#i dislike how i drew Yu in the little on on the left corner but ok. need to redraw that one

[blue-bird-lamentation]

I had forgotten i had this in my drafts 🙈

[kuriboo]

Revenge Return

Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Words: 16,326 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Category: Multi Characters: Fudou Yuusei, Fujiki Yuusaku, Crow Hogan, Jack Atlas, Rua (Yu-Gi-Oh)Ruka (Yu-Gi-Oh), Martha (Yu-Gi-Oh) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, this takes place after 5ds ends and before vrains proper starts, Adoption, Post-Lost Incident, yusei meets yusaku when yusaku is 6, yusei ends up adopting yusaku, Established Relationship

Summary: Martha looked away again, towards the kids, before facing Yusei again. “His name’s Yusaku. They found a home, and got some of his things, but there was no one waiting for him. They couldn't find any family of his. He hasn’t opened up much to anyone, he’s still scared, and he wakes up in the middle of the night from nightmares. He hasn’t made any friends, doesn’t seem to want to. He's six years old.” “I don’t know them.” Yusaku told Martha after a couple offered to adopt him. “I don’t know them. If I don’t stay here with you, the only person I want to go with is Yusei. I don’t trust anyone else.” Some days, working hard in the lab, it was easier to forget when progress was slow and things didn’t work right. It was easy for him to get lost in the loneliness that crept up on him a lot of days. The apartment still felt empty with Yusei being the only person living here around 90% of the time. He tried not to think about it much. Dwelling on that could be very depressing, how much Yusei had missed having company here.

link to ao3 in the notes. excerpt included below

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It was inevitable for the six of them to split up eventually. It was only natural for their lives to diverge.

That didn’t mean that they were no longer friends, that they no longer kept in contact.

But, after it all came to an end, Yusei found himself staying alone in New Domino City.

He’d gotten offers to join the pro circuit, and he could’ve done well, too. Yusei knew that. But he knew dueling wasn’t where his passion truly was. Dueling brought him together with his closest friends, yes. It helped him through his childhood, a means to an end, gave him hope in a world that denied him everything. And he didn’t dislike dueling, it was still fun to him. Maybe it became a bit much after saving the world more than once, too, but it wasn’t that he was burned out, either.

Other things simply called to Yusei more, especially now that the Crimson Dragon was no longer calling himself as well. Yusei had a lot of skill as a mechanic, and still kept up the jobs he’d do here and there. Science, too, drew him in. Dueling connected him to his friends, but science was one of the only connections he still shared with the family he’d never been able to truly meet. Science, dueling sciences, shaped his life in a different way. Plus, he’d promised to work to prevent the horrible future he’d been shown.

He’d still duel his friends anytime he saw them, of course, but Yusei had studied hard, and now worked as a scientist, and as a mechanic.

Though.

The other former Signers had left New Domino City. But they weren’t the only friends Yusei had no, either. Trudge was still here, and he kept in touch with Lazar, the new mayor. And, of course, there was Martha.

Martha was the closest thing to a mother Yusei had ever known. She’d done so much for him, and for Jack and Crow, and Yusei owed her everything. Crow helped Martha out a lot before he left the city, but he was gone now, pursuing his own path. In his absence, Yusei had begun to help fill that hole and help Martha out a little. He was no Crow, of course, but Martha was always happy to have him, and the kids liked him well enough.

Yusei went over to see Martha one day after work, intending to help with the kids like usual. But as he stepped in, Martha pulled him aside. To where the kids couldn’t hear them. She glanced over in the kids’ direction before she told him what was on her mind.

“There’s a new child,” she said. “He was brought here a few days ago.”

“You have enough room for them all?” he asked. Martha would never turn down a kid who needed her, he knew that. But there were already plenty of kids here, maybe she was worried about resources.

“Plenty,” she assured him. “But how much have you kept up with the news lately?”

Not much. Yusei kept himself fairly busy these days, he hadn’t had much time to keep up with the world. Martha scolded him for working himself too hard, but let him off easy; that wasn’t the point right now. Yusei suspected she’d get after him for it again before he left, though (and, later, he turned out to be right on that).

Martha quietly updated him on one of the latest news stories: the Lost Incident. Six children had all disappeared for a long time- too long for anyone, but especially children. They’d only been found recently, thanks to an anonymous tip.

“Most of the kids had families to go back to,” Martha explained. “One went to a different orphanage. He’d already lived there before all of this. But one of them had nowhere to go. They couldn’t find family, or anyone who’d been taking care of him.”

Yusei understood. The new kid Martha had taken in was one of those kids, one of those victims from the incident.

She looked away again, towards the kids, before facing Yusei again. “His name’s Yusaku. They found a home, and got some of his things, but there was no one waiting for him. He hasn’t opened up much to anyone, he’s still scared, and he wakes up in the middle of the night from nightmares. He hasn’t made any friends, doesn’t seem to want to.”

Yusei turned to glance towards the kids as well. He couldn’t see anyone he didn’t recognize; Yusaku must not have been in his line of sight.

“Part of it is because of dueling,” Martha went on. “They found a deck with his things, and gave it to him. He must’ve liked dueling once. But he wants nothing to do with it now. The other kids want to get him to duel, and that’s not helping things.”

“How old is he?” he asked.

“Six.”

He paused at that. Six. The kid was only six years old, and he’s already been through so much. With no one looking for him, waiting for him to come home, at the end of it. Yusei had grown up learning first-hand how cruel the world was, but that didn’t mean he had to like it, even now.

Who knew what actually happened to this kid while he was missing. Nobody actually knew; there were suspicions of a cover-up floating around, according to Martha. From what Martha described of his behavior, it couldn’t be good.

“I know I can trust you with him,” she said. “Which is why I need to ask you a favor. Yusaku needs to go to a therapy appointment tomorrow, I can’t leave the other kids alone.”

There was no hesitation. “I can do it, just tell me where to go.”

Normally, Yusei stayed to help Martha with anything he needed him for, and sometimes he played with and hung around with the kids, too, but otherwise he usually didn't stay long. Today, though, he stayed for a little while longer. He at least wanted to meet Yusaku first. Make sure Yusaku knew who he was. Yusei was no expert in child psychology nor in trauma, but Yusaku probably wouldn’t appreciate going anywhere with a stranger. Any kid probably wouldn’t feel safe doing that.

Yusaku was fairly easy to pick out. Yusei knew all the other kids here already anyway, but even though Yusaku was sitting in a corner, his blue (and pink) hair was hard to miss. Yusei walked over to him.

“Hey,” Yusei said quietly. He crouched down next to Yusaku. “My name’s Yusei.”

Yusaku stared at him.

“I used to live here when I was younger,” Yusei explained. “Martha took care of me a lot. She’s helped me out more times than I can count. You’re in a good place here, I promise.”

He could hear Martha grumble from across the room, something about ‘as if I don’t still take care of you now’ and ‘you boys are more trouble than you’re worth’. He smiled at that.

Yusaku was still staring at him. “What do you want?” he asked flatly.

“I’ll get to the point then.” Yusei’s smile wavered, but it persisted as he aimed it now at Yusaku. “You have an appointment tomorrow, and Martha wants me to take you to it. I wanted to make sure you’ve at least seen me before, know who I am, so you don’t feel like you’re going somewhere with a complete stranger. I’ll bring you back safe and sound, I promise.”

Yusaku studied his face. “I have an appointment tomorrow. Martha wants you to take me. Your name’s Yusei, she knows you.” He nodded. “Okay. I got it.”

At that, Yusaku looked away from him. Yusei stayed there for a few seconds longer, but Yusaku ignored him. He stood up. Well, Martha said Yusaku wasn’t opening up to anyone. He shouldn’t have expected much else.

Yusei didn’t leave right away. He helped Martha out, one of the kids asked to duel him… Up to when he did leave, Yusaku didn’t do or say much. But anytime Yusei glanced over, Yusaku was definitely watching him as well as everyone else around him.

He came back, as he promised, the next day.

Martha and Yusaku were waiting outside for him. Yusei carefully parked his motorcycle, took off his helmet, and got off from the motorcycle. He smiled down at Yusaku.

“You remember who I am, right?”

“You’re Yusei,” Yusaku answered immediately. “I have an appointment you’re taking me to.”

“It won’t take long, and Yusei will bring you back afterwards,” Martha assured Yusaku.

“We can take my motorcycle.” Yusei pointed back to his motorcycle. He’d attached a sidecar to it earlier, and a helmet that should fit Yusaku well sat inside; he’d kept it on hand and used it a few times for Leo and Luna, when they were both still in the city. (Even now, Yusei only drove around in his duel runner, and didn't own a car or any other kind of vehicle.) “Or if you don’t want to do that, we can walk. I don’t mind.” Motorcycles weren’t for everyone. Yusei understood perfectly if Yusaku didn’t like the noise or the speed, or just preferred walking. He'd made sure to arrive with enough time to reach their destination by walking; it wasn't very far from the orphanage.

But Yusaku shook his head. “Motorcycle.”

“Alright then.” Yusei put his own helmet on before helping Yusaku with his, and strapping him into the sidecar. They waved to Martha, and then drove off.

Yusei had complete control over his motorcycle at any speed. Of course that held true for high speeds. Turbo Duels made that level of control a necessity. But he could drive well at low speeds as well, an important skill outside of duels. Regular life had speed limits for safety reasons and all that, and Yusei made a habit of obeying the law these days. But he drove even slower than the limit now. Yusaku said he was fine in the motorcycle, but still, Yusei wanted to make sure the kid would be okay.

Either way, they made it to the appointment in plenty of time.

“I’ll wait right here until you’re done. I’m in no hurry, don’t feel like you have to rush out,” Yusei told him.

Yusaku nodded and went in for his appointment.

Yusei sat down in the waiting room. True to his word, he wasn’t going anywhere. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do anything, though. He took out his phone and opened up the former Signers’ group chat.

The Planeteers

Leo: if i'm gonna be a professional duelist it doesn't matter if i fail this science exam right

Luna: leo you realize most cities are powered by duel energy now right? that's kind of yusei's job

Luna: and if we want to prevent iliaster's future we need to keep an eye on duel energy

Luna: it's kinda important

Leo: it's not a duel science exam though! it's a physics exam! you know it's physics we're literally both studying for it right now

Luna: i'm studying for it at least, you're just trying to get out of it

Yusei: it's not like you guys have to worry much about the ener-d reactor i've got it covered, you two should just worry about school

Leo: yusei!!! i don't need to know physics to duel right

Yusei: you want to be a turbo duelist right

Yusei: physics is a big part of turbo dueling. how fast you can drive and duel at the same time. how fast you can take different turns. how different conditions change that if your path is icy or you're driving on dirt. or if you get launched in the air. trying to figure out all that while trying to get the first turn before your opponent, and trying to figure out how to win the duel, it helps a lot

Leo: oh yikes

Crow: i never think about any of that stuff and i win my turbo duels just fine

Luna: crow you're not helping

Yusei: you should at least try on the exam, leo. it doesn't have to be perfect as long as you try

Leo: can you help me study then??

Yusei: i'm a bit busy at the moment, sorry, helping martha

Yusei: maybe later

Yusei smiled. Distance, as well as different paths, meant nothing. They were still a team, still great friends, and that meant everything to him.

He was soon pulled out of his thoughts, as well as the conversation. The door from the waiting room to other parts of the building opened, and Yusaku stepped out. Yusei took care of all the end of appointment business. With that finished, the two of them went outside.

“How did it go?” Yusei secured Yusaku in the side car of his motorcycle.

Yusaku stared silently at him.

“It’s okay if it didn't go well,” Yusei told him. “It takes time for people to understand, and while they don’t, it might be harder for them to help. But I promise I’ll be here to take you to your next appointment, too. And I won’t leave you behind anywhere. We’ll do the best we can for you.”

Yusaku wrapped his arms around himself and stared at the ground.

Yusei didn’t understand, himself. He couldn’t, when he really had no idea what happened to this kid. But he found himself wanting to understand. Yusaku needed help, and Yusei hoped a time would come when Yusaku could make a friend.

He drove Yusaku back to the orphanage, helped Martha with meal preparation before he left, after Yusaku was back safe. Yusaku stuck to himself, ignored anyone who approached him.

Work was keeping Yusei busy, but he came back to the orphanage to take Yusaku to his next appointment.

And his next appointment.

And his next appointment.

Yusaku’s appointments remained a consistent, repetitive thing in both his and Yusei’s lives. Yusei, of course, didn’t mind that at all. Every time, Yusaku and Martha would be waiting for Yusei outside, Yusaku would want to ride in the motorcycle, Yusei would stay in the waiting room until the appointment finished, and Yusei would take Yusaku home.

These appointments were supposed to help Yusaku. In what way, Yusei couldn’t possibly know. He didn’t know what Yusaku was like before his entire life changed like this. All Yusei could hope was that Yusaku would be happier. For now, however, Yusaku continued to stick to himself, rarely talked to anyone, and he never smiled. There didn’t seem to be any improvement.

It wasn’t that Yusei thought Yusaku should be getting better faster. He was simply worried about him, as he had been since the day the two of them met.

Maybe therapy was just taking awhile to help Yusaku.

Or…maybe it wouldn’t be able to help him.

Yusei’s thoughts were spinning circles as the door in the waiting room opened, and Yusaku walked out. As Yusei took him back out to his motorcycle, he had an idea.

“It’s been rough for you, hasn’t it?” he asked. “And, honestly, I’m kind of hungry. You want to get food on our way back? My treat.”

Yusaku nodded.

“Do you want a burger? Or some chicken nuggets.”

“…Nuggets.”

Yusei pulled into the parking lot of McDomino’s, and took Yusaku in to order and get their food. They took their food back outside to eat in Yusei’s motorcycle, though. Yusei didn’t want the crowded fast food environment to cause more stress to Yusaku. As they sat down, Yusei gave Yusaku his Smile Meal, and began munching on his own chicken nuggets.

“…I told you I grew up in Martha’s orphanage,” Yusei said. “My parents died in an accident when I was very young. I lived in a part of New Domino that used to be really rough. Martha did her best to make sure we were never hungry, but I could even tell as a kid that food was hard to get. No one in our area was allowed to duel, no one was allowed to escape, and everyone was always looking for an excuse to give us trouble. I used to look around in junkyards for anything I could find. My friends and I tried to make a change, but one of us got arrested for it. He thought it was my fault he was arrested, and I blamed myself for it every day. He got really sick before I saw him again, and when I did, he hated me. He and I figured it out, though, and we’re friends again now.”

Yusaku stared at him.

“We were able to change things for the better eventually,” Yusei went on. “But a lot of people tried to stop us. Even if we weren’t actually allowed to duel, we did anyway. Somehow, we ended up in all these duels just to save the city, where if we lost it would…be bad.”

Yusaku continued staring at him.

“Life isn’t fair sometimes. I never should’ve had to deal with any of it while I was still so young. And whatever happened to you, you deserve better, too.” Yusei frowned. “It was hard. Still is. But… I never would’ve been able to get through it without any of my friends. Going through it together made it easier, and we stuck by it together through it all. No one should have to go through life alone. I hope you can find friends like that, too. Friends who understand you and who’ll help you no matter what.”

Yusaku didn’t say a word. But he never looked away from Yusei. Not as they finished eating, and not as they drove back to the orphanage.

No one could get a word out of Yusaku for the rest of that day. Yusei didn’t hear him speak until it was time for Yusaku’s next appointment.

“Want to walk.”

That wasn’t a problem. They hadn’t walked before, but Yusei always made sure that they had enough time to walk if Yusaku changed his mind. What concerned Yusei, what interested him, was why Yusaku changed his mind. But, he wasn’t going to get an answer from Yusaku by badgering him with questions. He might not get an answer at all.

“Alright, then. Let’s go.”

Yusaku grabbed Yusei’s pant-leg just to make sure they weren’t separated, and they set off in silence after that.

When Yusaku broke the silence himself, though, Yusei was surprised.

“Why are you here?”

Yusei was suddenly thrust back to his memory of their first meeting. Yusaku had asked a similar question then, trying to gauge his intentions. This question, Yusei assumed, probably went deeper then just why he was where he was in that moment. It was probably more along the lines of, ‘why are you still here now?’ ‘why do you keep coming back?’, or even, ‘why did you open up to me last time?’

“Everyone deserves to have someone in their corner. No one should have to be alone.” Yusei smiled down at Yusaku. “It took me a long time to truly appreciate what that meant, that it applied to me, too. I spent a long time trying to do things on my own just to keep other people safe, while insisting on helping the people around me when they struggled. Because of that, I…almost lost everything, a few times, and my friends were furious. We were stronger together than apart, all of us.” He paused to breathe, he should get to the point. “I was lucky. I always had someone at my side, someone watching my back, even when I didn’t want them there. I still needed them. I don’t know if you have or not. I don’t know what happened. Whatever it is, though, I want to make sure you don’t have to be alone. Even if it’s something small like this, if I can do something to help, you deserve that much.”

If he’d grown up alone, Yusei never would’ve made it this far, or never become the person he was today. He never could’ve helped unite New Domino, or defeat the Dark Signers, or take down Iliastor. He didn’t want to imagine what kind of person he’d be now, or where he would’ve ended up.