365 Days of Starshipping (Part 2)

Welcome Party

7/28/19

Judai whistled lowly at the welcome party Yusei's duel monsters had managed to conjure up in one night - there was a huge, lit up banner saying 'Welcome!' across two buildings (somehow they'd known where the portal would open, which was impressive) and a plethora of duel monsters gathered in the street, boasting books and parts and contraptions that they'd created. Looking a bit behind them, Judai could see a large warehouse whose door was pulled open, revealing tables of labelled, organized parts and cleared-off workspaces.

He was willing to bet that those parts had been scattered everywhere before last night. Sometimes he could still find parts Yusei'd been working with in the most random of places despite his best efforts to make sure he didn't leave them laying around; he couldn't imagine what it was like to have that on a city-wide scale instead of a couple rooms.

"There's a lot of duel energy uses and tech here that you wouldn't be able to know about, so we decided to set-up a huge crash course for you," Junk Synchron explained, hanging off of Junk Warrior's head after everyone's initial, excited greetings, "We all have a few things that are our favorites, of course, but for the most part everything is utilized in our projects so it's all important - otherwise nothing will work here."

Yusei's face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning, a silly smile forming that made Judai even more happy that he'd made this happen. After all, Yusei plus new technology and ideas equalled a very determined and ecstatic Yusei.

At that moment a roar interrupted them, pulling everyone's attention behind them and into the air as Stardust Dragon flew into view. An empty space was quickly created in front of Yusei so the dragon could land, head bowing lowly so Yusei could reach up and pet them.

"Stardust..." Yusei murmured, smile turning softer with the dragon's presence, "You live here too, huh? Does that make it your domain, like the way Ancient Fairy Dragon's forest is?"

Stardust nodded slightly, letting out a happy purr at attention they were getting. Yusei had summoned them once before for something on April Fool's Day since it was during the time Judai was having him build up his stamina for materializing monsters, so they weren't nearly as pushy for attention like they'd been the first time - granted, it probably helped that Yusei wasn't suffering from a huge loss of energy this time. He really hadn't been ready to summon his ace yet at the time and he'd gotten a massive headache thanks to doing so, which the dragon had, of course, picked up on and worried about.

"So? You like it here?" Judai asked, smiling cheekily at the scene.

"I love it," Yusei corrected, turning back to him to return the smile, "I'd never have imagined a place like this existed..."

Another interruption came in the form of a Kuriboh cry, a small blue, spiky sphere floating out of the crowd. Judai didn't even have to do a thing before Winged Kuriboh was suddenly there as well, flying in circles around the newcomer with happy cries of his own.

Yusei blinked as the new Kuriboh quickly moved over to him, holding out a card insistently and looking incredibly happy when he gently took it from him, "...Junkuriboh, huh?"

"Looks like you've got a Kuriboh of your own now," Judai stated, laughing at the sight of Junkuriboh pressing lightly into Yusei's chest in its own form of a hug before chirping and running off with Winged Kuriboh, "I don't think they'll be coming back any time soon... he seems a lot more energetic than Kuribon is, so who knows how long it'll take for those two to get tired."

"You're going to get a lot of cards today as some of the shyer ones decide to come out that still have theirs," Quillbolt explained, getting a boost up by Junk Archer's arms so he was easier to see, "A lot of 'em never got the chance to have an owner because they were stuck here with all of however many copies they have, so they're pretty eager to be able to meet you."

"Come on though, let's go already!" Junk Synchron complained, excitement clearly winning out over listening to the conversation, "There's so much to show you and time's ticking away!"

"Alright, sounds good to me," Yusei agreed, stumbling slightly and chuckling when the duel monster floated over and started tugging him along enthusiastically.

Judai caught up to them easily, threading his fingers through Yusei's free hand that wasn't being pulled as he said, "I'll stay for a bit more, but I actually need to check on a few more places today. Sorry, Yus."

"Don't worry about it, I understand," Yusei reassured him, squeezing his hand tightly and turning just barely enough to be able to catch him in a quick kiss, "Again, make sure you try to stay safe, okay? In the meantime, I'll make something cool for you to come back and see."

"I'll be looking forward to it," he smiled, blinking before looking back at Stardust, who'd been following on Yusei's other side, "Oh yeah! Just thought I'd let you know, but your territory's free of any signs of corruption for literal miles outside of it's boundaries. I did a quick look-over before I came last night, you're good."

Stardust growled back lowly, nodding in appreciation at the information before deciding to take off to the sky again when they finally reached the warehouse entrance.

Of course, upon seeing the rows upon rows of parts and pieces, Yusei was immediately enthralled and pulled into the quick explanations his duel monsters provided. Judai was fully content with watching the scene from a chair to the side, smiling fondly as Yusei picked up on the uses and nuances of things in record speed.