Everyone who is or knows a Signer is well aware of this. Signers are the chosen of a dragon god, vessels and conduits for its divine power to combat the forces of darkness and malevolence. Forces that won't hesitate to kill to get their way. Everyone knew it practically from the start, or at least since the confrontation with the Dark Signers.
...And yet...
It was supposed to be a recon mission, Yusei and Crow scoping out a seemingly supernatural threat cropping up in Satellite. Rumors had been running rampant about human-like monsters preying on people. Preying on them in a literal sense; victims - dead and alive - were showing up with bite wounds. 'Vampires' was thrown around, creatures of the night. Most brushed it off, believing instead it was all the work of some twisted assailants, but the Signers and their allies knew better. After all, if the Earthbound Immortals could resurrect the dead to fight for them, are vampires really so far-fetched? So the Signers took the threat seriously.
And yet...
The Crimson Dragon is a solar deity, connected to the sun and its light. It bestows resistance to dark powers. Surely the Signers were the best equipped to deal with creatures of the dark. Yusei was the most capable in a duel (if one didn't take psionic powers into account), not to be underestimated in a fistfight. Crow was solid in both respects. They were the closest to the problem, they were Satellite's defenders. They'd check out the situation and report back, Yusei had promised.
And yet.
And yet Hakase's standing, shaking, in the middle of a morgue. Three cold, metal tables in front of rows of metal doors on the wall. The middle table has a body, covered from the waist down with a thin sheet. He knows what he's seeing, who he's seeing, but something in his own mind is keeping him from actually comprehending it. He knows why, knows that this subconscious refusal is just a defense mechanism. When it finally hits him, his heart will break and there will be no fixing it.
The Signers are connected in a way Hakase doesn't understand, bound together by their marks. Each one had been a mess when he'd seen them. Crow had been the worst by far; he blames himself. Hakase's of the mind that they're all blaming themselves for this, and he understands. He feels it differently, but he understands.
Hakase steps forward, each halting stride like the toll of a church bell. He reaches out, trembling; he needs the physical evidence, he needs to face reality. The back of his fingers brush along icy flesh, and it's like his vision snaps back into crystal clear focus.
Yusei's so pale, so cold, so small on this unyielding medical table. There's the killing wound on his neck, four punctures that have been sewn closed. No need for bandages, his killer bled him dry. His Signer mark is black now, instead of the deep red it should be, like the Dragon is mourning him, too.
Hakase's eyes burn, his throat aches, and his chest shudders. He lifts Yusei's arm, holds his hand for the last time, and weeps.
~*~*~*~
There's a new protocol with this string of deaths, that each body is kept under observation for a week before it can be embalmed. Sector Security says it's just to soothe the increasing fear of the public, proving that these attacks aren't supernatural and no one's going to rise from death to attack their loved ones. Lots of Satellites think it's further proof that it is vampires and Security's covering it up.
Hakase can't bring himself to care. He intends to take that week to mourn properly, isolated from the rest, so that he can be the anchor they'll need when Yusei's ready to be laid to rest. Martha's been the sole exception - if only because Hakase doesn't have the mental strength to contend with her - and she makes sure he's not neglecting himself in his grief. He questions her at first, if this is how she mourns the son she raised, and she doesn't answer him right away. It's two nights later that she talks to him, lets herself feel what she feels.
Hakase gets to prepare himself to shoulder the burden, but she's already taken it on. Not just for Crow, but for all the Satellite children who knew Yusei and can't - or won't - understand that he's not going to walk through that door again. She's been keeping better tabs on the other Signers than Hakase has, though everyone seems to be giving him grace in that regard. She says there's a strong disbelief in Jack, Akiza, and the twins, and she thinks it has to do with the Dark Signers. None of them have lost someone with such finality. Carly came back, Akiza's parents reached out, the twins' parents are just active enough in communications that there's no reason to mourn them.
Crow knows his younger brother is gone, though. He's felt this grief before with his late mentor. Can't explain it for the flock he looks after, but he knows. Martha thinks he'll be the one to get the others to accept the truth and make their peace with it.
Hakase hopes she's right.
~*~*~*~
Hakase's the one who gets the call at two in the morning. It was another sleepless night, five days into the week long waiting period. He picks up without even checking the caller id, thinking it's one of the Signers looking for comfort.
Also known as: what if Yusei was a psychic duelist?
Going to put a read more early because I'm going to be a pedantic nerd (it's still ship related I just take cohesive worldbuilding too seriously lmao).
Gonna split this into multiple posts, I lost steam. Oops.
Something I had a big issue with is how we were introduced to psychic duelists - psychics in general really - but very little of it was explained before it was basically dropped entirely. Which, you know, kinda sucks when two of the main cast (both the only girls on the main cast to boot, hmm) have major ties to that element of the world. So, to fill in the massive gaps in information we get from canon, allow me to go on the scenic route to get back to the point of this post.
I'll begin with the broadest categorization - Psychic versus Psionic. These two words are used interchangeably by most, but here, they are separate terms. Psychic refers to neural abilities that work intangibly; that is to say, they are not visible and do not affect physical things (good examples include mind reading, aura perception, and seeing duel spirits like Luna). Psionic then refers to neural abilities that are tangible in that they affect the physical world around the user (think telekinesis, healing, and monster materialization like Akiza).
More specific, but still relatively broad, classifications include, but are not limited to:
Extrasensory - Almost exclusively Psychic abilities that enhance one's perception abilities or allows them to perceive things they otherwise wouldn't. Mind reading, aura perception, spirit perception, advanced empathy, and pre/retrocognition fall into this category.
Elementalism - Almost exclusively Psionic abilities that allow one to directly control an element. This may refer to something like pyrokinesis (control over fire) or an affinity for a periodic element, like gold or carbon. The latter is much more rare than the former, however.
Tele Masteries - A blend of Psychic and Psionic abilities that are the staple powers most think of when they hear 'psychic' or 'psionic'. Telekinesis, teleportation, and telepathy are placed in this category.
Neural abilities are genetic - they're inherited from the parents, but it is a recessive gene, so those with powers are still rather rare. Rarer still is someone with particularly strong powers. Whether or not the strength of the parent's/parents' powers (or lack thereof) matter in how strong the child will become is a heavily debated topic in-universe, and I think leaving that open is a better idea than giving a definitive answer.
Further, there's a general age range for manifesting powers - ages 8-14 I think is good. I'm basing it off of Akiza, as she first manifested her powers when she was 8 years old. (Also, while it's not explicitly confirmed, apparently Luna awakened at 3 years old??? And it was so she could astral project into the spirit realm, leaving her body comatose??? HELLO???) This will become important.
The name of this AU - Psychic System Shock - is an actual thing in this AU; it's the name of the event where one awakens their powers. It's often a powerful event as the body releases all of the pent up neural energy it has been storing until that point. There are other neural ability issues/events, such as:
Psychic System Overload - PSO. This condition typically arises when one fails to expend any/enough neural energy. While it usually manifests in Psionic individuals as spontaneous, sporadic outbursts, it can manifest in Psychics as uncontrolled activation of their abilities, often resulting in debilitating headaches.
Psychic System Burnout - PSB. This condition is the opposite of PSO in that the individual is using too much neural energy. Symptoms include persistent lethargy, fainting, inability to activate powers, and bleeding from the nose or eyes.
Now, into the meat of this AU.
In this AU, Yusei's parents both have neural ability - his mother was Psychic while his father is Psionic. Yusei, then, is both Psychic and Psionic. However, for the beginning of the story, no one knows this because Yusei hasn't had his awakening event. Rather, he occasionally has horrible migraines every so often that he works around.
Similarly to my "canon" version, Hakase comes back to life during the Dark Signers arc and he and Yusei have their tearful reunion. Joining the Signers and company to finish the fight against the Earthbound Immortals, Hakase reveals his psionic powers to help the Signers cross Satellite to each control tower. With Jack on his own, the twins with Trudge, Crow off on his own, and Yusei deciding that he needs to face Kalin by himself, Hakase resolves to go with Akiza and Mina and flies them there on Prime Material Dragon. This allows him to have a good moment with Akiza in which Hakase offers to teach her how to understand and control her powers.
During Akiza's Duel with Misty, it's Hakase who intervenes against Sayer. Sayer is thoroughly unamused that the father of his sworn enemy is just as problematic for him, and becomes enraged when Hakase reveals his powers and fights him on equal footing. Sayer taunts Hakase about Yusei's lack of powers, that his son is as useless as he is frustrating, and Hakase coolly replies that power isn't everything. Using Prime Material Dragon as an amplifier, Hakase eventually goads Sayer into admitting the truth behind Toby's disappearance, and we return to canonical events.
However, Hakase becomes concerned about Sayer's words. As both he and his wife had powers, Yusei should have them, too. Prior to this, Hakase had chalked up the lack of usage as Yusei either being Psychic or simply reluctant about them around people without powers. But if, instead, he hasn't awakened his powers, then he's about a decade late and the resulting shock could be disastrous.
[Something I need to post about is Hakase's confrontation with each of the Goodwin brothers. Note for future me. NOW ONTO THE ACTUAL SHIP STUFF!]
In the interim after the Dark Signers' defeat, Hakase and Yusei grow closer and closer, both trying to make up for lost time. Unlike in "ship canon" and actual canon, Yusei chooses to join Hakase for living arrangements (Crow stays in Satellite with Martha for his flock and, because it's the one straight ship I'm ride or die for, Jack lives with Carly to learn how to be a regular human being).
Late nights are ended earlier than Yusei would like, typically because his father resorts to picking him up and carrying him to bed. Yusei complains and sulks about not getting to finish his mechanic work, but he rather likes being carried around like this; like a relinquishing of power in exchange for unwavering safety. It's also a good position for Hakase to place gentle kisses to the top of Yusei's head.
(Some nights are harder than others. Yusei's always had nightmares, and while having his father there to hold him close and whisper reassurances, they don't go away. Some get worse; Yusei lost his father once before, after all, and now he knows the loss would break him in a way that might never be fixed.)
Early mornings are started with more gentle kisses, this time pressed around Yusei's face, neck, chest and arms until he finally decides to show he's awake. Despite how early they wake up, they don't usually get out of bed until at least an hour after.
(Some mornings are hotter than others. Yusei wakes up hungry more often than Hakase, but Hakase has more than enough to keep up. It's not uncommon for Yusei to reveal in the feeling of being full for a while before they start the day in earnest.)
The first time Hakase witnesses Yusei having one of his day-ruining migraines, Hakase realizes that his fear is reality - Yusei hasn't awoken his powers yet, so now there's a backlog of energy potentially ten years deep. As Yusei tries to sleep through the worst of the pain, Hakase cradles him close, and he can feel the power pulsing within Yusei, thrashing at its too-small confines. His boy is a ticking time bomb and it's nothing short of a miracle that prior events didn't unleash them before Hakase was there to play damage control.
But that raises a big question as to how Yusei's power should be set free. Leaving it isn't an option, but just breaking the dam is going to get someone killed.
Part 0 - me explaining my insane omegaverse so that the following parts make more sense.
I'll put the Read More early because this is long, lmao
Point A - Aspects of the New Human Condition
In this world, all humans possess two sexes. The first is the "primary sex", also known as the "personal sex" or the "outward sex", and it's divided into 'male' and 'female'. One is assigned male or female depending on what genitalia is most prominent at first glance. The second is the "secondary sex", also known as the "social sex" or the "internal sex", and this is split into seven groups: Alpha, Delta, Beta, Iota, Omega, Lambda, and Zeta. Henceforth, the seven social sexes will be referred to as 'dynamics' for the sake of brevity.
Alpha, one of the First Dynamics. Alphas are territorial, dominating, and fearsome; they are the pack leaders. They tend to be the largest and strongest in a given room, and also the loudest as they have the Alphan Roar - a special vocalization unique to alphas. The Roar can be used to force submission from people of other dynamics, and be used in contests with other alphas to avoid physical blows. Alpha scents tend to be spicy (like cinnamon, nutmeg, or coffee) or animalic (such as amber, civet, or leather).
Delta, one of the Connector Dynamics. Laid between alpha and beta, deltas are territorial, determined, and loyal almost to a fault; they are the defenders of the pack. While not as large and strong as alphas and lacking the Roar, deltas are much more prone to brawling to settle disputes and rarely engage by themselves. Delta scents tend to be animalic or woody (like pine, cedar, eucalyptus).
Beta, one of the First Dynamics. Betas are steadfast, level-headed, and determined; they are the peacekeepers of the pack. While rarely extreme in physicality as the other First Dynamics, and possessing now unique vocalization of their own, Betas have increased longevity and tend to be more resilient to disease. Beta scents tend to be aquatic (like sea salt) or green (such as mint or aloe).
Iota, one of the Connector Dynamics. Laid between beta and omega, iotas are nurturing, level-headed, and intuitive; they are the outer core of the pack. Small but strong and lacking the ability to Purr, iotas operate in groups to rid the pack of problematic individuals - where deltas work to protect the pack from outside threats, iotas work to protect it from inside threats. Iota scents tend to be green or floral (think jasmine and lavender).
Omega, one of the First Dynamics. Omegas are nurturing, submissive, and welcoming; they are the inner core of the pack. Typically quiet and small, omegas have the unique Omegan Purr vocalization, known for its ability to bring calm to even the most tense situations and individuals. However, one should not think omegas weak - they're prone to ferality and are exceptionally vicious when their pups are threatened. Omega scents tend to be fruity (like apples, limes, or peaches) or earthy (such as vetiver or patchouli).
Lambda, one of the Connector Dynamics. Laid between alpha and omega, lambdas show very few trends, usually aligning heavily with alphas or omegas rather than being something wholly their own as iotas and deltas are. Their innate versatility means they can be almost anything the pack needs them to be, and sometimes can switch with little issue. Lambdas have their own unique vocalization known as the Lambdan Hiss, able to invoke a powerful fear response in those who hear it. Lambda scents may be spicy, fruity, or sweet (think cotton candy, caramel, or bubble gum).
Zeta, the Non-Dynamic. Zetas are outliers in nearly every sense; they do not possess scent glands or receptors, they do not experience heats or ruts, and they are almost always very solitary individuals. However, the absence of the instincts and reflexes makes them excellent candidates for leadership at greater scales, and their lack in olfactory perception forces others to speak clearly rather than rely on unspoken cues.
Point B - Human Reproduction
Humans experience heats and ruts. In most individuals, they experience one or the other; alphas, deltas, and beta males have ruts while omegas, iotas, and beta females have heats. Lambdas and zetas are unique in that they experience both and neither respectively.
Heats replace the menstrual cycle. If a heat passes by without conception taking place, the uterine lining is reabsorbed into the body rather than being shed. Beta females have the shortest and mildest heats, lasting for 1-3 days, but it occurs the most often at once a month. Iotas have longer and stronger heats, lasting for 3-5 days and occurring once every 3 months. Omegas have even longer and stronger heats, lasting for 4-6 days and occurring once every 6 months, Lambdas then have the longest and strongest heats, lasting 5-7 days and occurring once a year.
It has been shown that the longer the heat, the more offspring tend to result from the pregnancy. Beta females tend to have 1-2 offspring per pregnancy, iotas 2-3, omegas 2-5, and lambdas 3-7. Iota males, omega males, and lambda males tend to have shorter heats and fewer offspring per pregnancy than their female counterparts.
Ruts are the chemical and instinctual response to detecting a heat scent. Ruts can pass on their own once out of range of the heat scent within an hour, but it is strong enough to override almost all other needs the individual, causing them to hyperfocus on mating; the only need rutting has never been documented to override is the need to breathe. Unlike heats, there are no significant differences between dynamics when it comes to experiencing ruts, though alpha females, delta females, and lambda females tend to have less intense ruts than their male counterparts.
For the reproductive process itself...
Polyspermy is an event where an egg is fertilized by multiple sperm. In the real-life version, this always means death of the resulting zygote. However, within the bounds of this world, polyspermy is a mechanism with which mutations come about in higher frequency. It is a popular theory that the First Dynamics came to be through mutations via polyspermy. In individuals who resulted from this event, they are usually noted as having various "two-tone" conditions, such as heterochromia, stagnant vitiligo, chimerism, and mosaicism.
Further on in the lifespan is puberty, and while much of it aligns with real-life, there is an event known as the presentation in which an individual undergoes their first heat or rut, all of their scent glands open, and their scent matures. For beta females, iotas, and omegas, presentation may be called "blooming" or "blossoming", whereas for beta males, deltas, and alphas, it may be called "revealing" or "realizing". Lambdas will first experience either a heat or a rut depending on their primary sex, and experience the first of the other later on. Zetas do not undergo presentation.
Prior to presentation, the only scent glands that are open on the body are on the inside of both wrists. During presentation, more scent glands will open:
Alpha - Inside of the wrists, sides of the neck, across the shoulder blades, in the lower back
Delta - Inside of the wrists, sides of the neck, across the shoulder blades
Beta - Inside of the wrists, sides of the neck
Iota - Inside of the wrists, sides of the neck, inside of the thighs
Omega - Inside of the wrists, sides of the neck, inside of the thighs, middle of the chest
Lambda - Inside of the wrists, sides of the neck, across the shoulder blades, middle of the chest, in the lower back, inside of the thighs
Point C - Suppressants and Conditions
A common medicine is suppressants. Aptly named, this medicine can be taken - as a pill, patch, implant, or injection - by an individual who wishes to reign in the effects of their ruts or heats. For those who experience heats, it works very similarly to real-life birth control, preventing heats entirely, usually halting ovulation, and needing to be administered on a regular schedule to maintain the effects (as such, this form of suppressant is commonly depicted in pill form). For those who experience ruts, suppressants are much more temporary but only administered during the onset of rut to end it early rather than prevent it (as a result, it tends to be depicted as an injection).
Occasionally, the overuse of heat suppressants can result in a condition known as flash-freeze. This condition is where the uterus becomes "frozen" or "frostbitten" and loses the ability to build and/or maintain a lining. While heats and pregnancy are still possible for individuals with this condition, it is very ill-advised with the lack of protective lining and high chances of miscarriage. This condition is more common in betas and zetas.
On the other end is a condition known as heat-scorch. This condition is when an individual experiencing a heat reaches dangerous internal temperatures. Individuals who have been "scorched" often have issues regulating their body temperature, making them highly sensitive to lower temperatures, may display unreliable memory or memory loss, and may have issues with irritability. In severe cases, the individual may be rendered comatose or even die. This condition is more common in omegas and lambdas.
Rutting sickness is a condition that occurs in rutting individuals, essentially locking them into a state of perpetual rut. As rut overrides many of the essential needs of the individual, this is a typically fatal affliction even with round-the-clock medical care. There is no cure for this condition and treatments are liable to fail. This condition is more common in alphas and lambdas.
Ferality is a mental illness as opposed to a physical illness as the previous three. Ferality occurs as an extreme stress response, causing the individual to lose touch with their higher thinking and rely solely on their baser instincts. As such, individuals with this condition are either exceptionally fearful and flee from nearly anything that disturbs them, or exceptionally violent and aggressive to anything within their general vicinity. There is no trend among dynamics as to the type of ferality they exhibit, though there has been no records of a feral zeta.
(This is only a little late for Yusei's birthday ;v;)
Not for the first time did Yusei find it hard to sleep, but this time he had a new reason.
In prior years, especially recent years, his sleep was often interrupted by nightmares and stray noises. He'd been haunted by the past, his own and then some, and being raised in Satellite had a way of making one a light sleeper. He'd powered through the lack of sleep, though, and made use of the extra wakeful hours to complete his first and then second duel runners. Then, for the time he spent in New Domino City, it was more due to his own misgivings and anxieties than anything else; he was on Sector Security's home turf and just gained the unwanted attention of the most powerful man in the city. Hardly a good position to be in.
But he was back on Satellite now, back on familiar ground. He was snuggled in a warm, proper bed instead of laying on an ancient mattress with every other spring poking out of it. He was in a strong, true house - his new home - for the first time since he and Jack and Crow left Martha's to strike out on their own. For the first time in forever, his own father was with him, sleeping beside him.
For the first time Yusei could remember, his father was with him for his birthday.
Birthdays had been...something for Martha's kids. The vast majority of them didn't know what day they were born, so they either picked a date (some picked at random, others picked special days like the longest day in the summer or a holiday, yet others who grew up close shared a day like twins). Yusei had been lucky in that regard - the onesie he'd been dressed in that day had been a baby shower gift, so it'd had his name on one foot and his birthday on the other. All the better, considering he'd been the only infant in that orphanage after the disaster and therefore the only one who couldn't tell anyone his name.
(It'd take a few years before any new babies were dropped at Martha's doorstep.)
Dates aside, there was an attempt to make the day special per tradition, but by the time Yusei was old enough to appreciate it, resources were too thin to continue. It hadn't bothered him, not really, and the idea of birthday celebrations fell from his mind. Jack never really acknowledged his own chosen date, and Crow didn't make a habit of it, so Yusei followed their example. Kalin had been the same, never bringing it up (Yusei still didn't know it).
It wasn't until the twins had their birthday that Yusei gave it another thought. He had to, because suddenly the twins and Akiza and Carly were pestering him and Jack and Crow about their birthdays. When told about how little birthdays mattered on Satellite outside of tracking one's age, all of them seemed shocked; Leo had been downright horrified. It still hadn't mattered, since Yusei had accompanied his father in reclaiming and reconstructing Satellite, but this time there was nothing in the way.
Yusei was already well aware what his friends were planning to celebrate his birthday - it was typically to take the person who's birthday it was to special places, enjoy special meals with, and give a variety of gifts to. And Yusei was looking forward to it! It'd be his first celebrated birthday, after all, and while this home was indeed his home, it was lacking in the details only friends could provide. But he couldn't deny how excited he was for his father's plans for him.
Hakase Fudo was so often an open book than it put Yusei off balance for his father to suddenly play secretive. It was all in good fun, of course. Each question was ducked and dodged with a smile and a wink, sometimes a chaste kiss. Each time, Yusei found himself feeling like a dog chasing its own tail, the goal so close but just out of reach.
Yusei lifted his head from his father's chest to peer at the clock. 3:43am. Hakase wouldn't be awake until 7:30 at the earliest. It took more will than Yusei would admit to keep from audibly groaning at the hours he still needed to wait before his day could begin in earnest. He settled back down and closed his eyes, trying to will himself back to sleep.
It lasted all of five minutes - almost exact - before Yusei peeked at the clock again. 3:48am.
This time, Yusei sighed through his nose in annoyance and gave up. Moving as carefully as he could, he extracted himself from the blankets to stand and do...something. He wasn't sure what he was going to do but laying there doing nothing was not going to do anything by drive him up a wall.
He wasn't careful enough.
Yusei had barely the time to stretch before he heard Hakase shift. He looked over his shoulder to see his father sleepily peering at him. "You're up already?" he murmured, voice rough with sleep. Yusei could listen to that all day, any day.
He kept himself composed. "I tried not to be, but now that I am, I can't just lay around."
Hakase chuckled. "Can't stand to be idle. Don't I know it." He rolled partially to check the time himself, and flopped back into position with a mild groan. "Too early for me."
"I know," Yusei said, a bit guilty. "Sorry for waking you."
"No need to apologize," Hakase mumbled into the pillow, burying his face.
Without that to focus on, Yusei's eyes wandered. When Hakase had rolled to see the time and then rolled back, the thicker blankets hadn't followed. Only the thinnest one still clung to him, revealing the shape of his body. Not for the first time did Yusei make note of how different his father's form was to his own.
Despite being a "glorified desk jockey" as Hakase called it, he was built. Yusei was lean and almost wiry with his form, muscle visible but not particularly noteworthy. Hakase was clad in muscle, his physical strength and resilience on display even at rest. It was better when he was putting it to use, though; there was no safer place than in his arms, Yusei was sure. More than once did Yusei press against Hakase just to feel his muscles flex with motion.
Yusei's hands twitched at the memory, and a familiar simmering heat started creeping along his body. A gentle laugh snapped him from his self-inflicted trance, and he met Hakase's eyes again. With their newfound clarity, he'd shaken off the vestiges of sleep.
"You've always been observant," Hakase purred, and Yusei felt a shiver dance up his spine, "but is observing all you can do?" Purposefully, Hakase moved, stretching himself in ways that guided Yusei's gaze. His last stretch was like a cat, back arched down towards the bed, his rear up in the air, and stayed like that.
Hakase laughed again when Yusei just stared, like he could see the error message in his brain. "Was that too forward for you?" he asked with a grin. He sat up properly when Yusei failed to answer in any substantial way. "I know we tend to be more...what's the word...methodical? Mm, not quite." He waved it off. "I just thought I'd try something new for today."
"...New isn't bad," Yusei choked out, still trying and failing to wrangle his mind into cooperating.
"Not always, sure, but perhaps I'll need to rethink my approach." Hakase held out his arms and Yusei obediently crawled into them. The safest place to be.
Envy was familiar - wanting something someone else had was just part of the human experience, Yusei would wager - but its cousin jealousy was a stranger. Jealousy was, as Yusei understood it, a distortion of protectiveness; you have something you can't bear to lose or part with and wind up mistaking innocent acts and words as threats to take it from you. Being defensive of one's belongings was natural, and Jack's stunt with Stardust Dragon had strengthened that in Yusei to be sure, but those were belongings. Items. Objects.
Hakase was a person, his own person. He had his own thoughts and feelings and autonomy. His own wants and needs. Yusei knew this, he knew it well, and he knew better than to try and dictate what his father was allowed to do. But this knowledge did nothing to quell the surge of hostility Yusei felt when he watched Hakase interacting with others.
When Hakase had met Miss Zora for the first time, he'd acted like a perfect gentleman and had her swooning so she'd be more lenient on Crow, Jack, and Carly. Miss Zora had done nothing, but for a split second, Yusei hated her for having Hakase's attention like that. It flared up again when Yusei was chaperoning Leo, Luna, Rally, and their group of school friends to watch Hakase and Akiza train and teach their outdoor psychic and psionic class. Hakase was so gentle with Akiza and their students, Yusei had made himself scarce for the rest of class because he wasn't sure he could keep himself in check.
And, as was often the case, Hakase had noticed. It was next to impossible for Yusei to hide anything from his father, he knew Yusei better than Yusei knew himself it seemed. They were preparing for bed and Yusei had just crawled under the blankets when Hakase pulled him close and pressed a loving kiss to his forehead. Then a kiss on his cheek, then a trail down his neck that left Yusei melting into his father's embrace.
"What...what is this...about?" Yusei mumbled. The feelings of safety and adoration Hakase wrapped Yusei in every night never failed to put him to sleep, and he was already feeling it washing over him.
"Just some reassurance," Hakase answered, his smile just as soft as his voice. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, and there's no one more important to me than you." Yusei couldn't help the sleepy smile the crept onto his face, and he snuggled into Hakase's chest to hide it. He wasn't quite sure why he did, but it made his father laugh and Yusei could listen to that for hours.
Sleep was particularly kind to Yusei that night.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Hakase was no stranger to jealousy.
He was the jealous kind, profoundly so, but he'd learnt to hide it well under his amicable attitude and compassionate demeanor. Hakase was born with it like an instinct; anything he got that was entirely and utterly his, he guarded viciously. He'd been an only child so there was no need to share at home, but it caused more than his fair share of problems when he entered the school system. His excellence in school work had given his parents reason to move him from that first school to escape the budding reputation of a selfish brat, and it taught him to hide it as best he could.
Ama had found it attractive, though. Beautiful and brilliant, Ama had many potential suitors and their families chase her. When she'd chosen Hakase, most of them relented - those who didn't wished they had. Hakase had a knack for hacking and used it maliciously, anonymously exposing less than savory details to force the suitors to quit their chase. Two of them had gone a more physical route and both had gotten at least one bone broken in a scrap with Hakase. Neither of them did anything about it afterwards.
Nowadays, though, it was back to causing problems. Their nearly two decades separated had made Hakase overprotective of Yusei, and any time they were apart Hakase burned with the need to find his boy. At first, it was just a fear of every moment together being their last. But ever since their relationship expanded to something more romantic and almost carnal, it was no longer just protectiveness. It was even growing beyond jealousy.
Hakase was getting possessive and Yusei was feeding into it.
Detecting the pattern hadn't been hard - every time Yusei mentioned he was going to spend time with a friend, he'd watch Hakase's reaction like a hawk. If Hakase stayed relaxed, that was the end of it, just a head's up that Yusei would be out and about. But if Hakase tensed up or paused or gave any indication he wasn't happy about it, Yusei would pounce. He would talk about that friend and what they were up do, what they were going to do that day, and if he was feeling extra playful about it, he'd lay a compliment out like a dare.
Sometimes Hakase would keep his composure and tell Yusei to have fun and be back by dinnertime. Other times he'd pin Yusei to a wall, bite like an animal marking territory, and send him off without resolution as punishment. The latter was the response Yusei wanted, the feral reaction that made him almost painfully aroused, and sometimes he'd pointedly cancel whatever he'd scheduled in favor of spending hours with his father's cock buried inside him.
Yusei loved being the center of Hakase's world, and Hakase often observed him flaunting it, albeit subconsciously. In group gatherings, Yusei always took the spot closest to Hakase, or made a point of reserving a seat right next to him. When they both were settled, Yusei would rest against him in some way like he was laying visible claim. Any time a comment was made about their physical closeness, Yusei always responded by practically laying on Hakase like a housecat and stare back with a flat defiance. Only once had the move sparked deeper suspicion, but it'd been defused when Hakase started baby-talking Yusei like he actually was a cat, and he'd been so offended he visibly recoiled. His friends still joked about it.
It'd been a sharp reminder to keep themselves in check, though. The wider world was not the place for their true feelings and it was a rare day that Hakase wasn't haunted by the ramifications should they be discovered. Even if they skirted by the legal consequences, neither of them would escape the social side; best case was them believing Yusei a victim and shunning Hakase alone. But Yusei would just follow him, defend him, lay himself on the altar of sacrifice right there beside him.
Hakase would sacrifice the world for Yusei and he knew Yusei felt the same, but something nagged at him that maybe...
It was a minor thing at first, something easily dismissed, as such insidious disasters tended to be.
It was a stomach bug going around Satellite. Nothing out of the ordinary, it happened from time to time in such a tightly knit community even after the reconstruction. Hakase heard about it well before encountering it himself, and he hadn't worried. He'd had always had a robust immune system, few things could bring him down and fewer still could keep him down. Yusei had only inherited part of that - resilient to initial infection, but would have to fight for days on end if he did fall. So when Hakase woke up early one morning to the sounds of Yusei retching, he hadn't thought much of it beyond basic care. Keep Yusei hydrated, feed him simple things to not rile up his stomach more, and ensure he got plenty of rest to fight off the bug.
Hakase's not quite sure when, but at some point, he shut off his brain and operated entirely on autopilot.
Due to reasons Hakase could only vaguely guess at, Rex had maintained Hakase and Ama's bank accounts; he'd kept a lot of their things that he and Yusei retrieved after the Dark Signer debacle. It left Hakase wanting for nothing, the amount of money he now possessed, so it meant nothing to stay at home with Yusei to nurse him back to health.
Yusei had protested at first, if only due to his sense of pride, but had grown too lethargic to do so within hours. Fever set in, bringing his temperature up into the triple digits and inviting in a near-constant shivering. It took seven blankets before Yusei stopped asking for another, terribly chilled despite how much he was sweating. Every now and again, Hakase would remove the blanket in direct contact with his boy to be washed, and sometimes he would move Yusei to a guest bed to wash up the bedding of their bedroom. Once a day, Hakase would run a bath and wash Yusei thoroughly, something else Yusei tried to protest but simply didn't have the energy to.
Hakase had always been bad about his tunnel-vision, a single-minded focus on what he deemed top priority, and he's kicking himself for it now. Things had been happening in the background, things he should've been paying attention to, and he let it all fall by the wayside. Even the calls from the friend group hadn't been enough to wake him up to the wider reality; several people calling to warn him and Yusei about the emerging illness, their apprehension and fear when he informed them that Yusei was sick but being taken care of.
There is one conversation he can't remember now. One of the few things he can't recall in this moment of clarity. What he does remember, what lets him know it occurred at all, is how it made him feel - a boiling rage like nothing he'd felt before or since. He wishes he could remember who he'd been speaking to, they deserve an apology for the way he lashed out, even if he can't be sure what he'd done.
Days turned to weeks, and Yusei had shown no signs of getting better. In fact, he only got worse as time went on. When Yusei's temperature started to go down, Hakase had first thought the fever had broken, but it kept going down. The shivering got worse and worse, Yusei became so cold and clammy to the touch. Every available blanket in the house was devoted to getting Yusei warm again, and it became increasingly rare for Hakase to be anywhere other than directly at Yusei's side, holding him close to lend him body heat. Yusei started losing responsiveness, unable to indicate he heard the words of comfort, felt the near continuous embrace, saw the falling tears. Getting food or water into Yusei required Hakase to be ready at any time to catch the fleeting moments of lucidity and cooperation, and he came to know what sleep deprivation really felt like.
At some point, Yusei stopped eating, and it struck Hakase with a terror he couldn't describe. He would try, he'd try his hardest, but nothing stayed down long enough to matter. Then, he stopped trying, going from a simple refusal to being unable to acknowledge the offering. Hakase, unintentionally, wound up following suit; preparing even simple broths meant time away from his son, and his heart was poisoned by the fear that if he left, he'd return to a corpse.
He wasn't sure what had tipped their friends off to come kick down their door, but they did just that, marching in to fetch the pair and follow new evacuation orders. This, too, Hakase does not remember in full. He recalls the panic, the return of the boiling rage, and then a collapse into emptiness. He knows what it was, though. They'd seen the situation for what it was and pried Yusei from him, dragging him away kicking and screaming to get him to safety.
Hakase remembers in perfect clarity the wet crunch as Yusei's skull was caved in to finally put him to rest.
What was left of Hakase shattered then, breaking in ways that could never be fixed. He was given space, given apologies and reasons and resources to keep himself alive while they traveled the evacuation path. He remembered little of reality, but he distinctly remembered the...dreams? Hallucinations? Something of that sort. He'd hear Yusei's voice and answer, only to be told he was responding to silence. He'd see Yusei sitting or standing nearby and approach, reaching out and phasing through or just blinking and he was gone. More than once was he woken up because he'd been sleepwalking, heading back to the now ruined city, mumbling about finding his boy.
At some point, they stopped telling him. At some point, they stopped waking him and just tied him to one of the vehicles. At some point, they started fighting about him. At some point, someone started untying him to let him wander away.
Someone always fetched him in the morning.
~*~
~*~*~
~*~
The fortress designated as a safe zone welcomed them with open arms, and Hakase was quickly employed in the energy production and management team - no one was allowed to be idle here, everyone had to earn their rations. Sometimes one needed to fight for their place to sleep. Stealing bedding was common until an incident with Hakase; a sleepwalking episode, his unconscious mind back in his home with Yusei. He'd prepared his bed the way it'd been then, fooling himself into thinking Yusei was there, sleeping under the covers. A trio of brazen blanket thieves barged in and grabbed at the bed.
The team was suddenly down three people, Hakase was never charged with a crime, and no one dared enter his room again. Somehow, it made stealing bedding rather rare practically overnight.
Most had given him a wide berth prior to that event, given his frequent "episodes" as his fellow team members called it. After, only a handful of people could even try to talk to him, let alone succeed. Even those who knew him seemed to shy away when he got too close, though they usually did it out of guilt rather than fear. Hakase could tell the difference.
Yusei never looked sick or injured. He had a faint sort of glow around him, though it never reflected off of anything around him. He was a little translucent, especially when he was close to or in front of the windows letting in the sunlight. His voice was never raspy or wavering or broken. He usually greeted his father with that one small smile reserved for their morning wake up routine.
He was never there for very long, though. It made every moment precious. It made every moment beautiful.
Akiza's the only one who can handle him at the moment, the only one who can do so without actually putting her hands on him. He tires himself out over and over again, but never lets his guard down. The slightest chance to do damage and he takes it with a snap of his teeth. Despite this, the longer they move with him, the more subdued Yusei becomes. It's not too long before they can pull a blanket over him without resistance, but Akiza keeps a strong grip on him. Yusei's cunning and patient, she wouldn't be surprised if he's trying to make an opening to attack or escape.
Jack's called ahead to Carly, informing her of their approach. Apparently, they'd informed the hospital staff about Yusei, and one of the people in charge had been ready to send out a team to find and retrieve Yusei. Said operation has been halted since Yusei's mid-transport now, and instead the team is waiting to receive him due to 'recorded aggression and instability'. The phrasing grates on Akiza for reasons she'd rather not dwell on at the moment.
Akiza's not on her runner for this drive, though it's being brought along for the return trip. She's in the back of the truck some of Yusei's friends brought for the purpose, since one of them - Nervin, she recalls - had anticipated further conflict. Smart guy, if a bit overly anxious. Yusei's beside her, watching her without any indication of thoughts, feelings, or intentions.
It's unsettling to see his expression so flat. She'd thought he wasn't much for expressing himself visually, but it seems she'd misread him the entire time. She wonders what to call the expression he used to wear all the time, it was so...neutral. Was it something he did as self-expression, or was it something he adopted due to circumstance? It's ultimately unimportant, but it is something to entertain her while they travel since Yusei doesn't appear to be up for small talk. Then, he surprises her with a question.
"How is he?"
"Hmm?" she responds at first, then her brain catches up. "Oh, your father?" Yusei nods, unblinking. Still creepy. "He is ill from your bite, but he's doing okay for now."
"For now," Yusei echoes, and Akiza shivers at the edge his voice takes on.
"Well, your bite is...contagious," Akiza says carefully. "We've been assured that, well...it will kill Hakase. It's just a matter of time. Then, he'll come back, like you did."
Yusei stares silently after she stops speaking, like he's looking for signs of deception. There's none to be found since Akiza's not lying, and he eventually, finally, turns his eyes away. "You should've kept him at home," he says with a strange sort of softness.
"I'm sorry," Akiza says. She almost tries to explain, but thinks better of it; it'd probably sound like excuses to Yusei right now, and she doesn't want to fight him on a moving vehicle.
Yusei looks at her again, and she sees the person he used to be in the gentleness of his gaze. "I just...want to see him."
With Yusei back to himself, Akiza takes a risk. "Can...can I ask why you bit him?" Yusei stares at her quietly, but she doesn't see any aggression. "Did you know what the bite would do?" He looks away, and Akiza knows guilt when she sees it. Yusei knew what biting Hakase would do and did it anyways. But why?
She never gets an answer from him.
~*~*~*~
It's about midnight when the Signers and their friends arrive. Carly took the twins home earlier with the promise of bringing them back first thing in the morning, so Hakase's by himself when he gets a text notification. It's from Crow, telling him that Yusei's being admitted to the hospital and is asking to see him as soon as possible. Hakase doesn't bother with a text response and leaves his room, retracing his steps to the main area, and meets someone new on the way.
She's absurdly tall, not to Kelshomry's extreme but enough so that Hakase can tell this is one of her sisters. She's dressed unprofessionally considering the location; a sleeveless, strapless top in a dusty blue color, high rise blue jeans, and black work boots. Her arms are covered in lines and blotches - scratches and bites from her wards, Hakase would guess - and there's a tiredness on her face that he can sympathize with. Her hair is pulled back into a loose, simple plait that drops down to her waist, cyan and pink in equal measure. Despite the obvious stress, she greets him with a smile that reaches her turquoise eyes.
"Howdy, stranger!" she says. "You must be a new one, right?"
Hakase nods. "I'm in the green wing."
"One a' Kelly's! Dontcha worry 'bout a thang, there's noone better t' look after ya!" She is...very loud. Friendly and enthusiastic, but loud. "Oh, where're my manners? I'm Sonder Durviir! You'll be in my wing if all goes well, an' they will!"
Hakase tries a smile, but feels it fail. He sighs. "I was hoping I could be told where my son has been placed."
Sonder nods. "What's your name, then?"
"Hakase Fudo."
"Fudo- oh! Was that your boy?" Hakase nods. "I..." Sonder hesitates. "Well, I'm not sure you'll be allowed t' visit him right now. He's-"
"I can calm him," Hakase assures - pleads, almost - and Sonder hesitates. "I need to see him, he needs to see me."
"I..."
"Please."
Sonder is quiet for a moment, tense, then her body sags and she relents. "Fine," she drawls. "I can't in good conscience keep a father from seein' his son." She gives him a serious look. "I'm not promisin' anythin' though. Lory might kick us out the second she sees us."
"I have to try."
~*~*~*~
The temple chamber is quiet, the two vampires inside even more so. Absentia is the High Priestess of the following, this should be her domain without Her Lady present, but her companion is powerful indeed. The Red Lady has sisters, and they are the first Purebloods after the Red Lady herself.
Roxanne 'the Monolith' Durviir, Grand Whisper of the Vilebloods, carries herself with the air of practiced nobility. Nothing she does is without purpose or consideration - every step, every word, every blink is calculated and intentional. With the First Vampire absent, it's the eldest of the Durviir sisters whose approval carries the most weight. Many of the following saw Roxanne's endorsement of the Starblood Act to be a sign of good will, of good fortune, but Absentia was old enough to know better. Absentia was close enough to Her Lady to know better.
Though she is outwardly a being of beauty, elegance, and charm, Roxanne in truth is a sadistic, selfish, cunning individual; if she did not benefit from something, even minutely, she did not participate or care. Giving the go-ahead to to following to start changing humans in the Satellite area was highly unexpected, both as it went against the rules the Red Lady herself set into place and because Absentia hadn't known Roxanne was aware of their plan to begin with. Clearly she believes there's something she can get out of their efforts, but what it could be eludes the High Priestess. Perhaps there's something she needs from her youngest sister than cannot be done by anyone else. Perhaps the Monolith seeks to make another attempt at placing vampirekind at the top of the world, enslaving mortalkind for the rest of time. Only time, then, would tell, unless the eldest sister did so of her own volition.
"I've received word that you have located your Starblood," Roxanne begins, her voice level and sweet but instilling with Absentia the mortal terror one can only feel when trapped in the confines of the earth itself. "How delightful."
Absentia has to steel her nerves before she can respond, and her voice wavers despite herself. "Y-yes, we have." The Goldblood clears her throat and Roxanne smiles; how she enjoys watching others cower and writhe under her pressure. "He has not undergone the transformation just yet, but it is only days before he rises as one of us."
"Cycles, Priestess," Roxanne chides playfully. "Let us not adopt the terminology of those beneath us."
"...Only a few cycles before he rises."
"Much better. I suppose my sisters are looking after him?"
"Thus far. None of them seem aware of his importance," Absentia responds.
Roxanne nods, that smile still on her painted lips. "Good. Best we keep it that way for now."
'Why?' Absentia asks herself. 'Would they not want their sister and fellow vampire back?' She doesn't voice the question, however, and instead moves to retrieve a special tome from its pedestal. "In eight da- cycles, the Blood Moon will arrive, and the morning after, it will subsume the Sun itself. This alignment has been centuries in the making, and it's what we need to bring back Our Lady."
Roxanne almost seems to pout. "Do I not get to know the details of such a ritual?"
"Will you be participating?" Absentia counters.
Roxanne laughs delicately. "I would, truly, but I'm afraid I'll have other things to tend to." Her gaze turns icy and sharp, and Absentia feels the chill seep into her bones. "Failure is not an option, Priestess. We need our sister back."
"...Of course," Absentia agrees. "Viscora Durviir will return to us. I will uphold my vow to Our Lady."
