Author's Note:
This is Chapter 16 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"!
Lots of things happening here: feelings and thoughts, a Riding Duel (very shortened), some plot exposition, some comedy, some conflict and angst, and some romance (not graphic)…
I hope you like this chapter!
Once again, I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed or favoured this story or me. You guys are great :)
Thank you for reading!
NineInchNailed.
"Only a life lived for others is a life worth living."
~Albert Einstein.
"We'll be right back," Carly announced loudly to the guys and, grabbing Aki's hands, she pulled her into the adjacent room. Aki didn't even have a chance to say anything.
"They're probably deciding on what to wear," Crow mumbled with annoyance when the two girls disappeared, "We'll be waiting for them for another hour!"
"When is your duel, Yusei?" Jack questioned, ignoring Crow's ranting.
"Five p.m. We've still got some time," Yusei assured him.
Carly slammed the door after herself and Aki and twirled around to face her friend. "So?" Carly squealed excitedly, "When were you planning to tell me?"
Aki stared at the brunette in confusion. "Tell you what?" she asked innocently.
Carly was jumping up and down in excitement at this point, completely unfazed by Aki's puzzlement. "About you and Yusei, of course!" she replied.
Aki's eyes widened. "What? You know? How?" she asked.
"Of course I know! Everybody knows! Besides the fact that the two of you are missing for hours in his room, I see how you guys look at each other now...and it's kind of a dead giveaway," Carly explained with a bright smile.
Aki lowered her eyes, feeling self-conscious, but still couldn't help a timid smile from appearing on her lips. "Yes...all of that is true..." she admitted, her face flushing.
Carly squealed even louder at Aki's confirmation. "OH MY GOD I KNEW IT! This is so great, Aki! But now you have to tell me everything. EVERYTHING! How was it? How was it? Was it good? Did you do it again and how is it now? Please tell me everything and don't spare me any details! Please!" Carly screamed.
Aki blushed even harder and clasped her hand over her friend's mouth to silence further outbursts. "Shhhhhh! They'll hear you!" she hissed at her.
The guys outside turned their heads when they heard some muffled screaming coming from the room where Aki and Carly were.
Crow chuckled. "Whatever they're doing in there...it sounds hot."
"Maybe they're just discussing something exciting, who knows," Bruno suggested.
"True...they must have some new juicy gossip to discuss," Crow nodded and stared at Yusei.
Yusei stared back at Crow. "What?"
"Oh my god," Aki mumbled, pressing her hands against her burning cheeks. How could she possibly tell Carly about something so...intimate and graphic?
"Please? I promise I won't tell anyone! At least tell me the basics!" Carly begged.
"Okay, fine," Aki surrendered. She paused for a second, trying to think of where to start. "Um...okay, um...so the first time happened two days ago..." she finally mumbled. And then the other six times followed including the one this morning, she suddenly thought in embarrassment. How could they possibly have done so much in just two days? She never thought that could be possible…but obviously she's been proven wrong.
"Eeeeee! And how was it?" Carly pressed excitedly, orienting her back to her first time.
"Um...uh..." Aki just really didn't know what to say or how to say it. Having detailed sex conversations just was not something she had done often. She didn't even have the conversation with her own parents and had to pick up on everything by herself from books and movies. And it wasn't until Carly that she had even started discussing sex. She always did all the listening too while Carly would share some general stuff as well as some of her escapades with Jack. "It...hurt a lot and was very...uh...awkward...but then..." Aki finally managed and hid her face behind her hands, feeling like the dirtiest things were coming out of her mouth.
"Then what? It got good?" Carly giggled.
Aki nodded, unable to hide her silly smile as she recalled the heated and amazing events of her first night. "And um...while we were busy and it started to feel like...best, ever...I-uh...I almost said I loved him," she added, having suddenly recalled a particular occasion from that night and decided that she could share the romantic aspect of it. But, having just said it, she only now realized how silly it sounded and felt embarrassed. She now actually felt glad that she never finished saying it to Yusei during. It might have killed everything.
"Oh Aki!" Carly exclaimed, "So you came and during your first time too, wow! It's definitely overwhelming when that happens."
"No!" Aki exclaimed defensively and Carly stared in surprise. "I mean...yes, that happened," Aki hurried to explain, her tomato red blush now permanent on her face, "But no, I wasn't just saying it because of that. I-I...I really do, Carly. I love him. I always have."
Outside, Crow began chuckling. "I'm really happy for you, Yusei," he said, "For real. You lucky dog. Finally, eh man? Congratulations!"
Yusei sighed.
"And how's it going? Eh? Everything great?" Crow continued bothering him and elbowed him repeatedly.
Yusei glared with annoyance. He wasn't going to brag about anything or discuss anything in detail, it wasn't anybody else's business.
"Crow, leave him be," Jack sighed.
"Never! This is so fun – just look at him, he's so happy and so in love!" Crow exclaimed.
At that last comment Yusei flinched and suddenly felt like his face was set on fire.
Unfortunately that only encouraged his orange-haired friend even more.
"Look, he's blushing! Aww, that's so cute," Crow laughed and now reached over and pinched Yusei's his cheek, beginning to sing, "Yusei loves Aki, Yusei looooooooves Aki, he loooooooves her, he will marry her, he will f-….wait, you guys did that first, haha. Okay, then Yusei loooooves Aki, he fuuuuuuuuu-"
"Crow, cut that out!" Yusei snapped, smacking Crow's hand away, while, regardless of how much he willed it not to, his face burnt even hotter as a result of childish taunting.
At this point, even though he was originally on Yusei's side, a mocking grin graced Jack's proud features. "Is Crow right, are you? How ridiculous," he mused.
"No, I…I don't know," Yusei muttered, completely flustered with all the teasing and being put on the spot like this. Why was this up for discussion anyway?
"How could you not know?" Crow laughed.
"How do you know?" Carly asked Aki in the next room.
"I…I just know. It's not something you could possibly put into words. I just…I just feel so much for him and…I always want to be with him, and I know that I always will. And nobody else could suffice but him," Aki answered sheepishly.
"Oh, Aki," Carly breathed, smiling brightly with delight.
"I…I just don't know," Yusei repeated. Well, he knew some things. Like, for one, he knew that he liked Aki. He knew that he liked everything about her and he always did. He knew that he wanted to be with her, that he wanted her to be his and only his. He knew that he wanted to be there to protect her, to take care of her if she's ever unwell…And he knew that he would do anything and everything for her… So...what did all those things mean then? It couldn't be just a simple crush, right? Is there some strange step in-between a crush and love? Or was he just stubborn and confused because if all that wasn't love…then what was?
Crow rolled his eyes at Yusei's pause when, all of a sudden, Bruno began reciting in a monotone and robotic voice. "Love is the human emotion of strong affection and personal attachment and is often the source of creative art and literature. Leading experts divide the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment," he said, his computer-like eyes blank as he stared forward. It was as if he was reading from the documents in front of him. "Physiologically, it involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen and exterior responses such as heavy breathing, perspiration, flushed skin and sexual arousal," Bruno concluded.
Yusei, Crow and Jack all stared at Bruno, completely dumbfounded.
"Okay, Bruno? It really creeps me out when you do that," Crow finally admitted.
Bruno looked very sad. "I'm sorry," he said apologetically, looking down, "I was just trying to help. I thought that giving a definition of the phenomenon of love could help Yusei make up his mind by comparing his experience to that of scientific evidence."
"Yeah, that part about heavy breathing, sweating and sexual arousal really paints a picture," Jack snickered, "Apparently science considers masturbating as equivalent to being in love."
Crow laughed loudly at Jack's comment.
"Should I recite some famous love poems then? Would an artistic description be more helpful?" Bruno attempted.
"Don't worry about it, Bruno," Yusei said gently, appreciating the effort no matter how random, unwanted and hilarious it was, "Thank you."
Bruno smiled at him with gratitude.
"Okay, Yusei, I'll make it easy for you: you know you're in love if, after having sex with a hot girl the first couple of times, you can actually imagine having sex with that same girl two years from now. There. Nice and simple," Crow said decidedly and grinned, looking very pleased with himself as if he had just provided the most helpful of inputs.
Crow, always so romantic, Yusei thought involuntarily. "I really don't care to hear about this," he finally stated his opinion. Seriously, when did he, at any point, ask for any advice from them?
"If anything, Crow, you just described a case of convenience and good sex," Jack commented with an entertained smirk.
"At least I offered some useful input. What did you contribute rather than bitch?" Crow rolled his eyes in annoyance at Jack, completely ignoring Yusei's interruption.
"Okay, fine!" Jack snapped and neared Yusei. "Yusei, love is a woman-made concept because they have all these feelings and things and care about romance and cuddly things. But sometimes…sometimes there is a rare and elusive occurrence when it happens to a guy too. It's very rare, Yusei, and it almost never happens. But this is how you can tell if it happened to you: it's when she asks you for your Ramen noodles and you don't mind sharing."
"Jack, I know you're blonde and whatnot, but you can be so stupid sometimes," Crow said, barely keeping a straight face after that explanation, "The world doesn't revolve around your stupid noodles! And that's not what being in love is like for most people!"
"What matters is whatever I sign meaning to. So if that's what constitutes love for me then that's all that matters!" Jack shouted defensively.
Yusei watched the interaction between his two best friends in silence, at that point not knowing or even caring how any of what they said applied to him. But, at the very least, they made it quite hilarious.
"How do I love thee? Let me count the ways: I love thee to the depth and breadth and height…" Bruno began reading the poem in monotone voice.
"Carly, do you think that Yusei and I could work out?" Aki asked her friend in the adjacent room.
Carly nodded. "Definitely! I mean yeah, I had my doubts but after seeing the two of you for real now…I really think so," Carly said, still smiling happily.
Aki breathed in relief. She remembered how much Carly's worried reaction to Yusei's kiss hurt her, and was comforted to receive her support. "…And um…do you think that Yusei…uh…feels the same way about me as I feel about him? After all, what if…what if he doesn't even believe in love?" Aki asked shyly and worriedly.
"I think he does," Carly reassured her, "Yusei's a bit hard to read but I'm certain that he feels the same. Guys can't be that complicated."
Aki nodded dumbly, unable to hide her wide smile.
By the time she and Carly walked out of their secret conference they saw Yusei standing at the wall and looking bored, Bruno reciting a sonnet, and Jack and Crow snarling at each other in-between of occasional punching.
"You guys really know how to spend time together," Carly sighed and clung to Jack's arm, pulling him away from Crow.
"What? He started it!" Jack exclaimed, pointing at Crow.
"Pfft, no! If anything it was Yusei who started it!" Crow answered, quickly shifting the blame.
Yusei tensed up and glanced at Crow with anger.
"Regarding what?" Aki asked inquisitively as she closured Yusei and smiled dreamily at him.
Yusei continued eyeing Crow with a deadly look in his eyes. He was almost daring Crow to go there. Because if Crow goes there…if he tells Aki what they were talking about…then heads will roll.
Crow stared back at Yusei and a mischievous smile coloured his features. "My memory's been kind of hazy recently. But a big part of it was about you, actually," Crow said, winking at Aki.
"Is that so?" Aki stared at Yusei excitedly.
The all familiar burning sensation returned to Yusei's face no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. He really hated Crow sometimes.
"Yup! Maybe Yusei could fill you in on that later," Crow grinned, unbothered by the look Yusei as giving him.
"It's nothing, Aki," Yusei hurried to say and took deep breaths which quickly helped calm and conceal his state of embarrassment. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing," he repeated and then quickly added, "Let's get going now," before Crow could open his mouth to refute.
"Alright," Aki shrugged, figuring that if it was something important then Yusei would tell her about it eventually.
They all began making their way out of Poppo Time except for Bruno who had to stay behind, being an unintentional babysitter for Rua and Ruka. Carly insisted to go with the four Signers despite not being listed for FDA. "I'm a reporter: I can get into anything, regardless of how exclusive," Carly convinced them.
It was close to 4:45 when the five of them made it to the abandoned-looking stadium and, after telling the password, they were allowed in. Crow, Carly and Jack took a few seconds to stop and gape once they entered into the stadium, and Carly disappeared right before they were about to be questioned by the bouncer after assuring them that she'd find some kind of a side entrance.
Yusei, Aki, Crow and Jack finally made it through without a problem and were soon waiting by the sidelines of the upper level Riding Duel arena for Team Unicorn's Jean.
"This place is awesome..." Crow mumbled in amazement, looking around.
Jack came back after checking his FDA duelling profile and he had a smug grin on his face. It looked like being listed as one of the highest rated duellists did wonders for his ego.
"I just accepted five out of forty challenges to a Riding Duel. A lot of people want to see if they can take on Jack Atlas' power, as you can see," Jack told them proudly.
"I take it you're planning to come here quite frequently," Yusei remarked.
"Of course. Until we get to the bottom of this I say I get to have some fun. There hasn't been anything bad going on since the duelling prohibition anyway," Jack answered.
"Yeah, why not?" Crow shrugged, agreeing with him.
Yusei shook his head, looking away.
Aki noticed Yusei's unease with his friends' trouble-free attitudes and she shared it. Although, at the same time, she kind of sympathized with Crow and Jack and their duel starvation.
Crow patted Yusei's shoulder, "Cheer up, dude. Nothing bad will come of it."
Yusei didn't have time to respond because they suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice call out his name and all of them spun around to face Jean. His team-mates, Andore and Breo, stood on either side of him.
"Jean," Yusei smiled and reached out to shake his hand, "Long time no see. Thank you for accepting this duel."
"The pleasure is all mine, of course," Jean said politely, "It's time we've got our rematch."
"Yes," Yusei nodded and when Jean departed to his D-Wheel, he followed suit by wheeling his own D-Wheel into the arena.
Aki watched him, chewing on her bottom lip in anxiety, and ran after him.
"What's going on, Aki?" Yusei asked with a frown as he mounted his D-Wheel. The duel was about to start.
"You're not using that card this duel, right?" she asked him worriedly and dropped her voice, leaning closer so only he could hear her in case somebody was eavesdropping. "The Sky Dragon of Osiris, that is?" she clarified.
"No," Yusei said, fastening his helmet, "Jean's strategy does not call for it."
Aki nodded but still looked apprehensive and Yusei noticed it.
"Hey," he said gently and reached out to hold her hand, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. This duel will go alright."
"This duel is not what worries me, Yusei," Aki said and gravely pointed at the announcer's box above the duelling arena, feeling a shudder pass through her. Yusei followed her gesture and saw then that Mahdi was watching them with a blank look on his face.
"Good. He holds to his promise," Yusei said coldly.
Aki wished that Yusei didn't have to duel Mahdi. After that guy almost killed Crow and his supposed relation to all the deaths happening in this city, Aki wanted nothing more for him than to drop dead, no matter how heinous and unethical that thinking might have been. But she could no longer waste any more of Yusei's time and so, after wishing him the best of luck and summoning one of his stunning butterflies-in-the-stomach-causing smiles, Aki ran to stand with Crow and Jack at the sidelines.
"Riding Duel Acceleration," Yusei and Jean announced in unison after Speed World 2 activated, and sped off, racing to take the first turn. Yusei was the one to achieve this task.
"Ore no turn," he announced and drew a card.
[Yusei Fudo]
[Beginning of Turn One: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]
|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 0]|
|[Jean's Speed Counters: 0]|
"I summon Shield Warrior in Defence mode," Yusei said and a Level 3 monster in appearance of a knight, holding a large shield, showed up. Its attack was 800 points and defence was 1600 points.
"I also place two cards face down and end my turn," he concluded as two hidden cards appeared.
Aki tried hard to concentrate on the duel but was unable to keep herself from staring at Mahdi instead. She found it fascinating how she could loathe somebody so much without exchanging more than a few words with them. It was almost like some kind of morbid curiosity too, it seemed, because even though he was a monster she couldn't help but admit that he certainly wasn't horrible-looking. He was tall, as tall as Jack, but while Jack was perfectly chiselled and built Mahdi was more on a scrawny side. His face was that of perfect symmetry, however, and his high cheekbones and full lips painted him as classically handsome. But those pitch-black eyes of his just sent her shivering in disgust: there was something so intrinsically awful behind them, she could feel it but she couldn't know for certain. Thankfully, Mahdi didn't notice her observing him as it appeared that his whole attention was on Yusei's duel.
"The bastard looks high and mighty up there, doesn't he?" she heard Crow's voice beside her and for a moment looked away from the threat to look at her friend. Crow apparently made notice of Mahdi as well.
"I'm tempted to just get up there and beat the living crap out of him," Crow growled, clenching his fists.
"I wish that could solve everything," Aki smiled sadly.
"Perhaps not but it will definitely be satisfying. If this guy is in any way connected to those sacrificial duels then he deserves more than just beating," Crow said.
Agreed, Aki thought. She resumed her absent staring at Mahdi and by the time she turned her attention back to Yusei's duel, Jean had declared his second turn.
[Jean]
[Beginning of Turn Two: Trident Warrior (Lvl.4) ATK1800/DEF1200 in Attack mode; 2 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP3800]
|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 2]|
|[Jean's Speed Counters: 3]|
"I Summon Delta Fly in Attack mode," Jean said and a dragon-like Level 3 tuner-monster appeared, its attack at 1500 points and its defence points at 900. "Delta Fly special effect activates," Jean smirked and gestured at his Trident Warrior, "Once per turn I can select another monster on my field and increase its level by one. So Trident Warrior is at Level 5 now."
"Is he going for a Synchro Summon already?" Jack pondered.
"Oh god, not Lightning Tricorn," Crow groaned, "That was such a pain in the ass during the WRPG's."
"Now I tune my Level 3 Delta Fly to my Level 5 Trident Warrior to Synchro Summon Lightning Tricorn!" Jean announced and began chanting, "Galloping in the heavens like thunder, going through the pitch-black sky, this lightning will strike the Earth and incinerate it! Synchro Summon! Shine, Lightning Tricorn!"
So far this is going according to plan, Yusei thought as he watched Jean's ace monster, a golden unicorn, make an appearance on the field.
"And now, Lightning Tricorn, attack his Bolt Hedgehog!" Jean ordered and his monster charged into battle.
Yusei wasn't going to let this go through, especially not when his Bolt Hedgehog was forcefully switched to Attack mode last turn. And not when he was planning to Synchro summon next turn. "I activate my trap, Forceful Stop – by sending Bolt Hedgehog to the Graveyard and I can end the Battle Phase this turn," he said and discarded his monster into the Graveyard, watching as Lightning Tricorn returned to Jean's side of the field.
"You still have an open field," Jean chuckled at Yusei's situation but then shrugged, "But alright, better for me. I place one more card face down and end my turn," he finished.
[Jean]
[End of Turn Two: Lightning Tricorn (Lvl.8) ATK2800/DEF2000 in Attack mode; 3 Cards on Field; 1 Cards in hand; LP3800]
|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 2]|
|[Jean's Speed Counters: 3]|
"Yusei better have a plan," Crow grumbled.
"Why wouldn't he?" Aki asked calmly.
"My turn," Yusei declared and drew a card.
[Yusei Fudo]
[Beginning of Turn Three: 0 Monsters; 2 Cards on Field; 3 Cards in hand; LP2800]
|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 3]|
|[Jean's Speed Counters: 4]|
Yusei looked at Junk Synchron he just drew and it was perfect.
"I Summon Junk Synchron in Attack mode," he proclaimed and his trustworthy Level 3 tuner-monster, its appearance that of a small yellow robot, showed up on his side of the field. Its attack points were at 1300 points and defence at 500.
"When Junk Synchron is successfully Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my Graveyard. I choose Speed Warrior," Yusei said and watched as a second monster, this one in a form of a lean android, appeared. Its stats showed its Level as 2 and its attack at 900 and defence at 300.
"Additionally," Yusei went on, "When there is a tuner-monster on my field, I can Special Summon Bolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard. Come back, Bolt Hedgehog," and a Level 2 hamster-like monster returned, its attack and defence points both at 800.
"Oh god," Crow muttered almost inaudibly and Aki tore away from Yusei's duel to gaze at him in confusion. She saw him worried and practically gnawing at his nails as he watched the duel at hand. "Three monsters..." he whispered.
"Crow...what's going on?" she asked him slowly.
Crow winced, as if snapping out of his daze, and quickly wiped off the worry from his face. "Nothing," he said, faking a smile at her.
Aki had just about enough of his mysterious demeanour. She might have let it go yesterday but she wasn't going to do it today. So she just grabbed Crow's arm and dragged him out into the crowd despite his protesting and Jack's curious watching.
"Now I tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron to my Level 2 Speed Warrior and to my Level 2 Bolt Hedgehog to Synchro Summon Junk Archer!" Yusei carried on, his whole attention on the duel, and so he was completely oblivious that two of his friends had just abandoned him, "Clustering roars, turn into an echoing arrow which tears through the sky! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Archer!
Meanwhile, Aki pulled Crow aside into the quieter corner of the floor – a difficult task considering the whole floor was packed with cheering spectators on Yusei's duel – and faced him with an inquiring look in her eyes.
Crow looked distracted as he instead stared up at the duel summary on the TV monitor above them and sighed with relief. "Junk Archer, a good choice," he mumbled, completely in his own world.
"Crow, seriously? What's going on?" Aki asked him impatiently.
"Oh," he looked back at her and gave her one of his silly signature grins, rubbing the back of his head, "It's nothing. I was just wondering about what kind of a monster Yusei was going to summon."
"Crow, you're kind of an open book. It's really easy to tell when you're lying," Aki said, pursing her lips into a thin line.
Crow sighed and looked away, contemplating. Aki saw how serious and concerned he looked again and she knew that this was definitely something important.
"I was just kind of worried that he'd summon that Egyptian God Card instead. Three monsters tribute and all," Crow finally said.
Aki tensed. Of course she didn't want Yusei summoning that monster for her own reasons – him getting hurt the times he did it, the mysteriousness of the card, the monster's retaliation against Crow – but what was Crow's reason? He was definitely not saying something.
"Crow...just tell me what's going on."
Crow let out another sigh, looking very apprehensive and uncertain. In the end he conceded. "Alright...but Aki, you must promise me not to get mad at me until I'm done explaining myself. Is that alright?" he asked.
"Okay," Aki promised, nodding stiffly.
Crow drew in a deep breath. "So I-uh...I kind of lied about not remembering anything about my duel with Mahdi. I actually remember everything," he started and smiled awkwardly.
Aki stared. "Crow!" she exclaimed with disbelief, "Are you serious? Why would you do that?"
"Okay, you promised not to get mad! Just listen," Crow pleaded and grabbed her shoulders for emphasis, "What happened that night was that I was coming from a coffee shop and Mahdi was waiting for me by my D-Wheel. When I asked him who he was and what he wanted with me he said that he looking for whoever it is that has the Sky Dragon of Osiris."
Aki tensed in shock. "Are you saying...that Mahdi is looking for the owner of Sky Dragon? But...why?" she whispered and then, overtaken with abrupt anger and concern, she shouted, "AND YOU HAVEN'T TOLD US ABOUT THIS RIGHT AWAY? If he's looking for the owner of Sky Dragon then Yusei just walked into his trap! He might use the Dragon when duelling against him, don't you understand? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"
"I know, I know! Please don't yell!" Crow hurried to say, "Just listen to me first! So I have no idea why he wants the Sky Dragon. But he said that he was given a mission to find out who summoned it. So he must be acting on behalf of somebody else. He also called the Sky Dragon a servant of an Egyptian God and said that it took flight for the first time in twenty or so years."
Aki had to keep herself from strangling Crow but at the same time his words made her ponder. "Twenty or so years is consistent with the timeline Mokuba painted regarding Mutou Yugi. And it was his card after all," she responded, thoughtfully.
"Yeah, he was definitely referring to Yugi," Crow nodded, "But, in addition to all that, Mahdi said that, with Sky Dragon's abrupt presence, he was also wondering if some Great Pharaoh had come back to life to restore some Great Balance."
"...And what does that mean?" Aki asked.
"No idea," Crow shrugged, "The whole pharaoh thing probably refers to the spirit of that ancient Egyptian pharaoh that lived with Mutou Yugi. I don't remember his name. But how does that make the Sky Dragon of Osiris the "Servant of an Egyptian God"? What Egyptian God? Wasn't it the servant of Mutou Yugi and his spirit sidekick? Or is that just a nonsensical take on the Sky Dragon's name? Also, how does that relate to that Great Balance thing?"
Aki had to take a deep breath to calm herself before she finally spoke up. "Crow. Crow. Are you listening to me now? Okay," she shrugged off his hands off her and was the one to grab his shoulders now, "These are the kinds of questions we should have been thinking about since you've duelled Mahdi! We might have figured it out by now and we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with! You're the most irresponsible, egotistical, s-"
"I know, I know!" Crow interrupted her, "But you promised that you wouldn't get mad! Just listen to the rest before I explain my reasons, please? Okay, so then Mahdi went on about the sacrificial duels, saying that if people are given any means to achieve the end that they will go for it. So that kind of explains why so many people bought the whole blood duels pretence. He also went on to say that the city is destined to destroy itself and how Set is making the whole thing right and how he will become the new God of everything."
"Really, Crow, that's just great," Aki mumbled in shock, simply unable to believe that he kept all this critical information hidden from them.
"So since he was basically looking for Yusei and I would never give out my best friend," Crow went on, ignoring her rumbling, "I challenged him to a duel. He said he'd only duel somebody with the Sky Dragon and so I presented the card to him – since I had stolen it from Yusei that day – and he accepted the duel. He said that it was an honour to duel the Chosen One. And then when the Sky Dragon of Osiris wouldn't obey me, Mahdi said that it was refusing me because it had found a master but that master wasn't me. And then he went on this maniacal rant about how I couldn't be the Chosen One and how I don't have the power to control a God. And that's all that happened during my encounter," he concluded.
Aki was glaring at him in silence. Seriously, Crow, what the hell? What's wrong with you, she was thinking, How could you possibly not tell us any of that?
"So I've been doing some thinking and the conclusion I came to is that Yusei is somehow the Chosen One…for something, I don't know. And that the Sky Dragon of Osiris had chosen him as its master – which explains the dragon's mark on his arm – and that he's the only one that has the power to control it now – which also explains why it went all ballistic on me. Of course it doesn't explain why it hurts him to summon it but we'll figure out things a few steps at a time," Crow decided to share some of his thoughts with her.
Aki couldn't even think about anything he told her. How could she? It was all too much, too complicated and too mystical to figure out on the spot. And this was something that all of them should have been thinking about right after it happened. Aki was only capable of saying one thing and it was "Crow…why did you hide all this?"
Crow sighed. "Because I don't want Yusei to fight Mahdi," he answered.
"How chivalrous, Crow," Aki said, her voice chillingly harsh, "But guess what? I don't want him to fight Mahdi either. It's dangerous. But it has to be done so we could find out the answers to ALL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE CONVENIENTLY HIDDEN FROM US."
Crow didn't seem distraught by her argument and maintained his ground, saying, "No, Aki, you don't understand, Aki – Yusei, he's...he's not bulletproof."
Aki suddenly felt very hurt. It felt like he was implying that she neither knew nor cared that Yusei could get wounded in these battles. As if she had some delusional expectations of Yusei and didn't know something so obvious about him. "…Crow, how could you say that to me?" she asked, her voice pained, "I know that. I never said that I wanted him to duel Mahdi. I know it's dangerous but I also know that we need to get to the bottom of this. But how…how could you imply that I don't care that Yusei could get hurt?
Crow apparently caught on to what he had said and he looked guilty for having offended her. "No, Aki, I didn't mean it like that! That's not it at all!" he hurried to say and grabbed her forearms, "It's more like, why does Yusei have do to it? Why should he be the one to take on Mahdi? To take on every big threat? Why does he have to do everything? I mean yeah, is it expected of him? Sure. But is he the one that has to do it? No."
Even though he probably meant well when he said it Aki still felt like she was slapped. It's like he was saying that she had no idea the pressure Yusei could be under and like she was heartless and never considered Yusei's feelings about anything. "Why do you say it like that?" she whispered, "He's burdened, yes. But like with the Signers and the Yliaster, destiny had chosen him to be. And we were always behind him every step of the way. We did anything we could to help him. We never abandoned him on his journey, Crow."
"But don't you see? I mean yeah, it could be his destiny this time as well but it also could be not. Regardless, we must do anything in our power to ease his burden, make it easier for him. He may be the strongest of us, he may be the one who can do anything...but even the strongest of us can break," Crow told her and distractedly looked at his hands holding on to her bare arms. He quickly released his grip on her but, to be fair, AKi didn't notice because she was completely numb. "Have you ever seen Yusei pushed to a breaking point? I have. I saw him cry, Aki. But only twice, in nearly sixteen years of my knowing him," he said quietly.
"Twice?" Aki asked, her voice inaudible. But she had witnessed that once: when Crow was in the hospital and Yusei was on a brink of total meltdown. When he revealed to her that he sometimes didn't know if he was capable of doing anything or how he could possibly help people, and how weak and powerless he sometimes felt. It was awful. It made Aki's heart ache in agony remembering it and how she struggled to console him by telling him that he wasn't alone and that he would always have all of his friends behind him. It reflected the pain and the burden he first shared with her before they decided to be together...and how she mistakenly thought that she had been able to ease it off him. So was Crow right? Could everything she had done up to now have not been enough to heal Yusei's pain?
"Yes, twice," Crow nodded, "One was recent and it was during his duel with Rutger Godwin. That bastard drove Yusei to a breaking point. In case you haven't heard about it, Yusei revealed that he had mentally taken on the responsibility for the Zero Reverse. He had decided that every death, every suffering that had happened as a result of that accident, was something that he was responsible for. That it was an awful legacy passed on to him from his father. And that he was the only one who could fix his everything, to ease everyone's suffering. It was bad, Aki. At that point, listening to that horrible darkness in his heart, I wondered how it was that he had managed to wake up every morning and face the day, how he could possibly be as carefree and fun as he is sometimes."
Aki felt a sick void form in the pit of her stomach. "I...I didn't know this," she whispered in shock.
"Yeah, but that's more or less okay now. Jack and I had a talk with him and we reassured him that it wasn't his fault, that he doesn't have to suffer the responsibility for Zero Reverse, and it was fine. But think about it. Just think about the process, the state of his mind that caused him to take all that on," Crow said.
Aki looked down, feeling both guilty and disturbed.
"And do you know the first and only other time I've ever seen him cry? It was when he was 8 years old and when he, Jack and I and a couple of other kids were climbing up this huge tree. We climbed up pretty high and the branch Yusei stepped on broke and he fell. It was hilarious so we all laughed like crazy, him included. But then, later in the evening, I accidentally stumbled on him in the basement of the orphanage and found him sitting in the corner and crying. I thought it was funny and couldn't wait to tell others but he asked me not to tell anyone about it. When I asked why, he said this: he told me that Satellite was the place where only the strongest could survive; and that if he was going to change things for the better and to save everyone then he had to be the strongest he could be. Keep in mind that this was a little kid saying this. And it turned out that he had five of his ribs broken in the fall and he was only crying because by night-time he could barely handle the pain. He had to have emergency surgery right away and, mind you, without the luxuries of aesthetic. And he had not shed a tear since, nor broken down until that time with Rutger," Crow finished recalling the story.
Aki resumed staring at the ground, feeling like Crow was yelling all these things at her. It felt almost incomprehensible.
"So do you see what I mean? Why I had told you all that? It's just what Yusei does: he bottles things up and, if he suffers, he'd rather suffer alone and never tell anyone about it because, to him, it's like he'd be unnecessarily burdening everyone. That's just what he's like, completely selfless, living for everyone but he wouldn't have it any other way, don't you see? And that's why all of us must do our best to try and diffuse the responsibility he'd chosen to take on," Crow concluded, finally telling her the innermost layers of his intentions.
"Are we less helpful this time than we could be? Are we letting him down this time?" Aki asked, feeling nearly dead on the inside, and finally looked up to meet Crow's grey eyes.
"I'm only saying that we must help make it easier for him. So, in this case, rather than letting him walk into Mahdi's trap one of us could duel Mahdi instead. Find out what's going on. Get to the bottom of this. And then if it truly is Yusei's destiny to duel Set – whoever or whatever he'd happen to be – then Yusei would eventually do what he has to do. But he will not have to do everything to get to that point. We will help him get there, make it as easier for him as we can," Crow said.
"Okay," Aki nodded rigidly, "What...how were you planning of going about it, Crow?"
"I thought that I would take on Mahdi and find out everything Yusei needs to know. But by myself, my deck, and my trustworthy Black Feather Dragon. So without the Sky Dragon to unnecessarily take me down. I will prepare my deck especially against Mahdi's anti-Synchro card and that energy-sucking monster of his. I can do it. I am capable. I was also going to tell Jack everything and then maybe he and I could do this together," Crow responded.
Aki smiled weakly. She found it darkly amusing how well-thought out and altruistic Crow's plan was. He could be so sweet. He was a true friend and she wasn't because she was fine with feeding Yusei to the lions.
"Is there anything I could do to help?" she asked practically inaudibly. She really wanted to know. She wanted to help. She wanted to do something, anything, to help Yusei because after he had helped her and saved her – from Divine, Arcadia and from herself – she had abandoned him.
"Yes. Something very important," Crow nodded, "Yusei can't find out about this, okay? That's why I lied to him, that's why I didn't tell him anything. He won't listen and it'll just further convince him that he has to do the whole thing by himself. He'll do anything to protect his friends, to protect us. But...he will listen to one person and that's you, Aki."
"Why me?" she inquired dumbly, her voice faint. Because they were going out now? Because they slept together? Is that what constituted it?
Crow studied her for a long moment before speaking up, gently. "Because he will. Aki...he really has it bad for you, you know? He'll do anything you'd ask of him. Anything. It's...it's true."
Aki's gaze found the floor. She...didn't know what she felt.
"Once Yusei sets his mind on something he won't let it go," Crow went on, "But you can change that, Aki. And your task is so much simpler than that, even: rather than telling him everything and making him feel guilty, you just need to keep him away from duelling Mahdi." He distractedly glanced over at the announcer box where Mahdi was. "That's it. Just for a few days. I'll talk to Jack today and we'll figure out what to do. And everything will be fine."
Aki met the ginger's eyes, her gaze calculating and yet still dazed. Well, Crow's suggestion seemed reasonable enough. If she did that then it could definitely be pretty helpful for them. But…couldn't she do more? Much more?
It suddenly occurred to Aki that she knew exactly what to do. She didn't know why she didn't think of it earlier. It was so simple and absurdly stupid, even, to not have thought of it until now.
She would challenge Mahdi. That was it. She would challenge him and he would accept because he probably wouldn't mind getting back at her for making him lose the duel with her powers. And it will be alright because she could have her powers to protect her if anything should go wrong during a duel.
A slow smile touched her lips. It was a perfect plan. She would alleviate Yusei of his burden – just as Crow suggested they do – and she would become a worthy and grateful friend for everything Yusei had done for her. It was only fair. He deserved the best of her, of everyone.
"Okay," Aki said, finally responding to Crow's request. She was satisfied. And she suddenly felt very light, as light as a feather. Very light and very happy. She had found a way to help Yusei, to make him happier, and, after everything Crow had said, to become better herself.
Because she loved Yusei and she would do anything for him. She always would.
Crow sighed in relief, "I'm glad I've spoken to you about this. And that you agree with me. I think that if we all work together on this rather than let Yusei do all the work then it will all happen for the best."
"Yes," Aki smiled brighter. It wasn't right of course – they wouldn't be doing this together, she would be the one to do it, but technically they had come to a unitary consensus. And it was fine. She would do anything in her power to help Yusei. But she wouldn't tell Crow anything about it, no, not until it's over.
Crow didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with Aki's expressions or thought process. Instead he looked up at the TV monitor above them and smiled lightly, "Yusei's duel is almost over now. Let's hurry back to catch his big finale."
Aki nodded and hurried after Crow back to the duelling arena.
"Where did the two of you disappear to for an hour? You missed the whole thing," Jack told to them with discontent when they got there.
"Yeah, you missed Yusei's big comeback after Jean had been in the lead for the majority of the time," Carly added. Apparently she had somehow managed to make it inside and, judging by the dust on her clothing and a gray smudge on her face, she had probably used a ventilation vent of some sort.
"Awesome!" Crow grinned excitedly, "Go Yusei! KICK HIS ASS!"
"You can do it!" Aki cheered.
Meanwhile, Yusei declared his 11th turn. This was a very long and draining duel and yet, nonetheless, enjoyable. And looking at the Speed Spell he just drew he knew that this was going to be his last turn.
[Yusei Fudo]
[Beginning of Turn Eleven: Nitro Warrior (Lvl.7) ATK2800/DEF1800 in Attack mode; 2 Cards on Field; 2 Cards in hand; LP700]
|[Yusei's Speed Counters: 7]|
|[Jean's Speed Counters: 10]|
"I play a Speed Spell, Speed Energy – when I have six or more Speed Counters I can give Nitro Warrior extra 200 attack points for each Speed Counter I have. So that's extra 1400 Attack points," Yusei said and Nitro Warrior roared, its attack power at the whopping 4200 now.
Jean seemed completely unfazed but Yusei expected that reaction. Of course Jean had some traps up his sleeve but he was prepared for that.
"And now, Nitro Warrior, attack his Lightning Tricorn!" Yusei ordered and watched as his monster with 4200 attack points destroyed Jean's Lightning Tricorn with its inferior 2800 points. Since Lightning Tricorn was in Attack mode, Jean was to receive 1400 damage to his 1600 Life Points.
"Yeah, not so fast – I activate my Trap card, Return Damage," Jean smirked and activated his face-down card, "When my opponent inflicts battle damage to me, that damage is negated and inflicted on my opponent instead. Also, when Lightning Tricorn is destroyed, I can Special Summon Thunder Unicorn from my Graveyard." Thunder Unicorn appeared on his field, preventing his field from being open for any direct attacks.
At the sidelines, Carly gasped in distress at the activation of Jean's trap. "But that would mean that Yusei will lose!" she exclaimed, while Crow held his breath, Jack narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, and Aki just stood there with a blank expression on her face.
"Then I activate a Counter Trap card, Shining Silver Force," Yusei intervened, "I can negate damage from your trap card and, as a result, destroy all Magic and Trap cards on your side of the field, Jean!"
"Yes!" Crow, Aki and Carly cheered.
"Good but not good enough, Yusei!" Jean shouted and activated another face down card, "I activate Counter Counter – I can negate activation of a Counter Trap card and destroy it. So your 1400 points of damage goes back to you!"
"Oh god," Carly gasped, "Does it mean it's over for Yusei now?"
"Then I activate my last Trap card, Joint Future," Yusei declared and flipped up his last face down card, "By sending one card from my hand to the Graveyard I can negate the activation of my opponent's Trap card. So your Counter Counter is flipped face down."
Jean growled as the 1400 points of damage were about to affect his 1600 Life Points and he could do nothing to stop it.
"By the way," Yusei smiled lightly, "If Nitro Warrior is on the field when I activate a Speed Spell, its attack increases by additional 1000 points but only during the Battle Damage calculation phase. I played Speed Energy at the beginning of my turn so the damage you receive from Nitro Warrior is not 1400 but actually 2400 points of damage."
"Always one step ahead, Yusei, as always," Jean smiled in defeat as his Life Points plunged down to zero and the duel was finally over.
[Winner: Yusei Fudo]
The stadium erupted in cheering and applauding.
Carly and Crow both almost collapsed from relief.
Jack just shrugged like he knew that this duel will work out exactly the way it did all along.
And Aki smiled brightly, waving at her lover.
Yusei stopped next to Jean and dismounted his D-Wheel, walking up to his opponent. "Thank you for the duel, Jean," Yusei said and reached out to shake his hand.
Jean nodded. "It was great. I can't wait for a rematch, Yusei," he said with a smile and departed the arena with his friends Andore and Breo, while Jack, Carly, Crow and Aki ran up to congratulate Yusei.
"Way to go man, that was awesome," Crow said, punching his shoulder.
"Took you forever," Jack mocked him.
"What a rollercoaster!" Carly exclaimed.
"Yusei..." Aki whispered and jumped to hug him.
Yusei smiled at her, suddenly feeling nearly light-headed. It was such a delightful feeling to have somebody who would be willing to greet him like this. He couldn't believe he had waited so long until he could have this. This.
Crow smiled quickly and looked away from their first public display of affection. Carly looked ecstatic, beaming at them. Jack looked disgusted.
Yusei was about to return a hug when Jack cleared his throat and gestured up towards the announcer's box, summoning everyone's attention to it. "Looks like your main audience is also happy with the outcome," he said.
Aki released him and Yusei turned around, seeing that Mahdi was still standing in the observatory of the control room but that now he had a satisfied smirk on his face. Their eyes met and Mahdi slowly gestured at him to come up.
"Okay, let's all go say hi," Crow mumbled with unease.
Yusei stared at Crow, then at Aki, and then decidedly shook his head. "No. If anyone wants to come with me it could only be Jack," he said.
Aki glared at him in protest while Crow looked unsurprised and Carly looked confused.
"Why can't I come?" Carly complained.
"Because of that big camera in your hands," Jack pointed out and Carly blushed, hiding it behind her back. "Okay, makes sense..." she mumbled.
Yusei stared back at Aki and as their eyes met, Aki sighed dejectedly, lowering her eyes.
"We'll be right back," Yusei promised and he and Jack disappeared.
"Told you," Crow whispered so that only Aki could hear him, "He'd do anything to keep us out of trouble. Oh man, Yusei...stop being so selfless…" he sighed.
Aki just nodded to his words. It was fine and everything would be fine.
As Yusei and Jack walked towards the control room, Jack decided to share something. "Maybe you shouldn't be leaving Crow and Aki alone. They missed your whole duel because they decided to run off somewhere," he said.
Yusei felt a sudden and inexplicable stab of jealousy and instantly felt strange about it. Crow and Aki? That sounded more ridiculous than anything. Sure Crow had some hots for her but he would never do anything. And Yusei was quite certain that Aki did not feel the same for Crow. So what if two of his friends were spending some time together? He trusted them both unconditionally. "Jack, that's just stupid," he mumbled, brushing off Jack's comment.
"Whatever, just a messenger," Jack sighed with annoyance.
When they finally walked up to the announcer's box, the door snapped open and Mahdi came out. "That was positively mediocre," he greeted Yusei, completely ignoring Jack, "But whatever, you did what I asked you to do. And I always keep my promises. So name the time and the place, Fudo Yusei."
"How about now?" Yusei suggested, actually serious. The sooner this could start the sooner he could get some answers.
Mahdi laughed. "Whoa, hold your horses, kid. I've got a busy schedule so I need to know time in advance."
Yusei found it bizarre that Mahdi called him a kid. Judging by Mahdi's appearance he couldn't have been more than two years older. Still, this conversation was quickly becoming infuriating. "Tomorrow or a day after?" Yusei attempted, controlling his anger. This Mahdi was playing around with him and treating him like a fool and there was only so much of that he was willing to take.
Jack slowly cracked his knuckles.
Mahdi's grin vanished as he acknowledged Jack and began looking slightly apprehensive. Even though they were the same height it was clear that not many people could physically take on the tank that was Jack Atlas. "Day after is fine, Fudo," Mahdi finally uttered, turning to look back at Yusei, "You know where to find me." He then went back into the announcer's box and slammed the door in their faces.
"What a tool," Jack said.
"The sooner this is done the better," Yusei mumbled in loathing.
The way home to Poppo Time was uneventful and the excitement had only returned when the five of them were greeted by cheerful Rua and Ruka who insisted on knowing every single detail of Yusei's duel.
"Wasn't that exciting," Jack said smugly and got elbowed for his snarky remark by Carly who, hurried to say, "And because I found a way to get in – albeit quite complicated – the three of you could come and watch more duels!"
Bruno, Rua and Ruka cheered in happiness.
In a midst of all that cheeriness, Aki quietly whisked Yusei away so the two of them could finally be alone. They haven't been alone since this morning, when they made love.
She stopped when they were on the second floor, by his room and away from everyone, and turned around to face him.
"Are you okay?" Yusei asked with concern, gently caressing her hair, "You seem a bit distracted."
How observant, Aki thought with endearment. "Just a few things on my mind," she responded lightly.
"Like what?" he asked, leading down to trace his lips down her neck and, at the touch of his skin against hers, Aki felt like she had been shot up with electricity and her knees nearly buckled. How did he expect her to think like this? Maybe he didn't.
"Like...you," she finally managed to mumble.
"What about me?" he pressed, leaning up from her neck to look into her eyes.
"I...I was just wondering if I could steal you," Aki said and smiled when he looked surprised by that answer.
"Steal me from what?" Yusei asked in amusement.
"From...here," Aki giggled and stepped back, gesturing at the room around them, "Just to leave for a whole day. Go somewhere. Anywhere. Just you and I."
Yusei cocked his head, a smile gracing his features. "Are you asking me out on a date?" he mused.
Aki blushed and then nodded, bashfully. "Yeah...do you want to? We don't have to if you don't want to, that's totally okay," she responded quickly.
"I want to," he said. It was about time that they two of them had a proper – or, at the very least, an actual – very first date. It was probably the only thing that they, as a couple, haven't done yet. "So...when would you like me to pick you up?" he asked, barely keeping a straight face.
Aki furrowed her brows, as if thinking long and hard about this, while slowly and casually backing into his room. "I say eleven in the morning is a good time," she finally said, maintaining her seriousness, "I need some time to sleep in."
"Sounds like you're planning to stay up late," Yusei said, playing along, as he followed after her and locked the door behind him.
"Yeah, I made some plans," Aki said and let out a weary sigh, as if her "plans" were a total bore. She twirled around and absently walked towards his bed, "They might keep me busy tonight, who knows."
"Why, are you expecting some company?" Yusei asked, still playing but on the verge of folding in the towel and letting her win if that allowed him to do certain sexy things to her. Immediately.
"Um," Aki looked back at him over her shoulder, "Yes, it's kind of a private party." She then lost her serious composure and giggled, "But you're not invited."
"Yeah, right," Yusei grinned, and having had enough of all this teasing he pushed her onto the bed and kissed her in complete abandon.
And Aki wondered, in overwhelming happiness, just what she had done in her life to deserve him.
So this chapter kind of reveals Aki's unhealthy and self-destructive thought process. I think that she never truly and wholeheartedly believes that she deserves to be happy…how sad :( Obviously she's still the same, and still happy go-lucky because of Yusei and her friends, but when she's pushed her psyche reveals some of its masochism. And what else can push her more than any threat to Yusei, her only weakness? And because she'd sacrifice anything for him - and do it using any masochistic and irrational means she can – then…well, let's just say that it won't turn out too well for our protagonists :( Just a small spoiler for upcoming angsty chapters.
But, until all that depressing stuff happens, the next chapter will be their first date! It will be sweet and fluffy and happy, I promise. I think they deserve to be happy for awhile before all the angst. I can't wait to write it!
Stay tuned!