Okay, so I know it's been longer than one month, even though I did get five reviews and I promise I'm sooo grateful for those reviews and I'm terribly sorry I'm such a slacker, but study hit me much harder than I expected it and I've hardly had any freetime the last four month', but now things seem to be calming down a little and so I really hope that I'll find the time to write more often from now on.
Adding to the little time I had a little crisis with feeling self-conscious since I felt like my writing style was still so bad compared to some other one's I've read and I felt like I hadn't improved any even though I'm already writing in english for more than a year now, but I guess I'm currently getting over that.
Although it didn't really help that I didn't get any review for my oneshot I published a week ago...
But well, I hope this story won't be the same, now will it?

Oh, and since I've already been asked a few times: The story's set between the second and the third season. I figured that there must be some time between them, after all building daedalus bridge must have taken at least a few month.

Okay, so now to the review answers:

ilikechocolate: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your reviews always get me motivated like no other and I'm really grateful that you always take the time to write so much that I get a complete feeling of what you exactly like. I'm really happy that you like my plot and most of all the characters, since so much depends on likeable and realistic characters. Please continue reading!

khr lover: Thanks for your review and I'm happy there's another one like me who doesn't even know most of the english names. As for your questions:
1. Yeah, I plan on making pretty much everyone else appear later on. And yeah, Sela knows most of them, but only from afar. She hasn't really had that much to do with them till now, but I guess I'll get deeper into that matter when they really do appear.
2. Well, as stated above it really is set before the WRGP.
3. Since the deadalus bridge isn't completed yet Yusei is still living with the twins in the tops in Neo Domino.
4. Okay, so I have to admit that I haven't ever been in hospital, but a friend of mine once told me that she had to eat some disgusting slimey food, so I just took that as an inspiration. I don't know if it's really like that, but I reasoned that it would be easier to eat and digest if it was squashy.

Maict: Trying really hard to do so right now, I promise you.

ace1queen: Thanks for your review. I'm always really impressed if I get reviews even though I haven't updated for like forever so thanks for pushing me back to work once again.

Okay, so once again thanks to everyone who reviewed. In addition to the long wait this chapter is a little longer than usually and after the last chapter's were a little depressing I somehow was in the mood to write something more upbeat, so I hope they didn't turn OOC all of a sudden ^^°
So, here it is:

Chapter 8: Damn Imagination!

The first thing she noticed as she woke up was the sour taste in her mouth.

She swallowed a few times to get rid of it but there still was a strange aftertaste lingering on her tongue.

What exactly did Naomi get me for dinner yesterday?

Desperately trying to remember she sat up and yawned.

Then she opened her eyes and halted.

This wasn't the hospital room. The painfully white walls she had become accustomed to were missing, as was the usual furniture.

There was light shining upon her upper body, but it came from a different angle than usual, indicating that the position of the window was a different one as well.

Now that she payed attention to it the bed itself was not the same. It was harder-she could sit up without sinking into the mattress-but it wasn't really uncomfortable, just... unusual.

All those impressions passed her mind in the blink of an eye, before her brain really started working, forcefully trying to chase the clouds of sleepiness away that prevented her from thinking.

Immediately the impressions started to make sense as the memories of the previous day slowly resurfaced.

The simple explanation for all those changes was that this wasn't her hospital room, since she had left the hospital the day before.

No, this was her room-which was the opposite from plain, white, sterile.

And the bed, which felt different but unbelievable comfortable beneath her, was her bed.

She had imagined how it would feel tosleep in her own bed once again but she hadn't imagined it to be so... refreshing.

Yeah, that was right. Even though there was this horrible taste in her mouth, she felt relaxed and recovered.

And after she stretched her stiff muscles-preparing to get up-she realized that the reason for that taste wasn't something she had eaten, but rather the fact that she hadn't eaten anything at all the previous evening.

She remembered that she hadn't left her room again the previous night.

Yusei must have fended of the twins as well, since she hadn't be bothered at all. They had left her alone, which she was really grateful for.

The whole evening she had been overwhelmed by all those impressions that came crushing down on her. She remembered that after Yusei had closed the door behind him she had gone numb inside, only sitting on her bed for god only knows how long. Probably about half an hour or something like that.

Then she had risen to walk around once again, this time taking much more time to stop at everything. Not only stroking the backs of her books, but pulling them out and flipping through the pages as well.

Still, now that she thought about it she didn't remember anything about their content, not even a single word.

Then the memory started to get blurry, but she was quite sure that she had spent the rest of the evening sitting in the armchair beside the bookshelf, which faced the window, staring at the stars with a blank mind.

Only one thought had stayed in her memory, one thought that had spun through her mind while she watched the stars.

They look the same.

That was pretty obvious, since they were the same, after all, but her own room had seemed so foreign to her, that it had put her at ease to see something familiar.

But as she gazed over her furnish right now she already felt somehow reassured. It was as if everything in the room was gradually painted with her own color. No, that was wrong, it was more like it had always had that color and that she slowly started to be able to recognize it as her color again.

The smell of fried eggs finally lured her out of her room. Her last meal had been her lunch the previous day so right now her stomach was somehow taking over the command. It lead her to the kitchen where she found a plate with fried eggs, a bit of bacon and two slices of toast, standing on the kitchen table as if they had only been waiting for her.

Curiously she took a look around, expecting someone to come through the door to resume his or her meal, but strangely she saw no-one.

Only then it occurred to her that she didn't even know which day it was. Perhaps it wasn't weekend and the twins had school while Yusei was working.

Well, I guess I'll start looking around after restoring some energy. she reasoned and sat down to feast on the prepared breakfast.

A closer look at the plate made her notice a little piece of paper on which Sela was written. She didn't recognize the handwriting, but she figured that one of the other flat-inhabitants had prepared it for her thinking about how hungry she must be after skipping dinner.

Well, it must have been Ruka, she reasoned, since this train of thoughts was so much like the little girl. Always considerate, worrying.

And the other two were much more... unlikely.

If Rua would have cooked the whole food it wouldn't have looked that neat, let alone how the kitchen would have looked.

And Yusei... that thought was just ridiculous. Yusei with an apron, preparing breakfast? No, that surely was a very very strange picture.

Perhaps she was wronging him but she couldn't imagine him to be able to cook. It just didn't fit the image she had developed of him in the last few days.

Immersed in thoughts she didn't notice the person approaching the kitchen through the corridor from the living-room.

"Oh, you're awake." a deep voice greeted her. "Good morning."

"Yu...Yu..Yusei!", she stammered, startled and blushing for no apparent reason.

Okay, imagining Yusei in an apron was an apparent reason, but that had only been her imagination running wild, after all!

Yusei mustered her for one moment in which she prayed that those eyes only looked as if they could read her mind as if it was an open book.

He furrowed his brows, only ever so slightly so that she almost missed it but it wasn't strong enough to indicate that he had guessed the reason for the blush that refused to completely disappear from her cheeks.

Most likely he only thought her behaviour was a little strange but he apparently didn't bother with it too much since he passed her without any kind of comment.

She watched as he fetched a mug from one of the cupboards above the counter to fill it with a brown liquid from a silver thermos flask sitting on the counter beside the stove. The smell made it obvious that it was coffee.

"Do you want some too?" he asked, turning to face her, raising the mug slightly to indicate what the subject of his question was.

She shook her head. She had once accepted the nurse's offer and it had tasted terrible. She couldn't understand how anyone could possibly like that damn bitter liquid. The nurse had reasoned that it wasn't the taste itself but the caffeine which drew people to it, but the mere existence of decaffeinated coffee proved that theory wrong.

Still, no matter the reason why someone might like coffee, while Yusei was apparently on the pro, she was definitely on the contra side.

Noticing that she hadn't taken her eyes of Yusei for one second since he had entered the kitchen she forcefully redirected her attention to the still half-full plate seated in front of her.

When she heard the bright sound of glass scratching slightly over wood and the noise of the fridge being opened, only to be closed a few seconds later, it took all her willpower not to turn around and take a look at what Yusei was doing.

After all it would be rude to be so damn curious, wouldn't it?

A cup filled with yellow liquid startled her by suddenly appearing in front of her eyes.

She looked up and saw Yusei pass her and sit down opposite to her, placing his own mug in front of him too.

Then she almost doubted her senses as she saw a little smile cross his features. Not one as honest or kind as his previous one's but one that was only a tad away from being an outright smirk.

"Well, it would've seriously surprised me if you would've wanted some coffee.". He said and lifted the mug to his lips to take a sip of coffee. When he lowered it again the smile-half-smirk was gone as if he had swallowed it together with the liquid. "That thing's rather to your taste."

Just now she finally took a closer look at the cup he had placed beside her plate, or rather the yellow liquid inside.

Orange juice.

Yeah, that definitely was her taste. At the hospital her breakfast had always been supplemented by a glass of orangejuice.

"Thanks.", she said with a smile and took a sip herself.

The liquid tasted a little sour at the beginning but within a split second took on a delicious, sweet flavour.

This juice was much better than the one she was accustomed to from the hospital.

She had to admit that the taste didn't quite complement the one of the fried eggs and the bacon, but right now she didn't care.

For some reason the taste of oranges mixed with bacon and eggs made her really happy and so she continued her breakfast, smiling to herself.

"You seem to feel better today." Yusei mused.

She looked up again, slowing the pace of her eating without actually stopping.

Since her mouth was full she nodded first, then gulped and added: "Yeah, I'm feeling quite good. Sleeping in my bed was a really replenishing experience."

"Glad to hear so.", Yusei said.

Silence ensued, only broken by the crunching of her breakfast and the occasional sips of Yusei.

Frantically she searched for something to say, unable to bear with the silence. She guessed that for Yusei it wasn't as uncomfortable since he seemed completely fine but for her the silence was simply strange.

Well, if she thought about it the whole situation was strange. Here she was, sitting in a flat in a gigantic city she had only seen in the distance for weeks, a city which had seemed unreachable. And she was having breakfast with a guy she knew for three days only!

But even though she couldn't stand the silence, Yusei's presence itself wasn't strange or uncomfortable, no, it didn't even seem unfamiliar.

It was as if it just had to be that way that he would sit there, focused on his mug of coffee as if it was the middle of his universe, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

"So...", she finally intoned, making him lift his gaze to look at her. She gulped when she noticed how blue his eyes looked, with the sun streaming down from the window behind her, the cobalt color reminding her of an boundless ocean in the summer, with sunrays dancing over the waves...

It took her a few seconds to realize he had raised an eyebrow, obviously wondering why she stayed silent, and wordlessly ushering her to continue.

"Ehh, well...", she said, running a hand through her hair, trying to hide her embarrassment and blush.

If it worked or not she couldn't tell, since she didn't dare to look at Yusei again.

What's up with my imagination today? This is completely ridiculous.

"I was just wondering, which day it was today.", she said, voicing the first thing that came to her mind that didn't include anything about Yusei. Still, she noticed how strange her question must have sounded and instantly added: "Because in the hospital every day was similar and I haven't watched TV or read the newspaper in a while and I was wondering where the twins were, since I haven't seen them anywhere..."

Her voice faded as she forced herself to end the ramble. Since when was she so damn nervous around Yusei? For the last three days she had been completely calm in his company. Even yesterday it had all been okay when she had been alone with him in her room and now she had difficulties only watching him.

Suddenly a little chuckling noise made her perk up her ears. She ignored her own resolution to not face at Yusei again until she had got the hold of her imagination again and instead looked up incredulously.

Yusei couldn't possibly have chuckled, could he?

But indeed, the person sitting opposite of her was looking perfectly calm, no sign of amusement or anything alike present on his features.

Nonetheless he was directly studying her, as if he wanted to make sure whether she still had something to say or if he should instead answer her question.

When she stayed silent he took that as an indication to reply. "Today's monday, so the twins are at school. Actually they left about half an hour ago, after Ruka insisted to make breakfast for you."

"Ahh, so it was Ruka after all!", she announced, and when Yusei raised an eyebrow questioningly at her outburst, she instantly blushed as she remembered her other... theories. Trying feverishly to fend if the resurfacing images it took her a few moments to realize that there was something wrong with that statement.

"The twins are going to school? But they told me they were home-schooled...", she wondered aloud, changing the topic before Yusei could possibly ask for the reason of her continuous blushing.

And seriously, if the twins were attending a school how could they have visited her for the last two weeks? After all they had always arrived shortly after the visiting time had begun so they couldn't possibly have been coming after school.

They didn't skip school for two weeks just so visit her, did they?

She was already feeling guilty when Yusei's voice broke through her thoughts. "Well, they were. But only while they having holidays which ended today. Usually they're attending the Neo Domino City Duel Academy.", he explained, easing her conscience.

"Oh, so that's why they could visit me everyday..." She looked up. "But what about you? Don't you have work?"

He gently shook his head. "I took a few days of, telling everyone I wouldn't take on any challengers for a week."

"So you're only dueling right now?", she asked and just as the words left her mouth she noticed how condescending they sounded. Somehow she didn't seem fitted for conversation today...

"Ah, that doesn't mean I think that is a bad thing or something like that!" she tried to explain. "I'm just curious...", she concluded, letting her voice trail of.

"It's no problem. I really 'only'duel right now. But the position of the King won't stay with me forever, and I think that's for the better anyway.", he said, sounding surprisingly grave. Just from the way he said it she could tell that he had thought about this matter a lot. "This 'job' brings a lot of work and only a little money from whenever one of my duels is broadcast. Even though I don't mind the work if it consists of dueling, I can hardly keep on relying on the twins to take care of me forever. I already owe them so much. So I'm currently trying to find a way how to earn money with a real job."

He paused for a moment, gazing into his cup as if to make up his mind whether he really wanted to continue his train of thoughts.

She only stayed silent, watching him, slightly awed by how openly he was talking to her. He didn't seem like the type of person to open up easily.

We only know each other for three days...

No, that was wrong. She only knew him for three days. He apparently knew her for a much longer time span.

"And even though the popularity of being the King helps, it isn't exactly easy for someone from Satellite to get a decent job around here.", he finally continued and she was concerned about the bitter tone that entered his voice at the sentence.

One moment she was about to ask about Satellite. She had been told the facts about it by her parents. About Zero-Reverse, about how it had become a place for outcasts, a giant dump for the garbage of the big city and about how much Neo Domino citizen hated Satellite residents.

But those had only been general stories and she wanted to know Yusei's.

Still, she refrained herself from asking. The tone in which Yusei had said the last sentence made clear that Satellite was something really personal to him and she felt like she would be prying if she'd force him to tell her something about it.

She would ask him once she knew him a little better, once she wouldn't feel guilty for making him remember something he might not want to remember.

"Well, I bet you'll find something eventually.", she said instead, trying to lift the heavy atmosphere that had settled upon Yusei's last statement.

"Yeah, I guess so.", Yusei agreed and downed the final mouthful of his coffee. He stood up to place the empty mug in the sink.

Then he turned to her and said almost apologetically: "I still have something to pick up at a friend's place. Do you think you'll be fine here on your own?"

She nodded as an affirmation and raised herself placing her used dishes beside into the sink as well.

"Okay, then I'd better get going.", he said and turned, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

One moment she contemplated whether it would seem intrusive to follow him but she decided that after all she was living in this flat as well, so she might as well go into the living-room whenever she felt like it.

When she entered the room, Yusei was nowhere to be seen, but then she discovered that he was standing inside something akin to a little corridor, right on the left side of the staircase that led to the second floor.

At the end of this semi-corridor she saw a real door. Which made sense, now that she really thought about it. After all it wouldn't be very safe if the lift was the only way to get in and out of the flat.

"Ehm...", she said, drawing Yusei's attention towards her, who was currently shrugging into his blue jacket. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what are you going to pick up?"

Slowly she moved towards him, until she was standing in the beginning of the corridor.

"Some spare pieces for my D-Wheel, over at Saiga's." Yusei replied while pulling on his brown boots. She noticed how worn out they looked, so she assumed that he must thoroughly like those shoes. Or that he didn't want to spent any money on new ones, which actually seemed like the more logical explanation.

"I already told him I'd fetch those pieces a few days ago, but I eventually didn't happen to have the time to do so. He isn't exactly living in the best region of Neo Domino. I would've taken you with me, if you wouldn't have wanted to stay alone, but I think it's for the better if you stay here and rest.", he added.

"Well, I feel quite rested, actually.", she pointed out before she could stop herself.

Right after the words left her mouth she wondered why had she said that. She didn't really want to join Yusei on his trip to this Saiga-person, since she wasn't too keen on meeting even more persons she was supposed to know but didn't.

"Perhaps some other time. That sort of district isn't exactly were you get a good impression of the city, so I highly doubt you would like it there. And I guess the twins would be mad at me if they came back and you were out with me instead of greeting them.", he suggested and pulled his helmet on so that she couldn't exactly tell if she really had seen the smirk on his face or if it had just been her imagination.

Considering how the breakfast had went it probably was the latter.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...", she admitted, feeling foolish for the little stab of disappointment she felt at the prospect that Yusei would leave her alone.

After all even when the twins or her parents hadn't been visiting her, there had always been someone in the hospital. No matter whether it had been Naomi to fool around with or Dr. Kano to have a little chat or just the nurses running around in front of her door, she had never been really alone.

And now she was going to be alone for the first time she could remember, in a huge flat which she didn't really know. But hell, it wasn't as if anything was going to happen, now was it?

"Okay, so do you know how to use the telephone?" he asked.

She nodded. Although she hadn't tried yet, she simply knew that she hadn't forgotten how to deal with the device affixed to the wall beside the lift.

"Good. My number's inside the internal phone book, so if anything's the matter, just call me. Chiaki's number's stored there as well, and if it's immediate better call him, since he'll only need a few minutes to get here.

As for Rua and Ruka; they should get home from school in about one or two hours, since they said they would get out of school quite early today.", Yusei explained. Then he opened the door, shoot her a last glance over his shoulder accompanied by a quick "See you later." and she hardly even had the chance to reply with an "See you." as well before he had already stepped out and closed the door behind him.

With a silent clicking noise it fell into the lock, leaving her all alone in the huge, unfamiliar flat.

Now now, don't freak.

Trying to calm herself she took a deep breath and then turned around, studying her surroundings for the second time. Yesterday she had somehow been unable to take in all those new impressions, but as she looked at the room now, she already felt slightly at home here.

The flowers admittedly helped and she was happy the twins had decided to put them up.

There was only one big question: What should she do now?

After all there was hardly anything she really had to do. It only counted what she wanted to do.

She remained in the middle of the living-room, wondering if there really was anything she .

She could wander around the flat, find out what lay behind those countless doors.

Or she could examine the terrace and the pool, find out how far she could see from the railing.

But right now there was some place that was much more interesting to her: Her own room.

After she hadn't exactly been quite receptive yesterday she decided it would be the most interesting to examine her room a little more thoroughly. Perhaps she could even find some clues as to who she had been?

Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

Back in her room she started to look around. She started with the desk, taking a look at the papers which appeared to be her homework. They seemed to be some sort of essay on the history of the card 'polymerization' but from this fast glance she couldn't tell whether she had studied that essay or written it herself.

Moving on she decided to skip the bookshelf for now and instead turned towards the little bed table that was seated on the left side of her bed.

Pulling open the top drawer she was greeted by the sight of a lot of magazines. She took out one with the title 'The 10 biggest discoveries in Egypt in the last 100 years'. It apparently was about ancient Egypt, just like the next one and the one after.

Taking out every magazine one after another she noticed that most of them were either about ancient Egypt or Dueling, only two were about D-Wheels, which kinda surprised her. The other ones were logical, after all she was studying duel-history, and that was inseparably connected to ancient Egypt, but why the D-Wheel magazines?

As far as she knew she didn't own a D-Wheel.

She flipped through the pages of most of the magazines, stopping at articles which piqued her interest and the time passed without her really noticing.

When she finally took out the last magazine she noticed a small, plain, black book lying there, previously hidden by the pile.

Curiously she reached for it, lifted it and turned it around to see what was written on the front.

When she saw the letters she stopped.

Well, I guess that's the lead I've been searching for, after all...

On the cover-written with some sort of silver pen so that the writing was clearly distinguishable from the black colour of the book itself-was one word: Diary.

Okay, and that's it already. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you'll write me a review. I apparently broke my promise of updating within a month if I got five reviews, but even though it may be hard to believe it really made me write faster.

If it hadn't been for your reviews I might not have finished this chapter by now. Reviews are the only thing I get from this and they're my only chance to get even better so that you can enjoy my stories even more!