Who I Thought You Were - Yusei Fudo/OC [COMPLETE]

Chapter 3 - Nova

A/N (part 1): Please note this is the first time I've incorporated a duel, so before we get there, I feel like I should explain how I'm formatting that. The monster's level (LV), attack points (ATK) and defense points (DEF) will be in parenthesis, so the final product of that will look something like this: (LV: x, ATK: XX00, DEF: XX00). Should their abilities come into play, that is when I will mention said abilities. Of course, you can always go to the Yu-Gi-Oh card database and find it yourself, which I strongly recommend because I'm absolute trash at explaining abilities of monsters I don't use very often. Life Point (LP) scores will also be shown in parenthesis as they increase/decrease, and when we get to an undisclosed point in the story, there will be a Turbo Duel in which speed counters will be abbreviated as SPC. Now that we have our pre-game pleasantries out of the way, on with the story!

Son of a bitch.

I just invited Yusei to my hideout.

I'm always careful about who comes inside my hideout: only I go in my hideout and come out alive, other than the roaches, rats, and other assorted critters. Those stupid things are like Fenris Wolf from Norse mythology: they don't die. Not like I really give a crap. Long as they stay out of my food, I'm okay. Not that I have much to begin with. I am from the Satellite sector.

Yusei hesitates before he answers. "Sure," he says, mounting his runner. I swallow the bile rising in my throat and mount my runner, leading him back to my hideout. I could take the scenic route, but something tells me that I can trust Yusei with the location of my hideout. And anyways, he's never been a talker to begin with.

We ride in silence back to my hideout, thankfully. I don't really know what to say to Yusei right now. When we arrive, I toss my helmet on the ground by my bed (read: pile of crappy blankets, a mattress I found in a dumpster, and an old pillow) and collapse on it.

"Welcome to my boring hideout," I say.

"Wow. Sure you got enough dust?" he asks sarcastically, tracing lines in it.

"Hey, careful with those! They're my only family in this godforsaken dump." He laughs innocently at my lame joke. "No need to pity laugh. I can take it."

"Sure you can," he replies. "This isn't a dump. The hideout I shared with Rally and the others wasn't much nicer."

"They never are, are they? You got one junk heap after another, and you never know if the next will be less shitty, shittier, or just as shitty."

"Oh, that's poetic."

"I have a way with words, don't I?"

"Sure. If that helps you sleep at night."

"You lived in Satellite for long enough. I think you know by now that there's no such thing as good sleep."

He smiles at me, and I want to smile back, but...it's been so long. Is it possible to forget how to smile? To lose sight of who you once were so much that you don't remember how to be that person? The most I can manage is a small, half-second long half-assed smile and some eye contact. Dammit, Nova, get it together! This is Yusei. You're allowed to be yourself. But why is that so hard?

"Hey, bitching about our problems won't solve any of them," I say.

"Exactly." He sits next to me on my bed. I don't know why, but I don't mind it. Well, yes I do. I know Yusei's a gentleman (at least, Satellite's version of a gentleman) and he wouldn't be dumb enough to try anything.

"So," I begin, having no idea what to say. All I want is for this awkward silence to be gone. "What've you been up to? Besides dueling circles around Jack?"