WUN: Among the Stars

by stellartrishula

A collection of oneshots and side stories set in the Waking Up Normal universe, told by a variety of characters throughout the timeline of the story.

10. In The Name of Love II

Kaoru

---

Yuuka takes out her mysterious attacker, some angry kid from the Jackals. I just wish I could have been there to beat him up, but no, she only dueled him again and won. After that, everything calms down again. Except for one major problem. I'm hiding that I'm suddenly now gay and I don't know how I'm going to cope. I think about telling Yuuka, but then I'd feel awkward because Takumi is one of her best friends. For some reason, I don't think I should tell Emiko first. Maybe because I thought I used to like her. I feel it would be awkward, and I don't think I'm ready for that. Anako's been busy, so the only person left is Shinji.

"So," Shinji crosses his arms. "I brought you here for a reason." Surprisingly, Shinji contacted me first and told me that he has something to talk about. The venue is the little ramen bar that he took me to when we first met.

"That being?"

"You've heard of the WRGP, right?"

"Yeah, that riding duel tournament that Yusei's entering."

"Oh good, y'know how the team are made up of three people?"

"Yes?" I nod. "Where are you going with this?"

"Well," he leans back in the chair and starts talking with his hands. "I had an idea, a great one at that." I nod again, letting him continue. "How about we form a team?"

"Me?" I point to myself, very unsure.

"Yes, you." He rolls his eyes.

"But I'm a psychic."

"Kaoru, you can control your powers." He sighs. "That isn't the problem here."

"What is then?" I ask. "We still need three people?"

"Oh no, we have Emiko."

"Oh? Emiko?" I wasn't expecting to hear her name. But that shouldn't surprise me. She's more motivated to go pro than I am. She's also a better duelist than I am. "Are you sure you want me on the team?"

"Kaoru," Shinji sighs again. "I've never beaten you in a duel. We duel, like, once a week. Why wouldn't we want you on the team?"

"Because Yuuka exists?"

"Right, this is where it gets interesting." Shinji smirks. "I'll be the backup rider, the benchwarmer, if you will. Our main trio is you, Yuuka, and Emiko. We'll be unbeatable."

"I mean, when you put it like that-"

"So you'll do it?"

"Yeah," I nod.

"Yes!" Shinji high-fives me from across the table.

"That's not all we need to talk about." Shinji's hand lowers slowly back down as he stares at me.

"Oh gods, that doesn't sound good."

"I wouldn't call it not good." I shake my head. "I wouldn't call it good either though."

"What's going on?" Shinji suddenly becomes very serious.

"I like someone." Shinji's eyebrows practically raise until they're in his hairline. "But the thing is… that I shouldn't."

"Yeah, Anako's super into your sister, so like-"

"It's not Anako."

"Don't worry about ruining the friendship, just tell Emiko-"

"It's not Emiko either." I slowly shake my head.

Shinji's face falls. I stare at my hands that are resting on the table. I start looking around me. The place is pretty empty, and the staff just look completely zoned-out.

"Then who is it?"

There's silence. There's a look of hesitation on Shinji's face. I think he's starting to catch on. I just have to say the words. I've admitted it to myself countless times. Now, I just have to say those words to Shinji.

"It's… Takumi." I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest, and I can suddenly breathe again.

"Takumi?" Shinji echoes. "Takumi… Chiba?"

"Yes," I sigh. "Yuuka's friend, Takumi. You can see why I shouldn't like him, but I do."

A grin breaks out on Shinji's face. He tries to cover it as he leans back in the chair. He licks his lips, still trying to hide the grin.

"I thought you were-"

"Straight, yeah." I finish for him.

"So you're-"

"Not." I say it bluntly. I feel the power in just that single word. I don't know what it will mean for me.

"Who else knows?" Shinji leans forwards and rests his elbows on the table.

"No one…" I try looking anywhere but him.

"I'm the first person you told?" Disbelief spreads over his face. "Not even Yuuka? Or Emiko?"

"No, I thought you'd be the best person to tell."

There's a pause. Shinji rubs a hand over his face. He exhales deeply. I watch his face intently. He bites his lips very suddenly. It's then I notice that his eyes are tearing up.

"What?" I whisper.

"I'm just so happy for you." Shinji rubs his eyes before he starts crying. "Do you know what you just did?"

"No?"

"You just came out for the first time."

"I guess I did, huh?" Shinji just laughs.

"Come here and give me a hug, dumbass."

---

"You need to be careful," I tell Yuuka the next time we're on patrol. The experience is made tedious by the fact that she's limping again, though it's not as bad as last time.

"Kaoru, I'm fine. Walking is probably good for my stupid ankle anyway."

"That's not what I'm talking about." I notice Yuuka slow down ever so slightly, which is annoying because she's already walking slow today.

"What do you mean then?"

"I just want you to be careful." I sigh, matching her walking pace. Luckily, we're walking through an industrial estate, so no one should overhear us. "You got attacked by someone from a gang we defeated. Raiden is still on the loose. I just want you to stay safe and unharmed. Please."

"Kaoru, I can take care of myself. I beat Raiden once in a duel, and I can do it again. I beat that kid the other day. I'll be fine."

"Yuuka, that doesn't negate the fact that you could have, and nearly, died. You're a girl and-"

"Oh gods," she groans. "Stop pretending like you have to protect me, and if you don't, something bad will happen. I can take care of myself. Besides…"

"What?"

"Bold of you to assume I identify as a girl."

"What?" I repeat, blinking very slowly. "But you're…"

"Genderqueer, look it up." I look at her, very confused. She rolls her eyes and continues to explain. "I don't really identify with any one particular gender over another. If anything, sometimes I feel like a mishmash of everything. Sometimes I think gender is overrated and I have none."

"Oh okay," I nod slowly.

"You vaguely understand?" She asks.

"Yeah, Reika told me she's non-binary and explained the whole thing to me. I just hadn't heard of genderqueer before."

"Oh," she mutters. "Wasn't expecting that."

"I know things." I nod very sharply.

"Yeah, straight people don't really know a lot of things, so I didn't get my hopes up." She pats me on the arm. "Look at you being a good ally though."

"Yep," I answer nervously. "That's a fair assumption." Yuuka looks at me weirdly for a second before shrugging her shoulders.

---

Shinji convinces me to tell Emiko next with some hesitation. When I meet up with her at her house, she looks more dolled up than usual. Or maybe it's just the brighter lipstick and slightly more exaggerated winged eyeliner.

"What did you want to talk about?" Emiko smooths down her hair, which has already been straightened meticulously to get rid of the natural curl in her hair.

"I need to tell you something," I exhale deeply. She perks up.

"And what would that be?"

"Okay," I exhale again. I've done it once, so it will be easier this time. That's what Shinji told me. "So, I… like someone." Emiko blinks at me rapidly. "But the thing is… I shouldn't. If you get what I mean."

"Why shouldn't you like them?"

"If I tell that person, it could make things awkward." I pause. "For everyone."

"It's definitely not Anako, is it?"

"Why does everyone assume I like her?"

"Okay, nevermind." She replies quickly. "What were you saying?"

"If I tell this person, it could literally change my entire life." And it's already starting to.

"And who is it?" Emiko starts smoothing her hair again.

"It's…" I take a deep breath. "Takumi." Emiko freezes completely. She stares at me, mouth very slightly ajar. "He's one of Yuuka's best friends. He's on Team Liberation too. He's strong, he's smart, he's funny, he cares about me. I can't get him out of my head. I don't know what to do. I guess this means I'm gay?" I look at Emiko, who's face hasn't moved a single inch. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tears starts streaming down her face. "This is huge for you."

"Why are you crying?" I move to wipe away her tears but she jerks back completely.

"I'm just… so happy for you." She starts wiping her tears herself. Her eyeliner is already starting to smudge all around her eyes, and transferring to her hands. She reaches over to her bedside locker and grabs a tissue.

"Really?" I ask. I expected Emiko to be more emotional than Shinji, but to burst into tears? I'm clearly missing something here.

"Of course I am, Kaoru." She nods and looks down at the tissue covered in smudged eyeliner and chuckles. "Obviously. You basically just came out to me. That's a big deal. That took a lot of courage, and you did it."

"Thank you, Emiko." I sigh in relief. "It means a lot."

"Yeah, yeah." She nods. "You need support right now. That's what you need. What you don't need is me crying." She throws the damp tissue in the bin and grabs another one. She just starts to slowly crumple it up in her hands, rotating it slightly every time. "I'm so proud of you, Kaoru. Who else have you told?"

"Only Shinji."

"Not Yuuka?"

"No, Takumi's her friend. So I'd feel awkward. Aside from Takumi, she's the last person I want to tell."

"You do realise Shinji is friends with him too?"

"Yeah, I know. I realised that after I told him. Shinji somehow makes things not awkward."

"True," she nods slowly. "But yeah, Takumi…"

"Yep."

"I haven't met him yet, you need to introduce me."

"Of course."

There's a pause. Emiko's eyes slowly make her way around the room, before stopping on her desk.

"I need to study for my linear algebra test," she says softly.

"Isn't that in two weeks?"

"No harm in being prepared."

"You want me to leave?"

"Yeah, it's probably for the best." She nods slowly. "I'm still proud of you. I hope things go well when you tell him."

"Thank you," I say again. We say our goodbyes, which seem shorter than usual. As soon as I close the door, I hear Emiko starting to sob. I think about opening the door again, but I decide to walk away.

---

Emiko seems fine the next time I talk to her. She's stopped completely hating Anako, which is a drastic improvement. Anako seems the same way. Despite Yuuka's recovery, she's on standby to help us still. With one gang left, I seemed doubtful that she'd be helpful. Turns out that I spoke too soon.

I'm awoken in the early hours of the morning by another phone ringing. This time, it's Yuuka's phone. I hear her muttering on the phone through the wall. I pay attention to her thoughts. She's not talking to Yusei. Yusei's missing. I hear a glimpse of her thoughts. My mind goes to the exact same place that hers does. I start to get ready. I head downstairs, as quietly as I can, and start to pack a bag with all of our gang things in them.

"Who is it?" I ask when Yuuka finally gets downstairs. All of the colour has drained from her face. Considering she's already very pale, she literally looks like a ghost right now.

"I don't know," I reply. "My bet is Cardinal Dragons, they're the only gang left and they wanted to do this on their own terms." Yuuka steps into the garage, picking up her helmet.

"You're not driving." It takes all of me not to snap at her. She starts glaring at me. "Not like this, you're not. You're too emotional right now, you'll probably crash again and that's not going to help anyone." Yuuka stares down at her hands. They're shaking violently. The helmet itself is trembling. I put my hand on top of the helmet to steady it. Yuuka keeps her eyes on my hand. I take a deep breath and clear my head. "I'll drive us over, it'll be a tight squeeze on my D-Wheel, but it'll be worth it." Yuuka merely exhales and puts her helmet on.

---

The rescue mission goes smoothly. Too smoothly. We find Yusei in their empty base after getting a call from the leader of the Cardinal Dragons. I text Anako, telling her to meet us in the Daimon Area, which that's where Yuuka is headed.

"It was completely empty," I tell Yuuka once we catch up to her.

"That's why you said it was a trap, wasn't it?" Yuuka nods.

"Why would they leave Yusei completely alone, when it was clear that they're luring us out?" Kenta ponders. Yuuka's head perks up. I feel two auras approaching. Yuuka darts off, leaving the rest of us behind.

"Leave her," I put my hand out as Takumi tries to follow her. "The auras have split up. She's gone after the bigger one."

"Indeed she has." A mysterious voice replies. I turn around suddenly to find that the second aura has miraculously sneaked up on us. I scan the dude quickly up and down. Tanned skin, turquoise hair with horrid brown roots, and bright blood red eyes. A dark twinkle in his eyes betrays what lies behind his baby face. "Was that a wise decision? I suppose we shall find out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Takumi snarls. I put my hand up to silence Takumi. Yuuka's aura is on the move again. The other aura I felt comes running, stopping behind the little shit in front of us. Yuuka stops near the entrance of the Daimon Area. Her mask is cracked and her wig is torn, but everything is still in place, for now. Yuuka's aura has become overpowering. Everyone's aura heightens just from being in her presence.

"Do you want this back, or should I return the favour?" Yuuka pulls out a knife sticking out of her torso. It takes of all me not to puke on the spot, though I do gag at the sight of her blood dripping onto the ground. The blood runs down her knife, onto her gloved hand, and then onto her sleeve.

"Well, well, well." The guy with the turquoise hair begins. "If it isn't the Fabled Queen of Neo Domino herself." I gasp. Could he have…? Yuuka's entire body tenses. Her mask begins to crack. It splits into two pieces and falls to the ground with a clatter. "Yuuka Sasaki." Everyone around me erupts into gasps and whispers. "It's a pleasure to have you here, Miss Sasaki."

"Is that what the kids are calling me these days? The Fabled Queen of Neo Domino? It has a nice ring to it." Yuuka kicks her broken mask out of the way before starting to walk slowly towards us. She throws her ripped wig behind her. Parts of her sandy blonde hair fall into her face.

"Jasper," the guy with turquoise hair turns to the tall dark guy beside him. "Make sure they don't interfere." Jasper summons Dark End Dragon and creates a cage of black matter around us. They're going after Yuuka. That's why they targeted Yusei and left him alone. Because they knew she'd come out of hiding, regardless if he was hurt or not. I punch against it. Electricity spreads throughout my entire body. I cradle my fist and everyone huddles around me.

"I'm fine," I mutter. We just need to get out.

"What's a Queen without her King?" The turquoise-haired guy turns his attention back to Yuuka. "You're nothing without him." He tilts his head, mocking her.

"Him?" Yuuka asks, keeping a completely neutral face. Blood from the wound on her forehead begins to trickle down her face. It keeps going until she has to squint to keep it out of her eyes.

"You know who I'm talking about."

"Do I?" Her aura flares slightly.

"You should. After all, you should feel bad after ignoring his advice."

"What do you mean?" I notice her hands starting to shake.

"You went to the Satellite, all alone. You went looking for something that was important to you." He takes one step forward, and Yuuka takes one back. How could he possibly know? I only know because I can hear her thoughts and there's only so much she can find from me. "But something happened." He tilts his head. "I don't want what, but it broke you. You were never the same, were you?" Yuuka begins to tremble. Her eyes start to glow orange. "Countless empty bottles surrounding you. You thought you could drink the pain away, but no. It was all too much for you. You wanted out, to end your suffering. So what did you do? You tried to hang yourself." Yuuka starts twitching and shaking. She starts to stumble backwards. I hear the gasps and whispers of everyone around me. "But that didn't work, did it?"

"Enough!" Shinji suddenly appears out of nowhere. He stands between the turquoise-haired guy and Yuuka.

"So, he had to help you, didn't he?" He keeps talking. "And guess what had to be done? Someone had to get your precious little Yusei involved, didn't they?" That's why he was there that day. Seemingly out of nowhere. "Why else would he have contacted you? To stop Little Miss Guilty from finishing the job? It was hard hiding the bruises, wasn't it?" I remember the turtleneck of her dress and how uncomfortable she seemed it to be in it. "Because that's when your dear old brother showed up, if I'm remembering right? Something about his psychic powers. Don't they come from a traumatic event? But he didn't have one, isn't that right?"

"What is he talking about, Yuuka?" I scream at her. She merely looks at me blankly.

"When did you get your powers? Enlighten us!" The turquoise-haired guy turns to look at me, a sadistic smile on his face.

"A few days after the Fortune Cup." I answer. I always thought seeing Yuuka again triggered them. It always made the most sense to me.

"A few days after the Fortune Cup…" He repeats. "Wasn't that when you went to the Satellite? Could it be that your traumatic experience was so bad that it triggered his powers and that's why you can hear each other's thoughts?"

"No!" Yuuka screams. She starts stumbling backwards. "No! No! No! No!" Shinji runs and catches Yuuka as she falls.

"Yuuka!" Yusei screams, practically in my ear.

I see Yusei covered in his own blood. I see the glowing purple mark that looks like a bird on Yuuka's arm. I hear the voice of the Underworld calling to her, telling her to finish Yusei. I feel myself falling into an abyss of swirling rainbow light. I feel the pain and anguish she felt. I feel electricity spark in my hands before I set that test dummy on fire. Of course.

"Ben, that's enough." Jasper scolds, bringing me back to the real world.

"I'm just doing what I was told." Ben answers.

"Doing what you're told? Please. You're a monster, that's what you are!" A voice shouts, not too far away from us. It looks like a double of Yuudai, Yuuka's gang persona. Anako has finally arrived.

"Jasper, they have the same aura! What's going on?" Ben shouts. "And who do you think you are?" He sneers.

"Exactly who you think I am," Anako answers. "I'm Yuudai, plain and simple. I am that boy who died on Cardinal Dragons' territory all those years ago. I am fighting against what my death represents. I'm here to finish this." I remember the story Yuuka told me, about where her gang name came from. He's supposed to represent everything wrong with gangs.

Suddenly, Ben starts to crumple where he stands. What would Raiden do? I hear Yuuka's thoughts loud and clear. I look to her. She's standing up again, though still leaning on Shinji. The aura of everything around me feels corrupted and sickening. Ben's aura is getting pulled and twisted in all directions. Is Yuuka doing this? Ben's body starts trembling, and his neck twists up unnaturally. Kenta, with his tiny frame, throws himself between the gaps of our imprisonment and starts running. He runs all the way to Yuuka and strikes her shoulders. The tension in the air dissipates instantly. I feel like I can breathe again. Kenta strikes her other shoulder, disabling her entirely.

"What are you doing?" She screams, her arms dangling by her side.

"Yuuka, stop!" He screams right back in her face. "Can't you see what you're doing?"

"Kenta, I need to do this. He needs to feel my pain!" He needs to feel my pain. I get a shiver down my spine. That's the same thing that the voice of the Underworld told Yuuka before she fought Yusei. At this, Kenta slaps her right across the face.

"Stop it Yuuka!"

"No!" Yuuka turns her gaze to Ben. Her face contorts, and she brings Ben instantly to his knees. Jasper throws himself between them. Her attention turns to Jasper who begins to spit blood. She keeps going, until she suddenly… stops. She's thinking about Yusei. Did she come to the same realisation that I did?

Everything starts to slow down again. The air in the Daimon Area still remains unnaturally cold, but I know that's just Yuuka's powers acting up. There's so much to process, but I don't have the time to think about it. Darkness still lingers in my sister, no matter how much she denies it. A part of her is still angry at the world for everything that's happened to her. That fact has just been shoved right back in her face. Not only that, this is the reason why I am a psychic. If Yuuka just simply accepted her fate, I would be a psychic. If she had never followed through on that anger, I wouldn't be here.

"Hey, get us out of here!" I scream over to Anako who hasn't moved.

"Not now!" She screams back.

"You came for me, did you? Help us!"

"No! I came for her!" She starts sprinting towards Yuuka. "I love her! I told you that!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I whisper under my breath. They're far enough away that we can't hear them talking.

"Kaoru, who the fuck did you tell?" Takumi turns to me.

"Anako." I throw my hands up. "In my defense, she guessed it and I didn't deny it."

"None of this makes sense." Crow pipes up. "Maybe Anako, a little bit."

"You're telling me?" I answer sarcastically.

"Where is he?" Yuuka screams, jumping back onto her feet. I feel Ben's aura quiver.

"You need to be more specific," he sighs to hide the nervousness.

"Where is Raiden Kimura?" I gasp and grab the cage still surrounding us. I try to scan Yuuka's mind. That's how they knew who she was. "You know where he is. He's the one who told you everything."

"So what? I don't know where he is. Last thing he told me, he was in Singapore." Ben scoffs. "He orchestrated this whole thing, y'know. He told me exactly who to attack, where to attack. He even told me who everyone on Team Liberation would be, with one exception," he looks back at me, "but I figured that one on my own." He sighs. "Don't blame me, honey. I'm just doing what he told me. Follow this step-by-step guide and Team Liberation will not be able to beat us. And it's working, isn't it? Raiden told me what you did."

"Ben," Jasper interjects, "he lied."

"What?" Ben exclaims.

"I heard her thoughts. Raiden is to blame." Ben's aura literally begins to tremble, upon realising that he broke Yuuka's spirit for nothing. "Her actions when Black Flag fell were justified."

"What? What am I supposed to do now then?" Ben sighs. I feel the air suddenly lighten. Yuuka's thoughts suddenly become crystal clear to me. I exhale peacefully. She slowly walks towards Ben, stopping just a few short paces from him. "What do you want? Haven't you caused enough pain already?"

"I have," she nods. "But I'm setting that right. I won't fight you."

"Then, how are you going to claim our territory?" Ben tries to egg her on, but her face remains completely peaceful.

"My name is Yuuka Sasaki," she sighs. "I barely survived in the Satellite. As I was approaching death's door, I was saved by a woman who had lost her own family in the Zero Reverse. Everything led me to witness the formation of Team Satisfaction, the greatest duel gang to ever grace the Satellite. They had one goal, unifying the Satellite. Our existence was poor, at best. They thought, if we couldn't escape it, why not make it better? That's exactly what they did. I carry their legacy on my shoulders, I want to do the same."

"I didn't ask for your life story. Besides, how do you know this will make the City a better place? Where's your proof?"

"You've already seen it yourself. The endless cycle of hatred and revenge is nearly broken." Yuuka steps forward. "We haven't solved this through violence. We've made people see our way of thinking. This violence doesn't have to continue!" Yuuka turns her attention from Ben to Jasper. "You don't have to stay here. We can leave this all behind and move on, have a normal life, settle down. Isn't that what you want, Jasper?" Ben gasps. "Am I right?"

Jasper sighs, walking slowly to Yuuka's side. "I'm with her," he says calmly.

"Jasper, how could you?"

"You've said it yourself, Ben. You've thought about leaving for a while."

"Yes, and giving the gang to someone else! Not give it up entirely!" He screams back.

"Why would we not take this chance?" Jasper pleads. "I believe in what she's doing."

Ben looks around him. His eyes graze the rooftops. I feel auras starting to surround. I'm going to die in this stupid cage that Jasper put around us, shoved in close proximity with people I don't know very well.

"If we give up here," Ben turns to Jasper, "our own gang will attack us, beating us and someone will take our place." He starts to walk towards Yuuka. "If you can fend these off, I'll give you our territory."

"Understood."

Without a warning, Anako summons a monster to break through the cage. I don't even have time to scream. I just run towards Yuuka.

"Are you okay?" Yusei asks once he reaches her.

"I'm fine," she answers. Her thoughts are racing a mile a minute.

"Are you sure?" I ask. "You didn't seem like that a minute ago."

"You doubt her." Jasper chips in an unwanted comment. "You can hear her thoughts, can't you?"

"How do you know that?" I squint back at him.

"I can hear your thoughts in her head. Not that she pays much mind to them." I just scoff.

"Yuuka?" Crow pipes up. "Your eyes… They're orange."

"It's cause she went berserk just there." Jasper explains. "I don't know if you saw it. Her entire eye, including the whites, glowed orange. Once she snapped out of it, only her iris was orange."

"It's happened before," she shrugs, "powers were a bit too much for me." So that's why the glowing seemed a bit extreme.

"It's a miracle you're still standing." Shinji tries to continue, but Yuuka glares him into submission. She presses her hand to her stab wound. I won't say anything. She'll use her new power to shut me up. She'll say that using her powers on me is fair game because I'm her brother. Unfair, if you ask me.

Yuuka comes up with a plan to fend off everyone within a matter of seconds. The battle starts and finishes quickly. The battle ends the second I feel something start to go wrong. The dragons flying over Yuuka's post disappear as soon as the battle ends. I know Yuuka, that's not something she would do.

We take turns guarding each entrance of the Daimon Area. It's early in the morning on a Sunday, so luckily, not many people are awake yet. From what I've heard, people in the Daimon Area hasn't learned not to call Security when psychics fight on their doorsteps.

It gives me time to think about things. Mostly that Yuuka is the reason that I'm a psychic. I'm still not sure how to feel. I know she didn't want me to be a psychic, it's not the most ideal situation. Since I've become a psychic, I've learned a lot of things. I've met so many people. I've grown to understand so many things. I've seen the world around me as it truly is, not perfect but in need of change. I'm no longer that privileged boy from the suburbs. For once in my life, I feel grounded in this world instead of merely looking at into the world through my bedroom window.

This is what I tell Anako when she asks me about how I feel on the matter.

Shinji comes back into the Daimon Area carrying an unconscious Yuuka. He keeps all of us back from her, except for Kenta who was with them on the other front. He calls the psychic doctor. At first I think that the blood loss is why she collapsed. But then Shinji hits the nail on the head, overuse of powers. That's why he said it was a miracle that Yuuka was still standing earlier, he knew this would happen eventually, and the blood loss didn't exactly help it either. Despite everything, there's a sense of calm in the air. Then, I realise that Kenta is creating it. I knew he could do it to one person, but this many at once? Incredible. The psychic doctor, who's name is Nico, checks over Yuuka and stitches the stab wound on her abdomen. Takumi says that he'll cover the cost of his work.

"Most of the bleeding seems to have stopped," Nico says as he stands up again. "Though, she might be out for a while with all that blood loss."

"I believe congratulations is in order," Shinji begins. The atmosphere has started to lighten up a bit. Just because it was calm doesn't mean that it was pleasant.

"What do you mean?" I know we just beat the final gang, but I feel like that's not what he's talking about.

"When I was carrying her back here," Shinji gestures towards Yuuka, "she was muttering about her boyfriend." I turn to look at Yuuka. I can feel the thoughts running around her head. "I know Yuuka. That could only mean one person." My aura starts to flare, no matter how much I try to control it.

In that exact moment, Yuuka gets up on one elbow and yells in Spanish in the vague direction of the other conversation which was happening in Spanish. Then, Yuuka just lies back down on the ground.

"She said she's not going to the hospital," Nico explains.

"Didn't know she knew Spanish." Ben says, as he was part of that other conversation with Nico and Miguel.

"Me neither," Miguel adds.

"She learnt it in Duel Academy." I walk over to Yuuka on the ground. I'm surprised that no one stops me, especially Kenta who very much seems on edge. "Yuuka," I call out to her. She turns her head so it's away from me. "I know you can hear me." She rolls onto her side, so she's completely looking away from me. I can't believe she's kept that from me. After all of this.

"Yuuka, don't lay on that side. If your stab wound opens again, I swear to the gods, I'm leaving." Nico sighs.

"Yuuka, why didn't you tell you have a boyfriend?" Yuuka jumps so she's sitting up, she nearly hits my forehead with hers in the process. "Yuuka." I try putting on my sternest voice. If I don't, I doubt she'll come clean.

"I thought you might try to murder him, so I just didn't?" She looks absolutely terrified, so I guess it's working.

"She looks like she's crying." I hear Takumi whisper. Both he and Shinji are trying not to laugh. I don't get how this is a joke.

"Who is it, Yuuka?" I pull her up onto her feet by the arm.

"Who do you think it is?" Yuuka pushes the hair out of her face nervously. Her forehead is gleaming with a mixture of sweat and blood.

"Him?" I don't even need to look at Yusei, because Yuuka does that for me. I turn to look at him, but he avoids my eyes. I was absolutely right. I should have known. I look back to Yuuka, who looks like she's about to faint or run.

"Kaoru, how'd you not know they were dating?" Shinji starts laughing.

"Dude, I don't even think he noticed that Kenta and I have been dating the entire time?" Takumi begins to howl with laughter. My grip on Yuuka loosens.

"What?" I feel like my world comes to a standstill. Not only is Takumi gay, which I was hoping and suspecting to be true. But he's already in a relationship, which I feared. Nothing can go right for me, can it? I feel like an idiot. I've told people. Looked them in the eyes and told them my biggest secret. I was in love with a guy, not just a guy, my sister's best friend. Shinji knew. And I bet Anako did too. Emotions start welling up inside me. In this moment, I can hardly tell what they are. Anger, embarrassment, betrayal? I couldn't tell you. I feel the familiar static in my hands. I look at Anako, who just shrugs at me. Shinji has stopped laughing upon realising that I didn't know. I want to say something, but my words are deserting me.

I'm snapped out of my daze by Ben surrendering his territory. We've done it. Team Liberation conquered the City. We have a group hug. It hardly feels real. All negative thoughts are pushed from my head as I think about reaching the end of that long road.

The elation feels like a balloon. But I'm noticing a trend today. Nothing can go as planned. Nothing can go right. Because Ben's phone begins to ring. Ben and Yuuka know exactly who it is. Raiden.

"Yuuka!" A voice calls through the phone when it's put on speaker. It's incredibly muffled, but it's enough to make Yuuka tense. I recognise the voice that I've only heard through a wall. "Congratulations on conquering the entire City. You really surprised us all." The sarcasm is thick in his voice. "What comes next, huh?" Yuuka starts to stumble backwards. I try to stop her from falling again. "You have the entire City in your hands. What will you do to lead it? Because you're on your own now." He laughs more to himself than anything else. "Guess I'll have to come and snatch it back. Cause remember we were going to do that together? You little bitch." He curses. "Until next time then, cause I'm coming for you." The line goes dead. Everyone's eyes stay on Yuuka. We wait for her to speak, do something, anything.

Her aura calms down. Not relaxed, but a cool anger. Yuuka's thoughts are crystal clear. Raiden made her into a weapon, used her for his own good. He let her win that duel, collapsed the building on top of her so she could join Team Liberation. He let her do that so he could defeat her and take the City for himself. Yuuka gathers her broken mask and the cape that was around her shoulders. She throws them on the ground. The cape billows gracefully, but the mask falls with a clatter. Shinji lands her a cigarette lighter. She catches the flame on the cloak. The fire starts small. It grows, its warmth rising into the air. In this moment, destruction lends itself to rebirth. Yuuka told me that. In order for something to be reborn, it must be destroyed. And just now, Yuuka threw her old self into the fire. Burning the last grasp of Raiden Kimura. The mask and cape were a gift from him. She used them as his weapon, his right hand man. Her face hardens. Yuuka's total rebirth is about to begin.

---

"So Shinji assumed you knew about Takumi and Kenta?" Emiko asks once I catch her up on everything. I left out the part about Yuuka being the reason I'm a psychic. She's apologised more times than I can count, and that was in the span of six minutes. Shinji counted at least twenty.

"Yeah, how was I supposed to know? They never said anything."

"Kaoru," she sighs. "If two guys are sharing a one-bed apartment, I would be genuinely shocked if they weren't gay."

"I didn't want to assume." I throw my hands up in defense. Emiko sighs again.

"What are we going to do about you?" She shakes her head with a smile.

"Rude," I scoff. "What's new with you?"

"Well," she begins. "Anako and I patched things up. So, we can exist on the same team and not attempt to rip each other's hair out."

"That's a start."

"Kaoru, you can't expect you to go straight from enemies to friends."

"Why did you two even hate each other anyway?"

"I don't even know," she answers, very clearly lying. "Poor Anako. Yuuka admitting she has a boyfriend, just after Anako declared her love for her."

"What's that got to do with anything?" I'm trying to link Anako liking Yuuka and Emiko hating her. Such a burning hatred always seemed out of place for Emiko. She's naturally warm and friendly to everyone. She accepted Yuuka, the first marked person she had ever seen, in the blink of an eye. She constantly comforted me when I got my powers for the first time. Why would Anako be any different to everyone else around us?

"I want someone to tell me they love me," Emiko sighs. She always asked if I liked her.

"I love you, you're my best friend." What difference would that make?

"Nice try, that's not working on me." Why would Emiko care that much about who I did or didn't like?

---

Takumi finally gets that celebration he was after. Even though he was the one who wanted it, Yuuka was the one who had to organise it, cater for it, and inviting everyone who ended up helping us in Team Liberation. Plus Emiko and Reika, who knew about it but decided to stay out of it. Yuuka even hosts it in the garage of Yusei's place. Like I needed more reminders that that's a thing now. Emiko arrives with Anako. She originally planned to come with me, but decided to blow me off for Anako. Is she mad at me? What could she be mad at me for? I told her as much as I could. What could I have done to her?

So, instead of hanging out with Emiko and Anako, I decide to spend time with Takumi and Shinji. After this, I get to go to Psycho for the first time. That is Takumi's wish that we go there. It was the regular place for Yuuka, Takumi and Shinji before everything happened, which seems like a lifetime ago.

"How much food did you make?" Takumi asks Yuuka as he stuffs tortilla chips into his mouth. He already has a vodka soda made for himself. He's been here for maybe five minutes. "I think you made too much." Yuuka just glares at him. She looks very stressed. I don't blame her. She's been up and down with trays of food for the last while. She's rejected all of my help.

"It's Yuuka, she always makes too food." When Shinji speaks up, I realise that too has also started drinking. "You got my lunchboxes, right?"

"You need to teach Reika how to cook, you know that?" Yuuka sighs.

"I burnt microwave popcorn yesterday. I shouldn't allowed near the kitchen." Reika butts into the conversation. Oh, so that's why Shinji's kitchen smelled like burning.

It takes Yuuka few minutes to get a drink, I notice. Even though, she probably needed one a long time ago. Takumi realises this and gets me a drink. I was hoping to avoid this. I've never probably drank alcohol. The most I've had is a sip of people's drinks at family events. They just taste like burning to me. But Takumi practically forces a vodka soda into my hand.

"It's a pre drinks, Kaoru!" Takumi tells me. "You have to drink."

"What's a pre drinks?" Takumi's face falls.

"Well," Shinji answers. "It's where you drink as much as possible before heading to a nightclub so you spend less money on expensive alcohol there because you're already tipsy or even drunk. But not too drunk that you can't get into the nightclub."

"Right…" I nod my head slowly.

What have I gotten myself into? That's the thought I have when Takumi throws his arm around my shoulders. I can smell the vodka in his breath. Is he doing this because he's drinking alcohol? Maybe. Is he doing because he's super friendly and this isn't the first time he's done this recently? Maybe. Takumi starts moving my hand so I drink the vodka soda. His hand keeps my cup tipped back so I end up taking a lot more than just a sip. My stomach immediately begins to turn and my entire throat and oesophagus starts burning. Takumi begins to start laughing, and cheers a little bit. Shinji joins in on it.

I haven't taken another sip by the time that Shinji drags Yuuka over for shots. Takumi shoves a tiny blue clear plastic cup, filled to the brim with vodka, into my hand. "One, two, three!" I follow everyone's moves and gulp back the entire cup in one go. It's a miracle that I don't throw up on the spot. Granted, I'm actively trying to keep it down.

"Baby's first shot." Shinji pats me on the back. Meanwhile, my face is so contorted by the burning in my entire body that I'm worried, for a second, that it won't return back to normal.

"Dude, seriously? How have you never had a shot?" Takumi says to me. Okay, he's tipsy.

"That's my first ever drink," I put to my regular sized cup on the table.

"Oh gods," he says, looking very overdramatic and surprised. "Why didn't you tell me? You just said this will be your first time to a nightclub."

"I didn't want to sound like a loser." I tell the truth. After being told stories of Yuuka chugging vodka straight from the bottle, I seem like an absolute baby. Granted, being compared to Yuuka in any way makes me feel like a socially awkward loser who never leaves the house. Something which was true until I got my psychic powers. Maybe the socially awkward thing is true, but only because I have anxiety about too many things.

I start drinking to cover the anxiety. Yuuka told me that alcohol makes her anxiety go away. Maybe that will help. Maybe then I will stop being hyper aware of every single time Takumi touches me. Maybe then I'll stop wishing that he didn't take his arm away from my shoulders. Maybe Yuuka is right. Drinking to get rid of your problems does seem like a valid option in this moment. I think I drink a little too much alcohol because I respond to Yuuka's thoughts while she's having a conversation with Shinji and not me, and she didn't say that thing out loud. So, I bursted in on that conversation saying something completely random, but made sense to Yuuka, and only Yuuka. Shinji takes my drink away from me, which I think is fair.

With Shinji talking to Yuuka, that leaves Takumi and I by ourselves for a few minutes. I start to think of something to say, anything, to make it less awkward.

"Team Liberation was great, wasn't it?" Good job, Kaoru. You really don't look like you're grabbing at straws here.

"Oh yeah," Takumi answers. "It's a shame that we couldn't continue it, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like taking the Team Liberation thing further." He continues. "We get back at the system that allowed gangs to get this bad. We take Team Liberation to everywhere in the world, until the world is free of gangs."

What? What does that even mean?

"I don't know," I try to formulate an answer which is hard because the alcohol is affecting my brain. "I'm still in school so I don't have the time. I'm super behind on study, so I don't know." I feel my words starting to slur a little.

"Obviously," Takumi nods. "I just mean sometime in the future."

"That could be cool," I nod, going along with what he's saying. "Gangs really suck, don't they?"

That conversation disappears as soon as Shinji turns back around to us. I don't even focus on the conversation that starts between Takumi and Shinji. I'm just thinking about what Takumi said. Was he serious? Or was that just the alcohol talking? Did Takumi just say he wanted to take over the world? That's what that meant. For Team Liberation, we took over the City. It's technically under our control, even if we don't do anything with it. Get back at the system? That's violence, isn't it? Before I realise it, Takumi has disappeared and Shinji is asking me where he went. Which makes no sense because Shinji was the one talking to him.

"Hey Yuuka, do you know where Takumi's gone?" I ask Yuuka as she walks past.

"Wasn't he with you?" She raises an eyebrow at us. My brain is so fuzzy from the alcohol that I'm surprised that I lost him.

"How do you lose Takumi, seriously?" Especially when he's like this, Yuuka finishes in her thoughts. She quickly scans the room. "Where's Kenta?"

"Well that explains that," Shinji sighs. I shake my head to physically remove the image of them kissing from my mind. I don't need that image taunting me right now. Before I do something stupid because of my alcohol soaked brain.

"Come on," Yuuka says, looking very panicked. She starts moving towards the open shutter door of the garage. It's dark outside already, something which I hadn't noticed but doesn't surprise me. The evening breeze is ever so slightly cold. I feel it cutting through my thin blue jacket. We walk up the D-Wheel ramp up into the square in front of Poppo Time.

"X-Saber Souza attacks Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" Kenta just stands there as the attack hits and the duel ends. Wait a minute. Takumi and Kenta have been dueling? Why would they be doing that? Wait. Did Kenta overhear my conversation with Takumi? Does he think Takumi is being foolish too?

"What's going on?" Yuuka asks.

"Nothing," Kenta replies. He refuses to look at us. He's clearly lying, which means I must be right. Takumi says nothing, but just stares at Kenta.

"Kenta," Yuuka says with more urgency. Kenta starts looking up at the sky. I try to read Kenta's aura. But there's so much alcohol clouding my brain that I don't even feel an aura coming from him.

"Come on!" Takumi claps his hands together. "Are we going out or not?"

"I'm not going," Kenta immediately replies without missing a beat. I can't stop myself from gasping. There's trouble in paradise. I try to focus really hard on reading Kenta's aura, but I come up short again.

"Sure, I'm already tipsy, why not?" Shinji answers, trying to break the tension.

"I'm not going if Kenta's not going." Yuuka stands firm, even raising her head slightly. I think she must be able to read Kenta's aura. I'm trying to listen to her thoughts and even that is very difficult now. Takumi grits his teeth at Yuuka's response.

"What about you, Kaoru?" Takumi turns his attention to me. I can feel my face flushing.

"Uh," I keep looking between Takumi and Yuuka, "sure, I guess." Maybe I can convince Takumi out of this. As much as I want Takumi for myself, I can't bear to see Kenta like this. Maybe I can change him before it's too late.

"Look after it, will you?" Takumi takes off his duel disk and tosses it to Kenta, who catches it. He leaves without saying much of a goodbye. I turn to look at Yuuka, who raises an eyebrow at me. I can feel her asking me a question, but I can't hear it. She looks so confused. I don't want to say anything, not until I know everything. I start walking in pace with Shinji. We're silent until we catch up to Takumi. What am I getting myself into? Is Takumi really serious or is he just a little too drunk to think straight?

I'm mostly quiet on the way to Psycho, only responding to things Shinji and Takumi say. My brain is still spinning from earlier, both from Takumi's words and the vodka. The line into the club starts disorientating me. There's so many people and it's so loud. It only gets worse when I enter the true den of the psychics, Psycho. The loud music pounds and echoes throughout my entire body. It almost feels like my powers are slowly seeping out of me. The static is nearly tangible in the air. That feeling is only going to get worse as Takumi buys us all a round of Tequila shots. It takes a minute to tell me that's it's salt, shot and then lime. Not the other way around. From that point on, everything seems a little blurry around the edges.

I get to watch my first drag performance. I enjoy it until Takumi tells me that the drag queen, Phoebe Tension, is actually Ben from the Cardinal Dragons. The real reason he wasn't at the party was because he was working tonight's show. After all, I just feel a sense of anger watching the performance. Especially when Takumi sticks a small bill in their clothes. I think Takumi gets the idea when he looks at my face. He tells Shinji that he's taking to the smoking area, since I don't look good. The smoking area is pretty busy, but we're able to sit down.

"You doing okay?" Takumi asks. "Is Psycho too much for you?"

"I don't know," I sigh. "I think it's just the alcohol."

"Yeah, that tequila probably pushed you over the edge." He chuckles awkwardly. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." I say. "At least I was able to have a tequila shot. Yuuka's brought them up before, and now I know what they are and how to take them."

"And that is?"

"Salt, lime, shot?"

"No."

"Salt, shot, lime?"

"There you go." We both laugh as he pats me on the back. "Hey," Takumi begins. "We haven't taken a selfie yet, and you're looking better. Wanna take one now?"

"Sure." I nod.

Takumi gets close to me. Very close to me. I start to get flustered, but I put on my best smile for the picture. Takumi looks at the photo with a fond smile. Then, both of us realise how close our faces are. Everything around us seems to fade away. It's him and me. My eyes keep darting from his eyes to his lips. Is he going to kiss me? My brain keeps repeating to itself. I notice his eyelids start to droop as he stares at my lips.

No. I can't be doing this. I pull back. Takumi's face looks shocked, but he moves away from me. Our shoulders are still grazing ever so slightly.

"Yous took a selfie without me? Rude." Shinji comes back holding three drinks. "I brought Kaoru a soda since he wasn't feeling good." He hands me the only glass in his right hand. He gives one of the ones in his left to Takumi. Shinji manages to squeeze his way between us, so he's sitting in the middle.

Did that nearly just happen? Takumi looks kinda guilty. He has a boyfriend at home. I can't believe I nearly kissed him. I never thought I end up here. I'm a good person. I don't do things like that. Shinji knows that. That's why he sat between us. For the rest of the night, that's where Shinji stays. Right between us. He never leaves us alone, not even to go to the bathroom, not even to go get a drink. Not even when we leave the club. He makes Takumi go home to Kenta. He makes me sleep on the couch in his apartment because he doesn't want me disturbing my mom at four in the morning. I know why he does it. Shinji's too good to let me do something stupid like that.

---

I can't stop thinking about Takumi. Wait, let me rephrase that. I'm thinking about Takumi more than normal, which was already a lot, so what I'm getting at here is that I'm fucked.

"So," Takumi begins in another one of our phone conversations. "I've been thinking about what happened the other night." I'm slowly realising that I hear Takumi's voice more than I ever actually see his face.

"Which part?" The part where we nearly kissed or when he told me he wanted to take over the world?

"What I said about Team Liberation."

"Takumi," I sigh. "You're gonna have to be more specific. You definitely should not have bought me that tequila shot." I tell everyone that I was too drunk to remember most of that night, which they believe. I feel like it helps the whole I nearly kissed someone's boyfriend situation, even though I'm basically pinning the blame on Takumi.

"Well, the part about continuing Team Liberation." He sighs. "What do you think about that?"

"I mean, it's a great idea in concept." I take a deep breath. "But-"

"But?"

"But I just think it's needs a lot more planning before you could go through with something like that."

"Absolutely, I agree." I slap my hand on my face. He's not getting the point at all, is he? "But the ideals of it are more than enough reason to go through with it. Who am I if I don't follow through on my ideals? Surely, you agree about that. I know you and your ideology."

"Yeah, right." I chuckle nervously.

"Kenta's trying to talk me out of it." He continues. "He thinks I'm being selfish and power-hungry. That I'm only using the psychic community to gain power. How does that even make sense? I'm helping you guys. What am I even getting out of this?" An ego boost, the answer flies into my head but I resist the urge to say it out loud.

"I don't know," I lie. "It's great that you're helping a community like this, and you're not even a part of it."

"I've got stakes in this, even if I'm not a psychic like you guys." He sighs. "I mean there's you, Kenta, Yuuka. That's not even it. The reason I even joined gangs in the first place was to keep my sister out of gangs. I know she's my big sister and she's always looked after me, even when we were kids. But I couldn't let her, you know? I couldn't sit by and let her do that to herself. So I joined the Onyx Slicers and I helped her out of a bad place."

"That was you?"

"What?"

"Shinji told me that story a long time ago, before I met you." I answer. "That story was inspiring, honestly. It's why I'm here, right now."

There's a pause, before Takumi starts chuckling.

"That's funny," he says before another pause. "You get where I'm coming from then?"

"Of course I do."

"Then I'll meet you in the park later?"

"Yeah, sure, why?"

"You'll see," is all he says before hanging up the phone.

---

I meet Takumi at the same gazebo where I first met him. It's just us two. I was expecting more than that, just from the way he spoke.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"I'm telling Yuuka."

"About what?" About our near kiss? About my crush? Does he know about that? I sure hope he doesn't.

"Continuing Team Liberation, of course!"

"Right," I take a deep breath. "Takumi, about that-"

"Will you back me up?" He interjects. "I've invited Kenta. I know he'll just disagree with everything I say, so I want you here to back me up."

"I don't know-"

"You don't have to say anything." He raises his hands up. "All you have to do is agree with me. Only you can do that. You're the only one who really understands where I'm coming from."

"I am?"

"Of course you are, Kaoru." He nods. "Why else would I have asked?"

"Yeah, you're right." I wave my hand awkwardly. "How do you think they'll react?"

"I think Yuuka will agree with me." He smiles. "I've always thought Yuuka as having strong morals. Why wouldn't she agree when we're doing the morally right thing?"

I can think of about five reasons, and knowing Yuuka, she'll have more.

Yuuka and Kenta arrive together. I can tell Takumi's slightly taken aback by the fact they arrived together. I'm sure Kenta has already figured out what's going on by the look he gives me. That look alone is enough to make me zone out. I miss most of the conversation by just staring at nothing in particular. I hear them talking about Raiden.

"What do you think?" Takumi turns and asks me. I glance into Yuuka's thoughts. How will we defend the territory? The thought of Raiden is still niggling in the back of my mind.

"Getting rid of Raiden is my first priority right now," I say bluntly. This takes the focus back off me.

Within a matter of moments, Yuuka sounds angry. Takumi has told her the big idea, and she hates it. I can't believe that Takumi thought she'd agree. I get where he's coming from. I know it sounds like a good idea in theory. But trying to go through with it? Impossible. Yet, I'm standing by him. Someone needs to. Someone can change his mind. I know how he thinks. He won't step down from Kenta and Yuuka screaming in his face. If anything, that will make him worse. What Takumi needs is someone to calm him down, make him see the big picture. Right now, that person is me.

Yuuka's aura begins to flare, snapping me out of my daze. "Takumi!" Her fists clench. "What are you thinking?" She moves to stand right in front of him. "You told us Cardinal Dragons was the end. You lied to us." Takumi backs away. "Unless." He gulps. "This was your plan along." Silence. Takumi refuses to meet her eyes. "Takumi."

"This is not your fight." Kenta joins the centre of the gazebo, leaving me to watch from the sidelines. "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 entire body begins to shake. Her aura grows rapidly. Whatever Cardinal Dragons did to her only seemed to make her stronger. "You're not helping us, Takumi. You're using us. All you gain from this is power."

"That's not true!" He shouts back. "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 where I get where he's coming from. Then I remember what he's trying to do, and then it all goes haywire.

"This is not the answer!" Yuuka gets right up in Takumi's face. His back bends back slightly, but his feet remain firm on the ground. How afraid of her is he really? "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. Takumi exhales loudly. Yuuka keeps looking at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Then, you're turning your back on your people." Takumi spits. "There is no revolution without force. Once a revolutions starts, it will never end."

Just because we're the ones who started doesn't mean we have to be the ones to end it.

Yuuka's aura flares up in an instant. It happens in the blink of an eye. Yuuka's fist is within a hair of Takumi's face.

"Yuuka!" Kenta shouts. He calms Yuuka's aura down. Her boiling rage has become calm and collected. I'm not sure which is more dangerous. Yuuka slowly lowers her fist. Takumi flinches. She 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, reading herself.

Fighting him must make sense in her head. That he'll suddenly stop. Takumi's already dueled Kenta and won, and that's exactly why we're here.

The only thing we could do is get through to Takumi. He won't listen to someone who's disagreeing with him. That's just who he is. I have to talk some sense into him. Until then, I need to bide time. Yuuka's gonna be pissed at me. She'll understand. I'll come clean to her after this. About everything.

"I won't duel you," Takumi says. "Kenta manipulating your emotions will only last so long. Once that's over, you'll use your powers to beat me to a pulp."

"Then what?" She scoffs. "Hand to hand?"

"Not that either," he shakes his head. "You're stronger than me and we both know that."

Yuuka squints at him. She gives Takumi the old look up and down. "You scared?"

"No," Takumi shakes his head. "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 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," Kenta reluctantly answers.

"So, you won't fight me? That's what I'm hearing."

"That's right." Takumi turns his back on Yuuka. "Kenta already lost a duel to me. There's nothing you two can do to change my mind."

"What if we leave?" The words drip from my lips like venom. "Don't doubt me, Takumi. You know I will."

"Kenta won't." Takumi quickly turns back. There's a fire in his eyes. I freeze. I know why Yuuka is so angry. In that moment, it's as if Raiden manifests through Takumi. "I can just find someone to replace you."

"You're wrong," Kenta stands by Yuuka's side. "You won't find anyone out there like us. Move on."

"Kenta." Takumi mutters, eyes wide.

"Kaoru." Yuuka turns her attention to me. "Join us. Don't let him convince you that this is a good idea." I can't bring myself to look her in the eyes. I can't say anything. Tell her that I don't agree with him, and then no one will be able to stop Takumi. Tell her that I agree with Takumi, and then I know for a fact that Yuuka will never talk to me again. "Kaoru." Her voice is starting to strain.

I can feel her trying to mentally talk to me. Why won't you say anything? Are you siding with him? Why? Kaoru, please answer me. I decide to look out over the lake, instead of at the ground. I feel her trying to make eye contact with me, so I just close my eyes.

"Kaoru!" Kenta joins in.

It's better for everyone if I say nothing.

"I see how it is." Yuuka's fists clench. Her aura flares again. It's shifting. It's becoming darker. Her thoughts are practically bashing against my head.

She hates me now. I'm just someone betraying her for someone who's just like Raiden. I want to tell her everything but I just can't. Once I convince Takumi to stop all this, maybe then she'll forgive me. Considering I don't have any sort of shot right now.

"See Yuuka," Takumi shakes his head, "Kaoru can see the sense in what I'm saying, isn't that right?"

I don't answer Takumi. Everyone's eyes are on me. I wonder what they think. Yuuka hates me now. I know that. Kenta probably knows why I'm siding with Takumi, but not my goal. Takumi probably just thinks that I'm not saying anything because he told me that I didn't have to.

"He's not taking a side." Kenta says, sighing. He's wrong. I'm not taking Takumi's side. I'm taking theirs. They just don't know it yet.

"But Yuuka…" Takumi trails off. He looks outside of the gazebo, just past Yuuka's head. "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." Yuuka's glare becomes more intense. I'm sure if Takumi had an aura, he'd be keeled over, coughing up blood. Takumi merely raises his eyebrows at her.

"Then, I guess this is it." Takumi walks right past her. He stops on the bottom step of the gazebo. "You're on your own now, Yuuka. I hope you realise that." I shiver. Didn't Raiden say something just like that? Takumi's gaze moves to me. "Come on. We're done here."

I push myself off the pillar with my foot. I slowly walk out of the gazebo. I let my shoulder graze Yuuka's, as if that gesture would suddenly let everything make sense to her. But it doesn't. Yuuka gasps. She follows me down the steps.

"Kaoru. You've betrayed me." She shouts after me. I can't bring myself to turn back. Her words feel like liquid venom coming from her lips. "I hope you know that. You're going against everything we've fought for. You're going against me." My eyes start to burn with tears. I feel the thoughts going through Yuuka's head. All the memories that we've had in only a few short months. I thought he cared for me. I really thought he did. I guess I was wrong. Those words stab like a knife in my heart. "I just wish I had let you rot. Turned you away when you needed help. Because that's what you had done to me." I glance back. I can see her eyes shining at me in the dusk light. I thought she'd look angry. But no, she's heart broken. I keep walking. I don't look back again. I take a deep breath. I need to sever our mental connection. I can't live with the fact that Yuuka thinks I betrayed her. I'm doing this for the both of us. It's better that I wait. It will all make sense in time. I feel the connection snap. For the first time in a long time, my mind is completely quiet.

---

I can't bear the thought of going home, just in case Yuuka's there. Although, she probably went running straight into Yusei's arms. Luckily, Takumi doesn't want to go home either. We end up spending the entire night in a twenty-four hour Burger Queen in the heart of the City. We end up spending way too much to make the staff left us stay there. We talk for most of the night. I try to keep the topic of conversation away from Team Liberation in any way, shape or form. We end up talking about our childhoods, continuing from our conversation yesterday about our sisters. Then, at about six in the morning, I realise something.

"Today's the start of the WRGP."

"Did you forget?"

"Takumi, my team is the first team to duel in the entire tournament. My duel is in four hours."

"Why the fuck are you here then?" Go home and change."

"Right, right, right."

I pick Takumi up on my D-Wheel about three hours later and we head for the Horizon Ring Sadium together. I'm wearing the riding clothes that Yuuka made for me, well, for all of Team Delta. A red riding jacket with black accents and orange pads. Then, she made black pants with a red stripe going down the side. I can feel Takumi staring at me. Why did Yuuka make this outfit so tight? I leave Takumi in the lobby of the stadium before heading down to the pits with my D-Wheel.

Only Shinji and Reika are there. Reika's typing on the computer so fast that she doesn't even acknowledge my presence. Shinji's sitting beside her, just watching. He says hi to me, but not much more after that. Emiko and Anako arrive not too long after me.

"Where's Yuuka sitting?" Emiko asks after greeting, and getting a bigger reaction from Shinji and Reika.

"She's not coming," Shinji shoots a glare at me. The tension in the pits immediately sky rockets. I feel Emiko and Anako's gaze shift between Shinji and I.

"Why is she not?" Emiko prods. Her gaze focuses on me.

"Turns out Takumi only started to Team Liberation to basically take over the world." Shinji slams his bottle of water on the desk. "And Kaoru sided with him over Yuuka."

"We're here to duel, so can we just-" I try to change the topic but Shinji cuts me off.

"You betrayed your sister, and she had a panic attack so bad that Yusei almost brought her to the hospital."

I feel my spirit deflate instantly. Did I really do that? Oh gods, I can't believe it. Everyone stares at me in shock. I'm a terrible brother, I know. They should just say it outloud so we can get over this.

"Kaoru, what the fuck?" Emiko's voice goes up on octave. Everyone begins talking and yelling at once. I can't even make out what everyone is saying. Except Anako. She remains silent. I look to her for help, but she just shakes her head. Oh. I've really fucked up now.

Our opponent, Team Small Field, comes over to our pit to wish us a good game. I notice that their Japanese is actually quite good, despite their thick Indian accents. We get up to shake their hands and wish them the same.

That shuts everyone up again. Our opponent heard us arguing just before our match, they probably feel like they're in a good position right now. At least that takes the heat off me.

"Okay, let's just put that behind us for now." Anako sighs, taking the seat Shinji vacated to greet the other team. "Kaoru, you're first out so you should be getting ready."

The only sound in our pit is Shinji and Emiko's whispering, and Reika's fingers typing furiously on the keyboard. I stand by my D-Wheel, running my hand over its smooth black exterior. The Saudade hasn't failed me yet. I wish Yuuka could be here to watch this. If everything goes right, I could be one step closer to going pro. At least Takumi gets to see this, I think to myself. Even though, I wish Yuuka were in the audience instead.

"It's almost time for this featured battle!" The MC's voice booms over the sound system. Since this is a lower profile match, we don't get the main MC of the tournament, but someone who is less entertaining. "The crews have returned to their pits, so the duel is about to begin!"

I drive my D-Wheel to the start line without saying goodbye to anyone, not that they say anything to me first. Team Small Field's first rider is already there, waiting for me. He tries to talk to me, but I just wish this duel was over already.

"Speed World 2, set!"

"Riding Duel! Acceleration!" The MC's voice shouts. The scream of the crowd is deafening. It gives me the adrenaline I need to shoot forward, starting the race to the first corner. "Both start simultaneously!"

I don't focus on anything else but the wind blowing in my face as I head for the first corner. This is it. The first match of the tournament. And I'm the one starting it. You know what? If Yuuka isn't going to come to my match, I'll give her a reason to watch it.

"Team Delta takes the first turn!" I grin as I look at my starting hand. This is a great starting hand if I ever saw one.

"Holy dragon, arise and fill the world with light! Bring this world of darkness to an end! Synchro Summon! Descend, Light End Dragon!"

The crowd roars as I Synchro on the first turn of the tournament. I make quick work of the first rider once Light End is on the field. I count. Five turns. I feel like that's a record. The adrenaline coursing around my system skyrockets. I'm starting to get giddy from the crowd's cheers.

The second rider comes out, but he isn't much of a hassle. The crowd keeps screaming my name. I pull off a risky strategy to take down the second rider in four turns. The crowd loses its damn mind.

"Team Delta's Kaoru Sasaki has defeated two of Team Small Field's three riders! Can he make this a clean sweep in the first duel of the tournament? Can Team Small Field's ace take Team Delta down?"

I check my life points. I'm standing at 2400. Impressive considering I've dealt 8000 points of damage and I haven't even summoned Judgement Dragon yet.

The final rider comes out onto the track. She's quite tough if her bio is to be believed. The roaring of the crowd gets to my head, so she's able to bring me down to 1100. I take a deep breath. I can do this. I draw my next card. I'm about to win this duel. I'm about to beat three duelists in a row, only taking 2900 in total. It doesn't feel real.

"Banish the shadows with the brightest of light and cast judgment upon your enemies! Special Summon! Appear, Judgment Dragon!"

If I thought the crowd was loud before, now I'm completely deafened. It feels good to summon my ace. The power surges through me, but it doesn't manifest. A soft light emanates from it.

"Now, I activate Judgement Dragon's effect, by paying 1000 life points, I can destroy every card on the field besides Judgement Dragon. Judgement Day!"

The crowd screams again. They know what's coming next.

"Judgement Dragon attacks you directly! Judgement Burst!"

The crowd screams my name as I drive back into the pit. "Oh!" The MC screams over the sound system, but I can barely hear him over the crowd. "Kaoru Sasaki has taken out all three opponents in quick succession! The World Riding Duel Grand Prix is off to a flying start!"

Shinji and Emiko cheer as I enter the pit. I'm not even off my D-Wheel by the time they throw themselves on me. I can't hear the words they're saying to me because they keep speaking over each other. I thank them regardless.

"Did I do good?" I look straight at Anako, who's not even smiling.

"I mean-" She pauses. "I guess, you did. You won the match after all." There's no enthusiasm in her voice, which feels like a stab to the heart.

"Yeah, that's true." I nod and look away. I can't bear to even look at her when she's this angry at me. First Yuuka, now Anako. I can't afford to lose the both of them. At least Reika congratulates me without me having to ask. I just defeated three riders by myself. I just want some acknowledgement. If I don't get it from my friends, I'm not going to get it from anywhere else.

Our leaving is very delayed because every single member of the press wanted an interview with me. Only me. After the fifth or so interview, Anako drags me away from the rest of the press.

We made a deal with Yuuka that we'd go to the first Team 5D's match, and she'd go to the first Team Delta match. All of us are confused as to what to do next, since I turned into a butthole, Anako's words. We decide to go anyway, since it will be a good duel regardless.

By the time we change clothes, grab lunch, and arrive at the Memorial Circuit, the match is about to start. I haven't been able to talk to Takumi at all, which is making me nervous. I know he's watching the match too. I know there's an empty seat beside him. I know he wanted to bring Kenta but they're not on good terms right now. I wonder if they're going to break up. I feel like that would be my fault. I want to check my phone. But then everyone would realise that I'm talking to Takumi. Anako would probably beat me up. I know she's angry for the exact same reason that Yuuka is. Picking someone who's acting like Raiden over her. Oh gods. What is wrong with me?

I try to focus on the duel. Jack Atlas goes first, but his power deck quickly loses to Andore, Team Unicorn's lead, who just happens to use an anti-power deck. He crashes but he manages to push his D-Wheel before their team's Speed Counters reach 0. Aki is up next, she fairs slightly better against Andore. She summons Stardust Dragon, sacrificing herself so Yusei could start with his ace monster on the field. The most shocking moment of the tournament so far, the MC says as Yusei rolls out. I'm right here, MC. Right here.

In the chaos that ensues in that moment, I check my phone. Takumi's just asked me to meet him in the lobby. "I'm going to get a drink." I stand up and excuse myself. I practically run to the lobby. No one seems to question me. Except Emiko who glares at me. I think she saw me check my phone and run.

Takumi's waiting with a coffee when I reach him. He stands up and hugs him. It takes all of me not to puke and faint on the spot, in that order.

"Well done, dude." He laughs. "I've never seen anything that impressive, and we've conquered the City together."

"Well," I can't see my face but I imagine it's bright red, just from the heat alone. "I tried my best."

"And it worked! You should do that again next time."

"I don't know what the team will be next time." I shrug my shoulders. "One person has to sit out every match, and I have a feeling that will be me next time cause no one else got to duel."

"That Judgement Dragon summon was sick." He cackles. "You should have seen the look on her face."

I freeze. I feel something strange in the air. I look around me. The lobby is empty. Takumi sees the look on my face. He goes to ask me what's wrong, but I just shake my head, keeping him quiet. I can vaguely feel Yuuka's thoughts reaching out. Then, the sensation just… vanishes.

"What was that?" Takumi asks.

I don't have time to answer before Yuuka is wheeled on a stretcher past us into the medical centre, completely unconscious. There's only so many times you can see your sister on a stretcher before your brain starts going into a routine. So, I start to panic, but Takumi holds my hand and drags me inside. The nurses see the clear resemblance between Yuuka and I, so they let me stay with her. Jack Atlas is leaving the infirmary, clearly injured from his crash. He glares at me. I get a shiver down my spine. I tell Takumi to go outside and get water. What is she going to say when she wakes up? Should I just come clean now? When will I see her again after this?

Yuuka's body shifts. Her aura comes alive again. She jumps up, as if from a nightmare.

"You're awake then?" I ask. Yuuka's entire body freezes before her eyes narrow.

"What are you doing here?" She grits her teeth, face crumpled in anger. Oh boy.

"I'm your brother. I see you being brought here, of course I'm going to be here."

"Yeah, but you betrayed me remember?" Her eyebrows furrow. "What if I don't want you here?" Yikes, that really hurts.

"Hey Kaoru, I-" Takumi walks in at about the worst possible moment as I contemplate my entire existence up until this exact moment. Yuuka's glare is enough to stop Takumi dead in his tracks.

"What's he doing here?"

"That doesn't matter." I try to answer but I feel like I'm only digging myself a deeper hole.

"Here I got you some water, cause you fainted." Takumi holds out the water bottle for Yuuka to take. She just stares at it.

"I don't want it."

"Yuuka." I say her name through gritted teeth. I'm not expecting her to drink it. Just take the bottle from his hand.

"He could have poisoned it for all I know."

"He wouldn't poison it." It takes all me not to scream. Then I remember that she's probably more angry at me than Takumi right now.

"Dude, the bottle is still sealed." Takumi huffs, putting the bottle beside me on the bed.

"Still don't trust him." Yuuka looks away from us, crossing her arms. "If you're not with me, you're against me and all that."

"Team 5D's duel just ended." Takumi says. "Thought you'd like to know." Yuuka is dead silent. It doesn't even look like she's breathing. "Yusei manage to defeat all three wheelers on his own. I'd say it was impressive if your brother hadn't already done that today." That silence is the most painful. "Aren't you proud of him?"

"Leave her alone, Takumi." Emiko barges into the infirmary, her heels clacking very loudly on the floor. I notice Anako trailing behind her, looking very uncomfortable. "Can't you see that she looks uncomfortable?"

"She always look like that." Takumi raises an eyebrow at her while frowning. Isn't he supposed to be her best- former best friend? Yuuka looks pissed off and uncomfortable as hell.

"No, I know Yuuka, and that's not her normal face." In any other situation, I'd find Emiko being in Takumi's face while he looks positively spooked by the very tiny Emiko, even when she's in tall heels. "You're up to something, I know it." She brings up her finger up, as if to point at him but missing his face by a lot. Up to something? She knows what he's been doing.

"Kaoru's face makes that obvious." Anako stares right at me. Her crimson eyes gazing straight into my soul. I only want to apologise. I don't know what Takumi wants to do.

"You keep that Team Liberation thing from me." Emiko turns her anger onto me. Something I've never experienced before. Her face is turning redder by the second. "And now this?"

"It's nothing," I say. I just want some peace and quiet to apologise.

"Where's Jack?" Yuuka pipes up, changing topic completely. "He should have been here."

"He left a few minutes before you woke up. He knows you're here so I suspect someone will come for you." I answer.

Yuuka doesn't even look at me. Oh, she really doesn't want anything to do with me. Takumi tries to talk but I tell him to shut up before he even gets a word out. The only noise, aside from the nurses chattering, is Anako whispering to Emiko who still looks furious. I need to add Emiko on the list of people to talk to. I think I need to talk to everyone I know at this point. A member of staff comes over to ask Yuuka a few questions. They figure out that she just fainted, and that she's free to go, with the usual advice to rest and drink lots of fluids.

"Why did you faint anyway?" I glance at her from the side of my eyes. Just so I avoid looking at her directly and hurting myself even more.

"Just as said, I haven't eaten today."

"That's a lie." I stare at her face intently. Does she not think that I know her well enough that I can tell when she's lying to my face?

"You wouldn't know that already?" Yusei walks into the room. Time to add another person onto my list. Seriously, even Yusei and Jack? I might as well add Crow and Izayoi at this point. "You read her thoughts often enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I sneer back at him.

"The only reason you're here in the first place is because you read her thoughts." I say nothing. I don't have to keep defending myself. I'm tired and I just want to leave. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face after what you did." Yusei's eyes dart to Takumi just for a split second. I'm getting the impression that he knows even more than Yuuka, which is impossible. My eyes widen. "Come on, Yuuka, we're leaving." Yusei turns around and starts to walk away. Yuuka gets up, sighing.

"You better watch out, Fudo." Takumi says, having to get one last jab in. In this moment, even I'm angry at Takumi. "Team Delta's going to destroy you in the finals. You're not the only person to defeat an entire team by themselves" He tries taunting Yusei, but it doesn't work. I don't even know if someone could do that.

"Then, I guess we'll just defeat you too." I'm actually taken aback by how casually Yusei says this as he walks out the door. I just stand there, eyes wide. Yuuka looks so damn pleased with herself as she leaves.

"Gods, that was smooth." Emiko chuckles. "But, you-" she turns to look at Takumi and I, "you two need to stay away from her. Or you'll have to deal with us." She scoffs and walks out the door. Anako lingers for a second. I try to say something, but she just shakes her head and follows Emiko out the door.

---

I just go home after that tiring exchange. Luckily, Kenta has called Takumi home, which saves any awkwardness. My mom, who was at both matches today, practically smothers me when I get home. I try to act all humble during her praise. But it's nice to hear some genuine praise that isn't from Takumi, who has never said anything negative about me, or most things, ever.

Takumi: Kenta just broke up with me

Kaoru: OMG, are you okay?

Takumi: I'll be fine

Takumi: Can you come over? I don't think I can be alone right now

As I start to get ready, Kenta arrives at the house looking very upset. He doesn't even look at me. Oh, he really knows that I like Takumi. I'm starting to feel like the villain in this story. Did I really just break up this relationship? I know Takumi told me that the relationship was going down the crapper anyway. But still, I know that I played some part in this. I already know this is going to haunt me. A few minutes later, Yuuka arrives, still looking very pissed off and pale.

I leave there and then to avoid it. I don't want us to fight in front of our mom. I can't do that to her. Well, both of them. I deserve the Shittiest Brother of the Year award, and everyone knows that.

I arrive at Takumi's after taking the long way. I feel sudden butterflies in my stomach. I know my brain is just doing that because it knows that Takumi is newly single. I can't do this. I can't do anything. I don't want to be the guy who takes advantage of someone in their most vulnerable state. That's not who I am. I never want to be that person.

I hesitate before knocking on the door. The butterflies come back, and this time they're stronger. I take a deep breath. I notice that my hands are shaking again. The helmet trembles in my hands. I remember watching Yuuka's helmet shake. I placed my hand on top of it, and steadied it for her. How did I fuck up things that badly that she won't return the gesture? I shake my head and finally knock on the door.

Takumi opens the door, but doesn't say much. He sits back down on the couch, I can tell that by the dip in the fabric. I sit down on the opposite end of the couch.

"How are you holding up?" I ask.

"You know," he rubs the back of his neck. "Not great."

"Yeah, that was a stupid question…"

"Hey, at least you cared enough to ask."

"Can I ask you something?" Takumi nods. "Why did you two…"

"The Team Liberation thing." He sighs. "We've been fighting for months now. I think we'd run our course together."

"I mean-"

"That doesn't mean I feel like shit though." He rubs his hands on his face. "I'd spent nearly two years with him, it's been my only serious relationship. I just don't know what to do with my life now."

"So it was just Team Liberation stuff?"

"I suppose so?" He shrugs his shoulders. "Unless there's something else he didn't tell me." That makes me feel slightly relieved in a sick way. At least Kenta isn't blaming me directly.

There's a long pause. An idea forms in my head. "Hey, can I ask that you put the Liberation stuff on hold until the WRGP is over?" Nice. That gives me time to plan a way to talk him out of it. Besides, who knows what he'll do when he's this upset?

"Oh, of course." Takumi says. "You're gonna be so busy. Especially with all of your fans."

"Fans?" I echo.

"Dude, have you not checked social media since your match ended?"

"No, not that I can remember."

Takumi gets out his phone and types a bunch. He hands me his phone, open on Tweeter. I scroll through the tag of my name. There are so many photos of me dueling. Lots of heart emojis, heart eye emojis, and gods forbid… eggplant emojis.

"Looks like someone's a heart throb."

"Oh my gods…" I mutter to myself while scrolling through. Then I notice Emiko's Tweeter account with heart eye emojis captioning a picture of me summoning Judgement Dragon. Nothing except heart eye emojis. I'll let my mind think about the implications of that later.

"But also," Takumi chuckles, "it looks like someone has a huge gay fanbase. Not that I'm surprised."

"Yeah, apparently you're able to tell when someone's…" I stop myself short of finishing that sentence.

"When someone's…" Takumi prods me to continue.

"You know…" I nod slowly. "When someone else is," I pause, "gay." I manage to croak out.

"Yeah, it's called gaydar." Takumi rolls his eyes. "That's what it's there for."

I narrow my eyes at Takumi. No reaction to me basically coming out to him. Everyone has always reacted with strong emotions and a sense of relief. Meanwhile, Takumi is cracking a joke.

"Are you gonna act surprised?" I ask, not beating around the bush.

"What? That you're gay?" Takumi raises an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, I was expecting some sort of a reaction."

"Isn't that public knowledge at this point?"

"No!" I exclaim. "Yuuka doesn't even know."

"Dude, your sister is fucking stupid."

"Only four people know." Takumi's face falls at my words. His mouth goes slightly ajar. "I only found out not that long ago."

"Huh," is all he says.

"So, yeah, I'm sorry if I came off a little defensive. I'm still working up to tell Yuuka, even if she might never talk to me again."

"It's Yuuka, she'll come around." He waves his hand. "Unless you're Raiden, she'll forgive you eventually."

"Is that why you're not too bothered about her being angry at you?"

"Of course!"

I sigh, resting my head in my hands. I take a deep breath.

"Here's the thing, I don't think she will." I sigh again. "I've hear her thoughts. She wants nothing to do with me. I'm not sure she'll ever come around to the idea of even talking to me. Yeah, I broke my own sister's heart. That's not supposed to happen. I'm supposed to kick her boyfriend's ass after he hurts her. Now Yusei wants to kick my ass."

"Don't worry about it," Takumi scoffs. "Listen, if it means that much to you, I'll talk to Yuuka. I'll tell her everything was my fault. That I just talked you into it. No harm done."

"You'd do that?" I mutter. I notice now that Takumi and I have moved a lot closer to each other on the couch.

"Of course, I would. I care about you, a lot."

"Right…" I stare right into his eyes. They're such a warm brown, they're so inviting. Whoever said brown eyes are boring has clearly never looked in Takumi's eyes. They're a light chocolate brown with specks of honey running through them, not that you'd notice it until you're this close to them.

I get butterflies in my stomach. Are we about to kiss? We're just as close as we were in Psycho that night. There's no one here to interrupt us. Does he want to? Takumi bites his lip.

Wait, I can't do this.

I lean back into the sofa. Takumi clearly looks disappointed. As much as I want to kiss him, believe me, I can't do this. He's too vulnerable. The breakup with Kenta is too fresh in his mind. If he kisses me right here and now, I'm only just a rebound. He'd just be kissing me for the sake of kissing someone. I can't do that to myself, or Takumi. So I just sit back and change the topic of conversation, just like everything we get too close.

---

Things remain awkward between Takumi and I. Our next match in the WRGP arrives quickly. Our next opponent is Team Mantis, a band of martial artists from the looks of it. Today's rotation is Shinji, Anako and then Emiko. Since I hogged all of the glory last time, Anako's words, this means I get to sit out this match. Shinji defeats the first opponent but loses within two turns to the next one. Anako takes out the second rider, but loses after a long duel with the third. Emiko, the little spitfire that she is, takes out the last rider in her first turn. Not that he had that many life points left.

Emiko lets out a huge scream, once she gets back into the pit. The first thing she does is nearly tackle Anako to the ground in a hug. Shinji joins in, lifting them the both of them off the ground. I see Reika sneak her way into the middle of the group hug.

I don't feel it in me to join in on the hug. I feel like I don't deserve it. Sure I didn't play in the match, but that's not it. There's still a niggling feeling inside of me. I'm betraying everyone and I don't deserve anything. Maybe that's why the thought of kissing Takumi while Yuuka's still mad at me just feels like I'm rubbing salt in her wound that's already deep enough.

I have to work my way up to telling Yuuka about everything, just like the whole crush on Takumi thing. Anako might be the most understanding, so I tell her first.

Kaoru: Since you won't look at me, I'm just going to text you. Not that I expect you to respond. I know what I did was wrong, but just hear me out. Takumi's idea won't work, I know that. It's bad and he's just turning into Raiden, I know that. But maybe, just maybe, I could stop him somehow. Make him see that he's wrong. He's in an emotionally vulnerable place right now. Kenta left him because of this whole Team Liberation thing. Maybe that will make him see the truth. I'm sorry, just please talk to me again.

Anako: k

Well, that went exactly the way I expected it to, horribly.

The day after the Team Mantis match, a hoard of duelbots started attacking Riding Duelists. They caused a lot of destruction, and even caused a power outage. Yuuka's thoughts are abnormally sparse during the whole ideal. The tournament has been delayed for two weeks. Only the top team in each block progresses to the finals, instead of top two. By some stroke of luck, our team was top of our block.

Team Delta progresses to the finals.

It takes a minute for that to register in my brain as I read the news article. Emiko calls me just to scream down the phone. She tells me that she was the last person she had to call on the team. Something that fills me with both jealousy and melancholy.

The Finals, I keep repeating to myself. This can't be real. Could I actually be doing something right for once in my life? No, not completely. I decide to pay Yuuka a visit. I'll just say I'm congratulating Team 5D's on making the Finals too, that should work. Harmless visit. Right. Where Jack Atlas, Crow, and Yusei definitely won't kick my ass.

"Hey Yusei." I wave awkwardly when he opens the door of Poppo Time.

"Yuuka's not home." He says immediately. "Actually, no else is."

"I can talk to you," I nod nervously. "I just want to say that I'm sorry. I have my reasons, believe me."

"Kaoru," Yusei sighs. "Going along with someone's righteous but very wrong ideals just because you like them never works out."

"How would you know about that?"

"Has Yuuka ever told you about our friend Kiryu?" Yusei takes a deep breath. He doesn't seem angry at all. I'm starting to think his anger in the infirmary was because of Takumi, not me. Or maybe just putting on a brave face for Yuuka, who clearly wasn't handling our interaction well.

"Oh," I gasp in realisation.

"I think you should talk to Yuuka."

"Do you know when she'll be home?"

"Well," Yusei's eyes widen. "She's been super busy, for like, a week now. But check back in a few days, she might be free then."

"Busy?" I echo. "Doing what?"

"Uh, stuff. She didn't really give me any details." Yusei's aura is becoming steadily more panicked. "I'll see you later, Kaoru. Goodbye." Yusei closes the door very abruptly, leaving me outside and very much alone.

The first duel of the WRGP Finals, against Team Black Baron, comes around quicker than anticipated.

Anako gets to sit this match out, much to her disdain. Even though it's been made clear that all of us have to sit out at least once. I just feel sorry for whoever gets to sit out in the Grand Final. The thought of the Grand Final gives me the shivers. It's only two duels away. We only have to win three duels to win the entire tournament. It feels so real that I can almost grasp it. I can imagine how that trophy will feel in my hands. Something that can prove I can do the right thing. Since no one seems to believe that I can anymore.

Shinji defeats the first rider and loses to the second, just like last time. Emiko goes out and utterly destroys the remaining two.

Team Delta's odds of winning have greatly increased with every match. Coming into the quarterfinals, we were fourth out of eight. Now, there's only four people in the competition. As much as I want to, I try not to think about victory. The more I hype myself up, the more it will hurt when I inevitably fail, like I always do.

Yusei told me to come back in a few days. I'm buzzing on the high of victory. Yuuka's thoughts are becoming stronger. I'm trying to keep the connection severed, but Yuuka is just simply too strong for that. I don't even think she knows how strong she really is.

"I'm going to tell Yuuka," I tell Anako as we leave the stadium. "I think it's time."

I make a quick stop at Takumi's before heading to Poppo Time. Takumi seems excited to have me over, well, more than normal. In the two and a half weeks since breaking up with Kenta, he seems to be doing better. This takes a little weight off my shoulders. This awkwardness that was between us for a while is slowly starting to fade away.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm doing better," he nods. "That was a great duel today." Takumi has attended every single one of Team Delta's duels, even if I wasn't on the roster. I'm not sure where he's getting this money from, but I don't question it. I assume it's a gang thing. "That Emiko sure is something, isn't she?"

"Yeah," I hum. "She's planning on going pro."

"That's not surprising." His eyebrows raise. "She's definitely good enough for that." His attention quickly turns to me. "When are you dueling next?"

"The next duel, hopefully." I answer. "We're dueling Team New World. It's a little scary but I'm sure they're nothing we can't handle."

"You're the best." He pats me on the back. "I've even placed a bet that Team Delta are going to win. I'm counting on you."

"Why did you tell me that?" I feel the anxiety bubbling up in my stomach.

"Because I believe in you."

Everything freezes. Takumi's eyes widen as he sees my surprised face. Then, I notice how close our faces are again.

"You believe in me?" I echo.

"Of course I do," he whispers.

"And you care about me?"

"You know I do."

"More than anyone else?"

There's a pause. I feel static in the air, not just in my hands. I can't believe the words that just came out of my mouth. I need to hear him say it. I know what that answer is. I need to hear those words.

But Takumi doesn't say anything.

Takumi leans in. Our lips brush ever so gently before he pulls back. He's smiling. For once, he's not grinning. His eyes are practically glowing.

"I do."

I bite my lip, desperately praying to myself to say some words. There's a pause. Both of us are still smiling at least.

"So, um…" I begin. "That was nice."

"It was," he says softly, "wasn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah." I nod slowly.

"Wait a minute," Takumi's eyes narrow ever so slightly. "Didn't you say that you've never…"

"Yes," I answer nervously. Takumi's eyes go from narrow to wide open in a split second. I just stare at my hands instead of at his face.

"That was your first kiss?" Takumi seems to have instantly ascended to cloud nine. I nod slowly. "But, wait a minute…" Now my eyes widen. "Didn't you say that you only realised that you're gay recently?" I nod again. "So, that must mean that I…" There's a pause. "Oh my gods, I'm the reason that you realised you're gay." I don't say anything. "Am I right?"

"You're not wrong."

Takumi literally gets off the sofa and walks around the room with his arms in the air. I feel myself getting more and more flushed by the second. At least this is Takumi's reaction to finding out that I like him. It could have gone a lot worse. Not that this is the ideal reaction though.

What's surprising to me is that we don't kiss again. I was half expecting it. I just thought that's what you did. Are we dating now? We know that we like each other. Then, we kissed. What does this all mean? Who can I ask about this without feeling embarrassed? My only answer is Yuuka. I have to tell her. And I have to do it now.