s t e r n s t a u b

indi. && selective rp blog for FUDO YUSEI from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. mutuals only. sideblog. Follows from linasmuses

[assortedrpmemes]

Send A Number to Experience One of My Muse’s Memories

Memories are vignettes for one’s past, and often times, they are very telling.

1. Their First Memory 2. A memory of their father 3. A memory of their mother 4. A memory of a sibling 5. A memory of a pet 6. A turning point in their life 7. A memory they want to forget 8. A hazy memory 9. A photographic memory 10. A disappointing memory 11. A memory that may or may not have happened 12. A happy memory 13. A memory of a friend 14. A memory of a relationship 15. A heartbreaking memory 16. A memory that makes them angry 17. A memory of something they regret 18. A memory they’d love to change 19. A memory of someone they don’t see anymore 20. A memory of someone who is deceased 21. A memory of the first time they did an activity they love 22. A childhood memory 23. A school day memory 24. A holiday memory 25. A birthday memory 26. A memory they want to share 27. A memory of something they’re proud of 28. A memory that strains a relationship 29. A memory they can’t let themselves forget 30. Asker’s choice 31. Writer’s choice

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{•» Takeru «•}

“They’re kinda hard to find unless you know where to look for them,” Takeru admitted, “But they both usually like to hang out at that place I mentioned I was going to later, so maybe we can check there after we find you a new duel disk. Knowing them, they’re both probably busy, but…it sounds like you and them would get along.”

At the bare minimum, at least Yusei sounded like he could bond with Yusaku and Kusanagi over technical talk. That was one thing Takeru couldn’t do with his new found friends in the city: talk computers.

But that could be after they found Yusei a new disk to at least catch him up to the current trends in Den City.

“Finding something that’ll work with Link VRAINS shouldn’t take too long.”

Somehow Yusei wasn't that surprised about it. After all most people who were a bit more into coding  - hacking - tend to stay closed off and away from public.

"We sure could go there afterwards." He didn't really mind meeting new people. It was just that he usually was too lost in his work to actually go out and meet other people. Crow probably would be proud of him right now.

"Looking at the fact how popular Link VRAINS seems to be around here it's easy to believe that."

Though it hadn't been the main reason he had come here for... Yusei couldn't deny that he was curious about it.

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{•» - «•}

“Yeah, ‘cept I ain’t completely new to this side of City either. I kinda grew up here…well, not around here ‘cause none of this looks all that familiar. But I used to be a Common, too.”

Yusei would probably pick up on that ‘used to be’ remark Yugo had let slip in. The truth was, Yugo still felt like a Common trying to get by in a world ruled by the Tops, even if he didn’t exactly live in City anymore. His place was with Yuya and his other counterparts, though-

Hopefully, no one asked him to explain all that. Honestly, Yugo didn’t really understand how he’d ended up where he was himself.

“Didn’t the top hats in the High Counsel say somethin’ about fixin’ this side of town up eventually though? This place still looks kinda rough.”

And probably wasn't really listening either, because it wasn't what he had meant. But in the end it was barely an unimportant detail, because something different got Yuseis attention instead.

"Used to?" There weren't many people around who could say something like that. The most prominent probably was Jack. But Jack still was a topic Yusei didn't want to think about at all.

"I heard rumors about it. But even if they're actually do something like that they'd probably start at the more crowded area and not here were mostly outcasts live."

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{•» Takeru «•}‌

“Yeah, I guess I don’t.” Takeru was quick to agree “It’s not that they don’t have stuff like that back where I’m from because they do. But I guess I just haven’t been that interested in learning how to use any of it.”

In fact, up until now, Takeru had lived a pretty secluded lifestyle. It wasn’t something he’d outright admit to someone like Yusei, but things like tablets and computers—devices that most people his age knew by heart by now—were never something that’d caught Takeru’s interest. Nothing much had.

Not until he’d heard of Playmaker anyway. Then it would’ve taken everything in someone to pry Kiku’s tablet out of his hands. 

“Computers so right over my head, but if you know how to work on that bike thing of yours, then that means you must be pretty good with stuff like that, right? Kind of like a couple of friends of mine.”

“That’s okay.” he replied,tilting his head to the side slightly. “I mean where I’m from...we didn’t have  a lot technical stuff around at all. And if so the things were broken or damaged so you’d pick up how to fix them rather fast if you want to use them.” Or at least got close to someone who could. After all he was much better with these things than Crow or Jack for example. Even though he was aware of the fact that both of them might have picked up a thing or two.. it had be mainly him to work on their stuff. 

“So yeah... I’m pretty good with this kind of stuff... what’s rather good cause I’m working with things like these all the time.” Because even though he wasn’t dueling much anymore.. .and didn’t work on his or the others D-Wheels as much as he used to anymore... the work at the reactor was rather much the same. A lot of coding, a lot of technical devices. Honestly Yusei wasn’t sure if he could even live without it around. 

“I’d love to meet those friends of you then.” he decided. Because other people who were good with this kind of stuff were always interesting to talk to. You could learn a lot while doing so after all. 

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{•» Takeru «•}‌

Yusei wouldn’t recognize it then, but Takeru was just going to retrace the typical track he took when he went to school. He was pretty sure the shop they were looking for was that way somewhere. Takeru might not have know where exactly, but the shop in question would’ve been hard to miss if they’d found it.

“I’m not really that good with newer technology,” Takeru would finally admit though, lifting up the disk on his left arm.

“I mean, I’ve got a friend back home who even had to show me how to use her tablet, so this one’s just easier for me to use, I guess.” 

That was only half the story. Takeru’s duel disk had some serious memories attached to it; from his trauma to Flame’s time with him. It might’ve been older, but it was definitely something Takeru couldn’t get rid of.

Honestly Takeru could take  him anywhere right now without Yusei suspecting anything, but the other one seemed honest enough to trust him. And it wasn’t like Yusei would be helpless in case it was a trap or something. Not that he expected it was. 

Tilting his head to the side he looked again down to the other ones duel disk, before shrugging slightly. “I guess you don’t have to be good with everything.” he replied eventually. “Also I don’t see why you should replace something if it’s still working.” 

He never had understood it. But he was rather well aware of the fact that a lot of people tend to have always the newest stuff, fast in getting rid of the older stuff. It was how they had got most stuff they needed to life back then in Satellite after all so he wouldn’t complain either but still... 

“But if you didn’t even know how to use a tablet I guess you don’t use technical stuff that much at all?”

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{•» Yusaku «•}

| ❖ |   If surprise was an emotion that the other never expected to see, then the blanching of horror would immensely feel out of place.  Yusei almost died?  Twice?  He really has missed a lot.         Hands clenching into fists, Yuusaku turned his book-bag upside down to allow a few textbooks and binders tumble out onto the bed.  He did have plans to catch up on his studies, but at this rate, his mind will be too clouded to focus.

        How dare Jack make such dastardly assumptions about him!  ❝ I didn’t replace any of you!  Especially not Yusei of all people. ❞  Of course he cares, and if he had been with his old Satellite gang, Yuusaku would have done everything in his power to protect them.         But he wasn’t there.  Even if he could go back in time to change this, it wasn’t like he could afford to.  LINK VRAINS needed Playmaker during the Knights of Hanoi’s terrorism.  If it wasn’t him to have captured Ai all those months ago, who knows how the present would have been shaped.

        With a huff, Yuusaku unclasps his duel disk from his wrist, ignoring the high-pitched whine from the Ignis as he puts him in the usual cabinet.  No, after that comment about Yusei, he knew he wouldn’t be able to study even if he could get Jack to leave.

        ❝ Well, I didn’t ask for you to worry about me.  I haven’t had time lately for such leisure as getting into contact with you. ❞  He’s not staying here any longer; even if he wanted to go into LINK VRAINS to get his mind back on track with the mission, there were too many risks involved with Lightning’s gang lurking undetected.  Right now, he wanted to be alone with his thoughts, and without another word, Yuusaku marches right back up the stairs and slams the door on his way out of his apartment.

        Silence reigned supreme in the tiny room for several moments as Ai’s head poked out of the duel disk.  Locked back in that cabinet, once again.  How annoying!         ❝ Ugh, this evening is not going according to my plans.  I better call for Roboppi to get me out of here. ❞

Maybe he overdid it a bit with his choice of words. The other ones expression was a rather clear sign for that but still... Jack couldn’t find himself in a place where he could regret it. It didn’t matter how he would have told the other one about Yusei’s recent near death experiences, it would have hurt the other one either way. At the same time he deserved to know about it. And maybe it would show the younger one a bit better what he could miss by cutting down the contact to zero. It might hadn’t bothered him that Jack lost his title. But Yusei... there never had been a way the younger one wouldn’t care about Yusei at all. And the other one just had proved him to be right with that assumption. 

The reaction he got though wasn’t exactly what he expected. He couldn’t say much against the argument of not having time to stay in contact. Not where he was in the same place. During the whole Dark Signer event he hadn’t found time to contact Yusaku either. Maybe didn’t even want to contact him because he already had dragged Carly into this mess and if the other side had found Yusaku because of his mistakes Jack wouldn’t have been able to look Yusei or Crow or even Martha in the eyes. It probably was pure luck that Kiryu never had been that interested in Yusaku in the first place and thus hadn’t tried to use him against Yusei during their duel. 

He didn’t get the chance to say anything about it though as Yusaku already had passed by and left the apartment before Jack had figured out what to say. And again he was alone with the small cleaning robot. 

Or at least so he had thought. 

“...” Irritated his eyes wandered to the small cabinet in which Yusaku had placed his duel disk before. He had already heard the shriek before but hadn’t paid much attention to it, but now that there was a head appearing out of the duel disk... what the hell had Yusaku got himself into? 

“And what are you?”

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{•» - «•}​​

“…I didn’t think I was lost. Not unless they up ‘n changed City on me while I’ve been off vacationin’.”

Though now that this guy had mentioned it, this place did seem a little off. It still felt like home somehow, but something about the way this area was set up wasn’t as…familiar as what Yugo could remember the Synchro Dimension being. Had he really been off with Yuya that long that even City had started to feel different to him now, too?

Somehow, he doubted it. Weird feeling or not, the streets and buildings here were still worn down and rough—just like how Yugo could remember. Maybe he’d just ended up in a different part of the city than what he was used to exploring.

“I mean, this is still the Commons Sector, right? There’s no way the higher up’s coulda pulled the plug on something like that already.”

At this kind of reply Yusei frowned slightly. It wasn't the possibility of the city changing that sounded so unreal. Because actually things could change rather fast around here. They usually were getting worse though.

But vacation? It was a rather strange thing to hear around here, because usually you had enough problems with just surviving.

"It is yeah." he replied eventually, putting the tool in his hand down to give the stranger his full attention.

"But people usually don't pass by around here. They kinda avoid the edge of the common sector. So seeing new faces is kinda refreshing."

And somehow alarming.

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{•» Yusaku «•}

| ❖ |   Jack Atlas wasn’t the King anymore?  Yuusaku could almost scoff at the thought; perhaps he was really out of the loop with the news from New Domino City.  But clearly the blond man hasn’t fallen from his high horse completely if his arrogance wasn’t in check.         ❝ Yeah, things do change, Jack.  I’m not the same kid you once knew. ❞  Learning the truth about his past and confronting his inner demons had been only the first of many steps to walking towards his brighter future.  He might not be anywhere close to being ready to settle down peacefully, but at least he was trying, and with other people.  His friends.  

        ❝ No, you can’t say the same thing about me.  I do have friends here now, as a matter of fact.  Friends who can understand how I feel, people who know what we’re fighting for.  But you have no idea what’s at stake right now. ❞

        No, Jack wouldn’t know.  He can’t know.  This war with the rouge Ignis was kept under-wraps, otherwise unaffiliated parties would try to intervene.  The Zaizen siblings were the only ones outside of the current alliance to have any sort of knowledge of the situation at hand, and that was solely so Akira could act as another line of defense if Team Playmaker were to fail in this mission.         No, Jack can’t be in the know.  His identity as Playmaker was still to remain a secret.  Hell, even this meeting has to stay a secret – if Lightning were to discover his former ties, he could use them against him.  Yusei, Crow, hell even Jack here.

        With a sigh, Yuusaku glanced down at his duel disk, Ai’s winking eye looking back at him.  Knowing his partner Ignis’s cheeky demeanor, if things here were to escalate too much, he may just intervene in a futile attempt to ‘lighten the mood.’         ❝ Why are you even here, Jack?  Surely you didn’t come to just bitch about my living quarters again. ❞

Honestly Jack wasn't even sure if he knew Yusaku at any point at all. Of course they grew up together, but the younger one always had been so quiet. Stayed mostly on his own. Yusei somehow had reached him. But Jack never really had bothered to try.

So the other one had friends. It was...kinda relieving to hear but somehow it rubbed him off just the wrong way.

"Well you never gave up the chance to become friends like that." he replied, forced himself to stay calm even though there was some bite in his voice. "Instead you went and replaced not only us, but Yusei as well. He nearly died recently. Twice. But you probably don't care about this either."

For a moment he felt silent, watching the little cleaning robot instead. Yeah... why was he even here? It was the big question, hu? Yusaku probably won't like the answer though.

"You probably won't believe it, but I was worried about you. I haven't heard anything from you for weeks. Wanted to make sure you're actually still alive."

He couldn't look into Yusei’s eyes anymore otherwise. But the other one didn't need to know that.

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{•» Yusaku «•}

| ❖ |   ❝ Don’t act like you know anything about me Jack.  If you did, you would know that I’ll always care about our friends!  I just can’t afford to get homesick while I’m still busy! ❞  Oops, that was a bit too much to reveal.  With a huff of aggravation, Yuusaku turned away from his unwanted company to approach his bed.  He dumped his book-bag onto the mattress, absentmindedly noting the soft whirring of Roboppi from underneath the frame; the cleaning robot didn’t seem to be a big fan of Jack’s presence, which was understandable.

        He didn’t need Jack to get involved in his life right now anymore than he already has.  While the Knights of Hanoi and the mysteries surrounding the Lost Incident have been dealt with, not all of his problems are over.  The rouge Ignis were still a prevalent issue, and while Yuusaku was more welcoming on accepting help than he used to be, this was one he didn’t want to drag outsiders into.  Those associated with the Lost Incident, like Revolver, Soulburner, and Yumi were fine.  But those unrelated?  Not happening.

        ❝ Then maybe you should have bought me something inconspicuous!  I’m not interested in an overly lavish lifestyle like you have, Mr. King.  A small apartment with a functional heater would have sufficed. ❞         Friends?  Yusei and the others were always important to him.  But his origins would have cause issues if revealed, especially during his fight against the Hanoi.  And now, things were so set in stone, Yuusaku simply doesn’t see a reason why things have to change.

        ❝ That’s rich coming from you, Jack.  Last time I checked, you abandoned the others for popularity, so I don’t want to hear it. ❞

Well that kind of outburst was rather unusual for the younger one who used to be so annoyingly quiet around them all the time. But maybe he just tripped them on the wrong way. Whatever it was it was somehow finally a reaction out from the other one. Even more. One that gave him some information on the other ones doing. ‘still busy’. Whatever Yusaku went out to achieve, he hasn’t finished it yet. And it seemed like the other one didn’t want him to know. 

Well that wasn’t surprising at all. 

What probably wasn’t surprising either was what the younger one threw at him next. It wasn’t the first time he heard things like that. And if Jack was honest to himself... it probably wouldn’t be the last time either. 

“That’s good because I’m not the King anymore.” Maybe his voice got a bit harsher about that. While he found himself accepting the fact that maybe he needed his friends more than he had allowed himself to admit before it didn’t meant that he already was over the loss he got there. Twice. Because he was rather well aware of the fact that he would have lost the first duel as well if it hadn’t been interrupted the way it was. 

“And maybe you should check again. Things change.” He changed. Carly did change him. There was no denying about that. And while a huge part of his personality still was the same Jack was rather well aware of the fact that he wouldn’t sold out his friends like he did ever again.  

Without really noticing it his hand had went up over the arm that was still holding the mark of the red dragon. There had been so many years where he just hadn’t known or even understand what it was and what it meant for him. But after everything that had happened over the last weeks. Last months. 

“Maybe it took me nearly losing those who never gave up on me. But I’m not blind to them anymore. But can I say the same about you?!”

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{•» Yusaku «•}‌

| ❖ |   Yusei wasn’t living in the Satellite anymore?  Well that was news to him indeed.  But even though Yuusaku knew he couldn’t stop the look of surprise on his face at the remark, the least he could do was remove it so he can give Jack a clear expression of annoyance.         ❝ I’m pretty sure I told you last time why I live like this, or did you forget?  Or do you just not care? ❞  Well, Yuusaku had told the other one of the reasons why he wasn’t moving into such an extravagant apartment.  Then he’ll just have to repeat himself.         ❝ I’m here on a mission, and the more I lay low, the better off I’ll be. ❞  Granted, that part of his mission was completed months ago, and his identity as Playmaker and a victim of the Lost Incident was revealed to the Knights ages ago.  But that wasn’t anything he was revealing to Jack right now.

        ❝ You know we had to forge a lot of papers for me to attend Den City High and that was risky enough as it is.  If anyone was to actually investigate my records because I’m an orphan living alone in a rich apartment, they’ll uncover the truth! ❞         Yuusaku could hear a hum of intrigue from the Ignis residing in his duel disk, and he discreetly put his left wrist behind his back.  He was thankful that Ai had stayed silent for this long, but he didn’t need him butting into this conversation.  It was bad enough that he would have to explain all of this to Ai to begin with, but that was a worry for later.

For once the surprise was rather clear in the younger’s face, even if it was just for a few seconds before the all to familiar annoyance appeared there again. Honestly everything else would have surprised Jack. It was rather clear that Yusaku had served all ties to his past. After all it always had been him who had contacted the younger one before the Dark Signer stuff had happened. So Jack had been rather sure that Yusaku hadn’t kept tabs on him and thus hadn’t heard of Yusei at all. 

In the end Yusaku didn’t comment on it any further. And for now Jack accepted it, even if his expression wasn’t happy at all at that moment. “Crow isn’t either. But I guess you’re not interested about them anymore.” 

Maybe it had been a mistake to let Yusaku come here. Alone even more. He didn’t know how far the other one had gotten with his research yet. If he was going anywhere at all. At the same time he was rather well aware of the fact that the younger one wouldn’t accept his help anyways. They never had been close. Not so close as Yusaku had been with Yusei for sure. 

“Oh I remember that conversation all to well. And I told you that there’s nothing suspicious about a apartment with a working heater.” he replied eventually, arms crossed in front of his arms. Maybe he was right. Maybe the orphan story hadn’t been their best move. 

“And what’s so horrible about the truth? That you have friends that care about you?” 

Seems like spending all this time with not only Yusei but Carly had really changed something inside him. Maybe it was the near death situation he had been in during the all mess. Or that losing Carly had shown him what he had lost.

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{•» Yusaku «•}

| ❖ |   If Yuusaku had any hopes of Jack changing his attitude since they last met, they were quickly erased by his words.  While he had been a willing accomplice in Jack’s departure from the Satellite, it never failed to make him queasy to know that the pair of them essentially abandoned the rest of their gang to remain in such a horrid location.  Yuusaku knew he was making excuses for himself, seeing as how he left everyone in search of vengeance and closure.

        But the same couldn’t be said for Jack, and it was probably one of the most infuriating thoughts if not the most infuriating.  Yes, he had much to thank Jack for in regards to providing him funds to live by while he stayed in Den City in pursuit of the truth.  Yet he was well aware of the other’s desire for luxury, and how he had used others to gain it.  It has been some time since he’s actually looked up news articles in relation to New Domino City, but when he first did all that time ago, all he saw was Jack’s rise to fame and glory.   After a few weeks, he had to stop looking back to his place of origin because it was hindering his motivation for stopping the Knights of Hanoi.        The first time Jack had visited him, he had been appalled by Yuusaku’s living quarters to the point of buying him a fancy apartment in a more expensive part of the city.  But there had been three reasons why Yuusaku refused to accept the ‘gift,’ and even now he still stands by them.

        ❝ But I don’t want or need ‘better,’ Jack. I’m not here to live a glamorous life.  Whether or not I ‘enjoy’ living here isn’t the point. ❞

        And no, he was not going to confirm the fact that the heater isn’t functioning correctly.

The blond one raised an eyebrow at that fact because actually...they already had this argument months ago and he was rather sure that their points still were the same. They could probably argue about this for hours without moving at all. 

“I don’t ask you to ‘enjoy’ you live here. I ask you to live somewhere where we don’t need to fear of you getting ill as soon as it’s cold outside. To stay alive.”

Yusaku hadn’t answered the question about the heater but for him was it answer enough at this point. And while he couldn’t argue that they both were used to this - even though he likes to deny it from time to time - it still didn’t meant that they had to keep doing so. 

And it really didn’t seem like Yusaku was to convince otherwise. Jack already had tried with arguing. Had tried with just putting him into a bigger, better flat. It hadn’t helped at all because they were here yet again. 

“I can’t understand how you cling to this shit hole of an apartment.  You’re really missing the Satellite that much?” He somehow couldn’t actually make himself believe that. As much Yusaku might missed the people they had left behind, the place was nothing more but a junkyard of garbage. Or at least had been. “If so don’t go back there, you’ll might be disappointed about how things have changed.” 

Shaking his had Jack eventually decided to get up from the spot where he was sitting to take a few steps towards the other one. “Or is this because you feel guilty about having a better life while Yusei has not? News for you, he isn’t in Satellite anymore either.”

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{•» Yusaku «•}

| ❖ |   Ever since Revolver divided up pieces of the Tower of Hanoi’s reconstruction program, many nights since have been filled with long hours of coding and programming.  The Tower’s code was complex and showed clear signs of having been developed by skilled hands over the course of several weeks if not months; thankfully no one was required to assemble the entirety of it by themselves.  Between the remaining Knights of Hanoi, Ghost Girl, and himself and Kusanagi, putting the pieces back together would take days at minimum, maybe a week or two.         But time was of essence, and Team Playmaker knew there wasn’t any to waste by approaching this task with leisure.  Lightning and his allies were on the move, hidden deep within the network.  If they had any hopes of putting an end to his plans, locating him with the Tower of Hanoi’s massive scanners was their quickest option.

        Yet tonight was not going to be one of those long nights, according to Kusanagi.  Before the sun was to set, he drove both Yuusaku and Takeru back to their respective apartments, insisting that they get a good night’s rest in their own beds.  Yuusaku had resisted at first, but he couldn’t do much once he was ceremoniously dumped out of the truck.  With no other options left, he heads up to his room in the condominium; perhaps he can work on some of his freelance projects and tune out Ai’s plans on catching up on soap operas with Roboppi.

        Though it seems those ideas were thrown out the window once he set foot into his apartment.  Tilting his head down at his roomba while it greats him, Yuusaku diverts his eyes up to an old but familiar face.

        ❝ I’m always serious, Jack. ❞  Not even a ‘hello’ was needed for them.

Well yeah.. he probably couldn’t deny that. The younger one always had been way too serious for his own age to a point that it got really annoying. 

“Then why? We both know you could have better than this.” he replied, vaguely pointing around their surroundings, while his eyes stayed constantly on the younger one though. At least from this distant he seemed okay a bit tired. A bit annoyed. Same old Yusaku probably. Jack could almost say he was relieved about it. 

It had been a while since he had been here last. It almost felt like it had been in another lifetime, as it had happened shortly before Yusei showed up in his life again.  Things surely had different back then. And Jack couldn’t help but wonder if something inside the others eyes had changed. 

What hasn’t changed were their surroundings. Jack was aware of the fact that they already had this talk last time. It had ended with him storming out getting the younger one another living situation. That Yusaku so openly refused to use it... Jack couldn’t help but wonder if there was more behind it than mere stubbornness.

“Don’t tell me you enjoy living in a place like this. Is the heater even working?” 

[stxrnstaub-closed]

{•» Takeru «•}‌

“Heh, you sound like someone who’s not too picky then.”

That was good though. At least Takery didn’t have to worry about finding something that fit exactly what Yusei would’ve had in mind, because even though Takeru was far from tech-savvy, even he knew finding something exact was a lot harder than it seemed. Den City was a big place, after all. 

Takeru would probably do good to just find the shop they were looking for without having to wander the streets.

“The shop shouldn’t be too far from here though. I see it sometimes on my way to school, so we should be able to walk from here.”

Now if Takeru could only remember…did he usually see this duel shop on the walk from his apartment to school or on his walk from Cafe Nagi instead? Both ways were completely different.

“Sounds good.” he replied, smiling softly. If the place had been farther away he would have offered to drive them there, but as Takeru had said they would be able to walk there he would just leave the D-Wheel here for the time of being. 

In the end he wasn’t aware of the fact that Takeru actually had problems with recalling the way. He wouldn’t even notice if they’d go wrong anyways as he didn’t really knew this city to begin with. 

So for now all his trust was in the younger one as he followed him through the streets. 

“You said your duel disk is an old model as well.. do you mind me asking why you never changed yours?” 

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{•» Takeru «•}

“Yeah, but it’s not like anyone’s expecting me to be there right now or anything. Cafe Nagi doesn’t close until later.”

 And with nothing major happening in Link VRAINS right now and Yusaku not asking for him to show up right after school so they could talk about plans inside the online world, he was free to explore for a bit before heading over. 

Besides, Yusei seemed interesting and if he was actually looking into exploring Link VRAINS for himself, it was the least Takeru could do to share what he knew about the VR world; even if duel disks themselves weren’t his strong point. 

“I can’t promise you I’ll be able to find something you’ll like, but let’s go look. Den City has a bunch of places that carry duel disks, so I’m sure we can find something  somewhere you’d like.”

Something about those words made him frown slightly, it almost sounded like Takeru wanted to go to that place after it closed? But it wasn't his business so he didn't ask.

 Little did he know how close he was to the one he was waiting for so long now...

"Like I said. As long as it works with the rules I'm fine. Everything else can be adapt and fixed later." For a moment he looked down on the duel disk in his hands that had been at his side through a lot of battles already. It saved not only his life countless times, so giving up on it felt wrong. Yet it seems like he had to keep up with the flow. The others did so as well after all.  In the end he placed the disk in his D-Wheel again before he turned towards the younger one again.

"Well then, lead the way."

[stxrnstaub-closed]

For once Yusei had actually decided to work on his stuff outside of the little garage he owned. After all there weren’t that many people around in that area of the common grounds and the fresh air was helping him to stay concentrated at bit better. 

Tilting his head to the side he turned around the part in his hands a few times, wondering where exactly it was broken, but he looked up once he could hear steps coming closer. It probably weren’t security members. They usually don’t patrol around this part anyways for what ever reason. On good days Yusei liked to think it was because of Jack still protected him from the upper city now. But most of the time he tried not to think about the blond one to much at all. 

In the end it turned out to be a teen, probably a bit younger then himself. Yusei frowned slightly. He never had seen him around before. 

“Did you get lost?” 

Why else should someone come to this part of the city anyways?

@pendulumrisen​

[stxrnstaub-closed]

Jack couldn’t help but frown slightly while he was looking around in that almost tiny room that was supposed to be a whole appartement. It wasn’t that he was not familiar with living conditions like that. Years of his life had been spend like this or worse but still... once he had left the Satellite he had left this ‘life style’ behind. He had somehow expected Yusaku to act the same. Which he obviously did not. Jack almost couldn’t believe it. 

It wasn’t like they had that much contact ever since they left. Since Yusaku left. Of course he had tried to check up on him at least once each month, after all Yusaku wouldn’t be here without Jack so it was somehow his responsibility in some way. But with Yusei appearing back in his life... the whole dark signer stuff happening... it just happened that he didn’t found the time to call. To write a message. And at some point he just forgot. At least until the  boy that was supposed to live here had been mentioned in a quiet conversation that was ended the moment the twins had burst into the room. The look Yusei had in his face in that moment had shown rather clear that he was worried. He might had found Jack again but Yusaku was still away. 

And so the blond found himself here. Getting inside had been rather easy. At least for him with the background he had. Yusaku wasn’t home right now but it didn’t stop him from getting some coffee and wait. If the boy still was alive - and honestly right now this was all Jack was hoping for - he would show up around here sooner or later. 

Turned out it would be later. Raising an eyebrow once he heard the door open again he looked up from the book he had started to read a while ago - it was one about coding and Jack would lie if he would say he understood what it was trying to tell him, but he was sure Yusei would love to read it as well - to meet the gaze of the younger teen. 

“You can’t be serious with still living in a place like this.” 

It... probably wasn’t the greeting that was to be expected in a situation like this but... maybe that was just how he was. 

@codetalked​

[stxrnstaub-closed]

{•» Takeru «•}‌

“Yeah, especially since duel disks are pretty easy to findhere, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. The real job will be picking out one you like!”

Because from what Takeru had seen around school, the new SOL Tech models came in all kinds of types and colors. The standard model was a blue with yellow highlights, but maybe they could find something that fit Yusei a little better. 

A red that matched the color of his D-Wheel would be pretty cool.

“I think there’s a store not too far from here that sells duel disks. At least, I see something that looks like it could on my way to school sometimes. We could go check there?”

From what the other one was saying Yusei already figured out that there was probably more than one model of duel disks he had to pick out of. That...probably was okay. He didn’t  need one with much extras, as long as it had all necessary options he could figure out on getting the rest on his own after all. 

“As long as it works with the current rules I guess I’ll be fine?” he replied in the end, shrugging slightly. Money wouldn’t be the real issue either. With his work on Momentum he had some decent income after all. And with having grown up without any money at all he was rather used to not using it. So most of it was just rotting on a bank account most of the time. Sometimes Yusei remembers the money and gives it to Martha and her orphanage, but in the end he still had some money around after all. 

“And sure, even though I don’t want to steal your time more than necessary, so if you have somewhere else to go I could try to find it on my own.” he added after a while. “I mean I’d like your company a bit longer but.. I know it might be a bit strange as we just met each other?”