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

A Duel to Remember Part I

"And what happened in that dream?"

          "I kissed her".

Silence stroke like lightning. It felt almost as if memories of that nightmare kept chasing him like he was a refugee who had escaped their prison, their dark realm of torture... They felt so real, he could still feel the goose bumps on his skin when he would try to recall the softness of Hanako's lips and the way their kiss tasted; he could still see the fear in her eyes, the tears she shed before waking him up... The entire experience was so thrilling, his body would be drugged with adrenaline every time he'd recall those moments; and for some reason, he kept doing it over and over again.

          "And she responded?" Martha asked to bring Yusei back to reality but also because she wished his feelings were reciprocated. It was more than just sheer curiosity. A woman her age already had a decent amount of experience and intuitive sense to know things but having that skill came with a lot of consequences, and one of them was drowning her in curiosity, leaving the need to feed it before it could get hungry again.

"With all her body and soul!"

          "You know, Yusei", she responded still with a smile on her face, "Dreams are sometimes just a reflection of our inner state. If it was your dream, only you know what that kiss represents".

"What do you mean?"

          "Dreams usually show you how you feel and what you desire", she started explaining, noticing by his facial expression that he wasn't really supporting her theory, "In this case, it is your love for Hanako and the wish for her to reciprocate that love".

"And what if... it wasn't just a dream?" He whispered, letting those words float between them. No matter how crazy or senseless they were at that point, somehow, he still believed what he saw was real. It felt like a dream at first but it was so much more than that, it must be...

          His thoughts took him to the past, back to the scrap-metal junkyard where he was looking for spare parts for his runner. It was also one of those days he wanted to be alone and think about his life in Satellite and the meaning of existence.

But his thoughts were soon interrupted when his eyes landed on a duel monsters card lying in between the picked junk. His hands reached out for the card, seeing it was worn out and used but not ripped or highly damaged. After flipping it around, Yusei's eyes widened when he read the name of the card - Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier.

          He knew very well this card would make Hanako happy and his lips curled into a smile at that realisation. He quickly picked up his stuff and headed back home, talking to Hanako about what he encountered that day at the junkyard.

"Wow, you really found it at the junkyard?" Her face couldn't hide the surprise that was mixed with excitement while she was holding the dragon card in front of her eyes.

          "Mhm", Yusei nodded, slowly imitating her reaction and forming his lips into a smile. "You can keep it".

After that confirmation, a silence appeared between them as Hanako moved her eyes towards Yusei, not knowing what to say. She only gave him that gaze of approval as if wishing for him to confirm his statement just to make her ears believe she heard it well in the first place.

          "It's all yours".

"Yusei", she stumbled while trying to pronounce his name through a half-dry throat, gulping just to make it easier for her body to process what she was about to say, "I-I don't know what to say..."