Hikaru followed Crow into a small, hidden base buried beneath the ruins of the Lower City.
As soon as they entered, Crow called out with his usual booming voice.
"Hey, everyone! Come on out! We've got a guest today!"
At once, the room filled with the sound of little feet.
Several children came running out from the shadows, cheering Crow's name and tugging at his coat, their laughter echoing against the metal walls. Some stretched out their hands, asking for gifts.
Crow chuckled and, with a showman's grin, pulled a few cards from his jacket pocket, handing them out one by one.
"Here you go, but no fighting over them, got it?" He then turned to introduce Hikaru.
"This guy's a friend, he's not from the Upper City or even from here. He's from another dimension!"
That last part made the kids gasp in awe.
The word "other dimension" lit their imaginations like fire. The idea was mysterious but not threatening, unlike the feared "Upper City."
To them, Hikaru wasn't a stranger. He was a story come to life.
Hikaru couldn't help but smile slightly as he watched them swarm around Crow.
In the original timeline, Crow had always been like this, a protector of orphans, both in 5D's and ARC-V.
He'd once supported an entire group of children on his own, delivering packages day and night. He'd even managed to feed not just the kids… but freeloaders like Jack Atlas, too.
"Crow, you're back!"
"Big Brother Crow!"
As Hikaru was introducing himself to the children, two more figures emerged from the back of the base.
When Hikaru turned, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Yugo…? Rin?"
He blinked. "Why are you two here? Weren't you with Yusei?"
Yugo rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly laughing.
"Ah, about that…"
After the Cross-Dimensional Friendship Cup ended, a massive new tournament called the Fortune Cup began within the Synchro Dimension.
The prize for victory was a chance to challenge the King himself.
Yusei had entered that competition, but he couldn't bring Rin and Yugo along, so he'd asked Crow to look after them in the meantime.
"I see…" Hikaru nodded. "That makes sense."
It did, though it also created a new concern.
Back when Hikaru thought Yusei was still with them, he hadn't worried much, after all, as long as Yusei Fudo was watching over Rin and Yugo, they were as safe as anyone could be.
Who could possibly snatch them away from Yusei?
Well, perhaps only Kalin Kessler.
Now, though, that safety net was gone.
Not that Hikaru doubted Crow's ability.
Crow was a seasoned duelist and a Signer himself, there was no question of skill. But unlike Yusei, Crow wasn't just protecting two friends. He was protecting everyone here.
Crow led Hikaru deeper into the storage area. Inside were several D-Wheels lined up against the walls.
Hikaru immediately recognized them, Crow's own Blackbird, Yugo's sleek white D-Wheel, and even… an old police model.
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"That one looks like a Security D-Wheel."
Crow gave an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah, uh… don't ask where I got it. Let's just say it fell off a truck."
Hikaru smirked slightly.
That sounded about right for Crow Hogan.
"Sorry," Crow said at last, his expression turning apologetic.
"That's the only spare I've got."
"It's fine," Hikaru replied easily. "Having one at all is already more than enough."
In theory, Tierra could have built him a custom machine from scratch.
But that wasn't practical, not here.
A D-Wheel wasn't just a motorcycle. Each one was powered by a Perpetual Engine, an infinite energy core that drew power directly from dueling itself.
When duelists raced, their emotions and monster resonances generated energy, fueling the D-Wheel's motion and maintaining its endless drive.
Without that engine, no matter how fast a bike looked, no one would recognize it as a true D-Wheel.
Now that he finally had a D-Wheel, Hikaru didn't really care what it looked like.
Tierra could reshape the frame however she liked, appearance was the least of his concerns.
"Sorry," Crow said, rubbing the back of his head. "This D Wheel's power output is… average.
Actually, all of ours down here have problems."
Building or repairing a D-Wheel in the Commons was no small task.
Crow's own Blackbird was fine; it had been gifted to him by an old friend.
Yugo's white machine had been pieced together with Rin's help, under Yusei's guidance, but now that Yusei had vanished, no one knew how to fine-tune the others.
"Yusei must have something important to take care of," Rin said firmly.
Yugo nodded. "Yeah! He'd never leave us hanging otherwise."
Hikaru looked up thoughtfully.
Wait a second…If Yusei hadn't contacted anyone since their last meeting, did that mean he was the last person to have spoken with him?
"Leave the tuning to me," Hikaru said at last. "I was there when Yusei made his last adjustments. I still remember how he calibrated the drives."
"Seriously?!" Yugo's eyes lit up. "Awesome, Hikaru-nii! Come on, help me fix mine...ow!"
Rin had already elbowed him in the ribs.
"Say thank you first, you idiot."
Then she turned and bowed slightly.
"Sorry to trouble you, Hikaru-nii. We really appreciate it."
"It's fine," Hikaru replied. "I'll need your help too, sooner or later."
Together, they set to work.
With Hikaru's sharp memory and Tierra's subtle technical guidance whispering through his earpiece, he quickly diagnosed each machine.
Loose parts were realigned, damaged circuits swapped, and by evening, all three D-Wheels were running smoother than before.
By the time they finished, the sky outside had deepened into indigo.
Hikaru straightened up, wiping grease from his gloves, and checked the hour.
He didn't intend to stay the night.
"You're heading out already?" Crow asked.
"I need to get used to the D-Wheel's handling," Hikaru answered, straddling the bike.
He wobbled slightly on the seat, almost tipping over, before catching his balance with an awkward laugh. Then he reached into his pocket and clipped a small device onto the console.
Crow blinked.
"What's that?"
"A little helper," Hikaru said lightly. "Let's just say… I'm not exactly a natural rider."
Crow chuckled under his breath.
"Fair enough. Then ride safe."
Everyone waved as Hikaru revved the engine and eased out of the garage. He raised a hand in farewell and disappeared into the alleyway.
"Man, Hikaru-nii's so cool," Yugo said, eyes sparkling.
"Jack, Yusei, Hikaru… every one of them's got that something special! I wanna be like that someday."
He clenched his fists in excitement.
"People keep saying Jack and Yusei betrayed the Commons, no way. I'll never believe that. And I'm never touching those Earthbound Geoglyph cards either!"
"Idiot…" Rin sighed, shaking her head. Still, she followed him out, as always.
Once they were gone, Crow stood alone in the quiet workshop.
He glanced over at his own D-Wheel, the Blackbird, its black frame gleaming faintly under the flickering light.
He was confident in his dueling, confident enough to challenge Shinji and win.
But still…
He raised his left hand, staring at the unmarked skin of his arm, so empty, so ordinary.
No crimson glow, no dragon mark.
And that, perhaps, was what unsettled him most.
Because in this world, there was a simple truth: a duel could only begin when both duelists accepted it.
As Shinji's friend, Crow didn't want to see him walk down a road of no return. He could believe that the Earthbound Gods might have the power to revive the dead, but he didn't believe for a second that those same beings would return a devoured soul intact.
Once a soul was completely consumed, no divine power could bring it back.
But…
He clenched his fists, trembling. He wanted to stop Shinji.
He wanted to face him in a duel, yet he couldn't.
He didn't have the right.
When Hikaru had interrupted Shinji earlier, Crow had seen it clearly: Hikaru's mark.
If he'd borne one himself, he could have challenged Shinji right then and there. Instead, he could only watch his friend vanish into the shadows.
"If only I…"
Crow bit down hard, eyes shut in frustration. Somewhere unseen, a faint crimson glow shimmered above him, as though something vast and ancient had turned its gaze his way.
Meanwhile, Hikaru was testing the D-Wheel on one of the lower city tracks.
He wasn't going fast, partly because he was still learning, and partly because the limiter device that Hikaru had installed deliberately capped his speed.
After all, safety came first.
Hikaru had reasoned that with Hikaru's intellect, he'd pick up the basics quickly.
Besides, every D-Wheel had some degree of auto-pilot support; this was more about getting a feel for the machine than winning any races.
But then, that "slow start" became a problem.
As Hikaru rolled down the dimly lit stretch of road, red and blue lights flashed behind him.
A siren blared.
"Should I handle this for you?" Tierra's voice hummed through the comm.
"No… forget it," Hikaru replied with a grin. "Might as well use this as Riding Duel practice."
He'd dealt with Security officers before; this one couldn't be any worse.
At least, that's what he thought, until the patrol D-Wheel drew up beside him instead of behind.
"Hey, kid! You're that outsider who took down my subordinates, aren't you!?"
Hikaru turned his head, and blinked.
The man riding next to him was dark-skinned, thick-browed, built like a tank.
Wait a sec… Tetsu?
He almost choked.
Tetsu Trudge, here too? So even this dimension had its own version of him.
From the look of his uniform, this Trudge served the same role as always, Security's frontline enforcer, specializing in catching Commons who tried to sneak into the Upper City.
Definitely ranked higher than the average cop he'd met earlier.
"Duel Mode, activate!"
Before Hikaru could answer, Trudge had already hit the switch. A surge of light streaked across the ground as the D-Wheels' Perpetual Engines roared to life.
The track lit up in ribbons of neon; their wheels left glowing trails along the curved walls of the course.
On Hikaru's console, the D-Wheel's Duel Mode light blinked on automatically.
He detached his arm Duel Disk and clipped it into the mount.
"Fine," he murmured. "Let's see how Riding Duels feel up close."
The street warped around them as the Duel Field expanded, light panels rising along the walls until they formed a closed circuit loop on his HUD.
Trudge sneered.
"Since you're an outsider, I'll spell out the rules for you!"
"Riding Duels are fought on a single continuous course. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins, though, of course, the usual Life Point rules still apply."
"And when you lose, I'll be taking you in personally. Then we'll see about deporting you back to your own dimension!"
Hikaru simply nodded.
"Fine by me."
"Then whoever clears the first corner gets the first turn."
VROOOM!
Trudge slammed the throttle. His D-Wheel surged ahead, sparks spitting from the rear tires as he tore through the curve, overtaking Hikaru in seconds.
"Ha! What a rookie!" Ushio shouted over the roaring wind.
"Then let's go."
"DUEL!" ×2
Tetsu Trudge— LP: 4000
Hikaru Amagi — LP: 4000