"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Attack Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!"

My mind whirred as the Pawn of Fusion launched his attack. Clear Wing reared its head as its wings brightly gleamed a pale green. I was going to lose the duel.

"Hell Dive Whirlwind Slasher!"

Dark Rebellion would take the brunt of this attack, and my remaining life points would deplete. Had I completed my last move, I could have won—but Yuya interfered.

Yuya.

I lifted my head from my kneeling position to see him still standing in front of me. Protecting me? But as Yuya had said, Yugo and I created real shockwaves as we dueled, and Yugo's attack was heading straight for us. With Yugo's glowing eyes and immense power, I didn't doubt the possibility of the blow passing even Dark Rebellion and colliding with Yuya and me.

In those moments, I remembered my conversation with Yuya.

"Dueling is not a tool for conflicts! And even less so for invading… The dueling that I believe in…is entertainment to make people happy and to put smiles on their faces!"

Yuya had then spoke of how his father united everyone with his dueling. Yuya confessed that he had felt like he was drawing nearer to that same goal.

"To think that dueling is being used as a tool to hurt people… I won't forgive it!"

Yuya had fiercely defended his belief toward dueling: that duels should be filled with smiles and fun. Smiles. I reflected on my happier days, before Academia invaded Heartland. I had dueled for fun once, like Yuya. Even Shun, as serious and merciless as he was now, had once dueled for fun with a smile on his face. But then Academia attacked, and dueling was turned into a weapon. A tool for conflicts, as Yuya had said.

I had been crafted into a warrior at a young age. I had to; the only other option was to perish, so I grew strong. As a member of the Resistance, I had fought for myself, my friends, and the weak and unprotected. I fought on behalf of the innocent—all XYZ users and citizens. I steeled myself in the midst of war, and my smiles and laughter had grown rare. In growing strong, they had vanished.

Every day I had walked the streets and picked up cards with human faces on them—cards that now held trapped souls. Souls that I in no way knew how to revive. I would pick up the cards that I came across, hoping I could someday find a way to bring back the captured. And I saw other cards be swept by the wind into the encroaching flames, crumbling to ash and lost forever.

But amidst all that anguish, I had thought of when my smiles were abundant. Thinking of Heartland before the invasion gave me hope and helped me press on. It was my strength. When things seemed hopeless, I fought on, hoping to one day rebuild Heartland and its smiling faces.

Yuya had stirred warmth in my heart as he defended the dueling he believed in. I believed in that dueling too, only I was unable to perform it amidst the war. Hearing Yuya defend entertainment dueling… It felt like I was listening to what I would have said myself before the invasion. I had shared his view of fun and happy dueling. I was surprised by how easily and strongly Yuya had touched my heart.

The dimensions needed someone who could touch hearts. Someone who could touch the hearts of the people in all the dimensions. Someone who was motivated himself to end the war and make dueling fun again. That person was Yuya, and the dimensions needed him more than me.

I felt a sudden burst of strength in my limbs, and I raced toward Yuya. My heart raced too. My basic instinct screamed at me to run the other way, but I had developed other instincts: an instinct to protect the innocent, protect those close to me, and fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. I screamed Yuya's name, knocking into him and shoving him away from the oncoming blast as Dark Rebellion was destroyed and the attack flowed toward us. Yuya fell against the grass away from me a heartbeat before the blast made contact and flung me across the park.

I hit the ground hard and lay stunned on my back, my head resting against the grass. I heard my life points chime at zero. I heard Yuya screaming my name. I heard him running toward me, felt him kneel beside me and ask if I was alright as he placed his hands on my chest and shoulder. I couldn't move, and my skin felt like it was on fire as my limbs ached. But I noticed Yuya's touch and felt as though I would smile if I could.

Several seconds later, I winced and opened my eyes to see that Yuya and I were enveloped by a crystal blue light.

"Yuto!" Yuya wrapped an arm around my back and lifted me from the ground. "Stay with me!" he pleaded. "Are you okay?!"

I could see the Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon card I still held in my hand shining with the same crystal blue light. I tipped my head toward Yuya, meeting his crimson gaze. As I saw the concern in his eyes, my pained expression softened into a soft smile. Yuya hardly knew me, and yet he was already so caring toward me.

I lifted my right hand to extend the Dark Rebellion card toward him. I managed a small phrase. "Duels with…smiles…"

"Huh?" Yuya glanced toward my hand, then back at me. He looked confused, alarmed, and sad all at the same time.

"With your power…give it to the world…and everyone's futures," I stated. I couldn't speak well. Every word racked my body with pain and starved me of breath. I prayed that Yuya could understand my desire through my broken phrases. I stared into his eyes and added one word. "Smiles." It was the reason I admired Yuya. He had stirred a smile within me too, and so effortlessly. I was sure he could do the same to others.

"With my power?" Yuya echoed, clearly oblivious to the strength I saw in him.

Entrusting Dark Rebellion to Yuya was all I could do for now. I had taken a direct blast from a strong opposing monster as real as, if not more than, Standard's solid vision. I could feel my body giving in as each second passed, my breaths becoming more ragged and less frequent. I realized then that I wasn't going to survive.

Dark Rebellion could assist Yuya. I wasn't sure how, but I was sure Yuya would be thrown into the interdimensional war himself. And he needed to survive.

I merely nodded to Yuya, my smile a bit bigger in hopes that it could convince him. I had one second to try and express my feelings toward him through our eye contact. Then a searing pain tore through my heart like a blade piercing my skin. I gasped at the flash of pain. As I too was overtaken by the blue light, I saw a panicked expression cross Yuya's face. Then my eyesight faded to white.

This will be an ongoing fanfic in Yuto's point of view. He survives within Yuya, and coming chapters will show parts of episodes from his perspective as well as showing his own feelings and his struggle to regain his strength in Yuya's heart. I always wonder how the show is in other character's perspectives. I want Yuto to have a voice as well-and I'm creating that voice for him in this fanfic. Please review! I love you guys!

Shameless advertising! I have a Arc-V blog on tumblr (with some things from the other installments, but mostly Arc-V) and my name is the-10th-lancer. Follow me and I'll probably follow you back. :)