"...Trades routes were established between the Phecda Empire and the United Lands of the Poseidon Ocean two years after King-"

Yuma dropped the book Yanagi lent him back onto his lap and returned to his notes just as his math teacher turned back around. Writing down the numbers, Yuma let out a sigh of relief.

Three months of digging and he finally got his answers. Well, some of them at least. The jury was still out on if Astral, and by extension Yuma himself, exist.

Looking out the window, he could see the monument arching over the Daedalus Bridge, connecting the Satellite and Neo Domino. And accepted the fact that would be all the information he could possibly find for now.

Putting a pin on it, Yuma put his focus back to the lesson

(-.-)

Walking past the hall monitor, Yuma tucked nervously at his glove. Even after Dark Signers were dealt with and done, the scale mark remained. Thank god, gloves weren't against the school's dress code. Yuma enjoyed wearing a short sleeve jacket while not having to explain the magical tattoo on his arm.

Stepping out of Duel Academy, Yuma was immediately greeted with familiar faces. Akiza waved at him before bidding her friends goodbye.

"How was the test?" Akiza asked.

"Test?" Yuma repeated, not quite sure what she meant.

"Yes, Crow said you've been studying really hard lately." She explained and Yuma connected the dots.

"Oh no, it's just that my duel history class has been very interesting lately." He excused. Sure Akiza, as was the rest of team Signer, knew that Yuma was from another world. But he was 95% sure that Don Thousand wasn't a problem on earth and he lacked the necessary knowledge to check up on Astral World. He wanted to poach the subject with Yusei first before pulling in the others.

Thankfully Akiza bought his lie. They talk a bit about class. Akiza was reintegrated into Duel Academy pretty despite her classmate's and teacher's initial hesitation. Yuma on the other hand was lugging through the theory portion of his Fusion class.

He was about to ask her if she was free for a duel when someone tackled him.

"Yuma!" Leo cheered, his arms clinging to Yuma's neck. "You have to come with us!"

"Uh, maybe not-"

"Yeah Yuma, we've got something really cool to show you." Luna grabbed hold of Yuma's arm, tugging him away.

He looked over to Akiza for help only to find her reading something on her phone before."Have fun guys, I've got to go pick up some stuff!"

Left to the mercy of the twins, Yuma was dragged away while completely obvious to the little signs they made at Akiza.

(-.-)

The sun was setting by the time the twins let him go from their grip. Yuma swore they'd dragged him through every inch of Neo Domino city. From libraries to parks to …a private kitchen?

Yuma was getting dejavu there.

There was not a word in the dictionary that could describe how happy he felt when Poppo Times entered his line of sight. The clock shop had been his home since Crow, Jack and Yusei moved into the city and decided to invite Yuma to live with them. Not only did he finally get space to park his duel runner without fear of it getting stolen, Crow helped him install a hammock in his bedroom.

The smell of grilled meat filled the air but Yuma didn't think too much of it. But he was confused when Luna began to direct him to the garage's side door which was strangely open with smoke billowing from it.

"Happy Birthday!" The cheer came the moment he came to view. The garage was cleared out of Duel Runners and all of the various projects Yusei, Crow and Jack were working on. Instead tables and chairs were set up, foods were laid out and presents placed in a pille. In the back, Crow and Jack were having a tug of war over the tongs behind the grill while Yusei smiled at Yuma as he handed Akiza a plate of meat. Blister was setting the table with the help of Trudge as Mina rearranging the present so they don't fall off the table.

Yuma just froze as his brain tried to process what was happening. It was October already?

"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday?" Blister asked with a laugh.

"In my defense, a lot of things had been happening lately." Yuma said sheepishly. " The bridge building, school, my driver license test…."

"Speaking of driver license," Trudge searched his pants pocket and pulled out a small metallic card. "You passed your test!"

"Alright!" Yuma cheered, catching the card when Trudge threw it at him.

Continuing the theme of the day, Akiza pushed him into the chair at the end of a table. A cake was placed in front of him, a golden 'fourteen' candle was lit on top of it. Singing rang out through the room. For a moment, time moves slower, allowing Yuma to take in everything. And as wishes of a happy birthday came to an end, Yuma took a deep breath and let go of his wishes.

For now, everything was alright.