Ariette: Hello everyone! How are you feeling? :3

Yuma: *Reading half the chapter* Not good. You killed me!

Ariette: Yuma! I told you NOT to give spoilers!

Astral: *Also reading* Yes, she did. But I also find unfair that you hurt Yuma so much.

Ariette: Astral! *Sigh* You guys are impossible!

Astral and Yuma: *Nod and keep reading*

Ariette: *Stick out tongue* Boys... Anyways! Remember that Asthma project I had? I finally made it! :D I got an A! Yay!

Black Mist: *With a script in hand* What's the meaning of this?! *Points a certain page*

Ariette: That's the story... WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT?!

(Meanwhile the Third World War is taking place in here I would like to apologize for my delay. In return I decided to make a longer chapter. Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal doesn't belong to me. Did anyone asked for tears? XD Enjoy!~)

Note Thirteen: The Truth is Revealed! (Part Two)

Astral looked again at his partner. Worry was written all over his face. It's been almost a week since Yuma went to the Hospital, and the boy still hasn't wake up. Astral was starting to fear the boy wouldn't make it. Each day, the blue entity would stay beside the boy, hoping to see if he had woken up. While waiting, he continued to remember those first few days.

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo-

When the sun was already high in the sky and the birds started singing, the blue alien decided to leave the attic. He found the red haired woman still asleep in her brother's bed. Her face seemed more relaxed than last night, and for some reason that relieved him. He stayed there, deep in his thoughts when suddenly the woman moved. She opened her bright purple eyes and stared blankly at the wall.

Astral watched her with curiosity. "Human females can be worth studying..." He thought. Even after everything that happened, Astral couldn't stop his curiosity, it was something he couldn't resist.

The woman sighed and her eyes saddened. The blue entity saddened too. He felt so sorry for the woman, he wished he could at least do something to comfort her. Sadly, he was just an invisible and intangible entity. They both sighed, almost in a perfect sync and the woman stood and left the room. Before leaving she glared the room and sighed once more to finally leave.

She went downstairs, where she found her grandmother already up. She stared at her grandmother, thinking what to say, when the older talked.

"Good Morning Sweetie. Have you had a good night sleep?" The elder spoke with a warm smile.

The woman didn't say a word, and after a couple of minutes, she whispered. "I... Suppose I did..."

The elder frowned. This wasn't like her usual granddaughter. "Something wrong Sweetheart?"

The red haired woman bit her lips, trying to retain the tears. But even that couldn't stop the tears from coming. She broke down, and hugged tightly her grandmother, mumbling incomprehensible words. The action worried the old woman, why was her granddaughter acting like this?

"Oh, Sweetie, don't cry. Don't worry." The elder spoke, comforting the woman.

"Oh, grandma! If I only knew! If I only knew!" The red haired spoke with tears.

"What are you talking about Dear?" Haru asked worriedly.

Akari then told her what happened last night. She also spoke about what the doctor said and about the pictures she saw. Haru couldn't believe her granddaughter's words. It was really dificult to accept the fact that her grandson hurt himself.

While the two women spoke, the blue entity watched silently. He stared, feeling the weight of guilt blooming in his heart. He couldn't stop thinking about Black Mist's words. He felt so angry and stressed when he thought of it. But most of all he felt so useless and powerless. He couldn't do anything, and when he could he didn't do it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking sound. He saw how Haru told Akari to go to the 'magic room' and clean her tears. The elder then went to open the door. With a smile, though it was sad, the elder greeted the one knocking. It was Kotori, she had a bouquet of white, red and blue flowers.

"Good morning Ms. Haru. I came to see how's Yuma doing." Kotori spoke, entering the house. "Here. I also brought this. I think some flowers may help Yuma feel better."

The elder smiled sadly. She took the flowers and went to put them in a vase with water. Kotori sighed after the elder left, and was about to go upstairs when she noticed the blue entity.

"Astral!" Kotori exclaimed surprised. She then covered her mouth and looked to see if someone heard her. When she confirmed that no one heard, she got closer to the alien. "Astral, where were you? I haven't seen you for almost two weeks!"

The entity smiled sadly, he was about to speak when Akari came. "Kotori? Why are you here?"

Kotori jumped a little and then laughed sheepishly. "I just wanted to pay Yuma a visit." Kotori then adopted a serious face. "How is he? Have there been any change in his actions?"

Akari smiled sadly, and Kotori noticed. The woman spoke. "I don't know Kotori... I don't even know which action he changed..."

Kotori frowned. "What do you mean Akari-san? I can't understand."

"Yuma's in the Hospital. Something happened yesterday... And I had to take him before it was really late..."

Kotori opened his eyes wide. Akari then told Kotori everything she discovered while taking Yuma to the hospital. Kotori was left speechless, tears running freely from her eyes. She couldn't believe what Akari was saying. Yuma always were a boy so full of energy, so radiant, so hopeful. Then why? Why did that boy transformed in something so... So hopeless?

It took quite a time to calm Kotori, but after an hour they finally made it. The females then decided to go to the hospital, so they could finally know if Yuma was better. The girl and the woman left, leaving the elder in the house. When they reached the hospital, they went to the office of the doctor who attended Yuma.

A knock. "Excuse me? Can we enter?" The young girl asked respectfully.

"Of course. Come in." The doctor put the papers he was holding down and looked at the visitors. "Oh, it's you Ms. Akari. Have you had a good night sleep?" The woman just nodded. "Good."

"We're here to see how's Yuma doing. Can we see him?" Kotori spoke, getting near.

The doctor smiled a little. "Yeah, of course." He stood and went outside, followed close by the females. He started walking down a large corridor that was attached to the different rooms. "Before we reach Yuma's room, I would like to talk about his actual condition..."

The females looked at eachother and asked in unison. "What about Yuma's condition?"

The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry for being the one to bring you bad news, but last night there were some... Complications. We still don't know why or how, but for some reason Yuma's been receiving pain from the inside. Like if something is tearing his insides first..."

The girl, woman and alien oppened their eyes wide. "W-what do you mean?" Yuma's sister asked with trembling voice.

"It's just as I said. Yuma's fainting wasn't because of his external wounds, it was because something is hurting him internally. It started in his lower abdomen muscles, and then it reached his lungs. We still don't have a concrete reason to this. But what worries us the most is that it's not constantly, as an illness is supposed to act, it's temporal and something triggers it, something we still don't know what is."

Akari started tearing and so did Kotori. They didn't want to believe that Yuma was in such a grave state. Meanwhile, the blue alien stared at the doctor, fear filling his mismatched eyes. Could it be true that the Number was controlling Yuma without him noticing? Is that even possible? He hoped it was just a coincidence, a cruel joke of destiny.

The doctor looked sadly at the two females. "I'm sorry. We're doing all we can, but... Yuma's state is worse than we expected. We..." The doctor looked away, not wanting to face her sad faces. "I may not be able to save him..."

Kotori gasped. "W-what?" She asked with trembling voice.

"I'm really sorry. We'll do everything in our power to keep him safe. I promise." The man assured.

The females only nodded, tears still in their eyes. The doctor then led them to a room, where the boy was. The room was completely white, a sickly white. The boy was laying down in a white bed with blue sheets. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be in a deep slumber. His arms were connected to machines and his face had one of those breathing masks. There was no emotion in his face. It barely seemed he was alive, only his slow breathing told them otherwise. His skin was a sickly pale and his body had a lot of bruises, as if he was in a fight.

For Akari it was really hard to see her brother in that state. She slowly got closer to him, and when she reached his side she broke down. She took her brother's hand tightly and covered her face in his upper arm. Sobs were heard coming from the woman, and her body was trembling slightly. Meanwhile, Kotori was looking the sad scene, letting the tears free once again. She covered her mouth to prevent sounds coming from it, but it was no use. Kotori was crying heavily, just as Akari was.

Astral was watching too, and he couldn't prevent to feel sorrowful and guilty. It couldn't just been a coincidence, nor a joke of destiny. What the Number had spoke was true, there was no doubt about it. Seeing such a sad scene in front of him made him want to cry too, but something retain him from doing so. Maybe his pride wouldn't let him do it in front of the females, or maybe he just wanted to act unaffected to convince his mind that everything was alright. Which one was the real reason? The world may never know.

The doctor looked away with sadness. He then left the females (and alien) alone, to give them some time to spend with the unconscious boy. They spended hours in that little room, either crying or being silent. Sometimes even both. But it didn't mattered to those in the room, who were wishing for the exact same thing in their own different forms. When the time came for them to leave it was almost impossible to get Akari away from Yuma. The woman refused to leave the boy alone, she only wanted to be with her brother. After many nurses, pushes and pulls, Akari and Kotori left. But before leaving Akari had given Yuma the Key back, allowing (without noticing) Astral to be the only one left in the room besides the boy.

"Yuma..." The alien looked sadly at his partner, and in the loneliness of the room he broke, crying the same way Akari did.

A day or two had passed. It didn't mattered to the alien anymore. He stayed always by the boy's side, and sometimes when visit came, he would retreat to the Key. Many people had come in those last two days. Kotori told the others about Yuma's parade and condition. They all came quickly after they discovered it, and many of them brought flowers with them. Rio didn't had a problem, as quickly as she heard she came immediately to the Hospital, Shark close behind her. But when Haruto found out about Yuma's state, he asked or rather begged to see Yuma. At first Kaito wouldn't let him (because as an overprotective brother he is, he didn't wanted to see Haruto cry), but after many talk, he agreed, only if he came with Haruto.

Right now, the room was full of people, mostly of them being Yuma's friends. In the room was Akari, Kotori, Tetsuo, Cathy, Rio, Ryoga, Haruto and Kaito. While they were in the room the others were outside, waiting their turn to enter. The people outside were Takashi, Tokunosuke, Fuya, Anna, III, IV, V, Master Roku and his pupil Yamikawa. They all wanted to see Yuma, worried for his health. They knew how much Yuma needed them, and they were going to help him just as he helped them before.

The room, though still a sickly white, was now colorful with the flowers resting in different spots. Right beside the boy's bed was Akari, holding his hand. Kotori was just a few steps behind her. Tetsuo was in a corner, looking sadly at his friend. Cathy was crying, she was kneeling beside Akari in front of the bed. Rio was at the opposite side of Akari, holding little Haruto who was crying deeply. Ryoga and Kaito were at the other corner of the room, neither of them dared to speak a word.

"Haruto-kun, please don't be sad. Yuma's going to get better, ok?" That was Rio, trying to comfort the boy in her arms.

Still, the words seemed to go into deaf ears. Haruto continued crying. At this sight, Kaito decided to take his brother away. He couldn't let his brother continue suffering.

"Haruto, come here." Kaito said getting near the boy. Haruto quickly obeyed and went to his brother's protective arms. Kaito embraced his brother and whispered. "Let's go outside, ok? People wants to enter and you can calm down better. I'll buy you a caramel, yes?" Haruto nodded and Kaito took his brother outside.

Rio smiled slightly at the scene, she stood and went to the corner where her brother was. "I think it's better if we leave too. I could use some fresh air. We can return later." Ryoga nodded and left the room with his sister, looking once again at Yuma before leaving.

Kotori looked at Tetsuo and then at Cathy. She went by Cathy's side. "Cath-chan, let's go outside, ok? Let's take some fresh air. We'll return after the ones waiting have left." Cathy looked her with sad eyes. She didn't wanted to leave, she wanted to stay by Yuma's side. Kotori knew this just by looking her eyes. "I know you want to stay with Yuma, but right now Yuma doesn't need us sad; he would wish us smiling, even in this difficult time. Let's go to the bathroom and clean our tears, so when Yuma wakes he can see us smiling, ok?"

Cathy looked at the boy in question and gave a sad smile. "You're right, nya. Yuma wants us smiling, nya." She stood and, with Kotori, left the room. Tetsuo gave a glance to Akari before leaving after his two female friends.

Akari didn't move. She stayed by they boy's side, still holding his hand. She stayed silent a couple of minutes, when the doors opened and the ones outside started entering. Fuya, Anna, III, IV, V were the first ones entering, in that order. Master Roku and Yamikawa followed a couple of minutes later.

"You must be Yuma's sister, Akari-san." Fuya said bowing slightly in a form of respect.

"Yes, I am. But... Who are you? I've never seen you before." Akari asked.

"I am Okudaira Fuya. I'm one of Yuma's friends. He helped me when I most needed it, and I think it's fair that I help him when he needs me." The blue haired boy spoke, looking at his friend in the bed.

"I see..." Akari nodded, looking again at her brother.

"Yuma!" Anna cried, quickly getting near the sleeping boy. She kneeled down, just as Cathy was a moments ago.

"And who may be you?" Akari asked, surprised by Anna's cry.

"I'm Kozuki Anna. I met Yuma in school, but we actually started talking after the Duel Carnival. Yuma helped me open my eyes, and he was really sweet to me. I want to stay by his side to help him as he did to me." Anna explained.

Akari stared for a moment. Yuma sure had weird friends. "Hello, Akari-san." Michael said, getting near the woman.

Akari looked him and smiled slightly. "Hello III. I'm glad you could come."

"I am too. I was afraid I was too busy to come to see Yuma. But I got to convince my Father, and my brothers." Michael said, eyeing his brothers.

"Yes, you were just lucky you were born with those cute puppy eyes. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here." IV spoke, teasing his younger brother.

"Nii-san, please..." III said, looking away blushed. Thomas just smirked.

"May I ask what Yuma's condition is? I believe we're still not well informed." Chris suddenly spoke, his expression calm as ever.

Everyone in the room stared him, his words had reminded them the reason why they came.

"Of course," Akari spoke. "The doctor haven't told us what is the exact thing that is happening to Yuma. We just know that something's hurting him from the inside, that his body is too weak, and..." The woman stopped talking, tears started flowing and she had to cover her mouth to prevent noise come out from her.

Roku, who was silent until that moment, got near the woman and patted her back. "Calm down Akari. Yuma is a strong boy, we all know that. We just have to have faith and hope, just as he has. Let's trust he's capable of getting through this."

Everyone in the room lowered their heads, as sadness took over the closer ones to the boy. "He's right. We have to trust Yuma, we must have hope." The pink head spoke.

"Just as Yuma trust us, we must trust him. We have to stay strong in his name." The young actor said.

"Yes, Yuma is a very strong boy. He will surely get over this without a problem!" Anna exclaimed.

"I must admit Yuma's a very interesting person. I'm sure that with his Kattobingu he'll get over this sooner than we expect." Thomas smiled slightly.

"Yuma has shown the will of a warrior and the hope of a believer, he would never give up at something like this." Roku's pupil spoke with seriousness.

"We all agree that Yuma can get over this, and we all believe it's going to be true. Let us hope Yuma can hear our feelings." Chris said, looking at the sleeping boy.

Akari looked at them and a smile formed in her lips. Yuma had wonderful friends, and that made her happy. They were right, she just had to trust Yuma and hope for the best.

A couple of minutes passed like that, the ones in the room speaking calming words and many things they did with Yuma. They stayed almost an hour there, speaking, until they finally had to leave. The three siblings had to return to his Father, but the pink haired promissed to come back the next day. The young actor had to return to his mother, who only allowed him to be out for an hour or so. Anna had a similar case, and the two of them left togheter. Roku and his pupil had to leave because of the dojo that was left alone. The master also promissed to come back the next day.

Again, the room was left alone, only with the red haired woman by the sick boy's side. But the loneliness didn't last long, soon the room started filling up. Kotori entered with Cathy behind. Haruto then followed, Kaito close behind him. Then Rio and Ryoga entered, the girl smiling slightly. Kotori went by Akari's side and whispered in her ear.

"Go outside Akari-san. You must be tired and a bit of fresh air would help you. Go eat something, I know you haven't been eating correctly since this happened. Please Akari-san, go eat."

Akari eyed Kotori with tired eyes. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she was really tired and hungry. She barely got to sleep, worry taking over her. The woman then eyed her brother's friends, all of them wanted her to take a rest. She couldn't argue, she didn't even had the strength to do so, she only nodded and stood going to the door. In the way back Cathy offered to go with Akari, she knew the woman could have some help. With them gone, only Kotori, Rio, Haruto, Shark and Kaito stayed in the room.

Suddenly, the blue alien made an appearance. He hoped to see the room empty, but surprise hit him when he saw the people in the room. Though he knew they noticed him, he -them too- didn't speak a word. Silence filled the room until Kotori broke it.

"Hey Astral. I... Suppose we could talk now, can we?" She asked carefully.

The entity didn't say a word and looked at his partner's unconscious body. After a brief moment of silence, he nodded. "Yes."

Kotori noticed Astral's sadness right away, but she also had questions she wanted to know the answer. If Astral was the one with the answers she will ask, no matter what. "Astral... I asked you something before. Would you answer that?" She knew the alien remembered about the question she made in the house when she first saw him.

The alien stayed quiet for a couple of minutes more. He was about to speak when someone entered the room, interrupting him. "Oh. I see you're still here Ms. Kotori. Where is Ms. Akari? I need to ask her some questions. "

Kotori eyed the doctor, as everyone did in the room, who was the one who entered. "She's taking some fresh air and eating something... The questions... Maybe one of us can answer them."

The doctor looked at her, and nodded. "Sure." He took a paper out of a folder he was holding, the same folder that contained the pictures. "Hmm, let's see... Do you happen to know how much time Yuma acted this way? I mean, deppresed or something close to it?"

Kotori couldn't say anything. She wasn't sure, and neither was in the room. Well, except for the blue alien, who answered without even thinking. "42 days, without counting the ones in the Hospital."

The ones who were able to see the entity looked at him, surprise in their eyes. "What?" Kotori asked slowly.

"42 days. That is the time Yuma started acting this way. At least, that is what I noticed." The entity responded.

"Uh? Do you want me to repeat the question?" The man in white asked, somewhat lost in the conversation.

"Oh, no! No! Hmm... Yuma's been like this 42 days, without counting the days in the Hospital. " She said. The doctor looked at her and she added. "At least, that's what we've noticed."

The doctor nodded and wrote down. He then left the room saying the other questions needed to be answered by Akari. When the room was left alone again, the ones inside quickly eyed the alien.

"How did you knew that?" The green haired asked.

Astral lowered his head. "I have been inside the Key this past days. That is why you did not see me."

Kotori tilted her head slightly confused until she understood. "I see... But that doesn't answer this question." Kotori looked at the alien but he didn't look up. "Astral... If there's something - anything - we should know about Yuma, it's better if you tell us. Please."

The alien looked up with sadness. He knew. He knew he should tell them, but how? How can he say it was his fault? How can he say Yuma's been suffering and no one - not even him - noticed? He couldn't. There was no way to say the truth.

"Please Astral-san. Please tell us. What's happening with Yuma? How can we help him?" Haruto spoke, tears forming in his eyes.

Astral looked at the boy. He didn't had the heart to tell the boy the truth, but he didn't had the heart to ignore him neither. There was just no way to talk. What could he say? A lie? No. That wasn't the answer.

"Astral... Please. He's asking you. We're asking you. Please, answer us." Rio said, getting near the young boy.

Astral looked at her, then he looked at Ryoga and Kaito. Even them wanted to know. He looked back at Haruto and Kotori, his eyes softened. They needed to know the truth. He breathed, clearing his mind. There was no turning back now.

"There is, indeed, something you must know..." He spoke, almost in a whisper.

"What do we must know?" Kotori asked fearfully.

The astral being stayed quiet a couple of minutes before speaking. "Yuma has been leaving some notes that I have been able to see... For some reason I still do not understand they spoke about sadness, hopelessness and even guilt. I tried to understand, I tried to speak with Yuma about them but..." The entity lowered his head. Speaking was harder than thinking.

"But...?" Rio asked holding Haruto's hand, who seemed to be the most affected.

"I abandoned him..." Those words fell heavy in his shoulders, as guilt started consuming him.

"What...?" Kotori asked in a whisper, tears forming in her eyes.

Astral couldn't look up, he just couldn't face the ones who were his friends. Without even noticing, tears fell from his eyes. He knew he needed to continue speaking, so with a trembling voice he said. "Something happened during this days... A friend of Yuma's, Akira, knew more than I thought. His continue possessiveness over Yuma had a meaning. Yuma and I... Argued. Well, I was the one who started, but... I just..." The alien stopped, he couldn't continue speaking.

Total silence. No sound were heard.

Until an angry voice yelled.

"HOW COULD YOU LEAVE HIM?! YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO KNEW HIS CONDITION AND YET YOU JUST LEAVE HIM?! WHAT KIND OF FRIEND DOES THAT?!"

Everyone gasped and looked at the owner of that scream. Shark was standing with an agry expression in his face and his hands being fists. Astral said nothing, he stared at the angry eyes of his purple haired friend. He understood why Shark was so angry, he could even understand if the duelist now hated him. To his understanding, Astral thought he didn't deserved forgiveness. He felt so guilty, now more than before.

However, Rio thought otherwise. "Astral... I know there must be a reason to this. You wouldn't just leave Yuma alone, that's not like you."

The blue entity looked at her. She was right, he would never do something like that, but he did. He was deceived by the Number, he fell for his trick. And now he was facing the consequences. He shook his head.

"I know it is my fault, and I wish to help Yuma, but I just could not believe that Yuma befriended him... Many things have happened that none of us noticed. But it seems that he did. He told me he wanted to help Yuma, and at first I believed him, but I was deceived. Now I know that it was his fault that Yuma ended in this condition. And though I know, I cannot stop myself from feeling guilty. Maybe if I stayed with Yuma, maybe if I noticed, maybe I could have helped Yuma before this happened."

Rio, Kotori and Haruto noticed how guilty Astral felt, they knew it wasn't his fault yet he blamed himself. But there was still something that didn't make sense. Who was him? And what does Akira has to do in all this? Now more than ever they needed to talk to the black haired boy.

Shark said nothing, he crossed his arms and left the room without looking back. Rio stared sadly at the door. She knew her brother was being deeply affected by this. Her brother didn't know it, but she heard him crying the first day when he came to the Hospital to see Yuma. She wanted to go and comfort him, but he wouldn't let her or even admit he was affected.

She sighed and looked at Haruto, he was staring her slightly. She smiled softly to him, noticing the sadness in his eyes. She silently hugged the boy, stroking his back, giving him comfort. It was such a shame that she couldn't touch Astral, maybe if she could she could comfort him too.

After that no one spoke in the room. The time passed rather quickly and when they noticed it was already time to leave. Days went like that until it was a week later. Astral tried by any mean to evade being outside the Key when someone visited. And when luck wasn't with him and he did appear with someone there, especially Shark, he would return to the Key or Shark would leave without a word.

He sighed. The memories of that week coming to him. It really was tougher than he expected. Yuma was still unconscious. The doctor said that he was in a 'coma'. Kotori then explained him that 'coma' was the term the doctor used to explain when someone was going to stay unconscious for a long period of time. She also said it had to do with the brain, that it wasn't reacting as it was supposed to react, but he couldn't understand what she meant. She then said it was like if Yuma was 'asleep and he couldn't wake up yet'.

He sighed again. It was late night and Astral was outside the Key, watching the stars across the window. Akari was sleeping in the chair, a jacket in her shoulders, preventing her to get cold. Astral smiled sadly to the woman, she was passing through a lot of pain yet she managed to stay strong. It wasn't easy at first, but slowly she started accepting the fact that her brother was in 'coma'.

Astral then looked at the unconscious boy. Yuma seemed to be asleep, his breathing was calm and his face gave a relaxing expression. The entity stared the boy's body, watching the little bruises in his arms. Are those bruises the ones Black Mist made? Just looking at the boy was enough to make him feel worse. He felt so guilty, so unworthy of the boy's trust and friendship.

He looked again at the window, the night was filled with stars. It was so beautiful yet he couldn't enjoy them, there was no meaning without Yuma. He wished so badly for Yuma to recover. He wanted to tell him he was sorry. He wanted to tell him he didn't want to lose him. He wanted to tell him he wished to see the stars again with him.

Little tears escaped his eyes. He had so many questions, so many doubts. Why this happened? What happened to make Yuma act so distant? Why didn't he notice? But mostly, why did Yuma accepted Black Mist's 'friendship'? There was no sense! Yuma knew what the Number was capable to do. Then why?

A cold wind was felt.

Astral hugged himself as a shiver went down his spine. Speaking of the devil, just perfect.

"Oh?~ Astral's here? Maybe I should leave you a moment alone.~"

"What do you want 96? You are not welcomed in this place." The astralian spoke coldly.

"But Astral! I wanted so badly to visit my best bud! Besides, this is a public place, everyone is welcomed!" The Number pouted mockingly.

Astral said nothing, he just glared the Number with anger.

The monster laughed. "C'mon Astral.~ Don't give me that look. I know you want to kill me, but don't do it in a Hospital! It would be so ironic!"

Astral had enough of the Number's words. "Stop talking. I do not wish to hear you. Get out of this place and leave Yuma alone. You have nothing to do here."

"Yes I do. I need to watch over my little puppet. Remember, I can control Yuma now, don't do anything reckless."

Astral stayed quiet. It was true. If he did something that angered the Number, Yuma could be the one suffering. He needed to calm down. He still couldn't believe Yuma befriended that monster. Was Yuma blind of some sort?

"I know that look.~ You have a question, do you?" The blue entity didn't respond. "And for the look of it, it's about Yuma and I, isn't it? I feel so flattered! The Original is thinking about me!" Black Mist spoke with false amusement.

Astral had to use all of his willpower to not yell at the Number. "It is none of your business if I have a question or not. I am asking you kindly to leave, so please get out of here."

The black entity pouted again. "But Astral, I can give you the answers you want! Ask anything and you'll see!"

The astralian wanted so badly to yell at the Number and tell him to leave, but curiosity took over him. Sometimes he really hated that curiosity of him's, but it was so strong and so tentative he couldn't just resist. "... Anything?"

"Of course Astral!~ You can ask anything."

Astral thought for a while. He could ask anything right? So that meant he could know the answers to his doubts. But... Was that a good idea? Last time he asked something to the Number Yuma almost die, literally. But it was such a good chance, an opportunity to understand so many things... "If I can ask anything, then... Why could I not sense you when you were in your disguise? Why did not the Key repel you when you were near as it did countless times before?"

"Oh, Astral! Curiosity killed the cat.~" The Number laughed at Astral's confused face. "You see, that's a rather interesting question. As you may know, the Key protects Yuma. If he feels threatened by something, the Key will react and protect him. And that's basically why the Key didn't repel me! Because Yuma didn't feel threatened by me. And as to why you didn't feel me... Well, I think you just lost your touch!"

"What is that supposed to mean? That is not a reason. You said you would answer all my questions, so say the truth."

"Heh. You got me. Fine, I'll tell you your answer. There's no way you could have felt me because: One, I wasn't acting up, which means I wasn't being used. Second, Yuma trusted me, because he didn't felt threatened he created a kind of energy around me that prevented you from noticing my presence. Though it only worked when he was near me."

"So that was why you were always so close to him... You were trying to hide your essence!" Astral stated.

"You could say that too... But I prefer to think it was just part of my disguise. No one would suspect of the happy-cheerful boy!" Black Mist grinned. "Oh, Yuma-kun! Let's go there Yuma-kun! You promised to be with me today Yuma-kun!" He said, adopting his Akira voice.

Astral frowned angrily. "You are just like Vector! You just want to use Yuma! You are a lier, an opportunist, a coward!"

The monster growled angrily. "I told you to NEVER call me a coward again! You'll pay for this Astral! For everything! I'm going to make sure to destroy you, but first, face the consequences of insulting me!" He threatened before disappearing.

Astral was alone after that. The night was still quiet and the stars were shinning brightly. But then a couple of drops of water started falling. Soon the night sky was crying. It was crying heavily, as it felt a tragedy was about to happen. Minutes passed and passed, the sky remained crying. Astral watched as the sky cried, and soon he was crying with the sky.

"Yuma! Please Yuma! Hang on!" He could hear Akari's cries of desperation. She was crying too.

"Ms. Akari, please calm down! Let the doctors do their work." He could hear a nurse talking to Akari. She was Dr. Takede's assistant, Luka, and she was crying too.

"We need to do an emergency surgery! Take everything, we need to move! Now!" He could hear the doctor giving orders. His voice was broken yet strong. Maybe he was going to cry too.

He could hear all the movement. All the running. All the crying. Yet his mind was concentrated in one noise only. Yuma's breathing. Even with all the noise he could still hear Yuma's breathing. Though it was labored and painful to the boy, he was still breathing. And that only noise gave Astral hope. But his breathing wasn't the only sound the boy was making. With the breathing came painful cries, painful screams. The boy was begging, crying, suffering.

For Astral, hearing it was enough to make him feel horrible. It was so painful to hear, so torturous. He wouldn't be able to see it. Even with all his strength, with all his pride, there was no way he could see it. It was painful enough. And yes, it was selfish, it was wrong to act that way, but he didn't care. He knew his limits, he knew when he had to start or stop doing something. Or in this case see something.

He blamed himself over and over again. It was his fault, all his fault. If he didn't angered the Number. If he stopped talking. He could have prevent Yuma from getting hurt. But he had to talk, he had to let his emotions take control. He knew what the Number was capable of doing and yet he angered him. He was so stupid, he was such an idiot. There was no way he could redeem himself now. He only hoped and wished for Yuma's safety.

Days passed. Everyone learned what happened that night. Everyone cried when they heard. But no cry was compared to that night sky's crying. Ever since it started it's crying, the sky was dark. And even after so many days the sky kept crying. Day after day, night after night. Days lost their light and nights lost their beauty. Colors were drained from everything, even from those who kept having hope. This days have proven to be a complete challenge. Hope and light were so far, so far away that it seemed it wasn't worth following them.

People keep entering and exiting the boy's room, all of them always ending with sadness over them. The room was so quiet, so quiet that it seemed no one was there. And it was so ironic. The room was always full of people and yet it felt so lonely, so empty.

"Yuma..." Kotori's voice whispered. She was sitting in a chair near the boy's bed.

"Kotori-san..." Haruto looked sadly at the girl. All the energy was drained from her, but well, the energy was drained from everyone, even him.

"Come here Haruto." Rio patted her lap, waiting for the boy to sit there. He did. "Everything's going to be fine..." She whispered to the boy, who simply nodded.

Kotori chuckled lowly. "We keep saying that, right? So stupid..."

Everyone in the room looked her. Rio and Haruto stared surprised. Kaito unfolded his arms and looked the girl. Shark only eyed but kept his arms crossed. Astral, who was there at the moment, frowned at Kotori's words.

"It's just... This is so futile... Why do we keep lying to us? Nothing's going to change, and we know it." She spoke lowering her head.

Rio and Haruto gasped. "How can you say that Kotori? We must keep hoping, isn't that what Yuma wants?" Rio said.

"No."

Rio oppened her eyes wide, as did everyone in the room. "W-what?"

"You misunderstood Yuma's wish. He does want us to hope, but he doesn't want us to lie to ourselves. Hoping something that we know it's not going to happen is stupid. We're lying to ourselves, we're just hurting ourselves more. We're being pointless. If we see the wall, are we going to crash against it? It's the same thing." Her face was surrounded by shadows.

Rio stared, her mouth agape. That wasn't the Kotori she knew. "B-but, it's not pointless! If we believe, if we hope, our wish will reach Yuma and he'll get better. We just have to..."

"You don't seem to understand! No one, no one really does! What purpose does this have?! Why do we keep coming to see the same thing?! Don't you understand?! Hoping will NOT save Yuma! Believing... Believing it's just a lie! Nothing's going to change! Nothing!"

Rio looked surprised at the green haired girl. Haruto watched with wide eyes. Kotori was crying. She was using her hand to cover her sobs, but they kept coming. Her body was trembling with rage. She tried to leave the room, but when she stood she quickly fell. In the floor Kotori kept crying heavily. She was broken, broken in many pieces to find. But no one could fix her. No one but Yuma. Haruto went to her side and hugged her. Rio followed quickly and kneeled beside the girl. Kotori hugged Rio thightly. She cried and screamed her heart out. Rio tried her best to comfort her, but nothing seemed to calm the girl.

Minutes passed with the girl still sobbing in Rio's chest. Silence filled the room within a couple of more minutes. The room was quiet. The time seemed to freeze. The room was so cold that it gave Astral shivers. Wait... The room was cold?! The entity quickly looked around, hoping to find his dark counterpart. But he wasn't there, the Number was nowhere to be found. But then why was the room so cold? His answer came. Oh, and he hated his answer.

"Hmmm... Did I came at a bad moment?" The black haired boy made his appearance.

"Akira...? What are you doing here?" Kotori asked, quickly standing from the floor.

The boy laughed sheepishly. "Well, I thought I could come visit Yuma."

Ryoga narrowed his eyes. Astral noticed. "Can he sense his true identity?"

Rio looked at the boy. "Why do you come now?"

"Excuse me?" Akira tilted his head slightly.

"I mean, why are you coming now? Why didn't you came before?" Rio asked.

"Well... I didn't knew at first... And when I discovered and was ready to come I got sick... I stayed in bed all this time. That's why I didn't go to school neither." He explained.

Rio nodded. Kotori simply stared. She seemed uncomfortable with his presence.

Silence filled the room. Akira was in the middle and seemed to be very uncomfortable too. He looked around and noticed the bed where Yuma was. He quickly went to his side.

"Yuma-kun!" He took one of the unconscious boy's hand. "What's wrong with him? What happened to him?"Akira asked with worry in his voice.

Rio looked at the black haired boy. "We don't know. The doctors still haven't found the cause of his condition. At first they thought... That he hurt himself on purpose..." She looked away sadly, not wanting to shed any more tears.

"That's horrible! How could they think that? Yuma would never hurt himself!" Akira exclaimed horrified.

Everyone nodded at that last statement. They all knew Yuma would never hurt himself, he had no reason to. And even if he did, they knew he wouldn't do it. The astralian stared at the black haired boy angrily. He couldn't believe the Number. He was begining to get sick of the monster's tricks.

"I hope he recovers soon. I'm sure there's maybe someone who would love to speak with him." Akira said, looking up and smirking slightly at the floating being. "But who knows, maybe this was for the best of Yuma... Destiny sure has a mysterious path."

That was the water drop that poured the glass.

Astral growled. "Do not talk like you care about Yuma! Stop being such a hypocrite!"

Everyone in the room stared in shock at the being. Astral was usually very respectful, why did he say such a thing?

"Huh? What are you guys staring at?" Akira asked, looking confused.

No one dared to speak a word. They were too busy staring at the astralian, who was looking angrily at the black haired boy.

"How can he? How does he dare act like he cares? Is not enough what he has done?! Must he keep making Yuma suffer?" The being thought. His face turned into a determined glare. "No, I will not let him. Not now, not ever. Even if that means I have to pay the price."

"Hmm... Guys? What's wrong?" Akira asked again.

Kotori was the first to react. "Uh... No, n-nothing's wro-"

"Yes, it is." Astral interrupted her, gaining another stare from the others. "If I simply talk he will just pretent he did not hear me. So then, what I must do is..."

"Guys, seriously, you're starting to creep me out." Akira laughed sheepishly.

"I am surprised you are the one creeped out. I thought you did not know such emotions." Astral folded his arms, all the while giving a superior look at the boy. "But after all, I guess I could expect anything from you. Even the fact that you choose to hide behind the mask of a good boy like the coward you are."

That sentence was enough to make the boy turn angrily and give a killing glare at the alien.

"How did you call me?!"

The several gasps and the smirk in Astral's face made the boy come into his senses. He fell for Astral's trick. Astral knew he would react that way if he called him a coward. And worse part was that he did it in front of other people. He was so screwed now. Astral managed to unmask him, and he even helped the alien in doing so!

Akira could only let out a growl. There was no use in trying to hide the truth anymore. "You just got lucky Astral. Don't let that go into your head."

"Maybe. Or maybe you were not careful enough. Anger is your worst enemy, and you let it win over you." Astral stated.

The boy grinned. "It's ok. After all, I still have the power I want. Remember Astral, anything you do can mean the death of that boy. I'll let him live for a couple of days more. But just as an warning..." Akira stretched his arm in direction to Yuma. A purple glow seemed to cover the unconscious boy and soon his face adopted a grimace full of pain.

Astral widened his eyes with worry. "Yuma!"

Kotori covered her mouth in surprise and worry. She quickly went by Yuma's side, and so did Haruto and Rio. Akira's grin turned wider, he then turned ready to leave the room but was stopped by Ryoga. Akira stared at the duelist and Ryoga stared back.

"If I were you, I would first make sure my friend is safe. But then again, I don't care! I only warn you: get out of my way. What you're seeing it's nothing compared to what I really can do with that boy. So, if you don't wish to see your friend in real pain you better stay out of my way."

Of course, Shark's pride would never let him retreat. He kept glaring at the slightly golden orbs of the boy in front. After a minutes of silence he stepped back, allowing Akira to leave the room. But Shark didn't stop glaring. His mind was analyzing every bit of the one he now considered his new opponent.

"Yuma!" Kotori's scream made him turn again to face his friends. His eyes widened when he saw what was happening.

Yuma's wounds were all open again, and he could even swear there were more. Yuma was screaming at the top of his lungs, struggling to make the pain stop. All the machines attached to the boy seemed to go bersek, bipping furiously. He saw how the blood slowly tainted the blue blankets in the bed. Yuma's state was worsening, he needed medical attention immediately. Shark quickly left the room to search for the doctor and the nurses in charge. Right now, the only thing that mattered was keeping Yuma safe.

A couple of days passed after that. Shark managed successfully to find and bring the doctor in time. The doctor quickly treated Yuma and kindly asked the ones in the room to leave. That day no one was allowed to enter Yuma's room, and he stayed in observation all night. Kotori and Rio telled Akari what happened, omitting everything about Astral and Akira. They simply said that Yuma had another attack and that the doctor asked them to leave.

When they were able to return, the doctor explained that Yuma's state was worsening even more and that there was absolutely nothing they could do. He said that only a miracle could save Yuma. That notice made everyone cry hard. They couldn't believe that Yuma was going to die like that. Everyone started to pray furiously to any entity that could help save Yuma. Many of them even started accepting the fact that maybe there was no thing that could now save Yuma. This experience helped to unite even more the bonds between many of Yuma's friends, and even rivals became friends.

As for Akira, there was no word of him. It was like if he simply dissappeared into nothingness. Kotori had guided Rio and Shark to Akira's house, but not even there the boy was found. They deduced that Akira was probably hiding somewhere else. Akira didn't appear in school neither. There was nothing that could point a direction to find him. That made a question rise in their heads: who was really Akira? Even though Astral explained that Akira was the Number, there was something that still didn't make sense. After two days they decided to leave the topic and center only in Yuma.

Astral was floating beside the open window watching the birds fly. Kotori was stting in a chair beside Yuma while holding the boy's hand. The room was completely quiet at that point. Akari was at work, even though she didn't wanted to go. The others were doing their usual issues, every of them very bussy. Kotori was the only one who decided to stay by Yuma's side without caring if she had something else to do or not. She would simply stay there all day holding Yuma's hand and watching over Yuma's health.

Astral stared for a moment at the girl. "Kotori..." She looked up and noticed a little smile forming in his lips. "Arigatou."

Kotori smiled back. "You're welcomed, Astral."

The astralian nodded and turned again to face the window.

"Hehe... You seem to be... The same expressionless... Alien as ever..."

Astral quickly turned back and his eyes widened. Kotori's eyes were full of tears.

Tears of happines.

"Yuma! You're awake!"

Ariette: Muahahahahahha! I'll leave it like that!

Yuma: *Sigh* At least I'm alive!

Astral: ...

Yuma: Uh? What's wrong Astral?

Ariette: He's ok. He's just a bit affected by all this. He'll get over it!

Yuma: Ok...

To the reviewers:

Breana: Hehe, I think I answered that in last chappie. He is! :) Hmmm... His dad? XD Nah! It's 96, right? Now you know! You can! But please don't kill him yet!

Guest: Thanks for the warning.

Key-Jey: I know u.u He's a number, he's supposed to be evil. Don't kill him! Not yet! How...? Great question! XD O.O Ok, ok! I'll tell you! Later! XD

Durbe-nee: XD Great joke! Here it is! Now, DON'T kill him! WAIT! How come Siri-chan hates Black Mist if he hasn't even MEET him?! I DIDN'T! YAY! :D I understand Black Mist, but why Veccy?! OAO

Hunter: YES! X) Hehe, sorry for that, and for this one too. I'm so sorry I delayed so much! X( But that's why I made this one longer! :D You're very welcomed! You forgot to say 'sexy' in his description. XD Ok, ok, I'll tell him. But don't kill him!

SYF: Como se atreve? It's a Number! And he's EVIL! Asi se atreve XD

Don Justice-100: OAO *No words* Ouch. That had to hurt. Yay! I'm glad you liked it! Yes he will!

Ariette: That's all folks! I'm just really happy that I managed to pass my project! :D

Yuma: Hey... Astral isn't reacting yet... I'm getting worried...

Astral: ...

Ariette: Oh... That's unexpected. Don't worry Yuma, we'll take care of him. *Pats Yuma's back*

Yuma: I'm glad... Wait... 'We'?

Ariette: Yep! We! *Points at Vector and Black Mist behind her*

Vector: We'll treat him nicely~ *Laughs madly*

Black Mist: Of course~ *Grins*

Yuma: *Gulps* On better thought. No thanks! *Runs away and takes Astral with him*

Vector: Awwww~ I wanted so badly to help... Well, I think it's ok! Now, pay me! *Stretches out hand to Ariette*

Ariette: *Whispers* Not now... Anyways! I hope you liked this chapter! And to those who are plotting against Black Mist. DON'T KILL HIM! X( Yet!