Tori had gone looking for Yuma, when her best friend had not joined the group for their last period of the day, which was duel period. It was a period in which all the students had no lessons so they could practise their duelling skills on each other. It was the period that followed their lunch break, and today ran until the end of school.
"I just hope he hasn't ditched us for the Barians, again." Tori said to herself, "I mean Rio and Shark aren't too bad, but Vector is nothing but trouble and Alito is way too familiar. He gives me the creeps." It was then she spotted Yuma standing casually against a set of lockers, next to one which was open and obscuring its owner. Yuma's face looked indifferent, which had been the norm for the past year, since Yuma had started leaving his room again. Then the locker door shut, and Tori recognised the violet hair of Shark. Tori didn't know why this upset her so much, as she marched up to them, her green hair flowing in her wake.
"Ouch, Tori, what was that for?" Yuma asked rubbing his arm, which Tori had hit with more strength than she had meant to.
"Were you ditching us again, Yuma?" Tori asked, again with more hostility then she had meant, staring at Shark accusingly. He just looked indifferently at her and crossed his arms over his chest, his purple jacket held in his right hand.
"No, I just ran into Shark and we got talking." Yuma answered, skating over some of the details, "I was just on my way. In fact Shark was coming too, he wants a break from Ray." Tori knew that Yuma wasn't telling her something, so she looked at him in the eyes and noticed they were slightly bloodshot and his hair was a little wet, as if he had recently washed his face.
"Yuma, have you been crying?" Tori asked. Yuma glanced at Shark a little taken a back. Was it that obvious?
"No." Yuma lied. Shark felt a little amused, but didn't show it. It seemed Yuma didn't like to admit to his friends that he could cry.
"I can tell Yuma," Tori said, "your eyes are bloodshot. Please don't let your manly pride get in the way. I won't think any less of you."
"If its that obvious," Yuma said defensively crossing his arms, "then why ask?"
"Because I care." Tori said. Shark shifted uncomfortably. He didn't want to see two of his friends fighting with each other. "Why have you been crying?" She asked.
"I miss Astral, and its just really hard, today of all days." Yuma answered defeated. "Sorry I snapped Tori. I shouldn't have."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tori asked.
"Not right now," Yuma said, "I got most of it off of my chest for now, thanks to Shark. He found me in the music room and got it out of me. I think I really needed it." Shark smiled bashfully.
"The least I could do." Shark said, "But you didn't answer my question. Do you think you'd be able to help the Barians and I with the music for our drama project? Since most of us are clueless when it comes to music, and none of us want to leave it to Vector."
"I will help." Yuma agreed, "But if its original music you need, I'll have to pre-record it, since the school has asked me to prepare a musical performance for that day as well." Tori thought she saw a light appear in Yuma's eyes that hadn't been there in so long.
"Thanks, I'm sure the others will appreciate it too." Shark smiled, as the trio turned to walk to the duelling ground. Tori was upset by how easily Shark seemed to be able to break through Yuma's barriers. She would even go as far as to say she was jealous, since she, out of all of Yuma's friends, had known him the longest.
"Hey, Tori," Yuma said noticing the distant look in her big, bright eyes, "you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wish I knew how to get you to open up," Tori said, shocking both boys as they began walking over to Bronk and Kathy who were duelling while being watched by Flip and Caswell, "I just don't seem to be able to anymore. I suppose what I'm saying is you are not alone, Yuma, and Shark isn't the only one you can talk to. You can talk to any one of us. I mean we all still worry about you."
"I'm sorry I've made you feel like that." Yuma said, a slight guilty look in his scarlet eyes, "I didn't mean to. It's just I haven't really opened up until today. It might just have been a case of Shark being in the right place at the right time." Shark doubted the whole truth of the statement, but part of him suspected that was wishful thinking for some reason.
"Just make sure you talk to us Yuma, ok." Tori said.
"Hey Tori," Shark said, wanting to guide the conversation away from Yuma's depressed mood, "I didn't know Yuma could sing. Did you?"
"Yeah I did." Tori said with a smile at Yuma who was going a little red faced as they all waved at the group as they joined it, putting their duel gazers on, "When we were in elementary school we had to take part in a Christmas production the school put on. Yuma and I were part of the choir and Yuma's voice almost made me cry. I don't why he hides his talent though."
"I honestly don't think I'm that good." Yuma shrugged.
"I actually agree with Tori." Shark said as Kathy defeated Bronk with her deck full of cats, "you have a beautiful voice."
"What took ya so long to get here pal?" Bronk asked Yuma as the large teen stepped between Yuma and Shark, earning an unnoticed dark glare from Shark.
"Got talking with Shark." Yuma said, nodding at Shark.
"Oh, hay Shark," Bronk greeted him, getting a nod in return, "you both missed me wipe the floor with Caswell and Flip."
"But arrived in time to see you get your ass kicked by Kathy." Shark stated coldly. Yuma hid a giggle, not knowing why he found Shark's quip so funny, and then smiling because it was the first time he had chuckled in a year. Shark noticed this and suppressed his own smile, glad that Yuma at long last seemed to be returning to some form of himself.
"What's that supposed to mean, fish boy?" Bronk barked as Flip stepped up to challenge Kathy.
"That you got defeated by a girl." Shark said, "At least tell me you lasted more then 4 turns." Bronk turned tomato red. Yuma and Shark both blinked in shock.
"Wait, Kathy beat you in 4 turns!" Yuma exclaimed in shock.
"3." Bronk corrected going impossibly redder. Yuma went silent.
"Well that's embarrassing." Shark said unthinkingly. That pissed Bronk off, and Yuma just shook his head.
"Well I got caught in her looping cat combo that stops you attacking." Bronk stated defensively.
"That's her go to move," Yuma pointed out, unconsciously siding with Shark, "you should have seen it coming and made your moves assuming she would try that combo." Then Yuma realised what he had said, and regretted it.
"So you think I'm a bad duellist, huh, Yuma?" Bronk asked hands on his hips.
"No. Its just you normally do better." Yuma stated, realising again he shouldn't have said that. Bronk's fists were clenched.
"Why are you siding with Shark, Yuma?" Bronk asked heatedly, "You normally defend us when one of the Barains joke about our duelling."
"Sorry Bronk I shouldn't have said it." Yuma said putting his hands up, "I'm just having a rough day. I won't say anything else."
"I suppose I can let this one slide." Bronk said seeing sincerity in Yuma's eyes. Yuma relaxed, glad he had been able to get himself out of trouble. Flip lost to Kathy in two turns, which made Bronk feel better. Then Yuma decided he would challenge her next. This shocked his friends, because he had only been accepting challenges for the past year. Shark and Tori smiled. This was a clear sign that Yuma was finally on the mend.
"I hope you have brought your A game Yuma," Kathy said with the glint in her cat like eyes, "because you'll have to play a purrrrfect game to beat me."
"I know I have the game to beat you, Kat," Yuma smiled, it finally meeting his eyes, "because I'm feeling the flow." Shark hadn't realised he'd been wanting to hear Yuma say that for a whole year, but once he heard it he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He was just glad no one noticed. Yuma allowed Kathy to go first.
"First, I play the spell card double summon." Kathy said, "This allows me to normal summon twice this turn. So I summon two stray cats in attack mode and end my turn."
"Is that the best you got?" Yuma asked with a smile and a small twinkle in his eye as his friends watched smiling at the spirit that Yuma was showing at long last.
"Don't get cocky Yuma," Kathy purred, "because you can't touch my nine lives."
"My turn, I draw." Yuma declared as he looked at his hand and smiled, "First I activate the spell card dark whole."
"Good move." Shark smirked, "That will destroy all monsters on the field. Only Kathy has monsters, that will leave her open."
"That seemed so effortless for Yuma." Caswell smiled. Kathy however wasn't smiling as she sent her cats to the graveyard.
"Don't think you've won just because you destroyed my cats Yuma." Kathy hissed.
"Next I summon Gagaga Magician." Yuma smiled, "Then I activate Gagagawind to special summon Gagaga Girl as a level 4 monster. Then I use level 4 Gagagas Magician and Girl to build the overlay network and Xyz summon Number 39: Utopia. Now attack Utopia."
"Surely Kathy can block this." Tori said hands clasped under her chin.
"I activate Utopia's ability," Yuma stated, not noticing Tori speaking, "by detaching one Xyz material I can negate his attack." Yuma sent Gagaga Magician to the graveyard.
"Classic Yuma." Shark smirked.
"Then I activate the quick play spell double or nothing from my hand," Yuma smiled, "this doubles Utopia's attack points and he can attack again because his attack was negated. Go Utopia!"
"No, I am going to take 4000 points of damage." Kathy lamented, since she had no cards in her hand at all to defend herself, because they were all spell cards and a single monster. Kathy's life points went down from 8000 to 4000.
"Your move Kathy." Yuma said, since he had no trap cards that he could set to defend himself or his monster.
"I draw." Kathy said and then frowned. She hadn't drawn what she had needed. "I set a monster, and set one card face down and end my turn." She was hoping her bluff would hold Yuma off for a turn or two.
"Ok, I draw." Yuma looked at his card and smiled, "I activate monster reborn, and return Gagaga Magician from my grave to my field. Then I activate Gagagabolt. When I control a Gagaga monster I can choose one monster card on your field and destroy it. Say goodbye to you face down monster card."
"No way." Kathy pouted as she sent her face down monster to the grave.
"Next I activate Mystical space typhoon to get destroy your face down spell or trap card." Yuma said, and watched as Kathy placed her only other card in the grave too, "Then I summon Gagaga Gardna and overlay him with Gagaga Magician to Xyz summon Heroic Champion Excalibur. I detach all materials from Excalibur to double his attack points."
"Yuma's not holding back, is he." Bronk grinned, glad to see Yuma finally enjoying something other then music.
"I attack with Utopia." Yuma declared.
"I discard Sphere Kuriboh to change Utopia into defence mode." Kathy stated.
"I thought you might." Yuma smirked, "But you should have waited for Excalibur to attack, since he has 4000 attack points."
"Oppps." Kathy said as Excalibur attacked and wiped out her life points. But she didn't care, because Yuma was at long last smiling a genuine smile and rushed with all the others, except Shark, to hug Yuma out of happiness for him.
After school, Yuma had decided to walk home with Shark. Mostly because he and Shark had both gotten a detention for being late to school. Shark had spent his time in detention downloading something onto a spare memory chip he had, while Yuma just rested his head on the desk, since they had been told they weren't allowed to talk. Shark couldn't help stealing looks at Yuma through out their detention, and each time he did he felt his heart flutter slightly, he even felt the same warmth as earlier in the music room when Yuma smiled at him briefly, before turning away.
What is with me all of a sudden? Shark thought to himself, What is this feeling?
It was as Yuma had asked if he wanted to walk home with him, and his heart skipped and warmed all at once that he realised it. He had a crush on Yuma. He also realised he wasn't bothered by the thought either.
"So, why was everyone hugging me earlier?" Yuma asked Shark, "I asked them all, but they wouldn't tell me."
"You said your catchphrase." Shark said smiling at Yuma.
"So?" Yuma questioned.
"You haven't said it since Astral." Shark explained, as the thought he might have had feelings for Yuma longer than he thought passed through his head, "None of us thought you'd say it again. Also you have begun smiling again. And not those fake smiles either."
"What do you mean?" Yuma asked confused.
"When you smile genuinely, it reaches your eyes," Shark explained as both he and Yuma blushed, "when you have been fake smiling your eyes stayed cold or distant. I think you are finally on the mend."
"Only because you showed me I am not alone," Yuma said thoughtlessly, "no matter how alone I might feel because of Astral's absence. I have all of you guys to talk to, and support me."
"Yuma, can you promise me something." Shark said as they walked up to the gate in front of Yuma's house.
"Depends what it is." Yuma said not wanting to make a promise he couldn't keep, since so many who were close to him had broken theirs in the past.
"If you ever feel lonely again and you can't contact anyone," Shark said placing the chip he had made into Yuma's hands, while avoiding eye contact, "you'll listen to the track on this memory chip. To remind yourself that you are not alone."
"S-s-sure." Yuma stammered.
"Thank you." Shark said as Yuma turned to walk up his front garden path. Shark watched Yuma walk up to his door before turning to walk back to his mansion. He didn't look back, but if he had he would have caught Yuma turn back to look at him, an affectionate smile on his face.