Chapter 3

Sundown fell into Heartland City. The neon signs all over the city came on and a brilliant light show began. The city never looked so beautiful, especially on Yuma's birthday. Yuma and Astral were on the rooftop of the house watching the sun set. Astral had never seen such a beautiful sight, not even in the Astral world. Everything on Earth and it's cultures was strange and unusual to him. But over time, he learned much about Earth and it's people. For now, the blue spirit was in deep thought.

'Why would someone only tell me and Yuma about a Number Holder? Surely, Kaito would probably know about this, but I can't guarantee it. We have to be on the lookout for anything unusual,' thought Astral.

Yuma noticed that something was bothering his companion. "Astral? Is something bothering you?"

"Yes," replied Astral. He crossed his arms and looked at the sky. "I'm not so sure about this 'Number Holder.' What if it's a trap? It'll be my fault if you're gone or hurt. I'll never forgive myself."

Yuma looked at the sky for a moment, then he looked at his spirit companion. "Sometimes, in life, you just got to take risks, even when you're saving a world out there. You're my friend, Astral, and I want to help you."

"Even during the worst times, you will still help me?"

"If you put it that way, yes. Sometimes, you just have to take risks, even when we're saving your own world."

All Astral could do was slightly smile in response. He was very touched by Yuma's speech. He never knew his human partner was that concerned for him. Come to think of it, Yuma had always stood by his side. 'Thank you, Yuma. You do not know how much that means to me,' thought Astral.

Suddenly, a car could be seen driving onto Yuma's driveway. Yuma realized whose car that was, and he knew what that meant. "Astral! Granny and Sis are home! You know what that means?"

Astral raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Is it what you humans would say, 'party time'?"

Yuma jumped up and grinned happily. "Heck, yeah! Let's go!"

Once Yuma and Astral went back into the attic and descended downstairs, they made their way to the kitchen. However, after they came downstairs, they were greeted by Yuma's friends.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" cheered everyone, who were now tossing confetti all around Yuma, much to his pleasure.

Tetsuo, Takashi, Cathy, Kotori, and Tokunosuke, came up to the birthday boy and praised him. They showered the boy with even more confetti.

"Happy Birthday, ura!" cheered Tokunosuke.

Tokunosuke looked around for a moment.
He pulled Yuma close to him and whispered, "Whatever you do, NEVER drink seventeen cans of soda at a party ever again! Trust me, you do NOT want to know what happens, ura!"

"Ummm…" responded Yuma.

"That doesn't matter! I got something for you, ura!" Tokunosuke hauled a huge basket of riceballs onto the counter in front of Yuma. "Why don't you have one, ura? Don't be shy!"

Yuma hesitated for a moment, but shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, thank you, Tokunosuke!"

As soon as Yuma grabbed one riceball, he was greeted by confetti in his face.

Takashi seemed to be more pleasant than his typical self. "To summarize, today is a wonderful day to celebrate, Yuma-kun! Cheers to you!"

"Ah, thank you, Takashi!" said Yuma, while he was brushing off the confetti from Tokunosuke's "present".

Cathy embraced Yuma, blushing. "Umm…. Happy Birthday Yuma.." she said shyly.

Yuma smiled back at Cathy, "Thank you, Cat-chan."

Cathy let go of Yuma and blushed in response. 'He-he…. he does remembers me after all," she thought.

Suddenly, Yuma felt himself being crushed tightly. "Mmph ummph! (Hey! Let me go!)" he muffled.

A big laugh could be heard, "Oh, come on, Yuma! Can't I give my best friend a birthday noogie?"

Yuma was released and he found himself close to none other than Tetsuo. He rubbed his back, "Oy, thanks for the noogie, Tetsuo."

Kotori smiled at Yuma. "Happy Birthday, Yuma!"

"Thank you, Kotori!" responded the boy. He smiled back at her in response, and beckoned, "Come on, we don't want to miss this party!"

Before Yuma could leave, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He was soon face-to face- with Akari. His sister smiled at her brother. " Happy Birthday, little brother. You're fourteen now. Don't grow up too fast. When I first held you after you were born, it seemed like yesterday."

Yuma blushed, "Thank you, Akari."

"Oh, Granny and I got you something!" Akari pulled out a nicely wrapped box behind her back. She handed it to her brother. "Go on, open it!"

Yuma accepted the box and carefully opened it. After he pulled off the wrapping paper, boy, was he happy.
A green box for the latest video game system was finally his!

"Sweet, a DuelStation-X! Thank you!" said Yuma.

"Yuma!" chirped a voice.

Yuma looked down to find Obomi. She had her metal hands crossed as if she was waiting for him.

"Oh, hey Obomi!" waved Yuma.

"I found this picture of you! I'm letting everyone see it!" said Obomi.

Obomi hooked up some cables into her system. She hooked herself up to a portable prohector inside of her system. After a few minutes of set-up, the Litterbot projected an image of Yuma onto the wall, which shocked the unfortunate Birthday Boy.

The image consisted of a naked baby Yuma, who was taking a bath, which caused everyone to roar into laughter.

"Yuma is such a dirty little boy, ura!" Tokunosuke whispered to Takashi, trying to contain his giggles.

"Yuma is indeed very dirty!" joked the Class President.

Cathy and Kotori only blushed while they giggled at the picture. Tetsuo was laughing on the floor. He seemed entertained by the photo.

"Hahaha! Oh my god! Yuma- you- HAHAHA!" roared Tetsuo.

"I remember this picture," reminisced Haru. "Yuma was having his first bath just a few weeks after he was born. You remember helping washing Yuma, don't you, Akari?"

Akari laughed in response. "How could
I forget? I remember that Yuma kept splashing water into Mom and Dad! Yuma even peed in their faces!"

Astral stared at Yuma's picture from a distance. He was laughing a little, which showed he was enjoying the party a bit. "Observation 23: Humans are embarrassed when their memories as an infant are seen by other people besides themselves."

Yuma blushed madly in embarrassment, and at his picture. "Geez, it's just a baby picture! Nothing special!" he said, waving his arms and attempting to cover the picture.

Later that night, all of the kids were playing video games on Yuma's new DuelStation-X in the Yuma's room.
The kids were playing "House of the Dead". Right now, Yuma, Kotori, Tokunosuke, Cathy, and Takashi were all desperately shooting the zombies attacking their characters. After an hour of zombie hunting, Haru and Akari came into Yuma's room with a smile.

Haru clapped her hands. "Alright, kids, it's cake time!" Everyone cheered in response.

"And, you know what else this means?" winked Akari.

Yuma's ears perked up at the momenr. "Presents? Where?" he shouted excitedly.

Akari laughed and placed her left hand on Yuma's head. "No, silly, you have to wait until you do your cake first."

"Right," said Yuma sheepishly.

The kids and the adults eventually made their way into the kitchen. Yuma was incredibly excited. Astral was watching very close for more observations.

Finally, the moment had arrived. Haru and Akari hauled in a pyramid-shaped cake. It had a very colorful golden yellow frosting, and it was so detailed, it could make anyone's mouth water. What was peculiar about the cake was the golden eye on the front.* On top of the cake stood a number decoration that resembles the Number Card symbol for 14. Once the cake was lit, everyone sang "Happy Birthday."

Astral watched carefully while Yuma blew out his candles. The blue alien was full of wonder. He had observed a ritual for a human's day of birth ceremony. What made Astral feel good was what Yuma had said to him.

"You're my friend, Astral, and I want to help you," rang in his mind over and over again.

Could this day get any better?

After the cake was blown out, everyone ate parts of the cake. Things were going well until the kids decided to play "Truth or Dare."

"Okay, Yuma! Truth or dare, ura?" asked Tokunosuke.

Yuma thought hard. Which would he do? "I pick…. dare!"

Tokunosuke did his signature mischievous grin. He positioned his hat and glasses and said, "I dare you…. to wear your birthday suit, ura! This time, you can't refuse or not do the dare!"

Yuma blushed in embarrasment. He could feel the states from everyone, even Astral. He got up and said, "Kotori? Cat-chan? Could you two go outside my room? I don't think you want to see me in my birthday suit."

Both girls hesitated, but they nodded and agreed to stay outside for a minute.

"Yuma, be strong!" whispered Cathy.

"If Tetsuo posts a picture of you in your birthday suit, let me know and I'll have a 'talk' with him, okay?" said Kotori, offering her friend a gentle smile.

Yuma smiled back. "Thanks, Kotori."

Once both girls left Yuma's room, all the boys turned towards Yuma. They grinned mischievously and laughed at the same time.

"Alright, ura! You have to do your dare!" said Tokunosuke.

"To summarize, there's no turning back!" remarked Takashi.

"Come on, Yuma! Show us what you're made of! Be a man!" shouted Tetsuo.

Yuma blushed red like a tomato. They were right. He couldn't refuse or not do the date. He had no choice. It was guys only, so why would it be a big problem. Yuma sighed and he lowered his jacket. Then, he took off his accessories (minus his Key) and he undid his belt. Before Yuma did anything else, all the boys grabbed their cameras and D-Gazers.
The spiky-haired boy took this as a sigm to keep on going. Yuma removed his shirt and tossed it to the side. Finally, Yuma took off his socks and he stood in his boxers.

What Tetsuo, Takashi, and Tokunosuke had seen was very funny to them.
The three boys started giggling quietly, and they burst out into laughter. They all dropped their cameras and D-Gazers.

"Hahaha! To summarize, Yuma's underwear design is ridiculous!" laughed Takashi, who was holding his stomach.

Tokunosuke rolled all over the floor.
"I never knew Yuma still wears dinosaur underwear!"

"HAHAHAHA! Yuma, you're- haha- officially a man today! You actually did one of Tokunosuke's dares!" laughed Tetsuo, who was laughing on the floor.

Astral instated at Yuma in shock and was in slight disturbance. He had never seen Yuma in only his underwear, and this was a rare moment. "Observation 23: A birthday suit is when a human is not wearing any layer of clothing except a type of clothing called underwear."

Tokunosuke finally stopped laughing. He approached Yuma. "When I said you had to be in your birthday suit, I mean. You literally had to wear a birthday suit!"

Yuma huffed, "You mean…. I had to strip down to my underwear for nothing?"

"Pretty much, ura."

Yuma mentally slapped himself. He moaned, "Next time, I'm making Toku strip down to his underwear."

Everyone partied for a few more hours until it was time for everyone to go on home. Even the birthday boy had to go to bed like everyone else. After Yuma said his goodbyes to his friends, he decided to call it a day.

"Good night, Granny! Good night, sis! Bye, Obomi! Thanks for everything today!" shouted Yuma as he ascended up the stairs.

"Good night!" replied Akari and Haru.

"Bye-bye, Yuma," said Obomi.

0000

Yuma retreated into his room, then he ascended into the attic, and he plopped into his hammock. He closed his eyes and dozed off. About an hour later or so, the spiky-haired boy jolted from his sleep. Yuma jumped off the hammock. He snatched the mysterious envelope he had received earlier and read the note again. "'Life is Carnival' building? That's where this Number Holder lurks at."

Yuma looked out of his window, then around the attic. A determined look grew on his face. "I know what I have to do! I'm gonna track down that Number Holder and get that Number Card! I'm gonna bring it to 'em!"

Yuma quietly got dressed, then he snuck out of his window. Once the boy was outside, he ran to the downtown area of the city. He ran for about half an hour or so. Finally, the same, familiar purple building popped up in his view. "There it is," he whispered. "The Number Holder is around here somewhere. Astral is right, I've got to be aware of my surroundings. The city's not always this bright and happy."

Yuma made a turn around the building and spotted a dark alley in the corner. He took the envelope out of his pocket and re-read it. He looked up at the alley after reading. "I guess this must be the place," he concluded.

"Yuma, this is where the Number Holder lurks. We must be aware of our surroundings," said Astral as he came out of the key. He looked around the alley, "This place gives me an eerie feeling."

Up on the rooftops, a silhouette grinned at Yuma and Astral (he could see Astral for some reason). He readied himself, and without a care, he took a great leap off of the rooftops.

BOOM!

Yuma and Astral jumped at the sound of the noise. "Yuma! What was that?" said a jittery Astral.

Yuma clenched his fists, "Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. I have a feeling it's the Number Holder!"

Suddenly, the silhouette from the rooftops could be seen in the distance. He was walking toward the two. He was getting closer and closer. Yuma and Astral braced themselves, ready for anything, especially a Number Holder.

"Hehehehe…. Yuma Tsukumo….. Astral…." said a taunting voice. "You think you're going to be a Duel Champion one day, but I think I'll be taking that title…"

Astral's ears perked up. 'The Number Holder's voice sounds a lot like Yuma's voice! But, Yuma's right here! How can this Number Holder see me?' he thought.

Yuma didn't seem intimidated. "Come on out, Number Holder! Show yourself!"

Silence filled the alley for a moment, not one sound was heard. Then, the figure approached the two Duelists. Yuma could see that something was familiar about the figure. It was… himself?

The silhouette had finally stepped out of the shadows. He had an evil grin on his face, and dark sunglasses covered the boy's eyes. He lowered them, revealing pure red eyes like Yuma's.

"Yuma Tsukumo, I have found you!"

*Can any of you guess what Yuma's birthday cake resembles? Any Yugioh fan should know the answer! :D