Chapter 6
(following anime episode 35)
Part I
"How could I be so stupid?!?" Hanako shouted to herself while she was driving away from Yusei's Hideout with tears falling from her eyes and entering the speed of wind, dancing away like autumn leaves, "I should've stayed with them to wait for him to come back! After all, he always kept his promises..." She thought as the wind was playing with her hair while her breath was shorter, as her speed increased. She had no idea where she's going and the night was getting scarier as she remembered those creepy guys still taking away people from Satellite and hiding them somewhere deep within the city. She was looking for a good place to hide because she was already far away from Daedalus Bridge, so there was no way back until the sun rises again... She was looking around to see if she can think of something when she remembered Martha's place.
"That's it! Martha always had good advice! Maybe she can let me stay overnight at her place", a small smile appeared on Hanako's face when she realised how Martha is only two blocks away. She kept on accelerating just to reach Martha's as soon as possible because her body started to shiver as the night was becoming darker than usual. When she reached a huge house with few floors, lights were still turned on, so she approached the door and knocked when she heard some steps getting closer to her.
When the door opened, Hanako was staring at an older lady with black skin and dark brown hair in a dark dress; she was higher than Hanako for one head length and was wearing a warm smile on her face.
"Baby?" Woman was surprised at first glance.
"Hi there, Martha", Hanako returned a smile trying to hide her inner feelings of suffer and sorrow, "May I come in?"
"Sure thing, cutie", Martha opened the door for her and Hanako entered when kids started shouting one after the other.
"Hanako!" She heard a kid's voice from behind the walls when a little boy ran to her.
"Well hello cutesy", she kneeled down and tapped child's shoulder when another kid ran out of the room.
"Baby, you're back!" Little girl was smiling as she ran into Hanako's embrace.
The third kid also came to see her and soon she was surrounded by bunch of kids not knowing in which direction to turn first.
"Popular among the kids as always, aren't we?" Martha shook her head with hands on her hips, "Go to sleep everyone! Bedtime's already behind us!"
"But we wanted to see Hanako!" Little girl shouted moving away from Hanako's embrace.
"I know but she's staying with us tonight, so you'll see her tomorrow when you wake up!"
Hanako was caught by Martha's words! It was like she read her thoughts; she intended to sleepover here but didn't mention anything to Martha because she didn't got a chance yet, "Well... I guess it's the way Martha is! Always one step ahead of us all", Hanako smiled and accompanied children to their beds giving her hands to them to hold.
"Hey, Baby! When I wake up tomorrow, will you show me how to ride a D-Wheel?" One boy asked holding Hanako's hand between his palms.
"I will but you have to have your breakfast first thing in the morning, 'kay?" She gave him a smile and little boy nodded giving a smile in return.
"And I want to see your deck!" another boy smiled.
"Me too", added another kid.
"And I wanna hear one of your stories about hero from Satellite!"
"But you know it already", Hanako giggled.
"I know but it's my favourite story! I have to know everything!" Girl shouted .
"Okay, we'll do tomorrow anything you want", Hanako nodded as they approached their rooms. There Hanako helped them to get into their beds and exited the room after placing some sheets over their bodies and planting a kiss onto each child's forehead, "Good night, my cutesies! We'll play tomorrow!" She turned the lights off and went to the dining room to see Martha.
"You haven't' changed", Martha said when she saw Hanako coming in.
"Is it a good or a bad thing?" Hanako raised an eyebrow.
"Well... As long as you're willing to talk about it, I'm happy..."
"Talk about what?"
"About your inner feelings", Martha said allowing Hanako to sit down.
"What's wrong with them?" Hanako tried to hide her feelings from Martha even though she knew it's not possible.
"C'mon, Baby! Don't be so stubborn. You didn't come here to have a pyjama party at my house", Martha took a cup and poured in some tea that was left from the dinner.
"I can't fight you, can I?" She moved her look away and started gazing through the window when silence took over the room. As she was sitting there and Martha handing her a cup of tea, Hanako decided to tell Martha what was in her heart, "I came here to look for an advice..."
"Is there something bothering you or you just need my approval?"
"I think it's a little bit of both", Hanako moved her eyes to Martha because she was trying to sit on a chair that was placed across the table and when Martha looked Hanako straight into her sapphire eyes, she said again, "I'm scared..."
"Why? What happened? Is it again something from the Past that is haunting you?"
"Well... I guess you can say it that way, yes..." Hanako whispered, "You see, I talked to Crow about how we used to hang out a lot with Jack, Kiryu and Yusei and I remembered what happened two years ago and..."
"Look, my dear! Jack chose his way by himself, no one could stop him and you know that very well! I know how much you miss him but..."
"This has nothing to do with Jack, Martha..."
"Oh, so there we are", Martha giggled when she saw Hanako's blushing face.
"I decided to find him and talk to him about what happened two years ago", Hanako had no strength to spell Yusei's name but Martha knew exactly who was on her mind.
"I know you stopped coming to his Hideout but I told you already how you have to talk to him about it and clear thing up between you two", Martha began being angry at Hanako because she never listened to Martha's advice and was always asking for one, "No one can help you! It's something only you can do, my child!"
"I know, Martha, and I'm so sorry but..." Hanako's hands were shaking, "I'm such an idiot and a coward", she bowed her head, "First I saw him speeding through Satellite but I had no idea it was him until I found his guys; Blitz, Rally, Taka, Nerve... There they said how Yusei went to Neo Domino, beat Jack in a duel and became the new King..."
"So they're still fighting over because of those childish reasons", Martha rolled her eyes but smile was still standing still resting on her face.
"Yeah..." Hanako nodded still looking down at her cup of tea, "And there, after thinking how I'll never see him again, Rally told me he's going to come back to Satellite and how I can wait for him there but..."
Martha wrapped her hands around Hanako's. It was somehow easier to do that than to say something encouraging to her at this moment. Martha's gesture made Hanako raise her head and look Martha straight into the eyes.
"Look what I've done, Martha! I was dying inside to see him and now... When meeting him was something that could possibly happen very soon, I got scared and ran away! Thinking about meeting him again after two years just seemed like something I don't want to happen..."
"And do you know the reason behind it?"
"No... Sometimes I don't understand myself at all... At first, I was so happy to see him because I wanted to talk to him about everything and when I realised how it's not just a dream and that my wish may come true, I just backed down and ran away... Every time I think about facing him, my body starts to shiver and it's hard to breath. My heart is racing within my chest and I lose my strength both physical and mental..."
"You know you're a bit too young to be in that state, honey", Martha said calmly.
"I just need someone to encourage me, Martha", Hanako's eyes started glowing and Martha thought she's going to cry but she managed to keep her tears from falling, "You know how I found him scary and how I was afraid of him when I was child..."
"But you're not a child anymore!" Martha started after she took a deep breath, "I never understood why you were so scared of Yusei", she smiled to the thought of it, "Yusei is selfless and caring person and the bonds he shares with his friends is the most precious thing to him, so I don't see why are you scared like that. I think you can tell him anything and no matter what kind of person you are now, he will not judge you but rather accept you as you are... I haven't seen him in a while but I doubt he has changed so much that this is no longer true", Martha gave Hanako a wink and moved her hands away allowing her to drink her tea.
"Thank you, Martha", Hanako managed to smile as she took a sip of her tea, "I'm really tired of running but facing him is the hardest thing I had to do so far..."
"And running around Satellite with that runner of yours and hiding from the Security is easier?" Martha smiled in disbelief.
"You're right!" Hanako giggled.
"C'mon now, Baby! Drink that tea and go catch some sleep. We'll talk about this again tomorrow. You need to rest", Martha stood from the table and went to prepare Hanako a room.
"Sure!" Hanako nodded.
"Your old room is still empty, so I'll make you a bed there. When you're ready, you know where to go", Martha looked at Hanako with a smile and walked away.
Hanako was left alone with her thoughts sitting in the dining room and drinking tea. She soon became so tired of thinking about everything that happened today and the tea Martha prepaired calmed her down, so she went to her old room meeting Martha on the hallway.
"Good night, Baby", Martha nodded.
"Good night, Martha and thank you for everything", Hanako smiled and entered her room. Nothing has changed since she left the orphanage. Her bed was still placed next to the window, few shelves were full of old books and a table was left with a bunch of tools spread around it, "She never touched this ever since I left", Hanako giggled remembering her childhood days she spent in the orphanage and thinking about why would Martha leave it all as it was, "Maybe she knew I'll be back..."
Even though Hanako used to come to Martha's place here and there, she never stayed overnight until now. Checking what happened to her room was the last thing on her mind and she assumed how Martha gave it to another kid in the process but Martha had a strong intuition and knew exactly how to read children that grew up in her orphanage. She was taking care of them knowing every step they take; by looking out for them, she learned how they breathe... It wasn't hard for her to know what's bothering Hanako or what to say to her about it all and as Hanako was thinking hard about what to do and how tomorrow she'll have a hard and long day, she got tired and fell asleep as soon as her head touched soft pillow that Martha placed on the bed just for her.
* * *
"So what now?" Taka asked others with worried look taking over his face.
"That's simple!" Blitz acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "We are going to hurry to the house!"
"Right!" Everyone nodded and started running to catch Crow's runner that took Yusei's body to Martha's place.
"W-wait a second!" Rally shouted, so everyone stopped and turned to him, "We have to haul this!" He kneeled down and placed his hands on Yusei's runner.
"Hey, hey! Rally?!? You really expect to push that thing all the way to the house?" Blitz wasn't happy with this idea, as Martha's place was hidden deep down inside Satellite and it was miles away, "Up ahead is swarming with all kinds of thieving types!" He pointed to the red runner with his hands, "If we walk by pushing that thing..."
"Then we especially can't leave it here!" Rally broke his sentence in half, "Did you forget? This is our invaluable treasure!"
His words made everyone sigh when Taka smiled thinking about it, "He's right! It's part of our important bonds with Yusei", he started explaining his thoughts, "Everyone pitched in to scrounge up useful-looking parts so we could bring them all to Yusei".
"Yeah", Nerve agreed, "Ever since Hanako stopped coming, he really pushed it to the limit all alone and built that new runner. It took him long enough but all the more reason we were so happy when he finished it!"
"Yeah", Blitz added, "We were all part of it!"
"Yes!" Rally shouted happily, "It was an achievement for all of us!" And his words now pulled others into thinking about the past and what they've all been through just to help Yusei build his new runner after Jack stole the first one he created with Hanako's help.
"Let's carry it!" Taka said all hyped about this idea now.
"Right!" Nerve felt the same way, "Our symbol of friendship!"
"Our bonds!" Added Taka in the end making Rally smile.
"Thanks, guys!"
Nerve and Taka ran to Rally, trying to pull up the runner and place it on tires, so it'd be easier to carry it along the way.
"For the love of-! Keep me out of this!" Blitz was waving with his hands up in the air. He didn't like the idea because he knew how dangerous it is to wander around Satellite during the night with a D-Wheel. Satellite was full of thieves and robbers just waiting to jump out of the shadows and steal everything you have and someone's runner was the most valuable thing in the city but seeing others' effort, he couldn't help but do the same...
They all started pulling Yusei's runner in the direction of Martha's house knowing how it will take them too long to reach the place but the idea of bringing that runner to Yusei somehow kept them going on. It was dark and cold in Satellite and not a single person was around. Everything was ruined, cracked or broken with buildings without walls, windows or door. The only thing left from the buildings was their construction template.
"These parts are pretty bad, aren't they?" Taka said when they reached Satellite's quarters.
"You can't chicken out now!" Nerve said while he was helping others push the runner.
"Yeah, that's right!" Blitz scolded him, "You were all dead-set on coming, weren't you?"
Taka opened his mouth to say something but his intentions were interrupted by evil laughs coming out of the dark.
"They're here!" Yusei's friends shouted with fear while the group of thieves started coming out from brhind buildings' walls, surrounding them completely.
"What do you guys want?" Nerve shouted standing in front of Yusei's D-Wheel like he was trying to protect it.
"That's some way to say 'hello'!" Shouted a man from the group of robbers.
"You're not from here, aren't you? But you did bring something pretty interesting with you!" Added someone else and their words made Nerve pick the first thing he found on the ground.
"Stay back!" Nerve pointed to one of the robbers with a wooden stick, "Keep your filthy mitts off it!"
"Nerve, back off!" Blitz grabbed Nerve's shirt, "You're just giving them incentive!" He said when a group of thieves started smiling again trying to attack them and surround them, so they won't escape. "See?!?" Blitz said again, "I told you so!"
"Forget what I said!" Nerve started apologising to the group, "We're in a rush, so do you think you could let us pass through there?"
"Then how about you pay the toll?" One of the thieves demanded.
"Toll?" Blitz's body was shivering with fear.
"Yeah", another robber said, "Why don't you just leave that here?" He pointed to the runner with his finger.
"Q-quit joking around!" Taka wasn't happy, "You're not getting one screw!"
"Then leave your cards!" answered a robber, "You got that much, don'cha?"
"Don't be crazy!" Taka shouted with his body still shivering, "We can't give you our cards either!"
"If you don't we'll just take both!" One of the thieves said showing them an evil smile.
"Hey, what do we do?" Nerve asked Blitz, Rally and Taka.
"Don't ask me!" Taka complained.
"Yusei's D-Wheel is irreplaceable!" Rally said, "Everyone, take every card you have!"
"Dammit!" Taka said when everyone pulled their decks from their pockets.
"Here goes nothing..." Nerve whispered as they all threw their cards in the air making them fall down to the ground like raindrops.
"All right!" Rally said when every single thief started grabbing cards from the ground like his life depends on it, "Now!!!" Rally, Blitz, Taka and Nerve pushed harder and ran away as fast as they could while robbers were still trying to grab as much cards as they could.
"We made it!" Nerve said while they were taking deep breaths and breathing heavily as they ran all the way up to another block of Satellite.
"Looks like they gave up..." Blitz answered but the group of same thieves surrounded them again.
"Leave your toll!"
"Not you guys again!" Blitz shouted while he was devastated by the group's demands.
"What now!" Taka was worried now more than afraid, "We're out of cards..."
"Dammit", Rally shouted, "If this is our only option..." He grabbed his shirt and started removing it from his body when others did the same and now, instead of their cards, their clothes was left on the ground for thieves to take it while they try to run away again. Rally was happy they made it in the end but little did they know about what's really lurking in the deepest parts of Satellite and its darkness...
* * *
"C'mon, kids! Rise and shine!" Martha's voice started echoing through the orphanage while Hanako was in the kitchen preparing the breakfast and looking at the sun rising from behind the forest. Orphanage was hidden deep inside the woods almost twenty minutes ride from the centre of Satellite, so everyone considered the orphanage to be the safest place for children and Martha was really doing a great job here but a pair of extra hands was always more than welcome. Hanako was washing her hands when she finished with making porridge for the kids and was now preparing the table when a bunch of kids strolled down the stairs and started running around the table chasing each other, so what was at first a peaceful morning now became a loud children playground.
"Guys! Everyone grab a seat! First come, first serve rule!" Hanako shouted and everyone stopped with the chase trying to grab their seats as soon as possible because they were all hungry and happy to see Hanako after a few weeks she's been absent. She used to come to Martha's occasionally to play with children or fix something in the house. She knew Martha didn't have a lot of money to pay for it, so she was more than happy to help.
"To think these kids would listen to you like that", Martha showed herself coming out of the kitchen.
"They're just hungry", Hanako giggled as she was now pouring the porridge into their plates trying to keep an order and serve them like she promised; children who first grabbed their seats, got the breakfast before those who were late or slower to grab their seats.
"That reminds me", Martha added, "Now that you're here, could you please look something for me?"
"What is it?"
"Our stove seems to be out of function".
"Don't worry! It'll be done by this afternoon", Hanako smiled and left the kids eat their breakfast while she's working; she also asked Martha to leave her alone until she finishes but Martha knew she'd be having such a silly request, so she didn't bother with it much. When Hanako moved to the kitchen and saw the stove, she realised it'll be more work with it than she thought. She grabbed her tools, sat on the floor and stared repairing it.
"Hey, Baby, watcha doin'?" Little boy approached her after some time.
"I'm trying to make this stove work again", she said.
"How?" He was curious.
"Do you want me to show you?" She asked with a smile when little boy nodded, "See this part here?" She pointed to some strange and colourful wires with her screwdriver and the boy nodded again, "You have to connect them from here to here", she was pointing to the left and the right side of a metal board but the boy couldn't keep the track, so he just backed away.
"It really looks complicated", he was confused.
"At first maybe but once you get to know stoves very well, it's very easy!"
"How can you get to know stove better? It's not a human being like us!"
"Oh, it's just my way of expression, don't mind it", she shook her head forgetting about how she sometimes sees things as they'd be alive but some children just didn't get it.
"When you finish with it, we can ride your D-Wheel, right?" Little boy changed the subject.
"As soon as I fix this, so that Martha can make you a delicious dinner", she winked and the boy exited the kitchen happily jumping from one foot to another leaving Hanako all alone again. She was trying hard to repair the stove but somehow time was passing by faster than she realised and it was already passed lunch time but she managed to fix it by then.
"You are a life saver, Baby. Thank you so much!"
"Oh, it's nothing really", she shook her head with a smile as washed her hands; "You know what, Marta? I'd like to check every bed in the house..."
Martha was surprised by her words, "Why is that so?"
"They are all unstable and loosened, so I'm afraid that children will get hurt and I also want them to have a good sleep, so I'd like to make sure at least their beds are in perfect state", Hanako explained.
"Sure, Baby! But at least wait for after the dinner because you promised those kids to show them your cards and ride a runner with them", Martha began to worry.
"I know, don't worry, Martha! I'll play with them first and I'll check their beds tomorrow morning when they wake up because it doesn't make sense to repair it while they are sleeping..."
"Aren't you going back to Crow's place?"
"I'm not leaving until I repair what I can!" She was shaking her head left to right and Martha knew it's no use to argue with her about it, so she just nodded in agreement.
Day soon passed faster than Hanako could've imagined. Playing with kids was more fun than usual, they were all happy to see her deck and tried sitting on her runner while she was driving them in circles around the orphanage.
"But everyone gets one lap around the house, so there's room for everyone, ok?" Hanako smiled to the kids, trying to teach them how fairness is very important among the group of people.
"Yaaay!" They all shouted, so Hanako started accelerating around the house but she was keeping a good track on her speed, not to make it too fast, just to be sure no one gets hurt.
"Hey, Baby! Can we see your Trishula?" One boy asked when Hanako made a circle around the house with a little girl riding on her runner.
"Sure!" She smiled while she was helping the girl to come off, "We'll just turn on the holographic system and summon this card", she explained when she clicked few buttons. "OK, it's now or never, guys. Are you ready?" she was smiling while looking at the card in her hand.
"Ready!" Shouted little boy.
"Me too!" Little girl added.
"Here! Trishula, show yourself!" She raised her hand trying to place the card onto her hybrid duel disk when little girl stopped her.
"Don't you have something more to say to him?"
"To him?" Hanako was shocked thinking about Yusei because he was the only person she was thinking about talking to.
"Yeah, you know how you say something before synchro summoning..." She was curious with her child eyes looking at Hanako almost disappointed.
"Oh, that!" Hanako sighed thinking about how stupid she was to think a child would imply something connected to Yusei when little girl doesn't even know what's bothering her.
"Yeah, Baby! Say something, call him!" One of the boys shouted with excitement.
"Fine..." Hanako took a deep breath, raised her hand and started her summoning chant, "Three time-transcending Souls shall unite and fight together as one! Energy never dies, so our Love can carry on! Synchro summon... Spread your icy wings, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" She shouted and placed a card on the runner. Kids were amazed by her actions because she really looked like she's duelling someone at the moment. They all started clapping happily when hologram showed big picture of Trishula, three-headed dragon with icicle wings and ice cold breath.
"Wow!" Kids were looking up into the sky with their eyes wide open when snowflakes started falling from the sky, so they tried to catch them but they disappeared as soon as they touched children's hands. Hanako knew it was just a holographic picture but she was so happy to see those little smiles on children's' faces. She remembered the day Yusei and she managed to build his first D-Wheel. It was silver-metal in colour and was just a bunch of scrap metal parts put together around the engine they found on the Scrapyard. When they tested it for the first time, Yusei used the same technique to summon his ace monster, Stardust Dragon and the sky was full of small pieces of star dust. Just like her Trishula summoned a lot of shiny snowflakes, Yusei's Stardust Dragon was dispersing stardust all over the sky. She giggled after remembering that scene and Rally's face when Stardust flew for the first time... It was just like then, kids' smiles were just like the one Rally had on his face more than two years ago. Taking away by her thoughts again, she got distracted from the present moment but her thoughts soon disappeared when Martha came out of the house calling everyone for a dinner. Since a lot has happened and all those playing arounds exhausted Hanako, she went to her room to rest but she had a hard time falling asleep.
"What's wrong with me?" Her body was shaking, "It's like something terrible is going to happen", she went to the bathroom to wash her face; she was pale and had dark spots under her eyes, "Screw my drivers! Just what do I look like?!?" She whispered to herself, "What's wrong with me again? I can't stop my emotions from taking over my body again..." It was around 3 a.m. when she looked at the clock, "What is this strange feeling I'm getting?" She looked at her hands when she reached her room falling to her bed again and trying to fall asleep. She covered her face with a pillow when she heard noises coming from the outside, "Blackbird?!?" She recognised the sound of that engine, so she threw the pillow away and jumped out of the bed to see what's going on. Her hands were placed on the window as her eyes were trying to catch Crow's presence in front of the house. There was no mistake it was Crow and his Blackbird but he wasn't alone.
"Martha! Martha! Hurry up and open the door! It's me, Crow!" Hanako heard loud noises as Crow started hitting the door as hard as he could.
"Crow, you idiot! You're going to wake up the kids!" She whispered angrily and ran to Martha's room to wake her up.
"Who is it? It's the middle of the night!?!" Martha shouted but then Hanako entered her room.
"Martha, it's Crow! He's outside; I'm going to open the door!" She ran away while Martha was getting ready to go outside taking a candle with her to light up the way. She didn't want to turn on the lights, not to wake up the kids.
"Why is he shouting like that? It's not like someone is dying in here!" Martha was angrily shouting, as she was trying to catch up with Hanako.
"You idiot! Don't you know children are sleeping at this time?!?" Hanako opened the door and faced Crow while Martha was trying to catch up to her but she was too fast.
"Baby, you're here?!?"
"Of course I am! Where would I be if I'm not home?" She crossed her hands.
"We don't have time for this, Baby!" Crow started panicking.
"Crow?" Martha managed to walk to the door.
"Martha, big trouble!!!" Crow pointed to his runner, so Martha and Hanako moved their eyes to see what was going on.
"Yusei?!?" Martha recognised him immediately while Hanako was having hard time to believe her eyes. She was standing like frozen unable to move her body. Her hands were placed on her lips and her eyes started gathering the tears while her body was trembling as she was in shock. Martha ran towards Crow's Blackbird, "What happened?" She moved the candle she was holding when she saw Yusei's body turned over Blackbird covered in blood. He was unconscious and blood was pouring through his abdomen onto the runner. He showed no signs of life, "This is bad!"
Hanako could only listen to what they were talking about while her body was still unmovable and steady with fear flowing through her spine like a motion wave; she saw a lot of blood covering the seat of Blackbird with Yusei's body completely lifeless. She saw his shoulders with his back facing Hanako's body. His face, on the other side, was hidden behind the runner.
"Hanako, don't just stand there!" Martha shouted to her trying to bring her back from shock into reality, "Help me carry Yusei inside!"
"Y-y-yes, Martha..." Her legs were shaking and she could barely walk but she managed to approach Blackbird and place her hands on Yusei's back trying to turn him over. She saw his pale face and he was barely breathing, so she removed the helmet from his head and threw it away not even thinking about where to put it in a moment like this. Her hands were still shaking but she somehow placed her fingers on his neck to check for his pulse. He was still alive but they had to act quickly if they wanted to keep it that way. She was caught by his sleeping face, as she moved his fringe to the side of his face only to see the yellow marker under his left eye. His face was pale, probably because he's lost a lot of blood while Crow was trying to take him here and the only thing that Hanako could think about is how he hasn't changed much; in fact, he hasn't changed at all...
"Hang in there, Yusei! I'll save you!" Martha said while Hanako cried out for Crow's help, so he placed his hands underneath Yusei's armpits while Hanako took his legs and they carried him inside the house.
"You have a nursery room down the hall on the right!" Martha shouted behind them as they were trying their best to act quickly and take Yusei's body with care. They both nodded as they were carrying Yusei to the room, placing him on the surface that looked like an operation table.
"I'm going to call for Doctor Schmidt, he'll know what to do!" Martha said closing the door with hope that Yusei's going to survive.