After two days hard travelling with Obake, Leo and Luna were starting to genuinely like their peculiar driver. Not a decision went past they couldn't have a say in, his cooking skills were mediocre but compensated for by expensive and refined ingredients. By day, they ricocheted across the vast landscape to hunt down Duellists that were running into difficulty or chased down Duels to watch the monsters rip one another asunder. In the evenings, Obake would prepare dozens of meals capable of feeding dozens, all carefully packaged and stored away in the chill refrigerator near the front of the truck as both Duellists answered never ending questions about Duel Monsters.
On the Tuesday evening, they came to a stop about five miles north of a small town called Sabetha in roughly the middle of the country. Obake had pretended it was to keep apace of the competition and be in an ideal place to reach as many contestants as possible. A peculiar twitch at the right corner of his mouth had smelled of something afoot but Akiza extended a brief benefit of doubt. When she and Luna retired for the evening – following a dinner consisting of green beans, several types of salad, chorizo, chicken curry, lamb curry and pasta pots to name a few of the endless food parcels – he had still been slaving away at the mountains of food.
When a bedraggled Akiza emerged from her room at quarter-to-six, she could almost have believed he was still on the same run.
"Don't you ever sleep?" Reaching for the cupboard of mugs above the counter, he smoothly stepped to one side to inter the latest batch of fish sandwiches in the cool fridge.
"I slept about four hours in the chair." Unlike the luxurious but compact quarters she and Luna used, Obake simply folded down the two highest chairs on the right of what he dubbed 'the cockpit' and covered himself with a scratchy blanket. When pressed for an answer, he always managed to change the subject. "Breakfast options include," Checking which foods needed eating next, he uncovered a large pack of two-dozen eggs with an expiration date of five minutes. "Anything with eggs." Cracking several into a bowl, Obake added cream and cheese before whisking with a fork from the drawer by his hip. "Frittata?"
At some point in the night, he must have showered and changed clothes because his hair was still damp. As for the flowing robe he had been wearing, Luna had diplomatically pointed broached the subject with a subtle: "That's a nice robe. Where did you get it?"
"It's not a..." Wriggling free of the garment, he had crammed it beside his seat. "Look, I had some trouble with the size charts, alright?" It should be noted that American sizes tended to be that much more... impressive than the Japanese ones. Whereas Obake sized in at either a Large or X-Large – the use of 'X' for 'extra' eternally haunting him – back in New Domino, buying a simple hoodie had resulted in him being mistaken for a monk no fewer than five times on his way to the racing circuit to watch the dramatic start event. Afterwards, he wore a simple blue long-sleeved dress shirt with a constantly changing array of t-shirts underneath.
"That sounds nice." Gathering her washkit and some spare clothes, Akiza headed for the tiny bathroom at the back of the truck.
Alone in the silence, Obake began carefully frying onions in a pan and sprinkling diced pepper into the mix in his bowl. Using the top of his trainer to lever open the cupboard by his knees, he stopped beating the mixture only long enough to withdraw and toaster and set some bread cooking. Adding the onions into the mix, Obake spread it evenly around the already hot pan and let it cook itself as he carefully buttered a single slice of toast and poured himself a glass of water.
"Good morning." Sliding back the panel to her own room, Luna was dressed in a pair of baggy comfort trousers and a hoodie that was more suited to her size that Obake's had been to him.
"Good morning." There were few people in the world Obake actually enjoyed the company of instead of respecting and appreciating. Luna's constant good manners and gentle nature meant that although they weren't actually friends, he did make a point to listen when she spoke. "Breakfast is vegetarian frittata with onions, red and green peppers and what I'm beginning to suspect is not actually horsemint but spearmint." In the same logic that had inspired Yusei to grow a herb garden for Hoshi to claim, Obake had a variety of small pots in a wire shelf above the sink.
"What is this world coming to?" Raising a critical eyebrow at the cheerful satire, he methodically flipped the breakfast dish into a new pan to let it cook throughout. "Is Akiza in the shower?"
"Indeed." Taking a bite from his toast, he chalked it up as another missed opportunity to eat some before it went cold. "She went in a few minutes ago." Noting the time on the display at the front of the truck, Obake slipped his hand into his right pocket and withdrew a small packet containing five pills. Slipping them into his mouth, he chased them day with a quick swig of water from a cup on the side.
"Mind if I ask what they are?" For the last few days, Luna had watched him take the drugs like clockwork and could only contain her curiosity so long.
"Two painkillers, a vitamin D supplement, another for nitric oxide and one sugar pill to make them easier to swallow." Feeling a twitch run down his arm, Obake grabbed at his right shoulder. "Salad?" Splitting the Spanish dish perfectly down the middle, he slipped each portion onto a small dish and reached for a bag in the fridge.
"Just a bit." Luna had the good sense not to be as wrapped up in her appearance as some people and didn't cram herself with as much salad as she could lay her hands on. It was a constant part of her healthy diet but nothing more. Behind her, the bathroom door opened and Akiza emerged with her lock hair pulled back in a towel.
"Just in time." Sticking a knife and fork into the other dish, Obake gently placed it down beside Luna's. "Anything to drink?"
"Coffee would be wonderful." Throwing herself into the booth, Akiza tugged her cotton jumped into a more comfortable position. "Milk, no sugar." For whatever reason, Obake didn't object to being treated as on-hand staff.
"Luna?" Mouth already full of frittata, Luna covered her mouth with the back of one hand and shook her head carefully.
Drawing some water from the tap, Obake tumbled the rest of the eggs into a large pan and began hard-boiling them. Finishing her breakfast, Luna carefully added her plate to the pile in the dirty sink and rotated through the shower. As she came out, Akiza was turning her phone on to check for messages and Obake was gently placing a freshly peeled egg in a small jar of sea-green liquid.
"Vinegar." He explained, giving the small jar a shake. "Leave it in there for a few days, pour it out and leave any excess vinegar to drain and you've got the perfect boiled egg."
"Never mind that." Finally finished booting up her phone, Akiza was delighted to find a missed call only minutes before from a number she recognised as the SRC. "I was hoping to get to show you my new friends sooner or later." Dragging Luna into booth beside her, she immediately called the number back and was automatically redirected to a video call as the screen cleared.
Din, Haruka and all her oddball friends had squeezed into a smaller version of the lab Akzia worked in with the irate scientist. Clusters of test tubes and rows of biological texts in the background pointed towards Koharu as the owner. A disassembled mechanical limb gave final proof to the theory as they all shouted various greetings.
"And you're sure she can see us?" A bloodshot eye appeared uncomfortably close to the camera as Din tried to peer through the lens to see Akiza's face.
"If you stand with the others, I can probably see you all." As he retreated, a slight glare on the top of her screen told Akiza her image was being projected on the wall behind the camera. "How are you all?"
"Din bit somebody again." Quickly stepping out of biting point himself, Tom was unusually eager to share the news.
"What he means to say," Out of her robotic suit, Koharu was sitting in a padded chair near the front of the group. "Is how are you?"
"Getting along." Looking up at Obake, she saw him raise a silent finger to his mouth. "Travelling with a few friends at the moment. Yusei keeps giving me the slip."
"Didn't Dr Ogino say you were meant to be keeping an eye on him?" What Ogino had actually said involved phrases like 'you owe me for this' and 'don't think I wont collect' as she effectively granted Akiza paid leave to 'observe Yusei' and enjoy a holiday.
"Remind me when the last time he attended a departmental meeting?" Still the new kid on the block, Akiza had learnt that the most popular rumours centred around how far the head of the SRC would go to avoid meetings. Din's most gruesome was of a time Yusei hid in the morgue and was almost cremated for his troubles.
"Fair point. We just called to check in and see how you were doing." An uneasy smile from Haruka revealed the bluff. She couldn't lie if her life depended on it.
"I'm fine." Knowing how her friends thought, she picked up the trail of breadcrumbs left behind. "Can you tell me why Din bit somebody?"
"To be fair," Giving a gruesomely time burp, Din seemed as uncouth as ever as the rest of her friends spread about the lab. "That bastard actually kicked me awake. I thought he was an armed hostile."
"Did he really kick you awake?" Sensing barely a grain of truth, she pushed slightly harder. "Or maybe you just didn't want somebody claiming recognition for your work?"
"Point is," Glossing over the accusation, Din swiftly moved on. "All he managed to scre... mention was this guy just wanted to know more about you?" It was unwelcome news. Yliaster's rogue factions had to know Yusei was working against them.
"Any reason why?" Sharing a look with Luna, they both leaned in to listen closer.
"Word is, somebody lodged an anonymous tip with Human Resources that you're living with Dr Fudo." Deep as his voice was, the sentence took on an even graver overtone. "It seems they've launched an IA2-48 against you. Only reason I can tell you that is because it's only a rumour and I have no idea what it is." Everyone else was carefully looking away from the camera and staring at one of the boards in the back of the room. If anyone had a recording of this call, they would all be able to claim ignorance of the facts.
Lifting her gaze beyond the tiny screen, Akiza saw the smallest inclination of Obake's head in a tiny nod. "That's okay." Smiling emptily back into the screen, she tried not to let on that anybody knew anything. "I can get the official report when I get back." Small flickers of one normal eyelid indicated he had caught onto her real meaning.
"Right, well. Keep an eye on our esteemed leader out there. Don't let your flabby bottom slow you down." A disgustingly dirty palm reached out to grasp the camera.
"No, Din, wait." Garbled sounds of crunching plastic echoed dimly as he crushed the fragile device in his powerful grip.
"He's certainly different." Akiza had mentioned Din when she and Luna had been catching up but seeing him in action was something else altogether.
"That's one way of putting it." Looking up at Obake, she watched him carefully remove the remaining shell from a series of boiled eggs. "Do you know what an IA-2-48 is?"
"An IA2-48 is the form for permanent cohabitation of staff members." Deftly slicing the eggs, Obake continued adding to his seemingly endless supply of boxed meals. "Anything longer than a month tends to get pinged. Three is regarded as cause for a permanent arrangement."
"So what happens?" Leaning against the table, she tried to judge the movements off his facial muscles.
"Human Resources typically assigns an auditor to review the arrangement. Research will be done into how your personal and professional lives balance out, is this too much pepper?" Giving a couple of grinds into the mix, he shook the condiment in apparent confusion.
"Maybe one more, just to be safe." Giving another grind, he slipped it back into a rack and began divvying up the egg among meals he had previously completed. "What happens next?"
Closing the door, he wiped some condensation from the front of his glasses. "Some people might not like the arrangement but it works a lot of the time." Rolling up his sleeves, he set to work rapidly cleaning and drying the small pile in the sink. "Depending on the report submitted by the auditor, the relationship will either be sanctioned or formally requested to dissolve." Scrubbing plates and wiping them clean in swift movements, he was already down to cutlery as Luna shelved the plates in a cupboard. "If the relationship ends up being rejected, another auditor can review the case but the ruling usually sticks."
"I don't suppose you could work some hacking magic of yours." Slipping the phone into her pocket, Akiza stretched her arms in the galleyway.
"What do you mean?" Carefully brushing away at a sharp knife, Obake was unusually tense at the question.
"You're good with computers. I heard there was this thing you did a few years ago where" Nerves breaking, Obake dropped the cloth in his hand, wrapped an arm about Luna's neck and dragged her backwards a step as a sudden hostage. An instinctive attempt to wriggle out ended when he placed the back of the knife against her throat. It was a shocking and unexpected move that only got more inexplicable.
"How long have you two been working for Yliaster?!" Freezing in his hold, Luna and Akiza locked eyes at the word. Neither of them had expected to encounter the group whilst riding with Obake. Not only did he know of them but he seemed to think they were working for them.
"Who's Yliaster?" Deciding to play dumb for now, Akiza made no move toward or away from Obake as he held the knife in a deadly grip.
"Fanatical religious sect, eyes all over the globe." There was definitely something going on but neither Akiza nor Luna had ever heard Yliaster described as a religious organization. From the outside of their hidden fights, it could easily look that way.
"I promise." Slowly edging closer, Akiza spoke in a calm voice as the knife as shivered in his grasp. "We don't know what you're talking about."
"Liar!" Dragging Luna backwards towards the cockpit, Obake tried to figure out a way to escape. Jumping through a window would take too long, even if he threw Luna as a distraction. The only way out was the door behind Akiza. Nobody had thought to design the truck to have a handy escape-route. It was more designed to stop people getting inside in the first place.
"Obake, liste" Between syllables and vowels, Luna drove her erratic elbow directly into his solar plexus with the force of a small boulder. Acting on reflex, the grip was loosened and Obake stumbled backwards a step. If he had not been dwelling on suspicions already, the fight could have very easily escalated. "We're not Yliaster." Raising her hands, Luna made no move to either retreat or move in as he shifted in the galley like a wounded animal.
"Liar." Three escape routes presented themselves behind him but each carried substantial risk. Nothing had prepared him for being stuck inside with two attackers he didn't want to kill.
"We've have trouble with them in the past, that's how we know about them." Elbowing her way past Luna, Akiza presented herself as a human shield that was slowly forcing both women towards the door. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere was a more viable solution than sticking it in the truck with an unstable Obake. "They went their way, we went ours."
Eyes looking everywhere for a weapon or escape, Obake forced himself to consider the logic off their words. If either woman had been with Yliaster, there had been more than enough opportunities to take him hostage. No prying questions, no unusual contacts, no unexpected knife to the throat. Akiza had even gone as far as to avoid mentioning him to her friends at the SRC.
"Why didn't they come back?" Still retreating, one foot slipped on the took of the small staircase that led to the driver seats. "How did you get Yliaster to stay away from you?" That was a more dangerous question to answer.
"We showed them it was better for everyone if we all just got along." Now at opposite ends of the truck, Obake risked diverting his attentions enough to consider their words.
"How?" Not lowering the knife the entire way, Obake at least stopped wildly waving it about.
"They wanted us to work for them, we disagreed." Overriding Luna before she could tell the truth, Akiza put a blanket of believable lies across their previous encounters. "When they tried to press their point, we told a few friends in the police about it, gave the mayor some warning." Casually dropping titles like that would have further panicked the Englishman if he didn't already know how connected Akiza and her family were. "My father is a senator so he was able to put a few safety precautions into action." This last part was a complete fabrication but helped sell the rest of the lies. "Yliaster agreed not to meddle in our affairs if we left them alone." Finally lowering the knife the entire way, Obake let it dangle between his fingers as tears built behind the glasses.
"I'm sorry." Gently resting the blade back on the side, he knocked it into the sink as his left sleeve reached up to wipe away the building fluid. "I..." Having already given up his weapon and now slumping to the floor, Akiza was willing to label him a much lower risk than minutes earlier.
"It's alright." Crouching down where she was in the galley, a surge of pity was tempered by her anger and level head. "We understand." Watching him sniffle for several seconds, she tried to gauge his emotional control. "Why don't you tell us about it?" Stepping back from him, she let Obake slowly climb to his feet. In the confused state he was in, the most likely options were either violence or an attempt to make a connection with somebody. As they had proven the be non-hostile, she was reasonably certain that he would start talking to them.
"It happened about eight years ago." Dragging one of the packaged bottles from the sturdy cupboard, he poured a reserved amount of scotch into a glass. "Most members of the SRC are gifted in a particular field. Genetic splicing, mapping the constellations, being good with numbers." A professionally snide voice in her head asked Akiza what speciality involved living underground in utility tunnels. "My talent happens to lie with pattern recognition. I can see things most people miss or dismiss out of hand." Capping the bottle, he put it away again and gripped the glass between taut fingers. "It let me be a decent hacker for a while. Little stuff mostly. Peering through security cameras, cracking the neighbours internet." Swirling alcohol around the glass, he strained the limits of his sobriety.
"So how did you find Yliaster?" Tapping her foot anxiously, Akiza tried not to let her personal feelings about being the target of a hostage situation take over. Seeing Luna taken victim had failed to win Obake any sympathy either.
"There was this server farm I found." A slight hint of vapour washed past his face. "Back-tracking those cutesy websites people make for free in their spare time. I just wondered where they all ended up." It had seemed so innocent a crime at the time. No victims, minimal sentence and the possibility of a job opportunity if somebody liked his work. "There was a master overview for the farm. How many stacks there were, data inside, file amounts." Lowering the glass to the side, his left hand soothed the pain shooting through his right shoulder. "Something was weird about one of the towers. It showed a full storage capacity but one of the servers was down 'maintenance'. Only problem was, it shouldn't show a full load if one was down." Luna caught on quickly. If one server was down, it should have showed the lost storage and labelled it as such.
"What happened next?" Testing over, Obake simply poured the glass down the drain without taking a sip.
"Cracked past the firewall. Not bad but there was a flaw and I worked around it to find a digital dead drop." A dead drop was a technique where one party would leave an item behind for another to find. In this way, information could change hands without anybody being able to say who had sent it. "There were some encrypted files and I downloaded them to find out what was inside when I had free time." As it turned out, free time was one thing he no longer had after that day. "Secure networks are easily identifiable. Someone dropped a message on router were only a few people would notice it, demanding the files back immediately. A day after, the entire building went down. Fire, explosions, 'gas leak' to blame." Screams, dust and burst pipes still flaming. It was a nightmare from every disaster film. "I back-dated a train ticket and skipped across the country overnight. Got to a new city, tried to reach out to a cyber-syndicate for help. Gangs stormed the hotel in the night and robbed everyone blind. I survived by hiding behind an elevator with my computer." It had been a gruelling few hours. Hiding atop the elevator would have made it possible to be seen from above. Hiding in the chute would be like crouching in a killbox. Balancing on the struts in the dusty tunnel had cut his feet and covered him in grime but saved his life.
"And then?" With his mind receding back to the past, Obake had become increasingly lost to the present.
"Hmm?" Wrenching his mind from the memory, he closed his eyes and focused on the moment. "Scrubbed my identity, started running." Opening his eyes, he opted for an empty smile. "It's not that hard to erase an identity. Find somebody of about the right age, alter a few details of their passport photo so it doesn't get pinged as two people's by the computers. Delete everything, crash a few servers to hide the traces. Even if they recover some data, it's either false or regarded as corrupted. Presto changeo, no more history." They sat in silence for a minute as each contemplated losing their home and identity to Yliaster. "After eighteen months, I managed to crack a file on Japanese operations. Doubtless outdated by then but there was one thing that caught my attention. An ongoing order not to engage with Professor Fudo."
Pieces were starting to fall into place for Akiza. How Yusei had started working with Yliaster to save the life of a victim. How Obake had been working at the SRC for six years. His story.
"So you went to Yusei." Suddenly with a dry mouth, she had a craving for the sort of drink Obake had poured away. "Asked him for help." Gaunt, emaciated, terrified of sunlight for fears of being seen by any prying cameras or watching eyes.
"One talk with Yliaster later and they agreed to spare my life. Yusei explained who they were: religious fanatics who believed Duel Monsters could be used in supernatural way. I moved into the tunnels and haven't left more than a dozen times since." Resting on the heels of his hands, Obake leaned back against the cupboards. "Six months planning to get over here undetected. Pick up a pair of soft targets ten minutes in. Lucky me." Ironic amusement slid between the words.
"You said this started eight years ago." Even with adrenaline still coursing through her system, Luna was still as gentle and wise as ever. "That would make you?"
Staring down at the wooden floor, Obake tried to count the months in his head. "Fourteen." A leap year had added an extra day but the weeks and months piled on regardless. "Fourteen when it all started."
Akiza tried not to think about the difference between the the young adults. From the way he carried himself and how he spoke, Obake had seemed at least as old as herself if not older still. Really, he was only a few months removed from Luna's age. While her family had been reuniting, he had been forced from his. About the time Luna started studying in earnest, Obake had been hiding in sewers and rifling through dumpsters for scraps. When she had been travelling across the world to do charity work, he had been figuratively chained underground.
"Funny thing nobody really thinks of about puberty." As with most conversations, his mind led them down a seemingly irrelevant tangent. "Between all the growing pains and hormones, nobody pays much attention to the dizzy spells. It's your brain rewiring, adjusting to new norms." More complicated than he was making out, the average teenage brain did actually undergo several key changes as the body morphed through the painful time. "Take away lighting, the brain assumes no light is the normal amount. Give it a few years." Reaching up, he deliberately straightened his glasses closer to his face. "Why, a person may have to take painkillers every time he went above ground. Even at night." Flashing back to the first time she had set foot in his maintenance tunnels, Akiza remembered their exchange as if it was happening all over again.
"Can I borrow your goggles? It's unpleasant being down here." A grim chuckle came from beside her.
"I'm not wearing goggles." A gentle left turn took them down a slightly warmer passage than the one they had just left. Heat was radiating from somewhere to her right and she wondered if it was from gas or water pipes.
"Right, next you'll be telling me you can see in the dark." Obake had found it funny at the time because he almost could see in the dark. A standard lamp bulb put out somewhere in the range of 450 – 500 lumens. Down in the tunnels, the walls were marked at regular intervals by tiny strips of material that put out roughly 20 lumens. Even in utter darkness, most people would fail to see them as their eyes adjusted over the course of hours and days. As somebody who had lived in such conditions for years, they were all the light Obake needed.
"Why don't you just leave?" Brave like her brother, Luna was more accepting of his aggressive move a few minutes before now she understood what he had been thinking. "Start your new life somewhere else?" It was a fair question. While Akiza had been thinking about the medical marvel standing before her, Luna had hit on the crux of the matter.
"Because the deal was that I remain confined to the SRC under Professor Fudo's supervision." Smiling wryly at her question, Obake stared at Luna from behind glasses that only kept the worst of the pain at bay. "Leaving the country probably doesn't count in my favour." His earlier sentiment had been right on the mark. Offering a lift to the woman who save his life and her friend could easily have been a kind gesture. But with their past with Yliaster and the shadowy organisation stretching everywhere through the tournament, it might as well have been a death sentence.
"Let's get going." Sensing the mood in the cabin start turning dire, Luna unanimously took control of the situation with the subtle control of a trained diplomat. "No good Duellist is going to be wasting time so we shouldn't either." Both pairs of surprised eyes turned to her.
"What? But I..." Ashamed of his actions, Obake couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
"You thought we were going to kill you." Airily waving aside the problem, she tried to put the tormented man at ease. He had been hunted for years and lived in constant fear that Yliaster was just waiting to slip a blade between his ribs. It wasn't an excuse but it was a good reason to give him some slack. "There were times with your cooking that I felt the same way."
"I," Realising what she was going for, Obake felt his mouth struggle to tilt upwards at the corners. There had been few reasons to smile in the past eight years and the muscles were sorely out of practice. "Thank you." Regaining a slim fraction of the bland joy he had before, the troubled young man slid into the driver's seat and began searching for nearby signals.
"Are you sure about this?" Dragging her friend back down the corridor, Akiza was deeply troubled by the speed the situation was changing. "He did hold you hostage."
"Only because he thought we wanted to kill him." Huddling over by the table, Luna proved once again that she had grown substantially in the past few years. "We gave Sherry a chance and Bruno the benefit of the doubt. What's so different about Obake?" Truthfully, Akiza couldn't really find a reason to protest. She had heard his tale from both the source and Yusei and knew it was true. Eight years being hunted could do a lot to a person and even when he knew it could prove a potential risk, he had still invited the pair of them along to follow the Legend of Duellist Kingdom. But there was something in her gut that didn't really trust him.
"Fine." Giving in to stone-cold logic, she spared a glance to where Obake was tapping away at the computer screen. "But I don't trust him." She would definitely be making sure her sleeping pod was locked from now on.
"There's a signal coming from just over the border in Iowa." It was moving at a slow pace, indicating that something was wrong with a Duel Runner. "We can be there in about forty minutes." Buckling themselves in tight, the women could see the actual distance was ninety-six miles. To get there in forty meant he would be doing some serious speeding.
"Let's aim for one piece." Not quite ready to accept Obake at face-value again, Akiza decided to keep a careful eye on him from that moment forward.
"You know what they say," Settling into the biting point, he carefully pulled from the dirt track and started heading north on the road beyond. "We're not in Kansas anymore." Seeing an official sign flash on past, Akiza struggled to think of Obake as a dangerous person. Of all the places he could have stopped, they had spent the night in a remote dirt lane just so he could make a poor joke the next morning. If it hadn't been for Yliaster and the Signers, maybe he could have just been a normal person she wouldn't have looked at twice. If only.
"'No, let's go through Nebraska'." Jack was still bearing a large grudge over the events they had suffered in the Cornhusker State. "'Nebraska will be easy. Yliaster wont be in Nebraska.'"
"Hey!" Sick of the constant muttering in his ear, Crow felt the need to stick up for his decision. "At least admit I was right about that."
"Oh, you were right about that." In the distance behind them, smoke was starting to billow towards the sky. "Yliaster probably isn't Nebraska. Nobody with half a brain would be."
"So much blood." Possibly in shock, Leo was driving on auto-pilot in the middle of a triangle formed by the three brothers. It was the easiest way to keep him moving and they needed to keep moving right then.
It had all started innocently enough. Following their victory over Team Lightning, Leo had gone on to win another two Duels and competitors had figured out where they were. In order to gain a small reprieve, Crow had suggested going from Colorado through Nebraska and then into Missouri. It had been in a little town called Hastings just fifty miles from the border to Kansas where things had gone horribly wrong.
Hastings was a small community of barely twenty-thousand. Everybody had family going back generations and it had a friendly neighbourhood vibe everywhere. Crime was usually just teenagers with nothing better to do, nobody could start up a criminal organisation without the town uniting against them. Except for a few old feuds, it was an almost perfect town that mostly ignored the world outside.
"I can see Jack retiring to somewhere like this." Crow had quipped as they gently throttled down the main road. "Smiling faces, empty heads – just like him."
"If only Crow had the ability to come up with an original insult." Dramatically calm, Jack was deeply unsettled by the low-level humdrum of a small town. It was either cities or life on the road for him. This was sheer torture.
"It's really not that bad." Finally growing adjusted to being 'one of the guys', Leo was acting more like a casual member of the pack. "Nice houses, good people." Stopping at a red lit intersection, they watched slightly chubby man begin towing a pig across the road. Unused to seeing Duel Runners, the pig stopped directly head of them and started giving curious snorts and squinting at the machines.
"Maybe a bit weird." Shouting profuse apologies, the pin-striped shirt was stained with sweat as the pig was dragged another foot away from the Duel Runners. Honking horns sounded behind the group as Yusei insisted they wait for the pig to move further away before moving off. Less caring for the fate of the pig, a blue pick-up truck behind them pulled out with an over-revving engine and a horn that seemed glued down.
Time slowed to a crawl. Five heads turned to watch the truck as it sailed past the group, a waving fist and shouting face evident in the window as it failed to look ahead. Throwing himself as far as the overworked muscles in his legs could take, the pig-owner flew out of the way of the truck. Too slow to realise what was happening, the pig didn't even know what had hit it.
Events resumed a normal speed as the carnage splayed itself across the road. Tumbling from the truck, the horrified driver seemed coated in what was definitely not strawberry jam.
"You," What followed were all the words Martha had sternly taught her children not to say, followed by a few they didn't even know. "You've always had it out for me!"
"It was your fault." Coated by a once silver beard, the driver fixed an enraged glare on the former farmer. "You shouldn't have had that damned pig of yours in the road." Throwing the first punch didn't earn him any favours but the resulting retaliation may have saved the farmers life. Speeding through the red lights, a truck carrying several stacked cars took the corner too fast to stop and smashed into the truck, capsizing drunkenly as flames started to flicker.
"Gogogo!" Coming out as one hurried word, Jack and Crow quickly pulled off to their right with Yusei shaking Leo until he followed them. As they fled the growing carnage, an explosion could be heard mixing with the wail of approaching fire fighters.
It was only as they neared the far smaller town of Oregon to the north of Kansas City that they finally felt safe enough to stop and take stock. Most of the blood had landed on the truck but there were some things that people wished could just be scrubbed from their memories.
"Okay," In the sort of unspoken truce that had kept them friends since childhood, Crow offered a frank suggestion to his brother. "We're agreed – don't go back to Nebraska."
"That's fair." Not eager to be linked back to the incident, Jack mentally erased the entire state from the mental atlas in his head.
"Definitely." Functional again, Leo was still looking a few shades removed from a healthy colour.
"Never even crossed my mind." Fate has a cruel sense of irony. A beeping sounded from all their Runners as another Duellist's signal approached them from the north. Knowing somebody was chasing them was enough of a distraction to overcome the recent tragedy but they were still in no mood to have a Duel just then.
"We'll have to go east." Once again, Jack was right. St Joseph's was almost directly south, north was like running into the firing line and west would cost them too much time to lose a tail.
"Leo, Crow. Take the lead." Forcing Leo to think for the group would keep his mind from the terrifying ordeal. If the chasing signal caught up, Jack or Yusei would take the challenge for themselves.
"You do realise who this probably is?" Hanging back a short way, Jack opened a private channel to his brother.
"Yliaster." For a competition the rebel factions were intent on winning, they had yet to encounter a single challenge from the group.
"Think you're up for it?" Four days without sleep was usually manageable but Yusei hadn't had any caffeine or stimulants and had been riding almost the entire time. No matter what happened, he would have to sleep that night or risk a mortal accident.
"'Course." If it came down to it, Yusei would hold off the Shadow Duel long enough for his friends to escape.
"Good." Team 5D's had been travelling on Route 59 and having to dodge slow traffic the entire time. Whoever was chasing them was on the more direct Interstate 29 and gaining rapidly. There was a stretch up ahead where the two roads merged. If they could let the gap close slightly, maybe it would be possible to slip off and away before they were caught.
"We've just got to stay ahead of them for two minutes." Only a few miles separated the two parts of Route 59. A few trucks thundered past even as they watched and any of them could provide enough cover for the four Duellists to slip away and get a headstart. Crow edged out slightly, taking the lead from Leo as he waited for an upcoming gap in the traffic.
"Don't worry about us." Hearing the note of warning in Jack's tone, the Blackwing Duellist speared through the next gap with Leo just behind. "Ready for this?" A slight burst of traffic had kept them waiting long then normal and the pair of World Champions were on the verge of being caught.
"Try to keep up." Revving his engine, Yusei narrowly avoided the trailing edge of a truck as he shot into the road with Jack right beside him. For forty seconds, they zipped and weaved through cars and vans as the distance between them and the chaser remained consistent. After seventy, it looked like they might make it. Then a lorry driver neglected to check her mirrors and pulled across their lane before Yusei could see it coming. "Jack!" Dropping back, he let his brother dart across his path and make it to the exit ramp first.
"Hurry up!" Even without looking behind him, Yusei could tell he had lost too much speed and it was too late. A chill had settled into his spine as the whiny pitch of a poorly maintained engine sounded behind them.
"Look at what I caught." Chasing them down the ramp and onto the less-travelled road, a horrifying shade of purple coated both Duel Runner and rider as the sun began to sink towards the horizon. "If it isn't four Signers." Catching up with the rest of his team, Yusei failed to think of a tactic that could get them out of this predicament. If they constantly refused the challenge, Team 5D's would be eliminated from the competition and leave the way open for the rebel factions. If they Duelled and lost, the result would be even worse.
"It's not too late." Slipping gears in his exhaustion, Yusei fell slightly closer to the approaching jaws of the shark. "Nanashi will be merciful if you return to him."
"That fool?" Spitting from beneath her helmet, the chasing figure seemed uninterested in the deal. "A pretender, nothing more. He thought he could be clever, asking you for help."
"We offered it." Stretching the truth to breaking, the rest of his friends were still a short distance ahead as another townlet loomed in their immediate future.
"And then that girl your little feathered friend sent after us." A spasm of fear ran through her. "Oh, she's a nasty one."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." In a way, Crow didn't. Until they next met, he was operating under the assumption she was just looking for evidence that Yliaster was involved.
Their accounts were slightly vague as to what the time the conversation took place. It was at roughly the same time that Musume was headbutting another Agent with the skull of an unconscious colleague, screaming "Tell me what you &*^%*¬~ know!" but there was no way to be entirely certain.
"It doesn't matter." Dropping back once again, Yusei bit his tongue hard enough to draw blood. "I challenge you to a Duel."
"Yusei, no!" Smoke shot from the road as Jack's brakes seemed to hurtle him backwards.
"I accept." Closing the distance as she hunted him through the ironically named town of Savannah, the rogue Agent at least had the sense to wait until they were beyond the prying eyes of onlookers before starting their Duel.
(Turn 1)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None
Agent: LP: 4000 SC:1 Hand:5 Field: None Graveyard: None
"As challenger, I'll take the first turn." Drawing the cards, Yusei was focused by pain and adrenaline but it would last more than a few hours. Either he would be dead or struggling to find somewhere safe to hide for the night. "I set one monster and two cards. Over to you." This was a much more dangerous game than it had been before. Back then, the Crimson Dragon had been on his side and he had known what to expect. Now, any card could potentially become real and tear him apart.
(Turn 2)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None
Agent: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:6 Field: None Graveyard: None
"I set one monster and set two cards." Seemingly mimicking Yusei's play, they could all feel the change in the atmosphere as the Duel led them towards a range of hills. Even so early on, she had already managed to play a Shadow Card.
(Turn 3)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None
Agent: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None
"I flip Rescue Warrior (L4/1600 ATK/1700 DEF) in attack position." A firefighter monster carrying heavy cylinders on its back appeared on his side of the field. "I also summon Blue Expense Falcon (L2/800 ATK/800 DEF) in defence mode and then use it's ability to special summon Debris Dragon (L4/1000 ATK/2000 DEF) in defence mode." Even as the monster materialised, Yusei realised his mistake. It had been too long without sleep and he was recklessly trying to rush through this Duel. If he carried on in a normal fashion, the Agent would probably think it he had a greater plan. "Rescue Warrior attacks your face down card."
"Activate, Waboku." It was a Trap card that stopped any battle damage and saved monsters from being destroyed by battle. Those who used it generally carried more than one copy in their Deck. "As a result of your attack, you flip summoned Eria the Water Chamer (L3/500 ATK/1500 DEF)." A young girl clutching a staff appeared beside the purple Agent. Part of a group of 'Element Charmers' the various flip effects allowed the owner to gain control of a monster of the relevant element.
"Fine." Plucking another card from his hand, Yusei shored up his defence and ended his turn.
(Turn 4)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:1 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: None
Agent: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:4 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Spell/Trap
"From my hand, I set one monster and activate Speed Spell – Creature Swap." Sacrificing three Speed Counters and her Eria, the Agent was able to gleefully watch as he sent across Rescue Warrior. "My monster now destroys your Blue Expense Falcon." Unable to watch his own monsters do battle, Yusei turned his head. "I set one card and end my turn."
(Turn 5)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:5 Hand:2 Field: 2 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster
Agent: LP: 4000 SC:2 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Spell/Trap
"I draw." What he drew could not have come at a better time. "Because I have two monsters in defence position," Thanks partly in kind to the Agent. "I can special summon Backup Warrior (L5/2100 ATK/0 DEF)." With guns surgically removed for both arms and carrying artillery on its back, this monster was the epitome of military might.
"Waboku." From the sidelines, various complaints arose from other members of Team 5D's. It wasn't an illegal move but it lacked sportship.
"Set one card." Maybe this was part of her strategy – to drive Yusei wild with impatience.
(Turn 6)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:0 Field: 3 Monster, 4 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 1 Monster
Agent: LP: 4000 SC:3 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap
"Thanks to you, I can really get started. I summon the Tuner monster, X-Saber Palomuro (L1/200 ATK/300 DEF)." A reptile with an ornate staff, the creature tested the air as they began climbing a hill. "But don't get too friendly because I'm tuning my Palomuro with your Rescue Warrior to form the powerful, the formidable,"
"Why is it we can never get a fluffy bunny instead?" Diverting around a few loose rocks, Crow's lights zagged through the growing twilight.
"Ally of Justice Catastor(L5/2200 ATK/1200 DEF)." One of the gleaming metal monsters Yliaster seemed to love using so much, a quadrupedal creature crawled onto her field. "Although I have to attack, there's no need to worry. Whenever Catastor battle a non-Dark creature, it's instantly destroyed." Seeing the front two claws glow, Yusei lunged for his trap card.
"I activate Return Marker!" Whenever a monster would be destroyed by a card effect, Return Marker saved that monster and inflicted their original ATK to the opponent. And as Catastor had declared an attack, it couldn't do so again.
(Turn 7)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:7 Hand:1 Field: 3 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 2 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap
Agent: LP: 1900 SC:4 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap
What was the problem? Catastor would destroy any non-Dark creature that came near it. What was the solution? "It looks like I owe you the thanks this time." Laying the card he had just drawn, Yusei seemed ready to take on the world. "I summon Mach Synchron (L1/0 ATK/0 DEF)!" A gleaming jet monster hovered anxiously by his side. "But don't get too friendly because I'm tuning my Level 1 Mach Synchron with the Level 4 Debris Dragon and Level 3 Eria." It didn't take a genius to see what was coming.
"Yeah, Yusei!" Leo whooped and circled once around the Duel in his excitement.
"It's been too long old friend. Let's show them what we're made of." The green rings peeled back and it was as if a pillar of light connected them to the the heavens. "Let's ride together again, Stardust Dragon!" Letting loose a shattering roar, his prime monster graced the skies again for the first time in years.
"Born from shadows, cast from the darkness itself," Flipping up her Trap card, the Agent proved she had both skill and preparation on her side. "Behold my Shadow Card, Tuner's Scheme." A sinister figure with a top hat and monocle appeared with a sneer, tapping his silver walking can twice before point it at Stardust Dragon. "As soon as you Synchro summon a monster, Tuner's Scheme can make it all my very real own." With dark energy coursing through it, the effects of Tuner's Scheme would extend beyond mere card text. From what she was hinting at, the Signer Dragon was now a very real threat as it was dragged, screaming, to her side of the field.
(Turn 8)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:4 Hand:0 Field: 1 Monster, 3 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap
Agent: LP: 1900 SC:5 Hand:3 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap
There wasn't any point in adding monsters but she did it anyway, laying another face-down Charmer just ready to go off if he dared attack.
"How must it feel, to be attacked by your own monster?" Throwing back a shapely arm, there was true malice in her voice. "Stardust Dragon, attack!" Bound by the rules of the Duel, the dragon seemed trying to restrain the pillar of light that burst from its jaws to strike at Yusei.
She hadn't been lying. Every fibre of his being could feel the heat and energy radiating from the pillar as Yusei dodged and weaved across the road. Chunks of tarmac and gravelled pelted him from all sides as the team struggled to avoid getting caught in the beam. "What's wrong?" Safe from the damage, she laughed manically. "Don't be afraid of the danger!"
"I activate Trust Chain." It was not the plan he had intended for the Trap. Under normal circumstances, it would boost a monster's ATK by the combined amount of every Synchro monster they controlled. With no Synchro monster, Yusei used its other ability to end the Battle phase early. But he was out of evasive moves and the Agent knew it. On her next turn, she could inflict serious damage. On the turn after that, she could easily win. Unless he could bring about a miracle.
(Turn 9)
Yusei: LP: 4000 SC:9 Hand:1 Field: 1 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 5 Monster, 2 Spell/Trap
Agent: LP: 1900 SC:6 Hand:2 Field: 1 Monster, 1 Spell/Trap Graveyard: 3 Spell/Trap
"I activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" It was literal shot in the dark. If he didn't draw a card that could turn it all around, Stardust Dragon could be forced to destroy him on the next turn. First came a Trap that would prove useful if she couldn't already prevent it. As for the other...
"Junk Meister?" It wasn't a card that Yusei had put in his deck. As far as he was aware, it didn't even exist. Focussing his tremendous will, the card seemed to swim in his vision before clearing gain. "Junk Collecter." That was much better. A Level 5 Monster, it had 2200 DEF and might be enough to take a blow from the Agent's own Synchro monster. But that would be a foolish waste.
"What's it going to be, Fudo." Still chasing the pack, the Agent was taking every care on the roads and in the Duel. Her antics weren't for show but strategy. She was trying to throw him off his game and the momentary confusion had almost caused his defeat.
"I tribute summon Junk Collector." Sliding the Speed Spell into the discarded pile of cards, Yusei was wide awake as the mechanical bandit whirled a mallet/clamp merged weapon in both hands. "I now activate its effect." Rummaging through the bag on its back, the creature pulled a long wooden box almost as itself. "By removing it and one Trap card in my graveyard from play, I can activate the effect of that Trap." Opening the wooden box, Junk Collector faded from the field as another card was left in it's place.
"Hah! I've seen all the traps you've played so far." Unworried by the futile gambit, the Agent took a corner at dangerous speeds to keep up with the group as they began a downhill descent.
"True, but I didn't play this one." Freezing, she remembered the card he had just sacrificed. "I activate Synchro Prominence!" Flying high above the Duel, Stardust looked down on the suddenly terrified Duellist and growled. "For every Synchro Monster on the field, you lose 1000 Life Points." Drawing in energy through it's maw, the Signer Dragon seemed outraged at being turned against its partner. "Don't forget." Unleashing the build up of energy at its jailor, Stardust completely obliterated any trace she had even been chasing them to begin with. "You're the one who wasn't afraid of danger."
(Game Over)
Winner: Yusei Fudo
"Thanks, old friend." High up above, Stardust gave a mournful howl and slowly dissipated in a sprinkling of photons.
"We should keep moving." Seeing the fatigue Yusei was under, Crow took charge.
"Give the guy a minute." With the world spinning in reverse, Jack was the one calling for calm. "He's been through a lot."
"Unless you want to explain what happened to the road," Looking behind himself, Yusei realised that the final attack had not simply erased the Agent but also destroyed a large swath of tarmac in the process. "Or how about the dust cloud that will be here any minute?"
On the far horizon, dust was being picked up in the breeze and forming a dense cloud. "If we don't get under cover soon then we'll be in for an unpleasant time." When slightly reaffirmed that Crow wouldn't lunge for Jack, Yusei slowly pulled off with exhaustion swiftly returning to his very bones. Unable to go at any speeds in face of the very real possibility that he fall off, Yusei followed at a slow pace as they moved further down the hill towards the storm. Once at the bottom of the curving road, he was thankful to be able to simply pitch over and lie on the floor.
"Get the sleeping bags out." Knowing he should really be giving out some instructions, Yusei could only listen in a daze as the other three worked together in rough harmony.
"You get the sleeping bags out." Kneeling down beside his brother, Jack carefully pulled him free from the machine. "That was a stupid thing to do." Regaining enough strength to breathe normally, Yusei sucked in the chill air as if his life depended on it.
"It was the best choice." Feeling the aches in every part of his body, Yusei mustered a grim face. "Trust me, I'm a genius." Something flew through the air and back up the sheer hill they had just come down from. Closing his eyes, Yusei tried to doubt the information they had given him. "With that in mind, tell me the sleeping bags didn't just get blown away."
"My bad." Unused to the compartment built into Jack's Runner, Crow had inadvertently pulled the bags with more strength than was necessary and sent them swirling away into the growing twilight.
"It's okay." Bursting into the centre of attention, Leo actually had an old-fashioned paper map in his hands. "Look," One finger traced a path along the paper. "There's a bank of hills just around the next bend. If we can get there, the dust will mostly blow over us." Yusei was somewhat amazed to admit that his young friend was right. It had not passed his notice that Leo had aged over the years but he still thought of him as the energetic young boy who had pulled him off the street long ago. A sudden gust of wind had the map tugged almost out of his grasp.
"What do we do for cover?" Once again, the responsibility fell to Leo to grab Jack by the lapels and shake some sense into him.
"We'll circle the Runners and cover ourselves with our jackets." It appeared that Yusei wasn't the only one to still be thinking of Leo as he once was. "But we'll have to push our Runners. The dust cloud will make it dangerous to drive." It was true. The dust was definitely picking up and would easily find a way past helmets and into eyes. Given a few more minutes and all sight would be obscured. In fact, that was exactly what happened. Only a brief handful of moments passed before the dust storm began to engulf them and the group was forced to huddle closer together just to stay in one group.
"I don't suppose that you've got some super-science device that can do something about this wind?" Crow had started a trend of wrapping his vest tightly about his neck to keep the dust out. Even with the vest and lights on his Runner, the surface of the road was difficult to see at best.
"Once." Although the fastest, Yusei also had one of the heaviest Runners and fatigue was deep in his bones by now. "Just two problems. It took several hours and we lost contact within a week." Laughter sounded over the headsets. Leo might be getting ahead in leadership but Crow had the edge in creativity after deciding to link their helmets together to help stay in one group. "How much longer do we have to walk?" Jokes at his expense aside, the pack leader had already lost feeling in his back at being crouched over.
"We're about halfway there." Although the group were talking over their headsets, Leo instinctively edged closer to the trio ahead of him. "The map said that we had about four miles to walk. Four miles is just over twenty-one thousand feet. We're at around nine thousand, four hundred and sixty-two... sixty-three... sixty-four." With the last few muttered words, each mind began their own unwilling count for the next twelve thousand steps. Over the course of the rest of the harrowing walk through the unexpected dust storm. Jack meandered slightly and ended up somewhere near forty thousand after a wrong turn at twelve thousand and four hundred. Crow accidentally ended up counting his heartbeats and flew far off count. Bored with mediocre counting, Yusei started examining the dust cloud for patterns of behaviour and replaced the normal method of counting for complex equations. It took far too long to reach their destination for the evening.
"This?" What little room remained between two craggy rocks and the hill that the group had been spent the past few hours walking around was filled with bushes. Thorny bushes. Inch-long thorns thorny bushes. "This is where we're meant to sleep?" Accommodations might have been less favourable in recent years than they had been under Goodwin's thumb but Jack was still used to a certain level of comfort. Cramming himself between a rock and a hard place on a bed of thorns was not what he had envisioned.
"We've slept in worse." Unwelcome looks greeted Crow's words. Three of the four might have slept in worse but they didn't usually like to recall it. Despite being slightly more out of the wind, it felt like even more dust was blowing down their backs. Even with all the added inconvenience, Yusei was inches from admitting defeat and following the others to their shelter on the other side of the rocks when he felt a gentle tug on his Runner. Turning on the spot, he had the slightest idea that a person was there before they were gone again. Another passing apparition darted past from the left and vanished into the swirling motes.
"Did anyone else see that?" The others looked up from attempting to transform their jackets into some form of cover.
"See what?" Another dark flash streaked past the group and landed atop the rocks they were sheltered against.
"That!" Yusei was the only one to see a dark finger point further down the road before vanishing in a swirl of air and sand.
"Maybe you should sit down." Crow was lucky enough to be busy wrapping an arm around his friend to notice the outline straddling his Runner before it slipped away.
"I think that we should keep going." One hand tightened the vest crammed around his throat as he began walking back down the road again. "Just a hunch." The others immediately gathered up their belongings and made to move again. If Yusei had the slightest idea to continue on, they would continue. So onwards they trudged, through the blistering winds and continuing down the constantly disappearing road.
Almost an hour trudged past with the group slowly falling into a waking sleep with opens eyes and closed minds. Sometimes, Yusei would capture glimpses of the same black figure pointing them down the road. At one point, the figure was marching alongside them, directly between the regularly rotating trio behind Yusei without their noticing.
For a brief moment in the gloom, Yusei's thoughts turned to those of Z-One. From what little they had learned, Z-One had once led a group of people through the Meklord invasion. It might be far removed from a global catastrophe but Yusei could feel a fleeting kinship with the Z-One who had worked to save humanity before the end.
"What's that?" Lost in his thoughts, Yusei hadn't even noticed the square dimensions of a caravan up ahead. It appeared mostly solid with a heavy door set in the side.
"I know that design." Carefully propping his Runner against the rear of the truck, Yusei lead the hurried charge towards the door and thumped on the door several times. "Hello? Hello!" The sound of hurried talking preceded the door opening and firm hands dragging the group inside.
"Keep it down!" Odds grappled with fate for several tense seconds. Despite prior experience, odds always forget that fate keeps knives up both sleeves and likes to cheat. So fate once more reared it's head and deposited Jack, Crow, Leo and Yusei directly onto the floor in front of Akiza and Luna. "How did you find us?" Crow reached back and closed the door before more dust could swirl in.
"I'll tell you later." Right now, Yusei could happily fall asleep on the floor and leave all questions for tomorrow. "I don't suppose that there's any way to have a shower?" Luna gave her usual gentle smile and directed her brother to the closet at the back of the hallway.
"Where did you pull this one from?" With the shower temporarily out of business, the three remaining piles of dirt were propped against the stairs, walls and cupboards. Yusei, being the martyr, took the uncomfortable stairs as best he could. "It should still be under review. Not to mention way above your clearance level." Akiza folded her legs beneath her to get closer to her friends level as Luna went about finding some leftover food for the travellers.
"Obake pulled it all together. There are food, blankets and maps for the Duelists." Holding one finger to her lips, Akiza pointed towards the slumbering pile just visible in the cockpit. Following the tense day, Obake had called an unusually early night and instantly hidden himself beneath the blanket. Akiza and Luna had taken shelter in Akiza's sleeping pod, leaving the door open a crack just in case there was trouble.
"Obake?" Catching the look Akiza was giving him, Yusei held his tongue as Jack practically dove for the shower. Leo was rocking a white bathrobe that Luna had passed him from one of the cabins and carrying his dirty linen under one arm.
"Take the top bunk." Luna patted the pod above her own and deposited the laundry into a tiny washing machine hidden in a cupboard beside the sink. "We can wash all your clothes once you've had a shower." For all this tough exterior, the indomitable face of Crow almost broke down and wept after hearing such a simple sentence. The quartet on the floor fell to a trio as Luna clambered into her bunk and then a duo when Jack finished his lengthy shower in order to let Crow finally feel running water once more.
"What is Obake doing here?" Akiza briefly filled in everything that had happened, including her rather sketchy explanation of their association with Yliaster.
"You did the right thing." Unable to think straight, Yusei was trusting that she had rather than actually knowing it himself. "I'll speak with him in the morning. What time will he be awake?"
"He usually stays up late to plan out the likely route for the next day." Yusei slowly pulled himself up the stairs to lean against the side of the bench around the table as Crow stumbled from the shower and right into the sole remaining bunk on the top shelf. "Then he gets up early and does the same thing. I don't think I've seen him actually sleep since we set off." Yusei bit his cheek slightly to stay awake.
"Whenever you wake up, can you do the same for me?" With the small cerebral inhibitor in his pocket to prevent the seizures, he was looking forward to a warm shower followed by a long sleep.
As the warm water trickled over him, Yusei's mind entered a mild hallucinatory state. Visions of countless Dark Duels, impressions of a strange hidden figure facing off against Nanashi. Strange Duel Monster cards that were familiar and strange one minute before becoming strange yet familiar. Then a shadow that danced through the storm and guided him to a comfortable berth where he was welcome to spend the night.
Fingers, sore. Eyes, bleeding. Say it with me now: 11,400+ words!
Okay, so I should probably have split this chapter into two but by the time I have a final word count, the edits were finished and I lacked the necessary energy.
As always, leave a review if you have anything to say and avoid my mistake of slipping in an extra few thousand words.