AH BEEN WAITING FOR THIS -
May I please request some headcanons/scenario for Mist/No.96 where mc was his duel partner - and almost romantic partner - but then the end half of zexal happened and 96 perished;
BuT since then mc has been basically bullying the main trio to revive 96 too along with everyone, and then it happens, and they meet again and it’s -!!🥺🥺♡
this is long and kinda rambly so I hope it's okay!!
Thinking back on it, you weren’t quite sure how the odd pairing had ever happened. He was otherworldly, alien, and oh-so-intimidating, with a body that oozed the absence of light and fangs that gleamed like a broken moon. His markings had been your favorite, though— deep shades of red and green, they glowed, luminescent, despite the fact that his body was darkness given form. His voice had pinned you in place, even more so than the pressure that seemed to emanate from his very presence.
And you were just a human. Fragile and flawed and exactly what he was looking for. You’d had no reasons to get involved with the Barians or that other alien that looks just like him, but Dark Mist— when he’d announced his name like introducing a god, you’d nearly keeled over laughing— had dragged you along for the ride, in need of someone with tangible hands who could interact with the world beyond his reach.
It definitely wasn’t where you’d expected to go with your life. All the alien wanted to do was cause problems; he was constantly materializing in front of people and goading them into brawls, only to slip behind you when things got heated and order you around like a pawn on a chessboard. It’s not like you were doing anything else with your days. Your dueling skills may’ve only been average on your own, but Dark Mist had an understanding of duel monsters that you’d never seen in anyone before. When he suggested a play, you did it, and you always won— eventually he graced you even further with his presence, slipping the card with his own name into your deck and demanding you use it even if he wasn’t around. [He was always around, though— you were beginning to suspect he had nowhere else to go.]
Admittedly, his initial attitude was a lot to take. Arrogant and bossy and bordering on— crossing into— criminal. But there were moments that made up for it— the late nights where you’d climb from your balcony onto your roof and find him floating there like a black hole, watching Heartland far beneath him. And he asks you how electric lights work. And you remember he’s not exactly from here.
Some nights, he turns his golden eyes up to the stars, and he begins to brag. There’s worlds beyond Earth, he tells you, and he’s been to them— he can go whenever he’d like, and you’re stuck here on your silly little planet. He never answers when you ask him why he doesn’t just go, why he insists on drifting over your shoulder like a bad song, scaring you awake every morning because he hovers far too close to your face. Instead he just turns away from you and mutters something— you don’t catch it all, but you’re sure he’s said something about bringing you along to other worlds one day. You tell him you’ll hold him to that promise— his markings glow an even brighter red.
You’d never asked for any of this. He’d followed through on his word and dragged you to all sorts of other worlds, but it wasn’t the adventure you’d been hoping for— instead, as his proclaimed dueling pawn, you were there when he lost. When Astral sealed your odd not-quite-friend away permanently. When his body dissolved just out of your reach, and you were left with a sense of isolation you’d never felt before. The only proof he’d ever been in your life was the copy of his card still resting in your deckbox.
Yuma tried to apologize. Even if he couldn’t understand why you’d feel that way about someone practically made of evil, the alien had still been someone important to you, and he understood that much. You’d barely made it to your feet before demanding he take you home and never speak to you again.
With Dark Mist gone, the next few months passed like a foggy morning. You didn’t care enough to stay involved with the end of the world; you were vaguely aware that time had passed when Heartland disappeared, and then everything was okay again. For everyone else, anyways. One unfortunate day, your path crossed with Yuma again, Astral still quietly floating alongside him as they watch the ocean— you can’t decide if you want to shove them into the water, or drop to your knees and beg.
Your body made the choice for you. When you blinked, you were holding Yuma by the collar of his vest, dragging him up until he was balancing on his toes and then you make your demands. Your hands are trembling even as they hold him steady, and eventually his own gloved hands land on top of yours— instead of trying to tear you off him, Yuma wants to comfort you. He knows how it felt to lose Astral over and over— he knows you haven’t healed.
It’s a long debate. Astral doesn’t think it should be done, citing everything that Dark Mist caused; Yuma, though, is adamant that everyone deserves a happy ending. Vector— Ray— had gotten one, after all; 96 will have you to watch out for him, so there’s no real harm. Astral still holds the power to heal a few more hearts.
You roll over in bed the next morning, as if nothing had ever changed. Same blankets, same walls, same alien scowling down at you— you jolt upright so fast that you phase right through him, and he hisses swears as he tumbles back through your bedroom. He’s here, he’s here, his presence dripping across the floor and flooding every corner of your room, his glow reflecting off your windows and filling the room with his dark light. Even knowing you can’t touch him, you throw your arms out for a hug— Dark Mist grins down at you and doesn’t drift away. He says something that’s supposed to be mean— “you missed your false god an awful lot, didn’t you?”— and you don’t even deny it. He rolls his eyes and bares his fangs, but opens his arms in the same way you’d done; you still phase right through him, and he does his best to seem unbothered, but you’re sure a spark of electricity races up your spine when he tries to wrap his arms around you too.
