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Life went on as standard in the Standard dimension, even after the war was declared over and the dimensions linked for travel. This was not the surprising part. No, the surprise was that it'd taken Gongenzaka this long to settle back down in Maiami. The war itself had only lasted a few months, much to the consternation of some of the Lancers—mainly Sawatari, who'd insisted that it must've been years because that was how it'd felt to him—but once it became clear that matters were settled as far as Akaba Reiji was concerned, Gongenzaka had looked forward to resuming his training at the dojo. He needed to prepare for inheriting his father's school, for returning to tradition, yet his once-familiar home soon felt stifling.
He'd learned Synchro summoning to show the world that Steadfast Dueling could evolve without losing its way, no matter where it was done. He'd evolved too, changing in order to survive without losing himself, but perhaps he'd changed more than he realized. Determined to show that he hadn't lost sight of his training, of his dojo's bedrock values, he went back out into the world. After all, what good would he be as headmaster if he could only act as a figurehead? Yaiba's loud scolding during that championship duel against Ankokuji still rang loud in his ears when he recalled it. It'd sounded self-centered at the time, but that didn't lessen the message Gongenzaka learned from those words: the reputation of a teacher was no better than the reputation of his students.
And so he left the dojo behind a second time, traveling the dimensions once more. Now he could go without fear, knowing he'd still have his father waiting for him at a home untouched by war. At first few people were allowed to travel freely, whether due to unrest or reconstruction or both depending on the dimension, but the Lancers were known and welcomed nearly wherever they went. He did, however, quickly find that New Domino City preferred to see him alongside somebody who could lessen the weight of his honesty; such radical social change couldn't happen overnight despite Yuuya's optimism. Sawatari proved a better diplomat this time around, experience and the examples of others mellowing his outbursts if not his impulsivity. Still, there were moments when Gongenzaka wished he could have a Synchro duelist by his side.
The Yaiba he'd known was cocky in a way that felt familiar, almost welcome, after all the time he'd spent with Sawatari. Maybe it was just the Leo Duel School attitude. But without going to war, how much could Yaiba have changed? Would he be a good ambassador for the Standard dimension and its values? There was only one way to find out. Somehow, though, every time he touched back down in Maiami City Yaiba was nowhere to be found. Tapped to teach at one of the international LDS schools, Masumi informed him the first time. And the second time, the third, the fourth—
"Masumi, take pity on him. Can't you see the poor boy's smitten?"
Gongenzaka took a deep breath and remained steadfast, ignoring Hokuto's comment. He'd found the pair at a cafe not far from her father's shop, the two of them idly chatting over coffee and falling silent when approached. Masumi's exasperation had been audible when she'd told Gongenzaka that Yaiba was elsewhere yet again, prompting Hokuto to speak up. Masumi also ignored him. But she didn't say anything further, leaving an opening for an unexpected kindness.
"Here, I'll give you Yaiba's contact info. Just because you're a creature of tradition shouldn't stop you from using newfangled methods of communication."
After a pause Gongenzaka presented his duel disk so Hokuto could beam the information over. "Thank you." The temptation to drop a retort on Hokuto then leave was strong but he resisted. He'd honed that skill through tolerating Sawatari. But in the meantime, more diplomacy. "Have you been traveling yourself? The XYZ dimension could use strong duelists like you to help rebuild."
Masumi looked at him, eyebrows raised. "They're letting non-Lancers in now?"
"It's been more than a year since," Hokuto waved his hand instead of finishing the thought out loud.
Gongenzaka nodded. "And if there's any trouble, Akaba Reiji should be able to get you two through."
"Hmph." Masumi looked back down. "I suppose. Though why he didn't make us Lancers in the first place is beyond me."
Hokuto gave her a sympathetic glance and Gongenzaka an apologetic shrug before his face lit up. "I've always wanted to visit Heartland! And I bet you'd love Fusion, Masumi. Thanks for the tip, big guy. Be sure to tell Yaiba too!"
It was a politer dismissal than Gongenzaka had expected. He left with a smile, already thinking about what he'd want to say to Yaiba.
But how to reopen that line of communication? After all, it'd been so long and they hadn't been especially close. Yaiba had been a mentor, not a friend. But Sawatari had been an enemy before a friend, and so had Yaiba when they'd first met in the halls of You Show Duel School. From adversary to mentor to something more—Yuuya would be proud. Yes, and he might have suggestions Gongenzaka could use.
"Just be yourself, Gongenzaka. That hasn't steered you wrong before!"
"Ha! You wouldn't be saying that if you'd seen him when we had dinner with Jack Atlas during our last visit."
"Sawatari, you already told me about that. Twice."
Gongenzaka couldn't help but chuckle. The three of them were at the house Yuuya still shared with his mother so it felt like safe enough territory. The place hadn't changed at all, which was equal parts comforting and disorienting. It was the same at the dojo. But when he looked more closely there were signs that Sawatari had made himself comfortable here: spare dress shoes lined up next to sneakers and heels, some stray Yosenju cards on a side table, and on the wall a photograph of Yuuya in his embrace.
The embrace did not give Gongenzaka pause—after all, he'd embraced Yuuya many times over. But there was something different about Sawatari's eyes in that moment, a softness in that grey gaze Gongenzaka had never seen. A softness tempered by strength, too, the sort of strength that comes from knowing you are somebody's bedrock. A certain kind of steadfastness, much as he was reluctant to admit that somebody like Sawatari could be capable of such a thing. A shame it didn't seem to travel well to New Domino City; perhaps the simple predictability of Synchro dueling was better capable of fostering consistency of character than the rousing yet haphazard nature of Pendulum summoning.
He'd felt Yuuya's advice unhelpful at first but the more he turned the words over in his head their depth became apparent. Alone in his room now, he sat on his futon and looked down at his duel disk. His hands nearly dwarfed it but he held it with care, not yet ready to press the call button so prominent beneath Yaiba's profile image in his address book. He supposed it was due to Akaba Reiji's surveillance systems that Yaiba's photograph was up to date, showing a sharper jawline, hair pulled back instead of hanging shaggy past his shoulders, and a hint of the old mischief still on display with one little fang peeking out from his smile. With a deep breath, Gongenzaka pressed call.
It rang, and rang, and rang. Gongenzaka resigned himself to leaving a message and was beginning to compose it in his head when the screen went dark and a tinny yet familiar voice chimed out.
"Gongenzaka? I almost didn't recognize you with that facial hair!"
"My sincerest apologies. It was not my intent—"
Yaiba's cackle was so loud it nearly echoed. "I'm joking, as if I would ever forget that mug of yours! What's up, man? Sorry about no camera, you caught me right out of the shower."
Gongenzaka hadn't expected such…boisterousness. The Yaiba he remembered was brash but not brassy. They'd all changed, he reminded himself, and while he was surprised to feel a bit disappointed by the lack of visual the fact that he'd finally managed to get ahold of Yaiba at all was a welcome tradeoff.
"Yaiba, your reputation as a teacher has grown. Would you like to accompany me to Neo Domino City as an ambassador from the Standard Dimension?" For some reason, Gongenzaka's heart started pounding as he spoke. Each beat was so loud he nearly missed the low crackle of Yaiba exhaling.
"Took you long enough to get in touch." The speakers flattened out Yaiba's voice some but the shift into a more serious register was unmistakable. "You've been doing fine on your own, haven't you? What do you need me for?"
"I believe we would make a good team. We're both Synchro duelists and we've trained together." He paused, inhaling slowly to steady himself. "We know each other in ways that others cannot."
Yaiba's response was to let out a whistle, long and soft. This too was familiar, a habit that'd been hard to miss during their times alone together. It'd always been a show of surprise or respect, sometimes both, though every now and then it'd been harder for Gongenzaka to interpret the tone. This felt like a less dangerous unpredictability compared to the Pendulum duelists he knew; not an outburst but something closer to his own efforts to steady his reactions.
"That's a big ask, Gongenzaka. You think you're as good as me now?" The sound of his smile shaping his words was unmistakable but beneath the teasing there was a real challenge. Both were easy to mirror.
"I'm sure your deck has changed alongside you. If you are interested, we should plan to meet on the battlefield once again. We can test each other's mettle."
Yaiba chuckled. "You're right. I gotta go but let me get back to you about the date, all right?"
"I'll hold you to your word."
"I'd expect nothing less from you!" This time Yaiba's laugh was full-throated. "Talk to you later, Gongenzaka."
The call ended before Gongenzaka could say farewell, though it was for the best. His heart was still pounding and he hadn't wanted the conversation to end. The promise of a tough duel, a duel against someone who knew all his best strategies—it was enough to get any duelist's blood pumping.
A few days later Yaiba called back as promised, soothing a worry Gongenzaka hadn't acknowledged until he heard the bright voice message. The little warrior would be in Standard again soon and wanted to go over their respective builds; if they wanted to start tag dueling it'd be foolish to go in with an outdated understanding of who they each were now. The only way it could have been more of a "yes" would be if Yaiba had said the word itself, but the idea of such directness felt…not frightening, but premature. Gongenzaka prided himself on being direct and honest and yet taking time to feel out an opponent—or a friend—was just as important. There was nothing more to it.
They quickly settled into a routine of meeting in parks around Standard, places that had tables or concrete walls or other flat surfaces where they could lay out their cards and sit together in the sun and the fresh air. Much as Gongenzaka had updated his Superheavy deck with Synchro monsters, Yaiba had tucked new support like Rescue Cat in among his X-Sabers. The archetype still seemed strongest when second, which seemed as though it would complement Gongenzaka's defense-heavy play just fine. Lure the opponent off-guard by pretending to play it safe, then hit them with X-Saber's hand destruction powers.
Every now and then Yaiba was able to catch Gongenzaka off-guard as well, though it was more flattery than friendly fire. Honor called for returning the favor, honor and the desire to repay the embarrassment of how easily he went red, but somehow he had yet to succeed. After their fifth meeting, it was easier to read Yaiba's tells; the most visible one was how, instead of blushing, he'd tuck his hair behind his ears.
"I know you don't use spell or trap cards, but I was thinking a couple would make good support for me."
Gongenzaka picked up the one Yaiba had set closest to him, a spell card with a monstrous face. "Giant Trunade, hm? A strong setback for the opponent but not our tag team. Good choice."
Yaiba smiled and brushed his bangs out of his face, toying with a stray strand before slipping it behind one ear. Even though they weren't dueling, Gongenzaka still felt a surge of proud warmth as if he'd won something—
"Our tag team? You make it sound like a done deal." Yaiba gave him a toothy grin. "Beat me in a duel first, then you'll have me."
If they were already on the same wavelength they'd surely make a formidable team. Gongenzaka returned the grin.
"A test of true skill rather than simple luck of the draw. What better reason to duel? I, the man Gongenzaka, gladly accept."
Now it was a question of time and place. Unspoken agreement led them to the conclusion that it needed to be a setting that would suit the grand ceremony of the moment, of their potential commitment, and so they arrived at a waterfall not far from the city. The distance gave them privacy and the slowly setting sun kindled the sky, reddening clouds framing the roaring water like a torii. The sight soothed Gongenzaka's soul even as his nerves thrummed with anticipation.
Before Yaiba could stake a claim on the territory they'd chosen together, Gongenzaka put a gentle hand heavy on his shoulder. "Teacher, will you do me the honor of shuffling my deck?"
Yaiba blinked up at him, then nodded. Gongenzaka held out his deck and Yaiba took hold of it without a word, cards riffling between delicate fingers. When he was done he laid it on Gongenzaka's waiting palm, the gesture flowing into an attempt to tuck his hair behind one ear despite the breeze. Then he presented Gongenzaka with his own deck, gaze fixed on Gongenzaka's large hands deftly shuffling the cards before returning the deck.
To speak now felt as if it would sully something sacred. They nodded at each other, then Yaiba's face broke into a sunny smirk and he headed for higher ground, scrambling up a large boulder. They weren't on an Action Field but the field spell Crossover would take care of that, along with helping Yaiba acclimate to what it would be like together in New Domino. With the sunset's warmth on his face, Gongenzaka found the strength to raise his voice.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
In unison they shouted, "Duel!"
At this point the outcome almost didn't matter. More important was the water roaring its approval of the joy he felt and saw reflected in Yaiba's eyes. They'd changed each other and would change together, but there would be no forgetting this moment.
