A/N: I wasn't supposed to update this till next week, but whatever, enjoy Astral and Yuma being cute!
This is the second part to the first chapter which I was too lazy to write, but whatever.
Also, if you guys have any ideas for a chapter thing, or any suggestions for a pairing, send it in a review or a PM, and I'll what I can do.
I don't own Zexal!
School Shenanigans
Chapter 2: Yuma Tsukumo makes assumptions
A couple of days had passed since the incident with Cathy and the 'cat food'.
Oddly enough, the black-haired duelist had been unable to shake the possibility off of his mind, and even worse, he was starting to consider it to be true.
Then again, he was unable to truly believe it as Astral has hinted that he detested, and at one point, feared, cats.
So, it didn't make sense to the boy, but while he was still surviving Astral's horrible cooking, Yuma was beginning to question whether he should just be honest with the former spirit.
Yet he really didn't want to hurt his best friend's feelings!
The tanned boy just thought it would worsen the situation even more as Yuma had been lying to him this whole time!
"Augh!" he whined in frustration, pouting afterwards as he sat by himself on the bench. He was unsure what to do in this situation, and it angered him.
"Yuma!" cried a female's voice suddenly, which thankfully halted his thoughts, and the teenage Tsukumo gazed up to find his green-haired childhood friend, Kotori, approach him as she waved frantically.
When she reached him, the girl plopped down beside him and smiled gently at her friend.
"Hey Kotori," the boy replied calmly as he waved curtly. "Where's Alito?"
She froze at the mention of the former gladiator before gazing down awkwardly.
"Alito? I…I dunno. Haven't seen him," she murmured, avoiding eye contact and shifting around in her seat uncomfortably.
"Oh," the Tsukumo teenager replied, unsure how to continue the conversation. "Sooo…"
He scratched at the back of his head nervously and was about to say something when Kotori cut him off, "He's kinda sweet."
"Hm?"
"Alito. I mean he gets me into really…awkward situations, but…" she fell quiet as a faint blush spread on her cheeks. "I'm just surprised he still….likes me, I guess."
"Oh….Ya know, I still wonder what you two were doing a couple of days ago," the tanned boy noted, trying to steer the chat from this specific topic.
Her face reddened immensely at his comment, "N-Nothing bad!"
"Huh?"
"I just kissed him on the cheek. I was trying to be nice," she muttered, turning her attention away from the black-haired duelist.
"Oh….Well, okay!" the young Tsukumo grinned, trying to make the situation less unpleasant than it already was.
"It's a little weird and all….since I'm starting to like him a bit," the green haired girl admitted to her childhood friend. "I still think your smile is lovelier though."
Yuma became flustered at her words. He proceeded to stare downwards as his childhood friend giggled at the sight.
"So, how's living with Astral?" Kotori inquired, changing the subject for good.
"It's pretty awesome! I mean he's a little annoying sometimes, especially when he stays up really late watching ESPer Robin, but it's nice to have someone my age in the house, ya know?" the male eagerly responded as a silly grin formed on his lips.
"That's good!"
"It is..." The black-haired duelist's grin vanished as he gazed down once more, reminded of his current predicament that he had no idea how to resolve.
"Yuma, are you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah...Uhh, oh look! It's already gonna be six! I should get going," Yuma stated suddenly as he jumped off of the bench and took off running. "See ya tomorrow at school, Kotori!"
"O-okay...bye," she waved in surprise as her childhood friend disappeared from view.
When Yuma had arrived home, he didn't find Astral in the kitchen like usual. A relieved sigh had escaped his lips before curiosity embedded itself in the tanned boy.
If he wasn't here, where could he be?
He furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance as he cautiously headed towards the room they shared together.
Perhaps the pale skinned boy was in there doing homework or something.
However, when he walked in, the tanned boy found his best friend in a pair of light grey pajamas, aka an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, sprawled out in his neatly made bed with a book covering his face.
A foolish grin formed on Yuma's mouth as he relished the sight. It was really adorable in all honesty, and he didn't want to disturb his sleep.
So, the tanned boy quietly approached the pale male and began attempting to pry the item off of Astral's face in the best careful manner he could muster.
When he did manage to take it off, the light blue haired boy shifted a bit towards his right side as he emitted tiny snores in which the Tsukumo boy laughed quietly at.
However, when he was done chuckling, the amused smile remained on the tanned boy's lips for a moment longer before he switched his attention to one of few cookbooks he had purchased for Astral.
Flipping through the pages, the black-haired duelist skimmed though most of the text and studied the pictures instead.
They looked more appetizing than his best friend's food could ever be, and the former WDC champion could feel his stomach start to grumble.
"Better put this down," the Tsukumo teenager mumbled to himself as he shut the hardcover closed. He began to place it near the dresser next to Astral's bed but halted upon seeing the title of the book.
"An Owner's Guide to making Delicious Meals for your Cat?" he whispered a little harshly as he brought it to his face in shock. "What the-"
Yuma took a step back as he stared at the item, dumbfounded.
He pouted in annoyance at this revelation and paced back towards Astral, getting a little too close for comfort. Placing a hand on his most important thing's shoulder, he shook him lightly as he called:
"Astral, Astral! Wake up!"
A few moments later, the heterochromatic male tiredly opened his eyes in confusion. He blinked several times as he involuntarily began to stretch his arms.
"Yuma?" he asked before arching an eyebrow. "What seems to be the matter?"
The annoyed black-haired duelist quickly held up the book as he questioned in an accusing voice, "Have you been feeding me cat food on purpose?!"
A bewildered expression seemed to overtake Astral's previous sluggish face as the former spirit changed into a sitting position on his bed. "What?"
Yuma tilted the book towards the pale haired male to see as he ran his finger along the title.
"An Owner's Guide to making Delicious Meals for your Cat," Yuma remarked, glaring at his friend with a pout.
"Huh. That is rather odd….I suppose I have been then, Yuma," Astral admitted.
"W-Wha-?" The teenage Tsukumo burst out. "Where'd you get this book anyways? Didn't I buy you some?"
The black-haired duelist held a slightly pained expression as his arms fells; his right hand gripping the book tightly with his fingers.
Astral gazed towards his lap, not responding at all.
A few moments passed this way as the boy with ruby colored eyes stood, awaiting an explanation from his best friend.
"Yuma..." began the pale skinned teenager as he extended his hand towards the book and tugged on it lightly.
In slight surprise, the Tsukumo teenager released the hardcover item as Astral brought the book closer to his face, looking at it carefully.
"Yuma," repeated the light blue haired boy as he peered up and gazed at the black haired duelist with knowing eyes. "This is the book you bought me."
"W-What? You're gonna blame this on ME?!" the tanned boy huffed as he clenched his fists in annoyance. "That's not fair! I didn't even buy that for you!"
"But Yuma," protested Astral. "Look at the large scratch on the back. You told me you made that mark when you tripped coming back from the store."
The teenage Tsukumo flinched at this enlightenment before exclaiming, "No way! You're lying, Astral!"
The former spirit shook his head in confirmation, "No, I'm not. Take a look."
"Hmph! Fine!" Yuma grunted as he took the cookbook from Astral's loose grip and gazed at it.
The black-haired duelist tensed upon seeing the large gash across the back of the hardcover.
"Do you see it, Yuma?"
The teenage Tsukumo felt his face heat up in embarrassment at this sudden revelation.
"I..." The former WDC champion began but went quiet.
He bowed his head down in shame as he apologized, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine, I suppose," his best friend replied, not very aware of why Yuma was angry in the first place.
However, Astral then opened his mouth, "I'm sorry I fed you cat food. I should have paid attention to the material more…..Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm…uhh okay...I've been a little sick, because of your cooking...it's a little less worrisome since it just might be the cat food, and your actual food-making skills might not be bad," Yuma remarked, laughing a bit at the last part.
The light haired male blinked in mild surprise before he narrowed his eyes, "You thought my cooking was bad?"
The tanned boy froze as he picked up a slight tinge of betrayal in Astral's voice.
"W-well yeah," Yuma stuttered, fiddling with his hands in an anxious manner. "B-but...like it might just be the cat food that makes it bad?"
The pale male closed his eyes as he rested his chin on the tip of his finger and thumb.
"That may be a possibility."
"S-sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't wanna hurt your feelings since, like, you're still getting used to being human and all."
"I appreciate the thought. I still would have preferred for you to tell me however," the former Astral being commented with a slight scowl on his lips.
"Eh...H-how about this..." the Tsukumo boy blurted out suddenly as his mind scrambled to think of a solution. "Uh...oh! How about we go to the bookstore tomorrow, and you can pick out which ever three you like! And uhhh...Well if you want, you can try your cooking on me...? ...Just as long as it's not cat food though."
The tanned boy received a faint smile from his best friend before the light haired boy bobbed his head in acceptance towards the offer.
"I would like that," the older boy mused as the faint smile morphed into an awkward yet heartfelt grin. "Thank you Yuma. I genuinely appreciate it."
The Tsukumo teenager felt his face get warm as he turned away, striding towards the exit of their bedroom.
"Haha! Y-Yeah! Talk to you later!" The black-haired duelist practically yelled as he went outside of the room and into the hall.
The tanned boy stopped once he was in a safe distance from his best friend and began to pry at his cheeks in agitation.
Yuma narrowed his eyes as he tried concluding why he had panicked when he was with Astral.
It was odd for him to act like this….
It shouldn't have been this weird for the black-haired duelist considering all the moments they had experienced when Astral was still a spirit alien thing from another dimension.
Still, these moments felt different for Yuma….and better than before, especially since physical contact between the two used to be minimal.
The boy shook his head as he tried to erase those thoughts.
"YUMA!" he abruptly flinched when he heard Akari yelling from the entrance of the household.
"C-coming, Akari!" the Tsukumo teenager cried as he immediately headed over, thankful that there was something to take his mind off of his conflicted contemplations.
In the end, it turned out the former spirit did indeed have decent cooking skills. He wasn't the best, and the black-haired duelist told him so. However, it was an immense improvement compared to the original dishes the light haired boy had previously prepared.
Of course, the pale male just gave an amused smile like always.
It was a really beautiful smile, and the young duelist gave a goofy grin in response, happy to have his best friend with him once again.
A/N: Join this fic next time as it focuses on Shark, and to an extent, Alit(o).
He's forever Alito to me, because the dub. Blame the whole dub. The rest of the Zexal characters will have their actual names though. So yay!
No Bronk Stone.
Yeah, but I intend for this to include other Zexal characters.
Read and review if you want.