Author's Note: Part two of the Martyr!verse drabbles.

Please enjoy.

Warnings:

1. Spoiler for Episode 54/55 flashbacks.

2. Martyr!verse? Which, means: get out the tissues guys XD

Summary: Drabble Series, Martyr!verse – The fight was lost. Yusei was gone. Jack and Crow had left. But Kiryu never had been good at giving up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. I don't own Martyr!verse either; it's Norths brainchild and I've been allowed to play with it.

--- The obsessed Hunter ---

After Crow told him what Yusei had done, his eyes filled with anguish and his voice cracking in barely contained rage, Kiryu felt rendered speechless. Only for about any minute.

Because then he lost himself to furry again, grabbing Crow by his shirt screaming: "Why didn't you stop him?" and Crow snapped as well screaming right back, What, What could he have done stopped him - they were talking about Yusei after all, and the whole thing wouldn't have happened if he, Kiryu, hadn't gone mad and challenged Security.

"Fought!" he hissed, "You should have fought, all of you."

Because if they had just fought by his side, trusting him to lead them like he had done it up to then, this wouldn't have happened. He never would have gotten cornered like he had been. Yusei never would have gotten the stupid idea to give himself up.

"You are mad." Crow declared, tears running freely down his cheeks, his expression caught between torment and anger - and now it was enough, Kiryu decided and launched himself to the other boy…

Only to be intercepted by Jacks firm hold.

"Enough of this." the blond said; he was the only one who sounded somewhat calm, but his eyes reflected otherwise. He was just as angry as they were.

"Calm down, Kiryu." he said – no, demanded. "Yusei is gone. Fighting now insults his sacrifice."

That got him to calm. Somewhat.

Jack was right, Yusei had sacrificed himself for them, for him and he was not about to insult and dishonour that.

"We need to keep fighting." he whispered and found himself surprised when both Jack and Crow looked at him as if he had lost it.

"We need to keep fighting them, and in the end we'll get him back."

And suddenly Crow was in his face, pinning him down hard, his fist soundly connecting with his cheekbone over and over again until Jack dragged him off.

"You don't get it." Jack said, regret, disgust and something that almost sounded like pity dripping in his voice. "You really don't get it."

And then they left, without looking back.

Kiryu kept lying on the ground, recovering from the beating and from the hardship of the last few hours.

They had left him behind again. But this time, Kiryu found, this time he couldn't care less about it.

----

The first dew days in the B.A.D. were hard.

They were an endlessly repeating circle of proofing himself to the other residents and trying to find water, food and shelter for the night, over and over again. A true fight for survival. But Kiryu, if anything, was a survivor.

He moved forward, moved up in the food chain of the most lawless region in all of Satellite - beating anyone who dared to demand toll with both cards and fists and using his skills and wits to get essentials either by stealing or trading.

Because this was where he would begin. He had understood now, perhaps it had been a bit rash to attack Security with just the four of them. But here in the B.A.D., where the authority had no control and where to only law was 'Survival for the fittest', here were bound to be others, who were just as fed up as he was, just as determined to throw off the establishments leash.

"There are enemies in the Main-Satellite." he told them. "I came to you because, I can't beat them alone. They almost took me and got one of my nakama instead. I won't let his sacrifice be in vain."

With words like those he enchanted them. They were sick of doing nothing all day long, of doing nothing but hiding and waiting for someone to come and rob him. So they came to him and listened eagerly.

"Alone, I don't stand a chance." he said, smiling as they were surprised by his blatant admittance of weakness. "But together…" he promised "Together we are strong. Together we'll defeat them. Together we'll be free."

And when his audience cheered, he knew. Knew that his ambition, his dream was within reach.

----

It should have been glorious.

Kiryu had it all planned out: All of them - him at the front and his army backing him up – marching up to the Security Headquarters, first demanding (to have a little formality) then taking back their freedom, their lives, their land by force.

Until one of his followers had asked him, who they were actually going to fight. Non of them had asked until then and he had thought that they knew, it was so utterly clear after all.

When he told them his full plan, when he told them that they would go up against Security, he had expected them to be enthusiastic, like they always had been when he had declared their goal before.

And found himself bitterly disappointed when they backed away instead.

"You are mad." one of them whispered. "A mad fool."

The news spread like a wildfire and one after another his followers left.

But that was fine. If they were to scared, then they weren't deserving anyway.

There was no freedom for cowards.

----

Sometimes he dreamed of Yusei.

Usually it was always the same. He would find himself before their old hide-out, close to the cliffs. He would walk in right up into what they had deemed the living room.

And there he would find Yusei, sitting on the table with a duel disk and a laptop, smiling and nodding at him, telling him in his own silent way that he approved.

And he would smile in return and tell Yusei not to worry. That he would never give up. That he would beat them. That he would free him.

This time it was different. He didn't notice in the beginning. He walked up to their hide-out and right into the living room. And Yusei sat there, as he always did.

Only this time he wasn't smiling.

Instead he just looked at Kiryu, his eyes filled with agony, with worry, with disappointment.

"What are you doing, Kiryu?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and far to quiet. "What are you doing?"

And Kiryu just stood there, unable to answer.

When he awoke, he was sweat bathed.

He leaned back against the dirty wall of the rundown building that he was occupying for the moment, his breath raged and his thoughts jumbled.

"It was just a dream." he whispered. "Just a dream…"

Yet he could not ignore the nagging feeling that it hadn't been 'just a dream'.

And for the first time in years Kiryu Kyosuke cried.

--- FIN ---

Review, pretty please?