A follow up to 'One Last Dance', and this time I'm using the original names(as will be from here on out), so Judai=Jaden and Johan=Jesse
And it's just as shippy-fluff as the previous.
Originally posted here.
---
“Judai dearest, you are a hopeless case,” sighed Yubel. “If you hope to impress Johan you’re going to need to do better than this.”
After receiving a formal invitation to Johan’s graduation, Judai decided, almost right away, to learn to dance for this. His dance with Johan at his own graduation had been anything but graceful or coordinated, though Johan insisted he hadn’t minded one bit.
Still, Judai was determined to improve, if only to make sure he didn’t make a fool of himself. There was just one glaring issue, he lacked a partner that had a physical body.
After watching him awkwardly try to dance with thin air, Yubel finally stepped in and offered their help as a substitute for his imagined dance partner. Judai may not have ben able to actually touch the spirit, but at least being able to see who he was dancing with should help. Should. It really didn’t, he was still as bad as before and still stumbling over his own feet.
“I’m sorry, but it’s like dancing with a ghost,” he said, looking down at their hands. While he could feel Yubel’s hand holding his and could clearly see them, if he tried to actually hold them it wouldn’t work. And it was very disorienting to say the least.
“Well, I’m sorry for trying to help,” said Yubel, folding their arms over their chest with a pointed look.
Judai sighed, “I know, I know. But we both know that I have two left feet.”
“Then I guess we just try again,” said Yubel, unfolding their arms and holding their hands out again to him.
With a smile he placed his hands in Yubel’s, or where Yubel’s would be. Despite feeling the sensation of something touching his hand he couldn’t actually hold their hand. It really was like dancing with a ghost. “Say Yubel? Thanks, for doing this for me.”
“Whatever makes you happy dearest, as long as you’re happy then I am happy.”
“I just didn’t think you would, this being for Johan and all.”
Yubel smiled, “I see how happy he makes you, don’t forget I did see your last dance together.” Judai blushed and Yubel continued, “My feelings for him may not be the same as yours but I hold no ill will towards him. I can only hope he hold no ill will towards me. He is clearly a part of your life that won’t leave, so I would at least like to be on amicable terms with him.”
Judai smiled, that was certainly pleasing news to hear. Yubel had always kept quiet and out of sight when Johan was around, so he’d been worried that the spirit held some kind of hostility towards him. He started to speak, but trailed off into a startled yelp as he stepped back, and promptly tripped over Pharaoh, who had chosen that moment to try and weave through Judai’s feet. The cat screeched and bolted, sending Judai falling to the floor as his hands instinctively clenched at Yubel’s and grabbed thin air.
Yubel sighed, this was going to be a long day.
---
Judai smoothed his red jacket out as he looked himself over once more with a sigh. He could almost feel the butterflies in his stomach. He couldn’t understand his nervousness, if this were a duel he wouldn’t be the least bit nervous. Instead he was attending a graduation party, there was no reason to be nervous. If anything, it was Johan that should have been nervous, it was his graduation.
“Are you almost ready?” asked Johan, peering in the room.
Judai grinned and gave him a thumbs up, “All good. You?”
“I’m just waiting on you.”
He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, “Sorry.”
The main hall were the party was being held was crowded, even more so than the auditorium where the ceremony had been held earlier that day. Or at least it felt more crowded. Tables with food lined the walls, while the rest of the room had been opened up for a dance floor, though at present most people were mingling rather than dancing despite the music.
“I’m glad you came Judai,” said Johan. “I was worried I’d have to come alone.”
Judai frowned slightly, giving him a curious look, “Alone? What about your friends?”
He shook his head, “I never really had friends the way you do. Really it was just me and the Crystal Beasts. I might have been the guy with the rare deck, but I was also the one who talked to himself.” He quickly waved it off with a smile, “But that’s alright, I mean, I met you after all. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
Judai felt his cheeks heat up, “Yeah, me neither. And thanks for inviting me.” He glanced around the room and felt the butterflies start up again,there was just so many people. There was no way he could ask him to dance in front of all these people.
‘I hope you aren’t getting cold feet beloved,’ said Yubel. ‘Because this would be a bad time.’
‘I don’t know if I can do this, there’s so many people here,’ he replied.
‘It doesn’t stop you from dueling, why should this be any different? Neither one of you are the center of attention, and you won’t be the only ones dancing.’
“Judai? Everything alright? You’re awfully quiet.” He looked back to Johan, who was looking at him with a worried expression. “You zoned out for a bit there? You alright?”
“Oh, yeah I’m fine. Just thinking,” he said quickly. “Ah, do you, would you, like to dance?” he asked. “With me I mean.”
“I didn’t think you meant anyone else,” laughed Johan with a light blush. “Of course, if you’re up to it, you seem a bit nervous.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said with a smile. “I promise.” As he took Johan’s hands in his, he felt a wash of calm fall over him. Perhaps Yubel was right, he had nothing to worry about.
‘Let’s hope that practise paid off,’ said Yubel. ‘I’d hate to think we went through all that for nothing.’
They fell into place almost as before, one hand settled on Judai’s waist and the other holding his hand, fingers entwined, while Judai’s free hand found itself resting against Johan’s shoulder.
They moved slowly, Judai being careful not to step on Johan’s feet. The longer they danced the more relaxed he felt, even cracking a smile and small laugh.
“You’ve been practising,” said Johan with a smile. “I’m impressed.”
“You should be impressed, before your boyfriend couldn’t do more than trip over his own feet. I’m glad to see this wasn’t all in vain,” said Yubel with a teasing smirk, causing them both to blush. “I’ll let you two have your fun, I’ve done my share of dancing anyways.”
“I’m sorry about that,” mumbled Judai, trying to hide his face in Johan’s shoulder.
Johan just laughed, “Ah it’s alright, Yubel didn’t mean any harm, I think. So come on, let’s just enjoy the night.”
Judai sighed, leaning against Johan, he was right after all. He smiled and met his gaze, “Alright, besides I owe you one heck of a dance anyways.”
Tales from the Shadow Realm-BB's Yu-Gi-Oh short fics
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Re: Tales from the Shadow Realm-BB's Yu-Gi-Oh short fics
This was another one I got from the drabble meme, the prompt this time was-
“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.” For Soulbondshipping(Johan/Judai/Yubel)
I modified the prompt slightly to fit what I needed.
Originally posted here.
---
They were past the ‘trying-to-kill-each-other-on-sight’ phase, for that Judai was thankful, it meant less time playing mediator between them and worrying about someon getting killed. They were not however, past the ‘shooting-dirty-looks-at-one-another-when-the-other-wasn’t-looking’ phase.
“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to actually try talking to him once in a while.” Judai’s words still echoed in Yubel’s head as they looked down at Johan, who was currently fast asleep on the couch, one foot bound in a makeshift splint.
A simple search and find errand had gone south and become postponed when Johan sprained his ankle. So until it healed enough for him to walk the three of them were stuck, and Judai had decided that he was going fishing therefore Yubel was left to keep an eye on Johan to make sure he didn’t hurt himself further.
“Stop staring at the back of my head, it’s unsettling,” mumbled Johan, shifting his position slightly and cracking an eye open.
“Who said I was?” asked Yubel, trying to mask their surprise at both the fact that Johan was awake and the fact that he knew exactly what they were doing without looking.
He snorted, “That’s all you do when my back is to you, I can practically feel you boring holes into my skull at this point. Don’t think I don’t notice how you look at me when you think I can’t see it.”
Yubel made a ‘hmmming’ sound, apparently Johan was more observant than they’d given him credit for.
“So how come?” asked Johan, moving to prop himself up against the arm of the couch. “Why the dirty looks all the time.”
“I was hoping you’d take a hint and leave, but clearly that didn’t work.” Yubel’s wings flicked and they made a ‘tch’ of annoyance.
“And now?”
“I want to know what he sees in you, why he keeps you around so much.”
“Well I don’t think staring at the back of my head will give you those answers,” he said, “Or staring at me period, unless you’re going to conclude that it’s my good looks.”
There was a strangled, noise, followed by the crash of a chair as the one Yubel had been leaning on fell over, Yubel hastily moving to right it and doing anything but looking in Johan’s direction.
They were both spared the rest of that conversation by the sound of Judai returning.
Yubel later asked Johan how he knew about the staring, because it didn’t look like he had eyes in the back of his head. He admitted he hadn’t until Yubel confirmed it. It was just a stab in the dark based on the few times he had caught the death glares sent his way.
Yubel wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or impressed at being outsmarted like that. Perhaps he wasn’t so bad to have around after all.
“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.” For Soulbondshipping(Johan/Judai/Yubel)
I modified the prompt slightly to fit what I needed.
Originally posted here.
---
They were past the ‘trying-to-kill-each-other-on-sight’ phase, for that Judai was thankful, it meant less time playing mediator between them and worrying about someon getting killed. They were not however, past the ‘shooting-dirty-looks-at-one-another-when-the-other-wasn’t-looking’ phase.
“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to actually try talking to him once in a while.” Judai’s words still echoed in Yubel’s head as they looked down at Johan, who was currently fast asleep on the couch, one foot bound in a makeshift splint.
A simple search and find errand had gone south and become postponed when Johan sprained his ankle. So until it healed enough for him to walk the three of them were stuck, and Judai had decided that he was going fishing therefore Yubel was left to keep an eye on Johan to make sure he didn’t hurt himself further.
“Stop staring at the back of my head, it’s unsettling,” mumbled Johan, shifting his position slightly and cracking an eye open.
“Who said I was?” asked Yubel, trying to mask their surprise at both the fact that Johan was awake and the fact that he knew exactly what they were doing without looking.
He snorted, “That’s all you do when my back is to you, I can practically feel you boring holes into my skull at this point. Don’t think I don’t notice how you look at me when you think I can’t see it.”
Yubel made a ‘hmmming’ sound, apparently Johan was more observant than they’d given him credit for.
“So how come?” asked Johan, moving to prop himself up against the arm of the couch. “Why the dirty looks all the time.”
“I was hoping you’d take a hint and leave, but clearly that didn’t work.” Yubel’s wings flicked and they made a ‘tch’ of annoyance.
“And now?”
“I want to know what he sees in you, why he keeps you around so much.”
“Well I don’t think staring at the back of my head will give you those answers,” he said, “Or staring at me period, unless you’re going to conclude that it’s my good looks.”
There was a strangled, noise, followed by the crash of a chair as the one Yubel had been leaning on fell over, Yubel hastily moving to right it and doing anything but looking in Johan’s direction.
They were both spared the rest of that conversation by the sound of Judai returning.
Yubel later asked Johan how he knew about the staring, because it didn’t look like he had eyes in the back of his head. He admitted he hadn’t until Yubel confirmed it. It was just a stab in the dark based on the few times he had caught the death glares sent his way.
Yubel wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or impressed at being outsmarted like that. Perhaps he wasn’t so bad to have around after all.
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Re: Tales from the Shadow Realm-BB's Yu-Gi-Oh short fics
Now, for a different Yu-Gi-Oh Verse, Arc V!
The only context needed is this is a what if, what if Roger had put the control chip in Yuya's brain?
It takes place shortly after Yuya's duel with Crow Hogan(yes 5Ds fans, that Crow, no this is not a crossover because that dos happen in 5Ds canon, the Synchro dimension is sort of an AU to the 5Ds world including a few familiar characters)
Based off of/inspired by this comic!
Originally posted here.
---
Something about Yuya’s duel had been, off. No, not the duel, it was Yuya that seemed off, the way he smiled, the way he spoke, the way he didn’t even acknowledge Crow as he was dragged off to the Underground following his defeat. Something bout it all just felt wrong.
Sora knew he should have been glad to see Yuya as he rode around the arena, to see that he was alright, so why did he get a sinking feeling in his gut every time he looked at him. What had happened to him in the hours he was missing after he’d been caught by Security?
There were only a handful of times that Sora Shiunin could say he’d felt true fear, and standing before what he could only call the empty husk that was his best friend was one of those times.
He’d sought Yuya out after his duel, catching him before he left, in the hopes that he was imagining things, that this was all some kind of act on his part.
“Well Sora?” His voice was chilling, almost emotionless yet dripping with a mocking playfulness. Everything about him was wrong, his voice, his posture, the look in his eyes as he stared the Fusion duelist down. This wasn’t Yuya, it couldn’t be, this wasn’t the same boy who’d allowed himself to be captured by Security so Sora could escape. This was just a poor copy that looked and sounded like him.
Sora took a hesitant step back, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Perhaps coming after Yuya had been a bad idea after all.
“We never did get to finish our duel in Standard, why don’t we pickup where we left off?” His lips curled up into something so unbefitting and unlike Yuya it made Sora’s stomach knot. He knew Yuya’s smile, it was warm and inviting, full of laughter and life and made you feel wanted and like you belonged. This, this was none of those, it was as cold and unfeeling as his voice, a twisted smirk.
‘Yuya,’ he dropped his gaze, unable to face his friend. ‘I don’t know what they’ve done to you to make you like this, but I don’t care.’ The duel disk on his arm beeped to life as the sword shaped disk flared out. Fear turned to conviction as he faced Yuya, clenching his jaw as he forced back anger at whomever had done this to his friend.
“I don’t care what it takes, I’ll bring back your real smile, just like you did for me!”
The only context needed is this is a what if, what if Roger had put the control chip in Yuya's brain?
It takes place shortly after Yuya's duel with Crow Hogan(yes 5Ds fans, that Crow, no this is not a crossover because that dos happen in 5Ds canon, the Synchro dimension is sort of an AU to the 5Ds world including a few familiar characters)
Based off of/inspired by this comic!
Originally posted here.
---
Something about Yuya’s duel had been, off. No, not the duel, it was Yuya that seemed off, the way he smiled, the way he spoke, the way he didn’t even acknowledge Crow as he was dragged off to the Underground following his defeat. Something bout it all just felt wrong.
Sora knew he should have been glad to see Yuya as he rode around the arena, to see that he was alright, so why did he get a sinking feeling in his gut every time he looked at him. What had happened to him in the hours he was missing after he’d been caught by Security?
There were only a handful of times that Sora Shiunin could say he’d felt true fear, and standing before what he could only call the empty husk that was his best friend was one of those times.
He’d sought Yuya out after his duel, catching him before he left, in the hopes that he was imagining things, that this was all some kind of act on his part.
“Well Sora?” His voice was chilling, almost emotionless yet dripping with a mocking playfulness. Everything about him was wrong, his voice, his posture, the look in his eyes as he stared the Fusion duelist down. This wasn’t Yuya, it couldn’t be, this wasn’t the same boy who’d allowed himself to be captured by Security so Sora could escape. This was just a poor copy that looked and sounded like him.
Sora took a hesitant step back, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. Perhaps coming after Yuya had been a bad idea after all.
“We never did get to finish our duel in Standard, why don’t we pickup where we left off?” His lips curled up into something so unbefitting and unlike Yuya it made Sora’s stomach knot. He knew Yuya’s smile, it was warm and inviting, full of laughter and life and made you feel wanted and like you belonged. This, this was none of those, it was as cold and unfeeling as his voice, a twisted smirk.
‘Yuya,’ he dropped his gaze, unable to face his friend. ‘I don’t know what they’ve done to you to make you like this, but I don’t care.’ The duel disk on his arm beeped to life as the sword shaped disk flared out. Fear turned to conviction as he faced Yuya, clenching his jaw as he forced back anger at whomever had done this to his friend.
“I don’t care what it takes, I’ll bring back your real smile, just like you did for me!”
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Re: Tales from the Shadow Realm-BB's Yu-Gi-Oh short fics
This may need a bit of context since it's an AU for Arc V, featuring something from the Zexal universe. In Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal we were introduced to a race of, other dimensional beings called Barians. The Barians, plainly put, were reincarnated souls of humans had died with their heats full of great emotional pain and hatred.
I happen to like their designs and thought it would be fun to design the key characters from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V as Barians. And one thing led to another and bam, a full on au was born. Which you can read about here if you want to learn more.
So, that lead to this, me writing the death scenes for the main players in our story/au, since they have to die before they can be born as Barians.
Originally posted here!
---
The End
Yuto screamed in pain as the debris heaped on him shifted ever so slightly, now pinning him from the middle of his chest on down. He could barely feel his legs, let alone move them, and any movements he could make resulted in searing pain. Even breathing hurt, the weight of the cement, metal and rock crushing down on his chest with a sickening crunching sound. All he could really move was his head and his shoulders.
Twisting his head he looked from side to side, to try and find any trace of his friends.
“Shun…”
The last he’d seen of the teal-haired teen he’d been flung through the window of a nearby building by an Ancient Gear Golem. Yuto feared the worst when Shun didn’t reappear and would have gone to help, but he’d been trapped.
“Ruri…”
He shuddered and his vision blurred as he moved his head to the other side. Ruri lay a few feet away, where she’d fallen only a few minutes earlier after the explosion rocked the building, and she was moving even less than Yuto.
He closed his eyes, tears burning around the corners. How was this fair? His home, his friends, his family; all of it was gone in an instant, and for what? Because some, other dimension decided they wanted in, to take over?
One minute he was walking home from school with his friends, the next the city was burning as monsters made of very life-like Solid Vision controlled by an army of duelists stormed through. It was hell on earth.
“Damn it, damn you Fusion bastards! It’s not fair, it’s not fair.”
The rubble shifted again and he screamed; from somewhere among the debris he could feel something sharp impale him. He coughed and sputtered, an acrid taste filling his mouth. His arms fell to his sides weakly, his remaining strength slipping away in an instant, replaced by a heavy, tired feeling.
Yuto shuddered as his eyes closed, head rolling to the side as a chill crept through him, drawing out the last of his strength, and one more voice was silenced among the cacophonous roar of the invasion.
---
One duel, that was all it had taken, losing one duel in the Friendship Cup and he found himself in the Garbage Facility, forced to work.
Yugo tried to escape, once, but he’d been caught before he got far and the next day had his food withheld from him as punishment and his workload doubled. After that everything just went down hill.
He was told he could duel for his freedom; it was really the only way he could leave, so Yugo decided that would be his best option. Just win a duel and he could be out of that godless place.
Delirious from hunger he stumbled and lost the duel in spectacular fashion.
As the days dragged on things got worst, they ran him ragged, increasing workload, or decreasing his food for any infraction, as was apparently the norm.
Yugo panted as he leaned against the wall, only just barely holding onto the bundle that leaned on his shoulder. His legs ached, protesting as he forced himself to continue onwards. He just wanted to sit down, to rest, but he couldn’t, not yet, the shift wasn’t over yet.
His foot caught on a rock causing him to stumble and his face became acquainted with the ground in a painful fashion. The junk he’d been carrying flew everywhere as it slipped from his hands, not that his grip had been that stable in the first place.
Yugo was tired, beyond exhausted, and starving, reduced to a mere shadow of the person he once was. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a decent meal.
The laborers were those who had lost in the Friendship Cup or were sent by the Facility, in short, disposable and replaceable, so it made no difference to them if he actually ate, let alone ate well.
He groaned as he tried to stand, there was only one thing that had been pushing him forwards, Rin, and the hope of getting out of there to see her again. As the days drew on though he began to feel those hopes slipping away.
Then he’d heard the news, from a worker that had been sent down from the facility. A group of Duel Runners had tried to stage a raid on the Garbage Facility. The raid ended in a massive chase with Security, the result of which was a disaster. The worker had no names, but it sounded like several people had died in a horrific collision. It was the description of one of the D-Wheels involved that sickened him, that was the reason he remained on the ground. It sounded uncomfortably like the one he and Rin had worked together on, had built from the ground up.
He closed his eyes in resignation, if that were true then, there was nothing waiting for him on the outside.
“Rin…I’m sorry.”
By the time a worker found him, collapsed in a heap behind a large rock, it was to late.
---
When he got up that morning, the last place Yuri expected to find himself was cornered by three members of Obelisk Force, two of which were on either side of him holding him down. He’d been forced to his knees and his arms pinned behind his back.
“What are you doing?” he growled, struggling against their iron-like grip. “This is insubordination you know. I’ll-“
“You’ll do nothing,” said the red-gemmed Obelisk Force member in font of him, tapping away on his duel disk. “We have our orders, from The Professor himself.”
Yuri stopped struggling for a moment, trying to free his arms. “What?” He had to have misheard; there was no way they were doing this under orders. He was one of the top duelists from that year’s class, there was no way he’d done something to earn, this.
A cruel grin flashed across the uniform clad duelist’s face “Oh yes. He hasn’t been too impressed with your performance as of late. Said it was time for your termination.” He gave a nod to his companions, who pulled Yuri’s arms tighter behind his back. “So really, Yuri-sama,” he dragged out the title with a mocking tone. “We’re the ones in control here.”
Unnoticed, a lone figure ducked out of sight of the exchange, hand clamped over his mouth to keep quiet. This was not something he was meant to be seeing.
“Now, about your termination.” He raised his left arm, pointing his duel disk. “It is to be effective, immediately.”
Yuri shivered and his stomach sank, that pose, he knew exactly what was coming and it scared him. “You can’t,” he said quietly, arms relaxing in their grip. He couldn’t fight his way out even if he wanted to, the wall behind him and the soldiers surrounding him made sure of that.
Suddenly his arms were free and the two soldiers on either side of him stepped back. Yuri had just enough time to look between them, to register that nothing was holding him there anymore, before a brilliant, violet light enveloped him.
When the light died down the masked soldier strode forward, picking up the card that lay where Yuri had been kneeling only moments before.
Then, without the slightest it of hesitation or remorse, he tore it right down the middle, dividing it into two.
“Termination complete.”
The hidden figure had to bite back a scream of horror at what he’d witnessed before taking off running, and he wouldn’t stop running till he was as far away as he could be, even if it meant going to another dimension.
---
Beep…Beep…Beep
The harsh, rhythmic beeping of a monitor filled the silent hospital room, accompanied by the soft rush of air from the nearby ventilator.
Yuya stirred slightly, eyes opening just a crack. Everything hurt, every inch of his form ached as if a building had fallen on him, which wasn’t too far from the truth. It hadn’t been an actual building but part of a bridge, a bridge created by Solid Vision for a duel. But it shouldn’t have been that real.
Yuya had been in plenty of Action Duels; he knew the texture, the feel and hardness of Solid Vision, the way it should have been. But the moment he’d been thrown into the wall of the bridge it was as if he’d been thrown into a real brick wall.
It had taken him several moments to stand again, but even then only just barely, the wind knocked right out of him.
It was strange it would feel so real and life-like, so strange.
Beep…Beep…Beep
Voices tittered quietly and feet shuffled around the room before the door clicked shut and silence descended once more.
With what little strength he could muster, Yuya tilted his head to look in the direction of the only other bed in the room and the blurry pink shape in it.
‘Yuzu…’
It was a trap; a stupid, obvious tap and he’d walked right into it, dragging Yuzu and the kids in with him. Sawatari, he’d used the four of them as bait to keep Yuya in a duel with him, and it had worked. But he wasn’t working alone, several times Yuya heard him talking to someone on the other end of his D-Pad. Someone who knew exactly what was going on and made no move to stop it.
‘Why?’ he thought, letting his eyes drift closed again. ‘Why didn’t you stop the duel?’
If hitting the wall hadn’t convinced him something was wrong, watching everything fall apart and being struck upside the head by a brick certainly did. Yuya was no stranger to hitting and being hit with Solid Vision in an Action Duel, it came with the territory. But it wasn’t meant to be that solid; it was solid enough that one could end up bruised, but generally no more than that. A brick shouldn’t have been as hard as a brick. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have said it was real.
Beep…Beep…Beep
Yuya wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the duel, how long he’d been there, but he had yet to see Yuzu move from where she lay, the soft beeping the only thing to tell him that she was even still alive.
Her screams, her terrified screams would be permanently etched into his ears, the last clear memory he had, only able to watch helplessly as she fell from so far up. The kids were safe, but he hadn’t been able to send a monster to save her in time.
He looked at the plain white ceiling through half open lids before letting his eyes slip closed, he felt so, so tired. Perhaps if he just slept for a bit, and gave in to the exhaustion that had been nagging at him every time he opened his eyes, perhaps he’d feel better then.
The rhythmic beeps continued for a few more moments, before devolving into a single, monotone beep. And shortly after it was joined by a second, unbroken beeping.
I happen to like their designs and thought it would be fun to design the key characters from Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V as Barians. And one thing led to another and bam, a full on au was born. Which you can read about here if you want to learn more.
So, that lead to this, me writing the death scenes for the main players in our story/au, since they have to die before they can be born as Barians.
Originally posted here!
---
The End
Yuto screamed in pain as the debris heaped on him shifted ever so slightly, now pinning him from the middle of his chest on down. He could barely feel his legs, let alone move them, and any movements he could make resulted in searing pain. Even breathing hurt, the weight of the cement, metal and rock crushing down on his chest with a sickening crunching sound. All he could really move was his head and his shoulders.
Twisting his head he looked from side to side, to try and find any trace of his friends.
“Shun…”
The last he’d seen of the teal-haired teen he’d been flung through the window of a nearby building by an Ancient Gear Golem. Yuto feared the worst when Shun didn’t reappear and would have gone to help, but he’d been trapped.
“Ruri…”
He shuddered and his vision blurred as he moved his head to the other side. Ruri lay a few feet away, where she’d fallen only a few minutes earlier after the explosion rocked the building, and she was moving even less than Yuto.
He closed his eyes, tears burning around the corners. How was this fair? His home, his friends, his family; all of it was gone in an instant, and for what? Because some, other dimension decided they wanted in, to take over?
One minute he was walking home from school with his friends, the next the city was burning as monsters made of very life-like Solid Vision controlled by an army of duelists stormed through. It was hell on earth.
“Damn it, damn you Fusion bastards! It’s not fair, it’s not fair.”
The rubble shifted again and he screamed; from somewhere among the debris he could feel something sharp impale him. He coughed and sputtered, an acrid taste filling his mouth. His arms fell to his sides weakly, his remaining strength slipping away in an instant, replaced by a heavy, tired feeling.
Yuto shuddered as his eyes closed, head rolling to the side as a chill crept through him, drawing out the last of his strength, and one more voice was silenced among the cacophonous roar of the invasion.
---
One duel, that was all it had taken, losing one duel in the Friendship Cup and he found himself in the Garbage Facility, forced to work.
Yugo tried to escape, once, but he’d been caught before he got far and the next day had his food withheld from him as punishment and his workload doubled. After that everything just went down hill.
He was told he could duel for his freedom; it was really the only way he could leave, so Yugo decided that would be his best option. Just win a duel and he could be out of that godless place.
Delirious from hunger he stumbled and lost the duel in spectacular fashion.
As the days dragged on things got worst, they ran him ragged, increasing workload, or decreasing his food for any infraction, as was apparently the norm.
Yugo panted as he leaned against the wall, only just barely holding onto the bundle that leaned on his shoulder. His legs ached, protesting as he forced himself to continue onwards. He just wanted to sit down, to rest, but he couldn’t, not yet, the shift wasn’t over yet.
His foot caught on a rock causing him to stumble and his face became acquainted with the ground in a painful fashion. The junk he’d been carrying flew everywhere as it slipped from his hands, not that his grip had been that stable in the first place.
Yugo was tired, beyond exhausted, and starving, reduced to a mere shadow of the person he once was. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a decent meal.
The laborers were those who had lost in the Friendship Cup or were sent by the Facility, in short, disposable and replaceable, so it made no difference to them if he actually ate, let alone ate well.
He groaned as he tried to stand, there was only one thing that had been pushing him forwards, Rin, and the hope of getting out of there to see her again. As the days drew on though he began to feel those hopes slipping away.
Then he’d heard the news, from a worker that had been sent down from the facility. A group of Duel Runners had tried to stage a raid on the Garbage Facility. The raid ended in a massive chase with Security, the result of which was a disaster. The worker had no names, but it sounded like several people had died in a horrific collision. It was the description of one of the D-Wheels involved that sickened him, that was the reason he remained on the ground. It sounded uncomfortably like the one he and Rin had worked together on, had built from the ground up.
He closed his eyes in resignation, if that were true then, there was nothing waiting for him on the outside.
“Rin…I’m sorry.”
By the time a worker found him, collapsed in a heap behind a large rock, it was to late.
---
When he got up that morning, the last place Yuri expected to find himself was cornered by three members of Obelisk Force, two of which were on either side of him holding him down. He’d been forced to his knees and his arms pinned behind his back.
“What are you doing?” he growled, struggling against their iron-like grip. “This is insubordination you know. I’ll-“
“You’ll do nothing,” said the red-gemmed Obelisk Force member in font of him, tapping away on his duel disk. “We have our orders, from The Professor himself.”
Yuri stopped struggling for a moment, trying to free his arms. “What?” He had to have misheard; there was no way they were doing this under orders. He was one of the top duelists from that year’s class, there was no way he’d done something to earn, this.
A cruel grin flashed across the uniform clad duelist’s face “Oh yes. He hasn’t been too impressed with your performance as of late. Said it was time for your termination.” He gave a nod to his companions, who pulled Yuri’s arms tighter behind his back. “So really, Yuri-sama,” he dragged out the title with a mocking tone. “We’re the ones in control here.”
Unnoticed, a lone figure ducked out of sight of the exchange, hand clamped over his mouth to keep quiet. This was not something he was meant to be seeing.
“Now, about your termination.” He raised his left arm, pointing his duel disk. “It is to be effective, immediately.”
Yuri shivered and his stomach sank, that pose, he knew exactly what was coming and it scared him. “You can’t,” he said quietly, arms relaxing in their grip. He couldn’t fight his way out even if he wanted to, the wall behind him and the soldiers surrounding him made sure of that.
Suddenly his arms were free and the two soldiers on either side of him stepped back. Yuri had just enough time to look between them, to register that nothing was holding him there anymore, before a brilliant, violet light enveloped him.
When the light died down the masked soldier strode forward, picking up the card that lay where Yuri had been kneeling only moments before.
Then, without the slightest it of hesitation or remorse, he tore it right down the middle, dividing it into two.
“Termination complete.”
The hidden figure had to bite back a scream of horror at what he’d witnessed before taking off running, and he wouldn’t stop running till he was as far away as he could be, even if it meant going to another dimension.
---
Beep…Beep…Beep
The harsh, rhythmic beeping of a monitor filled the silent hospital room, accompanied by the soft rush of air from the nearby ventilator.
Yuya stirred slightly, eyes opening just a crack. Everything hurt, every inch of his form ached as if a building had fallen on him, which wasn’t too far from the truth. It hadn’t been an actual building but part of a bridge, a bridge created by Solid Vision for a duel. But it shouldn’t have been that real.
Yuya had been in plenty of Action Duels; he knew the texture, the feel and hardness of Solid Vision, the way it should have been. But the moment he’d been thrown into the wall of the bridge it was as if he’d been thrown into a real brick wall.
It had taken him several moments to stand again, but even then only just barely, the wind knocked right out of him.
It was strange it would feel so real and life-like, so strange.
Beep…Beep…Beep
Voices tittered quietly and feet shuffled around the room before the door clicked shut and silence descended once more.
With what little strength he could muster, Yuya tilted his head to look in the direction of the only other bed in the room and the blurry pink shape in it.
‘Yuzu…’
It was a trap; a stupid, obvious tap and he’d walked right into it, dragging Yuzu and the kids in with him. Sawatari, he’d used the four of them as bait to keep Yuya in a duel with him, and it had worked. But he wasn’t working alone, several times Yuya heard him talking to someone on the other end of his D-Pad. Someone who knew exactly what was going on and made no move to stop it.
‘Why?’ he thought, letting his eyes drift closed again. ‘Why didn’t you stop the duel?’
If hitting the wall hadn’t convinced him something was wrong, watching everything fall apart and being struck upside the head by a brick certainly did. Yuya was no stranger to hitting and being hit with Solid Vision in an Action Duel, it came with the territory. But it wasn’t meant to be that solid; it was solid enough that one could end up bruised, but generally no more than that. A brick shouldn’t have been as hard as a brick. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have said it was real.
Beep…Beep…Beep
Yuya wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the duel, how long he’d been there, but he had yet to see Yuzu move from where she lay, the soft beeping the only thing to tell him that she was even still alive.
Her screams, her terrified screams would be permanently etched into his ears, the last clear memory he had, only able to watch helplessly as she fell from so far up. The kids were safe, but he hadn’t been able to send a monster to save her in time.
He looked at the plain white ceiling through half open lids before letting his eyes slip closed, he felt so, so tired. Perhaps if he just slept for a bit, and gave in to the exhaustion that had been nagging at him every time he opened his eyes, perhaps he’d feel better then.
The rhythmic beeps continued for a few more moments, before devolving into a single, monotone beep. And shortly after it was joined by a second, unbroken beeping.