Under the Rain [Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]

S1-9✩ At the Site that Triggers 10-Year-Old Memories, Stardust Road

On that peaceful morning, Tsubaki was unusually woken up by a dream and was left dazed. For a couple of minutes she was just lying on her bed, musing about her dream. It was only a brief flashback of her childhood memory, but it felt so real, she almost wished she was still that tomboyish little girl who would cheekily grin every time she won a duel against her big brother. Her lips tugged into a smile upon picturing her brother's proud, yet gentle look that always congratulated her after her win. She knew he never faced her seriously, and that's all the more reason to love him. As she rose from her bed, she let out a small sigh. If only that never happened, he would be here living with her and their mom, she thought bitterly.

Since there's no school today, Tsubaki had planned to go out and enjoy the nice weather. She rummaged through her drawer and pulled out some set of clothes. She pondered for a moment until she settled on white summer dress, a soft purple three quarter sleeve cardigan and blue leggings. She combed her hair and like always, clipped her bangs to the left side of her face with a barrette. Finally, she grabbed her digital camera and went down to get her sneakers and bicycle.

"Oh, Mirai. Heading outside?" Her mother greeted as soon as she saw her descending the stairs. The fair woman, although was still in her early 40's, already had frowns and wrinkles in her face, making her look much older than her actual age. Her ruby-red eyes carefully followed after Tsubaki's every movement. Unlike her daughter's bright eyes, hers lacked the same brightness and instead looked rather empty. "What about your homework?"

"I've already done it, Okaa-san," Tsubaki put on a closed-eyes smile. She again could feel that soulless stare boring into her, but she retained her smile and gently kissed her mother's forehead. "I won't be long, I promise."

Her mother remained emotionless as Tsubaki hugged her, but soon smiled thinly and returned the gesture. "Alright. Be careful on your way."

Tsubaki nodded happily as she released her hug and walked to the front door, but as she was about to open it, her mother's whisper caused her smile to cease. "...after all, if something bad happens to you, nothing will be left for me."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Tsubaki forced herself to ignore her mother and finally was able to get outside and rode her bike away from her house.

✩

It didn't take long for Tsubaki to get completely absorbed in her hobby. Once in every while she would stop to take photos or simply admiring the view. Sightseeing the city on her bicycle while taking photos along her way had become her weekend habit since the last year of her junior highschool. On each trip she always took different routes, which made her gain vast knowledge of the layout of Den City, but her weekly trip always ended at Stardust Road.

She remembered how her father would take her family of foursome there during the nights, picnicking with the beautiful ocean of glitters as their view. She would ran around with her brother, playing tag, or simply adoring the glowing ocean together. Their family loved that place and eventually moved their home nearby so they could always see it. But it was all in the past; now her mother had separated from her father and with Tsubaki, lived faraway from the Stardust Road, in the outskirts of Den City. Tsubaki still didn't understand why her mother would abruptly leave behind her father and big brother like that, but she knew well she really regretted her decision and her regret was gradually eating up her mental health. She also had her love for Stardust Road turned into hate, because when Tsubaki told her about her first trip to that place, she lashed out and forbade her to go there ever again.

Yet there she was, being a disobedient child and regularly visited Stardust Road without her mother's knowledge.

She was snapped back from her train of thoughts upon hearing her own rumbling stomach. She didn't realize she was really hungry until now, and started blaming herself for not having breakfast this morning. If there's one thing that Stardust Road didn't have, it was food stall, she thought. But how wrong was she, as when she looked away from the ocean, she spotted Kusanagi's food truck nearby. And surprisingly, Yusaku was also there, munching on a hotdog while fiddling with his tablet.

"Fujiki-kun!" She called out, stopping Yusaku from taking another bite. The boy turned his head and clearly was stunned to see her approaching. He quickly straightened up his posture. "Tsubaki?"

"I didn't expect we'd run into each other!" Tsubaki giggled, "And here, of all places."

"Why are you..." Yusaku averted his gaze as he mumbled, a hint of discomfort evident in his voice, "I mean... do you come here often?"

"Yes, actually. This place holds a special meaning for me, you see..."

Yusaku silently observed her as she longingly stared into the horizon. His discomfort was slowly replaced by curiosity as he could see nostalgic look in her eyes, but he didn't dare to ask. Instead, he only commented, "I see. It is, indeed, considered to be a special spot by locals. Or so I heard."

"Yes. And what about you?" She asked, tilting her head, "Why are you here in your uniform?"

"Me? ...Well--"

"Yo, if it isn't Missy! Fancy meeting you here!" Kusanagi casually exclaimed from his truck upon acknowledging the girl's presence, saving Yusaku from answering her. "Welcome! What would you like?"

"Good day to you too, Kusanagi-san! I'll be having what Fujiki-kun's having, please!"

"Coming right up!" Kusanagi replied back as he handed some change for a boy who was carrying a paper bag with Café Nagi logo on it. That boy was tall and looked one or two years older than Yusaku and Tsubaki. He also had short shimmering silver hair with purple streaks across his bangs. "Here you go. Please come again!"

"This will be the last time I come here, actually." the boy replied, catching Tsubaki's attention. His deep voice... somehow, its intonation sounded familiar.

"Huh? Why? Are you moving out?"

"Kind of."

"I see. Well, if you happen to be around Den City plaza, we're open there as well so make sure to drop by!"

That boy already turned and walked away before Kusanagi could finish his words. That's when Tsubaki caught a glimpse of his sharp, focused icy blue eyes that firmly gazed into the direction he was heading to. Her eyes widened in disbelief. After ten years of not seeing it, she was very certain it was the same gaze that her brother always had since he was a little boy. She, overwhelmed by the desire to meet him again, hurriedly parked her bicycle and ran after that boy, exclaiming, "Excuse me, you over there!"

The boy, not heeding her call, just kept on walking. These actions piqued both Kusanagi and Yusaku's curiosity, but just before Kusanagi could help calling the boy for her, the girl had already called him out with another name,

"Revolver 1!"

...which was effective enough to make that silver-haired boy abruptly stop and caught Kusanagi and Yusaku by surprise. Meanwhile, Tsubaki, happy that the older boy finally listened to her call, stopped some footsteps away behind him. "I knew it's you... I was told you and father had moved away from Den City, but it appears that's not true. It's been ten years, hasn't it... I... I really miss you, Nii-san."

There was a brief of moment of silence before the boy, who didn't move even an inch, gave his curt reply, "I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong person. I don't think we've met before."

His reply quickly sank her shoulders, slowly shattering all her hope into smithereens. "...huh?"

Without waiting for any response, the boy continued walking, and didn't stop no matter how many times Tsubaki told him to wait.