"Well, don't mind him anymore. In fact, get your friends from that class together and take the rest of the day off." I looked up from my tiny feet, staring into the young Principal's eyes with shock "Seriously?" I asked, waiting for affirmation.
"Yes! Now go, go on before I change my mind." Koriyama replied, a playful smile lurking into his face. I ran back into class, grabbing Yusei and Tsutarei after telling Mr. Mizore that as a result of his prejudice towards me and my two "foreign" friends, I could spend the rest of the day off. Tsutarei shot him the middle finger on the way out, resulting in a near outburst of collecting rage. Together, we walked down the hall to the campus, laying atop the warm grassy hill. I gratefully inhaled a breath of the fresh flowers growing around the campus, sighing with contentment.
"I could fall asleep here if it wasn't school property." I said blissfully.
"She's right," Tsutarei agreed. "It's so fragrant here. It smells much like the gardens my mother planted in the backyard of our pueblo back towards Mexico." I couldn't imagine having a garden like that all to yourself.
"Hey, Tsutarei?" I prompted, feeling the touch of Yusei's hand on my arm. (Shivers of guilty pleasure)
"Que?" He said, clearly meaning what.
"Isn't it true that you can't sell a pueblo? You sort of just inherit it, right?"
"Si. My mother explained that to me. When I am an adult, she will probably take me back there to live in that pueblo." He replied, eyes closed in reminiscence.
"So why do you have an accent if you're half Japanese?" Yusei asked, taking his hand off my arm. It had clearly been an accident, since we'd all shut our eyes.
"I originally came from Mexico. My father had been a yakuza boss from Tokyo, and had convinced my mother to marry him after many years of their dating. I believe, however, he did not love her."
"That's terrible!" Yusei cried, pounding his fist into the earth.
"Calm yourself, hermano. My father married my mother in 2015… In Mexico, it is traditional to marry young… My mother had turned fifteen when they married, nearly sixteen when they had me. My father had lived with my mother and me. Only 5 years after I was born, then he left, leaving me this pendent I wear." Tsutarei held the dark jade crystal around his neck up to the sun, a shape of the pentagon with a pearl dragon flying vertically along the center contour.
"So how're you and your mother now?" Yusei asked, subtler than he was.
"My mother is 32, running a self-started jewelry business." He replied.
"That's pretty cool." I commented, feeling a bit more compassion for this boy now that I had begun to know him better. "She makes the sum herself then, huh?" I continued, wondering if my assumption about his pendent was correct.
"Si. She gave this pendent to my father on the first year of their marriage, telling him it would protect him. And then when he left, he gave it to me… I haven't seen him in twelve years." He turned his face away from the sun, staring into the grass.
"Wow… that must have been pretty rough on you." I said. "I can understand where you're coming from though…" Tsutarei shook his head.
"I know you have a father, Aki. You have someone you can go to."
"I have someone I can go to, yes." I agreed. "But that person is not my father." His face seemed to open up with the idea. "My father and I use to be close… but his job as a senator took up all the time he had for me. He wasn't there on my 5th birthday. He wasn't there to say goodbye on my first day at school. He couldn't even finish a duel with me." I clenched my fist in the bitterness of the memory. "And when he finally did find the time to duel with me, he had to quit during the middle… that's where things got bad." Yusei squeezed my hand gently, and Tsutarei braced himself. "My anger had finally grown into something I couldn't control over the years of his absence. And I exploded. My psychic powers… they are a result of that violent state of my mind. I ended up slamming him into a wall with my powers, but believe me it was not on purpose… I was child… and he called me a monster…"
"That must have hurt being so young," Tsutarei sympathized, patting my head. "I'm sorry I thought you had it so easy."
"Oh it only gets worse from there," I said. "Just listen. From there, my dad and I grew farther and farther apart. I got picked on at school a lot for my dad never being around, so I set a monster on the kids at school to scare them away. I never hurt anyone though… And my dad slapped me right across the face that day after school." Yusei's eyes dilated with anger, squeezing my hand more protectively. "So it spiraled from there that he continued avoiding me, both him and my mother, and they even laughed when I was sent here a few years down the road. It only happened last year that I ran to the house from this place, wanting to see them. Then through the window, I saw both him and my mother sharing drinks, smiling and having a good time… All without me. So I destroyed their home, ran out to the streets and was picked up by the Arcadia Movement. You know my story from there… I'm just glad Yusei found me."
I turned to him fondly, and he returned my smile, waving our clasped hands together in a gesture of affirmation. "Hey… I think it's your turn to share the story of you and your dad, Yusei." I said, hoping this wasn't something too personal.
"Well… my dad was pretty close to my mom, and they were a generally well off couple… but my dad. The thing about him is that he had a job working for Rex Goodwin. He was a scientist, working with the Ener-D reactor. One day, it just… exploded. My dad is dead." I put my hand on his cheek instantly, already feeling his sorrow wash itself on me in a tidal wave of ferocity.
"Yusei… I'm so sorry." I told him, and Tsutarei walked to the other side to give him a shoulder pat of sympathy.
"I feel your pain, hermano. I don't know if my dad's dead or alive. And you…" He said, turning to me with considerate eyes. "I'm sorry your father could never accept you. Either way, we all have a bad story about our fathers. I grew up without one, Yusei never met his father, and your father never put forth the effort to reach out to you. But would you like to hear the positives here?" He said, squeezing into the middle to sandwich us all together with his long arms. "Without a similarity like that, we might not be so close already." He gave a sigh and a very… interesting smile. "I just couldn't live without you guys."
About twenty minutes later, we were all sitting in the Black Leaf Café from two days ago. Sipping a citrus caramel latte, I felt Tsutarei nudge me under the table with his foot. I looked over at him curiously, and he gave me the "Can we talk privately?" look. I nodded, and excused myself to the little fireplace where Yusei and I had sat before. Tsutarei sat down across from me, handing me a note.
"What's this for?" I asked, taking the piece of folded notebook paper.
"Just read it. You'll know everything then." He replied.
"Everything on what? What are you talking about?" I was still confused.
"It's a note between me and Yusei while we were in that class with Mizore. He was discussing his real feelings about you." His real feelings about me… Tsutarei had my attention now. I was about to open it, but stopped halfway through opening it.
"You stopped? Why?" He asked.
"I want it to be a surprise. Yusei will tell me his feelings towards me when he's ready. And I'll accept them, whatever they are." He nodded with understanding, a smile crossing his face. Casually, we walked back towards Yusei, who was checking the notifications on his phone. Flicking through them absentmindedly, he asked, "So what was that little conversation about?" I answered him, nonchalantly.
"Just discussing tomorrow's valentines." Putting down his phone, he made a mock gesture of hurt, like he's been shot in the chest.
"Without moi?" I laughed. Tsutarei sat down beside Yusei, and I stayed across from him. Then we all discussed our plans for what kind of gifts we might present to our admired one.
"I'm going to make her something with the help of my mother's antiques." Tsutarei said, his hands moving in sync with his words.
"I might just frame a bunch of memories I had with 'em. Maybe dress up."
"What about you, Yusei?" Tsutarei said, turning his attention to Yusei. He smiled gently, brushing his bangs back from his eyes nervously.
"I already bought my valentine a present." He said, blushing a bit as he spoke.
"Who is it?" I pushed, seeing his face fade with emotion. "What's wrong?" I said, reaching across the table to pat his hand. His smile returned as I did this.
"It's nothing. I'm just going to keep it a secret." Winking, Yusei, checked the time on his phone as I took another sip of my latte. He then got up, draping his bag over his shoulder.
"W-Where are you going?" I asked, getting up with him.
"Nowhere in particular. Might just go back to the house. You're free to come with if you want." I nodded my head and Tsutarei paid the bill for our drinks. He also had a place to go, and so we parted, leaving me to walk with Yusei back home. We didn't say much, just listened to the songs playing on his i-Pod. For a while, the music was nice. But I soon picked up he wasn't speaking because something might have been bothering him.
"Yusei; what's wrong?" I asked, and Yusei's brow knit together with anxiety.
"I just… I was really worried when I found you there in the hall earlier, after those guys were chasing you... And I still hate that I hadn't been there sooner…" I sighed, giving him the universal gesture for "No, no, that's not how it works."
"Ahem. Yusei. There is no way in Hell you could have ever known that I was in that… disgusting situation. And even though you came a bit late," –he winced momentarily–"You did get me out of it." I opened my mouth. "See? It's all virgin here." I stuck my tongue out and he laughed.
"You're not still mad about…?" He trailed off.
"Mad?" I waved it off with a scoff. "No. I'm not mad at all." I then gave Yusei the most intimate hug I've ever given anyone. "I couldn't be happier with you." Taken aback by the hug, I felt the heat rise from his chest upward, and I lay my head beneath his chin, letting him stroke my hair.
"You know what tomorrow is." Yusei said, fingers caressing down my neck.
"Yes I do." I said, not even disturbed by the fact my best friend in the whole world could possibly have another girl in mind for himself.
"Just… be ready okay?" Not sure by what he meant, but knowing already it was as good as he was, I nodded with a brilliant smile. Then, very gently, he kissed the crown of my head, causing me to giggle.
"See you later?" I said, blushing intensely.
"Yeah." Yusei replied, sliding his hand out of mine as we walked backwards to our separate ways. I then turned my face away all smiles that I knew he returned.
The next morning, I was awakened by a few knocks on my door. Tired and dazed, I answered the voice outside my door. "Hllo?"
"Aki? It's Yusei, your best friend… Sorry to wake you but today's Valentine's Day and…"
"No, no… You din't wake me… I've been up for hours…" I interrupted in a mushy voice, putting my head in my hand and falling into a 10 second sleep. I then jerked back to reality, straight up but with eyes closed.
"Who is it?" I said, this time clear.
"It's still me… Yusei… but yeah, get up and get ready for school, 'cause, you know, it's… Valentine's Day." I sighed and replied groggily.
"Yeah, yeah… Vlademine's Day…" I mumbled, once again slumping. "Wait… Valentine's Day! It's Valentine's Day!" I quickly showered, went to my closet, threw it open, remembering that on holidays the school permitted students to wear whatever they pleased. And that's where things got out of hand…
But oh well. Who gives a damn, right? I brushed my teeth, did a little make up work, and flopped down the stairs, joining the line of Jack and Yusei at the coffee pot. Both of them stared at me and looked like maybe they had a bone to pick, if you know what I mean. Yusei cleared his throat, loosening his tie as if it had gotten very hot in the room, and Jack tightened the belt around his hips. I then broke the silence.
"I am aware that I look quite fabulous." I then scooted Jack out of the way, and took the full coffee pot in my hand, filling up his mug since he was too dumb to do it himself, and gave Yusei the same privilege, kissing his cheek and leaving a mahogany stain of lipstick on his tan skin. Jack snickered a bit and teased, "Where's my kiss?" leading me to answer as, "With Sherry." Turning pink in his cheeks, he hissed with agitation as I caught him off guard. Taking the creamer from the fridge, I set it on the table for the boys, but didn't bother adding much to my own coffee.
Black, maple syrup, lots of spices, molasses, and a gingersnap teabag to the large mug filled with my morning brew. Yusei seemed to still be contemplating everything that had happened, and I shook him out of his trance with a massage to the back, rubbing his insanely stiff shoulders into relaxation.
"Did you gentleman sleep well?" Jack nodded his head calmly, looking more subdued than before. Yusei nodded as well, but not in a natural way of response. Mostly as though he was preferring to just go back to bed. "You have to wake up," I reminded him. "We've got school today, and it is Valentine's Day. You were the one knocking on my door to get me up." I sat down next to him and puffed my coffee breath in his face. "Come on… wake up! Smell the caffeine!" I nuzzled his head warmly, teddy slapping his cheeks till he moaned a half coherent response of "I'm up okay?" I doubted it, but let him slide into rest as I began conversation with Jack.
"Have you got plans with Sherry today?" I prompted.
"I do actually. We're having another dinner date, and then we're going to hit the bar, possibly." He told me proudly, patting himself on the chest as he drank.
"Oh, fabulous. Sounds like you two might get lucky for each other."
"It's indeed a possibility, what with the drinks that will be taken." He agreed, rubbing his hand gently along my thigh.
"Or maybe I could get lucky right now if I wanted to…"He said, and I laughed softly. Thinking of how fun it is to tease, I cupped his chin in my fingers.
"Maybe you could…" I agreed, leaning into his smirking face. The chair next to me suddenly screeched outward on the hard floor, signaling Yusei had seen enough.
"Okay! I'm ready for school now. Aren't you, Akiza?" I nodded, gladly stepping away from Jack and taking my bag off the table. "You're walking with me aren't you?" Yusei asked me, and I nodded, blowing a goodbye kiss to Jack, watching his expression absorb it with a smirk on the lily white face. I stretched my stiff limbs as Yusei and I walked together, already knowing the twins were at school since I had woken up late enough to say first hour was over. Casually, I draped my arm over Yusei's shoulder and though his cheeks flushed red, I saw him return the gesture in the same calm manner, holding my waist in his hand while massaging the tense muscles. I sighed softly in contentment, feeling a little dazed, and slouched against him suddenly, my knees void of all strength they had before. It was black for maybe a minute before I heard Yusei's voice calling me to the waking world.
"Aki. Aki! Are you okay?" He looked worried, as he usually did when something funny happened to me, but I nodded my head yes, feeling much better after that tiny blackout.
"Yes… I'm okay. I just felt a little weak for a moment is all." I told him, digging around in my bag for a Gin-Gin candy to boost my energy a bit.
"It's because you haven't been eating, isn't it…?" He said, looking into my eyes with certainty of his words.
"No, it's not because of that, I'm fine." I told him, popping the candy in my mouth casually and sucking on it to get the sweet ginger bite dissolving in my saliva.
"Please don't lie to me…" Yusei said, faintly pleading. "I don't want to lose you because of something going unnoticed that could have been stopped." I shook my head, dismissing his concerned words and offered him a candy.
"If I was lying to you, you'd be able to tell… You know me better than anyone." He nodded slowly, taking my candy as we found the entrance of NDU coming into view.
"You're right there… but maybe the reason I can't tell that you're lying is because you don't even know that you're lying to yourself." Rolling my eyes, I knew he was right on this one… Although I was sure I was fine, I had to wonder how much not being able to eat had affected me at this point. Probably too much for me to admit even to myself. Shaking off the worries, I took his hand casually in mine and we continued walking, my change of topics bringing about a much lighter mood while I drank a can of Monster Energy Zero.
As we entered, I noticed people were giving me dirty looks and whispering to each other about the events that had taken place between me and Tsuma, while my "victim" and her posse were ignoring my existence altogether. Looking down at my feet, I trudged to class, now barely awake once more in my guilt tripped state. Attribute Combining Education… the first dreaded class of the day. It was only worsened when I nearly nodded off to sleep before having my fingernails racked down a good 1/4th of a millimeter by Mr. Joki's ruler. Karyn.
"Ms. Izinski!"
"Gah! Yes Mr. Joki!" I sat up at attention, Yusei looking on with an expression of utter awkwardness, amusement, and concern as usual.
"You have a final to retake in this class… Because as I am aware, you didn't show up for finals two days ago… You are lucky to have had my substitute on Thursday morning, but today I am afraid you must face the music." He smirked devilishly and I gulped. I still hadn't studied, of course, what with the events going on in my life. Looking down at my lap on the verge of a nervous breakdown, I must have been trembling like crazy because Yusei put a hand on my shoulder.
"Calm. Down. I'm going to be very honest here. I do not encourage cheating to any circumstance. But because I do not wish for you to fail the year, I would recommend you find the test answers within the teacher's mind to fill out your test." I nodded, agreeing with him woefully as I scolded myself for being irresponsible. ;-; While Mr. Joki handed me my exam, all preprinted with my name on it and everything, I found an entry into his brain and took the chance, digging through his memories and finding a few I wish I didn't, before finding the exam results that he had gotten from Principal Koriyama. Yusei gave me a small kick under the table as he sensed my concentration focus, and I knew it was a warning that if I was unprepared like this again, the consequences would be much worse… Silent treatment. For a month… not the happiest idea I've read from him. I filled in the multiple choice questions on my bubble sheet hastily, not writing on the test, and scribbled down the written answer questions in a summarized, paraphrased format so it wouldn't be obvious I was cheating.