Broken Hearts

Why? Why did this have to happen? When did he fall in love with somebody else? I thought he said that he loved me? I don't want this to by happening. I can't help but hate and love him at the same time. I thought that I was done with heart breaks. Why did the same person who saved me fall in love with somebody else? Yusei...

Akiza could not stop thinking about Yusei, even if she wanted to. He was Akiza's long-time crush who was now in a serious relationship with another girl. It seemed like she was the only one out of her old friends not in a relationship. She would be the only person without someone to hold on to, which killed her. She thought it would have been Yusei.

Akiza looked out the plane window. The red-haired girl imagined Yusei with his arm around another girl's waist or sitting so close as she would rest her head on his shoulder. Akiza always thought of it and always pictured it would be her, not somebody else. She tried to picture it differently, but the girl's face would be blank and the hair would turn red after just a minute of thought. She just could not do it. Tears began to swell up in her eyes, as she said that name over again in her head. Yusei.

He was running around like a mad man, making sure everything would go smoothly as possible when everyone showed up. Yusei had been thinking about this plan for awhile. Ever since Team 5ds went their separate ways, Yusei wanted to bring all his friends back together for one more celebration. After a couple talks with Lazar, Yusei was finally able put everything together. Lazar helped him rent out a nice and exclusive hotel for the get-together. They were going to need it too because Yusei had bonds with many people.

"Yusei, it's great and all that you want to through a nice party for your friends. But, for someone who has never thrown one of this size, you really have a tall order to fill."

Yusei glanced back at Lazar, who was once again questioning his decision on the event.

"I know it is, but come on."

"Come on nothing, Dr. Fudo. I mean have you seen your guest list. Jack, Crow, Akiza, Luna, Leo, Carly, Trudge, Mina, Kalin, Sherry, Martha, Greiger, your old friends from the Satellite, me, you, a bunch of security officers, people who work for the city, reporters, more high-class citizens and not to mention all the teams from the tournament."

"Calm down, Lazar. Look, I know it's a lot, but they all mean something to me. Besides, we rented out the whole place so might as well use it. Isn't bigger always better?" Yusei joked.

The clown man glared. "Not always."

Yusei closed his laptop and sighed. He was giving himself a lot of work, but he knew it would be worth it in the long run. To see all his friends again would mean the world to him. It had been only two years since the WRGP, but it felt more like an eternity since he had last seen any of his friends. Yusei turned back at Lazar and got up from his seat.

"We better get to the hotel to check in. Some people should be arriving soon."

"It's only eight o'clock in the morning." Lazar snarked in displeasure.

Yusei smiled. "I know."

The two traveled to the designated hotel. As soon as they walked through the glass double doors into the lobby, there was no doubt Yusei had chosen the right place.

Large chandlers and expensive furniture made this beautifully built place even more extravagant. Yusei checked in and made his way into the private ballroom where the large event would be taking place. Just as soon as everything was ready, people started arriving just as Yusei said.

Co-workers, city officials, dueling teams and even selected news reporters were greeted with Yusei's warm smile and hand shake. This was defiantly going to be a huge party. But even with all these people coming, Yusei missed those certain people for who this event really was for.

It was just about noon as the flow of people started to slow down. Yusei finally found a time to step back and catch his breath.

"The rest of the guest should be here by at least three I presume." Lazar said, walking up next to Yusei.

"Yea." Yusei smiled at the thought of those friends. "I think that's when most of my real guests will come."

"Oh, I forgot to ask you. Is your girlfriend coming? I'm sure a lot of people will want to meet her."

"Yea. She'll be here, but her job needed her out of town yesterday. She should be able to get here by six at the latest. It gives me more time to get a feel of everyone."

"She's an engineer, right?"

Yusei nodded.

Him and his new girlfriend have been dating for a couple months now. He had never meet a girl like her before. She was so kind and collected. She had a way of making everyone who was around her feel better. Almost like a softer female version of Yusei. They had met at work and Yusei became attracted to her instantly. He can still recall their first date when he spilled coffee on her jacket. She could not stop smiling after his flustered apologies. Being with her made Yusei feel so stupid. She was perfect.

As Yusei looked up from his thoughts, he saw two faces he had not seen for a few yers now, West and Nico. They immediately saw Yusei and began walking over to him. They looked so much older since the last time he had seem them back in town. Yusei stood up and walked over to the two siblings.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Yusei!" They said in sync.

Yusei almost knelt down to be at their level, but quickly realized he did not have to. "I'm so glad you guys came."

"We wouldn't miss it!" West said smiling. He began to look around the ballroom.

"Wow! There's a lot of people already here."

"Nobody important. You two and Kalin were on the list people who I personally invited to come."

Nico glared at her brother. "So we didn't have to leave so early. Thanks a lot, West."

"Oh come on, Nico. Lighten up."

Yusei then glanced up and locked eyes with Kalin as he walked in. Finally. Kalin definitely looked a lot better then his first few months in Crash Town. He had even cut his hair back to the length it was before he grew it out. He seemed so much happier.

"Kalin!"

"Hey Yusei!"

The two old friends walked toward each other. They quickly rekindled their longtime friendship. Yusei stepped away from the other people coming in, so he could talk exclusively with Kalin. Work was the main subject of their conversation at first, until Yusei brought something else up.

"So, how are you and Misty doing?"

Kalin and Misty have been dating long distance and in secret for months. The whole gang found out when Misty accidentally said something to Carly and she blurted it out to anyone she could. They both were teased at first, but that died out fast.

"Things are going fine, but..."

Kalin trailed off as Yusei could see he began to let his mind wonder somewhere else.

"But, what?" Yusei probed.

"She's just always away on trips for work and the guys back in town keep warning me that she's going to slip one of these days."

Yusei knew just what he meant. His girlfriend too would go on business trips often, but at least Kalin and Misty had history.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't see Misty doing anything like that."

"Yea. And you and your new girl are getting along?"

"Of course. She should be here later tonight."

"Great. I can't wait to finally meet her."

The time was up for talking as the rest of Yusei's guests began to show up. Not the reports or city officials, but his real friends. Jack and Carly came together, Crow followed with the twins. His satellite friends and Misty showed up at the same time and any other stragglers came soon after. The whole gang was back together, except one person.

Yusei stepped away from his and Crow's conversation to look around. The kids were all playing together. Jack, Carly, Kalin and Misty were talking and everyone else mixed in with the rest of the crowd. Yusei smile slowly grew into a frown. Out of all the people he saw, he still did not see one person. Akiza. She was the first person to say that they were coming.

Akiza and Yusei used to be really close, even when she left for school. They both promised to keep in touch, but they were more and more distant, which hurt him. It all started only a few months ago. He forgot to call once and it all went down hill from there. It was not like he did not want to, but he just forgot with his busy schedule. The day Yusei invited Akiza to come to the party, she seemed to be filled with excitement. But as the phone call went on, her tone got soft and a bit hesitant. Yusei thought it was the fact she would miss school for a couple days, but must have been something else.

Yusei snapped out about his trance, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"You okay man?"

Yusei looked over at the orange haired duelist smiling at him.

"Yea, I'm fine Crow. Have you heard from Akiza in awhile? She said she would be here."

Crow frowned. "I messaged her earlier in the week to ask her if she would be here. She said yes."

"I thought she'd be here by now." Yusei explained.

"Isn't your girlfriend dropping by?" Crow quickly changed the subject to bring Yusei's spirit back up.

"She should be here soon. Actually, I'm going to call her. If Akiza comes in, come find me."

Yusei walked outside to the hotel's garden. He took out his phone and dialed his girlfriend's number. He put the phone up to his ear as it rang. Yusei suddenly got a nervous feeling in his stomach. Maybe, she did not want to come. Maybe, she was not ready to meet all his friends. But, was it really her Yusei was wondering about? Someone picked up the phone on the other end.

Akiza walked into the ballroom. She knew she was a bit late thanks to her flight. Akiza took a few steps in and could hear her heels on the marble floor. As she went further in, she too had a nervous feeling in her stomach. The thought of seeing Yusei with somebody else hurt her.

"Hey Akiza!"

She quickly turned around, a little frightened by the unexpected hello. The red head smiled as she saw it was only Jack and Carly.

"Hey guys!" Akiza hugged the both of them, glad to see familiar faces.

"You look great for being late." Jack joked with her like only he could.

"My plane was late taking off. Did I miss anything?"

"You missed the chugging contest Jack and Crow had with a couple noob reporters wanting an interview." Carly answered, looking at Jack with a stern yet not so serious face.

"I did win by the way. Speaking of, I need to go find Crow. Be back in a second." Jack kissed Carly on the forehead and went to find the blackbird duelist. Akiza hid the sad look on her face seeing Jack and Carly so happy together. It seemed every king does need his queen.

"I love your dress by the way." Carly said still smiling.

Akiza looked down at the short red dress she was wearing. "Thanks. You know, I've never seen someone be able to control Jack like Martha does."

"Yea. I've been settling him down when I have to. So, how is medical school going?" Carly's reporter intuition kept her asking questions.

"It's great. I actually..." Akiza stopped.

Carly gave her a confused look. She turned around and saw what Akiza was looking at. It was Yusei talking to Misty and Kalin.

"Go on and say hi to them."

Both Akiza and Carly walked over to the three. The next few minutes of Akiza's life was a blur. She said hi to Kalin and hugged her pen pal, Misty. But after that, she was lost as Yusei was talking to her. She could not even comprehend what he was saying. His smile was the thing Akiza missed the most. There was one point where their eyes met just like when they were in Yusei's garage, saying their goodbyes. However, that was short lived as they were both snapped back into reality when she walked in.

Yusei left the growing group in a hurry and went to the doors of the ballroom. No one knew why, until he came back with her.

"Guys!"

Everyone turned around. Akiza bit her lip as Yusei walked over with a girl, hand in hand. She was about the same height as Yusei, had dark brown hair just past her shoulders and was wearing a dark green dress. She was definitely beautiful and her smile was captivating.

"This is my girlfriend, Noel."

Nobody could keep their eyes off of that girl, especially the guys who already had girlfriends. Noel just smiled at everyone, a bit timid to say anything at the intense staring.

"I can see why you like her, Yusei." Jack put a hand on Yusei's shoulder. "It's nice to meet you, Noel. I'm Jack."

"Jack Atlas. It's very nice to finally meet you in person. I have been a fan of your's for awhile." Noel finally spoke in a soft voice.

Jack smirked. It was like she knew exactly what to say to make her sound more amazing.

"Alright, as much as I want to learn all about Yusei's new girlfriend, can we go eat now?" Crow interrupted.

Yusei look around at everyone and nodded. "Sure thing, Crow."

The whole gang walked over to the food that had just been put out. Crow was the first one to eye at it. While everyone was eating, more people came over to introduce themselves to Noel. It turned out that she was not a total stranger after all. Carly recognized her from school and Lazar remembered she used to work as an upcoming engineer for Goodwin. Everyone seemed to like Yusei's new girlfriend, but someone tried to stay clear of her.

Akiza made sure she was never around Noel. She did not want to be face-to-face with the person who took the love of her life away from her. Akiza finally found the courage to grab Yusei from the group of guys, so she could talk to him alone.

"It's good to finally see you again, Akiza." Yusei smiled, which annoyed Akiza, who was trying to voice her frustrations.

"It's good to see you too." Akiza could barely keep the fake smile on her face and Yusei could sense it.

"Is something wrong?"

Akiza sighed, swallowed her pride and spoke. "DO you remember before I left for medical school, we said goodbye in your garage."

"Yea."

"Well, I just...I just thought that after that, we would always be together."

She bit her lip. She must have sounded to stupid saying these things. Suppose that was what love does to you.

"Akiza, I told you we would always be friends." Yusei was unintentionally missing the point.

"No! Ever since you started going out with that girl, you've become more distant, at least to me."

"Akiza you should know that nothing would ever get in the way of our friendship."

Friendship. Again with that word.

"But, what about just us? What about everything we have been through together? You're going to throw that all away for some girl you only met a few months ago."

"I would never do that Akiza. You all are my-!"

"I'm not talking about...forget the others! I mean you and I! You were my hero. I began to love you the minute you tried to help me and the minute you tried to become by friend, but now...you're putting me through heart break all over again!"

She could feel tears swell up in her eyes. Yusei did not know how to say it to her.

"Akiza, listen! I used to like you too. I basically was in love with you too! But, after that night, I felt like you didn't feel the same way or that you did not want to be in a relationship with me. You said you loved that you knew me and that we were friends. You didn't say you loved me! It took me awhile to realize I was rejected back then and heck I moved on!"

"I didn't mean it like that!"

Both Yusei and Akiza took a small step back at what was said. Not even Yusei thought he would ever say something like that to anyone, especially to Akiza. She looked at him. Her tears drying up. She was not disappointed or sad any more. Now, she was feeling angry. Akiza walked away to the lobby. Yusei went to go find Noel. This defiantly was what love did to you.

Misty and Kalin were talking near the doors to the lobby when Akiza quickly walked by, covering her face.

"Is she okay?" Kalin asked looking back at Misty.

"I don't know. I would check on her but..." Misty looked over her shoulder at the reporters and fans crowding the lobby.

Kalin smiled. "I'll go check on her if you want me to."

Misty smiled at him, leaned in and kissed his check. "Thanks."

Kalin walked past everyone to find Akiza sitting on a coach, almost crying. He stood by her, not really sure what to say. "Hey Akiza. Are you okay?"

She looked up. "Yea. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't look fine to me."

Akiza stared at him. She was looking at a man who was friends with Yusei since they were kids, tried to kill him and was saved by him. It was almost impossible to hate Yusei, but Kalin did at one point in his life. Was his past the closest thing to what Akiza was feeling right now?

"Kalin, have you ever hated someone so much, you would do almost anything to..." She knew the answer to that question.

"Yea I did and it ruined my life."

"I sort of know what you mean."

Kalin sat down besides her, figuring all the girl needed was someone to vent to. "What happened that made you so upset?"

"When you build him up, he knocks you down so hard."

Kalin was completely lost. "What do you mean?"

"To tell the truth, it's no secret that I've always liked Yusei. But now that he's with that Noel girl..."

"Are you jealous?"

Akiza sighed. "Yes." A flash of lightning signaled a down pour outside. "Kalin, you know what it's like to hate Yusei. What am I supposed to do? Do I love him or hate him?"

Kalin had no idea what to say. What she said was true, but not anymore. The only thing he could even think to say was that everything was going to be alright and that Yusei and her were going to be fine, but he could not promise that.

Their eyes made contact. Thoughts were racing. Emotions were everywhere. Neither of them knew what to say or do. Except, look at someone who with more time passing by, was more like one another. They had things in common no one would have ever see before. For the two people who barely even knew each other, they were so close and similar. A giant flash of light brightened the sky and knocked out the power. In total darkness, lips touched.

There was chaos in the ballroom. Workers shuffled through the crowds trying to get to the backup generator outside as the sudden burst of rain died down. They finally did and the lights came back on one by one. As the lights came on in the lobby, Kalin looked at Akiza with burning guilt. He had just kissed his girlfriend's best long-distance friend and his best friend's old crush. He stood up and walked to a vacant hallway.

Akiza was in shock. She was the one to have had kissed Kalin. She needed someone to understand her. He was the closest thing. But when she kissed him in the few seconds the power was out, Akiza felt a wave of warmth travel through her body. It was like being kissed by a boy who some how was always there. She never really knew Kalin, but now, she had no idea who this ex-dark signer was.

Akiza stood up slowly and found herself trying to find Kalin. She turned a couple corners and found this man of mystery sitting on the floor near the fire escape.

"Kalin, I'm so sorry."

The Black Rose never found herself speechless with anyone except for Yusei. She could not even describe how she felt at that moment.

"Akiza, stop confusing yourself. Just because you lost Yusei doesn't mean you can just do something you know you would have regretted. I've been played before and I'm not going through that again."

Kalin tilted his head down so his hair covered his eyes. Akiza sat down next to him and sighed.

"My life has just been a total wreck. I don't even know who I am any more. I don't know who anyone is. I just...after Yusei and Noel, I needed someone. Someone that can understand feelings that I'm going through. Feelings of abandonment, anger, hatred, loneliness and...and you felt that way toward Yusei before."

"You have no idea what I went through. If kissing me was your way of revenge on him, you just have to take life as it is. Fair-tale endings aren't real. Yusei's not going to be your shinning knight in armor forever. Move on like he has if you have to. Don't take this the wrong way, but your destiny of being a Signer is over and things aren't going to be played out for you anymore. Make things happen and don't wait for them to unfold by themselves. Isn't that why you went to medical school?"

Kalin got up and walked away. She had now realized what she had done. Kalin was right. Meeting Yusei was set up by the Crimson Dragon and being a Signer. She had to make him her's on her own.

She walked to find Yusei. her heart pounding in her chest. She found the couple sitting on a wooden bench in the garden. She stopped as the tone of their conversation grew nervously tense. Yusei started asking Noel questions in a panic. She said something in the low tone, then a final goodbye.

Akiza walked up to Yusei after Noel left. "Are you okay? What's going on Yusei?"

"Noel and I aren't together anymore."

"You broke up. Why?"

"She said she didn't feel like she belonged." Yusei wiped the tears from his eyes. He had just lost two amazing girls in his life, but he tried to believe that it was for the better. Akiza put a hand on his shoulder and he turned to her.

"I'm sorry."

He faced her so they were looking right into each others' eyes. The world became silent. "Akiza, no matter what happens between us, just remember what we've all been through together." Yusei brought his hand up to her cheek. "I know our lives haven't been what we thought they would be, but you have me, Akiza for better or worst. I promise."

He whispered into her ear. She felt her face become red for a moment, but a feeling of calm washed over her.

They walked back to the ballroom, hand in hand until they stepped on the marble floor. A slow song was being sung. Everyone was slow dancing with someone, even the kids. Yusei gestured his hand. Akiza took it. She rested her head against his shoulder. The song played and the night was over.