I would like to stress this is an Alternative Universe fanfic. It does not lie in line with canon, it is a different universe. Interestingly enough, a universe written before 13 was subbed - so the only information about Kaito is from the Special Manga, that he is a Numbers Hunter from a different dimension who can stop time - and while the memory of people reeling over the change in location and change in target demographic was still fresh. There's a little trivial backstory for you all.
Please, enjoy! ^^
Disclaimer: I know nothing about uni, I'm still in high school. Also some things will be questionable, no doubt about it, because I suck, so quality not guaranteed.
Chapter One:
BEEEEEEEEEEEP. 7:15 AM.
Yuma Tsukumo was generally a morning person. But once in a while, he liked to sleep in and just enjoy the peace that came with it. This had been one such day.
Unfortunately, when he fell out of his hammock, all thoughts of sleeping in flew out the window.
BEEEEEEEEEEEP. 7:20 AM.
Yuma scowled at the alarm – or, where his alarm would have been. The stack of files in his TO-DO box was moved, a once-damp-now-mouldy newspaper thrown away, revealing the wretched device hidden before. He swiped his palm card across the display.
7:21 AM. ALARM RESET. HAVE A NICE DAY.
With a sigh, Yuma retrieved his clothes for the day: a plain green shirt and a pair of white pants decorated with blue flames.
He kicked open the trapdoor before descending the attic's stairs, and the significant change in atmosphere settled immediately. Though the ever-returning cobwebs were cleaned away, it didn't change the bag of takeaway boxes in one corner nor each crack in the skylights' panes. In contrast, the second floor – and the first – had floors vacuumed each week, tables wiped down and bookcases devoid of dust.
A note on the fridge, pinned with a neat, red tile, made him blink. Then the urgent appointment hit him full force.
Five minutes later, with breakfast in mouth and backpack slung over his shoulder, Yuma jumped out of the window. The fire escape shuddered as he landed in a neat crouch, and his hand flung automatically toward his neck for a necklace that no longer hung.
Ten minutes later, the backpack had switched shoulders and the toast was gone. The route to the station was fenced by reflective steel and glass buildings, all virtually identical, an urban jungle disciplined by the power of science and technology. Yuma had a sleek, white D-Gazer snapped over one eye to see the augmented street signs, and somehow managed to check the live timetable data downloading through the network whilst running and short of breath.
Twenty minutes after leaving the house, he scurried off the bus and onto Neo Domino University's grounds. He only paused long enough at the front gates to swipe the key card around his neck, then hurtled past the first green before looping around the amphitheatre.
"Yuma!"
Yuma cycled back a few steps. Takeda Tetsuo grinned at him in a cyan shirt and yellow shorts, leaning on the pillar that his best friend had run past earlier.
"Yo!" Yuma called. "You haven't seen Todoroki around, have you?"
Tetsuo rolled his eyes. "I don't know, maybe he told me to keep an eye out for you?"
"Right. Well, he wasn't at the green. Tell me where he is?"
"Library."
Tetsuo barely had time to finish when Yuma hurried off again, so his sigh went unnoticed.
It was unsurprising when Yuma made it to the library in record time. Sure enough, Todoroki had a booth inside, waiting with arms crossed and eyes drilling through his surroundings. He always seemed to wear a white dress shirt and blue slacks, all arranged as neatly as the gelled antenna in his hair; Yuma tended to wear the same shirt for about five days in a row before throwing it into the wash, and would never admit his sudden spikes of self-consciousness out loud.
Todoroki frowned when he approached. "You're late."
"A D-Wheel and the metro crashed at 4 AM this morning," Yuma said quickly. "There were still delays."
"Delays lasting ten minutes?"
Yuma gave him his best grin. Todoroki didn't buy it.
"It is unlikely it took you ten minutes to find Tetsuo, Yuma," said Todoroki. "In summation, you need to set your alarm earlier."
"Yeah, yeah. What have you got?"
Todoroki held up a laser disk crystal. "You did complete your part?"
"Yeah." Yuma ignored it, reaching into his bag to pull out a sheaf of papers. "Here. You type it up."
"What?"
"Last time I typed it, remember? It took me half an hour."
"We have two minutes, Yuma."
There was a half-shrug, and Yuma gestured to the open laptop feverently. "Start typing!"
Todoroki did so.
In the end it took them three minutes to finish copying Yuma's text, often having to pause and decipher his messy scrawl. Fortunately enough, they were close enough to their next room that they somehow made it inside before the lecturer's arrival.
"You are insufferable," Todoroki said.
Yuma tilted the laptop's screen so the inbuilt camera could get a better view of the hand-drawn diagrams. "You've said that."
"Then I'll say it again."
Before Yuma could come up with a witty comeback, the doors slid open. The lecturer stepped inside, a man in his late thirties with premature grey hair and a nondescript suit. They stood up to bow and pay their respects as they did every morning, and it was only after everyone sat down that Yuma noticed the newcomer to their classroom.
The lecturer scanned the room. "This is Ryoga Kamishiro. He is interested in attending next year, and will join us for the rest of this year to get a feel for the culture."
Ryoga inclined his torso, a bow suggesting unfamiliarity with the action and his violet hair bobbed as he did so. "It is nice to meet you."
"There is a spare seat next to Yuma Tsukumo. Please raise your hand."
With one last half-bow, this time barely perceptible, Ryoga headed in Yuma's direction. Each stride had the tails of his periwinkle-blue dress shirt fluttering between steps. He dropped his bag beside the desk but changed his mind, putting it on top, then sat down without a single word.
Yuma opened his mouth to introduce himself. He never managed a sound, as the lecturer cleared his throat to begin the lesson.
"I expect all of your assignments sent in within the next two minutes. Now we will continue analysing the properties of New Momentum..."
It was a week since Ryoga's appearance when Yuma managed catch him in a conversation. That day, the newcomer tried to leave the room as soon as the lesson ended, but found the sleeve of his shirt caught under a laptop.
Yuma knew that thing would come in handy.
"Move it," Ryoga muttered.
"What—oh, I'm sorry."
Yuma slowly clicked his combination into the numbered lock, feeling the force of Ryoga's glare though he could not see it. A blue light lit up, allowing the lid to be opened, and the sleeve fell free. The action had not taken long, but it took long enough that there was a crowd gathered around the door as the rest of the fifty-member class tried to leave.
"I'm Yuma Tsukumo," he greeted, now that Ryoga couldn't squirrel away.
Ryoga hmmed, disinterested, so Yuma tried again.
"You're into engineering?"
Another hmm, but less congenial.
"Where are you from?"
"Heartland." It was short and crisp, but still an answer.
"I'm from there too! We might have met—how old are you?"
"Nineteen."
Yuma rubbed his chin, a favourite thinking pose of his. "Hmm... No, I don't know any Ryoga Kamishiro. Did you go to Heartland Central?"
There was no opportunity for answer, as Todoroki then approached them.
"Yuma," said Todoroki. "This Sunday at the Main Library, 2:30 PM West Wing. How does that sound?"
With a grin, Yuma gave his assessment partner a thumbs-up. "Great!"
Todoroki nodded, less enthusiastic. "I'll see you, then."
He shot a sideways look in Ryoga's direction before leaving for the door. Yuma, who from that action ended up noticing Ryoga moving away again, quickly brushed past Todoroki and pulled the newcomer into conversation again.
Yuma smiled. "Which school did you go to?"
"South Heartland College."
"I've never heard of it," Yuma replied. He absently waved goodbye to Todoroki as they moved out of the door and split ways, noting that Ryoga, like him, headed for the main station. "What's it like? Is it a private school?"
"Yes."
Instead of waiting at the main station, as Yuma had predicted, Ryoga turned left along the streets to continue walking. Hiding a grimace at having to walk more, but spurred by nothing but sheer boredom and curiosity, Yuma tagged along.
Even though some called him tactless, he knew when to change a topic.
"Where are you staying?"
"Friend's place."
Though the words were perfectly neutral, something about their execution combined with Ryoga's body language made Yuma frown. Ryoga probably tried to hide his actions, but Yuma had been dealing with aloof companions long enough to realise something happened to be wrong. And he knew that, if he didn't pursue the topic further, Ryoga would continue doing whatever he was doing until bad things occurred.
"Where?"
Ryoga must have noticed the change in Yuma's tone, because his eyes darkened. "Around."
"Around where?"
Something about Ryoga seemed bristled. Perhaps it were the narrowed eyes, or the tightly pursed lips, or even the tense lines of his back. But no matter which, Yuma could tell he wasn't going to get an answer unless he rectified the situation.
"What I mean," he said after a few moments of tense silence, "is that I don't want you getting into anything bad."
"Why."
Yuma raised his hands. "Hey, I like you. Not in the gay way," he amended quickly, "but there's something that makes me want to be your friend."
"That's stupid." Ryoga stopped walking. He turned around to stare at him, probably trying to determine his motives. "I'm not someone for you to be friends with."
Uplifted by the most words from Ryoga's mouth that were willingly volunteered, Yuma couldn't help the grin threatening to grow on his face. "That's what the other two said, and we're close. Well, fairly close, anyway." Then he sobered. "But really, Ryoga. If you need a place to stay there's still a heap of room where I live."
He searched in his pocket for a piece of paper and a pen, before writing his address down. Then he handed the slip to Ryoga, who seemed to be looking at it with what might have been interest. Yuma smiled and began heading back to the main station outside the university's campus, but turned around and began walking backwards a few steps away.
"Think about it!" he yelled. "I'll be waiting!"
When Yuma arrived home the next afternoon, he found Ryoga leaning on the wall outside the door. He wore the same clothes he did on his first day at uni – the periwinkle-blue dress shirt falling over his shoulders, coupled with a pair of worn but typical black jeans a size too large. There were no personal belongings with him, save for the backpack he had around him all the time.
Upon the sound of footsteps, Ryoga turned away from the window at the end of the corridor. Any doubts Yuma had about his offer were gone upon seeing the pride at war in the other's eyes.
He waved, as if Ryoga's presence was a common occurrence. "I didn't expect you so early."
His answer came in the form of a non-committal shrug. Fiddling with the ring of keys attached to his belt by a slim chain, he unlocked the door and swung it open. Then he kicked a door stopper under the gap to increase circulation. Cautious, Ryoga followed after him as he stepped inside. He looked down.
"It's Western-designed," Yuma said to the unspoken question. "No genkan, but shoes go in the side niche."
After taking his own shoes off, he glanced around the familiar, deep cerulean walls. The high ceiling and wide hallway made him suddenly feel self-conscious.
"Sorry it's a little big," he added sheepishly. "Like I said, there's a lot of space. Pick any room you want on the second floor; don't go down to the first."
"And you?"
"It's fine – I sleep in the attic."
Ryoga glanced at him as if to determine his words, but by 'second floor', Yuma meant it literally. The apartment complex consisted of twin buildings, one ten storeys high and the other twenty. A bridge connected the two on the seventh. Yuma lived in the shorter one, having the entirety of the top two floors plus the strange attic-like room created by the twin panes of roofing. Whilst the first level was occupied, the second was reserved for guests and the like.
"Costs?" Ryoga asked.
Yuma shrugged. "You'll need to pay for heating, and your share of food."
"Split them," Ryoga said, and Yuma remarked at the sheer business-like tone. "If they're managed they should cost the same."
"They are," he defended.
"I'll pay for the heating. You have an income?"
"I work at the nearby video store, and I look after this place." Ryoga raised an eyebrow, and Yuma elaborated. "I'm just the housekeeper. A friend owns this place but she's globetrotting."
"Then I should leave."
Yuma shook his head violently. "No, it's fine. She's been trying to get me into one of these rooms for ages." His tone turned serious. "I just like the attic."
For a brief moment he could have sworn a flash of humour and disbelief flicker into Ryoga's eyes before being suppressed by the same indifferent demeanour. "Fine. I'll go, then. We'll finish arrangements then."
"Go where?"
"Outside."
He began to walk out the door, never having removed his shoes, but Yuma stopped him.
"Wait—!" When Ryoga turned to look to him, Yuma continued. "Why did you come to Neo Domino?"
"I can ask you the same."
"Stop avoiding the question. Why are you paying just to sit in the class when you don't have a place to stay? You're not even learning anything!"
Ryoga paused, and when he spoke he seemed to choose his words with care. "Heartland isn't as safe as it used to be. This building is closer to Central City, and Neo Domino University is a derivative of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau."
With one last look – figure it out for yourself – Ryoga left the room.
The next morning, Yuma woke to the sound of the doorbell. In a normal situation, this would not be a problem. But unfortunately, in this instance, the doorbell referred to the bell hung behind the door. Large, thick and heavy, it wouldn't ring whenever the door was opened; it chimed loud claps of thunderous energy.
Yuma fell out of the hammock – something happening far too often lately – and slowly dragged himself downstairs. It didn't take him until the doorway on the first floor to find out what had happened. From his position on the top of the huge, curved stairway that connected the two, he could already see Ryoga had been responsible.
And Ryoga was paying for it, buried under an impossibly large number of cats.
It took Yuma a good fifteen minutes to shoo most of them away, but the sound of the bell only called them back. So he did the best he could, and somehow managed to free Ryoga and get rid of the few that were on him before the bell stopped tolling. When free, they wove around all the moving bodies and swishing tails until they made it onto the stairway and the second floor overhang.
"What," Ryoga growled, hair dishevelled but clothes thankfully untorn, "was that?"
Yuma sensed an impending eruption. "My friend likes cats."
He was greeted with an incredulous stare at the understatement, and shrugged. Ryoga closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. A minute or so later, he glanced toward the door they entered yesterday. Yuma didn't need to look to determine the unspoken question.
"She removed the handle inside the other door to make sure everyone goes out that one, and gets to meet them. The way you came in is so I don't disrupt their sleep if I get back late."
"Ridiculous."
Yuma shrugged again. "She's giving me a place to stay, so I'm not complaining."
"You can remove it."
"She doesn't like that." Yuma made a face. "And I can take it off but I can't put it back, because only a cat can."
He looked around for a clock before finding one on the wall. Sunday, 9 AM. Well, he needed to buy more groceries, and could just eat breakfast outside...
"You'll need to use the fire stairs under the window to get to a lower floor," he added. "If you give me a second to change, I'll show you."
Ryoga stared at him again, and Yuma nodded. There would be a lot to get used to in the household.
The Community Tower of Neo Domino City, located within one of the hubs, stood sixty storeys high – new, and taller than a few of its surrounds. It bore all the hallmarks of a new structure, with walls of polished steel and highly reflective glass. Its fairly standard, rectangular build was made unique by design with the addition of a shaved corner; enough to contrast it from every other building, but not enough that there no longer existed room for a helipad on top.
It came about through the City's growing population crisis. The higher cost of land and the additional taxes placed upon the everyday usage of Momentum meant that community groups found themselves short of funds. In an attempt to solve this, the Public Maintenance and Security Bureau opted to construct a structure dedicated solely toward communal activities.
Yuma headed to one specific entrance of the Tower at five to two that afternoon. That entrance opened to a small room containing only the doors to a pair of elevators. He pressed the call button to find the elevator on the left waiting. His reflection in the mirror watched him as he stepped inside and travelled to the only other floor he could.
Exactly forty seconds later, the doors opened to the fifty-fifth floor, the first of five floors that made up Neo Domino's Main Library. It took a while longer for Yuma to get to the fifty-seventh floor, the highest permitted by the general public, but he still made it with a little over half an hour before Todoroki's arranged arrival.
With an uncanny familiarity, Yuma automatically headed for the specific aisle he knew at the back. Instead of books, the library used electronic tags, so he activated his D-Gazer to read the titles and summaries. Finding a few he wanted, he scanned them with his library card and took them to one of the many study tables available.
"What are you doing?" a voice asked.
Yuma jumped at Todoroki's appearance. He checked his watch – somehow, thirty minutes had passed without him realising. Todoroki didn't seem to notice, surprised by the amount of electronic tags Yuma had plugged into his D-Pad's laptop extension and the sheets of papers around him.
"Oh," Yuma answered. "Trying to figure out how I can backdate the firmware on the D-Pad."
"You can just search that."
"Not for Seto Kaiba's era, you can't."
Todoroki frowned. "Seventy years? That's impossible. You'd have to change the operating system as well." He snapped on his own D-Gazer so he could read the titles of Yuma's books without having to take them out of the laptop and squint near the barcode. "Pro—Yuma, you're learning how to program computers?"
The sheepish expression remained on Yuma's face even as he answered. "Yeah. So what?"
"Yuma..."
"Huh?"
"Your grades used to be terrible, you drop out of school for half a year and now you're taking Engineering and Physics at a place like Neo Domino U." Todoroki shook his head. "Just... in summation, you confuse me, Yuma."
"I'm interested," Yuma said simply, though there was a slight edge in his tone. "I can be interested, right?"
"Never mind. But, about Kamishiro..." For a brief moment, Todoroki hesitated. "You should... stay away from him."
Yuma blinked. "He's not that bad. I mean, he didn't act too bad when I used all the hot water last night."
"What?"
"Well I'm not used to two people, and I forgot the limitations so the computer auto-locked access to hot water after I had a shower and—"
Todoroki pinched the bridge of his nose. "He's staying at your house?"
"Yeah. So what?"
"I'll tell you this once, Yuma. South Heartland College is a school for delinquents."
"Delinquents?" he repeated. "No, Ryoga isn't..."
Shaking his head again, Todoroki placed his laptop on the table. He took a seat, and Yuma sensed the change of topic without needing to be told. Any papers they didn't need were whisked away, and the electronic tags containing Yuma's books were borrowed before he stored both away. The signatures of the D-Gazers were locked into Todoroki's laptop, and Todoroki pulled open a file as they set to work.
"About this bit here..."
genkan - The flat bit of ground in Japanese houses situated right behind the doorway, in which you remove your shoes and swap them out for slippers.
Please review? :)