Fics originally written for Arc V Anniversary 2019 and posted on AO3. I'll upload them onto here gradually.

Akaba Leo would not call himself a perfect father.

Nothing was perfect, much less human beings. A role you have in life could not be perfected, it could only be improved and adjusted to suit the situation. Balance was one of the hardest things to achieve in life, with anything.

Even so, he was a father.

And letting go of one of his children was something he could never bring himself to do.

Ray, so strong and stubborn, who had given her life for the world and him, he could never let her go, even in this new life.

But he also could not throw away this new life she had given him.

For he did not have only one child now. Now, he was a father and a husband.

Reiji was unlike Ray in almost every way, but they were both his children. Himika was the most amazing woman he's ever met, and that she choose him is still something he can scarcely believe. It was different, so different to the life he'd lived before, but important all the same.

Even so, he could not let Ray go fully.

So he did research, built technology, travelled to the other dimensions created from her fight with Zarc. It was a relief in a way, confirmation he wasn't going mad. But in the end, he wished for Ray to come back, to find some way to bring her back safely.

Sakaki Yusho was an extraordinary man who washed away all the pain and regret his solid vision technology carried with it. This time, he would do it right. No battles, no serious injuries, no more death, only used for what it was meant to in the first place.

Then, one day, Yusho introduced him to his son.

And Leo was, for a moment, consumed with fury and anguish.

Zarc was a being that would likely be forever burned into his mind and nightmares. Seeing his home be brought to pieces by him and his dragons so effortlessly, and Ray going up alone against him to put a stop to it.

If he could, he wanted to put an end to him himself. The very human part of him wanted revenge for everything he had caused.

Then the image broke as the child hid behind his parent's leg.

Then he noticed, how small he was, despite only being two years younger than Reiji according to Yusho. How he covered and stayed close to his father, looking up at him with such joy and admiration.

It was not the demon that had ruined his life. He was Sakaki Yuya. He had to keep telling himself that, even as his heart seized up and he had to fight the urge to run the first time he saw the boy summon Odd Eyes Dragon.

How the boy had that card, he did not know. But the dragon did not display the fury he had seen the last time it had appeared before him. If anything, it was almost protective of the boy, something akin to joy on its features as they jogged carefully around the field, Yuya riding on top of him and looking like he was over the moon.

It was not Zarc. He had to keep telling himself that, even as worry and suspicion whirled around inside him.

Then another ghost from the past appeared before him. But this time it was almost enough to make him crumble to his knees.

Hiiragi Yuzu is what she had been introduced as, yet his mind kept repeating Ray, Ray, Ray. She was a carbon copy of her, of what she had looked like as a little girl, down to the twintails and smile. She was a sweeter girl than his Ray had ever been, more polite and well-behaved even with a tough streak in her.

He desperately wanted to believe it was her, that she was back and had only waited for him to find her. But she didn't recognise him at all, not a flicker of recognition and it broke him like nothing else.

Part of him wanted to make sure. But he buried that, it was not fair to her. She was not Ray, she was not his daughter, she had a father that loved her so much and that, at least, brought him some peace of mind when he pushed away the unwanted bitterness.

Even so, it made him think.

There were four dimensions now. There had been four En cards, he had seen how they had taken the shape of bracelets as Ray had used them.

Yet Yuzu only had one, and they had no idea where it had come from.

Zarc had four dragons, yet Yuya only had one.

Maybe, just maybe, they weren't the only ones.

Yuya didn't like school.

Or well, sometimes he liked school, on good days. When they did fun things, or he did well in class, or the lunch mom had made for him were extra yummy that day.

Right now, waiting for the other kids to leave the classroom because the teacher had asked him to stay behind so she could talk to him, he really didn't like school.

He looks up as the chair next to him clatter. Yuzu is standing up with her bag already on her back, looking at him with barely masked concern. He hated seeing that look on her.

"I'll wait outside."

He twists his hands in the fabric of his shorts. "You don't have to…"

"I'll wait." There was no room for argument in her voice. She turned on her heel and stomped towards the door. "Don't take too long!"

He felt a small smile pull at the corner of his lips as he watched her leave, but as soon as she disappeared around the corner it vanished, like it was never there. The classroom gradually emptied out as children left to go home, until only he and the teacher was left.

Miss Yuki Shimizu sat at the desk at the front of the classroom, sorting through some papers while saying goodbye to the kids walking by. When the room was finally empty, he stood up, bringing his bag with him, and walked over to her reluctantly. She looked up at his footsteps, meeting his eyes and smiling in that nice but concerned way that told him something was wrong and a talk about it was about to happen. He hated those talks.

Miss Shimizu smiles, putting aside her papers as he stopped beside her desk. "Hello, Yuya. Did you have a good day?"

He nods quietly, already wanting to go home really badly. Or at least put his goggles over his eyes.

Shimizu seems to understand his agitation and pulls forward a small pile of thick paper, placing them in front of her and going through them. He can see bright colours on the top one.

"Yuya, do you remember the drawing assignment everyone got today?"

He nods.

Miss Shimizu glances at him and smiles that pitiable smile again, finally finding the picture she was looking for and pulling it out, turning to him. "It was 'let's draw ourselves,' right? But the picture Yuya drew…"

She holds the picture out to show him. He looked, even though he was well aware of what was on it. He sees how Miss Shimizu looks at him in concern, a shaky smile on her face.

"This… is wrong, right Yuya? This isn't Yuya, right?" He hunches in on himself further. "The Yuya I know is bright and smiling, always wanting to make others laugh. Right?" She smiles reassuringly, but it only makes an empty hole form in his stomach.

She holds it out to him and he hesitantly takes it, holding it close. "How about re-doing it? I'd like to see Yuya properly draw himself. Talk to your parents, or your friend Yuzu, if you're unsure of what to do, and bring it to me by the end of the week. Can you do that, Yuya?"

"Okay…" he mumbles, not meeting her eyes. "Can I go now? Please?"

Miss Shimizu says yes and he's turned on his heel and hurrying to the door as soon as he's said goodbye for the day. As soon as he's rounded the doorway corner, he clumsily pulls his goggles over his eyes before continuing down the hall, hugging his picture to his chest.

His steps seem to echo in the empty halls, kids having already hurried home or out to play. The school seems bigger and the halls longer than what he's used to when it's so empty.

His steps slow to a stop. He holds out his picture to look at it.

Black, that's what stood out first. The white of the paper was only visible at the edges, everything else having been completely covered in it. His strokes, first wide and almost mindless, turned careful to cover the paper almost completely in the dark colour.

Almost.

In the very middle, forming a sort of circle, were four filled in circles, the only colour on the whole drawing. Red, purple, dark pink and teal. They weren't very big, the black coloured in between them, leaking into them just as their colours leaked into the black.

He looks at his drawing through his goggles, the blue star and glass distorting the colours, but he clearly remembers the colours he'd picked. He'd been very careful to get it the right shade, though he wasn't sure why.

This is wrong.

The bright but energetic red, the soothing but intense purple, the scathing but confident pink, and the cheerful but calming teal.

All of them, separated by a deep, black void that was slowly seeping into them.

We're not supposed to be alone like this

Reiji was a tough opponent. He knew that even going in and he was still having fun.

But he felt off-kilter, like something was missing and it was distracting him. Ever since he had Pendulum summoned for the first time and felt, he had been off. What he had felt he wasn't sure, but it left him empty, like there were gaping holes in him that begged to be filled.

But he had to focus on the championship, on becoming a pro. He was going to be a pro like his dad, then he could make everyone smile just like he does. He would prove he could do it, that he could be just as good, if not better.

So why did it feel so insignificant? Like he had something more important to do.

To find.

Find them. We're lonely without them, together we're strong and nothing will hurt us. We'll never be lonely if they're with us.

He yearned for more than that sole flash he had gotten that first time, as the aching familiarity had hit him only to be replaced by a longing so deep he felt it in his bones. No matter how many times he Pendulum Summoned, he could not replicate that first time.

Odd Eyes seemed to be roaring louder than usual, as if hoping it would reach far away from here. To whoever it was they were missing.

A buzz was forming under his skin. His pendulum felt hot against his chest as he dealt out another attack, ticking Reiji's life points down to... what number was it again?

The cheers felt muted in his ears. Odd Eyes, solid and real under his feet, rumbled in anticipation.

His voice felt whispy in his throat as he spoke, yet steadfast and sure.

"We're going."

His dragon roared. In the pillars of light, Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician moved, readying themselves and building up energy. The pendulum on his chest swung along with the one in the sky above, creating intricate circles. The lines starts to form on the ground around him, glowing light blue as the pillars almost hum. Reiji shouts his name, standing on the other side of the field and shielding his face from the strong gusts of wind.

Somewhere up in the stands, Akaba Leo shot up from his chair and shouted to cut the power to the field.

Voices were shouting his name, one made him glance over to the stands.

Yuya met Yuzu's blue eyes, concern and confusion a storm in them as her hands grip onto the railing, seemingly seconds away from vaulting over it and running to him.

She wouldn't make it.

He looks away as the air crackle around him, pendulum swinging wildly as it glows so brightly it almost blinds him. The lines on the ground light up and consume him, hiding the stadium from view. For a moment, it felt like he was floating.

And then he was gone.