Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Gx, or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds or any characters from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Franchise. I do own any OCs I make, but most will be likely be minor characters (even more so than the minor characters in the show - save for Nozomi and Hiroshi. My fingers ran away with them, and I like the dynamic they made too much to change it. I find them amusing). I make no money from this fanfiction as it is a tribute to a fandom I really like and want to play around in. If you see this on a paid site, please note that someone has plagiarized me and let me know so I may take steps to prevent fines or whatever. Also, I will be using the Japanese names, so if you're only familiar with the English, 4kids swapped two names: Blitz is Nerve and Nervin is Blitz.
Well, here's my second weekly update for the New Year! *fanfare plays*
BTW, I don't know much about dueling, and since the duel with Ushio is gonna be the same as canon, we're gonna gloss over that this chapter and focus on what Yusei's family was doing while Yusei kept Ushio busy. (Gives me more creative freedom too since the butterflies haven't really taken off yet.) This will give me the perfect opportunity to flesh out Nozomi and Hiroshi a little more and drop you guys some more clues as to the role they're gonna play. If you are willing to help me write duels later, PM me. Someone has helped me build decks for Nozomi and Hiroshi already, but the rulebook they linked me to is like Ancient Sumerian for me - apparently dueling is a hands-on learning thing for me. (The reason it's not Greek is because I have a gift for languages and would likely learn Greek fairly easily if I bothered to learn.)
FYI, Guest reviews will be replied to at the bottom if I feel it's necessary. I moderate guest reviews, meaning if you can't be polite in whatever criticisms you have, you will simply be ignored and your review rejected. I'm happy to receive criticism that can improve my writing, flames will be tossed in the incinerator.
And now, without further adieu, Chapter 4.
Rally, Nerve, Taka, Blitz, Nozomi, and Hiroshi quickly grabbed whatever important things they could carry before taking off deeper into the subway tunnels. Rally clutched Yusei's laptop, not wanting to get too far from the program scrambling the signal from his Marker and risk being found. He - rather all of them - worried about Yusei, but that was more from the fear that the chip was sabotaged than doubting Yusei's skills.
"How long will the signal last?" Rally asked worried, looking to the older members of his family. They all looked at each other, unsure of the answer. None of them were self-taught tech geniuses, after all.
"Long enough," Nerve finally deigned to answer. Nozomi grit her teeth, swearing to herself that if that turned out not to be true, she'd take the risk of exposing herself. No one was hurting her family on her watch. Never again. She'd learned from last time - she knew her limits now.
Soon enough, the six reached the tunnel that would take them to the surface close to Martha's place. It's where they would go if their hideouts were compromised. Security never bothered Martha. Gangs didn't either. Either they had too much respect for the woman who had raised them, or they feared the mama dragon she became whenever her charges were threatened. Unfortunately, the closest tunnel exit was still too far and a local gang spotted them.
"DAMMIT!" swore Nerve, seeing they were surrounded. Why did this sort of thing always happen when Yusei wasn't around? Damn cowards.
Nozomi, already on edge from the danger her family was in growled, stepping in between the bulk of the gang and her family. "Let us pass."
"Nozomi! What're you-" Taka started only to be cut off by the gang leader, a heavily-muscled, blond-haired man, laughing at Nozomi's demand.
"You're cute, thinking you can make demands. We'll be taking that laptop and anything else of value you have, sugar. You ain't in no position to be making us do nothin', after all," he grinned, leering at the woman. "Save maybe letting have a night of pleasure with ya."
Hiroshi immediately backed away from his sister, knowing better than to risk being in the line of fire, because that had torn it. Nozomi went from furious to being almost eerily calm, taking the duel disk Blitz was carrying and strapping it to her arm. Activating it, she pulled out a card and placed it in the Monster Zone.
"Go, Armed Dragon Lv7!" she declared, summoning her monster. The gang just laughed as everyone else save Hiroshi looked confused.
"You- you think you can intimidate us with a holographic monster! Ha! You're just another dumb broad, ain't ya?" a thin, scraggly-haired teen hooted. Nozomi just smiled coldly, discarding a Monster Card from her hand, allowing her dragon's effect to activate. In an instant, all the gang members were on the ground, unconscious.
"Sis, please tell me you held back!" Hiroshi cried out. He knew how powerful his sis could be - it was why they chose to live in the Satellite where He had no sway. He wasn't one to take no for an answer, and Nozomi barely got herself and Hiroshi to the Satellite before she became too ill from the injuries she sustained fighting Him off getting infected. They were both lucky that with medicine, Nozomi managed to recover. Though, honestly, if Hiroshi hadn't run into Yusei… Shaking off the memories, Hiroshi glared at his sister, demanding an answer.
"Of course I held back! Honestly, if I hadn't, those morons would be dead instead of knocked out. Weaklings," she growled.
"U-uh, Nozomi-nii-san, w-what was.. What was that?" Rally stammered out. He loved Nozomi like an older sister, but that was terrifying. How did she do that? Could she always do that?
"It's called Psychic Dueling," Nozomi explained, suddenly nervous. "People tend to fear Psychic Duelists. It's why I never really duel. I'm lucky I'm not as strong as some, and as such, don't struggle to control my powers. However, it also means that if I use too much of my power, I can become highly weakened and easy prey. I prefer keeping it as an ace to use only when necessary."
"Or when you wind up too pissed to think straight when you're family is threatened," Hiroshi muttered.
The others looked between the two of them, realizing that Nozomi likely used her powers far more often in self-defense before Yusei brought them in. It saddened them slightly at the thought of the siblings having nowhere to go, no one to turn to because of fear and prejudice. Taka stepped up and placed a hand on Nozomi's shoulder, causing her to look at him.
"We should keep heading to Martha's place. I don't think it'd be a good idea to be here when they wake up," he said, squeezing Nozomi's shoulder reassuringly. The only female of the group relaxed, and sent them all a grateful look for their acceptance. A couple small smiles were given, and then they were once again heading to their destination as fast as possible.
Yusei made it to Martha's place long after the sun had set. He'd won the Duel with Officer Ushio, but made a point to ride around a bit to shake off any potential tails, just in case. Martha was there with a plate of food when he walked in.
"Thanks, Martha," Yusei said, digging into his meal as the orphanage matron continued to wash the dishes from the late dinner that had been had.
"Don't thank me, thank your sister. She insisted on making dinner tonight," Martha replied, causing Yusei to look up. The only reason Martha would let someone take over her kitchen instead of enlisting their help is if said person had been stressed and cooking was a calming exercise for them.
"What happened?" he demanded, too worried to think about how rude he was being. Had she…?
"Some fool gang tried to start something while you weren't there. Nozomi handled it. She was just irrationally nervous. The boys have made sure not to treat her any differently, and she's calmed down now," Martha explained, glancing at Yusei out of the corner of her eye. She knew Yusei was different too, but how was the question. He was no Psychic Duelist, but he was far from normal.
Yusei slumped down with relief. Maybe he should still talk to her. Hiroshi too. Maybe they had some insight as to what he was. After all, Hiroshi wasn't a Psychic Duelist either, but Yusei could sense something different about him. Getting up, Yusei took his dirty dishes to the sink, giving his mom a kiss on the cheek as he did so, he headed to bed. He'd talk to everyone in the morning. After all, they were all a family. There shouldn't be anymore secrets now that Nozomi knew she wouldn't wind up alone again.