared about me at one point. Because right now, I'm questioning that much."
"Kenta-" He moves closer to me.
"No." I stand up off the couch. "It's over, Takumi."
He doesn't say anything more. He just lets me leave. I just keep walking. I don't look back. I don't even look back at the apartment block as I leave it behind. I walk until I'm far away from him. The sunset is starting to set while I sit in the city centre.
I'm on my own again. I've cycled back. I should have known this would have happened. I put too much faith in Takumi, only to have it broken. Here I am again, alone in the world.
Is this how Yuuka left? Homeless and unemployed after leaving Raiden. I'm starting to understand why she did it, regardless of the consequences. All actions have consequences, but now I know that, sometimes, the consequences are worth it.
I remember Yuuka describing how to get to her family home. I could just go to Poppo Time, but that would involve getting all of Yuuka's friends involved. I think only Yusei tolerates me, because everyone else half blames me for Yuuka lying to them.
I arrive at Yuuka's family home. Her mother, the biological one, answers the door. I'm taken aback because Yuuka is the spitting image of her. If you stuck a blonde wig on the woman, you'd have an older Yuuka. She lets me inside. Yuuka is at Poppo Time, as expected. Kasumi, as she insist that I call her, calls Yuuka and tells her to come over, since we're so far from Poppo Time and she has her D-Wheel. Kaoru passes by me without much of a word. He's getting ready to go out, riding gear and all. Kasumi tells me to wait for Yuuka in the living room. She keep trying to ask me what's wrong, since I look very upset, but I don't want to put my troubles on this poor woman.
Yuuka finally arrives a few minutes later. She looks quite ruffled, probably from interacting with Kaoru, who has finally left. Yuuka brings me upstairs to her bedroom. I begin to tell her to what led me to this exact moment. She brings us red wine to drink. Turns out she hasn't fully dealt with the whole leaving Raiden thing, and this is a healing experience for the both of us.
We keep talking until the wee hours of the morning. At some point, Yuuka takes my phone to ask Miguel out for coffee, as me. I fall asleep quickly after that. So, when I wake up to a message from Miguel inviting me to sit in the pit for his team's first match, naturally I'm freaking out. I shake Yuuka awake. The shaking doesn't bode well for my slight hangover.
"Shit, what did he say?" She mumbles while trying to sit up.
"Actually, he texted me while you were asleep, and you wouldn't wake up so I texted him myself. He wants me to be, like, in his team's pit." I shrug my shoulders as I try to get the point across. "So, of course my gay ass said yes. Now, I need you to drive me to their match."
"Really?" Yuuka groans. "Fine." She gets up, and throws on her riding jacket. Both of us fell asleep in our regular clothes. "If you want a change of clothes, I have stuff from the men's section and there's some stuff in Kaoru's room but that might be too big for you. You gotta look nice today." She offers, and I slowly walk towards her dresser.
"Cool," I say as I open drawers and look at what she's got. "You not gonna change?" I ask her.
"Nah, at this point I'm just used to wearing the same outfit everyday." She shrugs her shoulders, picking up her riding pads off the floor.
"Miguel said the same thing." I pick out a white skirt with a floral skull pattern on the front. I can tell by the label that it's from the mens' section. "Apparently everyone from the Satellite is like that?"
"Yeah, it's true." I start to look at the jackets on the back of her door, and I choose a plain black leather jacket to match my black jeans. "You're just gonna have to wear those jeans again, nothing I have will fit you."
"I'll survive." A chuckle manages to escape my mouth.
We slowly make our way to the stadium where Miguel's match is, a smaller stadium compared to the one Team 5D's played in, which makes sense considering that team has Jack freakin' Atlas and Yusei freakin' Fudo.
"Good luck," Yuuka winks at me as I put her spare helmet back into the storage compartment of her D-Wheel.
"Don't say it like that. We're just hanging out."
"Sure. You know exactly what this is." I resist the urge to lose my cool.
"Shut up," I say as I roll my eyes. Try to act cool, I tell myself. It's not a date. He might not like me. Hopefully he does, but that's a different story. I need to change the subject. "Thank you Yuuka. For everything."
"You're welcome," she smiles. I mean it. She's helped me a lot without realising it. She makes me feel a little less alone. She's been in the same place as I am now. She's shown me that I can move forward, so I will. Yuuka opens her arms, so I give her a hug. "Go on, kid. He's waiting for you." I smile as I wave her off.
I turn around, exhale deeply, and walk towards the pits in the stadium. Apparently, Miguel added my name to the approved list of people in the pit yesterday, before he asked me. Which means he expected me to say yes. That takes my brain a few seconds to understand. Miguel meets me in the stadium, because everything is confusing and the signs are misleading. As we enter the pit with his friends, one of them begins to wolf whistle but is quickly silenced.
"Callum, you had one fucking job." I hear one of them whisper harshly. "Act cool when this dude shows up."
"So everyone, this is Kenta. Kenta, that's Callum, you probably guessed that." He begins to go down the line of the guys. "Conrad, Griffin, and Rafael."
"So the entirety of The Phantom Riders? Nice to meet you properly."
"We weren't subtle by calling ourselves Team Phantom, were we?" Miguel starts laugh, joined by everyone else.
"I hope there's no hard feelings, considering…"
"Dude," Callum speaks up. "It's fine, don't worry. We got ourselves into a position before we made the offer so we wouldn't fuck ourselves over. He's," he points to Miguel, "smarter than he looks."
"He looks fucking stupid." Rafael pipes up. Miguel just laughs.
The match is starting soon, so we get over introductions and start getting ready for the match. Griffin is up first, followed by Conrad, and then Miguel last as team captain.
The duel starts and I sit on a chair next to Miguel. He subtly leans his arm on the back of my chair. I hear the other guys whispering, but I try to ignore them. Mostly because my gay brain is overreacting. He must like me, he must be flirting with me. Why else would his friends react like this? Why else would I be here? Especially since I told him, while drunk, that I was upset because I had just broke up with Takumi.
The duel continues. Miguel has to leave my side for a few minutes, as Conrad loses, but he beats the opponent's final wheeler because he was already weakened. Meaning it's a victory for Team Phantom.
Miguel invites me back to his place for the party they're having. I go along because I don't want to leave him yet, and it's not like I have anywhere else to go. I don't want to intrude on poor Yuuka's mom when Yuuka herself isn't there. The party is fun. A game of never have I ever means that I learn far too much about these people. Miguel is pansexual. Rafael has made out with everyone in the room, minus me. Griffin has done questionable things in questionable places. Conrad is non-binary and doesn't give a shit about anything. Callum has a dick piercing, which he offered to show me, but I declined. They learn that testosterone can give someone an uncontrollable sex drive, which gets some cheers. I end up staying over, because we finish partying at like three in the morning. Miguel lets me sleep in his bed, while he sleeps on the couch, despite the fact he has a double bed. Something about alcohol in our systems. If I wasn't already in deep with these feelings, the smell of Miguel surrounding me is enough to throw me in the deep end.
I end up staying more than a few days. Neither Miguel nor his friends seem to care. They make me feel welcome. More than a few times we've stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking about literally nothing. Like the literal merits of coffee versus energy drinks, because, unlike me, Miguel actually drinks energy drinks.
"Are you sure it's fine?" I ask him as he works on his D-Wheel. He looks absolutely breathtaking when his hair is ruffled and there's motor oil smeared on his face. I haven't bothered to tell him because I enjoy the look.
"Kenta, you can stay here as long as you want." He chuckles. "The guys enjoy having you here." They're living in a duplex, near Nico's doctor office. The lower part has a garage, where Miguel and Conrad. Meanwhile, Callum, Griffin, and Rafael stay where there's a nice balcony. It's handy because we can hang out whenever we want. I'm starting to form friendships with each of them, which is nice. It makes me feel less like an intruder, and that they don't regret my presence.
"I don't want you to keep sleeping on the couch." I sigh. "Your back must be killing you."
"What if you stayed…?" I nod, letting him continue. "And I stayed in the bed with you?"
"Did you just…" I stare at him, but he just hides behind his D-Wheel.
"It depends."
"On what?"
"How you feel about that?" He peeks. I barely see his baby blue eyes behind the mass of red hair. "Cause I can just sleep on the couch, it's fine-"
"I didn't say I had a problem with that."
"You didn't say that you don't."
"Well, maybe I don't." All of Miguel's head pokes out from behind his D-Wheel.
"Really now?"
"Yes," I answer. "I must admit, that was a pretty smooth way of asking someone out."
"Thank you," he chuckles. "I pride myself on being suave."
"So, that's why you subtly put your arm on the back of my chair whenever we sit near each other?"
"Yes, I'm glad you got the message." We start laughing. Then, it suddenly gets awkward. Miguel just became my boyfriend. Should I hug him? Kiss him? Say nothing? "Will we hug it out?" He asks.
"Yeah, sounds good."
The next few weeks are eventful, to say the least. Miguel's team lose the second match, barely. Then, immediately after the match, a hoard of robot D-Wheelers descend on the City, fucking up everything. The preliminaries are cut short, only the top team in each bracket proceeds to the final, instead of the top two. As another in his bracket won two matches, they proceed instead Team Phantom. Not only that, after the WRGP Final, which Team 5D's win, some kind of spiral made of concrete literally breaks the sky and begins to fall on the City and fuck up Momentum, making evacuation a nightmare. Then, it's magically solved by Yusei Fudo defeating someone guy called Z-One who claims he's the future version of Yusei and that Synchros destroy the world. Although, the Ark Cradle, as it was called, vanishes, it leaves a sense of unease in the City. We try to go back to our lives, it takes a while. But, then, something happens. I get suddenly get added to a group chat with all of Yuuka's friends.
Crow: Hey everyone, Yuuka's gone missing. She ran out of our place a few hours ago. If everyone could look for her, that would be much appreciated.
Kaoru: I think something happened to her, please help if you can.
I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. My mind goes back to The Cardinal Dragons, where its leader publicly aired Yuuka's dirty laundry, including the fact she tried to kill herself after returning from the Satellite mysteriously. Everyone must be thinking the same thing. Miguel, who also got added to the group chat, tags along with me as we try to find her. My brain immediately goes straight to any bridges. If I was suicidal, not to say that I haven't been in the past, I would probably throw myself off a bridge. I realise when we're a reasonable walking distance away from the apartment, that we completely neglected the fact that Miguel has a D-Wheel, that we could be riding right now, but we're not, we're just walking around. Normally, I'd consider myself quite practical. Apparently, that goes out the window when I care about people.
Kaoru: Yuuka's okay, she's on her way back to Poppo Time.
Poppo Time isn't too far from where we are right now. Miguel moves to start going back home, but I tug on his sleeve. "I want to go," I whisper. "I need to make sure she's okay." Miguel merely nods and we walk to Poppo Time in silence. When we arrive, it's just Yusei, Jack, Crow, and Izayoi. They don't seem surprised that I'm here.
"Good to see you're doing better," Izayoi says quietly as we wait for Yuuka to arrive. She glances at Miguel. She must have been here when Yuuka left to come comfort me.
"Thanks," I mutter.
Kaoru arrives next, without Yuuka.
"Hold on, I thought you found Yuuka?" Crow asks as soon as Kaoru closes the door.
"No, I just know she's coming." He sighs. We dissolve back into silence. It's awkward. I don't think people trust Kaoru still. Though, I have heard that he and Yuuka have make amends. Did he try to do that with me? Not at all.
The door opens again, all of our eyes dart to the door. But it's not Yuuka.
"Excuse me," Takumi pops his head in the door. The aura of every single person in the room becomes darker. He walks further inside without being invited in. "Don't look at me like that. Look who I brought." He stretches his arms out.
"Yuuka!" Everyone shouts in unison as she walks inside. Yuuka looks like a mess. She's deathly pale, and the bags under her eyes are so bad that her eyes look bruised. Then, I notice her hair. The last time I saw her in person, her hair was just past her collarbone. Now, it falls past her waist. What exactly happened to her?
"Where were you?" Izayoi runs up to Yuuka and grabs her arm, she flinches at the contact. "What were you doing?"
"Hey, hey, leave her alone for just a minute." Takumi tries to pry Izayoi off Yuuka. Only for Izayoi to glare at him. "She's been through a lot, you're scaring her. She doesn't have to say what she was doing if she doesn't want to, okay?"
"And who do you think you are?" Izayoi takes her hands off Yuuka, and turns her attention to Takumi. "Do you know what you did to her? You betrayed her and you made Kaoru do the same."
"Aki, this isn't the time for this." Crow tries to step between them. Izayoi's head whips around, clearly not impressed. "You can yell at him another time." This gets her to stand down. Though, I notice she hunches a little as she crosses her arms.
"Thank you, Takumi." Yusei says, cutting in. There's sincerity in his voice? But does Yusei think that Takumi saved Yuuka from…? I notice Yuuka look at Yusei, who's standing beside me, and bit her lip. Yusei looks just as bad as Yuuka, right down to the baggy plain white t-shirt and the bags under his eyes. He definitely believes that Takumi did that. Takumi. I'm still angry about that.
"Why is he here though?" I pipe up, and Takumi immediately scowls. "We're here for Yuuka, but somehow Takumi makes it all about himself like always." Yusei's aura changes immediately. Does he know something?
"Who's gonna tell him?" Crow looks between Yuuka and Kaoru. Yuuka's face doesn't even react at all to the situation. It's completely blank. She doesn't even look like she's reacting to this situation at all, or she's even aware it's happening in the first place.
"Not me," Kaoru jumps in immediately.
I look around the room. Everyone else knows what's happening. If anything, Takumi looks smug. Yusei looks awkward. Kaoru looks panicked. Miguel even looks like he's figured it out. I look at Yuuka, who seems a little more alert. She and Kaoru made amends. Why? Because…
"No, please don't tell me…" I stare at Yuuka. Her face finally reacts. I see her brain coming to life behind her eyes. Her eyebrows raise slowly. What comes out of her mouth yet is the purest form of sarcasm I've ever heard.
"Dude, did you not know that Kaoru and Takumi were dating the entire time?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I close my eyes and try not to go berserk on Takumi and murder him on the spot. I turn to look at Takumi. So that's why Kaoru betrayed us. So that's why he didn't try to amends with me. Because he stole my boyfriend without me even knowing it. "You could have waited longer than a month."
"Then, who's that?" Takumi points right at Miguel, who's avoiding everything by staring at the ceiling.
"So, Takumi…" Yuuka puts on a fake laugh. Her face is covered in pure unease. "You know Phantom Riders' Miguel, right? You remember him, don't you?"
"You know?" Takumi asks Yuuka. "Since when?"
"Around the same time that we started…" Kaoru answers for her, unaware that he wasn't the one being asked. So Kaoru knew because of Yuuka, obviously.
"How do you know?" Takumi squints at Kaoru, visibly pissed off. "And you didn't tell me?"
"It wasn't exactly my place to tell you?" Kaoru looks like he wants to vanish, which is relatable. I'd rather be anywhere but here.
"Okay, that's it!" Crow finally snaps and begins to push Takumi out the door. "Get your relationship dramas out of my house. Goodnight everybody! Thanks for helping, but you're no longer needed. Bye!" I sigh, realising that both Takumi and I are both making this situation about us. Miguel and I begin to walk out.
"You have my number, Yuuka. Call me, okay?" My voice sounds more desperate than I intend. I'm spooked by the thought that my friend nearly just killed herself. Kaoru tries to say something, but Crow slams the door, leaving us all outside.
"I can't believe you." I try to say, but it comes out as a shout.
"Like you can say anything." Takumi responds. "You jumped into his arms quick enough."
"The same could be said for you! If you've been after Kaoru, this entire time, the least you could have done was break up with me."
"Kenta, we were in a relationship in name only by the time we broke up." He sighs. "We both knew it was a train wreck waiting to happen."
"That doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt." I take a deep breath. "How do you think it feels? Knowing that your boyfriend is plotting to take over the world behind your back, convinced one of your few friends to join him, both of you betray everyone, leaving because you I can't deal with it, only to find out that you jumped into his bed as soon as I turn my back. How am I supposed to feel, Takumi?"
There's a long silence. Everyone's eyes are on me. Kaoru and Miguel don't dare butt in.
"If it helps, I've stopped everything. Team Liberation is dead."
"Because he convinced you? Is that right?" Takumi nods solemnly. "Of course. I was never good enough for you. I tried for months to convince you it was a bad idea, I warned you. But as soon as I leave, Mr. Perfect is able to convince you? Takumi, did you ever actually love me?"
"Of course I did, Kenta."
There's silence again. I can't form actual words. I look at Takumi, and I don't know if he's telling the truth. I want to believe him, but I can't bring myself to do it. I take a deep breath, my powers quaking from the emotions. I just shake my head and walk away. Takumi just lets me go.
It doesn't take Miguel long to catch up to me, curse him and his long legs. He stands in front of me, making me stop walking. My head falls forward onto his chest. He pulls me close as sobs start to rake my body. I can feel my tears starting to soak his shirt.
"I love you," he mutters for the first time. A sad smile appears on my face through the tears. I can't physically say the words back to him, so I just nod my head.
Things are quiet after the Ark Cradle. I think the City is learning how to cope with how we all almost died, and that the only thing that stopped us from certain death was Yusei Fudo. At least, that's what we thought. Yusei was going to awarded the Key to the City, but then during his acceptance speech, he says that Yuuka was the one who saved the City. They both accept the award, and two things are done. An anti-discriminatory bill for both psychics and Satellites, and then an education system for former Satellite residents.
This. This is what makes Takumi have a conversation with me. Not an argument, but a conversation.
"I told you she was special." He hums. We've decided to meet up for coffee, a sign of peace. "You didn't believe me then."
"Not then," I agree. "Now, I think she is. She's someone you have to warm up to."
"It's incredible what she's done. An anti-discriminatory bill for psychics and Satellites. I bet Miguel is happy with that." Considering he's marked, he doesn't say.
"Yeah, it will make his life easier. Finally, he might not get asked to leave shops for being marked."
"I have a question," he takes a sip. "Is Miguel going to use that Satellite education scheme? He could get into college next year with that. Apparently, the trial run is starting at the end of the summer. Did you hear that Yuuka's getting Yusei into the Applied Physics programme? Sneaky bitch. I heard she's the one who came up with the idea. She pitched the idea to Emiko's dad who's a Senator long before this ever happened."
"Hard to believe that Yuuka has ever had a good idea." We both burst out laughing at that. "No, Miguel's gonna go work in Reika Hoshakuji's garage as a mechanic. They asked him the other day."
"What are you doing with yourself? Now that everything's over."
"Well," I sigh. "I've just been working in the convenience store down the road. I'm just enjoying the peace." Takumi has this look on his face, and I recognise it. It's his idea face.
"Now," he begins. "The money left over from- everything, it's not just my money. It's ours. I got to keep the apartment, so I feel like I need to give you something."
"Takumi-" He shushes me.
"I'll give half the money," he continues. "After-"
"After what?"
"Lemme finish?" He looks jokingly offended, and I have to stop myself from chuckling. "Now, Kaoru was the one who suggested this." I make a face. "Yes, Kaoru has ideas too. But." He holds up his hand. "Kaoru wants me to use a portion of the money to send you to school. He thinks you're too smart not to go to college. Now, I don't think because you're smart, you need to go to college, just do whatever makes you happy. Because you deserve to be happy, Kenta. I'm sorry for what happened, and I want to make it up to you. What do you think? We need some of that money had saved up to send you to Neo Domino City University for Computer Science, since I know that's what you'd choose. If you wanna get in, the deadline closes this Friday. I'll help you get in, if you need it."
I'm in shock. My brain can barely process it. Takumi knows I have wanted to do that. We've just always agreed it was too much to run a gang and try to get through college at the same time. And here is the opportunity, right in front of me.
"There's no catches, right?" I ask nervously.
"Kenta, do you honestly think there would be a catch?" I stare at him until he gets the point. "Okay, that's just rude. There is no catch, c'mon."
"Alright then," I chuckle.
The application process goes smoothly with the help of Kaoru and Takumi. In a few weeks, the letter arrives saying that I've been accepted. The first thing I do is call them. Then kiss Miguel, who is right beside me. He's always at my side, so it's a given. Miguel is in work for my first day of college. He tries to take the morning off, but Kaoru insists on taking me. His police boot camp starts next week.
"Right, here we are." He says as we cruise to a stop in the parking lot, a building not too far from us. "I think this is the Otogi building?"
"Looks like it." I stare at the building where my first class will be.
"Well, good luck." Kaoru says as I disembark. I give him his spare helmet back. He stands up and puts in the compartment under the seat. "I hope this makes up for… everything."
"It does, Kaoru. Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault." I shake my head. "Let's put it this way, we're both better off without each other. You got Takumi to stop, and that says a lot. You're my friend, and I don't want that to ruin it. Thank you for driving me." I fix my messenger bag. I had to put the bag at my back for the ride.
"You're right." He sighs. "Well, good luck." He puts his hand out for a fist bump, but I just hug him instead. I would describe it as awkward, but Kaoru does return the hug. "Have fun. Math as your first lecture? Can't imagine that's fun when you're here for Computer Science."
"I'll survive," I chuckle. "Got Web Design after this. That doesn't sound as boring."
"Tell me how it goes." He says as he gets back on his D-Wheel. He glances at a light blue D-Wheel, which I know for a fact belongs to Yuuka, at the other side of the parking lot. "What is Yuuka doing here?" Then, he turns back to me. "Never mind that. Have fun, and I'll see you later!"
"Bye Kaoru!" I wave as he drives out of the parking lot, followed by Yuuka's D-Wheel. I sigh, and begin my trek to find my lecture hall. Luckily, I'm able to follow a hoard of people that are also heading to the room. Although I'm a few minutes early, the lecture hall is jam packed. The information about the class said that I'm sharing this class with many courses, and not just my own.
I manage to find a seat down towards the front. I stare to unpack everything. My pen, my paper, my laptop just in case.
"Kenta?" A voice right beside me says. I turn to see who it is. Then, I realise that I'm sitting right next to Yusei Fudo of all people. "You're taking this class too?"
"I don't know? Am I in the wrong class?" I stroll through my phone. I'm taking this class with Applied Physics students. "Apparently, we have this together. Who would have known?"
"Yuuka," he chuckles. "That's why she couldn't take you to class today." She asked when my first class was, because she wanted to take me, but then said she was busy at that time.
"Yeah, that makes sense." I nod. "It's almost like she's psychic or something." That gets a laugh out of both of us.
The lecturer walks onto the podium. The room, filled with chatter, goes dead silent. The lecturer makes a joke about it, and then proceeds to tell a horrid math joke. Something about logicians walking into a bar.
Starting university feels a little less terrifying knowing that I have, not just Yusei, but everyone. I think of the times when I felt lonely in the world. When I joined a gang, just to keep myself off the streets. I feel grateful for what I've gone through, just because it got me where I am. Being surrounded by people who accept me just makes the world seem a little less daunting, a lot easier to live in, and more full of love.
END