Chapter 23

Welp, this story is coming close to and end. I am happy/sad at the same time because the "The Shadow of Yuma" is my first fanfic, and I believe that this is one of my best masterpieces.

About 'Girl Fight,' that will have to be on hold until I finish this story. I will probably continue to update 'Baby Yuma Drabbles,' plus I have tons of more story ideas.

Enough with me, read on!
*presents a nicely decorated cake*

Tron: CAKE!


Rain began to pour throughout Heartland City after what could have been the most dangerous Duel. Most of the citizens who were witnessing the strange light* retreated back inside their homes to flee from the rain.

Upon Heartland Tower, Yuma gazed upon an unconscious Kurai as the AR Vision disintegrated. The boy who was out cold laid on the steel roof with his arms and legs spread out. His Dragoon armor disappeared, along with his D-Gazer tattoo. Kurai's street clothes replaced the Dragoon armor as it disintegrated with the monsters and AR.

"Ugh…." moaned Kurai.

"Yuma… It's time. We must take back Kurai's Numbers," said Astral.

"Yeah," replied Yuma.

Astral opened his hand do all of his fingers could stretch out. Once his hand was ready, he began the Number draining process. Power flowed through Astral's hands, retracting the Numbers from Kurai's body.

"Numbers 2 and 96, leave the boy now! He is no longer any use to you! Begone!" chanted Astral.

"No… I was so close!" shrieked 96, as he was being pulled away from Kurai's body.

"I….. Regret forcing the boy to do terrible things in the first place," said 02 solemnly.

Don't blame yourself, Number 2, you had no intention of forcing Kurai to perform insane antics, replied Astral telepathically.

Kurai moaned in pain as both Numbers 2 and 96 ascended in card form from his body. He clenched bid fits tightly whilst feeling slight tingling from the Numbers.

"Rrggh…" he groaned.

Yuma knelt down by Kurai's side. He gently stroked the boy's hair. "Kurai… Stop this, you're no longer possessed by any Numbers," he soothed.

Numbers 2 and 96 were soon pulled away from Kurai by Astral's Number Grab technique. Both cards flew into the spirit's hands.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound quickly snapped Yuma and Astral out of their thoughts. They gazed around the rooftop of Heartland Tower to find a green-haired girl slamming her fist against a force field.

"Helloooo! Can someone get me out of here?" cried Kotori. She banged and banged on the force field, in hopes of freeing herself.

Yuma's ears perked up at Kotori's face. He looked away from Kurai to find the greenete pounding on the force field. "Ah, Kotori! Hang on, I'm gonna get you out of there!" he said in determination, running to Kotori's prison.

By the time Yuma even got to his friend's prison, it began to slowly disintegrate. Kotori winced in surprise, which made her tumble a little. Yuma responded rapidly by catching her.

"I got you," he said slyly, helping his friend hold her stance.

((A/N: This is my first attempt at writing romance. I apologize if the scene sounds a little cheesy.))

Both teens then gazed into each other's eyes lovingly. Yuma and Kotori looked at each other's faces with passion. Unknown to Kotori, Yuma's heart beat rapidly with nervousness. None the less, he stood confidently and began to speak.

"Kotori… There's been something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time," whispered Yuma. He looked straight into the girl's hazel eyes. "I like you… I've liked you ever since he day we met. You are my best friend, and I want to be more than friends," he confessed lovingly.

Kotori's heart raced rapidly. She felt everything disappear the moment she heard those exact words. Suddenly, everything fell into place. She came back to her senses. With courage, she said, "Yuma….. I love you… What I like about you is-"

"Go on, finish what you were about to say," spat a malicious voice.

Kotori recoiled in surprise to find someone she thought she'd never see again RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER IN YUMA'S PLACE.

"K-K-Kurai? I-I th-thought you were-"

"Out cold?" finished Kurai. "Heh, guess again, babe! You and I are gonna be together forever and ever and ever…." he said venomously, placing emphasis on 'forever'.

"No! This can't be happening! Get away and stay away from me!" shrieked Kotori.

With anger, she slugged Kurai, right in the face. He fell back in surprise, his arms flailed as he tried to balance himself. Thinking quickly, Kotori rammed right into Kurai' stomach and pinned him on the ground.

"DON'T. TELL. ME. WHAT. TO. DO. EVER. AGAIN," spat Kotori in anger. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Why the hell should I listen to a girl like you?"

WHAM!


"Kotori! What are you doing?"

Suddenly, everything came into reality. Kotori snapped out only to realize she was in a trance. She gasped in horror at who she was really slugging.

She looked in horror to find a bruise forming around YUMA'S left eye. He moaned weakly as he coughed up some blood. Yuma looked back at his friend in hurt. "Kotori, if this is the way you feel about me-"

"What the hell did I do? Oh my god.. When I look at you, I only see Kurai instead. I never meant to hurt you in any way…" she cried, tears falling from her eyes.

Kotori embraced Yuma very tightly, as if she needed protection. "I am so sorry I made you feel hurt. I'm such a terrible friend…" she cried.

Yuma responded by embracing her back. He carefully positioned himself to sit upright. "I will always be here for you. If that jerk even comes back, I'll make sure he NEVER touches you again," he whispered carefully brushing his hands on her back.

"Thank you, Yuma," Kotori whispered back. She lightly pressed her hand against Yuma's bruise. "Did I hurt you too hard?"

"No, it's only a bruise, Kotori," replied Yuma, attempting to flash a small smile.

Kotori sighed. "Yuma, listen, I like you too…. But I can't do this, not after what Kurai put me through. I'm so sorry, Yuma," she confessed solemnly. "Please understand, you don't know what Kurai did to force me to marry him."

"I-I understand, Kotori.. I'm sorry if I sounded a little hasty," said Yuma apologetically.

"Yuma…." whispered Kotori, as she fell into Yuma's arms. Tears flowed even more down her face. "I'm sorry too…" she stuttered hoarsely.

Astral watched both teens in the distance. He floated in his usual position with his arms crossed. His focus couldn't leave Kurai. He couldnt pry his attention away from the boy's unconscious body. Kurai Tsukumo, what exactly are you? What is your REAL purpose for coming to Heartland City? Why did Dark Mist specifically allow you to ally with him?

"HELLO? SOMEBODY!" shrieked multiple voices.

Both teens and Astral perked up at the loudness of the voices. It echoed loudly based on the location.

"What was that?" shouted Yuma, carefully sitting up.

"It came from over there!" realized Kotori, pointing towards a dangling pole northwest of the two.

In a flash, Yuma, Kotori, and Astral darted towards the steel pole. They stretched over the edge of Heartland Tower to gaze upon the city's view.

"Hey! Look down!" shouted the voice once more.

Yuma peered down towards the source of the voice. Realization hit him when he noticed that a cage was dangling and he could see that people were inside it.

Yuma cupped his hands and shouted, "Oy! Who's in there?"


Below inside the cage, Mr. Heartland began to slightly turn green due to the swaying of the cage. He held his stomach as he tried to sooth the pain. "Ugh…. I don't feel so good…" he moaned.

"Don't puke on ME, you idiot!" cringed Dr. Faker, moving a few inches away from the queasy man.

"Did you forget to take your diarrhea meds, AGAIN, Mr. Heartland?" moaned Droite.

Mr. H groaned as he held his stomach, resisting to vomit.

"No…" he moaned weakly.

"You're lying, I can sense it. Take your damn meds-"

"Or else what?"

"I will personally make sure you take your medicine EVERY SINGLE day."

Suddenly, Yuma's voice echoed into the cage. Luckily, he had shouted loud enough for the adults to hear.

"Oy! Who's in there?" echoed the voice.

All of the adults' ears perked up.

"Is that who I think it is?" said Faker.

"Humph, you tell me," said Droite cooly.

"Ugh….. Yeah, it him alright…" moaned Mr. H.

Gauche peered through the bars and yelled, "Yuma! It's Gauche!"

"Gauche?" shouted Kotori and Astral.

"There's no time for explanation! Can you get us out of here?" continued Gauche.

Yuma yelled back, "I don't know how to make the cage rise!"

"Yuma! Listen to me, this is Faker! I understand you and your friends don't trust me, but you're going to have to trust me on this one!" shouts the doctor.

"Alright, just this once!" shouted Yuma.

"Do you see a black lever in the left side of the pole holding the cage? Pull the switch until it stops at 'UP'. Do you understand?" boomed Faker.

Yuma nodded, placing his hand into the handle like Dr. Faker described. "Yeah, you've got my word! I'll get you out of here! Let's see…. Pull! Ugh!"

Astral sat to the side as he crossed his arms. I wish I could help Yuma, but I can't psychically touch anything. It's up to him and Kotori to get the adults to safety.

Kotori ran behind Yuma and place her hands onto the boy's stomach as she helped him pull the switch. "Ugh! Come on, move! This lever's hard to pull!" she grunted.

"Don't give up, Kotori! PULL!" encouraged Yuma, pulling harder on the lever.

Finally, the lever gave in and moved from 'DOWN' to 'UP.' Inside the cage below, the adults could feel themselves coming back to the surface.

"Those kids did it…. I still hate them… I want to get out of this stupid cage! I'm starting to feel even more queasy…" groaned Mr. H, holding his face as it slightly turned a darker shade of green. "Oh, crap! I'm think I'm going to- MOVE!"

The rest of the adults moved to the side as Mr. Heartland quickly ran towards an open space in the side of the cage. He sat on his knees as he vomited through the steel bars. The mayor looked even sicker than before. "Damn, I forgot to take my medicine again.." he muttered.

"Yeah, he's lost it," groaned Faker, jerking his thumb towards the sick man.

"Every minute I'm in here with you morons, I feel less intelligent; and Heartland DID forget to consume his medicine, again," said Droit.

"Shut up!" snapped Gauche. "At least we're FINALLY leaving this nuthouse!"

Back on the top, Yuma, Kotori, and Astral watched in amazement as they witnessed the adults' prison rise onto the steel roof. Dr. Faker, Droit, and Gauche appeared to be unharmed, but something was off with Mr. Heartland.

"Uh….. Is Mr. Heartland okay? He doesn't look healthy," noted Kotori, while looking at Mr. H's green face.

Mr. Heartland struggled to speak, but he managed to say, "I-I'm fine, just get me out of here! I get motion sickness easily," he moaned, holding his stomach.

WHIRR!

The adults and the teens looked into the sky to find Anna and the rest of the boys (who were covered by a large blanket) on her Flying Launcher. Anna turned around and winked at Yuma, as if she was saying, "Thanks, Yuma."

After adults were released and waking on the roof, Yuma noticed something was odd about them. Faker tossed the keys to his lab to Droit, but it only landed an inch in front of him.

"Oy, Faker! I can throw better than you!" joked Yuma.

Kotori pulled on Yuma's ear. "Don't make fun of him!" she snapped.

"OW! I was only joking!"

"I figured something like this would happen because of the drug Kurai injected us with,*" said Dr. Faker, ignoring Yuma as he scrambled in the roof for his keys. "I can't see that well like before. Everything is too distorted! Droit, go get me my keys!" he commanded.

Droit dropped to the floor and picked up the keys. She handed them to the doctor. "I can see just fine. Why don't you throw better?" she huffed.

"How come you're not suffering from side effects?" asked Kotori

"The only thing I remember was getting punched in the face by a boy that looked like Yuma. I never felt anything jab into my neck," replied the Butterfly Duelist.

"Droit, when did you change into such a lovely butterfly dress? You look like an angel," yawned a drowsy, distorted Gauche.

"I'm NOT wearing a dress, and I wouldn't be caught dead in one EVER," hissed the woman.

At that moment, a loud thud caught everyone's attention. Mr. H fell onto the roof, not moving an inch. Then came the noise that indicated he was okay.

"Zzzzzzzz….." snored Mr. H.

Droit knelt down by the man and felt his head. "Looks like he'll be sleeping for a while. If you'll excuse me, I have two other morons to take care of," muttered the woman. Before she left, she picked up the Diamond Heart (which was unharmed) and she turned to Yuma, "Thanks." With that, Droit slung Mr. H over her shoulders and Dr. Faker clumsily walked to the exit, with Gauche holding onto Droit's arm.


After the adults descended into the tower, Yuma, Kotori, and Astral felt a huge weight of relief come back to them.

"It's over…. We won!" cried Yuma, hugging Kotori by her sides.

Kotori smiled back. "Yeah! But, what are we supposed to do with Kurai?" she mentioned, jerking her thumb towards the unconscious boy.

"Ooh, I never thought about that…" muttered Yuma. He slowly approached Kurai, taking caution. He placed one hand on Kurai's arm and gently shook it.

"Kurai? Can you hear me?" he asked. "If so, will you- HYUK!"

Suddenly Yuma felt his wrist gripped very tightly. He tried to pull back, but the grip was too strong. He fell onto the ground as he felt his arm being pulled. "What the hell?" he shouted.

To Yuma, Kotori, and Astral's horror, they feared the worst had hoist happened. Kurai raised his head from the ground. He growled loudly as he stood up, brushing the dirt off of his clothes. His eyes were more slit then before. They looked like Yuma's eyes when he was first "possessed" by Dark Mist.** Kurai's teeth were appeared to look like wolf fangs and they were very sharp. The boy scowled angrily at Yuma, his gaze not leaving the boy.

"You no-good son of a bitch! I had all of the glory, then YOU HAD TO COME AND TRASH MY DREAMS!" yelled Kurai.

Yuma and Kotori were taken back by Kurai's sudden outburst. The boy continued his rant. "I had everything... THEN YOU AND YOUR STUPID FRIEND THREW IT ALL AWAY FROM ME! WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"

"Hold on, YOU were the one who tried to murder some people, force Kotori to marry you, and you stole Hope from me! What kind of monster are you? ANSWER ME!" yelled Yuma.

No answer.

"I didn't want to do this, but for once, STOP THIS!" screeched Yuma.

With no shame at all, Yuma slapped Kurai right across his face. Kurai tumbled back as he held his stinging cheek. He growled, "You maggot… You're gonna be sorry you even did that to me… RARGH!"

In a rampage, Kurai ran into Yuma's stomach, knocking him onto the ground. Behind the boys, Kotori and Astral shrieked in surprise.

"YUMA!"

The mentioned boy groaned as he tried to get up, but he felt Kurai sitting on his legs. Kurai held down Yuma's legs tightly with his own so he couldn't try to escape.

"If I can't be king, then YOU DESERVE TO DIE!" Kurai shrieked. He raised a fist and punched Yuma in the face.

"OW!" cried Yuma. "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't. You. Ever. Stop. Talking?" growled Kurai. "You're like a bug that never goes away!"

"It's not my fault you're a freak!"

Suddenly, Kurai raised his body upward and he froze still like a mannequin. His eyes went inside his head, showing only the whites with red veins. He then whispered in a hoarse voice, "Just be yourself and she'll love you again. Just be yourself and she'll love you again."

Yuma and Kotori looked at Kurai in a confused expression.

"What's wrong with Kurai? His eyes are like, completely white!" pointed out Kotori.

"I don't know! All I did was call him a freak, then he went buggo! He never did this before, only now!" cried Yuma.

Astral observed Kurai's behavior intensely. He studied the way Kurai's body froze like record player and how his eyes only showed the red veins, no iris. What caught his attention was that Kurai's body slowly twitched like crazy. I remember seeing something like this on a criminal TV show on the magic box! There was this one criminal who did the same thing, except he said, "Just be yourself and she'll like you." If I recall, the criminal was suffering a psychotic episode. How did the detective get him to freak out…. Wait…. He reminded the criminal of his FIRST KILL! If Yuma could remind Kurai of how his mother abandoned him, maybe that could be his actual weak point!

"Yuma! Listen to me carefully! Kurai is going through a psychotic episode! This may be risky, but you need to remind him that his mother abandoned him! Paint a picture in his head!" shouted Astral.

"All I need to do is piss him off? It's worth a shot!" yelled back Yuma.

"Yuma, be careful! Kurai's dangerous!" cried Kotori.

"I'll be fine!"

Yuma took a deep breath. Okay… Here goes nothing…

"Kurai, I heard that your mother didn't want you because she thought you were a FREAK!" jeered Yuma.

"Stop it! Stop it!" snapped Kurai, still in his buggo trance.

Yuma scoffed, before winking at Kotori and Astral. He continued his jeer, "I bet that your mother never liked you, because you were a STAIN!"

Anger filled a full-blown psychotic, mind-tranced Kurai. Taunts, bad memories, and every instance of him being called a freak or a stain took over his mind.

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" he shrieked crazily, glaring angrily at Yuma. "You will DIE!"

Kurai charged like a bull, running straight to Yuma. Thinking quickly, Yuma stretched out one leg and luckily for him, the evil boy tripped and fell back onto the ground. "UGHH!" he groaned.

CLANG!

A flare gun slid out of Kurai's jacket after he had tripped. It flung on the roof away from him. Yuma smiled because he realized his enemy was now defenseless.

"Now's my chance! Kurai! It's time you paid for all the horrible things you did to everyone! You wanted this fate, and don't even think of trying to run away!" Yuma looked at Kotori, pointing towards Kurai's flare gun. "Kotori, get Kurai's flare gun!"

"Yeah!" replied Kotori. In a flash, she quickly picked up the weapon and steadied it. However, she noticed there was only ONE flare inside. "Yuma! We only have once shot to get this right!"

"When I give the signal, I want you to fire at Kurai! Do you understand?" said Yuma.

"I understand! Hurry! Kurai's about to snap out of his trance!" cried the greenete.

Kurai slowly moaned as he held his head. He looked like a wasted person, except he had a little more sense. His back was facing Yuma and Kotori, which was a good thing. "Damn, what happened? The last thing I remember was-"

"NOW, KOTORI!" shouted Yuma.

Kotori sneered as she placed her finger on the flare gun trigger. "I don't regret this one bit! Say goodnight, Kurai!"

WHOOSH!

Kurai's ears perked up at the sound of the whoosh. He turned around quickly to realize that a flare was coming STRAIGHT AT HIM. Unfortunately, he was too frozen in fear to move. Damn you, Yuma! I HATE YOU!

BAM!

The next thing Kurai knew, he felt a flare push itself right through his chest. Thunder clashed the moment the flare targeted him. It felt like a cannon blasting through your chest, except it was hotter. Blood spewed out of his chest like a bursting pipe. It splattered everywhere due to the impact of the flare. Kurai felt his entire body temperature increase, then his mind started to shut down.

No… I lost... Again….

With one last breath, Kurai fell head first onto the roof. His heart gave out, and he died in peace and anguish.


Yuma, Kotori, and Astral panted heavily as they looked at Kurai's bloody corpse. A bloody hole about the size of a baseball showed that the flare had torn through Kurai's heart. The rain spread the pool of blood surrounded the corpse, which grossed out Yuma and Kotori.

"We just killed Kurai.. Was it the right thing to do?" wondered Yuma, looking over Kurai's body.

Kotori placed her hand on Yuma's shoulder. She was slightly mentally
scarred from the event, but overall, she was OK because she was happy that Kurai couldn't hurt anyone ever again. "Kurai was a terrible person, but he wanted this fate," she said.

Astral noticed that it began to rain even harder in the sky. Slowly, the blood poured down the sides of Heartland Tower, leaving Kurai's dead body with no blood. He shook his head with disgust.

"Kurai Tsukumo, what was your real motivation? Why did you come to Yuma's world? There are so many things I wish I could've asked you…"


*plays ominous music*

You were probably not expecting this fate to happen to Kurai, but yes, the unspeakable has happened! Take that, Kurai! Yuma always wins!


*Chapter 10
**Episode 20 of Zexal