# The Holding Chamber
"Don't try anything funny, like your friend did," a guard roared, shoving Yuya forward. Another guard pushed Yume in right behind him.
The cell door slammed shut. Their cuffs were released through a slot before either of them could argue.
"Yuya! Yume!" Crow was already on his feet. Around him, the small chamber was more crowded than either of them expected — Shinji leaning against the far wall, Sawatari sulking on a corner, and past them, Gongenzaka rising with a look of pure relief.
"Gongenzaka?!" Yuya blinked. "Dennis, too?"
Dennis gave a small wave from where he sat beside Vance and Razz. Two other prisoners in gray uniforms sat a little further back, quiet but clearly with them.
"You're both okay," Gongenzaka said, closing the distance in two strides. "This man Gongenzaka was worried."
"How did you all end up here?" Yuya asked, looking between the faces he recognized and the two he didn't.
"Long story. We were at some underground stadium. Shun was there too, dueling Dennis, when Security stormed in and took everyone."
"Shun's here?" Yuya's eyes widened.
"Somewhere in this building," Dennis said. "He gave the guards enough trouble that they moved him to a separate detention block."
"So almost everyone has come here," Gongenzaka said, glancing around the cell with something like satisfaction despite the circumstances. "Most of the Lancers, anyway."
"Have you—" Yuya started, the question about Yuzu already rising in his chest.
A harsh buzz cut through the chamber corridor, followed by a guard's shout from down the corridor. "Lunch! Move out!"
The cell door unlocked with a heavy clunk.
"We'll talk while we eat," Gongenzaka said, already moving toward the door. Yuya swallowed the question and followed, the others falling into a loose line behind them. Followed and observed by a guard.
# The Food Hall
The line for food moved slow. At the serving counter, two prisoners in the same gray uniform served out portions one tray at a time — a thin curry, half a piece of bread, a few chopped vegetables, and a half-full cup of water.
Yuya frowned at his tray. "This is barely anything."
"Don't complain, brother," the server said with an easy smile. "Kitchen's stretched thin. Please adjust."
"Yeah, we've got a lot of mouths to feed," the man beside him added.
"But—" Yuya's eyes caught on the tray just ahead of his, noticeably fuller. "You gave him more."
"He got the same as everyone," the server said flatly. "Keep moving. Line's backing up."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Sawatari pushed forward from behind. "I can clearly see—"
"Everyone, just take what we're given," Gongenzaka said, glancing toward the guards stationed by the main door. "We'll share once we sit down. Don't make a scene."
They settled around the table where Gongenzaka's group had already claimed space, the two unfamiliar prisoners shuffling over to make room.
"Hey...," Yuya watched one of the men slide a card across the counter to the server on his way past. A thought clicked into place, with almost disbelief. "Don't tell me... They use cards as currency here."
"That's exactly how it works," Gongenzaka confirmed.
Yuya's shoulders sank. "Using cards to buy food... that's not what Dad ever taught me a card was for."
Then his eyes landed on the fuller trays in front of Gongenzaka and Dennis, and the thought finished itself before he could stop it. "You two didn't—"
"I won't hide it," Gongenzaka crossed arms, eyes closed. "We gave our cards."
"Gongenzaka? How could you—"
"No!" One of the other prisoners cut in before Yuya could react. "Gongenzaka-dono did nothing wrong."
"That's right," the second added. "He and Dennis-san gave their own cards for us."
"What?" Yuya turned toward them.
"We had nothing," the first man said. "No cards, no connections here. The servers weren't giving us enough to keep the hunger calm. Gongenzaka-dono and Dennis-san each handed over a card, so we'd get proper portions too."
"Then why did the servers give food to you as well?" Yuya asked, looking back at Gongenzaka.
"We don't know for certain," Gongenzaka admitted. "Cards are everything in here — especially rare ones. Maybe giving one away for someone else's sake earned some kind of respect. Or perhaps it was enough to give us food as well."
A small smile crossed Yuya's face, right up until he noticed Vance and Razz's trays, both just as full.
"We gave up cards too," Vance said simply. "For ourselves."
"Can't fight hunger on an empty stomach," Razz said, already shoveling a spoonful of soup into his mouth. "History's proof enough of that. And it's not like I handed over anything I actually cared about. Just unimportant ones."
"How can you say that so easily?" Yuya said, his voice rising.
"Yuya," Gongenzaka cut in before it could go further. "Don't start something. The guards are watching everywhere."
Yuya let it go, Gongenzaka and Dennis slid part of their bread and vagitables across the table.
"Here, take some of mine too," Razz offered, holding out a piece with a grin.
"Mine as well," Vance added.
"Rare of you to actually offer something," Razz teased, glancing sideways at him.
"We're a team. Sharing thin doesn't fill anyone up completely, but it's better than some of us going without."
They passed portions to Crow and Shinji as well. When Razz turned to offer some to Yuya, Yuya shook his head.
"I can't take food from someone who treats their deck like it isn't important." Shaking his head with serious expression.
Razz studied him for a moment. "Pride's a nice thing to have. But it doesn't fill your stomach, though."
"It's not about pride. A deck is a heart of duelist. Someone who doesn't respect their deck isn't a duelist."
Razz's eyes sharpened. "What did you say..."
"Give me his share if he doesn't want," Sawatari said, brightening.
"Oi, Sawatari," Yume said. "Read the room. Or are you always this stupid?"
"What did you say?!"
"Let's just eat," Gongenzaka tried to calm everyone, and for once, everyone did.
# After the Meal
"Are these the friends you've been looking for, Yuya?" Crow asked, sliding into the seat beside him once things had quieted.
"Yeah." Yuya gave a bright smile. "Not everyone. But it's a start."
"Good. Glad you found some of them, at least."
He and Shinji stood shortly after, gathering their trays.
"Where are you two headed?" Yuya asked.
"Damon and Tony got picked up too before us," Crow's expression turned serious. "Those two are our friends. We're going to track them down."
They left without another word.
Yuya turned back to Gongenzaka. "Has there been any news? Anyone who looks like me? Or about Yuzu?"
Gongenzaka hesitated. "No. Nothing like that. But—"
"But?"
"There was a talk yesterday. Someone who had beaten a Duel Chaser showed up here, at the front gate. He fought the Facility's head guard and won."
"I heard the same," Dennis said. "Nobody official will confirm it, but I managed to piece together news one by one myself from guards. The head guard, Armstrong, was defeated by him. But he was dominated through sheer number. He resisted so they grabbed him by hands. But then something in him just snapped. He tore through the guards with his bare hands. And when Armstrong tried to stop him personally—"
"His arm got broken," Yume finished. "That's why guards are wary of me and Yuya. But if someone actually escaped from here, why isn't it everywhere? A prison break should be a big news."
"That's the part I was getting to. Nobody here wants to admit someone got out. It would destroy their reputation, worse than the escape itself. So officially, nothing happened."
"How did he even get out, though?" Yuya asked.
"There's a window on the first floor. Word is he went through it."
"That still doesn't add up," Gongenzaka said. "Even someone as skilled as Yuya couldn't cross the water or the bridge without being seen. Unless someone helped him from outside. I don't see how else it's possible."
"Even if I got out of this building," Yuya murmured, "I wouldn't know how to get past the water either." He looked at Gongenzaka. "What about Yuzu? You heard anything?"
"I'm sorry, Yuya." Gongenzaka lowered his head, closing his eyes.
Yuya's head dropped.
"We should be thinking about what comes next," Vance said. "Staying here isn't an option. There's more waiting outside than in here."
"Yeah," Yume agreed. "But how do we actually get out? Whole place is surrounded by sea, and only one bridge, and we don't even know where our own people are — Reiji, Ryo, that ninja."
"They're probably looking for us too," Yuya said. "Maybe they'll find us first."
"Even if they do," Yume said, "there's not much they can do unless someone here decides to help them."
Nobody had an answer for that.
A guard's voice cut through the hall. "Lunch is over! Trays to the counter, back to your cells!"
Everyone rose and began filing out.
Vance lingered behind, setting his tray down in an empty corner. A faint sound shifted somewhere in the metal beams overhead.
"Vance-dono," a voice said, calm and quiet.
"Tsukikage."
"I've been sent to observe this place. I'll help however I can without being seen."
"Reiji Akaba? Or Ryo-san?"
"This world's government."
Vance said nothing, waiting.
Tsukikage explained, brief and to the point.
"I see," Vance said once he'd finished. "So we were expecting help, and instead they're expecting us to escape ourselves."
"I can't risk being discovered, so I won't be able to speak often... How did you notice me?"
"I felt like I was being watched since we sat down to eat. I thought checking wouldn't hurt."
A pause — something like quiet approval. "I'll report this to Reiji-dono. You all are not alone in here, even if it doesn't feel that way."
The presence above him faded.
Vance walked toward the door just as Razz came jogging up from behind, barely two minutes behind the rest.
"Yo, Vance. You're always so good at looking tough."
"I could say the same about you," Vance didn't turn around. "Acting like a moron, that is."
"Didn't need that last part."
"No. But it's true either way."
"Hey, were you sure about giving up your cards, though? They meant something to you."
"I could say same about you. For me, helping mattered more."
Razz laced his hands behind his neck, grinning. "Wonder if they'd respect us more if they knew Gongenzaka and Dennis only got more food because we slipped those two servers a card behind their backs."
"Don't. Leave it alone. They'd only feel like they owed us something."
Both went until they reach their prison chamber, just steps before others. Followed by a guard.