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xoxo-teddybear · 3 years

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You Have Me - Bakugou Katsuki

Dad!Bakugou x Babysitter!reader

Warnings: Dad!Bakugou, Fingering, 18+, Cursing, pining, cheating, daddy kink (cuz duh)

Request: Dad Bakugou in love with his babysitter. She’s younger than him but still over legal drinking age and Bakugou is not too old. I just wanna see how he’d go about this whole situation ESPECIALLY if he was already married.

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

“F-Faster Katsuki!” You said as Bakugou pounded into you on the kitchen island.

“Shit baby...fuck, you like that shit? Like how daddy fucks your sweet cunt?” He teased as he hit your cervix. “You gonna give me another brat? Huh? C’mon Teddy Bear I know you can do it~”

His hand traveled to your clit as he toyed with your pretty pussy. Your legs shook as he worked his magic and you clenched around his cock.

“Ohh~ ‘M gonna cum!” You cried out. Your hands clawed at Katsuki’s back as he sucked his teeth in due to the stimulating pleasure.

“Do it. Cream all over my cock baby.” You obeyed his every command as you did what you were told and spilled all over him. Your orgasm didn’t stop him as he continued to ram into you. He sped up as he chased his own release and threw his head back.

“F-Fuck! Fuck baby,” he leaned down close to your face as he used his hand to grab your chin. “I love you. You fuckin’ understand me?” He said and brought a smack to your ass. “I love you Y/N.”

His voice grew whiny as his thrust became sloppy. You both were a moaning mess until Katsuki met his climax and filled you with his release. Right as he came, his lips met yours for a rough and passionate kiss that you both desperately moaned into. He continued to slowly thrust into you to push his cum deeper inside your womb as you tugged at his hair. Your lips finally separated as Katsuki stopped his thrusts. He rested his forehead against yours as you both held heavy breaths. He grinned at your dazed eyes and grew excited. He was sure he done enough to get you pregnant. He saw your soft, angelic features and listened carefully as you began to speak.

“Katsuki...it’s time to wake up.” You said with a smile.

“Huh?” Bakugou said in confusion as he lifted his face away from yours. You sat up and shoved his shoulder as your voice began to fade out.

“Wake up! ....Wake up Katsuki. Katsuki! ....Katsuki!”

—

“Katsuki! Wake up!”

The 25 year old man had his eyes shot open as he flinched the slightest bit. He awoke to his bitch of a wife smacking his upper body to get him to come to.

“Ugh, the hell do you want?” He groaned as he layed back down in bed.

“I want you to get out of bed! We’re supposed to be going to Aki’s party today! You owe me since you didn’t want to buy me those heels!” She complained. Bakugou rolled his eyes at the gold digger and shooed her away with his hand.

“Go by your damn self. I have a meeting today. I’m not going to one of your shitty friend’s stupid ass parties. And also, I don’t owe you shit. I’m not dropping three grand on a pair of heels for some bitch.” He said with his eyes still shut. He heard his wife gasp at his insults and he could already imagine her dropped jaw.

“Excuse me, but I’m not some bitch. I’m your wife-“

“Who’s a bitch.” Bakugou interrupted. He opened his piercing, crimson eyes as he watched her tilt her head to the ceiling and crossed her arms.

“Hmph! Fine then! I’ll go by myself!” She said and marched out the room and out the house. Bakugou groaned as he rolled onto his back and threw his arms over his eyes.

“Good. That’s what I wanted. Stupid bitch.” He said to no one in particular. He sighed as he held on to the memory of the sweet dream he was having before his wife had interrupted. The sweet dream of him completely indulging himself in Y/N L/N, his son’s babysitter.

Was it wrong for him to have these thoughts about Y/N while being married? Yes. But did Bakugou care? Not at all. He was so drawn to Y/N it was like love at first sight for him. Besides, he didn’t love his wife anyway. They dated for a year and the whole time, Bakugou completely hated it. Truthfully, Bakugou dated her for her looks and the sweet facade she put up, but when her true self came through, Bakugou knew he was done with her. Unfortunately, before he had the chance to break up with her, his son Katsuo, was conceived. So when the news of her pregnancy became known to him, the toxic couple decided to tie the knot and get married. What a poor decision.

Bakugou decided enough time had been spent in bed and so he got up and got ready. Once he was fresh and clean he checked the time and saw it was 8:30. He made breakfast and prepped the table. Once he was done, he walked to his son’s room to wake up the little guy.

Katsuo Bakugou. Katsuki’s precious son. Even though he wasn’t planned, Katsuki loved his dear boy regardless. It’s sad to say the same thing can’t be said with the boy’s mother. Leiko Hotashi, Katsuo’s mother, seemed to have no love for the child, or anyone other than herself and money. She complained the entire pregnancy, she didn’t smile at the first sight of him when he was born, and she didn’t bother to be around the little guy either. Katsuo basically grew up without a mother’s love but he turned out just fine because Katsuki’s love was more than enough. The constant absence of his mother didn’t bother him and the child didn’t seem to care whether she was around or not. It’s sad really, but what can you do?

Bakugou walked into the room and saw a tuff of blonde hair that resembled his own. He walked to his ‘mini me,’ and shook the 5 year old awake.

“Katsuo...wake up bud. C’mon.” Katsuki said in a surprisingly soft voice. He was greeted with a pair of red eyes that copied his own and he smiled down at his carbon copy. “C’mon bud, breakfast is ready.”

Katsuo sat up in bed and yawned as he rubbed one of his eyes with his tiny fist. Katsuki smiled at the cute sight. “G’morning dad!”

“Heh. Good morning bud now let’s. Go. We got a nice breakfast waiting for us,” Bakugou said as he picked up his son in his arms. Katsuo giggled in excitement as Katsuki walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen.

The two sat down at the island as they enjoyed their breakfast and Katsuki listened to his son babble on about nothing. It was a peaceful morning for the most part. Katsuki’s morning always consisted of his crazy wife being a nag but other than that, he enjoyed his mornings with his son.

“So, I have to go to work soon and Mom is gone, but Y/N is coming by in a bit to watch you.” Katsuki explained to the young boy who seemed to light up at the mention of your name.

“Y/N’s coming?! Yay!” The boy shouted. Katsuo loved you. You’ve been his babysitter for 2 years and you already had the child (and his father) wrapped around your finger. Without knowing it, you showered the boy in motherly love, something that he never really got to experience. As we already stated, Bakugou felt drawn to you as if it was love at first sight, but seeing the way you interacted with his son just sealed the deal for him.

The two continued their meal and when they were done, Katsuki had the child wash up and get ready for your arrival. He cleaned up in the kitchen and by the time he was done, you knocked on the door. Bakugou felt his heart race at the knowledge of your presence and before he ran to the door, he stopped infront of a mirror to check himself. He fixed his hair and adjusted his clothes to fit more comfortably and then ran to the door. Before opening it, he placed his hand on the knob, took a breath, and then pulled the door open to be blessed with the sight of your beauty. “Y/N! Hi!”

“Heh, hey Katsuki.” You said as you stood at the door with a smile. You weren’t dumb. You always noticed how nervous Bakugou was whenever you were around. His crush was a little obvious to you and even though you felt something for the handsome hero, you never made any advances for the man. He was married and had a kid! There’s no way any sort of relationship was happening. Luckily, a very flirtatious friendship blossomed between you two and you grew so close that you both reached a first name basis.

Y/N L/N. A beautiful woman at the pretty age of 23. She was not only beauty, but she was brains, strength, and grace. She was a fierce and charming lady who had poison on her tongue but a fluffy heart of gold. The lot of you may be thinking that a 23 year old woman should be doing more than babysitting, but Y/N is still fairly young. And besides, babysitting was just a side gig. You had an actual career and owned your own dance studio but ever since you met the Bakugous, you just couldn’t give up on the little job.

“...Umm...Katsuki. Are you gonna keep staring or are you gonna let me in?” You said with a chuckle. Bakugou embarrassingly snapped out of his trance before speaking.

“Right! Uh, come in,” he said and stepped aside for you to enter. You nodded with a smile and walked into the large home, took a seat on the soft couch and you waited for Katsuo to come down. In the meantime, Katsuki always took the opportunity to make small talk with you.

“So..how’ve you been? It’s been awhile since you came over to watch Katsuo.” Katsuki said as he took a seat that was pretty close to you.

“Yeah, sorry about that. The studio’s just been pretty hectic with more clients coming in. Even before I came here, I dropped off some choreography for a heels class that I’m teaching tonight.” You said. The mention of your upcoming class made Katsuki a little excited. Your studio commonly filmed classes to post online for publicity and when Katsuki found videos of you dancing/teaching a heels class, he couldn’t help but constantly admire the view.

“Still coulda’ came by to at least say hi or something,” he said with a gruff but obvious sarcastic voice. “S’been forever since I- I mean since Katsuo saw you.”

“Relax dummy,” you said with a giggle as you playfully slapped his arm. “I’ve only been gone a week.”

Bakugou pretended to be in pain as he placed a hand over his chest, slumped in his seat, and scrunched his face. “Ouch. Don’t remind me. Like I said, it’s been forever.”

You both laughed at his little joke as he sat up straight again. You looked around the house and after seeing a few family pictures hanging, you decided to bring up another topic. “So..where’s the Mrs.?”

“Tch. She’s out at some random party.” He said as he stretched out his neck. You raised your brow and smirked at his answer.

“Oh? Is somebody upset he got left behind?” You teased which made Bakugou cackle a bit.

“Yeah right! Like I care about that nag. She could leave for an eternity and I wouldn’t care and neither would the kid. Besides, it’d just give me the opportunity to get a little closer to you.” He said as he leaned in a little closer and you did the same.

“Oh really?” You said with a smile.

“Really.” He replied back with a face that mimicked your own. Soon enough, his hand found a place on your inner thigh and gave it a squeeze. Your lips slightly separated with a tiny gasp and Bakugou definitely took notice of that. Things would’ve continued if it wasn’t for the sudden voice of a child.

“Y/N!” Katsuo said in excitement as he took notice of you on the couch. You and Bakugou jumped and quickly separated before the child could even get an idea of what was about to happen. You were quick to stand and greet the small boy as you crouched down to his level and gave him a hug.

“Hi Katsuo!” You said with your award winning smile. Katsuki watched from the couch as Katsuo went on and on about all the things he wanted to do today and the only thing that appeared in his head was a new family picture but with you in it instead of Leiko.

“Alright bud,” Bakugou said as he got up from the couch, walking to the two. “I gotta get to work but enjoy your day with Y/N, okay? And be good.” Bakugou said as he ruffled his boy’s blonde hair.

“I’m always good, dad!” The boy pouted as he swatted away his father’s hand. You laughed at their interaction and Bakugou chuckled before kissing the crown of his son’s head and walking to the front door.

“Bye Katsuo!” He said from the exit. You walked him to the exit and before he left he turned to you. He checked to make sure his son wasn’t watching before making his move. He grabbed your chin with his fingers to make you face him and softly spoke. “And I’ll see you later tonight, beautiful.”

You smiled and rolled your eyes at his compliment then said your thanks. You expected him to leave after that and so you tried to walk back to Katsuo but before you could, Katsuki pulled your wrist, grabbed your chin again, and pecked your cheek before exiting and slamming the door shut. You stood with a shocked expression as you felt blood rush to your cheeks.

Although you knew you felt something special for Katsuki, you knew he was married. And you weren’t no homewrecker! Even though some may see it as a harmless little peck on the cheek, you couldn’t help but feel guilty for his growing affections towards you. You sighed a bit before calming down and walking to the blonde boy waiting for you in the living room. You were going to enjoy your time with Katsuo but the return of his father stirred up a little confusion in your chest.

—

Hours passed. When you arrived it was 9:30 a.m. Now, it’s 10:00 p.m., and you expected Bakugou to be home soon. You didn’t really expect to see Leiko. Whenever Katsuki mentioned she was out partying, she never came back while you were around. It’s not that she was purposely avoiding you, she just tend to stay out into late hours of the night.

Katsuo was supposed to be in bed half an hour ago but his puppy eyes got the best of you and so you stayed up an extra hour to watch a quick movie with him. In the middle of the screening, he fell asleep on you and so you turned off the T.V and carried him to bed. After tucking him in, you walked away but felt a tug on your arm. Your turned to see Katsuo with sleepy eyes staring up at you. “Yes Katsuo?”

“Sing me to sleep again. Please Y/N,” the sweet boy asked. You smiled down at him and nodded. You took a seat on his bed side as you ran your fingers through his soft, spiked, blonde hair and sang.

As you sung Katsuo to sleep, you didn’t even notice the front door opening. Katsuki walked in feeling a little excited to see Y/N again but when he walked through the door he heard an angelic voice. He placed his bag down and followed the sound into his son’s room. Once he made it there, he stood in the doorway and listened to your voice and watched as you sung his child to sleep.

Your calming voice sent a blush to Katsuki’s face as he smiled and watched. Your voice was like honey. Smooth and sweet. The way you took care of Katsuo filled Katsuki with a type of happiness he never experienced before. He notice you ran your fingers through his son’s hair and Katsuki couldn’t help but feel a little envious of his own child.

“Don’t go away, stay another day~”

You finished the song and smiled as you saw Katsuo finally asleep. You leaned down and pecked his forehead before getting up to leave his room. As you looked towards the doorway, you jumped at the sight of Katsuki’s tall figure leaning against the frame.

“Katsuki, hey. I didn’t even realize you came home. How was work?” You asked. Your question made Katsuki smile, as it was similar to something a wife would ask her husband after a long day. It was something Katsuki never got to experience, even though he was already married. He smiled at you with kind eyes before tilting his head to signal you to follow him. You smiled softly and nodded as you followed Katsuki down the stairs.

—

For the past hour you and Katsuki had been laughing and talking. You followed Katsuki into the kitchen where he made you both some tea where you then both found seats in the living room. There, you talked some more and you both enjoyed the private company. Eventually, Katsuki grew bold and walked back into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Heh, real smooth Romeo.” You teased and Bakugou chuckled as he rolled his eyes as sat down. You both picked up another conversation and eventually reached your second glass.

“Thanks for always taking care of Katsuo the way you do, Y/N.” Bakugou said with a slight blush. And it wasn’t just the alcohol causing it.

“What do you mean?” You asked, your face holding a similar blush for the same reasons. Safe to say you were both a little tipsy tonight. Not drunk but filled with a little liquid courage.

“I don’t know..like a mom?” His words caught your attention and your gaze encouraged him to continue. “Katsuo..doesn’t have the greatest mom in the world. I think everybody knows that. Honestly, if she wasn’t around at all, Katsuo wouldn’t even know the difference. But you? You’re like the mother he never got....the mother he should’ve got.”

You felt a growing heat flow in your face and you smiled at the sweet compliment. You can’t lie, sometimes you did see Katsuo as your son. You didn’t have kids but you always wanted some. Having Katsuo around was like having a son of your own. “Awe, thanks Katsuki.”

“You shouldn’t thank me, it’s just insane how you’re the actual definition of perfect.” He said before taking a sip of wine.

“Stop it,” you said and playfully hit his arm again. You both put your glasses down and he laughed a bit before continuing.

“No, I’m serious. I mean, c’mon you’re beautiful, smart, kind, sassy,” he began.

“Yeah..and,” you said as you both began to face each other.

“You’re great with kids, you’re good at everything, you have a steady career, you have a passion,” he continued.

“Mhmm..” you said while smiling at his words. You shuffled a little bit closer to him on the couch and Bakugou smiled when he noticed.

“...You’re perfect Y/N.” He focused his gaze on you as he became entranced with your E/C eyes. He leaned in close and you did the same. “...You’re the perfect one for me.”

At those words, you both closed the gap between you two and kissed. Your lips were pressed together for a few seconds before you both pulled away for the same amount of time. During that time, Bakugou kept his lips hovering over yours before pecking your lips a few times and then giving you a real, passionate kiss. Due to the small amount of alcohol in your system you happily returned it. Your hands found way into his hair and his found home on your waist. When you took a small breath, Bakugou slipped his tongue in and you both fought for dominance. In the heat of the moment, Bakugou carried you to sit on his lap and you followed his lead. Your tongues continued to tangle as Bakugou’s hands caressed your body.

They moved down to the hill of your ass and gave it a firm squeeze. You moaned into the kiss and it was music to his ears. Almost as good as the sweet lullaby you sang an hour ago. Soon enough, his hands traveled under your shirt and bra to fondle your plush breast. This made you let go of the kiss and throw your head back as you released soft moans. Bakugou didn’t stop and went into kiss your neck. He left sweet pecks before he left a few hickeys. His mouth moved around your neck before he found your sweet spot, earning a needy sound from you. Bakugou began nipping at the spot and licking the soft skin. His actions caused your hands to tug at his hair and made your hips naturally grind against his center. This made Bakugou groan as he gently layed you on your back on the couch. His body found way in between your legs as he separated from your neck and took notice of your flushed face. He smirked at the sight and his eyes traveled to your shirt, where his hands were hidden under. Deciding to change that, his hands left your valley of breast to push your shirt and bra up to expose your chest.

“Beautiful...” was what he whispered before going in to take one of your mounds in his mouth. You gasped and squealed at the sensation of his mouth covering one breast and his hand massaging the other. Bakugou continued to mark up your chest, leaving love bites and bruises all over.

“Ngh...Katsuki..” you whined. Both your centers began to grind against each other as the two of you were pretty much dry humping one another. Bakugou bit at your nipple, causing you to squirm.

“Easy Princess, I got you. Daddy’s got you, Love.” He said as he used both hands to rub soothing motions into your bare waist. You settled as Katsuki kissed a trail back up to your neck and whispered into your ear. “I’m gonna take such good care of you tonight, Y/N.”

His hand glided off your chest, down your stomach and down your pants. His movements had the wetness between your legs growing and his husky voice definitely didn’t calm it down. His hands slid into your panties and his finger took a swipe at your slick.

“So wet...and it’s all for me..right baby?” He smirked against your cheek.

“Y-Yes Katsuki!” You said as you attempted to grind against his hand before Katsuki pulled it away.

“Try again,” he said with a seductive tone. You were confused on what he meant but you were growing so desperate for a touch. His touch. So your mind began to scramble and think. Master? No. Sir? No. Senpai? Hell no.

“..Daddy.” You softly said. You watched as Bakugou’s smirk grew before he kissed your cheek in approval.

“Good girl.” His finger soon returned to your center and after running it up and down a few times, he slowly pushed two in. You gasped at his thick length as Bakugou pumped his hand in and out of you. Wanting to test the waters a bit more, he slid in a third finger as he picked up the speed a bit.

“O-Oh my god!” Your hips began to grind against his hand and Bakugou curled his fingers. “Fuck!”

“Feel good, baby?” Bakugou asked as he began to grind against the underside of your thigh. Your lower body began to slightly shake as his fingers reached a sensitive spot.

“Yes Daddy!” You cried out. You felt the coil in your stomach tightening, signaling a familiar sensation to almost be reached. Growing more riled up and wanting more room on the couch, Bakugou began to throw the decor pillows off the couch. The pillows flew around the living room knocking a few things over, including the family picture. The sound reached your ears and the sight of the broken frame snapped you out of your pleasured state. Your eyes grew wide as you finally came to and realized what you were doing. “Ngh, no!”

You pushed Katsuki off of you and pulled your shirt back down to cover yourself back up. Bakugou looked at you in shock and confusion as he watched you sit up and settle down. “Y/N...?”

Your hands covered your face for a second before rubbing at your temples for a bit. “No, I- ..*sigh* I’m so sorry Katsuki.”

“Uh..no..I-..I guess that was my fault. I’m sorry I just...”

“Ugh..no. Katsuki it’s not that.”

“I just thought you..felt the same way,” he said as he sat back and rubbed the back of his neck.

“No, Katsuki I do, really, it’s just...”

“So then..why’d you stop?” He asked as he looked at you with a nervous and awkward smile.

“Katsuki..you’re married. I’m sorry, I really like you but..I just can’t bring myself to come onto someone who is already in a relationship.” You explained.

‘Wow. She really is a perfect person,’ Bakugou thought to himself. “Y/N, if that’s the problem then don’t worry about it. I don’t even love Leiko, much less like that bitch.” Bakugou moved in to wrap his arm around your waist but you pushed it away.

“So then why are you still with her?” You asked. Katsuki smirked at your words and laughed a little.

“S’a good question,” he said. Right after those words left his mouth, keys could be heard opening the door and in came the bitch herself.

“What’s a good question?” Leiko said as she looked around. She took notice of yours and Katsuki’s presence on the couch, along with the bottle of wine and empty, used glasses. “Well? Is somebody going to explain? What was the question?” Leiko asked as she walked into the house, closing the front door.

Bakugou smiled at you with full eye contact before standing up and facing his wife. “Why am I still with you?”

Leiko raised a brow at the question and her anger began to boil. “What?” She sternly asked.

“Why am I still with you? I don’t love you, I don’t like you, I only stayed with you because we had Katsuo, our child which you don’t even love. In fact, the only thing you do love is my money, or more so, money in general, and yourself. You’re a conceited ass bitch who’s just taking up space in my life. You’re suffocating Katsuo and I by just existing and you’re holding the title of my wife, a title that Y/N should have. So why the fuck am I still with you?” Bakugou said with a stern voice.

“You-...You’re with me because I’m the mother of your child.” Leiko said with hesitation in her voice.

“Are you? Because you’re never around to be a mother for him. Katsuo doesn’t even care whether you’re here or not. Your presence in the house doesn’t make a damn difference. If anything, Y/N’s more of a mother to Katsuo than you.” Bakugou replied.

You grew uncomfortable with the situation and made an attempt to leave. “Umm..I think I should go-“

“No,” Bakugou began. “You’re staying. I want you to see this thing through to the end, beautiful.”

“Beautiful?! The only woman you should be calling beautiful is your wife Katsuki!” Leiko complained. “Not that slut!”

Now you were a uncomfortable but you were not no slut and you definitely didn’t take shit from nobody. “Excuse me?” You said with attitude but before you could continue, Bakugou intervened.

“Call her a slut again and I’ll blow your ass to bits. Let’s not forget, you had the title of a whore before being called my wife.” Bakugou said with the intent to cause pain.

“Well I may have been a whore but at least I never cheated, which is what I’m sure you were planning on doing with her if I hadn’t come home.” Leiko said.

“You’re damn right I was! Lucky for you, Y/N’s a good person so nothing actually went down but if she gave me the chance, please fucking believe I’d take it in a heartbeat. Matter of fact, if she gave me the chance to wife her up and make her Katsuo’s new mom I’d do that in a heartbeat too.” Bakugou said while looking at you. You felt your heart speed up a little due to his confession but you turned your head to the side to hide your growing blush. Bakugou smirked at the sight before Leiko interrupted.

“What the hell are you trying to say?!” Leiko asked with anger.

“I’m saying I don’t love or like you and I never did! And after 2 years of getting to know Y/N after falling for her at first sight, I can finally fucking say that I’m in love with somebody and it’s her!” Bakugou turned to face you as his wife’s jaw dropped. “Y/N, I’m fucking in love with you. Alright? I have been for the past 2 years already, ever since I met you. And to the bitch behind me,” Bakugou said and turned to face Leiko. “If it wasn’t already obvious, we’re getting a divorce.”

Leiko was fuming as her face grew red with anger. She began laughing in disbelief. “Hah, fine! Fine whatever! Like I give a fuck! Y/N you can have him and the damn kid! I never wanted him anyway! The damn brat just gave me an excuse to keep Bakugou’s fat wallet around. But when you come crawling back, don’t expect me to say yes Katsuki!”

“Well don’t expect me to come crawling back, ‘cause if I’m able to get Y/N to give me a chance, then I won’t be needing anyone else except for her and my son. You can get the fuck out now. I’ll send you your shit and the divorce papers to wherever the fuck you decide to stay.” Bakugou said as he gestured to the door. Leiko screamed some more nonsense that nobody payed attention to and finally walked out the door and slammed it shut.

Silence rang throughout the house for a few minutes after the official split between the toxic couple. Bakugou turned to face you with a small smile as he stood infront of you.

“Well?” He asked.

“Heh, well what?” You asked with a laugh.

“I uh..heh, it wasn’t the way I wanted to tell you but I got my confession out...” Bakugou took a seat next to you and took hold of your hand. He brought it up to his lips, placing a peck to your knuckles before speaking. “..I love you Y/N. I know I do..and I know this might be a bad time to ask considering what just went down-“

“Uh, yeah. A really bad time,” you said with a little giggle.

“Right but umm..do you...how do you feel about me?” He asked with a nervous pulse beating throughout his body. He had to know. Do you love him just for his looks? Did you just want to fuck? Did you actually feel something towards him?

You smiled before using your other hand to grab hold of Katsuki’s shoulder and pulled him in for a sweet kiss. Katsuki’s body jumped in excitement but his hands were quick to hold onto your waist. This kiss was sweet and loving and lasted for some time before you pulled back. You smiled at the blonde as he looked at you with anticipating eyes.

“I love you too Katsuki.” Before you could even process anything, Katsuki had already pounced on you and pinned you to the couch in a hug. He had his arms wrapped around your waist as he tucked his head in the crevasse of your neck.

“God, I’ve been waiting years to hear you say those words.” Bakugou said before he began covering your face in thousands of loving kissed. You giggled at the ticklish and loving feeling and just smiled as you allowed Katsuki to show you his love.

—

Time passed and you and Katsuki stayed cuddled up on the couch. Nothing sexual, nothing nasty, just pure love induced cuddle time. Eventually, the late hours of the night exposed themselves and so you had to go.

“Katsuki, get up,” you said in a soft voice.

“No.” You laughed at his quick reply and began to push at his body to get him off.

“C’mon Katsuki seriously. I have to go home!” You said with another laugh.

“No. Katsuo and I are your new home.” He said, making his body become dead weight to stop you from going.

“Oof! Katsuki!! C’mon!” You whined out with a chuckle. Katsuki laughed with you but you kept trying. “You both are my new home, but my old home has comfy pjs for me to sleep in.”

“I can give you one of my shirts to sleep in. You’d look so amazing in them, princess.” He said with a smile as he imagined how you’d look prancing around in his clothes. It wasn’t the first time he thought about it but just knowing it was so close to becoming true sent butterflies all over his body.

“C’mon Katsuki. You already made me miss my class, the least you could do is let me go back to my apartment.” You said. Bakugou raised his head to look at you with a grin plastered on his face.

“You stayed on your own free will. S’not my fault you love talking to me. Let’s not forget what happened after our long talk too,” Bakugou said, hinting at your scandalous acts with him before you stopped anything else from happening. You rolled your eyes at his words before he spoke up again. “Matter of fact, maybe we should pick up where we left off,” he said and began kissing your cheek.

“Noooo, Katsuki, seriously. I’m tired, I just want to sleep.” You said with a smile.

“So sleep here,” he bargained. You looked at him with a raised brow, silently asking him to go on. “I was serious about having you stay over. You can sleep in my shirt and we can both fall asleep in the guest room.”

“Both of us in the guest room?” You questioned.

“Yeah. I’d let you sleep in my room but I’m not letting that bitch’s leftover presence contaminate you.” You laughed at his insults but allowed him to continue. “And yes both of us. I’m not going to sleep without my princess in my arms.”

You couldn’t lie, the sound of falling asleep in Katsuki’s arms in his clothes was pretty tempting. After taking a look at Katsuki and seeing the same puppy eyes that Katsuo was able to persuade you with, you gave in.

“Fine.”

“Yes!” Bakugou said with a fist in the air as he cuddled in closer.

—

Bakugou finally let you go and allowed you to take a shower. While you were in there, he took a quick drive to the corner store and bought some compression shorts for you. When he returned he left one of his shirts and a pair of the compression shorts for you on the guest bed as he went to get ready for bed in his own room. You walked into the guest room and saw the shorts and shirt and put them on. You looked in the mirror and noticed the shorts weren’t even noticeable considering their tiny length and the large size of Katsuki’s shirt. While staring at yourself, Katsuki walked in wearing nothing but gray sweats. He took a glance at you and was drooling over your body in his clothes.

“...Wow,” he whispered but you heard. You turned to face him and smiled. You walked to him and wrapped you arms around his neck.

“Hey Suki, ready for bed?” You said. Bakugou smiled at the new name as a small blush dusted over his cheeks.

“Suki?”

“New name for you. Like it?” You asked.

“Love it.” He said and pecked your lips before picking you up and carrying you to the bed. He dropped you onto the soft mattress and flopped on top of you. You both laughed a little before getting under the blankets and cuddling up against each other again.

Time passed and Katsuki felt at peace finally with you in his arms. Like the missing part of him was finally filled in. You were so happy and felt so loved in the safety of his arms. Staying the night was definitely worth it.

“I’m so glad Y/N. I love you so much and I’ve wanted you for so long.” He said with your head tucked under his chin. You smiled at his words and nuzzled into his chest.

“Well congrats Katsuki. ‘Cause now, you have me.” Katsuki kissed the crown of your head before falling asleep. And when he woke up that morning to find you in the kitchen with Katsuo on your hip as you made breakfast, he smiled with a full heart as he walked to you both and remembered your words.

“You have me.”

A/N: Hey y’all, for a better experience with the story, I do recommend clicking the link where Y/N sang to Katsuo. I put two links in the story. The heels class and Y/N’s singing, (which is from Rio 2, Jewel’s lullaby) Don’t judge me, that’s the best lullaby ever😂 If you don’t know what a heels class is in dancing, it is basically...dancing with heels😂 Umm...yeah. THE ENDING IS SO RUSHED, IM SO SORRY!

TAGLIST: @sxcker4you @aomi04

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notquitecanon · 4 years

Note

Ohhhh or maybe one where the reader just makes jasper talk for a while just cuz she adores his accent 🥺

Jasper could feel your bad mood from outside your house- he was always so attuned you you. If his abilities were anymore developed he would probably be able to see your mood like a dark storm cloud hovering outside of your bedroom. Alice had a vision in the middle of their hunt of how your day would go, but with the sunny weather and the face they were already in the Canadian wilderness- he could do nothing but hope it wasn’t too bad. After stopping by his house to change clothes, he made a beeline to the tree line that surrounded your yard like a natural property line. He’d seen your silhouette in your window starting at five pm, but couldn’t make a move until the sun had gone down. The last thing his family needed was Chief Swan getting called because your neighbor caught him climbing into your window. The moment the sun dipped below the tree line, he raced up and into your bedroom.

You had been wallowing in self pity: already showered, in pajamas, and lying face down in bed with your computer playing some of your music quietly. The moment he crossed into your room, you felt his presence like a calming wave washing over you. Eyes fluttering shut as some of the tension left your body, you muttered, “Jasper.”

“Evenin’ Darlin.” His voice was like honey-warm, sweeter than sugar, slow, and sticky. Drawing you into his words and keeping you there while he lingered on the edge of your room. Ever the gentleman, waiting for your invitation. Prying your head out of your pillow, you faced him.

While you observed his freshly glowing golden eyes, slightly disheveled blonde hair, statuesque posture, and heavenly face- he did the same, taking in your tense muscles, dark under eye bags, flushed cheeks, and the general feeling of resignation and annoyance in your emotional map. He didn’t fail to notice you’d been crying- you didn’t fail to notice that he noticed. You were the first to break the silence, adjusting yourself to meet his eyes easier, “Good hunt?”

Jasper breathed a quiet laugh, such an abnormal question asked so nonchalantly, but entertained the notion nonetheless, “Most of us went up into Canada, into the mountains. Emmet took on a pretty big grizzly so he’s in a particularly good mood. I got a Moose and a couple deer.”

You didn’t know what truly constituted a “good hunt” but his thirst seemed appeased so you nodded. The head ache that came after a long day hadn’t put you in a particularly chatty mood. Jasper filled the silence, “Alice told me you had a bad day- well, told me you would have a bad day. I’m sorry I couldn’t help, doll.”

Shaking your head, you brought your knees up to your chest before wrapping your arms around them, “Not your fault, Jazz, bad days happen.”

There was a beat of silence as the two of you stared at each other, him trying to dissect every emotion you were feeling and you mentally begging him to just drop it. Finally, you just patted the spot beside you, motioning for him to join you. Talking waant something you wanted to do, but just having him close would be a big step towards feeling better.

As always, the vampire had a hard time saying no to you. So with the mattress dipping beside you, he easily slid beside you- staying perfectly still until you were situated. As usual, you bunched up a blanket where you cheek would rest against his chest- thick enough to cushion against his stone chest but thin enough to be close enough to smell the comforting scent he always had on him. Cologne, cedar, leather, something woodsy, and a sweet scent you could never quite put a finger on. After letting you settle, he looked down to you, “Wanna talk about it, sugar?”

He felt you shake you head before you nestled closer to him, so he just wrapped his arm around you alternating between tracing patterns up you arm and running cold, graceful fingers through your hair. One of your arms flopped across him just to have more phsyical contact, and Jasper frowned out of your sight. Besides truly changing your emotions (which felt invasive), he didn’t know how else to help. So for the moment, he just let you curl into him. Golden eyes raked across the room before landing on a book on your nightstand so without jostling you, he easily snatched it up.

Not bothering to read the synopsis, he began flipping through the first chapter- quickly becoming amused at the scandalous historical fiction set during the Civil War in Mississippi. Now that he thought about it, he remembered Angela passing it off to you during third period. He chuckled at a particularly inaccurate and racy part. His laughter was deep and reverberated through his hard chest which roused you, at your movement, he tried to quiet himself, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. This book is just so terrible.”

His amusement made it hard not to smile as you tried to snatch the book out of his hands, the racy novel had been on lend from Angela and after the second chapter had been collecting dust on your nightstand. He easily kept it out of your reach, amusement growing at your protest (and quiet proud that he’d got you laughing again, he could already feel your mood lightening up). Listening to his laughter made you long to hear him talk in the smooth southern accent, about anything (anything other than that awful book), “Well, if the book isn’t up to par, how about you tell me what it was really like?”

As his chuckling was dying off, he thought about it before tossing the book back on the nightstand. It wasn’t that his past was an off limits topic, there was just a lot of it and he preferred to live in the moment with you. But you were staring up at him with hopeful eyes, and he could feel the remnants of sadness and frustration so he just nodded. “Well, first of all Mississippi didn’t see battle until The Spring of 1862, and union soldiers didn’t make any head way until a year later. So the notion that a this woman met a union soldier celebrating victroy in New Albany is just wrong. Even if it was true, she wouldn’t be so eager to fall into any soldiers tent considering Conderate troops would of torched her father’s plantation for being a sympathizer or vice versa.”

“Hmmm.” You hummed in response to the history lesson, before he continued going back and forth between learned history and personal experience until he hit where he was changed. You’d heard this story, traced the silvery scars on his arms, so once he went quiet you didn’t press any further. “So where were you at the turn of the century?”

“I was still with Maria, we were going back and forth across the border in Texas and New Mexico, I honestly didn’t now it was the new century until 1905, but we were the cause of the Austin Dam failure.” He mused, thinking pack, “I left shortly after the start of the First World War, to search for my friend Peter and because I was tired of fighting Maria’s battles- she starting to lose trust in me and me in her.”

You’d heard him talk about Peter and Charlotte, the only two he ever let escape, “Did you find him?”

“No, not until the late 1930’s, so I mostly just wandered around the South and the West as a nomad. The roaring twenties were fun between Chicago and Mexico City, I’d like to go back to New Mexico someday.” He thought aloud, cold lips ghosting on the crown of your head as his grip on you tightened ever so slightly. The hand laid over him searched for his so you could intertwine you fingers with him. He squeezed for a moment before detaching just to play with you fingers, burning hot compared to his cold touch.

“Where’d you go next?” You asked, letting him gently tug and curl your fingers with his. Jasper laughed bringing your knuckles up to his lips. When he had just fed, it was so much easier to be so close- which is where he preferred to be.

“You’re mighty full of question tonight, ma’am.” He teased, dropping you hand in favor of lightly digging his fingers into your side. The quiet squeal, laughter, and weak attempts at fighting him off was so delightfully human that he couldn’t help but do it every now and then. Jasper gave you a moment to calm down before continuing, “I spent some time in Tennessee and then Kentucky, the Great Depression hit those areas pretty hard, but it was better than being involved in a territory war.”

“Peter and Charlotte ran into me in the Appalachian mountains- that would be the late 30’s- it was easier to hunt without gaining attention up there.” He paused to gauge you reaction, carefully checking for any fear. Finding none, he sighed in relief before continuing, “They told me about Coven’s in the North, how there weren’t many territory disputes and how in some areas they could even go out in day light...”

You let your eyes slip closed, tension melting as you listened to his honeyed words, and his fingers toyed with your hair. Jasper kept going, talking about traveling with Peter and Charlotte through the Midwest and Northern states before breaking off from them too. Then it was the Fifties, going into a diner and meeting Alice. You’d always envied Alice a bit for her closeness to Jasper, even though you knew neither of them felt that way for each other, but you were also incredibly grateful to her- who knows where Jasper would be without her.

“I remember she said that I’d kept her waiting long enough and I thought to myself I’ve never seen this woman in my life, but I sat down with her regardless and she told me about ‘vegetarianism’ and our future family. I could feel her excitement but I thought she was crazy.” He laughed to himself, a beautiful sound. You’d heard this story a few times from him and Alice. “I was about to go on my way, leave Alice in the wind when she told me something I couldn’t ignore.”

You perked up, neither of them had ever mentioned this part of the story. Craning you’re neck up, you saw he was watching you expectantly with a soft smile tugging those perfect lips up- waiting for a reaction, “She told me that she’d seen me with my soulmate and her future family. She couldn’t tell me when, or where, or how, but she’s seen it and I had to trust her. She felt so sincere and I’d been lonely for so long that I left with her that very afternoon.”

You sat up very suddenly, blood rushing to your cheeks ass you turned around to him, “Jasper, you’ve never told me that before! What are you doing with me then?”

Jasper couldn’t help but grin at the flash of indignation and feisty anger, but quickly frowned when it morphed to hurt. His movement was much faster and infinitely more graceful than yours as you took your face in his hands, “You were the girl in the vision, (Y/N), you’re what I’ve been waiting for.”

It was like someone pulled a plug on your negative emotions as they drained out to be replaced by jittery happiness, and he didn’t need his brother’s telepathy to see the wheel’s turning in your head, “Oh.”

Meanwhile, you were trying to figure out the appropriate reaction to being told your someone’s soulmate. You’d never really imagined life without Jasper, you’d long since admitted to yourself that he was the love of your life, “Well, I’m glad you believed her otherwise I could be with Mike Newton right now.”

It was a bad joke, but he laughed nonetheless and pulled you back down with him, now wrapping both arms around you-effectively trapping you to his chest, but you had no reason to be afraid or even attempt to break free. There was a long pause of silence, him sending off soothing vibes, (it was getting pretty late) listening to the sound of your heartbeat as it slowed, and waiting for you to doze off. It did surprise him when you spoke back up.

“Where’d you go next?” It was quiet, sleepy, but a request he wouldn’t deny. He’d pay you back by asking a hundred inane question about your childhood tomorrow.

Pulling your comforter over the two of you, he adjusted you to what would be a more comfortable sleeping position. He continued, “Well, in took a few years but eventually we met Carlisle who welcomed us to the family with open arms. It took a bit to adjust to the new life of going to highschools and colleges, being around humans. Alice would occasionally drop little hints about you, your hair color, eye color, things you would do in her visions, and that was enough to encourage me to stay with it.”

You only hummed in response, turning over a bit as you let him nudge you towards sleep. Jasper was more than surprised when you made it to the mid-seventies without falling asleep, but was satisfied that he could no longer read any anger or frustration on you. Brushing a lock of hair out of your sleeping face, he silently laughed at your unconscious reaction to his cold touch. Yes, he had waited nearly sixty years for you.

“Good night, darlin’. I love you.”

Bad moods and all, he’d wait a hundred years more for moments like these.

#jasper hale x reader #jasper whitlock x reader

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the-evil-authoress · 4 years

Text

GX Month Day 8: “The Power of Friendship!”

Favorite dynamic duo, two characters you think would have been friends if only they met, how friendship saves the day, or maybe a friendship fail. It’s up to you!

HERE. Have some super self indulgent hot springs shenanigans feat. my favorite trio! =D

“This is amazing...” Jesse groans, rolling his head against the rocks as he sinks into the indulgently warm water. It’s a bone deep warmth, chasing away any stress or aches and rendering his mind blissfully numb.

“Never been to one?”

It takes a moment to process Jaden’s words. “Don’t have ‘em back home,” he mumbles, shaking the pleasant fog out of his head just enough to formulate the sentence. “Wish we did. Feels like heaven.” He sinks a little further, practically boneless mush, before a nagging little thought drags him out of the bliss. “Å, where’s Chris? There aren’t dividers for privacy.” He rolls his head toward his companion.

“She’s around here somewhere,” Jaden says, eyes still closed as he leans against the rocks, completely unconcerned. Well, the two had spoken like they come here often so Jesse probably shouldn’t worry about it.

A sharp trill followed by a splash catches his attention. Not far away, Ruby paddles through the water, ripples parting around her. “What?” Jesse sits up abruptly.

“Oh, yeah.” Jaden snickers as Jesse stares at the contradiction to everything he knows about duel spirits. “Out here duel spirits can interact with nature more than usual. Chris said it’s something about the high concentration of natural energy.”

“Å?” There are too many question from that sentence alone for Jesse to pretend it makes sense.

“Oh, well, I guess it’s the reason Christina can see duel spirits?” Jaden says thoughtfully. “She can see a lot of things most people can’t, some things even we can’t.” A hand motions between himself and Jesse. “She can see a person’s-- what’s it called...? Not soul.” Voice dropping, he mutters to himself as he bites a thumb nail. “Energy of the body?”

“Aura!” Dark Magician Girl pops up without warning, and only having seven of his own spirits that like to pop up unannounced keeps Jesse from startling too badly. “She can see a person’s aura,” Dark Magician Girl continues eagerly. “And she’s pretty in tune with the flow of natural energy through the world; it’s why she can always spot the bad guy!”

“Aura?” The term sounds vaguely familiar. “Like a person’s soul?”

Dark Magician Girl shakes her head. “No, she can’t see your actual soul, it’s more like the light given off by your soul.”

Jesse blinks. Was that supposed to make sense?

Humming, Dark Magician Girl pressed a finger to her lips in thought. “Think of it this way,” she finally says, pintling to the sky. “You can’t look at the sun directly but you can still see the light it produces.”

“Å.” Still not sure how that relates to aura and soul light.

“Yeah, I never really understood it either.” Jaden offers a sympathetic grin.

Dark Magician Girl visually pouts before snapping her fingers with an, “Aha! Those lamp thingies you humans use for light! You put a lampshade over the bulb so you can’t see the bulb anymore, but you can still see its light! It’s like that!”

“So the bulb would be a person’s soul and the...” Oh, frick. How does he say this in Japanese?

Undeterred, Dark Magician Girl nods proudly. “Your actual soul is obscured by your physical body but we can still ‘see’ its essence - that is aura.”

Okay, that makes enough sense that Jesse can understand. He gets the feeling that it isn’t as simple as ‘seeing light around a person’, but he can probably ask Christina for more detail about it later.

“She can always tell what kind of mood you’re in too. I swear it’s almost like she can read your mind sometimes!” Jaden laughs.

“I can’t read your mind.” Jesse jerks to the sound of Christina’s voice, heat rising to his cheeks. The young woman stands waist deep in the water, her hair twisted up into a pile atop her head and one arm crossed over her chest to obscure it from view. Should he be looking right now? The polite thing would be to look away, right? She’s got some nice curves hidden under the baggy uniform... “I’ve just gotten really good at guessing what’s going on in there.” Christina pokes Jaden in the forehead, then sinks into the steam and frothy water on his other side and lets her arm fall away.

“Oh, hey! You did decide to join us!” Jaden beams as if there’s nothing remotely out of place with the situation. Is he that dense, or is Jesse missing a vital piece of information here? “Took ya a few months to be okay around Syrus, and you still haven’t come out around Hassleberry.”

The water ripples as Christina shrugs. “Hassleberry’s harder to read. I think it’s that fossil in his leg. Alters the aura. And Mana abandoned me so...” She stretches her arms, cracking her knuckles before settling against the rocks.

“Mana?” Jesse repeats with confusion, deciding that’s the safest option of the numerous questions he now has. Who has a fossil in their what?

“Me!” Dark Magician Girl giggles. “Like the royal magician of Pharaoh Set’s court!” she bounces in the air.

“It was easier than always calling her Dark Magician Girl.”

That makes about as much sense as it can, so Jesse nods and lets the lull of the toasty water claim him again. ‘Mana’ has wandered off when he looks up again, and Jaden leans comfortably against Christina’s shoulder.

“So I’ve been wonderin’...”

“No,” Christina answers immediately without even looking at Jesse, while Jaden turns a curious glance. In the confused silence that follows, she turns to look at him, the side of her chin bumping against the top of Jaden’s head. “Syrus asked the same thing first year. No, we’re not.” Which is not a terribly compelling argument when the side of her face is leaning against the top of his head, but at least she looked him in the eyes this time.

“Mm.” Jaden shifts against Christina’s shoulder, settling into a more comfortable position. “Geez, why do people keep thinking that?”

I dunno know, maybe cuz...that, Jesse thinks, slightly bewildered by the fact that Jaden finds absolutely nothing odd about his and Christina’s current position. Christina herself looks accustomed to the action, but Jaden appears downright oblivious. “You two seem pretty comfortable with each other,” Jesse says aloud.

“Well, yeah. We’ve known each other for years,” Jaden grins. “We used to take baths together when we were little, and kinda just kept washing each other’s backs ever since.”

The amused snort Christina gives in response tells Jesse there’s definitely a story behind that one. “And your parents were okay with that?”

“They were never home much,” Jaden shrugs and glances off as if in complete disinterest of the topic, but Jesse can see a story there too.

“And it never got awkward?”

Jaden blinks up at him with the absolute most sincere look of confusion Jesse has ever seen on a human being. “No?”

“Jay’s asexual,” Christina sighs as she tips her head back and sinks further into the water. Jaden emits a displeased noise at the shift of his pillow but sits up rather than try to adjust.

“Ah.” That explains a lot, actually. And now is probably a bad time to admit that he doesn’t actually have a preference. He can hear the Crystal Beasts snickering from the changing room. Y’all can just be quiet.

“Probably biromantic though,” Christina adds and Jaden twists to frown at her.

“Bi-what?”

“Romantic. You like to cuddle, Jay, and you don’t really give a crap if that person is a guy or girl.”

This gives Jaden pause. “Nah, so long as they’re comfortable,” he admits but just as quickly turns to frown at her again, “But I still don’t want to kiss them or anything.”

Jesse snickers as Christina shrugs. “What about you?” he asks with a glance to the redhead.

“Straight--” Christina begins as Jaden interrupts with a sly grin, “She likes bishonen.”

“Jaden!” the redhead snaps, water sloshing around her shoulders as she jerks to sit up straight.

“What? You say you’re straight but all the guys you’ve ever liked have been really girly,” Jaden jibes with a teasing grin.

“Bi...shonen?” Jesse repeats the unfamiliar phrase. What kind of boys?

“Girly boys,” Jaden deadpans.

“Pretty boys!”

“Same difference. I bet you even think Lex is pretty,“ Jaden taunts with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“Of course I think she’s pretty! You'd have to be blind not to!” Christina snaps with a pointed glare.

Jaden shrugs, nonpulsed. “Objectively, sure she’s pretty. Still doesn’t mean I’m interested.”

“Says the guy who agreed to be her fiance.”

“Hold on- what?!” Jesse sputters, jerking upright. Did he hear that correctly?!

“Christinaaa! I thought we agreed not to talk about that!”

“What??” Jesse gapes.

Jaden whines, giving his best impersonation of a kicked puppy but Christina has a Cheshire grin plastered across her face. “First year, there was this guy, a second or third year, who was hard core hitting on and harassing Lex. He sees Jay and Lex interacting, gets suuuper jealous, and challenges Jaden to a duel to be Lexi’s fiance. Jaden agrees, no questions asked.”

Jaden groans loudly, face pressed so hard against Christina’s shoulder Jesse wonders how he can even breathe. “It doesn’t count! I didn’t even know what it meant!” His protests fall on uncaring ears as Christina continues to grin wickedly, and he slumps in defeat. “And you’re never gonna let me forget it.”

Christina hums. “Of course I’m not gonna let such prime teasing material go to waste.”

A beat passes, then Jaden jerks back, shoulders rigged and voice tense. “Wait a minute, you don’t...?”

“Who said you were the only one I wouldn’t let forget?” Christina hums and Jaden wails. “Lexi never said no~o.”

Jaden shoves his face in Jesse’s shoulder. “Jesse! Save me! She’s evil!” he wails, and with Christina downright cackling, Jesse finds himself inclined to agree.

“Alright, newbie, what about you?” Christina asks when she finally recomposes herself.

“Me what?” Jesse croaks, still reeling over the revelation from the last few minutes of his life.

“Romantic preference.”

“Ah, I, ah, I don’t really have a preference,” Jesse admits, stumbling over the words as he drags his brain back to the present moment. “I’ve found I care more about someone’s personality than their gender or body type.”

An uncomfortable moment of silence passes. Jaden’s face is still pressed into Jesse’s skin. “Oh, that makes sense,” Christina says, quiet and thoughtful.

The tension drains with a breath of air. Jesse grins. “Re-evaluating a few things?”

Christina shrugs. “What is that called?”

“I don’t know? I don’t know if there is a word for that.” Much less how it would translate into Japanese. He might be able to passably keep up in a conversation but if actually being in Japan has taught Jesse anything, it’s that he’s basically still a beginner.

Christina huffs, obviously dissatisfied with this answer.

“Honestly, I don’t think ya really need a label for it, so long as you understand it. Sure, it’s nice to have a simple way to explain it to others, but it’s not all that important.”

Christina stares at him and Jesse wonders if he said something weird again or screwed up his Japanese or maybe both. That is entirely possible. Then she huffs softly with a grin and Jaden snickers against Jesse’s shoulder. “I knew I liked you.” He twists around and tips his head back to look up at the blunette. “The simple minded must stick together!” He punches the air with a dripping fist before sagging against Jesse laughing.

Christina looks like she can’t decide whether to be amused or exasperated.

An odd chirping noise pulls their attention, and Jaden bolts upright. “Aqua Dolphin! Hey, Aqua Dolphin!” He sloshes away excitedly, leaving Jesse and Christina alone.

“Spazz.” Christina smirks, a fondness in her eyes.

A comfortable silence settles between them, and Jesse remembers he still has questions. Let’s start with something simple. “So you’ve been down here with the others before?”

“A few times, mostly with Syrus.” Christina shrugs. “I’m not as concerned with things like modesty once I get to know a person well enough.”

“Oh.” Is that a Japanese thing or a her thing? Japan does have a lot of communal bath houses, but aren't most of them separated by gender? Japan does produce a fair chunk of...questionable content. Anime is weird. Red hair tilts in his vision and Jesse realizes he’s been silently pondering this long enough for Christina to give him a concerned look. “Ah, sorry, I’m just...tryin’ to figure out if I should be flattered or not? I mean, we haven’t exactly known each other very long.”

“Yeah, but… I don’t know.” Christina gazes across the hot spring with a distant look. “It feels like we’ve known each other longer.”

Oh-

Something large hits the water with a great splash and sends the resulting wave crashing over both their heads with startled exclamations. “Amber Mammoth...!” Jesse complains loudly but laughs as he shakes water from his now dripping bangs.

“Sorry, Jesse!” Mammoth apologizes as he paddles off. Amethyst sniffs the water before sticking her nose in the air and trotting off. Emerald slips into the spring with a plop, gliding smoothly in another direction.

“This water really does feel great.”

Christina’s shoulders shake with her own amusement as Ruby hops up on Jesse’s shoulder, nuzzles the side of his head, and Jesse has to marvel at the way he can actually feel her fur, not just a disembodied impression of touch. With an exasperated sigh, Christina stands and reaches up to undo her hair, and Jesse should really probably look away like now but he finds his eyes stuck on the exposed skin.

“So much for keeping my hair dry,” the girl mumbles as red locks tumble freely down her back. Then, as if suddenly remembering her surroundings, she looks down at Jesse. Blue eyes meet green and this is the part where most girls in anime scream and hide right? Maybe slap the guy? Nope, she flashes him a sassy grin and places a hand on her hip as she pops it to the side and freaking poses--

“Like what you see?”

Jøss! Jesse tears his eyes away to stare at some very interesting rocks on the opposite side of the hot spring. Not a moment later, he hears the infuriating sound of mad giggles and a loud slosh of water. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels her hair against his arm. “You’re too cute,” she wheezes. “Ra if I could have gotten that kind of reaction out of Jaden...” she descends into giggles against his shoulder again.

“You are so not fair,” he grumbles, glaring at the rock and trying to will away the embarrassing heat in his cheeks.

“You know it.” He can hear the sharpness of her grin as she reaches up to flick his nose.

These people are weird, Jesse decides, but if he had a problem with weird he wouldn’t be here at Duel Academy.

A loud wolf whistle breaks into the dwindling giggles and Christina stiffens even before Jaden’s loud proclamation, “Go for it, you two!”

“Jaden Yuki!!” Christina bellows, leaping from the water as Jaden laughs and scrambles from his perch on the rock to run from his best friend’s wrath. “I’m going to strangle you!”

Jesse snickers. Yup, weird. But he kinda likes it.

#gxmonth2020 #jaden yuki #Judai Yuki #jesse anderson #johan andersen #johan anderson #gx #ygo gx #ygogx #yugioh gx #yugiohgx #yu gi oh gx

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kusunogatari · 4 years

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[ ObiRyū October | Day Twenty-Five | Pent Up ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Nohara Rin, Hatake Kakashi ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ Vulgarity, blood ]

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Why, why, why is it so hard to keep ahold of his temper…?!

So much more seems to grate at his patience than it used to when he was younger. Sounds, touches, even smells can start chipping at his mood, making him more and more agitated until something has to give. It’s like his brain has turned into a ticking time bomb, randomly exploding when just the right criteria are met.

Needless to say...it’s made most people wary of him. And now that he’s starting his senior year back in the district he once hailed from, he’s especially wary of being labeled dangerous, unstable, a freak.

He’s already embarrassed himself once. The pool party, barbeque, whatever that Rin invited him to ended in disaster when he had one of his seizures. Right in front of everyone...they all just stared in horror as he seized up, plunging into the pool.

But then the girl who lived there had dragged him up, spurring the rest of them into action. The damage, however, had already been done. By now he’s sure everyone already knows about it before he even steps foot into the high school this morning.

...he just has to stay calm.

Finding his locker, he ignores the dubious looks he gets, the whispers that seem to follow him. Even at the reformative school he’d been transferred to after his accident had seen him an odd one out, mostly due to his appearance...but his breakdowns and spasms hadn’t helped, either. By now it’s all just white noise, fiddling with the combination lock on his locker door.

“Hey!”

Half a second late, Obito realizes he recognizes that voice, if only vaguely. A turn shows the girl from yesterday...Ryū? Admittedly he remembers almost nothing about her - only that she used to tag along with Rin when they were younger, and how much harder that made getting the other girl alone.

...of course that doesn’t matter now. Rin’s with Kakashi, for...some reason.

He just blinks at her, watching her approach with her books clutched to her chest.

In turn, she offers a smile. “So, you made it. How are you feeling today?”

The question earns a reflexive tick of annoyance. He gets really sick of people asking him that, but...there’s a genuine concern in her expression most people tend to lack. Usually they’re more exasperated than actually worried. “...I’m fine. Stiff, but it’ll pass.”

“Ah, good...that must have been so scary…”

“I’m used to it. It’s been happening for five years.”

Further sympathy wilts her brows. “...that must be really tough.”

He doesn’t have an answer, simply grunting and opening the door once the lock gives way.

“Well...if you need anything, let me know! Maybe I’ll see you in some classes?”

“I doubt it. Most of mine are pretty low ones compared to a lot of seniors.” And surely she’s not at his held-back level. She seems pretty smart, from what he can tell.

There’s a small awkward pause. “Oh...well, maybe a club…? I’ve been in the theater club since I was a freshman. It’s a lot of fun! But there’s a lot of others too, if you’re looking for something to do.”

Ugh, clubs...aren’t classes bad enough? “I’ll think about it.”

She seems to realize he’s getting annoyed. “Well...okay! I’ll, um...I’ll see you later, Obito. Have a good morning!”

He watches her go. Is she really one of those people that’s constantly peppy and good-natured? Isn’t that...exhausting? Well, whatever. He better get to first period. Last thing he needs is to be late on the first day. People are going to have enough reason to give him crap.

Thankfully he doesn’t have any confrontations on the way there, taking a back row seat and folding arms atop his desk to rest his chin. He’s barely been here ten minutes and he’s already sick of it.

...but he told his grandmother he’d try. She’s so eager to see him graduate from a proper school. All Obito can think is that he hopes she lives that long. She’s not exactly a spring chicken anymore. Out of everyone in his life right now...she’s his rock. The one person he never gets angry with, never gets upset by. Sachiko feels like the only reason he’s been keeping it together.

Even his old friends have clearly changed. Rin, while still friendly, seems a bit more...conscious about talking to him. Especially when Kakashi’s around. And Kakashi’s still quick to butt heads with him over practically nothing. Like yesterday with Rin’s invite to the party. It would have pissed him off...if Rin hadn’t rolled over for him so easily.

...he can’t expect them to be the same, but...he’ll admit, he’s not a fan of these changes. He knows things can’t be the same, but...even Rin no longer feels like a friend.

...maybe this whole ‘coming back’ thing was a mistake.

Morning classes pass in a bit of a fog, Obito in no way motivated to pay much attention. He just wants to check off this day from what will surely be a very long list of days until the year ends. The sooner that gets here, the happier he’ll be.

Come lunch, he’s realizing he’s now going to have to confront a few things. One being the crowds, and the noise. Another being trying to find a seat

Cuz he knows no one’s going to want to sit by -

“Obito!”

Jolting a bit with his tray in hand, he spots Ryū waving at him from a table. Nearby, both Kakashi and Rin seem to hesitate.

That narrows his eyes...but he decides to sit anyway. If they’re going to treat him like a stranger, he’ll just do the same. He doesn’t need them. He doesn’t need anyone. They want to distance themselves from him? Fine.

Instead, he sits next to Ryū.

“How were your classes?”

“Boring. But about what I expected.” He pointedly avoids looking at the other pair, working on getting his food arranged on his tray. “You?”

“I already have homework in two classes, but...hopefully it won’t be too bad.” There’s a mild silence, Ryū seeming to notice the awkward air between the three former friends. “...what about you guys? Any hard classes this morning?”

“I had three AP classes but that’s usual,” Kakashi replies, also obviously ignoring Obito. “Schedule’s pretty full, but it’ll be fine. Need them for my college apps.”

Across from him, Obito scowls at the casual bragging.

“Rin?” Ryū gives a bit of a strained smile.

“Nothing too, uh...bad. Pretty typical. One homework assignment so far. Also not sure what club I want to join...I liked gardening club last year but apparently the damage to the greenhouse from that storm over the Summer means it’s cancelled for this semester at least.” Rin’s mouth falls into a disappointed frown. “So I dunno if I should wait, or...join something else in the meantime. Cuz depending on repairs and stuff, it might not happen at all.”

“Aww! That really sucks...you could join theater!”

At that, Rin gives a short laugh. “I...don’t think so. Not really the acting type, and...it’d be weird being there just one semester or one year. You guys are a pretty close-knit group, right?”

“Well, yeah. But we welcome new freshmen every year!”

“Mm...I’ll think about it.”

“What about you, Obito?” Ryū asks, turning to him. “Want to join any clubs?”

“Or you could play a sport!”

“Not sure a sport is a good idea with my condition,” Obito replies, making Rin balk.

“O-oh...right. Sorry…”

“Well, doing some kind of extracurricular activity is good for your educational resume,” Kakashi offers nonchalantly.

“Not sure my educational resume is really going to impress anybody, given the circumstances,” Obito retorts, looking annoyed.

“Doesn’t mean you should just give up.”

“I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”

“Hey, guys, it’s fine,” Ryū cuts in, a placating hand rising. “Everybody does high school differently. APs or not, clubs or not, it’s whatever.”

“Yeah I only got into one AP this year,” Rin confirms with a nod before shooting Kakashi a look.

All the while, Obito tries to keep a hold on his temper. He can tell Kakashi is just trying to get a rise out of him. And while he already has pent up anger concerning the other boy, he doesn’t want to let it win.

So he instead focuses on deep, even breaths while the girls try to diffuse the situation. Now, if only it weren’t so loud in the cafeteria...it’s grating on his nerves.

“I’m gonna go get ready for class,” Kakashi eventually relents, standing and taking his half-empty tray with him.

“Kakashi -!” Looking a bit flabbergasted, Rin tries to call him back to no avail. “...I dunno what’s gotten into him today!”

“Just his typical asshole self,” Obito mutters. “Has to boss everyone else around, has to make himself look good when no one gives a shit.”

“I think he is worried about what you’re going to do after graduation,” Rin replies, looking a little nervous. “I mean...you’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you, given your...um...setbacks.”

Obito’s expression only sours, temper fraying further. “Well he doesn’t have to be such a shithead about it.”

“...it’s just...going to take some adjusting, y’know? Everyone...being back together. We’ve all changed, right?”

That does it. Appetite ruined, Obito stands without a word and dumps the rest of his food, tossing the tray into the wash pit.

Behind him, the girls both jolt in surprise. But only one gets up to follow him.

“Obito!”

He doesn’t stop, shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets as Ryū jogs to catch up.

“Don’t listen to Kakashi, he’s just -?”

“Just a massive prick and a pain in my ass,” Obito growls. He can feel the embers of his temper starting to flicker with flame.

“I’m sorry...you didn’t have to sit with them. I just figured -?”

“It wasn’t your fault. You -” You’ve been nothing but nice to me. “...Kakashi’s picked fights with me since we were kids. And...I’ve picked fights back. We’re just not meant to be around each other that much. Don’t worry about it.”

Managing to come around to his front, Ryū cuts off his path, expression guilty. “...still. I...should have read the room.”

“I didn’t have to sit there. It was my choice.”

“...well...tomorrow we’ll sit somewhere else, okay? That way it won’t happen again.”

Sighing, he stares at her. “...why are you being so nice to me?”

The question seems to take her aback. “W...why wouldn’t I?”

“Cuz no one else seems to want to.”

“Well everyone else are just a bunch of jerks. I know this is awkward...for everybody. And maybe Rin’s right, maybe things have changed, but…” She sighs. “...you still deserve to be treated kindly, and given a chance to meld back into things here. So I’m, at least, going to try to help you do that.”

It’s his turn to exhale, far more curtly than her. “...just pisses me off. Rin invited me yesterday, and then let Kakashi walk all over her. She just...abandoned me when she was the only reason I showed up! Then today she lets him say all that shit, and only stutters out excuses. She’s letting Kakashi blindside her.”

“...maybe she is. But...she might come around! You guys just...have to get reacquainted. And that’s not going to be easy. For now, I guess all you can do is...just try to be patient. See how things go. Maybe they’ll settle down, and...maybe they won’t. Only way to know is to try. In the meantime. I’m not going anywhere.”

For a moment he scoffs. She’s not going anywhere, is she? The person he knows the least out of this group? But...then again, maybe that’s a good thing. Whereas he has soured memories and expectations for Kakashi and Rin, Ryū is...a blank slate. Known only briefly. Vaguely.

And already making a good impression.

So despite his original intention to blow her off, he sighs. “...guess you’re right.”

“...I think for now, you guys should give each other some space. Kinda...ease into it, you know? I mean...five years apart is a long time. Trying to act like all that time didn’t pass will only make this more difficult. Take a little while for yourself. Get settled in overall, then you can worry about anything else.”

He considers that silently.

...that is until a pack of unruly freshmen make their way down the hall.

Loud, obnoxious, and clearly not yet learning any respect, they push through between the pair. Ryū, slighter in frame, stumbles back and slams into the wall, head knocking with a hollow thunk.

Something in Obito clenches.

“Watch it!” the ringleader taunts, pulling a face. That is, until Obito grabs him by the shirt front. “Whoa whoa whoa!”

“Apologize,” the Uchiha growls, ignoring the sudden attention they’re getting.

“Jesus man, you look like you got into a fight with a weed trimmer and lost! What the fuck is wrong with your face?”

Clutching her head, Ryū looks up with a wince before panicking.

“Funny, I was just going to ask you that. Cuz you look like a little prick that just got decked in the nose.”

“Wha-?”

With a crunch, Obito reels back and...does just that. The freshman falls to the floor hard, clutching at his face.

“What the fuck, man? What the fuck?!”

“You hurt my friend. Seems only fair you get a taste of your own medicine. And I’m really tempted to teach you a second lesson…!” His heartbeat is rushing in his ears, his whole body hot with anger. All he can focus on is the blood on this little asshole’s chin...and how much more he’d like to see.

“Obito, stop!” Ryū pulls at his arm, trying to waylay him.

“You’re gonna regret -!”

“Stop!” Desperate, Ryū instead steps right in his path, latching onto him tightly. Face in his chest, she clings arms around to his back.

He freezes.

“...don’t. It’s not worth it. He’s just some little punk. You’ve done enough!”

Blinking, Obito feels the heat receding. His tensed form slowly goes limp.

And all around him are staring eyes, whispering mouths, pointing fingers. But what tops it all off is seeing both Rin and Kakashi. The former stares in horror. The latter glowers.

A shaking seems to overcome him. It’s too much, he - he can’t -?

Urging Ryū aside, he flees.

Not one to give up so easily, she follows even as the warning bell rings.

Ironically, his hiding place is the storage room for theater club props.

“...Obito?” Navigating her way around the odds and ends, she finds him crouched in a corner of set pieces. “...hey…” Carefully, she takes a knee beside him. “You all right…?”

“N...no…”

She sighs before just...sitting beside him. “...this has been a really shitty first day, huh…? I’m sorry. How about we just...stay in here for a bit? Let things...settle down?”

“I’m gonna get in so much trouble…! First day back and I’ve already fucked it up! I just...I wanted…” To Obito’s frustration, his voice starts breaking and tears sting at his eyes despite rubbing at them with the backs of his hands. “...I wanted...to get through this. F-for my...for my grandma. She wants me to…”

At that, Ryū softens, laying a hand gently on his arm. “...it’s gonna be okay. I’ll tell the staff what happened. Because to be fair...I did get hurt…”

At her sheepish smile, he looks over, sniffling. “...you okay?”

“My head kinda hurts, but...I’ll be fine. Freshmen are just...brats. Punching them might not be the best way to get them to shape up, but...it is a way,” she admits with a hint of a giggle.

“...I got angry. I shouldn’t have done that, but...I’m just so…!” His hands lift, to bury into his hair, pulling at it in frustration. “...I get so mad! I dunno why!”

Wilting again, Ryū leans against him softly. “If...I had to guess, it probably has to do with your condition. Did you...have any cranial trauma?”

“...yeah…”

“That can really mess with your emotions, depending on where it happened. People even develop new addictions or behaviors after they get hurt like that. But...you can get therapy for it. Maybe...that’s something you could look into?”

“We can’t afford it,” Obito counters bitterly. “...it’s just me and my grandma. She can’t…”

The thought trails off, and Ryū hums in response. “...well...maybe something will come along. But it sounds to me like this anger isn’t entirely your fault. A lot of it probably comes from the trauma you went through during your...your accident. But I bet you can overcome it…! It’ll just take time, and the right resources.”

Obito, knowing he can’t really access the latter, just stays quiet.

“...how do you feel now…?”

“...tired. Frustrated. But I’m not angry anymore. Not for now,” he adds with a sigh.

“That’s good, though! Think you can go back to class…?”

Another sigh, arms folded atop his bent knees to rest his chin. “...I dunno.”

“Then we’ll just stay here a little longer.”

“But you need to get to class.”

“This is more important.”

Obito’s brow furrows, watching as she stands up. More important?

“I’m really excited for the plays this year...we’re going to do Beauty and the Beast this Winter, and then Grease in the Spring! I hope I get good parts, since it’s going to be my last year…” Ryū looks over props from past productions, a fond smile on her face. “...it’s been a lot of fun. I’m going to miss it…”

“...can you do it in college?”

“Maybe. I dunno if I’ll have time, but...I’d like to. If all goes well, I’d like to go into nursing, like Rin. But theater and choir have made me really happy, too. They’re just...not really stable careers,” she adds sheepishly.

“...but they make you happy.”

“...they do.”

Breaking his gaze from her, Obito looks over the props around him. “...did you guys...build these?”

“Mhm. Well...I didn’t. We have people who work on props, or the lighting, or music. It’s not just actors, after all. But we all have a lot of fun.” She looks to him thoughtfully. “...I’d still say you’d enjoy joining us, if you want. Gives you a creative outlet, and you can make some friends! You don’t have to be an actor if you don’t want to. Maybe...stop in a few times, see if you like it? You can always quit if you don’t.” Ryū smiles at him. “But...maybe an outlet would be good for you. Something to think about and look forward to. Something...new. And fun!”

He mulls that over, looking unsure.

“...well, just think about it. We don’t have our first meeting until Wednesday - last period is cancelled so people can look at the clubs and pick one. Maybe you’ll find another one you can do instead, too!”

Almost immediately, Obito pushes that notion aside. If he’s going to do a club...it would probably be this one...if only because he’d already know someone in it. “...okay.”

For a while, Ryū finds some memorable pieces in the room, showing them off and recounting memories about them. Obito finds himself enthralled, glad for something else to think about.

...but all good things have to come to an end.

A knock sounds on the door, the pair of them looking up as the school secretary comes in. Her arms fold. “There you are. You’re both quite tardy to your next classes. And you’re to come to the office about a fight that happened during lunch period.”

Ryū tenses. “Obito wasn’t -!”

The woman holds up a hand. “A few witnesses said the freshman started things when he pushed you and injured your head, and that it ended when mister Uchiha punched the assailant. Both he and the freshman will be serving detention after school today. Guardians have already been called.”

Behind Ryū, Obito’s face falls. So...Sachiko already knows.

“Obito has a medical condition the school needs to take into account,” Ryū retorts. “Ignoring that will be grounds for discrimination for his disability!”

“You can discuss that with the principal,” the secretary retorts. “To the office. Both of you.”

To Obito’s surprise, Ryū glowers the whole way down, arguing quite haughtily with staff once they arrive. Jiraiya has already shown up, listening quietly to his daughter’s arguments.

“Obito shouldn’t be punished, he needs help! Punishing him won’t address the real problem and leave the possibility it happens again!”

“The school is not responsible for mister Uchiha’s health or disabilities,” the principal retorts, waving a hand. “If he has issues, they’re to be handled on his own time to ensure he attends school properly without resorting to violence.”

“And if he doesn’t have the means?”

“It’s still not the school’s responsibility. Obito’s job while here at school is to attend his classes and pass them, and refrain from poor behavior. If he can’t do that, we’ll have to remove him.”

Ryū bristles, but pauses as Sachiko is ushered into the room. Worry tightens the old woman’s face.

Obito’s head bows in shame.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, Ryū looks pleadingly to her father.

Glancing between everyone present, Jiraiya heaves a heavy sigh. “...the way I see it, we have a student on our hands that lacks the resources to be able to attend school as he is. Which means we need to get those resources squared away, so he can use the school his granny’s tax dollars pay for, and that he should have the right to use.”

The principal perks a brow.

“If we get the kid into therapy and his behavior improves, he can stay, right?”

“...correct.”

Arms folding over his barrel chest, Jiraiya simply replies, “Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Ryū’s expression brightens, Obito’s slack in shock.

“Oh, sir...you don’t have to -?” Sachiko lifts her hands, looking hesitant.

“Nonsense. Any friend of my daughter’s is a friend of mine. Friends help each other. We’ll get this little snag taken care of, and then everything’ll be fine.” He gives a cool, pointed look to Obito. “...right?”

“R...right.”

Looking exasperated, the principal waves them away. “Just...make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The four of them then leave the office, Jiraiya talking to Sachiko as the teens idle uncertainly.

“...is he serious?”

“Mhm,” Ryū replies, smiling. “Dad helps a lot with stuff at the school - admittedly he’s...made a good amount of money. So he tries to give back. The party yesterday? That’s one of his ideas. He’s been doing it since I started school. He takes a lot of pride in the community, and maintaining it. I think yesterday already made him realize you need some help.”

“...I don’t -?”

She cuts off Obito’s retort with a hand on his arm. “It’s not pity. It’s help. A tool you can use to succeed. Besides, I’m sure he’ll find a way for you to make it up if you want. I know he hates mowing the lawn, so...expect him to wrangle you into something.” Her expression softens. “...it’s gonna be fine.”

Still looking conflicted, Obito just sighs. He’s not...used to this. How is he supposed to react…?

“Well, you two better get back to class,” Jiraiya then offers. “Sachiko and I are gonna hash some things out. You’ve still got your detention Obito, but that should be it. Just try and keep a lid on that temper until we get something figured out.”

“...yes sir.”

“Then off you scoot!” He ushers them down the hall.

“Well...guess I’ll see you later,” Ryū offers. “Think you’ll be okay?”

“...I guess.”

“I can wait after if you -?”

“No,” he cuts in firmly. “You...you’ve done enough.”

“...okay. Well, I’ll see you after class, then.” She gives a little wave, branching off down another hallway.

Obito watches her go.

“...thank you.”

Oof, this is very late OTL Almost finished it last night but I just...had a really bad day and an even worse night so I call it quits. Came back with a fresher mind and got it done. Still not 100% sure about it, but it’s done kjdfgjkdhfg I always struggle with modern and this one felt really hard to write, idk why. I’m not very good at writing grumpy characters kjfdjdhfg but I tried :’D Anyway I’ve got irl stuff to do so idk if I’ll get more done tonight or not, but I’ll try. Thanks for reading~

#obiryū october #abyssaldespair #uchiha obito #suigin ryū #nohara rin #hatake kakashi #best years of your life [ au ]#vulgarity //#blood //

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dixiechip · 7 years

Text

Always - Part 5

KEY:

Thoughts

~Dream~

*** Time jump

~~~ Flashback

[His POV]

My arm shook violently causing me to jump awake. I ripped the hand away from my skin while my eyes adjusted to the light coming from the flashlight. It was just Ellie. My breathing calmed and heartrate slowed. I was worried we were under attack. “What the hell do you want?” I know my voice was stern and frustrated but I couldn’t help but be irritated with her.

She started to say something but quit and shook her head. “Nevermind. It’s not a big deal. I’m sorry for upsetting you.” She took a step back from the bed I slept in and watched me for a second before turning around and leaving. She closed the door with a thud. What the fuck is wrong with her? Doesn’t she know better than to wake me like that?

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I laid back down and closed my eyes, but I couldn’t go back to sleep. Her eyes were filled with worry and sadness. I pushed her off and treated her rudely. I stood and walked towards the door. I didn’t have a flashlight, so I walked with my hand against the wall until I felt the knob of her door. I twisted the nob slowly and found her in bed crying. The flashlight still on and lighting up the room slightly. The dog laid at her feet, but provided no comfort.

“Why ya cryin?” She turned to face me and shook her head.

“It’s not important. I’m being stupid and childish.” I stood there in the doorway waiting for a real answer. She chewed at her lip and looked up at me expectantly. “Would you stay with me…?” I nodded and walked over to the bed. I pulled back the covers and climbed in. She immediately wrapped her arms around me and hid her face against my neck. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. She gripped onto the t-shirt I was wearing. I gently traced my fingers up and down her spine. This is exactly where I want to be. I want to sleep like this every night. I want her with me, always.

Her body relaxed against mine and she fell asleep but I continued to gently run my fingers over the small of her back. The skin was exposed and felt soft under the touch of my calloused fingers. I couldn’t help but smile at the situation. The girl I love is wrapped in my arms and she wants me here.

[Her POV]

“Would you stay with me…?” I knew it was a stupid question to ask but I hoped he would. I hated being alone and the storm outside only made it worse. He nodded his head and quickly moved some pillows so he would have room in the bed. He scooped me up in his arms and I laid across his chest. I pressed my face into his neck and inhaled his scent. I never wanted to move.

My arms wrapped tightly around him. I knew he wasn’t one for physical affection but he seemed perfectly at ease with me touching him. He’s probably too tired to care. I intertwined my legs with his and gripped tightly to the fabric of his shirt. His arms held me tightly while his hand softly rubbed my back. I knew something was on his mind, but I didn’t ask. I felt my eyes get heavy and I started to doze off but not before feeling his lips against my forehead. “I love you, girl.” He whispered. I kept my eyes closed and my face expressionless.

He thinks I’m asleep. I want to tell him but I know I can’t. He wouldn’t say those words to me if I were awake and I’m not gonna push him. My thoughts wandered but I was asleep quickly.

***

Thunder boomed and pulled me from my sleep. I reached out to grab Daryl’s hand, but the bed was empty. I sat up and looked around. He put you to sleep and left. He didn’t really want to stay. I laid back down and pulled the covers over my head and tried to block out the noise. The thunder was relentless.

Something tugged at the blankets and then a voice murmured, “I’m right here, babe. Let me back in. It’s chilly.” I flipped open the blankets and Daryl settled back into his spot from earlier in the night. I took his hand and held it but he had other ideas. He pulled me into his muscular arms and held me closely. I could hear his heartbeat and every breath he took. The sounds were comforting.

“Where were you?”

He laughed a little but answered my question. “I needed a drink so I was downstairs.” I thought about his answer and his fingers made their way to my hair. He gently played with it and massaged my scalp. I relaxed into his hold and drifted off to sleep.

[His POV]

The sun streamed in through the curtains. I opened my eyes and expected her to be there. I rolled over to grab her and pull her into me, but the space beside me was empty and cold. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. There was no sound in the house. I went and dressed in the other room before heading outside to her. She would have been a great sight to see first thing in the mornin.

A rustling came from behind the barn. I rested my hand on my knife as I rounded the corner but it was Ellie. She stepped out of an RV holding a trash bag and tossed it onto a pile of other trash bags. “Mornin, doll,” I called to her. She jumped when she heard the sound but she smiled at me. She’s not yours and you know it. You’ve never even made a move dumbass.

“D’ya wanna help me out?” Her voice was breathless and sweat beaded on her forehead. I nodded and followed her into the RV. We cleaned the entire thing, top to bottom. “I wanna get this thing ready to move. I want this to be a mobile storage unit. And if not this, then that,” she said while pointing to the eighteen-wheeler truck. “Dad was a trucker, and that thing stands against anything. It has a wrecker on it right now, so it can haul other vehicles. Or we can hook it up to the other trailer.” I watched her mouth as she spoke. I wanted to feel her lips on mine. I wanted to drag my lips across her entire body.

[Her POV]

I don’t think he’s even listening to me. He’s just staring off into space. I chewed on my lip nervously. “Hey, uh, Daryl?” He looked up at me. “I jus wanted to thank ya for coming and staying with me last night. I know you’re not one for physical stuff and such so it won’t happen again but thank you.” He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Yur welcome. Now, how about you take a break and we eat sumthin? I’m starved.” I nodded and followed his lead back to the house. I didn’t eat much. I pushed the food around my plate and picked at it with my fork. I dumped it in the dog’s bowl and started washing up. The temperature raised outside and it was too hot to continue working. I laid out on the living room floor. The tile was cool against my legs. I opted for shorts this morning.

The day passed slowly. Reading books did not make the time go by any faster. Daryl had been in and out of the house. When he finally settled in, it was nearly seven. I continued laying on the floor like I had for the past five hours. He sat on the couch beside me and looked down at me. “Whatcha doin on the floor, girl?” I shrugged my shoulders and continued to stare at the ceiling. I didn’t want to tell him that I was having an off day or that my depression was affecting me. “Ya know ya can tell me anythin right?”

“I don’t like to talk about it.”

[His POV]

I dropped the subject and moved to the floor to lay next to her. She gently took my hand in hers and we laid like that for a while. The sun set completely and the house was dark. I hadn’t started a fire tonight and she hadn’t turned on any lamps. She sighed deeply before pushing herself to get up. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Dare.” Her voice was soft and sleepy. I nodded in response and watched as she made her way up the stairs. Maybe I should offer to stay with her again. I slept better with her than without. I want to fall asleep with her.

I followed her pursuit a few moments later but when I reached the top of the stairs, she had already turned out her bedroom light and closed her door. I solemnly walked back to the room I slept in and laid down.

I tossed and turned for hours before getting up from the bed. I yanked on some pajama pants and walked down the hall. I opened her door. She was sleeping peacefully. I pulled the covers back and climbed in with her. She startled and jumped. I hushed her and calmed her down.

“What are you doing in here, Dare?” she whispered.

“Can’t sleep…need you…” I mumbled back while falling asleep with her in my arms.

“Dare? Can I ask you sumthin?” I nodded yes. “What’s this gonna be? Are we sleeping together now? Are we together? What is this gonna be? I need to know the boundaries.”

I thought on it for a minute. “We ain’t nothin you don’t wanna be. You set the boundaries and I’ll follow. You’re in charge, doll.” She turned to face me and she gently pressed her fingertips against my cheek. She stroked my hair with her other hand and closed her eyes. “I’m gonna do sumthin. I’m not sure how it’ll go cuz I’m not good with this stuff but I wanna try. Don’t move,” I told her. She froze in her place and watched me with curious eyes.

I leaned in closer and placed one of my hands on her cheek and jaw and tangled the other in her hair. Her eyes fluttered closed and I eliminated the distance. My lips were against hers. Her lips were soft and full. I wanted more. I locked lips with her again and gently pushed my tongue against her bottom lip. She opened her mouth slightly and fought me for dominance in the kiss. I won and my tongue grazed against hers. I pulled back after a moment and caught my breath. Her breathing was jagged and her cheeks were heated. She hid her face in my neck and wrapped her frame around mine.

�� Neither of us said anything but instead we enjoyed the moment. There’s no telling how many of these we will get. I held her close and wished to feel her lips again but I refused to push her. She fell asleep laying on my bare chest. Her legs were wrapped with mine. The warmth and comfort of her body put me to sleep.

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shaevira · 7 years

Text

Got bored. Made another Freezerburn 1-shot au. Open ended ending so you can imagine where it goes for your hearts desire! This ones a little weird.

Word count: 2.1k

Au: Person A finds Persons B sketchbook and you decide what they find in it.

Calloused hands shaped the slimy and smooth clay as it spun in a controlled circle on pottery table. With careful and tough precision, Yang Xiao Long contorted the clay into a vase like shape. She wiped her head, leaving the debris from her hands now on her head. A sigh of frustration was let out as she brought the spinning table to a stop.

“Maybe next time…” she grumbled as she looked over her, what she thought was a current failure.

Leaving the pottery room, and entering the main art studio Yang gazed over the facility. It was a messy studio, with splatters of old paint and other various stains strewn across the room. The windows themselves were decorated with murals, mostly decorated with the school's famous crest - two crossed axes with a wreathe underneath them. The tables too were marked up, scarred, painted, like it was a true artist's calling to leave one’s work left on the table. A sink and a first aid station was set up in the corner of the room, easily accessible for those messy and more uncontrolled art students. Which was just about every art student.

As of today - Friday, there were only a few students left in the room, including Yang. It was a glorious day for art as Yang had made her way to one of the windows to get a better look at the downpour that was occurring. The combination of next to no students and the downpour made it a good day for Yang.

Yang made her way towards the sink, washing her hands careful not to touch anything along the way. It was when she had walked towards the sink that something had caught her attention.

An unattended sketchbook.

Quickly washing herself up, she wiped her wet hands on her pants and made sure they were dry as possible before curiously picking up the sketchbook. She looked on the outside of it for extra measure.

“No name…” she looked around and looked at the rest of the students in the classroom who seemed to be minding their own business. “Hey! Is this anyones?” Yang loudly announced pointing at the unopened sketchbook in her hand. The few students looked up and shook their head or replied with a subtle ‘no’.

She shrugged and placed the sketchbook down back on the table, taking the seat it was in front of. She opened it to the first page of many.

Simple sketches were on the first few pages, mostly body sketches, along with poses several of them being types of animals and poses of them as well. Although they were sketches they were very finely detailed, some body parts being named as if this were for some science or biology project. Yang didn’t know if she could pronounce half of these words.

As Yang got sucked in by the book, the door opened as a very panicked and disheveled ivory haired girl blazed through the room and towards Yang.

“Don’t look at that!” she yelled at Yang, but it was far too late.

Yang had already reached what she probably wasn’t supposed to see.

Yang stood up immediately taking the sketchbook in hand, the ivory haired girl had grabbed at the table moments before only to be a millisecond too late once more.

“Is this me?” Yang stood in awe, staring at the page beneath her before it was pulled away this time.

“You shouldn’t be looking through other people's things!” The ivory haired girl's face was a shade of beat red. She clutched the sketchbook to her chest, as if it were the only thing keeping her alive. A loose hair fell over her face as she stepped back and adjusted her glasses back up her nose. She shrugged her shoulder in order to get her baby blue jacket back onto her. She stared angrily at Yang in her motions.

Yang raised an eyebrow, but didn’t skip a beat. “I didn’t see a name on it so I looked through it, hoping to find one. I found me though, but I don’t think that counts as a name.” she crossed her arms as she spoke.

The girl, pushed on her glasses again what seemed to be out of habit, and looked down. “Please don’t tell anyone.” she lowly pleaded, she couldn’t read Yang’s body language.

“Why would I do that? Your art is pretty amazing. I was actually kinda hoping to see more.” Yang looked down at her with hopeful eyes and a trusting smile and tried to make herself looked relaxed.

The shorter girl looked up at Yang with wide-eyes, then narrowed them down in a suspicious manner. “You’re kidding, aren’t you? That’s not nice you know.”

Yang huffed. “I’m not. I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours. Deal?”

“What?” The girl was taken aback, her face turned another shade of red. Her knuckles had begun to turn red too, as she had been hugging the life out of the sketchbook.

Yang chuckled. “I mean art. I mostly work with clay, ‘cuz I like to work with my hands but I’m sure you know that.” Yang playfully winked and motioned towards the girl to follow her.

“F-fine. You have to promise me that you really won’t tell anyone and that nobody but us can know.” The girl said in a low whisper as one of the students passed by them. The girl was uncertain if the other students had already heard them, but they didn’t have proof.

“I promise.” Yang said confidently, without a second thought.

They entered the backroom and passed by some of the other students work, until she brought her to a large bird figure, a phoenix, with a chain wrapped around it’s leg as it tries to take off. The details on the large clay figure was intricate. Hand drawn feathers that looked eerily realistic, beady yet furious eyes of the phoenix stared at the girls. The color of the bird was vibrant, bright oranges, yellows, and reds made the bird alive. As it’s base surroundings seemed to be barren, the quite opposite of the fiery bird; the chain itself looked heavy as it was morphed with the ground, keeping the bird down.

Yang turned to the girl, who seemed to be in complete disbelief. The girl looked at the figure, then back to Yang, back to the figure then finally back to Yang.

“What? You think my hands are only good for keeping the balls out of the net?” Yang commented. “I love art. It’s a part of me, just as soccer is. Nobody is one-dimensional, y’know.”

“I- I didn’t know. I just…” she paused not wanting to say anything more. Instead, she shoved the sketchbook into Yang. “Sorry.”

“For what? I didn’t expect you to know. You’ve only seen me on the soccer field, apparently.” Yang led the way out of the back room, and back into the main studio. “I guess I should pay attention to who’s on the bleachers more.” she chuckled.

“Oh, I’m not on the bleachers..”

“So, you’re some weird stalker in the shadows?” Yang turned her head, but continued to the table they had been previously at.

“No! I’m in Yearbook too. I’m a photographer. I’m usually on the sidelines, in a hoodie, with a camera over my face.” She put her hood up, over her bun, and pretended to hold a camera in front of her face.

“Oh, now I recognize you.” Yang laughed, taking a seat - the girl soon followed. Yang placed the sketchbook down on the table and flipped it straight to the page she had seen herself on. She had begun to lean over the sketchbook when she made a strange face, and sat straight up, looking at the girl with a very judgemental looking face.

The girl raised an eyebrow in concern. “Y-yes?” she timidly replied, to a question that hadn’t been asked.

Yang tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “You know, I don’t think I ever found out if your name was on this or not.”

“That’s because it isn’t.”

“So, what’s your name mystery girl who doesn’t like claiming their artwork?” Yang slowly rocked side to side as she spoke.

“It’s Weiss. Weiss Schnee, and I don’t like putting it on there because I never lose it.” she coughed, “Uhm, usually.”

Yang nodded in approval, and stopped her movements as she now returned to looking through the sketchbook. A majority of the artwork was Yang as a goalie. Her taking a goal kick. Her punting. Saving. Yang was impressed on how detailed Weiss was on her work; her hair looked spot on! “So, I’m assuming you take the yearbook pictures of me and then use them to draw me?”

Weiss meekly nodded.

“It seems like you’ve taken a lot of pictures of me…” Yang muttered under her breath “Don’t you have enough for the yearbook already?” She turned to Weiss.

“Uh, I mean, I do but sometimes the pictures come out poorly or they just don’t fit the yearbook pages standards. Journalism, err, the school newspaper also uses some of these photos. Don’t you ever read them?” Weiss responded.

Yang shook her head, while Weiss gave a disapproving look.

“Hey, I’m a busy girl!” Yang retorted.

Yang returned to the sketchbook and it was when she had gotten several pages deeper that she was left in complete awe.

It was another picture of Yang, this time in a portrait. It was her, smiling with her hair down. This one, was colored making it look almost realistic. On the head of portrait Yang was a flower crown and underneath was her name neatly spelled.

Yang turned her head towards Weiss with a straight face. Weiss had already buried her face in her hands and groaned “I forgot that was in there.”

Weiss finally looked up at Yang who was still straight-faced. “Look, I can explain. I…You’re just a really good muse alright? You’re pretty. You’re tall. You’re fit. You’re like the perfect model. I’m sorry, I know I’m weird..dorky, whatever I just...I can stop alright? If it makes you uncomfortable, just tell me to stop and I will.” Weiss looked a little panicked, but sincere in her words as they trembled as she tried to get some sort of handle on the situation.

Yang responded with a grin. “I was just going to say that this is really cute. I was hoping you could do more? Maybe I could do a bust of you with clay. Now that’d be fun.”

“W-what?” Once again, Weiss was left in awe and then laughed. “Honestly, I thought you’d be some rude jock soccer player. When I came in here and saw you with my sketchbook I thought I’d be done for…” she covered her mouth. “Uh, whoops, word vomit.” she cautiously smiled.

“Like I said Weiss, I’m not one-dimensional, nobody is. I can see how you’re inclined to believe that, but trust me...you’re just now getting to know me.” Yang closed the sketchbook and handed it back to Weiss. “Here, don’t lose it again. You might not be so lucky next time.”

“Thank you, Yang.” Weiss stood up and clutched the sketchbook, but this time with not so tight of a grip.

“I’ll see you around, yeah?” Yang stood up too; she almost forgot how much she towered over the shorter girl.

“Y-yeah, definitely.” Weiss was almost ready to bolt, when Yang shoved her phone into Weiss’s hand.

“Give me your number. I’ll text you so you can get mine...and then if you ever feel like you need your muse, just text me. Oh, and you better agree to being my muse or else we’re going to have some serious problems.” she spoke in a joking manner, and winked immediately after.

Weiss handed the phone back to Yang after she was done. Yang sent her a text immediately, and Weiss checked her phone to receive it. “Got it.” she confirmed with Yang.

Weiss had begun to walk backwards towards the door, making continuous eye contact with Yang. “See ya, dork.” Yang winked again, now leaning on the table.

“Y-yeah! Yea! Definitely. B-ye!” Weiss’s back made contact with the door and she quickly fumbled her way finding the door handle before making a total exit.

Yang now sat on the table she was next to and stared at her phone. Weiss Schnee [heart emoji].

“Well, someone has a crush on me.” she chuckled to herself, shoving the phone back into her pocket. “Or it could be some weird obsession.” she muttered to herself, now in thought.

Yang shook her head. “Hopefully the former.”

Either way, she’s kinda cute in a really dorky kinda way.

Yang returned to the back room, and cleaned up the mess she had made earlier. She hoped Weiss would strike up a conversation with her first.

After all, they had found a muse in one another.

#Freezerburn #Yang Xiao Long #Weiss Schnee #I write a lot when I'm depressed lmaaaaooo #AU one shot #i also like to post and write in the dead of the night so helllooooo

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real-life-pine-tree · 7 years

Text

Rehabilitation: Knight or Beast (5/?)

Side effects may include a loss of self-identity and individuality, frequent nightmares, questioning your own existence, severe mental trauma, constant panic attacks, spontaneous crying at random moments, and a strong desire to stay with loved ones at all cost. Co-written with @violetganache42. Takes place between Chapters 6 and 7 of Arc-V Aftermath.

The next morning, back at the Sakaki residence, Yuya and Yuto were both on the second floor getting ready for the weekend. After the fireworks show last night, the family decided their recently-discovered relative can have a sleepover with his cousin. Right now, Yuto was showering to freshen up and get rid of his bed head while Yuya had a bit of an empty stomach and hoped this wouldn't be similar to the day he dueled against Reed Pepper.

"Hey Yuya, can you hand me another bottle of shampoo?" Yuto asked.

"Shouldn't one bottle be enough?" Yuya asked as he washed his face and neck.

"No," Yuto answered. Then he proceeded to toss an empty bottle of shampoo out of the shower.

Yuya was surprised. "There was a third of shampoo left in there!" he pointed out.

"And I need a bit more," Yuto explained. "My hair is longer and thicker than yours, so I need more shampoo than what you normally use."

It was practically a never-ending shampoo issue for him. On the day of the LID dance, he had to use Yuya's shampoo brand because there wasn't any Spike and Curl; now that there were some for him, he uses the bottles up faster and uses a larger amount for his eggplant-shaped hair.

"Fine," Yuya said. He took out a bottle of Spike and Curl from the bathroom cabinet and tossed it to Yuto. "But this is the last bottle! Mom only bought two."

Using the last bottle, Yuto added a bit more of his shampoo to wash his hair and proceed with the rest of his shower. He usually showers in the morning and follows it up with brushing and blow-drying his naturally spiky hair so that it will look nice for the day. Yuya's routine was different in which he showers at night and combs his hair in the morning to untangle any knots that may have formed when he was sleeping.

When Yuya was done washing up, he proceeded to comb his hair. While that was going on, Yuto had finished with his shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower. He then plugged in a hairdryer and proceeded to brush/blow-dry his hair.

"Geez Yuto, doesn't that seem a little too much?" Yuya asked.

"Not for me," Yuto clarified. "My hair is much thicker than yours, so I need to properly maintain it on a constant basis."

Yuya always preferred combing because he felt like hairdryers make his hair…flatter and straighter. Of course, it wasn't as thick and spiky as Yuto's, but it sure is soft and fluffy. Heck, their contrasting textures and colors pretty much gave them their different physical appearances yet so many people couldn't tell the two apart for a while…that is until Alex noticed Yuya's hairstyle and mistook it for a wig, marking the end of the color blind situation among the Yu-Salad.

Yuya chuckled at the memory, which Yuto quickly noted. "What's so funny?" the XYZ Duelist asked.

"I was thinking about when I first met Alex," Yuya said. "He thought my hair was a wig."

"That's not surprising," Yuto said. He turned off the hairdryer and brushed his now-dry hair into place. "Alex is one of my close friends. He can easily recognize my hair in an instant. He even calls me 'eggplant head'."

"Kinda like how Sora calls me 'tomato head'?" Yuya asked, placing his comb on the bathroom counter and finger-combing his hair to help emphasize the fluffiness.

"I guess," Yuto answered.

Now that he thought about it, his other two counterparts may have also been given nicknames based on their food-like hairstyles. He knows Yugo often gets called a moron, but how often does he get called "banana bangs"? What about Yuri? He was bound to be referred to as "cabbage head" by someone, but they only recently met after Yuya's revival; Yuto wasn't counting the duel prior to Zarc's return because he was fully corrupted by the darkness and it caused him to assist his Fusion and Synchro counterparts in convincing Yuya to reuniting as one again. Regardless, he wasn't entirely sure if Yuri has been called "cabbage head" at all since he and Celina are practically rivals at this point.

"By the way, mom got some new clothes for you," Yuya said.

Yuto was surprised to hear that. "When?" he asked, finishing with brushing his hair.

"After she found out you're her nephew," Yuya answered as he ruffled his own hair a bit. "I hope you don't mind wearing some Pendulum Dimension-native outfits."

"Of course not," Yuto said. "I could use a change in style."

Yuya's new clothes consist of a white t-shirt containing an orange diamond overlapping a light blue square and a pair of dark greenish pants with a lighter chartreuse stripe around the waist that contain medium greenish strings that tie and help give support to the pants. Yuto's were incorporated of a light gray tanktop, a dark gray, short-sleeved, button-up shirt, and dark jeans with a black belt.

When the cousins got dressed in Yuya's room, Yuto was satisfied with his new look. "Not bad," he said, looking at his reflection in the mirror as he adjusted his glasses. "I could get used to Pendulum Dimension fashion."

"That's the spirit!" Yuya cheerfully said. "Now come on, mom made fresh pancakes and I don't want Sora eating all of it."

The two cousins left Yuya's room. "Why does Sora live here now?" Yuto asked. "And why is he your adopted brother?"

"Funny story," Yuya replied. "After the whole Zarc thing, everyone returned to their home dimensions, but Sora admitted that he doesn't have any memories of his birth family. So mom got Leo to sign some adoption papers and now Sora is part of the Sakaki family."

Yuto never knew about this information; Celina and Yuri didn't have memories of their families, but that was because they became existent after Ray and Zarc split. How come Sora doesn't have memories of the Perse family if he wasn't a reincarnation?

"What happened to his memories?" Yuto asked.

"I'm not really sure," Yuya admitted. "He said his first memory was waking up in a lab. He doesn't have any memories prior to joining Duel Academy. Apparently that was part of the previous student registration program before Leo changed it."

Leo initially wanted to have all the new students' memories erased because he wanted to mold them into loyal—albeit ruthless for a selected few—soldiers capable of assisting him in bringing back the Original Dimension by carding people to fuel ARC-V. The last thing anyone needed was to think of their loved ones.

"That would explain why Sora apparently became attached to your m- I-I mean, Aunt Yoko," Yuto said. "He probably doesn't even remember what his mom looks like."

"Probably," Yuya agreed as he approached the pole he normally uses to get downstairs.

Yuto noticed the pole as well. "Couldn't we take the stairs?" he asked.

"Yeah, but this way is more fun," Yuya answered. He grabbed onto the pole and placed both hands on it before wrapping his legs around it and sliding down with Yuto watching on.

"You want me to go down that pole?" Yuto asked.

"Yep!" Yuya happily replied.

Yuto has never went down a pole in his life; heck, it was rather a bit peculiar that a house like this would even have one. "Alright..." he said, carefully grabbing onto the pole.

Yuto's hands got a firm grip, but his legs wouldn't move. He looked down to see Yuya had already made it to the first floor; although his worry of landing on top of him was the least of his problem, he couldn't quite figure out how to wrap his legs around without losing his balance or fumbling.

"Come on, Yuto!" Yuya encouraged. "Take a step forward and jump!"

Yuto took a deep breath, then he wrapped his legs around the pole and closed his eyes. He felt a slight gust coming from below him, causing him to open one of his eyes. He took a look at his surroundings to see that he was in the living room. Stunned by what had just happened, both eyes opened wide, realizing he has successfully slid down a pole.

"Alright, you did it!" Yuya happily said, patting his cousin on the back.

Yuto couldn't help but chuckle at Yuya's enthusiasm. "Thank you," he said.

"Aw, you're welcome," Yuya said. "Now let's get some breakfast."

The two put on their usual sneakers and headed to the kitchen where they saw Sora had gotten a head start on breakfast; fortunately, Yoko was at the stove cooking up some more of her homemade pancakes.

"There you two are!" Sora said, drizzling some chocolate syrup on his plate of pancakes. "I thought I was gonna have to eat all these pancake all by myself."

Yuya noticed the kitchen was lacking a certain someone. "Where's dad?" he asked.

"He went to Heartland Duel School," Yoko answered. "They were some technical problems with the Action Duel lab, so they needed him to do some repairs."

"That's no surprise," Yuto said. "He did found the school."

"By the way, Yuto, Kameron Obsidian called me," Yoko added. "He wants to know when you'll be ready to move in."

Move in? Why? Why does Kameron want him to move in with the Obsidians? Was this about the job offer that he was accepted into? But then Yuto remembered that Shay and Lulu wanted him to move in with them during the LID dance. However, that was currently going to be a bit of a problem...

"Yuto?" Yuya asked, noticing his tensed expression. "You feeling alright?"

"I'm not sure," Yuto admitted. "Before the separation, I was looking forward to living with the Obsidians as I worked at their company." He glanced down at his new outfit. "But after spending time with this family, I'm not sure if that kind of environment is right for me."

"Come on, cuz," Yuya said. "You're already close with Shay and Lulu. You'll fit in just nicely."

"That's what you think," Yuto said. "Before the Invasion, it was hard to believe that Shay and Lulu come from a wealthy family. They're very down-to-earth and don't flaunt their wealth a lot. But what if that's how they act among non-wealthy people like myself?"

He has kept those thoughts hidden for quite some time now. Before Shay and Lulu transferred to Heartland Duel School, they attended an expensive private school called Heart Prep. What if the Obsidians boast about their wealth among the elite citizens and only act reasonable towards the middle class because they pity them about how they're not as rich as them?

Sora let out a laugh. "It's not funny!" Yuto exclaimed, his fists clenched tightly.

"No, but your overreaction is," Sora said once he calmed down. "There's gotta be a reason why Lulu fell in love with you."

"But I fell in love with her first," Yuto pointed out. "When I found out she and Shay are wealthy, I secretly doubted their motives. I don't call her a princess just because of her radiant beauty. It’s also because of her status. If we were in the medieval era, she would have been an actual princess."

"No wonder you snapped when we found out about the Fusion Parasites," Yuya said. "You kinda take this whole knight thing seriously."

Yuya was right; his cousin does take being knightly very seriously. Yuto was absolutely livid when he learned the Doktor implanted Fusion Parasites in Celina and especially Lulu and he wouldn't forgive Duel Academy for taking away his girlfriend's sweet smile and forced her into fusing with her counterparts against her free will. He was molded into who he was because he joined the dueling club and Shay instructed him to envision himself to be as brave, noble, and chivalrous as the Phantom Knights. Because of the Obsidians' high class lifestyle, he always felt like he was Lulu's knight in shining armor who will do anything to rescue and protect her.

"I'm not a big history fan, but don't knights ultimately marry princesses?" Yuya asked.

"Not quite," Yuto answered. "Only men who were originally born into nobility could marry royalty. Take Mary Tudor for example. She initially planned to marry a duke, but the marriage was done in secret and it wasn't until her first husband died of old age."

"Oh, Yuto..." Yoko said, having finished cooking this morning's batch of pancakes. "You don't think you deserve to marry Lulu?"

"Never," Yuto admitted as he and Yuya sat at the kitchen table.

Yuya helped himself to some pancakes. "You said you officially hooked up with her when you asked her to the Heartland Duel School dance," he recalled with his mouth full of pancake. He swallowed his mouthful. "And why else would her parents set up an arranged marriage for you two?"

"I honestly don't know," Yuto replied, putting a few pancakes on his plate. "But for all I know, I'm only a poor orphan to the Obsidians. They probably took pity on me when they found out my mom died during the Invasion." He took a bite of his pancakes.

For the next couple minutes, Yuya pondered about something. Something medieval. He may not be into history, but he has been finding the parallels on how Yuto was a knight and Lulu was a princess. Does that make Shay, Kameron, and Astra the prince, king, and queen respectively? Definitely. Just then, an idea popped into his head on how to cheer Yuto up again; he remembered hearing stuff about these Renaissance Faires that occur every year in America, but he wasn't sure if Japan has their own Faires too. They must have something similar because medieval history still plays an important role in today's society.

"Hey mom, do you know if there's a Renaissance Faire going on today?" Yuya asked.

"I think so," Yoko answered. "But it's in another town."

"That's all I needed to hear," Yuya said. "Yuto Osaku, we're having a family fun day at the Renaissance Faire!"

Yuto nearly choked on his mouthful of pancake. "What?" he asked once he swallowed.

"You heard me," Yuya said. "If you're gonna keep comparing yourself to a knight and Lulu to a princess, you might as well get a taste of what that bond is really like."

Once they were all done with their pancakes, they all headed out to the car so that Yoko can drive her sons and nephew to the Faire. She may not duel as much as she used to, but she always kept her Duel Disk around for other usages, one of them being using it as a GPS. She opened up the Maps app and typed down the location of where it was taking place in order to get directions.

The event was occurring in Hiroo, a town located in the second largest island in Japan called Hokkaido. The Tsugaru separates it from Honshu, Japan's largest and most populous island, but they are connected by a railway called the Seikan Tunnel, the second deepest and second longest railway tunnel. Her plan was to park the car at the Aomori Station—named after the capital of Honshu's Aomori region—and take a train that runs through the Seikan Tunnel and stops at Hakodate Station, then take another train from there to Hiroo to check out the Faire.

The name of this Faire the family was going to see was part of the West Kingdom, the founding kingdom of the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) that was established in 1966 in Berkeley, California. The people who founded it were big fans of history and science fiction and held outdoor parties with food, drinks, revelries, and tournaments. In 1969, when words of the SCA were spreading after multiple events were planned one after another, the East Kingdom was founded; soon enough, the non-profit education society developed a total of nineteen kingdoms with over 30,000 members. The West Kingdom had areas formed in the United States and Asia, which can be found in northern and southern regions of California, northern Nevada, Alaska, Guam, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan.

When the family arrived at the Faire's entrance, they were greeted by one of the employees. "Greetings!" he said. "Welcome the West Kingdom! But before you can continue, you must state your statuses so we may provide the appropriate attire for you."

Yuto was deeply confused. "Uh..."

"We're from the royal Sakaki family in Paradise City," Yoko explained, giving the employee an ID card. "The boy with magical corrective lenses is our knight."

The employee checked the ID card. "My apologies, Lady Sakaki," he said, giving the ID card back to Yoko. "It has been a long time since you came. Please come with me for your attire."

"You were here before?" Yuto asked.

"Only once," Yoko answered. "It was a anniversary celebration."

"I think I remember coming here several years ago," Yuya recalled. "But the memories are a bit blurry."

He was only six, maybe even younger, when he went to the West Kingdom's Faire for his parents anniversary, so it was going to be his and Yoko's second time attending this event. Sora and Yuto have never been to something like this before for different reasons. Their first order of business was to change into the proper clothes for a medieval atmosphere.

"My goodness, young lord," the employee told Yuya. "You have grown so much since we last saw you, so you are due for new measurements."

"I thought so," Yuya said.

The employee then looked at Yuto. "So this boy with the eggplant-like hair is your knight?" he asked.

"I am a knight," Yuto explained. "But my actual allegiance is to another royal family."

"And what about this young blue-haired boy?" the employee asked.

"I was adopted into the Sakaki family," Sora answered.

"I see," the employee said. "Then it seems you two might need to get your measurements recorded as well."

The three boys followed the employee to a separate room where he measured each of them. He noticed how similar Yuya and Yuto looked and caught on to how slightly buffer the young Osaku's physique was. As for Sora, he was the shortest out of them all, so he was going to need some smaller clothes that will fit him.

Yuya noticed the employee's confused expression. "Is somethin' wrong?" he asked.

"Aside from the different hairstyles, your looks and voices are eerily similar," the employee remarked. "Are you two related?"

"We're cousins," Yuto answered. "Our moms are sisters."

"Of course!" the employee said. "That would explain the similarities."

After the measurement were recorded, he handed the pad of medievalesque paper to another employee to give the boys the best fitting prince and knight outfits for them to try on. He then instructed Yuya, Yuto, and Sora to head on over to the nearby fitting room to try on their respective clothes.

"Young lord, let us know when you are properly dressed," the employee told Yuya.

"How come?" Yuya asked.

"It's your hair, sire," the employee explained, moving Yuya's bangs away from his forehead. "It is not suited for a young prince such as yourself."

"Uh... Okay..." Yuya said, baffled by the sudden request. "I'll think about it..." Those fears were unexpectedly returning to him. The fears of getting a haircut. He didn't mind his hair getting sprayed with water to make it easier to comb through and preferred to have it air-dried than blow-dried, but there was one thing that he couldn't stand about haircuts: scissors. He had that issue for as long as he could remember, hence why his hair always looks so fluffy and longish. He doesn't want his hair getting cut too close to his scalp.

Pretty soon, the family got dressed into their proper outfits for today's Faire. Yoko's was that of a regal queen whereas her sons wore matching attires that distinguished them as princes with obvious differences. Yuya's had warm and bright colors consisting of a red top, green pants, a white cape with yellowish-gold linings, magenta shoes with dark gray decals, and had his sash on his right shoulder; on the other hand, Sora's was cooler and darker with a moderate blue top, gray pants, a black cape, brown shoes, and had his sash on his left shoulder. Yuto's dawned a knight's uniform with dark purple shoulder pads that held his black, knee-length cape in place and a small broach that depicted a bird to represent he was from another kingdom.

Yuya let out a whistle. "You look good, Yuto," he said, his tomato hair already gelled down thanks to one of the employees. "Like a true knight."

However, instead of smirking like he normally did whenever someone complimented his looks, Yuto got on one knee and knelt before Yuya. "Your highness," he said.

Yuya was taken back by what his cousin had done. "You can get back up," he said.

"My apologies," Yuto said, still kneeling. "But knights live to serve royalty, not get treated as equals."

"No, Yuya is right," Yoko said. "You are still family."

"Yeah," Sora agreed. "Now get back up and snap out of this stupid funk."

It wasn't much of a funk; it was more of a force of habit, but can you blame him? For Yuto Osaku, being knightly is one of the biggest—if not, the biggest—changes of his life. He was no longer the shy, timid loner outcasted by a cheerful and colorful city and it surprised everyone, but they have gotten used to his sudden change and he became a part of their society. It paid off immensely because he has his own circle of friends, a long-lost extension of his family, and is currently dating his first friend's younger sister. Of course, he was hoping his personality has truly captivated the Obsidian family.

Yuto stood back on his feet. "My apologies," he said, bowing slightly. "But I'm only getting into character."

"Alright," Yoko said. "It was Yuya's idea for us to come here."

"Yeah!" Yuya happily said. "Now let's make this the best family fun day ever!"

Once the family stepped outside, trumpets blared. "Presenting the royal Sakaki family and their accompanied knight!" an employee announced.

The people attending the Faire turned their attentions towards the newly-arrived guests, who were walking down a long carpet from the castle to the entrance where all the festivities were. Everyone gave a massive round of applause for the family as a welcoming greeting to their annual event. But while Yuya was smiling and waving, Yuto covered his face with his hand.

"No one said there would be this much attention," Yuto muttered.

"It's alright," Yoko told her nephew. "They do this to the guests who want to dress up like royalty. We're not a special exception."

Yuto isn't much of a big fan of attention unlike Yuya who was basking in the applause from the people applauding for them. Eventually, the family entered the Faire where a vast variety of festivities were provided: sampling medieval food, drinks, and entertainment, SCA members teaching visiting college students about a pre-seventeenth century world subject called "Current Middle Age", guilds and other groups holding meetings including dancing, cooking, making armor, needlework, and music, and the ever popular tournaments. Their tournaments were rather unique because the members host Magical Duels instead of jousting due to the popularity of Duel Monsters.

"Come one, come all!" a Faire employee announced. "Don't miss this noon's tournament of Magic and Wizards!"

"Heh... I haven't heard that name in years."

Yuya and Yuto's eyes widened in surprise. "Was that you?" Yuya asked.

"No, it wasn't," Yuto answered. "But that means...?"

"That's right, my reincarnations. The great Zarc Nightstone is still here."

Yuya and Yuto immediately grew concerned at the sound of hearing Zarc's voice. How is that even possible? Was he not completely gone? Are there any lingering traces of his darkness lurking within the Yu-Salad? If so, then will it grow stronger like the last time and manipulate them into fusing back into one again?

"What are you still doing in our heads?" Yuto angrily asked.

"Geez, calm down. When Leo used that machine to separate Ray and I back into you eight, we technically didn't cross over. Our spirits still reside in each of you. I have no desire to reemerge in all my wonderful glory. Just think of me as your guardian angel."

"Then why did you show up now?" Yuya asked.

"Because I remember when Duel Monsters was originally called Magic and Wizards, so I figured I might pop in and give you two newbies some old-school pointers."

"Wait, that's what Magic and Wizards is?" Yuya asked. "An older version of Duel Monsters?"

"Indeed, my tomato-haired self. Back before Seto Kaiba changed things up to make things fairer for everyone who enjoys the card game."

"So what are these rules like?" Yuya asked.

"The whole premise of Magic and Wizards is that you and your opponent are wizards with the cards allowing you to cast spells or summon monsters. The gameplay style is the same as what you youngsters are familiar with, yet there are a few exceptions."

"What exceptions?" Yuto asked.

"The levels mean absolutely nothing. You can summon any monster at any moment, with some people even summoning Fusion monsters without needing to fuse the required monsters. Oh, and you can pretty much make up special card rules as you go. In other words, whoever manages to wipe out their opponent's 2000 starting life points with the strongest imagination is the winner."

"But that would mean Dark Rebellion would be completely powerless," Yuto realized, knowing his trusted dragon wouldn't have any Overlay Units.

"Yeah, about that... Synchro and XYZ monsters weren't created until after Kaiba changed the rules, but I'm sure Dark Rebellion will adapt to those rules. He's a pretty chill guy."

Yuto heard Dark Rebellion growl from the Extra Deck, reassuring his owner about how he didn't mind the rules to Magic and Wizards. Yuya and Zarc also heard the growls since the three do share the same ability to communicate with Duel Monsters. It didn't change the fact on how the two cousins were developing some worries regarding said rules.

"But what about Odd-Eyes?" Yuya asked, taking out his trusted dragon from his deck. "Do I have to revert him back into a regular monster?"

"Nah, you'll be fine. Odd-Eyes is a good boy. He loves a good performance. These things are right up his ally."

"You sure?" Yuya asked.

"Just be glad the other two aren't here. Starving Venom can't stand friendly performances. They kinda restricts his full power. But the worst of it is Clear Wing. She simply wouldn't like being summoned the old-fashioned way. For her, it's go synch or go home."

Yuya and Yuto's eyes widened in shocked realization at what Zarc just said. Did he just refer to Clear Wing as a "she"? That could mean...

"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon is actually a girl?!" Yuya asked.

"Of course she's a girl. I remember hearing her snarl at Yugo whenever he called her a guy-"

"Come on, you two!" Sora called out. "You gotta try this barbecued pig on a stick!"

"And that would be my cue to leave. Just remember what I said about the Magic and Wizards rules."

"We'll try," Yuto said as Yuya put Odd-Eyes back in his deck.

The two caught up with Sora, who was sampling the barbecued pig on a stick that he got from a nearby stand. Although it smelled delicious, they weren't sure if what he was eating was the entire pig or just a portion because people often roast the whole animal on a stick and it was honestly a bit creepy seeing its lifeless face.

"Uh... Sora?" Yuya asked. "What exactly are you eating?"

"Oh, relax," Sora said, showing his treat to the cousins. "It's just a slice of ham coated in barbecue sauce on a stick."

"Then what was with your choice of wording?" Yuto asked.

"Just wanted to mess with ya," Sora answered with a cheeky grin.

Ever since the Interdimensional War was over, Sora has grown into quite a troll not long after Yoko adopted him. Yuya sometimes forgets about it and easily falls for his younger brother's tricks.

"But seriously, try it out," Sora said, gesturing to the samples on display. "It's delicious."

Yuya and Yuto looked over at the stand that was displayed and walked towards it. They saw a couple employees slicing up some ham, cooking them up, poking sticks through them, drizzling barbecue sauce on them, and placing them on the display box.

"Good day, young prince," an employee told Yuya. "Care to try the West Kingdom's famous barbecued ham? You'll never find ham tastier than this!"

Yuya picked up one of the samples. "I never saw ham served on a stick like this before," he remarked.

"Well of course, sire," the employee said. "Our ham is far more worthy than being served in a simple sandwich."

Yuya didn't mind having ham sandwiches every now and then, but he was right about never seeing it served on a stick, let alone eating it, especially when it's covered in barbecue sauce. Curious about the taste, he took a bite out of the ham. His eyes widened in amazement.

"This is absolutely delicious!" Yuya exclaimed. "Yuto, you've gotta try this!"

He handed his cousin another ham on a stick for him to sample. Yuto usually had ham for dinner during Easter or whenever he felt like he wasn't sure what to have for lunch. The barbecue sauce does smell good though; it seemed to help boost the smell of the deli, but did it also make the flavor more edible? He bit into the ham, and much like his cousin, the Phantom Knights user was amazed with the taste.

"I never tasted ham like this before," Yuto remarked.

The two cousins delightfully ate the rest of their ham samples as they embraced the combined flavor of a thin, rolled-up sheet of meat moistened in a thick layer of flavorful and savory sauce.

"So what else does this Faire provide?" Yuto asked.

"You never attended any Faires back in the XYZ Dimension?" Yuya asked.

"Not like this," Yuto answered. "Heartland always had numerous festivals each year, but none of them had a special period theme."

"Then how about we watch the chess game?" Yoko suggested.

That baffled Yuto. "What's exciting about watching a chess game?" he asked, imagining a crowd of people watching two old men play chess.

"I think I saw one on TooYube," Sora recalled. "It's when a group of people get together to act out a mock battle as characters from Robin Hood lore."

"Yeah," Yuya agreed. "The stage is set like a giant chess board. It's pretty cool to watch."

Yuto asked himself some curious questions about this Robin Hood-themed chess match. Are the competitors acting out as the characters and the chess pieces are their armies? Is it some kind of reenactment of a scene from the legend? Whatever was going on, it admittedly piqued his interests about this game.

"My only piece of Robin Hood knowledge comes from a single movie," Yuto admitted.

"Which one?" Sora asked. "'Cause the Disney version is a bit inaccurate. None of the characters are actually animals."

"Men in Tights," Yuto answered.

Yuya and Sora chuckled out of amusement after hearing their cousin's response. Out of all the Robin Hood movies, he saw Men in Tights? That Mel Brooks film produced in America back in 1993?

"What's so funny?" Yuto asked.

"That's...not exactly true to Robin Hood lore," Yuya explained. "It's more like a parody."

"Wait, so women in the lore didn't wear iron underwear?" Yuto asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Nope," Sora answered.

After a long discussion about the true story of Robin Hood and the many differences in its modern adaptations, the four went to see the chess match. Yuya and Sora were right about how this was no ordinary game of chess. There was an outdoor stage set up that stood in front of a large, grassy chess board where the people playing as the King and Queen give orders to their army, who are their "chess pieces". Their opponents also have "chess pieces" of their own and commands them to retaliate against the King and Queen's army.

"Thank you for coming to today's chess game!" the King announced. "And it seems we have special visitors among the crowd."

"Indeed," the Queen agreed. "Let us give a grand West Kingdom welcome to the royal Sakaki family and their accompanied knight!"

The audience applauded for the Sakaki-Osaku family once again since it's been less than a decade since Yoko and her son attended the Faire. As usual, Yuya smiled and waved at everyone while Yuto blushed slightly and tried to divert himself from the attention.

"Now then, shall we begin this year's wondrous chess game?" the Queen asked.

"Indeed, my wife," the King replied. He looked back at the crowd. "And don't forget about this afternoon's Magic and Wizards tournament, where the winning knight shall receive the greatest treasure in all the land!"

Yuya, Yuto, and Sora raised their eyebrows in astonishment and started to ponder on what the "greatest treasure" even is. "Oh man, I bet it's a lifetime supply of candy!" Sora gushed.

"It's not candy," Yuto said. "It's probably gold or-"

"My goodness, I almost forgot!" the King said, unknowingly interrupting Yuto's statement. "Come on out, my dearest daughter!"

Coming out from backstage was a young woman with long, silky, blonde hair and teal eyes. She was, without a doubt, the King and Queen's daughter, meaning she was a princess; her appearance made Yuto love-struck, mostly because she reminded him of Rapunzel, his favorite fairytale.

"...or the princess' hand in marriage," the eggplant-haired teen muttered.

"Snap out of it, cuz!" Yuya said. "You have a girlfriend, remember? I don't think she would like seeing you get all lovey-dovey towards other long-haired girls."

Yuto did end up snapping out of his love-struck gaze, but it had different results. He suddenly remembered he was arranged to get married with Lulu in the future and he was going to move in with the Obsidians as soon as possible so that he could be able to work at his job at the family company. Before he knew it, the dilemma and worries he was focused on earlier this morning soon crept back up to him. But despite those worries about not being worthy enough to have Lulu's hand in marriage, there was another issue he had ever since the Zarc thing was resolved.

"Yuya..." Yuto said. "How do you really feel about Zuzu?"

"I already told you," Yuya replied. "She's a good friend, but I don't see her as a girlfriend."

"So I'm the only one who feels desire and ache whenever I think about my girlfriend?" Yuto asked.

Yuya was baffled by Yuto's choice of words. "What are you talking about?" Yuya asked.

"Desire to hold her close all the time..." Yuto clarified. "And ache when she's not in your sight."

"Uh... I don't think so?" Yuya replied, not sure how to properly respond.

"It's why I had to help Shay find Lulu," Yuto said. "When I'm by her side or gently touching her, I feel calmer. I always assumed it was because of how much I love her, but after what happened..." He looked at his hand. "I'm not even sure anymore." He clenched his hand into a fist. "Could it be because she's the only one who can tame the beast within myself? Or is there something more to that?"

Yuto could feel something that was…indescribable. With everything that had happened, especially at Duel Academy, this burning darkness grew within him and had gotten stronger overtime. Lulu's agonizing scream made him give into it because he wanted to protect her, but there was more to it than meets the eye; his strength to resist was weakening, making him more vulnerable for corruption until…it consumed him. With Yuya and Yuri dueling each other, resistance was futile. The Four Dimension Dragons were brought out, Smile World was sent to the Graveyard via the face-down Break Away, ARC-V was activated, and all four dimensions were starting to fuse back into one. He didn't want to merge back with his counterparts, but the growing darkness became too much for most of them to withstand, and before anyone knew it, Zarc was back and ready to continue his onslaught that was interrupted by Ray.

Slight trembles travelled all over Yuto's body because he felt it was virtually impossible to try to tackle Zarc's manipulative control on his reincarnations and rescue the Bracelet Girls from being transferred into ARC-V, especially Lulu. She was one of the few people that meant everything to him and they demonstrate it through genuine feelings and love for each other. However, after everything they went through, he wasn't sure why he needed to be with her in the first place. Having her sweet smile forcibly taken away or seeing her in pain made him furious and awakened this hidden beast that made itself known to the world. Why does he need to be with her? Was it to remind him on how danger won't do any harm to them from now on? Was it out of protection? Reassurance? Compassion? Concern? Love? Was it to make sure something like that won't happen again?

Was it to prevent him from becoming part of…a single monster again?

He didn't want history to repeat itself, but after what they endured, it became too confusing for him to comprehend or handle. Trembles increased to subtle yet noticeable shakes as he had difficulty trying to not focus on the personal conflict he mentioned this morning.

"Yuto..." Yuya said out of concern. "Is that why you feel unsure about your new life?"

"Part of me feels unworthy to be the commoner-born husband of a beautiful princess," Yuto continued, small tears dripping from his eyes. "Yet this other part, a beastly side, wants to be comforted and tamed by her and her alone." He looked up at his cousin. "But which side is more dominant? The knight or the beast?"

But before Yuya could reply, trumpets blared, indicating the chess game was about to begin and the 'pieces' were finally set up. "Sorry for the delay, everyone," the King said. "Let the chess game commence!"

Throughout the next half hour, the King and Queen commanded their army members to attack their opponents while following the rules of chess: the pawns generally move one with a couple exceptions, the rooks move forward, backward, left or right from one to seven as long as the other "pieces" don't obstruct their paths, the knights move two spaces in one direction and one space in a perpendicular direction and can skip over other pieces, inhabit spaces not taken by their team's "pieces", and can move up to eight of the board's pieces, the bishops move diagonally as long as its path isn't obstructed by another piece—in which it can't move past said piece—and can take any other piece within its movements, the queens can move in all eight directions and can capture the opponent's "pieces", but it can't "jump" over them, and the kings help declare the winner by moving one space in any direction. What makes this entertaining is that each member of both armies engage in mock combat to represent one chess piece capturing the other and they all continue to do so until one team declares "checkmate", making this one really unique chess match to watch.

During the show, Yuto suddenly looked angry. "Are you alright?" Yuya asked.

"Look at the King and Queen's army," Yuto explained. "Do you recognize one of the knights?"

Yuya turned his head back to face the King and Queen's army to see which knight Yuto was referring to. Sure enough, he recognized him alright from the short green hair, dark eyes, and green cape; it was Ashley from the Knights of the Duel Disk who was carded by the Obelisk Force alongside Bram and Carl.

"How dare he show his face and pass off as a knight," Yuto said, glaring at said knight. Suddenly, he stood up. "He has no right to be here!"

That outburst caused the show to get interrupted. "I beg your pardon?" the King asked.

"You heard me," Yuto said, stepping onto the field. "The man dressed in green is a false knight!"

Ashley noticed Yuto and approached him. "And who are you to make such an accusation?" he demanded.

"I am Sir Yuto Osaku of the Obsidians," Yuto answered, showing no fear. "I serve the family's beloved princess, but today I chose to accompany the Sakakis to protect them from harm."

Yuto knew Ashley didn't deserve such a cruel fate like getting carded as ordered by Leo, but he was certain as hell that Ashley, Bram, Carl, and Chalac were part of a duel school that makes its students come off as such dishonorable knights. And as a true knight, Yuto couldn't tolerate that kind of false nobility.

"You imposter knights make me sick," Yuto continued. "A true knight is noble and kind at heart, but all you do mercilessly beat up innocent people. How dare you tarnish the knight's image!"

"You challenge me, young lad?" Ashley asked, aiming his sword at Yuto.

"If it will get through to you, yes," Yuto said.

"Good," Ashley said. "I haven't had a good duel in a whi-"

"That's quite enough!" the Queen interrupted. "If you wish to settle a dispute, save it for the Magic and Wizards tournament."

Yuto sighed, sounding like a mix of obedience with a tiny hint of reluctance. He really wanted to show Ashley the true meaning of being a knight, and if he has to do it during the Magic and Wizards tournament, then so be it. He angrily glared at his soon-to-be opponent before sitting back down to let the chess match continue.

"Uh... Yuto?" Yuya asked. "The Magic and Wizards tournament only allows professional actors to participate."

"So what?" Yuto asked. "I'm sure they will make an exception for me."

"Well good luck with that. Combining Magic and Wizards with the current Solid Vision technology can kinda make things pretty aggressive, even moreso than my four dragons."

Yuya and Yuto heard Zarc's voice again and wondered what he meant by that. Implementing mass into Solid Vision is what caused the end of the world for those that lived in the Original Dimension prior to the split. How on earth could using Solid Vision in Magic and Wizards be worse than that?

"What are you talking about?" Yuya asked.

"There was a reason why Kaiba changed the rules. If someone were to summon something like...let's say...a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, that could cause some mass uproar and the duels would have been over pretty darn quickly if the opponent didn't have the right cards. Can you imagine what that would have been like?"

"I don't know what a Blue-Eyes White Dragon is, but I'll take your word for it," Yuto replied.

He and Yuya began to wonder what would happen if Kaiba hadn't changed the rules and Duel Monsters was still Magic and Wizards. Zarc did say that that people can summon monsters without performing a tribute or even a Fusion Summon and can make up card rules as the duel progressed. ATK and DEF were important to the game and the person has to use their monster's strong stats and their imagination to eliminate their opponent's 2000 LP. Would that mean people would get too creative with making up rules? Maybe; after all, with so many effects that people can come up with out of the blue, it would get somewhat convoluted just from trying to keep track of them by itself.

Yuya muffled a laugh as Yuto smirked, thinking about the endless made-up card rules. However, Sora was fed up with all the talking. "We can chat later," he said. "I'm trying to watch the chess game."

"Sorry Sora," Yuto said.

Later on in the afternoon, after the chess match had ended, Yoko, Yuya, Yuto, and Sora headed on over to a medieval arena where the Magic and Wizards tournament was going to be held. Since it required only professional actors to participate, there needs to be some way for them to make an exception so that the Phantom Knights user can show Ashley what it means to be a true knight, but how are they going to do that?

But as Yuto was searching through his deck, he look surprised. "Are you alright?" Yoko asked.

Yuto took out a card. "What is this Tuner doing in my deck?" he asked. "This is supposed to be a pure XYZ deck."

"Yeah, about that... My dragons may or may not have modified each of your decks while you were all fused together. But look on the bright side: now Yuya has access to updated versions of all my Magician cards."

Yuya took his deck out and skimmed through it to see a huge number of Magicians he never had before prior to Zarc's return. This would really come in handy with his strategies; maybe when he's at You Show Duel School, he can show them to Zuzu, Allie, Frederick, and Tate to see what kind of tactics he can come up with that he can use in the future. As for Yuto, he simply stared at Lady of the Lake. He was a pure XYZ user, so including this Tuner may seem meaningless because there aren't any Phantom Knight Synchro monsters…but were there Synchro monsters that are similar and work well with his archetype?

"So your dragon put a useless card in my deck?" Yuto asked, getting irked at Zarc.

"Not exactly. I had a feeling you would get mad at the change Clear Wing made, so I snuck a new Synchro card into your Extra Deck. I hope it fits with your whole knight theme."

Yuto took out his Extra Deck to see where this card was and found it next to Dark Rebellion. He grabbed it to analyze its stats; it was Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth, a Level 6 EARTH Warrior-Type Synchro monster with 2600 ATK and 800 DEF. It doesn't have any effects, but like most Synchros, it requires one Tuner and one or more non-Tuners in order to Synchro Summon it.

"But why this Tuner?" Yuto asked. "She doesn't seem to fit with any of my Phantom Knights."

"Well a Duelist's deck reflects his or her personality, kinda like my Frightfur Fusions," Sora said. "And that Tuner could reflect how you see your girlfriend."

He was right; the Phantom Knights reflect on how chivalrous, noble, and gentlemanly Yuto had become over the years. With Lady of the Lake still in his hand, he analyzed her stats to see how it reminds him of Lulu. She was a Level 1 LIGHT Aqua-Type Tuner monster with 200 ATK and 1800 DEF. She can't be used as Synchro Material unless the Synchro monster is a Warrior-Type; in this case, she gets banished. If she was normal summoned, she can target a Noble Knight monster in the Graveyard and special summoned it to the field. If she was in the Graveyard, she can target a Level 5 Noble Knight monster, decrease its Level by 1, and special summon it to the field.

Seeing all of the card's information and image, there was something about her made drew parallels to Lulu. They both possess natural beauty from their long, luscious hair to the clothes they wear. Their personalities also weren't so different; they may be sweethearts, but they are quite strong. Lady of the Lake's Level, ATK, and effects reflect on Lulu's usage of the Lyriluscs where they rely on powerful effects and how Duelists shouldn't judge the low Levels and low ATK. Yuto blushed due to the realization, making Zarc chuckle.

"That's Clear Wing for you. She's fierce and pretty powerful, but she's a huge romantic at heart."

"So do you think you can figure out a new strategy?" Yuya asked Yuto.

"I think so," Yuto answered. "But for now, we need to figure out how I can participate in the Magic and Wizards tournament."

"Maybe we could talk to some of the employees," Yoko suggested. "Someone here could register you as an official participant."

The Sakaki-Osaku family searched for any employees that were in charge of managing the tournament to see if Yuto is capable of qualifying. Luckily for them, they found a women dressed in black and silver.

"I see," the employee said. "So you wish to join this year's Magic and Wizards tournament."

"Of course," Yuto replied.

"Normally we don't let guests take part in these tournaments due to the possibility of serious injury," the employee said. "But if the Queen gave you permission, I suppose we can make an exception. We did only manage to find three participants this year, so including you should even things out."

"Thank you," Yuto said with a slight bow. The Queen did mention about how him and Ashley can save their dispute for the tournament, so he was glad to know exceptions can be made.

"So may I please see your magic caster?" the employee asked. "I must make it tournament-legal."

"Huh?" Yuya asked.

"I think she means she wants to program the Magic and Wizards guidelines into my Duel Disk," Yuto explained, taking out his Duel Disk and giving it to the employee.

Since it was programmed to follow the rules to Duel Monsters, it would lead to a high probability of him receiving alerts of him "breaking the rules". For example, using Fusion, Synchro, and XYZ monsters like regular normal/effect monsters would cause the ERROR notification to appear on his Duel Disk, much like how Yuya couldn't Pendulum Summon during his duel against Zuzu.

"Thank you for your corporation," the employee said, returning the Duel Disk to Yuto. "I will register your wizard ID code into my magic mirror. The tournament will begin in a few hours, so I would suggest you to prepare your wizardry skills."

Yuto nodded as he put his Duel Disk away; with only a few hours left, he needed to figure out strategies he can use that revolve around the Magic and Wizards rules. To pass the time, he accompanied his aunt and cousins and saw various performances.

During a show featuring two jugglers who use fire, Yuto thought about what Zarc said about Magic and Wizards. He could normal summon any monster he wants and make up special abilities during duels. But what could he say? And what about his dueling code of honor? He still wants to show mercy to his opponent and finish them off as only a last resort, but how could he do that if there's still corrupting darkness inside him?

"Uh... Yuto?" Yuya asked. "Earth to Yuto?"

"Hmm?" Yuto mused, snapping out of his thoughts.

"You alright?" Yuya asked.

"Sort of," Yuto admitted. "I feel a bit unsure about these new rules."

"You got this, Yuto. You have all of my kindness and compassion. I know you'll show that jerk of a knight the true code of nobility."

"Zarc's right," Yuya agreed. "You can defeat this Knight of the Duel Disk."

"But what if I lose control?" Yuto asked. He clutched his chest near his heart, much like when Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion spoke to each other for the first time. "I can't stand that fake knight, but I can't let my rage control me."

Even though Zarc redeemed himself by bringing back the Original Dimension and splitting into his reincarnations again, there could be potential side effects to the amount of trauma Yuto had to endure, with rage being one of them. He was worried it could occur in random bursts like when he and the dueling club discussed with Declan about the effects of someone being merged with their counterparts or a gradually increasing darkness similar to the Awakened state.

"Then don't use Dark Rebellion in the tournament," Yuya suggested. "Besides, don't you have any other Rank 4 cards you could use?"

"Just one," Yuto answered. "Cairngorgon, Antiluminescent Knight, but I don't use it a lot."

"Perfect!" Yuya said. "As long as you use that card, you won't have to worry about losing control."

With their dragons' strong connections with each other still intact, Yuya figured this would cause a repeat of their Awakened states whenever he and his counterparts brought them out. The lingering spirit of Zarc overheard this decision and he couldn't help but feel guilty about what his Pendulum reincarnation settled on. He even heard remorseful sounds coming from Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion. He knew Dark Rebellion would love to take part in a Magic and Wizards duel, but it didn't seem like that would happen after all.

A few hours later, the annual Magic and Wizards tournament was about to begin as the Faire attendees walked inside the arena to get themselves concessions and claim their seats. Due to Yuto taking part in the tournament, the Sakakis (and Sora) were given special seating arrangements.

"I hope Yuto knows what he's doing," Sora said.

"He's going to be alright," Yuya replied. "Yuto's not only noble. He's calm. He would never panic during things like this."

Ironically, Yuto was pacing around backstage, panicking at what was about to happen shortly. He would normally remain calm in most situations, but in this one, he was taking part in a tournament that involves Duel Monsters' predecessor—a card game that he has never played before, mind you—and plans to face off against a formerly carded disgrace of a knight.

"I don't think listening to Yuya's advice is a good idea. I heard Dark Rebel-"

"Will you shut up?!" Yuto snapped, his eyes briefly glowing periwinkle. "How am I supposed to keep up with a card game where everyone makes up rules?!"

"Look, I told you that the person with the biggest imagination wins. Just say your monsters are completely invincible to your opponent's cards and you should be fine."

Invincible? Wasn't that a little overpowered? Well, "little" is an understatement because the Phantom Knights would become as strong as—if not, stronger than—a rumored "forbidden" monster, one that supposedly required five cards needed for an automatic win. Yuto wondered what else his Phantom Knights can be used for with his imagination. He then pictured each monster and took note on how a lot of them resembled an article of clothing, mainly armor. A realization popped into his head; with a selected few taking form of different body parts such as Break Sword and Cloven Helm, was it possible for them to become a single Phantom Knight? Was it possible for them to combine or even equip to each other? With Magic and Wizards, the Duelist's imagination was limitless, so it may seem Yuto may have an idea on how to beat Ashley and demonstrate to him on what it means to be a true knight.

"First up is Sir Kingsley of Heathen vs. Sir Yuto of Obsidian!"

"Wait, I'm not dueling the imposter first?" Yuto asked aloud.

"Looks like it. But don't worry. If you win this round, you can face off against him in the finals."

Yuto wasn't sure who this Kingsley person is, but he was certain he has to make it through the tournament and reach the finals. He knew Ashley was strong enough to make into the Junior Youth division's Battle Royale finales in the Arc League Championship, landing in the Top 16 position, so this would surely be one tough duel he was going to face. With that in mind, he decided to save his Phantom Knights equip tactic for when he does face off against the disgraceful, dishonorable jerk of a knight.

Upon stepping onto the arena, Yuto was greeted by the knight who was apparently Kingsley. "So you're Sir Yuto of Obsidian," he said. "I suppose the Obsidian family is whom you swore allegiance to."

"It is," Yuto replied. "Especially the family's princess."

"Well that princess must be lucky to have you," Kingsley said. "With that face, you could woo any girl of choice."

Did…that sound like a compliment? If it was, then at least Yuto might have found a worthy opponent to kick off the tournament. "Thank you," he said, adjusting his glasses as he smirked. "I do have such handsome features."

Once again, Yuto's habit of letting a single comment about how nice his appearance was feeding his ego was making itself known. The last time he did that was when he realized Yuya was right about how wearing glasses with a suit makes him look like a sharp businessman. Needless to say, Yuya ended up face-palming.

"Was Yuto always this egotistical?" Sora asked.

"Yes," Yuya explained. "I'm not sure why, but he likes being praised for his looks."

Sora let out a small laugh. "Kinda sounds like he knows he's the handsome one compared to you, Yugo, and Yuri."

But before Yuya could respond, the tournament was about to begin. "Are the knights ready?" the Queen asked.

Yuto and Kingsley got in position on opposite sides of the arena. "Yes, your majesty," Kingsley replied, bowing slightly as he activated his Duel Disk and prompting Yuto to do the same.

"Then let the West Kingdom's annual Magic and Wizards tournament commence!" the Queen announced.

The two knights drew their five starting cards, started out with 2000 LP, and shouted, "Let's duel!" to signal the beginning of the tournament. Yuto glanced at his hand. He was starting off with The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace, The Phantom Knights of Wrong Magnetring, Call of the Haunted, The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak, and Lady of the Lake. Since he was going first, he decided to go with his signature opening move, then try out his new Synchro technique.

"I set three cards face down and end my turn," Yuto announced, setting his three traps face down. "Your move."

Kingsley was rather puzzled on why Yuto would play three face downs on the first turn. Doesn't he know that leaves him vulnerable for a direct attack? What was he planning?

"Very well, young knight," Kingsley said. He drew a card to start his turn. "For my first turn, I shall bring forth Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus! And with the support of Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arm, she shall grant her strength to her beloved king!"

A flash of light appeared from the ground that looked similar to the Overlay Network yet was far different from it. King Artorigus and Gwenhwyfar both flew out from it and onto the field; they were respectively a Rank 5 LIGHT Warrior-Type XYZ monster with 2200 ATK and DEF and a Level 2 LIGHT Spellcaster-Type monster with 300 ATK and DEF. Normally, they would use their given effects, but that was not the case in Magic and Wizards; in turn, this gave Yuto a better understanding of the card game now that he was witnessing and playing it. It was something similar to an RPG game where you can summon creatures, cast spells, and initiate traps while also declaring attacks. Well, technically speaking, it's basically an RPG in the form of a card game.

"So you're treating Gwenhwyfar as a Spell card," Yuto observed.

"Precisely," Kingsley replied. "As you can see, she is chanting a spell on King Artorigus so her attack points are transferred to him. Isn't it quite a lovely sight?"

Yuto glanced at his new Tuner. "I have seen prettier maidens," he answered, thinking about Lulu. After thinking about the realization a few hours ago, he was admittedly glad that Zarc gave him this Tuner. Sure Gwenhwyfar looks cute, but Lady of the Lake was absolutely beautiful. The Phantom Knights user knew that even though his new Tuner was part of the Noble Knight archetype, he was going to make her shine bright among his Phantom Knights.

"Now King Artorigus, attack Yuto directly!" Kingsley commanded.

"I don't think so," Yuto said. "I activate the Trap card Phantom Knights of Wrong Magnetring to shield myself from your king's attack!"

Wrong Magnetring is a Normal Trap card that becomes a Level 2 DARK Warrior-Type monster with 0 ATK and DEF when activated; it is special summoned in attack position as the declared attack is negated, which is exactly what it did.

"I see," Kingsley said. "Then I suppose that will end my turn."

"Very well," Yuto said. "My turn." He drew a card, which was The Phantom Knights of Mist Claws. "And I'll start things off with The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak in defense position."

Kingsley was confused. "A monster with only 800 attack points?" he asked. "Is that the best you could do?"

"Not quite," Yuto said. He revealed the Tuner in his hand. "I call upon the Lady of the Lake! Arise from the loveliest of waters, fairest maiden!"

As the light illuminated in response to the card being played, water bubbled on the floor and gushed out and up into the air as the Lady of the Lake soared out from it and landed in her monster zone.

Kingsley was surprised. "The Lady of the Lake?!" he asked. "How did you obtain such a card?!"

"Just a little something from a friend," Yuto answered. "But I didn't call upon her because of her radiant beauty. Lady of the Lake, use your lovely song to revive Ancient Cloak back into its original glory!"

Lady of the Lake placed Noble Arm - Excaliburn into the ground to clap her hands together and sing her melody. The harmonic tune of her song caused a wave to materialize and head towards Ancient Cloak; at the same time, gusts of wind encircled around it and sucked the surrounding water, creating a waterspout that encased the monster in it to help transform back to its original appearance.

"Now return to the realm of the living, Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth!" Yuto exclaimed.

The waterspout grew bigger and stronger until it exploded, unleashing water and wind across the field that engulfed and "vaporized" Level 1 Lady of the Lake and Level 2 Wrong Magnetring; standing in Level 3 Ancient Cloak's place was the Level 6 Synchro monster: Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth.

"My god..." Kingsley said, alarmed. "You really are quite a powerful knight. He's stronger than my comrade!"

"There's more," Yuto continued. "When Gaia Knight is brought out onto the field, he can equip a sword from my deck. And I think I'll have him wield Phantom Knights' Sword to increase his strength by 800."

The Continuous Trap card was ejected from the deck and Yuto took it out to activate it. Phantom Knights' Sword appeared from the enlarged rendition of said card and dashed over to Gaia Knight's free hand, who grabbed it and raised his ATK from 2600 to 3400.

"Now Gaia Knight, attack King Artorigus!" Yuto declared. "Specter Strike Slash!"

The Synchro knight used his horse to gallop towards the XYZ king, firmly grasping onto Phantom Knights' Sword and slashing through him, destroying the monster and bringing Kingsley LP down to a shocking 900.

"Such power..." Kingsley remarked. "I have never seen a boy this young be at the same dueling level as a professional Duelist!"

"I have left you with enough life points to survive this turn," Yuto said, standing tall and showing no fear. "If you surrender now, I may show mercy."

"Not a chance," Kingsley replied. "I must see more of your power!"

"Very well," Yuto said. "I chain Gaia Knight's attack with Call of the Haunted, allowing me to retrieve The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak from my Graveyard. And by equipping The Phantom Knights of Mist Claws to Ancient Cloak, it can inflict an additional 400 points worth of damage."

"So it seems you have won this round," Kingsley said. "I applaud you for the performance."

"Thank you, fellow knight," Yuto replied with a satisfied smile. "Now go, Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak! Ensure my victory with a direct attack!"

Ancient Cloak charged towards Kingsley and unleashed its signature attack, dwindling his remaining Life Points down to 0 and ensuring Yuto an easy victory.

"And there you have it!" the tournament hostess announced. "The winner of the first round is Sir Yuto of Obsidian! Young knight, please head backstage to prepare for the finals."

Yuto gave out his chivalrous comments to Kingsley about how he enjoyed their duel and how he wishes to see each other again for another match with someone as noble as him before heading backstage. During that time, he watched the next rounds of the tournament to see who will be advancing; as he expected, Ashley was there and he was doing surprisingly well…for an unkinghtly knight, that is.

"Well someone hasn't changed their dueling style."

"I know," Yuto agreed. "He's still using the same Assault Knight card he used on Yuya and Shay." He tightly clenched his fists. "But those tactics go against everything a true knight is."

"Then how about you teach that guy a lesson? Maybe with a certain purple-scaled dragon?"

"But using Dark Rebellion is too risky," Yuto disagreed. "I want to defeat him with true honor."

"But I keep telling you that won't work. A bully like him deserves to be punished-"

"I don't care!" Yuto interrupted. "Let me defeat him my way."

From the moment he first "saw" him during the Junior Youth Battle Royale finals, he could tell their was a huge difference between the two archetypes. The Phantom Knights may have the word "knight" in their archetype, but they weren't part of the Knight archetype. They visually represented flaming ghosts, armor, and weapons while named that relate to disrepair, disuse, emptiness, darkness, death, and mistake; however, through Graveyard manipulation, banishment, Spell/Trap card searches, and the support from their XYZ companions, their playing style reflect on what knights truly represent. Slash the Assault Knight was part of the massive Knight archetype, a group of monsters that share the same gallant, heroic, and courageous personality as Yuto and his Phantom Knights, but what makes Slash different from all of them lies within its name and effect. It assaults its opponents with direct attacks and reduces any receiving battle damage to 0; this shows how Ashley, Bram, Carl, and Chalac neglect this important conduct as the Knights of the Duel Disk.

"A true knight is never that reckless," Yuto said. "Shay and Yuya nearly got hurt because of that same recklessness. Those false knights aren't knights at all. They're nothing more than bullies."

"That's exactly what I said! You should punish him for being reckless!"

"And give in to the same violent tactics?" Yuto asked in response. "That would go against everything I believe in."

This act was the epitome of Yuto's personality for the past several years and this dilemma he was currently facing was basically challenging it. How can he punish Ashley for his recklessness while still cherishing his beliefs without facing the risk of Awakening again?

"And the winner is Sir Ashley of the Duel Disk!"

"Okay Yuto. If you feel that strongly about not wanting to use Dark Rebellion, I won't interfere."

"Thank you," Yuto said, using his Duel Disk to give his deck a quick shuffle.

"Now will Sir Yuto of Obsidian join Sir Ashley of the Duel Disk for the tournament finals?"

Yuto let out an exhale once his deck was done shuffling. He got up from where he was sitting and headed towards the doorway that leads to the backstage. Opening the door, he walked out and trailed himself back towards the arena, where he saw Ashley still standing where he was from his previous duel.

"You look rather familiar," Ashley remarked. "Have we met?"

"No," Yuto answered. "But you met my cousin."

"Cousins...?" Ashley said. Then he noticed the resemblance. "You're related to Yuya Sakaki."

"Correct," Yuto responded as he activated his Duel Disk, not bowing like he did in his previous duel. "But I saw what you did to him. I won't forgive you from hurting him!"

"Hurting him?" Ashley repeated. "I did no such thing. I was merely sparring with my fellow comrades. He only got in the way."

"Liar!" Yuto exclaimed. He winced as he clutched his chest, feeling a stabbing feeling in his heart. "You and your friends purposely 'sparred' next to him! You thought that by injuring him with your monsters' blades would leave him in no condition to continue the Battle Royale! I...ugh... I refuse to let you leave unpunished!"

Deep within the recesses of Yuto's mind, Zarc could see something was off about him. He hasn't seen him this mad in all of his life; could this be a random burst of rage or something worse? He wished he could help his XYZ reincarnation out and warn him about what may happen if this boiling rage becomes too strong for him to bear, but because he states how he wasn't going to interfere, he had no choice but to watch this train wreck unfold. He honestly wasn't sure how he should feel about this situation once it blows over, but he was clearly concerned about everything that was leading up to this unfortunate turn of events.

"Now then, are the knights ready?" the Queen asked.

"Of course, your majesty," Ashley replied, bowing as he activated his Duel Disk.

"S-Sure..." Yuto muttered, his Duel Disk already activated. Why was his vision getting worse even with his glasses on?

"Then let the tournament finale commence!" the Queen declared.

The two knights drew their five cards and shouted "Let's duel!" to signal the start of the finals, with each of them beginning with 2000 LP. Ashley declared that he will be making the first move.

"I shall start things off with Slash the Assault Knight!" Ashley announced. "And because he was summoned on the first turn, he's allowed to inflict effect damage to your life points equal to his strength!"

At the time of the Arc League Championship, Slash's ATK, DEF, Attribute, Type, and Level was unknown; however, as it raised its sword and slashed out a luminescent purple blast, it took out a huge chunk of Yuto's Life Points, leaving him with only 500 left. The direct attack was strong enough to knock his light gray glasses off, worsening his already-blurry vision.

"I will have to end my turn," Ashley informed Yuto. "But know this: it doesn't matter which monster you summon. My Assault Knight will still attack you directly, allowing me to win this duel."

"We'll see about that," Yuto said, feeling even more angry at the imposter knight. He drew a card. He was holding The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves, The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots, Phantom Knights' Fog Blade, The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch, and Phantom Knights' Spear. If he could time his cards just right, he should be able to bring out his Antiluminescent Knight before the end of his turn. He smiled confidently, ignoring the already-worsening pain inside him.

"I told you, there is nothing you can do!" Ashley taunted. "Even if you get rid of Slash, I still have plenty of Assault Knights in my deck! I'll simply bring out another one to finish you off during my next turn!"

Yuto winced in pain. "Laugh all you want, imposter knight," he said. "But I am a true knight."

"So what?" Ashley asked. "It's not like anyone cares. All they want is a good show, and a good show is what they shall have!"

"It's not like anyone cares..."

Those five words that spilled out of Ashley's mouth echoed in Yuto's head, except instead of subsiding into silence like most echoes do, it kept ringing and repeating over and over, increasing in speed and volume until it hit a certain point where it all came crashing down. Where a nerve has been struck. Where the rage became too much to control.

His opponent had unleashed the beast from its cage.

"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The Sakakis were alarmed to see Yuto in such pain as he dropped his Duel Disk and the cards in his hand. "Yuto!" Yuya called out. "You have to control it!"

"I can't!" Yuto exclaimed, slowly losing consciousness as dark purple scales appeared on his body. "I- GAAAAHHHH!"

As he screamed out with all the energy left in his conscious, the dark purple scales completely covered his body, which was gaining some new and monstrous features in his werewolf-esque transformation. Wings pierced through and ruined his armor and sprouted from his back, his hands and feet became claw-like, the color of his eggplant hair turned darker, and once the transformation was complete, his eyes flashed open and glowed yellow. This unexpected form's appearance was parallel to Zarc's revived look, but it was more of an XYZ variant of it. Much like how his incarnation became Supreme King Dragon Z-ARC through Astrograph Sorcerer's effect, the intense struggle of maintaining his heated anger turned Yuto into a creature who looked like he fused with Dark Requiem XYZ Dragon.

Everyone was surprised, especially the Sakakis. "Yuto...?" Yuya muttered.

"I tried to warn him. Repressing all that built-up rage can lead to some disastrous results."

"Wait, that was his doing?" Yuya asked.

"Dark Rebellion was getting anxious to fight that poor excuse of a knight. So when Yuto refused to use him, he kinda...came out on his own."

But, if this was Dark Rebellion's doing, then why does Yuto bear Dark Requiem's physical traits? Did his heated fury cause his ace to…Rank-Up? Just as Yuya was processing what happened, he witnessed his cousin activating Dark Requiem's first of two effects since Dark Rebellion used himself as an Overlay Unit. By detaching himself, he reduces the opposing monster's ATK to 0 as he gains ATK equal to the target's. With Slash the Assault Knight having 1500 ATK, it will increase the dragon's strength up to 4500, giving Yuto an OTK win.

"Do you really think your little costume change can scare me?" Ashley asked.

The Dark Requiem-Yuto hybrid looked like he was charging towards Slash, but he skyrocketed up in the air instead before stopping and extending his wings. Light illuminated from them and revealed what resembled stained glass windows on each wing; he slowly opened his mouth to let out a growl as his chin started to glow. Within mere seconds, he bolted towards Ashley's monster to finish his signature attack: Dark Destruction.

When the dust cleared, Ashley was laying down on the ground and his Duel Disk appeared to have been pierced. But despite this victory, everyone in the audience was stunned.

"The winner is...Sir Yuto of Obsidian?" the tournament hostess announced, confused with what just happened.

With the duel now over, the hybrid's Dark Requiem features began to disappear. The stained-glass "feathers" withered away as the wings shrunk back into his back, the claws transformed back into human nails on his hands and feet, and the darker dual-colored hair lightened up its tint, immediately followed by the light purple bangs falling down and covering his forehead and eyes—which have faded from yellow back to golden-yellow—due to being covered in sweat from trying to restrain himself from his anger. Yuto was back to normal, but as he was trying to remember what had happened, silence continued to fill the arena.

Realization sunk in as Yuto saw Ashley laying on the ground. "What have I done...?" he asked aloud. He fell to his knees, his hand covering his face as tears started to fall from his eyes. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

After a few minutes of silence, the King stood from his throne. "I'm not quite sure what had happened, but I wish for Sir Yuto to stand before me."

"Wait, your highness!" Yuya exclaimed, standing up from his seat. "My cousin had every right to be angry at Ashley." He activated a holographic projection from his Duel Disk. "Everything he said was true. The Knights of the Duel Disk are more like bullies than real knights."

The holographic projection displayed a moment from the Arc League Championship. As Yuya was explaining Shay about what happened, Ashley, Bram, and Carl deliberately interrupted them with their duel. They figured they would surround Shay and have the three Slashs' attacks and effects hit him as a way to not get penalized; with Yuya also caught in the fray, he felt the physical harm of them by getting blown away from one of the attack's force. The two didn't want to duel these "knights" because doing so would result in an intrusion penalty and would lead them to lose 2000 LP. Even so, the three purposefully unleashing attacks with 0 damage just to injure Shay and Yuya wasn't part of being knightly, which was why Yuto despises them.

"You see?" Yuya asked. "The Knights of the Duel Disk are nothing more than Duelists who use cheap tactics to win. So if you're gonna punish anyone, punish the false knight, not Yuto. He's noble, loyal, and has a big heart, making him a true knight."

"I know, young prince," the King said. "I suspected Sir Ashley was some kind of trickster, so I wish to award Sir Yuto with the greatest treasure in all the land for not only winning the tournament, but for also punishing a wicked person."

However, Yuto was too broken to even stand up. "I'm not a knight..." he muttered under his breath, sobbing hard. "I'm nothing more than a mere beast..."

Yuya turned off the holographic image. "Come on, cuz!" he encouraged. "Stand up and accept your reward!"

"I can't!" Yuto snapped, his eyes glowing periwinkle. "I don't even deserve to call myself a knight!"

"That's not true, Sir Yuto," the King said. "I have witnessed a lot of knights take part in this tournament, but I have never encountered a soul as brave as yours. You have the heart of a true champion and a soul that is courageous and true. In another time, you could have been a great king such as myself."

Yuto removed his hand from his face. "Me...? A king...?" he asked, looking up as his eyes stopped glowing.

Yuya approached Yuto and knelt next to him, picking up his glasses. "So whaddya say?" the tomato-haired teen asked, moving his cousin's bangs away from his eyes and putting his glasses back on him. "Ready to accept this great treasure?"

Yuto simply stared back at Yuya, with a much clearer vision now that his glasses were on and his bangs weren't covering his eyes. Was it really true that he could have been a king? A brave, powerful, genuine, and tenacious king? Despite transforming into whatever he had become? If that was the case, then he could be a king…to Lulu's queen.

Yuto picked up his cards and Duel Disk, strapping it to his left wrist as he stood up. "Very well," he said. He smiled softly at his cousin. "Thanks Yuya."

Yuya pulled Yuto in for a one-armed hug. "Don't mention it," he said. "Now go get that treasure."

Yuto adjusted his glasses and walked over to where the King and Queen were sitting; behind them was a chest, which housed the greatest treasure in all the land.

"Behold, the greatest treasure in all the land!" the King announced, prompting a Faire employee to open the chest on his behalf.

The treasure was none other than a golden sword with a thick, sky blue lining along the blade and a sky blue gem encrusted on said blade.

"The greatest treasure is a sword?" Yuto asked.

"Not just any sword," the King explained. "This is the Sword of Nobles. Only knights with the purest of hearts can wield it."

"And you're...giving it to me?" Yuto asked.

"Of course," the King answered. "It's yours to keep. Think of it as a reminder of how worthy you truly are."

"Now why don't you pick it up and accept your destiny as a noble knight?" the Queen asked. "I'm certain that the family you are loyal to would be proud to see what you have accomplished."

Family he's loyal to? Was she mentioning…the Obsidians? With his eyes lock onto the sword, it was starting to become clear for Yuto. This sword was being given to him because he inherits the qualities of a true knight: nobility, loyalty, chivalry, purity, bravery, heroism, and courage. These were all part of his gentlemanly personality, which was why Lulu probably fell in love with him in the first place. As a result, it led to Kameron and Astra arranging their future marriage, giving him a job offer, and letting him live with them until he has an official plan for his future. They knew from the moment their daughter talked about how she met him that he was a perfect fit for her; their discussion must have occurred after the school day had ended.

This quickly led to the realization that the Obsidians were actually a really nice family, whether they were out in public or staying at their house. He had let his fears and worries about not being able to fit into an elite environment cloud his mind, but his core personality generally remained unaffected. Perhaps he can find living with Lulu and Shay to be quite the learning experience; it never hurts to pick up some tips about being in a high class society. He may need them when he sets off on his own journey, after all. If there was one thing clear about this journey, it was still under construction, but him marrying his girlfriend was definitely going to be something to look forward to.

With newfound confidence in his eyes, Yuto picked up the sword. "I, Sir Yuto Osaku of the Obsidians, accept this gift," he told the King and Queen. He felt the urge to kneel, but he refused. If he was going to start blending in with the rich and elite, he had to stop belittling himself.

"Yeah, but next time Dark Rebellion is anxious to fight someone, please use him in a duel. He seems to have developed the same code of honor you have."

"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the winner of this year's Magic and Wizards tournament: Sir Yuto Osaku of the Obsidians!" the King announced.

Yuto presented himself to the crowd and raised his newly-gifted sword in the air, leading to everyone—now having an understanding as to why he transformed thanks to Zarc—cheered for their new champion. With his newfound confidence and self-esteem, he knew he was finally ready to begin his new life among the rich and elite.

#Arc V Aftermath #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #Yuto (arc v)#Sora Perse #Sora Shiunin #Rehabilitation

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