Author's Notes: HEY LOOK, EVERYONE! I FINALLY GOT PAST MY WRITER'S BLOCK TO BRING YOU THIS FINAL CHAPTER! Enjoy^^

Chapter Eleven - The Dawn

Beep... Beep... Beep

Akiza gave a low moan as she blinked her eyes open. She was back in the hospital again! Never had she thought she would be so happy to wake up to see the stark white of a hospital room. But, this time , it meant Yusei was going to be all right! As she slowly sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed to the floor, four figures approached her.

"Akiza?" Kara was the first to speak. "What in the world happened?"

She gave them a blank look. "Yeah, I guess I should explain, huh?"

The doctor nodded. "Especially since his heart stopped for ten minutes. This is one story I've got to hear!"

Yusei stared up at Akiza, sapphire eyes gazing intently up into her hazel ones. He brought his hand up and cupped her cheek in it. "I love you too, Akiza," he whispered. But this time it was different; this time his voice held no pain, no urgency, no fear of death. It was strong as it had always been, as she had always remembered it to be. Akiza couldn't help but smile, tears of joy pricking her eyes, as she helped him sit up.

"You knew," she whispered. His smile twisted into a confused look. "You knew I couldn't save you. So why did you send me through the door anyway?" While she already knew the answer, she still wanted to hear it from him.

He chuckled slightly, both of his hands cupping her face now. "Because I love you." He gently kissed her lips. "That part of me I let you see... That part of me is reserved for the love of me life - and her only."

Akiza gasped slightly. "Me?"

"You!" He stood up, at the same time talking her hands and pulling her to her feet as well. "C'mon. Let's go home!"

Yusei stirred on his bed but didn't wake. Akiza sat down beside him, talking his hand in hers. He had turned his head to the side, black hair shifting off of his neck.

Akiza gave a small gasp. That mark... It was still there. It truly was part of him now, an ever-present reminder of what had happened. She gently traced a finger over the simple star*. Such a beautiful reminder that he was alive again.

Crow caught sight of the mark as she moved her finger away. "What in the world?" Jack and Kara followed his gaze, looks of surpprise dawning on their faces as well.

"I suppose," Akiza explained, never taking her eyes from it, "you could call it a 'rebirth' mark... It appeared after Stardust sacrificed himself for Yusei..."

He stirred again, eyes pressing tightly closed for a moment as if struggling to open them. But, again, he didn't wake.

Kara sat down on the opposite side of the bed from Akiza, taking his other hand in hers. "When will he wake?" she asked softly.

"That's hard to say..." The doctor fidgeted uncomfortably under the four stares he was suddenly subject to. "Don't misunderstand," he continued, "he will wake; I just don't know when, is all. While his body is functioning normally again, he is still incredibly weak. It could be hours, or it could be days. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Kara nodded. "I see." Relief flooded her system - and for good reason. She had thought her son to be lost as a baby oh-so-many years ago when the Reactor had gone haywire, only to discover a few years after the incident that he was, indeed, still alive. And then she'd almost lost him again, only months ago, at the hand of a brother she had never known. Now, less than an hour ago, she had almost lost him yet again. This was certainly one cycle she hoped wouldn't continue. Ever again. For the rest of her life - or his.

Ten O'clock in the Morning, Five Days Later

She was starting to worry - they all were, the doctor included - when Yusei had yet to wake or even stir again. Everything seemed to be fine - his breathing was even and deep, his pulse steady and strong - so why hadn't he opened his eyes yet? Kara continued her worried pacing across the room, back and forth, door to window, thoughts spinning merilessly around inside her head.

Jack sat in a chair in one corner of the room next to the windows, a rather out of place look of distress written on his face. Crow sat on the wide window sill, knees pulled up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them, a forlorn look in his grey eyes as he stared out the window. Akiza had abandoned her chair by Yusei's bed and was now lying on her side next to him, one arm draped over his middle, the other one behind her head. None of them had slept in days, and it was starting to show in their haggard appearances and slowly growing shorter tempers.

Kara stopped by where Crow was sitting in the window and stared out at the skyline. 'Such a beautiful, horrid city,' she though bitterly. 'Constantly destroying and rebuilding...'

Her thoughts were interrupted and she spun around on her heel as Crow's gaze snapped from the window. Jack's violet eyes flew just a little wider, and Akiza sat up.

Yusei had begun to stir again. For the first time in five days, he had stirred, a slight moan escaping his lips.

Kara rushed back to his side, taking his hand at the same moment Akiza took his other. Crow and Jack stiffly rose from where they had been seated for so long and moved to the end of his bed.

"We're here," Kara whispered, stroking her son's hair. "Please wake up..."

He shifted again, flexing his fingers in the women's grasp.

And then slowly he opened his eyes.

One Week Later

"So? How do you like it?"

Akiza pulled off her riding helmet. She had just returned from testing out her new runner. "Yusei, it's wonderful!" She jumped off and threw her arms around his neck.

He chuckled lightly as he returned the embrace. "I'm glad!"

Just as they pulled away, Crow's runner came into sight, followed closely by a second runner neither Akiza nor Yusei was familiar with. As the pair of bikes stopped in front of them, Crow pulled off his helmet, the biggest smile Yusei had ever seen plastered to his face. The person who had stopped next to the Blackbird also removed a helmet, revealing long, blonde locks of hair.

"Hey, Yusei!" the former greeted. "I'm going out with Sherry tonight. Let Kara know, okay?"

Yusei nodded, raising an eyebrow. So this was Crow's mystery girlfriend!

Crow slipped his helmet back on and waved as he drove away again, this Sherry following suit.

Yusei shook his head, still smiling, as he grabbed Akiza's hand. "C'mon. Let's get some lunch, huh?"

She nodded and followed him inside - and instantly thought, 'Who in the world is being murdered?'

But it was only Carly. "NO! HOW IN THE WORLD DID I JUST FARKLE 4000 POINTS AGAIN?"

Jack was dying with laughter from where he sat across the coffee table in the living room. "I don't know, Carly," he managed between fits, "but you sure are good at it!"

Akiza cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I want to know..."

Yusei chuckled again, turning for the kitchen. "They're playing Farkle. Don't ask. It's just some random dice game my mom loved when she was a kid and taught us how to play. I refuse to play it anymore if she is, though. My mom has the best luck I've ever seen and won three games in a row once..."

"You'll have to teach me sometime."

"Maybe so, Love," he mused, pecking her on the cheek. "Maybe so."

Author's Notes: So I know it's kind of a strange, abrupt ending, but I just wanted to show how things went back to normal again.

You'll also notice my little friend the * has returned. I forgot to mention it's significance last time, so here it is: On my deviantART account (link on my profile) I have posted a picture of the mark because I feel I did a rather poor job of explaining what it looks like. If you care to go find it, it's in my gallery under both the 'Scrapbook' link and in the last folder on the left-hand side of the gallery page labled 'Misc.'

And, yes, Farkle is a real game. I absolutely love it! Except, like Yusei, I refuse to play with my mother after she won three games in a row. Lucky bugger...

Anyway, so there you are. The finally chapter. As such, I couldn't help but add a few shippings, of course. Mostly Yuaki with a little Jackly and some slight whatever-the-heck Crow/Sherry is called. (If anyone knows, by the way, please tell me; I'd really like to know^^)

Thanks to everyone who stuck with me to the end! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it! Hey, why don't you review and let me know? ^^