For arcadecryptid.

Here goes my Secret Santa for arcadecryptid. Hope you will like the fanfic :D

It was hard to create AU where aztecshipping is a thing since I'm a big keyshipping and sharkbaitshipping fan, but I did my best to make it as realistic as possible. Since I'm incapable of writing short oneshots I decided to split it one really long one in four, so you may enjoy Yuma X III fluff to the fullest. I hope you'll have the blast reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The rest of the chapters will come out this week, so stayed tooned. :)

Part 1: "I can't just ignore your sadness!"

Murky classroom, way too familiar everyday faces of his classmates and digital blackboard…

Just another normal day of his first year at high school.

Michael brushed through his pink locks out of boredom while waiting for the class to begin. His electronic notebook was already set at the desk, his fingers fiddling with a keychain of an Aztec mask attached to his pencil case. Everyone else were still wandering around the classroom, totally ignoring the fact that class was about to begin. Teacher was surely taking longer than usual.

"Alright, take your seats!" a brown haired man in late thirties entered the class, making all the students instantly getting back to their places "While your notebooks are starting, I'd like you to know that we'll be having someone new to join us today."

With others too busy with preparing the electronic notebooks, Michael was the only one to see the new classmate coming in. Dressed in typical school attire consisting of dark slacks, white short-sleeved shirt and red tie, was seemingly shorter boy his age. The boy's black hair was spiked along with the red bangs that somehow made him look a bit taller. He'd certainly look taller if he wasn't holding his head so low though. The boy barely moved his eyes off the floor, staring at it like he was afraid to look up.

"Okay, why don't you introduce yourself?" the teacher asked the boy once he got in front of the blackboard. The new classmate made hardly any reaction and only when teacher lightly tapped his shoulder did the boy looked up slightly.

Michael could finally see that the new student had bright crimson eyes, nearly identical to his bangs. The pink haired boy imagined they would look even prettier if they had more light in them. For some reason something was missing in them, something that would make them more alive. As how they were now, they looked bleak, like a faded painting.

The boy took electronic marker and wrote those few letters on the blackboard, a usual way for the new students to make an introduction. After what felt like minutes, the black haired boy was finally done with writing and he politely bowed to the class.

"M… my name… is Y-Yuma… Ts-Tsu…kumo." the boy stuttered, continuing to look at the floor while uttering those few sentences "I-I… transferred… from Maimi City… It-it's nice… to meet you…"

Man, the guy talked like he was a sheep in a wolf den, Michael thought. The way his hands trembled, the way he was eyeing the floor and how quiet his voice was… the pink haired boy hasn't seen anyone this shy before. He was even worse than himself during middle school and that was saying something.

"Alright Yuma, you can sit next to Arclight in the back." the teacher showed at the only free spot in the classroom.

Yuma made a quiet nod and took a seat next to the Michael who welcomed him with a smile. Despite the warm welcome, the transfer student only blinked as he began taking the electronic notebook and other things out of his school bag. His expression remained pretty much the same during the lesson, blank and unfocused. From time to time, Michael glanced at Yuma who didn't appear to make much notes and from the look of it he wasn't listening to the lesson as well.

During the break, Yuma didn't move from his spot and before Michael could say anything to strike up a conversation, the next lesson began. At that one too and for the rest of them, the black haired stared at his notebook with empty eyes like he wasn't aware of his own existence. Even when the lunch break began, Yuma simply took out his bento box with two rice balls and began to slowly chew onto one. No attempts to socialize with anyone, no questions about the lessons and most of all not a single word since the stuttering introduction. By now the other students probably forgot about the fact that they had a new classmate at how well Yuma made himself invisible.

Once the last lesson was finally over, Michael made one more attempt to try to know the new classmate. The pink haired boy used to be pretty shy and he knew well how hard must've been for Yuma to make friends at the new school.

"Hey." Michael gently tapped Yuma's arm which made him flinch slightly "My name is Michael Arclight. I thought you should know my name since we will be sharing the desk from now on."

The black haired boy looked up slightly, half-avoiding the eye contact as he bowed slightly as a reply. Michael was about to ask him some more questions when he noticed something dangling around Yuma's neck. Whatever it was, it certainly looked ancient, painted in sparkling golden colour with a single green gem on top.

"Wow this looks like Aztec ornament!" Michael chirped in excitement "I saw pictures of them in books, but I haven't seen one for real! Where did you get it?"

Yuma looked at the shining pendent, cradling it carefully as it was about to break any moment. Michael didn't expect much reaction considering how silent the other boy was so far, so it kind of surprised him when Yuma looked up and actually opened his mouth to answer.

"M-my dad… gave it to me…"

"Really? Where did he get it?"

"I-I don't… know…"

"I actually have this keychain with me! It's plastic though, but yours looks real!"

Too engulfed in his own excitement when seeing pieces of ancient artifacts, Michael failed to see the tears bubbling up at the edges of Yuma's eyes. As much as the black haired boy enjoyed the fact that someone else had the same passion as him, Yuma couldn't hold his tears back anymore. Even as Michael began to talk about the book about ruins he had read recently, the transfer student didn't feel like being there anymore. Despite the all-school cleaning hour coming soon, Yuma raced out of the classroom right away, quietly apologizing to the pink haired boy as the tears rained down his face.

Michael watched him stunned, shocked by the other boy's reaction to simply talking about their interests. Being overly shy alone wasn't the reason behind Yuma's fidgeting behavior… no it must've been something more. He already looked so scared the moment he entered the classroom and when he stormed away he looked outright terrified. Just what was going on with that transfer student?

The thought of the certain black haired boy wouldn't leave Michael's mind, even hours later when he was cooped up in a busy bus on the way home. His family lived at the top of luxury suites right at the center of Heartland. He didn't like to brag about it, but Arclight family was pretty wealthy, thanks to his father's work as a scientist at many fields. Still, Michael preferred to attend a public high school rather than prestige private boarding school full of rich brats. He hoped to make some friends regardless of who he was, but so far he didn't have much luck. The pink haired boy just reached the top floor where his family's apartment was via elevator when he nearly bumped into another person.

"Sorry! I didn't see you!" Michael apologized quickly, picking the plastic bags that the other person dropped.

"It's fine, snacks won't go anywhere." the person replied in a casual manner.

"Oh hello there Ryoga!" the pink haired boy recognized a familiar face "Do you have another tag duel with my brother today?"

"Yeah and we were supposed to be going already but that idiot forgot where he stuck his damm Mirror Force card."

"Don't you have any other copies of it? I mean it's not that rare card."

"The puppet bastard insisted he had to use the limited edition card…" the purple haired boy sighed when the doors opened with such force they nearly flew off the hinges.

"My fanservice is ready!" an older teen with blond and dark red hair shouted as he made his entrance with a deck of cards in his hand.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get going before we're disqualified from the tournament for being late." Ryoga already pressed the button for the ground floor on the elevator.

"What? I have to look presentable to my fans." Michael's brother chuckled "You aren't jealous, are you?"

"Sh-shut up!" the purple haired teen barked back though his cheeks turned redder significantly.

The duo consisting of Ryoga and his brother Thomas went off bickering at each other until the elevator was several floors below. Michael just let it be and entered their apartment. Luxurious wasn't even remotely close to describing it. The furniture had Victorian design with a modern touch, just how his father liked it as he was a big fan of various historical periods. Huge glass windows let in all the light possible, making it look like a country villa with a panorama view at the Heartland. The pink haired boy passed the living room with a red couch, adorned by several pink pillows where an elderly looking man was sitting.

"Hello III, how was your day at school today?" a man with long fair hair tied in braid asked once he noticed him over the some research papers he was reading.

"Pretty much the same as always, father." Michael replied, slightly grinning at the fact that his father, Byron Arclight, used his nickname instead of an actual name.

"That's nice to hear." the man put away his monocle "I managed to finish majority of my work for today, so what do you say we have dinner together for a change?"

"I would love to!" the boy smiled.

His family consisting of two brothers and a father would have dinner together where they would talk and laugh about their everyday lives. But with his eldest brother Chris at the college at the different town, other brother Thomas becoming busier with card game tournaments and his father working on several projects, those dinners became rare. At most Michael would get a chance to be with either Thomas or his father and that would happen only few times per month. The pink haired boy would so eat his dinner alone while watching historical documentaries, so the thought of being with his father tonight made him more than glad.

Michael hurried with his homework and school project about ancient civilizations as he could already smell the home cooked meal from the kitchen. In Arclight family he would usually took care of all the cooking, though it was Byron who taught him everything. This time they had simple pork cutlets with rice, one of the first dishes that his father taught him how to prepare. While he would make them a bit differently, he still enjoyed the crispy dish.

"So, was your school day really that ordinary or was there at least something new about it?" Byron poured himself a glass of wine.

"Well we did learn some new stuff about Mayan culture…" Michael also remembered something else "And… we got a new transfer student from Maimi City."

"Did you get to meet this new student?"

"I did… but he was really shy and…" he thought about the boy's odd behaviour "… he didn't really seemed like he wanted to talk with me in the first place…"

"Oh, that's really unlikely considering how nice are you with everyone. Did you manage to catch his name at least?"

"I think it was Yuma... Tsu-something. I didn't hear it that well since he was stuttering so much."

"Yuma? As Tsukumo Yuma?" Byron raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah, I think it was Tsukumo." Michael took a sip of water "Do you happen to know him?"

"I-I actually do..." his father stuttered slightly, oddly similar to how Yuma did.

"Father? Is everything alright?"

"Do you remember when I was out of town for a couple of weeks?"

"When you were helping out at the funeral around a month ago?" Michael didn't like where this was going.

"Yes..." Byron set a hand on his forehead "The people that were put to rest were my old friend Kazuma and his wife Mirai Tsukumo. Yuma's parents."

Michael placed his hands on his mouth in shock. Now it made sense of why Yuma was acting the way he did. The poor guy probably hasn't recovered from the shock considering it hasn't been that long. And when Michael asked him about the pendent… yeah that must've upset him really bad. To only mention the recently passed away parents must've been like poking his hurting heart.

"Kazuma and his wife were both adventurers, travelling to the mysterious and dangerous parts of the world like it was nothing. To think something as ordinary as the plane crash took them…" Byron reached for his bag that stored all of important documents.

"I didn't know…" the pink haired boy still felt guilty for being so blunt towards the person with fragile mental state.

"I met their son couple of times." his father showed him an old photo of himself being accompanied by a younger man who carried a five year old boy on his shoulders "Yuma was a spinning image of Kazuma, always smiling and excited about everything."

The pink haired boy stared at the photo, looking at Yuma's crimson eyes, so full of life and gleaming like the brightest gems. Then he thought about the empty orbs he was met with at school, a shadow compared to what they once were. Thinking back to his old elementary school years, Michael always remembered how he was all alone with books, with no one willing to become his friend. Yuma was alone now too, trapped in a bubble of sadness and unable to have the adventurous spirit that Michael saw on the photo. It was taken from him along with his parents.

"From what I know, Yuma and his older sister moved back here to Heartland since Kazuma's mother lives close by. I just didn't know he'd start school so early." Byron put away the photo "I can't imagine the burden that poor child is carrying…"

"I'll help him!" Michael blurted out.

"Are you sure about it, III? I know that you're trying to make friends and all, but…"

"It doesn't matter… I just can't ignore someone who's all alone. I don't want him to go through one hundred times harsher situation that I did."

Byron smiled as he ruffled Michael's pink bangs, looking at him proudly. Michael may be the youngest of his three sons, but he was certainly the one who got all the kind personality from his mother. To see him act so gentle and sweet towards the person he just met was just like watching certain someone whom he haven't seen for ages.

Though that was easier said than done.

Michael tried all kinds of ways to encourage Yuma to talk with him, but neither of them really worked. The very next day he had handed him the notes of all the lessons so far, kindly adding that he'd be more than glad to explain him the things he didn't understand. Yuma was surprised to see someone helping him out in school, but when he tried to talk with him, it was like something in him snapped and he reverted back to his nearly lifeless persona.

The second attempt was at the PE class. They had a swimming lesson at the school's huge indoor pool which was big enough for all the students to not feel squished. When he saw that Yuma put on swimming trunks like the rest of the class, Michael felt as he'd be able to hang up with him if only for a bit at the pool. But it soon turned out that was highly unlikely to happen. Instead of jumping into the water, Yuma sat in the corner, leaning against the wall, hugging his knees in fear like he was on a small island surrounded by sharks. Trying hard not to be too pushy, Michael kindly extended his arm to invite him for a swim or at least to talk about Atlantis (since the structure built for a springboard reminded him of it) all to no avail since the other boy wouldn't stop trembling.

In the following days nearly the same situations repeated over and over. He tried inviting him to eat lunch together at the roof to which Yuma mumbled he wasn't that hungry. When they worked in a pair due to sitting at the same desk, the black haired boy would only talk about the assignments they were doing. Then at the cleaning hours, Yuma even avoided him, mopping at the places as far from him as he could. At that point Michael wasn't even sure if it was possible to ask him to walk home with him together. Whatever he did in order to try making Yuma open up to him, the other boy responded with either running away or nearly bursting up in tears.

Michael didn't want to make him feel worse than he already did, but at the same time he couldn't just watch him drown deeper into his own ocean of misery. Yuma would appear more distant with each passing day, more colour leaving his face and more life leaving his already empty crimson eyes.

Days turned into weeks and before he knew it, November's name was at his wall calendar. By now he more or less ran out of ideas of how to get close to Yuma without forcing him. He'd still bring him additional notes and help him at exercises that Yuma seemingly had troubles with for which the other boy always thanked him, but other than this, they had practically no communication between them.

Then on one particular day once they were done with all the mopping and Yuma already went home without saying goodbye, Michael finally got a chance again. When checking over his bag to see if he took all of his stuff, his eyes became wide when he noticed something shining on the bench. Yuma's pendant! The rope was torn which must've meant that it slipped off Yuma's neck without him knowing. Michael quickly grabbed it and rushed out of the classroom in hopes that black haired wasn't out of the school yet.

But unfortunately, one of the female students saw Yuma leave school a while ago and was probably at home already. With no other choice, Michael instantly reached for his cell phone that held all the information about his classmates, including Yuma. Yuma's address was in walking distance of Heartland Academy so Michael set it on his cell phone's GPS. It didn't take him long, twenty minutes at the most when he arrived at the house that was clearly out of place compared to futuristic buildings surrounding it. Not that it looked old-fashioned or anything, it actually looked rather cosy, reminding him of his own home back in Domino where technology wasn't as advanced yet. The house was a nice combination of European and Japanese style, also having a small garden surrounded by a hedgerow.

Not to be too distracted by the house, Michael cleared his head to think of why he was there in the first place. So should he just ring a bell, give Yuma the pendant back and leave? That would probably be for the best, simple and formal. The pink haired boy found the front doors right away, pressing the bell button. But no one answered, even after ringing it few more times. Michael assumed no one was at home and thought about leaving the pendant in a mailbox or something when he saw the lights turn on at the top floor. He instantly rang the bell again, with an addition of knocking and still no one opened the door.

Michael stepped back a bit and realized someone was indeed inside, but that person didn't either hear a doorbell or just didn't want to face anyone. The pink haired boy was inches away from dropping the pendant into a mailbox when his mind was instantly filled with flashbacks of all the times that he tried to help Yuma so far and now there was another chance to do it. Now there were no classmates around, no teachers and no one in particular, just the two of them. The plan that unfolded in his head might seem crazy, but for Michael not trying at all looked even crazier.

Storing the pendant into the safety of his pocket, Michael took a deep breath before heading towards the side of the house where light was still on. Carefully grabbing onto the bricks that were projecting out of walls and any gutters that looked attached enough to support his weigh, the teen moved foot by foot higher. He would sneak to his father's study at their old home when he was little, learning to climb pretty much on every building as long as it has things to grab on to. It may make his situation worse, but Michael was really on the point where he was willing to risk if it meant to help a person he didn't want to see sad. Few more movements up and his was at the top floor, right above the illuminated room and once he stepped into it, boy was Michael surprised.

The room he entered through an open window was filled with ancient artefacts from all over the world. There was a nice arrangement of Aztec masks, right next to carved totems and various tribal plumes. Closets and chest had even more of those items, along with even weapons and quite precious looking ornaments. For moment Michael completely forgotten why he even got here in the first place as he was lost in a beauty of historical artefacts that he loved so much. Without a second thought he put on one of the masks, amazed at the actual hard wood it was made off and not some cheap plastic.

"W-Who's th-there?" a familiar stuttering voice brought him back in reality.

The pink haired boy quickly put the mask back on the shelf, though it didn't do much when he was met face to face with the transfer student whose head was peeking through the attic flap. Yuma's eyes were wide from fear and his hands were visibly shaking when he saw Michael right there. Trying to not make situation any worse than it already way, Michael quickly reached for Yuma's pendant and rose it up so the other boy could see it.

"I'm sorry for getting in your room uninvited, but you forgot this at school and I wanted to return it to you in person!" Michael tried hard not to sound like a crazy stalker "You weren't answering the doors…"

"Oh…" was Yuma's only response as he climbed into the attic room.

"I'll leave right away, just show me to the entrance!" the pink haired boy bowed as an apology.

"I-It's… okay…." Yuma stepped closer in order to reclaim his missing pendant "I w-was afraid… I-I lost it on th-the way home… th-thank you."

"You're welcome… I guess." Michael smiled awkwardly as he once again looked around the room at the artefacts "Those items are so amazing, especially the Aztec artefacts… to think you have so many of them right here…"

"My d-dad brought them… from his travels." Yuma's tone of voice changed to slightly calmer one, putting the pendant with a fixed rope around his neck "Emperor's Key was among the first ones."

Yuma then looked at the chest under the hammock, noticeably enough for Michael to look as well. There lay a single framed photo of two people with the pendant in their hands. The youngest of Arclight family immediately recognized them as Yuma's parents and could sense a building uneasiness in the other boy.

"I'm sorry about your parents." Michael finally said after minutes of awkward silence "It must've been really hard for you lately."

"H-how did you…?" Yuma raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"My father was friends with your father. He told me what happened to them…" the pink haired boy clenched his fist "I'm really sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable during the last few weeks, but I wanted to help you out in some way. I know how much it hurts to lose someone dear to you…"

The black haired just stared at his classmate, but not in fear or annoyance. The way Yuma observed Michael was like an additional artefact found a place in the treasured attic that he built up carefully with his father. It's been a while since his eyes have showed that spark in them again. Even though it was a very mild spark, Michael saw it, that little sign of a passionate spirit in crimson eyes.

"You l-like Aztec culture?" Yuma finally asked after a while with no sign of showing Michael out.

"Yeah, it's one of my favourite's actually." the other boy replied back in surprise.

"I th-think th-there are more Aztec ar-artefacts in the chest behind you."

Like it was nothing, Yuma walked towards the said chest and swiftly undid the bindings to open it. Michael curiously crunched down to see it better, his green eyes gleaming at the sight of ancient items that showed more of mysterious Aztec culture. Michael handled each artefact with utmost of care, listening to stories that each item had. Yuma almost didn't stutter at all when telling them, though he would stop from time to time to just relive all the happy memories with his father. But just like two children going through toys, the two boys carefully examined each and every item in the chest. Soon they opened another case and the moment they finished it they would go around the room, exchanging their passions for ancient artefacts.

"Y-you said you l-lost someone too…" Yuma said once they were close to checking out the last item in the room "If-If it's okay to ask…"

"It's alright, and it was my mother." Michael sighed as he reached for a thick bracelet he wore around his wrist "I was really young at the time, five or six at most, but I do remember her…"

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"You seriously don't need to apologize for anything. It has been years after all."

"Wh-What happened?"

"My mother had a terminal disease… she fought it well when I was little, but once I started school she became weaker… and eventually she lost the battle…

"Arclight-kun…"

"No need to be so formal… just call me III."

"III? Why III?" Yuma blinked in puzzlement.

"It's how my family calls me…. Michael Arclight is just a nametag…"

"III…" the other boy said in more sophisticated tone "It sounds my-mysterious in a way."

Michael grinned at Yuma, actually feeling his heart warming up a bit when hearing it from the black haired boy. As they continued to casually chat with each other, the pink haired boy noticed that Yuma stuttered less and less the more they talked. At that point he wasn't even sure how much time has passed, but it was certainly long since it was already dark outside for a while. That and there were steps coming from below.

"I know you're not hungry, but the dinner is on the table… Yuma." someone else's head peeked through the attic flap, their eyebrows up from the surprise.

The person was a red haired woman in early twenties whose hair was tied in a high ponytail. While her eyes were dark purple, she had several red highlights in her hair, similar to Yuma's bangs. This was probably his sister who was surprisingly much older than Michael thought.

"I didn't know you had a friend over…" she gave her brother a confused look.

"I f-forgot something at s-school. He brought it to me."

"Well the dinner is ready and there's more than enough for your friend too. Though hurry up unless you want it cold." Yuma's sister shut the flap as she headed towards dining room.

Yuma sighed as he followed her, Michael not far behind, cautiously climbing down the wooden ladder.

"I really should be going home… I didn't tell anyone where I was going." Michael whispered to Yuma who only grabbed his arm and led him down the stairs. The rest of the house looked like a mixture of traditional European and Japanese home as well, especially the combination of traditional paper walls and pastel green wallpapers covering the majority of the walls.

The room to which they eventually arrived looked like dining room, kitchen and living room all squished together in one room. Compared to his family's dining room, it was rather tiny, nearly smaller than the grand table at his house alone. But with the warmth coming from the still hot stove and a table adorned with many various dishes, it felt unexplainably cosy. An elderly woman carried the plates on the table, not saying a word when putting another one for Michael.

"I'm grateful for your hospitality, but I should really be going…" the member of Arclight family politely declined that invitation to dinner.

"Nonsense dear, there's enough food for everyone. Just take a seat next to Yuma and thank for your food before you start to eat." an old woman, whom he assumed to be Yuma's grandmother, gave him a warm smile.

Michael sat down a bit awkwardly, on the only free chair left at the table. Yuma soon joined him, bringing along an additional mug with a steaming tea. As the rest of Tsukumo family took seats, Michael couldn't help but to adore nicely prepared dishes, mostly consisting of traditional Japanese cuisine. There were fried chicken strips, grilled fish, miso soup, meat potato and plenty of rice. He didn't even know where to begin as to how delicious it all looked, so he pretty much followed Yuma's lead, taking a little of everything in order to try it all.

Michael put his hands together while mumbling a quiet itadakimasu before trying the first home cooked meal that wasn't made by him or his father. He had cooked plenty of dishes so far, but the ones that were made by Tsukumo family were outright mouth-watering. Not just the flavour, the entire feel of it tasted amazingly and simple at the same time. Michael couldn't help but to imagine his brothers and father at the table too, enjoying a meal together like in the old times before they moved to Heartland.

"So are you Yuma's classmate?" Yuma's sister, Akari as he heard Yuma call her, asked cautiously observing him while sipping her mug of tea.

"Yeah…" Michael replied rather nervously "We sit at the same desk in class."

"That's just wonderful! It's been a while since Yuma brought friends home." Yuma's grandmother smiled "Do feel welcome to visit whenever you want."

"Thank you…" the pink haired boy reached for his cell phone, just to see how late it was "Oh no! My last bus left half of an hour ago."

"You can stay over." said Yuma "I have enough space in my room."

Yuma's grandmother and Akari both gave the black haired boy a "are you sure?" look, but dismissed it once they realized Yuma didn't stutter at all when saying the whole sentence. They finished the rest of the dinner in peace, with Yuma excusing himself earlier as he went to prepare an extra futon in his room for Michael. As a thank you for delicious dinner, Michael offered to help Akari wash the dishes which she gladly took. Scrubbing the plates and cutlery with bunch of dish soap, Yuma's older sibling was quiet most of the time unless her grandmother asked her anything. The pink haired boy politely exchanged those few words with the two women about himself and by the time they were done, they pretty much found out about everything about him.

Just before he headed towards Yuma's room, Akari pulled him into a tight hug, the kind of hug that Chris would give him when he was younger. Though unlike his brother, the young woman had happy tears bubbling at her eyes like Michael just gave her a puppy or something.

"Thank you…" she whispered, releasing him from her bear hug "Yuma had been seriously depressed ever since… that day. I tried to be there for him, but I've been working all the time and never really got a chance to talk with him at all. So, thank you for being his friend."

Michael was surprised that Tsukumo family already saw him as Yuma's friend, though come to think of it he did spend majority of the afternoon with Yuma like they've known each other for years. Not to mention he also had a meal with him and is going to spend a night at his house. This certainly wasn't how he imagined his becoming friends with Yuma would go, but he was that more glad that it happened.

Going to Yuma's room, he was half surprised that Yuma prepared a futon for himself and that he'd get an entire bed for himself. He protested a bit, which the transfer student dismissed right away, saying he used to sleep in the hammock all the time so futon was no trouble. Michael so just gave up and put on the pyjamas that were set on the edge of the bed before following Yuma to the bathroom where he brushed his teeth with Yuma's extra toothbrush.

Once they were both properly ready for bed, they pretty much threw themselves respectively on their beds, snuggling into the warm covers like kittens. Yuma turned off the lights right away as it was pretty late and they would need to get up early for school the next day. Michael stared at the silhouette of his classmate in the dark room, who was lying on his side facing the other wall. To think that a simple returning of a lost pendant would turn into a sleepover… Michael certainly didn't expect that. But before falling asleep, he had to make sure of something.

"Yuma… your sister and grandmother called me your friend… but am I really your friend?" Michael said in a whisper, afraid of what the answer may be.

"You are…" Yuma replied right away "III… you were my friend the moment we met and helped me out."

"Yuma…" the pink haired boy almost gasped at how mature the other boy sounded that moment, completely opposite to how he was so far.

"Everyone wanted to help me out after… what happened… But sooner or later they gave up on me. They saw me as fragile child and once they marked me as too broken, they left." Yuma stopped, sounding like he was wiping a tear "But you didn't give up on me, neither had you pitied me like others did. You just wanted to be friends with me… treating me just like another classmate. No one has ever gone to such lengths for me."

"I'm glad to hear that…" Michael nearly got teary from Yuma's speech.

"III… will you stay friends with me?"

"I will… I promise to never leave you."

Their promises might've sounded a bit far-fetched considering they've knew each other for less than a month, but deep down they felt like they've known each other their whole lives. Even as they slept so close to each other, it was like their dreams were intertwining. Together they continued with their adventure full of ancient ruins where they would be exploring a mysterious temple or look for the lost treasures. And when Michael saw Yuma's eyes again, they were no longer blank and lifeless. No, this time they were of the crimson colour, sparkling as brightly as the ancient rubies that they were about to claim in their quest.

Even when the morning came, Yuma still smiled as widely as he did when he looked at the gems in the dream. Michael who woke up before him was met with a sleeping form of boy with an adventurous spirit that finally found its way back in Yuma's heart. There was still lots of it missing and Michael was more than ever determined to help him get it back. When Yuma woke up he was a bit puzzled of who the other boy in his room was, but once he remembered the dream he formed a slight smile as he got up and began preparing for school.

After as equally delicious breakfast as the yesterday's dinner was, Michael and Yuma headed for the school. Even though they were rather earlier there were already so many students there. Yuma was seemingly fidgeting around them, flinching at their touches like they burned. Michael so led him through the crowd with as less people as possible, hoping to help with his severe anxiety.

"III… is it okay if I hold your hand? I don't like being in crowds… I feel like I'm going to get lost." Yuma nervously asked, shifting from one leg to another.

"Of course. As long as it helps you." Michael gently offered his hand which Yuma took gratefully.

"Thank you…" the black haired leaned into the touch as the two of them walked towards their classroom.

Though what Michael didn't expect was that the moment their hands made contact, he felt a tingling feeling in his chest. What he didn't know that time was that it was a beginning of something that would mark his life forever.

He was starting to fall in love with Yuma…

Preview for the next chapter: In order to help Yuma with his anxiety attacks in the crowds, III invites him to go to the movies. Despite being rather late, III manages to get the last two tickets to see Dark Side of Dimensions movie where Yuma surprisingly stumbles upon an old friend of his.

And this marks the first chapter in 4 part fanfic about III and Yuma falling in love. I went with 4 part love story: first - meeting a person, then realizing you're in love, then planning to confess and lastly confess the love for real. I might be a bit late since it's a Christmas fanfic, but who cares, here's all the fluff that you can get. ;) Yuma and III also won't be the only ship in this since there will be more characters appearing in each chapter. That's it for now and stay tooned for the future chapters that will all come out this week :D Also each chapter will be titled after one of III's quotes.

And in case you're wondering, yes Chris/V is attending the same college as Zarc and Ray from Fragile Smile (in fact they're close friends too) and Kaito also went to see the same movie with Haruto as III and Yuma will.

As always kudos, comments, questions, critics... all highly appreciated, they all always make me write more :D