Ariette: Hiya! So, today I brought a very cute and funny story, with a special motive. My best friend/big sis birthday! So, this is for you Oshagirl! Enjoy and get heart warmed! :)

Yugioh Zexal does not belong to me.

Happy Biryhday!

It was late night. He was tired after such an active day. He just wanted to get some sleep. He closed his eyes slowly, letting a yawn escape his lips. He fell asleep, relaxing his muscles, letting his dreams take over him...

A beautiful morning. The birds were singing a lovely song. Rays of light filtered through the window. A young boy with black and red hair was sleeping soundly in his hammock. Suddenly, a red haired woman came over cautiously, as if she didn't want to wake the boy up. She then, slowly, got closer and closer to the sleeping boy, until she was exactly in front of him.

Then she screamed, "Happy Birthday, lil bro!"

The boy jolted wide awake and fell to the ground, making his sister laugh. "Hey! It isn't funny!"

"Well, for me it is!" She continued laughing, watching the boy touch his hurt head.

"Tch. That hurt, ya' know?"

"Oh! I'm aware! That's why it's funny!" She spoke, now his laughter becoming just a giggle.

"You're not cool Akari!" He yelled, making his sister laugh again.

"I love you too bro!" She said, making him pout like a little kid.

"Akari!"

"Ok, ok, I'll stop." She said, a smile in her lips.

"Thanks."

"No problem! Anyways, grandma is waiting for us, change your clothes and come down." She turned to leave but she stopped and said, "Happy Birthday bro." She spoke with warmness and left the room.

The boy looked confused. "My birthday? But that isn't today..." He decided to ignore it and change his pajamas as he was told.

He went downstairs after changing, and to his surprise his friends greeted him with a loud, "Happy Birthday Yuma!" It was in such a perfect synnc that anyone could swear they practiced.

Yuma smiled sheepishly. "Thanks, I suppose..." He would have said more if it wasn't because someone got his attention.

Right there, in front of him was a boy he never saw before, though he also seemed very familiar. The boy had light electric blue hair, a very fair and pale skin, and beautiful golden and silver eyes. The boy was smiling slightly at Yuma, delight in his mismatched eyes. Yuma frowned, for some reason he felt he knew this boy, but he was completely sure he never had seen him before. So why did Yuma felt he met him? Yuma was about to ask his friends about the mismatched eyed boy, but his grandmother came with a lovely smile.

"Yuma! Happy Birthday!" Yuma looked at his grandmother and smiled.

"Thanks grandma! But... I'm confused..." His grandma frowned and so did his friends.

"What do you mean?" Tetsuo asked confused.

"Well, I don't believe today is my birthday..." Yuma admitted, a sheepish smile in his face.

"Oh, Yuma! Can you really forget your OWN birthday?! Unbelievable!" Kotori spoke, scolding the black and red haired boy.

Everyone in the room laughed. Even the mismatched eyed boy laughed a little, who gained all of Yuma's attention.

"That laugh..." Yuma thought.

"Yuma, is in all our calendars! Everyone knows today's your birthday!" Kotori kept scolding the boy, never noticing Yuma already wasn't paying her attention.

"I believe Yuma understands now, Kotori-san." The light blue haired boy spoke, a smile still in his lips.

Yuma opened his eyes wide. He recognized that voice! "Astral?!"He suddenly exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention.

Yuma then looked away embarrassed, everyone laughed.

After a couple of minutes they all went to the kitchen and took a delicious breakfast from Haru. Then, they all went outside and decided to take Yuma to whichever place he liked the most, as a present. Meanwhile his sister and grandma stayed home preparing a surprise party that, of course, Yuma wasn't aware of.

They went walking through the town's central plaza until Yuma could decide where he would like to go.

"So, Yuma, have you already decided?" Kotori assked, smiling a little.

"Nope! I have no idea where I want to go." They kept walking a little longer until they found Rio, who seemed like she was out shopping.

Rio saw them and came greeting happily. "Hello!"

"Hi!" The 'Numbers Club' greeted back.

"HI!" Yuma grinned.

"Hello." Astral calmly greeted.

Rio laughed and then added. "Oh! Happy Birthday Yuma!"

Yuma grinned more. "Thanks Shark's sis!"

Rio pouted. "MO! Yuma!"

"Gomen ne! I meant Rio!" Yuma quickly corrected himself.

Rio sighed. "It's ok, I won't be mad at you. But only because it's your biryhday!" Shortly after Rio finished her sentence, Ryoga came holding a bunch of bags. He seemed greatly annoyed.

"Oi! Shark!" Yuma happily greeted.

"Yo." He simply said, putting some of the bags down. Rio looked at him expectantly. "Happy Birthday Yuma." Ryoga said almost in a whisper, looking aside.

"Arigatou Shark!" Yuma smiled.

Rio smiled too and gasped. "Oh yeah! I brought you a present!" She then looked in one of the bags she was carrying and took a little box. She handed it to Yuma. "Here it is! I hope you like it!"

Yuma took it and opened the little box. His eyes started shinining. "Thank you!" Yuma practically threw himself over her. But quickly backed off when he saw Ryoga's glare.

The little box contained some cards that Yuma was eager to have, but unfortunately he couldn't find them anywhere.

"I'm glad you liked it!" Rio spoke delighted. She then looked at Ryoga expectantly again.

Ryoga sighed, and mumbled, "I swear, next time I won't be coming with you..." He then took another little box, but this time from a bag he was carrying. He also handed it to Yuma. "I wanted to give you this later, but someone didn't want to." He said, looking at Rio while she laughed.

"Thanks, Shark." Yuma took the little box grateful and opened it. Inside was a beautiful golden chain, the same golden of the Emperor's Key.

"I thought that maybe you would like an actual chain for your Key..." Ryoga said looking away.

Yuma smiled brightly. "I love it!"

"It is indeed a beautiful chain." Astral spoke looking at the chain in question.

"Glad to know you liked it too, Astral. By the way, you own me a duel." Shark smirked adopting an arrogant pose.

"Anytime you wish Ryoga." Astral answered, excitement filling his eyes.

Yuma looked at both of them. He still was confused. Why did Astral had a human body? When did that happen?

"Well, you two have to cool down. We haven't finished our shopping Ryoga. And Astral, I'm sure you already have plans with Yuma." Rio said with a wink directed to the blue haired teen.

"Right. We'll leave our duel for later." Ryoga said, taking the bags up as he groaned. Rio could be such a carefree when it came to shopping. They then left to continue their shopping, Ryoga asking why he had to carry all the bags.

Yuma looked at his friends. "What was that about?" He asked, while his friends turned their heads or acted like they didn't heard him.

"I know where could we go, Yuma!" Kotori suddenly spoke with a smile.

Yuma frowned at his friend's actions, but asked anyways. "Where?"

"To that dueling carnival you were talking about all week!" Kotori said smiling more.

"Yes! That's a great idea Kotori! We should go!" He said, racing to where he thought was the right direction.

"Yuma wait! It's not that way!" Kotori yelled racing to him, the others following close behind.

After a couple of turns and getting lost, they managed to find the street where the carnival was being held. Though it was called 'Duel Carnival' it is really just like any carnival, the only difference was a platform in the middle where duelist could expose their abilities in public. Plus, there were nationals and internationals pro duelist that came to teach and see the abilities of the younger ones.

The group of friends spended hours there, playing and watching everything that the carnival had to offer. Yuma also wanted to prove his ability and challenged some others duelists to do so. He managed to win every duel, until he faced Astral, who won in just three turns. They also got to meet some of the national and international pros and got an autograph from them. They could officially say that they definitively enjoyed themselves.

By dawn they started leaving to go to Yuma's house to sing the Happy Birthday Song and have some cake. But when they were leaving, they found something unexpected. The Barian Emperors, (minus Nasch, Merag and Vector.) in their human form, were walking towards them. They really seemed to be planning to rather enjoy themselves than to talk to the 'club'. Of course, while they were walking there was a moment when they were standing in front of eachother.

There was a long and uncomfortable silence between them, until Alit decided to speak. "Hi!" The green eyed boy grinned. But the moment just turned more awkward.

.

.

.

.

After a couple of minutes more, Alit and Yuma bursted out laughing, gaining an amused glare from everyone. Alit then putted one of his arms around Yuma's shoulders and Yuma did the same, both with smile in their faces.

"Happy Birthday Yuma!" Alit spoke through his laughter.

"Thanks Alit!" Yuma answered with a grin.

"Here." Alit got away and handed Yuma a card. "As a present."

"Thanks Alit, but you didn't need to." Yuma smiled by Alit's actions.

"No, it's ok. I insist. Take it." Alit said, his smile growing higger when Yuma took it.

"I can't believe it! This is one of your cards! Are you sure you want to give me this?" Yuma asked filled with surprise.

"I'm sure. Besides, I'm not the only one who brought you a present." Alit said winking.

Yuma looked at him confused, when suddenly Gilag came and gave him a card. The same happened with Durbe and Mizael. "Happy Birthday Yuma." Gilag and Durbe said.

"Happy Birthay shortie." Mizael said, gaining a glare from Durbe.

Yuma smiled at them. "Thank you guys! I would hug you if I didn't know you could kill me for that."

They all laughed at that last statement. Then Alit got near Yuma and whispered. "No kidding. They could really do it." Yuma laughed again, this time out of nervousness.

After that, they changed a couple of words and were ready to leave, when suddenly an orange haired boy appeared. Said boy came happily and jumped, literally, over Yuma, wrapping him in a hug. The purple eyed boy grinned. "Happy Birthday Yuma!"

Yuma stayed still, completely shocked. He stayed like that for almost five minutes until he was able to react. "V-Vector?"

The boy stopped hugging Yuma and looked at him with a frown. "I told you to call me Rei..." He pouted.

"Y-you did?" Yuma asked again, still shocked.

'Rei' looked at Yuma worriedly. "Yes. Are you feeling ok?"

Yuma didn't answer for a couple of minutes. Then he talked. "Yeah, yeah! I just forgot." He laughed sheepishly.

"Oh! Great!" Rei smiled once again.

After that, they really went back to Yuma's house. Right after they reached it, Akari and Haru greeted Yuma with a big surprise party where everyone was, literally. He was really happy at the surprise and he thanked to his friends and family for caring about him. After that, they just made a huge celebration where they dueled, played games, annoyed eachother in a 'lovely' way (Namely Rei.) and ate a big cake.

Almost at the end, everyone started giving their presents while saying a characteristic or their feelings about Yuma. One by one, they talked about how thankful they were to Yuma, and how his hope had helped them have their own. It's secure to say that almost all of them made Yuma cry, which always ended in a warm hug and happy smiles. Now it was Kotori's turn to speak.

"I decided to bring this present, because even if it's just a little something I know it also has a great meaning." Kotori gave Yuma a small box. Inside was a silver medallion with a bright red stone and a symbol. "The symbol means hope. The hope that Yuma always has. The hope that changed hearts and saved worlds. The hope that made a lot of different people be here reunited, sharing, learning, and enjoying each other's presence. The hope that showed us that we never have to give up, that if we try we could Kattobingu."

Yup, that also send tears down Yuma scarlet eyes. "Kotori..." Yuma stood and went to her side. He hugged her tightly as he thanked her for being his friend since early childhood. Kotori hugged back and they started to change sweet words and heartwarming thoughts that made more than one cry.

They stayed like that for a moment and then got separated, a smile in their face. After that, there only was one left. That one was Astral, who in all evening stayed quietly, enjoying the party in his own way. When his turn came, he was pretty nervous, (Even though he doesn't admit it. Remember, cool personality.) he knew what he wanted to say but didn't know how to say it. He breathed and calmly he started talking.

"I do not have a present with me, at least not a physical one. I spended all this time studying human customs and learning everything about this world. But... The first thing I learned was that we never stop learning, and Yuma was a great example of it. Everyday I got to spend with Yuma was always and still is a mystery. Is always so exciting just go and do something 'common', as people would say, when Yuma is there with me. Yuma was my first teacher in this world. And my first lesson was hope. He taught me to never give up, to believe, to have faith. He taught me to care for others, to feel, to live. He showed me that everyone had potential to reach their dreams. He showed me how to continue walking even if it hurt. He showed me to believe in second chances. He teached me almost everything I know and I will always be grateful for that. I could not imagine a life without Yuma. It would be like a life without colors or music. For some reason, Yuma always found a way to touch our hearts, but unlike others, Yuma also left a mark in it. His way of being, his way of acting, his way of speaking, everything about him always described hope, light, life. I just wish, that we could spend a lot of more years with the awesome person Yuma is, and that every new day can be a day brighten with your cheerful persona. That is all."

No words were necessary to say how Yuma was feeling. Tears of joy and happiness were falling down his eyes. Everyone started clapping enthusiastically after Astral's little speech. Many of them with tears in their eyes, and with warm smiles in their face. Yuma and Astral hugged each other and, like with Kotori, they changed sweet words and heartwarming thoughts. (Purpose: Give people a grave case of fainting because of sweetness.)

After that, they shared a couple of hours more and it was finally time to sleep. They cleaned the house and then went to bed. Yuma and Astral said their goodnights and went to Yuma's room. When they reached it they changed their clothes and were ready to go to sleep, Astral in Yuma's real room and Yuma in the attic. Yuma lay down on his hammock but beforehe could fall asleep, Astral appeared with a warm smile.

"I apologize if I disturb your dream." Astral quickly said.

"No, it's ok Astral. What do you whish?" Yuma said, still smiling for Astral little speech.

"Well, I thought that maybe... We could sleep togheter, like the first time." Astral said adopting puppy eyes. Where he learned that?

Yuma laughed a little. "Ok. Let's go." Yuma got out of his hammock and went to his real room with Astral.

The two of them lay down on Yuma's bed and covered themselves with the blue sheets. They stayed a little while staring into each other's eyes until Yuma spoke.

"Thanks Astral."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"Because of what you said. I didn't know I was so special for you."

Astral looked aside slightly blushed. That made Yuma laugh a little. Yuma then got nearer Astral and hugged him. Astral stared a bit surprised but quickly hugged back. Yuma closed his eyes and so did Astral. A couple of minutes passed and Astral thought Yuma was already asleep when he suddenly spoke.

"Please, never leave me Astral."

Astral oppened his eyes wide, and with tears and a small smile he said:

"I won't. "

Little tears escaped his eyes as he woke up. He was in his hammock. Was all that a dream? But it felt so real...

Suddenly a voice in the distance called. "Yuma wake up. It's time for school."

And with that voice a person came to the attic, making Yuma's eyes widen. Right there in front of him was the same boy from his dreams. His brother, Astral...

Ariette: So, I decided to leave it this way, because... I can! XD Anyways, I hope you all have enjoyed this little One-Shot I made. If you wish to say anything you can leave a review! ;)

To Oshagirl: Even though I'm a bit late, I made you this preent. Happy Birthday Nee-san! May your wishes bevome true! I hope you liked this. I made it with all my heart and I hope you also geg the hints of how much I love you. Happy Birthday! :D

To those who are waiting for 'How' ndct chapter: I'm sorry! But I only have one thing to say: Blame Vector! It's his fault I haven't updated! X( You see, I wanted to update two weeks ago, but my story got deleted shorty after I published 'The Madness in Me'. Then my PC got damaged. Then I got sick. Then I had the huge project I told you about. Yeah, definitively hate my bad luck :( Anyways, I'm working as fast as I can. But don't worry, I haven't given up.

Ariette: So, please forgive me for writting errors and OC-ness. It's 2 am here and I'm sleepy. Plus, I still don't have PC, I'm using my Tablet. Thanks for reading