Part I

~Dreams~

Tsukumo Yuma * Tsukumo Akari * Tenjo Kaito

I

"At the beginning, there was only light and darkness, and a heart in between them."

opening line of the Heartbeat Cycles. Author unknown.


The air sparkled as though it were made of stardust. Instead of dust, small glimmers of light floated through the air, some of them a little bit larger than the others. They sparkled like flecks scattered from a gemstone, little stars dancing in the air. The ground was made of a silvery-violet sand that slid beneath his feet. The grains made a soft sound, like tiny chimes, as they slid across each other. This landscape spread out all the way to the horizon, bleeding into the deep purple-black sky that was painted with swirling galaxies in deep, jewel-toned colors. Like a desert frozen in the middle of twilight beneath a completely clear sky.

But although galaxies shone in glorious nebulae above, it was as though they were only painted there, rather than being made of stars. Besides those colors glowing in the sky above, there was only a single white star hanging in the blank darkness.

The little boy stood with his bare feet sinking into the sand, turning around in circles with a wide-eyed wonder, his mouth hanging open.

Tsukumo Yuma giggled with delight, reaching out with tiny fingers to try and grab a glimmer that floated near him. As though they were only made of air and dreams, his hand passed right through it. It sent a tingle through his arm, though. He shivered with a hint of delight—the feeling was like the fizz in soda.

He stepped out onto the sand, his feet slipping, and dug his toes into the velvety softness of it. He thought, though, that it might be easier to walk around if he had some shoes...

As though responding to his thoughts, the sand swirled up into tiny whirlwinds in front of his toes, sliding and wrapping around his feet. The next moment, he was wearing his favorite black and white sneakers. A huge smile grew across his face. Oh, perhaps this was a dream! If that was so, then what else could he do?

He crouched down on the balls of his feet and stared at a particular patch of sand. At the soft touch of his imagination, the sand swirled up into a tiny tornado. It spun in faster and faster circles and then—poof! The tiny golden circle plopped into the sand. Yuma beamed as he picked up the coin. He had imagined one of his dad's Conqueror's coins, and now, here it was!

He held it up to the sky, letting it glint in the ambient light that didn't seem to really come from anywhere at all.

He stood up and dropped the coin back to the ground, smiling at it. His first coin drop! And it was someplace not even his dad would be able to go!

Yuma turned in a circle then at the barren landscape. With such a big, blank slate, what could he make? This dream could be his own private world. Oh, maybe he'd make some mountains! He's always wanted to see mountains—his dad wouldn't take him until he was a little older.

Skritch, skritch.

The sound was incredibly tiny, but in the vast silence of this world, it rang out as clear as a scream. And it sent a horrible, dreading shudder down Yuma's back. All of a sudden his mouth was dry and his heart started to beat as though he had just started running. Sweat beaded on his forehead and palms and started to roll down his cheeks.

Skritch. Skritch.

The sound was coming closer. Closer. He couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? The dream was turning into a nightmare!

The thing crawled slowly around into his view.

He couldn't see what it was. It was—it was a shape, blurred and red, perhaps vaguely like a bug? But his eyes couldn't understand what he was looking at, as though his gaze kept sliding off of it, or as though there were a spot of dust blurring against a glass wall between him and it, preventing him from seeing it clearly. He thought it might have a heavy abdomen that dragged along the ground behind it, and maybe spindly legs and bulbous eyes on stalks that stared at him with a blankness like the vast cold depth of space.

It was right in his face now. He could feel its breath on his cheek, the feeling of hot desert wind mixed together with the crawling feeling of an insect on his skin—terror pounded through his veins. The roar of blood echoed in his ears.

"Are you afraid..." he heard the hiss.

"Are you afraid...?"

Another one—another voice? No, more than just two!

He could see them, out of the corners of his eyes, in slightly different shapes. All of them were that same, blurred, uncertain shape that he couldn't comprehend. Only certain, terrifying characteristics came across clearly: a dripping trail of acidic goo, fangs covered in saliva, a scorpion's tail, hands with too-long too-thin fingers. The very landscape seemed to be blurring into a deep, dark red, like the color of blood that is just beginning to dry.

"Are you afraid?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Are you afraid?"

The voices chorused around him as they circled ever closer. High-pitched voices, deep, gritty ones, echoey, dead-sounding ones, they all echoed together in a horrifying whirlwind of sound as they moved closer and closer and closer —

The insect-like one reached out with a thin, mantis claw, touching it against Yuma's cheek and slowly drawing down against the skin before resting on his throat.

"Are you afraid?"

Yuma could only let out the tiniest squeak of horror.

And then something warm wrapped around his shoulders, something bright and shining smacked the claw away, and Yuma was pulled into a tight embrace.

"No," a voice echoed above his head. "I am not afraid."

The voice was...young, Yuma thought, but older than him. Like the kids from the middle school that he watched duel in the park. It resonated, vibrating across the barren landscape.

The creatures skittered back uncertainly.

"No," the voice repeated. "I am not afraid."

The creatures hung in the silence for just a brief moment longer. And then, as though made of dust, they simply blew away, dissolving into a spray of red dust that then vanished into the black.

Yuma did not move for a long, long moment. His rescuer didn't move either. Soft hands continued to rest on Yuma's shoulders. Yuma realized, somewhere at the back of his head, that the hands were cold, that the pulsing of blood in those hands felt somehow...sparkly. They weren't quite right...not quite human...

After a few more beats of silence, his rescuer's hands squeezed his shoulders.

"Are you all right?"

The voice was soft now. It felt like the breeze between the trees on an uncommonly cool spring day. Yuma felt himself relax. Air rushed out of his lungs all at once.

"Uh-huh," he said.

He stood in the embrace for a moment longer—it felt right, he thought. Like his mother's arms, or his sister's. But then he thought that he wanted to know what his rescuer looked like, and he wriggled out of the loosened grip and turned around to see them.

The figure was twice Yuma's height, but Yuma was only about two feet tall himself. They seemed to be made entirely of fragments of light, crystalline, even. The shape was human, slender, curveless, and flat chested, with thin, wispy arms but stockier legs, but the composition was alien, the skin a light lavender that glowed, almost transparent. Their hair was a crystalline white-violet and long enough to pass the shoulders, stirring in a nonexistent breeze. Their eyes were a pale, glowing violet instead of white, and had no pupils—however, there was a warmth in them that made them seem kind and safe rather than frightening. They smiled, a gentle expression on a round, youthful face.

"Hello," they said, with a voice made of wind chimes and spring breezes. "I don't get many visitors...what's your name?"

Yuma stared for a longer moment than he probably should have, and then blinked to alertness.

"I'm Yuma," Yuma said. After a pause, he added, "I'm four."

He kicked the sand with his hands behind his back, a bit sheepish.

"Um...thanks for scaring them away."

He stared up at the figure, mouth falling open slightly with awe.

"How did you do that? They just ran away."

They smiled, eyes glowing warmly.

"Nightmares can only hurt you if you're afraid of them," they said. "If they ever bother you again, simply stand tall, square your shoulders, look them right in the eyes, and say 'I am not afraid.'"

They demonstrated, standing up straight and pulling their shoulders back, looking very sternly at an imaginary nightmare. Yuma's eyes widened.

"Eh? It's that easy?"

The glowing figure relaxed from their position and smiled down at Yuma, nodding. Yuma stared at the ground for a moment, considering this. Then he smiled and looked back up at the figure.

"That sounds like what to-chan tells me. He says 'kattobing, Yuma! You can do it!'"

The figure blinked.

"'Kattobing'?" the figure said, trying out the word. "What does that mean?"

Yuma bit his lip, eyes unfocusing as he thought about it.

"It means...um...to challenge! And to keep going! And...don't give up!"

Yuma jumped in the air and punched at nothing to demonstrate, but only managed to fall on his butt. The crystalline being's hand went up to their mouth to hide a small smile.

"'Kattobing,'" they said again, as though enjoying the taste of it. "I like it..."

Yuma grinned from where he was still sitting on the ground. He liked this person, he thought. He liked the way that they got a faraway look in their eyes when they thought about things. And the soft, gentle way that they moved, as though they were afraid of hurting something invisible surrounding them.

"Oh!" he said suddenly, as though remembering. "Um...what's your name? And where is this place? Is this your home?"

The being blinked, lips parting. They just stared at Yuma for a moment, as though he were something that they had never seen before.

"My name...?" they said finally. "Hmmm...I have a lot of those."

"Really?" Yuma said. "Cool! Which one is your favorite?"

"Hmm...a favorite..."

They looked up into the sky, considering. A tiny breeze whispered through the world, stirring their hair and lifting their straight bangs up from their eyes.

"I think...Lua," they said, quietly. "You can call me 'Lua.'"

"Lua-kun," Yuma said, testing out the name. "I like it!"

Lua smiled.

"Thank you."

"So is this where you live, Lua-kun?" Yuma asked, his eyes wide with wonder as he turned in a big circle. "What is this place?"

Lua nodded.

"Yes, this is my home. It's called...well...I don't suppose it has a name. It's only a dream, after all."

"It's really pretty!"

Lua again looked surprised.

"Really? You don't think it's...monotone? Everything is the same color...and it just goes on like this forever..."

Yuma shook his head furiously.

"Nuh-uh! The colors are nice! And I like the sky!"

He fell back against the sand with his arms spread out so that he could stare at the sky. He moved his arms up and down a few times like he was making a snow angel.

"But...I wonder where all the stars are. Are they hiding?"

Lua sat down beside Yuma, legs tucked underneath them.

"Hmmm...I suppose they must be. There used to be a lot of stars here. But then..."

Yuma turned his head, his hair dragging through the sand.

"But what?"

Lua smiled, and there was the hint of sadness in the drooping of their shoulders.

"People used to visit here a lot," they said. "I would meet hundreds and hundreds of people, all coming here in their dreams. Every person that came here, every one I knew, was a star in the sky."

Yuma sat upright, staring up at them as though they were telling him the most intriguing story.

"Where did everyone go?" he whispered.

Lua lowered their head.

"People forgot how to get here."

"Eh? How do you forget?"

"People change."

Yuma stared at the violet sand, deep in thought. Lua looked back up at the empty sky.

"Sometimes, someone like you appears. Kids your age find it easier to make it here. But it hasn't happened in a long time..."

"Lua-kun," Yuma said, looking up. "Does that mean you've been here all alone?"

Lua ducked their head. But Yuma thought he could see the glint of a tear at the corner of those glowing lavender eyes.

"Lua-kun! Don't cry!"

Yuma jumped to his feet, leaning forward.

"Because I'll come here every night! Because I'll be your friend, Lua-kun! Then you won't be alone anymore! Ah! And everyone I meet, I can try to teach them how to come here, so then your sky can be all full of stars again! It will be really pretty, right?"

Lua smiled without looking up into Yuma's eager face, hair falling in front of their eyes.

"Thank you, Yuma-kun," they said quietly.

Yuma jutted his chin out and clenched his fists in front of him.

"I will! I promise! You can believe me! I never break a promise! 'Specially not to a friend!"

And Lua had to laugh a little, finally looking up to meet Yuma's eyes.

"Thank you," they said again, with more feeling. "Thank you, Yuma-kun. I really appreciate it."

Yuma dropped to a sitting position beside Lua, his chatter filling up the normally silent, empty place. His words rolled over each other like water down a waterfall, talking about how he was going to introduce Lua to his friends from school and all of the games he liked to play that he would teach Lua about and all the stories he would have to tell about his dad's adventures, and oh, Duel Monsters, they could play Duel Monsters.

And Lua could only smile with a growing hollowness.

Because, no matter Yuma's good intentions, they knew it was not up to the young boy whether or not he returned. Those who came here so often forgot, when they woke up, that they had ever been here at all, much less remember the path to return.

So they simply smiled, closed their eyes, and enjoyed the sound of the boy's voice, and the feel of his company, for as long as it would last.


They were not expecting to hear another sound. So when after an indeterminable yet obviously very short period of time they heard the small voice calling their name through the twilit realm, they almost fell over with the shock.

"Lua-kun!" Yuma's voice. "Lua-kun?"

The little boy turned in a circle at the sameness of the landscape, and could not see his friend in any direction.

"Lua-kun!" he called again, hands cupped around his mouth.

The sand swirled before him, upwards into a small whirlwind. It solidified and began to glow, and then, there was Lua.

"Lua-kun!"

Lua smiled, mouth open slightly with surprise.

"Yuma-kun," they said. "You came back."

"I said so!" Yuma said. "Look, look, look, I brought something with me today! Ta-da!"

He held up his hands to show Lua the stack of cards.

"They're Duel Monster cards! To-chan got some for me! He said he's going to teach me how to play!"

"Duel Monsters, huh?" Lua said, looking at the cards.

A growing spark of interest and delight was blooming in their glowing eyes. They looked up at Yuma again. It could have been a trick of the light gleaming from within them, but there seemed to be a hint of tears glittering at the edges of their eyes.

"You came back," they said again.

"Uh-huh," Yuma said, with a grin. "I can come back every night, if you want!"

Lua closed their eyes for a moment. The sigh that reverberated through them was one of such utter relief that it was as though the entire world was settling down.

"Oh," they breathed, so very quietly that Yuma didn't hear. "It's you, isn't it...? I was waiting so long..."

Far above them in the sky, the single white star shone a tiny bit brighter. And right beside it, a small, incredibly bright red star winked into life...


A/N: Welcome to the rewrite of Our Stars. First let me apologize for having to do this at all and making you guys wait even longer for a conclusion to the story. There were a lot of things that I didn't outline properly because I started this story on a whim, and I really, really wanted to do some things with it that I could't swing with what I had already. The story has quite a buffer so you can expect a weekly update on this one from now on.

I hope this doesn't cause you to drop the series, and if you stick around, thank you. I don't deserve you guys 3

Please enjoy the new and improved Our Stars.