Chapter 30 : Hanging Out
"Yuko! Hey Yuko, quit daydreaming will you?" said the booming british accent of Jacks voice.
Yuko snapped out of his mindless state and looked up to find Jack, glaring at him intimidatingly, causing Yuko to jump off the couch, and notice Yusei sitting behind the round kitchen table.
"So how'd it go?" asked Yusei softy.
Yuko tilted his head to one side, trying to recall his conversation with Zane. "I guess I'll need to tell them", he though, and decided to take a seat opposite Yusei, while Jack stood behind Yusei in his usual proud stance.
Yuko decided to start explaining the duel disk, about it's power, where he had found it and how he used it to break the criminal out of the security prison. Yusei and Jack didn't say anything at this point, but Yuko could see that his friends were just too shocked to respond. He continued on with the information which Sayer had explained, and that Zane who was in fact the criminal, was over 70 years old and managed to use Time Wizard in order to keep him alive and young.
After all the vital points and details had been stated, Yusei was the first to speak after a long awkward silence.
"So that person Zane, who had just come round, is the criminal which broke your ribs?" asked Yusei, trying to make a point.
Yuko was about to respond, but then he remembered the accident. It was true, Zane had attacked him. Why was he acting so differently all of a sudden?
Yuko took a deep breath. "He promised to explain everything tomorrow", he replied pathetically.
Jack scuffed. "Well, I hate him all the same. I mean, he even took my finest suit, that bastard!" yelled Jack.
Yuko smirked, but kept it hidden from Jack, not wanting to enrage him some more. Yusei scratched the back of his head and sighed. "It all seems confusing. Why would you listen to Sayer in the first place and break out a criminal? Now the security in the city will have probably tripled as they'll be searching for Zane", he remarked, a frustrated, but worried tone in his voice.
Yuko shook his head. "Oh no, you don't need to worry about that. Zane is now unrecognisable. He's as safe as we are!" he claim innocently.
Yusei and Jack exchanged glances the looked back at Yuko unsurely. Yuko shrugged and took out a pen from his jean pocket so to write on his hand a rather long number. He showed it to Jack and Yusei, who didn't react when they saw it.
"The up side to all this is that this is the sum of money which I'm collecting from Sayer tomorrow for having completed his second request", said Yuko, causing Yusei's and Jack's eyes to both widen with surprise.
"Wow! I must say, with that sum of money, Yusei will be able to finally buy this place and we will not need to hear from that Zora lady ever again!" rejoiced Jack, causing Yusei to nod at Jack in agreement, but then turned back to stare suspiciously into Yuko's chestnut eyes.
"So you did this for the money?" asked Yusei curiously.
Yuko didnt reacted after a few seconds, and shook his head guiltily. "No...well, not exactly. I also wanted information about how Zane could have inflicted an injury so severe against me, when he's not even a psychic duelist ".
Yusei smirked. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear. Completing tasks just for the money is never the best thing to do", he stated confidently and got up, patting Yuko on the shoulder as he passed him. "You did good, Yuko. I read about Zane when I was younger. He doesn't seem like such a bad guy and I don't think that he deserves to be sent to prison, but you'll still need to understand why he hurt you", said Yusei reassuringly, and left to go upstairs.
Yuko smiled agreeably and stared back into Jack's violet eyes. "So, how about a duel?" asked Yuko, attempting to change the conversation.
Jack smirked and nodded. "Your on, and the loser needs to do the laundry!"
At 7:30pm, Yuko was doing the laundry (after having lost to Jack in a duel). He was surprised to find just how many of his clothes had been worn by Jack, and told himself that he would ask Jack about Carly at some point so to see how things have turns out in their relationship.
As Yuko hung up all the clothes back into the closets upstairs, he passed Yusei who was laying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling in deep thinking. Yusei then look up and noticed Yuko staring at him, while chuckling lightly. "Lost to Jack again it seems?" he said jokingly.
Yuko snuffed. "Yeah, even with my two Scarred Warriors. Jack's Red Dragon Archfiend really is a pain", he moaned, and Yusei began to chuckle lightly.
"Maybe I could teach you a thing or two in a duel?" suggested Yusei, trying to keep the conversation flowing.
Yuko turned and grinned. "A duel...as in Turbo duel?"
Yusei nodded.
Yuko took a deep breath. "Ok, but not now, and not tomorrow either since I gotta go collect the cheque from Sayer", he stated, and yawned.
Yusei shrugged and looked back at the ceiling. "Oh yeah...I must say, that amount of money will really solve most of our problems", he said, sounding cheerful. "What would we do without you Yuko?"
Yuko smiled, happy to hear the kind comment and was about to go downstairs when an idea popped into his head.
He then turned to face Yusei. "Hey, I have an idea!" he claimed, and sprinted downstairs to where his rucksack was, dragging it back upstairs to find Yusei's confused expression. He then reached in the bag for the circular duel disk and attached it on to his arm, chucking the bag on to his bed. "You wanna try this out outside? I know it's night time, but we could use the fresh air".
Yusei looked at the strange duel disk curiously, but nodded happily and followed Yuko downstairs.
Outside, it was dark. The night had crept in, but because of all the light in New Domino City, it was still pretty bright out. Yusei and Yuko had decided to walk out to where the old well was situated, and they both climbed up the steep hill so to get a better view of the city. As they sat on the soft green grass, admiring the view of the neon lights, and illuminated skyscrapers of New Domino City, Yusei waited a few minutes before breaking the silence.
"So what cards have you tried?" He asked casually.
Yuko looked down at his duel disk and pulled out his deck from his black deck box. "1500 ATK point monsters is the highest which I have dared to go", he admitted, and Yusei nodded understandingly.
"I get it. Your afraid about what the big monsters could do, right?" approved Yusei.
Yuko agreed and strapped the duel disk on to Yusei's arm. "Here. Go ahead and try it out!" encouraged Yuko, and handed the duel disk over to Yusei, who to smile lightly and strapped it on to his arm.
Yusei then reach out into his deck and started to search through it, pulling out a card which he considered to be safe to use, and eventually putting the rest of his deck back into his pocket.
"Ok, let's try this", said Yusei nervously, and slowly placed the card over the single monster card zone. A small light quickly flashed, and a small pink chick sprung out of the card, it's feathery wings covering it's beak and eyes. It then looked up to find Yusei staring at it in amazement, and jumped excitedly on to Yusei's black and yellow hair.
Yusei froze. He could feel that "Sonic Chick" was standing on his head, with it's red boots and was squeaking happily as it peck him on the head. Yuko laughed, as he noticed Yusei astonished expression.
Yusei kept completely still and steadily turned his head to face Yuko. "It's...It's...r-real? Sonic Chick is real?" he stated stutteringly.
Yuko nodded, amused as the brave hero's nervous reaction. "Yep, but don't worry. She won't bite...I hope", assured Yuko, and reach out his hand, so that Sonic Chick could jump on to it. As Sonic Chick noticed Yuko reached out hand, she jumped on to his head instead, and felt much heavier than Yuko had expected, but since Sonic Chick was a little bigger that an average chicken, it was no surprise why.
"Wow...th-this is incredible!" commented Yusei, almost speechless.
Yuko grinned. "I know. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that the duel disk your now wearing can make these monsters come to life! Plus, they eat just like we do!" said Yuko, and pulled out from his pocket a chocolate chip cookie (which he had taken along from the cupboard, in the kitchen before leaving).
He held it up high, and flinched as he felt it being snatched from his fingers, and began to notice small crumbs fall from his hair as he heard the crunching sounds of the cookie being devoured by Sonic Chick.
Yusei looked at his monster with astounded eyes and chuckled nervously, before Sonic Chick jumped back down and into Yusei's warm muscular warms.
Yusei took off his grey gloves and began to stroke the pink chick lightly, brushing the fluffy feathers with his soft hands. He smiled gleefully as he noticed Sonic Chick curl up in his arms and rub it's head happily against his chest.
"Wait! How did you break Zane out of prison exactly?" asked Yusei, his curious cobalt eyes now cautiously eyeing Yuko's hair covered face.
Yuko hesitated in answering, not having expected such a sudden question, but sighed and pointed at the duel disk guiltily. "Using that".
Yusei stared hard at Yuko, not fully understanding, but Yuko went on to explain how he had used the help of a few cards from his deck, also from Sakura and admitted how he's wounds had actually been inflicted. Yusei's reactions varied between worried and amazed, and sighed in relief after hearing the spectacular outcome.
"Can a meet her? Sakura, I mean?" asked Yusei innocently,and Yuko nodded. He then removed Sonic Chick from the monster card zone, and watched the image reappeared as Sonic Chick turned back into a small ball of light, which floated back into it's card. After Yuko returned to card to Yusei, he detached the duel disk from Yusei's arm, reattached to his arm and briefly began to search through his deck, pulling out the card named 'D.D Sakura", and showed it to Yusei.
Yusei chuckled as he noticed Yuko's favorite coat, which Sakura was still wearing in the image and Yuko confidently summoned it, causing a much larger flash of light to burst out from the card.
Suddenly, out of the flash, came forth a female figure, who was kneeling down in front of Yuko. As the light vanished, the girl stood up and bowed formally to Yuko. "Master. How may I serve you?"
Yusei got up instantaneously, as soon as he heard Sakura speak and looked back at Yuko, who was smiling proudly.
Yuko looked up at Sakura grinningly and got up so to grab on to her glove incased hand and tugged her gently towards Yusei.
"Come. I want to introduce you to someone", he said cheerfully to Sakura, and brought her over to Yusei, who had taken a few steps back and tripped over some large roots from the blossom tree behind them.
"Yusei, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is Yusei Fudo, a good friend of mine", Yuko introduced, and Yusei gulped nervously, still laying awkwardly on the ground, while Sakura turned to face Yuko shyly.
"Come on. Don't be shy, just introduce yourself", urged Yuko to Sakura, who then glanced back at Yusei and bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you...Yusei Fudo" she replied formally.
Yusei got up and straightened out his clothes, a little embarrassed by his reaction. "It's nice to meet you too, Sakura. Yuko has told me a lot about you", he confessed, causing Sakura to blush lightly.
Yusei turned to face Yuko. "Can she eat and sleep like us?"
Yuko nodded. "She can do almost everything that we can do apart from one thing. She doesn't age", Yuko declared, and Yusei's eyes widened.
"Doesn't age? As in she can live forever?"asked Yusei curiously.
"Yep! Plus, with the power of Time Wizard on our side, we will be able to live forever too", stated Yuko happily.
Yusei' expression enlightened. This was all so amazing, so surreal. He felt as though he was dreaming, and pinched himself, but could soon clarify that this was all happening for real.
"Do you wanna try it?", asked Yuko as he held the monster card "Time Wizard" in his hands.
Yusei shuddered his shoulders, feeling a little uneasy.
Yuko acknowledged the fact that Yusei hadn't tried using Time Wizard yet, and turned to face Sakura. "Sakura, are you familiar with this card? Do you know if it's safe to use?" he asked, revealing the card to her.
Sakura nodded. "Yes, Time Wizard is a harmless card...if you don't over use it. I saw my old master used it frequently to summon Thousand Dragon".
Yusei's expression became puzzled. "Thousand Dragon? What's that?"
Yuko looked back at Yusei. "It's a very old card, which no one today tends to use anymore", he claimed, and Sakura nodded in agreement.
"That's true, but my old master did. He was a strong believer in the heart of the cards, and that card in particular served him well" said Sakura sternly.
Yusei looked at her questioningly. "Can you tell us more about your old master?"
Sakura shook her head. "He erased most of my memory before giving me away", she confessed.
Yuko's eyes widened with surprise. "Wait what? How?" He asked quickly, and Sakura sighed.
"I don't remember how, but I do remember him having a duel disk very similar to the one your now wearing" she indicated, and Yuko looked down at his duel disk.
Yusei walked over and put one hand over Sakura's shoulder, his kind cobalt eyes meeting with hers. "Do you remember your masters name?", he asked calmly.
Sakura didn't reply. However, Yuko couldn't help, but notice a few tear forming in Sakura's eyes. "I...I...", she began, but Yuko cut her off.
"It's Ok. You don't remember. Would you like to go back to your card?" he asked comfortingly, and Sakura nodded, rubbing a tear away from her left eye. Yuko then removed the card of it's zone and Sakura turned into a small ball of light which hovered back into it's original card. The image soon reappeared on the card and Yuko shuffled it back into his deck.
"What's wrong?" asked Yusei, a little confused to way Yuko cut Sakura off.
Yuko looked up and sighed. "She does remember, but won't tell us. We shouldn't force her to reveal what she doesn't want us to know. We all have secrets", said Yuko, patting Yusei on the shoulder.
Yusei slowly nodded in understanding and sat back down, a little ashamed by his behavior.
"Don't worry, Yusei. She won't hold a grudge against you just because you asked that particular question", assured Yuko, noticing the sad expression.
Yusei looked up at the star filled sky. "All I asked was for her old masters name and she..." he started, but couldn't finish his phrase.
Yuko sighed. "Alright, to cheer you up, I'm gonna to try out Time Wizard", he declared bravely, and summoned the card which he was holding in his hand. After another flash of light, a small clock figurine popped out of the card and levitated over the grass in front of Yuko. Yusei smirked, amused by the monster appearance and sat up straight so to get a good view of the process.
"Alrighty then. Time Wizard! I want you to make me...21 years old", commanded Yuko, and observed cautiously as Time Wizard waved his staff up high, causing a circle of light to appear from under Yuko's feet.
Suddenly, a gush of wind started to circulate Yuko body, causing his clothes to rustle around, revealing his six pack and bandaged up torso. The light from the circle then intensified, radiating before Yusei and stopped after half a minute. After the wind died down, Yusei slowly managed to adjust his eyes back to the dark surroundings, only to find a tall man standing in front of him, wearing clothes that were clearly too small for him. He had long white hair that fell down to his lower back which also cover one chestnut colored eye.
"Whoa", said Yuko, feeling a little taller than before as he examined his new found body. He then fell back and quickly yanked off his boots, throwing them a few feet in front of him. "Ahh, that's much better", he claimed, his voice sounding a lot deeper.
Yusei smirked at the sight of adult Yuko rubbing his feet. "Let me guess, shoes now too small for you?"
Yuko nodded grinningly and turned to face Time Wizard again. "Time Wizard, make me 12 years old", he moaned, urging to get out of his tight clothes as quickly as possible.
Another circle of light appeared under Yuko, and after another flash of blinding light, sitting in front of Yusei was now a small boy with messy, white hair and innocent chestnut eyes.
Yusei started laughing as he noticed the small boy was wearing clothes that were now way too big, causing Yuko to huff, and notice that his trousers had fallen off (his underwear included). "Oh, come on!" said Yuko embarrassed, and pulled his trousers back up to his miniature waist, while Yusei continued to laugh, a few tears developing.
"Hey, stop laughing you meanie", complained Yuko childishly, and tried to take a step towards Yusei, but ended up tripping on his own jean sleeves.
Yusei tried his best to control himself and crawled up to Yuko's child-like form. "I'm sorry. It's just funny to see you like this", he remarked cheekily.
Yuko shrugged."Whatever! I'm changing back to 17 again!" ordered Yuko with his slightly high pitched voice, and Time Wizard worked his magic into transforming Yuko back into his normal 17 year old form.
Yusei then helped Yuko get up and smiled. "Your right. That did cheer me up", he commented cheekily.
Yuko chuckled. "Well I'm glad that I could help!".
"How are you feeling?" asked Yusei, now a little concerned.
Yuko smirked. "Alright I guess...apart for the fact that I am starving!" he declared, and heard his stomach growl.
Yusei grinned and went over to collect Yuko's big, black boots. "Noodles?"
Yuko: Yummy! Noodles!
Carly: Please Review! Since Yuko didn't manage to obtain much sleep last night...
Yuko: Though I'm surprisingly hyper! XD
Carly: Well, that's the caffeine taking effect :3
Yuko: From what? All I had this morning was hot chocolate!
Carly: Umm no...that was Jack's new chocolate flavored coffee...
Yuko: ...oh
Jack: Hey! Who stole my coffee! _
Carly: It was Yu-
(Yuko blocks Carly's mouth with both hands)
Yuko: It was Crow!
Crow: Wait...what!? o_O