First off this month, the thanks to all who read the chapter, favorited, alerted, and reviewed! First off is to our newest subscribers, Gemini-starlight and shadowmwape!

To Numbers hunter; I killed off Michael not because I didn't like him—he is a neat character, as are all the Arklight brothers—but because it would make an interesting plot twist. I also wanted a way to bring in the Arklight brothers, and I figured a good way to do that was for Christopher and Thomas (V and IV, respectively) to have betrayed Tron when Michael died after beating Yuma. As for what Shark did to me…well, I gotta keep you all on your toes somehow. ;)

To GetsuRoze; Don't cry! *hugs you* Crying is sad, and I don't want to make you sad! (Though if I wanted that I shouldn't have slammed that car into Ryoga XD)

To Arlownay1991; Glad you liked the shocker, and the update is here!

And to Tsukuyomi-chan; This review made me laugh. I'm glad you like Kotori's cards, but I can tell your priority right now is Ryoga and how he's doing after getting slammed by the dumbass driver. As for whether or not he survives…you're gonna have to wait, lol.

This chapter is switching gears just slightly, showing how our friends who've been left in Heartland are doing. So, for everyone who's waiting to find out if Ryoga survives getting hit by the car, you're gonna have to wait until next month to find out. And, don't bother asking me for spoilers; you will get none.

Disclaimer: Just read the one in the first chapter. XP Enjoy the story!

Chapter 10

When in Heartland…

It was sunny.

Akari scowled at the weather. Of all days I have to be inside, it's nice out. She thought. Damn deadlines…next time I see my boss, I'm so asking for a pay raise. And I'm taking a few vacation days….

She sighed and turned back to the article she was typing. She let it run through the spell-checker as she checked her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time. The last time Yuma had called—the first time in four freaking years—she'd given him her cell number, and he'd said he'd call….

Still nothing.

Akari shook her head. It wasn't such a surprise. After all, her baby brother hadn't said anything about when he'd phone her. Just that he would.

Eventually.

That 'eventually' was turning into 'when I get off my lazy ass and pick up a telephone'. While he'd disappeared for the past four years, Akari still had a bit of Big Sister Syndrome, and she was feeling it now.

(It was either that or the extra-cheese microwave burrito she'd had for lunch…)

The computer dinged that her spell-check was done. Great, now for the conclusion to the article…fun. As she typed the conclusion, she remembered the day she'd discovered Yuma was gone….

000

"Yuma! Wake up!" She rapped the trapdoor with the broom handle. No answer; he must really be out. "Get down here, Yuma! You'll be late for school! YUMA!"

By now Akari was getting worried. Usually, it didn't take this long for Yuma to wake up. The only time she could remember it being this difficult was when he was sick, and even then he couldn't wait to get to school.

Hell, they didn't need to convince him to go to school at all. It was just getting him to stay home if he was sick that there was a problem. Even then, he would wake up, freak out that he was going to be late, and run downstairs.

The fact that she wasn't getting a response was…unsettling.

Akari leaned the broom against a wall and climbed up the ladder to her little brother's room. "Yuma, I'm coming in." She said, pushing the trapdoor up. It was then that she saw what was wrong.

Yuma wasn't in his room.

Everything was as it had always been, except that Yuma was missing. Maybe he left before Grandma and I were up…? Akari thought, but she already knew that was wrong; if he'd tried leaving, it would've woken up Grandma Haru.

She placed her hands on her hips and sighed. "Okay, Yuma. Enough hide and seek; get your little butt downstairs, now, or you're going to be late for school!" She glanced around. No reply, and no Yuma stumbling out of his closet.

Nope, something was so not right.

It was then that the glimmer of sunlight on something gold caught her eye. She looked to Yuma's bedside table, and there it was, right next to the picture of their parents….

The Emperor's Key.

Forget not right. Try completely wrong.

Akari picked up the pendant. Dad gave this to him, why'd he leave it at home like this…? As the thought crossed her mind, she pulled her D-Gazer out of her pocket. Something wasn't right; Yuma never let the Key out of his sight. Never. "Yuma, what is wrong with you?" She murmured as she dialed Kotori.

"Huh? Akari-san, what is it?" the girl asked, her face creased with worry.

"Is Yuma with you and Tetsuo? He left his Emperor's Key at home." Akari held it up so that Kotori could see it through the D-Gazer's view.

Kotori's eyes widened in alarm. "You mean, he didn't sleep in?"

Akari shook her head. "He's not with you, then?" She lowered her arm. "Do you have any idea where he may have gone?"

"Nowhere, at least not until school was out." Kotori replied. "And no matter what, he wouldn't have left his Key at home, unless…"

Akari didn't need Kotori to finish the statement. "Something's wrong. Really wrong." She said. Kotori nodded in agreement on the other end. "Right…I'll call you later if I find out what happened." Kotori nodded again as she cut the connection.

Akari slipped the D-Gazer back into her vest pocket as she looked down at the Key.

"Yuma, where did you go?"

000

Akari hit enter. The article was finished, at last. After doing a quick once-over, she sent it off to her boss, and sat back with a contented sigh. She looked out the window, at the sky, and her mind wandered to her brother.

I hope that he's all right….

000

"Tetsuo! Earth to Tetsuo! Anybody hooome?"

Tetsuo glared at Todoroki, whose head popped into his line of vision upside-down. "I'm still here, class rep." He said, sitting up. Todoroki took a seat next to him, handing him a canned tomato juice. "Are Rei and Tokunosuke still dueling?"

Todoroki nodded. "And Cat-chan's acting as ref." He said as Tetsuo accepted the juice. "Mostly because those two had a violent debate as to whether or not Man-Eater Bug's effect activated before or after it was attacked by D.D. Warrior Lady."

Tetsuo groaned. "Not again…" he popped open the can and took a drink. "How bad were they scratched?"

"Not very." Tetsuo gave the bluenette a look. "Okay, by 'not very' I mean they still have their eyeballs. It was because they started trying to tear each other apart that Cat-chan decided she was ref. That should be interesting in a bad way, hence why I got out of there."

Tetsuo stared at Todoroki as the bluenette opened his coffee. "Some class president you are." He said, giving him the evil eye.

"Part of being class president is knowing when to get out of the room so you don't get your face scratched, especially if your girlfriend is the one doing the scratching."

Tetsuo nearly choked on his tomato juice as he laughed. Todoroki and Cathy had been going out for a year, which was a surprise on both fronts. It was surprising that Cathy was going out with Todoroki, considering her infatuation with Yuma back in junior high. It was surprising for Todoroki because…well, it was just surprising that he had a girlfriend period.

Over the last four years, though, everyone had changed. Todoroki had gotten lankier, a bit geekier (though Tetsuo knew better than to say that to his face), and now had (rimless) glasses. And—just like in middle school—was currently wearing a spotless Heartland High uniform. In short, he looked every bit the part of Class-D president.

Tetsuo had likewise grown up. He still sported the same baseball cap, backwards on his head, but had gotten taller. True, he was still large, but more of that was in muscle, now, especially since he'd joined the baseball team back in freshman year. His hair didn't stick out quite so much anymore, though it was still a bit unruly.

Cathy, Todoroki's now-girlfriend, had filled out and gotten over her shyness. Also, remarkably, she'd become better friends with Kotori. She was still slender and had cat-ear hair, but she no longer wore her glasses; she'd graduated to contact lenses. She still had a bit of a weird cat obsession though…one that Tetsuo—and frankly, everyone else in their group—was a little afraid of.

Then there was Anna Koyuki. She was a bit of a nightmare. Okay, a huge nightmare. She was taller than most girls and even some of the guys in their grade, was not ashamed of the fact that other boys stared at her as she went past—hell, she was a little proud of the fact that she had the title of "hottest girl in the grade". Unfortunately, this also came with a severe lack of filter and a lot of absent-mindedness. She'd become part of their group just after Yuma had ran away, as she'd come around looking for a duel with him.

Of all of them, Tokunosuke had changed the least. He was still short, wore thick-rimmed green glasses, and still ended all his sentences with "ura". Back in junior high it wasn't so bad, but now that they were seniors is was a bit…weird.

The latest member to their group, Rei Shingetsu, was as hyperactive as Yuma was. At first Tetsuo had thought that he and Anna would get along great, as their personalities were somewhat similar. He couldn't have been more wrong; rather than getting along, Anna and Rei were constantly butting heads. They didn't yell and shout and kick and give noogies and what have you anymore, but they were still waging silent war nonetheless. It was disturbing, to say the least.

Just after the beginning of the year, Kotori and Shark had gone through with their plan to transfer to Neo Domino Duel Academy, hoping to find Yuma there. Tetsuo had wanted to go, but his grades weren't doing the best at the moment, so he decided not to. Then again, "decided" in this case was more akin to Kotori reading him the riot act for deciding to go with, and threatening to hide his deck.

So, he'd stayed behind.

As if reading his thoughts, Todoroki piped up. "How do you think Kotori and Shark are doing, anyway? Kotori sent a mass email that they'd found Yuma, but…."

"Nothing since." Tetsuo agreed.

"You think something could've happened?"

Tetsuo finished his tomato juice before replying. "It's possible, but both Shark and Kotori are good duelists. If they've gotten into trouble, even if they hadn't managed to track down Yuma they'd be able to defend themselves. Especially since Shark has those Numbers he's collected…."

Todoroki nodded, his face still betraying a trace of worry. Tetsuo punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Hey, they'll be fine." He said, smiling. "Cheer up, will ya?" He got up. "C'mon, let's see how Tokunosuke and Rei are doing in their latest duel."

Todoroki nodded and stood up, a small smile on his face as well. "Yeah, they'll be fine." He said "Kotori, Shark, and Yuma that is. Not so sure about Rei and Tokunosuke."

The two boys laughed.

000

Later that day, the group was having their end-of-week meeting at the Tsukumo residence. At first it had been just to check up on Grandma Haru and Akari, then it had turned into a planning session to find Yuma, and then it had morphed into a combination of planning/brainstorming/bullshitting session. It was more or less the latter this time around, with much teasing of Rei and Tokunosuke.

"You know, if you didn't want Cat-chan to scratch your faces like that, you shouldn't have stolen her contacts." Anna pointed out.

Both boys stared at her. "Er, well…." Rei started, but trailed off. It was that moment that the telephone rang, saving Rei from answering.

Akari shook her head. "I'll answer it, guys." She sighed. She went to get the phone, and Cat turned back to the matter at hand.

She poked Rei in the chest. "I'm not sure if it's you or Tokunosuke who's worse; he's a little guy who can't seem to stop looking for trouble—"

"Hey!"

"And you're a hotheaded idiot!" Cathy plowed right through Tokunosuke's protest. She was about to continue talking when they heard Akari's voice raise in surprise.

"What happened?!"

"What the heck was that?" Rei asked. Todoroki shrugged. Tetsuo shook his head as Akari reentered the room.

They didn't need to ask; Yuma's older sister delivered the news without preamble.

"Yuma just called." She said, sliding down into an open chair. "He was at the hospital—Ryoga was hit by a car."

The sentence hung in the air. The atmosphere had gone from casual joking to tense as a snare drum in an instant, and Tetsuo took it upon himself to voice the collective opinion.

"Aw shit."

So now everyone knows what's happening. Every once in a while I'm going to be popping back to the gang in Heartland, and I've managed to bring in Rei Shingetsu! Yay!

As always, read & rate & keep reading everyone!

~HikariHellion