A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF LAST OF US OR YU GI OH 5DS! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS OF BOTH!

Chapter 4: Explanation

The grass was lush and green on the buildings and rocks giving it a beautiful scenery.

"Whoa," Akiza muttered.

"It's so… pretty," Luna stated.

"This area is, yeah," Yusei stated. "But there are some areas of this world that you won't want to see."

"Yusei," Crow stated while handing over the mask, "why do you carry a mask around if you don't need it?"

"In case someone else needs it. That doesn't happen very often but I keep it with me just in case. That was definitely good thing that I did for now, though," Yusei replied looking at them.

They heard a screech and Yusei turned as a Runner came at him fast. Yusei grabbed the Runner as it grabbed him and threw the Infected to the ground before taking his pistol and shooting its head. His friends were shocked how emotionless he seemed while he did so.

Akiza decided to mention it, "Yusei, why do you seem so… emotionless while you kill these people?"

"It's not that I'm emotionless when I do. I don't like killing these people. If there were a cure, I would try to help them instead. But there isn't a cure. And I just push my emotion to the side. Though we don't know whether the person inside is still there or dead, I want to feel as if I am giving them mercy by killing their possessed selves," Yusei explained looking away from them and at the corpse. "They may have been people once, but they're not people anymore."

"How can you push emotion aside so easily in situations like this?" Crow asked.

"It's not easy at first. But once you have to continue killing them for your survival, it gets easier," Yusei explained. "If you are going to stay by me, you'll need something more than me to defend yourselves with." He tossed a couple revolvers to Jack and Crow; one for Jack and one for Crow. "You'll learn how to shoot those pretty quickly. Use those to defend yourselves from Infected if I'm stuck with others. Akiza, when we get to a safe spot, I'll need you to check to see if your powers work here."

"Where's a safe spot anyways?" Akiza asked.

"We're in Boston right now. We have a long way to go before we arrive at Salt Lake. The first place to head to is probably the base that I came from with Marlene. It's at the University of Eastern Colorado," Yusei explained.

"How are we supposed to get there? That's a pretty far walk," Luna stated.

"There's a man named Bill in Lincoln. He owes the Fireflies a couple favors and could probably help us out," Yusei explained. "We will have to walk there but after that, we should be fine for a while."

"How far is Lincoln from here?" Crow asked.

"A few miles away," Yusei answered. "Come on. The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll be at safer ground."

"Alright," they agreed and followed him.

"Hey, Yusei, how long have you been fighting these things?" Leo asked as they walked.

"I finished training about five months ago but they would usually take me on scouting missions earlier. So about seven months total," he explained.

"You said Clickers and Bloaters were the ones who have been Infected for years. What about once who were recently turned? And why do Clickers and Bloaters make those sounds?" Akiza asked.

"The ones who have recently turned are called Runners. And the reason Clickers and Bloaters make those sounds are because they're blind for the most part. But they can see where you are by sound," Yusei explained. "It's like echolocation. But it isn't the same thing entirely."

"Is that why we have to be silent when we're around them?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Yusei answered. "Even one footstep that is loud enough can be heard by them and they'll be able to see you. If you want to talk to others, you need to be almost silent."

"What exactly are the Quarantine Zones? And why did you make them sound so bad?" Crow asked.

"Because they're run by strict military codes and rules that if broken will get you killed. Even if it's one time, you'll either get arrested or killed. And if you go outside the walls of the Quarantine Zone and then are found as Infected, they will shoot you on sight. No mercy whatsoever," Yusei explained shocking them. "As much as it seems better to be stuck without the major risk of Infected breaking in and killing you, it isn't a life that one wants to live. In fact, most people there are afraid and terrified, though they try to hide it."

"Have you ever been in a Quarantine Zone?" Luna asked.

"When I found you guys, I was coming back from one after getting some weapons from a weapons dealer out of the Quarantine Zone. Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, was shot on the way out. She had to go find some help from the weapons dealer and ordered me to get to the Capitol Building where the Fireflies were supposed to meet me. I had saw a flash from the room you were in and went to investigate. You know the rest from there," Yusei explained. "I've been to a couple other Quarantine Zones as well."

"Has anyone there ever seen the outside?" Leo asked.

"Depends on who you are. If you're over twenty, you were probably there the day of the outbreak. If you are twenty or a bit older, you won't remember that day. And kids won't even have a clue. If you become a smuggler, you're more likely to see what it's like on the outside of the Quarantine Zones. But most will probably never see life beyond the Zones," Yusei told them. "Not that they would probably want to."

"Are there Firefly bases in the Quarantine Zones?" Jack asked.

"We have small temporary hideouts that we only use for a few hours, max. If we had bases inside the Quarantine Zones, we might as well be committing suicide," Yusei explained.

"Why?" Luna asked.

"Like you noticed, the military want us all dead. If we had a base inside their zones, we would be found easily and most likely be slaughtered," Yusei answered grimly, looking ahead.

"Yusei," Akiza called and he looked at her, "do you have any ideas as to what they'll do to find a cure if you have to ability to make one?"

Yusei's face turned a bit grim and he quickly looked away from them, and they didn't like it. "I'm not sure," he answered but they could tell by how he looked away to answer that it was a lie.

"Hold up, Yusei," Crow ordered grabbing him to a stop. "You do have an idea and you don't want to tell us. What's so bad about it?"

"I'm sure that Marlene will explain to you what the CBI does to a person in order to make them the way they are and what they will most likely need to do in order to get a cure," Yusei answered.

"Yusei, spill it!" Jack ordered. "You can't hide something like this from us. We're your friends."

"You wouldn't like the answer," he responded refusing to look at them. "When we get to Salt Lake City, you'll learn it. But no matter what it is, don't try to stop it."

"We'll agree to that when you tell us what it could be," Akiza retorted.

"I'll at least tell you what the Cordyceps Brain Infection can do to someone if they're infected with it," Yusei responded still not looking at them.

"Tell us already, Yusei!" Crow ordered tense.

"When you get infected, the fungus becomes a growth around the entire brain. It is what takes away your higher brain functions; it's what takes away your humanity," Yusei answered still not looking at them. "Think about that for a while and then tell me what you think they'll have to do to get a vaccine… a cure." He yanked his arm back with ease before walking forward. "Come on. We need to get to Bill's before the sun sets. Runners enjoy the night before anything else."

They were quick to get to his side and follow him through the streets.