'Fuck'

Zane Truesdale looked straight into my eyes through my mask as if he could see my terror.
He didn't say a word as he got his duel disk at the ready.

"It's polite to let the challenged go first," he started, "And I think you remember how polite I am."

'Fuck'
'What does that mean? Remember? Remember what? Remember the other night? Does he know who I am? No, he can't right? He challenged me to this duel a week before he met me at the party. He can't know.
But what if he does know?
Fuck.
Is this about Syrus? Does he know I took him in? If he dug into my past to find out my identity, then does he know about Syrus? Does he know about my parents? Nicky? Are they in danger?
Wait, wait, wait. I dont know if any of this is true. I might just be kidding myself. Spiraling out of control is my specialty. Which Zane might know if he went poking around into my past....
Fuck.'

I had yet to say anything as I got my own duel disk prepared. My mind was racing a mile a minute. There was no way to know if Zane knew who I was or if I knew his brother or what happened to my parents, but the way he spoke, the way he looked at me, it all told me otherwise. He knew something, and he was gonna use it to his own twisted advantage. 
Zane Truesdale, Hell Kaiser, whatever you called him, was just about to become my number one problem.

"You are okay with going first, right?" Kaiser shot me a glare.
"Uh-yeah, yeah, fine. Whatever..." I rambled, thinking of ways to stop Zane Truesdale from ruing my life and wellbeing would have to wait.

Right now, I had to beat Hell Kaiser in a duel.

(AN: I am not good with mapping  out duels, and I won't be describing this one. Sry)

In the end, my Light and Darkness Dragon couldn't hold down the fort against Kaiser's Cyber Eternity Dragon, wiping out my remaining life points.

Hell Kaiser had won.

—— le time skip——

The after party was bustling with duel critics, pro duelist wannabes, sponsors, agents, and anyone else who isn't actually a pro duelist.
Unfortunately, I had to be there that the demand of Astor.

"Relax, everybody thinks you just another enthusiast, no one knows your you," Astor whispered at me.

When I started going to after parties and events, Astor has me get in and out of costume regularly. In costume during my duel, but outside of the arena, I'm just a regular Joe. It was a good way to keep my home life and my dueling life separate. This kept Nicky and Syrus out of the spot light and let me street duel for fun without any complications. For the most part it was working.
At least, I thought I was working.

"I'm not worried about everyone," I started, "I'm terrified of this one asshole, who has the influence, and the lack of a moral compass, to end my whole career. Without this job, I can't support my brother and Sy. I need to stay in the arena. Remember how bad and desperate I was when you first decided to rep me? Zane might! Zane might know everything!"

"Is that why you sent the boys home?" Astor asked, looking around the room to see if anyone noticed my freak out.

"No, I sent them home because Nicky was asleep, and Syrus looks mortified. Which is more than understandable, by the way!"

"Fair enough," Astor started rubbing my back to help my calm down, ignoring someone making a comment about how Astor 'scored an easy fuck' ( like, why do men sometimes?), "But Kaiser said one thing that was kind of off at the begging of you match, that was requested a week before he met you, don't you think your jumping to conclusions a bit?" He continued to talk as he sat me down at a near by table.

"I wasn't just what he said. The conversation we had at the party was impromptu. He just walked up from across the room to a rando enthusiast, make some snarky comments, then leaves the party all together? That was weird on his own, but he gave his real name before his dueling one, why would he so that? And the way he looked at me today, the way he spoke, it was implying something. Something I couldn't quite understand, like he was about to do something. Something big," I just rambled on and on, staring at my shoes, until a pair of boots joined them, and a tall shadow covered them.

'Fuck'

"Nice to see you again, (Y/N), was it?"

My blood ran cold. I looked up into those teal colored orbs. He knew exactly what he was doing.
"I never told you my name," I said as I stood up to meet him at eye level, despite Astor's protests, "Not once. In fact, I made it very clear that I didn't want you to know my name,"

"No, you didn't tell me, but I was so intrigued by you I asked the party host for your name," Kaisers twisted smile didn't falter as he lied through his teeth.

Astor and I looked at each other. We knew this was an outright lie.
When I first stated to gain traction as a pro, Astor made me 3 fake ID's with a different name and age on all of them.  They were made so I could sneak into my own after parties. This is how I was able to drink at the party before, because to the party goers, I was an of age duel enthusiast. But Hell Kaiser knew better than that.
He knew that we knew he was lying. He was looking for something else other than my identity. He clearly already knew that much.

"What are you so interested in me anyway?" I asked, "You're a pro, surely you have better things to do at this party than talk to a measly duel enthusiast," I decided to play his game for now. I had to figure out what he was doing, how he was doing. I owed Syrus that much.

"I didn't say I was interested in a duel enthusiast," He looked around the room and soon back to me, "I said I was interested in you. After all, you held your own against me tonight,"

"I think we should leave," Astor started to grab my arm, "Kaiser's clearly off his rocker,"

"On the contrary, Phoenix," Zane turned to Astor, who got so startled he backed up behind me, "It's been a while since we've seen each other but, I assure you, I'm as sharp as ever," Zane continues to creep closer to Astor, shrugging down to his level, " So sharp in fact, that I'm able to admire this intricate system you've worked out! But wouldn't the press like to know that your most lucrative duelist is a hot-headed, underage, brother stealing bitch with multiple felonies? I mean, I understand the system you've made. Hiding your shameful secrets, am I right?"
I was starting to feel completely nauseous.
He found everything. I was right. He dug through my past, set up to duel to get me in the same room as him, and now he's hurting my friend.
He's a monster.

"Look, man," I spat, "What do you want? You challenged me anonymously, you threatened to get me kicked out of the league for drinking when we first met, you're harassing my friends,  threatening mine and his career, and now your digging into my personal life! None of this is warranted. What do you want?"

"Syrus,"

I stood completely still. Tunnel vision set in and soon all I could see was those teal eyes.
Lacking any empathy. As cold as their color.

He was trying to steal him back.

"When I found out that my brother had moved in with a stranger who found him crying in an alleyway, I was shocked. Sure, doing something that stupid and shortsighted sounds like Syrus, but I still had to see it to believe it," Zane stood up straight and moved back from Astor and moved in front of me, "And let's  just say if seen more than enough,"

'Fuck'

Astor, who continued to tug on my arm, finally spoke up, "(Y/N) let's go,"

"Y-yeah, we have to go," as I turned away, Zane caught my hand, warmer than I expected, "Anytime you feel like talking this out you'll know how to reach me. We are far from done with this conversation,"

With that he walked off.

"Come on, I'll take you home," Astor pulled me out  if the building, and led me back to his town car.

———————

We drove is awkward silence until Asher decided to speak up.
"He was wrong, by the way," He turned to me, I could make eye contact with him so I continued to stare out the window as he continued to speak, "I'm not ashamed of you. I'm not hiding your identity because  I think you'll make me look bad. I know how much you value your family and value your privacy. I just want your home life to be as comfortable as posi-"

I cut him off with a hug, and I completely break down in his arms.

"I don't want him to take Syrus. I don't  want Syrus to be left alone with that monster! Did you hear the was he was talking about him? The way Sy looked after the duel? Kaiser wants him to come back, and he's threatening everything around Syrus to do it!"

I continue to cry, "I won't give him up, I can't let him go through this! Should I even tell him what his brother wants? I should right? He deserves it, oh god, he deserves so much better than all of this. You too, Astor. Like it or not, people knowing me, the real me, would shatter both our careers. You don't deserve that."

'Fuck'

——————————

By the time the car pulled up to my apartment, I was all cried out. Astor talked me through a game plan for how to tell Syrus, and told me to let his lawyers handle any other interaction with Hell Kaiser and his dueling reps.

Thanking Astor and apologizing profusely, I got out of the car and into my building, only to be greeted by a terrified Syrus and a worried looking Jaden.

"Did he talk to you? Did he say anything during the duel? Did the talk you had with him last night have anything to do with today? Does he know who you are? Your eyes look puffy, have you been crying? What did he do?"

"Whoah, Sy, let her breath, she looks like she had a rough night," Jaden grabbed Syrus by the shoulders and brought him into the kitchen, then poked his head out at me, "Do whatever you need to do, then feel free to talk. I got Sy covered,"

"Thanks Jaden," I shot him a grateful smile and went to my room to change.

I stat down on my bed and opened my hand. The hand I haven't opened since the party, the hand He grabbed, the hand currently holding Zane Truesdale's personal phone number.

I sigh and stuff the number under my mattress.
'Later. Right now I gotta get them up to speed'

When I went into the kitchen, Syrus looked ready to combust.
"Alright," I started, "I have a lot to tell you,"

—————————————
Whoo! Another long one!! Sorry there isn't a lot of dueling action in this book, but im focused more about writing relationships and character development.
Anyway, if you couldn't tell, this book does not follow the GX show storyline, it's more of an alternate universe that changes right after season 2. Bare with me, I got big ideas for this book!
Word count: 2,010