Trying something new this time. Hopefully, it's not too jarring. Hmm, I really did want to break the 40k barrier this chapter, but it just wasn't working out - I'd rather not add an additional scene or wall of text just to make up for the four hundred words I'm missing so it will have to wait. :/

Beta-checking and duel scripting courtesy of The 17th Chimera.


Five years ago.

"Wait, if I try destroying it with Raigeki Break, you can't activate—"

When Yuma looked up from the table, Astral wasn't paying attention to the duel between them. The spirit's face was worried, if it could feel worry, as it glanced around the room. A wrongness settled in his stomach as Yuma's eyes flickered, as he tried to find the reason. No, the attic was the same. It was his room, the way it always was, filled with his parents' keepsakes in ordered mess, and hanging the lone hammock he slept in opposed to the bed a level below.

However, when his eyes settled on the grandfather clock, he realised exactly why.

There was no noise. No sound of traffic, no sound from countless litterbots as they picked up garbage and sorted it for later recycling. He rose to his feet and walked to the window. Yes—there were cars, cars as silent and as unmoving as the group of litterbots inspecting the footpath.

He looked back at the clock again, as if to confirm what his eyes told him, and saw the pendulum stopped halfway in its fall. Frozen in time.

"He's here."

Yuma spun around. "...Astral?"

"The resonance," continued Astral, talking to himself. "Yes. The resonance is the same. But to stop time... no, that's not..."

"What's going on?"

Astral ignored him and closed his eyes. A wave of power rippled from him, the sheer force sending Yuma sprawling on the ground, but any concern for his belongings was gone after seeing how they didn't even vibrate. It was hard to tell exactly how much time passed without a clock to go by – and could time even pass if it was frozen, and how was it frozen anyway? – but Yuma had partly risen to his feet when Astral's eyes snapped open.

"The window!" Astral shouted. "He's here! Open it now!"

The force of the shout had Yuma slip and fall as he lost his balance again. The panic was undeniable in Astral's tone, however, and Yuma hurried to the window as quickly as he could—

—and just managed to wrench it open seconds before something hurtled through, landing onto the floor of the attic with a soft thud. No, not something; a person.

"So it is you," said the new person, clad in blindingly bright white. He held something in his arms, though the ivory backpack on his back obscured any opportunity to see what it was. When he tried to stand up, there was a stumble and a hiss of frustration rather than pain. Proud, ice-blue eyes stared into Astral again. "Get me some water."

Astral turned to Yuma and nodded. That was when the stranger scowled and looked to Yuma's way as if noticing him for the first time. Perhaps he did. Any retort Yuma had on his lips disappeared as soon as that gaze pierced at him instead, immeasurably cold even from the faintest glance, and he quickly descended the rope to head for the kitchen as quickly as possible.

When he returned, it seemed that Astral had explained the situation, as the stranger stared at him with less disdain as he accepted the glass. There was a brief amount of curiosity at the water inside it, and Yuma wondered if he'd perhaps filled it too little or too much. That instant of curiosity disappeared as quickly as it came, and then the water drunk even faster—if that was even possible.

On the other side of the room, Astral was leaning over the hammock, a hammock no longer empty. Before Yuma could look closer, the empty glass was forced into his direction, and he turned to see the stranger give him an expression difficult to understand.

Then he blinked; the white coat no longer seemed as blinding and intense as it had been. Was it his imagination?

"More," commanded the stranger.

Yuma couldn't stop his eyebrow twitching, but at Astral's nod and his own reluctance to stay under the stranger's sharp stare any longer, took the glass and stalked downstairs again. Astral so owed him.

At some point up the stairs to the second floor, noise from outside emerged again. Whatever had stopped time had started it again, and when Yuma reached the attic he found the stranger waiting. The glass was handed across, but instead of drinking the stranger walked to the hammock and lifted the head of the person lying there.

Astral shifted courteously when Yuma walked closer, and there he could see the young boy that had to have been carried earlier. The child's eyes were closed as the stranger poured water down his throat, most of it dribbling out and down to pool on his clothes—clothes which, to Yuma's surprise, dried immediately, water disappearing in an instant.

Satisfied, the stranger straightened. He sent a nod Astral's way, though his eyes narrowed briefly when Astral returned it with a slight bow. Yuma took it as an opportunity to finally get some answers.

"What the heck is going on?"

It was not Astral that replied, but the stranger. "Haruto is unable to adjust to this planet."

"So you're... an alien?"

"I am Kaito Tenjo, of the Astral World." Eyes flickered briefly in Astral's direction, before he continued. "I have been told of you, Yuma Tsukumo."

"What did you say?" said Yuma to Astral. "You better not have told him—"

He broke off at the sound of a small cough, a faint flicker of life from the hammock behind. Kaito whirled around to check up on the child—to check on Haruto's condition.

"Kaito is somebody you should listen to, Yuma," said Astral.

"You can't just tell me who I should and shouldn't and expect—"

Kaito turned around. "My role is to guard the Prince." A level of pride entered his tone; a sense that that was what he did, that was his very reason for being.

"The... prince?"

The reply followed, albeit reluctantly.

"...Astral."


Chapter Eleven:

[ Yuma: 1300 ] - - - - - [ Hayashi: 4000 ]

"Verz Castor's effect allows me to Normal Summon a second time; descend, Verz Zahhak!"

Zahhak, the three-headed beast, rose from the summon portal, a being once a dragon but scientifically altered to something new. [ATK 1850/*4.] It stopped beside a knight in stained white armour, and the knight stood taller and flung out its blade. [ATK 1750/*4.]

"Overlay! Castor and Zahhak open the Network—Xyz Summon! Come to my side, Verz Ophion!"

A serpent of ice and dark blades soared from the depths on wings of frozen fire, to land by her side. [ATK 2550/Rk. 4.] Then, surveying the field, the woman called Misato Hayashi flicked back blue hair to point in Yuma's direction.

"Battle! Verz Ophion attacks your Kuribolt Token; Black Vortex!"

"I activate Tasuke Knight's effect from my Graveyard," called Yuma, "special summoning it to end the Battle Phase."

A samurai in red and gold armour rose in the middle of the field, lifting crossed arms. [ATK 1700/*4.] The black and red flames rushed its way but it stood still, deflecting the attack, but losing both arm-guards as it did so. It would not be a manoeuvre repeated again.

Hayashi bit her lower lip. "Fine. Ophion's effect, I detach a Material to add Pandemic Contagion Infestation to my hand." Her D-Pad whirred, then the deck holder spat out a card she quickly showed. [Verz Ophion: Olu. 2 → 1.] After adding it to her hand, she shuffled, then picked a card. "One card reversed. Turn end."

As the golden galaxy appeared, a facedown in her back row beside her continuous trap Corrosive Contagion Infestation, Yuma's eyes lingered. He looked back to his own field, at the three facedowns he'd placed in order to empty his hand so he could use Tasuke Knight's effect, and the sheer difference between the two shades of brown was more than disconcerting.

When his fingers bumped into casing, he looked to his left arm to see that he was trying to draw from the hinge. Right; it was not his D-Pad, which he'd dropped off in his locker earlier that day, but the duel disk borrowed, and the deck holder was atop the back of his wrist where his graveyard would normally be.

He drew a card, then paused to calculate his options. Yes... if they were correct, he would be able to win that turn.

"I... activate my set Release Lease, letting me tribute Tasuke Knight to add a level three monster from my deck to my hand."

The duel disk offered his chosen card, and he didn't look as he flipped it over and placed it on his field.

"I summon, Gagaga Girl." The bubbly girl emerging on his field tipped her hat before landing on both feet, and winked amidst a show of pink sparkles. [ATK 1000/*3.] "Then I activate the trap Gagagarevenge, which lets me summon Gagaga Magician from my grave."

Gagaga Magician joined his apprentice from a carved wooden coffin, opened by a burst of red sparks. The golden plate across his waist glowed momentarily, an array of eight dots of which four were lit, and they dimmed to become three. [ATK 1500/*4 → 3.]

"Gagaga Magician is level four," said Hayashi, across the room.

"His effect lets me change his level once per turn," replied Yuma. "Now I use both Gagaga to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon," he threw out an arm, "String Devil Muzumuzu Rhythm!"

A flurry of red rose petals, a dazzling explosion of bright blue quavers adorned with the String Devil's mark, and the cherubic demon descending from the summon portal plucked a soft tune on its double-necked guitar. [ATK 1500/Rk. 3.]

"Because Gagaga Girl and the monster equipped with Gagagarevenge were used for an Xyz Summon, their effects activate," continued Yuma. "Gagagarevenge increases the attack of the summoned monster by 300 points, and Gagaga Girl can reduce the attack of one of my opponent's monsters to 0."

Both Xyz Material orbiting around Muzumuzu Rhythm turned from green to red. A similar red aura bloomed around Muzumuzu Rhythm, and it removed the rose from its mouth to point it in Ophion's direction. The Verz glowed, the serpent roaring as the fire in its wings was absorbed across the field, and it collapsed just as Muzumuzu Rhythm returned the rose to its mouth again. [Verz Ophion: ATK 2550 → 0; String Djinn Muzumuzu Rhythm: ATK 1500 → 1800.]

"Effect activate, Corrosive Contagion Infestation," said Hayashi, "I return Verz Ophion to my Extra Deck and add a second Verz Castor to my hand."

"Then I activate Minimum Guts." His second facedown rose, and his two Kuribolt Tokens glowed. "By tributing two monsters, I can reduce the attack of a monster to 0."

"Not so fast! Reverse card open, Pandemic Contagion Infestation. My Verz are now immune to other Spell and Traps for the rest of this turn."

Yuma frowned, though it didn't make a difference. "Then I target Symphony Devil Maestroke."

The Kuribolt tokens soared across the field to be absorbed in Maestroke's gilded rapier, and Maestroke threw it to the ground upon the blue electric sparks that followed. The rapier shattered, and Maestroke fell to its knee. [ATK 1800 → 0/Olu. 0.]

"Muzumuzu Rhythm attacks, and by detaching an Overlay Unit, it can double its attack!"

An Overlay Unit was absorbed into the head of the guitar's second neck, amidst the pasodoble strummed against the strings, and Muzumuzu Rhythm leapt into the middle of the field where a spotlight followed its path. [ATK 1800 → 3600/Olu. 2 → 1.]

Hayashi stepped back, as if it helped avoid the blow, her eyes wide. "What?"

"Go, Muzumuzu Rhythm! Duple String!"

A flash of light, a whirlwind of petals and music notes, and Maestroke screamed when engulfed by the blow. Hayashi stumbled.

[ Yuma: 1300 ] - - - - - [ Hayashi: 400 ]

Yuma cringed as he gently fed the card into his graveyard slot; despite knowing the damage was not real and would not harm it in any way, there was still something wrong about destroying the monster Cathy had entrusted to his care.

"Not yet," hissed Hayashi. "Not yet. I still have my Bahamut. Next turn, you lose."

"No," corrected Yuma, "it's over."

"Impossible. Muzumuzu Rhythm can only increase its attack in your turn—"

"At this time, Minimum Guts' second effect activates. If the targeted monster is destroyed, you take damage equal to its original attack."

"No..."

A column of flames, silver and purple, and though she clamped her eyes shut, she still wore the grimace of those exposed to augmented reality for so long they had difficulty terminating the connection.

[ Yuma: 1300 ] - - - - - [ Hayashi: 0 ]


= WIN: YUMA =

Eyes watched, their owner still, silent, unmoving, as the victory was claimed and the mini-tournament came to a close. The bistro was small, sitting off the corner of a street and a half, squashed amidst buildings that varied as much in shape as they did in colour, with only five rounds in the competition and naught but a free lunch sitting on the line.

The eyes watched for a few seconds more at the sheer relief on Tsukumo's expression, assessing the emotion, analysing. Then Kaito Tenjo spun, feet moving in a precise, perfect, artful half-turn. There was nothing else to be seen; he may as well have been gone.

"Then... I swear, Kaito." The determined gaze, the hand clasped to his heart in a gesture with reverence the boy did not truly understand, a promise by a boy who had no one else to care for; five years ago. "I'll get you, and Astral, and Haruto back to your own world."

Kaito clenched his fists, feeling the paper warp and crumple, but he kept walking. It was one of two sheets within the envelope delivered to the Satellite apartment building, left on the bed in the room off the side; the empty bed—Haruto's room. Haruto, gone, Astral, gone, an empty apartment left in their wake, taken by the man who knew to address the envelope to The Numbers Hunter, Astral.

If Tsukumo knew the extent of the situation, that Haruto was gone, and if he used any of his sense, he would have known there was no time to be saving the few hundred yen of his meal.

A torrent of water fell over him without warning. Kaito scowled; almost half his coat returned to grey, and his energy was low. Orbital-7's whines were ignored, half his mind focused on grasping Photon Mode and the other intent on finding whoever was responsible. They would pay.

When he looked up, blue eyes met green set in a round, young face, framed by soft pink curls and visibly distressed.

"Ah, sorry!" exclaimed the boy, leaning as far over the railing as he dared, a bucket held in one hand. "Sorry about that, I should have looked first!"

Kaito did not answer, there was not enough cognitive allowance available for crafting words; stabilisation of Photon Mode was crucial. He frowned. Something about the boy felt off, some aura that felt like his personal space was being invaded even though the boy stood some distance away.

"Sorry, sorry," the boy said again, then disappeared beyond Kaito's field of vision.

The aura remained, even so. Kaito closed his eyes. When they opened, his coat was white again and the search resumed as if there had been no interruption at all.


When the boy drew back, hidden beyond the edge of the roof, any frantic feelings around him dissolved to be replaced with closed eyes and a slow, drawn smirk. He stood, soundless, allowing the soft breeze to play with the twin strands of hair on either side, hair that refused to be buckled down, and he revelled in the peace of the moment no matter how fleeting.

"How was it? Losing to Yuma Tsukumo?"

The words were spoken to empty air, but the boy then stepped around to face the other occupant on a roof empty mere moments ago. They did not reply; a hair tie was undone, two fingers were placed to the bridge of their nose as if adjusting glasses that were not there, then a mesh of bright cyan light unfurled from shoulders down. Washes of blue and white began to pool over the wireframe before the coat's shape fully formed, and then the hand flicked away as a gust of wind blew by.

Any remains of Victor Romani dissipated past the long, silver hair now flowing free.

"A waste of time," said the man.

"How many times did you lose?"

"Enough to know he is not the Numbers Hunter."

"So Heartland mis-aimed?"

"Exactly. Tsukumo may have played No. 17, but he is only a distraction. I will finish him quickly. What of your end?"

The boy threw the bucket to one side, the plastic landing with a loud clatter atop the concrete floor, before buckling a gauntlet onto his right hand. With it, he panned a hand across the air to call upon a projected display, and fingers deftly navigated through screen upon screen.

"About IV..." began the boy. "Is it wise to send him on that errand?"

"What do you mean?"

"It is uncharacteristic of him to be so obedient, brother."

"It's fine. The Emperor will keep him under control, there is no need for concern."

"But V, shouldn't I go instead—?"

"No, III. He needs the break, to let off the steam garnered from the last eighteen years in preparation for what's to come."

III opened his mouth to say something more, but his hand had stopped moving and a faint beep resonated from the display. His eyes flicked across, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise, then he flipped his palm to flip the projection and gestured for it to fly in V's direction.

"Oh, very clever," were the first words to leave V's mouth at the results from their sensors. "Of course. The use of fission and fusion to recycle enough electrons to power the gazer mark – no doubt synthesised also."

It was difficult to tell if V had been sardonic or amazed from his tone. "And water is their fail-safe."

"Yes. That is how they are trained. It's surprising that, for a race so secluded in nature, they can be undone by simple child's play."

"You were the one who found him." I am not a child."It's not my credit to take. Your program was what cross-referenced CCTV recognition with Heartland's passport-visa databanks."

"A program to find illegal immigrants; a program to find foreign aliens." V smiled, humour for himself alone. "Found you at last, Astral."


First on-screen duel of the story, despite it only being a partial one. Hopefully, not one that's also an irritating headache to get through. From here on in, the number of duels will only increase (after all, this is a ygo story), though the plot will not be compromised so you don't need to worry. As for the plot, well... the more answers you receive, the more questions I leave you with in return. Theories, anyone?

Please review :)