Chapter 1

Author's Note: Oh Musicboxshipping, how I love you so! Writing a fic tackling Yuzu's identity crisis after the end of the story with the Bracelet Girls living in her has always been my goal and this fic has far too many chapters I'm constantly editing. Main romantic pairing is Ray x Sora x Yuzu but yes, other Bracelet girls dynamic with Sora is slightly explored. Most of what I say about Yuzu's and Sora's name along with their cards relates to concepts in real life as well as etymology plus trivia on their Wiki pages about them. Like if I say "Genso" which means illusion about a lot of Yuzu's cards, I'm referring to that which you can read about on the Melodious archetype wiki page. Plants are crucial in this fic and I refer to them by scientific names. Works of classical music in real life referenced. Works of literature and mythological references are also referenced. Also, just want to say this fic deals with the idea of suicidal thoughts and I left a warning there in advance for those going in if such subject matter makes you uncomfortable. Fitting in the summary of this fic with a short word count was difficult, but I managed so yay. Ok, got done with what I wanted to say. Have a great day and thanks for reading.

A symphony that took on a new meaning plays in her ears again, but she's not the only listener as she listens to it in her headphones, her pink blanket covering her legs. Three other girls are here too, hearing Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony, an excitable and lively piece. This is Sora's favorite piece of classical music and if Yuzu were to pick a toy she feels like she would be within this piece, she's a matryoshka doll. She still can't forget the conversation Sora and her had in her room with Ruri, Rin, and Serena dwelling within her listening to Sora's words as well.

"No matter who I am, you won't hate me," Yuzu repeated, her mind racing as she kept up with everything Sora confessed to her.

"Even if I'm a complicated mess. Even if I'm a person trapped inside of a person. A thousand people imprisoned inside of each other."

She's not a body full of people who were cards like she was when she was inside of Reira and Ray's soul who lingered in her but sometimes..she feels like their personalities are trying to remain in her, wiping away Yuzu's self.

It's not only Ruri, Rin, and Serena trapped in her because she still feels like carded lives are squirming inside of her, begging to live even though there are no carded people in her body. Yuzu wishes she could just..relax. Feel serene. She has a dark thought that maybe this is Ray's punishment. That in the same way Ray had to take in other people through all of the XYZ users and Synchro users Academia users carded that her father, Leo Akaba, poured into her..into Yuzu's, Ruri's, Serena's, and Rin's bodies as their hands pounded against the tubes desperate to escape before screaming, confined in the Arc V machine, Ray is trying to torment herself the same way all of the duelists that Academia carded had been tormented. That the reason Ruri, Rin, and Serena can't live their lives in their own bodies is because none of the carded people could either, because Ray thinks they don't deserve to and that she doesn't deserve to when her father uses herself, Ruri, Rin, Serena, and Yuzu as the reason for why so many lives are carded. Yuzu tries not to think about Dennis during his duel with Shun in the Friendship Cup and how he said, "When Ruri was found, the invasion was green-lit." She tries to not think Rin, Serena, and her are just catalysts for Academia's invasions..the reason why they're green-lit as Dennis put it.. because they're not to blame for people that are being carded, even if their connection to Ray and her revival is the excuse Leo Akaba would use for why they needed to be carded.

"That's right," Sora stated firmly.

"No matter who you are Yuzu, I'll accept you."

"Why?"

"Because I like you and I'm sure I'd like meeting and learning about Ruri, Rin, and Serena too. About Ray as well."

Because..he likes them all? All four of them, four girls that are a mess of existence? Not just four. Five. Five girls with Ray included. Sora likes them all?

"It's that simple?" Yuzu asked.

"I can't really explain it, but..it's like meeting a matryoshka doll," Sora said, his smile gentle. "It's a person trapped inside of a person and each person is intriguing to me, worth appreciating and keeping around like works of art. I wanna study every detail there is to them. That's why I'm always looking forward to meeting you all."

He really is different from Leo Akaba. Leo who would have come across the matryoshka doll Ray is, peered inside, and tossed Yuzu, Rin, Serena, and Ruri out into the trash as they lived within Ray so Ray is the only doll that remained because the idea of learning there's more people trapped inside of the daughter he knew is a reality he can't accept. Yuzu, Rin, Ruri, and Serena..they didn't deserve to exist..even if they were Ray and Ray still lived within them, is that it? Then again..were they Ray or just different people from who she is? Whether they were or weren't, they deserved to live. Yuzu knew they did, even if sometimes she doubts that they did. Yuzu wonders just now if that's Ray's thought or her own on whether they deserve to be alive or not. She's not sure.

"So..you'd like me even if Ruri, Serena, Ruri, Rin, Ray, and I..Yuzu..were all the same person?" Yuzu asks.

"Yes," Sora confirms.

"But..what if we come apart?" Yuzu asks.

Come apart like a matryoshka doll, releasing the dolls inside of it out.

"What if we're not all the same person? What if you only like Ruri and keep searching for her personality in Rin but she's not Ruri? What if Serena, Rin, Ruri, and I..are all..different people? Would you like us even then?"

"Yes," Sora answers, his gaze never leaving her and he never hesitates no matter how many times Yuzu has asked this question, which is all the more perplexing to Yuzu. Yuzu doesn't even know how much time she has left to stay talking with Sora like this. A side-effect of the way she came back is sometimes Yuzu, Serena, Ruri, and Rin lose awareness of reality. So Yuzu could miss days of her life while Ruri is in control of her body and Yuzu won't know what Ruri did during the time she was in her body. Sometimes it's only Ruri in her body. Sometimes it's only Serena. Sometimes it's only Rin. Sometimes it's only Yuzu. Sometimes it's all of them aware of their reality at once and in this case, it is right now. Sora won't say it, but he's probably scared. Scared of never knowing when one of them will slip away but he continues to be patient and stay by Yuzu's side, despite being confused by her constant back and forth of telling him to stay away when Ruri's memories of all the lives he carded emerge in her head and come back when she recalls all of the times they learned Fusion together. Sora respects her space, leaving when she tells him to go. Ruri is complicated, because there isn't just memories of him carding people in her head. She can remember past lives where Sora and her were friends, and her heart is a mix of love and hatred. It's so frustrating because all of them feel like they can't live their lives.

A Matryoshka doll, huh? Sora's favorite toy that Yuzu was used to seeing him play with at her house. From what Yuzu remembered, Sora always liked the dolls with characters from fairy tales he read when he was younger the most but he also liked the ones that had characters which carried different flowers they were holding. He always seemed happy the more he pulled out person from person, doll from doll. When he pulled a person that was trapped inside of another person out of them, it reminded Yuzu each time she put on another self as she acted like she did when she pretended to be Miss Ishijima in her duel against Yuya and her dad during her duel with Chojiro. It reminded Yuzu that even when you feel like your real self is trapped inside of other people, it doesn't have to stay imprisoned within them but..at the same time, personality is a complicated reality. For Sora, even if that Matryoshka doll had a million different personalities within all the varieties of people he saw inside of it, he would love them all whether those different selves chose to stay together within one doll or separated, released from the doll. She can already see him now, smiling softly as he holds them gently against his heart, a heart full of far too much love. Whoever she is..that's her choice. Whether she chooses to be a Matryoshka doll separating into different people or accept Ruri, Rin, Serena, Rin, and Ray are all her.

Ray, who was once hidden from sight, like one of the many dolls inside of a Matryoshka doll if you chose to never open it up to see what's inside of it. Yuzu wonders if she would want to get close to her and learn about her the way Sora does. If she would love her like she's sure Sora already does.

"Even if I'm Ray, who you know nothing about, you'd..want to learn about Ray," Yuzu asks.

"Yes, Yuzu," Sora agrees, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know why it's so hard for you to understand that."

Because..it's…a lot to take in, isn't it? Because..most of his life..he was like other students at Academia who couldn't escape it, forced to turn into cards if they did, and he spent so much time at Academia..at a prison..learning to card people without even knowing the reason for why was to revive Ray. Because Ray is the reason he wasn't free..the reason why he had to have constant nightmares over whether he would become a card or stay alive in war. Because..Yuzu doesn't get why on earth he doesn't hate her when he knows of her connection to Ray. Doesn't understand but for some reason, her lips can't stop from curling up.

Yuzu smiled fondly as she said, "That's silly."

"Is it?" Sora asked.

Her chest feels warm and her heart pounding. Instead of answering him, she instead says, "You're very kind, Sora."

Sora scratched his head, blushing a bit as he looked off as he said, "I really don't get why you always say that especially considering all you know that I've done but you've always been an odd one, Yuzu."

Yuzu laughed, a real genuine one she hadn't done in awhile since she left Standard Dimension.

Because even if Sora doesn't think so, he is kind. He's the one who used his duel monster, Edge Imp Tomahawk after all. Even in a world where he was taught to hurt for Academia's sake, he searched for the Pipe of Peace in a Tomahawk, a Native American weapon. So of course, that's why Yuzu reassured him back in the Synchro Dimension, "You don't have to hurt people anymore."

Nothing has changed that Sora is still the man who looks after a way to give another person peace in life.

"I guess I am strange after all, Sora."

The smile Sora gave her as he stared at her is a real one, a real one he was surprised he could give after everything he had gone through for Academia.

The road ahead wouldn't be easy though but for now, Yuzu will take joy in knowing Sora won't leave her. Whether he realizes it or not, Serena, Ruri, Rin, and even Ray are thankful to him too just like Yuzu is for him never abandoning them.

Author's note: So I have four chapters of this posted on my Archive account, ShiningRainbowMoon. If you're one of those readers who are impatient on waiting for the next chapter, go ahead and read on there. I'm trying to test something with posting times (so I will post the fic on here more slowly than I did on Archive.) Number one thing I want to make clear is please no rushing me on my work by begging for updates. I am only human with my own schedule and if you enjoy my work, thank you. Thank you for reading and have a lovely day.