Soul Rider: Hey, again. I had just published the first chapter and got this one out. I thank everyone for their kind review comments for the beginning. Now, let's see what happens during THIS!

Numbershot 99: The Final Number Is…

Chapter 2

*Heartland High School*

Yuma made it to school with twenty minutes before school begins. He was one of the first kids to arrive.

"Wow. I didn't expect this place to be this so empty at this time," the student said to the spirit. But the spirit didn't seem to hear Yuma's comment. Astral was still thinking about what Number 99 said. And he also was pondering over Yuma's nature from earlier. Yuma turned to look at him. "Astral? Are you okay?" Yuma asked his partner. The floating entity snapped back into reality and looked at the human.

"Oh. I was just thinking about something I meant to tell you earlier," Astral replied.

"You can tell me, now. What is it?"

"It is About Number 99. I encountered him earlier within the Emperor's Key."

"NANI?" Yuma exclaimed with shock on his face. "But how? We didn't even collect that Number, yet!"

"It is a mystery to me, as well. And to add onto that, he's no ordinary Number."

"Why's that?"

"Because he's a human."

"A HUMAN? How can a Number be a human?"

"I do not have an answer for that, either. That Number is completely shrouded in wonder and mystery."

"Then, this is gonna make it tricky to find it," the boy said as he turned from Astral. But then, he let out a light smile for some reason.

"Yuma?" a female voice called from behind. Yuma turned around and saw Kotori in her school uniform and walking towards him. She looked a little surprised. The girl stopped a foot in front of her boyfriend. "Wow. This is rare."

"I know what you're gonna say next: 'You're really early this time.' Am I right?"

"Yea. That's was what I was going to say. How'd you guess?"

"I got the same response twice earlier. So, I know."

"Fu, fu, fu (Well, well, well), what do we have here?" someone said close by. The couple look to Yuma's left to see Ryoga and his girlfriend, Ariel, looking at them. Ariel was giggling a bit.

"Hey! What's up with you spying on my business, Shark?" the younger teen yelled at the purple-head with a bit of irritation. Shark let out a laugh.

"Well, this was unexpected," someone else said on Kotori's left. Testuo was on his skateboard. Cathy, Takashi, and Tokunosuke were with him.

"When did you get here, Yuma-Kun?" Takashi asked his classmate.

"A couple of minutes ago," the spiky teen answered. He looked up at a nearby city clock and saw it say 8:25. "And speaking of time, class is going to start within 5 minutes. We better get to our rooms." With that said, he began walking to the school doors. His friends followed him inside. They were smiling, including him. Astral then noticed a white aura surrounding Yuma's body. Then for a brief moment, the spirit thought he saw Number 99, separating and then going back into his partner. This made him let out a quiet gasp.

What was that about? He thought to himself. Why did I just see Number 99 beside Yuma? Could Yuma be…? No. What am I thinking? That's just nonsense. 100% impossible to be Yuma.

And just what do you mean by that? Yuma said to his spirit mentally. The glowing entity flinched. He forgot that he and Yuma can read each other's minds at will.

Um, well, I was thinking that you were possessed by one of our Numbers because you were acting less like yourself earlier, but then I saw that to be impossible because there's no way for a Number to take over you, the spirit jitterishly lied.

Um, okay. You're acting weird yourself today, Astral. You still wondering about that strange Number?

I'm afraid so.

Take a break. My class is about to start.

Okay, Yuma. Astral disappeared into the Emperor's Key.

*In class*

Kitano-Sensei was giving his students the usual math lectures and lessons. Strangely, Yuma was awake through the whole class and listening instead of sleeping. Kotori saw his 'unlike Yuma' behavior and was surprised.

Yuma's acting a bit more grown up than usual. I can tell he's in a good mood, but it must be something else, she thought. What could make him be acting like this? However, she was thinking so loudly to herself that she didn't hear Kitano-Sensei call on her.

"Kotori, Sensei called on you," Yuma whispered to her as he lightly shook her by the shoulder. The girl snapped back into reality and looked at her teacher.

"Kotori, try not to let your mind wander off as much as Yuma's, please," he told her. The female blushed a little while everyone else giggled a bit at the statement.

Soul Rider: Oooooooo. This is getting weirder and more mysterious. Yuma's behavior has somewhat changed. Number 99 appears beside the young Number Hunter. And what was with that secret light smile? Well, a Duel is coming up in the next chapter. So, let's see what happens.