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merryfortune · 4 years ago

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Day 5 / Awkward Hugs

Social Interactionism 2021

Event: @hugsaku

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains

Ship: Wisteriashipping | Spectre/Yusaku

Word Count: 1.8k

Tags: Developing Relationship, Bittersweet, Fluff with a Sad Ending

AN: since today’s Hugsaku prompt overlaps with my birthday, it was only natural for me to write Spectre/Yusaku as a birthday treat to myself (hence why, no spoilers), they can hug twice in this fic as a treat

Yusaku’s plan, like they usually did, involved three steps. There might be more steps or issues within those three, broad ideas but so be it. That’s also how it usually was.

One. He would apologise to Spectre.

Two. He would find the Earth Ignis.

Three. He would reunite Spectre and the Earth Ignis.

He wasn’t sure if the steps to his plan were in descending order or difficulty or not, but he would abide by these three steps to the best of his ability. Of course, coaxing Spectre out into the open, one on one, was going to be difficult and it was part of step one. Yusaku could have just sent a letter addressed for Spectre or even an e-mail but he thought that was impersonal. He wanted it to mean something big and something dear because when he wanted to apologise, he wanted to do something more than just create a clean slate between them. He wanted to earn Spectre’s trust and maybe even affection as the third step in Yusaku’s plan would likely hinge on that.

However, Yusaku thought that Spectre was even more hermetic than him which was saying something. Yet for all that agonising, just sending a summons for Spectre and Spectre alone at the usual spot for his and his team’s encounters with the Knights of Hanoi, though mainly Ryoken, was enough.

Quite honestly, Yusaku was expecting to be stood up when he waited by the Stardust Road. He stood with his hands laced over the rail and he stared out to sea. All around him, dusk descended with orange skies and indigo clouds; it dyed the sea that lapped at the rocks and cement below a very, very dark colour and just as Yusaku thought that Spectre might not appear, a familiar stranger dejectedly stood beside him, leaning over the rail with him.

“I didn’t even hear you.” Yusaku murmured.

Spectre snickered. “Most people usually don’t. If I’m not careful, if I’m not making a fuss, most people won’t notice me at all.”

“But Ryoken does?” Yusaku guessed.

“Yes.” Spectre replied with a bitter smile.

There was a moment of silence between them. It was uneasy but not necessarily uncompanionable. It was just there to acclimatize them between greetings and the actual conversation, of which, Yusaku initiated it and very boldly at that.

“I’m sorry.” he said.

Spectre harrumphed. “Whatever for?”

“For tricking you into destroying your field when we duelled. That was a cruel thing to do.” Yusaku said. “I can tell you have a very genuine affection for your Sunavalon cards. So, I’m sorry.”

“That’s water under the bridge,” Spectre said, “but thank you. I appreciate the sentiments.”

“I’m glad. Because, well, I felt bad about that.” Yusaku stated.

“You shouldn’t though… I goaded you into, remember, I wanted you to do something cruel and I ought to be impressed that you exceeded expectations.” Spectre replied.

“Well, now I’m trying to do kind things.” Yusaku said.

Spectre’s pupils dilated at that – and Yusaku noticed even if it was a small quirk of his body language.

“No, don’t tell me…” Spectre said, realising where this conversation was going, he had thought it was strange that Yusaku would call him out of the blue like this but he figured he would indulge it, he was his master’s servant after all, so he assumed – hoped – it was eventually going to funnel to him.

“Yeah,” Yusaku murmured, “I am. I want to bring back the Earth Ignis, or just, um, Earth as he’s called.”

Spectre shook his head. He wanted to chastise Yusaku, but he couldn’t find his words. He just looked stiff instead.

“I was hoping you would help but I don’t want to force you.” Yusaku added.

“I’ll allow it to happen,” Spectre elected to reply, “but I won’t help.”

“Thank you.” Yusaku said.

Yusaku was expecting the conversation to end there. He was right. It did. But not how he thought it would. Spectre, slovenly, pushed himself off the railing, ready to return to the marina and retire to the yacht for the night because dealing with Yusaku was exhausting but not quite.

Yusaku was somewhat surprised as Spectre gave him an unexpected hug. He blinked and he felt Spectre’s arms surge around him. His hug was tight and Yusaku wasn’t sure what to do as he felt Spectre’s head beneath the crook of his chin and his arms on his waist. Yusaku swallowed and he half-heartedly tried to push Spectre off him. He didn’t feel in danger, even if Spectre was a peculiar and oftentimes unpleasant person, but he did feel… Awkward being hugged by him.

“What are you doing…?” Yusaku asked, blushing.

Spectre got the hint that now was the time to stop and it seemed he didn’t appreciate being rejected like that. He straightened up his coat and looked mildly annoyed. His brows furrowed and his eyes fixated on some weedy flower growing between the pavers on the ground.

“I thought it was appropriate. It’s a kind thing, isn’t it?” Spectre asked. “You apologised and now you have yet another channel for your sense of justice so. I thought it was the least I could do.”

“O-oh, well then,” Yusaku murmured, “thank you.”

“Well, good luck, I might not want to be involved in whatever it is you plan to do to bring back my Other Self but good luck. I will make sure we don’t… intervene on whatever basis we can find to prevent further resurrections of the Ignis.” Spectre said.

Yusaku hazarded a small smile. He appreciated it but he didn’t know how to say it beyond words. He figured there were other actions that he could take – and he did take them.

Steadily over the next few weeks, Yusaku with the help of Kusanagi and Ai, he began to piece together the data belonging to Earth. It was getting much, much easier after all the practice that he had gotten with Ai and then applied that to bring Flame back to Takeru and Aqua back to both Miyu and Aoi. Though, that didn’t make the finding of the pieces all that easier, just the putting them back together and Earth was in plenty of pieces but as Playmaker, Yusaku found them all.

He restored Earth back to form and Earth was overjoyed to see his good friend Ai once more. They had a hug or two with Ai crying and screaming that he was so glad that yet another of his friends was back; just two more to go. Playmaker was fond as he watched Ai jump and down with Earth in his arms, it was quite the sight to behold given the fact that Earth was much bigger and much heavier than Ai.

But in the midst of that jubilation, Earth looked up with sorrowful eyes at Playmaker. It seemed he knew where this was heading. Even if he and Spectre hadn’t been all that close previously, there was a disappointment to what Earth had in mind for if he came back.

“I didn’t remember Aqua first,” Earth began to explain as Playmaker, atop his D-Board, made a beeline for where he could hope to find Spectre, either alone or with Revolver, “I remembered him.”

Ai nodded. It had been the same for him. He had remembered his dear Yusaku before he remembered anything else or any of the others. It was bittersweet.

“There he is.” Playmaker commented quietly and he saw Spectre on his lonesome.

He was standing in the shade of a tree. It was wiry with white bark; its beet purple foliage moved slowly on the breeze. That appeared to be the most natural place for him to reside, he was staring out into the distance of the sort of asteroid field-like area on the hinterlands of the Neo Link VRAINS. The roots of the were spilling out the bottom of the rock platform that it and Spectre was planted on.

Playmaker drew in closer and Spectre looked up at him. He had a morose look on his face. He took a breath.

“You fulfilled your goal, I presume?” Spectre asked.

Playmaker nodded and he made a hand gesture. He allowed Earth to follow through on it and Spectre’s eyes widened. For a moment, he looked completely and utterly happy. Childishly happy. But then he flinched.

Earth lifted his hand and he didn’t know what to say.

So, Spectre decided to say it for him.

“It is good to meet you,” he said, “but I don’t believe our continued meeting is advised.”

Playmaker inhaled sharply. He was surprised – almost offended – to hear that.

Spectre came closer to the edge, came closer to Earth and he reached up to where Earth floated against gravity. Gingerly, Spectre pet the top of Earth’s head and he liked how the Ignis’s skin felt on his fingertip. There was a muted joy to Spectre’s expression.

“I did my best,” Spectre said, recalling the Incident, “for my Mother, she would want me happy and proud, so I duelled my best for you. But when I was told, the new goal of the Hanoi was to destroy the Ignis, I accepted that whole-heartedly. So, I did my best. I endeavoured to eliminate the Ignis if it meant I was useful. I – I don’t believe I can go over the past ten years of that goal so easily, to say nothing of the others, Revolver-sama and the Lieutenants, and even if we are neutral, trying to atone. I want to be my best self for you, Earth. Until then, I don’t believe it to be advisable for you to remain with me.”

Ai made a strange expression, but it was the same that Playmaker was making. A certain defensiveness which had become unguarded as Spectre explained himself.

Earth nodded. “That makes sense. I can accept that decision, Partner, but when you are ready, I will be too.”

“Thank you.” Spectre said and he turned to Playmaker. “Can I ask something selfish of you?”

“I think I know what it is, but it’s not selfish, Spectre.” Playmaker replied.

“Can you please home him, please? Keep him safe?” Spectre asked.

Playmaker nodded. “I can do that for you, yes.”

“Thank you.” Spectre said.

Playmaker let his D-Board drop a few more levels and once they were at a mismatched but even height, Spectre hugged him again. Playmaker stiffened but this time, he hugged back as he felt one of Spectre’s hands close to his neck and the other round his waist. Gratitude emanated from Spectre’s hug and though Playmaker felt awkward, he wasn’t a hugger, he didn’t think himself good at it, he still tried to return Spectre’s sentiments. He mimicked back and he could hear a repressed sob in Spectre’s breathing as they held each other in this embrace.

#hugsaku #hugsaku2021 #yugioh vrains #vrains #yugioh #wisteriashipping #yusaku fujiki #spectre (vrains)#writing tag #social interactionism #social interactionism 2021

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twinsky · 5 years ago

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i just think yusaku should get to have friends and be happy post-canon, thanks for coming to my ted talk

Title: with care do flowers bloom

Word Count: 6k

Summary: It was something Yusaku could appreciate now, in the aftermath, at the end of it all. How much it really meant to have had everyone stand with him through it all.

So he wanted to make the effort, so that they could see how much he really had appreciated it.

(After getting Ai back, of course.)

(ao3 link)

“Thank you,” Yusaku says simply, holding Ryoken’s hands in his own. He’s not sure who told him that Yusaku had came back, or why he had been waiting outside his school, but it didn’t quite matter at the moment.

“… Playmaker?” Ryoken replies, a faint strain to his voice Yusaku doesn’t quite get.

He tilts his head to the side, eyes closing. “I know you disagree, but you saved me back then; you gave me the strength to fight and move forward for so long. You saw us as enemies before, even when we were not truly on opposite sides and I did not disagree then, but I will now. You are special to me and I could never hate you. So Re – no, Ryoken I say again; thank you, for everything.”

His eyes open only to find Ryoken staring at him, eyebrows raised, mouth slightly agape. He blinks, taking a step back as his eyes land on a nearby clock. Ah. He’s running late.

“Aoi,” he says, and she jerks slightly, watching him curiously. He frowns, pushing the odd reactions aside, “I have to go, I told Kusanagi I’d head over right after school.”

She blinks, then nods, “Of course, see you tomorrow Yusaku.”

The use of first names between them is still a bit stilted, a bit odd, he thinks, but not at all bad.

“It was nice to see you again.” He continues, turning towards Ryoken, who nods faintly and lifts a stiff arm to wave goodbye.

Yusaku makes it halfway to the truck before he realises has no idea why Ryoken came to visit in the first place.

Well, if it was truly important, Ryoken would seek him out again.

Yusaku did not know for how long he had sat there, clutching at Ai’s body (an empty shell. It wasn’t really him. The thought somehow just makes it hurt worse) but it was enough that the room around them had dimmed and brightened more than once. Long enough that the growling ache in his stomach had steadied into a persistent dull pain. Long enough that his voice no longer came when he cried, and then that the tears he shed no longer fell, eyes as dry as the pain lingering in his throat.

He knew he had to move, to get up, to do anything, but the thought of letting go was too hard.

The thought of leaving was too much.

Yusaku wasn’t ready, and he wasn’t sure he ever would be.

“Takeru is coming to visit this weekend.” Kusanagi greets Yusaku enters the back of the truck. “Maybe bring a helmet,” He says sagely, then pauses considering, “or a bubble suit.”

“He won’t hit me.” Yusaku replies simply.

“I don’t know about that,” Kusanagi remarks, waving the tongs at him, “kids got a passionate streak to him.”

Yusaku thinks of the tear-filled earful Takeru had given him after he had come back. He had gone to Kusanagi first, and by the time he was home again, charging his phone enough to turn it on, messages rained down the screen a call blaring right away.

Yusaku had listened patiently, without a word, and Takeru had hung up without letting him so much as speak. He did not mind and could not help but smile when moments after his phone had lit up with a message.

‘I’ll be over soon, so don’t you dare disappear >(‘

That had been just over a week ago.

“He won’t.” Yusaku affirms.

Kusanagi sighs, tired and put upon, “He better not, Jin’s really taken a liking to you I don’t think he’d like seeing you hurt.”

“I like him too.” He replies easily, he hadn’t known what to expect of the younger Kusanagi once he’d returned, but he was cheerful and kind in a way Yusaku was not quite used to. He did not remember, not at all, but seemed to have instantly regarded Yusaku with a familiarity that neither he nor Kusanagi were sure about. It was… nice however.

Kusanagi regards him for a moment and then grins, ruffling Yusaku’s hair with his free hand. He scowls, pushing him away with a glare.

“Anyways, if you’re here you can help, I guess. Put on an apron and help Jin take orders.”

“You’re the one who asked me to come.”

“Right! Then I called you to come help.” Kusanagi confirms with a grin, shoving an apron in his direction.

He stares at it blankly, “I’m not good with people.” He’d helped out before, but in the new set up they had now, he’d rather take a try at burning hot dogs again.

“And no time like the present to learn, come on now.” Kusanagi says sagely, nodding his head solemnly as he all but pushes him towards the door.

With a sigh he removes his bag and jacket, then the buttoned shirt to reveal the simple black tee below before placing the apron on over it.

He’s barely out the door when Jin spots him, eyes brightening as he rushes over to pull him into a hug.

“Yusaku!” He greets and Yusaku freezes for a moment before relaxing, raising an arm to awkwardly pat Jin’s back. He’s still not used to hugging, but he thinks that Jin perhaps had made it his mission to make sure he will be.

It was an odd thought, but not one that Yusaku found he minded.

When he finally managed to rip himself from Ai’s abandoned SOLtis, to leave the sea of identical (but empty. So empty) copies his legs barely cooperate. His first attempt was a failure, his second barely any better.

By the time he managed to exit the building he collapsed right back down and breathes. He needed a plan, anything. Yusaku hurts, something deeper than physical, like a piece of his soul has been reached into and torn in the most painful way possible. Yusaku misses Ai in a manner so ardent it hurts to be.

Ai did this for him.

Ai sacrificed himself for him.

Ai loved him.

(It hurt. It hurt. Yusaku knew what the word meant, of course he did. But he does not think he truly understood the meaning until they left Ai’s lips, sad but meaningful, the words of someone who understood Yusaku far more intimately than Yusaku would ever have allowed anyone else.

Yusaku would always have regrets, but that moment would always stand stark in his mind as one of the worst.)

And Yusaku, no matter how much he knew Ai wanted him to, could not bare to live without him.

So he would get him back.

If you had asked Yusaku less than half a year ago, what he would be doing for the weekend well. Most likely he would not have answered, but if he had, it would be him at his computer searching Link VRAINS, hacking for useful information, and a number of other things that would in most cases be considered illegal.

Never would he have said an arcade.

And yet, here he was.

It was not his idea, but Shima had asked and for once he could not think of a good reason to say no. It would also be something to tell Takeru, when he arrived tomorrow. He wondered though, if perhaps he should have, because he could still see Shima’s surprised and bewildered expression in his head. And also in front of him, because Shima was looking at him with that same expression from where he stood beside Aoi and two other duel club members.

“Fujisaki! You actually came!” Shima just about yells, earning curious eyes from passerby’s, and an eyeroll from Aoi.

“I said I would.”

“Yeah but…” Shima says and then trails off, “Well we’re glad you could make it.”

“Thank you for inviting me.” He smiles and Shima sputters, face flushing red.

“Whatever, l-let’s go in we can start with your favorite.” Shima says, giving the other two members a glare when they begin to snicker.

“I don’t have favorite, I’ve never been.” He says, and even Aoi looks a bit surprised at that.

“Oh Fujisaki,” Shima says weakly, looking almost pained, “let me teach you the wonders of arcade games.”

Then he grabs Yusaku by the hand and drags him in.

He’s not sure who between the two of them is more surprised he doesn’t pull it away, but he doesn’t. He does however have a good time, though he could deal with a quieter environment.

He spent the first few weeks hopping from Internet Café to Internet Café. They sold food, they had places to sleep, and stalls you could use to enter Link VRAINS in privacy. But eventually, it was clear that he needed a more permanent residence.

Yusaku had not known what he was looking for, if there was even something to look for but… the second he had stepped into the virtual space of Link VRAINS he could feel it. Like a quiet but incessant alarm, a back beat to the steady thrum of his heart.

Ai was here, all around, in the open, hidden deep inside. He knew it, knew in the way it felt like he could breathe for the first time in days when there wasn’t even a need to here. Knew it in the way that that empty feeling was not gone or filled but no longer felt like it was threatening to consume him whole.

So he had started to collect it, the bits and pieces of Ai’s data that scattered across the whole of Link VRAINS. It was not much of anything at first, all undeniably Ai but in its scattered miniscule form could not connect in any meaningful way.

But… slowly… surely… it started to come together.

And Yusaku needed somewhere to put the pieces together, somewhere he could trust Ai to be safe. Not his apartment where they could find him (Yusaku did not want to be found until he found Ai, until he was ready, he could not let himself be distracted until then), and not here where even despite his best efforts everything was too vulnerable.

So he searched, and eventually found a rundown apartment where the landlord was willing him to stay rent free as long as he ran a couple of odd jobs for him a few times a month. Not the most legal of solutions, a situation he wasn’t exactly a stranger to, but it had been one less thing about him people could track. One more level of security.

And, finally set up in his new home, he began the painstaking process of recreating Ai, bit by little bit.

Yusaku stands stiff by the exit as he waits for Takeru’s train to arrive. Takeru had said Yusaku didn’t need to bother, but he hadn’t argued when Yusaku had insisted, so the other couldn’t really mind.

It is still a sigh of relief when he spots Takeru’s distinctive hair in the crowd, and can tell Takeru spots him too by the way his face splits into a grin making a beeline towards him. His arms open wide as he runs towards him before screeching to a halt before him. Takeru smiles sheepishly, one hand reaching up behind his head, the other clapping Yusaku’s shoulder.

Yusaku thinks about it for a second before deciding to pull Takeru into a quick one-sided hug, letting go before Takeru can react. He resists the urge to fidget when Takeru just stands there, staring at him with eyes wide.

“It’s good to see you, Takeru.” He says after a beat and Takeru nods dumbly at the remark.

“Takeru, you idiot! Don’t just run off,” an unfamiliar voice shouts and Yusaku looks around Takeru to spot a blue-haired girl marching towards them, a disgruntled look above the annoyed set to her shoulders, “you know my phone died on the train. If I got lost just how were you expecting to find me?”

“Ah,” Takeru blinks, finally tearing his gaze away from Yusaku to turn to her, “Kiku, I’m sorry I was just you know…”

The girl, Kiku, sighs, placing her hands on her hips, “Yeah I know.” Her posture loosens as she turns to face him, a kind smile lighting up her face. “You must be Fujisaki, I’ve heard so much about you. It’s nice to meet you I’m Kamishirakawa Kiku and I’m Takeru’s best friend.” She finishes almost proudly, and Takeru’s face flames.

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Kamishirakawa-san.” He replies, bowing slightly after a beat.

She waves, “No, call me Kiku, really. Any friend of Takeru’s is a friend of mine, especially after everything you two did together.”

So she knew about Soulburner, then.

He nods, “You can call me Yusaku as well then, Kiku-san. Takeru is a very dear friend of mine, I would not have made it this far without him.”

And it was true, Kusanagi had been there from the start, but on the sidelines. Blue Angel, later Blue Maiden, had helped but only from necessity, especially at first. But Takeru, Takeru had appeared out of the blue and stood by him, fought with him, fought for him without question.

It was something Yusaku could appreciate now, in the aftermath, at the end of it all.

“Yu-Yusaku…” Takeru’s wobbly voice comes and Yusaku turns, alarmed, only to find Takeru crying. His lips trembles and they stand there for a moment before Takeru launches himself at Yusaku, holding him tight.

Yusaku, with his mild experience, pats him softly on the back as Takeru cries.

“Don’t disappear like that again,” Takeru murmurs into his shoulder, “I, I know it could’ve been easy but we’re here for you, I’m here for you. You’re my best friend, Yusaku, don’t try to do everything on your own anymore.”

He blinks, eyes suddenly stinging, shifting his gaze towards Kiku. Would she be offended? She had introduced herself as Takeru’s best friend after all, but she was laughing into her hand, shoulders shaking with the motion, seemingly without a care.

Could you have more than one best friend?

He hopes so, he realises at that moment, out of everyone he knew he thought Takeru came the closest to being his.

He hoped then, as his best friend, Takeru would forgive him for doing one last thing on his own.

Well, nearly on his own.

Yusaku remembered the feeling of it, more than anything else. A warmth that spread through him as he collected enough to make him real again. Still not whole, but enough that a familiar shape formed on the screen before him.

“Huh?” The eye on the screen said and Yusaku’s heart felt too large in his chest, choking him from the inside. He did not know if at this stage Ai would remember him, if he would even be Ai.

So he said nothing, let the eye on the screen blink around in confusion until its gaze fell on him.

And he waited.

“You… Yusaku! Stupid! Why did you bring me back.” The eye, Ai, shouted at him, eye narrowed in familiar annoyance, his voice a comforting staccato against his ears.

Over two months of searching, of hoping, that this would work, that he could dream of getting him back.

It made his cheeks heat in embarrassment, but he could not help the way he began to cry.

“Eh? Yusaku-chan, hey, don’t cry, it’s weird if you cry.” Ai flustered, the eye on the scream flittering around as if nervous.

“I’m happy.” He said, two words that were still somehow too raw, too honest; but if anyone deserved that from him, it was Ai.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” Ai said, more to himself than Yusaku he thought, “Alright! My dearest Yusaku, tell me your secrets and then I’ll decide if I should be mad.”

And so Yusaku did.

And Ai wasn’t.

Ryoken appears, as he is wont to do, out of the blue and without preamble.

Kiku pauses in the middle of another story about Takeru as a child –stories she’s telling, Yusaku is almost sure of, simply to watch Takeru sputter and deny, than actually having an interest in – when she notices the quiet that has spread around the table. Yusaku stares at him blankly, Takeru looks annoyed but not upset.

“Can we help you?” Kiku asks cheerily, when it becomes clear no one else is going to speak.

“I’m here to speak with him.” Ryoken says, nodding his head towards Yusaku.

“Him?” Takeru scoffs, but he looks like he’s trying not to laugh, “He has a name you know.”

“As do you. Shut up, Homura.” Ryoken says calmly and Takeru reels back comically, hand against his chest.

“You wound me, Ryoken-sama.” Takeru replies with a grin and Ryoken scowls.

“Do not call me that.”

“Yes, of course, never again.” Takeru says with faux seriousness and Kiku hits him on the head, grinning when Takeru looks at her with wounded eyes.

Were Ryoken and Takeru friends now? It was an odd thought, but Yusaku still did not know much about what had happened in the 3 months he was gone. He supposed weirder things could have happened.

“What did you want, Ryoken?” He asks and watches him pause, mouth opening and then closing.

“I thought about what you said.” Ryoken begins, “And, if you would like, we could hang out and… catch up.” He says each word slowly, carefully, eyes trained somewhere firmly above Yusaku.

“I would like that.”

“Okay,” Ryoken says, “Okay, Play– Yusaku.” His lips twitch up at the familiar address, and Ryoken turns away.

“Oooh, finally kissed and made up I see.” Takeru cheers, ignoring Ryoken’s glare.

“It’s rude to tease.” Kiku scolds, but she’s laughing too, both of them leaning against each other.

“I dislike you,” Ryoken says, ignoring how Takeru swoons like he’d professed his love instead, and then turns his attention back to Yusaku, “I will message you the details later.”

“Alright,” Yusaku replies, the same smile still on his face.

Ryoken stands there for a moment longer, before nodding his head and bidding them goodbye.

“You’re different Yusaku.” Takeru notes after his laughter subsides.

“Hm?”

“It’s not bad or anything.” He continues quickly, hands raising defensively.

“It’s fine,” he replies, shaking his head.

It was something he was trying for, after all.

Ai had not been mad at him for his decision to bring him back, but he had been upset with the way he went about it. Which was fair, but if given the option he still wouldn’t have included anyone else, because it was something, he needed to do for himself.

And Ai had conceded eventually, but now that he was back, even if incomplete, would not stand for it any longer.

“Three months!” He had cried, “Three months Yusaku-chan, everyone must be worried sick.”

Yusaku tried not think about it. “I needed to find you.”

“And you did,” Ai had replied, tone softening, “so now it’s time to go home.”

Which was why Yusaku found himself standing off to the side of Café Nagi, observing the new set up.

There were more tables than he was used to, and a boy he recognised as Jin was taking the order of a couple seated. Kusanagi, hard to see from this distance in his truck, seemed to just be grilling the food. Yusaku could not see his expression, but he assumed he was smiling, he had his brother back after all.

It was nice, and the feeling that he was intruding suddenly overwhelmed him.

He should… leave, come back later, maybe send a message instead. Kusanagi was the first person Yusaku had thought of, but hadn’t Kusanagi already done enough for him? Stupidly, he felt his hands began to tremble and he regretted leaving Ai at home.

“Jin! Jin close up the truck.” Kusanagi’s voice rang out, loud even in the middle of the crowded plaza. His eyes focused and he watched with some confusion as Kusanagi marched over to him and dragged him into the back of the truck without so much of a word.

Yusaku was too unsteady to even think about protesting.

“I’m back,” he said once his thoughts reordered themselves. “I wanted to let you know.”

Kusanagi laughed, though the sound came across a bit too loud, “Well, I appreciate that.”

He nodded absently, thinking of the closed truck window, of Jin most likely outside packing up the tables, “I should go though, you were busy.”

“Yusaku.” Kusanagi said firmly, pressing a hand firmly against his shoulder when Yusaku tried to stand up. “When have I ever cared about keeping the shop open when there were more important things to deal with.”

Oh.

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” Kusanagi replied drly, “Did you find what you needed? You worried everyone you know.”

Yusaku thought of Ai, back in his former apartment promising Yusaku he’d be fine and that he’d just finish setting things up while Yusaku went out.

“I did.” He said softly, smiling.

Kusanagi whistled. “Did you now?” He asked and for some reason the tone made Yusaku flush.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Whatever Kusanagi had to reply to that was cut off by the door swinging open, Jin’s heavily breathing figure leaning against it.

“Brother you can’t just close like that, people were upset. Why did you –Yusaku!”

“You know me?” Yusaku had visited a few times, Kusanagi had insisted, but he didn’t think the other had ever really noticed he was there. Given Kusanagi’s expression, he was slightly confused as well.

“My brother told me about you, and I. I don’t really remember anything but… you saved me, right?” Jin stated, his smile almost fond, “I don’t remember it, any of it, but I know that.”

Despite everything he had done, Yusaku couldn’t ever remember such a grateful look being aimed at him.

“Um,”

“So you’re back?” Jin continued, letting the door close behind him as he stepped further into the truck. “My brother said you were on a journey.”

“… Yes”

“Great!” Jin said, reaching forward despite Kusanagi’s stuttered protests. He grabbed Yusaku’s hands, smiling down at him. “It’s nice to properly meet you, I hope we can be friends.”

Yusaku did not reply, stiff and frozen as he stared at their joined hands. Slowly, breath by unsteady breath, he made his shoulders relax, released the tension holding his arms stiff.

He felt, more than saw, Jin’s concern watching as the hands around his slowly loosened and only then did he find his voice.

“No. It’s fine. I’m fine.” He said firmly, and almost hesitantly the hands reaffirmed their position around his. “I’d like that too, Kusanagi-kun.”

“Call me Jin,” he not quite whined, “If you call me Kusanagi I’ll think you’re talking to my brother.”

“Okay,” he nodded, then tilted his head towards Kusanagi, “what have I missed?”

Kusanagi watched him for a moment, then grinned.

“God, where do I even start.”

It was some time later that Kusanagi’s abridged update later, long enough that Jin had given up paying attention and had moved to the desk, presumably to do homework.

“That’s about it on my end,” Kusanagi eventually said and they both turned when Jin perked up at that, watching them again with curious eyes, “I’ll let the others fill you in on their own.” His grinned turned sheepish. “I already messaged Takeru about you.”

“My phone is dead.” He replied and Kusanagi nodded in sympathy.

“Somehow, completely unsurprising.”

“Thank you, though” he said, standing up, “I appreciate it.”

“Leaving already?” Jin interrupted, once he found a moment. Yusaku nodded, looking away, scratching at his cheek. He had already left Ai alone long enough today.

“Bring him by next time, I missed him too after all.” Kusanagi said and laughed when Yusaku jerked. “What? I do know you pretty well and I’m no idiot.”

“Yeah… okay, he’d like that.”

“Don’t be a stranger Yusaku,” Kusanagi continued, tone oddly serious, “just because our mission is over doesn’t mean we aren’t friends anymore.”

“Yeah!” Jin chimed in, leaning over his chair “You’ve been helping my brother all this time right? That means you’re practically family by now.”

It wasn’t just him that froze at that, even Kusanagi seemed off-kilter but then he smiled. “Yeah, yeah you are kiddo and don’t you forget it.”

They both stood to see him off, Jin rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“Hey can I like, hug you?” He eventually blurted just as Yusaku made to leave.

“Jin.” Kusanagi hissed and would have probably said more but Yusaku interrupted.

“Okay.” He said and wasn’t sure for a moment if it had actually been him who spoke.

“Yusaku?”

“It’s fine.” He said firmly, despite his apprehension it had not been terrible when Jin had held his hands. And these were people Yusaku knew he could trust, nothing bad was going to happen.

“I’m going in then!” Jin affirmed, but still approached slowly, like he was willing to give Yusaku the out. It calmed the tense set of his shoulders, and the loud beat of his heart, more than he thought it should.

Then his arms wrapped around him, and Yusaku could only think that it felt warm.

“Ever going to stop ignoring my brother?” Aoi asks, interrupting their lunch, and her lazy scrolling of all the pictures Takeru had posted of his weekend visit.

“Uh.”

“He’s been asking about you since you started showing up at school again, Emma too.” She continues.

“Well…”

She pauses, looking up from her phone to stare at him. “Well?”

Aoi was one thing, he couldn’t avoid her, and she was as stubborn as the lot of them when she wanted him. When she had sat down beside him when he came back to school, and then demanded during lunch that he refer to her by her first name, he had not found it worth the effort to deny her.

Her brother though, Ghost Girl…

Between Ai and Robbopi they had lost them both, along with Blood Shepherd. And had Yusaku not won, they would still be gone now. Yusaku knew that, knew all the wrong that Ai had done and had wanted him back anyways. Had gotten him back.

It did not sit right with Yusaku to sit a table with them knowing he had brought back someone’s murderer.

Aoi sighs, “It’s not like he’s going to know you brought Ai back.” He freezes.

“What.”

She frowns, looking almost disappointed. “I’m not stupid, I can see the differences. Aqua might not have been mine but… I get it. If I could bring her back I would, no matter what she had done. Not just for me, but for Miyu, I wish they could have met.”

“Does anyone else…”

“My brother and Emma wouldn’t think about it, Homura is not exactly the brightest person, and I do not make it my concern to know what Revolver thinks of.” She smiles, “And I’m sure you’ve already told the Kusanagi’s, I’ve never been very good at holding secrets from my brother either.”

“That’s… good.”

“You should tell everyone; I’m sure Ai would love being able to travel around with you again.” She suggests, attention turning back to her phone.

“Not yet, but soon.” They just needed to finish one final thing.

She hums, “I see. So can I tell my brother you’ll come over?”

“I don’t understand why he even wants me too.”

“But Mr. Playmaker,” Aoi says, tone high and airy, “You saved the world, not once, not twice, but three times. How could we not want to thank you”

“You all helped.” He argues.

Her tone settles, “You also did something none of us could have ever asked you to do.”

Again, Yusaku stills, he had not told anyone about what had happened in that final battle against Ai but it seemed like they all knew regardless. He should not have been surprised, they had seen what happened to those that lost, but every casual mention still felt too sudden.

“Okay, I’ll come.” He finally relents.

“Friday okay?” She asks and he nods, Ryoken’s message had only said to keep his Thursday evening free and despite Ai’s complaints he planned on keeping that meeting.

“You’re a good guy, Yusaku.” She says almost approvingly.

“For some reason, I don’t like hearing that from you.” He says flatly as she laughs.

“Either way it’s true, now eat you’ve barely touched your lunch.”

He frowns, glaring down at his meal, “You sound like him.”

“Oh? What a lovely house husband you have then.” She remarks and Yusaku feels the childish urge to throw his chopsticks at her.

He stamps it down, aggressively grabbing his next piece of food, “Shut up.”

Aoi relents with a wink, an expression that is always odd on her real face when compared to the natural way it comes off on her Link VRAINS avatar.

They spend the rest of their lunch in companionable silence, as usual.

“You’re going to have to tell them eventually, you know.” Ai tuts up at him from his Ignis form, setting cross legged on the desk before him. He’s gotten stronger since he first reformed, more pieces collected, new ones he’s began to form.

“Not until we’re sure it will work.” Didn’t want to give them false hope, not when he remembered Takeru’s pleas and Aoi’s soft words.

“Well what about me? I’m here aren’t I?”

“You don’t want them to know about you until we’re sure either, so I’m not sure what your point here is.” He replies, eyes turning back towards the monitor.

“It’s just… safer that way, in all the simul—”

“I don’t want to hear about them.” He snaps, hands curling around the mouse harshly.

“Yusaku-chan…” Ai says softly and Yusaku ignores him, eyes trained firmly on the screen.

“Regardless, I don’t think we’ll need to hide it much longer.” He says, eyeing the five split sections of the screen, most of them are almost at the point Ai had been when he had first reawakened.

“I didn’t think… they were gone and then so was I. I never thought that they could all come back.” Ai says, almost reverently, the soft hurt tone a familiar undercurrent to Yusaku by now. Apparent each time the other speaks about them.

“If you came back,” Yusaku says, pausing his work to reach a hand over to Ai who quickly floats over to rest on it, “I thought maybe they could to. Bohman may have absorbed them, but when he disintegrated, their data should have too.”

“Even if it did, it should have been as one.” Ai rebuts, even when they both know it wasn’t true.

“Well it didn’t, wasn’t,” Yusaku hums, “I hoped otherwise, and was right. Did your simulations ever take that into account?”

“Hope isn’t a quantifiable value.” Ai pouts, crossing his arms.

“Exactly.”

“I don’t like you when you’re smug.” Ai huffs, throwing his hands up in mock frustration. “Have you even thought about what you plan on telling everyone. Revolver won’t like this at all.”

“He… he made Pandor, he called you by your name, I think he can be reasonable if we try.”

“I just feel like you have a very biased opinion of him.”

“Of course,” Yusaku says flatly, “let me ask him tomorrow over dinner how he would feel if all the Ignis came back. That will go over well I’m sure.”

“That’s another thing!” Ai exclaims, pointing a finger at him, “I can’t believe you’re going to have a romantic candlelit dinner with him!”

“We aren’t.”

“You don’t know what he has planned, he could be!” Ai insists, “He lives on a boat Yusaku, that’s the perfect atmosphere for a romantic evening.”

“You’re thinking far too deeply about this.”

If Ai’s current form could scowl, Yusaku imagines he would be right now, yellow eyes narrowing. “That’s rich coming from you! I don’t think you’re thinking deeply enough. But that’s expected, you’ve always been soft for Revolver.”

“I am not soft.”

“Oh? You might not take me with you Yusaku-chan, but I am still very capable of getting around so don’t think I haven’t seen how you’ve been acting lately.”

Yusaku looks down at Ai then flits his eyes back up to the screen, free hand grabbing the mouse again. “I told you, all we have is our bonds, our connections. And these connections are two-way streets.”

“They know you care Yusaku, you don’t have to force yourself.” Ai softly, and Yusaku feels the warmth of Ai’s hand pressed gently against his wrist.

“I want to,” he says firmly, not wanting Ai to get the wrong idea, “and it’s been… nice.”

“See you are soft.” Ai applauds. “Which brings me back to my point, you’re soft, and you’re going to let Revolver woo you and I don’t trust him enough for that! Consider Soulburner, a much more likeable option.”

“No one is wooing me Ai.” He replies, lips curling around the word, who even says that anymore.

“They could!”

“They won’t, and even if they did I am not interested.”

“Oh? Is that so? Revolver is quite attractive you know, I may not like him but that is just a fact. What are you interested in then?”

“Nothing. No one.” Yusaku says and then pauses. “However…”

“However?”

He lifts the hand holding Ai up, meeting him eye to eye. Ai blinks, Yusaku smiles, “I do love you.” He says and presses a kiss to Ai’s forehead.

Ai reels back, eyes growing so wide they nearly take up his whole face before he launches forward throwing himself at Yusaku. He winces at the impact, one of Ai’s hands nearly jabbing him in the eye.

“Yusaku-chan how forward, how bold.”

“Stop.”

“You’ve swept me off my feet, reassuring your lovely AI friend here with a sweet little kiss.”

“Stop.”

“If only I could return the favour,” Ai bemoans, nuzzling his head into the crook of Yusaku’s nose, “Just you wait, as soon as I’m stable enough to take one of those SOLtis bodies again I’ll show you.”

Yusaku’s face heats, and he scowls reaching up a hand to grab and lift Ai away.

“Enough,” he says, shooing him away with a flick of his wrist, “go away.”

“You can’t say that, do that,” Ai pouts, floating back over, “and then not let me shower you with affection.”

“I take it back.”

“No you don’t.”

He frowns, turning his head away and Ai floats over, following his gaze.

“Hey,” He says, expression genuinely remorseful, “I’m sorry, I won’t tease anymore.”

Yusaku sighs, a deep outwards breath through his nose, “No, it’s just –I need to make sure you know.”

“… I’m not going to disappear again, I promise.”

“You better not.” He mumbles and Ai’s expression clears somehow lighting up with a grin despite not having a month.

“Okay! Let’s go pick out your outfit for your date.”

“It’s not a date, and I have two outfits.” He says and Ai pauses from where he was floating over to the bedroom. He turns around to face him, blinking dumbly.

“You’re… right! Yusaku you can’t go in your hoodie or your school uniform, that’s just sad.” Ai flits around the room, seemingly genuinely distressed by this turn of events, “I know,” he says suddenly with a snap of his fingers, “we need to go shopping. You need more clothes; you don’t need to dress like a sad hobo anymore Yusaku we have options.”

Yusaku hums, tuning him out as he begins some long-winded speech on the values of an extensive wardrobe. On this one case, he probably has at least somewhat of a point, but Yusaku isn’t going to sit there and actually listen to the whole thing.

Instead he turns his attention back to the monitor letting the familiar tones of Ai’s voice become background noise as he goes back to work. Soon, soon they should be able to get them all back and this time do it right. No one has to get hurt, be hurt, this time.

For the first time in a long time, for the first time he can remember, Yusaku feels optimistic about his life. Like there’s actually something to be optimistic about.

It’s a weird feeling, but a good one. And, he thinks, eyes flickering over to Ai still in the middle of his speech, one he wants to make sure lasts.

Because after everything, it’s the least they are owed.

#vrains #yusaku fujiki #ai (vrains)#and other characters #aiballshipping #? you can take it as platonic or romantic but it is definitely there #ygo vrains #sometimes i feel that my titles are (pardon the pun) too flowery #but i like them so thats that #my writing #txtbloggin #i posted this at like 2am and then went to sleep and just remembered this didn't get a post

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queenmina37 · 5 years ago

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#168: Ring

It had been ages since Kusanagi had seen Yusaku. Right after the business with the Knights of Hanoi and Ignis had been dealt with, after things had calmed down and the horrors of the Lost Incident were finally laid to rest, Yusaku had just… left. Without really saying a word to anyone, he had just left, dropping out of school (some rumors said he transferred elsewhere, but no one really knew for sure) without a prior warning. He just… disappeared.

It had been a few years since then, now, and things were fine for everyone else. Jin had been released from the hospital and was living with him, helping him out at the hotdog truck and keeping up with his online studies. Takeru had gone back home for a while, before coming back for university with his girlfriend, Kiku. Aoi was still an idol in Link VRAINS. Emma hung out at the truck every now and then. Spectre had gone to therapy, and after long sessions, his mental health had become a lot better. Ryoken was living on his own, keeping the network safe as Revolver.

They were all doing fine, now. Kusanagi saw every one of them every now and then, when they came to the hotdog truck. Even though Yusaku wasn’t around, it was nice. Kusanagi would have felt calmer, though, if he knew anything about Yusaku’s whereabouts, anything at all. Even just how he was doing would have been good.

Today, they had all ended up at the plaza. Takeru and Kiku were out on a date, Akira, Aoi and Ryoken had a lunch break, Emma was there for the kicks and Spectre was there to hang out with Jin (those two had, unexpectedly, become rather good friends).

It was all well and good, until the new customer came. “Two coffees, please.”

“Coming…” Kusanagi trailed off, blinking down at the customer once he recognized the voice.

Everyone else, too, turned to stare at the newcomer. They stared, and blinked, until Takeru jumped up from his seat. “Yusaku!”

“Takeru.” Yusaku acknowledged his presence with a nod. “It’s been a while.”

“It’s been a while”, Aoi mumbled, disbelieving. “You just disappeared into thin air. Where have you been, Fujiki?”

Emma giggled. “I don’t think it’s Fujiki anymore. Or is it?”

They all looked at her in confusion. Then, much to their shock, Yusaku gave her a sly smile. “Yes, I suppose it’s not Fujiki anymore.”

“What?” Jin looked around, confused.

Ryoken was the first to notice it, after Emma. His eyes widened a little, before he turned to look at Yusaku. “You’re married?”

“EH?!”

“That’s right.” Yusaku brought up his hand, showing off the golden band with a single small, almost blueish diamond on it.

“Since when?” Jin asked, curious.

“For a while now”, Yusaku admitted, humming. He seemed to look around the plaza, perhaps for someone.

“You didn’t invite us.” Emma pouted.

“I was meant to, but… things came up.”

“Things came up?” Akira asked, just as Kusanagi began pouring the two cups of coffee.

“The news of the engagement got leaked to the public, and it became a huge thing.” Yusaku shrugged his shoulders. “The mayor insisted we get married as soon as possible, and so… Well, by the end of the week, we were married.”

Spectre raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Are you, perhaps, married to some celebrity?”

Everyone’s interest was piqued at that. As Yusaku turned to pay to Kusanagi for the coffee, he hummed. It wasn’t in agreement or denial, though, more a thoughtful hum.

Before he could answer, though, a loud cheer came from the screens set up on the plaza. They turned to look at them, only to see that a Riding Duel that had been shown had come to an end, with the winner being announced. The blond clad in white, named Jack Atlas, raised his hand into the air and shouted. “There can only be one King! And for that title, I will challenge Fudo Yusei into a duel!”

Cheers followed the man’s declaration. But the lot of them didn’t really get what the big deal was.

Someone came over to the truck. Yusaku, who had paid for the drinks, took them and turned to them. They all watched, mystified, as Yusaku smiled to the other person and gave him the other cup. “So? What are you going to do?”

The man chuckled, glancing back at the screens. “Well, it’s Jack. It’s not like I can ignore his challenge or anything.”

“So you’ll duel”, Yusaku hummed, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah.” The man nodded, sipping his own coffee. “Besides, I think it’s about time he got his title back. It just brings trouble and unwanted attention to me.”

“Are you referring to our impromptu wedding?” Yusaku raised an eyebrow, looking amused. He sipped his coffee to hide a smirk.

The man laughed. “Yes. Yes, I am.”

The others looked at the man, a little closer this time. His hair was black, with golden highlights. His eyes were royal blue, and there was a yellow mark on the left side of his face. Some of them recognized it for what it was – a criminal mark.

This was Yusaku’s husband?

“Anyways, we should go.” Yusaku took a look at his wristwatch. “You have a presentation at the university in an hour. It would not do to be late.”

“Martha would kill me”, the man admitted.

“The mayor and Ushio would kill you, Yusei, the mayor and Ushio”, Yusaku corrected.

“No.” The man, Yusei, shook his head as he turned around, taking Yusaku’s hand into his own. “They can try, but they can’t. Martha? She doesn’t even need to try. You know just how scary she can be when she’s angry.”

They could hear Yusaku laugh, and in the end, wasn’t that the most important thing? That Yusaku was happy, that he was able to smile and laugh and act like any other normal person out there? Even though they weren’t exactly sure about who this man was… he was good for Yusaku, at least.

The two matching rings glittered under the sunlight, when the two walked forward, to their future… hand in hand.

#hackershipping #yusei fudo #yusaku fujiki #shoichi kusanagi

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darkzorua100 · 5 years ago

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In works of fiction, one of the hardest things to do isn’t so much as writing a solid story but trying to find a way to end it with a satisfying conclusion. It could be a happy, sad, or all of the above as long as it fits the story that you have building up to at this point. After all, this is the last thing your viewers are going to be seeing. The last big take away before they have to move on. What is going to be the legacy of this fiction? A ending can make or break a series after all. Just look at Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V for example. Looking back at it, it was such a groundbreaking entry into the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise for being the first series to make all the Extra Deck Summoning Mechanics relevant to the story instead of pushing them off to the side for the newest one in Pendulum at the time. It was a huge nostalgia trip by paying homage to the past series that came before it from using their locations for the different dimensions to bringing back past characters, in a way anyway, to the forefront. There is just so much more I could say about that spin-off but to put it in a nutshell, ARC-V just did so much right at the time but of course we all can’t forget that damn ending. The way that ARC-V ended just left pretty much everyone who had watched it from the very beginning with such a sour taste in our mouths. I don’t think I need to explain why, anyone who has seen the final knows exactly what I’m talking about, but yeah, it goes to show that a finale leaves a lasting impression and is pretty much why, even to this day, a majority of people consider ARC-V to be the worst Yu-Gi-Oh series to date.

So with all that being said, how did Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains finale do? Was it able to wrap everything up into a perfect little package with a nice bow on top? Well honestly, the package itself was a freaking mess and a half but I will say the bow on top wasn’t half bad for what it was worth. We all knew with Vrains ending way to early compared to the previous series that things were going to be getting rushed at the end but I will say that even if things were rushed, and it wasn’t the most satisfying ending they could have given us, what they did give us still left me feeling fulfilled and with Vrains being the absolute train wreck that it was, at the end of the day, I’ll call that a win.

So let’s start off with the final part of the Playmaker vs Ai duel. These two really were just full on neck and neck that it literally came down to their aces (because yes, Decode Talker is Playmaker’s true ace monster of show) batting each other, once again like from the opening, with Yusaku only being able to pull out the win in the end because Ai wanted to make sure that he was going to be able to finish him off during his turn. If his greed didn’t get the best of him, he would have actually won. That is actually really crazy to think about. At one point, just before Playmaker summoned Accesscode Talker, I seriously thought he was going to summon a Link 8 since he had the total Link Rating on his field with his three monsters plus Darkfluid being a Link 5 but nope, he summoned basically his new combination of the six Ignises in the form of a Code Talker (which all seem to be model after an Ignis anyway). I mean how he was actually able to summon out Accesscode was kinda BS but that’s just normal BS when it comes to the final duels in a Yu-Gi-Oh final. I’m still questioning how in the actual world did Yusaku not deck himself out during this duel. Seriously just how many cards did this boy go through? Way to many from the looks of things.

Now let’s talk about Playmaker and Ai scenes. My god, those shouldn’t have hurt as much as they did. Just at the beginning when Yusaku was telling Ai about how the bonds between others were the things that created the future, not predetermined simulations, and how Ai just couldn’t understand it just hurt right off the bat because I can understand why Ai can’t think that way. Just like he told Yusaku, he is data. To find a situation to a problem is all he knows. To base something with nothing to support it makes no sense to him especially when he can’t chance it. He has seen the alternative and my god, Ai. We didn’t even see the full simulation play out (but what we did see is definitely getting censored in the dub no questions there) but I could already tell what exactly played out. If Dr. Kogami was right about anything, it is that it is inevitable for humanity not to turn against artificial intelligence out of fear that they would one day surpass humanity and try and take us over or just kill us on the spot. I think the future we saw in that simulation was just that with Yusaku trying to convince them that Ai was no danger to humanity and well....we all saw how well that ended. Honestly I lowkey wished we got to see more of that simulation just to see the moment that Ai snaps and murders anyone. Because lets face it, Yusaku literally is the only family that Ai had left at that point. If something happened to him, Ai was actually going to snap. And it wasn’t even if something terrible would happen to him. Yusaku is still human while Ai is an artificial intelligence. If nothing happened to him, Yusaku would have just aged over time and eventually pass away while Ai would always remain immortal which once again would probably lead to a snap. I honestly don’t blame Ai for picking the path that he did in the end. Even if Lightning never showed him the first simulation, I don’t think it would have been long before Ai would have put the pieces together and start doing his own simulations. Ai was just a goner since the moment he was created as a A.I. with free-will. As for his death scene, I almost did start crying because things shouldn’t have had to have ended this way. I don’t care what Yusaku said. You should have took the fusion deal, young man. It worked out pretty freaking well for Judai and Yubel. Heck, regardless how stupid it was, the Yuu Boys and the Bracelet Girls were all still their own individual people too. I don’t see how that would be any different for you two, especially considering that Ai came from you, Yusaku. I have a lot of feelings about this but I will say that the moments that really hurt for me was when Ai asked Yusaku if he was a good partner, to which Yusaku answered “yes”, and when Yusaku explained to Ai that his name meant “love”. I actually didn’t think they were going to explain the meaning of Ai’s name in the show but I’m so thankful that they did but damn, that freaking hurt! Also Aiballshipping is canon. I actually find it hilarious that Ai stole Yusaku from Ryoken at the last second XD

As for everyone else’s endings. As much as it is still the most convenient bullsh*t ever, I am happy that Jin was able to move on after freaking years of being tormented by his PTSD and by Lightning in season 2 and is now happily working with his brother at the hot dog truck just like Kusanagi always wanted. I’m glad that they are slowly starting to make up for all the time that they have lost together because of this one incident. Aoi seems to be doing okay but I won’t lie, I was bit salty that Miyu wasn’t with her when she was visiting the brothers since it seemed like the perfect opportunity for them to be together and to show that their friendship is still strong after all of these years. Like what the heck? If they are going to force this stupid storyline on us, at least commit to it damn it! It has been three months and wait? Is she still in the damn hospital? Like we literally don’t know what happened to Miyu after all of this and I just find that infuriating but what’s new there? Akira is now CEO of SOL Technologies and I’m kinda mixed on how to feel about this. I mean we all were expecting this since the very beginning but again it is one of those things like what happened to Queen? Vrains threw away the rest of the Chess Pieces long ago but Queen was still a character. I mean I like to think that Queen just up and give Akira the company out of fear of being attacked again by someone else in the future but it is still one of those things that you wished you knew what happened to her as to how Akira got this position. It seems that Vrains has continued to grow and expand during this three month time skip and I don’t know if it was intentional or not but all the connections make it look like The Arrival Cyberse @Ignister and if that truly was the case that was a really nice detail to add, Vrains. Emma and Kengo seemed to have teamed up as a brother and sister bounty hunter team in the network which is fitting. Go is back to being his entertainer self to please his younger fans. I’m planning on giving my full thoughts about Vrains sometime later this week hopefully so I’m get into more detail about him and everyone else there. The Knights of Hanoi are taking Takeru’s declaration to heart and are watching over Link Vrains from Ryoken’s freaking cruise ship apparently while Ryoken and Spectre are watching over everything inside of Link Vrains. Now that Vrains is over, I officially have to ask. Where the actual hell is Ryoken getting all of this money from? Correction, WHERE IS HE GETTING ALL OF THESE BOATS FROM?! Geez and I thought we as a fandom were the shippers. This boy has a freaking navy of them in hiding.

HOMURA TAKERU GOT HIMSELF A GIRLFRIEND! MY BOY IS GETTING LAID TONIGHT!

No but seriously, before they showed the duel disks and just them sitting on the bed, my brain went places. The dialogue did not help. Yes my brain is extremely dirty but that’s besides the point.

ENTRUSTSHIPPING IS CANON! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I like to think that wherever Flame ended up in the A.I. afterlife, he is looking down at Takeru with a proud smile during this moment. I also just find it fun that since Kiku doesn’t have an avatar, if anyone knows her in real life sees her in Link Vrains with Soulburner, they are obviously going to put the pieces together real quick about who Soulburner actually is. I’m in just such amazement right now over this even though I had any idea that something like this was going to happen. During the closing interviews from the VAs, Kaji Yuuki made a comment about how we were going to be seeing Takeru getting “unmasked” during the finale and I just knew that something like this was going to happen and I was not disappointed at all. I’m sorry but I just have such a huge sh*t eating grin across my face because of this.

THIS IS AWESOME!!!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY MADE THIS CANON!

How is it that Kiku, a freaking SIDE CHARACTER, ended up being my favorite female of Vrains? I don’t know, I’m just going to move on before I start freaking out again about these two being so freaking adorable.

I do like how Naoki, as soon as he saw these two, makes it his new goal to get himself a special someone of his own. I don’t know how that’s going to work out for him but hey good for him.

And as for Yusaku, the shows ends with him going on some kind of journey, leaving his final fate obscure which is pretty normal for a Yu-Gi-Oh series as they did the same in the past with Judai and Yusei. My guess he’s going around the network to try and find a way to bring back Ai and maybe the rest of the Ignis.

Speaking of which, the last scene we get of this series is that Ai is apparently alive. Maybe. Who actually knows. He could be in A.I. heaven for all we know but if that’s the case I feel they would have shown us a scene of him being greeted and welcomed by the rest of the Ignis but what we got of him instead was him in his eyeball form looking to be restored. Man Ai is literally like a cockroach and I am saying that in the nicest way possibly. He gets his data eaten by a dragon, tore to pieces by a Data Storm, destroyed by a powerful program, and even kills himself by his own hand and yet he still lives. I am very curious to know if anything is going to come from this reveal, such as if YGO 7 actually is a crossover series, or if this was just the writers giving us a break and letting us know that Ai is still alive and there is hope of him returning. I mean I’m happy he is alive, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like it would have just been fine keeping him dead with the rest of the Ignis. Because if he is still alive, won’t Ai just try and kill himself again? Seems kinda counterproductive but I digress.

So yeah, I very much enjoyed the final episode of Vrains. The series had a lot of problems, and I mean A LOT of them, but it had its shining moments, such as this. Like I said, I’m planning to go into more detail about my full thoughts about the series but when it comes to its ending, I think it delivered what it needed to. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains. You were a freaking struggle to watch at times but you were a joy to have around all the same. I guess the best compliment I can give you is that you literally are Ai. You are insufferable at times but you had your charm that kept me coming back for more and I’m sad to see you go just like I was with Ai.

Now it is onto Yu-Gi-Oh 7th and who knows. If it actually is a crossover series, Vrains might just be back sooner then we expect. I hope so because I’m not ready to say goodbye to my meme-lord and my fire child and his new girlfriend yet! I don’t think it has fully hit me yet that Vrains is actually over and it is going to suck when next week comes around and there is just no more episodes.

#vrains #vrains spoilers #Thoughts #theories

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lost-incident-kid · 5 years ago

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@bringryokenhappinessweek Bring Ryoken happiness week, day one- 3 things

I drew the first time we see him use the 3 things, in episode... wait was it episode 2 or 3 idk :/

Please ignore that his hand is backwards and out of proportion, im too lazy to change it now.

#less of a happiness thing but i mean... they smiling?#also sorry this is late #im gonna try to catch up with these by the end of the week #ryoken kogami #yugioh #vrains #yugioh vrains #bringryokenhappinessweek #bringryokenhappiness19

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rxvclver-closed · 5 years ago

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@burningalma || cont. from here

Takeru woke up to a ceiling he didn’t recognize. These past few days (or weeks, or maybe only hours, he couldn’t be sure), he had been waking up in short intervals, to white walls surrounding him and for a moment his mind had panicked, but he had been too weak to get up.

Now the panic was less but he was still disoriented, as his mind woke up and he sat up. His whole body protested, aching, and slowly things came back to him. When they did, Takeru felt sick.

He wasn’t a stranger to pain but it was one thing to be numb after a fight with a couple of thugs and another entirely for it to be the result of him struggling to fight someone–something–taking control of him.

His mind was still a bit hazy, though, of how he ended up that way. How they, whoever they had been, caught him, how he ended up in that chair, the needle and the strange dark purple liquid they forced on him that slowly corrupted him from the inside out. It hurt, it made everything burn, but it also made him feel strong, powerful, out of control.

[ Read more ]

No matter how many times Kyoko had tried to convince him otherwise, these six children were his responsibility. Ever since the day he called the police, or even more... the day he found the children and failed to call the police, it was his job to take care they were save. And over all those years while being busy with running a cyber terrorism organization and hunting down the Ignis he did a terrible job with it.

That everything would get even worse after the problem with the Ignis and SOL finally was solved was something he hadn’t expected at all. And yet... he didn’t even notice what was happening at first.

That Soulburner had disappeared was something that somehow slipped through their radar. But maybe not only theirs because after he spend some time of looking deeper into it after they found out it became rather soon clear that whoever took that teenager really put some effort into making others believe that Homura just returned home.

So maybe it wasn’t that unlikely that he hadn’t been aware about what was happening until he actually ran into Soulburner online again, and yet... at first it wasn’t even that obvious. He had been aware of the fact that the other one was angry with him. Putting all the blame on him. And it wasn’t the first time that the younger one acted so different then he usually was towards him so...

He really did not notice until Playmaker got involved. And suddenly he was faced with so many mistakes he did again and realizations he made too late.

Playmaker hadn’t seemed like he had realized that something was wrong before wasn’t half as relieving as it probably should been. He couldn’t actually tell how he got out of that duel with Soulburner, but he knew that he spend countless hours of talking to Playmaker offline afterwards, trying to figure out what happened. And when.

He even went as far as going to Takerus hometown, just to check if he actually went home but... he didn’t dared to talk to his grandparents about Takerus disappearance, just acted like he was around because of some business trip and Takeru asked him to check up on them. It was... something Homura never would do and Ryoken was rather well aware of that fact but... the lie slipped so easily over his lips and he really didn’t want to put these two people that greeted him so kindly through the hell of having to fear for their grandsons life again.

After returning to Den City days passed. Days went to weeks. But in the end he finally found a lead that actually seemed to get him somewhere. That finally brought him to the place Takeru actually was held captive.

But just finding him didn’t meant that things would get better again from now on. He should have expected so much.

It didn’t really seemed like Takeru realized who he was. On the other side, the boy never had been that happy to have him around so maybe he did and all this struggling was just because he didn’t want to be saved by him again and maybe... maybe he should have taken Playmaker along instead of Aso but decisions had been made and Ryoken really didn’t wanted to risk to bring Yusaku in further danger as well..

He wasn’t sure how long the struggling went. How much time passed in which he had hurried to calm the boy down because they didn’t had that time and he still didn’t knew when those guys would be back. Aso was already calling the police but still... looking at the state Takeru was in Ryoken really didn’t need to run into them at all.

In the end the teenager just collapsed on him . It was easier to get him out and away from this place like that,but it didn’t exactly erased his worry either.

Countless hours passed afterwards, after they reached that seaside mansion he never wanted to put a foot into, but had been forced because they could take better care about Takeru there then on the boat - and risking bringing him to the hospital while not being sure the police actually got these guys this time, he had seen how they acted after the Lost Incident after all, was something he didn’t want to do at all - Kyoko finally informed him that the boy should be okay, considering the circumstances.

Still.. Ryoken didn’t allowed himself to relax. This was his fault. And he still had this responsibility and he was rather well aware that Takeru wouldn’t be happy to see him around at all. Maybe that was why he told the other to get Playmaker here as well...maybe a familiar face would help this situation.

But when he entered the room Takeru was in, seeing the other one awake again, he came to realize that Yusaku might not make it here in time. Because Takeru noticed him before he could just leave again and a sigh left Ryokens lips.

“My house. I know you probably don’t want to be here but the police is still after those guys so... you’re safer here than in any hospital.” he wasn’t even trying to hide any of those facts. Lying would help either of them and it wouldn’t take Takeru long to figure out he wasn’t in a hospital anyways.

“Playmaker’s already on his way here.”

#A million ways to fix what we've become 『 Takeru // burningalma 』#『 TBT - Post S3? 』#burningalma 015 #『 Long Post』#once upon I time I learned that the YGO fandom doesn't mind long posts on dash as I was used to #but this was getting too long so I cropped it a little bit and I hope that's okay >.<#also...#I LOVE waking up to things like this?#god I read it twice because I love it so much #this will be so much fun <3 #just... not for Takeru #or for Ryoken I guess x'D

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3w-writer-with-wings · 6 years ago

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1, 5, 6, 10, 17, 19, 22, 23, and 34 for the yugioh meme?

1) Favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! series

This is like asking me which out of my six children should survive while the other five die XD. I love all the series since they all have both pros and cons, and they all have interesting characters and stories, but I guess ARC V will always have a special place in my heart since it got me back in Yugioh fandom (I stopped after 5Ds for a while several years ago). VRAINS is currently my favourite series plotwise since it continues to surprise me and keeps me hyped every single week.

5) Favourite opening/ending

For the opening, it’s a tie between second and fifth ARC V opening. “Burn” has an incredibly upbeat melody that makes me smile every time I listen to it. “Light of Hope” on the other hand tells a story of how there is despair but smiles will be there to make it go away. I’m rather torn between choosing either of them since they are both really nice endings. As for ending - “Close to You”, 4th ending from 5Ds. I first started watching 5Ds in English dub but once I caught up with it, I was too curious what is going to happen next so I started watching Japanese dub from that point on and that was probably the smartest decision ever. I got to see “Close to You” not only as the first Yugioh Japanese ending but the very first anime ending ever. I loved every single moment of it, of all the characters just chilling around the city, then meeting up, watching the sunrise and then riding D-Wheels with their dragons! It is an ending that is beyond perfect and really emphasises the bonds and friendship between all Signers.

6) Favourite character

If you had asked me this question before Takeru showed up, I would’ve probably blurted out the names of several characters and say how I love them all, but Takeru is a special case. You see, he is a character that I loved before he even officially appeared XD. I’m following the news, cast lists and summaries, so when Takeru showed up for the first time in an anime magazine (like a month before his official anime appearance), I fell in love with everything about him. Both his human self and avatar had all the right colours and designs that fit his personality well, his backstory was intriguing, I was already looking forward to seeing another Lost Child and out of all possible voices, he got to be voiced by one and only Kaji Yuuki (who is among my Top 3 anime voice actors!). Then he showed up in the new opening and ending and him being friendly and cosy with Yusaku was just plain adorable! I had no idea what his role was going to be but from that point it was clear - Yusaku is getting a new friend! And was his entrance perfect - lightning, fire tornado and then him! 10/10 Burner of Souls! Not only was he righteously hyped up, but he also continues to be amazing and I have a feeling his character will get even more development!

10) Favourite Duel Monster

It’s hard to pick a single monster, but I love every single card in Johan’s deck aka. Crystal/Gem Beast archetype. The designs are simple but so well executed and out of all of them, it’s hard to pick just one. I love their story, the legend and just the fact how much they all care about Johan, trying to reach out to him when Yubel possessed him. A big plus is also the fact how much personality they all have and they are always there to help up Johan.

17) Have you ever cried over YGO and why?

You should’ve rather ask me when I didn’t lol. But yeah in every spinoff there was a moment that I actually cried. In original series there were two moments, when Yugi duelled Atem in the fourth season, letting him defeat him and then fading away in his arms and the Ceremonial duel when Yugi stumbled on his knees and cried, I cried with him cuz I also didn’t want Atem to go. Then in GX, it was basically whenever Judai would show vulnerability, cuz really, I hated his guts and his goofy overpowered persona. But then when he lost Johan, when he was afraid of Yubel, when he succumbed to the power of Supreme King and the entire season 4 when he was battling with depression - to see someone so cheerful becoming a mere shell of himself was so darn sad. 5Ds started darker but nothing could prepare me for two scenes, Yusei nearly dying, being afraid to duel and then watching his friend die in his arms and then losing another friend for real (Bruno! :’( ). Zexal made me cry a weird mixture of happy and sad tears whenever Yuma and Astral did something. When Astral sacrificed himself for Yuma I don’t know when I cried more - when Yuma watched Astral die or Yuma suffering from major depression for the next few episodes. But that scene when he got reunited with Astral was that more powerful because of it and their relationship is truly the purest of them all. ARC V, spinoff all about smiles was probably one of the saddest series, not just because of many sad moments throughout the whole thing aka. Yuto dying in Yuya’s arms for real, Yugo losing Rin, Yuya losing Yuzu, the fate of other Bracelet Girls and Yu-Boys and the overall ending, but also how inconclusive the ending felt. I kinda get the point was to show the realism of war, how not everyone can get a happy ending but it could still be executed better. Then there’s VRAINS…. *sighs* where do I even start with this….

VRAINS truly took the plotline seriously and doesn’t seem like it’s going to back down. It is like the writing staff put together a medley of the saddest moments in Yu-Gi-Oh! and were like, “Let’s make it sadder!”. From the fact that mere six-year-old children were tortured so badly, that Ryoken was so messed up by his father, that all Lost Children are still suffering in one way or another, that SOL practically killed a living being and all the drama that it’s going on between Yusaku and Kusanagi right now. Last week’s episode had me nearly tear up and for tomorrow I will most definitely cry. It’s just so painful to see someone so desperate to save their own family, to attack someone they were all set to protect just a few episodes ago… And VRAINS isn’t even over yet. I thought nothing could top Earth’s death scene, but from the looks of it, tomorrow will be getting a dose of the most painful feels.

19) Least favourite series

It’s a tie between GX and the first series if I had to choose one. GX has a rather monotone first half when there is some stuff going on, but it’s really episodic and easily forgotten. While there were some interesting episodes, the rest was just one giant filler that tried to deliver too much nostalgia from the first series instead of developing on its own. And speaking of the first series - I know the card game wasn’t as developed at the time so tons of duels made absolutely no sense. Then it was only Yugi, Kaiba and Joey having the development and extremely long duels that were starting to feel off and annoying to watch. But overall - I know that was the very first series and the spinoff, so it was obvious it wouldn’t be perfect. What I truly love about Yu-Gi-Oh! is that it’s a franchise that continues to grow with every single spin-off, even if they’re becoming less relevant they are still getting stronger storywise.

22) Least favourite character

This little brat is a perfect representation of how to create the most annoying character. Everything about him screams “annoying, useless and awful”. It would be completely fine if he was an episodic villain, but noooo for some reason writing staff was like, “hey let’s make this dude into Yuma’s friend”. I get it, Yuma can make friends easily, but for the love of God, why him?! Yuma has enough friends already, why bring this brat into his group? Tokunosuke has literally no purpose to be here but to cause trouble or be a plot device to bring Yuma trouble. Okay, I was fine with that one time that he got Yuma into trouble and Yuma still forgave him, but why the hell did they have a need to repeat that three more times? I feel the same way about Kotori - she has no basic purpose but to be moral support or act as a damsel in distress.ZEXAL had way too many characters and out of them all, they picked the most useless ones for major roles.

23) NOTP

Canon datastormshipping. I think I made it clear why I dislike it in two posts already, but I guess I could sum it up for the third time. In canon verse they are two unstable people who bring out the worst of each other. They rarely interact, their ideologies are vastly different and they are in a way obsessed with each other in a very unhealthy way. If the two of them dated it would most likely result in a very toxic relationship which would only worsen up their already broken mental states. Again, I greatly dislike this ship in canon verse (in anime up to episode 92) and my opinion could change by the end of VRAINS. I still like the fanfics and fanarts that depict “what if” scenarios where their relationship could work (I’m actually writing one at the moment and I have plans to write one where I focus on their relationship in detail), but canon shipping just feels off and dysfunctional.

34) If you met Kazuki Takahashi, what would you say to him?

First of all, I would thank him for coming up with those amazing characters and plotlines. I still love the original manga and season 0 the most since it had so much creativity with different games, but I can see it keep getting included more with new summoning methods and unique stories. Then I would most likely present him my idea for the 7th series and its protagonist. From the start of the series, there wasn’t much about card game production or who designs them. We got some info on how Pegasus discovered Millenium Items and the tablet with Egyptian Gods and in GX it showed Hayato working as a card game designer. I would love to see a protagonist who loves games just like Yugi and wishes to create more, so he strives to become the best card game designer. He is not that keen on playing the game since he prefers to make the cards more, but when he creates a particular card(kinda like how Takato created Guilmon in Digimon Tamers) he is pulled into an adventure where he must find other cards that contain powerful Duel Monsters spirits and he has to lock them back into their cards. I would also love to have a protagonist that can talk with spirits again since while Judai had adorable interactions with Winged Kuriboh and Neo Spacians, it was still largely brushed aside and not that much explored. So yeah please make the next protagonist into a card game designer, it will be unique and open to so many interesting plotlines and potentials.

#yugioh series #vrains #homura takeru #Soulburner #ygo #yugioh zexal #yugioh gx #yugioh 5ds #yugioh arc v #datastormshipping

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