Bonds That Can Change the Future (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

A Duel to Remember Part I

Chapter 40

(filler between episodes 130 and 131)

Part I

          The dawn in Neo Domino city was yet to welcome the sun on the horizon and everyone in Poppo Time was still asleep while Yusei was making his escape. At least that's what he thought – he would just sneak out before someone wakes up. Unlucky for him, Jack was already there, drinking his morning coffee, giving Yusei a hard time to just leave like that. And to make it even worse, Crow just got up to keep Jack company because they agreed to help Hanako around.

"You can't be serious!" Jack exclaimed, hearing the idea Yusei had in mind about leaving Neo Domino to visit Martha's orphanage.

          "Our final duel against Team New World is in two days!" Crow joined their discussion, protesting by Jack's side against Yusei's plans.

"I have to go!" Despite their protests, their raven-haired friend was persistent, calmly finishing the check-up on his engine before turning it on to test if everything was okay. "Answers to unlocking Hanako's memories lie in that house".

          "How can you be so sure about it?"

"I just know it", he replied to Crow's suspicions, acting as if he knew exactly what he was doing. It seemed almost as if a call from the future came to tell him what he needed to do. Either that, or his Heart suddenly woke up from a deep slumber, understanding that it was time to act.

          "You've gone completely nuts!" Jack noticed, taking another sip of his coffee with his eyes closed, enjoying the taste in his mouth, and not looking much bothered about Yusei's idea, at least he didn't show it or have it as expressed as Crow did.

"Maybe", Yusei answered, dragging his runner outside of the Poppo Time garage, "Keep an eye on her and make sure nothing happens to her until I'm back!"

          "What could possibly happen to her with us?" Crow raised an eyebrow at Yusei's command, watching him drive off into the city, soon disappearing from view.

"I don't think he trusts us much", Jack's voice just came out of nowhere as he took another sip of his coffee.

          "I think the real question is whether he trusts his own self..."

*     *     *

After his journey to Satellite, Yusei found himself in Martha's orphanage, sitting at the table, and drinking some warm coffee she had prepared for him while kids were playing outside with his duel runner under the strict surveillance of Martha's sight.

          "I came in search for the answers", Yusei explained briefly, while his eyes were focused on the mug, staring at the blackness of his coffee, and not finding comfort in it as he used to. The sight of the darkness reminded him of the void that swallowed Sherry and Hanako that day in the shuttle, and nothing was ever the same afterwards. How was he supposed to live freely and calmly, when everything around him was reminding him of how much he had messed up?

"My dear Yusei", Martha managed to let the kids go and move her eyes to Yusei, showing a lot of affection in her words that even her voice smiled. She knew she had to pull Yusei out of his deep thoughts because they must have been as black as the coffee he was drinking, "Only you can make her remember because you're the only one she has no memories of..."

          "She told me the same..."

"She did...?"

          "Yes", he confirmed with a nod after seeing Martha get confused for a moment. He then moved his eyes to Martha just to give her enough attention for such a heavy topic that crawled into their conversation, "We met in her memories... In her nightmare". He hesitated a little at first, realising how crazy and insane that sounded when he said it out loud but Martha didn't seem to be bothered by his senseless experience, "I had a dream about her being trapped..."