Finding the One

Yusei and I arrived back in the city to do some shopping. First, we headed to the hardware store to buy the tools as well as parts to fix the duel runners. Then we went to the electronics shop to buy the computer as well as some other electronic items. Although the total cost of the items turned out to be pretty expensive, I didn’t mind paying for everything. Fortunately, my job as a writer was bringing in a decent amount of money so I could afford to pay for the items. Also, as I was a well-known patron at the electronics shop, I received a special discount whenever I shopped there exclusively so the total cost was lower.

After we bought everything that was needed and loaded all the items into my car, Yusei and I headed back towards the house. During the drive, Yusei turned to me and said,

“I’m sorry for all of this.”

Looking confused, I briefly glanced at Yusei and asked, “What do you mean?”

Yusei replied, “You and Natalie shouldn’t have been burdened with this. Finding Jack and me, making sure that we were ok, and now paying for all of this. It’s too much to ask of anyone.”

I shook my head and replied, “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. Please don’t feel bad about this. First, Natalie and I couldn’t leave the two of you lying on the front yard like that. It wouldn’t have been right and we were worried. Second, it’s obvious that these dark signers are bad people and it’s not your fault that they caused this damage. And it’s not a burden to help you out. Even if I was poor, it still wouldn’t be a burden. I’m sure you’d do the same if I was in trouble.”

Yusei gave me a small smile and replied, “You’re very understanding. Thank you. It’s a little weird to be on this end for a change.”

I replied, “Huh?”

Yusei explained, “I mean, I’m usually the one who’s out helping people, no matter what it is. So it’s different to be the one getting help.”

I smiled to myself and replied, “It’s nice, isn’t it?” I noticed that we had arrived back at the house so I continued, “We’re back.”

After parking the car, I got out and Yusei did the same. Then we unloaded all the items and set them up in the garage. It took quite a bit of heavy lifting but I didn’t mind. Yusei and I set up all of the equipment so that Yusei could have a decent working station from which to examine the duel runners and repair them. All of the work took up the rest of the morning hours.

Once we were done, I took a seat in the garage and said, “We could use a break and since it’s almost lunchtime, I can go make us something to eat.”

Yusei nodded and I took it as a sign to go start making lunch. However, as I was about to enter the house, I saw Natalie and Jack enter the garage. It looked like they were ready to go out. The sight of them had me speechless. Natalie was wearing a light tan trench coat with a hat to match and dark sunglasses. I wasn’t that surprised by Natalie’s outfit since I guessed that she probably didn’t want any of her coworkers to recognize her when she was supposed to be sick. However, I was more shocked at what Jack wore. I observed that he was wearing a disguise so Natalie definitely convinced him to go through with it. He was wearing black jeans and a white T-shirt that said “I’m not stupid, ok?” along with a black jean jacket. Seeing that shirt made me want to laugh although I did my best not to, knowing how annoyed Jack would get at anyone making fun of him.

After recovering from my moment of shock, I looked at Natalie and asked, “Are you two going out? And wearing that?”

Jack gave me a look and replied in annoyance, “And what’s wrong with it? It’s fine to me although I don’t see the point of being in disguise. I am Jack Atlas, the King, after all.”

I muttered under my breath, “Former king, you mean.” I knew that based on the anime at that point, Yusei was the duel king and not Jack.

However, Jack looked like he heard my comment as he replied angrily, “What did you say?”

Quickly, Natalie replied, “Callie, it’s obvious why we’re wearing these clothes. You said so yourself that I can’t be seen outside so I have to disguise myself and I talked to Jack about the need to have a disguise for now. And yes, these are Nathan’s clothes. I couldn’t find anything else that would fit Jack.” Nathan was Natalie’s older brother and he was about the same height and build as Jack so it made sense that Jack would wear Nathan’s clothes.

Natalie then turned to Jack and said, “Don’t worry. We can buy you some new clothes later today.” She then turned to me and said, “I don’t want Jack to be bored all day so I’m taking him out to lunch, then to the beach, and then clothes shopping. We’ll be back before it gets dark.” Natalie knew that I got worried about her at times so that’s why she made the latter comment.

I replied, “That’s fine but shouldn’t Jack stay to help Yusei?” I felt bad that it looked like Yusei would have the burden of fixing both duel runners although I was willing to help out wherever I could.

Yusei turned to me and said, “It’s probably better for Jack to go out. I can concentrate better by myself and Natalie’s right. Jack will be bored stuck inside all day.”

Natalie turned to me with a look that read “I told you so.”

I nodded and replied, “All right. Have fun and be careful and if anything happens to Natalie,” I turned to Jack with a glare, “I’m holding you responsible.”

Jack scoffed and replied, “Nothing will happen. She couldn’t be in better hands.”

After Natalie and Jack left in Natalie’s car, I sighed, shook my head, and sat back down. I couldn’t believe that Natalie and Jack would leave like that although there was nothing I could have done to stop them. Yusei looked at me, noticing my expression, and walked over to me, placing his right hand on my left shoulder. I looked up at him and he smiled softly at me and said,

“Don’t worry about them, ok? Jack will make sure that Natalie will be safe.”

I nodded and replied, “I’m sure but I can’t believe that they would leave like that. Well, I’m not that surprised with Natalie. She does tend to do things like this at times but Jack really should have stayed to help you. His duel runner got damaged, too, and he’s your friend, isn’t he?”

Yusei replied, “I’m used to Jack. He can help out if he has to but it’s usually better for me to fix anything mechanical by myself. Jack’s a good friend. He’s one of the best. He just has his own way of showing that he cares. I can see that he likes Natalie.”

I nodded and replied, “I noticed. Jack does seem to tolerate her better than me for sure.”

Yusei chuckled and replied, “That’s true. I am a little surprised that you don’t like Jack.”

I laughed quietly and replied, “It’s that obvious, huh? But you’re right. I don’t hate him but I can’t understand how Natalie can tolerate him, let alone like him.”

Yusei replied, “A lot of women do like him so I’m surprised that you’re not like them.”

I smiled bashfully and turning my head to the side, I replied, “Looks aren’t everything, you know. I value personality and the warmth of a man’s heart more but that’s just me.”

Seeing where this line of conversation might lead, I decided to change the subject and said, “I should go make lunch now. What do you want?”

Yusei decided to go along with the change of subject and replied, “Anything is fine.”

“But no ramen,” Yusei and I both said at the same time. We realized that we had both said the same thing then and laughed for a few moments.

Yusei was the first to recover and said, “How did you know?”

I calmed down and was about to say that I knew about Jack’s obsession with ramen but then that would have revealed that I knew more about Jack and Yusei than I was ready to admit. So instead I replied, “I didn’t, not for sure. But Natalie absolutely loves it and eats it whenever she gets the chance. It’s a good thing that I did the grocery shopping this week. If it had been Natalie, we would have only had ramen in the house. You know, I bet that’s why they went out.”

Yusei laughed at my reply and said, “I can see that. Jack loves ramen a lot. He gets a little crazy over it. So anything as long as it’s not ramen.”

I got up and nodded, heading to the kitchen to make lunch. I decided on a simple meal of turkey and chicken sandwiches along with glasses of fruit juice. After I finished preparing the food, I took the plate of sandwiches and placed it along with the glasses of juice on a tray. Then I took the tray into the garage so Yusei could eat while he worked on his duel runner.

The early hours of the afternoon were fairly quiet. Yusei worked on his duel runner, examining it and removing old parts to replace them with new ones. I would help out whenever I could and although there were times that Yusei would tell me to take a break or that I didn’t need to burden myself with helping him, I’d always reply that I wanted to help him and that the repairs would go faster with me assisting him. I suppose the logic made sense, as Yusei didn’t try to argue with me after I made that point.

Later that afternoon, Yusei and I took a break from the repairs and I looked at the time on my cell phone. I noticed that it was getting late and that neither Natalie nor Jack had returned. As I was about to call Natalie to see what was going on, my phone rang and I saw by the caller ID that it was Natalie. Immediately, I picked it up and said,

“Hey, Natalie. We were wondering-.”

“Callie, we’re in trouble! Dark signers are at the beach and ahhh!”

The phone line went dead and I replied, “Natalie! Natalie!” However, there was no response.

Immediately, I got up and ran to my car, intending to drive to the beach to see the trouble and help Natalie, as it was pretty obvious that she was in some sort of danger. Yusei heard the conversation and followed me into my car, only getting his duel disk from his duel runner. Then we raced towards the beach and although neither of us said anything on the way, I could tell that both of us were thinking the same thing. We needed to get to Natalie and perhaps Jack before anything terrible happened to either of them.

I took the road that was the shortest route to the beach. All the while, I was worried about Natalie and hoped that nothing bad had happened to her. As Yusei and I arrived close to the beach, I could see many cars heading away from the beach, speeding off. Anyone who didn’t have a car was running away as fast as their feet could take them. Yusei and I knew that something was definitely wrong.

I parked the car in the nearby parking lot and then we got out, running towards the beach. As we got close, I could see a huge cloud of purplish black smoke. However, I couldn’t see Natalie or Jack anywhere and I hadn’t seen either of them as we hurried toward the beach. Before I could wonder out loud where either of them could be, Yusei turned to me and said,

“Stay here. I’ll find them.”

I replied, “But I can help-.”

Yusei interrupted me by replying, “It’s too dangerous. I’ll be all right.” Then he ran into the huge cloud of smoke before I could reply.

Now anyone who truly knew me would know that I wasn’t the kind of person who would sit back and do nothing, especially when my friends could be in danger, and I certainly wasn’t going to stay put, hoping that Natalie was ok. Without another thought, I ran towards the smoke, following Yusei’s trail but being careful not to be too close.

Once I was inside the smoke, my vision was blurred. I couldn’t see anything distinguishable in front of me but my hearing was acute so I could clearly hear voices. I heard Yusei yell,

“Jack, where are you? Is Natalie ok?”

I could hear Jack reply, “One of those dark signers has her! I’ll defeat this one and get her back.”

Then I could hear an unfamiliar voice reply, “You won’t get your girlfriend back! It’s time to finish you off, Jack Atlas!”

During all of this, I couldn’t hear Natalie’s voice so I concluded that either she was unconscious or she wasn’t able to say anything. I know that I probably should have stayed put, hoping that Jack would defeat the dark signer and get Natalie back but I was never one to let others take action if I could affect the outcome somehow. So I stayed still, waiting to hear any other sounds or voices. It took a little time but finally I could hear a faint sound coming from my left. I ran towards the direction of the sound, being vigilant of my surroundings the entire time. I looked forward and then I could barely see Natalie gagged and restrained by a dark signer. The dark signer held a knife to Natalie’s neck, ready to strike, and I could see why Jack couldn’t immediately get to her and had to duel the other dark signer instead.

Fortunately, the dark signer holding Natalie hadn’t seen me yet so I used this to my advantage. I walked quietly to a position where I was behind Natalie and the dark signer. When the time was right, I quickly pushed the dark signer from behind, making him let go of Natalie and the knife at the same time. However, the dark signer quickly recovered and was ready to strike back but I had anticipated such a move so I punched him in the stomach, making him unconscious. Breathing a sigh of relief, I was glad that my plan had worked, despite that I had thought of it at the spur of the moment.

Natalie saw the whole thing but, of course, she couldn’t say anything since she was still gagged and tied up. Once I was certain that the dark signer wouldn’t get up, I ran over to Natalie and took the gag off and freed her. Natalie was about to speak when I put my right index finger to my lips, silently telling her not to say anything. Then I helped her up and was about to run when I couldn’t help but take another look at the unconscious dark signer. He looked familiar although I had no idea where I’d seen him before. He definitely wasn’t from 5D’s but he looked like someone from this world.

I was standing there when I felt my right hand being pulled and I looked at Natalie. Natalie was indicating to me that we needed to get out of there before the dark signer woke up and realized what had happened. Nodding, I ran with her back towards where I heard Yusei, Jack, and the other dark signer were talking.

After Natalie and I arrived where Jack and the dark signer were dueling, the smoke was still present although it was gradually dissipating. I could see Yusei nearby and I saw the duel between Jack and the dark signer taking place. As Natalie and I watched, Jack faced his opponent with a glare and exclaimed,

“I synchro summon Red Dragon Archfiend!”

Before me, I could see Jack’s duel monster appear and although I knew that there was no way it was supposed to appear, there it was in front of my eyes. Then Jack continued,

“Now it’s time to finish you off and make you pay!”

The dark signer laughed evilly and replied, “I thought this might happen so now!” He looked towards the direction where the other dark signer who had held Natalie was. The unconscious dark signer was slowly coming to and looked around, realizing that Natalie was gone. Jack noticed as well that Natalie wasn’t there and so wasn’t in danger any more so he said,

“Red Dragon Archfiend, attack!”

I saw the duel monster attack the dark signer directly, as he had no monsters on the field or any trap cards. The attack brought the dark signer’s life points to zero and Jack won the duel. The smoke cleared up and Jack’s opponent glared at Jack, saying,

“You got lucky this time but you won’t be next time we meet!” Then the dark signer disappeared and soon there was no trace of him.

Meanwhile, the other dark signer had fainted and his cloak had disappeared. Then I could see that he was wearing normal casual clothes and I could see his face clearly. I realized who he was; he was my agent Mac Jeffries. I wondered how he had become a dark signer although he clearly wasn’t one now. I supposed Jack defeating his opponent released the curse on Mac even though it was only a guess on my part.

As our surroundings were returning to normal, Jack and Yusei looked around until they finally saw Natalie and me. Jack ran to Natalie and asked,

“What happened? How’d you get free?”

Natalie pointed to me and replied, “Callie got me.” She looked at me and said, “You were quick, too.”

I shrugged and replied, “I guess those self-defense classes finally paid off.”

Jack looked at me and said, “I didn’t need your help. I would have gotten your friend safe.”

I was a little annoyed at Jack for giving me attitude. I was about to retort when Yusei said,

“The important thing is that everyone is ok.”

I glanced at Yusei and I could tell that he knew that I felt a little annoyed. Breathing a sigh of relief, I looked over at where Mac was and ran over to him. I wanted to make sure that he was ok and to find out what happened.

Yusei followed me and asked, “What are you doing?”

Having reached Mac, I checked him to make sure that he was all right and fortunately, he was. I turned to Yusei and said,

“This is Mac, my publicity agent. It looked like he was under a spell or something but he seems ok now and I want answers.”

I waited for Mac to regain consciousness and after a few minutes, he did. He looked at me all confused and asked,

“Ms. Callie, is that you? Where am I? How did I get here?” He looked at his surroundings, clearly not remembering what had just happened.

Yusei stood nearby but didn’t say or do anything. He looked at me and gave a nod, silently telling me that it was ok for me to handle the situation. I turned back to Mac and replied,

“You don’t remember anything? Nothing at all?”

Mac shook his head and replied, “Nothing. The last thing I remember was watching TV and there was this flash of white light. Next thing I know, I wake up here and see you. Did you pull a prank on me or something?”

Despite the situation, I gave a small smile at hearing Mac’s comment about the whole situation being a prank. I wish it had been but it wasn’t and Natalie was in danger because of what happened. I helped Mac on his feet and said,

“You must be tired. I’ll call a taxi to take you home and we can talk later, ok?”

Mac nodded and replied, “Ok. I’m still confused as to what happened to me but ok. And Ms. Callie, I will hound you later about that party next week. You have to find a date or I’ll find one for you.” He winked mischievously at me and I rolled my eyes.

I replied, “You’re thinking about work at a time like this? But then again, I’m not surprised.” I shook my head, took my phone and called a taxi company to request a taxi for Mac. I only hoped that the incident hadn’t reached the news yet or else Mac might have more trouble getting a ride.

It took 15 minutes but fortunately, a taxi did arrive and Mac got inside. Once the taxi was out of sight and I knew that Mac would be safe, I ran back to Yusei and said,

“Let’s get back to Natalie and Jack. I should tell them what happened with Mac although he doesn’t remember anything. It’s not much but I guess I should be relieved. It’s better for him not to remember something this incredible.”

Yusei nodded and we walked back to where Natalie and Jack were.

Yusei and I walked back to where Natalie and Jack were. Although the walk was short and we reached the others in very little time, Yusei kept giving me weird glances. I wasn’t sure what to make of them but figured that he’d ask me later if something was bothering him.

When we reached Natalie and Jack, Jack looked at us and asked,

“Where have you two been?”

I looked at Jack and replied, “I knew that dark signer who had Natalie looked familiar so I went to check him out. Turns out that I do know him. It was Mac.”

Natalie looked at me with a confused look and asked, “Mac? As in Mac Jeffries, your agent?”

I nodded and replied, “The one and the same. I questioned him and all but he has no memory of what happened. Just as well, I suppose. I doubt he’d want to remember holding you at knife point.”

Natalie shuddered and replied, “Yeah. I won’t forget that for a while.”

I looked at Natalie and with a small smile, I replied, “I’m glad that you’re ok. I should probably take you to a doctor-.”

Natalie interrupted me by saying, “I’m fine, Callie. I don’t want to see a doctor. I just want to go home and forget about this.”

I replied, “But I think you should see a doctor to make sure you’re ok.”

Again, Natalie protested by saying, “Really, Callie, you worry too much. All I need is some food and a good night’s sleep and I’ll be as right as rain.”

Although I still thought that Natalie should see a doctor, I could see the stubborn look in her eyes and had a feeling that she wouldn’t budge. So reluctantly, I replied,

“All right. I won’t fight you on this. Where’s your car?”

Natalie led the way to where her car was parked and Yusei, Jack, and I followed. However, when we arrived at the lot where Natalie’s car was supposed to be, there was only the ruins of what was once a car. Natalie yelled,

“Noes! My car! It was a new one, too.”

Yusei replied, “It probably took damage when those dark signers came.”

I nodded and added, “That was my guess as well. We can all take my car in the meantime.” As my car was spacious, enough for four passengers, I had no trouble accommodating everyone.

Natalie replied sadly, “Aww ok.”

Jack noticed how sad Natalie was and glancing at her, he said, “Don’t worry. We’ll get those dark signers and make them pay.”

Natalie looked back at Jack and replied, “Yup. They’ll be sorry.”

I put my head down, hiding the smile on my face. Despite that I didn’t like Jack, I could see that he cared for Natalie and that made me happy.

We all returned to my car and had to hurry while doing so. I could see from a short distance that there were TV camera crews as well as newspaper reporters arriving on the scene and I knew that it was best to avoid being seen. Especially, I didn’t want Yusei or Jack to end up being on the evening news for obvious reasons. Fortunately, after we got in my car and drove away from the scene, no one followed us so I was relieved that we were safe for now.

I headed straight for home, hoping that there wouldn’t be any more incidents along the way. The ride was pretty silent. From a sideways glance, I could see that Natalie looked tired. She was sitting in the passenger seat while I took the driver’s seat. In the rearview mirror, I could see Yusei and Jack. It looked like they wanted to talk to each other but knowing that Natalie and I would overhear them, I could guess that they wanted to talk when they were alone.

After about 30 minutes, we arrived back at the house and I parked the car in the garage. Then we all got out but as we were going inside, Yusei looked at me and said,

“Jack and I need to talk alone. Is that ok?”

I was curious as to what they wanted to talk about that Natalie and I couldn’t be privy to but nodding, I replied,

“Sure. I’ll take Natalie to her room so she can get some rest.”

Then Natalie and I went upstairs while Yusei and Jack went to the living room to have their talk. After Natalie and I arrived in her room, Natalie turned to me and asked,

“What do you think they want to talk about?”

I shrugged and replied, “I don’t know but probably about what happened at the beach. That was pretty scary. I mean, it’s one thing to see those dark signers on TV but seeing them in life. They’re quite dangerous.”

Natalie replied, “Yeah.”

Then I looked at Natalie and asked, “By the way, how did those dark signers recognize Jack? I assume they attacked you because you were with him.”

Natalie replied, “I have no idea. I thought that disguise would work but I did notice something. His arm-there was a red glow. Some kind of tattoo or something.”

I realized what Natalie probably saw and replied, “Ahh the mark of the crimson dragon. One of its parts, anyway. This is weird, though. I mean, none of this should be happening. 5D’s is just an anime so Yusei and Jack shouldn’t exist along with those dark signers. Maybe something supernatural is at work here.”

Natalie looked confused and replied, “I have no idea but I don’t mind that Jack is here.” She blushed immediately after she spoke and I could see that she had deep feelings for Jack but I decided not to tease her about them for now.

Natalie and I continued to talk for a while, as neither of us really wanted to be alone for the moment. Then we heard footsteps and we looked at the direction where they came from. Since Natalie’s door was open, we could see that it was Jack. Jack looked at me and said,

“Yusei wants to see you.” He then entered the room and sat in a chair next to Natalie. Seeing that it was my cue to leave, I went downstairs to the living room.

When I arrived, I saw Yusei pacing back and forth, deep in thought. I was about to open my mouth to speak when Yusei looked up at me and said,

“Hey, Callie. We need to talk.”

Wondering what was going on, I took a seat on the sofa and Yusei took a seat next to me. He then looked at me and said,

“I need you to be honest with me, ok?”

I nodded, confused at what Yusei was referring to. Had he figured out that I was keeping certain information from him? I remained silent, waiting to hear what Yusei had to say next. He then continued,

“There’s something that’s confused me. How did you know that those men were dark signers? Jack and I never said that they were.”

I realized that I had messed up, revealing that I did know more about dark signers, but I remained cool and kept a neutral expression on my face. Quickly thinking of an excuse, I replied,

“Oh yeah. It’s not like I know them but I guessed. I mean, you and Jack mentioned earlier that you two were chased by dark signers, right? And then when I was trying to find Natalie in that fog, I heard Jack mention something about dark signers. I put two and two together and concluded that those men were dark signers. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Yusei looked at me a little weirdly. For a moment, I thought that he wouldn’t accept the excuse but nodding slowly, he replied, “I suppose that makes sense. I’m sorry for suspecting. I can’t help but feel like you might know more about what’s going on. Then again, you’d tell us, I’m sure.”

I nodded and with a small smile, I replied, “Yup, that’s right.”

Yusei replied, “There’s something else-.”

However, Yusei didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, as I could hear Natalie scream, “Noes! You can’t. I won’t let you.”

Immediately, I was worried about Natalie. Getting up, I was about to run upstairs to see what had happened when Yusei held my left arm and said, “Please sit. I know why Natalie’s upset or I can guess. Let Jack handle it.”

I nodded and took my seat. Then looking at Yusei, I replied, “Ok, spill. Why is Natalie upset?”

Yusei sighed and after taking a deep breath, he replied, “That’s the other news I wanted to tell you. Jack and I talked things over and we’re going to leave. Our duel runners aren’t fixed yet but we’ll think of something. We don’t want you or Natalie in danger because of us.”

I was shocked by the news and I could see why Natalie was upset. As much as I knew that the reasoning made sense, I felt the same way that Natalie did. I couldn’t let Yusei leave. He had no idea of what the real world was like and there could be even more danger if he or Jack left. I sat there silently, not knowing what to say but trying to think of something to say at the same time.

Yusei looked at me with a little worry, probably because I hadn’t spoken or reacted at all to the news. Touching my hand, he said, “Please say something.”

I snapped out of my shock and looking at him, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I stood up and slapped him on the cheek, saying,

“Are you insane? Do you think that leaving will protect Natalie and me? Let me tell you something. First, Natalie and I can take care of ourselves or at least I can. You know that I was the one who saved Natalie earlier. We’ve had to do so in the past. It’s not easy being two single women with guys wanting to hit on us. Two-if you and Jack leave, where will you go? And how are you going to bring your duel runners when they aren’t even working yet? Don’t you know that it’s stupid to leave without thinking of a plan ahead? And three-if you’re worried because of those dark signers, they haven’t found this place yet so we’re safe for now. If they do find us here, then we’ll think of something.”

I was out of breath from the mini lecture I had given Yusei and need to sit back down, which I did so. I was surprised at myself for slapping him. In my right mind, there was no way I would have done such a thing but at that moment, anger had overcome me and I did the first thing that came to mind. I looked over at Yusei and I thought he would be angry at me for slapping me but to my surprise, he wasn’t. He was rubbing his cheek where I had slapped him and after I had finished talking, he looked down, silent for some minutes. Finally, Yusei looked back up at me and his eyes stared into my eyes. It looked as though he were searching for something in my eyes, like there was an answer to some unspoken question. Involuntarily, I blushed and Yusei realized that I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable so he said,

“No woman has ever stood up to me like that before.” He looked at me, his eyes full of amazement and surprise.

I looked at him skeptically and replied, “Is that a good thing?”

He nodded and replied, “It’s something new.” I couldn’t tell what Yusei was thinking but it looked as though he was a little intrigued by me and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He then continued,

“If you and Natalie believe that Jack and I should stay, then we will. You made some good points.”

Just then, Jack walked down the stairs and Natalie followed him. Her face showed a happy, satisfied look. I guessed that she must have convinced Jack like I had persuaded Yusei.

Jack faced Yusei and said, “Yusei, we should stay. Natalie’s convinced me that-.”

Yusei interrupted Jack by saying, “I agree. It makes more sense to stay than to leave. I’ll have our duel runners repaired and then we can figure out where to go from there.”

Jack looked a little surprised that Yusei had agreed so quickly with him to stay and he glanced at me momentarily, wondering whether I had anything to do with Yusei’s response. However, I kept a neutral expression on my face so Jack shrugged it off and replied,

“Ok then. Now I’m hungry. Who’s going to get me food?”

Immediately, Natalie replied, “I’ll go cook us something!”

I turned to Natalie and replied, “You should rest after that ordeal. I’ll order pizza if that’s ok with everyone.”

Yusei nodded, indicating that he was ok with the idea, and Jack didn’t protest, which I assumed meant that he was fine with the idea as well. So I picked up the nearest phone to call for pizza delivery. As everything had settled down and it looked like no more incidents would occur for now, I relaxed a little, hoping that things would get normal again or as normal as they could be, considering the circumstances.

A few days had passed since Yusei and Jack had entered my life and Natalie’s and the incidents had happened. Surprisingly, things had been quiet since Natalie’s attempted kidnapping. Although there was something on the news about the incident at the beach, there were no names mentioned and fortunately, there were no pictures of Yusei or Jack. It helped that there were no witnesses as well since practically everyone who had been at the beach that day had fled in fear when the dark signers and that fog appeared.

Natalie continued to show Jack around various places although she no longer made him wear that ridiculous outfit, seeing that it didn’t do much good before. She did buy him some new clothes to help him blend in with the people better. However, after the weekend was over, Natalie had to go back to work so Jack would stay back at the house either drinking coffee or watching TV while Natalie was at the hospital. If I hadn’t known better, there were times when I observed Jack that he would want Natalie to return to spend time together. There were indications around his eyes and mannerisms which seemed to indicate that he had taken a liking to her.

Meanwhile, I continued to help Yusei in the garage as he fixed his and Jack’s duel runners. Of course, I had work as well but being a writer, my hours were quite flexible. I assisted Yusei however I could, whether it was handing him tools, ordering parts for him, or giving him lunch when he needed the break. When there were times that he didn’t need my help, I would have my laptop in the garage and I would either continue writing a part of my upcoming book or would surf the Internet, checking for the latest news and so forth.

It was the afternoon and Yusei and I were in the garage as usual. I was on my laptop while Yusei continued to work on the duel runners. I could tell that Yusei had made a lot of progress repairing them and it made me happy that he did so although a part of me was sad. I knew that once the duel runners were fully repaired, Yusei and Jack would leave to return to their world and I didn’t want that to happen. I wouldn’t openly admit that but I had developed a bond with Yusei that I wanted to continue. However, asking him to stay would have been selfish of me and so I didn’t. Also, I knew that Natalie would be heartbroken once Jack left but I told myself that I would have a chat with her before they left, making sure that she would be ok and explain that they needed to return to New Domino so things would be set right.

I took a break from typing on my laptop and stretched out my arms. I noticed that Yusei had decided to take a break as well so I got up from my chair and walked over to him, asking,

“How’s progress?”

Yusei looked at me and wiping the sweat from his forehead, he replied, “It’s going pretty well. I’ll have both duel runners fixed soon but there’s a problem.”

I looked at Yusei confused and was about to ask what the problem was when he continued,

“After I get Jack’s and my duel runners fixed, there’s the matter of how to get back to New Domino. We still have no idea how we got here.”

I nodded, agreeing with Yusei that it was a problem indeed. I was silent for a few minutes, thinking of an idea. Then one came to me and I replied,

“I know. This isn’t the usual run-of-the-mill type problem, right? I usually find that if I’m looking for information, I go to the nearest library. Sure, there’s the Internet and all but you don’t know which information is reliable and which is bogus. But the library has a lot of books and special collections might have some information that could help.”

Yusei pondered over the idea for a minute and then replied, “Sounds good. I don’t have another idea right now so we’ll go with it. After I finish all the repairs, we’ll go to the library and check out some books and maybe some articles for any information.”

I smiled softly and replied, “Yup. No worries. I want you and Jack to get home safely.”

I kept a smile on my face although inside, I was a little saddened over the thought of Yusei and Jack leaving. Yusei looked at me and it seemed almost as though he knew what I was thinking. Just as he was about to say something, my cell phone rang. Picking it up, I looked at Yusei and said,

“I’ll go take this.”

Yusei nodded and then I picked up the phone, saying, “Hello?”

On the other end of the line was Mac and he replied, “Hello, Ms. Callie. How are you? I called you to remind you of that party you’re attending tonight.”

I was confused, as I had previously told Mac that I wasn’t planning on attending the party tonight. I replied hesitatingly,

“Umm what are you talking about, Mac? I told you before that I wasn’t going to the party. You know how these things end up. You or Natalie set me up on some blind date, the guy usually turns out to be a jerk so I punch his lights out, and then I leave angry. I’m not going to be set up for that again.”

Mac replied, “I know but it’ll be different this time. Natalie found you the perfect date and she said that you’re attending so I’ll have a limo pick you up at eight. Bye!”

He then hung up before I could reply. Confused at what happened, I hung up and then dialed Natalie’s cell phone number, hoping to get some answers. After a few rings, Natalie picked up and said,

“Hello?”

I replied with a little annoyance in my voice, “Natalie, did you tell Mac that I’m attending that party tonight? I thought I told you as well that I didn’t want to go. I don’t care about increasing my fame or any of that nonsense-.”

However, Natalie interrupted me by saying, “I know but trust me this time, Callie. It’ll be different-I swear. I found the perfect guy so there’s no way this night will be ruined. And if it is, you can punish me later at home, ok?”

I sighed and replied, “All right. I suppose there’s always hope. But where am I going to find a dress at this time? You have my car and I have no time to go shopping.”

Natalie replied happily, “I already thought about that. Yusei, Jack, and I went shopping the other day. You remember-you wanted to stay behind and work on your book in quiet that day. Anyhow, we each took the liberty of picking a dress for you. They’re in the closet. You can choose which one you want to wear.”

I replied, “All right. I guess I’ll go but if this night turns out to be a disaster, I swear-.”

Natalie cut me off by saying, “Stop worrying. You are so going to love this guy. I’ll be there as well. Mac invited me so I’m picking up Jack after work and then we’ll get ready and go. Mac is arranging a ride for you, right?”

I replied, “Yup but, Natalie, who is my date for-?”

However, the line went dead before I even had a chance to finish my question. Staring at the phone in annoyance, I said, “Geez, the things people do behind my back.”

I heard a chuckle behind me and quickly turning around, I saw Yusei and he had a glint of amusement in his eyes. I blushed in embarrassment, having realized that he had listened to both conversations. After a moment, I said,

“You heard the whole thing, huh?”

Yusei nodded and replied, “Yeah. Natalie told me a little about this party and she really wants you to go. She said something that Mac wouldn’t allow her to attend if you weren’t there or something like that.”

I rolled my eyes and replied, “Figures.” Then I looked at the time and realizing that it was getting a little late and that I should get ready for the party, I said,

“I should hurry and get ready for this party. Umm, Yusei, do you know who my date is going to be?”

Yusei nodded and had this secretive smile on his face. He replied, “Yup but I’m not supposed to tell you. Natalie instructed me not to reveal one word to you until you’re ready.”

I looked at Yusei with a little annoyance in my eyes and replied, “Not you, too. Guess I’d better get ready so I can find out who this mystery date is.”

Then I went upstairs to my room to get ready for tonight. I decided to take a quick shower and after doing so and drying off, I quickly dried my hair with the hair dryer. Then I proceeded to arrange my hair. I arranged my hair in soft curls so that my hair would look wavy and not too curly. It flowed down my back beautifully. Then I put on my makeup. I put on a little, as I usually went for a natural look.

After putting on my makeup, I walked over to the closet to see the dresses picked out for me. They were all beautiful so it was a little difficult to choose. The first one was a simple but elegant white dress that was sleeveless. The second one was a stunning lavender with a long train in the back. However, the third one caught my eyes. It was a royal blue dress that looked like something a princess would wear. It had a matching shawl and there was a train on the dress as well although it wasn’t as long as the second one. I decided to wear the royal blue dress and changed into it. Although I didn’t usually put on accessories every day, I decided to wear a little this time. I chose a pair of simple heart-shaped diamond earrings and a pearl necklace. I had a pair of white long gloves as well so I wore those.

Once I was finished getting dressed, I looked at myself in the mirror and was a little amazed at how beautiful I looked. I didn’t usually regard myself as beautiful but this was an exception. I found a small light blue purse and put my phone as well as my wallet in it. Then I was finally ready and all I had to do was wait for my date to arrive.

I didn’t have to wait long as Yusei called up to me,

“Callie, your date’s here.”

I was confused as I hadn’t heard the doorbell ring to indicate that my date had arrived. However, not wanting to be late, I left my room and went downstairs. At the foot of the stairs, the mystery of my date had been solved. I was surprised but happy at the same time when I found out who he was and thought to myself,

Maybe this night won’t be so bad after all.

Seeing Yusei waiting for me downstairs looking as handsome as ever, I was more excited about tonight. Before, I wasn’t looking forward to the party mainly because I didn’t like to attend these kinds of events but a part of me didn’t want to leave Yusei alone. However, it never occurred to me that he could be my date for tonight and I wondered how this all happened.

I smiled softly and felt a slight blush to my cheeks as I saw Yusei in a black tux waiting for me. I stared into his eyes for a few moments and he looked as happy as I was. I walked down the stairs, doing my best to act as cool as possible about the situation. When I reached the foot of the stairs, Yusei looked at me and said,

“You look beautiful, Callie.”

I looked down at my feet, shyness suddenly overcoming me. I replied quietly, “Thank you, Yusei. So, umm, I take it that you’re my date for tonight?”

Yusei nodded and replied, “Yup. I’m the lucky guy who’ll be escorting you.”

I heard a car pull up just then and looking out the window, I saw that there was a black stretch limousine. I turned back to Yusei and replied, “That must be our ride. We should get going.”

I headed towards the front door when Yusei beat me to it. He opened it and said, “I should be the gentleman tonight although I know you can open a door on your own.”

The latter part of his comment made me laugh and I simply nodded. So I went outside first and waited for Yusei to follow. Then I locked the front door and made sure that the house was secure. Yusei and I then walked to the limo and the driver opened the door for us. I went inside first and Yusei followed me. Then the driver closed the door and headed back to his seat, driving away towards where the party was to be held.

As we headed towards the party, I wondered how Yusei got to be my date for tonight. Then I remembered the conversation with Natalie and how she said that she found the perfect guy for me. She knew that I liked Yusei a lot so it did make sense that Natalie would have asked Yusei to be my date. I doubted that he would have volunteered of his own accord. Looking down, I tried to hide the sudden sadness in my eyes over the thought. I felt stupid for not having realized it sooner.

Yusei must have seen the quick change in my expression, for he touched my right hand and asked,

“What’s wrong?”

I looked back into Yusei’s eyes and quickly changed my expression into a happy one although it probably looked fake. Shaking my head, I replied, “It’s nothing. I’m fine. I’m sorry that Natalie went through the trouble of asking you to be my date when I know you have more important things to do-.”

However, Yusei interrupted me by saying, “Natalie didn’t ask me to be your date. I wanted to escort you tonight.”

I looked confused and Yusei noticed my expression so he continued by saying,

“Natalie did talk to Jack and me the other day about this party and she asked Jack to be her date. Knowing Jack, I knew he wouldn’t turn down such an offer. Natalie was going to call one of her friends to be your date but I stopped her. I told her that I’d take you.”

I felt a little better as Yusei explained that he had wanted to take me although I couldn’t understand why. I replied, “Really? But why did you want to take me?”

Yusei coughed slightly and turning his head to the side, he replied, “I didn’t want another guy to take you.”

I was confused still and Yusei’s answers were only making me more confused. I was about to ask him why he didn’t want another guy to take me when I could see that he was averting my gaze. I couldn’t be certain but it did seem as though Yusei felt uncomfortable or perhaps embarrassed to talk about this matter so I let it drop. Instead, I changed the subject slightly by asking,

“So whose dress did I end up choosing in the end? Natalie told me that you, Jack, and she each chose one for me. It was difficult to decide.”

Yusei gave me a smile that I easily recognized. It was one of pure happiness and relieved that the subject had been changed, he replied,

“You chose the one I picked. I was surprised that you did.”

I replied, “But why? They were all beautiful, true, but this one really caught my attention. It fits me and my personality wonderfully.”

Yusei replied happily, “Then I’m glad you chose it but I’m sure you’d look beautiful in anything.”

I blushed as I heard Yusei’s latter comment and didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, we had arrived at a huge stately mansion where the party was being held. The driver had stopped and opened the door. Yusei got out first and then he helped me out. I held his arm and together, we walked through the front door and after giving my name to one of the security guards, we entered through this big foyer. There, my shawl and purse were taken and then we headed to a large ballroom where the other guests of the party were.

Once we arrived, I looked around for any signs of Natalie, Jack, or Mac but the ballroom was very crowded so it was difficult to see anyone I recognized. I was about to lead the way further into the room to see if I could find any of them when I suddenly felt myself being pulled away from Yusei. When I looked back, I realized what had happened and it annoyed me. Several rather ambitious young women had seen Yusei when he entered with me in the ballroom and wanted him to pay attention to them so I was pulled away from his side. I felt annoyed although I did my best not to betray that emotion. I looked where Yusei was and I could see that he was doing his best to talk to the women and be polite. It didn’t surprise me since I knew that Yusei was a gentleman and wouldn’t be rude to anyone unless he had no choice.

Not knowing what to do, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. Quickly, I turned around and saw Natalie and Jack. I was happy to at least see a couple of familiar faces and said,

“I’m sure glad to see you. I was trying to look for you two and for Mac as well but this room is awfully crowded.”

Natalie nodded and replied, “Definitely. What do you think of my dress?” Natalie had worn a beautiful white dress with purple lining. It was elegant and stood out at the same time. I thought it definitely fit her, considering that her date was Jack.

I replied, “You look perfect. It suits you.”

Jack quickly looked at me and with a slight scoff, he said, “I shouldn’t have bothered to help you out.”

Annoyed, I replied, “What do you mean by that?”

Natalie quickly cut in and replied, “I think Jack is referring to your dress. You chose the one that Yusei picked out for you.”

I nodded and replied, “Yeah, I did but they were all beautiful. It was difficult to choose.”

Jack scoffed and replied, “Yeah, right. I told Natalie that we should have let Yusei choose. You would wear anything he liked.”

I got defensive and replied, “I didn’t know Yusei chose this one until he told me. And besides, I chose this dress because it suited my personality the best.”

Natalie looked between Jack and me and she could see that things were getting a little tense so she tried to change the subject by asking,

“Umm where’s Yusei?”

I looked in the direction where Yusei was and he was still hounded by those same young women. I replied, “He’s busy at the moment, it appears.”

Jack replied, “Now that doesn’t make sense. I’m Jack Atlas and the women should be flocking to me.”

I rolled my eyes while Natalie giggled lightly. Natalie replied, “The same thing happened when we arrived but I quickly made it known that Jack’s my date for tonight.”

I looked over at Jack and I noticed that he blushed slightly and didn’t say anything. Natalie then continued,

“You should do the same. Take Yusei away from those women. He’s your date, after all.”

I looked down and replied, “It would be rude of me to do so and it doesn’t seem that Yusei’s bothered by the attention. Anyway, I’m here and that’s all that matters to Mac, right? Speaking of him, I should go find him. You two have a good time.”

I gave Natalie and Jack a quick smile and then went to find Mac. It took me a while but I finally found Mac. I gave him a nod to acknowledge that I was at the party and Mac nodded back. It looked like he was busy talking to some important people so I decided to go outside for a while to get some air unaware that a pair of blue eyes had followed me.

Once I was outside, I took in a deep breath, relieved to be away from the crowds of people. I took a look at my surroundings and noticed that I was near a gazebo that was dimly lit. I looked up at the night sky and there were so many stars and the moon was shining at its brightest. I closed my eyes and as I felt myself at ease, I began to sing.

In this quiet night
I’m waiting for you
Forgetting the past
And dreaming of you

Time passes by
And memories fade
But time can’t erase
The love that we’ve made

And the stars in the sky
That I wish upon can’t bring you back to my side
Though you’re not here with me
I dream of the day we’ll meet again

Hold me close, So deep in your heart
I will find you, no matter where I have to go
And dream of me, for I will be there
Follow the stars that lead
Into the quiet night

I continued to sing the rest of the lyrics, feeling happy and carefree. I loved this song Quiet Night and although I knew that it was sung by a fictional character, it felt very real and the lyrics felt close to my heart.

Once I was done, I was surprised to hear clapping. Quickly, I turned around and saw that Yusei was standing before me. I averted my gaze and asked,

“How long have you been standing there?”

Yusei looked at me although he had this unreadable expression. He replied, “I followed you when I saw that you went outside. That was beautiful-what you sang just now. Did you write the song?”

I blushed and shaking my head, I replied, “No, I heard this song on TV a few times. It is beautiful and I like singing it to myself. You’re the first to ever hear me sing, though.”

Yusei looked a little surprised and replied, “Really? You have a beautiful voice. You should sing more often.”

I gave a small smile and replied, “Thanks. So, umm, why did you follow me? Is there something you wanted?”

Yusei looked confused and replied, “No but I was a little worried. I saw that you had left the party and came here by yourself. You shouldn’t be alone.”

I felt a little offended at Yusei’s comment about being alone and replied, “You think I can’t take care of myself? I’m a big girl, after all. And you looked like you were plenty busy back there and didn’t need me.”

I know I sounded a little jealous although I tried not to be. I didn’t want to be one of those petty women who got upset every time a man has his attention to other women. However, Yusei could see that I was a little jealous and gently, he approached me and put his hands on my shoulders. He then looked into my eyes and said,

“Those women mean nothing to me. You know that, right?”

I sighed and replied, “I know. I’m sorry I snapped like that. It’s not your fault.”

Then I heard in the background a song being performed. It was quite a romantic song and although it was a quick peek, I saw Natalie and Jack dancing together and having a wonderful time. I thought to myself,

It looks like they’re having more fun than I am.

Yusei spun me around until we were face to face. He looked at me and bowing in a gentleman-like manner, he said,

“Allow me the honor of this dance. Let’s make up for before.”

I nodded and replied, “Ok but I have to give you advance warning. I’m a terrible dancer. That’s part of the reason I don’t like these events.”

Yusei chuckled and replied, “All right but I still want to dance with you and only you.” Those last two words were said so meaningfully that I knew a blush was on my cheeks. Yusei took that as a sign and holding me in his arms, we began to dance to the music.

Together, I felt myself happy and at ease as I danced with Yusei. I had forgotten about those other women who had grabbed his attention before and even forgotten about how Yusei was supposed to be with Akiza back in New Domino. Tonight, it was about the two of us and as I danced with Yusei and looked into his eyes, I felt myself falling deeper for him. I wasn’t sure how he felt about me but I could see that Yusei had feelings for me, too, although I wasn’t sure what to make of them yet.

After the song ended, Yusei and I stopped. We looked into each other’s eyes and I didn’t know what was going to happen. I saw that Yusei was approaching me and holding me closer to him and I could only guess at what was going to happen next. I closed my eyes, hoping, anticipating for what I had only previously dreamed could happen. However, suddenly, there was a commotion coming from the direction of the party and Yusei and I quickly turned our eyes towards the ballroom to find out what had happened.