Gently gleaming muscles slowly raised and dipped on the metal frame. Stability was maintained as he kept both legs crossed at the ankle. "Niiiine... ten." Yusei lifted himself one last time before dropping to the ground and massaging an aching bicep. Sensing movement to one side, he turned with a hand already wrapping about the towel around his neck. "Good morning." Recognising the blonde, he switched to gently dabbing at his brow.
"Pfft, only ten?" Joey cracked his knuckles as Yusei wiped down the bar. After accidentally waking everyone up early the day before, he'd waited impatiently in his room until a more reasonable hour before leaving his room. Even after his workout, it was still a bit earlier than he expected to see anyone else. "Stand back and let me show you how it's done."
"Ten sets of ten on each arm." Sweat was rolling down his body and had slicked down his hair. "Mixed with ten sets together." Breathing deeply as he reached for a bottle of water, he missed Joey's concerned look. "Is it okay if I keep going for a bit or did you want some privacy?" Having a full gym on a private floor with a maximum population of ten was another reminder that Pegasus had actually managed to accrue enough money to match his foppishness.
"Nah, it's fine. I'm just going to get my warm-up in. Y'know, before I get started on my real workout." Two hundred pull-ups would be a challenge but this was Joey's turf and he was going to stand his ground. Stubborn man pride demanded he at least match the newcomer's workout before besting it entirely. "So, uh, how long did you take?"
"Forty, forty-five minutes? I took it slow for the crunches." Doing both at once was faster and more intense. Everything above his ankles was gently burning enough that he had been able to relax his mind for a bit.
"How long have you been up for?" Joey had been hoping to get up early for a quiet workout and seeing Yusei already winding down his own exercise was a blow to Joey's ego.
"Haven't slept yet." Warming down his muscles while glancing toward the weights, Yusei considered keeping going with his arms. However, logic prevailed and he had long established a perfectly balanced workout. "Fancy a jog?"
"Nah. I'm. In. The. Zone." Each word was huffed out as his chin touched the bar. "I'll. Be. Done. In.. Twenty... Minutes!" Rushing into the exercise was burning him out faster than usual. Good that the 'no pain, no gain' trade-off existed. There would be a huge gain after he was finished. Pleeease let there be a big gain.
"Okay. I'll be cooling down on the treadmills if you want to join me." While he had supported the creation of a gym at the SRC, his equipment usage was irregular at best. If the gym was already full, people would suspect the boss was checking up on them and filtering out before he could get more than a couple of sets in. If it was empty, crowds of purely coincidental scientists would arrive without minutes to idly chat about the latest budget requirements which always needed a bit more squeezed in than previously thought.
Left behind in his pull-ups, Joey was finally joined by the figure who was usually only a few minutes behind. "Hey." Leaning against the metal frame as Joey struggled to keep moving, Mai flicked a finger to the steady pounding of feet across the room. "What is it about you men that makes you obsessed with getting stinking and sweaty all the time?" A series of gasping breaths failed to deliver an articulate answer. Joey was hardly the brightest thinker in their group but performing intense exercise was an understandable excuse.
"Anyway, I'm going to see if I can pry some more answers from Mr Mystery." Mai knew the value of keeping secrets nearly as much as she knew the joy of finding them out from people trying to keep them. Striding across the gym, she set a brisk pace on the adjacent treadmill. Only once she had settled into the rhythm did she make the simple first move: "You've got great form."
"Pardon?" Pulling an earbud out, she was surprised to hear fluent French instead of the music that most people used while exercising.
"I said your form is good. What're you listening to?" Her winning smile was enough to distract any man and Yusei was no exception. Step two; build a connection.
"Les Misérables." Pulling out the other earbud, he tucked his phone onto the treadmill controls and more actively engaged with his charming jogging companion. "I have a colleague at CERN who insists that it's best in French." Dr Undercliff had been oddly aggressive when he learned Yusei had been reading a translation. Even Minister Vasilyeva had been taken aback at the level of venom.
"Ah, tu parles français? Je vois que le langage de la romance vit toujours dans le futur." She switched to the European dialect smoother than Crow extracted himself from any situation that might involve chores.
"Oui, je dois beaucoup parler au CERN alors j'ai décidé d'apprendre la langue. J'aime ton accent, où as-tu appris?" Chatting at a steady jog was difficult but Mai had no problem doing so. Continuing the conversation, she found herself pleasantly surprised by Yusei's conversational prowess and seemingly endless experiences as they continued to share stories in the French dialect.
"What're you two talking about?" Jealousy wasn't a motivator for going over to the treadmills but Joey was wary of people speaking in tongues around him. Especially when one of them was his girlfriend and another was a handsome hero from the future.
"Mai was telling me about the time she backpacked across Europe by winning transportation in Duels." History had been a little lax on Mai's various cheating tactics and Yusei was taking the stories at face value. Of course, she was in no hurry to correct the growing good impression. "Did you know she once attended a party on the Eiffel Tower and another at the Louvre on the same day?" Another slight fib. Mai had snuck into the first by using the stairs instead of the elevator and the second by getting intentionally caught by security only to ditch them as they escorted her to an office.
"You have to check out the Mona Lisa when there are no crowds." Touching his shoulder with a Cheshire grin, she instantly had Yusei's attention again. Men were ridiculously easy to control. "Being able to appreciate the artwork without people pressuring you to move aside lets you really take it all in." While being lauded as one of the greatest art pieces of all time, Monna Lisa was a faded painting of less than half a square meter which viewers rarely had more than a minute to admire.
"I'll have to see if I can find pictures of their Digital Classics exhibit saved." Slowing his machine down to adjust his muscles, Yusei soon stepped off to let Joey take his place. "They used predictive algorithms to emulate famous artworks as if they had been inspired during various eras." Leading to some truly bizarre creations. Yusei had particularly enjoyed the late 19th-century mash-up. Circling the equipment, he grabbed a fresh towel from the stack on a nearby shelf. "I'm free whenever you want me. Joey." Nodding amicably, he walked off towards the door.
"Brains, looks and did you see his muscles?" She had caught a glimpse of Yusei's back as the sodden fabric of his top imprinted itself across the sculpted form beneath. Few people had the time and dedication to keep themselves in such shape but all his sleepless nights came with a few precious advantages. "Oh là là!"
"Yeah, you want me to speak all omelette du fromage to ya? 'Cause I can." Both arms were burning from where he had tried to match Yusei's pull-up score only to end up pulling muscles. What Joey needed was ten minutes on an oxygen tank and not a flat sprint as he vainly tried to beat an opponent who wasn't even aware of the competition.
"That's a cheese omelette." French was not one of Joey's gifts but the effort was tolerated. "Are you okay? Your pace is a little off." It looked like he had learned how to run that morning with limbs flopping around in various levels of discomfort and outright pain.
"'s nothing." Maybe he was trying to wave away the concern or perhaps it was another flap of the limbs. Either way, an arm glanced off the machine. "Did some pull-ups first. No biggie." Most people ate something before a workout but he had been too concerned about the unknown stranger wandering around his place to remember. So, at least Joey wasn't vomiting as one foot slipped and he was fired off the treadmill in a sagging mess of hair and limbs.
"OW!" Taking a deep breath in, he pretended like the syllable hadn't escaped. "Doesn't hurt a bit." Smoothing down the latest plaster, he tossed the box beside a dark cup of coffee.
"You're a liar and we both know it." While his oldest friend was performing emergency surgery (on two small cuts and a scraped shin) Tristan was foraging in the fridge for sustenance. His stomach was currently lodged in the void between wanting breakfast and not being hungry. "I don't know what's with you today. You're usually halfway done by now, not quitting early."
"It's this Yusei guy. He's getting on my nerves. There's something about him I can't put my finger on." Not that he could ever be jealous, that'd be crazy. But there was a more obvious solution. "Dude doesn't sleep, is really smart and Mai seems to think he's handsome." Checking the room for their guest, Joey lowered his voice and closed the distance to Tristan. "Do you think he might be a vampire?"
"Everyone is really smart compared to you." Tristan had seen his best friend try to eat wax fruit. Twice. Pulling a cartoon from the fridge, he gave an experimental sniff. Past best but nothing compared to his hunger. "You want some leftovers?" Picking at noodles was more engaging than Joey's latest crazy theory.
"Don't know – is there a stake in there?" Approaching footsteps heightened his innate vampire-hunting instincts. "Shhh!"
"Hey." Dressed in a clean shirt, the ends of Yusei's hair were still drying as he ventured into the kitchen area. "Want a hand with them?"
"With what?" Trying to cover his neck with both hands left Joey awkwardly trying to strangle himself.
"Steaks. I know a few recipes that you might like." Chances of recreational travel were severely hampered by his responsibilities at work but the same job that kept him tied in place also brought a variety of cultures right to his door. Yusei swapped recipes as easily as most Duellists did cards and had built up a vast collection over the years. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything. I forgot my coffee and went for a shower."
"It's behind the medicine box." Tristan pointed with his chopsticks before slurping up the ramen they held. "Joey got a boo-boo falling off the treadmill."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Having the vampire suspect that close to his wounds had Joey tightly crossing his legs until the mug and owner were at a greater distance. "Anything serious?" Taking the coffee grounds he had left over, he began carefully making a fresh pair of mugs for his companions.
"Fine, should be healed up in a few hours." Joey knew exactly what a vampire would do: exaggerate the injuries and then drain the victim. Tristan rolled his eyes. "... Want some garlic?" Holding up a shaker of powdered garlic, the blonde was prepared for every possibility.
Yusei paused in the middle of draining his now cold brew. "Erm, thank you but no?" Except for a flat refusal. Joey's genius plan hadn't considered that. "Do you really take garlic in your coffee?" Jack had drunk every type of coffee on the planet and even tried inventing a few of his own. Somehow, Yusei hadn't heard of adding garlic.
"Errr, sure." He smiled brightly. "Nothing better after a workout. Don't they know that in the future?"
"Joey!" Tristan poked his friend in the side with a malicious elbow. "Don't be mean to him. Just show him how delicious it is and he'll probably try it himself." Either that was a pulled muscle or a knife had been lodged firmly in his back. Whichever it was, it hurt Joey too much to reach back and find out for sure.
"I'll try anything once." Yusei peered into the empty depths of his cup as Joey reluctantly accepted his sacrifice to head off the vampire menace. "But later. I need to check on a piece of equipment." Slipping his mug into the dishwasher, he made to leave. "Hey, Joey?" Turning back at the last minute, he nearly witnessed an attempt to ditch the tainted coffee.
"Yeah?" Tristan was still standing off to one side with a duplicitous air. Joey hoped this would be a quick question so there wasn't the chance for him to pressure Joey into drinking the coffee.
"Do you fancy joining me for a workout tomorrow afternoon? Yugi told me you're good for sparring with." What Yugi had told him involved the words 'kicked my ass' and 'taught me a few moves'. Still, Yusei was hoping to make some connections while he was there. Also, there was an adoring little boy inside him that was freaking out at the chance to be friends with more of his childhood heroes. "And you can treat me to a cup of garlic coffee afterwards." Looking at the mug, he wondered if the trade would be worth it. "Is it as good as it looks?" It looked like puke. Smelled similar as well.
"Yeah." Crushing down his distaste, Joey managed to swallow an entire mouthful. "It's... great." There was enough time to make it to the sink before he started gagging.
"Dude, seriously?" Tristan covered his mouth as he tossed the last mouthfuls of his snack into the garbage. A military mind can stomach a lot of things but trying to eat slimy food while the smell of bile filling the area was beyond any strategy. "That's disgusting."
"Too much garlic?" Even as he suffered for his attempts to prevent the vampire apocalypse, Joey could sense the underlying sarcasm. "Once you're feeling better, could you drop by my room? There's something that I need to talk with you about."
"I knew it!" Though Joey was careful to wait until they were alone before proclaiming his foreknowledge. "He's out to get me because he knows I'm onto him. Tristan, pass me the garlic!" Even the mere mention of the herb was enough to turn his stomach. Taking a deep breath, he poured out the rest of his stomach into the sink.
Once his stomach had ceased rebellion, Joey asked a quick for from his partner before delving into the lair of pure evil. "What's the plan for catching the Yliasplaster guys?" Dragging a spare chair to sit near his host, he leaned over the back, ready to bolt from the vampire menace. "Besides being live bait and all?" Not that he was envious of Yusei for being the big hero but Joey wanted a crack at the future cards that were inevitably going to come into play.
"Nice cross. I didn't know you practised religion." Dangling around Joey's neck was a thick Christian T. Looking away, he missed seeing it receive a desperate kiss. "Yliaster will be looking for any chance they have to go after Yugi. Since Yugi isn't here, I'm going to try and emulate his behaviour and wait for them to notice me instead." When Musume had mentioned Himeru's graceful assistance, she had either neglected a time frame or intentionally avoided telling it to Yusei. Whatever tragedy would have befallen his friend and predecessor could be slated for the next hour as easily as it could the next year. Waiting for Yliaster to make their move was the only way forward that he could see.
"Look, I'm not going to pretend like I know all about what you're talking about." Unpacking a few shirts, Yusei tried to follow the archaic grammar on display. "But these goons were meant to be good enough to beat Yugi. What makes you think you'll do any better than he would?"
"Because I'm not Yugi." Keeping a cool tone, that inner portion of himself that had never matured was doing cartwheels that Joey Wheeler was comparing him to Yugi Mutou. "There are strategies in the future which could make the combinations you have now look like child's play. Against Yugi's Deck, they might have been enough to overwhelm him but mine is built completely different. It should be enough to give me a fighting chance."
"Then why couldn't I sub in for Yugi?" With a wry smile, Yusei noticed that the messy blonde hadn't even an inch of fear in diving headlong back into the supernatural battles. Not if it meant protecting his friends.
"No reason at all. You probably could, once you know what they'll have coming." Teaching Joey about Synchro monsters had been a lengthy internal conversation throughout the night. Yusei had pointed out to himself that Joey would almost certainly let slip some information about the future addition to Duel Monsters to which Yusei had reminded himself that Jaden would bring that knowledge back in a few years anyway. Having a group to share the information amongst themselves would help lighten the secret.
"And whatcha doing with your Duel Disk?" Parts and pieces were spread across most of the desk and Yusei had repurposed the reading lamp to help peer into the delicate innards.
"Making sure it's all in working order." Peering down at a metal plate, he glared at the screws holding the cover in place. "I need a security Torx. Either T6 or T7 most likely." A vaguely blank look settled across Joey's face and there was an unsettling resemblance to another blonde in the far future. "Do you have a precision screwdriver set?" He knew exactly where his own one was. In a desk drawer, beside a cluster of loose cables, ninety years in the future.
"Toolboxes are in a cupboard under the sink. Or in the living room." Asking anyone to forget would only guarantee that they remember indefinitely. Force them to think about anything else and they'd struggle to remember if the building was on fire. "What'd you need a security talk for anyway?" Taking note of the slip, Yusei was starting to believe more and more that Joey can and would take full advantage of any service he was offered. Most Duellists personally performed Duel Disk maintenance even at this early stage. True, KaibaCorp provided the service but it took so long that most people could simply look up tutorials online.
"See this bit here?" Indicating a small cluster of layered chips no bigger than his pinkie, Yusei gently shifted aside to let Joey see the components. "Tertiary backup memory unit. Every piece of relevant code in the database could be compressed into that if it had to be." And it had had to be. Being unable to access the KaibaCorp servers from his time meant every possible iteration of the holographic programming had needed to be stored locally.
"Really?" Squinting closer at the tiny circuits, polite disbelief tainted his voice. "Cos Kaiba keeps complaining about satellite rinks screwing with his computers." There was a very Jack-esque air about the young man. Genuine earnestness, an improbable overlap between how overwhelming he thought his skills were and how strong they actually were, and maybe half an idea of what was going on.
"You know how CDs can store more than floppy disks? My Duel Disk can store a lot more than CDs." Speaking about floppy disks as recently outdated technology instead of a joke of a relic was the weirdest experience yet. With a start, Yusei realised there were probably dozens stored away on the lower floors. "Anyway," Yusei carefully slid his chair back before stepping fully away from the delicate components. So much as a missing screw could cause havoc on the precision instrument at a critical moment.. "Let me get that thing I wanted to show you." Reaching into the bedside cabinet, his hand fastened on something inside before he turned back to his guest.
A slimy pile of meat slid gently down his face before splatting against the carpet. "What the fuck was that for?" Stomping to the attached bathroom, Yusei plugged the sink and began rinsing his face.
"Aha, I knew you were a vampire!" Grabbing the wasted meal, Joey began waving it at arm's length. "Vampires can't stand steak!"
Looking down at the swirling pool of water, Yusei considered drowning himself and being done with it all. No matter which era he was in, there always seemed to be someone as dumb as they were smart. "It's a wooden stake that kills vampires, not beef steak. And anyone would die if you stabbed them through the heart." It would be more terrifying if someone took a stake to the chest and kept on going. What was the plan for after they survived a gaping hole in the chest?
Gripping the meat a bit less tightly, Joey switched his gaze between the pink flesh and the damp face in the bathroom. "Okay, but you got all shifty when you saw Mai's cross." And vampires were scared of holy objects, established fact.
"Because I realised that I'd left my tools behind and didn't know if there'd be alternatives available here." Grabbing a towel, he wiped his face clean. Antibacterial soap meant his face was technically clean but he'd definitely be having another shower once he was alone. "Your beliefs are your business, not mine."
"What about not sleeping?" Finally, an iron-clad avenue of attack. Why else would anyone spend three days awake in surroundings that were both luxurious and free? "Explain that one to me, Count Fudo!" Everyone knew that the handsome, well-spoken vampires were inevitably counts. That, or viewed humans as entirely beneath their notice.
"I have a sleep disorder." Keeping his gaze level, Yusei reminded himself that this misunderstanding was nothing compared to the one time Din had somehow been invited to a diplomatic event. Three countries had bounties on the ugly head and nine considered him an enemy of the state. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."
Taking this new information under advisement, Joey realised that he was holding rapidly warming meat to match the raw egg currently splattered all over his face. Awkwardly tucking the chunk back into the plastic bag, Joey tried to pretend that everything was normal. "So, what's up?"
"Joey, I have a sleep disorder." Playing along, Yusei enjoyed the array of embarrassed looks.
"Really? You don't say." Behind him, the meat continued to drip onto the carpet. "What kind? Sleepwalking, bed wetting, brain munching?"
"I'm also not a zombie." As far as he knew, all the ways to kill a zombie would also kill an average person and Yusei didn't want Joey getting new ideas. "Or mummy, ghoul, jianshi, draugr, banshee, or anything else supernatural. What you see is what you get." And then Joey was giving him a look of such concentration that Yusei didn't have to be what he was thinking about to know what he was thinking. "I'm also not telepathic. Just," Holding up a hand, he took another deep breath. "Why would you think I'm any of those things?"
"Last person to come from the future could grow wings." As with many problems in Yusei's life, the trail leads straight back to Musume. "Doesn't seem that crazy to everyone can do magic where you come from." Considering the sample pool, Yusei was forced to admit that Joey might have a point. One homicidal maniac intent on destroying the future with science advanced enough to make Arthur Clarke swoon, another homicidal maniac strutting around with two mystical beings capable of detonating the sun on a whim on a leash. With that pattern, Yusei should probably have been warping reality with the sheer power of his mind.
"Musume is special. Not everyone in the future is magic." Then he reconsidered his immediate circle of friends. One Psychic with healing powers, a young woman who could pop into the Spirit World as anyone else would walk into the next room, whatever Phantom was, and a reincarnated guardian capable of trapping a demon with pure ego. "Okay, maybe a few people but not me. Sleeping problems, that's it." Trying to drag the conversation back to course was increasingly difficult with Joey's stubbornness.
"Right." Joey's disbelief echoed through every letter. "And what's the big secret there?"
"Nothing much." Yusei shrugged. "Except that it gives me a series of neurological fits, nobody can determine a cause, the cumulative damage has been slowly killing me for the last eight years, and the only treatment method I've found restricts my higher brain functions and is one dodgy timer away from keeping me in a coma until I die."
"Oh." He took a moment to process the more mundane truth. "And why did you want to talk to me about it?"
Taking a deep breath, Yusei wondered why he hadn't opted for Tristan instead. Though they were off to a rocky start, at least a soldier would have enough training to intervene if necessary and he doubted Tristan would let him die out of spite. "This is a neurological inhibitor." He held up the small semi-triangular device. "If the timer fails to operate, I'll need someone to manually deactivate it. There's a dial here," Indicating the tiny ring set slightly into the device, he made sure that Joey had a good view in case he need to use it later. "Rotate it until you feel the click and hold it a couple of seconds."
"Couldn't you just get an alarm clock?" As magical as the future was, the sleep industry had come needlessly complicated. "I've got a spare in my room that you can have." He missed Yusei's flushed look of self-loathing while jerking a thumb across the hall.
"It's a neurological inhibitor – it disables all higher brain functions." If it wasn't for his desire to keep the past uncontaminated, he'd have asked Rebecca for help instead of seeing the two most important words sliding off Joey's attention like water from a duck. "Look, think of it like a power button. You flip the switch and I wake up."
"Hang on a minute," For the first time since he had entered the room, Yusei was gratified to see the first glimpses of understanding mark the rugged face. "Are you trying to tell me that you're a robot?" There were times when the options presented are to risk permanent brain damage or permanent hand damage from slapping the stupid out of someone else. Lucky for Joey, his near murderer chose the first option.
"Joey, I'm going to take a nap." Small words only, don't overcomplicate anything. "If I don't wake up in six hours, come into my room, and turn the dial." To prevent further risks to the timeline, Yusei firmly escorted his guest from the room.
Waiting outside was a situation that Yusei probably should have stayed to explain instead of leaving it with a cold nod and a slammed door. "Hey, Joey?" Keeping a phone pressed to one shoulder, Tristan had the unique emotion of knowing half an answer and fearing the rest. "Did you order a crossbow? Greg says security is gonna have to destroy it otherwise." Guns were impossible to secure in Japan but Joey had managed to find a shady 'replica antiques' dealer who offered express delivery.
"Ye... no. Of course not." Living with a man who was practically his brother and who was in a relationship with his sister who was close friends with his own girlfriend meant that Joey could get disapproving glares from multiple angles at once. Even though they were elsewhere in the penthouse, he could practically feel the glares supernaturally headed his way.
Shuffling awkwardly, he tried to act as if his sanity wasn't being called into question at every turn. "Anything else arrives that I didn't order? Like some holy water?" Even if Yusei was a simple, ordinary human, having a few defences prepared wouldn't hurt anyone. "Gimmie the phone for a second." Rolling his eyes, Tristan passed over the handset and considered going on holiday until Yusei left. "Greg? Joey. Can send just up whatever else is there? Yeah, it's for a... religious study thing." He'd nearly included a lance in the mix before considering the lack of horse. Then he'd started considering how difficult keeping a horse would be.
Don't leave a review right away. Be like Yusei and sleep on it a while.