The Arctic is almost impossible to tolerate when you're wearing nothing but a sleeveless vest. A fitting metaphor for the state of despair Yuma has fallen into for these past few weeks, since his partner died right in front of his eyes.

But Kaito's words warm Yuma right back up. Once again, hope flares up inside his chest, and he finally feels like himself again. He could up and hug the other boy right now, if he wasn't scared he'd get a slap for it!

Not that he truly understands what 'Astralite' is, or even begin to wonder how the heck did his father get his hands on those coins in the first place. But all that matters is, he can see Astral again, and it's all thanks to Kaito!

Really, what would he do without him? This exact moment just made him realize how reliable Kaito is, despite his cold outer shield. Yuma knew he was right to trust him during the WDC!

He smiles widely at the slightly taller boy…whose eyes seem to snap before he resumes his speech, "We can use this to open the gate towards the parallel worlds and send you to the Astral world."

Hmm, something was off about Kaito's tone there…determined, but also somehow resigned? Still, he doesn't want to sound ungrateful, so he chooses to marvel over the portal in front of him instead, "Awe…awesome! To think you guys built this…"

How long did they work on this? Astral 'died' only a few weeks ago…and wasn't Kaito barely eighteen too? A little too young to be a scientist, never mind a genius one like this. Again, Yuma counts himself lucky that they were able to cross paths somehow.

But before he can get too excited, another voice butts in, "Kaito!"

Turning back reveals the other person behind this creation, someone Yuma hadn't seen in a long time; V. But the taller man doesn't seem happy at all, "Why would you bring Yuma here?"

Kaito only barely manages to hold back a scoff, "Unlike you, I have no plan to coddle him." he offers simply.

V doesn't seem to like that answer at all, "That's not the problem here! We are going to forcefully open the gate towards different dimensions!" he emphasizes, "Plus, we have no idea what's going to happen next."

"I know that!" Kaito fires back.

And before he can say anything else, Yuma runs up to Kaito's side, first clenched, "V! Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Nonplussed, V stares down at the both of them, "The answer is simple. It's because I knew you would go for sure after I informed you about it."

Now it's Yuma's turn to be unhappy with the answer he got, "Isn't that obvious?! Maybe we can get Astral back!" he pleads.

V doesn't even flinch. If anything, his eyes only turn more serious, "You have no idea how dangerous this experiment is. Even if you manage to enter the Astral world by chance, that's a completely unknown world, and we have no idea what's going to happen next." he warns, "In the worst case scenario, you might not be able to come back alive."

Kotori gasps beside them. Still, Yuma can't bear to give up, "Tha…that doesn't matter! I…I just—"

"Doesn't it? You only say that because the weight of my words haven't fully hit you yet." V persists, walking closer to Yuma and placing his hands on his shoulder, "Yuma, the last time anything like this was done…our fathers went missing. When my father came back, he was already the Tron you met. And who knows what exactly happened to Kazuma."

The mention of their fathers makes Yuma swallow a knot; suddenly what V was saying actually sounded like more than mere paranoia. V catches that, and keeps going, "This assuming you end up in either the Barian or Astral world. Who knows what actually will happen…you could end up on an empty, lifeless planet and suffocate to death. Do you really want to take that risk?"

"I…I…" he chokes on his own words as the image of that begins to haunt him.

"Yuma, your family has already gone through enough. Don't break their hearts even more for something you don't know is for certain." V finishes as he lets go of Yuma's shoulders, "Let the adults take care of it for once. You've done enough."

Normally, that would have sounded condescending to Yuma, but the worry evident in every word that comes out of V's mouth makes it impossible for him to do so. V is purely concerned with him; almost as if Yuma was one of his younger brothers. And given the truth of his statements, Yuma can't dare to throw that feeling back in his face.

But the thought of giving up on Astral is…

Unsure of what to do, Yuma remains frozen. Suddenly, the Arctic's cold is getting to him once again.

Until someone behind him sneers, "Are you done yet? Can we move on? We don't have all night after all. The Barians might launch another attack at any moment."

V turns to look at Kaito, offended at his tone, "Is this funny to you? If you hadn't brought Yuma here, like I asked you not to, we wouldn't be having this issue in the first place."

"You're the one who's making an issue out of nothing here." Kaito shakes his head, "Chris, it's definitely no coincidence that Yuma's father left those coins at the ruins, and you know it. If he had expected everything that's happened so far, then those seven coins must be messages he left for Yuma in the Astral world!"

Immediately, hope fills Yuma once more, "If so, Astral has to still be alive. That's right, Astral is still alive. He's alive!"

Besides him, Kotori tries to intervene, "I beg you to—"

But V interrupts once again, completely unimpressed, "That's a big conclusion you're reaching there, Kaito, 'if he had expected everything that's happened so far'…but what do we even know of Yuma's father?" he points out with a glare, "How did he first come into contact with the Astral world? Do we know when exactly he left those coins there? Because if it was before he was spirited away, then how come he still let Faker lead him into that trap, if he knew so much? And if he did it afterwards, then how did he do that? Is he even still alive? Where did he even get those coins from in the first place?"

Taking Kaito's silence as a response, V only gets angrier by the second, "Face it, you're putting a lot of faith into little more than a conjecture. Because you desperately want to believe it." he accuses, then his tone turns deadly menacing, "And do I need to remind you what happened the last time you put your blind faith in something?"

The accusation only makes Kaito glare back at him, "You seem very queen on digging up the past today. May I also remind you that you committed the same mistake?" he whispers through gritted teeth.

"No, I did not. I always knew that my father would never come back, no matter the sacrifices we made for Tron." the taller man assures, "I just went along with everything, because holding onto to the shambles that was my family was my only option at that point. I knew it was fruitless from the start. Unlike you with the Numbers Hunting."

Now gnashing his teeth, Kaito groans, "You are missing the point here, which is, that Yuma is the best candidate to find Astral."

"I am missing no such thing. Yuma is a child. No matter his connection to Astral, he has no place in a dangerous experiment like this. Not when there are two adults capable of taking his place." V states as if Kaito was stupid and hadn't realized this yet, "Especially when your only justification is to trust Kazuma, who, as I've already said, we have no idea what he was up to, if anything. You know nothing of what you're getting Yuma into."

The accusation seems to make Kaito seethe on the spot, painfully clenching his fists, "I know more than you could ever imagine." he challenges, eyes narrowing in a way Yuma has never seen before.

"And if that is true, then please share with the rest of the class." V argues back, utterly unimpressed. "I'm waiting." he mocks after a minute passes of nothing but silence.

The tension between the two is overflowing by now, with Kotori and Yuma stuck in the middle, unsure of what to do. Both of them fear the resulting anger that them interfering might cause.

But eventually, Yuma is unable to remain quiet. This argument is about him, after all. He spends a few minutes actually thinking about it, weighing his heart against his brain. With his decision made, he turns to the taller man with a resolute look, "V…even though you're right…I still want to go." he confesses in a voice that's way shakier than he intended to.

Of course, that only makes V raise a questioning eyebrow at him, so Yuma knows he has to back up his stance if he wants any chance of succeeding here, "I was the reason Astral got hurt in the first place. No matter how dangerous it is, I want the first human face he sees again to be mine. I need to apologize to him. Or else, I'll never be able to let go of this regret."

V seems to go over his words thoughtfully, but his eyes are still resolute, "If we're wrong, and you end up dying, he's going to never see you again when we do eventually get to him." he warns in a tone that screams at him to reconsider.

No matter how much it pains him, Yuma can't grant him his wish, "But I still want to try." he persists, subconsciously clutching his chest, "I owe him, for all that he did for me. Without him, I would still know so little about dueling…and I got the feeling he never quite forgave me for what happened in Sargasso. I can't let things end like this." he admits.

Truly, he can't. A big part of the reason he couldn't accept Astral may be dead, was because he had so many things left to say to his alien partner. How lonely he was before they met. How much he had appreciated all of Astral's advice. How sorry he was that he had never chosen Astral, be it over Shark or over Rei, but how he couldn't bear to regret that either, since it was in his nature to trust others. How complete Yuma felt every time they fused into Zexal.

And most importantly of all, how much he cared for him. No matter what Astral actually was, and what his mission entailed, he would always be Yuma's best friend. No, his brother in soul.

Nobody else could tell Astral all of this except for Yuma. Therefore, he must go. No matter the danger.

From the side, Kaito side-eyes him. It's odd, but Yuma gets the feeling Kaito knows exactly what he is thinking at this moment. And in his normally cold eyes…lies a world of hurt.

Where is that coming from?

Before Yuma can even think about it, V sighs, catching his attention once more, "This is why I was against telling you about this in the first place. No one can resist those begging eyes of yours." he concedes, voice dripping with indecision.

Yuma gasps, and smiles victoriously. But he's not even able to thank V, as Kaito immediately starts walking again, grumbling under his breath, "Not that any of your complaints made any sense either. Or have you forgotten that this child is the only reason you and the remainders of your family are still alive?" he points out. Then he stops, turning around to give V a very icy stare, "Besides, you've proven that you have nothing against hurting children when it suits you."

Everyone present freezes, and it's not because the weather is literally freezing. Those words dripped with so much anger and hatred, it was enough to cut all of them, most of all V, who is left unable to reply. All he can do is look away in shame.

Satisfied with the reaction, Kaito smirks and resumes walking, whispering over his shoulder, "Plus, Yuma would never forgive either of us if we didn't tell him. You wanting to hide this from him only proves how little you actually know him."

That takes Yuma back; yes, what he said is true, but how does Kaito know him so well? Given how keen he was in avoiding Yuma, and his reaction to the last time Yuma cried, you'd think Kaito gave no craps about Yuma's feelings. But his words right now, not to mention putting all his faith in him for this mission, proved otherwise.

At this point, Yuma wonders if he's the one who knows nothing about Kaito.

And judging by V's face, it's likely that he's pondering the same thing.

Immediately, Yuma's empathetic nature fires up, and he sets out to comfort the older man, "Looks like you and Kaito still aren't fine either…you should work it out with him, you know, before you lose the chance to." he advises, and from once, he speaks from personal experience and not just optimism.

"I know." V sighs, "But we have other matters to take care of right now." he changes the subject, and while he has a point, Yuma can't help but think he just wants to delay this matter for as long as he can, "Besides, Kaito has been acting odd this entire experiment, and I doubt it's because of me…" V mumbles just low enough that Yuma is barely able to catch it.

That makes Yuma blink. So he wasn't the only one who noticed? He wasn't just being paranoid? And most of all, this had been going on for longer than this awkward conversation.

That last point doesn't really surprise him. Yuma had actually first thought something was off back on the ship.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He jumbles the coin in his hand, counting them for the umpteenth time. "One, two, three…no, no matter how many times I count them, the result is still the same." he groans in disbelief, "But how can this be? Unless…" he turns his head up to look at the other side of the room, where Kaito is fiddling with the interactive monitor.

There can be no other explanation…but people were always calling him stupid, so maybe this was one of the many occasions he was wrong? Either way, the only way to be certain was to go up there and ask, but…

Yuma hesitates for a bit before approaching the other, "Kaito…"

"What is it? I told you, we'll be landing soon. But bothering me isn't going to get us there any quicker. Go check on Kotori or something." Kaito replies without even prying his eyes away from the monitors.

"It's not that." he says in a firm tone, waiting a second before gathering enough courage to get to the point, "I just counted up my dad's coins and…turns out one was tucked in the wrong pocket. They were all with me, and now I have an extra one. So how did you have that one in the first place? Did you find it on your own or something?"

Surprisingly, Kaito flinches, "Yuma…you'll find out eventually. Trust me on that." he whispers, before turning to Yuma with a strange look in his eyes, "Make sure to keep that extra one safe in your pants. You never know what kind of trouble such a rare material could bring you, so easily in reach…and that's it. You won't get anything else from me."

And with that, Kaito directs his attention to the monitor again, signalling the fact that this conversation is over.

But something isn't right here...not just how Kaito dodged the question, but his body language, his voice…there was something sad about them, but Yuma can't possibly phantom what.

Not to mention, none of what he said makes sense. He won't get anything else? Just what exactly did he get back there?

Before he's able to ask, Kotori calls for him, and Yuma puts the whole thing aside for the moment. He has too many things on his plate already; he'll get to the bottom of this later, once he has Astral back.

He follows Kaito's advice and slips the coin deep into his pants pocket, right beneath his deck holder. If that thing is going to get lost anywhere, it will be in the washing machine.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Now, as V still looks unsure and Kaito keeps resolutely walking forward, the strange feeling is back again. Something is definitely off with Kaito…

Orbital turns around, realizing his master has arrived, and soon, Kaito is getting everything into gear.

It seems that, just like before, whatever is going on with Kaito will have to wait until he gets Astral back.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sometimes, one can't wait around to settle their issues.

Kaito and V find that out when they're forced into a duel. They didn't exactly talk things out, but their actions and concern towards each is everything they need. Eventually, they will sort things out formally, but for now, it's clear that underneath all the hurt, they still very much trust each other.

Yuma can only hope things go just as well between himself and Astral.

And eventually, himself and Kaito.

Because as soon as the duel is over, Kaito is back to shooting him odd looks. V has noticed, but he can't ask either, as Orbital lets out a whine he shouldn't be able to, "I can't give much more power…"

Everyone turns to look at the bot that should be fried into unconsciousness with surprise, except for Kaito, who walks over to his creation and lowers his head at him, "It's alright, Orbital. You've done all I needed you to. Thank you."

"Master…" Orbital whines, touched by the respect Kaito is bestowing him for once. And then, he too does something unexpected; with his last bit of strength, he turns to look at Yuma, "Foolma, you better not—"

But he can't finish his sentence, as with one last puff of smoke, his system finally gives out.

Yuma hopes Kaito can fix him as usual, but most of all, he's curious over what the heck the robot was going to say. Why address him now, of all times? And with such an odd tone…was that just because he had been on the verge of frying, or was he acting strangely too?

But he can't think about that either.

Literally, because suddenly, he's being shocked out of nowhere, "Arrgh!"

And just like that, the energy around him changes. It goes from being yellow to an angry red, letting out sparks of electricity all over the place. Some of those hitting him full-force.

"Yuma!" he hears Kotori crying out in horror.

"The portal's coordinates—!" V screams, running over to the control console and desperately trying to do something, "They're all out of control!"

"Make it stop! Yuma is getting hurt!" Kotori begs.

"I'm trying to, but I can't!" V screams, turning around to look for someone who should be helping him, "Kaito, what are you doing? Help me out here, before it's too late!"

But Kaito pretends not to hear him. He remains rooted on the spot, never taking his eyes off the screaming Yuma. Despite trying to keep a neutral expression, his eyes say something else…a mixture of certainty, anticipation and sadness.

The portal keeps flashing, and then, a black void envelops Yuma's entire body, "Arrghhhh!"

With that final scream, Yuma is gone. The ground stops shaking, the shocks cease, and there is nothing left behind but the broken portal.

Kotori and V are too crestfallen to say anything, not wanting to believe what just happened. Kaito, on the other hand, lowers his head and lets out a sigh, "And it is done…"

Once she recovers, Kotori does the only thing she can do, "Yuma!" she yells, desperately looking around, "Where is Yuma? Did he go to the Astral world?"

"I…I don't know." V admits, wishing the question hadn't been directed at him. Because he really doesn't want to face up to what just happened, "I don't even know if he survived that. I can't open the portal back up. Everything is completely fried."

"That means…" Kotori lets it hang as realization comes to her.

"Even if Yuma did make it, we have no way to bring him back." V finishes, face void of all emotion as he's still lost in shell-shock, "But given that interference…I very much doubt he went to the Astral world."

Kotori has no problem letting her emotions overwhelm her. Immediately, she falls to her knees and sobs loudly, "No!"

Seeing that display, V can no longer contain himself either. And the only one he can direct his anger towards is…"You!"

Kaito doesn't answer, still staring at the spot Yuma used to occupy. But that doesn't deter V, who angrily walks up to him, "Why did you just stand there?!" and when he gets no answer, he grabs Kaito by the collar, "I told you we shouldn't have brought Yuma into this! Now he's gone, and you're doing nothing? You don't even feel anything?" he screams right into the other's face, only to still get no reaction, "This isn't time for you to act so cold! This is your fault, you—"

"Calm down, Chris." Kaito replies, in a tone similar as if he was dealing with a child throwing a tantrum, "Everything is as it should be. Yuma will eventually go to the Astral World. And from there, Astral will bring him back here." he assures in a calm voice, before tugging at V's arm, "Now let go of me. We still need to keep a watch out for the Barians."

Baffled, V easily lets him go, staring at Kaito's back as he walks away, "How can you be so calm? You have no way to know you're right. Yuma might be…"

"I told you." Kaito scoffs as he turns to face V, "I know more than you ever could."

There's a determination to his tone that V has never heard before…but for course, Kaito doesn't elaborate on it further. He merely kneels down, gathering the fried mess that is his robot servant in his arms, "Now help me fix Orbital. Or stay here and freeze. It's not like you can bring Yuma back either way."

With little choice, after making sure Kotori is fine, V does just that. But neither him nor the green-haired girl can put their worries at ease...

It's a sunny day like no others, the young boy is happy to see as he opens the curtains.

"Ah, I really want to go fishing today, but…" he turns around to look at the crib in the corner of the room. Drawing the curtains just enough for the crib to remain in shadow, the boy tippy-toes his way over, making as little noise as he possibly can.

As soon as he sets eyes on the sleeping baby within, almost a toddler actually, he smiles gently, "Sleep well, Haruto. Since you were so energetic yesterday." he whispers as he fondly caresses the child's cheek.

Then he quietly leaves the room, looking around until he finds a robot sweeping the floor, "Orbital, I want to go out today. Can you keep an eye on Haruto while I am gone?"

"Of course." the bot replies in a monotone voice, as usual, "Have a nice day, Master Kaito."

Kaito nods to the robot, but it's not like he was expecting anything else. He may have modified Orbital enough to allow it to take on nanny duties, but in the end, a bot was a bot. Devoid of personality, capable of doing nothing but obeying its master.

Still, not like he had any other choice. Someone had to take care of Haruto when he was at school, or like in today's case, wanted to get some time for himself. And since his father was still off at his big job in the city, and mom was…

"I'll be back soon!" he assures as he fetches his gear, leaving the tiny house and both its residents behind. And the memories of those not there, either by choice or not.

At least nature is always pleasant. Always left his clothes a darn mess, but the warmth of the sun, the sound of birds chirping, the insects prowling all around…it calmed him, the gentle atmosphere. And the endless boon of life around him reminded him that he was not alone.

Several times, he gets the urge to turn back and get his bug net instead. There are so many specimens he hasn't caught yet, even though he's lived here his whole life. It's likely that he has caught several of the same bug and doesn't remember it, but how can he when he always lets them go? His father told him to start a collection several times, even bought glass cases to pin the insects in.

But his mother always appealed to his kinder side. That every life had purpose, no matter how small, and that he shouldn't twist nature's gifts to suit his own greed. Even when it came to making flower crowns, she always insisted on using withered flowers. Back when she was alive, there were tons of plants outside the small cabin, but never even a potted one…a kind woman, his mother had been.

Kaito could only hope to spend his life living up to her expectations. So one day, he could hope to meet his mom again back in heaven, and have her hug him once more. He misses that so much…

(But until then, he has to instil the same values in Haruto, since their father wouldn't.)

For the time being, he puts aside his sadness, focusing on finding the clearest path to the river, while still taking his time. It's unlikely that he's going to even catch anything today, as he rarely ever does, so there is no reason to rush. He's only doing this because wasting a nice day like this inside is a crime…

(And if part of the reason is because he wants to possibly cry somewhere Haruto and Orbital can't see, that is his business and his alone.)

The sound of the slowly moving river reaches his ears, comforting as always. There's a log he dragged here a couple of weeks ago, and it should be around somewhere. That will give him somewhere to sit without totally ruining his pants.

Of course, he makes a mess of them while struggling to look for some bait. If only his father bought him some occasionally, but such thoughts never seem to cross his mind…

He casts his line out, watching it sink into the almost clear waters. And for a little while, he turns off his mind, and just watches. Appreciates the sounds around him, the fresh smells, the summer sun caressing his skin…it grounds him to this moment in time, makes him grateful to be alive.

Soon afterwards though, he starts crying. Because no matter how much he tries, he can't forget about his mother. How she's gone, and he's never going to see her again, because he knows heaven isn't real. Can't forget the little brother who's been dependent on him since birth, the robot who can't offer him any sort of company, the absent father who still doesn't see fit to quit his job for their situation, because it's 'too important'…

He shouldn't be like this any more. It's been more than a year since she passed. But with how busy he was taking care of Haruto, keeping up the lie to his teachers that his father came over in the evenings now, reprogramming Orbital…he never really had enough time, or help, to internalize his feelings.

Only in moments like this, does he realize how alone he is. And it hurts so much…

Kaito wishes he had a friend. Someone to distract him, to discuss his feelings with. Someone to bring some good memories into his life, now that his mother isn't around to make them with him any more.

But even in their tiny rural school, Kaito is an outcast. Their house is too far away from the village, and his attitude is too 'off-putting' for the other kids. Too smart, too independent, too intimidating for others his age, his teachers always said. Even though he never actually meant to push others away, but when kids began teasing him over his grades, what else was he supposed to do?

Then he started to skip grades every year because he was so ahead of his peers, and now every single classmate was at least 4 years older than him. That didn't help his case at all, and left him even more unlikely to make a friend.

There's no point in wishing, as the fact that his mother is still dead proves. So Kaito holds it all inside, only letting his feelings show in moments like these. When the loneliness threatens to consume him, but also accepts him for who he is…

Hope is for the fools, he now knows.

So lost he is in his thoughts, that he doesn't notice the harsh wind, the way the surrounding animals flee, the water breaking into waves.

Doesn't notice the flash of red and black right over his line, until a burst of electricity comes into contact with him, "Ahh!" he shrieks, flinching backwards and dropping his rod into the water.

Finally, he looks up, but is barely able to process the giant portal opening above him…before something falls out of it, straight into the water and splashing water up to his neck. 'Wait, was that a…'

Acting purely on instinct, he dives into the river before whatever it is can be swept away, the still open portal letting out a burst of angry light that almost blinds him. But thankfully, he manages to hook his arms around something, and uses all the strength he has to drag them both to shore.

'Ah, no way…it really is a…boy…?' he marvels as drops someone that looks to be his age on the ground none-too-gently. There are angry red marks all over his body, and yet, the boy did not even flinch in pain as a result of the rough landing. It's at that point that Kaito comes to a horrible realization, 'He's not breathing!' he looks around in a panic, unsure of what to do.

Above them, the portal quietly fades into nothing.

And so ends Kaito's peaceful, lonely day.

A/N: After a year of having this account, finally cross-posting ONE of my AO3 fics here. Immediately freaked out by the lack of formatting options, but oh well. I will upload the second chapter on Saturday, and by Monday, this fic will be updated at the same time as the AO3 version is.

Some info: this story will switch POVs fairly frequently, mostly between Kaito and Yuma. So when you see '-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-' line breaks, that means the scene has transitioned or is a flashback, but it's still the same POV. When you see the single line breaks, that means we have shifted POVs!

If you want to see this story with better formatting, follow the AO3 link in my profile. In case this reaches a new audience; hi, I'm Rhea. I mostly write Dokidoki and Aztec, and depending how this fic goes, I might eventually cross-post some older fics here. A lot are NSFW though, so they will remain exclusive to AO3.