Author's Note:

Chapter 34 is finally here! It took forever.

So for the first 10 or so pages there is a lemon. It honestly doesn't need to be in this story and serves nothing to advance the plot; however since it's been years since I wrote the last one, I wanted to see if I can still do it. Also I had to write it from Yusei's POV. Let me know what you guys thought of it... I felt a little embarrassed at times, lol. It's a bit graphic.

This fanfiction is rated M for much perversion and swearing!

Finally, after the lemon, we continue with some plot but this is a pretty peaceful chapter. The calm before the storm that will come with the next one.

As always, thank you all for your support and messages! You guys never seize to bring a smile to my face.

NineInchNailed.

"At that moment - in that small, concise, perfectly clear moment of time - I knew. It was that moment I fell in love with him. It actually caused me to stop, and time froze for just a second. But that feeling was so right, and so strong, that I knew I wasn't wrong."

~Jessica Verday.

"Wake up, Yusei," a loving voice called him through the fuzzy gauze of slumber and he tried to resist. "Wake up?" she continued purring and next there were kisses across his face; as light as first snowfall, as a brush from a flying butterfly. When his eyes finally opened, she beamed at him. Her beauty – bewitching (heartbreaking). "We should start getting ready so we can go to your duel with Jean," she said.

That's hours away. Later in the evening, he thought, unhappily. He wanted to go back to sleep. So he wrapped an arm around her, hand on the back of her head, and pulled that peppy, enchanting girl down to his shoulder so she'd go back to sleep too. She giggled and he hushed her, dozing off.

It couldn't have been more than thirty minutes that he awoke, finally, by himself. Her fingers were lightly brushing over his chest and stomach, tracing indeterminate patterns.

She rested her chin on his chest, meeting his gaze; bare breasts pressing against his stomach. "Are you up, now?"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "As much as I could be, I guess."

"Why are you so tired? It's almost noon."

"Somebody likes to keep me up at night these days."

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't know you hated it."

"I know. It's been just the worst. What have I been doing with my life?"

"Hey!" she gasped and he laughed at her reaction. "Yeah, well, maybe I'll just leave, huh?"

"No, stay," he got up and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to go get ready."

She joined him in the bathroom when he began brushing his teeth. She had (unfortunately) put some clothes on: a t-shirt and shorts. "Sorry, do you mind that I left this here?" she asked, pointing at her toothbrush and a small stash of make-up next to the sink.

"Not at all."

"Oh good," she shoved him lightly with her shoulder, much to his amusement, and took up all the space at the sink. She started brushing her teeth. "I didn't even realize it but I think I've started moving into your room."

He lightly pushed her to the side so he could regain half the sink space, continuing with their playful antics. He rinsed, putting away the toothbrush. "Why don't you?" he asked, actually serious.

"Come on," she laughed, gathering some water into her cupped hands.

"Why not? I'll help move your stuff here from the other room."

"I don't know."

"Think about it," he proposed and moved aside so he could turn the shower knob.

"Okay, I will," she smiled, putting the toothbrush down. "I should go. I want to shower too before we go out today."

"Why not take it here?" he regulated the water until the temperature was just right.

"Aren't you taking it first?" she asked innocently and the corners of his mouth tugged upwards. She could be so cute…

"Yes, and?" he proceeded to pulling down his boxers, the only garment he had on.

"Oh…okay I'll…" her voice faded into something unintelligible.

Yusei glanced at her. She was watching him, gaze focused below his beltline. Then she realized she was caught looking and quickly looked elsewhere.

He got into the shower stall and closed the sliding door behind him, moving under the inviting stream of water.

"Do you have shampoo," sounded her quiet, timid voice.

"No, what's that?" he laughed as he foamed some into his hair.

"Ugh, whatever," she muttered and he heard a soft shuffle of clothes. A couple of seconds later the shower door slid open and she stepped into the stall with him. Closing the door, one arm wrapped around her chest and another nervously positioned between the legs.

"Shampoo?" he handed her the bottle.

She hesitantly released her arms and accepted it (the bottle and her nakedness). "It's a little cramped in here, Yusei," she pointed-out, keeping her gaze lowered. There was maybe a metre, metre and a quarter of space.

His glanced, unable to stop himself: for two, thirsty seconds feasting on her incredible breasts, wet and gleaming with water, before she could notice. "You mean it's cozy?" he turned into the rain of the shower, letting it wash away the remains of the soap.

"Maybe if you didn't hog all the water," she complained, eyes closed to keep the shampoo out and stepped-in blindly forward towards the downpour.

He stepped back to give her room. Then he watched as she massaged the lather out of her red hair. It hung dark, nearly black, to her shoulders and the longer strands spilled down her slender back. Her arms were raised, one leg slightly bent, her body a luscious arch revealing the tempting curve of the buttocks.

A rush of heat, as stirring and instantaneous as electricity, filled and dropped between his legs. He gulped in a throat that was suddenly dry and leaned his back against the wall of the cabin, resuming watching her as she performed the most ordinary of tasks in the most enticing of ways. Statuesque, desirable and yet delicate in some way. He wanted her.

She ran her fingers through her hair a few more times (almost as if in slow-motion under his watchful, lover's eye), taking out the remains of soap, and turned around to face him. She began to laugh. "Your hair looks ridiculous right now."

He cracked a smile and smoothed back his uncharacteristically flattened, wet hair. "Hard to keep the gel in. All this humidity."

"Is that also the result of humidity?" she asked, gaze dropping down.

"No, that's all you."

"It's distracting."

"Sorry." He wasn't.

"You're such a pervert."

"I'm a pervert," he repeated, incredulous.

"Oh yes. Can you pass some soap?"

He passed her the bodywash once he lathered some on himself. She waited patiently and then stepped away from the current. They traded places, a light touch of her shoulder to his arm, the back of his hand slipping against her waist within the cramped space.

He washed off the foam quickly and silently gave her the water back. He stood back, arms crossed and admired her once again. Her skin glistened from the suds, as if covered in a sheen of scented oil. Then as she stood washing it away, moving her hands over her body at leisurely pace, he suddenly had the most irresistible of urges to taste her; lick her top to bottom, every millimetre. And how she might sigh and moan, during. The vivid image of going down on his knees, nudging her thighs apart, letting his tongue touch-

-Okay, maybe he was a pervert, after all.

"Aki," he said.

She looked at him questioningly. "Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"In here?"

"Why not?"

A little smile. Under the rain of the shower, she pushed back that gorgeous fall of red hair and sighed, standing up straight and confident. Openly revealing that dynamite body to him. "I guess… Just don't expect anything else to happen."

He could see that she knew she had power over him. That was okay. He knew he could regain it. "I would never. It's just one kiss."

"Just one?"

He unfolded his arms and neared her. "Do you want more?"

She looked at him, coyly, and returned the question: "Do you?"

"Just one will do."

She pouted. "Alright then. One it is."

"Where?"

Her lips parted in surprise and he loved catching her off guard like this. "Oh. The usual," she finally managed, and touched fingertips to her mouth.

"Not here?" he placed his hand to the side of her neck, thumb touching her jawline.

She blinked slowly and then her gaze dropped. "Oh. Well. If you'd like to. I mean yeah, sure. That'd be two, though."

"Anywhere else?" he wanted to push her buttons. He wanted to hear her say it.

"Maybe…" she mumbled quietly, unable to meet his gaze, looking somewhere near his collarbone. "If you really want to…then also here," she touched the peak of her breast, glistening and inviting and he'd nearly launched to it within that very second. Keeping himself back and pretending to be unaffected by that proposition was superhuman.

"That'd be three," she dutifully reminded of the new count.

"How about…" he suggested softly and his hand slipped further down, between her legs, and pressing where he knew she wanted, "…also here?"

Her breath hitched, a slow blink and she looked up at him. Nodding.

He was only able to suppress a smug smile due to a circuit of exhilaration that rushed through him and made him momentarily disoriented. Then, slowly, he leaned down and that first contact of his lips against hers – that lightest of touches – stirred and awoke the latent ache in every remaining part of his body. Every cell, every neuron, now screamed to touch her, to feel her, to possess her. His fingers came up to plunge into her wet hair and the other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her towards him. There was the fragile weight of her arms around his neck and shoulders, as she supported her balance against his increasing enthusiasm.

He'd stepped in closer, she took a small step back. He parted his lips, capturing a small intake of breath, she did the same and then the tip of her tongue reached for his and the kiss became deeper. He had tasted her and his head started spinning for she was fresh mint and pheromones richer in honey than desire itself.

The shower's waterfall was now directly above them, hot drops rolling down and sneaking into their kiss, so he'd stepped forward again. She backed up but then stopped; unable to move any further, pressed up against the slick wall.

The second kiss, as promised. She sighed, faintly, when he trailed his lips to her neck. He could smell the intoxicating fragrance of her skin: the body wash and something that was indiscernibly Aki. The scent alone was enough to make him rock hard – although he was already there.

"Sometimes I don't know what to do with all the feelings I have for you," she whispered as he nibbled and lightly sucked on her neck. Her words and the laboured sound of her voice were powerfully erotic. So he hoped she'd continue saying something…it didn't need to make sense…as long as she continued vocalizing. Yes.

"I'm crazy about you." One hand slipped from his shoulder, trailed down his chest, his abdomen, his lower stomach and then touched it. Gripped it.

Oh. Her touch had made him pause momentarily. And then, as she began moving her hand, stroking it, it felt…nice, yes. More than nice. Although not distracting enough for him to stop what he was doing…yet, at least.

The third. He bent as he kissed his way down to her breasts. She could no longer reach down far enough and one of her hands clasped at his shoulder, another into his hair. He caressed the tiny, sensitive knob with his tongue, then pulled it into his mouth. She was so quiet this time but he heard the changes in her breath, the twitches of fingers on his scalp.

He continued that for some time, a few gratifying minutes, towards the end of which she was nearly panting, much to his delight. He could discern the distinct flush on her face, even through the hot water mist.

The fourth. He began getting down on one knee when her arms tightened and held him back. "It's enough. Come here."

"I want to, Aki."

"Yes. But it's fine. I can't wait. I want you. Now." Her fingernails dug into his shoulders and he stood up straight.

She had tried to kiss him but, instead, he moved to the side and grazed his lips against her earlobe. "Want what now?" he encouraged, empowered by her increasing frustration. He continued teasing her, returning to her neck again. An open-mouthed kiss now, thirsting for the drops of water on her dewy skin.

"It's…just… Ah," – a half-sigh, a half-moan, and he relished the shiver that passed through her body – "Let's go. Take me to bed."

He hummed half-hearted agreement. They technically didn't need a bed… And besides, he was having too much fun playing with her like this, making her squirm. He was still at her neck but he fancied going down to her breasts again.

"Yusei," she murmured feebly.

Actually… His hand slipped down between her legs and touched her, putting pressure on the spot he'd learned so well. Fingers inching further in and realizing she was drenched, and hot, and silken and becoming so painfully excited that he groaned.

Before his fingers could go further, her hand quickly swept down to return the favour and formed into a fist around him. There was still certain slowness in her movement but no longer hesitant. It was purposeful… firm… rhythmic… and, above all, very impatient. Her thumb grazed in circles at the top. And this time, all of this, was more than enough to get him distracted.

He pulled up from her neck and met her gaze. She was watching him intently, gaze dark and attentive; hungry. Beads of water rolled down her face, lingered in her hair, grazed her parted lips. And as their eyes locked, a current of understanding passed between them.

"Do you want me?" she whispered.

Instead of honoring her with answer, he kissed her, hard. No slowness, no foreplay this time. It was urgent, lustful, a slide into things to come. His hands roamed, caressing, gripping, squeezing, as if he could consume all of her just through this touch alone. Her one leg moved forward, wrapping around his, and he had grasped it around the thigh and brought it up to enclose around his hip, now pressing against her fully. The smallest of her noises vibrated over his lips at this action. And if it was possible to only reposition a little more, to pull up her leg higher, to push up a little more, he could slide in and-

She had muffled something into his mouth. It was either "Do it to me," or "Give it to me" or maybe a raunchier variation of those. He didn't care enough about semantics to clarify. Images, fantasies and clairvoyance of what was to come flooded his vision. The intertwining of her limbs around him, clenching of her muscles, the heavy moans in the air, and he had felt an onslaught of primal need, to push her down – logistics be damned here or to drag her the two steps into the bedroom – down on the floor, on her hands or knees, or on her stomach, and to proceed screwing her with savagery and all she is able to do in that vulnerable, helpless state is to cry and scream with ecstasy.

He pulled back from the kiss, breathing like he'd lost his mind (which he nearly did), and instructed: "Turn around."

There was a pause as her haunted eyes burrowed into his. Trying to read him. Then she understood that they didn't need to get out of here to get to the next stage. She turned around and his glance dropped instinctually, appraising her. That insane, beautiful shape of her curves. The palms of her hands flat on the tiles in front of her and she was all his now, his to do what he wanted, to touch, to please, to have, to ravish.

"I want you," he nudged her legs apart with his own, stood between them, and pressed against her. "Let me show you how much." He caressed her breasts, her stomach, and then persistently reached down between her legs again. She arched her back against him, opening up more, preparing to be taken, and her one hand reached around to grip his hair while the other remained on the wall for leverage.

Then the moment, as he positioned himself and then pushed forward. He always unconsciously held his breath when he entered her, driven crazy by the heat and the sensation. There was a little resistance this time, either due to the angle of the position or the additional friction created by the water, and he hoped he wasn't hurting her somehow. She made a sharp, stifled noise, wrist pressed against her mouth, and still took him inch by inch. Then he was all the way in and a gasp escaped him. Oh…oh wow. And every time was almost like the first time; it was shocking how good she felt, how it didn't matter how many times they've done this already, how this feeling was better than anything else in this world, how at times it was too much, simply too much. And he had to remind himself how to breathe.

"Okay?" he tried asking with a voice that was a little strained.

"Yes," the sound that escaped her was a husky moan. "Oh yes…" She pressed hard against the hand he kept between her legs and began grinding against it.

Urged by her reaction, he began moving. Slow at first and then picking up speed to match her impatience. His heart hammered wildly against his ribs and pleasure already mounted at an accelerated pace.

Then she clenched her legs, thighs touching each other and clasping his hand between them, and-

Oh god,

-he was squeezed impossibly tight and he became aware of his own moan from somewhere far away.

With that, a few more pumps, and he had to stop. Maybe it was an amplified feeling of her or this raw, nearly animalistic position or even just looking down and seeing her writhe back and forth on it but it was all suddenly too hot. He had to let his mind wander away from this, from the delicious friction, from the sharp and scorching pressure. The madness had made his head spin. He had to calm down. He paused, and forced his thoughts elsewhere, while his arms hugged her tight and kept her still.

"Yusei…?" she managed, uncertainly, while he barely listened. "Don't stop…keep going..." she pleaded. Keenly, she'd begun buckling her hips to replicate the earlier movement, despite his efforts to keep her in place. Thankfully, although her moving again was very sexy, she was doing it hesitantly, off-rhythm and so it didn't manage to break his concentration.

One deep breath, then another, and he could continue. She was all warmed up, relaxed and eager and he did not need to restrain himself. So resting his hands on her hips for grip, he'd begun basically pummeling into her, while her own fell against the wall for support and she'd cried aloud once and then whimpered, shakily, with each ongoing thrust.

Soon, very soon, Aki begged, "Wait, wait…" And he'd stopped but next she was saying, "No, no, don't stop, just…slow…slow…" He obeyed, moving slowly, stroking deep inside, hoping that he was hitting the right spot, the one that ached the most. He kept that regular rhythm for a long minute, one hand glued to her hip, the other firmly squeezed by her thighs while she squirmed against it. And she was going crazier and crazier, her breathing more erratic, an occasional jerk through her body. Her moans louder one moment, silent the next, and that was one of those unclear times that he didn't know, when he wasn't sure if he was able to get her there yet or not. And then she stopped making noise, stopped breathing, and he still wasn't sure and then he felt the first shudder through her, her hand on the tile forming into a fist, and in those moments he knew, he always knew exactly when it began. She cried out, frantically, and pushed back against him, drawing him in deeper, twisting against him. He moved at the same speed, without a pause, but maybe moving just a little bit harder, a little bit faster; unable to help it whenever she was like this. He had to concentrate but also not focus too much on those frenzied sounds coming from her, on those involuntary spasms of pleasure. Her breathless moans in synchrony with the pulsations he had felt, squeezing him tighter and tighter. A couple more and then it was over and her legs were trembling as if from aftershocks and she felt even more incredible than when they'd started, and he had stopped moving while she tried catching her ragged breath.

Huffing, she plastered her back against his chest and looked at him over her shoulder. Lots of colour on her face now, a natural blush high on her cheekbones as if from fever. She had become even more beautiful, somehow. The ambers of her eyes were half-open, clouded-over, a lethargic flame. No need to hold back, she seemed to be saying, Any way you want now.

He pulled back and then pushed back in slow, watching for the reaction on her face. He saw a frown of pleasure, the parting of her lips. Then her arm reached around his neck and she pressed her mouth against his, a deep and famished French kiss, a tongue reaching to touch his, an unbelievable sensation while buried inside her, all the way to the hilt. The warm water sang its own tune on their skin and the rush of everything happening was staggering.

When he resumed – thoroughly, deliberately – she couldn't hold the kiss for long. She let out muffled moans and, once he picked up the tempo, pulled back from him and returned her hands to rest against the shower cabin again. And it wouldn't take long this time. He was quickly approaching the moment, the intensity reaching its climax. Reaching that point where nothing else existed, the consciousness drawing downward, focusing only on her body, on this feeling, on this carnal insanity, on achieving that high, where you quickly forget what it's like to be anywhere but here, and what it's like to even be a conscious person (but is this not just what makes you more human). She was gasping and moaning more this time; sensitized. Sounds were more breathless, more desperate. The kind of intense pleasurable noises that come towards the end, when it was becoming too much, when the muscles tightened like a spring, when she stood on her tiptoes and squeezed her eyes shut, when she bit her bottom lip with futility, when the noises escaping her became senseless whimpers. Where everything was sexier than ever before, felt better than ever before, where he only needed to see and listen and it'd get him there.

She was moaning something and he realized it was his name: "Yusei…Yusei…"

And then he heard: "It feels so good."

And he had absolutely lost it then. Breathing had hindered, the last seconds before the inevitable, and unable to think because nothing else was important when you craved that raw, freeing explosion of pleasure, where it was the only thing that mattered, where everything, ever, had all lead up only to this. The impulsive, erratic roughness and her soft cries urging him on. And his forehead was against her right shoulder and one hand had shot out above her head to support against the wall. And then the sudden, ferocious black-out and all he knew was only the unparalleled pinnacle, the spread and ripples of all-consuming pleasure. On and ON and ON! and (intensely) MORE! and (deliriously) MORE! and (frantically) More and more and then waning…slowing down…fading…ending. Stifled, strained sighs against her skin, unconscious of the quiet groans he'd uttered at the last.

When it was over, dark spots had swum out within his field of vision. It took some blinking to chase them away and then the world had focused back into existence: the sounds of the shower, the steam and the condensation on the glass, the colours of the tiles.

Aki was half-gasping, half-laughing. "Oh my god... I feel so great right now."

Yusei tried to calm his wobbling heartrate. This was either the pinnacle closest to death or to life, he wasn't sure. He was still panting against her ear and still pinning her, suddenly too worn out to move. Perhaps, ever. His legs felt weaker, somehow. "Me too."

"You're right, this is cozy," she giggled.

He succeeded with catching a deep intake of air and finally stepped away, withdrawing himself from her. He was back under the direct stream of the shower and welcomed the hot water washing away the perspiration.

She turned around and stepped-in under the jet also. She pulled back wet strands of hair from her face and smiled at him. He observed her, wordlessly and contentedly.

After a brief and comfortable silence, she asked: "Did you know that was going to happen when you suggested I take a shower here?"

"I hoped," he confessed.

"Told you, you're a pervert."

"Yes," he agreed, too mellow and relaxed to argue. Nothing was too important anymore… "I can't help myself around you, Aki, you know that."

Her smile was bright and dazzling when she neared closer and pressed her lips against his. "And I love that."

Tell her you love her, you idiot. Change this. Tell her. "I'm glad," he whispered. After everything that's happened in here it was a gentle, chaste kiss.

It was another minute before they were both finally out of that shower. Aki had towel-dried her hair and draped it around her chest while he hung his around his hips. "What now?" she asked, running her hand across the mirror to wipe away the steam and studying her own reflection.

"We should get dressed."

"Yes, good idea. Then what? We've got some time to kill before your duel."

"Go downstairs and get something to eat. Maybe there is some breakfast left." He began picking up their clothes from the floor.

"With Crow around?" she laughed. "Unlikely."

"If not then I'll make you something."

"Like what?"

"Anything you want."

"Mmm?" Aki smiled. "Even an extravagant breakfast like waffles, strawberries, syrup and whipped cream? Like they do in movies?"

"I'll need to look up how to make it and what to buy for it. But yes."

"Okay," she grinned. "I hope there is nothing for us to eat downstairs, then."

"Already want to take me up on that offer?" He finished gathering their garments and lay them next to the sink. They could start getting dressed…at some point.

"Oh yes," she gave him another cheeky smile. "I can't resist that." She picked up a hairbrush and began slowly brushing her hair, loosening the tiniest of knots and turning it into flowing, shiny silk.

He watched her absentminded and calm; transfixed by the beauty and elegance of all the ordinary things she did.

"Yusei?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you want to do after all this is over?" she asked softly.

"What is?"

"This battle, I guess. Once we find out the truth and make sure that those sacrificial duels are done forever."

He looked to the side, thoughtful. "Not sure."

"I'll be going back to school."

"Good."

"And then after, I think I'm going to study medicine," she continued. "I'm pretty good at that sort of stuff, you know? Biology and chemistry. I've got the best grades in class."

"I didn't know," he smiled warmly, "But I'm not surprised."

"I think I'll give it a shot," she said. "Go to university and try it out. But," she turned and caught his eye, her smile lovely beyond known words. "It'll be near here. Near you."

A sharp, sudden shot of pain. No. No, it won't be near here. It'll be far, far away. Across the ocean, across the continent. He had seen it. Crow, Jack, Rua, Ruka…Aki… an alternate future. The one where they've all left to chase their own dreams. He was the only one to remain behind. No.

Yusei inside this memory beamed at her, almost shyly. He was so happy. He was blissfully unaware of what was to come. He didn't know – how could he?

Tell her you love her. Tell her. Change this.

Aki put the brush down. "Let's go? I know your duel is later but we should try making an appearance for our friends ahead of time."

"Yes." You didn't deserve this. I didn't deserve this. I don't… I don't deserve this.

Within that misty bathroom, under those warm lights, she nearly glowed. Somehow more than human – unreal and hypnotizing. Her eyes sparkled like precious jewels. As she approached him, she was beginning to disappear. She put her arms around him and her touch was weightless. "At least with the way the morning has been…I can confidently say this is going to be a good day."

Don't let her go.

Yusei nodded and embraced her.

Don't let her go.

His arms went through the form that wasn't there.

Don't…

Don't.

Yusei's weary eyes opened.

The bleak light of an overcast morning. He had fallen into the heaviest of slumbers, a deep state of unconsciousness. He had delved into a delightful memory, one of his last days with Aki. The selfish happiness, the type to make his heart ache and threaten to burst.

I didn't deserve it.

He slowly sat up and put his feet down to touch the floor. His head was swimming and he felt quite ill. The side of his face prickled where the deep gash was still healing.

He could still feel the warm touch of Aki's skin against his own, smell the fragrance in the locks of her hair. The ghost of her, invoked from that memory. Remembering that day descended like a fog and then burrowed even deeper: anxiety, regret, pain. He had been so full of life then and now – akin to an automated shell.

It was just after 11:00am. After briefly telling everyone what he'd learned from traveling to Cairo, he came up to his (and Aki's) bedroom to rest up after a sleepless night on the plane. He thought it'd be futile to try sleeping but, before he could realize it, he had succumbed to exhaustion. He had napped for almost 4 hours and, while it helped redeem some energy back, he could not awake up properly. This sort of unnerving, mildly disorienting cloud would likely stick with him for hours ahead.

He took a very quick shower (still remorsefully recalling the vivid events of what had once occurred in here) and after about thirty minutes made it to the usual gathering place of the remaining Signers and their allies: the kitchen of Poppo Time.

There was actually nobody there, this time. There were dishes in the sink from the breakfast had by the residents. Voices coming from the garage downstairs.

Yusei scavenged through what they had left and discovered a secret stash of Jack's coveted Red Demon Dragon ramen behind the pots and pans. Although – gathering by the number of portions left in the industrial box – either Crow or Rua had long discovered this private hideout and had been having some regularly.

He popped open the cup, poured water in it and headed down to the basement to reconvene with the others.

"It's always been a nice bike," Kiryu was saying as he studied the signature red motorcycle. "But you've done a great job with it, Bruno."

"It's all Yusei," Bruno answered bashfully. "All I've ever done was make light engine adjustments."

"Accept the compliment, Bruno," Crow recommended, laying D. D. Crow in Attack mode, "You've made it better." He was playing against Ruka – cards on coffee table and no Solid Vision in sight. Ruka flipped up her Trap card, Fairy Breath, actually looking like she was having fun and back to how she's been before Rua's departure.

"Have you seen mine?" Sherry called-out to Kiryu. She was sitting cross-legged and at ease on the couch, observing them.

"The gorgeous D-Wheel parked outside?" the captain of Team Satisfaction clarified and smiled. "First thing I noticed when I came here."

Sherry smirked, contentedly, and turned her head towards the sound of the door opening. "Yusei," she greeted. "Did you end up getting some sleep?"

"A couple of hours, yes," he answered as he joined the gathering next to the bikes.

"What do you want to do today, Yusei?" Crow asked, throwing D. D. Crow into the Graveyard, gaze glued to the duel at hand. They all had reached an understanding earlier that they were going to set out to FDA first thing tomorrow, before Kaiba brothers' intervention. That left them a full day at their disposal.

A loaded question. Kiryu, Bruno and Sherry were also looking at him, waiting for an answer.

"We'll take today to recuperate and prepare," he suggested.

"Great," Crow got up to his feet and folded his cards. "I surrender, Ruka. Now, since we have a little time – shall we all go visit Carly?"

"Divine!" Aki had called-out, sickened with worry when she heard his distressed scream on the distance. The things he may have said, the fact that they've started growing apart…and yet still, he was her only friend, her only confidant, the one who had taken her in and given her a home. Was something happening to him?

The ground had begun to shake. Misty stood there, calm and recluse during their duel. Something was clearly wrong as the building appeared to be caught in a middle of an earthquake. Pieces of concrete began chipping and falling down.

And that's when she saw him. Divine, falling many stories down. Strength had gone out from her in a whiff and she would have collapsed if she were not near a railing. She had paled, gripped the balcony railing and screamed his name, and yet he'd only just fallen deeper into darkness…so many floors…

"I'll have to settle my battle with you some other time," Misty said, her voice coming from some great distance, as if in an echo. This…this couldn't be happening… Divine…Divine.

"Izayoi, run!" an unfamiliar voice called out to her but she wouldn't move. She was frozen in place by terror. She was going to die here, alongside with Divine and the whole Arcadia building.

More concrete blocks came down, the lights went out and next she knew was the pain in the back of her head. Nothingness. And it went on, impenetrable and infinite until…

"Until Yusei came and awoke me," she told herself. "But then…we fought."

"What was it he was trying to do?" asked the companion who'd been watching all the memories with her. The new friend who cared and who was trying to help.

"He was trying to open my heart. He wanted me to forgive my parents, to look past their mistakes. I hated them so much."

"Was that all?" Atem had asked. He was looking at her compassionately, he who had many names and many lifetimes. In one moment he was dressed in shimmering golden robes, extravagant Egyptian jewelry; in another moment it was a blue, tattered jacket reminiscent of a school uniform.

"What else is there?"

"In that duel you also had to come to your own decisions," Atem said. The lilac fire of his eyes watched the pieces and images through the rip in reality. "You had to accept yourself. You had to understand your own mistakes."

"Yes."

"Because nobody can save you if you don't want to save yourself."

Aki looked over at him, feeling pangs of sadness and something else. Anxiety? Impending fright? "Why do you say that? Why wouldn't I want to save myself?" A pause. And what is it that I need to save myself from?

"You keep forgetting," Atem remarked. "Because it's easier. Every time you get near and see it, you return to where it's safe. The comfortable ignorance of not knowing. You have to face what happened, accept yourself and you have to move on."

"I…"

"It wasn't your fault. You have to fight for yourself," he said strictly. "It's enough, Izayoi Aki. You're stronger than this. And there is barely time left, anymore."

"Atem…" she spoke his name and there was some primordial power in uttering those words, the drawing of strength.

"Next is the battle where you will have to decide," he said. "Only you can tell how it will end." And the darkness had closed in. The comfort. The silence.

"Izayoi," a warm hand touched the left side of her face, where a trail of tears was. Her eyes slowly opened.

It was the fellow Signer of the Crimson Dragon. He whom she hadn't seen since their duel at the Fortune Cup but about whom she'd thought about so much. After what she had experienced in at Arcadia Headquarters, he was the one she was hoping to see. Dreamed of seeing.

"Izayoi," Yusei Fudo had repeated. That unusual spiky hair, that blue jacket, those dusty brown boots. The kindest smile. The striking sapphire of his eyes.

He was here, standing by her hospital bed.

Her heart grew larger inside her chest. It felt like freedom. It felt like flying.

"Yusei."

The Poppo Time gang had been permitted to see Carly Nagisa in the ICU for a couple of very short-lived minutes.

Unfortunately the poor girl's condition was still the same. Her head was bandaged up and an oxygen mask took up half of her pallid face. She looked severely ill and frail, as if beginning to disappear. She would not be aware of who came to visit her or who didn't. Jack Atlas would not even know that this is what's happened to her. At this moment he was somewhere far away, no Carly on his mind. This was yet another piece of what was broken and which seemed irrevocably difficult to fix.

Outside, Crow had pressed his hands against his face and stayed silent for some time. Ruka lingered inside with Carly for a little more and others politely gave the remaining Signers some space.

Yusei remained with his visibly distraught teammate.

"It's awful. Poor Carly," Crow mumbled, finally.

Yusei said nothing.

"I just can't believe everything that's happened," the Signer stared elsewhere into space. His eyes were red and blank. "There are days where it seems like a bad dream, you know? If only I knew when it'd started and how to wake up."

"You will have a chance to make a choice," the mysterious figure had said within that fevered vision. "You can choose and change destiny." "Would you change it, Crow?" Yusei asked, abruptly.

"Of course. Everything. My god, where would I even start."

"I…know," Yusei said, with a sudden pause.

All the people who have died for Set's vicious, unclear cause and with no true purpose in sight. All the ones who have gotten hurt, like Carly who lay a step away from death with severe trauma and potentially irreparable brain damage. And still, within this most awful of times, he himself had achieved unfathomable happiness. Loving, stupid, self-centered happiness.

To change it. To take it all back. To change it would mean to fix everything else and to stop so many people from suffering. And changing it would mean losing it, never experiencing it. Aki's kiss. Aki's smile.

Would I do it if I could? Yusei deliberated. Picking his happiness with Aki over everyone else. And within this selfish guilt, he admitted it within himself, silently, ferociously and painfully; without anyone in the world ever knowing it: I don't want to change this.

They've returned from the hospital soon after. The afternoon had stretched before them, gray, joyless and long. They were all preparing for tomorrow because they knew what had to be done.

In the early hours of the evening Ushio and Mikage visited.

Yusei had briefed them on the learnings from Yugi Mutou and the Kaiba brothers overseas, and what was coming on Monday: the truth behind Public Security, the launch of the new technology, the intervention from Seto Kaiba himself. "The new world order," according to Yugi. And that tomorrow will be the day Team 5D's will come to stop this before it all transpires.

"This seems like a bigger conspiracy than originally thought of," Ushio said, rubbing his eyes. "You sure you guys can handle it?"

"We have to," Yusei said. It's going to be over, one way or another, before Sunday ends.

"And Atlas-sama…" Mikage attempted.

"We'll rescue him too, of course," Crow reassured her. "But not before my fist gives some new memories to his face. Once he's back, I'm sure he won't take it personally."

"Crow and I will duel him, together," Kiryu added. This decision was reached by them jointly with Yusei passively agreeing with their strategy. They wanted their combined strength to ensure quick victory. And Yusei had his sights set on Aki and Set only and couldn't have Jack intervene on his quest. "It'll be a true Team Satisfaction duel."

"But also I'll give him a nice smack afterwards," Crow reminded. "You're all seriously forgetting that part."

"And I will save Rua," Ruka joined in, determined. "I'll bring my brother back."

"It won't be easy to get into that place," Sherry spoke up. "There'll be guards, for sure. That's where Bruno and I will come in. Any extra dueling and power to bring in, we'll handle it."

"What can we do to help?" Mikage asked.

"Bring select members of Public Security," Yusei said. "Only those you know you can trust. No relation or possibility of having interacted with the Higuchi family. Bring them there tomorrow. And help us bring that place down. FDA has been hiding in plain sight all this time – it's enough."

"You got it," Ushio said.

A few more pleasantries before Ushio and Mikage departed, promising to be there tomorrow but not until the later hours in order to give the Signers enough time to rescue others and to defeat Set once and for all. Yusei asked them not to risk the commotion with the greater takedown right away.

Later that evening, Yusei was absently checking up on his D-Wheel. With Bruno's recent intervention, the engine was running smoothly and it was back to the way it was, if not better. The scratches and issues from the time he had trashed the bike were smoothed out and glossed over.

Bruno was nearby, busy running checks on Kiryu's, Crow's and Sherry's D-Wheels too. It was almost as lively within Poppo Time's small garage as it used to be during the past, happier times. Crow, Yusei, Jack and Bruno preparing the D-Wheels for the WRPGs. Aki, Rua and Ruka coming to visit them after Duel Academy. When everything was easier and simpler.

Kiryu had come by, a cup of tea in hand. "How are the bikes looking?"

"Good," Yusei nodded.

"Everyone's on edge today," Kiryu noted. "Big day tomorrow. Pulling an all-nighter?"

"Probably," Yusei concurred, reluctantly. They needed to rest but with all this anxiety in the air it was definitely looking more and more like a sleepless night.

"Alright, I'll leave the two of you mechanic wizs alone," Kiryu said, stifling a yawn. "I'll go prepare my cards. Think of combinations and how they'll go with Crow's. Sherry and Ruka have been doing the same: analyzing their cards."

"Wise decision at this time."

"For sure, lots of work still ahead," the ex-Dark Signer agreed and turned to leave. "I'll be seeing you."

"Wait, Kiryu," Yusei spoke up. The fleeting opportunity to say the words left unsaid. "Thank you. Really. For coming here, to help." He couldn't remember the last time he had meant a thank you so deeply.

"I wouldn't have missed it," Kiryu smiled. Kiryu, the other Team Satisfaction member. The one who used to be one of his best friends, the one he had let down, the one who died in his arms and for whom he'd fought again when his resurrection did not bring the life he deserved.

And, in the end, the friend cast aside. He who was no longer an integral part of his life.

"I should have asked you to come back sooner," he admitted, guiltily.

"Don't worry about it, Yusei. I'm hard to reach these days."

"Still." I should have made a bigger effort to stay in touch. Never to have forgotten about you.

"After our Team Satisfaction days…" Kiryu said. "We've all grown apart. It's how things sometimes happen. It happens to everyone. I don't regret it, you know? The way things turned out."

"I do."

The smile on his friend's face was light but sad.

"I'm sorry, Kiryu," Yusei said. "Not just for how things are now. But also-"

"That's in the past," Kiryu finished, having guessed what he was going to say. He used to be the closest friend, once upon a time, after all.

Yusei frowned, feeling stabs of pain. In the past, yes. And yet…it all still haunted him, hidden within the unconscious. The primordial desperation that's seeped-in past the obvious and into the latent. When he lay dying on that cursed warehouse floor, he had regressed and seen it all again. The night that Kiryu was taken to prison, the day he'd heard he died, the night he had disintegrated into ashes with nothing to remain. Had he ever truly gotten over what happened with Kiryu or did it ingrain somewhere deeper, into the faults of the soul unable to be purged? Wasn't there something more he could have done, something better, what if he only tried harder?

"I know," Yusei attempted again. "But-"

"I was an asshole, Yusei. It's true. I know I was. And I'll be the first to admit that I had gone too far, many times. But things happened the way they did. And I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm the one who should be asking for all of yours' forgiveness. All you've ever done was to help."

"I-"

"And I am sorry, too. The important thing though is what happens next. The future. I've learned that at Satisfaction Town. You can't live your life in the past, you have to look to the future. Living in the past was what destroyed me. Living for the future is what gives me purpose and life."

Living for the future, Yusei repeated in his head. What future is it? The vision where he's the only Signer to remain behind at Neo Domino? The only one whose future he did not see? He didn't like that future. He didn't want it. He resolved to see only a few days ahead, at a time. Saving Aki. Saving Jack and Rua. Bringing them all home. Trying to fix this, whatever this broken present was. Everything beyond that may as well have been a big, black hole.

Nonetheless he smiled. "Thanks, Kiryu."

"You've always been the type to take things hard to heart," Kiryu pointed out. "But you mustn't forget yourself or what's good for you. A long night and a difficult day ahead. I'll leave you be. Although perhaps you can point me in the direction of some beer in this house."

At this, Yusei couldn't resist a laugh and it made it all lighter, if only for a few seconds.

"What? Please don't tell me you don't have any?"

"There used to be a pack in the fridge although I bet Crow's already finished it. But there should still be some hiding under the sink. It's behind all those cups of Jack's instant ramen."

"Blah, warm beer," Kiryu grimaced. "I guess I can throw it into freezer for ten minutes. Want one?"

"Not today but thanks. For everything, Kiryu."

"Don't mention it," the ex-Dark Signer waved him off and headed upstairs.

Yusei sighed and looked over at the D-Wheels again. Bruno – who remained focused on the work at hand and politely left them to their conversation – looked up. "All the bikes are good to go for tomorrow. Especially Sherry-san's. I could spend more time looking them over but I've grown tired."

"Try to get some sleep," Yusei recommended.

"I will," Bruno put the tools aside and stood up, brushing off dust from his knees. "I hope I won't have to duel tomorrow but I'll be ready, if my help is needed."

"I haven't thanked you for what you did earlier, Bruno," Yusei remembered. "For helping me get to Cairo. I don't know what I could've done without going on that trip and finding out what I did."

Bruno looked confused. "I helped with that?"

Yusei studied him, sadly. The changes from him to Antimony were unpredictable; confusing. And for the longest time Yusei thought Antimony was gone forever. But then he'd reappeared yesterday and said all those mystical things? And the worst part of it all was that lingering, strange feeling in the back of his mind. Like a gust of cool breeze suddenly appearing in a room without air-flow. A glitch, something that shouldn't be there. "Oh. Yeah. It's okay if you don't remember, Bruno," he attempted. "It's not important."

"Okay," Bruno yawned wide, stretching. "Have a good night."

Yusei wished him likewise and the mechanic crashed on the mattress on the side of the garage.

Yusei knew he should be following suit too and returning to his room but he didn't have an ounce of sleep in his body. Instead, he stayed back and turned off all the lights, the room still dimly illuminated by the computer screen. He remained at the computer desk for some hours, studying the code running down the screen and inputting some new strings, making turbo adjustments to his D-Wheel's rpms in the decimals i.e. completely insignificant. But doing this helped put his mind at ease.

When he finally tore away from the screen, it was quiet in the garage and also upstairs. Everyone seemed to have gone to sleep. Crow normally would have slept here too but now with additional rooms freed-up upstairs without half the residents, perhaps they've been divvied up nicely.

Yusei got up and turned off the computer, tension high in his shoulders. Despite tiredness, he was wide awake. Unease had settled deeply in the pit of his stomach, making him mildly nauseous.

He walked over to the couch, turned on a small lampshade by its side, and took a seat. Then he spread his cards across the coffee table where Crow and Ruka had dueled just earlier in the day.

He studied them, trying different scenarios and strategies. He'd met most of Set's cards already. Sure, there would be some surprises to come but with the right combinations he could build up good defense. And knowing his enemy's usual style and with Aki's powers in hand, Set would go for a Burn strategy from the get-go: try to inflict massive amounts of direct damage via Traps, Magics and Monster Effects. He had to prepare and always have two cards in hand or on the field that could protect against that. It was imperative to take as little damage as possible and to finish the battle quickly. He needed to chain-link all his Monsters, Traps and Magic cards together and know when and how to summon one from the Graveyard or from the deck.

Jack's card was still in his deck. Card of Last Will. Although it was tailored for the Sky Dragon of Osiris and he no longer possessed it, he could still use it efficiently.

Next – Aki's Black Rose Dragon. He knew it was the main ingredient in bringing Aki back but it had to be used wisely in the upcoming duel.

"Yusei," a quiet voice called and broke from his concentration to find Ruka standing at the top of the staircase, a blanket draped over her shoulders. "Still awake?"

Yusei squinted at the clock on the wall. It was past 3am. "Yes, haven't been able to sleep."

"You weren't in your room so I thought I'd check here…" she walked down, coming over to the couch. "Can I sit?"

He scooted over to the side, leaving her ample space.

Ruka glimpsed at Bruno sleeping in the corner and timidly sat down, some distance between them.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked.

"No… I mean I tried," she whispered. "I'm also not sure if Sherry-san is sleeping but I couldn't tell. She's staying in mine and Rua's room. Crow and Kiryu are in Jack's room but I could still hear them talking through the wall. They're discussing their strategy for going against him tomorrow."

"That's good."

"I don't know if I can fall asleep tonight," Ruka confessed, seeming to disappear more into that huge, knitted blanket she had over her. Yusei could only see her profile in the sub-darkness of the garage as she scanned the strategy he'd laid out on the table. "Can I stay here today, Yusei? With you?"

"You should try sleeping, Ruka. You can have this couch," Yusei was about to get up but a small hand had gripped his sleeve.

"I'm not tired," she argued, keeping her voice down out of respect for Bruno. "I won't bother you, Yusei. I just want to sit with you for a bit."

Reluctantly, Yusei stayed back and returned to studying his duel deck. A little time passed where they were both silent and the only sound was Bruno's snoring – a slow, persistent whistle – and the faint shuffle and flip of the cards.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Ruka murmured.

"Yes," he admitted without hesitation. Truth be told: frightened.

"Me too," the young girl acknowledged and scooted further into the pillows.

There was another silence for a little time. Then Yusei smiled after he'd accidentally drawn something that was very dear. "This one will be invaluable tomorrow," he said and showed the card to her. "Do you remember this?"

Ruka took the card and lighted with a smile that used to be familiar to her face. "Dragon's Retribution!" she whispered excitedly. It could target a dragon-type monster on the field and inflict 300 points of damage to the owner. "The Trap that Rua and I got for your birthday, Yusei. I remember how we shopped for it. Rua just couldn't decide…" Miserable comprehension settled in. She returned the card to him.

He took it and added it to the strategic pile. He had Jack's and Rua and Ruka's Trap cards, and Aki's Black Rose Dragon. He knew he needed to ask Crow for one too. Something was telling him it was necessary. Then the mystical gathering from all the Signers would be complete.

Ruka shivered. "Yusei…" she started in a tiny voice and her next words came out defeated, almost half sobs: "Why do you think Rua left?"

Oh Ruka, he thought, hearing the grief in her voice. "It was Set," he tried to explain. "He had showed him something. The way he had clouded the minds of so many others. The same way that he brainwashed Jack. I don't know what it was that swayed him…but it wasn't his fault."

"Do you believe that about Jack, too?"

"Yes." The way Jack didn't know Carly, whom he clearly loved (even if he would never admit it to Crow and him) and didn't realize what's become of her.

Ruka shifted a little in the couch. "And Aki-san?"

There was a brief moment where it was just a little harder to breathe, where the heart skipped just a little faster. "Yes. He had manipulated all of them."

"It's been so difficult," she whispered. "Without them. Our Signer bond divided. And then with Rua gone… He was always by my side, you know? We were always together."

Yusei nodded.

"Rua was always so brave," Ruka said. "He never had any doubts about what needs to be done. But… I'm afraid, Yusei. Not just nervous – like, really afraid. Tomorrow- no, today, we will fight. I will fight to get Rua back. I'm the only one who can reach him. But I'm scared."

"I'm scared too," Yusei said.

"You are?" she looked at him, with large green eyes that seemed to take up half of her pale face.

"We all are. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We should all be afraid when facing the Unknown. And the readiness and resolution to face it – that's what makes you brave."

Ruka looked away. "I have always thought you were very brave, Yusei. Even when there was so much danger. Going against the Dark Signers or Z-ONE. You never seemed phased."

"And now you know the truth," he smiled lightly. "I was scared senseless during each of those times. But I did what needed to be done. Do you think less of me?"

"No," she hid a smile and pulled the blanket up almost to her nose. "No, actually…even more, now."

"And I think the same of you. You're one of the bravest people I've ever known, Ruka." And it was the truth. At thirteen years of age she went head-to-head against the Dark Signers also. A credit she gave Rua but not to herself. The trips to the uncertain and restless worlds of Duel Monsters. Going up to the Arc Cradle.

Ruka shifted a little more in the same space she was, pulling her legs up under the covers and her bare feet under her. "Oh, thanks," she said. She fidgeted a little bit more, aimlessly it seemed. "And about you… It's not just the… you know. I thought that…" she took a deep breath then, struggling with articulating something. "Sorry," she tried. "It's… Not just you being brave, Yusei."

He didn't get anything she just tried to say. "What?"

"It's other stuff, too."

He wasn't really following but this sounded like a compliment, maybe? "Thank you," he said uncertainly.

Her face was still half-hidden by the covers but her eyes had grown sadder, somehow. "Yusei. Are you in love with Aki-san?"

Yusei winced, surprised as if someone had just touched an ice cube to his neck. Hearing those words was dumbfounding when they came from the kids in their group.

"I am."

"Mmm," she mastered, very quietly. "Yeah. And she loves you too."

This conversation had begun to hurt. Where was this going?

"When do you know when you're in love with someone?" she asked.

"You just know."

"Is there a time?"

"No."

"Then how can you tell?" she continued whispering.

"You just feel it, one day." And after that day, all the pieces fall into place. It's like the awakening of the system and it changes everything in its wake. You look back on all your memories and you see them through a differently tinted lens. You realize all the little moments that had made this possible. It all went back to the first time he saw her smile. It triggered and awoke something dormant and, from that point on, that's what life had become.

"And on that day," he continued, "You realize that it's not just that day. But that this knowledge had always lived with you. It can just take a specific moment to resonate within. That's how you know."

Ruka turned and her green eyes held his own. Her hair was disheveled and down over her shoulders, not in her usual ponytails. Ruka was thirteen going on fourteen. When Crow was thirteen, he introduced to them his first girlfriend. It wasn't anything serious, just a crush. His next one though, some months later, was different. Crow had bragged about it once they've broken up. "We've gone through all of the bases," he had boasted, smugly, to awed Yusei and envious Jack. Kiryu also had a serious girlfriend when he turned fourteen. He was tight-lipped about it but they were steady for some time and intimate. How much of it was just the result of how Satellite was? You grew up faster there and you had no choice. Many had begun working in the factories in their early teen years. It was a strange, odd time of transition when many were still very much kids but others were already becoming small adults.

At this moment, sitting here next to him, Ruka no longer looked like an adolescent girl she always did. There was now a ghost of a woman she would become years down the line, when she'd be living and attending university in London.

"What if you've always known?" Ruka asked him quietly and he had finally pieced it all together.

There was a pause. Yusei looked away. A few, very slow seconds of silence. Then he gathered his cards from the coffee table and stood up. "Try to get some sleep, Ruka."

"Are you going?" her voice was but a broken whisper.

"You can still get some hours in. Long day ahead."

"You're leaving?" she repeated the question.

"Yeah."

"No," she whimpered and her hands had shot out, closing over his wrist. "Please don't go."

"I'm sorry, Ruka."

"No, I'm sorry," she gasped and her voice was broken. "I'm so sorry, Yusei. I-I never should have said anything."

When he finally looked at her, he saw that she had begun to cry.

"I-I knew…I knew I never should have said it. I always knew it'd be a mistake. But…but…"

His heart broke, hearing this, seeing this. "Ruka."

"I'm so sorry," she let go of him and her hands plastered over her face. Within that moment she had regressed back to a little girl he'd always known. "Yusei…Yusei."

Gradually, he sat back down next to her. His hand reached and rested gently on top of her head. A friendly gesture he'd done many times before, a gesture you do to kids. "Please don't cry."

She nodded, face still buried in her hands. She was weeping and it was quiet and distressing.

"Ruka."

She moved and plastered her face against the side of his chest, his shoulder. Her sniffling was wet and painful to hear. Her hands were still hiding her face. "I'm-m-m just scared, that's all," she said, nearly inaudible. A little hiccup. "Ab-bout tomorrow. I d-didn't know what I was saying. It was a silly thing."

"You don't have to explain. Just don't cry."

She was inconsolable for some time, during which he remained immobile if not for his right hand soothingly stroking her hair.

Slowly, very slowly, her rapid breaths began calming down. And within that dark space of the basement, on that sleepless night, she'd spoken only one more time and it was barely above a whisper:

"Please forget it. I didn't mean it. Please."

He saw her standing far away. Her head was tilted and she was watching, above them, the slow dance of the infinite stars. The lights shone like diamonds in her brown eyes.

"Yusei."

"Aki."

She twirled around to face him. Her hair, long and lustrous (as luscious as a ripe rose, as rich as decadent wine), was blown back by the wind. Her hands were folded behind her. The mirrorlike surface they stood on reflected the night sky above, the endless galaxies. "How have you been?"

"Not good, Aki."

Her smile had become sad. She pulled back the tresses of hair behind her ear. "I haven't been myself."

"Where are you?"

"Still far away," she said. Her voice had an echo to it. "Farther away with each day. Each hour, now."

"Hang on, Aki. I'm coming for you."

"I know," she said, sorrowfully. "Just like the first time. I was hoping you wouldn't find me then. Maybe you won't find me now."

"Aki. How can you say such a thing?" he asked, appalled.

"Because you wouldn't have gotten hurt. You wouldn't have been killed. I wish you never found me," she confessed.

"And I wish he had never taken you away. That he had never lived to take a single breath. That's what I wish for," he said, strongly. "Don't you wish for the same?"

Aki looked up again, at the brilliant sky above and at the shooting star streaking across the horizon. "Don't come for me," she asked.

"It's too late," he answered stubbornly.

"It is."

"I don't care."

"Yusei!"

"I will not stop here!" he shouted. He would have walked towards her if he could but he was locked in place. She was a maddening distance away now; maybe six feet away. Two steps and he could reach for her, touch her, embrace her and not let go. "I will not let this be how it ends. You have to wait for me. You have to believe in me."

She found his eyes again. Her face was streaked with tears. She nodded and revealed a bright smile. "I believe in you, Yusei."

"I'm going to get you back," he promised.

"Then I'll be waiting for you."

Yusei awoke with a startle.

The light of the early morning shone through the blinds of the garage.

He was on the couch in an upright sitting position, slumped a little to the left. There were inescapable muscles aches in his neck, shoulders, legs and back.

Gingerly, he sat up straight and looked to his side. Ruka was sleeping, one hand tucked under her face. She was curled on the couch, the blanket she brought from her room also serving as a skinny pillow. Thankfully it looked like she didn't use his lap to rest her head, at any point.

He didn't mean to fall asleep but it had snuck up on him. He had seen Aki. It was different this time. It wasn't a memory or a fantasy. It felt like they were caught within the undercurrent of consciousness, summoned by a shared destiny. Within that stream he had met the real Aki.

There were sounds of commotion upstairs. Voices.

Ruka stirred, opening her eyes. In the corner, Bruno set up groggily, also.

Crow had barged into the garage then. His face was white. "We're too late," he said, his voice uncharacteristically high-strung.

"What happened?" Yusei got up, ignoring his muscles screaming against the movement.

"They're reporting it everywhere," Crow said. "It's all over the news. Set's sacrificial duels. They've started again. And they're spreading faster than before."

Okay this chapter is finally finished! I've got 24 pages in Word. I just couldn't find a cut-off point anywhere. It doesn't help that the shower scene took up a good part of this chapter and it does nothing to progress the plot and is just there for sexiness. But hey, I hope you've enjoyed it… I know our characters did. Ha-ha-ha.

Anyway! Lots happening next and we're almost at the end of Part II (then Part III will be super short and straightforward). Stay tuned!