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"Lord Kaito. I brought you Yuma, just like you asked," Orbital 7 declared proudly, clearly expecting acknowledgement for accomplishing his worthy and less-than-challenging task.

As per usual, both of the humans in the room ignored him thoroughly.

"Kaito," Yuma demanded immediately, not bothering to greet his rival and paying little attention to the odd robot. His voice rose, stumbling only slightly before continuing. "What do you know about Astral?"

Despite his voice cracking on the name of his missing friend, he tried to quash the anticipation he felt at the possibility that Kaito knew something, something that could bring Astral back. Regardless of his efforts, however, he didn't quite succeed. His voice trembled with apprehension, hope building and building even though he knew it could easily be shattered.

He always had been unusually optimistic, but the blessing could quickly become a curse if the hope only led to a more crushing disappointment.

Unfortunately, much to Yuma's annoyance, Kaito displayed even less interest in Yuma as he had in Orbital 7. In other words, none at all. He was left staring at duelist's back, his pride wounded by the lack of recognition.

"Kaito," Yuma said again loudly, angrily clenching his fists.

His voice echoed across the large and empty room; the only other sound the clicking of fingers on a keyboard. Kaito face was illuminated eerily in the darkened room, adapting an unnatural bluish tinge. The surrounding blackness made Yuma feel oddly alone, despite the presence of the other duelist. The blond never glanced up from the holographic computer screen and typed rapidly without pause.

"You still have your soul." Kaito finally stopped, abruptly turning to face Yuma and observing him fixedly. Raising his eyebrows, he studied the other boy intently. "Did you ever stop to wonder why?"

His tone contained the slight contempt that always made Yuma's temper flare, but this time, the question startled him too much to retort.

"What?" Yuma managed, taken aback. He fidgeted uncomfortably beneath Kaito's gaze. His stare seemed more intense when his eyes glowed a stormy blue-grey in the artificial light of his computer, completely at ease in his own world.

Yuma was reminded again how much danger he had placed himself in, entering Mr. Heartland's building without his knowledge. Orbital 7 had assured him Kaito would prevent the man from finding out about his presence, and that the computers and materials were necessary for the demonstration. Yuma decided to take the risk, focusing on his desire for knowledge on Astral.

"After you lost to me, I couldn't take your soul as I normally do," Kaito elaborated, matter-of-fact even when discussing the supernatural and impossible.

"Oh," Yuma finally muttered. He actually had wondered, briefly, but it had seemed unimportant compared to the loss of Astral.

"I came up with two plausible theories," Kaito went on as though Yuma hadn't spoken. "The first option was that you had no soul. It would certainly account for your stupidity," he mused briefly, glancing over at the other teen.

"Hey," Yuma protested, a flash of his old self visible as he instinctively reacted.

"But," Kaita continued as he stepped aside, allowing the other boy the first glimpse of his computer. Yuma scowled, but didn't interrupt. "I've concluded that the second option is much more plausible after studying the Emperor's Key."

Unconsciously stepping forward, Yuma gawked at the holographic image, his path illuminated dully by the azure gleam. His eyes widened, immediately recognizing the unmistakable golden momento his father had given him so many years ago. The object was suspended in the center of a spherical hologram, complex figures and stats surrounding it, analyzing the key and providing indecipherable information. Or at least, indecipherable to him. Kaito undoubtedly understood it.

"That's my Emperor's Key," Yuma blurted, momentarily distracted from the more pertinent issue at hand. His surprise quickly turned to anger and he turned to Kaito with his fists raised. "You stole it. I thought it had disappeared with—with Astral..." he trailed off.

He looked away from his rival so Kaito wouldn't see his expression, but the blond gave no indication that he noticed his watering eyes.

"I have reason to believe that Astral may not have disappeared after all," Kaito said offhandedly, neither denying the accusations nor admitting them. "If you weren't such an idiot, maybe you would have listened when Orbital 7 called you over here. I'm assuming he gave you the message?"

Kaito glanced over at his robot servant for the first time, his flat gaze waiting expectantly for a reply.

"Yes, Kaito-sama, I gave Toma the message," Orbital 7 nodded quickly, seeming flustered. His master turned away, not even nodding in acknowledgement before returning to his guest.

"He said you had a deal," Yuma said, trying and failing again to ignore the possibility that he could see his friend again. That he could save him and Astral wasn't dead. "What was he talking about?"

"I know where Astral is. I'm willing to make a trade," Kaito spoke indifferently, as though he didn't care whether or not Yuma accepted. "The information I have in exchange for your Numbers cards."

Yuma's expression slackened in shock, and he noticed for the first time that Kaito spoke carefully, steadily watching and analyzing his reactions. He could see the surprise, the hope, the excitement, and the suspicion all fighting for control over Yuma, because if Kaito knew where Astral was, that meant he was alive.

In the end, his mouth turned down into a troubled frown despite the possibility. He wanted to believe Kaito, he wanted to believe him so badly, but this had to be a trick. After all, Yuma knew where Astral was, too.

"Astral went back to the Astral World," Yuma said defensively, not willing to admit out loud or even to himself that it was either there or heaven. "And I don't have any Numbers cards anymore. They disappeared after we dueled."

"I know that," Kaito brushed off the argument impatiently. "But I suspect that Astral has the missing Numbers cards, and that he isn't where you think."

Yuma frowned in frustration, disliking how Kaito always made him feel so much inferior. Astral could always keep up with the other man's rationale, but without him there, Yuma had no one to explain with Astral's matter-of-fact patience. He felt like he should see where this was leading, but couldn't quite do so without someone to give him a reminder. Like a math problem he knew how to finish but forgot how to start.

"What do you mean?"

"If I tell you where you can find him," Kaito spoke slowly, probably to account for Yuma's infamous stupidity. "I want you to take the Numbers cards and give them to me."

"I can see Astral again?" Yuma asked uncertainly, not daring to believe it. He watched as the other duelist nodded. "But—the Numbers cards are part of Astral's memories," he realized with a frown. "I can't give you those."

"I'll allow you to keep one," Kaito said, probably aware that Yuma would never trade away Hope. Or maybe the boy would, to see Astral.

Still, perhaps even Kaito wasn't so heartless to take away that from someone who had already lost everything else.

"One?" Yuma started. "But—"

"The rest I need."

"But—" Yuma tried again, pausing and expecting to be cut off, and then continuing uncertainly when he wasn't. "What if Astral doesn't have the Numbers cards?"

He desperately wanted to see his friend again, but if he had to sacrifice the Numbers for that, he wondered if Astral would hate him, anyway.

He couldn't make this deal without discussing it with his partner, yet if he didn't make this deal, he'd never discuss anything with Astral.

"Then you get the better end of the deal," Kaito said simply. "Do you accept?"

Yuma stood frozen, feeling he shouldn't agree to this deal but incapable of turning it down. He felt that no matter what he did, he would let down his friend. If he accepted, he would force Astral to give up the memories they had worked so hard to retrieve. If he declined, he'd never see him again.

The decision was shockingly easy. If he was betraying his friend no matter what he did, then he thought he might as well follow his heart. Yuma wanted to have his partner back.

Besides, for all he knew, his friend could be in danger. He would explain what had happened to Astral, and surely his friend would understand why he'd given up the cards. They'd give them to Kaito and then they'd start over and acquire new ones.

"I accept," he said at last, selfish, guilty relief washing over him. Kaito contrasted Yuma's troubled expression with an unconcerned nod of satisfaction.

"You'll uphold your end of the bargain?" the teen asked, studying the boy's reaction with indifference.

"What? Of course," Yuma said furiously, insulted that Kaito thought he might break his word.

Kaito merely watched him for a second more before turning away to face the computer holding the Emperor's Key, his expression unreadable. Yuma uneasily walked up behind him, wanting a clearer view of the three dimensional screen.

"You believe Astral is from another world, the 'Astral World'," Kaito immediately began to explain, his tone laced with doubt. "And that the connection to this 'world' is this key."

"It is," Yuma declared indignantly. "Astral told me-"

"He told you," Kaito cut him off, facing Yuma with narrowed eyes. "How do you know he wasn't lying?"

"Astral wouldn't lie to me," Yuma claimed fiercely. "He's my friend. I trust him."

"Really?" Kaito asked dubiously, tapping one last button on the keyboard. "Then did he also tell you that the Emperor's Key is nothing more than a tiny computer?"

A larger and more detailed holographic image of the Emperor's Key appeared, projected in front of them and amplified at Kaito's command. It was an impressive replica. Yuma had to admit that it looked exactly like the real one, but enlarged.

"What?"

Yuma's eyes widened in disbelief, his head whipping around to stare at his rival in surprise. He had to admit that he never really wondered what the Key was made of, always assuming it to be so fantastical he wouldn't understand. A computer hadn't been in his realm of consideration.

"It's cleverly hidden," Kaito went on, gesturing to the holographic model. "The first time I took the key, I didn't even notice. It took me nearly three weeks to unlock what it was hiding."

Yuma sighed reluctantly, unsure what Kaito was implying. "So the Astral World has computers?"

"No, you moron," Kaito frowned impatiently. "Look, let me put this as simply as I can. Did it ever occur to you that Astral has many similarities to a Duel Monster hologram?"

Kaito entered another sequence of commands, typing away with an easy grace. A small holographic image with a striking similarity to Astral appeared in place of the key, and Yuma studied it, completely puzzled. He didn't understand how Kaito knew what Astral looked like, when no one had been able to see the alien besides himself and Haruto.

"I guess," Yuma answered hesitantly. "But I was the only one who could see him."

"Similar to how in a duel, the only people who can see the monsters are the people wearing the AR-vision glasses," Kaito said, clearly having anticipated Yuma's response.

"Yeah," he agreed slowly, crossing his arms.

"So wouldn't it be easy, then, to make it so only you can see Astral?"

"But then I'd have to wear Duel Gazers," Yuma protested, immediately disliking the thought that Astral was merely a projection. He'd been too real to be a computer.

"Unless you had an operation, surgically giving you a replacement for the Duel Gazer...and making you the only one who can see Astral," Kaito told him.

Yuma truly didn't like how Kaito was starting to make sense.

"No," he shook his head violently. "I would know if I'd had surgery!"

"You wouldn't have to know," Kaito contradicted him easily. "They could have drugged you, and these days, you might not have even felt anything after a minor surgery like the one we're talking about."

"I would know—"

"It doesn't matter. There are other possibilities," Kaito interrupted, disregarding his concerns. "Technology I haven't considered yet."

"No," Yuma denied strongly. "That doesn't change the fact that Astral was—is—my friend. He can't be just a hologram. He spoke to me, he had feelings. A hologram can't have emotions like Astral did—"

"That's true," Kaito allowed, and Yuma let out a breath of relief. Relief that was depressingly short-lived. "Unless someone was controlling the hologram from somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?" Yuma repeated, feeling somewhat dazed by what Kaito was implying.

"Yes, a living human who projected himself from another location. The key would have allowed him to see you, too, and a computer could have altered his appearance to make him look inhuman."

"But-"

"I did some research. I investigated people who may have played the part," Kaito continued. "And I found someone who matched the requirements perfectly."

Yuma was still shaking his head, unable to process it all. "That's not possible."

"The technology used in this key has the trademark of a large corporation known as KaibaCorp," he explained, even as Yuma stared at him blankly. "There, I found an employee who had contact with your father right before he disappeared."

Yuma watched as Kaito brought up a picture of a man, clearly young, with a serious expression and striking yellow-green eyes.

He inhaled sharply at the image, because even if he didn't want to believe what Kaito was telling him, this man's resemblance to Astral was shocking. He had his serious gaze, the same shape of his eyes, his slim figure, and his proud posture.

"Age sixteen, dueling prodigy, and working as a tech scientist at KaibaCorp," Kaito listed off. "There is no Astral World. Your 'Astral' is a teenage boy living several hours away in the city of Domino."


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