SEIZE THE WIND

★ ★ — ooc. Yo, your local Kasa here with an update on my Yusaku and the future of his blog! I’ve actually been thinking on this for awhile, and while having him as a sideblog to Takeru’s was pretty convenient, I think I’ll be pulling him offline for a bit so I can set him up on his own main blog. 

Same url, same everything; just in a place that’s easier for me to use!

New blog’s here, though I probably won’t be active with him any earlier than Dec. 19th. cause work. I’ll be re-following everyone on his followers list who’s still active though and continuing all of his current threads over there, too, so dw!

She’d expected a reply like that. It was her imagination, something wrong with her account or her settings, maybe she was just seeing things and needed a nap or something - They were all things she’s considered herself, even given her settings a thorough looking-over several times, to no avail. It had to be a glitch somewhere, but… Where? And why only in her account?

“I thought I did.” She also hadn’t meant for that reply to be paired with a sigh, but the moment it registered has having slipped free in her mind, Mako glanced down to the disk beside them. “I’ve given my settings a thorough search every time I’ve logged on, and yet they’re still there. I can’t… I can’t figure out why.” Why her? Why her shoulder, why those particular monsters? And why could she-

“Touch them - Sometimes I can touch them, too - Kind of. I thought they were still technically holograms inside Link VRAINS?”

“They are, but the holograms inside Link VRAINS run through something called Solid Vision. Duel Monsters are technically touchable, but the system’s automatic settings usually keep monsters, attacks, and actual damage away from its players for obvious reasons. Your situation, however, is...”

Weird, but Yusaku wouldn’t say that out loud. Instead, a few simple clicks on the computer closest to him would have one of the larger monitors flipped back on from standby as the teen went to searching through a folder worth of files.

“You say you’re seeing monsters outside normal duels, right? Especially when no one else around you is dueling or has their duel disk active?”

“It was...Sugisaki-san, right? Sugisaki Miyu...?” Where had he heard that name before? Yusaku had probably sounded like he’d trailed off after calling for the girl for lack of a better way to continue their conversation. Yusaku had never been good at small talk, but he really was curious. 

“O-oh! No, sorry I’m not waiting for anyone.” He was slightly startled, he had gotten so engrossed in observing everything in this new fascinating city that he didn’t notice all the people passing him by.

“Although…I am a bit lost. See, I’m traveling by myself and I uh…don’t really plan out my destinations too much but I’ve never actually heard of this city.” Which he would have thought he would have, given how big it was. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure how he stumbled upon this place anyways. “Could you tell me a bit about it, if you’re not too busy?”

“Traveling by yourself, huh?”

Wasn’t he a little young to traveling somewhere like this on his own? Not that Yusaku could judge though. He wasn’t even that old yet and living alone was something he’d already been forced to deal with, so maybe his reason really wasn’t that weird. 

bold   what   applies.    italicize   what   applies   sometimes.

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TAGGING: anyone who’s up for it!

“Not that it makes any difference to me, but you look a little young to be a student here. Are you here waiting for someone?” 

Though maybe it would’ve been best for Yusaku to just ignore like kid like he tended to do with everyone and walk past like he wasn’t even there. There was something about him that caught Yusaku’s attention though; like he wasn’t supposed to be there other than the fact he looked like a junior high student instead. 

Well it wasn’t like Takeru thought that Yusaku would just give up in defeat once he had set his plan into motion, but honestly.. the other one might be struggling, but it was far from being enough to actually break free from his grab. 

“Well I think I can.” he replied, a rather stubborn expression on his face. He was just showing that he could after all. Yusaku could say as much as he wanted but it wouldn’t change anything about his determination to get Yusaku out of here. So he didn’t even hesitated any longer and started to leave the truck instead. 

“And that stupid code can wait for you to get some hours of rest.”

So if Yusaku thought that Takeru would bring him home now…well Takeru definitely would. But Yusaku would soon come to realize that Takeru was thinking about his own flat in this case. After all there was no computer that the other one could use to work any longer. 

“You need rest. And if I let you on your own you obviously won’t get it.”

Maybe he wasn’t able to help with this coding stuff but he at least could help with making sure the other one was taking care of himself at least a bit.

“...”

A grumpy huff is all that’d answer Takeru as Yusaku finally gave up; the teen eventually falling limp against the other shoulder. Obviously struggling wasn’t going to get him anywhere in this. Despite his best efforts, Takeru was actually a lot stronger than he looked, so Yusaku would have to give him credit for that.

Not that finding out that one his friend could dead lift him was going to put Yusaku in a better mood though.

“—That stupid code needed to be finished before Kusanagi-san came back in the morning and now you’re going to be the one answering for why it’s not.”

Never mind if anyone he knew actually saw Takeru carrying him though the streets like he was stuffed teddy bear. Thankfully, the sidewalks were next to empty this time of night, but...did Takeru even know the way back to his place?

That much was true. Soulburner wasn’t part of this conversation now and somehow Revolver hoped that it would stay like that a while longer because even though the fiery teen appearing here would give him a chance to escape this situation, it only would cause more trouble for him in the end. 

In the end he did notice the change in the other ones stance but it wasn’t something he had wanted to see. Instead it made him tense a bit more because the younger one wasn’t supposed to act like that around him. They had been enemies once. And trusting him again would sooner or later lead to Playmakers downfall again. 

“I might not started it.” he agreed in the end, because that much was true. He couldn’t deny that. It was his father who had started this madness and even though it was or at least had been his mission to carry on for a long time Revolver had understood at this point that there hadn’t been much he could have changed about that. 

“But I lured you into it. We both are rather well aware of the fact that I could have stopped it way sooner. But I decided not to. So while I might not started it I still am the one who let it happen.”

And wasn’t that even worse? If he had acted sooner maybe those kids hadn’t been as hurt as they had been in the end. Maybe their life would have been a better one afterwards, as they wouldn’t have lost that much. It was his fault. His guilt to carry no matter what Playmaker would say against it. 

“And I don’t regret it. I would do it again.” 

“—And yet that’s exactly why you helped us. Because you did regret not doing so sooner.”

If there was one thing Playmaker wasn’t afraid to do, it was to call someone like Revolver out. That deliberate statement of the others’ would be met with the cold stubbornness Playmaker was known for, if only because he could see right through that.

“And the help didn’t just stop with you calling someone to come rescue us from that place way back then either. Though it’s been subtle, you’ve been helping both me and the people surrounding me in the background because you know our enemies are one and the same. Not only that-”

But on some distant understanding, Playmaker could almost tell that Revolver wasn’t as cut off from the victims of the Lost Incident like he was pretending to be. He was someone who knew everything about the six kids involved in the Hanoi Project, so did he regret the pain and suffering they went through?

Likely because Hiko had taken to Yusaku like a cat to a warm sunbeam, though the cub wouldn’t know enough to tell him as such. As many aunts and uncles as he had among his parents’ friends, it was largely Kiku, Kusanagi, and Yusaku Hiko’d taken to the most, even curling up beside Yusaku for a nap if given the chance - Though he always knew better than to touch. He was a smart, fun lion uncle, but even Hiko knew he disliked people being too close, and that went for him, as well.

But it wouldn’t stop him from peering at said uncle in confusion while he waited; he wasn’t going to stand there with him? That was the routine, wasn’t it? Order, wait for his food, and find a seat just outside of the truck. Could they even eat inside? Was he allowed inside without his parents? “I’ve never gone inside without Mommy and Daddy,” Hiko finally announced, lowering Leo for a tight hug of the toy to his chest. As much as he loved an adventure… This was allowed, right?

It was dark but… “Is it okay to, Uncle ‘Saku? I don’t wanna make a mess in Uncle Kusanagi’s truck….”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s fine.” 

Outside, inside; Yusaku was honestly too used to taking up a spot in both places and since Hiko was here because Yusaku had been the one to lead him here, he’d assumed the younger wouldn’t question where they’d sit while Hiko ate his fries. Did he always need this much reassurance to do something?

“I don’t think Kusanagi-san’s the type to keep someone like us out in the dark. Besides, I can’t remember the last time he actually cleaned his truck out anyway, so there’s no issue there.”

Though Yusaku would have to admit, Kusanagi did keep the cafe part of his truck decent. The only problem about Hiko being inside with them was space, but Yusaku was sure they’d work out something. 

“Trust me, I’m sure.” She’d tried everything to see if Takeru could see them as well, and the only thing it’d gotten her was a spooked boyfriend thinking she’d been caught up with spirits of some kind. It’d taken her the better part of a day to calm him enough to even get near her again offline; if this was something wrong with her account, she needed to get it fixed before it caused more problems!

A gentle press of a button on the underside of her disk’s outer rim released the band, sliding the lower half of it into the top enough to free her wrist and allow her to set the device on the counter beside them. “…Salamangreat Almiraj,” Mako started, tone hesitant. How fast would he be to label her insane, too? “Luster Liger, Progleo, Fencing Fire Ferret… I’m seeing monsters where nobody else can. Not in duels - It’s more like… Pets. Companions.” Shoulder-keepers, in Almiraj’s case, but pets would do for the moment, right?

Pets. Companions. 

“Figments of your imagination.” Yusaku wouldn’t even bother to make his retort to that subtle. Even though he didn’t talk about his time online much, he had plenty of experience interacting with the digital world of Link VRAINS. Monsters didn’t just come to life and act like pets just because someone was logged onto their account. 

Link VRAINS didn’t have the capabilities to run simulated Duel Monster companions like that and he knew it. 

“If anything, it’s probably just a glitch in your VR settings. The system probably got set up wrong and thinks you’re connecting to the network for a duel, so it’s running its holographics program at the wrong time.” 

Unfortunately, that’d be something they’d have to log into Link VRAINS to investigate further if Mako was really that concerned about it, but Yusaku wouldn’t be the one to suggest that. Not first, anyway.

“Your health is more important than your stupid code.” 

Rolling his eyes Takeru shook his head, at the same time annoyed as fascinated about how stubborn the other one seemed to be right now. It always had been something he had admired about the other one. When Yusaku had sat his mind on something there was nothing and no one able to stop him. Takeru had wished to be like that many times. He never had expected that it would work against him like this though… 

“And I already told you… I won’t leave without you.” he replied again, even though he was getting up at these words. Yusaku might be unaware about how he would force him yet, but maybe it was time to show him. 

Without giving the other one much time to comprehend his words he just pulled him from his chair and tried to threw him over his shoulders. He didn’t looked as strong as he actually was, so maybe the surprise was with him this time. 

If this wouldn’t work he still cute simply cut the power here, right? 

“—!?”

Luckily for Takeru, he wouldn’t have much trouble. Yusaku might’ve been stubborn and unwilling to budge from his screen until he’d finished rewriting his program on his own terms, but when it came to physical strength, the spiky haired teen was a light-weight. So when Yusaku found a pair of arm suddenly snug against his middle and attempting to force him up from his seat-

The best he could do was struggle and try to break out of Takeru’s hold without much luck; though not without voicing his displeasure either!

“H-Hey—! Just because I didn’t move when you asked me to doesn’t mean you can just...carry me out of here! I need to finish that...rrgh, code tonight...!”

Though if Takeru were smart, he’d not listen to a word of Yusaku’s complaining and just keep going too! Right now, Yusaku was at the complete mercy of wherever Takeru wanted to drag him to.