Me: Quick fic I wrote in the span of an afternoon before diving into writing some Writing Challenges. They will probably take a while, so I though to cook up this. Take it as anything you want, but the truth will be revealed in my next Multi-chap fic, which is likely to be published in the next few months.
Adult Yuko: I belong to Vile-EXE, this not-so-brainy author owns only this almost-inesistent plot.
Me: HEY!
«Dad, run!»
Despite until a moment ago Yuko was running, she stopped dead before turning back to help her father.
«Damn, I'm getting too old for this..» joked Yuma with a low voice. He looked injured.
«Come on dad, this isn't the right moment!» she said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders to help him moving.
As if on cue, a large shadow enveloped them. Looking up, the two Tsukumos saw a large dragon hovering over them, its wings flapping with loud noises. It was completely black, with the exception of bright blue eyes. On its head, there was a shadowed man. Only a pink light in his left eye could be seen.
«Oh crap...» breathed daughter and father at the same time.
She and Yuma started walking as fast as possible, though Yuma looked rather tired.
The man extended his arm towards them. «Hametsu no Disintegration Ray!» he ordered with a distorted voice. The dragon widened its jaws, creating an orb of pure-white light.
«DAD!» screamed Yuko, looking above them with a scared expression. Then, Yuma pushed her forward, slumping on the ground. «Ran away!» Yuko looked at him horrified. «What?!» Yuma glared at her serious. «I SAID RUN AWAY!» he yelled angry.
Wiping a tear, Yuko ran away, ignoring the whistle produced by the energy ray passing through the air, then an explosion.
Then, she felt herself being wrapped by something stiff. She realized she was grabbed by the dragon. Her breath quickened as she was lifted to the man's level.
A disgusting red half-moon formed on his face. A wicked smile. «Tsukumo Yuko!» the warped voice said. «Wanna join your mommy and daddy?» Yuko didn't replied, she just looked at him in fear.
«I'll take that as a yes!» It was an eerily familiar voice.
And then, she was lowered slightly, reaching the jaws level. Then, in an instant, she was swallowed.
Yuko screamed as she fell in the beast's esophagus.
. . .
When she stopped screaming and opened her eyes, she noticed she wasn't in a lake of gastric juices, nor in a stomach. She was fluctuating in darkness. And she was wearing her white pajamas with pink hems.
«What the?»
Then, hearing a sickening sound behind her, she turned around, and saw a circular eye with a vertical slit pupil, staring at her. Above it stood the shadowed man, with two glowing cyan eyes. And above him, the dragon with the blue eyes.
«Creepy, isn't it?» said a cold voice, still behind her. The girl turned around again, facing a glowing card. It split in two, before the light died down.
And the gold letters of the names became legible.
Numbers 96: Black Mist.
And Chaos Numbers 96: Black Storm.
Purple flames erupted from the cards, creating a humanoid shape above them. For a second Yuko thought it was Astral. But then she understood.
«The Tsukumo brat's daughter. So we meet.»
The feeling of evil she felt every time she came close to that Number was unmistakable.
«Numbers... 96.» she grunted, glaring at the being.
[AN: Just FYI, Black Mist is now like how Astral appeared to Kotori in the first episode of ZEXAL II, when Yuma gave her the Key.]
«I see your father told you about me.» He said with a dark, sly grin.
«What do you want from me?» she hissed.
«Well well...» he laughed, «...we're talking since 1 minute, yet you're already more annoying than your little, stupid daddy.» He had just the time of completing the sentence that Yuko tried to punch him in the face, but obviously failed. He chuckled darkly. «Nice try girl, but you couldn't hit me even if I were at my normal state.»
Yuko growled. «Anyway, if you really want to know...» His eyes turned serious. «I'm here... to warn you... Tsukumo...»
Yuko's expression turned confused, and she raised an eyebrow. «Warn me?»
«Precisely.» he said. «A old menace is about to return. And it is after you and Yuma.»
Yuko returned to glare. «And why are you saying that to me?»
Numbers 96 shrugged. «Just because I had a vision, and Hope ordered me to warn you and Yuma. Unfortunately, right now he's... occupied.»
«What do you mean by that?»
«My mean he's doing intimate business with your sl...»
Another punch swinged right in his head, prompting him to laugh. «Don't you dare say anything about mom.» She spat the words on him.
That sick grin once again spreaded on his face. «Whatever. Have fun meeting the one who is your nightmare since 15 years.» he said, before vanishing.
Yuko took some seconds to fully process his last words. And when she did, her eyes widened. Turning around yet again, she faced the shadow behind her. The five eyes were all looking at her. And she could swear the man was smiling sickingly.
«Oh no. Oh no. It can't be.» she said, fear taking over her.
. . .
20 years old Yuko Tsukumo was turning around in her bed, with her long green and blue hair all disheveled, and was whining slightly under her heavy breath. Then, her golden eyes shot opened. Trying to calm down herself, she sat up on the bed. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she noticed a purple 96 glowing slightly on the back of her left hand.
«Remembred these words, Tsukumo...» said a voice in her head, «...you will need me in the future.» And with that, the 96 disappeared.
She violently shook her head, and got up. She walked to the window of the hotel where she currently was sleeping. The window that let her see the near Heartland.
Just like her mother and her grandmother before her, she was growing out as a beautiful woman.
She was returning to her home city after a tour (being the daughter on the current King of Games made her quite famous in the Dueling world even before she won her first tournaments) to participate the Heartland's World Duel Carnival qualifications.
The famous WDC. Yuma's first success as a professional Duelist. By now, 30 years after the 1st edition, it became so popular that it literally became a worldwide tournament, and in every main city of the Earth now were starting the eliminations for entering this year's edition. And this time she was determined to defeat her dad and, at least, become the Heartland champion. And if she was lucky, she could even won the event and become the first Queen of Games.
Actually however, it was the Terran World Duel Carnival, since similar tournaments were created in the other two worlds. Obviously, the Emperor Nash, known as Shark and Ryoga Kamishiro on Earth, was the champion of the Varian World Duel Carnival (VWDC), and Astral was the champion of the Astral World Duel Carnival (AWDC).
She still remembered the incident that happened right after the WDC of 15 years ago. That guy... he haunted her dreams for a good part of her childhood, and still now that she was adult, he still reappeared sometimes. Like this night.
But... what the hell was the last part?
So okay, the genes Yuma received from Astral as a result of the ZEXAL Change (the reason he could perform Shining Draw on its own) and that she inherited, allowed her to have a particular connection with the Numbers, such as sensing them, or calling them from Yuma's Key even though she wasn't wearing it, but until now, she never spoke to one of them in her sleep, much less with goddamn Numbers 96.
Based on what Yuma told her of his adventures, he committed suicide trying to kill Astral, so what the heck was happening here... And she was sure it couldn't be a random dream. No, that wouldn't explain the glow on her hand.
Definitely, there was something fishy about this.
She held the card her dad gave her when she was a child. Her trump card, Jōshō Ōji Future. «Future, you're ready?» The card gave off a slight cyan glow.
And she was determined to discover exactly what.
Yuma: ...are you seriously going to do what I think you're going to do?
Me: *raises an eyebrow* ...and you are thinking what...?
Yuma: *glares* A living hell. Again.
Kotori: Seriously, intimate business? Still?!
Me: *shrugs* Sorry, I'm a male shipper. I write what my brain wants to read.