His monsters whispered to him sometimes, just little 'gagaga's and 'gogogo's and all sort of onomat noises when he reached for the packs of instant noodles.
"Guys, I have vegetables in the basket. What more do you guys want?" Yuma hissed.
(Gagaga Magician looked down at the tiny, lone bag of frozen vegetables and prayed to Horakhty to bless his little master because one of these days Yuma was going to die from malnutrition.)
The whispering grew louder.
"Uhh, fine." Yuma groaned, throwing the bags of noodles into his basket and trek back to the vegetable aisle.
Might as well grabbed scallion and tomatoes and corn. Billy liked stir fried corn.
Yuma was picking out tomatoes when a loud bang rang over the supermarket. "Everyone freeze!"
Yuma groaned, this was what he got for buying groceries at 9:00 PM. At least this time there was no Akari to force him to go near the crime scene (because you know, she wasn't here and he's IN the crime scene.)
Billy said he had to be in a meeting with the heroes group he was in for a few hours so quick help wasn't going to come anytime soon. Yuma's stomach grumbled.
None of the robbers spotted him yet so ducking under the vegetable display he pulled out a card. "Hey Crashbug, Bachibachibachi, you guys mind fuzzing the camera for me?"
Crackling static echoed by giggles answered him.
Footsteps echoed grew louder behind him.
"Let's see," Yuma hummed, trying not to focus on the robber's yelled for him to come out. Instead he envisioned Utopia, how the gold metal cupped around his face and felt the same gold rapidly shaped around his. Maybe without the three prong things, there wasn't time.
"Come on Gagaga Cowboy, Gagaga Samurai, let's end this quickly," Yuma whispered as he stood up. He gripped his hand and let's see, hmm, a bow materialized from red mist within it.
He could vaguely hear Gagaga Samurai knock out the upcoming robber as he tested out the bow.
"Bet I can take down more guys than you." He told Gagaga Cowboy.
The warrior raised a brow in amusement and clicked his guns.
It was a short contest. Yuma shot three guys with arrows that exploded, encasing them in crystal. Gagaga Cowboy's bullet just basically tazed the robbers. While Gagaga Samurai checked out the tea Aisle.
It was over kill with all three of them there.
Yuma lost by one and Gagaga Cowboy requested (bullied - who knew Yuma was weak to being poke repeatedly by guns) Yuma to put back his frozen vegetable for actual vegetable.
He'd somehow got all his stuff in order and was ready to pay before the cops got there. Walking past the still incapacitated robbers, he placed his basket down at the only checkout counter opened.
The cashier stared at him for a moment before slowly scanning his items. That was fine, Yuma didn't mind. He did mind however when Gagaga Samurai snuck a few boxes of tea into his purchase.
His new job at the diner paid well but not that well.
With an aching heart he pulled out the cash for his groceries, tipped the cashier and left.
He ate his tomatoes on his way home.
[-.-]
Yuma woke up to someone knocking on his door and something laying on him.
At first he thought he might have accidentally fallen asleep while hugging the printer again. But no, the thing on him was moving and too big to be Baby Tiragon.
Groggily he looked down to see a clump of black hair and red sweater.
He glanced at the window, and lo and behold it was open. There was still knocking on his door.
"Billy, wake up. I have to go." Yuma tried to shake the kid off but Billy just whined and his limbs over Yuma's body gripped tighter.
On second thought, how sure was Yuma that Billy wasn't actually a Baby Tiragon in disguise?
Dragging himself up, with Billy clinging onto him, Yuma moved to open the door. He tried to make himself look awake and hid his unusual hair under a bandana before reaching for the door.
Opening it revealed Billy's uncle, Dudley. The man's frantic face calmed when he looked down at the sleeping attachment still on Yuma's chest.
Yuma tried again to peel Billy off but the sleeping boy refused to move (or wake up for that matter).
"I don't think he's going to budge." He told the old man.
Dudley chuckled. "I supposed not, he had a long night."
The 'Long night', Yuma later found out, consisted of several robberies, a hoard of crocodile man, some man with plant power, a robot and….candy angels?
Eh, sounded about right for Fawcett.
"You know if you want I can lend you a hand sometimes." He suggested it to Billy. Definitely not because Billy was starting to remind him of Kaito, tired way past the bones but still trying to be strong.
"I don't know," Billy said, eyes still droopy as he ransacked Yuma's kitchen for snacks. "Captain Marvel doesn't need a sidekick."
"At most I'll be a part timer." Yuma protested at the idea of being a sidekick. "Side BILLY needs sleep and I'm not about to be near another caffeine addict."
The things that Akari asked him to buy, Yuma shuddered at the number of espresso shots a freelance reporter can consume in a night.
"Why would I want to drink disgusting bean juice?" Billy questioned.
"You don't, not after I convert you to a tea addict." Tea had caffeine, Yuma knew that now. Filling his kettle with water he set it on the stove. "But really, I can help out when you're have meet at the Hero club-"
"Justice League."
"You know, help you deal with the wrong'uns-
"Please don't use British slang, I have enough with Constantine."
"While Cap's away. I'm nearly done with the printer and other projects. My sleep schedule has been screwed since I was eight so I can help with the night stuff."
Billy looked unconvinced. "I don't know, being a hero isn't exactly easy."
Yuma shrugged. "I'm a fast learner. Been thinking of revisiting my weapons enthusiast phase."
"Your what?"
"My parents were archeologists, they used to bring home all sorts of artifacts that they stole. A lot of them were weapons." And well, Yuma had to do something during Akari's dueling ban.
Billy froze before awkwardly smiled. " My parents were archeologists too."
"Oh cool! Where are they now?" Yuma asked as he pulled out a cup and a bowl for the tea.
" They're…. um." Billy mumbled, eyes glued to the ground.
It took Yuma way too long to connect the dots and by the time that he'd sewed together the body language and social cues the tea had already spilled out of the bowl.
"Oh, oh." He said like the idiot that he was. " I am so sorry. My parents left a lot for their job so…I…assume….yours….are….too…."
Yuma was pretty sure he should stop talking. Awkwardly he offered Billy the cup of tea.
"It's okay. I have uncle Dudley now." Billy reassured him. "Um… What other artifacts did your parents have?"
"They brought all sorts of things home. Dinosaurs bones, funerary masks, a fancy pig statue that yells 'blood for the blood god', scrolls and tomes and books." Yuma began to list off.
"I'm sorry, what was the item you just listed in the middle?"
"Funerary masks?"
"After that."
"Scrolls."
[-.-]
The Dreaming was wack, Yuma knew this because he was having a picnic with Astral at the meadow but now they were on the roof of his house. The sun traded places with the moon and stars glittered in the sky.
Yuma didn't mind and from the look of it Astral didn't either.
The pot of Oden boiled between them, the flame underneath it radiating heat that wasn't real and lit up Astral's face.
"Here, you have to try this." He handed a paper cup filled with the Oden's soup and shirataki to Astral as the other down his fifteenth mochi kinchaku.
Like every other matter concerning food, Astral took it with stars in his eyes.
They downed the soup and noodles together, and let out a satisfied sigh as the soup warmed their chest. It tasted just like grandma's cooking.
Yuma was about to pickout a piece of daikon for Astral when the sky cracked.
"You have to wake up now, Yuma." Astral told him gently.
Yuma shushed him up by shoving a piece of chikuwabu into his mouth. "I don't wanna wake up, I wanna eat more stuff with you."
He didn't outright say that he missed Astral. Astral smiled, tan (human) skin stretched out the white freckles splattered on his face, and Yuma knew he didn't have to.
Astral chided, once he was done avoiding getting choked from giggling while eating. "Perhaps you should have gone to sleep earlier."
"Coding is hard, Astral. It was torture!" Yuma whined, wrapping his arm around the other, the other returned the gesture burrowing his face to the crooked of Yuma's neck.
Astral's skin, though human (or as human as could be for Death's helper), was freezing cold against Yuma's. But Astral was never allowed to experience this level of physically affecting outside of Zexal so Yuma held him close.
"I suppose sitting still had never been your strong suit." He commented. "Still you have to go."
"See you soon? " Yuma asked as the two of them clung together.
" Soon." Astral promised. Slowly Astral watched as Yuma faded away in millions sparkling particles, all flown up to join the stars.
He stayed by the pot of oden until it too was gone.
"Ready?" A woman asked, her black hair fluttered in the wind as she offered her pale hand to Astral.
Astral nodded, slowly he stood up. "Yes, let's go."
And with that Astral left the dream and walked down the endless path of death.