On My Own

Chapter 19

Author Notes: Welp, cat's outta the bag, and Yusei's gotta deal with it. I can't help but sympathize with the royal headache he probably has. So let's see how things turned out. I do not own Yugioh.

3rd P.O.V

Morning came a lot sooner than he wanted. No matter how much he protested against the sun, his fate was inevitable. He had to get up...rubbing his eyes as he released a quiet groan. Though his vision was temporarily blurry, he could he his temporary roommates still sleeping loud and clear.

Two different sets of snores worked in perfect harmony. If Yusei wasn't so tired, he probably would've been listening to Crow and Leo all night long. The fact that it was the sun instead of them waking him up just showed how fatigued he was. Sighing, the mechanic sat up from the floor.

A wince formed on his face as he stood up, his body ached and cracked. Still regardless he had to get moving if he had any hopes of surviving his match today. So grabbing a fresh set of clothes and towels he heads into the bathroom. Cursing his luck.

'So you going to stop trying to feed us bullshit and tell us why you're here?' Yusei's glare dropped the temperature down a few degrees. Two of his guests actually flinched as his blue eyes glowed from fury. Jack however remained immobile.

Unconcerned with the reaction-on the outside at least. 'No. This is where I kick your asses out and we all pretend this conversation never happened.' There was no way any of them was going to let this go.

Not now. 'Wh-what!? Why are you being so secretive? We know you're Yusei Fudo so why bother trying to hide it?' Carly adjusted her glasses as he turned towards her. 'Let's just say I'm not here because I want to-not like i'd tell a vulture reporter like you why.' This was...not what she expected at all.

As Dust he did his utmost to be respectful, kind and polite. As Yusei with the mood he was in? Well he couldn't give a shit about being rude or not. 'Hey chill out Yus-I dragged them into this. Like I said I had a hunch and had them help. If you're going to get pissed at someone let it be me.'

Oh he would. 'Crow...we're dropping this now before I smash your face in. You have no idea what kind of danger your snooping has gotten you into.' Yusei needed to get ahold of Blister, he needed to figure out what to do with Leo. He didn't have time for this.

'D-danger? I know the underground can be a bit shady with the con artists and the gambling ring but come on-it's not that bad.' He wasn't sure how Jack and Crow knew the girl, but he wished them the best of luck with breaking her naivety.

If this secret organization doesn't first. 'Does at least twenty people being found dead or considered missing from the last few years sound like 'not that bad' to you?' Immediately Yusei pulled out his phone. Sending a quick text Trudges way.

Telling him that they were caught and to make sure Blister moved his ass asap with getting the higher ups involved. 'Wh-twenty people!?' Jack found himself paling at that remark. As much of an asshole he is, even he had emotions and could see where this train of thought was going.

It's been years, but he remembered Yusei's family background. 'Your dad among them?' Yusei snorted, not even bothering with a reply as he throws his old man's bloodied dog tag on the table. Shutting all of them up instantly.

'I'm not allowed to go into detail, lord only knows how much fire i'm under for blowing my cover like this. But you guys need to keep your guard up and not poke things any further.' He was going to continue, telling them that there were things that were going on that shouldn't.

That all of them regardless of their knowledge were in grave danger...but then all of them heard a sneeze under the bed. 'Shit...' His headache turned into a migraine. Especially since Leo, despite being told not to unless given permission revealed himself.

Apologizing while rubbing his cheek. Meaning Yusei had to explain far more than he ever wanted to. What was already promised to be a long night turned even longer.

The water turned cold all too soon, as the mechanic felt the droplets pelt his skin harshly. Still despite the temperature shift, he still stood there, struggling to gather his thoughts properly. Eventually though he had to get out, drying himself down with a towel.

It takes a good few minutes for him to get dressed, but after wearing Dust's clothes for so long every single day, putting on the layers were as simple as breathing. Not even needing to pay attention to what went where as his thoughts wandered. "Carly better keep her damn word."

He still didn't trust the woman after spilling the secrets he did. Jack had tried(it didn't really relieve his concerns...at all) to convince him that his girlfriend-something Yusei just didn't have the patience to wrap his head around-was reliable and knew when to keep her mouth shut.

Especially since Carly was here to investigate the shady dealings as well. Granted she wasn't hired by J-IPA or any other government that was invested in the underground, but trailing after gossip and shadow rumors was apparently her forte.

However not even she was aware of just how bad the place was when it came to kidnapping and the sick experiments that goes on. If Yusei didn't emphasize how important this was (or rather how much legal trouble she'd be in) she'd probably be rushing to produce an article on what she learned.

Honestly as nice as the girl seemed, he just couldn't trust her. It wouldn't be a surprise if she was a potential on the hit list right along with the duelists due to her line of work. Immediately his gaze shifted as he heard small knocks on his door. "H-hey Mr. Yusei? Are you done in there? I gotta go."

With a quiet sigh Yusei opens the door, squeezing his way past to give the boy his privacy. "Knock yourself out kid." Guess he had been in there longer than he thought as not only is Leo awake, but Crow as well. The short man going through his mini fridge.

"Man you got nothing to eat in here!" A snort escapes him as he takes a seat, throwing an apple from his little fruit bowl Crow's way. "No shit. I had guests last night." At least the birdbrain had the sense to wince. And not just because he got a good clock in the head with the flying apple.

Glad to see he wasn't going to be the only one with a headache. "Look Crow, I appreciate you watching Leo with Trudge, but if you stayed here to interrogate me on more than what I told you or to score an easy breakfast you're going to be sorely disappointed."

At this point their friendship was strained once again. Seemingly even worse than when they first reunited at Saint Martha's. And sadly, there was no time or authorization for them to have a much needed heart to heart.

"Yusei...are you seriously not going to tell me why you're risking your life and future being here? Why didn't you tell me when you first got here-I could've helped you!" He just didn't get it. And Trudge still wasn't here to help him with this mess.

The hell was taking him so long? "I wasn't allowed to Crow. You know how my dad was with working for J-IPA. Didn't matter if it was friends, family, strangers or even his fellow co-workers. You can't say anything about what your job details. I may not be officially a member-but I was brought on board for this."

And he would see this through. No matter what. "But what about Rally or Saint Marthas?" It was too fucking early in the morning for this... "Let me ask you Crow...do you really think I would've left my life and brother to do this if I had a choice?!" The ginger was scowling at him then.

Giving a passive aggressive shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know anymore Yusei! You're working with Trudge of all people and sneaking around like some spy. Risking your life, hiding secrets. Taking on a completely new identity. I don't know what to think."

Now...that stung, souring his already bad mood. Leo came out then, grimacing as Yusei smashed his clenched fist on the table. The moron just didn't get it. He doesn't understand that it was more than Blister's boys threatening to blow his brains out that made him eventually agree.

"I found my fucking father as nothing more than a pile of bones Crow-you and Jack are prime targets to either join him in the grave or follow in Leo's footsteps as a science experiment. Blister sought me out-using everything he knew about me to agree. And that was AFTER the bastard threatened to kill me. So don't question my fucking morals."

What else could he say? Should he have just gone and said no? Possibly get killed with Rally joining him? Or let the mystery of his father and so many other people's disappearance go unsolved. "U-us? Why?" Now Crow really felt like shit as stood stunned.

He had already figured just based on the dog tags that Yusei's father was dead...but as a pile of bones?! "Don't know...my father was investigating why duelists and other individuals were going missing when he was killed. I'm continuing where he left off-hopefully with better results."

Calloused fingers tapped the table, showing off his agitation as he heard three swift knocks before Trudge opened the door. His eyebrow raised as he takes in the scene before him...specifically on Yusei's foul mood.

"Who kicked your puppy this morning?" All he had to do was jut his chin in Crow's direction. "Our newest set of volunteers-this one especially." It wasn't at all a surprise to the officer. Still, this wasn't the time for 'Dust' to be looking like a serial killer. "Time to get the show on the road boys."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The scene was starting to look a bit too similar in Yusei's opinion. A huge racetrack, a huge crowd screaming as if in a frenzy, and an opponent with malicious, hate filled eyes. It felt like he was back in high school...and he didn't like it one bit.

"Well ladies and gents, its time. The final duel that will decide the line up for the top ten!" Dust winced as the audience's volume grew even louder. "Who will take the slot? Our Steampunk Sweetheart? Or our Lord of Shadows? We're about to find out!" This was most certainly not helping his headache.

Still he put on a smile as he glanced at the cloaked man. "Good luck on our duel." Krest was still completely hidden away even as he settled onto his duel runner. Still Yusei could feel his piercing stare. "Don't worry about me-worry about yourself. I'll be sure to make this duel one to die for."

The hysterical undertone caused a chill to run down his spine. Just what was this guy's problem? "Racers! Mound your runners!" Still...despite it being so long since his last tournament, it was as simple as breathing when he got on his bike.

His fingers moving with a grace that couldn't be found from Yusei Fudo. For the first time in ages he was in a state of calm as he placed his deck into its designated holder. Sure he was on paper a mechanic, but never had he felt more alive than when he was dueling.

"On your marks. Get Set. DUEL!" Their duel runners screeched as the tired spun rapidly beneath them. Allowing his persona Dust Fairfite to truly come alive as he takes hold of the first five cards to settle in his hand.

Krest was starting the show with an insane laugh as he drew a card from the deck-officially signaling the duel was ready to begin.

to be continued

Author Notes: Yeah no...sorry folks but I do not write duel chapters. At the very least not full ones. Which is fine since we got Crow on Yusei's shit list all over again. So...time will tell if our residential ginger will make or break the mission. Or Carly...or Jack.

There are so many decisons to be made. But uh, that's it everyone. Thank you all so much for reading. If you like this series please feel free to fav/follow/review as it would mean a crap ton to me and I will see you next time. Tchao for now.