Behold! The Second Chapter! And here we meet our secondary characters for this story. This is where the "Minor Crossover" begins for this story. And while I feel like this chapter is good, I am my own worst judge. So feel free to critique it, that would be much appreciated. Also possible OOC may be present in this chapter.
I like to mention now that this entire fan fiction was planned prior to recent events occurring in ARC V. So even if a shocking revelation were to occur, it would not change what was planned for this fan fiction. I hope you understand.
Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.
Waking up to a call on his phone/duel disk, Yuya woke up from his empty slumber with a groan and lethargically answered the device. "Hello?" Yuya asked with an exhausted tone. "Yuya? Are you okay? You sound sick." The voice replied with a concern tone. "I'm fine, I just woke up from a long nap…" Yuya answered as he got up. "I know that feeling. Listen, I shouldn't rush you, but I called to tell you that our game is about to start." The voice said. "Thanks, I'm on my way." Yuya replied. "Just don't push yourself too hard Yuya-kun." The voice said. "I won't, thanks for calling Yugi-san." Yuya thanked before hanging up. Looking at the clock, it was already seven in the afternoon and the sun already was starting to set outside. With a sigh, Yuya quickly got changed into his favorite red t-shirt, green pants, and red sneakers. Before leaving the apartment, Yuya put on his goggles and grabbed everything he needed for his little outing. Once he locked the door, Yuya began running towards the home where the king of games resides.
After a good fifteen minutes, Yuya ran through the door and closed it behind him before stopping to catch his breath. "Did I make it?" Yuya panted as he stumbled into the living room. Within, four people around a table looked at Yuya and smiled. "No, you just made it. Yugi-san was about to deal" One of them said as Yuya took a seat at the table. Yuya once felt like he wasn't worthy to be part of the Yugioh Dueling League, and to be honest, who would? Here you are, surrounded by the best of the best, what are you compared to them? This kind of thing can really do a number on your self-confidence to be surrounded by greatness. It is only when Yuya discovered that Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma were really friendly people to be around and had their own anxieties when it comes to being overshadowed by someone else.
"So how was your nap?" Judai asked as Yugi began dealing the cards. "It was nice." Yuya lied, remembering the events before the nap. "You should try to get to sleep earlier, you'll have more energy to do things in the day." Yusei commented, as he looked at his cards. "Says the guy who works to six in the morning, seriously how do you even stay up that long?" Yuma replied. "Guys, guys, it doesn't matter about when we sleep, it's about how well we sleep. Anyway, let's get back into our game." Yugi replied. Texas hold'em is always a popular form of poker anyone can get into, thus making it the go to card game, besides Duel Monsters, for nights like this. Turns pass as the 'pot' grew larger and larger, Yuma and Judai were nervous but controlled it, Yusei continue to hold his stoic face despite the sweat rolling down his neck, and Yugi simply wore a small smile, enjoying the game despite having a not so good hand. Yuya on the other hand barely paid attention, only saying call or raise absently before going back into his thoughts.
"The reveal is right after this. And I go all in." Yugi said calmly as he pushed all of his chips into the center. "Verdammt… I fold…" Judai said before laying his cards down. "I'm not risking it. Fold…" Yusei replied, putting down his cards. "I'm not going to be out right from the beginning. I fold." Yuma said as he laid down his card. Yuya didn't respond, making the others wonder what was on his mind. "Yuya-kun, are you sure you're okay?" Yugi asked. "What? Oh, no I'm fine." Yuya answered nervously, trying to brush off the situation. "Ce est des conneries! Pardon my French, but you're obviously not okay." Judai argued. "I have to agree, you have been more quiet than normal. It's alright to tell us what's wrong." Yusei agreed. "We're all friends here, your secret is safe with us. Just give us a heads up when the story gets really, really weird. Like uncomfortable to listeners weird, I still have nightmares from Judai's last story..." Yuma added, shivering at his last statement. "Well… I found a box in my closet…" Yuya began. "So you're upset… over a box?" Judai asked before getting a look from Yusei. "Let the man continue before you ask your questions." Yusei said. "Thank you, so this box…" Yuya thanked before continuing.
So Yuya recounted his experience with the box down to the last detail, while it only made the memories in his head more vivid, the pain he felt weaker. "At the risk of bringing back more painful memories, can I ask just what happened that lead you to feel this way?" Yuma asked. "Yuma-kun, you don't ask someone to bring up something they don't want to talk about." Yugi commented with a slight glare. "No, I'll talk about it. It's better if I let it out instead of bottling it inside me. After all, I trust all of you with my secrets." Yuya replied. "If there is any point you don't want to talk about, just say so and we'll stop prying." Yusei said. "So tomato man, what's rotting you?" Judai asked.
"There was a point where my friends and I had to venture into another world to help someone. But it was nothing like we have ever seen, it was a war zone where duelists and their monsters fought for survival. After rooting out and defeating the source of all the conflict, we could finally back to our world, back to the home we always knew. But the machine that was supposed to bring us back began malfunctioning because of a power failure, and the whole place was coming down on our heads. We knew if the machine was destroyed, we would be stuck in that world forever and possibly die. But to fix the machine, someone must stay behind." Yuya began. "Then she elected to stay behind… Hiragi Yuzu sacrificed herself to send you all home." Yusei commented, slowly piecing together the story. "Yeah, her bracelet had mysterious energy flowing through it and she used it to power the machine. But the portal wouldn't have been stable enough to send any of us back unless someone operated the console the machine was attached to. So Yuzu took action and stabilized the whole portal for all of us to escape back home. I didn't want to leave her behind, but something hit me before I could say or do anything, knocking me through the portal. It wasn't until later that I found out it was the fan that she always hit me with every time I goof off. But what really got me was the last thing I heard from her…" Yuya continued before stopping to put his goggles on.
The others waited for Yuya to continue, but minutes must have passed before Yuya got the courage to continue. "Just before I fell into the portal… I heard her voice… She was apologizing… She wished me luck… Yuzu said she loved me… Time slowed down as began hearing everything she would be missing... High School, College, her first date, first kiss, everything… I don't know if it was my imagination or it was actually her saying it, but I felt guilty for not realizing sooner. But before I could say anything, I was already back home and the light to the other side was long gone… Forever cut off from someone I held close…" Yuya continued, trying not to let his tears fill his goggles. No one said anything, simply listened to the man let out his past and frustrations. "I always joked around with her liking me, and I always got hit for it. I laughed then, but after what I heard for Yuzu, I wasn't laughing. I can't begin to describe how I felt about myself after that… I was practically hurting her without realizing anything. I was too wrapped up in my own dreams and wants to not see hers... It only got worse when I realize I loved her too and I could never tell her how I felt…" Yuya continued, finally letting tears fall.
"Sorry to hear that, if it makes you feel any better, I lost friends as well… I think all of us have." Yugi replied with a comforting tone. "Because of the Numeron Code, I was able to revive all my lost friends. But I still felt the loss when they have died…" Yuma commented. "Well we all can't have instant 'make it all better' miracles like you Yuma…" Judai said simply, causing Yuma to look away with guilt. "What happened afterward?" Yusei asked, diverting the tension back into the story. "I fell into a depression… I refused to eat, could hardly sleep, and gave up dueling entirely. Then I began seeing Yuzu in every waking moment of my existence. Each day, night, and dream I have I just see her, glaring at me with wide, tired, and vengeful eyes. I actually thought about suicide regardless of everyone's efforts to get me to stand up again. But after some time, I returned to normal, or as normal as I could be. I began dueling again, I ate and slept a lot, but I still could feel her eyes watching me. I continue to live my life with this vengeful glare always at my back, it was only when I fell in love with someone that I noticed the glares were gone. So I believed it was getting better, I still felt guilty but I wasn't too bad. I graduated, got married, had a son, and became an amazing action duelist like my father. I felt that I was finally free from my sadness." Yuya continued. "Then life threw a curve ball. The marriage didn't work out and a divorce occurred." Yusei commented.
"I don't want to talk about that right now... Just know it did happen and I found myself back at square one. I managed to keep custody over my son but I never had my peace of mind again. Nothing else happened from that point on, I watched my son grow up and live a successful life while I sit around retired from the dueling world. And then I died and found myself on this world… The things I had were my deck, duel disk, and the box that contained the things in my past. I must have opened it at one point before locking it away for good, and that's about everything." Yuya finished. "I feel bad now... I was the lucky one to have a relic to change the future. But you had to face with what you have… I don't think I can show my face around here anymore…" Yuma said in a sad tone. "Don't feel bad, it was just how things turned out. Anyway I think I'm going to go home early." Yuya replied as he got up. "I think that's best. Take the time to clear your head, just call when you're ready to talk again." Yugi said. "Thanks for listening to my little sob story." Yuya thanked. "Anytime. Is there anything you want us to do?" Yusei asked. "You guys did enough. I'm sorry that I ruined the fun." Yuya apologized. "Friends with problems are more important than a game. Don't worry about ruining anything." Yuma said with reassurance
With a good night, Yuya left the scene. While he still felt uneasy, some of the pain and frustration was gone from Yuya's chest. But it wasn't enough, if only he could find the person that gave him this pain and bring her closure. Only then could Yuya be free from his guilt… Free from the pain… Free from the ghost of Hiragi Yuzu…
And so completes Chapter Two. I always had this Idea that when Judai grew up he would be teaching a Languages course in the Duel Academy, since he traveled the world at the end of GX. I must apologize for those who know how to speak the languages that are present in this fan fiction as it might be completely inaccurate, thanks Google Translate. This was mostly an exposition chapter that dives into the Yuya's past and what it means to this fiction. As I mentioned earlier, this chapter was good to me, but I'm not sure how others would feel about it. So please, your reviews would be appreciated and worth all the gold in the world.
Also here is the next piece to the world of Sanctuary...
While an afterlife to the good souls, there are those who still wish ill upon there brethren walking among them. These souls are not good per say, but have redeemable qualities that allowed them passage into the world. Sanctuary is not a Heaven, it is more like the Earth that we are currently living on right now.
Anyway, this story is still getting started, so I hope you stick around to the very end. See you next time.