The Visitor

Chapter 12

The weekend rolled in, and in an attempt to make them all feel better, Akari drove Yuma, Kotori, and Astral to the mall so they could spend some time (and money) and keep their worries at bay. Surprisingly, it helped a little. The trio of friends walked around, bought some ice cream, shopped on the budget they were given (a generous amount), and stopped by the food court.

All the while, Astral found himself gauging the people around him, using his sensing abilities to see what each person was like. Were they funny? Mean? Nice? Loving, kind, or rotten? He found himself gravitating toward those with more positive qualities.

Yuma was one of them.

"Astral?" Yuma was shaking his shoulder. "You okay there? You're spacing out a little there, and you've barely touched your food."

Astral shook his head to clear it and managed a smile, though he was feeling utterly confused and conflicted. "I'm perfectly fine, Yuma. Really."

Though Yuma could read Astral like an open book, he knew that his brother never said a thing unless he was ready to. No amount of poking or prodding could make him open up when he wasn't ready, so he let the subject drop for now. "Okay, but promise to tell me later."

"If I can. I don't even know if I can sort out my thoughts on this."

Yuma knew not to push things, but what if something were really wrong with his brother? Three family members were dead (both boys were almost certain their parents were dead even though they found no blood), friends were recently killed, and he was accused (if only briefly) of being the killer of those loved ones. If he was holding it in this whole time, Yuma wanted to put a stop to that.

"Talk to me, Astral," he pushed softly so Kotori couldn't hear. "I want to know. If you're bottling something up, I want to know."

Astral sighed. "I don't even know how to begin to tell you, Yuma. Maybe at home." Before his brother could protest, he turned away and focused on his meal.

The human boy huffed a bit. He'd get something out of his brother if it was the last thing he'd do.

When the afternoon rolled by, Akari came back to pick them up, not very comfortable with leaving three thirteen-year-olds by themselves all day. She dropped them off at Yuma's house and informed Kotori's parents of where she would be.

As they were entering their home, Astral suddenly felt a chill go down his spine. He quickly darted his eyes around to see if anything was following or watching, but the only things he saw were the bushes and other houses. Nothing else was there.

Yuma and Kotori sat down on the couch to watch some TV together. Astral wanted to join them, but the feeling of being watched was too much to let him relax. He told his brother and friend that he'd be upstairs in his room, that he had a slight headache. Yuma, always worried about Astral when it came to his health, quickly insisted that he go rest.

Somehow, that disturbed Astral.

As soon as he was upstairs, Astral started looking in the nook and crannies of the room to see if there were any cameras or hidden people, though the chance of someone hiding was slim because of the barrenness of the room. So the only chance of someone looking in was a camera.

He flew up to Yuma's attic room and looked outside, careful not to be seen. Mismatched eyes swept the outside world carefully until he saw a red blinking light. A shiver ran down Astral's spine.

Is someone watching me?

Astral tried to push the paranoid thought down, but it snuck into the front of his mind. Panic welled in his chest, but he didn't know why. There was a small chance that it was actually a camera, that someone was watching him. Besides, he was deemed innocent! There was nothing to fear.

Gauche didn't believe you were innocent, said the voice from the cards. You didn't get through to him.

"I don't even know what that means...!" Astral complained, sinking to the ground.

Go out again tonight. You'll learn more.

"I have a feeling that I don't want to know more."

The voice didn't respond to that, but he felt like it was a little upset. He didn't care, though. He had a feeling that whatever it was that the voice wanted him to know, it wasn't good.

"Astral, you feeling alright?" Yuma called. His footsteps echoed throughout the room as he climbed up to check on his brother. "Weren't you going to tell me what was disturbing you at the mall?"

Astral got up and sat on the hammock. "Yes, but where's Kotori?"

Yuma peeked through the hole that provided an entrance to the room. "She's on the phone with some of her friends. We can talk in private now if you want."

"Very well," the being sighed. "But do you really want to know that badly?"

"More than anything. I want to make sure you aren't bottling everything up. It isn't good for you."

"Alright. You may think I'm crazy, though..."

"I would never!"

Astral couldn't help but smile at his brother's support. As soon as Yuma sat on the hammock with him, he began talking, first about the voices coming from the cards that told him certain things, and then the person he supposedly hallucinated. It wasn't too long of a story since Astral was good at giving only the necessary details, but it was a paranoid one. Yuma remained unusually silent throughout the telling, which made Astral worry. He was usually so talkative during stories.

Only when he look over did he notice what was wrong. Yuma's ruby eyes were glassed over and distant, staring at nothing. "Yuma?" Astral called as he shook the boy. "Yuma, what's wrong?"

Yuma began talking, but his expression never changed, and the voice that came out was not that of his brother's. "Yuma cannot know what you're doing. No one can know."

Astral backed away from Yuma's body, but he couldn't get away when his weight dragged Yuma with him. "What are you talking about? I can't tell my own brother what's going on?"

"Absolutely not. What you're doing must be kept hidden even from him. He may never know."

"But why!?" Not only would Yuma know that he was keeping something secret, he wouldn't stop trying to get him to talk. Would this person take over his brother's mind and body every time he knew a little too much?

"I can't tell you. If you want to know, you must keep collecting the cards."

Before Astral could ask anything more, Yuma fell limp. The alien caught his brother before he fell face first into the floor, and in usual Yuma fashion, he began to snore. Astral couldn't help but smile as he sighed; it was as if he just took a nap after staying awake all night. He laid his brother down to sleep off whatever the person did to him and went downstairs to join Kotori so she wouldn't be alone.

A/N: Almost forgot to post the new chapter today. ^^" Whoops.