;A; I am so so so sorry! It was terrible! I lost my muse for this story, and life just sucked my ability to write straight out of me! But I'm happy to say i've returned and ready to start updating this, though i'm not sure it will be as regularly(?) as it used to be. But I will try my very very hardest! Anyway! I would love to thank all my lovely amazing reviewers; Molly Grace 16, Magdalene Thorne, JuneGilbertVivianRaeven, Count Morningstar, FiringShootingStar and PeaceLoveSonicandChao!
(Note: Some things were brought to my attention about how I was portraying Crow, and it didn't sit right with me, so I just re-wrote some parts essentially the chapter is still the same.)
Also this is in regards to PeaceLoveSonicandChao's comment; I really appreciate your helpful comments though there are some things I am confused about, such as the villain, as everyone Raven has encountered under that category have all tied back to Wulf with the exception of the gangsters in the beginning. So if you could elaborate on that more I would really appreciate it as I try my very hardest to make this story enjoyable for everyone to read.
Now on the with the story!
Disclaimer: Oh please, if I owned Yugioh 5Ds my muse wouldn't have run away at the first sign of trouble! So thus only the OC's and story plot is mine. :)
Raven walked out of the hospital room and down the hall where the voices of Crow and Jack could be heard arguing over something, 'Probably something stupid knowing them.' She sighed and walked through the doorway the scene before her not so much shocking as funny.
Jack stood behind Crow his fingers hooked in the corners of the red heads mouth and stretching them outward. Raven put a hand up to try and stifle the laugh that leaked out regardless, gaining both boys attentions.
"Its about time you got here! It's rude to make a king wait!" Raven smirked as Doctor Schmidt came through the door behind her.
"I see your leaving us today Raven." She nodded but tried not to show how happy she was about that fact, obviously failing as the doctor smirked.
"It's okay to be happy to go home, but I just want you to be careful. No dueling for at least another week and especially no using your powers." She nodded and played with the hem of her blue sweater.
"D-Do you know why my white count was so low?" The man seemed to consider this as Jack and Crow continued their fight, though she supposed that was how they showed their love for one another, at least that's what she hoped.
"Well from the tests I performed it seems like your body went into a surge mode where it focused solely on the purpose of maintaining your body and fixing whatever ailments you had at the time. It's only a theory though, but just to be on the safe side I would check your white count every day." He handed her a small black case,
"Inside is a syringe and a small white count meter. I don't think I will have to explain to you how to do it with your background." He chuckled and she smirked, Doctor Schmidt laid a hand on her shoulder.
"The situation hasn't changed though Raven, that reporter girl is still on your trail and this terrible sickness is still spreading faster than we can control it. If your father's research can help even a little bit I'm sure you're the one who can crack it." The man had been informed about her connection to the current events and it had been discovered that her father's research, no matter how helpful it might be, was written in a code she only seemed to have a vague grasp on.
She remembered the man from her dream again and his words about how she wasn't alone in this, but it didn't change her frightened feelings about it. Still she nodded and turned back to the now wrestling duo and sighed.
"Honestly you two, just like cats and dogs." Pulling on a power blue hat she stuffed her black hair inside it, it wasn't much of a disguise but it was the best she had until they thought of something better.
"I hope your hopes aren't on the wrong person Doctor Schmidt, but I suppose with these guys by my side I shouldn't mess up that much." She giggled as she watched the two boys finally part from each other, choosing instead to stand with their backs to one another and arms crossed over their chests.
"You have too little confidence in yourself Raven, you're much stronger than you think you are." She nodded her thanks,
"I am just me, and that's all I want to ever be. Especially for him." Her pale blue eyes stared lovingly at the red head whose cheeks were puffed out like the fish she had seen on their first date. Which also made her remember something;
"Now that that's done, why don't we head home? I still owe you all a nice dinner." This seemed to perk them both up, Crow nodding enthusiastically and Jack while attempting to be nonchalant about his excitement.
And with that they bid their farewells and were back at the garage in under ten minutes, Raven had never been so happy to see the giant metal door in all the time she had lived here.
Jack led the way inside as Crow and herself followed behind, their arms wrapped around one another. She wasn't expecting a big welcome and thankfully they had provided her with exactly that as she walked in and sighed.
The sounds of Yusei and Bruno working on the computer and Jack stalking off to the couch mumbling something about "Needing coffee." Raven of course, made a B line for the kitchen area to see what ingredients they had.
As she opened the fridge she noticed two things; it was completely full of the food from her own fridge and sitting on the top shelf was a single cupcake with the words "Welcome Back!" written on it in orange gel icing.
She smiled and glanced over her shoulder, eight pairs of eyes trying to subtly see her reaction. Raven laughed,
"Thank you! Now how about I make that dinner I promised you all?" the sound of rumbling stomachs was all the encouragement she needed.
~0~0~0~0~
Raven sighed happily as she put the last finishing touches on the stew before spooning it into bowls that Bruno, who had insisted she let help, handed her before depositing them on the table with some rice and bread.
Jack and Crow nearly crashed into each other in their haste to make it to the waiting food made her giggle, Yusei however was a bit more graceful in his approach with a little persuasion to get away from the sudden mystery he had with some code. This of course peaked Bruno's interest and she almost lost both of them to the world of coding and D-Wheel engines if not for the empty threat of using her powers to get them to the table.
Thankfully no more convincing needed to be said as they both shuffled over to the table, Jack and Crow both slurping the Cream Stew she had made happily. It was mostly silent as they ate except for the sound of Crow's slurping which of course started a fight between him and the blonde for being 'too obscene', but Raven thankfully ignored this as she pushed away her now empty bowl and placed the tube that Yusei had given her in its place.
"You don't have to start right now you know; you just got out of the hospital." Bruno's voice was full of concern but she just smiled at him and shook her head.
"It's not that I feel I have too, but that I must." She sighed, "While I was in the hospital I had a dream and I'm not sure if the man in my dream was the Crimson Dragon or someone else but he said I'm the only one who can solve this mystery. Though speaking truthfully; I'm actually scared to look at what this file contains."
The fight had thankfully ended between the red head and the blonde as Crow grasped her hand and squeezed it lightly,
"Of what?" She looked away unable to make eye contact,
"Proof that all the bad stuff that's happened here really has been…all my fault. That because I exist people are suffering horribly while I stay here and be happy." staring at her lap she sighed and willed herself not to cry even as her eyes burned with tears, it was a truth she feared more than anything. Jack scoffed crossing his arms over his chest,
"Don't be daft! If this is anyone's fault it's most certainly that Wulf guy! He's the one who turned you into a living ancient dragon and spread this horrid disease over the city! Quit acting like everything's always your fault and do what you can, then leave the rest to me!" Raven supposed that was his version of a pep talk, and while it did make her feel a bit more confident she still felt the tug of guilt on her conscious.
Crow's devious laugh brought her attention back to the present as he stared at the blonde, his head resting on the back of his hand,
"Well since she was the one who made the dinner I guess that means we should leave the dishes to you then." The blonde's mouth dropped open and he stuttered to find a way to amend what he said, but Crow would have none of it insisting that a 'King' sticks to his word no matter what. Yusei and Bruno who were silent throughout the exchange laughed,
"It's true Jack, its bad manners to go back on your word." He looked at Yusei with wide eyes making Raven laugh she couldn't help but join in.
"Indeed, you did say that Jack." The blonde humphed and looked away, mumbling a "I'm only doing it because I want too." They all laughed as he seemed to pout.
~0~0~0~0~
Raven wanted to bang her head against the wall.
Thankfully her hands were too full at the moment patching up some of Jack's clothes, as she continued to stare at the conundrum that was her father's research. Having been forced to give up sighing out loud by a flying shoe, who knew Jack had such a good arm?
She sighed inwardly, her shoulders slumping as she cut the thread from the finished patch job and moved on to the next item of clothing, a pair of Crow's socks with a hole in the big toe.
Raven had managed to finally begin reading the file and came to a realization that maybe she was a bit in over her head. 'Not only is it written in a finite binary code but there also seems to be some sort of symbol sequence that makes sense at one point but at another it's completely meaningless!'
A sigh brought her attention back to the present, looking across the table she saw Crow still resolutely sitting across from her, having promised not to leave her side until she had figured this out. He had been dozing lightly up until this point and she could tell by his not so subtle glances at the stairs that it was time for him to hit the sack.
Looking at the clock her eyes widened, 'How the heck did it get to be 2 am?! I started at 7…' though considering she had been pretty much zoned out up until this point it shouldn't be surprising. She looked at the red head as he sighed again, she couldn't stop the smirk on her face.
"You should go to bed if your tired Crow, I promise it won't hurt my feelings." The fiery gaze he sent her way said "Not without you, you need to rest too!" he had long since stopped talking and thought at first it made her wonder if he was angry Yusei had informed her that this was just his way of not saying something horrible due to exhaustion.
'Speaking of Yusei…' Turning her head and wincing as it cracked from so little movement, she wasn't surprised by the sight; Bruno and Yusei still up and acting as if on instinct as they moved between his D-Wheel and the computers, a few words spoken here and there but they both seemed to be in their own world.
'A world completely theirs and theirs alone.' Looking back at the red head who had now taken to propping his head on the table by his chin and staring dejectedly at the stairs, she caved.
Cutting the sting that connected to his sock she placed it carefully on the pile of finished clothes and turned off the information-tube, that being what she called it after failing to find a better name for it. She stood up and stretched out her limbs, gaining the attention of the red head; she smiled at him and held out her hand.
"Let's go to bed Crow." And that was all it took as he quickly got up and nearly dragged her up the stairs in his rush to reach his bed and soon after they were both out, curled up against each other.
Crow became aware of two things as he woke up the next morning; the first and least surprising was that Jack was yelling, this being the norm around here he tended to ignore it however he also came to realize the second thing. The warmth of the body that had been laying next to him all night was no longer there and if he listened closely he swore he could hear that very person's voice from down the stairs.
Only instead of her happy tone that made his heart soar, it was scared sounding, almost borderline angry. Crow sighed and got up, stretching his muscles before walking out of the room and to the stair case where he took in the strange sight.
Raven stood behind Bruno, her fingers clutching tightly to his white jacket as he stood in front of her his hands out in front of him as Jack loomed over them both holding a small box with what looked to be a pen attached to the bottom.
"Jack come on, think about this! It's permanent and what's more she really doesn't want it." The blonde scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"A king does not babysit for someone who can clearly take care of themselves, with the right modification of course." The red head lifted a brow at this, and as he walked down the stairs he got a better look at what the blonde was holding….
And face palmed.
Crow jabbed the taller male in the back with his elbow, making him drop the stupid machine. Jack turned on his heel, leaning down with a frown on his face. The red head glared at the taller male not intimidated in the least by the scowl on his face.
"Jack, you can't just tattoo my girlfriend because you feel inconvenienced!" Jack huffed and crossed his arms.
"Besides Jack I'm just going to library, it's not even that far." Crow nodded and continued speaking;
"Yeah it's only the- wait what? Why would you go there?" Her pale blue eyes turned toward him and sighed deeply,
"I need to do some research; the best place for me to do that would be at a place made for that particular reason." He ignored her irritated tone and crossed his arms,
"No way! Not without anyone going with you for protection, did you already forget how the whole city is after you?!" She narrowed her eyes and mimicked his stance,
"Trust me; I am very aware of what's going on. But, if I have any hope of solving my father's code and saving this city I have to go get more information and in order to do that I have to actually leave. And I don't need protection Crow, I'm a big girl and can take care of myself!" Crow sighed, a part of him knowing she was right but still the thought alone of someone getting their hands on her shook him to the bone.
After witnessing the damage done by Isaac in there duel, it terrified him to think about what her own father could do. But he shook those thoughts as Bruno spoke up,
"If it would help, I can go with her. There are some things I need to look up as well and I'm afraid Yusei might be a bit peeved if I hacked into the city's database again." Crow sweat dropped as Raven looked at him in awe. He remembered that, it took them a week to convince Sector Security to get off their backs.
The red head jumped as pale blue eyes were suddenly right in front of him, and he felt his cheeks light up with her being so close.
"Oh please please can I go?" she was using her sweetest voice on him, making his heart jump in his chest and finally after both her voice and her eyes doing funny things to his heart beat he had to look away and nod his head.
"Hooray!" She clapped and turned to the blue haired male to discuss travel plans, Crow just smiled and turned to go get ready for work, worry still nagging at the back of his mind.
~0~0~0~0~
After a few hours of nearly crashing into every passing car and street light, Crow Hogan decided to call it a day and seek out the thing, or in this case person, that had been plaguing his thoughts all day.
But having no luck in finding the girl at the library he sighed, and called back to garage, Jack's voice answering though he tell it was reluctantly.
"What the duce do you want? I was trying to come up with a new strategy." Crow rolled his eyes,
"Did Raven and Bruno make it back there?" Jack let out an aggravated sigh,
"The dimwit did," Crow swore he heard a crash in the background, most likely Bruno falling over in surprise. "But she went back to her own apartment, some nonsense about needing quiet space or something." The red head nodded, and hung up as he headed toward the brown building and nearly running up the stairs.
As he reached the door he listened to see if he could hear any sign of life inside, but after a few seconds of hearing nothing and feeling stupid for just standing in the hall he went up to the door and placed his ear against the wood.
The red head fell forward as the wooden door in front of him suddenly swung open, he didn't fall far however as he landed against the dark haired girl, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck and head. She chuckled warmly,
"Well that was quite the hello, Crow." The red head snorted as he kneeled in front of her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Were you worried?" he pressed his lips tightly together, a sure sign of 'not telling'. She laughed again as he decided on the perfect way to get revenge for being so constant in his mind today, his hands sliding up and down her sides.
The sound of her laughter made his heart race and he smiled running his fingers lightly over her sides making the girl fidget. Crow smirked devilishly and continued his actions, making the girl above him giggle louder.
Increasing the frequency of his movements Raven let out a scream of laughter, her hands gripping tightly to his shirt as tears rolled down her cheeks. Crow couldn't help but laugh with her, her laughter was just that infectious to him.
Suddenly her legs went out from under her and they both went toppling down to the ground, Crow landing so that he sat straddling her waist. He could feel her breathing heavily as she caught her breath, and as Crow sat up he thanked his lucky stars Raven hadn't worn a skirt today as he currently sat with one of her legs hooked on top of one of his own, his torso leaning over her.
Raven blushed as she also noticed their positions, but didn't move from beneath him. Crow smiled down at her, 'Damn, how did I get so lucky?'
It was then he noticed something off, and he sighed. "Raven, why is your hair red?"
Raven blushed and ran her hand through it, the color only seemed to reach about halfway down the length of her hair, leaving the last few inches its normal color.
"W-well…When I got back here I kinda realized Jack had a point. Especially since a lot of people were kinda pointing and staring at me while I was walking, but I don't think tattooing my face is the best route." He sweat dropped, "So after talking with Ms. Carrie she gave me some hair coloring and helped me color it, though we ran out halfway through…" Crow chuckled and shook his head as he leaned down to brush his lips across her forehead.
"I like it, you make red look sexy." Raven's jaw hung slack, opening and closing almost like a fish as she attempted to say something. Crow didn't think it was possible but her entire face turned a darker shade of red than her own hair! 'Ah damn, she's too cute!' he thought as he smiled and connected his lips with her own.
A little while later they both were in her little kitchen area, the setting sun behind them already creating shadows on the walls as the remaining light filtered into the room through the window to the right on her TV. Crow sat at the table while Raven stood in front of the stove preparing some tea and humming softly as she thought about the information she had collected earlier.
"So were you…ya know spotted while you were out today?" he asked trying to hide his worry, but ultimately failing. Still Raven kept her tone light as she turned, her pale blue gaze turned toward the ceiling as if in thought.
"Hmm…I suppose a few people did stare at me, but you know considering how I looked it wasn't that strange…" she blushed as his words replayed through her head again, and she turned her attention back to the tea and wondering what she could make for dinner to occupy her attention, though she could still feel the blush on her cheeks.
"Did you at least learn anything new from your research?" she grabbed some cups from the cupboard as she spoke and placed them on the table; "Hmm, I learned a bit more about this and that, but nothing I didn't already have a very basic grasp of in the first place. Though in his research he seems to mention something called 'Zero Reverse' and 'Dark Energy' a lot." She tapped her finger lightly against the cup, Crow shifted across from her.
"There wasn't a whole lot of in-depth information on 'Zero Reverse' other than something called the Ener-D system overloading and causing some massive damage, thus separating the main land from what was later called 'Satellite'. But no information was given on what caused the system to overload or what any of that had to do with 'Dark energy' or how it relates to my father." The kettle began to whistle, as she had opted for a more out dated one rather than the high tech one that not only boiled the water within a minute but also made coffee and other hot drinks. Standing up she noticed Crow had his head bent slightly, his expression covered in shadow.
Her thoughts raced toward what he told her about in the aquarium, how he, Jack, and Yusei were all orphaned and stuck on Satellite after the land was split apart. A wave of guilt washed over her and as she returned to the table and set the kettle down on a towel laid on the table, tears pickling the back of her eyes.
"Oh my gosh, that was so stupid! I'm so sorry!" she turned her gaze away from his as he looked up, 'I can't believe I said something so insensitive!' she berated herself. Raven yelped as his hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her down landing her so that she sat across his lap, the red head's smiling face beaming down at her.
"Hey! Don't even sweat it! It was a long time ago, and besides I got to meet tons of amazing people because of it." She felt his warm fingers gently turn her head as he leaned down and whispered in her ear.
"Especially you Raven." She swore she felt her heart stop for a minute and restart as her cheeks heated up with a blush. Her fingers gripped tightly onto his vest scrunching the fabric beneath her hands,
"M-Me t-too…So much." He chuckled and reached across the table to drag her own cup to their side as his free arm wrapped around her waist anchoring her in place. Carefully she poured the tea into their cups, a warm fruity scent filling the area around them.
"The best person to talk to about that would probably be Yusei, I mean; it was his dad's project and everything." Raven nearly dropped her tea cup on her lap in shock.
"W-Wha-?" Crow smirked and continued, "Yep, he would probably know the most about it. But since we kicked Dark Signer butt, I don't think there's a way for you to get any info on the Dark Energy." Pale blue eyes widened as she shifted in his lap, causing his head to turn downward.
"Uh…Well, I've actually got a good idea about that…." She felt him tense slightly beneath her but pushed forward anyway.
"I'm going to have to visit an actual person with Satellite Flu." Crow blinked not understanding, she swallowed nervously.
"In a hospital, preferably the main one in charge of the outbreak." He continued to stare at her, she could tell he was hoping she would say it was all just a joke, however her next sentence shattered that dream.
"The one surrounded by reporters and officers looking for me." Crow's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she waited for a few heartbeats to hear his reply, and boy did he.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Well...there we have it! I've already begun working on the next chapter, but like I said due to work and pure exhaustion i'm not really sure when it will be up, so please bear with me and if you would be so kind...review with any thoughts, comments, or helpful advice! OH! And Happy Valentines day to all you lovely people! (Note: Again sorry for anyone who thought it would be a new chapter, but I promise to have the next one up soon!)
Till next time! :3