Hello everyone.

I asked in my oneshot Afterglow which story you guys wanted me to update, and the majority was in favor of this one. I'm sorry about the lack of updates in the past few months, but college and work leave me little free time.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh 5Ds, only my own characters and plot.

Chapter 4: Life Lessons

After the whole Sayer incident, an all-consuming worry ate through me for days.

When I woke up the morning after, I realized in hindsight how many risks I had taken. True, Kalin and I gave Sayer the beating he deserved, but now the danger Sayer presented was greater than ever. If he chose to retaliate, I could've been locked up in the Facility for years, and then there would've be no one left to protect Akiza.

But the more I worried, the more apparent it became that my fears were misplaced. Akiza came home from work that day particularly happy because Sayer had been absent from his duties. Her day, she said, was much less stressful without having to watch her back for that snake. Seeing Akiza smile again was a joyful sight, but the worry persisted. Perhaps he was just waiting to strike back.

The next day, Akiza came home with a smile again. Another absence by Sayer, she told us. Jack and Crow speculated as to why the psychic hadn't been showing up for his job, and I simply feigned ignorance. More trepidation settled in, despite Kalin's promise of safety.

Two days later, Sayer still hadn't shown up. Akiza was back to her normal self, laughing along with the rest of us, giving me heart-warming smiles in the morning, enjoying life instead of surviving it. That weekend was a happy time in my memory, where Akiza and I forgot the stresses of everyday life and simply enjoyed each other's presence. We laid together on the roof and watched the stars for the first time in weeks.

On Monday, Kalin's promise was validated. We were working on our runners in the garage when Akiza gave us the best piece of news yet.

"You mean he just transferred back to the northern district?" Jack asked.

Akiza nodded, tightening a bolt on her runner. "Yeah. The director came on the intercom today and told us without any explanation. We were all pleased, seeing as Sayer was fairly unpopular."

Jack and Crow simply nodded at this, but I could tell from Akiza's scowl that she felt much more than a mild distaste towards Sayer. I didn't blame her. I would've still wanted to kill the bastard if I hadn't seen his face smashed in by Kalin's furious blows.

"Well I say good riddance," I replied. Everyone promptly agreed.

True to our words, Kalin and I never spoke about that night. I still wondered what Sayer had done to deserve such a savage beating from my silver-haired friend, but I didn't question it. Akiza was safe and smiling, and that's all that mattered to me. Perhaps that was what Kalin was trying to teach me; his reasons didn't matter as long as I could justify his actions.

In the end, I accepted it as a dark act of charity. And Kalin would soon teach me a new lesson, this one much more curious than the last.

I was walking through the starlit docks at midnight, as I always did when my mind was restless. Whenever I was faced with a problem at work or while building our Duel Runners, a walk through the docks would always reveal the solution. It was my place of separate peace, or rather, a peaceful state of mind in which I could achieve a clarity above that of my normal capacity. The runners were the reason for my troubled mind this time.

As I walked, still not able to glean an answer, I thought of my friendship with Akiza. We had been getting closer in the past week in the wake of Sayer's departure, for which I was thankful. But close as we grew, we were still just friends, as we had been for almost two decades now. My feelings and fears regarding Akiza have already been made clear, so I will not broach the subject further.

It was with thoughts of my difficulties with Duel Runners and of the love of my life that I met Kalin at Pier 7. He was staring over the sea at New Domino City, the ultimate warden that guarded us in our prison.

"Get my message?" he asked.

I nodded. "Why did you want to meet here?" I asked.

Kalin shrugged. "It seemed like a fitting place." He kept turning over a smooth stone in his hand as his eyes remained locked on the distant city lights.

I chuckled at the sight, thinking back to my childhood. "You know, I used to come out here as a kid and skip rocks at the frigates that passed by," I said. "Back then, I actually believed if I threw one hard enough, I could get one's attention. I believed it might rescue my friends and me from this place and take us somewhere better. But unfortunately..." I trailed off.

"...but unfortunately the ship never came," Kalin finished, chucking the stone off the pier. It hit the water with a soundless splash before sinking into the deep blue depths.

I gave a sigh, feeling nostalgia for a world I never knew, one where Akiza and I could live in peace together, away from the pressures of the Satellite. But such a thing was wishful thinking, and I immediately dismissed the idea.

"Listen," I said. "I just want to thank you for Sayer-...erm, for what you did last week. Everything has been so much better without you-know-who."

Kalin gave me a piercing stare for a moment before nodding. It was the first mention of it made between us, and there was a silent understanding that it would be the last.

"Anyways, why did you want to meet me?" I said.

"Well," Kalin said. "We haven't had much bonding time, so I want to show you something. I think you'll like it."

It was true, outside of work and the few run-ins we had, Kalin and I never shared any 'quality time'. My first reaction was hesitance, but then it occurred to me that this might be a great opportunity to find out more about Kalin.

"Okay, " I said. "So what did you have in mind?"

"You'll see," was the only reply I got. I would soon come to hate those two words.

We walked through the streets of the city without a trace of urgency in our steps. You could always tell who was a Security Officer by the way they walked; back straight, eyes forward, direction in every step. They had a place to go, orders to carry out, but us people of the Satellite were already in our final resting places. We were in no hurry to get to nowhere.

A light mist had settled over the city as we walked, and I breathed in the cool, moist air. I turned to see Kalin eyeballing me. "You seem troubled," he remarked.

I chuckled. "I'm not that easy to read, am I?"

"Like a polygraph," he said. "You should relax, a troubled expression doesn't suit you. Let the assholes in charge around here be the troubled ones."

I gave a genuine laugh at this. "You're right, but we've been having trouble with our Duel Runners lately. We seriously overestimated the quality of the ECU chips we were going to use. If we continued with our current design, we wouldn't even be able to outrun a car. And if we tried, the engine would blow out."

Kalin rolled his eyes. "Just smuggle the parts in. You've done it before, and I'll still cover for you."

"I would, but Duel Runner ECU chips aren't exactly factory issue," I said. "The second someone saw the manifest, they would be onto me. And you know what happens to smugglers around here."

Kalin chuckled. "I certainly do," he said. He lifted his arm to reveal a dark yellow mark.

My eyes widened. "You've been in the Facility before?"

"Almost," he replied. "They bagged and tagged me, but they couldn't keep me caged. That's why I don't have a criminal mark on my face, only my arm." I opened my mouth to speak. "And before you ask, what I did to get arrested is none of your business."

I spent a moment in indignant silence before accepting this.

I would later find out that Kalin had been caught slashing the tires of a security vehicle. It took four officers to subdue him. When they got to the local Security outpost, they put a 'temporary' marker on Kalin's arm and detained him there since curfew had passed, and prisoners were not allowed to be transported until morning. When the sun rose, Kalin walked free in the stolen uniform of a Security Officer while his captor woke up with a throbbing headache in a Facility jail cell.

It took three days before Security realized a switch was made, and an entire week before anyone figured out what the hell had happened.

After walking a little farther, Kalin and I came across a run down building with peeling paint and two towering men at the door. It was becoming a habit for Kalin to bring me to shady places with scary people. He walked up the steps and spoke with one of the men, who immediately let Kalin pass. Kalin motioned for me to follow, and I reluctantly complied.

Down a stairwell we went and into a lively, warmly lit room.

Tables were scattered around the floor with people occupying almost half of them. They drank beverages from tall glasses and chatted with each other. There was a long counter, behind which a man was serving drinks from opaque bottles. The furniture was in rough condition, and the cups had little impurities in the glass work, but it was the closest thing to a bar I had ever seen.

Kalin sat down at a stool at the counter, and I did the same. Frankly, I was perplexed by the whole situation.

"Welcome to the nightlife of the Satellite," he said, holding his arms outward to present the ruddy walls of the room.

"Thank...I guess," I replied. "So why did you bring me here?"

"You never slow down, do you?" Kalin asked, holding up two fingers to the guy behind the counter. "Does there always have to be a reason? Can't we just act on impulse and live? Yusei, just let your stoic walls crumble for an hour or two. You say you need a reason to try something new? I say stop trying to be perfect, man. I say let's throw caution to the wind and do something worth remembering. I say let's evolve!"

I was transfixed on his speech. Kalin shrugged his shoulders as the bartender set two glasses of foamy liquid in front of us.

"Kalin, you know we're underage right?" I said.

"Indeed we are, Yusei. Indeed we are," Kalin replied. He picked up his glass and downed it in a few seconds. I took one sniff of the brew and gently pushed it away after the strong scent of alcohol reached my nostrils.

Kalin set his glass down. "Agh, warm beer tastes like piss!" he said. "But what's good is good. We can't all build Duel Runners as an act of defiance. Some of us just have to resort to consuming contraband in a shady speakeasy."

I shook my head at this. Kalin did have a point though. I was very fortunate to be in the position I held at the factories. The warm light was very relaxing, and I was about to ask Kalin who owned the place when I saw the bartender surreptitiously slip Kalin a small object. There were no words exchanged, not even eye contact was made. A closer look revealed the object to be a keycard.

"What's that?" I asked.

"What we came here for," Kalin replied. He held up the card and leaned closer. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. This place is not just a speakeasy. What you're actually sitting in is the operating post of one of the biggest smuggling rings in the entire Satellite."

I was shocked. "Are you serious?" He nodded. "Then how do you know the bartender and those two bouncers by the door?"

Kalin shot me a proud smirk. "Well, you could say I'm their go-to-guy whenever a job needs doing. I've been smuggling for years, and I'm very good at my craft. You're not the only guy that doctors factory orders around here. I've been covering other smugglers there for years, and I thought you were just another guy I was supposed to look out for. Turns out, you just happened to pick the right place and time to start breaking the law."

I felt proud for some odd reason. Even though my smuggling had remained undetected by pure luck alone, there was merit in the fact that Kalin was willing to assist me.

Kalin stood up. "Anyways, that's just a little about me. Now, onto the real reason I brought you here. Tonight, we're going to get you everything you need to build four Duel Runners. ECU chips, duel interfaces, turbo drivers, the whole nine yards. And this," he gestured at the keycard, "is out ticket to success."

I sat frozen for a moment. Finding all those parts in one place was virtually impossible. But if it could be done, Kalin would find a way. I could only imagine the look of joy on Akiza's face after I told her we could finally complete out runners. After a speechless moment, a wave of gratitude washed over me. "I don't know what to say," I replied. "Except thank you. This is one of the kindest things anyone's ever done for me."

"Don't thank me yet," he replied. Kalin glanced over his shoulder for a moment. "I need to take care of one more thing before we go. Wait here."

I nodded, a feeling of excitement building in my stomach, and Kalin walked over to the other side of the room. There were two occupied tables, one where four burly men sat while drinking and laughing. The other held a woman in her early forties. She wore a tired expression as she stared into space.

Kalin approached the woman. She gave a surprised look as she was snapped out of her thoughts by his greeting. To say the situation was quizzical was an understatement. Kalin spoke a few lines to her, and I saw her shift uncomfortably in her seat while a ripe red blush crossed her face.

I half-grinned. Was Kalin flirting with her?

I could tell the woman was trying to end the conversation, but Kalin wouldn't take a hint. What was he trying to do? He got progressively closer to the woman, while the blush on her face darkened. She held up one hand as she shrunk back from Kalin's advance, and my eyes widened when I saw a golden band on her fourth finger.

Was Kalin flirting with a married woman?

I had been so transfixed with this I barely even noticed the man who returned from the restroom. He walked over to Kalin and the woman, tapping the silver-haired teen on the shoulder. Kalin turned and uttered some pithy remark to the man, who very subtlety shrunk back. He continued talking with the woman and placed a hand on her thigh, which made her yelp in discomfort.

Was Kalin hitting on a married woman in front of her husband?

My mouth was agape at this point. What the hell was going on? The husband tapped Kalin on the shoulder once again, and this time Kalin turned around and shoved the man back. The husband stood shocked for a moment before Kalin held his arms out wide, sending the clear message of 'what are you gonna do about it?'

Infuriated, the man lashed out and struck Kalin in the face. Kalin was tough though, and he stayed on his feet. The teen threw a careless punch which the husband easily dodged. The man delivered several sharp blows to Kalin's face and torso, and down went my friend. He crashed into a table, making the fall all the more ostentatious.

I winced. In a second, I was beside Kalin, helping him back on his feet.

"Did I get 'em?" Kalin asked, still disoriented.

"Not exactly," I replied. "What the hell was that all about? Do you hit on married women all the time?"

Kalin laughed and pointed to the couple he harassed. I looked over to find them furiously kissing on their table like a pair of newlyweds on their honeymoon. I couldn't help the light blush that crossed my face.

"I've been watching that couple for years," Kalin said as he spit out some blood. "Their kids are all grown up, and their marriage has been struggling. No spark, ya know? No passion like there was twenty years ago. They come here every few nights and just sit. No conversation, no interaction, just silence. I bet this is the first time they've been intimate in years."

The couple was still making out, and no one was trying to stop them.

I looked back at Kalin, who was once again wearing a proud smirk. A spark flickered in my mind, and I smiled too as I understood. Of course a woman would find it extremely attractive for a man to defend her honor. And the husband probably enjoyed seeing his wife be amazed at his manliness.

"So, hit on a married women in front of her husband..." I said.

"And your bruises will rekindle a dead romance," Kalin finished.

He gestured to the door, taking a bag of ice the bartender had wordlessly prepared. "Come on, let's go before they start having sex on the table."

I nodded and followed.

That was the way Kalin always operated. He kept me in the dark during the journey, seeing if I would follow him on faith. Only in the end would the paradoxes make sense. But the more faith I placed in him, the easier it became. I hadn't been caught smuggling, Akiza was safe, and now we were about to be able to finish our duel runners in a matter of days.

And as I walked with Kalin into the night, I thought that perhaps even a coward like me could become a man of courage.

Like it? Hate it? Please review and let me know!

Again, sorry for my lack of updates. I promise to try and update more frequently.