Hello everyone, welcome back to my story! Hope all of you had/will have a great day (You know, time zone difference)!
Big thanks to Bluedada and Guest 01 for reviewing the first chapter, you guys really helped boosting my motivation to write!
I am certain that most of you are still shocked by what happened during the first chapter, but like I said, there are differences that only written stories on this website can explore.
And you guys will find out as you explore this story more and more.
(Also a lot of characters were carded in the first chapter too you know…)
Enjoy reading and don't forget to give me your comments!
Spiral 2: Shaken Resolve
"So many things have happened right Yuto?" A young girl says softly to a boy next to her. They are sitting in the Heartland Tower looking towards the full moon outside, the bright moonlight shines through the darkness, imprinting its image on the eyes of its watchers. Their clothes are laid down a few feet away from them, only a big blanket around them offers modesty from the collarbone down.
"Yeah… so many things Ruri." Yuto leans close to Ruri and places a kiss to her lips to which she gingerly returns.
It is still crazy for them to think how far things have gone in just a year (and probably a few more months give or take). They were just ordinary teenagers living peacefully in their hometown Heartland, going to school together, dueling with friends together, sharing secrets secretly together; sometimes they would enjoy watching street performances and appropriately-themed duels of the fabulous smile-bringing magician Sakaki Yusho who turned out to be the missing father of their dear friend Sakaki Yuya. It all changed when suddenly purple light emitted from the street and a countless stream of Academia soldiers and Antique Gear monsters appeared from it. The moment those mechanical tools of warfare started opening fire on everything and those soldiers activated that nightmarish function, peaceful Heartland was no more. Everything crashed down, even the symbolic Heartland Tower where they are currently staying in.
"Heartland is destroyed, our parents and everyone else were carded… Then we lost you, I got absorbed in Yuya, Synchro extreme capitalism shithole, Dennis turns out to be a spy who ratted you out to that asshole Yuri and so on…" Yuto lists out pretty much any significant events ever since that day, Ruri puts her head on his naked shoulder and listens on. "If you did not escape and somehow appear in that underground station, I would not even be here." He puts his hand on her face and lightly caresses the locks of her worn down and… pretty messy hair.
"Yeah… such an experience…" Ruri mutters, giving a small peck to his collarbone. "No one will ever forget; the nightmares will follow us for years."
"Not for me." Yuto says. "Not when I have you here." Ruri smiles. "And vice versa."
"Nice words gentleman."
"I'm always your gentleman, beautiful lady." They both smile and close in for another kiss.
"But I gotta admit." Yuto speaks up. "We do have new things coming out of this. You know, four dimensions, new comrades, friends even. Yuya, Yugo, Yuzu, Rin, Selena, Sawatari, Gongenzaka, Crow, Reira, Reiji, Tsukikage. Even that Academia brat Sora too, all thanks to Yuya and Yuzu. We would never have known them if… you know…"
"I know. But for the record, I still don't trust Sora and Selena okay? Our hometown is like this and you don't feel angry at them?"
"I understand. But maybe you should open up more to them Ruri. Sora only broke free of Academia propaganda recently and Selena has no friends in Academia. If people from our dimension can open up to them, maybe they can feel more at ease. I still feel uneasy with them, but I've been trying; we build bridges to those willing to connect." Yuto puts his hand over Ruri and hugs her tight as he says. "That's what Yuya told me."
"Yuya…" Ruri repeats the name of that amazing boy. Even when facing with such trauma and the brutality of the war, the core soul of that Entertainment Duelist is still there, one thing she admires of that boy so much. "Guess being stuck with Yuya makes you more optimistic huh?"
"Maybe…" Yuto chuckles. "Recover some of what I lost in war perhaps…"
For the next few minutes they do not talk anything and just drink in the depth of each other's eyes, a moment or two is occasionally spent on lip to lip contact.
"Yuto."
"Yeah?"
"You think we can still be like this after the war?"
Oh crap…
The dreaded question no boyfriend wants to answer.
Even for a… "gentleman".
Yuto lets out a breath after a few silent seconds. "Huh Ruri… why does everybody keep asking me that?"
"Hmm…? What do you mean?" Ruri feels like Yuto is dodging her question, but for her part, she was genuinely curious.
"I mean… Shun accepted us and we made things between us open so… naturally everybody asks. Even Yugo."
"Yugo?" Ruri widens her eyes at the name. "That tactless idiot?"
"He's not exactly that idiotic Ruri, just young in his mind. But yeah, he did talk about it to me. He and Rin are soulmates so he knows a thing or two."
"What does he say?" Yuto internally sighs in relief when he sees Ruri was absorbed in this conversation and seemingly forgets her own question.
"He is glad."
Ruri raises her eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yeah. He said that I am basically a better him, no tactless shit, full manners and so on." Ruri cannot help but chuckle and feel a bit proud of her boyfriend.
"Yeah you are." Yuto has to try his hardest to suppress his big smile after Ruri's cute compliment and a kiss to his cheek.
"But he is skeptical though."
"Skeptical?"
"I mean, we got closer during this war right? And earlier we just… you know…" Even when Ruri tries to hide from his gaze by not looking at him he can see her cheeks burning up a bit. "Yugo usually acts like he is madly in love with Rin, but he is actually afraid that things will fall apart quickly if he makes a real move on her since they are still young, and so are we. I said he was a bit too paranoid and probably acted like that to suppress the pain of losing Rin; but I have to admit, he actually has a good point."
"Selena seems more hopeful though." Ruri speaks up after a silence.
"Selena?"
"Uhm. We did talk about that. She even encourages me to be closer to you."
"I thought she is not into that kinda stuff. You know what kind of person she is. Yuzu would be more of the person among us to talk about love and all that."
"Every girl has her own girly side Yuto. Even for Selena. She might not be girly on the outside, but she is still a girl."
"Uh yeah? I… think I might agree with that. But to be frank Ruri." Yuto looks at Ruri. "Nobody knows the future, and that includes you and me. We might be fine later on, or we might fight and even break up or worse, but I promise you." He gently places his hand around Ruri's face. "As long as we are together, I will be here for you, okay?"
"Okay." Ruri says in a low whisper. "I will always be besides you too."
They lean in for one last kiss before moving the blanket away and dressing up.
They walk together hand in hand from the Heartland Tower to the former Academia base, now in Resistance's hands. The couple stop at the door.
"Good night my love." Ruri says.
"You too." A quick kiss and Yuto sends her off. He waits to watch Ruri going back to her quarter until she is no longer in sight.
"Done already?" A voice from his right surprises him. Yuto quickly turns to that direction and is surprised to see the leader of Lancers and current CEO of Leo Corporation in Standard standing next to the wall of the armory stockpile.
"Reiji? What are you doing here?"
"Just theorizing what you and Ruri were doing… for the last hour." Reiji chuckles as he says so, Yuto blushes heavily at the obvious implication.
"It's none of your business." Yuto cuts him off. "Try to find another girl to spend time with will you?"
"You have time?"
"For what?"
"We need to talk. Yuya and Yugo are already in the nearest bunker outside, let's go."
"Can it be next morning? It's already late."
"It's serious." Reiji empathizes on the word. "And it involves all three of you."
Well, no choices now.
"Fine."
Yuto and Reiji walk towards the hill. They stop at a hidden bunker not too far from the central base.
"Hey Yuto." Yugo greets him. The tactless boy does not wear his D-Wheel suit at this moment but a white shirt and blue jeans.
"Took you long enough." Yuya says. The weather is cold outside so he wears his jacket like normal instead of his usual cape style. Yuto sometimes wonders why it does not fall off his shoulders at all.
"Hey guys. Okay Reiji, don't waste any more time."
"Okay." The group go further into the base. They find a room and light it up using Yuto's special military card.
"Hey Yuya." Reiji looks at the aspiring duelist of smiles.
"Yeah?"
"We finally had a true victory over Academia, we also established connection with Sakaki Yusho, Tenjoin Asuka and Yuzu from Fusion Dimension and Synchro is ready to help us fight when we call them, how are you feeling now?"
"Pretty good I might say." Yuya answers. "For the first time in three years I managed to see my dad and talk to him again, I'm happy about that Reiji. Yuzu will be safe with my dad and his best student and she can rest and heal from those burns…"
How could he ever forget what that asshole Sergey did to Yuzu? Despite who he is, Yuya would gladly beat him for burning Yuzu after crashing her into the building and causing her D-Wheel to explode. Sora had to use all of his strength to stop him from going crazy the moment he saw Yuzu's burned body.
Reiji places a comforting hand on the boy's shoulders. "We'll be going to Fusion tomorrow; you will see all of them soon. And I'm certain Yuzu will be okay."
"I know… Thanks Reiji."
"So." Reiji turns to the other two. "I brought three of you here, and especially the three of you. Got any idea why?"
The boys look at each other, all just as clueless as one another.
"No idea Reiji." Yuya shakes his head in defeat.
"Not surprised. You may not even know what I'll be talking about, for you don't even know what you did until somebody else tells you."
"What do you mean?" Yugo asks. "Don't play around."
"Ever feel like you black out? Especially in the last few months?"
Yuto catches on what he meant.
"Black out? Yeah… Several times actually… First time was when I fought Yugo at Standard. I just felt pain in my heart, then I kinda got lost…"
"Same to me." Yugo says.
"Me too." Yuya says. "I was there, remember? Or you focused on Yuto too much you did not even acknowledge I was?"
"Shut up Yuya."
"Anyway." With just a word, Reiji gains focus from the three boys. "I was monitoring the whole thing through cameras until Yugo came in Standard so I had no idea what happened until you guys told me. Next time was when Yuya called out Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, then when Roget activated the electro chip in Yuya's helmet when he dueled Crow."
"Then the station where I fought Yuri." Yugo speaks up. "And Barrett fought Yuya at the same time."
"And all of those situations have one thing in common." Reiji says. "Bring out your dragons boys."
"Our dragons?" Yuto wonders.
"Yeah."
Yuya, Yuto and Yugo take out the cards of Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion and Clear Wing respectively.
"Every time you act insane and angry, at least one of these dragons are brought out. Reira told me that in that train station, all of these three and Yuri's dragon, Starve Venom, were out right?"
"Yeah…" Yuya confirms.
"Then you guys lost control and chanted something like… "becoming one"."
"Becoming one?"
"Don't look at me Yugo, I have no idea, I just heard what Reira and Tsukikage said. But if this is true and it links to Akaba Leo's invasion in here, then I think it's not just the girls who are in danger. You boys too."
"Could be that Reiji. Edo did say Academia wants all of us carded, so what do you want us to do?"
"Only use your dragons when there is no other choice."
All three of them widen their eyes in surprise. "What?"
"That's what I propose. You have more cards to use other than those dragons right?"
"Yeah I know but…" Yugo tries to explain. "We mainly use these dragons, and sometimes I feel Clear Wing is very eager to be out…"
"That's the point." Reiji says. "For whatever reason, you want your dragons out of the field, then you get lost in your own mind and chant about unison shit. Don't let whatever inside you control you."
"What about Yuri? Do you think he knows about this?" Yuya asks.
"I don't know. He might even be worse than you three. All of you have us and other people close to you to calm down your anger, he has none. That sadist even loves it."
Yuto eyes down, thinking about what Reiji just said and his conversation with Ruri back then after they made love.
"What?"
Loud repeated beeps on Yuto's Duel Disk catch everyone's attention.
"What is that?"
"Oh shit…" Yuto freaks out. "Rescue signal!"
"What?!"
"Don't tell me Academia attacked?!"
"No freaking way! We already pushed those assholes back?!"
Reiji quickly runs outside and to his horror, the central base is in flames. From afar he can see small figures of Obelisk Force soldiers.
"Oh no…" Yuya mutters. "Selena…"
"Shit! Rin is in there!" Yugo realizes.
"Ruri too!" Yuto yells. "Goddammit! They want to capture all of them!"
"Boys!" Reiji orders. "Get everyone we can now!"
"Roger that!"
Yugo silently stares at the spot where Rin got engulfed in blue light and disappeared out of his reach, kneeling helplessly on the ground. Is not life cruel enough for both of them already? Growing up without any parental figure, Yugo only had Rin to rely on. Days without food, nights without sleep, not enough money to have anything, usually even basic needs. They knew only by becoming Duel King can they get anything in this oppressive city so everything was put on their Decks and their trusty D-Wheel they built together. Then one day Yuri took her away, sending him off the rails. Without Rin, who will he spend the sweetness of victory with? Who will be there for him when he gets into trouble? Who will give his life any meaning? He was glad to find her safe and sound with Yusho (minus the kneeing in the stomach) and even fought together with her in Fusion to push Academia way and establish interdimensional connection between the dimensions. And all of a sudden she was taken away from him again?
It is not freaking fair!
Yugo tearfully and angrily punches the ground, the look of complete defeat written all over his face.
…
"No… brother!" Ruri frantically gets off Dark Rebellion and runs towards the dying Shun. "Please don't please don't please don't…!"
In his blurry vision, Shun faintly sees Ruri and Yuto running to him. From his deafened ears, he can barely hear the broken calls from the two to anyone present there for any sort of help; not that he needs it anyway, not for a dying man from a stabbed wound to the heart, no CRP will help. Just staying alive this long enough has already sapped away every ounce of his iron will.
"Please brother don't leave me! Please!" Ruri says through broken tears.
"Help please! Get a medic!" Yuto yells at the top of his lungs. "Stay with me Shun, don't slip away you asshole!"
Shun weakly raises up his right hand, ten thousand percent of will and he can only raise it up a few feet above the ground. Ruri notices and grabs it tight to her. He manages a weak smile to her and tenderly touches her face for the final time, wiping the running tears away.
He then turns his eyes to Yuto, who quickly grabs Shun's hand.
"Take care of her… for me…"
Then his hand slips down from the grip, his eyes stop moving.
"Shun…?"
"Brother…? Shun…?"
The broken screams and the anguished tears finally hammer everything down.
Kurosaki Shun is dead.
…
Sakaki Yuya stands still, dead on his spot, unable to say anything. Is this supposed to be some cruel joke of a nightmare that he can simply escape by waking up? Is this just one hell of a Solid Vision opera play that he can end in a heartbeat by deactivating the system?
No, this is reality. Kurosaki Shun is dead, Selena and Rin are captured again, many others were carded, and that is not even counting the dreadful possibility that his dear friend Hiragi Yuzu and his father Sakaki Yusho were attacked too which the young boy is desperately trying not to think about. Everything went downhill quickly just as he thought things would be better from then on. Just yesterday everyone was having a party over the true win over Academia and forcing them to retreat back to their stronghold, freeing Heartland and the entire Xyz dimension from their grasp; just yesterday he initiated a biggest Entertainment Duel he had ever been to cheer everyone up and many of his friends even joined in to have fun.
And now, in just nearly a few hours, it was all for naught, again.
"Yuya…" Sora speaks up from besides him, having checked the entire base for any sign of hope, feeling just as lost as the tomato boy. "I'm sorry… Sawatari, Shinji, Crow, Kaito, Arclights, Allen, Sayaka, many more are gone… no sign of Rin and Selena… and now Shun too…"
"It's not your fault Sora…" Yuya pats Sora's trembling head, they both look at the mess in front of them and especially the crying Yuto and Ruri. "I did not expect this at all… a sudden attack like this… they even killed Shun instead of carding him… some kind of revenge…?"
"Revenge…" Sora repeats in a whisper. Then he realizes something. "Wait! How about your dad?"
"My dad?"
"This is clearly a planned attack, they took Selena and Rin away and Ruri was nearly captured too! Therefore…"
"Yuzu!" Yuya gasps. "Shit! Not Yuzu! Not Yuzu!"
Yuya quickly runs down to the far side of the now destroyed bunker and Sora quickly follows behind. He runs down to the lower level to the control room; he then turns on the machines there and frantically looks at the screen in front of him.
"Come on Dad! Come on pick it up!"
Nothing happens. Yuya turns on the mic.
"Dad! Do you hear me? Do you hear me? Please, if you can, call me now!"
Nothing happens. Yuya stares at the screen, waiting for any sign of established connection.
"Dammit Dad pick it up! Don't you dare leaving me again! Pick it up! Dad! Yuzu! Asuka! Anyone please pick the fricking call up!"
Nothing still happens. His eyes turn into a mixture of fear and rage, and for a brief moment they suddenly flash a glare of robotic red.
"Shit! Goddammit!" Yuya angrily slams his fists down the panel and hides his head between his arms, internally cursing himself.
Sora sadly looks on everything from behind. He tries to say something, but decides to keep silent and stands next to Yuya.
"They will be fine Yuya…" He says after a long silence, unsure of what to even say. "Even if something happens, your dad can handle it. And Yuzu shall be fine too, she's a strong girl. Even… even that could not stop her…" To his disappointment, even the word "strong" Yuya used to tease Yuzu all the time cannot even do anything positive to him.
"You sound like you're convincing yourself Sora, not me." Yuya speaks up, still keeping his head low.
"Then what do we do now? Drowning in despair?" Sora says. "Academia hit us this hard to make us feel that exact thing we don't want to feel Yuya."
To Sora's shock, Yuya suddenly cracks up and laughs uncontrollably, the same kind of laugh he saw during their first duel back in You Show Duel School. That time was already a bit disturbing for him, but this one? Leans completely on the creepy side, even for an unstable kid he is.
"Yu… Yuya?"
Yuya's laugh becomes smaller and smaller, until it twists into an angry sob.
"You're… you're scaring me Yuya."
"Do you know why I am that determined to bring smiles to others Sora? Even if it doesn't work all the time?" Yuya finally peeks his head up a bit, he still does not look at Sora though but instead stares at the empty screen ahead.
"What are you… talking about?"
"Do you know?" He repeats with a small hint of furiousness.
Sora hesitates for a bit before weakly answering. "I don't really know…"
"Because that keeps me distracted."
Sora's eyes perk up. "Distracted from what?"
"From my real issues." He answers. Yuya fully gets up and lays his back on the chair. His face is already stained with a small line of tear running down his cheeks. "It's one thing not to know who your parents are, but it's another to know them and suddenly one day, they are gone. A big empty hole in the heart, threatening to enlarge itself every moment you think about it."
Sora finds another chair and places it opposite to Yuya and then he sits down on it.
Yuya turns his chair to properly face Sora. "You ever watch comedy shows? Back in Academia?"
"A few. Mostly old American comedies. Several Japanese ones too. Have to sneak some tapes in though, Academia does not allow me to."
"And many of those comedians have one thing in common: depression, mental illness. Just a Google search and you will find out many of them committed suicide already. Know what I mean?"
Sora admits with a whisper. "I know…"
"Just like them, I am actually very sad on the inside, and tired. But like you said, I cannot allow myself to feel depressed."
"So you smile." Sora says. "Just like when we first dueled."
"Yep. And from that I create this… agenda, moral code, motto or something, to distract myself, to forget the bigger pain inside me. But this?" Yuya points at the screen and then the ceiling above. "This is too much. No smile can help. How can smiling help Ruri and Yuto forget Shun's death? How can smiling help Heartland recover from trauma? I try to bring smile to everyone, but it does not always work. And now it doesn't even work on me anymore… Not with Yuzu and my dad like that…" Yuya wipes the tears on his face.
"Sorry Yuya… I don't know how are you really feeling…" Sora speaks up.
"You don't have to say sorry."
"At least you finally let out how you really feel. Do Yuzu and Gongenzaka know this?"
"I think they know or they don't, but either way I can't let them worry about me. They have their own problems too you know, Yuzu got burns and Gongenzaka just lost his friends."
"Maybe you should tell them, one day. They have known you for longer than I will ever be, and… friends gotta talk those uh, intimate talks right?"
"Maybe…"
"And once again, I assure you Yuya, they will be fine no matter what. Even if Academia already… does it, they will be fine. You gotta believe it. Things already got bad once, one more time would not make any difference right? It's what we do and think that dictates the road ahead."
A sad but warm smile draws on Yuya's face, a smile of burden lifted and spirit lifted. Sora returns with a warm smirk.
"You know Yuya." Sora tells him. "You and Yuzu are my first real friends I've ever had, and I don't like seeing my friends this sullen. We still have a war to fight, so let's go up and do what we can to help, rather than just… sulking in this dark room feeling sorry for ourselves."
"You're right."
The moment Yuya gets off the chair however, he feels a strong pain on his chest. Somehow he can fell it is even stronger than before, like an embryo threatening to burst itself out of his body.
"Yuya?" Sora becomes concerned. "Yuya what's happening? Don't tell me it's the same thing when you dueled Crow?"
Grasping his chest painfully, Yuya notices his Deck shining up.
"What… the…?"
Yuya grabs for his Deck and takes it out, but the intense throb makes him double over and drop it down.
"Yuya!"
Amongst the dropped card, one of them was shining brighter than ever. Sora quickly picks it up.
"Odd-Eyes…?!"
"ARGHHHHHHH!" Yuya lets out a piercing scream that resonates the entire control room. Sora has to cover his ears just to barely control himself.
"Yuya! Fight it! Don't let it control you!" Sora yells with all of his might but Yuya did not seem to even know he is here anymore. Yuya just keeps screaming and screaming, no matter how much Sora tries to calm him down. Odd-Eyes keeps shining up brighter and brighter, blinding the path between the two boys. Sora curls himself down the ground completely helpless.
Then the screaming slowly drops down in intensity, Odd-Eyes slowly loses the light.
Then everything stops.
A loud thump to the ground.
Sora opens his eyes to see Yuya lying down unconscious.
"Yuya!"
"Hey Yuya!"
"Wake up!"
"Son of a bitch! They dare to make an attack like that?!"
The Duel King of the Synchro Dimension Jack Atlas slams his fist down the table, even if only through interdimensional video contact everyone present in the control room can still feel the strong aura of rage splashing all over. This is not the news Jack expected to receive after Reiji suddenly contacted the Council and requested his allies in Synchro to join in and although he had that possibility in mind with the urgency of it all this was still very disheartening.
"Yes, and I believe there's a high chance that they have also attacked Sakaki Yusho's hideout in Fusion Dimension too. We still have not received any information about them yet as we speak." Akaba Reiji says. "We are sorry to inform you that your Synchro Dimension citizens Crow Hogan and Shinji Weber have perished during the attack."
"I'm sorry for any losses you have suffered too. What they did to Kurosaki Shun was unforgivable."
"He was my close friend in school…" The lieutenant of one of the remaining Resistance bases Kamishiro Ryōga speaks up with evident pain on his voice. To lose a comrade and a close friend to boot in a permanent way like that is really devastating to him. "But that would be impossible. We don't know the full extent of Sakaki Yusho's base but all Resistance-controlled ones are covered with a barrier dome created from anti-Real Solid Vision projectors buried deep under the ground, any Duel Monsters and their attacks from Academia will be neutralized and rendered harmless the moment they touch the barrier."
"Which means someone else has turned it off to allow the attack to happen." Jack speaks up. "Amongst everyone present last night in Xyz, one of them must have been a traitor."
"That's the same conclusion we have." Reiji says.
"Do you have an idea who that rat is? My son was carded because of him!" The leader of the Resistance Dr. Faker, real name Tenjō Shinji, speaks up, pain evident on his voice. He was luckily (or unluckily since he never got to see his son one last time) out of the central base at the moment of the ambush.
Reiji shakes his head. "Unfortunately that rat was one step ahead and deleted all security footage of last night, therefore we do not have any idea of who he or she might be."
A 50-something man opens the door and comes in the control room. "Lucky for all of us, we might have an answer."
"Everyone, this is our leader Byron Arclight." Ryoga introduces his leader. Everyone gets up and bows down to the man in respect.
"Do we know who the traitor is?" Dr. Faker asks.
"Close. Turned out before Kurosaki Shun died valiantly he had turned on the recording function of his Duel Disk. Even when there was an EMP he was prepared and pre-activated an aluminum-foil wrap card to protect his Duel Disk from the pulse." Byron shows the card to everyone. "I believe that this recording will explain everything."
Byron plays the last recording on Shun's Duel Disk after placing it at the center of the table. Every moment of intensity and tragedy was vividly recalled on this audio file, from the explosions to the screaming, eliciting pain to everyone present. And when it gets to the "interesting" part…
"You…"
"Selena…!?"
"Is that you… Selena…?"
"Yes… it's me… Kurosaki Shun."
"What the hell?!" Jack gasps.
"Selena?!" Reiji cannot believe it. His eyes widen in pure shock.
"They did not force me Kurosaki, I did all of this on my own."
"Oh my…" Ryoga exclaims. He flinches at the sound of the stab, his entire body shivers at what happened.
Nobody says anything else until the recording ends. A stunned silence engulfs the entire room.
Everyone turns to see Reiji, who despite having retained his cold emotion is not managing the same practice on his eyes. The leader of the Lancers can only hope his glasses can hide the emotion somehow.
"So… Selena, a Lancer under your command, is the traitor." Dr. Faker comments, he angrily slams the table. "She got my son carded!"
"She's been playing us like a fiddle all along." Ryoga clenches his teeth in barely concealed rage. "And that's my friend she killed! Shun! Many more under the rubble too that Academia did not card!"
"But why… why did she do that?" Jack tries to say something. "We don't talk much, but from what I've seen, she would not be the one to do that?!"
Byron speaks up. "Akaba Reiji, do you have anything to say about this?"
Reiji remains silent, unable to answer to any of those questions. After a short while he suddenly gets up, grabs Shun's Duel Disk and storms off the meeting, leaving the bewildered attendants behind. "Pretty sure you got a copy of the audio already. Don't tell anyone about this yet. Last thing we need is another big mess." was the last thing Reiji said at the door before he disappeared.
Reiji strides fast through the base once he gets to the surface, watching the cleaning process going on along the way. Soldiers removing debris, tents quickly built up, food being delivered, citizens staring despondently to the unknown space ahead. He ignores it all and goes down to the underground using an elevator.
The door opens, welcoming Reiji to the now functioning anti-Real Solid Vision machine. The bright, colorful lights of such a device contrasts the darkness of the room and the emotionless face Reiji is wearing on right now. He walks in a circle around the machine, staring at it like some creepy mannequins in the old Silent Hill game.
A circle.
Another circle.
Another circle.
Another, he stops.
Grabbing a Resistance-issued military bag behind his back to the front, Reiji takes out a bottle and drinks from it. Half of it is gone in one gulp.
Reiji sits down besides the wall, staring at the machine, his face becoming lighter, the expression of tiredness and utter defeat plainly visible.
He holds the bottle up to his mouth and takes a large shot again.
His head slightly moves around and around and around, unable to stay still against the turbulent storm inside him.
He drinks from the bottle one more time.
He curls his legs up.
He throws the empty bottle away.
He places his head between them.
And sobs.
For the first time ever since he promised to his mom after he found out what his dad is really planning on doing.
The 24-year-old man cries like a kid again.
Yuto opens his eyes, finding himself staring at the top of a tent.
"Oh… Hey. You finally wake up?" Ruri's voice softly calls to him. She runs a hand over his face tenderly.
"Ru…Ruri?" Yuto weakly says, still feeling hurt form whatever happened before he lost consciousness.
"Yeah." She manages a small smile.
"Argh… Did I… did I black out again?"
"Yep. You screamed. Very loud. Nearly make everyone out there deaf."
"How long was I out?"
"Twelve hours."
"Oh shit…" Yuto murmurs. "Was I out for that long?"
"At least you're the first to wake up. Yuya and Yugo over there were still unconscious."
"Figures that…" Ruri helps Yuto get up. True to her words, he can see Yuya and Yugo sleeping at the other end of the large room.
"Where are the others?"
"Sora and Gongenzaka are helping with everything around here, Reiji is having a meeting with the remaining Resistance leaders and Tsukikage is in Standard right now on Reiji's orders."
"Standard?"
"To gather anything possible he said."
A silence occurs. No one finds anything to say to one another, only keeping their eyes of devastation on each other.
Yuto sighs, then he opens his arms wide. "Come here."
Ruri quickly complies. She rolls herself into the arms of her boyfriend and they both cry out.
"I'm sorry Ruri…" Yuto whispers as he sobs, burying his face under Ruri's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry…"
"Don't…" Ruri weakly says back, her tears falling down from her eyes like a waterfall. "Don't say anything… No one is at fault here…"
They both cry and hug for who knows how long, too traumatized and depressed to do anything else. What had happened was too much, a part of their own souls seems to be lost forever along with Shun.
After what it seems like eternity, Ruri lets go of Yuto's embrace and takes something out from the left side of the tent.
Shun's Duel Disk and Deck.
Yuto tenderly touches them, remembering all of the moments together with Shun. From a good friend to a vengeful soldier, then a loner, then a nice person again, Shun has always been the one that they can rely on during difficult times. His strong will and tenacity has brought victories and important discoveries to Resistance and Lancers. To lose him that brutally like that, it was a huge blow to Yuto and Ruri's morale.
Yuto turns on the screen, to his surprise, he immediately gets directed to the recording session.
"Hmm?" He wonders.
"See the audio file?" Ruri speaks up.
"Yeah I see it. Why?"
"This morning Reiji returns Shun's Disk to me after inspecting it."
Yuto sighs, feeling annoyed. "That bastard always checks our disks without permission."
"It was because of this recording Yuto. Shun recorded this just before he…" Ruri stops.
Yuto quickly runs his hand on her face and nods to her. "I know… You already heard it?"
"No. Reiji told me not to until all of you wake up and he wants no one else but us Lancers to hear about this."
"All of us what?" Yuto and Ruri turns to the front of the tent where the voice was.
"Yuya? Yugo?" Yuto says.
"You guys woke up already?" Ruri asks, already feeling a bit embarrassed.
"At least not in front of a love scene." Yugo smirks. Ruri blushes a bit more and Yuto gives him a middle finger.
"You're tactless again Yugo." Yuya tells him. "Shun died last night."
"Shun?! Kurosaki Shun?!" Yugo cannot hide his shock. Everyone becomes quiet. "And what do you mean "died"?"
"He was not carded, but stabbed." Yuya explains.
Yugo sadly looks at the Xyz couple and hangs his head down. "Dammit… I'm sorry Ruri, Yuto, I didn't know… He was an awesome person."
"It's okay. Academia is responsible for that, not us." Yuto reassures him. "Huh?" He notices more people outside.
"Gongenzaka? Sora?" Yuya says.
"Uhm. What's up in there?" The big boy speaks up.
"Uh… nothing…?" Yugo answers.
"At least not a foursome." Sora comments. This absurd answer causes Yuya, Yugo, Yuto and Ruri to blush very hard.
"Shut up kid!" Yuto gives another finger again.
"Anyway, why are you two here? You're supposed to be out there?" Yugo turns to the two Lancers.
"We got a message from Reiji, he said we needed go to your tent ASAP." Gongenzaka explains. "At least I can take a break from all the diggings out there… You know, many of us are not carded, but actually crushed beneath the debris."
"Then it must be because of this." Yuto shows them the purple Duel Disk.
"Is that Shun's?"
"Yeah. There is an important recording that he only wants us to listen. So come in and zip the tent."
…
"Holy shit…" Sora exclaims. "This is exactly why Reiji…"
"Selena…?!" Gongenzaka exclaims, he quickly keeps his mouth shut to avoid anyone else hearing from the outside.
"Why did she…?" Yuya wonders.
"I don't know…" Yuto says, carefully eyeing Ruri who remained silent ever since hearing that recording.
"There must be a reason…" Yugo speaks. "She's been with us since the beginning of the Lancers and there's nothing Academia can offer to make her switch sides like that, she made it clear herself."
"Whatever it is…" Ruri says, barely above a whisper, not looking at anyone. "She betrayed us… She got my brother Shun killed…! If I see her again, I'm gonna kill her…!"
"Hey!" Yuya quickly reacts. "We don't do that. No matter what."
"But she killed my brother Yuya!"
"An eye for an eye, is that what you want to do?" Gongenzaka speaks up. "I can see how much pain you are having right now, but even if you can catch her, will killing… will taking her life away bring Shun back?"
Ruri becomes silent, her eyes staring at the ground, her tears are just a crack away from leaking out. Yuto tries to comfort her but he decides it is better to just stay still and keep a watchful eye at his girlfriend.
"Even if Kurosaki Shun is not our brother to us, he was still our friend and comrade too, we all feel bad that he died Ruri." He says with all of the calmness and sincerity he can muster up. "And he certainly doesn't want to see you this angry and vengeful, just like he or Kaito was. You're our little sweet sister, and just like Yuzu and Rin, you're our Lancers' heart. And no one wants a heart in pain right?"
Ruri does not say anything in return but Yuto can feel her no longer too tensed up.
"Look…" Yugo speaks up after a long silence. "Things have always been rough for us, and now this too… but we are never alone Ruri. You still have us here, and if you need help, we will be there to you okay?"
Ruri slowly moves her head up and after much struggle finally manages to make eye contact with everyone present. She stops at Yugo and looks at him.
"Okay…"
Sora moves up, then he opens his arm wide. "Come on."
Everyone joins in the hug circle, heads touching one another.
"We will win no matter what, for the lives that were taken away, for the young souls that were abused, and for the future waiting for us to grasp."
The next few days after the sudden ambush are completely spent on recovery. After the higher-ups of the Resistance mapped out the recovery course, everyone took part in the process: cleaning up, building back structures, making food for everyone still alive and so on; after establishing connection with the world again, many countries are willing to offer help with the US taking the lead. After all, life must still go on and no setback can halt the flow of time, even if the mixture of pain and happiness still lingers on everyone's mind, even if the black hole of misery lingering on the hearts of all citizens in Heartland can never fade away.
That is the feeling the D-Wheeler of Commons Yugo understands so well.
In fact, this is not the first time a massive setback hit him hard like a hurricane and this is not the first time Rin has been taken away from him either. And each time he was left alone to deal with the harshness of the four worlds he always finds something to indulge himself in: trying hard to find Rin, riding his D-Wheel aimlessly, grabbing a bottle to forget the pain, considering hitting on a girl in a bar close to his neighborhood…
At least this time was something more positive: helping the Heartland citizens rebuild from the ground up.
With the massive horsepower his D-Wheel provides Yugo takes part in transporting materials around the bases and pulling heavy machinery if needed. When there is nothing to deliver, he helps the others with the reconstruction.
The long day is coming close to an end, everyone begins to return to their tents to rest. Yugo finds a quiet spot around to park and D-Wheel and rest on it.
"Hey!" Yugo sees Yuto walking to his location, carrying food and drinks with him. "Long day huh?"
"Hell yeah." Yugo answers. He grabs an MRE bar Yuto gives him and takes a bite of it. "Things are finally changing around here. I can see some of the beautiful Heartland in those pictures you showed me returning."
"How about Synchro?"
"Jack contacted this morning. It's actually going on quite well. The riot is finally stopped, the old way of life is on the process of being removed, no more slavery underground.
"He really worked hard huh?" Yuto comments. "For a person born in that cruelly competitive society, he is really progressive enough not to get wrapped."
"And one best thing: since the Friendship Cup is interrupted by Academia, it is now suspended and will open after this war is over. Sergey is gone so the next duel will be between me and Yuya for the final chance to challenge Jack."
"I'm looking forward to it all… I just wish Shun would still be alive now to finally see all of this and that soon…" Yuto sadly remarks.
"We all miss him Yuto." Yugo comments, patting Yuto's back. "You know what? He once told me he actually admired my will to go on without breaking. You know how much of a mess he became when Ruri was kidnapped right?"
"Yep."
"He said I lost Rin too but I did not let it break me. Still goofy and smiley and as tactless as ever." Yugo chuckles at the last words.
"Yeah you nearly glomped Ruri, that deserved a knee to the crotch. I would very much do the same thing to you."
"Sorry about that." Yugo apologizes. "I just… miss Rin so much. She is everything to me. Without her, winning the Friendship Cup is essentially meaningless."
"Still, you need to work on your manners." Yuto reminds him. "You're not a kid anymore, you're 17 for God's sake."
"I'll try…" Yugo murmurs. He then faces Yuto directly. "Hey, do you remember the first time we met?"
"Of course. We misunderstood each other for that asshole Yuri and fought. How could I not forget?" Yuto drinks water.
"Then I accidentally caused you to merge with Yuya, lucky you got Ruri to separate from him. We were enemies back then, who would have thought we are now sharing energy bars and talking to each other like this?"
"It's the miracle of life pal." Yuto says. "If there is a chance and enough time, things will get better."
"Can't certainly say it applies to everyone though." Yugo reminds him. "As of now, I still don't know why Selena did what she did… and how your girlfriend is coping. Indulging in work like Reiji can help, but it is like a dose of morphine that won't last long; the rush is over and you feel the pain again. At least I know Rin can handle herself in there and she has Yuzu too, but Ruri… honestly I'm not sure."
Yuto lets out a deep sigh. "Yeah… I get it… she's been avoiding me. Of course hello and goodbye are there but… she just keeps quiet to herself. Last night she even wanted to sleep besides Shun's grave…"
"Poor her…" Yugo sadly shakes his head. "Hey, I saw her walking with Yuya before I got here."
"I asked him to try." Yuto answers. "I just think that… sometimes… a boyfriend does not always solve everything girlfriend-related, especially if she really does not want me to. But no matter what, I will find a way to be there for her, that's what we promised."
"Just please not by having sex." Yugo suddenly lets it slip out of his mouth.
"What?!" Yuto was taken back, the word "horrified" written all over his face. "You fricking mental, pervert?"
"Hear me out Yuto." Yugo becomes serious. "I tried a lot of things to deal with Rin's first abduction alright? So one night, I blew some money on a girl; we returned to my room and you know…" Yuto has to fight hard not to widen his mouth. "And I can tell you it did not help. At all."
"Damn Yugo…" Yuto utters after a brief silence. "Never thought you would be that… hardcore… at only…"
"I have my own secrets too okay?"
"That's basically cheating idiot!"
"Technically Rin and I are not an official couple yet so that does not count!"
"Then what exactly do you really mean by telling me that?"
"I mean." Yugo says. "You have to be there for her mentally. It's fine if she does not answer right away, just be there, keep enough distance. Not too close not too far. And when she starts showing signs, talk to her."
Yuto slightly nods, sharing a bottle clap with Yugo. "Nice talk. You must have argued with Rin so much huh? To come up with that?"
"Hell yeah. But hey."
"What?"
"Promise me not to tell anyone about that… okay? Especially Rin."
"Yeah…"
…
"Hey brother… I'm here again today…"
Ruri says to the recently reburied ground where the dead body of the brave Resistance soldier Kurosaki Shun is resting under; she wears a black shirt, black pants and Shun's dark blue jacket over her as war does not go hand in hand with normal formality, not that it has been normal since last year for her. To think either Shun or she would be seeing each other's burial ground when they finally reach old age after grieving for her parents first, only to life to wake her up in the coldest way possible and a green head has to see another green head actually dying brutally at age 19. At least with her parents, they were sealed in cards, therefore a chance to return to life is possible, but nothing can be said to Shun; and once they are back somehow how can she explain this so them?
"It's never easy before…" Ruri says to the cross engraved with Shun's full name. "And now you're… gone… I don't know what to do anymore…"
"Everyone… you, Yuto, the Lancers… you all tell me I am the heart of the team… but now…" Ruri deeply sighs, sadly frowning. "I'm losing it… I guess I finally understand how you were acting when I was gone now…"
She keeps crouching down near Shun's grave and staring at it for several minutes, only when the sun nearly sleeps does she stand up.
"Took you long enough." A voice speaks up to her from behind.
Ruri quickly turns around, but to her surprise, it did not come from Yuto as she expected.
"Yu… Yuya?!" Yep, the boy who wants to bring smiles through Dueling is standing beside a tree behind her.
"Uhm." Yuya confirms. "Sorry for being a creep but I decided to let you…"
Ruri stutters. "I'm sorry… how long did you…?"
"Does it matter? We're all struggling Ruri, time is meaningless now."
"Anyway, why are you here?"
"Just checking on everyone." He answers. "Mind a talk?"
Ruri hesitates.
"C'mon, I just wanna talk with you, not gonna bite you. And you can't just avoid anyone forever."
The girl sighs. "Did Yuto tell you?"
"No one needs to tell anyone to know how you are doing, but yeah, he told me. Let's take a walk, c'mon."
Ruri reluctantly agrees. They take a walk outside the base and travel around Heartland. As both of them expected, Yuya and Ruri barely say anything together besides some usual words when a colleague at work addresses another, and despite how awkward it is, at least it is something.
They eventually stop at a large structure that used to be a lively shopping mall and get in. Yuya cannot help but feel a little bit afraid of the darkness inside, only the fading sun outside provides a bit of lightning to navigate.
"It's dark in here Ruri…"
"Here." Ruri throws him a card. He catches it and reads the text.
"Flashlight?"
"Cards designed for war. I got one here too."
At least the vision issue is solved.
"A mega shopping mall…" Yuya comments, once again trying to find something to talk to. "Judging by the size, it's bigger than any similar places in Standard I've been to…"
"And more beautiful than now too." Ruri speaks up. "Back when I was younger my parents would buy clothes for me here, Shun and I would play arcade games at the section over there too… Good times…"
"Do they have Duel Monsters game machines in this dimension?" Yuya asks.
"Of course." Ruri answers. "One of the most popular card games in Xyz, everybody loves it; only a matter of time before companies capitalize on it. Arcade games, video games, and even tournaments around the world, you name it."
"Hmm, same thing to Standard. You really should come to my place to try new chances some time." To Yuya's relief, Ruri manages a small smile. "After we finally put an end to this war."
"But until then the four dimensions will be busy with politics, putting Academia personnel intro prisons, rebuilding from the damage…" Ruri sighs. "And some damage can't ever heal. Our love for Duel Monsters is gone forever…"
She goes to the clothing section on the second floor and tenderly touches a dusty white dress identical to the one she owned.
"I was here with Shun when Academia attacked us outside, they use the very thing we loved to fight and turn all of us into cards. They corrupted Duel Monsters into a tool for warfare, something I can never forgive them for."
"Same thing for me too, but you know that only happens because of Real Solid Vision and even we would never want to use it for war…" Yuya realizes. "Wait, Real Solid Vision… don't tell me…"
"Yes Yuya, just like the Synchro Dimension, we did not have Real Solid Vision back then; it was basically a death flag the moment you see an Academia soldier. Shun and I barely managed to get out of this mall alive, only to see my parents in cards…"
"Sorry about that Ruri…" Yuya apologizes. "But then, how did Xyz manage to have Real Solid Vision technology? Did they steal Academia's Duel Disks and reverse-engineered it?"
"Not really." Ruri reveals. "After the attack happened for about 10 minutes, if I remember correctly, information about Real Solid Vision and the four dimensions suddenly appeared online from an anonymous source. All available broadcasting channels reported that information, hence all military forces around our dimension, including Japan, quickly used that information to fight back."
"You know who did it?"
"No. Not at first. Until I heard about your story."
"So…" Yuya widens his eyes. "You mean… the person who did it…"
"Yeah, most likely your father Sakaki Yusho. Just my theory though."
"Wow…" Yuya gasps. "If that is true… then it means… he has been fighting this war all the time…"
"Either way, your father made the direct step in protecting this dimension and you reminded us not to forget the beauty Duel Monsters really is." Ruri flashes a warm smile at him. "We'll always be grateful for that."
"Don't mention it." Yuya smiles, blushing a bit. "But hey, you finally smile again. It's beautiful Ruri, don't forget it."
"Thanks…" Now it is Ruri's turn to blush.
"You know Ruri, something I realized during my stay here." Yuya speaks to Ruri with a serious tone, finding a box to sit down on. Ruri does the same, sitting down opposite to his location. "I have always wanted to bring smiles to others through Dueling, but after everything happened, I cannot always do it with just that alone. There is the pain of seeing something you love twisted into cruelty that you will always flinch whenever you think about it again, there is the overzealous mindset that you have seen in Synchro and Academia, and there is personal loss too. And frankly with the latter… I cannot do anything."
Ruri remains silent, knowing too well what Yuya means.
"I know it's very insensitive to say this since Yuto told me to talk to you to make you feel better and I'm really sorry for that, but… I'm not a healer that can heal any pain, I'm not a pro in psychology or anything; in fact, I'm very tired of everything now. You have to try to heal yourself Ruri, everybody has to."
Ruri's face slowly slips into a frown.
"And you don't heal by pushing people away."
"I know that…" She manages to say above a whisper.
"Then why do you keep on doing it, when you know it doesn't work after all? I'm not your boyfriend Ruri, Yuto is."
"It's just…" Ruri mutters after a long silence. "Every time I see Yuto… I see Shun… and everything about Shun…" Her tears begin filling her eyes, making them sparkle. "I know he is dead Yuya… but I cannot stop seeing my brother… and thinking about him… all of our good old times…"
Yuya silently hands her a napkin to which Ruri accepts. She wipes it over her glistering eyes.
"Like I said before Ruri, you have to try no matter what. I lost my dad for three years, and just like you, I used to see his face pretty much everywhere. I honestly didn't know how I coped with that… but I guess a support system does play a part. You know, my mom, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Shūzō-san, the kids. And if you push that support system away, you will be stuck in the pain forever."
Ruri shakes her head. "It's easier said than done Yuya…"
"I know, for the time being you will still see your brother's face whenever you see Yuto, but trust me, with time, it will eventually stop. And I believe that's exactly what Shun wants you to do. His beautiful little luscinia will fly high in happiness, not fall down to the cold ground reminiscing the gone past. You get it?"
Ruri's lips curves into a bittersweet smile. Yeah, the pain is still large, but she is still living, she cannot let negative emotions bloom. It is hard, but she has to try.
"Yeah I get it…"
The two exchange warm looks at each other, finding hope and understanding from one another. The ringing from their Duel Disks breaks it.
"What's this?"
"A message?"
"From Akaba Reiji."
"Get everything you need and meet me in the control room in fifteen minutes. Urgent." Yuya speaks out the text.
"Something serious?"
"Hopefully some good news. Come on." Both Yuya and Ruri ride on Odd-Eyes back to base.
"Thank you for coming this quickly." Reiji greets all of his remaining Lancers who got themselves packed up as instructed. Inside the control room, all of the remaining Resistance leaders are there. Standard and Synchro have also joined in through holographic screens and to Yuya's utter shock, Fusion too.
"Dad?" Yuya gasps. He quickly runs to the control panel and speaks to the mic "Dad! Are you okay? Where are you now? Where's Yuzu?"
"Calm down Yuya." Yusho calmly says to him. "It took me days to rebuild this connection right without Academia tracing. It can go wrong in any minute."
Yuya notices the background on where his dad is staying is different.
"Dad… you're not in the church… don't tell me…" He realizes.
"Yes…" Yusho hangs his dead down and looks away from the screen.
"No… Yuzu!" Yuya whispers weakly. "Academia assholes!"
"After receiving information from Selena, Academia sent Dennis and Obelisk Force to attack our hideout. Only Asuka and I got out safely, all of the other students we rescued were carded and Yuzu was captured again… I'm sorry my son…"
Yuya wants to scream out so bad but he knows he cannot do it in front of the Resistance leaders now. They already gave him some breathing room to talk to his dad so at least he should respect them. He gets out of the chair and returns to where his friends are standing.
"Stay calm Yuya." Gogenzaka tells his friend. "Yelling won't solve anything."
"I know…" Yuya whispers. "God damns Academia…!"
"Reiji." Sora calls to the Lancers' leader. "Why are you calling us here?"
"First off." Akaba Himika says from Standard. "We are calling you to inform that we have provided backup." She then moves away a bit, revealing two individuals.
"Tsukiakge… and…" Gongenzaka comments.
"Kōtsu Masumi?" Yuya exclaims. "What is she doing here?"
"Ever since Academia attacked Maiami City and turned her friends into cards, she has been training hard every day. And with the dire situation at hand, combined with her improved skill and strong determination, we decided to make Masumi a Lancer. She and Tsukikage will be joining the Lancers there after this meeting."
"Wow…" Yugo whistles. "Another teenager in the team… How many war crimes are there now?"
"Same with Academia." Sora says. "They brainwashed children like me to become frontline soldiers. Nobody plays fair in war Yugo, we're all murderers here."
"And I, Jack Atlas." Jack speaks up from the Synchro channel. "Will also be participating directly in this war too. Things around City are improving and I believe I can entrust the citizens here to change the way of life."
"Also." Dr. Faker joins in. "We will send Kamishiro Ryoga to help you Lancers in this attack too."
"Good. That at least solves the number question. But how do we attack Academia and stop whatever Akaba Leo is doing? Do we have a plan at all?" Ruri raises the question.
"That's right." Sora says. "Even if I can guide everyone in, there are places I don't know or places I cannot go without higher security clearance. Not to mention all of Academia personnel has returned to their hideout, security will be doubled or tripled even."
"That's where Sakaki Yusho will come in." Byron speaks up. "Yusho, tell what you got to the Lancers."
"Alright." Yusho says. "Now listen up Reiji, Yuya and everyone else. During the few days we run away from Academia and the Juvenile Officers, I heard rumors about a new Academia defector from the latter's slippery mouth. So I sent Asuka to find anything about this person, and just moments before I called you, she finally found out. That's the reason I conducted this meeting in first place."
"Where? Who? Tell me Yusho-san." Reiji inquires since even he was not informed of that when Yusho called. The screen switches to a map of the entire Japan. A small red circle points at a location and the numbers appear.
"This is the map of Japan in the Fusion Dimension, the circle there is the location we spotted the HVI. Asuka is hiding near there waiting for all of us to come."
"Got it. Tsukikage and Masumi will be going with our Dimension Mover cards." Himika says.
"The Lancers here along with Kamishiro Ryoga will be going through Academia's dimensional transfer device that they used to transport the carded victims to that location. The coordinates are already inputted." Dr. Faker speaks up.
"And about the defector…" Yusho says. "Or rather… defectors…" The screen switches to an image of two people smiling at each other; despite the rainy weather obscuring the details everyone can still make out the faces of the defectors.
"Selena…" Ruri grits her teeth.
"And…" Yuya mutters.
Yuto gasped. "Yuri...?"
Voila! The end for now!
Surprises after surprises right?
Hate that the writers ignored the LDS trio so Masumi gets a return!
One thing I would really have loved ARC-V to explore is how stressful leading a team in a war to Reiji, having to ask the deal with the demon in the bottle to numb down the pain and pressure. They have managed to sneak in bar and pole dancing but not that?
About legacy characters, there is a clear written rule that in ARC-V there is no protagonist returning to avoid overshadowing Yuya but since the Xyz arc was too quick there is not enough original characters and those that got introduced played no larger part in the overall story (joining the Lancers to fight Academia directly in Fusion for example), therefore I decided to bring back Kamishiro Ryoga.
I also tried a bit of world-building in this chapter too. If Academia attacked Xyz that suddenly with that kind of hard light technology that only Akaba Leo knows how to create, all military forces around the world would never be able to fight back. Therefore, the only way Xyz can stand a chance as you can see in the anime is they had to know about Real Solid Vision immediately, and the only person at that point who could plausibly do that is… you know, Akaba Leo's best friend Sakaki Yusho.
Next chapter preview:
Spiral 3: Broken Predator
Yuri remembers everything leading to this moment.