Yugioh Zexal: Shine a Light on Me (for Liaras)

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It was already almost sunset. Yuma Tsukumo was supposed to be home by 4 o'clock on the dot after school but as he was leaving school, he spotted a duel happening in the school courtyard. After a million warning from his long time friend Kotori were ignored so he could get a quick duel in, the boy was promptly embarrassed and defeated handily. Yuma wouldn't take this lose humbly and with dignity however. The boy jumped to his feet and immediately challenged the duelist to a rematch. After 15 straight losses, the duelist had to go home for dinner, not before Yuma was informed of the current time.

Now he was sprinting as fast as he could down the street so he could race home, with Kotori and Bronk in tow. Kari is going to kill him! Yuma then remembered a secret shortcut he would use all the time when racing somewhere, this involved him making a sharp turn onto the beach. As the group ran on the uneven surface, Yuma managed to see something in the distance.

Unconscious on the barren beach of Heartland City was a young girl who seemed to be around Yuma's age at first glance, which was to say she looked like she should be in middle school. Her appearance was eccentric with short pink hair, green visors, and a red and blue skin tight suit that revealed complimented her lithe (although busty upper posterior) very well. There was a light blue tutu attached to the costume, and she wore pink ballerina slippers. Pink ribbons were tied on her ankles and went up to just under her knee, where it was tied against just under the knee.

Beside her, an older model of duel disk, complete with a deck, laid unattended in the sand, open to any unsavory characters that might try to steal what isn't theirs while the girl was asleep. And since there was no one else around, that would be quite easy to do if one so desired, and the girl, whose features were lax and peaceful, would have no idea.

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As the group approached, Yuma let out a loud gasp before he skidded lightly in the sand to come to a full stop. The boy could not believe his eyes as he saw the girl, roughly the same age as he is and in admittedly a weird attire, face first on the beach and completely passed out.

"I-Is that a girl? She needs help!" Yuma yelled as he ran into the direction of the girl, making sure she's still breathing. "She's not waking up! ...Maybe Grandma will know what to do? Give me a hand Bronk!" Yuma stated as Bronk ran over and gave Yuma a hand with carrying the girl, who was a bit heavier then Yuma thought. "Tori, can you grab her stuff?"

The girl didn't show any sign of rousing even from the rough and clumsy treatment of the boys, who moved her so that Bronk supported her with his back. "Don't touch there!" Kotori said at one point when she thought Yuma's hands were going to graze a sensitive area, but he didn't, and she sighed in some relief.

Kotori nodded and picked up the duel disk, absently admiring what was essentially an extinct form of dueling. She ran at the back of the group, slower than Bronk and Yuma were when it came to running. "I hope your Grandma can really help," Kotori said as they sprinted down the shortcut to Yuma's house. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she managed a witty observation. "Looks like Yuma losing so many times actually helped someone for once, huh, Bronk?" she teased, prompting the larger boy to throw his own two cents in, as well.

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Both boys did the best they could to carry the girl without hurting her or causing discomfort in anyway. As they ran with the girl in her arm, Bronk couldn't help but laugh at Kotori's jab. "Yeah, who knew Yuma being such a lame duelist would actually be a god thing!"

Yuma was much less amused as they drew closer and closer to his house. "I am NOT a lame duelist... I just, uh, never got the draws I needed!" Yuma tried to defend himself before they reached the front door of he's home. "Grandma! Kari! Open up, it's an emergency!" With no free arms, he started kicking the front door.

"Whatever you say, Yuma..." Kotori snickered at Bronk's own steel-pointed tongue. She knew he wouldn't pass up an opportunity to bag on Yuma's dueling skills, but, then, neither would she given that she was doing it at an admittedly high-stress situation. Although, she thought the jokes and Yuma's typical defensive reaction (read: make a bunch of excuses) had made her feel a bit better. When Yuma started kicking at the front door, Kotori sighed.

"Seriously, Yuma? I'm here too, you know." She proved this point by pulling him back a step and opening the door herself with her free hand. She then sauntered in and raised an eyebrow. With a somewhat smug tone, she asked. "Are you going to come in, or just keep kicking the door for no reason?"

Inside the house, Yuma's sister walked around the corner, a peeved expression on her face. "Who's pounding on the..." she trailed off at the sight of Kotori and her brother and Bronk behind her. Bronk blocked the view of the girl, she was currently unaware. "Oh, hey Tori and Bronk. And Yuma, you're late," she added on, her eyes narrowing some. "It better be for a good reason."

"Uh, actually, it's a really good one," said Kotori, neglecting to mention that it was a bad one with an unintended good reason. That didn't make much sense. "Bring her in guys and show your sister, Yuma."

Kari, interest piqued by the uncommon disruption to what was almost routine, watched on, confused.

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Yuma grumbled at Kotori's smugness and stuck his tongue out at her a bit childishly as the door was opened and the boys stepped inside. It wouldn't take long for Yuma's sister to appear from whatever hole she crawled out of, making all of Yuma's hair stand up.

"H-Hey Kari! What's up? N-Not me... dueling obviously hahaha..." Yuma tried his best to awkwardly improve and failing miserably. It wasn't until a light kick from Bronk brought him back to reality. "Ow! ...oh and we found this girl on the beach on the way back, where's grandma?" Yuma asked as he moved out of the way slightly, showing his proof in the form of a girl in their arms.

"I'm right here and don't you worry, grandma's on the clock!" Yuma's grandmother appeared from behind Kari with her trademark smile. "You there, bring her this way so she can lay down!" She raised a wrinkly finger to Bronk, to which the boy nodded and grabbed Yuma's share of the girl and caried her into the direction the old woman is leading.

Kari's eyes narrowed further at Yuma's stammering, her attention shifting back to him at the mention of the forbidden word, 'duel'. She really should confiscate his dueling deck at some point, she contemplated. At least that should limit the temptation for an immature kid like him. Ideas for how to curb his dueling appetite would have to wait, however, and her inner-reporter was instantly hooked at the sight of the eccentric girl, who, she realized, must be a duelist judging by the uncharacteristic duel disk that Kotori held in her hands.

"Who's this?" she asked as they were led to the living room, where Grandma had the stranger set on the couch, her head propped up on the couch's arm.

"Ah, we don't actually know. She was unconscious on the beach," started Kotori, but she was interrupted by Kari, who snatched the duel disk in her hands. Kotori huffed a bit at being interrupted but shrugged it off. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a name or something," said Kari, inspecting the disk in hopes of finding either a name or a duel disk ID number that she could run through a database. Neither were there. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture. Where ID failed, hacked facial recognition software saved the day. "Let me know when she wakes up; I have a report due tomorrow to get back to. Oh, and Yuma, next time I hear of you dueling, you won't like the consequences," she sung and walked off.

Kotori watched her go before turning to Yuma. "I told you to come straight home," pointed out Kotori. "Don't blame me if you get the Kari-special."

Then she turned her attention to Yuma's Grandma. "What are you going to do?"

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Yuma's grandmother felt her forehead and wrinkled her eyebrow as she felt it burning up. "What she needs right now is some sleep, poor thing is exhausted!" She stated as she went into the other room and came back with and ice pack and put it on her head gracefully. "Now, i'm going to make her something for when she wakes up." She said before shuffling into the and out of sight.

"Well, if this are good here then I need to head out. See ya later guy!" Bronk waved goodbye as he walked out the door and brought out his board. He has the growing feeling that something was about to go wrong for Yuma.

"C'mon sis, what's the big deal? Dueling is only the greatest activity ever and you can't keep it away from me!" Yuma approached his sister's work station from behind. The threat did scare him a bit, but there is nothing she can do that can keep him from dueling. Once Kotori opened her mouth, Yuma shot a slightly angered look at the girl. "Zip it Kotori!"

"Ah, that's good," said Kotori to Yuma's Grandma, sitting at the edge of the couch where the girl's feet were. She awkwardly patted the girl's ankle. "Don't you worry, you'll be up and back home before you even know it," she promised.

Meanwhile, in Kari's office, the young woman shot her younger brother a peeved look. Her computer was rapidly searching faces, and she was typing a story, and thus there were many leads she needed to follow up on. "Listen, Yuma, I don't have time to argue with you, right now, okay? I'm just giving you a warning. Unless you want me to take away both your deck and give your girlfriend a show with your butt as the lead, I'd turn around and go be a good host for Kotori and the girl you picked up. Kapeesh?"