Chapter 3 - A chance
The next day, the gang met at the park early in the morning to make sure everyone would join. In the beginning Ryouga and Rio were there as well as Durbe who is always loyal to his king. Then, at Durbe's request, Alit also came along, and he brought Gilag with him. The only one who hesitated was Mizael but even that was remedied. One thing was clear for the former Barian emperors, if one does something, the others are always there to support it. A benefit of their Barian experience was that of having to exercise patience which made it easier to wait, however after waiting 20 minutes they were about to leave and for no real particular reason but when they felt a rush of air appear behind them they stopped to walk around to expect both arrivals that were originally awaited. They turned to see Vector dragging a lame Yuma behind him. Vector apparently had put his grip on Yuma's wrist, Rei way, probably before they even got here. As they got closer he pulled him along a bit faster so Vector just stopped abruptly in front of the others who just stared at him hard but Yuma yawned for that and gave the others a happy smile and a good greeting. A few seconds later he noticed the others all their different expressions, confusion had entered Yuma's head now and could only follow the looks that darted him to his hand which was still connecting with Vector's. After noticing this, he blushed in a soft pink tone that caused him his embarrassment and pulled his hand away without second thought. With his now free hand he rubbed the back of his head very embarrassed and laughed lightly to be able to cover it up. As soon as they came out of their stadium, former emperors greeted Yuma back, but Vector remained ignored by them!
Vector himself wasn't exactly surprised by his friend's actions, knowing that Yuma thinks highly of these Earthlings and the former Barians. Especially one of them and the one he likes least of all Barians. He's always found Nash annoying and irritating, even back when the two were former kings at war. Out of habit, he would have liked to hit Ryouga with one. But something kept him waiting, waiting for something else to happen at... In the end, however, he quickly noticed that the others let their confusion escape from the simple act, for which there was no reason in his senses but seemed obvious to others to read . He also didn't care that the others noticed him but didn't acknowledge him for it. He almost liked it. He knows everyone has their eyes on him, that was just understandable. But he could at least pull out some fun and that's only because nobody can be angry with him at the end or blame him because everything goes back to Don thousend. On his own, Vector sometimes acted like Rei depending on who's in front of him, greeting the others afterwards only to flash a spiteful and mischievous grin. They gave him a disgusting look and he was marked with silence and a hateful hey, but he smiled away. The only one who could care would be maybe Yuma.
Before the first ones started to leave, Vector went ahead and grabbed Yuma's arm again and pulled him along in a typical Rei way. The two walked more in the middle of the path, forward with the others towards the school. Behind them and in front of them who always keep an eye on them. Vector was bored in the position he was walking in. So he did what he likes to do in such a situation, he looks for someone else. In order not to attract the attention of the Barians, he yawned and looked around slightly and discovered a better way that he already declared as a shortcut in his mind. He had never walked that path before, but he knew it wouldn't be that bad, and it's not the first time he's done it anyway. Apart from the fact that it was usually just him alone or with Yuma.
Yuma was able to notice his absence next to him, to Rei, interrupting his own act of listening to the others' conversations. He then followed his eyes to where his friend was hanging, but then quickly realized what Vector's thought could be. He didn't hesitate to give chase once he also noticed that Vector suddenly undetected broke loose and walked away from that other one. It's not like he's not used to it, no, the exact opposite is the case, because sometimes it happens too often. So he was almost used to it, and sometimes when Vector didn't decide to try it, they always managed to go that route anyway. It's been like this since the beginning and somehow he thought it was funny, but only if nothing bad happened or something else came up immediately.
The one who noticed it first in the first place was Alit, but only because he, like Nash, likes Yuma very much and had a better radar from behind. This was confirmed to him when he barely noticed how Vector disappeared one second at a time and after a few more blinks of an eye Yuma followed. And there was nothing he could do other than pursue that too quickly before you lose her. There was no time to let the other five know so along the way he informed them via their ex-Kaiser chat group. A first response quickly came back from Mizael was "those idiots!" then came another one from Durb "no problem we'll follow you" finally Ryouga also answered "thanks for the info we'll fix that later and keep an eye on you but keep your distance" Finally Alit sent them a confirmation before he answered his mobile phone into standby mode and started walking ahead. Strictly speaking, the path was a small intermediate passage that didn't leave much room in between, it almost had something of a lonely dead-end street where you could hide from Raudis. But for a small cul-de-sac that lies between two houses, this is very obvious and it also goes in every imaginable direction, regardless of whether it is in the direction of the compass or in terms of time. He had to go through it a little faster to catch up with the two chaotic people. He also began to wonder where the path leads and will end, and how they neglected that possibility, they must have known Vector better by now, but apparently they didn't...
After 10 minutes he apparently reached the end of the path and as it turned out he had caught up with her a bit and therefore not completely lost. However, once outside he wondered "Who would have thought that they would come out at the backyard of the school, because from the looks of it you could think it would lead to one of the dark and horrible compartments of Heartlands, or something like that. Alit exited and saw them both standing outside the back entrance doing whatever, he took the moment to let his friends know only to be told they were five minutes down the road, meeting them halfway.
She was surprised that the three of them even got there a little earlier than when they usually left and without any buts and dangers or anything else. However it felt at first but afterwards. After that it even felt like it was pulling away, which is normally never a good sign. Also, he had doubted the whole time that it would lead to something good, but they had to shadow her, something was still not koscha for her. That's why they were so surprised it ended up in something as social as school, which they know Vector despises being there, especially when they, the other ex-Barians, are there. It made them suspicious when they joined them and then Vector started to turn to them and was nice to them with a smile as he said Rei-like "See! It went much faster...I wasn't expecting that either. ..hah what a coincidence!" Vector grinned at them but in a way that they would think he knew. "Not was Alit!...Well anyway let's go in guys come on Yuma hurry up!" And with that statement, Vector grabbed Yuma's arm again and pulled him with him again.
They stayed close but also some distance behind both of them and now set back in a bad mood which they maintained until they tramped through the back entrance, which fortunately was already open. The group was lucky that almost nobody saw them otherwise it would have been a hundred percent more trouble because, for whatever reason, the teachers had forbidden the students to enter the backyard and everything that had to do with it without permission. They only realized how annoying it all was when they saw a teacher walking in their direction who was apparently already in a tense mood. To make matters worse, the guy got a little closer and slammed into them as soon as he saw the open door behind them "What do you mean? Why is the door getting up illegally? Were you six the ones who broke this rule, that's it nobody is allowed to enter the backyard without permission or something like that? What dare you, that's forbidden! That means detention for all of you!" Vector grinned mischievously to himself, enjoying the look on Nash's face, which appeared quite grumpy and dissatisfied. The others weren't any better off either. For Yuma, who was still anchored in his arms, that wasn't a pretty sight, at least not when it came to his friends, and that included every one of them now. Yuma could do as much as he wanted, but Vector wouldn't move an inch to intervene, at least not voluntarily. Vector would refuse to help anyone until his last breath, so he stuck with it. He didn't care. Until Yuma came up with the idea of playing the idiot that always worked for Rei. With his eyes he asked him formally drum that he should intervene. The thing was he wasn't Rei and at the same time he was, Rei was a part of him that often only came out with Yuma...oh how he was having a hard time resisting the urge to be helpful. He had enough will for it to hide it, but in the end he couldn't resist what led to his loss. 'Damned! Stupid dog eyes! Just like before, he still has that effect on me!'
Vector sighed and let go of Yuma for a while, stepping closer to her warningly "How was that old lady...if I were you I'd be careful who you talk to you rascals must have forgotten your place here so get out of my sight or you will regret it! Maybe the headmaster would be interested in how your teacher treats the students, and that especially with me! Don't you think so too?" he threatened the teacher with his angelic Rei Shingetsu face, however, the words, the expression and the intent behind it were Vector's part of the action. In the end, when he was done and the teacher left, Shark/Ryouga pulled out a hesitant and uncertain "Uhhh thanks...I guess...from saving detention!" out. Vector, however, completely ignores Ryouga as well as the others who stared at him and surrendered to Yuma to get a small thank you from him, coupled with a smile. Rei accepted, but of course in a provocative way to annoy the others. Vector then grabbed Yuma and headed to the hall, in separate groups from the others. Yuma just stumbled after it, confused about the varied other way of admiring the orange-haired one.
Didn't notice how the others stood there completely amazed, but somehow they also went their own way, after all, most of them had the same hours and even later they could remain amazed. In class, they arrived on time, except that the two left a few minutes earlier and should have been there, but just weren't. That would mean that everyone sat down and waited for the teacher to start the lesson. He started by giving the students a task to be worked out as a class project in teams! The good thing was at least that they were all allowed to choose for themselves how exactly the topic was, but as a precaution they had to show a template concept beforehand. The number of people involved was relatively irrelevant, but there had to be at least 2 in it and there shouldn't be more than 8 people. The basic idea was that you, the students, would spend time together at noon, whether someone wanted to or not. It was well known that it went against everyone's comfort zone and that they will probably fight each other again and again, especially Vector and Shark, if it comes to that. From then on, the lessons went on as normal, but only until Yuma showed up with Vector. They were able to walk into class without being stopped and were annoyed that the two of them got away with it and without the teacher confronting them. Vector keeps his temper with his typical annoyance and pranks against the others and if he would get caught it happened that he didn't even ring the bell and or didn't get angry, but the wrong one. In order to continue to keep an eye on this, even if you don't like it, it was necessary to design the groups in a sophisticated way so that everyone can look at the two.
After consultation with each other, they came to the following result; We were told that Shark who 'owns' Astral is currently working with Yuma. Then Mizael and Durbe teamed up, who see a simple command behind it. Another group was Tori with Alit, who immediately became Romeo when he had the opportunity to be with his angel. Then Gilag and Cathy, who maintained a neutral bond. And finally, they added Vector to Rio, which might be a bit awkward when you think about it, but there was nobody else left to take it. But when Vector heard this, which he had only heard primarily through listening and this even with a subdued and eighth pitch, he didn't get over it, and yet he could become a beast. He hates the others abysmal! And he knows why the others don't like him or even hate him. He also disliked Rio, as did her brother Ryouga and the other former emperors. The actions of the past are shown to him again and again for what he is now, but they forget one thing, that was in their former life, that is not comparable, because through these actions they have become what they are now, and not just him, the others aren't much better, but at least he, Vector, likes it the way it is, or at least partially...
He, Vector, is sticking with it too, but he's had to deal with it these days, which isn't exactly difficult for him. First he had to get rid of someone and for that he already had an idea. He never wanted to have anything to do with the Ice Princess, not even then it was just a means of leverage and now he had nothing to use her for, he had someone else for that. And that's also the one with whom he wanted to get into a team, so he had to do something. The lesson time was optimal to plan afterwards no matter what the price might be. And so the rest of the double lesson went on as usual without talking or thinking much about it. Durbe, Mizael, Rio and Gilag paid close attention and ignored the rest. Since then, Alit has only given his attention to his angel Kotori. He himself floats in dreamland and didn't notice anything either. And on the other hand, there was Shark who felt the need to communicate with Astral, but he knew that getting caught was too great a risk, as was always the case with Yuma in the beginning. So he had to put it off until later. Otherwise, he couldn't wait to jump out of his seat and punch Vector when he saw the two of them sitting there, not wanting to know what it was about or what nonsense they were up to.
However, it happened that just before the end of the lesson, the teacher gave them a quarter of an hour break/exchange time with his partner for the project. Whereby, since their groups could already be established, they sit down directly next to each other. Then, without anyone looking, he did his worst to secretly hurt Rio, but even so Rio didn't really notice anything except the pain. What should it be? One arm, one foot, her neck? Well one thing is clear, basically it doesn't matter what it is as long as his weak human body manages it. Now here's the focus on the part that he's trying his best to at least since his current strength hardly compares to that of a Barian.
What Vector didn't know was that he had a bystander, but technically he didn't care either. And the viewer named Ryouga, aka Shark, wasn't pleased with what he saw... for various reasons. For one, it was the fact that he even noticed. On the other hand, if he revealed it, Vector would be the victim in their eyes, especially with the teacher. And secondly...he didn't like it because it affected his sister, who was easily injured. And that's why it's so difficult for him to go against it. He wouldn't stand a chance with adults only with his classmates but otherwise... It surprised him when the action, even though it was short, caught others' attention. However, the part where the teacher caught on and Vector embellished wasn't that new. Vector was even offered to join another couple, and anyone he wants. He was, unabashedly wise, allowed to choose for himself... And at that point, Ryouga knew what this action was for. Which made him growl. Luckily for him, it wasn't enough to draw Yuma's attention, who was standing in front of his seat, smiling
Shark looked at Vector with a serious expression at the same time as he looked at him and that with a knowing face just smirked to himself but to him, Ryouga, it seemed like it applied to him and the other as a spiteful smile to express that he won this chess party. Still he didn't give up, if so they only had check but not checkmate. He hadn't made his move yet he just needed to get closer so he would have to separate them. Vector approached both and from now on his new team partners. When he was only an arm's length away, Ryouga tugged Yuma's sleeve slightly to get his attention this time, leaving Yuma looking stunned. And quickly the amazement left him and settled his smile like he always does. Ryouga hated to admit it, but he loved that smile on him and he knew that the others in their group did too, but he wasn't so sure about Vector.
They were close, almost chest to chest. It felt warm and after a few seconds even too hot and uncomfortable, so he relaxed his grip. He looked at him and asked Yuma, who was still smiling in amazement, if he wanted to spend some time this afternoon. And with only him. Vector was silent at the move and didn't look pleased at him as his 'Yuma Time' was being stolen from someone who didn't deserve it. And whom he hates abysmal. Vector, of course, had his own agenda too, so he went into Rei mode, stood between the two, took Yuma's hands in his and asked politely "~~Ah Yuma-kun!~~" Rei started with a sing-sang sound " I'm so happy that we have the chance to be in a team together! Oh, oh yes, and Shark too, right?!" Rei looked over happily at the second sentence until Shark "Don't call me that!" uttered menacingly and he turned to Yuma again. Yuma himself gave an innocent reply. "Hehe that's right, that's going to be great, I haven't done anything with Shark and the others for a long time, that's ideal to start again, don't you think so!" Completely ignoring the others, he continued to speak, only this time adding a little more vulnerability "But you know, I thought that we were going to do something together. You know..just the two of us. Just me and you and that without Akari or anyone else!" "Well I don't know, maybe we can do it so you just come with Shingetsu." Rei gave a pleased hasty nod and Vector gave a mischievous grin at his opponent.
The problem was that nobody really liked what the other said and nobody except Yuma liked it. And that was the reason why both of them accepted it. However, there continued to be this competitive fight between the two of them which is visible to all and left Yuma standing there in amazement. Also because he didn't understand why they were growling at each other.
Astral has been observing the schose for a long time, analyzing the behavioral pattern of the former Barian Emperor and former Madness Prince, known here in modern times as Rei Shingetsu, and still, under some circumstances, referred to by some others as Vector. He stared at her thoughtfully. Astral didn't trust Vector any more than before, not at all. After all, he hadn't made a good impression on him the first time, despite the war. In the end he didn't blame him either. Most of it was still the fault of the Chaos God and the Malevolent Map 96, and while he knows the god's influence was a lot to blame for Vector being this way, the blame probably still stuck with him in the end. Astral was not surprised that Vector and the rest of the Barians were still alive because this was all thanks to Yuma and his infinite trust in them and the belief in the good in their dark cores that had been spoiled for years.
He learned this especially on Sargasso. There he learned to trust Yuma even in dark times, no matter how badly one of them is hurt or step through a wrong path that has been decided, as well as to believe in the good part and that behind every desperate cause there is a solution, but the most important thing to know is that yuma is there for you no matter what. After everything they had experienced, Astral had also learned not to blame the Barians and especially Vector, but after all the wrong games he had pulled off, Astral couldn't help but be a little more resentful.
Astral scowled a little as he continued to watch Shark and Vector 'fighting' over Yuma. Shark; in order to prevent both of them from doing any more nonsense and of course led by Vector, who in his view revealed it but sold it to him, Yuma, as if it were harmless. All he could do was combine typical Rei words with typical Vector actions and he had it. Also, he, shark, and Rio didn't trust him. Vector was undefinable for everyone what and why he, what that should be, whatever he did, because after all, it was known to him that since everyone has been back on earth at the beginning Vector has never even been seen and Yuma after for after ever more disappeared from the picture. To Astral, Rio's stories had sounded very sketchy and Yumaish. Actually nothing new. He hated to admit it, but he was also worried about what, he doesn't know what it is. However, the fact that he has this feeling like he's not alone here, like another presence is there, something that seemed familiar to him but can't place, also helps. But he pushed this aside for the first time and tried to get in touch with Ryouga, which is why he approached him spiritually. With success he was able to get his attention, but then not only his but also apparently the Vectors, or so it seemed to him at first. He thought he saw what was up to him, but his face turned from to, that is, from Vector, to harmless Rey.
Ryouga reluctantly let go, which made Rei giggle for the win, and pulled Yuma close so they could start without Nash. Ryouga turned tensely to Rio who was sitting/lying injured by Gilag, and by the looks of it one arm was broken and one foot sprained ankle. He asked what was happening and so she told what she knew without revealing that he, more or less, knew. It didn't help, he got angry again and clenched his hand into a fist. It just flew by faster this time, perfect when Tori and her partner Alit rushed over, who were just as worried as he was. Shark glanced over at Astral and then at Rio to help her up. Provisionally, he lifted her up by the arms and put her in Alit and Tori's hands so they could take her to the nurse. There they unloaded Rio while he sorted things out for them with the nurse. Alit and Tori stayed by the bed and worried about Rio, but talked to Rio to keep them awake, but only until the doctor came back with the results, but from the exertion of the pain, Rio settled down relatively well and quickly, what Allowed Alit and Tori to talk to each other in a calm and concerned voice. The nurse continued to do a few tests on the side and then came back in half an hour to give the result.
The doctor deduced from the results that the Rio bed needs rest, maybe for three to five days, but in the end it depends on how long it takes her to recover. And since it was still school, she couldn't really take part in the lessons, but only follow them online and/or chat messages. Ryouga clutched his head and ran his fingers through his hair, feeling sorry for his sister right now but there wasn't much he could do. Even yelling at Vector or something like that didn't do him any good. He sighed and told Alit and Tori to keep an eye on Rio while she slept and if he wasn't back to take her home, he had to arrange something. Ryouga knew what to do, he just had to be more irritable than he was and plan his later actions before he could destroy everything
Then when the break bell rang he started running out of the third sector to get into the first building. He didn't have to keep Astral waiting long to finish this and then talk to him, but he had to find her first! He wasn't stopped in the hallways as he ran until he found the two no good outside the railing towards the closet. He growled as soon as he saw still vector he could puke Ryouga tried to relax before stepping towards 'him'. Vector caught him first and sent Yuma to follow him himself.
Since Yuma wasn't in range there was an opportunity to fight and the topic was far from over, they're only into round two. He didn't let go of the zof that had been brewing around Yuma so far and now also included Rio for shark. The bad thing was that as much as they argue, it doesn't fix anything in the end because at the end when Yuma came back, Ryouga raised his head and asked before Vector that he had time to spend the day. The funny thing is that he asked it before, but now he was more confident and determined to smack Vector. "Yuma! I was thinking about what we could do this afternoon and since hanging out is part of the job, would it be like a duel like in the past and just for fun?!" Yuma's eyes widened in surprise but at the same time in happiness, he agreed this time and this time with words and not just with facial expressions. "That sounds like fun. We haven't done this in a long time so it's about time again and you can count on me and my deck to show you!" But Rei got the spiteful idea that he should do something nice and courteous because he didn't want to be left out and in front of it. So he invited himself to watch it afterwards and spoke for further actions like he invited Shark to spend the coming day with you because you should also spend the day as a project partner and what is better than the plan to celebrate, of course only among them. . .
After spending the rest of the school day, he went with the others to visit Rio, who should normally be resting at his house. There he checked out how his sister was doing and said goodbye to Tori and Alit who had taken care of her. Afterwards he talked a lot with Rio about the whole thing and how she felt about it and from Rio's side how her brother was doing and what he intends to do with the dislike. Clearly she knew that the actions had nothing to do with her and that she was not a victim at all but was the object of affection in the Yuma story and she was just in the wrong place, which Vector took advantage of. Later, when it was noon, he visited Yuma to hang out and spend the day together and as much as possible without Vector. The absence of Vectors didn't last long, however, until the Madness Prince appeared in the middle of the duel...