Another update from the land of me. Motivation is hard. Anyways, characterization and shoving the plot along.

Chapter 3: No Rest

Claire could not, for the life of her, stop being… angry. There was being an asshole, and then there was ruining her house, giving her at least 2nd degree burns and then… well. There was probably something else, but she couldn't quite think of it. Mainly because of said 2nd degree burns. Fuck, and she thought the back aches she often suffered were unbearable. A lifetime of bad posture could not compare.

Having a burnt-ass back did not help with transporting belongings. At all. As it was, Claire could fit most of her possessions in a single backpack, but carrying anything seemed way more trouble than it was worth.

Luuuckily, Claire's stolen duel runner still… well, ran. Did the creator of these glorified motorcycles intend that as a pun?

Claire sighed as she tied the stuffed-full backpack to her runner, still decked out in Security symbols, but thankfully devoid of their trackers (thank gods for stoic mechanics that liked helping people). To her, there was really no point in decking out something that she hardly ever used, and that especially wouldn't be used for its second primary function: dueling. Riding duels were a whole lot of bullshit Claire wasn't willing to tolerate. And they said guns were dangerous where she lived… Claire scoffed.

If these fucks were willing to let people play overly complex children's card games on vehicles traveling well over any speed limit, then Claire would bet that your average firearm wasn't a super big deal.

Pointless and off-tangent mental grumblings aside, it took Claire a good five minutes to even figure out how to turn the infernal contraption on, and it was only thanks to a childhood of riding the common bicycle that Claire could keep her balance doing a cool 20 mph to Yusei's house. She got some weird looks, but that was pretty much expected.

Even at such a (comparatively) low speed, it only took a few minutes to reach the subway tunnel Yusei and his "friends" lived in. Claire would bet her new synchro monster on him not giving too many fucks about them. At the end of the day, they were just using him for protection and- dare she say- hope. She supposed it was an easy mistake, but it still pissed her off. Rally was the only one that actually tried to contribute, though after Jack pulled the biggest dick move since Claire was conceived, Rally was… a bit less trusting. To put it mildly.

The kid was actually kind of brave. Took balls to steal, bigger balls to do it for someone else. Non-binary Rally might be, but in Claire's eyes he had quite the kahunas. So to speak.

And, as much as Claire held contempt for Tank, Nerve and Blitz, so too, did they wipe their asses with her name. Nerve, the current watchdog for the motley crew (ah, such fond memories of 80's rock with that phrase), probably would've refused her entry if she had bothered to ask. Instead, Claire just drove right past him.

Because fuck you, that's why.

Everyone else down below was a little on edge when she arrived- probably because she was riding a bike in Security colors, and Security was really the only other group with duel runners in the first place- but relaxed when they noticed who she was. It was probably fortunate she didn't have, and didn't care to wear a helmet.

"What are you doing here? I thought you turned Yusei down." Blitz frowned. Claire imagined that he was a bit put out that he wasn't invited along, despite the fact that he didn't have a runner to nyoom along on.

"I reconsidered. Also, my house was trashed by an asshat and I don't really have a choice? So there's that."

Nerve, who had followed in Claire's wake, scoffed. "Figures. The only thing that motivates you is-"

"Pride, hatred, boredom, a mischievous streak, and a desire to continue my self-imposed lazy streak? Nailed it in one, bucko." Claire grinned, showing slightly-yellowed teeth that Nerve made a face at. Satellite was not known for its dental care services.

Rally was notably hanging back, watching over Yusei- who was still working on the runner, apparently. Jesus, you'd think it'd be ready by now, considering he's leaving like… what, tomorrow?

"Aren't you fucking done yet?" Claire raised a brow at the kneeling mechanic, who didn't even glance up to respond. Rally, uncomfortable with the sudden awkward silence, spoke up. "I, uh, found-"

"Stole," Nerve corrected.

"Uh, well, a chip to help with the runner!"

"And you lured Security here with it!" Nerve snapped. "What were you thinking?!" Rally flinched.

Claire stepped off the runner. "Shut the fuck up, Ned, or whatever your name is. When was the last time you meaningfully contributed to the runner? Rally's loot sure outshines your crap."

"Enough." All heads turned to Yusei, who was giving everyone The Look. "This isn't accomplishing anything. Nerve, can you go back up to the entrance? Make sure we don't get another Lenny in here." Nerve reluctantly nodded, and ascended the stairs again. Anything for our lord and saviour, Yusei, Claire mentally scoffed.

"Claire." Her attention snapped back to her friend. "Don't insult them. They've done a lot for this- they're the reason this is possible."

Claire bit back a retort. You're the reason this is possible. They're a bunch of lackeys that like to mooch.

Yusei, appeased by her silence, turned to Rally. "Could you go make sure Tank's alright? It's been awhile since he went to check on the tunnels further down." Rally nodded and scampered off. Blitz mumbled something about needing to be elsewhere, and it was just Claire and Yusei left.

Yusei took one last look at the Yusei Go before scooting to the edge of the platform and sitting, inviting Claire with a gesture. She sat down next to him.

"I'm only going to ask this once." Claire stared Yusei dead in the face, noting the subtle surprise in his expression. "Fucking change your duel runner's name. It sucks balls. Like, even the Yuseimobile would be better. Then you could say 'To the Yuseimobile!' and it would be kind of cool, but Yusei Go is a name no one will ever use or appreciate beyond the fact that it's a name. Change that shit."

Yusei blinked, before smiling that little hidden, half-smile and shaking his head. "You always know how to remain off and on-topic at the same time."

"Yeah. So?"

"...I'll think about it." Claire sighed heavily. A noncommittal response like that meant absolutely jack (ah, pun), and they both knew it. Well, she'd tried.

"Do you even do anything else besides work on that thing?"

Yusei raised a brow. "Is there anything else to do?"

...Point. Claire could only shrug in response. "Surprised you haven't asked about my place getting trashed."

Yusei just looked at her, silently waiting. It only took a moment for Claire to crack, and she told him, with more than a few cuss words to emphasize her point.

Yusei was quiet for a moment. "Can I see the card? The Seal?" Claire shrugged. Jack might be a card stealer, but Yusei was not, and so she gave him a good 30 seconds to examine the card. He had a chance to read the description and give it a good once-over, but he had come up with little more than Claire had upon first seeing it. Sure, it was powerful, and had a bloody history from what Claire had seen, but there wasn't much out of the ordinary. It was a card.

Claire pocketed it again and they lapsed into silence. Comfortable, not awkward, and Claire could tell without even looking at him that Yusei was deep in thought.

"I have to wonder… how'd that guy even find me? Did he see me pick up the card? If so, shouldn't he have ambushed me then and there? Or did he need to take a pee break or something? Maybe he found a spot without perverts…" Claire mused.

"You're still having trouble about that? You know if you need someone-" Claire scowled and cut Yusei off.

"I'm fine, Yusei. Save it. They can look, but all they're gonna see is a bunch of hair and an ass. If that's what they find attractive, they're not worth attention anyways."

"That's not what you said before."

"Before was different. I was different. You know better than to compare." Claire shrugged off Yusei's admonishing hand on her shoulder, and scooted a little away. "Just… don't. We've all said what needs to be said."

Yusei just stared for a moment, before standing and going back to the runner. Claire watched him return to his shittily-named machine with a frown. It was unfortunate that, nowadays, times where Yusei wasn't tinkering with something were few and far in-between.

Though, it was probably just as well. His scrutiny was one of the most intimidating things Claire had had the chance to witness. If she could distract him with shiny machine parts, she would. Hell, he'd somehow not mentioned the burn marks on her back even though she probably reeked of burning things and had told him about it. Apparently he was losing his mother hen edge.

"Well, I'm gonna head to the market. Got some cards to sell. Need anything while I'm there, Yusei?"

It took a moment for him to respond. "Not really."

"Kay. Be back in an hour or three." Claire stood up and walked to the exit. Riding a Security runner into the market square was bound to get her murdered, reputation or no.

o-o-o-o-o-o

It didn't take too long to sell off the psychic's deck (save for his ace, of course). Cards were a rare and highly sought commodity, and Claire found herself with a decent chunk of change by the end of her visit. She was tempted to browse herself, but considering that she'd probably be flying by the seat of her pants in unfamiliar territory soon… best to hoard resources.

As it was, Claire was pretty sure she'd have a bad time even getting to the city. Sure, her bike was probably capable of decent speed, but with both her injuries and inexperience… maybe riding through the tunnels a time or three would be necessary. Nerve'd probably give her shit about it, but whatever. She had bigger concerns than his uninformed opinion.

When Claire got back, she experienced a moment of generosity. She'd never use the card herself, and she knew Rally had some Light-attribute monsters…

"Hey, Rally. Here's a thing." Claire pretty much shoved the card in Rally's face. He/They blinked in surprise and took the card, eyes widening when they got a good look at it.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. My only use is to sell it, and I don't want to, so have fun with it." The others clustered around Rally to get a good look at it, with Yusei sending her a meaningful look that Claire avoided thinking about.

"Anyways, I'm going to ride through the tunnels for a bit." Claire boarded her runner and sped off into the darkness, ignoring Yusei's call of her name. If it was really important, he'd drive after her. But for now… she just wanted to be alone.

No idea when I'll update again. Next chapter will include trash tunnels and arrogant dickheads, though. Claire is far more affected by things than she's willing to let on. Yusei knows, but knowing what's wrong and knowing what to do about it are two different things. Also, he's preoccupied with thoughts of said arrogant dickhead.