Yuya couldn't sleep.

No matter what he did, no matter how he tossed and turned, he just couldn't slip into the peaceful embrace of darkness…

...Or maybe he was afraid to, afraid of the Darkness.

Yuya stared up at his room's ceiling, one arm resting across his head. He shifted once more, a last futile attempt at feigning sleep, before sighing in defeat. He wouldn't be drifting off anytime soon.

Yuya sat up slowly, swinging his legs to the floor as he stood up. He hadn't even bothered to change to his gray pajamas earlier, and so had no need to change now. Quietly, the boy paced over to his desk to grab his recently modified Duel Disk, and his goggles.

He was going for a walk.

Gently, tentively, Yuya opened his door, wincing at a loud creak from its stiff hinges. In the room across from his, he heard his mother's snores cease, her mattress creaking as she rolled over.

Yuya froze stiff, listening with bated breath.

His mother's snores resumed.

Heaving a silent sigh of relief, Yuya slipped through the partially opened door and tiptoed quietly down the hall to the pole he always used to get downstairs.

He slipped down it, landing noiselessly on his feet with the grace of an Entertainer. Yuya quickly made his way to the front door, stepping softly over En, the corgi, and skirting around Core, the cat. As he was about to open the door, Yuya paused and glanced over his shoulder at the digital clock on the wall. It was 10:00 PM.

Yuya hesitated, thinking...then turned to scrounge for paper and something to write with. The boy scribbled a short note and left it on the kitchen counter before finally slipping through the front door into the cool night air.

Drawing in a long, deep breath, Yuya set off in no particular direction, wandering aimlessly along the streetlamp-lit sidewalks.

Nearly half an hour later, Yuya found himself at the entrance of a park.

The Park.

Yuya stiffened, images flashing unbidden to the forefront of his mind.

A dark-haired boy who shared his face lying in his arms, a black card being pressed into his reluctent hand...the boy vanishing into nothing...his final words thundering in Yuya's ears.

Tears began to slip unheeded down Yuya's cheeks as he unknowingly stumbled deeper into the park.

"Smiles...with your power...give...them to the world...smiles…"

He'd done the opposite. First in the Duel with Kachidoki Isao...Yuya could well remember the stark terror in the Martial Arts Duelist's eyes as he'd slapped his hand away… Just what had happened? Yuya couldn't remember the Duel's outcome...his mind was completely blank. But the terror in those eyes...it was because of him, directed at him.

And then...then there was the Battle Royale...and those three Duelists.

Now Yuya was shaking, withholding quiet sobs as he activated his Duel Disk, drawing a card with a trembling hand.

Yuya only remembered one thing from that moment, the moment he'd watched with mounting horror as one by one, the Knight of Duels Duelists had vanished...cards with their terrified likenesses all that remained.

And that wasn't all he saw. He saw a burning city, multitudes of people falling to the same fate…

All Yuya could remember before everything went dark...was the all consuming onslaught of pure, unrelenting rage, and his own strangled scream, echoing endlessly within his mind.

His...his friends had revealed all else, all the damage he'd wrought, the wrath he'd dealt to the three Duelists. And then off his wild behavior afterword. Yuya had never felt more ashamed...or scared of himself when he'd been told he'd bitten Teppei.

All he'd seemed to do since Yuto vanished that night...was harm.

And it scared Yuya. Now...now he was well aware of the Darkness within him, he could feel it. The cold, cold feeling lying dormant deep within him...waiting to rear its head at his weakest moments.

Yuya scrunched his eyes tightly shut, and pressed the card he'd drawn down onto the Duel Disk. He didn't notice that the new "Action Duel Mode" setting was off.

With a flash of light and an echoing roar, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon sprang from his card, landing with a crash before Yuya. The Duelist stared up at his dragon with tears still streaming down his face, which the beast immediately noticed as he looked down Yuya.

With a concerned whine, Odd-Eyes lowered his head down and snuffled at the boy, surprised when Yuya suddenly threw his arms around his beak-like muzzle with a quiet sob. Growling softly, the dragon shifted his stance to lower himself to the ground, the boy sitting with him, and pressed his head into Yuya's chest.

Odd-Eyes could easily tell that something was wrong.

"I-I'm scared...Odd-Eyes...I don't understand what's happening…! What's wrong with me...? Those Duels..."

The dragon realized what his summoner was referring to immediately, and whined in response as he nuzzled the boy. He understood Yuya's fears, after all...he shared them.

Odd-Eyes had seen Yuya's rampage first hand, unwillingly aiding him as the boy summoned him alongside his grieving brother, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon... And then the Darkness had ripped all reason from the both of them as well. He and Dark Rebellion had felt Yuya's rage...as their own.

And they were just as scared as the boy.

"Wha-what's happening to me?!" Yuya's voice was broken and halting as he clung tearfully to his dragon.

Odd-Eyes could only whimper in answer to the desperate question...to which he didn't have an answer. He didn't understand what was happening either, the only thing he knew was that the Darkness felt...familiar.

And that Dark Rebellion despised it, that he knew what it was. But his brother wouldn't tell him a thing.

Odd-Eyes slowly curled his body around his distraught friend. Yuya didn't seem to notice that the dragon's body was warm...Action Duel technology couldn't replicate warmth...and his Duel Disk wasn't even in Action Duel Mode.

But the boy wasn't noticing these oddities, in his state of mind.

"I-I've been hurting people, Odd-Eyes! With Dueling! I'm hurting them, and I can't remember how or why! Al-all I can remember is...is anger."

Yuya was trembling worse now. "All I felt...was rage...a-at nothing!"

Odd-Eyes nuzzled the boy again, unable to offer any other form of comfort. But Yuya understood, with a small, sad smile as he gently squeezed the dragon's muzzle.

But the smile didn't last, flitting away as the others had...did, in recent days...fresh tears making fresh tracks down the boy's face. "An-and Yuzu…! Yuzu is...she's gone...she's not even in this Dimension anymore…!"

Odd-Eyes growled in response, he was worried for the girl too.

"She's been taken to an entirely different world…! And I-I don't know if I can get her back!"

Odd-Eyes curled tighter around the boy, and Yuya leaned into the dragon's side.

"And now...now I have to join the Lancers...I have to become a Duel Soldier to save Yuzu...but I...I don't want to use Dueling to fight…!" Yuya's voice faltered and left his final fear unspoken.

'I...don't want to...fall to into Darkness again…'

Odd-Eyes, making a sound as close to purring as a dragon possibly could, gently pulled his muzzle from Yuya's arms. He moved his head to rest on the boy's shoulder...and hugged him in the only manner he could.

Yuya wrapped his arms around Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's neck in return. "Th-thanks...Odd-Eyes…"

The boy and the dragon remained there, sitting together in the park for what seemed like a long while...until Yuya finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

Odd-Eyes shifted and lifted his head, Yuya's limp arms slipping from his neck. The dragon glanced down at his slumbering charge and purred gently. Slowly, carefully to avoid disturbing the boy, Odd-Eyes lowered his head to touch his muzzle to Yuya's Deck.

The dragon needed help.

With twin flashes of black and white, Magician of Chronomancy and Magician of Astromancy appeared before Odd-Eyes. One glance told them all they need to know.

With a silent dip of his head, Chronomancy stepped forward and gently lifted the sleeping boy from the dragon's side, allowing Odd-Eyes to climb to his feet. The dragon growled at the magician holding Yuya, then crouched back down low enough for him to place the boy on his back.

With an unseen smile of understanding, Chronomancy did as the dragon wished and laid the boy securely across his back. Odd-Eyes growled his appreciation to the black-robed magician, who bowed in return...then vanished in a cloud of light as he returned to his card, leaving his white-robed brother behind.

Odd-Eyes glanced over at the remaining magician and motioned with his head for him to follow.

Astromancy obeyed and trailed after the dragon as Odd-Eyes turned and began the slow trek back to Yuya's house, Yuya sleeping peacefully on his back.

Soon enough, the dragon and magician reached their destination.

With a soft growl rumbling in his chest, Odd-Eyes settled down close to the ground, allowing Astromancy to easily reach the boy still sleeping on his back.

Astromancy smiled at the action, reaching over to gently pull Yuya into his arms. Odd-Eyes stood back to his full height, then turned to lower his head to Yuya's face. With a soft, purring growl, the dragon nuzzled the boy's cheek a final time before allowing Astromancy to take the boy into the house.

Odd-Eyes remained waiting outside.

The white-robed magician quietly made his way through his young Duelist's home, easily floating up the pole to the second floor rather than take the creaky stairs.

Astromancy was relieved to find that Yuya had forgotten to close his door when he'd slipped out earlier, otherwise the magician would have had a hard time opening the door with the boy in his arms. He slipped through with a swish of fabric and slowly approached Yuya's bed. Gently, the magician laid the Yuya down, pulling the comforter up to tuck around the boy after removing his Duel Disk and goggles.

After placing the items on the desk, the white-robed magician turned back to look over Yuya a final time, with a smile hidden beneath his mask. After a moment, Astromancy turned and slipped out the door, closing it behind him.

...But not before he spoke softly to the sleeping boy. "Rest well, Master Yuya."

Astromancy quickly left the house, taking care of the note along the way, to meet Odd-Eyes outside. The dragon growled a wordless, anxious question.

The magician smiled and nodded in answer. "He is fine."

At that, Odd-Eyes let out a quiet, happy purr, then raised his head to roar...quietly. His final, unspoken message to his friend echoed softly in the night air as he and Astromancy vanished into twin clouds of twinkling lights.

"Pleasant dreams, my friend...I will always be within reach."

Oh good Ra above! Why must my boredom always spawn such oddities?! This came out of nowhere! And with such a sappy final line! XD

I honestly have no clue what possessed me to write this, but I'm proud of it! I hope you all enjoyed the sort-of-fluffiness! XD

...Oh, and Odd-Eyes not knowing what the Darkness is, is a random little thought of mine. I personally think that, if the Four Dragons are connected to AND do know what the Darkness is...I think that Odd-Eyes could be the exception to the knowing part. What if his late "Awakening" caused him to lose his memories of the Darkness?

So yeah...random idea on my part.

Again: I hope you all enjoyed this random one-shot! ...Also, has anyone else noticed that En and Core's names spell "Encore" when put together? Cookie for you if you noticed before I mentioned it here! XD