Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: Pendulum Connected

Tales of the Imprisoned

?

Opening his eyes, Yuya found himself standing in his room. But it wasn't the one he had now, it was the one he had three years ago. There were various children's toys scattered on the floor. The bed cover had a pattern of stars and hippos, which matched his bed pillows. Everything was exactly the same when his dad disappeared before his match with the Sledgehammer. Except for one thing...

On his study chair, a black, humanoid shadow with red eyes sat. When the shadow turned to look at him, Yuya took a step back. But he quickly realized that, despite the appearance, it was not hostile.

"Why do you trust him so much?" The shadow asked.

"Huh?"

The shadow pointed at the photo of Yuya and his dad that was on the desk.

"He abandoned us and Mom." The shadow made it clear that the implication was made at Yuya's father, Yusho.

Twitching at the accusation, Yuya opened his mouth to retort. "Us? What do you mean by that? And Dad never abandoned me! He was just trying to stop the dimensional war!"

"But did he need to leave before his duel with the Sledgehammer?"

Yuya opened his mouth to retort again, but nothing came out.

"He could've done so after the duel, or even a bit later. But didn't. He could've left a message saying where he was going, but he didn't. He was the one in the wrong." The shadow bitterly said, resentment evident in its voice.

"That's not true!" Yuya angrily yelled at the shadow.

The shadow got up from the chair and walked up to him. Once it was right in front of him, it tightly grabbed Yuya's left wrist, causing him to wince in pain.

"We suffered... for all those years... because of him... that's the truth!!"

? - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension

Yuya abruptly opened his eyes and sat up with a jolt. He breathed heavily with sweat dripping down his face as he covered half of his face with his hand as tried to compose himself. As the shock from the suffocating nightmare wore off, pain from his ribs, arms, shoulders, and left leg riled his body. Looking at his body, he noticed that he was in hospital shorts with a small Duel Academy emblem on them, covered in bandages, and his shirt and jacket were taken off. But his goggles weren't anywhere to be seen.

"Are you alright, my boy?"

Yuya turned to where the concerned voice came from. By the side of the bed he was on was a bald, middle-aged man. He had a united black mustache and goatee and wore a dark red Duel Academy staff uniform with a yellow suit underneath and dark brown pants.

"Take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you." The man raised his hands to show he meant no harm, though the sincere smile that he gave Yuya was enough to convince the boy he wasn't an enemy.

"How did I get here? Wait... it's all coming back to me now..." Yuya recounted what had happened. Even though he was captured, his friends escaped. All except for...

"Rin! She stayed behind to help me!" Yuya tried to leave the bed, but the pain surged up and immobilized him.

"There's no need to worry. Your friend, Rin, is safe. She's currently being held in a different place for now until they fix the tower she was placed in before." The man assured Yuya as he helped him settle into a comfortable position in bed before resuming treating his wounds.

"And you are...?"

"Apologies for the late introduction. The name's Sheppard. I'm the former chancellor of Duel Academy." The man introduced himself as he finished tending to Yuya's injuries.