Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal
Title: What The Future Holds
Characters: Iris, Shark, Yuuma
Word Count: 500||Status: One-shot
Genre: Humor, Friendship||Rated: G
Challenge: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, A64, write about a minor character; Zexal Flash Bingo, #127, future
Summary: Iris is trying hard to get used to this modern world. There are some special tools she's using to help, chief of all, Yuuma's laughter.

Iris held to her king's hand as well as his knight's as the three of them walked through the marketplace.

No, the mall, she corrected herself. They call it a mall now.

But like the marketplace she remembered from when she'd first lived on Earth and the one in the Barian village she'd lived in for the last thousand years or so, this was crowded with shops and people shopping. There weren't any guards anywhere she could see, but she didn't know if that was because times had changed and people didn't need to steal, or because like in Barian World, the shopkeepers could defend themselves.

She'd seen it happen once; someone tried to steal from one of the shopkeepers there. It hadn't been pretty. While the Great Emperors held the most power, every Barian had some small abilities.

Nasch squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. "If you see something you want, let me know," he told her.

Seeing him as human again – knowing their past now as well as he did – would take getting used to. But whatever he looked like, he was her king, and always would be. The king she'd chosen for herself, the good king who helped her.

"I will," she murmured. But she didn't know what she wanted, or if she wanted anything, because she didn't know what this place could offer. None of the scents of food were that familiar, though some did catch at her attention, as did the sudden sound of laughter. She peered in that direction, not at all surprised to see that guy – Yuuma, wasn't it? - at what looked like a differently shaped food stall, carrying far more packs of food than most people should've even bothered with, let alone could be expected to eat alone.

King Nasch sighed. "He's going to drop them -" He hadn't even finished his sentence before everything in Yuuma's arms scattered all over the floor. Yuuma stared at it for a moment before he started to pick them all up in quick succession, babbling apologies to the shopkeeper.

Iris could not help a small giggle or two. In the little time she'd known Yuuma, he'd done this kind of thing so very often. She couldn't remember anyone like him in her birth village or the Barian World. In truth, she didn't know many people who'd even wanted to laugh in the Barian World.

At least that was different now. So much was different from the past she knew. There was laughter. There was hope. Everyone had a new life and new choices stretching ahead of them, even her. She could grow up now. She could meet people she would never have dreamed existed. Nasch had mentioned someone called 'Haruto' who she might like meeting. Iris looked forward to that.

If this was the future that Yuuma gave them all, the way Nasch and Durbe said he had, then she was going to enjoy it with every ounce of her heart.

The End

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.