Stardust Finex : Okay! We're already on Chapter 2! So far, what exactly are Kurai and Dark Mist planning to do?

Yuma: That will be revealed later, so sit back and enjoy the show! Kotori, can you hand me some popcorn?

Kotori: No! You already at half of the box!

Stardust Finex: *sighs* Anyway, I do NOT own Yugioh in any way possible.


Chapter 2

At Heartland High School, the school day ended as a spiky-haired boy raced outside of his classroom. He seemed in really good spirits, especially on such a wonderful day. The boy had never been this cheery before.

"Oh yeah! It's Kattobingu time!" cheered the boy.

A green haired girl and a hefty boy wearing a red hat ran after the boy. They panted in exhaustion after finally chasing their friend. "Gosh, Yuma, slow down!" said the girl, while she was panting on the stairs. "What's gotten into you? You've been acting like Tokunosuke when he drank seventeen cans of Coke at Takashi's party!"

Yuma looked at the girl in shock. "You don't know what today is? It's my birthday, remember? Granny and Akari said they had something for me when I got home today!"

"Yuma, what is a birthday?"

The said boy jumped at the sound of the voice. He realized that the source was none other than his counterpart, Astral.

"Geez, Astral! Let me know next time you try to scare me like that!" cried Yuma. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I had no intention of scaring you like those ghosts I had seen on those ghost-hunting shows on TV," said Astral. "What is a birthday?"

"A birthday is when you celebrate the day a person was born," replied Yuma. "Usually, people celebrate with a party. Everyone gets together and eats cake and they party."

"So, the whole point of today is to celebrate your birth, and to party?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Astral seemed satisfied with Yuma's answer. The blue ghost wandered away from the kids for a moment.

"Observation #22: The purpose of a 'birthday' is to have a ceremony of a human's birth as a ritual, also known as a party," he remarked.

The blue ghost began to watch the kids from a distance so they could have their privacy. "Humans are puzzling creatures I'll never understand," sighed Astral.

After Astral left, Yuma looked around to make sure he wasn't coming back. When all seemed clear, Yuma wanted to resume his conversation.

"Now, what were we doing before Astral showed up?" inquired the spiky-haired boy.

"Oh, that's right! I had something for you!" said Tetsuo. He put his bag on the ground and began to search inside it. The boy pulled out a clunky box and placed it into Yuma's eager hands.

Yuma happily accepted the box. "Alright, let's see what's inside! Wonder what's in here!" He carefully ripped off the wrapping paper, and the bow as well. After the paper came off, Yuma was quite happy. "No way! Chocolate rice balls? Thank you, Tetsuo!"

"Happy Birthday, Yuma! It's the least
I could do!" replied Tetsuo. "Oy, Kotori, don't you have something for Yuma?"

Kotori raised her eyes in realization. "Yeah, I do! Hold on a sec!" She opened her bag and searched for Yuma's present. She pulled out a little gift bag, and placed it in Yuma's hands. "You're going to love this, I just know it!"

Yuma happily accepted the gift. "Thank you, Kotori!" He ripped the red plastic tissue from the bag and boy, was he surprised. "No way! You got me the latest Duel Monsters pack, 'Order of Chaos'? How did you know I wanted these?"

"I have my sources," replied Kotori sheepishly. "Happy Birthday, Yuma!"

Yuma smiled back at both of his best friends. "Thank you, guys! I'll see you two later!" He ran off while waving back to his friends.


Meanwhile in the busy streets of Heartland City, a black hole opened through a wall in an alley. Two figures fell out of the hole. One fell into the dumpster, while the other just floated. The figure that fell into the dumpster groaned while rubbing his head.

"Ow, next time, could you be a little more gentle? You could've killed me there!" The boy sniffed a rotten stench coming from the dumpster, and from his own clothes. "Oh, great! I smell like garbage!" complained the boy, "where is that brat Yuma? I've got a 'few words' to say to that loser!"

Black Mist sighed at the boy's impatience. "Patience, Kurai," he sighed, "I know when it's the perfect time to strike. But first, we need to lure Yuma to us."


Yuma ran home from school until he finally reached his house. He opened the door and walked in. "I'm home!" he called.

Silence filled the house. Not a single sound was heard throughout the Tsukumo household. Only the wind blew through an open window.

"Huh?" said a confused Yuma, "Granny? Akari? Where are you?"

Yuma wandered into the kitchen. Haru wasn't there cooking. The boy began to be confused. "That's odd. Where could have Granny wandered off to?" said Yuma, placing his left hand onto his head in confusion.

"Wonder where nee-chan went," thought Yuma. "She couldn't have wondered off that far."

Yuma left the kitchen and wandered down the hall. He then approached a door marked, "Computer Room." Yuma hastily opened the door, hoping to find Akari sitting in her chair doing her journalism work. Instead, all he found was an empty room and the computer shut down. Yuma sighed in defeat. No one wasn't seen anywhere around the house. Yuma dejectedly walked back to the kitchen. It was his birthday, and none of his relatives were around.

Suddenly, a strange, but familiar whirring sound quickly entered the kitchen. Yuma's ears perked up at the whirring sound. "Is that….?"

A round, egg-shaped, roving robot wheeled itself into the kitchen. A red bow was tied around one of it's antennas. Two wheels stood in place on top of the floor. It seemed to have a smile on it's face, despite most robots being emotionless. "Yuma, Yuma, you're a dum-dum." chirped the robot.

Yuma mentally slapped himself. Everyday, Obomi constantly "teased" the boy. "I am not a dum-dum, Obomi!" he retaliated, "YOU'RE the dum-dum!"

"Shut up, dum-dum," said Obomi. She extracted her metal arms and pointed towards a piece of white paper. "Go there, dum-dum." With that, Obomi strolled away into another room.

Yuma spotted the paper on the kitchen counter. He went over to it and picked up the note. "'Yuma, we've gone to the store. We'll be back in an hour, from Granny and Akari.' Oh well, guess I'll have to wait." said Yuma.

0000

Meanwhile, inside the Emperor's Key, Astral stared at the gears containing the Number Cards in silence. He was deep in thought. Astral didn't know why, but for some reason, he had a feeling was going to happen.

'I can't say why, but something's not right. What exactly could it be? Is it possible another Number is close by?' thought the blue spirit. 'All of these Number Cards are the key to my memories. But, what does it mean?'

0000

At the Tsukumo house, Yuma sat in the attic while going over his deck. "If I activated this spell card when I use this monster's ability…." he mused, "then maybe I could-"

Suddenly, the window flung open by itself. A small envelope blew itself inside the Tsukumo house without any care. The envelope gently swayed toward Yuma. The boy felt something touch his back. He turned around to find an envelope stuck on his back. Yuma took the envelope off of his back and looked at it curiously. The envelope was addressed to him, but there were no stamps or return address. Only his name bore on the envelope.

"What the heck is this? Why does it have my name on it? I guess there's only one way to find out!" said Yuma. He swiped a pair of scissors out of a drawer. He then cut open the envelope to find a note. The boy carefully took the paper out of the envelope. Yuma began to read the note: "Yuma Tsukumo, I have heard that you're a Numbers Hunter. If that's the case, I have heard that there's a Numbers Holder lurking around an alley near the 'Life is Carnival' building.* My name is of no importance. You can thank me later. Signed, Anonymous."

"What? A Number Holder?" Yuma shouted after reading the note.

Astral came out of the Emperor's Key in the nick of time to see the note Yuma had read. "Yuma, what is that?" he asked, pointing at the mysterious letter.

"Someone said that there's a Numbers Holder out in an alley somewhere," replied Yuma, "but why would that person specifically tell us about a Numbers Holder? It's not like we're the only Duelists who hunt Numbers."

"I am not sure," replied Astral, "I don't think I can trust this source for a Number Holder's location. This is serious business."

Meanwhile…..

Outside of Yuma's home, a silhouette could be seen hiding in a tree not too far from the house. Only pure red eyes could be seen in the dark. He had heard every word Yuma and Astral had said as he had good hearing. The silhouette grinned in success while listening to their conversation.

"Phase one completed! I got that loser to fall into my trap!"


*Yuma had dueled Charlie McCoy at that same 'Life is Carnival' building. Anyone remember Number 7: Lucky Stripe?

Astral: Yuma, we need to be on the lookout next time!

Yuma: I already know, Astral!

Tokunosuke: It is very strange indeed, ura.

Astral: Ahem, review if you wish. My memories depend on it!

Yuma: We're looking for Numbers.