Yuma opened his eyes slowly as sunlight poured into his room. He looked around, attempting to find his clock. 8:30 AM was printed on the little white screen when he saw it.

"Ahh!" Yuma yelled as he toppled out of his hammock and onto the wooden floor. He shook himself and ran down the stairs, throwing on his school uniform and darting down the stairs, then right out the front door.

Man! What's so hard about waking me up in the morning when I sleep in? Yuma thought. His sister could be so lazy.

Astral joined him shortly. "You are going to be late again." he implied.

"Yeah, ya think?" Yuma spat. Astral rolled his eyes. He was used to Yuma being cranky.

XxXxXxXx

Hilda unlocked her locker and put her books away, then took her notebook out. "Where is Yuma?" She whispered to herself. As she shut her locker, she let out a small shriek. Yuma was standing there, panting heavily.

"H-Hi, Hilda. What's u-up?" Yuma asked.

"You just scared me," Hilda replied.

"Sorry. B-Besides that, wh-what's up?"

"Nothing, really..." Hilda just stared at the ground. When she looked up, she smiled and giggled. "What happened to you?"

"I-I just got back f-from gym class."

"Oh, well, I guess I'd better be getting to math class." Hilda waved and walked away. Yuma was about to go to his locker and get his science stuff, but he felt a strong grip on his shoulder, that of which forced him to turn around. He was hardly surprised to learn it was Shark.

"Oh, hey Shark.. what's up?" Yuma asked. He used to get really timid around Shark, but finally stopped doing that as both boys tried to become friends with one another. It was usually a very awkward thing, though.

Shark opened his ocean blue eyes and stared at Yuma. He glared as Yuma sweat dropped and laughed nervously. "Oh, nothing. Just going to math class," Shark replied hoarsely. Yuma cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Umm, Shark? You feeling okay?" Yuma asked, suddenly concerned and thankful he could finally ask this question. Shark didn't know how Shark Drake would pull this off if he couldn't master his voice, yet somehow, he did.

"Fine. Why?"

"Well, your voice, it's... gravely..."

"I feel fine."

Yuma frowned, then shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Whatever," he said. Then he shot his head up and looked at the clock. 11:31. Still four minutes to get to science class.

"I gotta go." Yuma grabbed his things and shut his locker, then walked past Shark. "See ya!"

"Yeah, see ya."

Shark couldn't believe it. Yuma wasn't the smartest, but he could tell when something was wrong with his friends. If Yuma could've just pointed out this wasn't Shark, he'd be free from Shark Drake's grip.

But Yuma just wasn't that bright, it seemed.

Shark Drake didn't care as he walked Shark to the math class. Hilda watched closely as he sat next to her. She knew something was wrong. His voice was rocky, and it concerned Hilda greatly. Shark would turn to her sometimes. Hilda just simply waved and smiled. While Shark Drake had no feelings for a human female, the real Shark was, for some reason he'd probably never know, head-over-heels in love with Hilda.

I love her so much, Shark thought. Only Shark Drake could hear him.

Yes, I know. You mentioned that last night. Maybe I'll let her live when I conquer the world... if you cooperate, Shark Drake replied. Hearing this made Shark cringe inside. Hilda noticed and suddenly knew something involving a Number Card was going on. She wondered if anyone else noticed Shark's strange behavior as the classroom filled with other students.

XxXxXxXx

Hilda and Yuma walked together. They actually lived real close to each other, even though they didn't know it.

"Did you talk to Shark today?" Yuma asked.

"Yes, I talked to him. He sounded even worse today," Hilda replied.

"Yeah, it was! It kinda scared me. When I went to ask him what was wrong, guess what I saw in his eyes?" Yuma asked.

"Purple? Like a Number Card?" Hilda asked. Yuma widened his eyes.

"So you think it's a Number Card, too?"

"Yep. I just don't understand how Shark could be dumb enough to even touch one of those when not in a real duel! He should know those things possess those who touch them!"

Yuma just shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. It does seem kinda stupid." Both children continued to walk, until suddenly, they gasped out of realization. They looked at each other, shaking slightly.

"Shark's been possessed by a Number Card!" Hilda shrieked, grabbing Yuma's orange vest and shaking him by it violently.

"I know! We gotta do something before it turns horrible!" Yuma yelled. Then the thought hit him. "Why don't you come to my house? I know what we need to do," Yuma suggested.

"Won't your grandmother and sister mind a random stranger in their house?" Hilda asked.

"Naw. They don't care who I bring home as long as their parents are cool with it," Yuma replied.

"Alright." Hilda pulled out her cell phone to call her mom. Yuma could here her side of the conversation.

"Mom, can I stay at Yuma's tonight?"

"...No, his grandmother and sister don't mind."

"..I don't need to."

"...Yeah, I'm sure."

"...Okay, love you too, mom. See ya tomorrow." Hilda hung up her phone and turned to Yuma, smiling. "Okay, we're good! I can stay!"

"Alright!" Yuma instantly grabbed Hilda by the wrist and spun around, leading her away and into town.

Astral suddenly appeared out of Yuma's key, an extremely worried expression on his face. "You aren't going to see who I think you are, are you?" He asked. Yuma only nodded his head, making Astral flinch.

"So, who are we going to go see?" Hilda asked.

"We're going to find the Number Hunter," Yuma mumbled. Astral gulped and shivered as he heard this. Hilda sighed and unlatched her hand from Yuma's, continuing to run beside him. Both children were soon in Heartland City, marveling at the Heartland Tower.

"You ready to get into the Heartland Tower, Hilda?" Yuma asked.

"Yeah, but how do we get in?" Hilda asked. "It's so tall!"

Yuma simply pointed to an open window atop the tower. Hilda opened her mouth slightly, and frowning, said, "Okay... but how do we get up there?"

The two were silent.

"Leave it to me," Yuma whispered. He took four suction cups out of his pockets, handed two to Hilda, and began shimmying up the side of the Heartland Tower.

"Oh, that's how." Hilda rolled her eyes and climbed after her hyper friend. Astral just floated up next to Yuma. He had a curious look on his face.

"Yuma, is not breaking and entering illegal?" Astral asked.

Yuma sighed and whispered, "Yeah, but this isn't breaking and entering. It's just entering because the window is open."

They climbed through the window, silently looking into the darkness of the room. Taking their suction cups off and dropping them onto the floor, they began staring into the shadows.

"Okay, c'mon, let's go. I know this tower inside out," Yuma whispered, leading Hilda and Astral down the halls. It didn't take them long to run into the robot.

"AAAHHH! Intruder! In-Intruder!" Orbital beeped loudly. Astral and Yuma were terrified.

Hilda, on the other hand, just face palmed and muttered, "Oh, I knew you would get us into something like this."