Disclaimer: I do not own yugioh Zexal, or any of the yugioh series for that matter.
Chapter 3: Left and Right
"That key-keeper is making my job awfully easy," Hamartia muttered as he followed the faint trail of dried blood. "I may not have to worry about eliminating him if this keeps up."
Though, that would really kill any fun he was now looking forward to. Ever since the human summoned that train, he'd been looking forward to taking him out in a magic showdown.
How he summoned it worried Hamartia however. From what he understood, magic was extinct in this world. He was starting to question if that darn scientist was reintroducing it without his consent…
"Hm? Ah, look there. My prey is not too far ahead." Hamartia purred when he saw them. Since they refused to surrender, he was now allowed to mess with them in his own way. It would surely end with a big mess for him to clean up, but, he'll worry about that later.
"Now, how should we play?" His sudden smirk showed off his canines.
"Yuma? I know this may be foolish, but can we take a break? My legs are beginning to get heavy." Looking over his shoulder, Yuma felt pity for his tuckered out friend. Astral had only been human for half a day, and it was already proving to be too exciting for them both.
"We're not too far from that stream. Let's stop there, okay?" Yuma asked. Turning his head back to the front, he hid a grimace from Astral. During the explosion, something, a piece of metal he assumed, collided with his arm. Even now, he could feel a few drops of blood dripping through his fingers.
Astral didn't know about the injury, but Yuma had made sure of that. He may've been logical, but there was no doubt in his mind that Astral would insist on stopping so it could be taken care of. And stopping wasn't something Yuma wanted to risk earlier. Not with that Barian tracking them down.
"Fine." Astral replied, obviously not happy. He was too tired from the running they had done all morning to argue though. "Do you even know where the duel lodge is from here?"
Swallowing a remark, Yuma said. "I'll figure it out during the break."
"That's reassuring," he overheard Astral mutter. He forced himself to ignore the unpleasant comment.
When they finally got to the bank's edge, Yuma took off his socks and shoes. Stepping into the cold water, he shivered before tossing his raincoat onto the shore. The sleeve had collected most of the fluid, so his arm was somewhat covered with dry blood. Disgusted by it, Yuma began washing it off. "You lied."
"We couldn't afford to stop," taking out his D-Gear, he gave it to Astral. "You know how to call Kotori, right?"
Mad at him for not telling, Astral didn't answer. Playing with it for a moment, he finally managed to get a signal. Another round of static filled their ears, making Astral sigh, "It appears we're still on our own."
"Kotori knows where the duel lodge is. She'll meet us there." Yuma told him, confident in their friend. Watching Astral plop his rear on the ground- which he did by letting himself literally fall down on it, earning a wince from him- Yuma noticed he wasn't looking too good. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Better than you," Astral smiled at the glare he gave him. "But my feet do hurt."
"Dip them into the water. It should help." He suggested. After taking off his socks and shoes, the otherworldly being just stared at his first set of toes with saucer-sized eyes.
Though comical, Yuma found it kind of odd. Earlier, Astral's fingers had travelled around his cheek in response to the new sensation of feeling skin. Even Kotori's umbrella was spun to heck under that huge curiosity of his. Now, Astral looked too stunned to test them out.
"Astral." When his heterochromia eyes looked at him, Yuma lifted a foot and wiggled his toes. Getting the idea, Astral attempted to do the same. A big smile bloomed across his face as those little things responded.
"That's better," Yuma muttered. While Astral tested his feet out by putting them in the water and swishing it around, he turned his attention back to his arm. Washing off more blood, he found a gash sitting a few inches from his shoulder. The skin around it was already turning purple.
"Yuma?"
Looking at Astral's worried face, he gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Astral." He frowned when the other's eyes fell to his wound. "It's not as bad as it looks. See? The bleeding stopped."
Giving the water a gentle kick, Astral sprayed him with a small sprinkling of water. "That's not what the coloring tells me."
"Well, it should. I can Kattobingu in a duel with this and be completely fine." Yuma protested. Determined to prove him wrong, he pumped his fist into the air like earlier. Feeling a sharp pain, he cringed.
"Oh, yes. You'll surely Kattobingu alright. Every time you draw." Before Yuma could say anything in return, something in the background caught their attention.
Muscles tightening, their eyes darted up to the nearest hill. There was a quiet chiming coming from somewhere behind it, and it was getting closer. Thinking it was the tracker, both of their minds raced to think up an escape plan as the source approached.
When he finally appeared, Yuma wanted to scream every cuss word he knew.
"Baa!"
"Great! Now we're getting spooked by Mary's little lamb!" He growled as the sheep trotted over, the bell around its neck jingling away.
"I believe it's a ewe, Yuma." Astral corrected. "And who is Mary?"
"I was referring to a nursery rhythm," Yuma told him as he reached down and petted it. He froze when he saw the image on the bell. 'That's the Barian brainwashing crest!'
"I see you've found my friend." Turning around, Yuma's maroon eyes met a pair of pale lilac. They belonged to a boy around twenty with long, light brown hair. He was a little taller than Kari and wore a black petticoat over a pair of black jeans and a red shirt. "I appreciate it."
"Um, no prob." It didn't take long for Astral to mentally alert him to an important detail. "Yuma! He has the same dark aura as the Barian!"
'Not good,' he thought as the stranger crossed the stream.
"The name is Hamartia Hoard. Yours?" The boy asked, offering his hand. The sly smile on his face was familiar, but he kept Rei and Arito in mind. If this wasn't the tracker, then maybe it was a friend.
"I'm Yuma Tsukumo and this is Astral," he warily shook Hamartia's hand.
"What interesting names," Hamartia said. "Forgive me for asking, but what are you two doing out here?"
"We… got lost," stuttered Yuma. It wasn't a lie, technically.
"Oh? Where are you headed? I might be able to point you in the right direction." The boy leaned forward, uncomfortably coming close to his face.
"Um..." Considering Astral's predicament and the mistake he nearly made earlier, Yuma really didn't want to give him an answer. "Well…"
The D-Gear next to Astral suddenly went off, saving him this time.
"Astral! Grab your stuff and run!" Snatching up their belongings, they both bolted. "Oh, that's my sister! She's helping us with the coordinates. We better go before she gets mad. Bye!"
"That was perfect timing on your sister's part." Astral commented as they ran along the side of the stream, his footwear in hand.
"No joke," Yuma agreed as he answered it.
"YUMA! What the HECK is going ON in that FAT head of YOURS!" He nearly dropped the D-Gear he was so startled by the harsh scolding.
"Relax, I'm just visiting master Roku." He explained.
"I might've believed that, but there was a big explosion at the train yard earlier," Yuma's stomach clenched as he realized where this was going. "And guess who showed up on the security cameras."
"You saw the whole thing?!" He exclaimed, unconsciously gripping the Key.
"Your face briefly showed up on the footage before the explosion." She told him. "Honestly! Do you realize how close to dead you were?! You gave me such a heart attack, I'm vying to kill you myself before Grimy does. Where are you anyway?"
"Um, not sure. Do you think you can help us out?"
"Oh, no. You got yourself into this, you can get yourself out- Wait? 'Us'? Who's with you?"
"One of my friends." Yuma said, glancing at Astral. "I kinda dragged him into this."
"More like I dragged you," he barely heard the whisper behind him.
Kari heaved a frustrated sigh. "Fine. It'll take some time, but I'll track down your signal. Find someplace to hunker down until I call, okay? I don't want to screw up the coordinates."
"Thanks." Turning off the device, he stopped running and turned to Astral. "It wasn't anyone's fault. That tracker jumped us before we even knew he was there."
Astral looked at his hand. "True, but if I hadn't become human-"
"It wouldn't have mattered. I'm sure he would've come after us eventually," he assured as he put the D-Gear away.
"I suppose," Astral replied as he rubbed an eye.
"Let's find someplace to rest until Kari calls," Yuma smiled. "You look like you could use a nap."
Astral simply nodded, his eyes already beginning to droop.
Finding a tree with plenty of bushes surrounding it to hide them from the tracker, Yuma sat down and leaned against its trunk. Astral was soon standing next to him, inquisitively looking at it. Rolling his eyes good humoredly, Yuma grabbed his hand and pulled him into a seat next to him. "You can't take a nap while standing."
"It's rough," observed Astral as his hand traced the bark of one of the roots. His mouth fell slightly open when he looked up.
Curious about what the look was for, he followed Astral's gaze. Up above, the sunlight was shining down on them between the freshly budded leaves. Some of their undersides were glowing bright green as the light hit their tops, giving off a lovely sense of warmth as they it. Gazing at them, Yuma felt himself getting drowsy as the wind softly rocked each leaf.
Feeling a weight on his right shoulder, he found Astral's head on it. His closed eyes, relaxed features, and breathing said it all. "Sweet dreams, Astral."
Yuma tried to stay awake as they waited for his sister to call, in case the tracker showed up. But he, too, eventually fell asleep.
Taking in a sharp intake of air, Astral stirred. For a moment, he thought something bad had happened because he'd somehow been knocked out. But something didn't fit with this thought.
Déjà vu was flooding through all of his senses. He could feel something he could only describe as 'hairy' beneath him. The word 'bark' kept bouncing around his head whenever he thought about the roughness at his back. The thing he was leaning against was warm and there was a strange thudding pulse coming from it. The noises it made oddly sounded like Yuma when the boy slept…
'Yuma?'
His eyes fluttering open, they darted over to the figure next to him. Astral's head tilted in puzzlement. It was Yuma.
The memories from earlier came back and he recalled his new condition. His human condition. 'It appears I'm still not use to this form. It'll probably take some time…'
Sitting up, he yawned and looked around. The sun above hadn't moved much, so his nap hadn't been too long. The spring day had gotten pretty warm though, too warm for the raincoat he was wearing.
Shedding it, Astral stood and stretched like he'd seen the humans do during gym. Like Yuma had told him before, it did feel pretty good. Looking down at his socks and shoes, Astral debated putting them on. Loving the tickling of the grass beneath his feet, he quickly decided not to.
A high trilling song from behind caught his attention. Glancing over his shoulder, Astral saw a brown-pinkish bird dart into the grove beyond their tree. A Japanese waxwing Yuma once called it.
Wanting to follow it, he took a step towards the grove. Then stopped and glanced at Yuma. 'Yuma won't mind if I go exploring for a bit. I'm not going to go too far,' he assured himself.
Carefully, Astral began walking through the mysterious grove. Breaking through a thick wall of bushes, he halted when he saw the scene in front of him. In the middle of the glade, playing under a cherry blossom tree, blissfully ignorant of his presence in their frolicking, was a doe and her twins.
Sitting down slowly where he stood, a bizarre sense of awe and wonder warmed him as he watched them. Something about the scene seemed soo familiar...
Both of the fawns froze and stared when they finally noticed him. One, nearly identical to its sibling with the exception of a white spot near the tip of its left ear, fell flat to its belly and sat perfectly still.
Its sibling, on the other hand, slowly approached him. Its ears were aimed at him, still and alert. Astral noted it had the same spot as its sibling, only it was marked on the right ear. Nose sniffing wildly, he felt its breath on his skin as it came close to his own.
"Hello," he quietly said. It completely stiffened, seemingly startled by his voice. For a moment, Astral thought it was going to bolt. But it surprised him in turn.
The little fawn bounced where it stood and then proceeded to headbutt him. Falling over backwards, Astral rubbed his poor aching temples. "Ouch. Nice meeting you, too."
It made a neighing whistle and frolicked around him. Its sibling, who had somehow snuck up to him, nudged his arm and licked his cheek. Giggling, Astral looked behind him at the other fawn, who was already getting ready to tackle him, and grinned.
"Ah, my lucky day. I found an elf playing with the sika." Startled, Astral's eyes snapped around while the fawns took off after their mother into the woods. He immediately stood.
The tracker was standing within a couple steps of him.
"An elf?" Astral questioned, unsure of what he meant. Or to do.
"That's what you remind me of." The tracker's thumb brushed across his cheek. He shivered as it stopped by his ear. The earring swung after he flicked it. "And your earrings are so otherworldly. I doubt its exquisiteness is… of this world."
Lightning bolted up Astral's spine and he jumped away from the Barian. Fear driven, he immediately backed up but his back ran into a tree. Having never been trapped like this before, Astral didn't know what to do. He thought about screaming for Yuma, but his voice was oddly stuck in his throat.
"There, there. I wasn't going to hurt you. Durbe would kill me if I did that unnecessarily."
"Who?" Astral asked, his voice suddenly returning to him.
"Where's your key-keeper? Considering how I can't take you to my world, I would like to…'remove' the guard dog from the yard, so to speak." The tracker said, sidestepping his question.
"Key-keeper?" Questioned Astral. 'Wait…! He means Yuma!'
"Yes. Since neither of you are willing to give in, I'm allowed to play my games." The Barian explained, a sick sweetness seeping into his voice.
"So you're not here to abduct me. Then why are you here?" Astral demanded.
"Let's just say, I love the smell of fear. And by letting him see me with you…"
"Astral!" Turning his head, he saw Yuma racing towards them.
"…I have accomplished that." With that said, the Barian turned around and calmly walked to the other side of the glade. His voice echoed as he disappeared. "Blood will spill soon, Original Number. The storm will make sure of that."
"Astral!" Yuma shouted, sliding to a halt in front of him. "Hey, Barian! I- Huh? Where'd he go?"
"He left."
Turning to him, Yuma's eyebrows were knitted together. "He left? That's weird. I thought he wanted to take you away?"
"He apparently sees you as an obstacle." Astral told him. The wind was picking up speed, shaking the trees around them. It even teased at their clothes. Just like the tracker was teasing them.
"Really? Good. He should because he'll never get you with here!" Yuma boasted, somehow missing the point.
"I'm glad you feel that way, but I don't think it's for the reason you wish to believe." Astral's eyes wandered over to where the Barian disappeared. He was beginning to grow edgy. He didn't know if the tracker was messing with them or being serious. Either way, the thought of him hurting Yuma was not sitting well with him at all.
"Thanks for killing the mood," Yuma frowned, placing both fists on his hips. "But what do you mean, exactly?"
"Because he seems determined to scare you." A crow cawed overhead, landing in the branches above them.
"Scare me?" Yuma questioned as his D-Gear went off.
"Yuma! I'm sending you the coordinates now. Go straight to the duel lodge. There's a nasty storm coming in this evening and," Kari's voice, calm up 'til now, turned into a snarl. "If I learn you've gotten into any more trouble, I'll personally STUFF you into one of our parents' sarcophaguses and LOCK you up in the attic! Is that CLEAR?!"
"Y-y-yes, ma'am!" Yuma stuttered.
"Your sister's concern is really starting to show," Astral commented after she hung up. He could feel a drop of sweat falling down the back of his neck.
"Yeah," Yuma agreed grimly. A shadow raced across the ground beneath them. Looking up, Astral watched a massive dark cloud cover the sun. "We better get going. The last thing we need is to get stuck in this."
-End of chapter three-
And so the mighty storm approaches...
