Archive of Our Own

The roar of an engine cracks the sky. The street lights of YorkNew City blink to life in the sunset, casting a faded, incandescent glow upon the brittle streets. A motorcycle careens past sight after sight, its rider fixated upon one goal, one destination, bearing nothing else in his vision even an iota of his attention. He drives past sterling skyscrapers, monuments to capitalistic greed overlooking the faraway decay of the Satellite, as he makes his way into the heart of the city.

He eventually comes to the agreed overpass, drifting to a stylish, Akira-style halt right below the stretch of highway. Looking up, he sees no sign of company for the present moment. But right as he takes note of that, his phone rings. He picks it up.

“Guess who?”

He knows the voice. The same voice that called him to this spot in the first place. With a click, he unfastens his helmet, letting his golden bob flow out as he removes it. The name escapes Kurapika’s lips with equal parts tenderness and distance. “Leorio…”

As if in response, a sleek white duel runner streaks across the overpass, braking to a stop right along the curb above Kurapika’s head. The rider remained in his seat, semi-translucent visor glaring beneath the streetlamps. He didn’t need to take it off for Kurapika to envision how he looked underneath - sharp-jaw airbrushed with sideburns, eyes slightly drained from studying dueling textbooks all night, wearing his iconic sunglasses even though it was nighttime and he already had a visor.

“I’ve been waiting,” shouted Leorio, loud enough to be heard through the air as well as the phone. 

“Then why did I get here first?” asked Kurapika matter-of-factly, closing his phone.

“Tch…” Leorio revved up his engine irrately in response. “Always have to have the upper hand, don’t you?”

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to, and it hardly matters,” Kurapika replied. “You called me here to duel, did you not? I don’t have time to spare on idle chitchat at the moment.”

“Of course,” Leorio chortled bitterly. “Wouldn’t want to keep a busy man like yourself occupied for too long, would we?”

Kurapika dons his helmet and bike. “You understand precisely. While the Phantom Signers are active, I hardly have the energy to devote towards anybody else.”

“...I see.” Leorio chuckles. “I don’t know what I expected from that thick skull of yours.”

“Leorio…”

“Don’t give me that tone of voice, dammit!” Leorio accentuates his yelling with more revving. “If we’re here to duel, then let’s duel!”

Kurapika’s grip on the handles of his Runner tightens. He hasn’t seen Leorio since the two of them had won the World Racing Grand Prix with Gon and Killua (well, Killua was disqualified in the last round, but he was a part of their victory nonetheless.) What’s changed in the man? Has he set about on his conquest of booze and women like he once said he would? And if so, why call Kurapika and demand a duel like this?

With twin roars, their motorcycles careen into the night, navigating the curves of the highway until they come to be neck-and-neck at mach-3. Now that they’re on the same playing field, the two men exchange only the briefest of glances before…

SPEED WORLD 2 ENGAGED

Decks are set. Wind is flowing. Blood is running.

“Turbo Duel start!”

4000 LP each. 

“I go first!” says Kurapika, drawing a card. “I summon Quillbolt Hedgehog to the field in defense position!”

A nuts-filled rodent skittered out, its nose twitching as it took a 800 Def defensive stance. 

“Aww, that’s a cute fella.” Leorio scoffs. “This ain’t a game for kids, you know.”

On a separate highway miles away, Gon and Killua are dueling on rocket-powered skateboards and having a delightful time as Alluka cheers them on.

Kurapika pays the taunt no mind. “I set one card face down and end my turn!”

Leorio smirks. “By the book, eh? You always were predictable, old chum. My turn! ” He draws. “Since there are no monsters on my side of the field and one on yours, I can Special Summon Vice Dragon on my side of the field!”

With a roar, a tall, muscular dragon appears in a burst of flame and 1000 Atk.

“His Attack and Defense Points are halved if you summon him this way… but that’s more than enough to enact some pest control!” Leorio thrusts out his hand. “Go, Vice Dragon! Destroy his Quillbolt Hedgehog!”

With one deadly swipe, the dragon reduces the hedgehog to nothingness. Kurapika feels the shockwaves of the blow, but takes no damage.

“And then I set one card facedown and end my turn!” Leorio chuckles. “Not looking so tough now, are we?”

“You’ll come to regret those words soon enough,” says Kurapika lowly. “My turn! Draw! I summon Junk Synchron to the field! And now that I have a Tuner Monster in play, I can Special Summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from my Graveyard!”

The hatted, bespectacled lad of a synchron is joined by the newly revived hedgehog. Kurapika thrusts out his hand.

“I tune my Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog with my Level 3 Junk Synchron! Come forth, Junk Warrior!”

Kurapika’s monsters turn into an array of twinkling stars, lining up in a line of five before materializing into a purple, wing-bladed warrior. The Synchro Monster strikes a flashy pose with its 2300 Atk.

“Go, Junk Warrior! Vanquish his Vice Dragon!”

With a cavort of its body, the Junk Warrior springs forward and kicks the Vice Dragon, dissolving it instantly. Leorio bears the brunt of the blow, reducing his Life Points to 2700 . Kurapika can practically hear him bite his tongue. But whatever consternation Leorio feels is disguised by his laughter as his Runner falls behind. “So, Kurapika! Is that the best you can do?”

“I’m the one sitting here unscathed,” replies Kurapika coolly. “Meanwhile, you’ve fallen behind.”

“I always seem fallen behind to you, don’t I?” asks Leorio. “Always in pursuit of you and whatever crazed quest you’ve gone on… I want you to understand what it’s like to chase somebody’s back!”

Kurapika’s focus narrows. “Come and show me then!”

“My turn! I draw!” Leorio shouts. “First, I play Double Summon! This card allows me to do two Normal Summons in one turn, where I would normally be able to do none! Next, because you control a monster and I control none, I can summon Big Piece Golem without tribute!”

A large, 2100 Atk rock with a checked-out face materialized on the field.

“Next,” Leorio continues, “I’ll summon Dark Resonator to the field!”

The very good lad of a forked-tuner holding demon materialized from the ether with a chuckle.

“You know what’s coming next, don’t you, Kurapika?” Leorio asks, teeth glaring. “I tune my Level 5 Big Piece Golem with my Level 3 Dark Resonator!”

The two monsters become a line of starlight, from which comes a hulking, draconic form - massive, crimson, and filled with all the life force of Leorio’s burning soul. He bellows as he calls its name:

“It’s showtime! Red Dragon Pre-med !”

With a primordial roar, the scarlet dragon - red cross emblazoned on its chest - makes its presence known. Its form, from its hulking claws used to administer compresses to the gaunt eyes clouded from all-nighters spent studying textbooks, still sends shockwaves down Kurapika’s spine, as does its 3000 Atk.

“Go, Red Dragon Pre-med!” shouts Leorio. “Destroy his Junk Warrior!”

The dragon raises an arm, ready to strike out fiercely…

“I activate my trap!” says Kurapika, eyes beginning to glimmer red. “Kunai With Chain! This not only switches Red Dragon Pre-med to Defense Position, cancelling the attack, but boosts Junk Warrior’s Attack points to 2800!”

The purple powerhouse wields the chain -kunai with finesse, expertly locking up the dragon’s movements and shunting off the attack. 

Leorio grits his teeth in his smirk. “Not bad, but I can still activate Red Dragon Pre-med’s special ability! By his medical knowledge, he can restore my life points by 500 for each monster on the field! That brings me back up to 3200 !”

The distance between Leorio and Kurapika is closed, but only barely. There’s still a gap between them.

“Soon, I’ll be close enough to get at you finally,” Leorio breathes. “And then I’ll… I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” asks Kurapika. “It doesn’t matter! I draw!”

With a schwing and a gasp, Kurapika beholds the card he’s drawn. He knows the outcome of the duel now, beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

“Leorio… you fate is sealed. I have just drawn the greatest card in the game.”

“Impossible! You couldn’t have…!”

Kurapika holds the card aloft. “I activate the spell Pot of Greed ! This allows me to draw 2 additional cards from my deck!”

“Nnngh!” Leorio recoils in pain. “No! Isn’t that card forbidden?”

“I’ve done many questionable things in pursuit of the Phantom Signers,” says Kurapika, drawing two cards. “This is hardly the worst.”

“But still…!”

“Now I summon another Junk Synchron from my hand! Another Level 3 Tuner with my Level 5 Junk Warrior means the stage is set!”

The monsters’ bodies become translucent and starry. For a moment, everything is still. And then, with hideous clanks, chains emerge from the ground and lash around them, dragging the beasts into the earth as a hulking mass uses them as leverage to rise from it.

“Once spurned, now returned, here to grasp for whatever shred of dignity its life once held! Arise, Chained Vengeance Dragon !”

The brutish silver drake’s red eyes gleam as it howls into the night. At a glance, its 2500 Atk makes it inferior to one of the monsters used to sacrifice it - but the beast has no less than five different effects, each activated by merely discarding a card. While Kurapika vowed never to use one of the more vicious abilities ( Chain Jail , reducing the enemy monster’s Atk and Def to 0) against members of the Phantom Signers,  he still has a number of other effects at his disposal. “First, I activate the Dowsing Chain effect! By discarding one card to the Graveyard, I can search my deck for a card and add it to my hand!” He did so. “I activate another of Vengeance Dragon’s effects - Judgement Chain !”

One of the main chains scattered from the dragon’s appendages suddenly shot out and reached around Red Dragon Pre-med, piercing its chest.

“By banishing one card from my hand, I can set a condition for you to fulfill. If you fail the condition, then you take damage to your Life Points equal to Chained Vengeance Dragon’s Attack! My condition is that you cannot attack with Red Dragon Pre-med!”

Wrapped in chains , the scarlet drake bellows in anguish, expressing Leorio’s irateness. 

“I set one card face down. And with that… I end my turn.” Kurapika declares with confidence. “What will you do now, Leorio?”

“What do you think?!” I’ll draw!” Leorio’s frustration is wiped away as he looks at the card he draws. “Well well well! This is interesting! First, I’ll play Graceful Charity! This card allows me to draw 3 cards and then discard 2 cards.” He does so. “Then I’ll summon Guiding Light!”

A holy coffin appears, sterling white and gold. “I didn’t take you to be a holy man, Leorio,” says Kurapika.

“Shut it! The ability of Guiding Light allows me to special summon a Level 1 Light monster from my graveyard - one that I just discarded, it so happens! Come on out, Barrier Resonator!”

The name sends a chill down Kurapika’s spine as the small, fishy and fleshy wyrm rises from the grave. “No… you can’t -”

“I can!” shouts Leorio. “I tune the Level 1 Guiding Light with the Level 1 Barrier Resonator and my Level 8 Red Dragon Pre-med!”

The small, holy lights surrounded the dragon, strengthening it, wisening it. Within moments it had aged through years of medical school, achieving a wide breadth of anatomical, bodily knowledge - and power.

“Raise hell! Residential Nova Dragon !”

The dragon - blazing red right down to its stethoscope, emitted a hiss of steam breath as it sized up Kurapika with its menacing 3500 Atk. 

“As Residential Nova Dragon is not the same card initially affected by Judgment Chain , it’s now free to attack!” Leorio snapped his fingers. “Go, Residential Nova Dragon! Att--”

“I activate my trap card! Fiendish Chain !” Chains spring up from the ground, ensnaring the doctoral dragon whole. “This trap negates all of Residential Nova Dragon’s effects and prevents it from attacking!” Kurapika barely breaks a sweat, eyeing Leorio with 

“Grrr…” Leorio hits the surface of his Runner in frustration. “Always squirming out of situations, aren’t you?”

“Just playing by the rules,” says Kurapika. “This duel’s dragged on long enough. Concede defeat to save me time.”

“Fuck you!” Leorio shouted. “I end my turn! If you want to beat me, then beat me with your own two hands, dammit!”

“Hmph. Draw!” Kurapika does so. “I summon Kinka-byo! When this monster is normal summoned, it allows me to special summon a Level 1 monster from my graveyard! Earlier, I discarded a Turbo Synchron - I bring it back to the field!”

A dark, spiky wolf joins the field alongside a small lean green machine. Kurapika clears his throat.

“I tune my Level 1 Turbo Synchron with my Level 1 Kinka-byo and my Level 8 Chained Vengeance Dragon!”

Once again, hideous chains shoot out from the earth, dragging the sacrificed monsters down as an even more terrible monstrosity clawed from below.

“Ye who have waited for this day to arrive - inflict judgment upon your foes! Behold! Fettered Judgment Dragon !”

The rusted chains of the behemoth clinked and clattered among its five pairs of arms as it screamed bloody murder, its 3300 Atk glowering along with its rage-filled eyes.

“That thing looks nasty,” says Leorio with a wretch. “What’s it going to do? The same tricks as your last one?”

“Almost,” says Kurapika. “Fettered Judgment Dragon possesses almost nigh-identical abilities, but its Judgment Chain bears one key difference - it allows me to set a condition on the player, rather than a specific monster. And the condition I set is ‘when it’s your Standby Phase’!”

Leorio’s jaw drops. “S-So you’re saying…!”

“When your turn comes around, you’ll receive 3300 points of damage,” Kurapika states, “bringing the duel to an end.”

The dragon shudders, creating a hideous cacophony of colliding chains as one shoots out and envelops Leorio and his Duel Runner, its holographic point reaching all the way to his heart.

“WHAT THE FUCK?! THAT’S BROKEN! CHEAP AS HELL! WHO THE FUCK DESIGNED THIS CARD? HOW???!???!”

What Leorio didn’t know that Kurapika had to sacrifice his own life force (not like, Life Points, but literally his vitality) in order to summon this trading card. “My turn - and the duel - is over,” he says. “Give up--”

“...I have a facedown card, you know.”

Kurapika’s breath falters. Yes, Leorio does - placed in one of the first turns of the duel, so early on that it almost escaped Kurapika’s attention. But now… “What could you possibly pull to save yourself?”

Leorio smirks weakly. “I play the trap card… Moody Restaurant!”

A neon-lit diner appears in the hologram, drawing Kurapika’s curiosity.

“This trap card… doesn’t affect the outcome of the duel at all,” says Leorio, doing that two-finger salute of his. “But it declares that the winner of the duel must buy the loser a meal and have a nice chat with him.”

“You--”

Leorio reaches for the top of the deck, knowing that as soon as he pulls a card from it he’s a goner. “Well? Mr. ‘just playing by the rules’? Do you accept?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer. Leorio draws, and the chain pierces his heart, wracking him with holographic pain and causing him to lose control of the Runner.

“Leorio!”

Leorio’s Runner ends up crashing into a barricade, creating a massive explosion.

Kurapika pays no mind to the wall of flame, nearly giving himself road rash by leaping off his own Runner and towards Leorio’s fallen figure. “Leorio! Speak to me!” He cradles Leorio’s singed, battered body in his arms. “You idiot! Why did you do that?!”

Leorio opens his eyes, barely conscious, and coughs up blood, sputtering it on his lips in a pattern exactly the same as in Oneus’ eternal MV To Be Or Not To Be . “Ever since… we all won the World Racing Grand Prix, and you went looking for the Phantom Signers… I’ve always been chasing you. Day after day… wanting you to come home… be with your friends…”

“I…” Kurapika remembers that victory so well. The joyous expressions on his comrades’ faces, and the joy in his own heart. He remembers it as well as the rage he feels when he thinks of those who have robbed his kin of their red signer marks, dueling only to steal that which they found interesting… he couldn’t let such scum walk the earth freely. But knowing that he’s driven Leorio to such lengths…

“You don’t… have to be an idiot… on your own, you know,” Leorio coughs. He reaches up, his sooty hand grazing the smoothness of Kurapika’s cheeks. “We can be… idiots together…”

Despite the gravity of the situation - or maybe as a form of hysterical decompression - Kurapika laughs. “I owe you that dinner date, don’t I?”

“Heh… you’re goddamn right you do…” Leorio closes his eyes, falling limp in Kurapika’s arms.

“Leorio? LEORIO?!” Kurapika panicks before listening for his heartbeat. “Just unconscious… I should get him to safety.”

He princess-carries his unconscious comrade, surveying the area for his haphazardly abandoned Duel Runner. It has just enough space for a second passenger - he loads Leorio on gingerly, making sure he’s upright long enough for himself to get on the bike.

Ah, but how am I supposed to make sure he doesn’t fall off… after a moment of brainstorming, Kurapika comes to a conclusion. Use what I’ve got. He pulls out the long chain he keeps on hand at all times because he’s an edgy little boy and uses it to tie Leorio’s arms around his waist. It’s incredibly difficult given the angle, but somehow manages to find a position to drive safely - even as Leorio’s dozing head rests on his shoulder.

“...You don’t have to pursue me anymore, Leorio,” says Kurapika to his unconscious body. “From now on… we’ll pursue together.”

And they ride off into the night.

Meanwhile, in a completely different time, place, dimension, reality, and universe, two teal-haired kids are playing in a park when the crab-haired, doe-eyed young man watching them feels his phone ring. He picks it up. “Hello?”

“Guess who?”

Yusei legitimately has no clue. “Who is this?”

“You blimey fool!” says the British(?) voice on the other end. “How could you forget your best chum so readily?”

“I haven’t forgotten Crow, though. He’s over there on the park bench.”

Crow waves at Yusei.

“Oh, bugger off! I’m going to fight you at this right?”

Oh, it’s somebody hostile… which means… “Jack?”

Right as he says it, a tall, blonde man in a sharp suit rises from a bench on the opposite side of the park, phone in hand. “That’s right! Who’s the magician of physicians? The M.D. with the Most Daring? Jack Atlas, that’s who!”

“Well, no arguments from me,” says Yusei, who doesn’t have any medical training. “Though I don’t know how impressive you are when you only cleared the Hunter Exam with a knife.”

“You tosser! Isn’t that mightily impressive, clearing such a prestigious benchmark with only a dagger?” asks Jack angrily, approaching. “Why I never-”

Jack is cut off by Luna and Leo shoving cream pies in his face. He responds by angrily - and fruitlessly - trying to swipe at them. Yusei begins laughing - from his radiant, smiling face, his chuckles sound like golden peals of heaven as the light of day shines on. His heart feels clear here, surrounded by friends. What more could he ask for?