The room felt heavy with silence, thick and uncomfortable. Yuya sat at the edge of the
couch, his hands resting on his Duel Disk, fidgeting aimlessly. His usual bright smile had faded
into something smaller, more distant. He was trying—trying to keep things light, trying to keep
the mood from cracking. But he was exhausted. It was hard to maintain the façade, especially
now.
Yuto stood by the wall, his arms crossed, gaze wandering as if he were lost in his
thoughts. Yugo was near the window, staring out, his expression tight with frustration. And Yuri
leaned against the doorframe, watching the others with a quiet intensity that spoke volumes.
Finally, Yuya spoke up, his voice soft but steady, "We've all been through so much... but I
think we can still get through it if we just... keep trying. We have nothing else. We are basically
family, and we can still make things work."
There was a long, awkward pause. The others didn't respond right away, unsure of how
to react to Yuya's unwavering optimism. It was clear that the atmosphere was thick with
unspoken emotions, yet Yuya was still smiling, still holding on to that same hope.
It didn't sit well with Yugo. "A family?" he scoffed, turning from the window to face Yuya.
"You think that's enough? You think just saying we're a family is going to magically fix
everything? You're the only one who keeps acting like everything's fine. Like we can just go
back to normal because you want it to be that way. You're the only one who's okay, and you act
like we should be too."
Yuya blinked, surprised by the sharpness in his words. "I... I just thought that if we kept
trying, it would help."
Yuri, arms folded, pushed himself off the doorframe and stepped into the room, his tone
colder than usual. "You don't get it, do you, Yuya? We're not fine. You're the only one who keeps
walking around with this... this grin like everything's okay. You are the only one who is okay. We
aren't. Just because you are completely unharmed doesn't mean that we are too! You don't see
how much everyone else is struggling because you've got this idea that everything can be fixed
if we just pretend hard enough. You think if you can be cheerful, we can too. You think that since
you are okay, we'll forget what we've been through."
Yuya's chest tightened, but he forced his voice to stay calm. "I'm not trying to say that
you are okay... I just want us to be able to move forward. To find some happiness again."
Yugo let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "You're always trying to
stay upbeat, trying to keep us in line with your stupid optimism! It doesn't work like that, Yuya.
People are hurting, and you keep acting like if we just smile enough, everything will magically
get better. Can't you see how much we're all struggling, too? You're the only one who has it
together, and it's driving me crazy."
Yuya winced, but kept his head up, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I
know things aren't perfect, but we're still here. We can still make it through... together."
Yuri sneered, his voice thick with bitterness. "You're the one acting like everything is fine.
You don't even get what we're going through because you're too busy pretending to be the
happy one. You don't see how much we've been through, Yuya. And you don't seem to care that
maybe the rest of us need something more than just your fake cheer."
Yuya felt a lump form in his throat, his breath hitching. He was trying to hold back the
flood of emotions building up inside him. He wasn't fine. He wasn't. But every time he tried to
show it, to admit how hard things had become, he was afraid of losing them. He didn't want
them to see him break. He didn't want them to think he couldn't handle it. But the weight was
too much, and it was all starting to crack.
"I'm not pretending to be happy," Yuya said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I
just don't want to see all of us falling apart. I want us to stay together, even if it's hard... even if it
feels impossible. I just... I can't stand the thought of losing you guys."
Yuto, who had been quietly watching the exchange, stepped forward, his voice
surprisingly gentle but firm. "Yuya... Everyone except you are struggling. But you can't just think
about yourself. You're not the ones who're hurting. You can't keep pretending we're okay and
pushing us to be okay when you're the only one who is. We're trying, but pretending isn't going
to solve anything. And neither is hoping that everything will magically fix itself just because we
wish hard enough."
Yuya's heart skipped. Pretending. That word, that feeling of being misunderstood, cut
deeper than anything else they had said. But before he could respond, Yuri spoke again, his
voice tinged with frustration. "Maybe if you just stopped acting like everything's fine, you'd see
that we're all not okay. We're all hurting, Yuya. But you're the one who acts like you're fine, that
you don't need help. I'm tired of it."
Yuya's chest tightened even more, his heart racing. He couldn't hold it back any longer.
They thought he was fine. They thought he had it all together while the rest of them struggled.
But they didn't see what it cost him to keep pushing forward, to smile when it hurt so much.
"I'm not fine!" Yuya shouted suddenly, his voice breaking. "I'm not okay! You all think I'm
fine, but I'm not. I'm trying to keep going because I don't know what else to do. I'm scared that if
I don't keep smiling, if I don't keep trying to make things better, you're all going to fall apart, and
I won't be able to help you. But... but I don't know how much longer I can keep doing it. I don't
know how much longer I can pretend I'm fine when I'm falling apart inside too. I can't keep doing
it..."
His breath hitched, and for a moment, everything around him felt like it was spinning. He
fought the urge to break down completely. His vision blurred, but he held his ground, his hands
trembling at his sides. Without another word, he turned and ran for the door, slamming it open
and bolting into the night.
The silence in the room was deafening.
Yuto was the first to speak, his voice barely a whisper. "What have we done? How could
we be such idiots…"
Yugo stood frozen, his face pale, guilt eating at him. He hadn't understood how much
pressure he'd been putting on Yuya, how much his constant frustration with Yuya's optimism
had contributed to this moment. He had just wanted someone to be angry with. But now, he had
pushed Yuya over the edge. "We were his…brothers. How could we never notice the…the
façade…" Yugo said shakily.
Yuri, always so composed, now stood still, his face open like a book. The cold edge in
his eyes had softened, replaced by something much worse—guilt. He hadn't realized how much
Yuya had been carrying, how much he had been trying to keep together, and now he felt the full
weight of it on his shoulders.
"I... I never thought..." Yuri trailed off, his voice small, as if he couldn't even bring himself
to finish the thought.
None of them knew how to respond. They had all seen Yuya's bright smile, his endless
optimism, and they had assumed he was fine. They hadn't realized that his pain was just as real
as theirs, if not more, but hidden behind a mask he wore for their sake.
And now, Yuya was gone, running from them, running from the burden of trying to hold
them together. And they had no idea how to fix it.
Or if they ever could.