Chapter 1: A Brief Encounter

"Oh man! I'm late!" Zarc cried anxiously as he ran through the city. "I was supposed to be at the stadium 5 minutes ago! If I don't get there in 2, I'll be disqualified!" He passed many people as the teenager ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Heads up! Watch out! Coming through!" Zarc quickly stated as he cut past groups of people. He soon saw the stadium in sight. "Almost there," he breathed as he ran faster. The Dragon Duelist turned a corner and suddenly, he bumped into someone and he was sent falling to the ground.

Zarc grunted as his body hit the hard concrete. "Ouch…" he groaned as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that," he apologized to the stranger. "I'm kind of in a hurry. I was supposed to be at the stadium over there to Duel 5 minutes ago, but I overslept," he explained, laughing sheepishly.

To his surprise, the stranger laughed. "I know how you feel," the stranger replied. "You remind me when I was your age. I was always running late for something and it was extremely rare that I was ever on time." Zarc, a little confused, looked up at the stranger.

The stranger was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with a red vest over it. He also wore navy jeans that stretched to the helm of his white shoes, and a key-like pendant hung around his neck. As Zarc locked eyes with the young adult, he nearly gasped in awe. Zarc's eyes were met by fiery red eyes. The most distinguishing thing about the stranger, however, was his hair. The man had 2 red spikes of hair that nearly crossed to the back of his scalp and he also had 4 raven spikes of hair at the back of his head.

Zarc was stunned. "Y-You're…" he stuttered. "Y-Yuma Tsukumo!" he exclaimed. The stranger, now Yuma, smiled warmly. "Yep," he replied. "That's me." The former Xyz Duelist helped the Dragon Duelist to his feet. "Now, what were you saying about a Duel?"

The teenager then remembered. "Oh my god! I have to get to the stadium!" Zarc quickly took off running again, leaving Yuma behind. "It was really cool meeting you, Mr. Tsukumo!" He yelled over his shoulder as he dashed as fast as he could toward the Dueling stadium.

Yuma softly smiled. "What an interesting kid," he chuckled to himself. The Xyz Duelist was just about to walk away when something caught his eye. It was a card that was lying face down on the concrete where the boy, that he had run into, had fallen. Curiosity getting the better of him, Yuma bent over and gently picked it up. 'That guy must have accidentally dropped it,' he thought. The Xyz Duelist flipped the card over and looked at it.

"An Xyz monster?" he asked himself. "It's a dragon too. A DARK-Attribute one," he noted. "Boy, I wouldn't want to run into this creature in the dark," he finished. Yuma sighed. "I might as well get this back to that guy. Hopefully, the match hasn't-" Suddenly, he was cut off as a bright light started to shine from the card. The Xyz Duelist paused and looked at it. "What is going on?" He questioned. However, before he could do anything, the light shined brighter until Yuma was engulfed in it.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Ages:

Yuma: 21

Zarc: 14

Ray: 14

Leo: 38

Author's note:

I am extremely sorry that I have been absent for the last few months after I published that breakdown of 'Dimensional Bonds.' School has been getting tougher, especially with these review papers for my final exams. However, whoever has missed me, don't be worried. 'Dimensional Bonds' has not been canceled, in fact I'm even more excited to write it more than I've ever been! Hopefully, I'll be active this summer to at least post up to 5-10 chapters for 'Dimensional Bonds.' Finally, whoever can guess what the major aspect from ZEXAL that I mentioned in my breakdown will be treated to some more information that I didn't share in it. Anyway, it's good to be back!