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

Chapter 10 - Yusei

"Stop!" someone screams. "I can't let this continue!"

It clearly wasn't Nova who stopped the duel. But I know the person's voice. It can't be...

But it is. Kalin slides in front of Nova, who slams on her brakes, puts her runner on its kickstand and walks up to him.

"Kalin, I can handle this!" she snaps. "I'm about to win, and punish this pathetic excuse for a Signer for wronging us both!"

"Nova, you know Yusei!" Kalin counters. "Whenever he's on the back foot, he always manages to pull something out of his ass and win at the last second! And if I let that happen." He stops, rubbing his temple. "Nova, I can't lose you."

Wait.

What the hell was that?

"I can't lose you" is MY line. What does Kalin think he's going to pull here?

I don't want to fight him, but there is no way in hell I'm letting him waltz on in and take my girl.

Even though she's not my girlfriend, and probably never will be. I'm still fighting for her, even if it kills me.

"Kalin!" I shout, staring him dead in the face. He returns my glare, his eyes colder than ice. "I'll duel you. If you really want Nova out of this, then we'll leave her out. But know that I'm fighting for her just as much as you are!"

"Kalin, no. Don't do this," Nova begs.

"I'm sorry. I have to. Don't worry, babe. I'll win. I'll beat this punk so hard, he'll regret ever knowing either of us. I promise." When he slips his arms around her waist, resting his hands on the small of her back, pulls her closer, and kisses her, my jealousy could kill both Kalin and I twice. That should be my face pressed to hers.

"Dear God in Heaven," I groan. "If we're not going to duel, at least get a room!"

"Oh, fuck off, Fudo," Nova snaps. She wraps her arms around his neck and whispers something in his ear. He nods, pecks her lips again, and she mounts her runner. She meets my eyes again. "Until next time." The Heron geoglyph disappears, and Nova drives off to God knows where.

Something tells me I'll be dueling her again very soon.

(Skipping the duel between Yusei and Kalin because I don't feel like transcribing it and there's more plot points that I need to hit)

There. The tower is sealed.

I feel like a total dick. I just sent Kalin to the Netherworld. Sure, he'd lost his mind, tried to take one of the few things that makes me happy on God's green earth, and destroy the world as I know it, but he was my best friend.

I can still remember promising Kalin I'd stand by him, back when we were the Enforcers. Then, I ditched him. I think I'll have to break another promise I just made to Kalin. I promised him I'd tell Nova he loved her. But I can't do that, not because I don't know how I'm going to find her, but because I don't know if I'm willing to let Kalin have the girl of my dreams, even though she'd never love me back.

And Nova...what about her? She clearly cares for Kalin. If she finds out that it was me who sent Kalin to the Netherworld, she'll hate me even more than she already does. It's not like I blame her for being pissed at me. I was a jerk. I broke the promise I'd made to her.

But I know that I can also break through to the real Nova. I am a dick. If I was her friend, Nova wouldn't be hiding her true colors; she would be in the City, studying the stars and making groundbreaking discoveries. She'd still be my friend. She wouldn't be caught in this mess. She'd be kissing me instead of Kalin before she duels.