Forgotten

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal.

So this is my first dip into the Zexal fandom. Hopefully this isn't too bad.

In the center of Heartland, life was bustling as usual. Everyone went about with their daily lives, all except for one, Yuuma Tsukumo.

The teen sat in class, gazing out the window. An unreadable expression crossed his face, sadness evident. He ignored the math lesson from his favorite teacher, Professor Ukyo. Nothing could distract him at this moment, not on this day.

Today was a day of deep thought. It was one of sadness for the teen and even his older sister, Akari. Though, she would never admit it, deep down he knew how today made her feel.

Yuuma sighed under his breath, wanting to find something to distract himself from this unsettling sadness. He made the motion to grasp the key pendant around his neck. The subconscious movement often sought out during times such as this usually calmed him somewhat. However, his hand only managed to grasp the front of his white-collared shirt, his eyes widened.

Worriedly, he looked down, finding no evidence of his key pendant anywhere. Adrenaline surged through his veins, body hyper-aware of the issue at hand. He checked his pockets, somehow keeping the teacher's prying eye at bay.

His search ended to no avail. The key was nowhere to be found.

'Crap, what did I do with the key?' He thought.

Finding the key would have to wait. Class was in full swing and the day had just barely begun.

Kotori glanced at her friend, worry shining in her large eyes. Something definitely preoccupied Yuuma. Her childhood friend had barely said a word to her or Tetsuo on their way to school.

The girl's thoughts were interrupted by the bell, signaling the end of the math lesson.

Professor Ukyo frowned, saddened that his lesson was over already. "Alright, class head on to P.E. I hear that you all will be swimming today."

There were groans and some sighs of excitement. The students began to file out of the classroom, all except for three. Yuuma collected his things quickly, panic setting in, as he still had not found his key.

'Damn it. What if Kaito took the key again?'

The spiky-haired teen stalked past his two friends, surprising them both.

Tetsuo and Kotori looked at one another and then in the direction where Yuuma ran off.

"Yuuma! Wait up!" The duo yelled, chasing after their friend.

Kotori sighed, keeping an even pace with her larger friend, Tetsuo. The taller of the two groaned.

"What is up with him today?"

The girl shrugged. "I'm not sure. He was really quiet this morning. Do you think Astral said something to him?"

Tetsuo shook his head. "I don't think so. He would usually just brush off any comment from Astral. Something must be bothering him. This is beginning to remind me of that day when his key pendant was stolen.

"The Key pendant? Why do you think of that right now?"

"He always has that thing with him. Plus, I haven't heard him yell at Astral or 'talk to himself' since yesterday."

Kotori and Tetsuo continued to run, finding Yuuma outside, running off the school grounds.

The duo looked at one another and gulped. "Should we really leave the school grounds again? You remember how upset our parents were with us?"

Tetsuo shrugged. "Yeah, but this is worrisome. Yuuma doesn't just run off campus like that."

Kotori sighed and nodded. "You're right. I hope we can help him then."

With that said, the duo headed out, hoping to find their friend.

-Page Break-

Yuuma jogged down the familiar path to his house. He had checked different places to no avail, the key still missing. He stopped in front of his house, eyes wide.

'Damn it, if sis sees me out of class she'll skin me alive.' Sucking up the courage, the teen walked into the house, finding it empty. He gazed around, heart pounding. Where were his grandmother and his sister?

Quickly he headed upstairs to his room/attic. Relief flooded through his body at the sight of the key dangling off his hammock. He picked up the key, placing it around his neck. He felt like himself again. The key lit up, blue light flooding through the bedroom. Astral hovered above his companion, arms crossed over his chest.

"Yuuma, you left the key this morning."

The addressee, nodded, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I kinda panicked at school when I realized that."

Astral merely nodded, gazing at his partner.

"Yeah, I was in a rush this morning. I was running late."

"You are always late for school."

"No I'm not Astral!"

The teen's friend closed his eyes, smiling slightly. "You are. However, why are you so careless today? You are not so careless when it comes to our key."

Yuuma flushed at the comment. "I was not careless with the key. I had other things on my mind!"

Astral hovered closer to the teen, studying his red face. "Why is your face brighter in color?"

"Huh?"

"Your face. Why is it, all red?"

Yuuma's red face darkened. Astral was very naïve. Yet, this only made it worse especially when it came to things he did want to share.

"Yuuma? Why are you acting like this? What is wrong?"

Yuuma groaned, turning away. "It's none of your business, Astral. Nothing is bothering me."

"I can sense your emotions in your heart. I know something is bothering you."

'Even with how naïve he can be, Astral can sense my emotions. I forgot about that. Damn… I really don't want to tell him.'

The alien blinked expectantly. He wanted a response. "Yuuma, you can tell me. I will not think any different of you."

The teen's eyes narrowed. "Have you been watching weird stuff on TV again?"

"It is not weird as you say. The lady on TV says it's okay to share your feelings with the one that you care for."

Yuuma groaned at this. Astral really needed to find a new form of entertainment. His love for television would be the death of him.

"Today is the anniversary of my parents' deaths. I was preoccupied with that this morning. I guess I forgot the key because of that."

His companion looked at him questioningly. "Death? This marks the day of their death from the past?"

A nod was his response. "Yes, it is. Dad gave me the key. I guess I subconsciously didn't want to dwell on the loss of them today. Even after all this time, it still hurts."

Astral frowned at his friend. He hovered in front of the teen and pulled him into a hug, startling him.

Yuuma jumped at the contact, frightened. Astral could touch him on occasion but it felt odd. The hug felt like a power surge. The odd power that Astral gave off shocked the spiky-haired teen.

As if struck by lightening, Yuuma pulled away from the embrace, eyes wide, and a blush covering his cheeks.

"Did I do something wrong, Yuuma?"

'He doesn't realize what he did… He doesn't know what a hug means.'

Yuuma noted the saddened expression on his spirit friend's face. He smiled despite his shock and patted the alien on the shoulder. "It's alright, Astral. You didn't do anything wrong. I just wasn't expecting you to hug me."

"The lady in this movie did that to the man when he was upset. He liked it. I thought I could make you happy with that?"

"You did, Astral. I appreciate it. Just warn me next time will ya?"

"Okay, Yuuma."

The teen was about to reply but was stopped in his tracks by the yelling of his sister and his friends.

"Yuuma Tsukumo! What are you doing out of school again? Do you enjoy being in trouble?"

Akari yelled, his two friends in tow. The elder Tsukumo groaned and climbed into her brother's room. "Did you not hear me? Are you talking to yourself again?"

The boy shook his head. "No, sis. I thought I had lost my key. I wanted to find it and I found it up here."

Kotori and Tetsuo watched the scene silently. They were relieved that the key had been here all along. But they felt bad that the teen had been caught by his older sister.

"Yuuma, you could have gotten the key after school. School is more important than ditching to find your pendant."

The younger teen shook his head, clutching the pendant tightly. "No it's not! You know what today is, Akari! I had to have it!"

Realization dawned on his older sister, her blue eyes widening. She instantly felt remorseful for her anger toward Yuuma.

"How could I have forgotten? Today is the anniversary of their deaths. Yuuma…" She pulled her brother into a hug, ignoring his futile attempts of freedom.

"Akari let me go!"

Astral watched the scene play out.

"Observation forty-five. Hugs offer a form of comfort for humans."

Kotori and Tetsuo laughed as Yuuma managed to free himself from Akari's hug.

Akari ruffled her brother's hair and apologized to him.

"Yuuma, if you'd like I'll call the school and tell them that you will be gone for the remainder of the day. That is, if you do something for me."

He looked at his sister skeptically. "What's that?"

"Help me with my next news article. Seeing as how you have done so well in the past and all."

He crossed his arms and pouted. "Fine. I'll help you with that."

Kotori and Tetsuo bid their farewells and headed out, hoping Akari didn't tell on them for ditching.

"Good." She winked at her brother and left him alone with Astral.

"I'll kattobingu through her demands at help with that news article."

"She cons you a lot into helping her doesn't she?"

Yuuma's eyes widened. "How do you know what conning is?"

"Television."

"Figures."

Yuuma sighed and turned his attention away from Astral. He held the key pendant close to his heart, closing his eyes.

'Mom, dad… I'll never forget you…'