Remembering Yuma
Me: Hey everyone! Welcome to chapter 6 of this story. Thank you Blakroze and K.I.T.T. RIDER for reviewing chapter 5! Oh and Yin-Yang Yo-Yo? I want to apologize to you. I know that the story uses the same event formula and that it's like a clip show, but it was the only thing that I could do. So I'm sorry that I kind of messed up this story. I'll try to make a better one next time…
Yuma: So, is this the last chapter?
Me: It certainly is. Though, I do feel sad that it's over already. I had fun with this story.
Kotori: Well, at least you get to write another one.
Me: Yeah, you're right. Oh, and before we start this, I want to thank TheRoseShadow21 for giving me the idea about how Kotori will remember Yuma. It was really helpful.
Kotori: Okay then, should I say the disclaimer now?
Me: Go right ahead!
Kotori: All right. Animecartoonlover36 doesn't own me, Yuma, or the other Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal characters. She also doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal.
Me: Italics are thought bubbles and bold texts are flashbacks. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this last chapter!
After Yuma had visited Kotori that day, Yuma decided to practice his dueling every day for the World Duel Carnival. So in the afternoon, he practiced his dueling techniques with Tetsuo and the others for a few hours each day. He would then go visit Kotori like usual. Even though Kotori hadn't remembered anymore memories in the past days, Yuma would still go visit each day. Kotori didn't mind that he did that. She enjoyed his company.
On the day before the World Duel Carnival, Yuma was dashing towards Kotori's hospital room. "Man, I can't believe it took that long to rebuild my deck…" Yuma muttered, annoyed. He was just about to knock on the door when a thought popped into his mind. "If Kotori doesn't remember everything by tomorrow, she won't be able to come with me to the World Duel Carnival." Yuma realized, his eyes widening. He just sighed and knocked on the door.
Yuma entered the room and smiled when he spotted Kotori staring out the window. "Hey, Kotori!" Yuma greeted her. Kotori turned around and gave him a small smile. "Hi, Yuma." she replied softly. Yuma was surprised a bit when he heard the tone in her voice. "What's wrong, Kotori? Are you tired?" he asked her, worried. "No, I'm not tired. I'm just a bit bored. Sitting here in bed every day isn't fun at all." Kotori told him, sighing a bit.
Yuma felt bad for Kotori and wondered what he could do to help. As he was thinking, an idea popped into his head. "Hey Kotori, how about we go outside and take a walk? Does that sound okay?" Yuma asked her. "It sounds perfect!" Kotori cried out, smiling. "But is it okay for me to go outside? I still don't remember everything…" she wondered out loud.
Yuma frowned as he realized that she was right. "What do I do now?" Yuma asked himself. Suddenly, the door slowly opened and a nurse appeared. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation. I was just checking on the patient." the nurse explained. "It's all right." Yuma assured her. The nurse smiled and nodded happily. The nurse was about to close the door when Yuma stopped her. "Wait, is it all right for her to go outside the hospital with me?" Yuma quickly asked. The nurse looked at Yuma and Kotori for a few seconds and pondered.
"Well, it's okay as long as you come back to the hospital before dark." the nurse told them. "Yuma and Kotori smiled cheerfully at her words. "Thank you." Yuma said, grinning. The nurse smiled back and then closed the door behind her. "Kotori, let's hurry outside! I know a great place to walk to." Yuma said, turning towards her. Kotori nodded at him and carefully slipped out of the bed. She then grabbed the bundle of clothes that her mother gave her on the bedside table.
"Can you wait for me outside the door?" Kotori asked. Yuma nodded in response and quickly dashed out of the room, closing the door behind him. After a few minutes, Kotori came out of the room wearing her usual white t-shirt with yellow decal and pink skirt. "All right, let's go." Kotori said, excited. Yuma and Kotori then exited the hospital and walked away. "So Yuma, where are we going?" Kotori asked, curious. "Sorry, I can't tell you. I want it to be a surprise." Yuma told her while winking.
"Oh, all right." Kotori mumbled, smiling playfully. "So, are you going to explain to me what the World Duel Carnival is now?" she questioned, turning her head towards him. "Sure, why not?" Yuma said. As they walked, Yuma explained everything about the World Duel Carnival to Kotori. He told her about the rules and what the prize was for the winner. "Wow, that's interesting!" Kotori exclaimed. "Is there anyone we know that is attending the World Duel Carnival?" she asked him. "Tetsuo, Takashi, Cathy, and Tokunosuke are entering. But, Shark isn't going to." Yuma told her.
"Oh, and you're also coming along with me during the World Duel Carnival." Yuma added. "I am?" Kotori murmured, confused. "Yeah, I asked you if you wanted to come along and you said yes. You probably don't remember that day…" Yuma explained, scratching his head with embarrassment. "Oh…" Kotori whispered. It was quiet for the rest of the walk.
"Well, we're here at last!" Yuma said, breaking the silence. Kotori nodded and looked around. "Is this a park?" Kotori asked him. "Yeah, this is Heartland Park. It's my favorite place." Yuma replied, sitting on a nearby bench. "Why is that?" Kotori asked, joining him on the bench. "Well, it's a nice place to duel. Tetsuo and I dueled here many times." Yuma told her. "But it's mostly because one of my favorite memories took place right at this very spot." he added, grinning.
"And what memory would that be?" Kotori asked. "Well, it was the memory of when we first met…" Yuma murmured, looking out towards the park. Kotori gasped a bit when she heard that. "Yuma…" she whispered, surprised. Suddenly, that same memory that Yuma had mentioned popped into her head.
It was a sunny afternoon. Kotori was walking in Heartland Park with a small bag in her hands. Even though it was a nice day outside, Kotori wasn't smiling at all. "Why am I doing this?" she wondered, sighing. Kotori frowned as she remembered why and grasped the mysterious bag tighter.
You see, Kotori had just started in Heartland Elementary a few days ago. Everything was fine until these three bullies showed up. They would tease and say mean things about some of the kids. The three bullies would mostly pick on this new boy that had black and pink spiked hair. Kotori didn't know much about the new boy. All she knew was that he had started in Heartland Elementary just like her and that he loved to duel a lot. She also learned the boy's name when the teacher had introduced him in front of the class. His name was Yuma Tsukumo.
Other than Yuma, the three bullies liked to pick her too. They would call her mean names and tell her that she would never find friends because of her shyness. But the worse thing they did to her was demand for money. Yesterday, the three bullies had surrounded her and told her to bring lots of money tomorrow at Heartland Park. They told her that they needed the money to buy Duel Monster cards and that if she didn't, she would be bullied by them for a long time. Scared, Kotori nodded and quickly dashed away towards home.
Now here she was, holding a bag full of yen. Kotori looked up from her thoughts and spotted the three bullies waiting for her. She gulped and slowed down her pace as she got near them. "Hey, Baby bird. We're glad that you came." the black-haired bully sneered. Kotori flinched when she heard him say that. She didn't like it when the bullies called her that.
Baby bird was her little nickname that the bullies gave her when they had first started picking on her. The nickname did fit her well. Kotori's name meant 'bird of luck' and she was shy like a baby most of the time. But it was really annoying to Kotori…
"So, did you get what we asked for?" the brown-haired bully asked her. "Y-Yeah, I did. It's right here…" Kotori murmured, giving them the bag. The three bullies opened the bag and peered into it. "That's it?" the dark purple-haired bully muttered, frowning. The three bullies then looked at each other and smirked. "Well, this will have to do…for now. Next time, bring more money." the black-haired bully told her.
"B-But, I gave you what you wanted!" Kotori exclaimed, surprised. "Yeah, but it's not enough. We'll still take this, though." he explained, gesturing to the bag in his hands. "W-What? N-No, give it back!" Kotori yelled, realizing she had been tricked. She rushed over and tried to grab the bag from his hands. The black-haired bully quickly raised the bag over his head and watched as she jumped for it.
"Ha, you can't reach it!" the dark purple and brown-haired bully teased. "Give…it…back!" Kotori shouted, angry. Then, with all of her might, she pushed the black-haired bully. The bully only stumbled back a bit from Kotori's push since he was bigger than her. "Why you…" he growled, frowning. He stretched out his arms and pushed her back with a lot of force.
"Ouch!" Kotori cried out, landing painfully onto the ground. She hissed a little as she felt pain shoot through her body. "Hah, that's what you get for messing with me, Baby bird!" the bully sneered, laughing. The other two bullies smirked and started to laugh with him. Tears began to form in Kotori's eyes as they laughed at her. "Please, someone help me…" she pleaded silently, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Hey, leave her alone!"
Startled, the three bullies turned towards the voice. Kotori opened her eyes and turned her head towards the voice as well and gasped. Standing right near them, was Yuma!
"Well well, if it isn't Yuma Tsukumo, the duel loser!" the black-haired bully said. Yuma ignored his statement and growled. "Stop hurting her! You can pick on me as much as you want! Just don't hurt her!" Yuma shouted. The bullies stared at him and smirked. "All right, why not?" he said, stepping towards Yuma. "But, I don't feel like picking on you right now. So, consider yourself lucky…for now." the black-haired bully muttered.
The bully then tossed Yuma the bag full of yen. "Here, give this Baby bird. We won't need this anymore…" the bully said, walking away. The other bullies shrugged and followed their leader, leaving the two alone.
Yuma sighed with relief and walked towards Kotori. "Here, need a hand?" he asked her, showing her his hand. Kotori nodded slowly and reached out, grabbing his hand. When she got up from the ground, she dusted the bottom of her light yellow dress. "I believe this belongs to you." Yuma said, holding out the bag of yen. Kotori smiled a bit and took the bag from him. "Arigato. I'm really grateful for what you did." she murmured, giving him a big smile.
"You're welcome." Yuma replied, scratching his head with a small tint of red on his cheeks. "Anyway, my name is Kotori Mizuki." Kotori told him. "Oh yeah, I remember you! You're the girl that sits behind me, aren't you?" Yuma exclaimed. "Yeah, I am…" Kotori said, blushing a bit. "Well, you probably already know that I'm Yuma Tsukumo. Well, it's nice to meet you!" Yuma said, grinning. Kotori nodded her head and giggled a bit.
"Yuma, I've been thinking about something. Can I…can I be your…friend?" Kotori asked him. "Of course you can! I want to be your friend too." Yuma told her, smiling sheepishly. "You do? That's great!" Kotori cried out, happy. "Hey, how about we shake on it?" Yuma suggested. "Okay!" Kotori agreed, reaching out her hand. Yuma grinned and took her hand into his. "Friends!" they both shouted, shaking their hands.
That memory was the big trigger. When Kotori remembered how she and Yuma had met, all of her remaining memories returned. She remembered the good and the bad times she and Yuma had. After all of the memories returned, Kotori shook her head and stood up from the bench, staring out towards the sky. "Kotori, what's wrong?" Yuma asked worriedly, standing up as well. "Yuma, I remember everything now. My memory is back…" Kotori murmured, smiling softly.
When Kotori said that her memory was back, Yuma didn't say anything. Suddenly, Yuma embraced Kotori into a hug. "I can't believe it! Your memory is back! I'm so glad!" Yuma exclaimed. Kotori blushed at the sudden action. Soon, Yuma realized what he had done and quickly released Kotori from his grasp. "G-Gomenasai…" Yuma muttered, blushing.
"It's all right." Kotori assured him, smiling. Yuma smiled as well and looked up into the sky. "Wow, it's getting dark out. We should head back to the hospital." Yuma told her, walking away. Kotori nodded and followed him out of the park. When they reached the hospital, Yuma led Kotori back to her room. "So Yuma, were you telling the truth about how meeting me was one of your favorite memories?" Kotori asked, curious. "Yeah, of course. I would never lie about that…" Yuma replied, grinning. "Aw, that's so sweet…" Kotori murmured, moving closer to Yuma.
She then leaned down and kissed his cheek. Yuma's eyes widened and blushed when Kotori kissed him. "H-Huh…" Yuma stuttered, smiling sheepishly. Kotori just giggled at his reaction. "Well, I'll pick you up tomorrow so we can go to the World Duel Carnival." Yuma told her, snapping out of his little trance. "All right, see you then." Kotori agreed, sitting on the bed. Yuma nodded and exited the room while smiling happily. As Yuma was exiting the hospital, Astral materialized from the key and looked back. "Observation #20: Even if you lose your memories, you still feel them in your heart. And once you unlock your heart, your memories will return." he concluded. Astral then floated away behind Yuma with a small smile on his face.
The next day, Yuma dashed over to the hospital and picked Kotori up after she was released. They quickly rushed over to where the opening ceremony of the World Duel Carnival was starting. As they were watching the ceremony, they spotted their friends and many other people who were entering the World Duel Carnival. Yuma and Kotori smiled as the World Duel Carnival started. They were ready to make new memories and maybe, just maybe, remember some old ones as well.
Me: And that's the end! (sighs)
Yuma: Yes, you finally finished the story!
Me: Yep, I'm really proud!
Kotori: I'm so glad! Anyway, here's the episode where the flashback came from.
Me: You don't have to say that. The memory that makes you remember Yuma was made up by me. I hope I made it a good memory! Thanks for reading this story! And like I said before, I'll make sure to write a better story next time. I have a lot of story ideas. But I don't have that much time to write them out. Well, I hope I can get out another story soon! Anyway, please review and bye!