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Duel Academia's halls were deathly silent.
Shou didn't mind the quiet itself, but knowing why it lingered in every corner of the school made him shiver. It was the undercurrent of distrust and fear that ran through each and every student that had been brought here.
The sooner things went back to normal, the better. Shou would rather sit through a hundred boring classes than be stuck in this awful dimension with monsters, and danger, and those cursed triple suns that beat down on the faces of the students who kept watch outside.
None of them wanted to talk to Shou, either. They were all jittery and short-tempered, on the verge of infighting, and so they were poor company. No time or patience for casual chatting. Only a tense silence.
Because of this, being on watch was incredibly dull. Shou longed to be with one of his best friends instead. At least, then he would have someone to complain about their situation with, which would definitely help his nerves.
Maybe he could bother Kenzan again on their campus phones. Shou reached for his, but then sighed and pulled his hand away, thinking again. They had to take this seriously. Distracting Kenzan from keeping an eye out for danger wouldn't do either of them any good.
Another solution, then.
"I'm going to take a break," Shou told his team, dusting off his knees and rising to his feet.
More silence met his words, the other students only nodding or shrugging in acknowledgement. By the time Shou had gone through the door that led back inside, they were all back to staring across the endless sand dunes, staring as if they could search out a way back home if they only looked hard enough.
Inside, the halls echoed distantly with Shou's footsteps, relaying back a picture of near tangible loneliness. Classrooms empty, locker rooms disused. Academia life halted in its tracks.
As much as Shou wanted to, it was impossible to pretend that everything was normal. There was no distant drone of a teacher's lecture, no hum of students chattering in the cafeteria, far away.
Everything was quiet, and the very air felt like a shaken soda can, ready to burst; though it would be with certain doom rather than cola.
Shou walked towards the food storage room, trying his best to ignore his worries. A snack would cheer him up, surely. His stomach had been grumbling for hours now, and, on top of getting food, he could pester Manjoume while he was there.
Maybe if they argued and sniped at each other like usual, life would feel normal again.
But then, like a direct refutation of his plans, the first hint of trouble came.
Shou descended the steps to the food storage room, but stopped in his tracks when he realized it was empty. "Hey, Manjoume!" he shouted. The chair left for the assigned guard had been knocked over, and Shou reached to right it before glancing all around in confusion. "Where've you gone?"
The words rang out in the stillness, receiving no answer.
"Hmph. He must be the worst guard I've ever seen." Shou took a seat in the chair, crossing his legs and leaning back fully. With a few more grumbles under his breath, he pulled out his school phone and typed a message to Manjoume.
SHOU: You know, guarding requires staying at the place you're meant to be watching.
Just as he hit send, he heard a shuffling of shoes in the hallway. A half second later, Shou caught the faint ping of a notification as well, and he grinned. "You're too late, Manjoume! I stole aaaaaall the food because SOMEONE left it unprotected."
"…Shou?" a familiar gruff voice called back. Familiar, but…Shou tensed immediately upon hearing it, all his instincts setting alarm bells blaring in his head. Something wasn't right.
He bit back a response, suddenly feeling as if he should be hiding. Shou craned his neck to see, catching movement outside the door. A dark form, lanky and with a ragged coat hanging around it. Manjoume, of course, though…not really?
"Shou," the voice said again, louder. Manjoume entered the room, head hung low in an unnatural way that promised horrible neck pain.
"Manjoume, what's wrong with you?" Shou asked, frowning. "You're acting weirder than usual."
The other boy came closer, and it was then that Shou could see his eyes.
They were bloodshot and dull, with bags beneath them suggesting intense insomnia. As Shou watched in concern, the eyes slid to fix on him, and Manjoume flashed him an eerie grin that made him shudder.
"Shou, won't you…duel…me?" Manjoume asked, the distance between them shrinking uncomfortably.
"…I guess so."
"Duel…"
Shou raised his duel disk, frowning. "Are you sure you're up to it? You look exhausted."
Manjoume laughed shakily, nodding his head. "Nothing is wrong. I just need…to duel."
With that, it began.
Shou grew suspicious immediately. Manjoume was playing like an amateur, with none of his usual swagger and talent. He telegraphed all his moves, and Shou had bested him after barely five minutes. Yet another concerning development.
Instead of celebrating, Shou moved to stand just in front of Manjoume. "Hey, are you alright? You seem unsteady on your feet, Manjoume."
"I'm…fine—" Manjoume muttered, voice still hoarse and strained, but he cut himself off, crying out and crumpling to the ground.
Shou wondered for half a second what had happened, but then he winced and clutched at his arm, reminded painfully of the Dis-belt that circled his wrist. He had nearly forgetten it was there, but now it was draining away at his energy.
It hurt, and he gritted his teeth, shaking. "What the—Ow!" Shou fell to one knee, hands splayed out to catch him. The room was spinning around him, and a long moment passed before Shou was able to stand back up.
"Manjoume, are you alright?" He asked, nudging the prone figure with his foot. "These things are the worst, we'd better not duel anymore."
"Duel," came Manjoume's shaky answer. He pushed himself up, swaying on his feet, and Shou moved to catch him when he stumbled again.
Shou frowned. "No," he insisted. "Look at you, you're barely conscious."
"Duel…us…"
A series of heavy, slow footfalls reached Shou's ears, and he turned to see a group of five other students approaching him. They all had the same dull, tired eyes and unsteady gait as Manjoume.
"I don't—" Shou began, but it was too late. Another student played a monster card, and Shou was forced to respond before it could knock him for a loop. He brought out his Patroid, overpowering his opponent's monster, but then Shou felt a powerful blow to his side.
Shou cried out in pain as he was knocked off his feet, tumbling to the ground and banging his elbow when his arms flew out to find balance. Head reeling, he turned to see Manjoume with his duel disk raised again, and his Vorse Raider looming over Shou with murderous intent.
"That's not funny, you jackass!" Shou snapped, rubbing his arm. "Manjoume, that really hurts when it's an actual monster!"
"Get up," Manjoume insisted in that odd, unnatural voice. "Duel me…"
Shou called out to his Patroid, which had been squaring off with the monster of another student. They all appeared to be challenging Shou at once.
The car hurried over, parking itself between its master and the Vorse Raider. Manjoume laughed and sent his monster forward regardless. Vorse Raider swung its weapon down, and Patroid met its end with a fearful honk of its horn.
Shou scrambled away, getting to his feet and putting distance between himself and Manjoume, but he hardly had the chance. When his monster was destroyed, the Dis-belt again flared to life, and Shou shrieked when he felt his energy being sapped once more. He collapsed back to the ground, shaking.
"Duel us," the dead-eyed students still doggedly requested, moving closer to Shou where he lay on the floor. There came a sound of more monsters being summoned, and when he looked up, Shou saw plainly just how outnumbered he was.
"Come and join us, Shou," Manjoume called to him, voice lazy and slow.
The other students all chimed in, chorusing their shared desire.
"Duel us!"
"Duel…"
"Duel!"
Shou cried out defiantly, trying to fight his way up. His legs shook, weak from the loss of his energy, but he stood. "Get away from me! I don't know what's gotten into all of you, but I'm not joining you! Gyroid!"
The cartoonish little aircraft appeared before him, whirring challengingly at Shou's attackers. It helpfully flew forward, knocking other monsters and students aside and clearing a path to the door. Shou ran after it, stumbling but keeping his balance just enough to stay upright.
He had to get away, had to find help.
"Kenzan! Asuka!" Shou shouted, his words echoing down the halls. "Manjoume's gone crazy! I need backup!"
The zombie-like students poured out of the room behind him, and began a slow but relentless pursuit. They would have been easy to outrun had Shou been at his usual level of energy, but now they seemed to be gaining on him as he hobbled pathetically along.
Shou's legs ached from being thrown to the ground, and it certainly wouldn't be long before they gave out. "Gyroid, can you slow them down?"
The dear little machine circled back around with a dutiful whir of its propellers, and Shou thanked it in his mind for being so helpful.
He wondered dizzily if there was anything he could give it as a reward for protecting him so bravely. Did little duel spirit machines eat? What would they want for a snack if they could? Gasoline? Nuts and bolts? Shou resolved to ponder that later.
So as not to leave poor Gyroid to fight all alone, he sent out Drillroid and Steamroid as well. The trio of machines rushed back to meet the opponents, and Shou continued to run, newfound hope letting him put on a burst of speed. Maybe he could make it. His monsters would buy him some time.
Legs burning, Shou finally scrambled into a locker room, thinking to hide somewhere and call for help from there. Would the other students be able to rescue him? Could they overpower the zombie students and chase them off?
Shou spent a moment catching his breath, then reached into his pocket to draw out his school phone. It had just cleared the fabric when Shou felt a sudden impact like a punch to the diaphragm, leaving him breathless. He panicked, dropping the phone and clutching at his wrist frantically. The Dis-belt was draining him yet again.
His brave little machines were no more, and now Shou was feeling their defeat in the waves of pain that lanced through his body. Shou tried to stand, but his legs buckled underneath him and seemed to weigh thousands of pounds when he tried to lift them. His whole body was being pulled inexorably downward, muscles burning and refusing to obey him.
Shou collapsed to the ground, shaking and whining. "Someone help," he begged to the empty air, hardly able to speak. "Help."
The phone was too far, and his arms wouldn't move anyway. There would be no hope of using it.
Tears sprang to Shou's eyes, and his voice cracked as he cried out one last time, desperate. "Kenzan. Kenzan…help…"
And then the room pitched sideways in a sickening lurch, dropping Shou into darkness.
…..
Shou had been lost in the fog for an eternity, it seemed.
He didn't know what had happened to him. His brain refused to recall, blocking out the memory of just how Shou came to be this shambling mess, deprived of sleep and food and left half dead. For all he knew, this was all he had been, for all time. It was endless. No escape.
The presence of those he knew was a beacon in the confusion and darkness that had settled over his mind, and so he followed. It was all he could do. The only thing that brought him a semblance of peace and comfort, though it still couldn't bring his world into focus.
Follow Manjoume. Stay close.
Find the others.
Follow Judai. Aniki…he can help.
Kenzan…find him…
The night was worse. The others had retreated to the gym. They were hiding away from Shou. Why had they gone? Why would no one help him?
He searched for them in the dark, roaming the halls alone. It was all like a hazy dream, the colors and shapes not quite sharp in his eyes. His body was in pain, and his hunger clawed at his stomach, but that was easy to forget.
If he found the others, he would find home. They could have a friendly duel, like the ones they used to pass the time between classes, or before bed at night. Things would be the way they were meant to be. Shou would understand everything again.
"Aniki…Kenzan…" he called, voice echoing up the hall but receiving no answer. One of them would come and find him, surely. They were here, in the school. It was just a matter of time.
Kenzan must miss him. They had spent the night sleeping beside each other on the gym floor, before Shou was lost. Would Kenzan be restless without Shou at his back? The idea of being missed, yearned for…that brought Shou a faint comfort. He'll find me. He needs me.
It was cold there, roaming the halls. The desert night brought an uncomfortable chill. Shou longed to find his friends and bed down for the night, to have Kenzan toss a blanket over their shoulders and share warmth, to hear Judai and Johan muttering under their breath to each other close by, until Instructor Cronos insisted they all sleep.
That night they had spent all together had almost been fun. The togetherness of the whole school made this world not so frightening, and Shou had been able to sleep knowing he was safe. All his friends were within reach.
But now…
Alone. Need to find…find them.
The path to the gym was blocked, to Shou's dismay. Tables and chairs and cabinets stacked high, too dangerous to climb over. He scrabbled at the desks near the bottom for a moment, making a mournful sound he wished would bring help.
Shou could not rest, not until he found his friends. And so he stood, waiting there at the barricade of furniture, and the night crept by.
He could not count the hours, not with the fog about his mind. A millennium could have passed Shou by, and he would have waited there faithfully, swaying only the faintest bit on his feet.
Three students passed by, but Shou could hardly bring himself to acknowledge them. They were not his friends, they were here for some other reason beyond his mind's capacity to care. When they did not return, he thought they must have joined Shou and Manjoume and all their fellows in the fog.
Shou waited on, and morning came before his patience was rewarded. There was light coming in through a window somewhere, painting the halls in a pale gray wash, and he knew the three suns were peeking above the horizon outside.
"Shou?" a voice whispered, muffled and distant through the darkness settling on Shou's mind.
He raised his head, though his vision was so blurred that it didn't help him see the source of the voice. "Who...?"
A shuffling on the furniture barricade alerted Shou to the approach of a student, and the tables clanked and clattered together as the newcomer climbed down. He only had a moment to wonder over the yellow, brown, and navy green smudge in his periphery before he was caught up in a hug.
"Thank goodness you're here! I was worried you be somewhere else, further in. I didn't want to get caught before I found you."
The words were hard to understand, as though Shou were hearing them from underwater, but the strong arms and the warmth he knew at once. "Kenzan," he mumbled, rubbing his face against him. Finally found. "Now…duel me?"
Kenzan paused, and Shou could sense discomfort and sorrow from the other boy. "No, no, you can't duel. It's hurting you."
When Shou raised his duel disk, warm hands reached for the wrist strap and undid it, taking the device away.
"No…" Shou protested, feeling incomplete without it. "I need it. Give it back."
"Shh, I don't have much time. The others will be awake before long, and O'Brien will kill me if he realizes I snuck out." Kenzan's hand brushed against Shou's face. "But I needed to see you."
Shou felt a gentle kiss on his forehead, and he reached out with a shaky hand to clutch at Kenzan's shirt, a green blur in his eyes.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Kenzan asked.
The words managed to penetrate the fog, the first ones Shou had heard clearly since he had been lost. For a single moment, things grew clear, and Kenzan's worried, loving face was almost focused in Shou's eyes.
And then…the fog was too strong. It rushed back in, and the world once more went blurry. A seething, almost reptilian presence crept through his mind, a voice hissing in Shou's ear. No. You are in my thrall, little duelist. Do as you are meant to.
Shou shuddered. He could not go back.
But…could Kenzan stay?
"Kenzan," he responded, voice wavering. "Kenzan, stay here. Join…us. Don't leave me alone."
The younger boy was silent, and Shou knew he was fighting some inner battle. Stay, or run?
"Don't go. Duel…me, duel me and we can stay…" Shou reached blindly for his duel disk, finding it on a table behind them and struggling to put it back on.
Kenzan flinched back, making a sad, broken sound. "Shou, please." He reached a hand down to catch one of Shou's, twining their fingers together in a last attempt to bring him out of the haze. "I saw you. You can go back to normal."
The possessive presence Shou had felt before slammed down, stronger than ever and sinking long claws into his psyche. Never.
"Duel…" Shou fumbled with his cards, reaching for his Drillroid. In his mind, Kenzan was just another student now. An enemy.
The moment was gone, and Kenzan scrambled back, turning to climb the barricade behind them. "I have to go," he called back, voice shaking. "I'm sorry. I'll come back for you, okay? Just…just wait."
Shou felt nothing but frustration as his opponent escaped him. He pawed at the barricade once more as Kenzan disappeared over it, crying out in annoyance at losing his prey, and then sank obediently back into the darkness.
…..
The end was near.
Shou may not have consciously known, but there was something in his senses that told him that this was the turning point. Whatever happens next…is up to Judai. I need to find him. He can help me, help us.
Find me, and bring me out of this fog.
Shou's eyes stung in the wind whipped up by the battling duel monsters. Plumes of disturbed sand were being blasted into the air every time one of the colossal creatures fell, and each one showered him with grit.
His machine monsters remained close, looking after him and guarding his sides. Ever faithful, even in the circumstances. Shou may have been lost, but their presence comforted him. Not truly alone.
Another explosion of debris came from off to his right, and Shou covered his face with one arm to fend off the spray of sand.
He turned, and his gaze fixed on the streak of red that dashed up the steps of Martin Kano's new duel arena. Aniki.
Stop him, he thought desperately. He's leaving, leaving me…
Shou moved without hesitation, though somewhere deep in his heart there was a glimmer of doubt. Was holding Judai back wrong?
But…it didn't matter anymore. It was too late to fight back. He belonged to the fog in his mind, and he could never hope to overpower it.
"Marufuji-senpai!"
That stopped Shou in his tracks. He still couldn't focus through the fog, but he knew who it was.
"Not so fast, don," Kenzan called, his words barely reaching Shou through the haze.
He held Jurassic Impact, just visible to Shou's blurry eyes, and the senior gasped. That card…
Kenzan muttered something under his breath and cast a trusting glance up to Judai, just as the first meteor struck the dunes.
Shou cried out in panic, his monsters all crushed in an instant by falling, burning rocks. "No!"
Before he could even consider retaliating, a final meteor streaked from the sky towards Shou, and it all went up in a flare of light and heat.
He shrieked, tumbling into the sand, and landed on his face. There he stayed, lying sprawled and motionless in the ruins of the battlefield. Too weak to even roll himself over.
But despite the nearly all consuming aching of his body, Shou clearly felt the fog leave his mind.
He was free.
The minutes passed by in an ebb and flow of Shou's senses. He lost some time there, he was sure, for one moment he had been lying uncomfortably on the ground, and the next, he was in Kenzan's arms.
Voices muttered all around, though Shou couldn't open his eyes to see the faces they belonged to.
"Are you sure he'll be alright?"
"Did he hit his head when he fell?"
"We ought to bring them all inside, off the sand. They need to be checked over for injuries."
And there was Kenzan's voice, so familiar and welcome that Shou didn't need to open his eyes, only move to snuggle a bit closer into his embrace.
"I think he's alright, but I'm not letting him out of my sight 'til I'm sure." Kenzan brushed some sand from Shou's face with a gentle hand.
The dark closed in again, and when Shou next regained his awareness, Kenzan was carrying him somewhere.
"Mmmm'alright," Shou mumbled dizzily, trying to force himself into waking fully.
Kenzan's relieved smile was audible in his voice. "Hey, you're awake. You feeling alright?"
"Hungry…"
"I know," the other boy said, chuckling softly. "We all are. But Aniki is working on getting us home, did you see? Hopefully we're close to having a good meal, too."
Shou murmured a wordless agreement. So tired…he was sure he could sleep for a week straight, if the world let him.
Kenzan set him down with his back to something solid, and Shou slumped against it pathetically, unable to sit fully upright. He nearly panicked when he felt Kenzan's warmth draw away from him, fearing he was being left alone again. "Kenzan…" Shou whined, reaching out with a shaking hand. "You're not…you can't go."
"Hey, don't worry, don. I won't." Kenzan crouched down, settling heavily on the concrete beneath them. He took Shou's outstretched hand and guided it to Kenzan's face, pressing the palm to his cheek and rubbing against it affectionately. "I gotta keep an eye on you."
Until then, Shou had barely opened his eyes. The lids were heavy, drawn downward by his exhaustion and impossible to fight for long. He finally forced them open, and fixed his gaze on Kenzan's face.
"You're still blurry," he said, beginning to worry.
"What?"
"You're blurry. Why isn't it…"
Kenzan laughed in surprise. "Oh, your glasses aren't on."
Shou blinked at him, then felt at his face in disbelief. They were indeed missing. Of course, that hadn't been the primary cause of the fog in his vision, but it also hadn't helped. "I just got those," he grumbled.
"I'll find 'em for you, don't worry. And if they're scratched up too bad, we'll make sure you get new ones right away, don."
"Thank you."
The two sat in silence for a long moment, Shou's eyes falling closed again. He had nearly drifted off when he heard Kenzan make a sound of surprise, and his eyes snapped back open.
"What?"
Kenzan pointed behind Shou, up to the top of the structure Martin had created to duel upon. "What the saurus is that?"
Shou tried not to grin at Kenzan's silly exclamation, and craned his neck to look. He nearly fell over, reminded again of how weak he was, but Kenzan reached out a hand to keep him upright.
It was hard for Shou to make out, but atop the strange structure there perched a great beast, so colossal that it bordered on kaiju territory. Gemstones that matched Johan's crystal cards shone down the length of its snake-like body, hard white plate scales flashing in the sunlight alongside them.
The beast roared, stretching its serpentine neck to the deep teal sky, and took wing. Kenzan flinched, looking awed, and he and Shou watched together as it flew, spiraling gracefully through the sky.
Shou struggled to find words. Such a huge, majestic creature…it was hard to comprehend that it was real. For in this dimension, it really and truly was. This was no hologram, but a living legend.
"Damn," Kenzan muttered. "Rainbow Dragon. Johan wasn't kidding."
"What? Where did it come from? I thought the card didn't exist yet."
Kenzan shrugged. "It exists now. Near as I can figure, Pegasus himself just finished making it and sent it in the interdimensional mail."
Shou cocked an eyebrow at him incredulously. "You have a lot to catch me up on."
"Right after you catch up on your sleep. And a meal."
"Hm. I want shrimp."
"…Fine, I'll make you shrimp."
"Thank you."
And with that, everything was lit up in a flash of white. Shou jolted in surprise, and Kenzan lunged to hold him protectively. As if the shield of his body could defend Shou from the world being consumed by light.
Shou would tease him for it later, of course. But in the moment, he dug his fingers into Kenzan's clothes, buried his face, and just hid from the strange light.
When at last it subsided, Shou breathed in deep and caught the scent of plant life and of salty air, and he lifted his head from Kenzan's shoulder to drink in the light of Earth's single sun.
After realizing where they were, Kenzan relaxed, loosening his grip on Shou. "Oh, thank goodness," he gasped, then threw back his head to laugh. "I thought we were getting express shipping to heaven, or something, don."
Shou laughed, the effort of it sending him immediately into a coughing fit. Once it had wound down, he watched as Rainbow Dragon soared above, twining through the air like the ribbon of a rhythmic gymnast. It disappeared with a final majestic roar, and Shou heard a ragged cheer come up from the group of students.
Home.
With a sigh of relief, Shou sank into Kenzan's arms, letting his eyes drift shut.
Kenzan ran a hand through his hair, and Shou could feel the love from the other boy's eyes, even with his own closed. "I'm glad you're safe, sweetheart."
"Thank you," Shou said softly, voice muffled in Kenzan's shirt. "For staying with me."
Shou received no verbal reply, but the embrace Kenzan gave him said all that he felt.