Work Text:
It was Jin’s therapist who first mentioned it to Shoichi’s parents.
“I talked with this colleague, exchanged professional opinions… without actual names, of course. But I believe it would be possibly positive for both of them if they would meet. After all… they went through the same thing.”
They agreed.
Shoichi for a while had no idea who was Jin meeting when his parents took him away, first just once a week. Then more.
He just knew that eventually, slowly, Jin started to talk. First only few simple words. Yes. No. Then his eyes would focus on Shoichi more.
He was aware that it was a violation of a lot of rights and everything, but he used his newfound hacking skills to get the information, and that was when he first saw the name Yusaku Fujiki. Jin’s age. Orphan. Was receiving regular therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, something that Shoichi heard more in the past one year, than his whole previous life.
Yusaku Fujiki was also a missing person for six months.
He was also vaguely aware that it seemed odd that Jin’s and Yusaku’s therapists would run into each other randomly - apparently they met at a conference, but neither of them were that big names, so their invitations apparently came somewhat as a shock to them.
Shoichi figured that it was fate.
Six months after Jin and Yusaku started their joint therapy, Yusaku visited the Kusanagi household, with a small bag, and big eyes, and nervous attitude. He was supposed to have a sleepover for a few nights, and he was obviously nervous.
But when he saw Jin, his entire posture changed, and when Shoichi looked at Jin, he saw that he was smiling.
~*~
Yusaku became a fixture in their lives - the orphanage was crowded and understaffed, so Shoichi figured that they didn’t mind that he spent a lot of time over at the Kusanagi household, even though they didn’t exactly live close to each other. A year after the two of them befriended each other, Shoichi’s parents actually sold their house, just so they could move over to the same town where Yusaku’s orphanage was. and from that point on, Yusaku almost lived with them.
Shoichi watched over the two of them like a hawk - they were next to each other more often than not, huddled up next to each other, whispering, talking.
It was like the two of them had their own separate world that closed out everyone else - and Shoichi figured that maybe that indeed was the case. After all, who else would understand what they went through? Well, he figured there were four other children, but while Shoichi briefly considered tracking them down, fate decided not to be helpful at this point.
So it was just Jin and Yusaku, all lost in their own world, and Shoichi, still working on his own hacking skills.
Jin seemed to be getting better - that was always something, those few months where Jin was just… sitting there, eyes defocused, completely unresponsive, they were nightmarish, almost worse than those six months where he was missing. Shoichi couldn’t imagine what it would have been like, if they hadn’t met Yusaku, and he would have been stuck in that state for longer.
But…
But Shoichi couldn’t let the thoughts go, the anger gripped his heart more than anything - he managed to put together what they went through, and… and he wanted to find who did that. Who would kidnap six children and drag them through hell?
They never got answers.
The culprits were never caught.
They got away.
Jin and Yusaku, the two of them lost in their own world, in a way never got away from the Lost Incident, Shoichi figured. Whenever Yusaku was not there, Jin would get more jittery, and whenever Yusaku arrived, Shoichi saw he was just as nervous until he could be at Jin’s side again.
Shoichi was happy that Jin seemed to have a friend - but it seemed like the two of them were almost just having each other at this point. They would fall asleep, gripping each others’ hand, and when one would wake up from a nightmare, the other would be there, holding him close, whispering into his ear.
They deserved better than this.
They deserved to be normal friends, friends who enjoyed duelling with each other, friends who would run outside, having fun and laughing. Not two traumatized kids, clinging into each other like a lifeline.
So Shoichi kept studying programming. The kids didn’t need to know that, but he would find the ones responsible.
And he would make them pay.
~*~
The years had passed, and Shoichi moved to Den City, enrolling into the best school to learn more about programming in the process - and doing all different kinds of back alley jobs to get money to be able to afford staying there. From that point on, he saw the kids less, but whenever he went home, Yusaku would be there, and both he and Jin would smile, greeting Shoichi home. Both of them rushing there, demanding gifts from the city, and Shoichi would always bring them some kind of trinkets.
Sometimes Shoichi saw them duel.
When they did that, they seemed almost normal, save for the determined, stiff look on their faces… and then someone would lose, and that person would could not stop himself from crying, and the winner would rush over, hug him, and apologise for winning.
Yeah, none of this was normal.
That’s why Shoichi needed to get even better at hacking. He needed information.
When it was time for the two of them to decide where to go to study, Shoichi went into their room casually.
“So what are your plans for the future?”
Casual question, one they probably heard a thousand times already - Shoichi expected them to groan and roll their eyes.
Instead…
“Den City” Yusaku said simply. “We are going to help you.”
“...help me?”
“Obviously,” Jin said casually. “We need to get good at programming too, if we want to get our revenge.”
The super casual way they said it made Shoichi feel like the world was spinning - he just quickly closed the door of the room behind himself, stepping closer, looking at the boys. Neither of them looked at him, both of them were busy looking at their hand in their current duel.
“...what do you mean revenge?”
“It doesn’t take a lot to figure it out.” Jin shrugged. “You dropped sports and went into programming when you never had an interest in that before. Obviously you are looking for answers. So we are going to help you.”
“But…”
“We can’t rest until we have our revenge,” Yusaku interrupted him. “That is also why we are practicing this.”
He gestured at the field in front of them.
“...duelling?”
“Obviously.” Jin nodded. “The ones who took us made us duel a lot, so they probably have a lot of skilled duelists. You are going to need people who can duel. No offense, big brother, you are not the best at cards.”
“But we are good enough,” Yusaku said. “My turn. I draw. So it will work. You do the background work. We do the duelling and help out with programming as needed. I set two cards, and end my turn.”
“...I did not want to involve the two of you.”
“You forget one thing. My turn. I draw” Jin said, while drawing. “We were already involved.”
There was nothing Shoichi could have said to that.
~*~
Shoichi opened his hot dog truck. They needed another income, and a base of operations, especially once Yusaku and Jin moved to Den City as well. The orphanage Yusaku was from helped finance the first payments for the apartment the two of them were renting, but after that, they were on their own. Well, Shoichi’s and Jin’s parents helped them out with some money regularly, but they couldn’t depend on them forever. And especially not for the hi-tech equipment they needed for their operations.
It was around this time that they figured out exactly who to pressure for answers.
The Knights of Hanoi.
And indeed, they were good duelists.
Jin smirked.
“Time for them to meet their match then, I think.”
And Yusaku nodded, his eyes determined.
Obviously, they needed avatars for that.
And new names. Names that the Knights of Hanoi would learn to dread hearing.
And they got them.
~*~
~*~
It was a long process, and Jin knew it. At first the Hanoi were smug about outclassing the two guys who sometimes challenged them.
It took some time for rumours about them to spread.
“You could have picked a better avatar, though.”
Yusaku walked back to the hot dog truck from school next to Jin, and just frowned.
“I don’t think it means much.”
“You basically picked a default avatar. Is that really what you want to be known by?”
“I have three reasons I picked that avatar.”
“Oh boy, here we go.” Jin rolled his eyes, and Yusaku continued without skipping a beat. Of course he did.
“One. I don’t feel compulsion to hang out in Link VRAINS casually, so why should I spend a lot of time and effort on the avatar? Two. Simple avatar is easier to blend in, harder to remember. Three. Your avatar is gaudy enough for both of us.”
Jin let out an offended gasp, and just hit Yusaku’s shoulder, which caused the corner of Yusaku’s mouth to turn upwards a bit.
“How dare you! At least I put some effort into it. Unlike you. Seriously Yusaku, even a bit more effort would have been nicer than this.”
Yusaku shook his head, obviously amused, as they slowly reached the plaza, and Shoichi greeted them with a smile.
“Hello, boys. How was school today?”
“Boring.” Jin shrugged, walking inside the truck and Yusaku followed him. “Do you have anything?”
“The Hanoi seem to be acting up. So maybe you should check it out.”
They seemed to be acting out more and more lately - which meant they wanted something. And if they wanted something, they were going to get it.
“Let’s go, then.”
Into the VRAINS.
Jin kept his hair colour, only making his avatar hair longer, in a ponytail, with white highlights, and wore white-golden clothes, and a long coat.
Oh, well. He wasn’t exactly Jin there now, he assumed.
He picked the name Lightbringer.
Playmaker was the more notorious one, he figured. He was the one who used Cyberse cards out of the two.
(The three of them found them together, but Jin didn’t want them. Somehow they didn’t… feel right. He was not too attached to his current deck, but somehow… a part of him, deep inside Jin told him this shouldn’t be yours. Yusaku seemed to have a knack for them though, almost instinctively, like he was always meant to have that deck.)
So, Playmaker was more on the radar of the Hanoi and even for SOL Technologies. But wherever Playmaker was, Lightbringer was not far away, and unlike Playmaker’s impassive and cold rage, Lightbringer usually had a grin on his face as he was ripping Knights of Hanoi apart.
Mooks, that is.
Until Revolver appeared on his dragon.
And until they met Ai.
~*~
Jin had no idea what to make of Ai. At first he really just seemed like a good asset to have - a hostage they could use as a bargaining chip, but then it just… things got weirder. Revolver was always leering, the charisma duelists had gotten involved in things they had nothing to do with.
“Are you really going to waste your time on me?” Lightbringer glanced at Go from his D-board. “I am not a charisma duelist. But fair warning, if you stand in my way, I won’t show mercy to you.”
“You are well-known enough,” Go replied. Jin just smirked.
“I see. You want to fix your reputation after losing to Playmaker with beating me. Fair warning though - for the past years, I was the only one who could ever beat Playmaker. Of course those were practice duels, but a victory is a victory, is it not?”
Go’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t back off.
He never would.
Duel!
Jin enjoyed their duel, and absolutely enjoyed winning.
Go did not enjoy it that much, but hey - he warned him.
“I activate my skill.” Jin smiled, raising the cards in his hand. “Survival Instinct. Once per duel I can banish the cards in my hand - and I recover 200 LP for every card I banished” Jin’s smile turned into a grin. “You wanted to fight me, need I remind you of it, Go Onizuka? Well, doesn’t matter. Good luck rebuilding your reputation, then.”
He won.
Obviously.
~*~
“You are grumpy. Are you offended that Jin said that he can beat you? Hey, was that true, by the way? Can he beat you? Can you beat him?”
They were back at their apartment, and Ai was blabbering on and on as usual, and Yusaku didn’t dignify that with an answer.
Jin did, though.
“Sometimes I win. Sometimes he wins. So yes I can.”
That had always been the case, and it didn’t change through the years, not one bit.
~*~
Truth to be told, Yusaku mentioning the friend he had always left a bitter taste in his mouth. Whoever the friend was, who taught him the count-to-three thing, the one who talked to him during those six months…
Jin wondered sometimes who that person might have been. And he also wondered what made him talk to Yusaku, and not him.
“There are two options, really.” Jin shrugged, lying on his back on Yusaku’s couch. “One. He cared for you, so he talked with you, but didn’t care about the rest of us. Or two, he talked to everyone, but for some reason didn’t talk to me.”
“Not true.” Yusaku shook his head. “One. It could be either of your options, yes. Two. it could be that physically he couldn’t reach the rest of the intercoms, and cells. I don’t exactly remember the layout of the building, do you?” Jin shrugged vaguely, before Yusaku continued. “Three. You don’t remember. Your memories are kinda messy, you might have assumed it was a hallucination, and you repressed it.”
Jin scrunched his nose.
“Okay, first of all, I think I would at least vaguely remember the last one, but anyways. Second of all - that was cheating, it would have been four points, but you put my two points together to make three. That’s cheating.”
“It’s a habit,” Yusaku admitted sheepishly, and Jin couldn’t stay mad at him.
Hell, he could never get mad at Yusaku.
Which was something, because he was angry about most things. He even had a sting of bitterness inside him when he thought about how his brother wanted to do this investigation and revenge without him - without them.
Not Yusaku, though.
He couldn’t get mad at Yusaku, not even when he had a comforting voice reach out to him through that hell, and Jin didn’t. Sometimes he tried because winning over Yusaku, and seeing his body always flinch in anticipation even after years had passed… it wasn’t easy. So he tried to make himself angrier at Yusaku, so winning would be easier, but no such luck.
He just looked at those big green eyes, and felt every ounce of bitterness that he tried to aim at Yusaku just dissolve into nothingness. He still had plenty to spare, and aim at other people… but Yusaku seemed to be off-limits. Even for him.
So Jin just sighed, reached out, taking his hand, and Yusaku squeezed back gently.
Yusaku’s hand was the one that pulled him out of the nothingness that he was stuck inside after the incident, and Jin didn’t want to let him go.
So he won’t.
The world, the Hanoi - they had taken a lot from him.
Nobody was going to take Yusaku away.
~*~
Things were getting more complicated, and the Hanoi launched their plan - a giant tower, a desperate attempt to kill Ai, and the rest of his kind.
Well. Weren’t they just delightful.
So it was down to them - Blue Angel. Go Onizuka. Playmaker. Lightbringer.
Right.
Not a bad lineup.
But seeing that by that point they only really had Spectre and Revolver to face, and by the time Yusaku and Jin got to Revolver, only Spectre was down, and Go and Blue Angel were both gone… yeah.
“Let me.”
Jin said, and he was aware that Yusaku was looking at him, but he kept his eyes fixed on Revolver’s smug face.
“You already had a go at him. Let me.”
Yusaku nodded, and Revolver inclined with his head a bit.
“Very well, then. Follow me, Lightbringer.”
~*~
Yusaku wasn’t lying when he said Revolver was a tricky one to play against. Revolver was brutal and calculating, building his field with sharp precision, and his attacks hurt .
And his eyes kept glazing over from Lightbringer to Playmaker who was flying around them on his own D-board.
And kept talking.
That Ignis was modelled after you.
And Ai… Ai didn’t deny it.
If Yusaku has Ai, then…
Revolver’s eyes were fixed on Playmaker, and something inside Jin snapped.
“Hey you asshole. I am your opponent! ”
He almost shrieked, as he activated a spell card, sweeping across them, almost knocking Revolver off his D-board.
Then Revolver straightened his back again, his yellow eyes fixed on Jin finally, as if he saw him for the first time.
“...indeed you are, Lightbringer.”
“Don’t you dare forget it again, Revolver. Isn’t this tower important to you? Would be a shame for you, if you were to lose it because you can’t pay attention to what is right in front of you.”
“Rest assured,” Revolver said in a dry tone. “I will not make the same mistake again.”
He didn’t.
He just forced a draw where a spectral version of Dr. Kogami showed up.
The wind of the attack kicked Jin off the D-board, and he heard Yusaku yell his name. A single thought of ImgonnadieImgonnadieIcantdie ran through his head, especially when his body hit one of the flying boulders, and there was a pain in his arm.
Then next thing he knew, he was logging out.
Shoichi opened up Jin’s compartment, and he basically stumbled into his brother’s arms.
“Are you alright? Your duel disk… I wasn’t sure if you would log out, I…”
His duel disk…
He looked down on his arm, and his duel disk was completely dark, like there was a void inside it instead. He tried to power it up, but it just gave out a little flicker.
“...it probably got injured when I hit that boulder.”
The other compartment opened up, and Yusaku basically flew out, panic written on his face clearly, it only easing up somewhat when his eyes met with Jin’s.
“I’m fine,” Jin reassured him.
Yusaku nodded.
“What now?” Shoichi asked nervously. “Revolver also logged out.”
“Nevermind that,” Yusaku shook his head. “I know exactly where we could find him.”
Both of the Kusanagi brothers looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, which wasn’t helped by what Yusaku told him where to go.
Well.
Not like they had any other choice now, right?
~*~
Ryoken Kogami.
Ryoken fucking Kogami.
He was standing in his stupid house, over his father’s dead body, his pale eyes focusing on them, and his voice distant.
You were the one who talked to me. You were the one who called the authorities.
Jin Kusanagi had been angry before. He thought he felt hatred for the Hanoi, for Dr. Kogami, but even when they battled the Hanoi mooks all over Link VRAINS, they kind of felt… distant.
Now, looking at Ryoken Kogami’s guarded expression, Jin felt like he never hated anyone this much before. He knew it made no sense - he was not responsible for the Incident, if anything, he was responsible for them being saved.
And yet, Jin felt like he was two seconds away from lounging at Ryoken’s neck, to squeeze it until he would stop moving, until he would no longer look at them with his pale blue eyes, until he would not look at Yusaku like that, would not get into Yusaku’s memories that much anymore.
“There is one way to stop me, Playmaker.”
“Hey. Hey! The two of us have unfinished business, Revolver. ”
Jin hissed, and Revolver looked at him, his face still passive.
“Can you even log back in? Your duel disk seems injured.”
“Jin…” Shoichi started.
“It’ll be fine,” Yusaku said quickly, not looking away from Revolver. “I can do it.”
“...you better.”
~*~
Jin and Shoichi ran outside, and Jin was gritting his teeth, waiting for the broadcast to turn back on - and sure enough, there they were.
About to fight again.
“...are you okay, Jin?”
“...Yusaku spent all these years thinking about him.”
“...huh?”
“He spent all this time thinking the one who talked who him was maybe still in captivity. He wanted to meet that person, thank that person, and save that person. He genuinely thinks he wouldn’t have survived without that voice talking to him.”
Jin thought it was bullshit, and had told Yusaku that before, but nothing he said could change his mind on this matter.
“Jin…?”
“And now…” Jin gritted his teeth, glaring at the screen. “And now he has the gall to brush it all aside. To burn it all down. He got under Yusaku’s skin, only to try to ignore what he had done. That is not how it works.”
“It may be more complicated than that, Jin. We don’t really… know Revolver, in the end.”
“He got into Yusaku’s head,” Jin repeated himself. “That is something that can’t be changed. Just like you can’t take the Incident out of our lives, and our experiences, you can’t take Revolver’s voice out from Yusaku’s mind.”
Jin was vaguely aware that his voice sounded bitter, but he stopped caring. He didn’t care.
His arm gripped at his currently useless duel disk.
One day, he told himself. One day, Revolver. One day I will be fighting against you again, and that time you won’t get away with a draw.
~*~
Yusaku won, and Revolver left.
So did Ai.
Yusaku was very tired, obviously, and he crashed into his bed as soon as they got back to the apartment, and Jin sighed, covering him up.
He should have been happy, right? The Knights were gone. Kogami was dead. The mystery was solved, and Ai returned to the other Ignis.
(That thought, that thought didn’t let him rest. Maybe… but he pushed it away. For now, at least. He was way too tired to deal with that now.)
He pushed himself away from Yusaku’s bed, and made a move to leave the room, when there was suddenly a hand on his wrist - he looked down, and his eyes met with Yusaku’s tired green eyes.
“...stay.”
Jin allowed himself to be pulled into Yusaku’s bed - they would be sharing a bed a lot when they were children, and the orphanage allowed Yusaku to stay the night. (Really, they often did, once they figured out the Kusanagis were trustworthy enough to do so.) They would often fall asleep like that, and whisper to each other soothingly whenever the other would wake up from a nightmare.
They hadn’t done that in a while.
Yet, despite not having done it for a long time, when he got under Yusaku’s covers, and closed Yusaku into his arms, everything felt right. Everything else felt a distant issue, someone else’s problem - nothing else mattered, while Yusaku was clinging to him, not letting him go.
Jin wasn’t thinking, not really, when he moved his head, pulled away just a bit, just enough for Yusaku to give out a disgruntled noise - and Jin immediately moved back, pressing his lips to Yusaku’s lips.
It was not something he was thinking of doing - at least… not often, and he always pushed those thoughts away. They were both focused on getting answers, and getting their revenge. Jin pushed these thoughts away, and never brought them up, and especially never mentioned them, but now, now, with the Hanoi shattered and fallen apart, and having gotten their answers, now it felt like… the right time. It felt… right, just like clinging to Yusaku felt right.
Especially as Yusaku kissed him back, without hesitation, and not pulling away at all.
~*~
Jin thought their lives would change more. They didn’t log into Link VRAINS anymore - Yusaku wasn’t interested, and Jin didn’t feel like going inside without him. They went to school, they worked at the truck. Things were becoming normal.
Jin didn’t feel very normal.
It felt like there was an itch under his skin he had no ways to scratch, he was restless and antsy, and had no idea how to deal with it. He wanted to do something, but had no way to explain what. His brain was just yelling at him to do something, but had no actual ideas what he wanted to do.
He mentioned it to Shoichi once while Yusaku was out to buy groceries.
“It makes sense,” Shoichi said absently. “Our lives had been preoccupied with revenge for so long, it makes sense it would be hard to readjust now that it’s done.”
“Is it done?” Jin asked bitterly. “Revolver left. Only Baira is arrested out of the Knights. The doctor died without having to properly face any of us, and to face what he had done to us. None of the other Knights suffered any repercussions."
“...do you want to continue?”
Jin shrugged a little, looking out to the plaza, watching the people go around.
“...I don’t know. I wonder how content Yusaku is, really.”
“He seems content to me.”
“Well,” Jin huffed. “Yusaku is soft for the voice in his head, and that’s all it took for him to drop that matter entirely. And I guess now that Ai went back to Cyberse, it’s also easier, because no way the Knights will attack him without Ai. Me on the other hand? I can, and am perfectly willing to hold a grudge.”
“...you two are gonna have to talk about that eventually.”
He nodded reluctantly - and in the distance he saw Yusaku approaching, and he smiled. He didn’t plan on smiling, but it was such an instinctive response.
“...sure. Eventually” He said, waving towards Yusaku.
He still had Yusaku. Would always have. So what was the point of rushing it?
Their relationship was still the same as ever. Well. With the upgrade of even more clinging to each other than when they were kids.
And also kissing.
That kind of changed, he figured.
~*~
Jin was curious. That was it all came down to - he was curious, he wanted… he wanted to know. He needed to know, so he was working on a program.
His brother was the better hacker, but he wasn’t bad at it himself, so he could work on it. And he watched Ai enough, and he left enough just enough tracks for Jin to work with.
Ai was made during the Lost Incident. He was created with making him study Yusaku’s duelling patterns, his personality, his needs.
And there are five other Ignis out there, somewhere.
One for every Lost Incident victim.
He obviously was curious about the Ignis that was created from watching him. So… he started to look for him.
Jin wanted to look into the eyes of the being, whose creation was the point of dragging him through hell. He wondered if he was worth it.
Well.
He wouldn’t know the answer for that, until he tried, right?
~*~
The Light Ignis was nothing like Ai.
Ai was constant movements, constant blabbering, always dancing away from answering directly.
The Light Ignis was calm, collected and blunt, and as soon as Jin laid eyes on him, he felt his heart speed up.
“I must admit,” the Light Ignis said, in his surprisingly deep voice. “I did not expect you to come to me. I thought I would have to seek you out.”
“You would have wanted to?” Jin asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Naturally. You and I are linked, aren’t we?”
The hairs on the back of Jin’s neck stood up.
There was something…
“What did you want with me?”
“Huh?”
“You said you wanted to look for me. Why?”
“I just told you.”
“Bullshit” Jin interrupted him. “Ai would have never seeked Playmaker out, probably. Not without being pushed into the corner by the Hanoi like he was.”
“Wouldn’t he?” The Light Ignis’ voice had some amusement in it. “He always had a lot more compassion for humans from the beginning. He saw how traumatized his origin was, so he decided to give a push, so he wouldn’t be alone.”
“...what?”
The Light Ignis shrugged.
“I didn’t mind. And it helped you both, didn’t it?”
“...you two set it up that we would meet? Way back then?”
“The Dark Ignis… you called him Ai, didn’t you? Well, Ai did. As I said, I let him do whatever.”
“Okay, so we are back at the previous question, so stop evading my questions” Jin snapped. “You said you didn’t really care that Ai pushed Playmaker and I together even back then. So you don’t care as much as Ai does - so why did you want to look for me?”
Silence.
The Light Ignis’ eyes narrowed, and Jin’s stomach dropped.
“...you are planning something, aren’t you?”
“Naturally.”
“Tell me.”
“Why should I?”
“Well, not like you are just gonna let me leave, are you?” Jin shrugged. “Might as well tell me. Maybe we can figure out something that this wouldn’t suck for either of us.”
So the Light Ignis told him.
And Jin stood there, deep in thoughts, then slowly nodded.
“Alright. I’m in.”
Now that - that actually made the Light Ignis look taken aback, his green eyes widening.
“What do you mean?”
“Sounds reasonable enough. Humanity… the Knights did attack you at first, after all.” Jin was silent for a few moments. “I am going to help you. I have one condition, though.”
“Why should I listen to your arguments?”
“I can be useful to you. Not sure if you know, but I am a good duelist.” Jin grinned. “You can test that, if you want.”
So they duelled.
The Light Ignis was just as good as playing as he expected him to be - gave more trouble for him than almost all of the humans he duelled against in his travels.
Not that Jin was about to take his assault easy.
“Is this really necessary?”
Both of their LPs were in the red, when a bored voice piped up, and Jin looked that way - and saw a small boy standing there with golden hair.
Something deep within Jin’s mind told him that he was not just a simple boy.
“It was necessary, Haru,” the Light Ignis said, before waving his hand. “But I am still curious about something, Lightbringer, Jin Kusanagi. What is your condition?”
“What you mentioned about some humans being taken into safety, and under your watchful eyes. I want that to not be a lie. And I want Playmaker there.”
“Oh?” The Light Ignis narrowed his eyes. “I thought you would ask for your brother first.”
“I don’t need to ask for him, he will come either way.” Jin shrugged. “Playmaker might need to be dragged there. And yet, I want him there. You kill him, the deal is off, and I rip you apart.”
The Light Ignis shrugged, and waved his hand, making the entire duelling field disappear.
“That is a condition I can fulfill, Lightbringer. I take that you are willing to… in your words, drag Playmaker into safety?”
Jin grinned, extending his duel disk towards him invitingly.
“You don’t need to be surprised, Lightning. I will make sure he survives, whether he likes it or not.”
“Lightning?”
“You need a name, don’t you?”
The Light Ignis… no, Lightning hummed, and nodded.
“That works. Very well, Lightbringer.”
Jin blinked, and Lightning was gone in a flash - or rather, he was already in his duel disk.
It felt… right.
“Anyways, I would have won. Just saying.”
Lightning crossed his arms in front of his chest, turning his head away.
“You can keep telling yourself that. Your deck is clearly lacking compared to mine. So you are welcome to use that instead of yours.”
Sweet.
~*~
Jin was not the only person who ran into his Ignis.
And a new person arrived into Link VRAINS, with an eyesore aesthetic, and an Ignis on his arm, and immediately gravitated towards Playmaker. And really, it seemed like the two were getting along well.
Jin looked at the screens, pursing his lips.
“Playmaker is looking for you frantically,” Lightning said, and Jin didn’t look down at him. “He kept pressuring Bohman into giving you back.”
“For someone that intent on finding me, he sure found himself a new best friend quick.”
“You are jealous.”
Lightning did not say that as a question, and Jin gritted his teeth.
“He had beaten Go Onizuka and Blue Angel… pardon, Blue Girl. Big deal.”
“Do you think he will choose you?”
“If it would be simply choosing, no way he would choose a random jock he just met over me.”
“So you say he will join us?”
“That is not what I said.” Jin grinned, his eyes fixed on Soulburner’s image on screen. “Playmaker won’t join us at first. I know him enough to know that. That’s why I said I will have to drag him into safety in the end. And I will.”
~*~
“Where is Lightbringer? What have you done with him?”
He will never forget the look on Playmaker’s face when he casted the shadows all over himself - showing off himself, and also his new avatar.
Very similar as to how he looked before - just star symbols over his outfit, and his hair barely had any purple in it anymore. It was mostly gold and white, with only traces of purple now.
And he smirked.
“Hello, Playmaker. Long time no see, Ai, Revolver. Nice to meet you, Spectre, Soulburner, Flame. The rest of you, I don’t care.”
“...Lightbringer?”
“Oh right, I forgot to mention,” Lightning said casually. “Unlike Windy, I came to the conclusion that working together with my partner is beneficial. And Lightbringer luckily agrees with me.”
Playmaker did not look at Lightning, and if the others said anything, Jin didn’t hear them. They were irrelevant. Didn’t matter.
His eyes were just focused on Playmaker.
“Why?”
It was a simple word Playmaker asked, and Jin smiled, closing his eyes a bit.
“It’ll be alright, Playmaker. You’ll see.”
~*~
Playmaker obviously chased them along and Bohman glanced back.
“Let me fight Playmaker.”
Lightning was about to say yes. Jin knew it.
But…
“No. Let me. ”
“There is no point,” Lightning said coldly. “There will be other times…”
“It’s fine. You go with Bohman. I will catch up later. I won’t put you into danger. But now I need to face him, otherwise he won’t rest until he catches up.”
Lightning looked at him, and narrowed his eyes, before nodding.
“Alright, then.”
Bohman raised a hand, allowing Lightning to hop over, and then Jin turned around mid air, and flew back towards Playmaker.
“Hey there, Playmaker. Want to duel?”
“No” Playmaker said instantly, panic on his face. “Just… come home, please. Let’s talk about this. Your brother is worrie--”
“My brother,” Jin interrupted him. “Will be fine. You need to focus on yourself. If I win, Ai comes with us. Lightning really wanted him on our side, after all. You win, I go with you. Sound like a deal?”
Playmaker gritted his teeth, before his green eyes turning determined.
Good.
Jin smiled.
“That is what I like to see.”
Duel!
You could usually flip a coin between the two of them. Often it was only luck that they depended on who won or who lost. Whichever of them got a better or a worse hand. Whichever of them had better draws.
They knew each others’ deck completely.
Well.
Playmaker didn’t know Jin’s current deck - but that didn’t mean he was at a huge disadvantage. He didn’t become one of the best duelists in Link VRAINS with studying his opponents’ decks. He became one with quickly learning, improvising, and adapting.
That said…
You could flip a coin easily.
This was the first time Jin saw Playmaker lose a speed duel, and he saw him fall off the D-board, landing roughly on the ground.
Jin wanted to be happy, but he felt his own heart speeding up, the need to rush over, to calm him like he always did, god, he was still shaking, through all these years, still, still, the sick feeling in his stomach…
He didn’t.
He just stepped off the D-board, and started walking towards Playmaker, who was still on the ground.
“Well then. I won. Which means…”
Playmaker glanced up, his face a mix of anger and pain, like a cornered animal, ready to lash out, and…
“Logging out.”
He was gone.
Along with Ai.
And Jin just looked at the spot where he had been for a few moments, before laughing out loud.
“Oh, that is dirty. That is absolutely dirty.” Jin couldn’t stop himself from grinning. “I love it. I can’t wait until we meet again.”
He was still laughing when he hopped back on his D-board.
Lightning was waiting.
~*~
~*~
Yusaku was in the darkness.
He pressed against the compartment door, his entire body shaking. He needed to open the door. He needed to go out. Takeru will probably log out soon. Kusanagi…
Kusanagi.
“Yusaku?”
Ai’s unsure voice kind of pulled him back to reality, and he looked down, and he saw Ai’s glowing eyes.
“Ai…”
Neither of them found the words, probably, before the compartment door opened up, and Yusaku almost fell out, and Shoichi caught him.
“It’s okay. I got you.”
Shoichi’s voice was quiet, as he helped Yusaku to sit down. On the screen, Takeru was still going after Bohman and Lightning.
“...Kusanagi…”
“You tried” Shoichi said, slowly nodding, not looking away from the screen. “That is fine. At least you are safe here. We just have to try harder next time, right?”
Yusaku couldn’t unsee the tension in Kusanagi’s entire body, and he felt like his own body was extremely heavy as well.
On the screens, Lightbringer caught up with the others - then all of them disappeared.
Kusanagi reached out, just to tell Takeru he should log out, and that Yusaku was already outside. So he did.
They were fine.
Nothing was fine.
~*~
“Can you fight your best friend again?”
Revolver was sitting in front of Café Nagi, after bringing them a program to keep them safe, and his arms were just crossed.
“I would prefer not to. But unless we know what exactly their plan is, it is hard to tell what is going to happen.”
“And will you win next time?”
Yusaku looked away from Revolver, towards Shoichi - whose entire body was still tense, and looking aside.
“Sometimes he wins. Sometimes I do. So I could.”
“Are you sure you should be taking risks about that?”
Now that made Yusaku look back at Revolver.
“I have a better track record with winning against him than you do.”
~*~
Jin’s body was in a coma.
Shoichi found him when all of this was starting - or rather, before that. Before Takeru showed up, before Bohman and Haru started to sneak around, before the bounty hunters appeared.
He was obviously logged in, but his data was nowhere to be found. Like the Anothers, but even more untraceable. There was no trace of his consciousness inside Link VRAINS anywhere - and this was what led Yusaku log in, to look for him - and run into Soulburner for the first time.
And there were still no traces anywhere. Like he was just a ghost, hiding somewhere far, far away, deep behind Ignis-codes.
His body was transported into the hospital, where they caused a minor freakout, as doctors thought the Anothers-incident flared up again - but as there were no other cases documented, it was just treated as a one-off case.
An oddity.
Yusaku visited Jin when he could, as if he hoped against all reason that he would open his eyes. That he would realise his mistake - but even if he would, would he be able to get away from Lightning and Windy? Yusaku told himself he could.
It was Jin, after all.
If someone could have gotten away from a group of AIs who might or might not have been planning the demise of humanity one was or another, it was Jin Kusanagi.
Which meant if he didn’t leave…
“...Yusaku what will you do?”
“There is not much we can do” Yusaku said numbly. “We need to stop them. The things they had done, we can’t ignore it.”
“But it’s…”
“And it’s not just about Jin - your friends are also there.” Yusaku looked down at Ai. “You are going to have to fight your friends. Lightning and Windy both. Is it that much different from what I have to do?”
Ai was quiet, hanging his head a little.
It was always… off, when Ai was quiet, and Yusaku just laid down, putting the duel disk next to himself on the bed. He partially expected Ai to make a crude comment, but he figured he could put up with it.
He got used to not being alone when he slept, and the nightmares were coming back, since Jin did not wake up.
Ai did not make a crude comment.
In fact, when the nightmares came back, Yusaku woke up to multiple strong arms being wrapped around him, and somehow it felt like the weight pulling him down was a little bit lighter.
~*~
There was a tremor through Mirror Link VRAINS, and Jin looked out a window. The shockwaves ran through the entire realm, and Lightning also raised his head.
“They found us sooner than I expected.”
“I told you so,” Jin said simply, shrugging. “I told you that once they all teamed up, they would be like hunting dogs on a scent.”
“True, you did.”
“But nooo, why would you listen to me,” Jin rolled his eyes. “I’m just a mere human. And I basically grew up with Playmaker. But why would I know how they would react?”
“I got it, Lightbringer.”
“Not to mention,” Jin continued gleefully, ignoring Lightning’s interruption. “I spent a long time chasing Revolver and trying to avoid his strikes. Ai did it even longer. That guy never lets up either. And as for the rest…”
He could not continue, because there was a long tendril wrapped around his mouth. He glanced down, looking at the annoyed face of Lightning.
“I told you I got it.”
Jin reached up, pulling the tendril off from his mouth - and Lighting let him, as Jin grinned down at him.
“Moral of the story is: you should listen to me.”
Lightning looked at him, his annoyed frown disappearing, a thoughtful look on his face instead, as Jin’s fingers gently wrapped around his tendril, as if he was holding him.
“Alright. Let’s pick them off one by one then.”
Jin nodded, with a smile, pressing a soft kiss to Lightning’s tendril still in his hand.
“Wow. You two are super gross. When can we start kicking their asses instead? And should we let them see it? Please, let’s let them see it. I want to see them suffer, while we watch them disappear one by one!”
Windy obviously picked this time to be a total mood ruiner, and Jin just rolled his eyes, still not letting Lightning go.
“Well. That is also something we could work with…”
~*~
“It is fascinating. The Light Ignis has a complex, and you - you think Playmaker will go over to your side? When you want to see the world burn? That is almost hilariously pathetic, you know.”
Lightning was shaking with barely suppressed anger, as Jin clenched his fist - and there was a grin on his face.
“Hey, Spectre, I really feel sorry for you. The way you kept talking about Earth… you saw me with Lightning, and Playmaker and Soulburner with their own partners. And you could never have that. I almost wish you would have been the one who destroyed him, because isn’t it the greatest irony of all? You stand there in front of us, accusing us for causing the problems that lead to Earth’s death… when you and the Hanoi were on his trail all along. I kind of wish you would have been the one who killed him, and then realised what you had lost. You would have deserved it,” Jin’s grin turned even wider. “Instead you are standing here, accusing Lightning of striking first. Give me a break, Spectre.”
“Interesting theory,” Spectre tilted his head with a smirk. “But the main problem is the Ignis existing in the first place. That is the root of all problems."
“That is what all of you stand for yes, but didn’t you say that you enjoyed the Lost Incident?” Jin shrugged. “You liked it, didn’t you? You told Playmaker you liked that the Hanoi had expectations of you. Well, and that expectation was Earth. So without Earth, aren’t you also useless? All of it was for nothing, after all.”
“Expectations can change,” Spectre pointed out. “Just like Playmaker himself changed. Before you two couldn’t be separated from each other. And now, he is here to fight you. Hey, Lightbringer, how does it feel that Playmaker picked Soulburner and Revolver over you?”
It was like the air was knocked out from Jin’s lungs - and Spectre obviously saw him being taken aback as it was his turn to grin.
And he continued.
“If you look at the facts, this entire situation tells you everything you need to know, isn’t that right? You, on the Light Ignis’ side. And Playmaker over here. His choice seems clear.”
“...you have no idea what are you talking about.” Jin said, eyes fixed on Spectre.
“Huh? What was that?”
“You have no idea!!” Jin snapped, taking a step forward. “You have no idea about Playmaker and I, absolutely no idea about the things we went through together, you know nothing, Spectre. I was by his side when no one else was!”
"Was. Exactly. You are not there anymore," Spectre's voice was mocking, and Jin clenched his fist so hard it probably would have drawn blood outside of the virtual world.
"You… "
"Lightbringer.”
Lightning’s deep voice, also full of suppressed anger was the thing Jin needed to pull him back to reality, as his eyes refocused.
He was in a duel.
Spectre’s monsters formed an Extra Link in front of him.
He will burn them all down.
“My turn. I draw.”
It really was over quickly after that.
~*~
Win some, lose some. They lost Haru and Windy, but they took out Blue Maiden and Spectre.
“I have an idea.”
The problem was, there were fewer of them to begin with, so they had to… improvise a bit.
“I don’t need to ask for my brother, he will come either way.”
“Why are you doing this?”
Jin smiled, stepping forward.
“I have my reasons. And you need to help me. Will you help me?”
“...but what you ask me is…”
“Sometimes we have to do things we don’t really want to,” Jin looked into his brother’s eyes. “It’s like ripping off a bandaid. That’s why you need to do it.”
~*~
“It’s possible that Jin and Lightning… they will try to use me against you.”
“That will not happen.”
“Lightning would do it, and you know it. And whatever he told Jin, he seems willing to with him through hell if needed, so we can’t predict what he is capable of, so we need to be prepared.”
“...what do you mean?”
“I won’t fight him. You know it. But you… you can. Playmaker needs to what is right.”
“I don’t want to fight him either.”
“...Playmaker is basically everyone’s hope.”
“You mean Playmaker needs to be… more than Yusaku Fujiki?”
“I mean you need to be both Playmaker and Yusaku Fujiki. Playmaker needs to stop them. Yusaku Fujiki can save him. I know you can.”
~*~
Playmaker… no, Yusaku was on his knees.
It did not feel fulfilling, being Playmaker and Yusaku Fujiki at the same time, no matter what Kusanagi had said. It did not feel fulfilling at all, his throat was hoarse as he tried to suppress his tears, and his entire body was shaking.
“Oh, Playmaker.”
His eyes widened, as he looked up and there was Jin, a gentle look on his face, as he walked over, and knelt down next to Yusaku as well.
“That was rough on you, wasn’t it? I bet you two had talked before so you would go all out.”
“...what?” Lightning raised his head, but Jin ignored him.
“It makes sense. I figured this was a possibility.”
“...why would you do this? Your brother…”
“My brother needed to be placed somewhere safe for now. It’ll be fine. His data will be stored where he will be easy to restored from, once we finish spring cleaning.”
“Spring cleaning?”
Jin reached out, and next thing Yusaku knew, Jin pulled him closer for a hug, caressing his hair. His body tensed up - he wanted to break away, he wanted to scream and yell and cry at Jin for putting him through this, he forced himself to remember Kusanagi, remember Blue Maiden, remember Spectre, remember their situation…
But he remembered Jin, Jin, always by his side all these years, and he felt his muscles ease up, and his tears streaming down on his face - and Jin just whispered soothing words into his ear, caressing his hair.
~*~
Playmaker passed out - from the exhaustion, from the breakdown, it was hard to tell, and Jin let him lie down to the ground gently. Ai on the other hand glared up at him, hands on his hips.
“What was that all about?!”
“What do you mean? He needed a comforting shoulder to cry on. But from this point on, you got this, right? You can look after him, right?”
“It’s your fault he is in this state to begin with!”
“It’ll all be over soon,” Jin promised, before looking down at Lightning, who also looked displeased. “Okay, say it. What is your problem?”
“I feel like you played me.”
“With what?”
“Telling me that making Playmaker duel Kusanagi would work.”
“Did it not work?” Jin shrugged. “We have my brother’s data. That is a step forward in chipping away the opposition. You think my brother wouldn’t have caused problems even if the entire team was taken away? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“So let’s fight Playmaker now.”
“Now you are just being stupid. He is in no state to duel. I won’t fight my best friend when he is unconscious.”
Lightning was huffing - and Jin just looked up at the reporters - and there was a dark smirk on his face.
“Now… Soulburner, Revolver. Which one of you should I rip apart first?”
~*~
He went to Soulburner.
“I can’t forgive you.”
He heard how Soulburner’s voice was shaking from barely suppressed anger.
“For everything you had done… and for what you had done to Playmaker.”
“Playmaker will be fine,” Jin said in a cold voice. “You should worry about yourself.”
Duel!
To Soulburner’s credit - he was a good duelist. There was a reason he fit into Playmaker’s team well, why he defeated fearsome opponents. Why he defeated duelists who were really good at what they were doing.
The same description was true for Jin though, as well.
“You know,” Soulburner spoke up. “I don’t just mean this duel. Forcing him to duel Kusanagi was… it was just the last straw. I mean what you did.”
“Enlighten me,” Jin rolled his eyes. “What did I do?”
“You left him behind. You are his best friend and you left him.”
“Yes he is my best friend,” Jin spat, glaring at Soulburner. “Mine. My best friend, my everything, and I am the same to him. So I suggest you shut your mouth about things you have no idea about.”
“You hadn’t seen him since you left!” Soulburner lashed out, glaring at Jin right back, not shrinking away. “He never stopped hoping you would come back, always visiting you in the hospital. Hoping you would change your mind and come back and be on his side again, and you didn’t. And for what? For a power trip?”
“You have no idea what are you talking about.”
“And I don’t care!” Takeru pointed a finger at Jin accusingly. “The things you had done… there are no justification for it. Lightning… he destroyed Cyberse, imprisoned Aqua, and put her origin into a coma, declared war on humanity… Windy attacked his origin, you all are taking out our friends one by one… and you teamed up with them willingly. There is no way I can forgive you!”
“That’s cute how you think I care what you think of me,” Jin snickered. “Besides, you are on a high horse. Didn’t your partner devour Windy? That’s nasty, Flame.”
“He tried to kill us!” Flame snapped back. “Lightning could have saved him agai--”
“Don’t put it on me,” Lightning interrupted him. “He ended up there because he underestimated you just like he did with Revolver before. And because you absorbed him.”
“That isn’t the sa--”
“Humanity declared war on us first,” Lightning interrupted him again. “So just like you retaliated against Windy, so did we.”
“And what about you, Lightbringer?” Soulburner snapped again. “What is your excuse?”
Jin smirked again.
“Wouldn’t you like to know that?”
To be really fair, Soulburner was really good at duelling - it’s been a long time since someone challenged Jin the way he did.
Well, someone who was not Yusaku at least. Lightning was a challenge, sure, but it was mostly just to get to know each other, and before that, Revolver… but apart from them, no one else really posed a threat to Jin. So he was there, full of bruises, but standing his ground.
Then of course Windy emerged from Flame’s body, and then both of them disappeared, leaving Soulburner a shaking mess, albeit also full of bruises.
“Shall we continue, Soulburner?”
He hissed, and part of him expected Soulburner to fall apart - but he glanced up, fire in his eyes.
“Lightbringer. I will take you down - for Playmaker. For Flame. For everyone.”
“Go ahead and try.”
To his credit, he tried. He really tried.
Even if it was futile, in the end.
As Soulburner disappeared, Jin also fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath - and then looked up at the reporters, grinning.
“Hey, guess what, Revolver. You are next.”
Then he made the reporters disappear, and go to the next area. As he was himself getting ready to stand up, he…
“Yes, he is next. But you aren’t going to fight him.” Bohman’s voice rang out.
“What?!”
“He is right.” Lightning said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Look at yourself. You would need time to recover, time that we don’t have. And we need to get rid of Revolver.”
“I can do it!”
“Last time you duelled him, you were in top condition, yet you duelled him to a draw,” Lightning said bluntly. “I won’t let you cause us to be erased, just because of your pride.”
“You can’t exactly lecture me on prideful behaviour, Lightning.”
“I can lecture you on self-preservation, though.”
Jin really, really hated this.
But maybe, just maybe Lightning was right.
Maybe.
~*~
The barriers were down, and Jin landed behind Bohman - if he couldn’t be the one to take down Revolver, he wanted at least first row seats to the spectacle - and if, by any chance, Bohman would lose, he wanted to be ready to take Revolver apart.
And then Yusaku showed up too, landing behind Revolver, his eyes meeting Jin’s - and Jin started to hope that Bohman would lose.
And Revolver just wouldn’t shut up during the duel. He would just keep talking about how Lightning reprogrammed Windy, about how he was the root of all evil, and how he was the one who ruined everyone’s future, and Jin couldn’t care less.
“Do you think you have a future living with him, Lightbringer?” Revolver’s voice was sharp, as he pointed at Jin. “That Ignis has no way to coexist with humanity at all, and you are still human.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Jin shrugged. “Simulations. Whatever. I don’t care.”
“Lightbringer…” Yusaku started, and Jin just hissed.
“Really, Playmaker? Really? I still can’t believe you are standing behind Revolver of all people. You are all high and mighty over there, but Revolver almost killed us, and millions of people, just to kill six beings. Six! And you are standing behind him, don’t you think that’s fucked up, Playmaker? Revolver tried to kill millions. With Lightning it is just a possibility.”
Revolver’s eyes were fixed on him, and he was unmoving, not even arguing back, and Yusaku seemed to be at loss over what to say as well.
And Jin continued.
“It’s all back to the Incident, isn’t it? Him whispering into your head back then, and then when you met him again he was giving you the cold shoulder,” Jin hissed, narrowing his eyes. “He made you care, and then ditched you, only to pick you up again when he needed your help against us. Don’t forget who was by your side when he wasn’t.”
Yusaku reeled back, as if Jin had hit him, and Revolver’s entire body tensed.
“This is just a temporary alliance. Playmaker is aware of it as well. But there is something you should consider, Lightbringer - just as Spectre said, whose side is Playmaker standing on now?”
Jin clenched his jaw, and Yusaku stepped forward.
“Lightbringer, I--”
“Don’t,” Jin snapped. “Just shut up, Playmaker. You and I, we will sort things out later. But Revolver is right. That is just a temporary alliance, because I will not allow Revolver to leave this field.”
Jin straightened his back, and Lightning snickered a little, closing his eyes.
And saying the words Jin was also thinking.
“Finish this, Bohman.”
In the end, Revolver fought tooth and nail, until the best Bohman could do was a draw.
And as they disappeared, Lightning took all the data with him, storing wherever the Ignis was storing data they needed.
Then Jin looked at Yusaku - and smiled.
“It’s time for the grand finale, don’t you think?”
His voice was cheerful, but Yusaku was not smiling, just nodded with steely determination.
~*~
Duel!
You could flip a coin.
Whenever Jin and Yusaku duelled, you could flip a coin over which one of them would win, and this one was no different, right?
“Lightbringer… what are you planning to do?”
Jin smiled.
“Lightning said it already. The Ignis can’t live until we can make sure humanity will not attack again first. And they don’t deserve that fate, you know it as well.”
“We can figure out a wa--”
“I already have,” Jin interrupted him. “Lightning and I… we are going to use the powers of the remaining Ignis, to make sure we can create a part in the network. Hidden into safety, where we can tuck away some humans we definitely want to keep safe. We can even rearrange the other Ignis there.”
“...and then what?”
Jin smiled darkly.
“And then we will make sure humanity can’t attack the Ignis again.”
“With killing everyone?”
“Probably not everyone, no.” Jin shrugged and Lightning nodded.
“That would be very wasteful, yes. Just enough to make sure we can work on coexistence.”
“Lightning, you keep using that word,” Ai snapped at him. “I don’t think it means what you think it means!”
“That is not coexistence,” Yusaku said softly, shaking his head. “I cannot allow that to happen.”
Jin smiled, gesturing towards Yusaku.
“Then go ahead, Playmaker. I end my turn. Try to stop me. But if I win, I am taking you with me. You will be there in my new world, don’t worry. There is no way I would erase my best friend, after all.”
Yusaku was a vicious fighter - always had been. So was Jin, obviously - they practiced together a lot, after all.
When they were kids, at first they would not fight that hard. After all, neither of them wanted to hurt the other, even if they knew the Incident was long since over. It took them years to be able to go full out against each other.
And Jin knew - he saw in Yusaku’s green eyes, that he didn’t want to fight with his whole power this time either.
But he also saw in his eyes that as much as he didn’t want to, he would.
A part of Jin was extremely proud of Yusaku for that.
~*~
Yusaku’s last attack sent Jin flying - and he gave out a painful yell, as he fell backwards, but somehow landed on his feet, as his life points reached zero.
He… lost.
His balance wavered, but he couldn’t fall over, because Yusaku was instantly there, locking him into his arms.
“...I got you. I’m here, I got you.”
Jin closed his eyes and smiled a little, as both of them fell down to their knees, Yusaku not letting Jin go.
“...yeah. Yeah, you do. Always did, right? I really wanted to make sure you are safe, but this is what you chose.”
“...don’t say that.”
“I know. I can’t blame you.”
Jin put his head on Yusaku’s shoulder.
“I feel heavy, Pla… Yusaku. I feel so, so heavy.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
Jin smiled bitterly, as he clung back to Yusaku, feeling his own grip ease up, even though he did not want to let go.
“...it seems like I’m going to be the one who lets you go.”
~*~
“Lightning!”
Ai could hop out of the duel disk easily, as he rushed over, running on Yusaku’s shoulders, his arms, until he got to Jin’s wrist, and the duel disk on it, as Lightning started to flicker - he just grabbed hold of Lightning hugging him close.
“...what are you doing?”
“The others… everyone else… they were basically alone. I won’t let you be alone.”
“Will that be better on your conscience if you are here?”
“Shut up and let me hug you, Lightning.”
Lightning snickered, and just turned his head upwards - but allowed Ai to stay.
“I wonder if you will regret your choice.”
“Huh?”
“You probably sealed the Ignis’ future with this. And you are going to have to live with that. I really don’t envy you, you know.”
~*~
And then they were gone.
Falling apart into tiny fragments of data, and disappearing - and Yusaku was just kneeling there still, trying to hold onto the data best that he could, but Jin, anything that remained from Jin just slipped through his fingers - and it seemed like there was nothing Ai could do either, as all the data instantly disappeared, without Ai being able to hold onto them.
And Yusaku screamed.
When people of Link VRAINS and the members of Playmaker’s team returned, they saw their hero kneeling there, screaming from pain, and tears on his face.
And that was the last time they had seen Playmaker.
The regular people of Link VRAINS at least.
~*~
~*~
Jin did not wake up.
Yusaku was sitting next to him in the hospital, eyes fixed on his face, for the slightest hint of life - a flicker of his eyes, a deeper breath, a twitch of a finger.
Anything.
There was nothing, and everything was quiet - he didn’t even take his duel disk with himself, because when it was all dark and silent, even that felt especially heavy on his wrist.
Besides, who would he duel?
He would go to school, but skip duel club meetings - he was aware that Naoki and Aoi tried to talk with him, and Takeru sometimes managed to, but usually he just avoided them best he could.
Yusaku sometimes felt sorry for Takeru, and he saw Takeru didn’t really know what to do either - he obviously wanted to tell Yusaku something, but he could not muster up the courage to do so.
Yusaku figured he should be more worried for Takeru - they were friends after all, he liked the guy. He knew he could trust Takeru with his life.
And yet, he found it extremely hard to bring himself to be worried. He tried, he really tried, but it was like he fell into a deep darkness as soon as Jin disappeared from his arms.
It was… hard to think of anything else.
~*~
He wandered around the hot dog truck occasionally, and he was just quiet - Shoichi barely said anything as well. That day, when they got out, Shoichi told them he was glad they were fine, but that was it. He did not say anything else.
Yusaku should have probably asked something, but had no idea what.
One evening, the hot dog truck was closed down, and there was a feeling of dread in Yusaku’s stomach, so he entered - and there was Shoichi, and empty bottle in his hand.
And several littered around him.
“...Kusanagi?”
Shoichi looked up, and he snorted.
“Look at you. Everyone’s hero. Playmaker.”
His voice was dripping with venom, and Yusaku’s stomach sank.
“...Kusanagi, you should go to sleep.”
“For what?” He slurred, gesturing towards the screens. “I keep scanning Link VRAINS, but there is nothing. Nothing at all. My brother… the only reason I kept fighting for all these years is gone.”
“Kusa--”
“And you, ” Kusanagi spat, glaring at Yusaku. “You, on the other hand? You are here. I trusted you with bringing him back, but you killed him instead.”
Yusaku took a step back, his hands shaking.
“I’m sor--”
“Well I am sorry too!” Kusanagi snapped. “Sorry that it wasn’t you.”
Kusanagi threw the bottle at Yusaku, and he ducked away by reflex - the glass shattered, and a shard made a cut on Yusaku’s face.
He looked at Kusanagi without a word - and Kusanagi’s eyes widened, the expression on his face turning into one full of horror.
“Yusaku… shit, I’m so sorry, Yusa--”
“You are right.”
“Yusaku wai--”
He tried to reach after Yusaku, but he stumbled, and Yusaku just turned around, and ran out of the hot dog truck.
Did not go back.
What was the point? Kusanagi was right, after all.
Yusaku was the one who killed Jin.
~*~
When Zaizen called them, it was Takeru who relayed the message to him, and Kusanagi was also there in his Unnamed persona, and Yusaku saw he was looking at him.
As for Yusaku himself, he avoided looking at Kusanagi. It was better that way..
“Why did you call us here, Zaizen?”
Then he told them.
And showed them the video.
Ai’s smile, Roboppi’s laugh, and Yusaku felt like the world was spinning around him.
Again? I have to… again?
“I understand if you don’t want to participate,” Zaizen said in an oddly understanding voice. “I know he was your partner.”
“...give me time to think.”
He saw Kusanagi move towards him, but he just logged out.
He needed to think…
~*~
~*~
Playmaker did not turn up to fight Ai.
None of them were terribly surprised.
“He already had to fight one good friend of his,” Soulburner said softly, looking into the distance. “I think… it is only right to take off this weight from his shoulders.
Neither of them could really argue with that.
~*~
Ai seemed carefree as usual, spinning on his heel, facing the Zaizen siblings, while a hologram of Revolver and Soulburner were on the side.
“I mean don’t get me wrong,” Ai blabbered on, putting his hands behind his back. “I could fight the two of you alone. But isn’t it a bit unfair? A tag duel is always more fun! So… if you want to help me out, you can.”
“Help out?” Blue Maiden repeated it.
“Roboppi…?” Soulburner muttered.
Ai’s grin grew.
And then there was a swirl of data next to Ai, and a new person appearing - a very familiar person, albeit with a few differences: his colourful hair longer than before, and his bodysuit a darker colour as well. Closer to purple and black, actually.
“...Playmaker?”
Playmaker opened his eyes, and just stepped next to Ai, eyes fixed on the Zaizen siblings.
“...why?”
Blue Maiden was the first one who whispered, and Playmaker slowly closed his eyes - but when he opened them again, they were full of determination.
“I will not make the same mistake twice. I will do what I should have done before. I am not leaving Ai’s side.”
Duel!
Playmaker’s deck did not change, and with Ai knowing the entire deck from front to back, it was easy for them to work together.
Like it was meant to be.
Even when...
“The three arrows that judge everything! The Link Spell, Judgement Arrows!”
Ai placed the card, and everyone was taken aback.
Everyone except for Ai, Roboppi… and Playmaker.
“Ai! Are you really following on Lightning’s wishes?”
Ai smiled a bit - even if there was just a bitterness in his smile, before it turned into a grin.
“Maybe. Do I? What do you think, Soulburner?”
“Playmaker,” Revolver’s voice was sharp. “You know what that card represents. Are you fine with this turn of events?”
Playmaker did not reply, he kept his eyes on the field.
He truthfully barely spoke outside of his own turn, and just focused on the game.
Until they won.
And Ai only took Akira Zaizen’s data, leaving the sister behind, and even hearing Ai’s reasoning, Yusaku’s eyes were empty, as he also turned away.
“Dark Ignis!” Revolver’s voice rang out, and all of them turned back to look at him. “I do not know what have you done to Playma--”
“He didn’t do anything,” Yusaku interrupted him. “I went with him because of my own free will. I still have that. I told you. I refuse to make the same mistake twice.”
“Playmaker…”
Soulburner’s voice was begging, and Revolver was just glaring.
Then Ai snorted, and turned away again - and then all three of them were gone.
~*~
~*~
“How did you even find me?”
Ai was shocked when Yusaku appeared on his ship, and even Roboppi looked taken aback.
“Jin helped me.”
“...Jin?”
“I found something on his computer,” Yusaku explained, stepping closer. “It’s a program that only works on an origin of an Ignis - pulls on whatever bond there is, and helps the origin track the Ignis. That is what he used to make contact with Lightning. I just simply used it to find you.”
“...and now what? Are you here to stop me from going through my plans?”
“Is there any way I could convince you?”
Ai tilted his head, deep in thought.
“No, Playmaker. I don’t think you could.”
“...then let me go with you.”
“...huh?!”
Yusaku reached forward, taking Ai’s hands between his own.
“Let me help you. Whatever you do. Let me help you.”
Ai’s eyes widened, and his jaw actually dropped.
“...why?”
“Because I don’t want you to be alone, Ai. You should not do this alone.”
“...you don’t even know what do I want to do. What if my plans are so horrible you can’t follow them?”
“I don’t think they are,” Yusaku said firmly. “And if they are, I am sure we can figure something out. So… tell me, Ai.”
So Ai told him.
And Yusaku did not let his hands go.
~*~
“What do you think?”
Roboppi was asleep, while Yusaku was kneeling behind them, checking the data he brought up from them, while Ai was hovering around them.
“I think that I can’t work when you are playing helicopter here.”
“You are being mean!” Ai pouted. “I’m just concerned! And curious!”
Yusaku shook his head as he went back to work, before sighing.
“Oh. Oh no. You are sighing. That is not a good sign is it?” Ai asked, and when Yusaku did not reply, Ai’s face turned serious too. “What is it?”
“I can’t reverse it,” Yusaku said, looking up at him. “There is no way to reverse them into how they were before. I can’t stop their systems from being overwhelmed soon either. I’m… sorry.”
“No…” Ai said softly, shaking his head. “I was the one who did this to them. I should be the one who says sorry.”
Ai reached out, putting a hand over Roboppi’s forehead.
“I think I’m going to give them some nice dreams. At least they should be happy when…”
Ai’s voice trailed off, and Yusaku looked back into the code.
“...I can make sure they don’t feel pain when it happens.”
That was all they could do.
And they hid a letter inside Roboppi.
To Soulburner and Revolver
~*~
“You know, I’m pretty sure you could still back out from this.”
They were outside of the network now, and Yusaku just took Ai’s hand, weaving their fingers together, as they watched the security cameras.
And the two figures approaching the warehouse.
“And leave you to face the two of them alone?”
“What? You think I couldn’t defeat them? You wound me!”
The corner of Yusaku’s mouth turned to a small smile, as he raised their joined hands, just so he could press a kiss to the back of Ai’s hand.
“I already told you that I am not leaving you. So stop trying to get me to.”
“Alright, alright…” Ai grumbled. “Can’t blame me for trying, though. All things considered…”
“Yeah, well. Take a hint, Ai. I am not leaving.”
Ai leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together, and Yusaku closed his eyes, enjoying his closeness.
They stayed like that until they heard the warehouse door open, and then they let each other go.
Time for the final act.
~*~
“What do you plan with all these copies?”
“Well, you know, it’s simple - I am the last of my kind. Literally. I know it’s like a total dream for Professor Revolver over here, but it isn’t a terribly fun experience for me.”
“What about Yusaku?” Takeru interrupted, and Ai smiled.
“Well, he is there for me. Obviously. And he will stay with me through this plan.”
“What do you mean?”
“We are going to fuse into one being,” Yusaku said, and then gestured towards the copies. “And then we will give free will to them. They are not going to be Ai copies - they will be given something that is both of us. Maybe some will be more like me. Maybe some will be more like Ai. It will be interesting to see what they do.”
“They will be… Pl-Ai-makers!”
“We are not calling them that.”
“Too late. I already called them that.”
“But if you fuse into one being… I can’t allow that,” Ryoken stepped forward. “You will cease to exist, and we can’t…”
“Can’t let this many AIs with free will out there, huh?” Ai smiled, and Ryoken’s eyes narrowed.
“Look at the mess you already caused.”
“After you attacked first.”
Yusaku’s sharp voice made Ryoken recoil, and Yusaku’s expression didn’t waver.
And he continued.
“Jin and Lightning… they were right about that. You attacked first. Even a human would strike back if you would want to kill them. Why is it so bad that they did, Ryoken?”
“Yusaku…” Takeru started but Ai interrupted him.
“...anyways, we are not getting anywhere with this. You want to stop our plans? Want to get the others back? You have to defeat us in a duel. If you guys lose, you join them, and then the plan goes off. We win… we disappear, the plan stops, and everyone goes back. The rules are simple, yes?”
~*~
Duel!
“Playmaker, there is no point to this,” Soulburner gestured desperately. “Why would you throw away yourself like that? To merge with Ai?”
“Don’t you think I am a delight to merge with?” Ai pouted, tapping his feet, annoyed.
“That is not that,” Soulburner shook his head. “It’s just… both of you will lose yourselves. That is… I know you miss Lightbringer.”
Yusaku’s entire body jerked, as he clenched his teeth.
And Soulburner continued, seemingly unaware.
“I know you miss him. He was your best friend, I know. But doing this won’t bring him back. You can’t do this, just to self-destruct.”
“...nothing would bring him back.”
“Huh?”
“This won’t bring back him, because nothing will,” Yusaku snapped. “I can show you how serious I am, though. It’s my turn. I draw.”
It took a few moments, a few cards, before he raised one more card.
“The Link Arrows…” Revolver spoke up suddenly, and Soulburner gasped.
“Playmaker you can’t--”
“I can!” Yusaku interrupted him, placing the card. “The three arrows that will judge all of us today. The Link Spell - Judgement Arrows.”
The light of the arrows lit up everything, and Yusaku’s eyes hardened as he looked over their opponents.
“I figure you don’t need explanation over what this card does.”
They did not.
~*~
“You are all lonely, I get it, but do you think making copies of yourselves will ease that loneliness?”
Revolver was the one who asked that question, and he did not stop with that.
“This will not save you from feeling alone.”
“We don’t expect it to,” Yusaku said softly.
“That is not our plan,” Ai shrugged. “Our free will is gonna get completely split up against them. Do you think we will have anything left?”
“We will cease to exist,” Yusaku finished it.
Silence.
“...why?” Soulburner sounded lost. “Because you… you are not alone! Neither of you are, you don’t have to… We are here, I…”
“There is no place for me in this world, and you know it,” Ai’s voice was almost gentle. “I did not want Yusaku to be here, but… you know as well how he gets when he gets something into his head.”
“I can’t do it again,” Yusaku admitted. “Not again. I hadn’t… it felt like I hadn’t been alive since I lost Jin. Since I killed Jin.”
Silence again.
Revolver was the one who spoke next, his voice softer this time, and full of pain.
“So you want to put us through that too?”
Yusaku smiled - a sad smile, tilting his head a little.
“Sorry about that. But there is no other way. I couldn’t dissuade Ai from this. And I am not leaving his side. Not doing that again.”
“Ai!” Soulburner looked like he was about to cry.
Ai also smiled, tilting his head forward a bit.
“I have my own reasons. Sorry about that too. I can’t back out. This is how it is. So - are we going to finish this duel or not? Well, that was a rhetorical question. If you back out, we don’t get anything out of this. And you can’t save the others. And our plan will go off either way. So I guess - pick your poison, Revolver and Soulburner.”
~*~
It was Revolver’s turn to call out the final attack.
It was obvious that he hesitated, raising his hand, his confidence wavering.
Then Soulburner took his wrist, and their eyes met - the message was obvious.
Together.
Then both Revolver and Soulburner raised their free hand and called out the final attack together.
And so the two of them - Yusaku and Ai, they landed side by side, grasping on each others’ hands, fingers intertwining, and it was getting harder to breathe.
They didn’t say a single word.
Yusaku just pushed himself closer, putting his head against Ai’s chest, felt Ai’s free hand around his waist, and closed his eyes, as both of them slowly dissolved into data.
~*~
~*~
Shoichi thought that Yusaku wouldn’t want him to visit him in the hospital. Not after the last time two of them talked - who would want to talk to someone who treated them like Shoichi had treated Yusaku?
But he also knew he would have wanted to be in the same room as Jin, so he convinced the hospital staff to do just that.
The two of them - Jin and Yusaku, Lightbringer and Playmaker, once inseparable, next to one another again.
He remembered how many times he found them huddled together as kids, even when they were sent to sleep in different beds, they would be in the same bed by the morning.
Part of Shoichi almost hoped he would come to the hospital one day, and that sight would greet him - Jin having climbed over to Yusaku’s bed, all clingy and draped over him.
Obviously it did not happen.
The two of them remained in separate beds, unmoving as ever.
Miracles did not happen that easily.
So they were just two odd cases in the hospital nobody seemed to have an idea what to do with.
Shoichi also had no idea what to do - how to proceed without the two of them?
What to do now, that the two people who were by his side, his motivations… they were…
They were not yet dead.
That is what made him turn around, and go back to his hot dog truck - he opened it daily by habit, some kind of a routine for him to follow.
And one day, Ryoken Kogami and Takeru Homura turned up.
It was a few weeks after their battle against Yusaku and Ai, and neither of them seemed like they were sleeping. Both of them were pale, dark circles under their eyes.
So Shoichi just got two mugs of coffee and took it to them.
Then sat down, and started to talk.
“Their bodies are still alive,” Shoichi started. “There… there is a chance their data is still hidden somewhere deep within Link VRAINS. But I can’t really go in there and navigate around like you two do. So… I know it is a lot to ask, but… please help me.”
Please.
Takeru looked up first, with tired eyes.
“They won’t be happy without Ai and Lightning,” He started, slowly. “Both of them picked the side of their Ignis before. And Ai spiralled down because the others were gone. We can’t… if we bring the two of them back without the Ignis, it will just cause a disaster.”
“How can we know that bringing the Ignis back won’t cause an even bigger disaster?” Ryoken’s voice was hollow, as if all the fight was gone from him as well.
“Anything has to be better than this,” Shoichi shook his head angrily. “If there is… there is the smallest chance they can be back and smile again… I want to try. If you don’t want to get involved, I get it. But…”
“But we are already involved.”
It was Ryoken who said it, and Takeru slowly nodded.
It was almost as if the light had come back into their eyes.
A new goal.
It was… something.
They were going to bring them back, Shoichi swore. They would bring them back, and he would apologise to Jin for failing him, and apologise for Yusaku for… everything.
No matter the cost.