Bonus time! I like posting after midnight so I can wake up to a nice, hefty bunch of reviews in my inbox ;) I love every one of them. I know the last chapter was upsetting, but this one should make all of you feel better ^_^ Enjoy!

My thanks to FiringShootingStar, Robot Fish, Mixer18, Star-Rose Lover, firesarrow, ProChampionDuelistA. K. A. Pyro, AnimeKiwi369, Seeker Heart, RunoandAkizafan, and theforgottenpeople96 for their reviews!

Anons this time are Fire, name, LDC, ChibiX (Three times!), and three guests! Fire: Sadly, Sayer's insane. He won't realize anything he doesn't want to. Name: Ah, okay. Getting sat on is always fun ^_^ I think everybody wants to murder Sayer. I think they're starting a riot against him by the concession stand over there. And I love Luna, too. She's (like in canon) one of the few level-headed people around. LDC: Don't worry, Akiza isn't that pathetic. She'll see that Sayer isn't who she thought and will definitely be remembering what he did to her.

ChibiX: You write such long reviews, so you get your three of your own (quite long) paragraphs ^_^ Chapter 09: Really? Can I ask what your dream was about? I wish I could dream about my stories ^^; I told RobotFish what you said, and he says 'thanks.' I appreciate your seriousness and the time you take to write reviews :) It means a lot to me. I'm happy that you're enjoying the story and the characters and, don't worry, Yusei won't be left too far behind. And I'm actually enjoying writing Crow. He was always kind of a sidekick character that I never really paid attention to in the show, but I enjoy him in here :)

ChibiX review mk II: Chapter 10: He gets his mark in episode five, actually :) I'm working on watching through the series in Japanese, so I just saw that episode. And, really, there's no need to worry about offending me. I take my ships very seriously, too. It's very rare that I like a character (in this case, Akiza) with more than one character (Yusei, Z-one, and Sayer). Of course, Yusei/Akiza is my personal favorite and I want them to have their happy ending, but I'm not opposed to her being with those other two. Generally, I only like Sayer/Akiza or Z-one/Akiza as a plot device to get her together with Yusei. I am a die-hard YuAki shipper and I respect that you have your opinion. We all do :) It's perfectly all right if you want to rant about hating Sayer. It's a popular opinion, I understand :P

ChibiX review mk III: Chapter 11: In all honesty, your second review got us up to twenty, so you didn't have to fight with the internet, but I appreciate you doing so. Also, we're actually approaching the end of Act I, so it might not be as bad as you think. Still, I'm pretty sure you'll like how this chapter goes. Maybe Akiza realized her feelings during a tragic occurrence, but the good news is that she did realize them. Now let's just see how long it takes her to tells him ;) And, yes, the other Enforcers will get more of a backstory and development as we go on. Especially Jack. He's in for a rough road. But he deserves it. There will be a few more firearms and such showing up that'll be named after monster cards, but that's not all. That being said, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

…You see? If you write a longer review, you get a longer reply :P

Many thanks to RobotFish for his beta work! You're an excellent beta and an even better friend. This chapter goes out to ya (even though you already read it)!

Enjoy!

Sunset Horizon
Chapter 12 – Touching Stars

Leo sat on the floor of the bar, flipping through the adventure novel that Auntie Setsuko, Akiza's mother, had purchased for him for his thirteenth birthday. It was an excellent read, a story of pirates and treasure hunting on the seas of a fantasy world conjured by the author. He was enjoying it, and probably a little too much.

Akiza had left for her dinner with the governor almost two hours ago, which made the teenager pause and glance out the window at the bright full moon. He was up a good hour after his bedtime. If Akiza walked in and saw him up still, he would never hear the end of it.

The door to the bar burst open suddenly, making Leo jump and duck down behind a table. Hopefully, she wouldn't look in his room and never realize he wasn't in there, then he could slip in after she went to bed and no one would be the wiser.

A choked sound caught his ears and he peeked around the chair leg to see his foster-sister leaning against the closed bar door, one arm crossing over to touch her opposite elbow and the other pressed to her thigh. What caught him completely off-guard was the fact that she was crying. He couldn't remember ever seeing her cry. She was six years older than him, making her ten when his parents died. He didn't really remember them, but had always known Uncle Hideo and Auntie Setsuko as the closest thing he had to parents, while Akiza became like an older sister to him and his full-blooded sister, Luna.

He watched for a moment, wondering what was going on, until she clambered up the stairs. He swallowed his spit, not really sure what to do. A part of him knew there was one person he could call on for help. He ran back behind the bar and into the backroom to set his book down, then picked up his boots and ran outside before tugging them on.

…

Yusei sat back in a chair in his home, holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and cards in the other. The desks were pushed together and a trunk was pulled along one side to provide seating for all four of the Enforcers while they indulged in a game of poker. Miss Izinski had announced that the bar would be closed early that night, so they were left to drink from their own supply of liquor and play cards in their cramped home.

He was still furious with both Sayer and Miss Izinski, but he wasn't sure where to start. All of the Enforcers had looked for information on psychics in any place they could think of, but they didn't have any leads to help them fight the man. They were in trouble, knowing they had no way of figuring out what the extent of his powers was.

A knock sounded on the door, sounding frantic and rushed. Yusei raised a brow at the others while shifting to stand. Who would possibly come knocking at this hour? He nodded towards the others as Kalin and Crow both reached for their weapons. Jack leaned back, moving so his holster was in easy reach.

He pulled the door open and froze as a kid tumbled inside, having not been prepared for the door to open. His eyebrows rose as he recognized him and asked, "Leo? What are you doing here for? It's a little late for you to be out, isn't it?"

"Never mind that!" he panted, out of breath from running. He turned and looked up at Yusei, taking a moment to catch his breath before saying, "It's Akiza! There's something wrong, and I don't know what to do."

Yusei blinked in surprise. Miss Izinski? What happened to her? He bent down to a squat to be closer to eye-level with Leo before saying, "Leo, calm down. What happened?"

"I… I dunno," he muttered, averting his gaze. The kid was reaching the age when he hated to be useless, but still knew that those times came around. He turned, reaching out to wrap both hands around Yusei's wrist, saying, "Please, Shooting Star! You have to help her!"

He shook his head and shifted to stand again, brushing his free hand through the kid's hair. "What makes you think I can?"

"Please," Leo muttered, crossing his arms and shooting him a flat look. "I'm thirteen now. I'm not stupid. I know there's something going on between you guys."

He sighed. Damn it. He couldn't say no to a kid, especially when Miss Izinski was involved. "All right. I'll see what I can do for her." He glanced at his friends and heaved another sigh. "I'll be back later, okay?"

…

He hopped onto the low fence, then jumped up and grabbed onto the balcony railing with both hands before hoisting himself up. After making sure Leo got back into the bar, he decided he would take the balcony way inside instead of going through the door. Chances were, if Miss Izinski was in a fragile enough state to be crying when she got in, then she wouldn't be happy to see Yusei coming through her home. He had better odds if he came in through the back and pretended he was there tonight for his own reasons.

He clambered over the railing and froze, eyes widening at the sight of her sitting on the balcony, wrapped in a blanket and, sure enough, crying. Not just crying, but sobbing so hard her shoulders were shaking and she hadn't even noticed his presence yet. He walked over to her and bent down, shock hitting him when he realized blood covered her right cheek. He reached out to touch her shoulder and said, "Miss Izinski? What's wrong?"

She shook her head, causing her tears to come faster as she buried her face in her knees. Her voice was choked, but she managed to murmur, "Y-Yusei…"

He felt his heart crack at her broken tone. He wanted to reach out and pull her against him, but resisted the urge. He took a quick moment to glance over her, anger pouring through his veins as he realized several spots of the blanket were shimmering red in the bright moonlight. Swallowing, he squeezed her shoulder slightly and pulled back when she cringed. How badly was she hurt? What happened to her? "Miss Izinski…"

She shifted suddenly, reaching up to throw her arms around his shoulders and cling tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck. She continued to shake against him, but fought back her tears enough to croak, "For once in your damn life, call me by my name."

He sat still, startled, before slowly reaching his arms around her and pulling her against him. It felt bittersweet to hold her so closely. To have the pleasure of keeping her near, but knowing it was just for the moment left an ache in his chest. It didn't matter. He had to do what he could to make sure she was all right. If she needed to be held, then he would hold her. "Akiza. Please, tell me what happened."

She curled tighter, tucking herself onto his lap as closely to him as she could, coughing as her tears finally started to slow and she choked on her dry throat. "I…"

He shifted to loop one arm under her bent legs to hold her more securely and bent down to brush his cheek against her hair. Before he could stop himself, he pressed a quick kiss to her temple and froze as she snuggled closer, pulling her blanket with her. He needed to get her inside and help her with her injuries. If he wasn't mistaken, there were still pieces of something—glass?—caught in the cuts on her cheek. Fighting back the lump caught in his throat, he tried again, saying, "Akiza, please. Tell me so I can help. I want to help you."

She nodded slowly, indicating that she was trying, and this time managed to say, "He… He…"

"He?" Yusei asked, pulling her a little tighter. "Do you mean Sayer? Did he do this to you?" The thought had crossed his mind, and he shouldn't have been surprised to find out it was the truth. After the way he'd callously cut his own face apart, he should have expected him to do something to Akiza. The man didn't strike him as the most stable person.

She almost seemed to cower against him when he spoke the name, causing her to look down and finally murmur against his jacket in the smallest voice he'd ever heard her use, "He attacked me."

He knew it was coming. He knew Sayer was behind this. She had far too many injuries for this to be an accident, and the bloodstains on her blanket indicated she was hurt in several places he couldn't see, some worse than others. He needed to get her inside and take care of her wounds. He wasn't the best when it came to first aid, but he had dug more bullets out of injuries—his own and his friends'—than he could count.

He was going to kill Sayer.

When the bastard captured him, tortured him, and marked him like property, he'd wanted to kill him. Now, this crossed a serious line. He wouldn't stand for any sort of abuse towards Miss Akiza Izinski. To be so stupid and cocky to abuse her while he was in town was just asking to be killed.

He shifted slightly, trying to stand up without jostling her too much, and whispered, "Come on, we need to take care of these cuts."

She nodded against him, pulling as tightly as she could. "Okay."

He didn't understand why she was being so cooperative. The Akiza he knew would have denied him, told him to go to hell, and pushed him away so he wouldn't see her in a weak state. He wouldn't complain, but he wondered why at the same time. Carefully, he moved towards the stained-glass double doors and pulled the cracked one open with his foot before carrying her inside.

She sniffled slightly as he shifted to set her on her bed. Her tears had stopped, but she was still a mess from her blood everywhere and hugged the blanket around her for warmth. "Yusei…"

He knelt down on the floor in front of her, reaching out to hold her hand gently. "You need to let go of the blanket if you want me to help you with your injuries."

Her teeth gnashed around her lip, causing her to cringe as she bit on the split flesh. "I, um… I can't."

He looked up at her, curious. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not wearing anything underneath."

His eyebrows rose and he thought about asking her why, but decided it wasn't important. Instead, he averted his gaze and muttered, "I've seen everything before."

"It's different now."

"Why?"

"That's…" she started.

She didn't seem to want to continue, so he nodded once and said, "All right, then just let me see the injuries around the blanket, okay? The blood on your thigh looks pretty thick. Can I see that wound first?"

Giving a short nod, she gave him all the permission he needed to snake his hands under the cotton blanket and gently push it aside. Underneath, an ugly cut longer than his forearm ran from just above her knee and up her hip, causing him to frown and mentally curse Sayer again. The bastard would die. Painfully. "This is pretty deep. Do you have some towels and bandages I can use to clean it for you?"

She nodded again, moving one arm out of its shelter—leaving her shoulder provocatively bare—and pointed towards a cabinet. "In there. There's also some water in the pitcher next to it."

He gave a silent acknowledgement and stood to grab what he needed before returning to her quickly. Soaking a towel in the pitcher, he started to dab the wet cloth at her cut, testing gently to see if there was anything caught in the wound. She didn't cry out, so he took it as a good sign and started to wash it better, using a little pressure to make sure it was clean.

"Yusei."

He glanced up at her quickly before returning to his task. "Hm?"

"Do you remember when I told you that, for that one night, I loved you?"

He inhaled deeply and nodded. "I couldn't forget if I wanted to."

"I…" He felt her eyes leave him and knew she averted her gaze. "I lied that day."

He froze. "What do you mean?"

"I said that I had loved you that night; that I was happy to be with you and give myself to you, but I lied. The truth is…"

Panic started to settle in his gut, but he willed himself to hear her out before saying anything. He took a deep breath and held it, waiting in agony for her to continue. The seconds passed like hours, every painful moment stealing a piece of his heart as it beat in slow motion. He had let his mouth run before and he had almost lost her. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. He would let her say her mind and take a chance for her.

"I've always loved you."

His breath left him in a sudden rush, his balance almost giving out beneath him. His eyes lifted to meet with hers, full of tears while a soft smile stayed on her lips. Did she really say what he thought she did? Her hand reached out, gently cupping his cheek without the scar as she spoke again, with more clarity and firmness, "I love you, Yusei Fudo."

He set the wet cloth on her injury to act as a temporary bandage and shifted to stand, leaning closer to her and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her, conveying his bottled-up emotions through actions instead of trying to voice them. His hand moved to cup her cheek, gently pulling her a little closer and adjusting his chin to fit his lips against hers better.

An eternity of bliss passed before he realized he tasted blood and drew back, only now remembering her split lip. He silently cursed himself, but she only smiled and shook her head, indicating that it was worth it. Her lips curled into a slight smile, her hand shifting to settle on his still on her cheek. "That night, I had been able to accept my feelings for you. I was happy to be in love with you. Now, I think I can be happy again."

He shifted to kneel in front of her again, his free hand gently setting on top of her injured thigh. He hated that he needed to ask, but he couldn't stop himself as he whispered, "Permanently?"

She nodded, leaning closer to him and giving him a gentle peck on the lips. "Yes. I realized it tonight. I had agreed to marry…" She stalled, taking a moment and finding herself unable to say his name. Finally, she managed, "…him because I was trying to forget about you. But it didn't work. Instead, I realized just how much I love you."

He wanted to kiss her again, but he didn't want to cause her any more pain, either. So he settled on busying his hands with bandaging the gash on her leg before saying, "You have absolutely no idea what this means to me."

"However," she said sternly, causing his attention to snap back to her face. "I need… You told me before that the man I've known for three years isn't who you really are. I need to know the real you. I need to know… Is the man you've been since that night the real you?"

He nodded slowly. He figured she had noticed when his mask slipped. "Any questions you have, I'll answer. But we should save that conversation for the morning. You've had a long day and it's already late. Just let me finish with your injuries, then go to sleep."

"Will you stay here with me?" she asked, her tone sounding as if she was ashamed to come across as weak.

He finished tying the dressings on her thigh and quickly pressed a kiss to her uninjured cheek, saying, "If it's what you want, I'll never leave your side again."

…

Akiza moaned as consciousness seeped back into her system, curling slightly on a reflex as she woke. She smiled, shifting to settle into the chest of the man lying beside her. It was the second time that she woke up beside Yusei, and she decided it felt nice. It wasn't a morning tainted by bitter feelings and a harsh bite of cold deflection.

This morning, it was warm and peaceful.

She still wanted to hear his explanation, but for now, she was content to lie next to him. She knew the dangers weren't over, and just because she knew she wanted to try being with him, the main threat still remained. Divine was still in town, and he was still an insane freak of nature who used his otherworldly gift for selfish gain.

While he wrapped her wounds the previous night, Yusei had told her he would kill Sayer and he would make him suffer. A part of her had mixed feelings over the fact that he would be so ready to fight for her, but another part of her reminded her that his intentions always were to kill him. He had been right all along.

"You awake?"

She shifted to look up at him, unable to fight the smile that crept onto her lips. Why was she suddenly so comfortable around him? Why didn't she mind being alone with him? Especially since she was still naked besides the blanket wrapped around her? She decided it didn't matter and gave a nod, humming, "Mm. Yeah."

His arm came up behind her and wrapped around her shoulders, gently settling on her upper arm to avoid causing her hurt body any more pain. "How are you feeling?"

She couldn't help but smile a little wider at the sight of genuine worry in his cobalt eyes and pulled herself closer to his side. "I'm feeling better. Thank you for helping me."

His other hand rose and touched her healing cheek softly. "I would do anything for you. I swear."

Slowly, she moved to sit up and pulled the blanket around her. Why did things play out the way they did? Why did he feel the need to push her away and make her hate him? She turned to face him, but kept her eyes downcast as he sat up beside her. "You said you would tell me everything, right?"

He nodded as he shifted to stand and ran a hand through his hair. For the first time, she noticed his holster belt was absent and frowned, wondering why. He never went anywhere without his pistol. He turned slightly, moving as if trying to loop his thumbs in his belt before he realized it wasn't there and settled for crossing his arms. "Yeah," he muttered, frowning slightly before sighing. "I don't even know where to start. Why don't you ask questions and I'll answer, okay?"

"Okay," she said, shifting to sit on her knees, cringing slightly at the pull of the healing injuries along her legs. "I guess what I'd like to know is… why are you fighting the government?"

He nodded again, understanding the reason for her first question. Taking a deep breath, he stared at the floor and started, "It's not the government we're fighting so much as it is the Underground. What we're after is to make this town free of the Underground's illegal trade. Believe it or not, they're using this town as something of a trading post. It's so remote and close to the border. It's perfect for them to use as a midway point."

"Then why are you targeting the governor?"

Frowning, he considered how to answer before finally asking, "Did you ever ask about my family?"

"Yeah." She nodded once. "You're the son of one of the twelve senators of the Yliaster council."

His chin dipped to confirm her statement before he said, "Yeah. I grew up in court, alongside the other senators' kids. I was thrown into school subjects like math and science, pressured into knowing them well. Believe it or not, I'm actually the one best at math in our group," he said with a slight wink. "I was taught reading, writing, languages… I'm actually completely bilingual. My father's mother is from Sephylon, and I was raised on both the Yliaster language and the Sephylon. Ya mogu pokazat vam, yesli vy khotite."

She blinked. What did he just say? "Uh, what?"

He just smiled and continued, letting her wonder, "I was also taught dance, courtly manners, and 'refined' arts like drawing. It never was my strong point, so please don't ask me to. I even played violin until my mother died. My grandfather gave me a gun when I was seven and tried to teach me how to shoot. I picked it up pretty quickly, and he taught me almost everything I know about firing."

She blinked, not believing that there was so much more to him than she had thought. Over the past three years, she thought he was a lazy, spoiled brat from nowhere special who had a talent for making guns. She didn't realize he'd had such an education given to him. Frowning, she pulled her blanket back around her and asked, "Did he teach you how to forge guns, too?"

He shook his head, saying, "No, he didn't. But that's a story for another day. Now, can I ask you something really quick?"

Nodding, she said, "Uh, sure."

He turned away slightly, touching his fingers to his temples and asked, "Can you get dressed? I'm going to go crazy over here."

She glanced down at her blanket and pulled it closer around her body self-consciously before averting her gaze. "I, um…"

"I can go out in the hall, if you want."

She froze, hating herself as the fear of being left alone crept through her body. She didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to be afraid. Several times in the night, his face had appeared in her dreams and frightened her. Though she only woke from the nightmares once, she was terrified to be left alone, scared that he would come again and finish her off. "Could you…?" she started, cutting off as her voice failed her.

He walked over and knelt down beside where she sat on the bed, reaching out to take one of her hands in his. "If you don't want to be alone, that's okay. I understand. I'll just…" He glanced around the room with a frown before his eyes fell on a chair placed by her desk. "I'll just sit here and face the wall. But promise me something?"

"What is it?" she asked, watching as he moved over to grab the chair and turned it to face the wall.

"Please don't take any longer than necessary, and don't narrate what you're doing."

She frowned, her brow bunching together. "Why would I narrate what I'm doing?"

He shrugged as he sat down. "I don't know, but I wanted to make sure."

She paused, thinking through his words before the realization hit her. "By Crimson, are you seriously thinking about sex right now?"

He sighed and leaned back in the chair, keeping his eyes on the wall as promised. "I am now."

Shaking her head, she moved over to her closet and pulled a change of clothes out. "All right, I'm starting now, so don't look."

"Don't worry, I won't. I can continue my story, if you want."

She swallowed her spit as she slowly pulled the blood-stained blanket from her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. "All right. That sounds good," she said, picking up her white petticoat and stepping into it.

"Where was I…? Right. So I grew up in this rich, courtly lifestyle in a house way too damn big for five people. Imagine the size of your bar, the governor's estate, and your father's bank combined. That about equaled the west wing."

Her eyes widened in surprise. Why did people even have houses that big? "That… seems a bit excessive," she murmured, reaching out to grab her maroon dress from the bed and pull it over her head, tugging the bodice to fit properly and cringing slightly as she moved an injury improperly.

"It was," he muttered. "But I could be exaggerating. I was twelve the last time I stepped foot in that place, so I was smaller then, too. Anyway, I saw a lot of the court life and saw first-hand some of the dealings with the Underground. I decided I didn't like it and, when I ran from home, I vowed to find a place where the Underground didn't exist."

She finished getting the dress around her and decided to omit stockings for the day so they wouldn't press on her injuries. "Yusei, could you lace me up?" she asked, turning slightly to show her untied corset to him.

He shifted to stand, giving a short nod as his only confirmation before walking up behind her. She gripped the baseboard of her bed to hold herself still while he started pulling on the laces, jerking her body as he drew them tight. He continued in silence, tugging on each cord as he tied the corset all the way. A thought slipped into her mind, causing a frown to form on her face. She didn't want to ask, but she wanted to know the answer at the same time. Finally, she gave up and asked, "Yusei, does your family support the Underground, too?"

His hands loosened on the ties and she suddenly wished she could take back her words. She caught sight of him averting his gaze out of the corner of her eye before he muttered, "I honestly don't know."

"Yusei, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" she started.

He cut her off, moving to pull the laces again. "No, it's fine. It's a valid question." He coughed a short laugh and continued, "It's ironic. I never even considered that."

She swallowed and warily asked, "What… What would you do if they were?"

He sighed heavily as he finished tying her laces, kissing her shoulder before stepping back once. "Not be surprised and then take him down."

She turned around to face him and reached up to touch his unmarred cheek. She couldn't help it. She was frightened of his scar. She didn't have the right to be, but it bothered her, anyway. "Yusei…"

He shook his head and flashed a quick smile before stepping back. "It's not a big deal. I prepared myself for this fight a long time ago."

She didn't believe him, but she decided to let it slide for now. "All right. Tell me more."

He nodded and walked over to straddle the chair he'd sat on before. "I came to this town because my best friend was already here. Kalin. He came here when we were nine because his grandfather—his sole guardian—was sent here to become the new governor. To my understanding, he died a few years later and Goodwin came here after him."

"So, you knew Kalin before you came here?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We were best friends as kids. Still are, but now we have a bigger posse. He wasn't from a senatorial family, but he was still a rich kid."

She couldn't help but smile a little. "If you and Kalin knew each other as kids, and if Crow was born here, where did Jack come from?"

"That…" he trailed off, taking a moment to think his words through. "That's a long story. We'll save it for another day."

She nodded. "All right. Let me see if I have this right. You grew up around politicians, learned young that they aren't who they appear to be, vowed to never be like them, and ran away to find your best friend?"

"Sounds bad when you word it like that," he said, laughing. "But, yeah. That's the truth of it."

"But there's something I still don't understand."

"Shoot."

"If you were trying to save the town from the Underground, why act like such a jerk?"

A faint smile crossed his lips as he stood, turned the chair around, and sat in it properly. He shifted to rest his feet up on the baseboard of her bed with a slight chuckle. "Our end goal was to remove the Underground from town. The Underground is heavily funded by the government. Do you think Yliaster would just sit back and let us kick them out?"

"Well, obviously not."

"Exactly. Now, if we had been honest and been the good guys, gotten the town on our side, and revolted against Yliaster as one, what do you think would happen to a tiny little frontier town that no one even knows about?"

Her eyes widened as she put the pieces together. If a town revolted like that, there was a high chance… "They would torch the whole town and get rid of any evidence."

He nodded and pointed a finger at her in a 'you got it' way. "Bingo."

She stood still, then finally dropped down to sit on her bed in shock. All this time… He had been a good guy, disguised as a hooligan to keep the town from being mowed down? She crossed her arms over her chest and bit back the tears, mumbling, "I can't believe it… Three years…" She shook her head. "I've been such a fool."

He appeared in her line of sight and bent down in front of her, gently taking her hands in his. "Akiza, don't. Don't blame yourself. This is all my doing. I pushed you away because I knew it would be safer for you." He glanced to the side, looking as if he wanted to curse but refused to in her presence. "But you got pulled into this mess, anyway."

The tears broke free and drifted down her cheeks, leaving a salty burn on her almost-healed scratches. "Y-Yusei… I…"

He squeezed her hands, offering a menial form of comfort before shifting to stroke her cheek softly. "I love you, Akiza. I always have, but I've waited. I knew there would be a time when it would be safe for us to be together, so I forced myself to stay patient and keep lying to protect you." He took a breath before continuing, "What I'm saying is, the danger isn't over. It isn't safe yet."

She looked up at him, eyes wide. She knew what he was saying. Until they could take care of Divine, it wouldn't be safe for them to be together. Nodding slowly, she said, "I know. Yusei…?"

"Hm?" he hummed.

"I… You should know, Divine…" She shook her head. "Sayer isn't normal. He has powers like you can't imagine-"

"I know," he said, reaching up to touch his scar. "I know."

She bit her lip and turned away slightly. She had a feeling Sayer had been behind that. Shaking her head, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I don't know how strong his powers are. I can't help any more than that."

His hand on her cheek shifted to bring her eyes back to his. "Don't worry. We'll beat him. He can only do so much."

She nodded. "Okay. Promise me something, Yusei."

"Anything."

"Promise me you won't get yourself killed. We have a lot of lost time to make up for."

A slight smile fell on his lips and a laugh tumbled out. "I promise. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Okay, you guys. I know you loved this chapter ^_^ Don't try to hide it. Get ready for an overload of fluff from here on out ;)

Aaand… I have a challenge for you. There is only one winner and it's not really time sensitive. First one to it gets the prize. If you think you've got it, tell me in a review or a PM or on my Facebook, anywhere. The first person to respond correctly gets a 5D's oneshot of their request, any guy/girl pairing they want, or even just a single character. Any genre, any theme, anything. Except yaoi and yuri.

So what's the challenge?

See if you can figure out where the Sephylon language comes from. No, it's not just a bunch of gibberish I typed up. It actually means something. This challenge lasts indefinitely, or until someone can figure it out. There'll be more lines to come in future chapters, so take your time and let me know what you've got ;) There's no limit on guesses, so fire away!

I'm excited :D

Oh, and Yusei will be prone to ramble in Sephylon, but you should be able to get the gist of what he's saying based on the situation. I'm thinking it should be pretty obvious when he does, but I just wanted to point that out ^_^

Please visit my Facebook! I don't think you guys even care anymore, but I'm just getting used to posting this. www. facebook. c-o-m /OCValkyrie (Remove spaces and hyphens)

Please review!

-Valk