Sakaki, Yuya (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pendulum_soul) wrote2014-09-21 09:31 pm
pendulum_soul) wrote2014-09-21 09:31 pm
Entry tags:
[Story] A Tale of Two Protags (Part 3)
Synopsis: Yuma and Yuya bond over missing parent angst. Obelisk Blue students are still jerks.
A few days had passed since Yuma had very narrowly escaped being expelled from the academy for failing his second year finals. He was grateful to Yuya for sticking up for him in that situation that almost seemed hopeless and even more grateful that Principal Samejima had given him another chance. Sure, he had to repeat the second year and it was a bit of a setback, but he had promised himself that he really was going to try his hardest this year and the next. No more messing around.
Sunday had arrived and since there were no classes that day both Yuya and Yuma had decided to just hang out around the entrance of the academy for a bit. While there, Yuya had got talking to a couple of Obelisk Blue students about action duels and his dad's entertainment dueling. Yuma could see just how much Yuya was in his element while talking about them and how much he wanted to get them noticed outside of Miami City.
Though occasionally, he noticed there were certain questions other's asked while he was telling people about them that seemed to throw Yuya off and make him uncomfortable. He noticed it happened with him the first day he met him and he had seen it happen occasionally through the past few weeks.
Today was not an exception.
"So hey, if your old man was some big champion in action dueling, why isn't he promoting it instead of you?"
Yuya froze at the Obelisk Blue students question, seemingly not sure on how to respond.
"Well, y-you see... it's..."
"Yeah, I know, right?" chipped in his friend. "Why send his son to promote the thing he created? Seems kinda weird to me."
Yuma looked over at Yuya who'd gone silent. He could almost predict what was going to happen next.
Yuya moved the goggles he wore from his head to over his eyes, blocking out any emotion on his face. He then gave a slight forced laugh.
"Ah, details like that aren't really important. It just turned out that way."
"But wouldn't some big shot duelist have more chance getting the word out than some guy in a school?"
"Unless he's lying about his old man inventing it at all."
"Maybe that's why he's hiding behind those goggles all of a sudden, ey?"
Yuya laughed forcefully again. "Haha, lying about it. Good one."
The two Obelisk Blue students exchanged glances, noting the weird change in Yuya's demeanour.
"Anyway, I should be going to... do a thing. Yuma, I'll see you back at the dorm."
"H-Hey, Yuya...!"
Yuya quickly turned away and began walking down the path.
"Tch, what a weird guy." One of the Obelisk Blues snorted as they too began to walk off. Yuma watched them leave, then looked back at Yuya, frowning.
"Yuya..."
------------------
When Yuma returned back to the Osiris Red dorms, he found Yuya laying down on the top bed of the bunk, holding his pendant above him, looking at it through the goggles he still had over his eyes. The younger boy's head turned as Yuma entered, then went back to looking at the pendant that was swaying slightly above him.
"Hey."
Yuma looked up at his friend and frowned with concern.
"Yuya, about earlier-"
"I'm fine, Yuma." came Yuya's reply, not letting him finish his sentence.
"But-"
Yuya laughed a little. "It was nothing. No big deal, okay?"
Yuya sat up and placed his pendant back around his neck, before climbing down the ladder of the bunk beds and jumping off Yuma's treasure chest that was at the bottom of them. He then began heading to the door.
"I'm going out for a little bit."
Yuya passed Yuma without even glancing at him, making the older boy grit his teeth in annoyance that Yuya was trying to avoid the current situation.
"Oi! Yuya!"
Yuma reached out quickly and grabbed Yuya's arm before he could leave out the door.
"Let go, Yuma!" Yuya tried struggling out of the other boy's grasp, but Yuma had a firm hold on him. "I said let go! I told you, I'm fine!!"
"BUT YOU'RE NOT!!"
Yuya froze. He hadn't been expecting Yuma to raise his voice at him, nor had he really expected him to see that something was bothering him to the point of questioning it...
...oh who was he kidding, he'd been making it rather apparent, hadn't he?
Yuya looked away from him.
"...that obvious, huh?"
A silence filled the room before Yuma responded.
"Look. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but I've seen this before and..." Yuma paused. He figured if he wanted Yuya to be truthful to him, he had to be truthful in return. He took in a deep breath and sighed heavily.
"A few years before I joined the academy, my parents disappeared."
Behind his orange tinted goggles, Yuya's eyes grew wide before he turned his head around sharply to look at Yuma.
"...disappeared?"
Yuma nodded, slowly letting go of Yuya's arm now he felt like he wasn't going to run off anymore.
"Ah. They went on an exploration one day and never came home. For a while, I tried to pretend I wasn't bothered by it, but I found that even if I was trying to fool myself that I was fine, other's knew I wasn't. It took my friends and family to eventually point it out to me. After that, I figured that I wasn't going to get anywhere fooling myself like that."
With that, he took the Emperor's Key from around his neck and held it up.
"That is why I carry this. To remind me of the promise I made to my dad that I would never give up on anything! No matter how difficult, or impossible. That I would Kattobing through anything and eventually become a duel champion. But... it also reminds me to never give up hope on finding them one day."
Yuma's frown then changed into a grin.
"My dad always talked about wanting to visit another world, so I believe that's where they are right now!!"
"Yuma..."
Yuya had to admire him. All this time, Yuma had been going through something similar to his own dilemma, yet he'd somehow managed to find the ability to gain a positive view. Who knows if his belief that his parents were still around and "in another world" was Yuma still latching on to an empty hope... though his words when spoke did not feel empty, but in fact full of belief and honesty. This seemed to be something he truely believed.
Slowly, Yuya walked back to the bunk beds and sat down on the edge of the bottom bunk, moving his head to look at the floor. Yuma leaned back on the desk opposite him. Whether Yuya decided to open up to him or not was now up to him and him alone.
After what seemed to be a long silence, Yuya spoke.
"Ten months ago, my dad also disappeared. He was going to have an action duel for his title and... he didn't show up. The crowd were quick to judge him, labelling him as a coward who ran away.
We haven't heard from him since.
For those ten months I was known as the "son of the coward" who ran away from his match. Everyone knew about my dad and everyone knew what had happened. My dad had often told me that if I ever felt like crying, I should just laugh instead, so... that's what I did. I just laughed at the situation with my dad.Then I came here and realized that because action duels had been so confined to Miami City, so had the action duel championships. No one here knew my dad like back at home. No one knew what had happened. I thought it would mean things would be easier but... I didn't really know how to react with people asking questions about him. I didn't really know how to explain things or whether to lie or tell the truth but in the end... I guess I just keep trying to avoid it."
"It's lonely, right?"
Yuya slowly looked up at Yuma through his goggles.
"I mean, yeah, we have other family and friends but... it's lonely without having them around. My parents. Your dad."
Silently, Yuya nodded his head. Yuma smiled and grabbed the back of a chair that was beside him. He dragged it over to where Yuya was sitting and sat on the chair backwards so that he was face to face with him.
"At least we can be honest with each other now, which means..." Yuma reached out to Yuya's goggles and moved them back onto the top of his head. "... there we go. You don't have to hide behind them around me anymore, right?"
Yuya seemed a little surprised at first, but then he gave Yuma a small smile and a nod. "Yeah."
Yuma grinned, he then extended his arm out, with his hand in a fist. Dangling from that was the emperor's key.
"Let's kattobing together, Yuya! If we help each other out, I don't think there's anything we can't accomplish!!"
Yuya looked at Yuma, then at the pendant around his own neck. With a sincere smile, Yuya took the pendant from around his neck, holding it in his own fist before bumping and resting it next to Yuma's.
"Yeah. Kattobing."
The two boys exchanged glances as their pendants swayed slightly from their hands. For a moment, the room was completely silent, that is, until the two of them suddenly burst out laughing together.
Although difficult, both boys felt a sense of relief after opening up to each other, finding a bond in their shared experiences and pain of having missing parents in their life.
They knew now, that no matter what, they could rely on and trust each other, as friends and as duelists.
A few days had passed since Yuma had very narrowly escaped being expelled from the academy for failing his second year finals. He was grateful to Yuya for sticking up for him in that situation that almost seemed hopeless and even more grateful that Principal Samejima had given him another chance. Sure, he had to repeat the second year and it was a bit of a setback, but he had promised himself that he really was going to try his hardest this year and the next. No more messing around.
Sunday had arrived and since there were no classes that day both Yuya and Yuma had decided to just hang out around the entrance of the academy for a bit. While there, Yuya had got talking to a couple of Obelisk Blue students about action duels and his dad's entertainment dueling. Yuma could see just how much Yuya was in his element while talking about them and how much he wanted to get them noticed outside of Miami City.
Though occasionally, he noticed there were certain questions other's asked while he was telling people about them that seemed to throw Yuya off and make him uncomfortable. He noticed it happened with him the first day he met him and he had seen it happen occasionally through the past few weeks.
Today was not an exception.
"So hey, if your old man was some big champion in action dueling, why isn't he promoting it instead of you?"
Yuya froze at the Obelisk Blue students question, seemingly not sure on how to respond.
"Well, y-you see... it's..."
"Yeah, I know, right?" chipped in his friend. "Why send his son to promote the thing he created? Seems kinda weird to me."
Yuma looked over at Yuya who'd gone silent. He could almost predict what was going to happen next.
Yuya moved the goggles he wore from his head to over his eyes, blocking out any emotion on his face. He then gave a slight forced laugh.
"Ah, details like that aren't really important. It just turned out that way."
"But wouldn't some big shot duelist have more chance getting the word out than some guy in a school?"
"Unless he's lying about his old man inventing it at all."
"Maybe that's why he's hiding behind those goggles all of a sudden, ey?"
Yuya laughed forcefully again. "Haha, lying about it. Good one."
The two Obelisk Blue students exchanged glances, noting the weird change in Yuya's demeanour.
"Anyway, I should be going to... do a thing. Yuma, I'll see you back at the dorm."
"H-Hey, Yuya...!"
Yuya quickly turned away and began walking down the path.
"Tch, what a weird guy." One of the Obelisk Blues snorted as they too began to walk off. Yuma watched them leave, then looked back at Yuya, frowning.
"Yuya..."
------------------
When Yuma returned back to the Osiris Red dorms, he found Yuya laying down on the top bed of the bunk, holding his pendant above him, looking at it through the goggles he still had over his eyes. The younger boy's head turned as Yuma entered, then went back to looking at the pendant that was swaying slightly above him.
"Hey."
Yuma looked up at his friend and frowned with concern.
"Yuya, about earlier-"
"I'm fine, Yuma." came Yuya's reply, not letting him finish his sentence.
"But-"
Yuya laughed a little. "It was nothing. No big deal, okay?"
Yuya sat up and placed his pendant back around his neck, before climbing down the ladder of the bunk beds and jumping off Yuma's treasure chest that was at the bottom of them. He then began heading to the door.
"I'm going out for a little bit."
Yuya passed Yuma without even glancing at him, making the older boy grit his teeth in annoyance that Yuya was trying to avoid the current situation.
"Oi! Yuya!"
Yuma reached out quickly and grabbed Yuya's arm before he could leave out the door.
"Let go, Yuma!" Yuya tried struggling out of the other boy's grasp, but Yuma had a firm hold on him. "I said let go! I told you, I'm fine!!"
"BUT YOU'RE NOT!!"
Yuya froze. He hadn't been expecting Yuma to raise his voice at him, nor had he really expected him to see that something was bothering him to the point of questioning it...
...oh who was he kidding, he'd been making it rather apparent, hadn't he?
Yuya looked away from him.
"...that obvious, huh?"
A silence filled the room before Yuma responded.
"Look. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but I've seen this before and..." Yuma paused. He figured if he wanted Yuya to be truthful to him, he had to be truthful in return. He took in a deep breath and sighed heavily.
"A few years before I joined the academy, my parents disappeared."
Behind his orange tinted goggles, Yuya's eyes grew wide before he turned his head around sharply to look at Yuma.
"...disappeared?"
Yuma nodded, slowly letting go of Yuya's arm now he felt like he wasn't going to run off anymore.
"Ah. They went on an exploration one day and never came home. For a while, I tried to pretend I wasn't bothered by it, but I found that even if I was trying to fool myself that I was fine, other's knew I wasn't. It took my friends and family to eventually point it out to me. After that, I figured that I wasn't going to get anywhere fooling myself like that."
With that, he took the Emperor's Key from around his neck and held it up.
"That is why I carry this. To remind me of the promise I made to my dad that I would never give up on anything! No matter how difficult, or impossible. That I would Kattobing through anything and eventually become a duel champion. But... it also reminds me to never give up hope on finding them one day."
Yuma's frown then changed into a grin.
"My dad always talked about wanting to visit another world, so I believe that's where they are right now!!"
"Yuma..."
Yuya had to admire him. All this time, Yuma had been going through something similar to his own dilemma, yet he'd somehow managed to find the ability to gain a positive view. Who knows if his belief that his parents were still around and "in another world" was Yuma still latching on to an empty hope... though his words when spoke did not feel empty, but in fact full of belief and honesty. This seemed to be something he truely believed.
Slowly, Yuya walked back to the bunk beds and sat down on the edge of the bottom bunk, moving his head to look at the floor. Yuma leaned back on the desk opposite him. Whether Yuya decided to open up to him or not was now up to him and him alone.
After what seemed to be a long silence, Yuya spoke.
"Ten months ago, my dad also disappeared. He was going to have an action duel for his title and... he didn't show up. The crowd were quick to judge him, labelling him as a coward who ran away.
We haven't heard from him since.
For those ten months I was known as the "son of the coward" who ran away from his match. Everyone knew about my dad and everyone knew what had happened. My dad had often told me that if I ever felt like crying, I should just laugh instead, so... that's what I did. I just laughed at the situation with my dad.Then I came here and realized that because action duels had been so confined to Miami City, so had the action duel championships. No one here knew my dad like back at home. No one knew what had happened. I thought it would mean things would be easier but... I didn't really know how to react with people asking questions about him. I didn't really know how to explain things or whether to lie or tell the truth but in the end... I guess I just keep trying to avoid it."
"It's lonely, right?"
Yuya slowly looked up at Yuma through his goggles.
"I mean, yeah, we have other family and friends but... it's lonely without having them around. My parents. Your dad."
Silently, Yuya nodded his head. Yuma smiled and grabbed the back of a chair that was beside him. He dragged it over to where Yuya was sitting and sat on the chair backwards so that he was face to face with him.
"At least we can be honest with each other now, which means..." Yuma reached out to Yuya's goggles and moved them back onto the top of his head. "... there we go. You don't have to hide behind them around me anymore, right?"
Yuya seemed a little surprised at first, but then he gave Yuma a small smile and a nod. "Yeah."
Yuma grinned, he then extended his arm out, with his hand in a fist. Dangling from that was the emperor's key.
"Let's kattobing together, Yuya! If we help each other out, I don't think there's anything we can't accomplish!!"
Yuya looked at Yuma, then at the pendant around his own neck. With a sincere smile, Yuya took the pendant from around his neck, holding it in his own fist before bumping and resting it next to Yuma's.
"Yeah. Kattobing."
The two boys exchanged glances as their pendants swayed slightly from their hands. For a moment, the room was completely silent, that is, until the two of them suddenly burst out laughing together.
Although difficult, both boys felt a sense of relief after opening up to each other, finding a bond in their shared experiences and pain of having missing parents in their life.
They knew now, that no matter what, they could rely on and trust each other, as friends and as duelists.