One – Chapter 4

Astral turned his head swiftly to the hatch leading up to the attic as he heard noises, as though someone was trying to open it, coming from its general direction.

Moments later, Kari stuck her head up through it, glancing around the room until she focused on

Yuma in the hammock.

"Yuma?" she said quietly, undoubtedly trying to figure out if he was asleep or not. Considering that he was 17 now, her doing this was a testament to her love for him, as well as the fact that it must be very late indeed, if she was looking in on the teenager.

When Yuma didn't react, she made as though to move down again, but then her eyes looked directly at Astral, widening as she continuously stared at him.

"Who the?" she began, surprised and somewhat loudly, but Astral quickly moved over to her and said in a lowered voice "so, you can see me now? I am Astral".

"Astral?" Kari commented questioningly, but then her eyes narrowed, and she continued "the Astral Yuma has been dueling with for years? We figured you were just a coping mechanism he developed back when all that craziness was going on".

"I assure you, I am as real as you are" Astral replied reaching out a hand.

By now, it was solid enough for her to take it, though she didn't, after which Astral retracted it once more.

"Right then" she just said "how come we haven't seen you before? And how come I can see you now?".

"I am afraid that is because only few can do so. Yuma can see me because we are connected, and Tori can see me, though I am unsure of exactly why that is. Others have been capable of seeing me on a few occasions in the past, but never any of Yumas closest family, except for Kazuma.

This is caused by various things, none of which are important for us to get into right now. What is important, is that Yuma needs your help" he replied, turning his head towards the young man.

"What do you mean he needs me?" Kari asked, following his example and locking her eyes on Yuma. "Isn't he just sleeping, for once?".

Astral shook his head. "Sadly no. He is sleeping, that is true, but he was actually send home from school today, because he is very ill. The school nurse ordered him on two full days bedrest, though I do not believe he intends to listen to her much" he said.

"Yuma's ill?" Kari asked, worried enough by this potential news, to have decided that questioning Astral further, could wait. Moving fully up through the hatch, she walked quietly to where Yuma lay, followed by the blue alien, and placed a hand ever so softly over her brothers' forehead.

Then her eyes widened, and she focused on Astral again as she withdrew her hand.

"He's burning with fever!" she said harshly, though she had lowered her voice at least somewhat. "Why the hell wasn't I called? Or grandma?!".

"Yuma did not want to worry you" Astral replied "and he convinced the school he would just tell you when we got home. He promised me he would inform you if he got worse, but he really never intended for you to know. He believes both of you to have enough on your plates already and he insists it's just a cold. One that neither of you could do anything about anyways.

But his condition troubles me deeply. That is why I wanted you to at least know, even if it is against Yumas wishes".

Kari groaned frustrated. "Dammit Yuma. Quit being so thoughtful! Of course we'd want to know if you're ill, idiot!" she swore under her breath, caressing Yumas cheek tenderly. After a while, she focused on Astral again.

"Thanks for telling me Astral… I don't know what you are, but Yuma has treated you like a friend since he was 13, so I guess I should give you the benefit of the doubt. He seems to have gained so much since you came into his life and in any case, if you care enough about him to go against his wishes, because you are worried about him, then how can I doubt your intentions? I guess you'll just be one more… presence, in his life, looking over him" she said gently.

Astral send her a grateful smile. "It means a lot to me that Yumas family and friends trusts me, so thank you for your kind words, Kari" he responded, and Kari nodded once.

Then she rubbed at her left temple with two fingers and moved away from Yuma. Looking at Astral again she asked "do you know where grandma and I sleep?".

Astral nodded. He did. After all, he'd been around the house for 4 years by now. "Right then" Kari continued "I have an important meeting tomorrow morning and I'd like a bit of sleep before I need to go. Would you mind watching over Yuma tonight? And if he gets worse, come and get me or grandma – or both of us".

"I have been at Yumas side for the past 4 years. I do not intend to leave it now" he replied "and I don't need the same sleep you do, so I will gladly watch over him through the night. In truth, I have no choice in the matter. As long as he is wearing the key, I am bound to him. But there is nowhere, I would rather be right now. Or ever".

Kari nodded. "I'm gonna go get some water and a cold rag for his forehead. If you dip the rag in the water and then hold it against his forehead, it might make him feel a little better. But sleep is as good a cure as any, as well" she said, turning to leave. As she reached the hatch though, she turned her head and looked back over her shoulder.

"Astral, since you're always with him, I assume you'd know. Has he eaten anything since you got home?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, no. He has not" Astral replied "and he usually has quite the appetite, so that too, is worrisome. I tried getting him to eat, but he said he wasn't hungry at all. He did have a glass of milk though, but considering his temperature, I believe he would need more liquids if his condition is to improve".

Karis hand tightened into a fist at her side as he spoke, but in the end, all she did was say "I'll prepare a plate for him too then, and a large can of water, as well as a glass. And then I'll bring it up here with the rest.

As I'm most likely not home when he wakes up tomorrow, you will have to try harder to get him to eat. Yuma doesn't function well without food, trust me. I know" before climbing down through the hatch and disappearing.

Astral sighed when she was gone, feeling himself shiver slightly with the energy currently running through him. It had already build quite a lot, but it still wasn't too bad. He could wait for a while longer, before he'd need to share it with Yuma.

"Believe me Kari. I might only have known Yuma for 4 years myself, but I am already more than aware of just how much of a nuisance he turns into when he's hungry" he mumbled to himself, before returning to Yuma, hovering over him and observing his breathing, arms crossed over his own chest, in thoughtful concentration…

Astral groaned under his breath, trying not to make too much noise. It was starting to hurt now, and the energy was still steadily building. But Yumas breathing had become a panting and heat was radiating off of him, so there was no way Astral was gonna put him at more risk, even though it meant that he himself would suffer.

If it was for Yuma, he would endure it, until it forced him to leave his other half, for safety reasons.

Dipping the rag again, Astral placed it back on Yumas heated forehead once more, noticing that he had himself become more solid than earlier as well.

"Yuma" he said in a low whisper "please, get better soon. I need you. Or I'm afraid I might be forced to leave you before long".

He hadn't intended to wake the other up, but at his words, Yuma stirred, moaning quietly, as he slowly started opening his eyes. "As…tral?" he said hoarsely. "Yuma!" Astral exclaimed, a little too eagerly perhaps, but he couldn't stop himself.

"What are you doing? What… time, is it?" the young man asked, and Astral had to force himself to answer in a normal tone. "I believe it is around midday by now" he replied.

"What? Midday?!" Yuma reacted, before moaning and moving a hand to the wet rag on his head.

"Oh man… I guess I was out cold… Sorry Astral… Are you alright?" he continued.

Astral swallowed, but then asked "I have been better… How much do you remember from last night?".

Yuma moved the rag down over his eyes as he replied "all of it. Why wouldn't I? This is something really important for you after all. Of course I listened intently to it, just like you asked me to".

"All… of it?" Astral responded.

Yuma moved the rag just a bit, so he could open an eye half-way, and glance at his alien.

"Yeah" he said "even the part about mood-swings and so on. I heard that too". Astral breathed a sigh of relieve.

"Good" he said, mostly to himself. Then he noticed that Yuma had pushed himself up on his elbows and were looking fully at him.

"You don't look too good" the young man said quietly "you need me, don't you?".

Astral felt himself blush slightly at Yumas words, but he could not look at him and so instead, lowered his head.

"It can wait" he replied, but Yuma knew him too well.

"Astral, please… Don't shut me out. Don't suffer quietly. Not when I'm right here, to help you" he said, voice sorrowful and gentle. Astral shivered noticeably at his obvious expression of love and the fact that he was, once more, offering his presence to him willingly.

But he couldn't act on the intense need he was currently experiencing. It was too dangerous! What if it made Yuma worse? Then Astral would weaken too, despite going through this time. And Yuma would blame himself. Astral couldn't, wouldn't, allow it.

But before he could answer, Yuma had moved and slung his arms around the aliens' chest, eliciting a startled "oh!" from the other, as he pulled him down on top of himself in the hammock so the blue being was nestled between his legs, the key around Yumas neck touching both him and Astral.

Astral blushed deeply at this, but his skin instantly started tingling, as sparks of energy moved across it until blue light seemed to be dancing all over his body. "Yuma, no!" Astral croaked, struggling to keep his excess energy within himself. "It's… too dangerous for you… right now! Please, let me go!".

But Yuma would have none of it and only hugged him tighter. Astral moaned loudly, pleading with his partner to release him once more, but little did it help. Yuma had him in a tight grip and Astrals own body was fighting his attempts to tear himself away from his other half.

"Yuma, PLEASE! I can't… I can't control it! I… I'm sorry… I can't… stop it… YUMA!" he exclaimed, and as he did, he felt it happening. The energy spiked around him, travelling over his skin to Yumas, covering every inch of the human as the young man only slowly absorbed it into his own system.

After a while, Astral started feeling weakened and he was finally able to stop the transfer of energy, as he started fading in and out of his solid form. With a gasp, he tore himself away from Yuma forcefully, until he was sitting on his lap, unable to part from him entirely just yet, though he feared what the recent events may have resulted in.

As his eyes locked on his human half, he saw that Yuma was twitching, almost as though he was having some form of mild seizure.

He was heaving for breath and most of his skin seemed an angry red in the relatively dim light of the attic.

"Oh no! YUMA" Astral cried out, but he noticed that his voice was weakened and that he was still fading.

"Please my love, please. Speak to me! Yuma!" he called again and this time, he got a faint response from the other.

"Give me… a minute, Astral!" Yuma breathed heavily. A moment later, he started coughing and reached out after the glass of water beside his hammock.

Astral willed himself to solidify enough, to aid Yuma in taking it to his lips and drinking some of it, before setting it back in its place once more.

Once he had, Astral locked his eyes on him until Yuma finally spoke.

"Whew… glad that's over, at least for now" he said, lifting his eyes to meet Astrals frightened ones.

"How are you?" he then added, worry in his voice.

"How… how am I?! Really Yuma!? I'm more concerned about YOU!" Astral replied, voice raised with a mix of anxiety and frustration.

Yuma blinked, but then he send the other a tender smile. "Sorry I scared you" he said gently "I'm… better, actually. Well, I'm still not good, but I'm not worse either. I am actually feeling more energized now".

Astral let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and then collapsed over Yuma.

"Thank goodness" he whispered quietly, but Yuma heard him and sensing his lovers violent mix of emotions, he placed and arm around him once more, pulling him closer and kissing Astrals forehead.

"Sorry" he repeated, but Astral just shook his head against him.

"You shouldn't have forced me to do this Yuma. Not as you are now. But I am glad you were not permanently harmed" he said quietly.

"So… are you gonna answer my question?" Yuma inquired a few minutes later.

Astral knew what he meant, but still sighed before replying. "I am not certain. At the moment, I feel quite weak, as you might be able to see. But I think it is because your startled me when you… grabbed me" he blushed again at these words, even as he continued "and therefor the transfer of energy wasn't properly controlled. I may have transferred too much".

"Oh no! That's bad! I'm so sorry Astral, I didn't mean to… But I can't bear to watch you suffer, when I have the means to stop it" Yuma said "please understand".

"I love you too Yuma" Astral responded, maneuvering himself so that he could claim Yumas lips in a gentle kiss.

When they parted again, Yuma suddenly groaned loudly and grabbed the duvet tightly with one hand, eyes widening.

Astral send him a surprised look. "Yuma, are you in pain? Did I do something to you?!" he asked.

Yuma closed his eyes tightly shut, shaking his head in a no, and shivering slightly as he said in a strained voice "Oh man! I need to pee so bad! I've got to go Astral, I'm sorry! Please, don't move anywhere, okay? I'll be right back! I just… Argh, I can't hold it!".

With that, he jumped out of the hammock, remarkably fast considering how ill he seemed, squeezing his crotch tightly as he bolted to the hatch and down it. Even from the attic, Astral heard him moan loudly as his footsteps seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, before a door was slammed and they disappeared out of hearing range.

Once he could no longer hear him, Astral groaned quietly and flipped onto his back in the hammock, head on Yumas pillow, which carried the scent of the other, and closed his eyes.

He was still feeling weak and he could sense his lifeforce was quite drained, as he lay alone, waiting for his partner to return.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be long, because even though it was only day 2 of his time, the separation from Yuma still stung painfully…