Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Zexal!
Neechan = big sister
I was joining Yuma and Kotori with you looking for duels. I didn't want to go by myself anymore…
Yuma was currently sitting depressingly on the steps. We were by the water, Kotori across from Yuma, standing. I was beside Astral who was thinking.
Yuma stared at the ground sadly, "Is that darn Shark…really dueling for revenge?"
I sighed, he's really been depressed about this. And dueling for revenge? There's nothing wrong with that…is there?
"Yuma?" asked Kotori confused. I hadn't filled her in. She was staring at Yuma worried.
"It's not just Shark…even that IV guy…" said Yuma, totally ignoring Kotori.
IV…Man, I hate him.
"Dueling isn't a tool for revenge!" Yuma yelled angrily.
Kotori gasped in surprise. She must be confused but…
"Duels aren't meant to hurt people!" Yuma shouted as we all stared at him, "All duelists are friends! So why?!"
I don't agree with Yuma. All duelists are not all friends. There's no way I could be friends with IV now…
Kotori looked down before we heard a rushing sound. We looked to see a blimp with 'WDC' on it.
"Hey, look Yuma," said Kotori trying to get Yuma's attention, "It's a blimp! It must be a special occasion to celebrate the opening of the Carnival! Maybe riding it will lift your spirits"
"Yeah, that'd be cool," I said to Kotori smiling.
Kotori nodded before smiling at Yuma, "Let's look at Heartland City from up in the sky"
"It's unacceptable!" said Yuma ignoring us, "There's no excuse!"
"Hey, how about it?" asked Kotori cheerfully. There's no way Yuma could say no to that.
"No excuse!" Yuma yelled loudly before standing, "We're supposed to be friends! We're supposed to enjoy ourselves!"
"Come on," said Kotori not knowing what he was talking about, "Obviously we're all friends. That's why we should cheer each other up-"
"This ain't funny!" shouted Yuma.
Kotori gasped in…hurt. I stared at her, "Kotori…"
"Oh, god!" shouted Yuma holding his head before sitting down.
"What are you so worried about?" asked Kotori before getting annoyed, "Fine, just do whatever you want!"
"Ah, Kotori!" I said after her as she starting walking away in a huff. I don't blame her.
I sighed as she got out of sight and glared at Yuma, "Yuma!"
"Shouldn't you go after her?" Astral questioned him, "Kotori seems to be really worried about you"
"Yeah, Yuma," I said in agreement angrily, "Kotori has been-"
"Shut up!" shouted Yuma, "Just keep out of it!"
I looked away, hurt, I haven't been yelled at by Yuma before. Maybe I should just keep out of it.
I heard Astral growl lowly before saying, "There's no reason to yell at Rima. She is just trying to help"
"You're so annoying!" shouted Yuma at Astral as well, "Stop butting in!"
Astral grabbed my hand and said, "Fine then," and then we were somewhere else.
I looked around us before saying, "Emperor's Key?" We were on top of the airship.
Astral nodded and asked softly, "Are you alright?"
I smiled, "I'm not going to cry or anything if that's what you're thinking"
Astral just shook his head, "If you were crying I would've yelled at Yuma"
I giggled lightly before saying, "Well, that's really nice to know, Astral. I'm fine though, I'm more worried about Kotori. Yuma really made her upset"
Astral smiled and he leaned his forehead on mine, his breath hot on my lips. Astral then spoke, "Human love I may not understand but…"
"But what?" I questioned. He doesn't understand human love…then how can-
"I said human love," said Astral seeing the look on my face, "I don't understand human love…but I understand alien love"
He thinks that's one-sided…If he knew about me…I smiled, "Astral, alien love is not that much different to human love…All of romantic love is the same"
"Oh contraire, my darling~" he said playfully, "My love for you is much stronger than any out there"
Aw~! I giggled and I know I've never felt this way before. Astral is so much different than anyone I've ever met, in more ways than one…is this true love? I then let Astral press his lips to mine.
I wrapped my arms around Astral's neck and I felt his go around my waist. I tangled my fingers into his hair. Astral then- I broke off the kiss with an eyebrow raised, "Astral…?"
He was looking away embarrassedly. It was really cute to see that expression, "Yes, Rima?"
I nudged his cheek with my nose, "Where exactly is your hand right now?"
Astral was silent and I swear, if he could, he would be blushing.
I giggled lightly before kissing Astral's chin, "Move it up, sir"
He complied and moved his hand back to my waist. I felt like laughing a lot, Astral was so~ I smiled, "If you were anyone else, I would've killed you. Then I would've grabbed Ryoga and he would kill you again"
Astral met my eyes and smiled. Just what I needed, my Astral is a pervert.
Then there was a red light coming from above us. We blinked, parted, and stared upwards.
"Astral, what's that?" I asked confused and a bit scared.
He smiled at my expression before looking up and explained, "It means Yuma is doing something…It usually means something about a number. Other times, he's in a duel. It could truly be anything"
I nodded and we heard Akari's voice.
"What were you doing?" we heard Akari say, "I'm in a hurry here, so answer immediately!"
Yuma's on D-Gazer probably. That's just like Akari though.
"Neechan…" said Yuma unsurprised.
"You've heard of Shuuta Hayami, haven't you?" asked Akari.
"Iyami?" Yuma 'repeated'. Typical Yuma.
"No, it's Hayami!" Akari said back, "You should know him if he's participating in the Carnival, shouldn't you?"
"Akari is overestimating Yuma," I said. I don't even know who this Shuuta Hayami is.
"What do you take me for?" Yuma asked at that moment, "I don't know a guy like that!"
"We can't allow him to create any more incidents," said Akari gaining my attention quickly.
"Incidents…?" repeated Astral puzzled.
"Incidents?" asked Yuma, "Watcha mean by that?"
"Shuuta Hayami seems to have the power to make any future he sees in his mind become a reality," explained Akari making me blink.
I looked to Astral, shocked, "You don't think…"
"A numbers…" said Astral unsure himself. That power isn't possible without something like a number.
Astral grabbed me from around the waist and we flew up to the top of the key.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuma asked.
"I don't full believe it 100% myself but I saw him take a picture of the future," said Akari.
"And they let a guy like that into the Duel Carnival?" asked Yuma surprised.
We made it out of the key and we appeared beside Yuma who was staring at his D-Gazer. I looked from over his shoulder, Akari was on her motorcycle.
"I don't know why," said Akari, "And since I don't know why, I'm investigating. But with that power of his, he can't lose a duel. Anyway, if you find Shuuta Hayami, I want you to contact me immediately! Got it?!" and then she hung up without an answer from us.
"Gosh, what gives?" asked Yuma and he put his D-Gazer away, "He won't lose because he can see the future?"
"But if there is any truth to it, there's a chance this person might be possessed by a number," said Astral urgently.
"By a number?" questioned Yuma surprised.
"This is a cause for investigation," said Astral, "Yuma, go find him. This man named Shuuta Hayami"
I'll go as well. If it's a number, I'll be forced to watch anyways.
"God, every single one of 'em ordering me around…" said Yuma annoyed, "Who do you people think you are? Right, Kotori?"
I raised an eyebrow, did he forget her absence?
He looked around for the green-haired girl, "Huh? Where'd she go?"
Astral stared at Yuma before saying, "She left a while ago after you said some terrible things to her"
Yuma stood up confused and in disbelief, "Eh?!"
I face palmed, of course he forgot. Poor Kotori…
Astral stared at him with a hint of disbelief, "You really don't remember?"
Yuma just dismissed the idea with a smile, "I did that to Kotori? Like heck would I ever!" He then looked around for the girl that was not here, "Kotori! Kotori?"
Astral then looked away from Yuma to stare at the sky. I guess he's doing an observation. He then spoke after a moment, "Now I understand how you feel, Kotori"
I looked at Yuma, "Well, your girlfriend's not here so let's go find Shuuta Hayami"
Yuma hummed for a second, confused at where Kotori is. Then his eyes widened and he shouted, "She's not my girlfriend, Rima!"
"Because you haven't asked her out yet," I said shrugging.
Astral, Yuma and I were walking around the city.
"Man, I can't believe I have to find this guy," complained Yuma. We stopped and looked around. Yuma then said, "I don't even know this Iyami-"
I sweat dropped, "Hayami"
"Yeah, I don't know this Hayami's face," said Yuma grudgingly, "How am I supposed to spot him?
We felt the ground shake and a weird sound. I can't explain it, like when paper crinkles or something.
"Sounds like there is a duel over there," stated Astral, "Let's go," he then flew off.
"H-hey!" Yuma shouted in surprise.
"Astral!" I whined as we started running after him.
We ran down an alley before stopping. We gawked at what we saw.
"That's…!" said Astral shocked.
It was a huge camera! That's what the sound was! It wasn't paper crinkling, it was the shutter of a camera! What really struck me was the number mark on it…number 25.
"I knew it…" breathed Astral.
The person dueling the number stepped back, "T-there's no way something in a picture can come true! It's flat out impossible!"
Pictures that can come true? Is this the same type of incident Akari saw? In that case…
His opponent smirked. This must be Hayami. He had chin-length dark but faded blue hair. He was wearing a dress-type of shirt. His D-Pad was part-camera. He then ordered, "Attack the enemy monster! Sure-kill first grade shot!"
The gigantic camera monster had multiple camera flashes and the opponent was knocked onto the ground. A/R vanished.
Hayami: ?LPS Generic person: 0LPS
Hayami is the winner!
"See?" asked the Hayami, "Just as I said it would be. You were fated to be buried in three turns. I captured all of it on the pictures I shot"
He held up a couple of photos. These are the future shots?
"The future?" questioned Yuma as he took off his D-Gazer.
"And they are sure to become a reality!" said Hayami and he threw the photos. He then walked away.
The photos landed at our feet. I stared at them shocked, they were accurate!
"These pictures…" I whispered.
"He predicted the future?" questioned Yuma disbelievingly. We then looked up, "He can control the future just like my neechan said!"
"Hey, are you alright?!"
Two people ran over to the fallen guy.
"Let's get him to a hospital," said one of them concerned.
"Right!" said the other.
"So he really was using a number," said Astral.
"Why are they dueling like this?" Yuma asked suddenly. He then closed his eyes in frustration, "Keh…"
I blinked, "Yuma…?" Why does he care so much?
"Hey, wait!" shouted Yuma as we came upon our target. Hayami Shuuta…
"Are you Hayami?!" Yuma questioned though we knew the answer.
Hayami stopped but was not looking at us.
"Why?!" asked Yuma making me surprised, "Why can't you just enjoy dueling?! Duelists are supposed to be friends so why do you need to go that far?!
Yuma was really passionate about that. I don't absolutely agree with him though.
"Why?" asked Hayami. He turned so we could see his smirk, "Isn't that obvious? It's so I can obtain numbers!"
Yuma gasped but I wasn't as surprised. But…to hurt people just to get numbers, it's horrible.
"Unfortunately, that man earlier wasn't a numbers holder," said Hayami but he didn't seem to care, "But my search will continue! So I can obtain all the numbers in the entire world! Doing so will produce even greater photos! I'll continue shocking everyone all over the world by capturing unbelievable pictures of big scoops!" He then started laughing like a maniac. It sounded stupid.
I wonder how much he has then…I bet he only has his one though.
"This guy's trying to gather the numbers all on his own!" shouted Yuma shocked.
Hayami looked surprised, "So you know about the existence of numbers?! Could…Could you possibly…?"
"Yeah, I have some!" said Yuma making a target of himself. Well, he can at least gather another one.
Hayami's eyes were filled with lust, "I see! So you have numbers!"
"I do!" said Yuma, "But I'll never let a guy like you-"
An engine interrupted him. We turned to our right just to see Akari jump from a bush, on her motorcycle, and land near us.
"I thought I told you to inform me the second you found him!" scorned Akari, irritated.
"N-neechan!" said Yuma surprised.
"Akari!" I said surprised as well. I forgot about the reason we were actually looking for Hayami.
Akari looked to Hayami before taking off her helmet. She stood up in front of Hayami, "Don't you remember me, Shuuta Hayami?"
Hayami stared at her blankly.
"Well, I guess I can't blame you for not remembering an amateur reporter like me," noted Akari before saying, "But I bet you remember the editor-in-chief of the Net News who rejected all your pictures"
Hayami then looked angry. Then he smirked, "Oh, you bet I remember him. He belittled me severely and told me, 'News photos need to have a bigger impact!'"
Well, that sucks. He's probably really angry inside.
"Well, now the editor-in-chief wants to enter a contract with you, but I won't accept that," said Akari zealously, "There's no way I could ever acknowledge a guy who puts the lives of others in danger just to be first to capture pictures of scoops!"
She clenched her fist in anger and I thought she might punch him.
Hayami just smirked, shrugging it off, "I put their lives in danger? I'm shocked! I'm simply trying to capture 'nice pictures'"
What a-
"And you're using this weird power you got that lets you change the future to do so?" questioned Akari angrily.
"Lets him change the future?" repeated Yuma.
"He has such a power…?" I questioned.
Akari stared at Hayami, "You did this before, didn't you? This incident," she held up a photo, "You said something like 'the future will move as I command it to'"
Hayami looked proud, "Oh yes, I can do that. Using the power of the numbers, anyway"
Yuma, Astral and I gasped. His number, of course! There's no way that kind of power was normal.
"I suppose you won't believe it until you see it," said Hayami smirking.
"It sounds like the power of the number this man is being controlled by has the power to control the future," assumed Astral.
"Control?" repeated Yuma.
"That makes sense," I said quietly, "Numbers are strange. No. 7 gave good fortune to its owner, I suppose this one can bend the future according to its owner"
"I'll give you these photos so please hurry and get out of the way," Hayami ordered Akari, "I have no doubt that the editor-in-chief will be more pleased with them!"
Such a cocky bastard.
"Stop joking!" shouted Akari angrily.
Hayami sneered, "I don't see anyone joking. I'm very busy. I need to duel this guy over here, you see"
So a number duel is starting, huh?
Akari looked at Yuma worried, "Yuma, don't do it. You can't duel with such a dangerous guy"
Hayami sighed out of exasperation, "If you call yourself a reporter, surely you don't have time to laze about here, right? Oh yeah, I'll give you a little present that will give you another really big scoop! This one might make you nauseous though"
He held out a photo, another prediction? I was sort of scared at what it might be. "But it can't be helped since you cornered me like this"
Akari reached out and took the photo. We looked at it. We gasped, it was Kotori! She was on the ground, holding a little girl who was crying. Everyone around her looked panicked and scared. She looked panicked herself.
"Kotori!" said Yuma and I shocked.
"Kotori-chan!" said Akari as she stared at the photo in horror.
"Oh?" asked Hayami, "Are you two by any chance acquaintances of this girl? In that case, you had best hurry along. An incident will occur soon, you see, where that blimp has a wee bit of engine trouble in the skies of Heartland City"
We all looked up in the sky. That's the blimp Kotori wanted to go on!
"That photograph there holds within it the coming of one of the largest scoops to ever strike this area on film," said Hayami carelessly, "And if it should happen…No, all of my photos are bound to become reality. And you can bet Heartland City will be led into a big panic"
No, Kotori…
"How could you?!" asked Akari.
Hayami didn't look like he cared, "Now hurry along and show the editor-in-chief that picture. Once that picture of the incident hits the web, the entire world will feel its impact"
"Stop this!" ordered Akari, "Don't do something so stupid!"
Hayami looked like he was having fun, "'Stupid', indeed"
Yuma then called Kotori on D-Gazer, "Kotori! Answer me, Kotori! Hey, Kotori!"
"Why are you contacting me now?" Kotori asked angrily, still mad about before, "What do you want?"
"Where are you right now?!" Yuma asked worried.
"Somewhere you'll never find me, Yuma!" said Kotori cheekily.
For once, can she stop acting like this?!
"Don't tell me…" said Yuma, "On the blimp?! Are you riding on that blimp?!"
"Oh, you bet I am!" said Kotori not understanding how dire this situation is, "Why can't I?"
"Are you alright?!" I asked her, butting in.
"Yup, I'm having a blast up here," said Kotori angrily, "It feels good to look at the city like this"
"Not that!" shouted Yuma, "I mean, is there anything out of the ordinary?"
Kotori looked confused, "Huh? Out of the ordinary?" The screen then moved as she screamed.
"Kotori!" I shouted with Yuma. No, it's coming true!
We then heard yelling and an explosion.
"The engine!" said Kotori shocked.
"What about the engine?!" Yuma asked worriedly.
Kotori then screamed loudly.
"Kotori!" shouted Yuma.
"You need to stop this at once!" shouted Akari at Hayami, "Hurry and stop it!"
"No can do," said Hayami carelessly, "Because this just came a reality"
Why won't he stop it?! I glared at the guy, "Fix this!"
"You were the one who made it a reality, right?!" Akari asked incredulously, "Return it to normal!"
"Boy do you ever shock me," said Hayami exasperated, "As a reporter, you should be jumping for joy right about now. Who are reporters? They seek scoops, right?"
Akari brought her fist back, "Now you've done it!"
"Hitting me won't change this reality," Hayami said quickly and smugly, "And while we waste our time like this, the blimp draws closer to its impending peril"
Akari looked over to us, "Yuma, Rima!"
We looked to her after trying to call Kotori once more.
"I'll do something about the blimp," said Akari, "Don't you dare take your eyes off this guy!"
She put her helmet on and jumped onto her motorcycle. She revved it up and zoomed off.
I put my hands together and rested them over my heart, "Kotori…" I hope she'll be okay…she'll have to be!
Hayami huffed and smirked, "Finally, that nagging pest's gone away. So, how about we begin?"
"Astral…" Yuma gained said-persons attention, "If the one being controlled by a number loses the duel and has the number taken away, they should return to normal, right?"
"Right," agreed Astral.
"That's what has happened so far…" I said surely.
"Meaning if I beat this guy, the future depicted in that photo will disappear and Kotori will be safe, right?" asked Yuma.
"Spot on," said Astral, "However-"
"Let's go, Shuuta!" shouted Yuma having the reassurance he needed, "Let's duel! Duel disk, set! D-Gazer, set!"
I swiped on my D-Gazer as well. I glanced at the blimp before staring ahead, "Give it your all, Yuma"
"Right!" he said, glancing at the blimp as well.
Shuuta threw up his camera/D-Pad and it attached itself to his arm.
A/R VISION LINK ESTABLISHED
"Duel target, lock on!" shouted Yuma.
Shuuta started talking pictures making us confused.
Yuma covered himself, "W-what the heck are you doing?!"
"I'm capturing your future on film!" cackled Shuuta. Photos appeared out of his camera and he held them up, "See? Your future is depicted here. It shows you after you lose this duel and have all your numbers taken away"
He showed us the first one, Yuma was on the ground in pain. "The future shown in these pictures cannot be changed," said Shuuta, "My victory and your miserable defeat was decided the minute I flashed my shutter"
Fake, fake, fake, fake, fake…I kept saying this in my head.
"Cut the crap!" shouted Yuma angrily, "My future won't be decided by someone like you!"
"Duel!"
"I'm taking the first turn!" announced Yuma, "My turn, draw! I set a monster in face down defense mode! And I'll set a card face down and end my turn!"
Defensive maneuver. That's good if you're first turn.
"My turn, draw!" announced Shuuta, "I summon Scoop Shooter (Atk: 1400-Lvl: 4)! I activate the equipment magic card, Telephoto Lens, from my hand! I equip Telephoto Lens to Scoop Shooter! The monster equipped with this card gains 400 attack power for each card in my hand. I have four cards in my hand. So it gains 1600 attack points (Atk: 3000)!"
It's got 3000 attack points! Well, at least Yuma has Gogogo Golem as a set monster.
"I then activate the magic card, Negative - Positive Swap, from my hand! This card forces a face down defense monster to switch into face up attack mode!"
Gogogo Golem revealed itself (Atk: 1800)!
"And their attack power is switched with their defense power!"
Gogogo Golem went from 1800 to 1500 (Atk: 1500-Lvl: 4)!
"What?!" asked Yuma incredulously.
"Using Negative - Positive Swap reduced my hand by one," said Shuuta, "So Scoop Shooter's attack power goes down 400 points (Atk: 2600). A slight drawback…But this will be more than enough. Go, Scoop Shooter! Attack Gogogo Golem!"
Gogogo Golem was zapped back.
Yuma flew backwards onto his back as I knelt down to stay put.
Shuuta: 4000LPS Yuma: 2900LPS
I stood up and ran over to Yuma, "Are you alright?"
"We have urgent news!" said the newsperson, "It seems the blimp flying over Heartland City's skies is currently experiencing engine trouble"
Yuma stood up as we stared at the news screen.
"Wait for me, Kotori!" yelled Yuma, "I promise I'll help you!"
"Not happening!" retorted Shuuta making us stare at him, "It's been decided! The picture you saw before was just the outcome but this entire duel is depicted in these pictures here. On the fifth turn, you will summon No. 39 Aspiring Emperor – Hope, and on the sixth turn, you will be defeated by my number"
He then looked to me, "After the final blow, you will scream in agony and fall to your knees"
I gasped, "W-what…?!" I'll be screaming in agony?!
"The future has been captured with these photographs," said Shuuta, "And they will not fail to become reality!"