Author's Note:

Here is Chapter 11 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes!"

I have to apologize for a small delay (I usually post a new chapter by Tuesday) but now that school is about to start I don't think that I'll be able to update as often but I will still try to do my best. For now, I will keep aiming for every Tuesday but, if something comes up (like midterms) then I hope to update within two weeks time.

This chapter is very long, however, and may be a bit confusing because there is a lot of back and forth and things going on. There is some romance, some action, some short duels, some parallel action, some humour, some drama, some plot exposition…basically a lot of things that I did not want to split into two chapters.

Once again, thank you for all your reviews, thoughts and questions. You guys make me so happy and really get me pumped up to start writing another chapter!

I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading!

NineInchNailed.

"When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back."

~Paulo Coelho.

"Are you going to be alright?" Aki asked.

"I have to be," Yusei replied.

"Do you trust me?"

"I trust you."

"Do you trust me when I say that I will never lie to you?"

"Yes."

"Then trust me when I say that you must never feel hopeless, or like everything is lost," Aki said.

"I trust you."

"Because nothing is ever hopeless, nothing is ever entirely lost," she said.

"Yes…" Yusei agreed quietly.

"Together we can do anything."

"Anything."

"All of us will have your back, Yusei. We will always help you. And you must never feel alone because you never will be," Aki said.

"Never," he repeated.

"Because you have all of us and you always will."

"I do," Yusei said and brushed his hand against her cheek. "Including you?"

"Yes. You have me…yes…" she whispered, shyly, and stood up on her tiptoes to reach his lips.

"Then I'm going to be alright," he nodded and kissed her.

Their hands touched, fingers intertwined.

Some time after, Yusei quietly came out of the empty recovery room and, fixing his jacket, walked back to where Crow and others were. Aki followed him, a few minutes later.

Jack, Rua, Ruka, Bruno and Mikage all looked up at him when he approached. Ushio and Saiga were snoring loudly, unconsciously leaning on each other.

"Everything O.K.?" Ruka gently inquired.

"Yes," Yusei nodded, nearing Bruno and shaking his hand. "It's good to see you again, Bruno. I take it you've heard about things that have been happening?"

"I have," Bruno said, sadly. "I figured you guys would be thrown in a middle of this, you're always that lucky. I just had to come. But Crow…"

Yusei looked away. "Is he still the same?"

"The same," Carly answered, wiping at her eyes.

"Hey…anything?" Aki asked as she neared the gang but stopped some distance away from Yusei. She succeeded in eliminating her blush – well, most of it anyway – but standing next to him would just trigger sensations of having kissed him, touched him, after only minutes ago… She just wouldn't be able to compose herself, at all. Or just stand here without getting to touch him in some way.

The group of friends shook their heads to her question.

A minute of grave silence before Yusei spoke up. "We don't have much time. We have to split up."

"Split up?" Rua asked, confused.

"Yes – one or two of us will stay here with Crow. The rest breaks into three groups: mine, Jack's, and Aki's. Nobody goes alone. We're going to stop these duels using any means possible. And then, depending on our success rate, we will rotate," Yusei decided. The implication was that, without Crow, the three of them were the strongest duelists in the group, and Aki had won one of those impossible duels before. Furthermore, Yusei trusted Jack's dueling skills unquestionably. He really, really hated doing this, however. This was dangerous. And the danger made him especially unwilling to separate from Aki, but unfortunately they had to. He hoped she understood.

Yusei used a moment of everyone's silent deliberation to glance at Aki. Their eyes met. She nodded, understandingly, giving him an almost invisible smile.

"What exactly did you have in mind? About stopping the duels, that is? What are the certain ways?" Jack inquired.

"For one, winning the duel is a definite way. However, I strongly suggest leaving that method as a last resort: we're not trying to propagate any more accidents. We're trying to prevent them. Thus, I actually suggest physically trying to prevent the duels first – we've all seen that it's possible to disrupt them having witnessed Aki's incredible intervention," Yusei responded and gestured towards Aki. Others stared at her as well, nodding.

Blood rushed to Aki's face as she was suddenly in the spotlight. She'd never really heard too many compliments in her life. She still wasn't very good at accepting these. She responded with a bashful smile.

"So…we have a permission to beat people up?" Ushio deducted, smirking as he cracked his knuckles.

"It would be preferable if the people in question reached adulthood…but more or less, yes," Yusei said, regretfully. "It should be a way to stop a duel before it happens. But in case that doesn't work or is a bit unethical: taking away their deck and ripping La Magra Monster card, Drain Leach Magic card, and Discord Trap card should be other ways of doing it."

"And if the duel is already underway?" Rua asked hesitantly. "We won't be able to get through that seal to stop it, right?"

"That's why I'd rather none of us engage in the actual duels by ourselves. Not if the Discord trap card is pulled into play. However…Aki was capable of defeating it without the use of her Synchro monster. So was I. Trap cards, Magic cards, Fusion monsters…anything to get around Synchro summoning."

Aki looked down. There is also one more way…but only I, as a psychic duelist, can do it. Why didn't he mention that? Shouldn't we do anything in our power to stop evil?

"This works," Ruka said. Others nodded, agreeing as well.

Jack stood up, "The more of us are out there the better – I suggest we contact Kiryu and Sherry. Sherry has just returned to Neo Domino, last night."

Aki barely suppressed her sudden annoyance. Ugh…Sherry? she thought.

Carly was rubbing her temples, looking confused and like she couldn't remember something.

"Kiryu, yes. But…Sherry?" Yusei mumbled.

"Yes, she is back. And she wants to see you," Jack said.

Yusei still wasn't saying anything. Aki noticed his silence and started feeling a bit uneasy.

Aki didn't actually dislike Sherry, at least not really. She thought she was a great duelist and a strong and independent woman. In a way, Sherry was a role model to aspire to – she was everything Aki wasn't, especially in her painful Arcadia days. And maybe in another time or place Aki and Sherry could have been the best of friends. Unfortunately, in the current time and place they were unofficial competitors: they were competing for a certain man's attention. And to be honest, up until Sherry had decided to move back to France a few months ago and up until Aki tried moving on herself, Aki often felt like she was losing this battle to her.

Aki was now watching Yusei's reactions very, very closely.

Jack cleared his throat.

"Oh," Yusei said, as if waking up from his trance. "Yeah…that will be a good thing to do. I guess I'll let her know."

"It's good that you agree. Saiga actually already called her up about an hour ago. She should be here soon," Jack informed him and sat back down.

Yusei stared at Jack, then Saiga, and then looked away, contemplating.

"Is there something wrong with Sherry-san, Yusei?" Ruka asked, being as attentive and sensitive to everything as always.

Yeah, I'd like to know this too, Aki thought as she eyed him, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Yusei shook his head and smiled lightly. "No, nothing."

"You all look like hell," suddenly sounded a melodic and slightly deep, feminine voice, "But I can't say that I blame you."

Yusei turned towards the voice and the approaching footsteps and saw Sherry LeBlanc walking elegantly down the hallway. Harsh hospital lights played surprisingly well on her by illuminating her blonde hair to platinum and making her look almost ethereal.

Sherry stopped next to him, gracefully flipped her hair and gave him one of her signature smirks. "You, on the other hand, look better than ever. How have you been, stranger?"

"Sherry…" Yusei smiled. "It's been more or less the same these few months. But it did get very interesting recently."

"Well, you know me, Fudo Yusei… I love interesting. Looks like I chose a good time to return," Sherry responded. She reached out and touched his arm.

Aki's lip quivered with jealousy. She cleared her throat and ran up to stand at Yusei's side, deciding to split this up, whatever this was...could be…or had been. "Hey, Sherry, it's good to see you again!" she exclaimed, barely preventing herself from blurting out that Yusei and her were now an item, of sorts. Because they kind of were…right?

Magnetic emerald eyes pierced into hers as Sherry acknowledged her for the first time. Aki felt a blush creeping back to her face and quickly lowered her gaze, suddenly feeling very intimidated. Sherry was just so beautiful, why did she have to be so beautiful? Aki wondered if Yusei thought so as well and her heart wilted at the thought.

"Izayoi, Aki," Sherry said shortly, "Good to see you too." She then turned her whole attention to Yusei and asked, grinning, "So…what would you like me to do?"

Yusei opened his mouth to answer but Aki hurried to respond instead. "Basically we're splitting into small groups and trying to stop dangerous duels which have been going on all over the city. So I hope that you came on your D-Wheel. I don't know if you'll be taking Saiga or Bruno or-"

"Actually, it would make more sense if Sherry comes with me," Yusei interrupted her.

Aki went mute and stared at him, eyes wide.

"I'll debrief her more on what's going on and we'll see if her strategizing is compatible with our opponents," he explained.

"Don't trust my skills anymore, eh, Yusei? I might just have to convince you otherwise…" Sherry said, grinning flirtatiously. He returned a smile.

Aki looked away, feeling angry and jealous. What the hell, she was thinking, Why does she get to go with him? This isn't fair! And why are they so flirty? Well...she was always flirty with him but he never really returned her advances…or did he now?

"It is settled then," Jack said, breaking the mixed-up atmosphere of the triangle. "I'll contact Kiryu as soon as possible. Meanwhile this is how I say we divide: I'll take Carly and Ushio; Yusei can take Sherry and Bruno; Izayoi will take Rua and Ruka. Mikage and Saiga stay with Crow. Does this work for everyone?"

Nods, murmurs of agreement followed.

Doesn't work for me, Aki thought bitterly. She shrugged, mumbling, "Yeah, whatever," under her breath.

Yusei watched Aki, wondering what was up with her. This was obviously the best decision in this situation but not his favourite – in fact, it was far from his favourite. But none of them had too much choice right now.

"Before we go, please give me a minute. I need to do something first," he requested of everyone and quietly made his way into Crow's recovery room.

The room was cold, and empty of any decorations, such as flowers or paintings, which could add warmth. The white paint on the walls further emphasized the absolute bleakness and emptiness. Yusei looked at his foster brother lying there, unconscious and on the verge of death, and felt a touch of hollowness returning into him.

"Crow…" he whispered, painfully, and approached the nightstand by the bed, picking up Crow's deck of cards. He quickly found the Sky Dragon of Osiris there. Just what the hell are you, he thought angrily, studying it. Are you a way to help us win this battle or are you a curse, a damnation upon us all? You've brought nothing but pain! Look at what you've done!

Gritting his teeth, he had to hold himself from ripping the God card into shreds and tearing into his own skin to remove that mark. The power of Osiris…thanks for choosing me, Yugi Mutou-san. Thanks for nothing. The power of death is exactly what I need, he thought bitterly but then closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. After his therapy session with Jack's fist once upon a time and mental healing from Aki earlier on today it was about time that he's pulled himself together. He had no time to weep and moan anymore. Let it be, he thought, adding the Egyptian God Card back to his own deck. You've been useful once and your harm outweighs your worth, Sky Dragon. Help me stop more of these duels, to stop Set and to stop people from dying. You might have chosen me but I have not chosen you. Prove your worth to me.

Taking one last look at comatose Crow, Yusei made his exit and faced the rest of the group again. "Are we ready?" he asked as if nothing had happened and slipped the cards back into his belt holster.

"Ready," the group concurred.

"Yusei…can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" Aki suddenly requested and everyone's eyes turned to her. She felt really, really awkward, feeling their gazes drilling her and imagining that they were judging her for wasting everyone's time. And when Yusei's clear gaze turned to her, she felt like even he was annoyed with her.

"Sure," he responded, unfazed, and followed her around the corner where nobody could hear them. "What is it, Aki?"

Although Aki was still quite jealous and pissed off, she didn't fail to notice him holding the deck of cards and figured out why he had gone to Crow. She suddenly identified with the incapacitated Signer – she understood, in her own way, why Crow might have taken the God card. She didn't want Yusei using it again or ever, not after what she witnessed it doing to him. At the same time, standing there looking at the captain of Team 5D's, she really had to fight herself from either jumping on him or from giving him the silent and evil treatment over how he's been with Sherry just now. Unfortunately, she couldn't do either of those.

Aki took a deep breath. "I don't want you using that card, Yusei," she blurted out. "We still don't know anything about its purpose or its powers and especially not after what it did to you and Crow!"

Yusei, touched by her concern, was suddenly transfixed by a loose strand of her hair falling over her eyes. He reached and carefully tucked it behind her ear.

"I-I-I'm serious, Yusei!" she stuttered, exasperated by his sudden gentleness. Why was he acting like what she was saying wasn't important? Or like he wasn't even listening? "I think it's dangerous and I…" she paused, unable to meet his eyes, and whispered under her breath. "And I don't want you to get hurt...I…worry…"

"Oh, I know all of that," he responded quietly. He gently touched her chin and lifted it so she would look at him. "And if the choice comes I will pick my Stardust, every single time. However, this card is a way for me to battle when Stardust or Junk Warrior or any of my other Synchro monsters are inaccessible. I don't know if we'll ever find out the truth behind Osiris' dragon but… if it helps me save more lives, the way it saved Takashi-kun's, then everything goes. Even after what happened to Crow." Then he smiled lightly, "And besides. You needn't worry, Aki. After all, I have this to protect me, remember?" He gestured at the Eye of Horus, the protective charm around his neck.

He's still wearing it…Aki beamed. And he even remembers its purpose… "Okay," she breathed and nodded, understanding his decision now. It was reasonable, even if she did not agree with it and even if she could not shake off her dislike of him using something so dangerous.

"Actually…about saving lives, um…" she began, deciding to ask him about another thing bothering her. "Yusei, why didn't you mention earlier that I could…you know…stop duels midway without engaging in a duel myself? Why did you exclude that as a possibility from others? Not like they don't know I can do that."

"Oh, Aki…" he shook his head. "Isn't it obvious? Because it hurt you. Please don't do it. We have other methods." Just as you are worried about me, I am about you. Probably even more so. You had fainted and you looked so sick. It scared me. And because we're going separately, I won't be there to protect you.

"Well, if you put it this way…" she whispered, dreamily. All that Sherry-jealousy stuff flew right out of the window. She was almost melting looking into the perfect blue of his eyes and hearing the affection in his voice… Unable to control herself after all she grabbed his face and tried to kiss him.

"Okay, can we get going now?" they suddenly heard Jack's voice and approaching footsteps and, literally a second before the former King had turned the corner, Aki jumped back nearly a metre away.

"Um yeah, so thanks for helping out with that thing, Yusei…" she began chattering, nervously pulling at her hair, as Jack came into view. "The thing was difficult."

"Sure," Yusei nodded, grinning, and turned to stare nonchalantly at Jack, "We're ready to go."

Jack stared at Yusei, then at Aki, and then slowly turned around, walking away.

Aki sighed in relief. While she didn't actually want to keep this…thing between them (whatever it was) a secret, she wasn't yet ready to come out to their opinionated friends about it. She hadn't even told Carly and didn't know how: especially since her friend recently expressed a negative opinion about the possibility of this relationship.

"Another time," Yusei said and winked playfully at her which sent another rush of blood to her face, as if she wasn't blushing enough already.

They walked back to the rest of the gang where Yusei made sure that everybody was clear on what to do. "Lastly, Mikage-san and Saiga – you must contact us as soon as possible if there are any news either on Crow or Mahdi. Any news at all," he requested and then lead the way out of the hospital while everybody else followed him. As Aki watched him walk ahead with Sherry and Bruno by his side, she thought about how grateful she was that he was back to a stable mindset and to being their captain. He was the leader they all desperately needed and the leader they would all follow to the end.

They parted ways at the parking lot, making sure they could all stay in contact.

They split up where Yusei, Sherry and Bruno took the East side of Neo Domino, Aki and the twins took West, and Jack, Carly and Ushio took South. Then, whoever's region was clean, that team would then proceed to the North area. The Satellite Island would be checked once they were done Neo Domino.

Divide and conquer.

Six hours later…

Team Yusei

"Ugh, what was that! You've got to be kidding me!" Sherry muttered.

"That was La Magra," Yusei answered as he watched the ambulance staff rushing to get a wounded but alive and conscious man to the closest ER.

"And what is it supposed to be? It's Solid Vision, isn't it? Why was it real? Are psychic duelists involved in this?"

"We only know that it's Set's servant and that it helps fetch tributes for him. Aki also hypothesized that the whole seal is just a way to feed it," Yusei responded.

"Makes sense," Sherry sighed. "But at least you are now convinced that my Fleur Knight deck can take this on no problem. Three turns too!"

"True," Yusei agreed.

Short silence ensued as they contemplated the implications.

"Hey, Sherry-san…do you remember the time when you almost kicked me in the face?" Bruno randomly asked, trying to cheer everybody up. Sherry glared at him as if noticing him for the first time.

"Zero lost, seven saved," Yusei mumbled to himself, ignoring his two teammates, as he recounted their success rate so far. He glanced down at his phone.

Team Aki

"Rua, get out of the way!" Aki ordered.

Obediently, Rua fell to the ground, covering his head.

"Ivy Wall, attack!" she commanded, gesturing at the materialized Duel Monster to physically strike the duelist who had begun chanting the summoning of Sutekh Sacrificō seal.

The spiked vine of the Ivy Wall smacked the chanting girl and knocked her out unconscious while her opponent ran away screaming. A duel stopped before it began.

"We have ambulance on speed dial at this point, right?" Ruka asked as she helped Rua back to his feet.

"Yup…although I don't know how soon they'll arrive at the scene: all medical personnel has been kept insanely busy these past few days," Aki responded as she disabled her duel disk and hurried to tend to the unconscious duelist.

"We'll just have to do our best," Ruka sighed.

"What's our count now?" Rua asked.

"Eight saved, one lost," Aki said. One too many, she thought. She texted a quick update to Yusei and smiled lightly when he responded.

Team Jack

"I hate these stupid kids sometimes!" Jack barked as he struggled to pull off one middle school-aged kid of the other, one of whom was screaming, "You must duel me! I'll teach you a lesson! You will never steal my lunches again!"

"To be fair…I was really pissed off when people stole my lunches too when I was a little kid," Ushio mumbled as he urged the kid who was challenged to run away.

"Yeah, but you didn't try to kill them for it, there's a big difference," Carly commented.

Jack smacked the screaming kid in the back of his head, "Shut up and snap out of it! Atlas-sama can't take anymore of this screaming!"

"Jack! I can't believe you did that!" Carly gasped, "It's just a little kid!"

"A little kid that just won't snap out of it…" Ushio said thoughtfully as the kid had now kicked Jack's shin and started screaming, "Oh, you'd like me to kick your ass first you stupid blonde bully? Fine, duel me! Duel me! Duel me!"

"Ugh, just try this!" Carly exclaimed as she snatched the deck of cards out of the boy's duel disk, quickly found the three cards Yusei told them to watch out for, and shredded them into pieces. The pieces fell to the ground and disintegrated into nothing.

The boy stopped fighting and screaming, stood completely still for a second, and then raised his hands to his eyes starting to cry uncontrollably, "Where am I, where is my mom? I want to go home!"

"See, that worked," Carly said as she started comforting the little boy.

Jack grimaced, rubbing his sore shin.

"What are we at, again? Six to one? Not too bad," Ushio concluded.

Three hours later…

Team Yusei

Yusei was staring at the cards in his hands, from the silver Synchro card to the dark red Monster card, trying to decide on what to do. He might have a trap there, he thought, But…Stardust will always be my choice.

"I tune my level three Junk Synchron to my level five Junk Warrior. Clustering hopes will become a new shining star. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!" Yusei commanded and a beautiful silver dragon, his pride and his soul, took flight.

"You're still missing about 2000 points on my monster!" his opponent shouted at him.

"I'm just getting started," Yusei smiled.

"Yes, he is," Sherry concurred and smirked.

Team Aki

That trap card again, Discord! Aki thought, agitated. But it's okay, this time I'm prepared.

"Then I activate my trap card, Phantom Destruction – I can select one card on the field and flip it face down. So I pick Discord," she said and watched, pleased, as her opponent's Trap became deactivated.

"No!" the possessed girl screamed out.

"Yes!" the twins cheered.

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!" Aki chanted and watched, with love and fascination, as her loyal Black Rose Dragon appeared. And now this duel is over, she thought.

Team Jack

"I've had enough of this! You will regret now to have challenged Jack Atlas!" Jack shouted as he slapped the silver Synchro card onto his duel disk. "The rulers' heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Demon's Dragon!"

The Signer's powerful and devoted monster emerged, causing his defenseless opponent to begin shaking with fear.

"Jack…" Carly whispered, awed.

"Now, Red Demon's Dragon! Attack his life points directly! Blazing crimson hell fire!" Jack commanded and observed the magnificent attack which depleted the possessed person's life points to zero.

Two hours later...

Team Yusei

Aki asked me not to…but I told her that if it's my only choice, then I must. Prove your worth, Sky Dragon of Osiris, Yusei decided after some contemplation.

"I tribute my three monsters to summon the power of an Egyptian God – come forth, the Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Yusei ordered and the second he placed the card onto the duel disk, the night sky rumbled with rolling thunder and heavy clouds blocked out the moon and the stars.

"…Why do you have a monster that's so out of place in your Speed Warrior deck, Yusei?" Sherry mumbled from the sidelines where she stood with Bruno.

Yusei felt another stab at his arm where the mark of the Sky Dragon was but it was no longer painful. As the colossal red dragon emerged out of the sky Yusei felt almost like a strong rush of wind was passing through him and closed his eyes. He felt such exhilaration, such empowerment. He felt like he had the power to do anything, like he could do anything he ever wanted or needed.

He sighed and opened his eyes, facing his opponent with an unwavering and cool demeanor.

"I have five cards in my hand. Let's just say this isn't your lucky day," he informed his now panicking enemy.

Team Aki

Yusei asked me not to…but I have to do anything in my power to stop this, Aki thought as she gazed upon an unfolding duel in front of them. The possessed person had La Magra on her field while her opponent had one monster in Defense mode, no hidden cards on his field and measly 200 Life Points left.

"Aki nee-chan, what do we do?" Rua whispered to her.

"Don't worry, I know what to do," Aki reassured him as she concentrated on the defensive monster in play. Move, move, just move, she was thinking, overwhelmed with a sudden piercing headache. Materialize and obey me. Go for a direct attack.

The monster suddenly moved to the surprise of everybody present and rushed into an out-of-duel direct attack. It avoided La Magra completely and knocked out the possessed duelist unconscious, causing the duel to finish and for the Sutekh Sacrificō seal to disappear.

"Aki-san, you did it! …Aki nee-chan? What's wrong?" the twins were asking, worriedly, when Aki collapsed to her knees.

Aki hurried to wipe an abrupt nose bleed and slowly shook her head, unable to make quick movements due to bad migraine. "I'm alright…This is just something that's at the limit of my psychic powers…it requires a lot of power. Don't worry about anything." And please don't mention this to others. Please forget about this and don't tell Yusei.

Team Jack

They asked me not to…but I really need to do it right now, Jack thought.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag and sighing with contentment, completely ignoring Carly's discontented yelling.

In about an hour later, all three teams were back at the hospital after they received an urgent call from Mikage who informed them of two very important things: the first and outmost important one, was that Crow had regained consciousness. And second, that Mahdi, the guy that dueled Crow, had vanished into thin air and all he left behind him were blood-soaked bed sheets.

They all stormed into Crow's room where all of them jumped to give him hugs, much to the doctors' disapproval.

"Okay guys, I can't breathe!" Crow complained even though he was laughing.

"Oh Crow, you're okay!" everyone was exclaiming in delight.

Only Yusei stood on the side and he was the only one not to have jumped on Crow although he was still smiling happily. The attending doctor called to him and updated him on Crow's stats outside the recovery room. He told him that everything was completely normal and that this was practically a medical miracle. Additionally, he told Yusei about the disappearance of Mahdi.

"We've alerted the police about what happened and they're searching for him now. With his injury he should be kept under watch for at least a couple of days, so it's very dangerous for him to have left," the doctor told him.

"Is there anything else you managed to find out about him?" Yusei asked.

"Well, the police ran a check on him, his blood and fingerprints, and nothing came up. As in, he doesn't appear to exist. One thing though, if it's of any relevance, is that this man is suffering from severe anemia. The fact that he was able to survive his injury at all was astonishing. His deficit further necessitates that he's found as soon as possible and brought into the necessary care," the doctor explained.

Yusei thanked him for the information and returned to Crow's room. Jack wouldn't stop hugging Crow to the point where he had to be pulled off.

"I'd like a word with Crow, please. Alone," Yusei requested and the gang hurriedly left the two friends alone, Jack also tagging along.

A short silence followed before Crow sat up more comfortably and said, "Yusei…I know you must be mad at me but-"

"No," Yusei interrupted and shook his head. "No, Crow, I'm not. I was upset and worried but now I am relieved." He then neared him and gave him a tight brotherly hug.

"Do you want to know why I did it though?" Crow asked once he released him.

"I do," Yusei nodded.

"I just kind of noticed that you were under a lot of pressure, man," Crow said. "You always get singled out and usually not in a good way and this enemy is no different. And after that Mokuba bastard had almost orgasmed looking at that letter and God card I figured that I could try taking some stress off you, especially if that Kaiba mogul decides to come looking for you. And if you think about it, I was kind of right!...even though it wasn't really Mokuba this time…"

Yusei felt touched, even if he still disagreed with Crow for doing it. "You didn't have to do that, Crow…"

"Probably not but it doesn't mean that I didn't want to. Trust me, if I had a chance to do it all over again I would," Crow said with a smile. "I have to take care of my younger brother don't I?"

"But you've got less than three weeks on me…" Yusei replied.

"Your point being…?" Crow asked, laughing as he suddenly grabbed him and noogie'd his head.

Meanwhile, Aki was sitting outside next to Rua and Ruka, both of whom were napping, while Sherry sat on a couch across. Sherry was lounging with her eyes closed and her arms folded while Aki was occasionally glancing over at her, with annoyed looks. The rest of the gang left to grab some snacks and coffee for Crow and for themselves.

Why did she stay here, Aki was thinking. Is it because she's waiting for Yusei? Why is she waiting for Yusei? Did they have some fun bonding time stopping all these duels? She looked away, trying to calm her feelings of jealousy.

"Izayoi Aki, you've been staring at me all night. If you have something to say to me then you might as well say it," Sherry suddenly said, opening her emerald eyes and staring at her. Aki flinched, returning eye contact, face blushing under such abrupt and true accusation. She had no idea that Sherry noticed!

"Oh…ano…nothing!" Aki hurried to answer, biting her lips. "I was just wondering how you and Yusei did, stopping duels and all. Oh, and Bruno too."

"It went rather great, I have to say," Sherry responded. "We prevented fifteen duels, either by interrupting or participating, and we were too late for only two, one of which included a Riding Duel. Unfortunately we couldn't do much to stop that one."

"I see…" Aki said, finding herself relieved in that Sherry didn't mention anything suspicious about herself and Yusei. I guess I'm really just overreacting, she reasoned. Maybe there is no reason for me to be so absurdly jealous after all.

"They weren't too difficult," Sherry continued. "Those duels that is. We also covered a large area and Yusei and I got to catch up after all that time I was away! Je me suis bien amusé!"

Aki felt like she just turned green with envy. She had no idea what Sherry said in French but her manner of speaking was so infuriatingly playful that Aki only needed her own imagination to figure out what she's just said.

"I bet there wasn't that much to catch up on…" Aki muttered under her breath and folded her arms as well.

"No, there was quite a bit, especially after how ambiguously I left things off between him and I," Sherry casually answered and then added, with a sigh: "Maybe this time he'll make up his mind."

Aki suddenly jumped to her feet, pointed at the blonde duelist and blurted out: "Yusei and I have kissed! Like, a lot! So there isn't anything for him to make up his mind on!"

Sherry stared at her, completely taken aback by the randomness of that outcry. For a moment Aki felt mortified, like she had just made a complete fool out of herself, but that was when Sherry let out a melodious laugh and said, "Oh my…such naivety can be just so cute! This is so high-school! Come on now, Izayoi Aki…who here hasn't kissed Yusei?"

Meanwhile, in Crow's recovery room, Yusei leaned back against the chair and tried one of the hospital cookies on the platter. It tasted like soap.

"It's gross, isn't it? Can't wait until everybody gets here with real food," Crow said as he rubbed his rumbling stomach. Then he narrowed his eyes, staring at him closely, and grinned. "Wow, it's so obvious…so you and Aki, eh? Finally."

Yusei choked on the cookie he was eating. "What?" he wheezed, coughing.

"So it is true! I thought I saw her lipstick on your face…" Crow said, thoughtfully.

Yusei hurried to wipe his mouth with his sleeve (while still coughing on crumbs) which just caused Crow to burst out laughing. "Dude, I was just kidding…there is no lipstick. She doesn't wear lipstick, come on. You just gave yourself away though, haha. But it's okay, I knew because anyone could smell her perfume all over you," he managed to say through his laughing, still trying to poke fun.

Yusei stared at him in disbelief, unable to share his lightheartedness especially after what he'd told him two days ago! "Wait. Back up. Finally? Did you actually say "finally"?" he asked slowly.

Crow noticed the look on his face and his mouth formed an "O" in sudden realization. "Yes, finally. It's about time, don't you think?"

"But earlier on you said that I won't make up my mind and that I should let her go!" Yusei hurried to say, completely confused and unhappy.

Crow waved his hand at him. "Please. I was just saying that to get you to make up your mind, man! It's so obvious, come on. But hey, I'm glad it worked! I was starting to get worried, too, you always went on and on about card games when Jack and I would be talking about chicks."

Yusei stared at him and then threw a pillow at his face, "That got me so upset I almost told her that it would never work out between us!"

"Well, clearly that all turned out for the better, don't you think," Crow said, laughing. "And yeah…I mean, it might have been a bit harsh but you really needed a reality check, I thought."

"What the hell, Crow!"

"What? Didn't you? She wasn't going to wait around forever. I'm surprised nobody else has managed to snatch her away within this time. Guess she was stuck on you, too. Lucky you."

Yusei sighed and placed the palm of his hand against his forehead. Crow was right, of course. It was awful what he had said but it worked. It got him to open up and to embrace Aki fully into his heart. Too much time had been wasted already. He finally looked back at his brother and smiled. "Thank you, Crow. I mean it."

"Oh you're welcome! Anytime. I know, sometimes I'm so awesome that I amaze myself," Crow replied proudly.

At the same time, outside of the recovery room, Aki was standing in front of Sherry and her eyes were practically shooting lightning.

Rua and Ruka were awake now from all the screaming and sat on the couch looking drowsy and confused.

"I don't believe you," Aki said, clenching her hands into small fists. It all of a sudden hit her, all the times Crow, Saiga and Jack told them they went out with Yusei and all the women they claimed to meet, and also that horrible morning when she had seen hickeys on Yusei's neck. She forgot completely about how Yusei appeared to have been seeing other women for the whole duration of their friendship while getting mad at her for trying to see other men! And while it wasn't as important to her anymore (as long as him and I are finally together, he's the one I have always wanted) – there was a huge problem if Sherry and Yusei had actually dated at some point! And, oh my god, what if they didn't just kiss, what if they went further, what if they slept together? This idea was too horrific to imagine!

"Why not? And if you have doubts then why not ask him, yourself?" Sherry asked and shrugged, stifling a yawn. "Anyway, this bores me. Why are we talking about this anyway? I don't consider you an opponent, Izayoi Aki. There is nothing to fight over, I don't think. I mean, I usually get what I want…and it so happens that I want him, right now."

"You don't consider me an opponent? Fine! Then duel me!" Aki screamed, infuriated. So after everything, she wasn't even a worthy opponent for her? What the hell! There was so something to fight over! There was no way she was going to step back just because some blonde skank told her to!

"Um…so…um…what's going on?" Ruka mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Are you serious?" Sherry asked in disbelief but then smirked, getting up to her feet. She had a few inches in height on Aki and she used it to her advantage: her posture was impeccable as she demonstrated confidence and conviction in her stance. "This sounds like fun, actually. Let's duel."

"Okay, break it up – nobody duels right now," sounded Ushio's voice and he now stood between the two girls, interrupting them. "No, seriously. This is major. We need to notify Yusei right away," he added and the rest of the gang, having just returned, nodded gravely.

Inside the recovery room, Yusei handed Crow the TV remote after their prolonged search for it. Crow promptly turned on the small TV and started surfing the channels. "Ugh…so hungry," he mumbled, still rubbing his rumbling stomach. As he came across some music channel, he absently asked, "So. Have you taken Aki to the candy shop yet? Any details?"

"What candy shop?" Yusei asked, confused.

"You know, that thing. Get it?" he chuckled and then groaned, "Ah, you know, forget it. Fuck, I'm so hungry I can't be clever with these."

"…Huh?" Yusei was completely lost and had no idea what he'd just try to say. And, unfortunately, he wasn't going to get any explanations because all of their friends suddenly stormed into the room.

"Turn to channel 6," Ushio demanded and grabbed the remote out of Crow's hands, switching to the channel himself. "Watch."

"…after around one hundred and fifty accidents were reported in Neo Domino and Satellite, the government officials passed a ruling today at 2:36am after an urgent meeting at Neo Domino SkyDome," the newswoman reported, "Duel Monsters card games have been deemed illegal until further notice, Riding Duels included. Anyone found engaging in such games can receive prison time for as long as six months. The Minister of Defense was quoted saying, "These games have caused over one hundred and fifty deaths and counting over just this week. We ask the civilians not to engage in these dangerous activities until investigation is completed." This decision has been reached with approval of Kaiba Mokuba, the co-owner of Kaiba Corp. And in other news…"

Ushio turned off the TV.

Everybody was completely silent for at least a minute.

"….No more…duels?" Rua whispered inaudibly.

"What about…what about Duel Academy? Is school going to be closed?" Ruka joined in, panicked.

"I think it's time that we ruled out Kaiba Mokuba as a player in all of this," Yusei said, standing up. "If anybody has any ideas then let's hear them."

"I've got an idea," Aki suddenly said, walking out into everyone's view. "But…you are not going to like it," she whispered, referring to Yusei and to him alone.

Oooooh….so weird.

Yeah, this isn't my favourite chapter because of all the things that were going on and the change of pace and parallel things but I needed to get it out of the way.

So for next chapter: What is Aki's idea? Will Yusei approve of her idea or disapprove? Will we find out if Mokuba is the true villain of his story or if he's just there to keep things weird? Will we find out what the hell happened to Mahdi? Will the gang still duel even though it's illegal now? Will Aki and Sherry duel for Yusei or will they just ask Yusei to pick? And will we find out what exactly (if anything) happened between Sherry and Yusei?

Stay tuned and you (might) find out!