Chapter Text
Prologue: Linked Beginnings
It has been three years since the "Arc-V Incident", as it was called, and the four dimensions have been recovering since. All the destruction that was caused is being rebuilt and everyone from across the dimensions working with each other. Yuya and Yuzu even managed to get their dimensional counterparts separated from themselves and get them back to their home dimensions, all of them taking whatever chance they can to meet with each other, even if Yuri is a bit reluctant.
Meanwhile, in another part of the standard Dimension, there exists Den City and the world of Link VRAINS. There, unknown to those in Paradise City, a battle is fought against the Knights of Hanoi against a group of those who would protect Link VRAINS, whether for their love of the world or revenge. This group consists of Yusaku Fujiki, a survivor of the Lost Incident, Aoi Zaizen, sister to the head of SOL Technologies and the popular Chrisma duelist Playmake, and Go Onizuka, a Charisma Duelist who loves the city more than anything else. Since their last attack, Revolver and Knights of Hanoi have seemingly gone quiet, leaving the group to wonder what their next move would be.
The story I'm about to tell you in particular involves both parties and their adventures after they meet up…
Somewhere in Paradise City…
Two men in the middle of their duel were running away from two other duelists that were chasing them. "Are they still behind us?" one of the men asked.
"I don't know, but I don't intend on slowing down to find out." the other man said as they looked around for Action Cards. As they began to look around, two monsters leaped out from behind them and slashed the men with their swords, knocking them to the ground. (Rare Hunter #1: 0 LP) (Rare Hunter #2: 0 LP) (Winners: Lee and Reika).
"Looks like we win, boys." a voice said from behind them. Behind them, two girls rushed forward as their monster disappeared before they put handcuffs on them. "As enforcers of the LEO Corporation, you two rare hunters are under arrest." the older girl said. The two men groaned as the girls got them up and walked them over to a nearby police car, where they were put in and drove away.
"Nice job Lee." the younger of the two said. Lee was a 26 year old woman with white skin, silver hair tied in a ponytail, and blue eyes, her right eye being covered by her hair, wearing a purple jacket, light blue shirt with a black sword on it, yellow jeans, and gray boots.
"I suppose I should say the same to you Reika, that was some nice dueling." Lee told her partner with a confident smile. Reika was a 19 year old with white skin, shoulder length dark purple hair with gold highlights, and purple eyes wearing a gray jacket, a dark orange shirt with a white sword on it, a white skirt with yellow shorts underneath, and black sneakers.
"Well of course I have to in order to keep up with this grunt work Reiji is having us do." Reika said as the two sat down at a nearby bench.
"You can say that again. Still, I get why he wants us to get rid of these Rare Hunters, they've been on the rise for the past few months. Even with the Elite of LDS and what help the Neo Lancers can give, it seems like the Rare Hunters have been popping up like ants." Lee said as she sighed.
"Yeah, makes me wonder where they're coming from." Reika responded. The two remained silent before they heard their phones ring and saw that Reiji was contacting them before they quickly answered.
"I see you two have been busy, I just got the word of the Rare Hunters you two just put away." Reiji told the two.
"Yeah, and I assume that you have some more you want us to take care of?" Lee asked, a bit exhausted.
"Actually, I'm calling for a different reason. I was wondering if you had an opportunity to house a friend of mine who is visiting for the opening ceremony of the Paradise Sector of VRAINS. Obviously not for free, there will be a substantial payment before and after the job, as well as periodic payments during the stay." Reiji responded. The two looked at each other with a bit of surprise at the request, before they looked at each other and nodded.
"We're more than happy to accept that request, but do you mind us asking who we're going to be housing?" Reika asked.
"Well, it's someone that you might know Lee. It's Akira Zaizen, former security head of SOL Technologies, along with his sister and one of her friends." Reiji said, smiling on the other end. Lee thought back for a moment before it clicked and she smiled, remembering exactly who was referring to. "Anyway, I'll send you the details later and your pay for both jobs as well. I'll call you if I need you." Reiji said before he hung up.
"Akira Zaizen… Wasn't his sister one of your fans back in the day?" Reika questioned.
"That she was Reika, and she was also the winner of that contest. I swear it must be fate that we take them, only Akira would probably recognise me as I went to deliver that prize in person." Lee said, reminiscing a bit.
"I'm curious why Reiji would ask us to do it though, we're just freelancers who take jobs from him. Granted, most of them do involve taking care of those who would cause trouble, but I think the point still stands." Reika commented, her hand on her hen as she pondered that.
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but he must have some reason for it. Maybe he does just trust us that much, but I also wouldn't put it past him to be planning something. Still, money is money and this will be a nice change of pace." Lee said as she stretched and got up. Reika nodded in agreement as she did the same and they began to walk home. "Now, let's go prepare the house for them." Lee said happily. Reika nodded as the two began to talk about various things on the walk back to their house.
At the You Show Duel School…
The School was buzzing with activity as people used the duel field for an Action Duel as Yuzu and Yuya looked on to make sure everyone one was alright and hurting themselves with the ARC system. "Man, I wish we could join in." Yuya sighed as he looked at the kids dueling.
"You take as many chances to duel here as you can, let them enjoy themselves." Yuzu told her friend. The two stood in silence as they looked over the field of kids, Yuzu with a smile on her face. "Besides, they're having a lot of fun. I wouldn't want to ruin it for them by having us be so much better than them." Yuzu said.
"True, they are having a lot of fun. …Wow it's been three years since the ARC-V Incident, hasn't it?" Yuya questioned.
"Yeah it has… hard to believe it's been that long. A lot has changed in those three years, but somehow life is still as mundane as ever." Yuzu told her. Yuya nodded, thinking nostalgically back to the events that happened during that time.
"Oh, I was wondering while we're on that topic, you've heard the talk of Link VRAINs potentially coming to Paradise City right?" Yuya asked.
"I've heard the rumors but didn't really put much faith in them. Why do you ask?" Yuzu responded. Yuya responded by pulling up his Duel Disk and opening an Email before showing it to Yuzu. The email was from Reiji and was an invitation to the Neo Lancers to be a part of the opening of Link VRAINS both as security detail and to have fun. "Wow, I haven't checked my mail yet, so I probably do have one as well. Still that is very exciting to hear… and honestly a little worrying to be honest." Yuzu said with excitement.
"This is about Link Monsters right?" Yuya asked. Yuzu nodded before Yuya sighed as he brought up an image of a generic Link Monster. "Truth be told, I can't say I'm more than a little cautious myself. From the memories that I had as Zarc, I don't remember anything related to Link Monsters, so the fact that these might be from another source is very possible. That being said, these are also probably manmade since they seem to originate from here in Standard as well as the fact that there isn't a Ritual dimension." Yuya told Yuzu.
"Wow that… a lot of accurate observations from you Yuya. Have you been starting to pay attention to the world more?" Yuzu questioned in a playful tone. Yuya blushed as he put a hand to the back of his head.
"Nope, don't know what you're talking about." Yuya said, trying to play it off. Yuzu giggled before looking back at the Link Monster that Yuya had displayed and felt a familiarity with it. "Do you recognize it?" Yuya asked curiously.
"No but… there's something about Link Monsters that gives me a sense of familiarity. The weird part is that I don't know where that is coming, because it for sure isn't from Ray's memories." Yuzu said as she put a hand to her head.
"It might just be a coincidence, but considering us, it's probably worth it to ask Reiji about it. If there is something to that feeling, it's best to know ahead of time so we can be prepared." Yuya suggested.
"Ture and that problem probably won't present itself for a while." Yuzu continued. Yuya nodded as they heard the duels finish and the kids there talking with each other. "Oh yeah, we have to get a Link VRAINS account in order to actually use VRAINS. Did Reiji say where we could get one?" Yuzu asked.
"Let me see… Ok, so according to the email, we can get them from a card shop called "Silver Card" and there are directions to it in the message." Yuya responded.
"Perfect, let's finish up here and go get our accounts." Yuzu said. Yuya nodded before the two went to go take care of the kids and shut down the system.
At the Paradise City Airport…
Aoi, Yusaku, and Akira had just arrived at Paradise City after a long flight and they all stretched as they walked into the main terminal. "Man, that was a long flight." Aoi said as she stretched, a few of her bones popping.
"It wasn't that long, but it was rough I will say that. By the way, a question I wanted to ask you two." Yusaku said.
"Go ahead Yusaku." Akira told him.
"If this is a business trip, why bring me along? I understand why Aoi as she's your sister Akira, but why me?" Yusaku asked curiously.
"Simply because I was allowed to bring two others with me and Aoi vouched for you." Akria responded. Yusaku nodded before looking at Aoi, who simply gave him a smile. "Now then, if you two don't mind going to get our luggage, I will get a car for us." Akira said before walking off. The two nodded as they walked over to the luggage area, waiting for their luggage.
"Sorry about bugging you to come with me, I just had no one else other than you on my mind that I could suggest." Aoi told Yusaku.
"It's fine, I wasn't doing much myself to be honest." Yusaku said with a sigh. As they stood and waited for their luggage, Yusaku put a hand to his chin. "That being said, I put that more on Hanoi not making their move. It's been a week and they've been strangely quiet ever since I defeated Faust and Katsuragi hasn't heard much rumors on the dark web. What could they be planning?" Yusaku wondered to himself.
"What are you thinking about… Playmaker-san?" Aoi asked in a hushed voice. Yusaku kept a neutral face as he turned to look at Aoi as they walked to get their luggage.
"How did you find it out?" Yusaku responded, not even attempting to dismiss the accusation.
"A few things clued me in, Playmaker's and your mannerisms are similar, you have a similar looking Duel Disk, but the main thing was the fact that I heard you were the one to rescue me from the roof. I took that as fact for a while, but then I remembered that I was on the roof of my school and made sure that no one was watching, yet given how fast I was taken to the hospital, the one one who could have known would be someone who was watching me or knew where I was going." Aoi explained.
Yusaku stayed silent as they got their luggage and made sure that no one was around before speaking. "I have to say, I didn't expect you to be smart yourself. So did you just invite me to pay you back for helping you or was there some other reason?" Yusaku asked. Aoi sighed as she walked a bit away and looked at Yusaku.
"Part of it is that, but I really just wanted to talk with someone who does know me. You've dueled me before and it feels nice to actually have someone I can talk with who kind of understands me." Aoi told Yusaku. Yusaku was silent for a moment before giving a small smile.
"Well at least you have your reasons. Does your brother know or have any suspicions about me?" Yusaku questioned. Aoi nodded no and Yusaku sighed as he relaxed a little. "Then I see no reason to see this as a small vacation. That being said, I have told my partner to come down here, so maybe we could talk if you keep quiet." Yusaku said, a small smile on his face.
"At the very least you're attempting to act more relaxed. Come on, let's get back to my brother before he suspects anything." Aoi said as she began to walk away. Yusaku sighed as he followed Aoi, several thoughts going through his head but keeping them to himself for now. After meeting up with Akira, the three got in a car and headed off into the city. "Where are we going anyway?" Yusaku asked.
"We're going to our place of residence for the trip and apparently they're the owners of a card shop that's right next to them." Akira said as he kept his eyes on the road. Yusaku nodded as he sat back and stayed quiet for the remainder of the ride, occasionally chiming in when he could.
"Why do I get the feeling that this 'vacation' is going to get very complicated, very fast?" Yusaku thought to himself as they drove.