The iron taste of blood filled his senses, the Shadow Game endlessly assaulting his senses at every turn.
"Enjoy a glimpse of what is to come, for now we truly begin the duel of darkness! I play the field spell,Dark Arena!"
Ryo could do nothing as the sun was blotted out and eclipsed by a darkness more complete than the night's it was a black upon black. A dome of darkness surrounded both duelists, and Ryo now felt completely and utterly alone. Titan, on the other hand, seemed relieved at the change in surroundings, as though the light was painful for him.
"I must confess, this is much more comfortable for me…you see, I have grown sensitive to the light. Of course, anyone would after eight long months of suffocating darkness. Eight long months of being devoured over and over again by demons…it's enough to make any man a little uncomfortable!" Titan began to cackle, before bringing himself under control again.
"But the darkness looks upon us men equally. While this field spell is active, we each select the targets of our opponent's attacks. And all monsters must attack if they are able."
Ryo was able to grasp this well enough. If he played it smart, this effect could actually benefit him as well. But he was sure that Titan knew the card well, and was good at battling in this dark place. "You disgust me, Titan! You attacked one of my friend! You not only threaten the life of my comatose best friend, but now you threaten the life of my younger brother! You smile and toy with me, using a deck you didn't build and power you don't deserve! NO MORE!" Ryo screamed.
"Fuck honor. Fuck respect. And FUCK. YOU!" The Kaiser drew his next card as Titan gasped in shock.
"What the hell are you looking at!?" Ryo growled, but in a moment he felt an unknown force grab his arm, preventing him from looking at the card he had drawn. He turned his head and was shocked to see Yusuke's spirit standing beside him.
"Yusuke…what are you doing here?" Ryo's anger was momentarily replaced by sheer confusion. Why was Yusuke up and about, and why did he hold Ryo back now?
"I remember you…" Yusuke muttered. "Ryo…"
"He's awake, and has regained some clarity! How is his willpower this strong?" Titan was dumbfounded.
"Yusuke let go of me! How did you get your memories back?" Ryo said forcefully.
"I can feel it coming back to me…the fog is so deep. But I know that this isn't the Marufuji Ryo I knew." Yusuke's voice was strangely blank and emotionless. "This isn't who my best friend is." The words cut Ryo to the core. But was this truly Yusuke? Was this a cruel illusion created by Titan to destabilize him further? No, the masked man looked as confused as he was.
"Are you Marufuji Ryo?" Yusuke wasn't asking the question sarcastically or judgmentally, he saw Ryo's behavior, and it wasn't congruent with the fragmented memories he had of his best friend. All the same, Ryo found the question piercing.
"Can I really be brought so low by the likes of him?" Brought back from the brink of an animalistic rage, Ryo once again grappled with doubt.
"Who are you?" Yusuke wasn't in his right mind, and he continued to speak the same question over and over. "Do you know Marufuji Ryo?"
"Enough of this foolishness. Make your move so I can destroy you and Fujiwara Yusuke." Titan snarled
"I want to destroy him. I want to break him into a thousand pieces and unleash the full extent of my rage." Ryo thought. "No one would ever know about it. Yusuke won't remember this. I could open the cage and let the beast free."
"But I won't."
For as long as he could remember, Ryo had always been setting an example. At first it was for Sho the boy he could never relate to, as much as it pained him. He did not share Sho's love for trains and cars, nor his enjoyment of harem anime and light novels. Ryo had never lacked for courage, so it was hard for him to understand Sho's constant worrying. But he tried anyways, by being the stoic, aloof big brother. He failed to teach and be a mentor to Sho, so Ryo hoped that he could serve as a barrier, a wall for Sho to surpass. It was much the same when he first arrived at Duel Academy. Almost immediately he had risen in the ranks of the Obelisk Blue dorm. Ryo went to prep school, which helped him slightly towards landing in Obelisk Blue as a freshman. A great deal more of it had to do with the fact that he defeated his entrance exam proctor in a single turn. Within a few weeks, he had brought all of his rivals in Obelisk Blue to heel, and was known as the undisputed best duelist on the island by the end of his first month as a student. Thus, he earned the nickname, "Kaiser", and was seen as an untouchable, perfect duelist to aspire to. In that sense, he was a role model to his peers on the island as well. What would they all think if he gave in to his base instincts now? What would Sho think? Once he went down the dark path, Ryo knew that he wouldn't be able to go back – he would rely on his anger and rage more and more until it defined him in totality. He would be letting them all down if he uncaged the beast now.
Ryo remembered his duels against Judai, and how much fun he had dueling him. The freshman had a prodigious talent, one not dissimilar to his own as a freshman. "If I choose the way of darkness here, how can I ever hope to face him?"
There had to be a way to win without giving into the anger. Taking a deep breath, Ryo calmed down as much as he could and gently shook Yusuke's arm off of him. Yusuke, still in a daze, hesitantly took a few steps back, looking between Ryo and Titan with confusion before his spirit vanished.
"Just a little longer, old friend…" Ryo said, the hot coals of his anger cooled by middle school memories of him, Fubuki and Yusuke having good time together. He hoped that things could be like the old days once Yusuke regained his memories and Fubuki returns, but he was getting ahead of himself.
"Well? Has looking upon that vegetable granted you some revelation?" Titan taunted. "Or have you finally become acquainted with your true self?"
Ryo looked at his opponent placidly. "I won't be like you. I'll never be like you."
Turn 4 Ryo
"I activate my own Card of Sanctity!" Ryo was able to draw five cards off the spell's effect, and as he drew, he imagined Yusuke, Fubuki, Asuka, Sho, and Judai each giving him a card, placing their trust in him.
"You'll never be like me? So you turn your back on strength?" Titan responded, drawing some cards of his own.
"Not at all. I will always grow stronger, for my bonds are my strength! First, I activate Cybernetic Fusion Support! By halving my life points, I can banish monsters from my hand, field, or grave for the fusion summon of a machine monster this turn." Ryo's LP slid to 400. "And this bond is the strongest of all! I play Power Bond!" The Cyber Dragon Drei on the field was fused with the two Cyber Dragons Ryo had in his graveyard, bringing together the Cyber End Dragon (ATK 4000). The three-headed hydra casually blasted the darkness away, and the midmorning sun cast its rays down at Ryo and Titan both.
The darkness around them began to dissipate. The gang heaved a sigh of relief to see Ryo standing and looking like he was turning it around. Yusuke straightened up and moved his arm from around Asuka's shoulders. Asuka looked at him and her eyes widened. Yusuke's gaze was starting to clear… with Ryo turning the duel around whatever was blocking his memories was breaking down. They were almost there.
"Damn it, natural light!' Titan seemed to shrivel in the sunlight, as did his Summoned Skull.
"Your Summoned Skull can only be destroyed in battle by Ritual monsters…but that doesn't matter a whole lot when you're going to take 5500 points of damage right now!" Ryo clenched his fist before thrusting his hand forward. "And with only one monster on your field, Dark Arena doesn't matter anymore either. You don't matter anymore. This attack will light the way to my future!"
"No, this is impossible!" Titan cried.
"Boring and generic last words…how fitting. Cyber End Dragon, attack with triple evolution burst!" Ryo's ace monster unleashed a triangular beam of energy that pierced through the Advent Summoned Skull and hit Titan square in the chest dropping the Shadow Duelist LP to 0
Ryo stood proudly in victory for a moment before he felt the tiredness and fatigue catch up to him, hitting him all at once like a freight train. He let out a heavy sigh that he didn't even know he was holding in before dropping one knee, and then finally deciding to just lay on his back.
"No! I won't go back there, you hear me!? I will not!" Ryo dimly heard Titan shouting at the top of his lungs. Tilting his head up, the Kaiser saw his adversary surrounded by shapeless masses of dark energy, the waves slowly enclosing around him. Titan met eyes with Ryo and silently begged for a reprieve. But there was nothing Ryo could do. Even if he could, Ryo wouldn't have saved him besides. The man deserved his fate.
The Kaiser watched dispassionately as the shadows swallowed him back into the abyss. Eventually, his screams died out and were swallowed by the din of the darkness, until there was no sound at all, and everything had returned to normal.
The sun rose into the air as the large group exited the Abandoned Dorm.
Everyone else watched as Yusuke and Ryo exchanged heart-filled looks and hugged each other tightly, despite the condition they were in.
Everyone looked up at both the ace of Obelisk Blue that were pulling away from each other, a confused look on Ryo's face.
"Yusuke!" Ryo's eyes widened. "Did it work? Do you remember? "How did you end up in the Shadow Realm?" He asked his friend, "Titan said you did it for power".
"Yeah, I remember everything." Yusuke looked at the building behind them. He then turned his eyes back to Ryo looking guilty. "Indeed I ended up being in the World of Darkness not for power but out of loneliness and I am also the reason why Fubuki went missing."
Everyone gasped and their eyes widened in shock especially Asuka.
"What! Please tell me you're joking". Ryo pleaded.
"I am not jocking and I will explain to you guys everything." Yusuke snapped.
Flashback
Yusuke remembered having a casual conversation with Fubuki at his own room in the old blue dorm which is now the current abandoned dorm just few weeks before they vanished. There was bulletin board full of pictures he took. The plush rich colored carpet was softer than the mattresses in the other dorms. There were two large glass doors that led out to the balcony and they were both open. Dark violet curtain pulled aside to show the open night. A large king size bed sat against one of the walls with the blue comforter and padded headboard. A desk was next to the bed, a laptop and duel disk sitting on top of it. Finally the living area had the light blue wrap-around couch, a large coffee table and flatscreen television on the opposite wall.
"Then talk to me Yusuke," Fubuki said.
Both Fubuki and Yusuke were standing outside on the balcony and were staring out into the darkness of the night.
Yusuke's green hair back then came down to his shoulders and was messy from the slight wind blowing outside. His white Obelisk jacket was still on, the diamond shaped back flared out and shifting in the breeze. Yusuke also added the flare of the shoulder pads, accenting his frame.
Fubuki from the back, had frills on the back of his jacket that swayed. Fubuki's hair only brushed his shoulders at this point. He crossed his arms and gave Yusuke a side glance.
"I… I really am fine, Fubuki. My intention is not to make you, nor Ryo worry. You both have been by my side since we met." Yusuke turned his attention to Fubuki, and gave a small smile. "If something is bothering me so badly, I will tell you and Ryo. There isn't anyone I trust more than you two."
Both Ryo and Yusuke were cut from similar cloth. They felt the need to shoulder everything alone.
The two of them turned around suddenly and walked back into the room and Yusuke was now closing both doors and locking them.
Fubuki's brown eyes were exhausted. He looked at Yusuke and forced a smile, "Well, if you're sure there is nothing wrong, then I will stop bothering you for the night," Fubuki said. A gleam lit his eyes for a moment. "You up for a battle royale tomorrow? Ryo wants to get in a duel before exams and suggested it."
Yusuke looked at Fubuki. The indecision on his face and in his violet eyes. Finally he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I am going to do some studying." A smile flashed across his face, one of the rare real ones. "But I will join you guys after I'm done. I want to see you two duke it out again. Your duels never fail to have me on the edge of my seat."
Fubuki let out a laugh and shook his head. "You are still trying to figure out our strategies, aren't you?"
Yusuke gave a smirk and nodded his head. "Between the two of you I can never figure out which is stronger. But if I had to place a bet, I would say Ryo"
"Why would you say that?" Fubuki questioned. He cocked his head to the side, his bangs brushing against his eyes.
Yusuke just looked at Fubuki a strange unnameable expression crossing his face. "I just feel it in you. You have a strange power, one that allows you to connect with things no one else can understand."
Fubuki's smile turned sardonic. "You mean like I can hear when you are speaking to your duel spirit, and you try to cover it up?"
Yusuke went still, his violet eyes widened and his mouth hung open. He crossed his arms over his chest, wrapping them so tight it looked as if he was trying to give himself a hug. He quickly averted his eyes, so as not to look directly at Fubuki.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Yusuke said quietly.
"Well, I won't force the issue tonight. I feel as if I've bugged you enough for one night." Fubuki turned around and made his way to the door. His hand paused on the handle. Without turning back to Yusuke, he spoke once more. "I can't see them Yusuke… but I hear them. And all the times you spoke with Honest, I heard it. Just as Ryo and I are here for you no matter what, so is your duel spirit. Don't push us away."
With those parting words, Fubuki opened the door and walked out. The door closed with a soft click. Yusuke had the appearance of a terrified little boy. His violet eyes were large and his mouth was pressed into a thin line, as if he was trying to stop any sounds from escaping. Slowly small tears fell down his cheeks.
"He is right Master," a voice spoke suddenly.
Yusuke looked around and saw a shimmering form appear over by the television. His mouth gaped open when he noticed it was the Duel Monster card Honest. His large white and gold wings were open behind him. His long, golden hair was in waves down his back and the one twirled strand was in front of his face. He was dressed in the blue shirt and black shorts. His muscled arms and legs were prominent and he had the white feathered cuffs on each wrist.
"I know Fubuki is right. He and Ryo have been there for me from the beginning of our friendship. Neither have ever forgotten about me, nor ignored me." Yusuke choked on a sob. "But what if they do, Honest?" Yusuke whirled around and looked at Honest with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Neither Marufuji Ryo, nor Tenjoin Fubuki will ever forget about you Master. I have seen in their hearts and minds, they care for you. I have seen Ryo's duel spirit, it is an ancient one known as Cyber End Dragon. That particular spirit would never attach itself to someone who was not worthy," Honest spoke softly, calmly, so as to talk Yusuke down.
Yusuke swiped at his eyes and moved closer to Honest. He rested his head against Honest's chest. Somehow he didn't phase through, but actually was able to rest his head there. Honest flapped his large wings out and wrapped them around Yusuke, in a form of a hug. The action seemed to help settle him, his hiccuping sobs quieted down and the tears eventually stopped flowing. Raising his head, Yusuke gave Honest a watery smile.
"Do you think I should join them for the Battle Royale Duel?" Yusuke's voice was barely above a whisper.
Honest smiled down and nodded his head. "I believe it will be good for you, Master. You have concerned your friends if you go do this with them, it may alleviate some of their concerns. But as always whatever you decide, I will support."
Yusuke smiled and nodded his head. "Maybe I will go down and watch them battle. After all, as I said before, they always keep me on the edge of my seat. But I have a feeling that Ryo is slightly better than Fubuki, just because they both have the ability to sense and hear the spirits."
"That is a reasonable assumption," Honest responded with a smile.
The outside of the old dorm, the one that was currently abandoned. The dorm was lit up with it's brilliant, warm lighting. Strings of white lights lined the edges of the dorm and gave off a very elegant vibe. The door opened and out walked Yusuke. His face was set in a cold mask, one that Fubuki had never seen before.
"Yusuke, wait!" Fubuki called out. He came rushing out of the door and grabbed Yusuke by the arm to stop him. "You know what kind of jerk Rico is, don't let him get to you."
The two of them were standing in front of the gate. Yusuke was looking down at the ground, obviously gritting his teeth and his lips pressed into a thin line. Fubuki looked at him with obvious concern on his face.
"Besides, something tells me that Ryo is going to be taking care of Rico. You should have seen the look of murder in his eyes, I don't think even we could calm him down." Fubuki tried to lighten the mood, and it worked a bit. Yusuke raised his gaze to look at his friend.
"I don't want you both getting in trouble for me. I just need some time Fubuki, I'm sorry." Yusuke jerked his hand free from where Fubuki had a hold and took off down the path.
Fubuki was left staring after him, concern clear in his brown eyes. The sound of the door opening once more had both of them turning to look who was coming out. Ryo walk out and down the path. He stopped in front of Fubuki who put an arm around him, his eyes looking in the direction where Yusuke had taken off.
"Is Rico still alive?" Fubuki questioned after a moment of silence.
"Yeah, but he learned his lesson really quick. He will be apologizing to Yusuke when he sees him again."
"I am going to go find him. I know I can calm him down, you just try to not get yourself in any more trouble," Fubuki said and took off in the direction of Yusuke.
A knocking sound brought Yusuke 's attention from his research, to the door. He shoved back from the desk and walked over to the door. When Yusuke opened it, he saw Professor Banner standing on the other side. His face still had the creepy smile, his glasses glinted in the hallway light and Pharaoh hung in his arms. He wore his usual white shirt and black pants. His black hair was pulled back, but the strands hanging on the sides were a skew.
"Yusuke, good you are still awake. I wanted to let you know that there will be a duel exam tomorrow in the basement. The entire class will be participating. You were the only one to not respond to the message I sent out, so I wanted to make sure you knew to head there instead of the classroom," Professor Banner said cheerfully.
"I apologize for not responding. I have been looking into some personal research." Yusuke paused for a moment and looked closely at Professor Banner. "I want to demonstrate a special technique, remember I told you eariler I mastered the art of awakening Nightshroud's ritual? So I thought why not demonstrating it today?" Yusuke began to bend forward as he steadied himself…and to hide his growing smirk.
Banner smiled widely. "Of course. Once the exam is complete the class will be done for the day. So we should have plenty of time afterwards to go over anything you wish. Bring it to the classroom after the test."
Yusuke looked slightly relieved that Banner would be willing to help him. He nodded his head respectfully to Banner and closed the door after he turned and walked away.
Yusuke walked over to the bed and sat down. He placed his hand against his face and let out a evil smirk a move which made Honest looking concern for his master.. Moving his hand, he grabbed his alarm clock and set an alarm. Once that was done, he carefully laid down on his side facing the wall with the glass door. His tired purple eyes, stared blankly into the night. After a few minutes, his eyes closed and his breathing evened out.
The next day in the basement of the dorm, Professor Banner was standing in the center, with someone. The form was covered in darkness.
"Are they all coming?" the mysterious form asked, and the voice sounded male.
"Yes, I made sure that Tenjoin Fubuki and Fujiwara Yusuke would be here especially. As well as the other students from my class. The only ones who won't be here are Marufuji Ryo nor Harrington Rosewood . Both of them were never in this class. So I had no reason to ask them to be present," Professor Banner responded.
"Well at least two of them will be here. I want to get these experiments under way. I have high hopes for them. Even Samejima mentioned on many occasions how talented they're. If they makes it through this trial… I want both of them as a Shadow Rider," the shadow form said once again.
"Of course," Banner responded.
After a moment, he could hear footsteps and talking. The shadow form disappeared and Professor Banner was alone in the center. He plastered that creepy smile on his face and waited for the members of his class to appear.
Out of the doorway walked the students from Professor Banner's Alchemy class. Fubuki and Yusuke were at the front of the group. Yusuke still looked drained, but a determined glint shone his eyes. He looked around the room and Fubuki could see him repress a shudder that wanted to run through his frame. It was clear he had a bad reaction to seeing the symbols once more.
"Welcome class. I am so glad you all came." Banner's smile turned slightly deranged. "Now let the test begin." He snapped his fingers and shadows erupted around everyone.
Fubuki tensed up and clicked his duel disk open, as if it was the only weapon he had. The other students and Yusuke did the same and they all noticed something was wrong. Panicked shouts and screams came from everyone except Yusuke. Fubuki shoved his way forward to Banner and shot him a cold glare.
"What is this? This isn't a test, this is dark magic!" Fubuki snapped out.
"Yes, now you all are going to be our test subjects. Don't worry my boy, I have high expectations for you. I know you will make it, and Yusuke will give you the means to get out," Banner responded. No inflection in his tone.
Fubuki pulled his arm back and clenching his fist, punched Banner. However it simply went through, and Fubuki staggered to try and regain his footing. Whipping around, Fubuki noticed the dark shadow creatures making their way to him. He backed up and hit the other wall. Looking up, he noticed he had nowhere to run. The other students were already being overtaken by the creatures and Fubuki was the last one standing.
While he was looking around, he noticed all the students and even Banner and the shadow creature vanished into thin air, but according to Banner's words his instinct tells him that Yusuke was still there.
He looked at other side of the basement of the currently abandoned dorm. The strange symbols were carved into the stone. He looked around, feeling more than a little disoriented from the constant shifts.
He blinked his sight clear and looked around at the stone walls and floor. Even as a witness to memories, the symbols still gave him the creeps. Looking around, he spotted Yusuke walking to the center in the sunken portion of the room. He had a mask in his hand, and Fubuki froze when he realized what it was.
"Yusuke!" Fubuki's voice echoed in the room as he was rushing down.
His brown eyes were wide with concern and his face was flushed, obviously from running. Fubuki looked down at Yusuke. Yusuke, for his part, looked up and looked blankly at Fubuki.
"What are you doing? You know what Professor Banner said about messing with the dark arts. So why are you doing this?" Fubuki yelled at him.
"I am simply doing what needs to be done. Bonds with others cause nothing but pain and anguish when they are broken. So I am destroying those bonds first," Yusuke said simply. He looked down at the mask in his hand and slipped on his face. A blast of dark energy surrounded him and Yusuke gave Fubuki a twisted smile. "I've finally found it. A power that has never been found before. A power deeper and stronger than that of the dark world."
Fubuki clenched his fists and jumped off the ledge to get closer to Yusuke and stood a few feet from Yusuke, a hard expression on his face.
"You need to stop, Yusuke. If your research is accurate, in order to acquire that power…" Fubuki trailed off. His complexion was as white as their jackets.
"I must offer up my soul," Yusuke finished. His tone was void of any emotion at the moment. Turning, he fully faced Fubuki "But I don't mind Fubuki. I want the power of Nightshroud "
The more he spoke, the more maniacal he sounded. It sent off alarm bells in Fubuki's mind, he wanted to yell for Yusuke to get out of there. He wanted to rage at him for doing something so outrageously foolish. More importantly he wanted to beat himself for not doing something sooner, when his uneasy feelings regarding his best friends started.
"Yusuke!" Fubuki called out suddenly.
"Honest reached out to Red Eyes Black Dragon. Red Eyes convinced him to speak to me, that even though I don't have the ability to see the spirits, I can hear them and communicate with them. When Honest told me what was going on… Yusuke you know Ryo and I would never forget you. We're friends, and not to sound too much like Ryo, but that will never change!" Fubuki put as much emotion and passion into his voice as he could.
Yusuke simply stared at Fubuki, not an ounce of emotion crossing his face. Then suddenly he smiled sadly. The sight stopped Fubuki's heart, and he jerked back as he was electrocuted by the sight.
"I'm sorry Fubuki. I didn't want to involve either you or Ryo in this. But you became involved when you kept trying to help me. So now that you are aware of the powers Darkness and Tragedio possesses, this mask of Tragedio will protect you." Yusuke pulled out another mask from his pocket and gestured toward the mask, indicating Fubuki should take it.
Fubuki looked at it, and reached out and grasped the mask which is the same as Yusuke is holding. Once he had a hold of the mask, it seemed to wrap a few dark tendrils around his wrist and Fubuki winced from the contact. He looked from the mask to where Yusuke was disappearing.
"I have no more need for this mask. Goodbye Fubuki," Yusuke said softly. He smiled, a strange contradiction to what he was doing. "You are one of the only people I can call a true friend. You and Ryo are all I had."
The darkness around them faded and the Burnett-haired duelist was shaking slightly, he lifted the mask slowly and looked at it and noticed the mask turned into a card and he slid it into his jacket pocket. It was then a slight discoloration appeared on Fubuki's right wrist and he realize that mark was from Tragedio's dark energy.
Fubuki began ripping something from Yusuke's hands. Yusuke shoved him back, but relinquished the item to Fubuki. Once Fubuki had it in his possession, he noticed it was a dagger. One that had fresh blood on it. He looked over his hand but didn't see any visible injuries, so he turned his attention to Yusuke. Sucking in a breath, he realized Yusuke had sliced his arm. A steady stream of red was flowing down his arm, to where his fingers were balled into a fist, stopping the drops from hitting the floor.
"What are you thinking? Why are you doing this?" Fubuki demanded. His tone was cold as ice contrast to his usual cheery self, he was fed up with his friend doing something so irresponsible.
Yusuke faced Fubuki once more, a sadistic grin on his face. "Eternal life and power!"
Fubuki looked dumbfounded by the answer. He was soon snapped out of his stupor when Yusuke started to open his fingers. "No! Don't do it!"
It was too late, Yusuke opened his hand and the drops of his blood fell to the floor. As soon as a single drop landed in the center of the large symbol, once more the dark energy sprouted up and surrounded Yusuke. He opened his arms wide and accepted the dark energy, a smile on his face. Fubuki staggered back even further out of reflex and put an arm up to block his face.
The darkness enveloped the entire room and saw both of them began floating in the air as well. Fubuki had his eyes closed, Yusuke was looking intently at Fubuki. When Fubuki opened his eyes, he blinked a few times.
"What… where are we?" Fubuki asked, looking around.
"This is the entrance to the World of Darkness," Yusuke responded.
He reached up and took off the mask. Once it was removed, he let float to where Fubuki was. Yusuke really did do it all willingly, and the thought made Fubuki more than a little sick to his stomach. Yusuke gave Fubuki a small, regretful smile.
"Fubuki, I'm truly sorry to involve you in this. I am choosing to become one with the darkness," Yusuke said. His voice and face both showed the regret he felt.
Fubuki slashed a hand through the air. "Don't do this. We can turn this around, perhaps Professor Banner can help undo whatever contract or seal you made."
"There is no undoing what I decided to do. This has been my choice from the beginning," Yusuke disagreed solemnly.
"Not according to Honest!" Fubuki spat out.
"So you are saying you spoke with Honest?" Yusuke questioned back. Fubuki noticed strange markings appearing on Yusuke's face and the skin of his arm that could be seen from where he cut himself. He couldn't figure out what they were."Honest reached out to Red Eyes Darkness Dragon. Red Eyes convinced him to speak to me, that even though I don't have the ability to see the spirits, I can hear them and communicate with them. When Honest told me what was going on… Yusuke you know Ryo and I would never forget you. We're friends, and not to sound too much like Ryo, but that will never change!" Fubuki put as much emotion and passion into his voice as he could. Yusuke simply stared at Fubuki, not an ounce of emotion crossing his face. Then suddenly he smiled sadly. The sight stopped Fubuki's ' heart, and he jerked back as he was electrocuted by the sight."I'm sorry, Fubuki, I didn't want to involve either you or Ryo in this. But you became involved when you kept trying to help me. So now that you are aware of the powers Darkness possesses, this mask will protect you." Yusuke pulked out a mask in his pocket and gestured toward the mask, indicating Fubuki should take it.
Fubuki looked at it, and reached out and grasped the mask. Once he had a hold of the mask, it seemed to wrap a few dark tendrils around his wrist and Fubuki winced from the contact. He looked from the mask to where Yusuke was disappearing.
"I have no more need for this mask. Goodbye Fubuki," Yusuke said softly. He smiled, a strange contradiction to what he was doing. "You are one of the only people I can call a true friend. You and Ryo are all I had."
Despite the situation Fubuki went and hugged Yusuke, "If you choose to disappear then I will also be with you Yusuke, because I can't leave you alone and together lets combat Nightshroud and Tragedio in Shadow Relam".
Yusuke was startled since he didn't expect Fubuki to come with him but a part of him now regrets doing something foolish and wished he would have never done it in first place and he wished he could have a complete trust on Fubuki and Ryo because they and even Honest proved to him they will always be with him no matter what but now its too late. A part of him also feels glad to have Fubuki by his side all the time.
The two put on theirs respective masks to survive in the Shadow Realm and they let Nightshroud and Tragedio posseses them, where they faced off against many Shadow Riders such as Tania, Camula, and Dark Scropians and they were recruited by Kagemaru and eventually became Shadow Riders themselves.
End of flashback
The entire gang inlcuding Chronos remained stunned silence and shelled shock when they listen to Yusuke's backstory and all are filled with mixed emotions. Ryo didn't expect his best friend to do something shady and even being unwillingly responsible for Fubuki's dissappearance and Asuka and Chronos also felt the same as Ryo. Judai, Sho, Chumley and even Chazz felt sorry for him but at the same time doing something extreme isn't justified.
"No way so you're saying our Professor Banner is behind all of this?'Judai looked up at this.
Yusuke nodded, "All the students from his Alchemy class vanished because of him and we were lured to the basement to take part in a test and he used some magic to make everyone vanish and me and Fubuki were thre last ones remaining and that was the time where I decided to start up the Nightshroud ritual.
"So did my Ni-san choose to follow you to the darkness, do you know where is he? Asuka questioned Yusuke looking both sad and angry at the same time.
Yusuke nodded before looking away in shame, "Trust me Asuka, I never intended to get him, Ryo or anyone's else involved, and I convinced your brother to stay away from me but he choose to come with me anyway". He then began to bow to her, "I am not expecting any forgiveness from you but I am sorry that your brother vanished and got separated from your family because of me".
Asuka then placed both of her hands on his shoulder as Yusuke's steadied himself, "Anyway whatever happen to my brother you shouldn't feel sorry for yourself Fujiwara-san, even though we both know my brother can be a idiot at times but he will never let go of people he cared about." She replied in assuring tone trying to hide her pain which is oblivious to everyone, she then began to wipe her tear before giving a sad yet assuring smile. "Now that you have return I am certain my Ni-san is still alive and will return to me one day".
Yusuke smiled hearing that but he still feels bad for her.
"Yusuke if you intened to dissappear that night does that mean you know Professor Banner's real motive?" Ryo leaned in a bit looking a bit suspicious." I honestly didn't know he was trying to use others as bait and I thought it was just a normal duel test but he did thought me to master the dark art"
"Fujiwara!" Everyone turned their heads to see Judai calling out to Yusuke, he open his deck holster from his belt and threw a card at Yusuke, "Catch", The green-haired Duelist grabbed the card and Honest materialized physically in real word making everyone see him including the ones who can't see Duel spirit.
"Honest! I am sorry" Yusuke greeted before giving Honest a emotional hug.
The Duel Spirit smiled as he embrace Yusuke warmly giving him the best comforting hug he ever had, "Its fine Master, I am glad you're back! Welcome back Master".
Everyone smiler looking at their reunion.
"Wait as sec..." Everyone turned to Chazz. "There's three more of these guys!"
"I'm afraid so..." Yusuke said. "Nightshroud carried more knowledge as well..."
"Now were in some deeper stuff..." Judai muttere
Unbeknownst to the gang, a dark figure stood in the treeline. Taking off the mask, Tragedio looked at the gang as they were leaving the abandoned dorm and his gaze began to focus on Asuka. Sliding the mask back on his face, Tragedio turned his back to the dorm. With one last look of the remaining key keepers, he vanished in a swirling black mass.
"Now that Abidos and Titan are gone, its time I shall make a move Kagemaru" Tragedio whispered into the starry night.
Update is going to be slow as usual and this chapter has explored more on Yusuke and Fubuki's backstory and the canon failed to flesh out their characters.. The next chapter is going to be a slice of life and Yusuke focus chapter where we see him adjusting to his new life before Tragedio causes a storm.