Summary: (Three-shot) Asuka is fed up with everyone thinking she's in love with Judai. They're just friends! She would know if she loves him, and she doesn't! Asuka is sure of that, but is she second-guessing herself? …Of course not!
Genre: General/Humor.
Disclaimer: Gel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, it belongs to some (probably old) Japanese dudes…and probably Takahashi-sensei too. :x
Time Period: Judai's first year.
Author's Note: Holy freaking crap!! O.o;; I actually wrote something! How long has it been……2004?!!! Wow that's not good… But for the love of God this chapter is FINALLY finished! .::dies in peace:: I must have been working on this stupid story since mid April…. o.O;;; Crap… Anyway, just so we're all clear this isn't a Judai x Asuka story. I don't support it and I don't like it. There are no official pairings… except for implied shounen-ai… :3
So without further ado, I give you Denial, Rage, No Acceptance! Start—
Bleeping Guy: Start the story!
Damn it that's MY line!
Denial, Rage, No Acceptance!
Written By: Gel
Beta-Read By: darkrunner
x.X.x.X.x
Chapter One: Denial
"I like Kaiser Ryou-sama. What a hunk!"
Two sighs followed in response.
"Momoe, awhile ago you said you liked Manjoume-Thunder, and before him you thought Misawa Daichi was good-looking,"
"So?"
"So, make up your mind already! Who's the ideal guy of your dreams?" Junko pressed as she leaned towards the edge of her chair, staring back at Momoe anxiously.
"But they're all gorgeous it's hard to say who," the dark-haired girl pouted, fidgeting slightly within her own seat, "I can't help it that I'm boy crazy!"
Junko scoffed. "Boy crazy is an understatement… Obsession's more like it." She teased playfully.
The dark-haired girl huffed, flustered by the would-be-insult.
"Junko you're so mean!" Momoe whined, choosing not to take the teasing lightheartedly as her friend did. She was not obsessed with boys… she happened to hold a greater interest in them compared to others… Definitely not obsessed—preposterous!
The auburn-haired girl laughed sheepishly, "Sorry Momoe-chan. I'm only poking fun at you… even if it is the truth…" Junko mumbled the latter part, which didn't go unnoticed by the fuming girl.
Momoe opened her mouth to remark, only to close it when she couldn't utter even a small syllable. She subconsciously repeated the same process over and over again, to Junko's amusement, making her resemble a fish. Junko covered her mouth to suppress the giggles threatening to escape in fear of further angering Momoe. She loved her friend dearly, but sometimes she couldn't help but to get the girl riled up. Momoe had an entertaining habit of huffing and pouting, hissing and whining like a cute but spoiled child.
Scandalized, Momoe turned to her right, in the direction of a blonde-haired girl sitting beside her clad in the standardized white and blue uniform. The said girl currently minded her own business with her nose in a textbook, paying no heed to the conversation between the other two girls.
"Asuka-san…can you help me out here?"
Asuka ignored the other girl's plea only to continue reading her textbook. It's not that she didn't care about helping an anguished Momoe—she wasn't heartless—she chose to simply not respond. Often she would serve as the peacemaker in Momoe and Junko's daily routine quarrels, and it became annoying to deal with after some time…
To put it bluntly, Asuka had better things to do than this.
"Asuka-san?"
But if she must step in, then so be it… The quicker things settled, the quicker she'd get back to reading.
"Sorry Momoe, I concur with what Junko said. You are obsessed…" Asuka finally replied, absently.
"Told you so," Junko beamed victoriously.
As an intellectual, and an influential role model, Asuka's input was respected and crucial when it came down to the final word, meaning Junko won the round.
"…But, Junko shouldn't be talking since she's no better herself."
Game. Set. Match. Victor: Asuka.
No one ever said the blonde had to take sides.
Junko face faulted, overpowered and defeated by an insinuating Asuka. So much for her fifteen seconds of glory…
"Asuka-san!"
Momoe childishly stuck her tongue out; satisfied Junko got what she deserved.
The auburn-haired girl scowled, sinking back into the plush cushion, crossing her arms in annoyance. How did she go from winning to losing in under less than a second? Life's not fair, she concluded. Junko groaned loudly; she was frustrated and she wanted everyone to know it.
Asuka's lips curved into a small genuine smile, amused by her friend's immature antics. But before either girl noticed the smile, Asuka returned back to her previous task. Homework...
That's how the squabble began… The three girls were sitting in the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm lounge early that afternoon, finishing their homework for the next day's set of classes…or at least Asuka was finishing her homework… Momoe and Junko tried to do so until their short attention span kicked in, deeming that it had been far too long since they last gossiped about boys (which wasn't really long ago).
They couldn't help it however. Homework was boring, and boys were not.
Asuka loved Momoe and Junko as the sisters she never had, and did indeed enjoy spending time with them—honestly she did—but the need to bring up boys every waking moment they've spent was something Asuka could've done without. Regretfully, she expected no less or any more of her friends. They had a one-tracked mind when it came to the annoying subject which she held in contempt. Usually she would tune them out by thinking over duel strategies whenever they did talk about men (namely all the time), which is how Asuka's dueling improved over the course of the year.
The Queen of Obelisk Blue held no interests in the (mediocre) topic whatsoever, and she certainly did not want to waste her time contemplating something beneath her. She was always indifferent when it came to boys, unlike most hormonal girls her age. When preteens started to become interested in boy bands and teen idols, Asuka already started dueling long before. That's how it's always been. She did not care. Asuka had other important matters to worry about— for instance, who her next duel opponent was going to be, and how would she crush them.
Dueling is her mindset.
A good duelist lives dueling and breathes dueling… I'd take the thrill of that any day over a boyfriend— Asuka's thoughts were momentarily interrupted.
"…Who do you like, hmm?" Momoe asked Junko smugly, quirking a slender eyebrow.
Junko's peachy complexion turned bright red as a result. She tried in vain to hide the creeping blush by covering her face with her hands, lowering her head down near her lap.
"Fubuki-sama," she muttered, bashfully smiling although it was obscured by her hands.
"EEK! Fubuki-sama!" Momoe squealed in delight, causing Asuka to cringe at her deafening volume.
"Momoe, my eardrums…" Asuka complained bitterly, however she went unheard. Momoe and Junko fanatically began to rant about 'Why Fubuki is God'. (In a few years when the girls would be…"more interested" in Fubuki, they would rant why he was sex walking on legs…) The blonde-haired girl groaned softly, rolling her hazel eyes.
Here we go again…
"Doesn't he have a great personality?"
"His hair is so shiny and silky!"
"Who can forget that irresistible smile?"
"Aah… milky white…"
"He's a talented duelist, only second best compared to Kaiser-sama!"
"He's so romantic!"
"He surfs too! How cool is that?!"
"He has a great body!"
A sigh escaped Asuka's lips as she shook her head tiredly. She heard this particular conversation repeatedly, and just like the boys topic, it became just as old… Where was the Tylenol when you needed them the most? Maybe she'd be lucky enough to get knocked out by drowsiness if she took too many…
Albeit, she supposed she had to thank whatever higher force watching over her for letting Fubuki be no where near the girl's lounge this instant, which he had a tendency to sneak into once in a while. Junko and Momoe would only boast that enormous ego of his—the last thing Asuka neither wanted nor needed.
The blonde frowned, gazing solemnly at the duo. Sometimes Asuka found it unfair that all Momoe and Junko ever wanted to do was to talk about boys or Fubuki, and never something Asuka wanted to talk about. If she did manage to change the subject, somehow they landed smack right back into guys again. Even if her friends did it unintentionally, Asuka often felt left out when they were in an animated conversation. What was she going to say? How much she liked the guy sitting next to her in Chronos-sensei's class? F-ck no!
She broodingly came to the conclusion nothing she could do would change her friends' ways, and she definitely wasn't going to change her attitude to fit in.
But for now, she would grin and bare Junko and Momoe—take it like a strong, independent woman… She could handle it…
Asuka readjusted the position of her text book perched on her lap, and continued, or at least tried to convince herself to finish the reading assignment, despite the distractions. Momoe and Junko predictably continued to rave about her brother. Even she had to admit it was inevitable that Fubuki would pop into their ranting sooner or later (too soon and not late enough in her opinion). The two girls idolized him. Sometimes it amazed Asuka to an extent on how her friends could talk about Fubuki for hours in front of her, and never stopping once to think maybe she didn't want to hear about Fubuki being "hot", or which brand of styling shampoo slash conditioner did he use. (A/N- coughPantinecough) It's her brother after all! She had every right to be crept out!
It's best to ignore them, Asuka reminded herself. That would be the mature thing to do. She couldn't let such a petty thing bother her—not that she's calling Fubuki petty…
"Do you think Fubuki-sama will ever date me?"
"Not if he dates me! We're destined to be Mr. and Mrs. Tenjoin!"
Twitch.
…But Asuka had to draw the line somewhere!
Finally deciding to take action, she said in a strained irritated tone, "Both of you suggested we should complete our homework together when I wanted to do it alone in the first place… So why is it I'mthe only one who's reading the assignment?"
Junko and Momoe fell silent, unsure how to respond.
"Sorry Asuka-san," they guiltily replied.
"Forgiven," she said, feeling please with herself. Maybe now she would get the peace and quiet she needed to read.
With the exception of the sounds of the pages turning in their books, and other Obelisk Blue girl students chatting in the background, the silence between the trio lasted for a decent amount of time, before Momoe decided to break the silence, much to Asuka's displeasure, by voicing her thoughts.
Nothing could have possibly warned Asuka of the problems and the large migraines that would occur in the near future, all thanks to the persistence of an innocent thought.
"I wonder who Asuka-san has a crush on…"
"Isn't it obvious? Asuka-san secretly loves Yuki Judai!" Junko stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Really," Momoe replied, mildly surprised and intrigued. "I guess that makes perfect sense." She turned to Asuka once again, "Asuka-san, do you really love Yuki Judai?" she asked with a need to find out firsthand.
Unfortunately for Asuka, she missed entirely everything involving Judai and herself, due to choosing to ignore her friends when they began to speak again. She happened to be deeply immersed in her readings of 'The Right Time to Execute the Right Strategy' chapter.
'It's a matter of time execution and patience to unleash your strategy against your opponent…'
"Asuka-san,"
"Hmm?"
"Do you love Judai?"
"Sure, whatever…"
…
Asuka paused, feeling a weird vibe from the response she gave. She didn't know what Momoe had asked, a vital mistake on her own part for answering blindly. Also, Junko and Momoe suddenly became eerily quiet after she gave the response… That did not help at all.
Why am I getting an ominous feeling…? Asuka thought.
Lifting her head up away from the textbook, she cautiously turned to face her friends, whom she saw were grinning from ear to ear, giggling uncontrollably like little schoolgirls.
She felt another twitch come on. This definitely can't end well… Damn, what did Momoe ask? Asuka replayed the previous moments within her head, hoping the question would resurface if she backtracked.
Why were Momoe and Junko acting strange? Their high-pitched laughs were getting annoying.
Within the deep labyrinth of her mind, a red Duel Academia jacket and Elemental Heroes randomly popped up. What does Judai have to do with anything?
Then it struck Asuka. Hard.
"Wait… I love who?" she couldn't tell if her face twisted in incredible disbelief or disgust at the realization. Maybe it was both…
"JUDAI!" Momoe and Junko exclaimed happily—and loudly—causing the other Obelisk Blue girls in the lounge to stare weirdly at the trio.
"Shh!" Asuka hushed harshly, regretting she had to ask. She did not want the other girls to pick up on the false piece of information. They had a nasty habit when it came to gossiping rumors, especially Kochou Ran. Asuka saw from the corner of her eye the bug princess whispering something to her little click. No doubt it might be something about Asuka. The blonde-haired girl predicted more problems to come in the seemingly dark future.
I knew this wouldn't end well…
"…And since when do I…'love'," (she pronounced the 'L' word with great distaste and slight difficulty), "Judai?" Asuka murmured loud for her friends to hear, and low enough so eavesdropping ears couldn't.
"Since, like, forever!" They replied simultaneously. Forever may have been over exaggerating it… Asuka only met Judai last October. (1) But at the moment either girl didn't mind. This was history in the making! Asuka freely and openly admitted that she, not liked, but LOVED Judai! Was it a good omen, or perhaps a sign of the Apocalypse coming around the corner? Oh well, who the hell cared?! Asuka loved Judai!
Asuka stared incredulously at Momoe and Junko. What possessed her friends to think she'd 'l-loved' Judai? He's just a good friend, and rival—nothing more! Judai was hardly her type. For the first time in Asuka's life, she was nonplussed. Judai and herself, together…it's incoherent… it's illogical…!
Great! Now she started to sound like Misawa… Her day couldn't possibly get any more exhausting. Poor Asuka massaged her temples to ease an oncoming headache.
"Judai," Asuka said calmly, after a moment of trying to fully comprehend everything (which still didn't make any sense), "As in Yuki Judai?"
"Yes as in Yuki Judai, unless you know another guy by that name." Junko briskly replied.
Momoe gasped. "Asuka-san, are you seeing someone else and haven't told us, your best friends?"
"Of course not!" she retorted. It proved difficult to keep a calm demeanor. "I'm not seeing anyone period!"
"But—"
"No 'buts'! I can't believe you two would think such a thing! You should know me better than that!" she scolded, "Where did you come up with this foolish idea anyway?"
Momoe and Junko did not speak, completely shocked by Asuka's slight outburst.
"See? You can't think of anything because it's not true." Asuka said, after she gave the girls a chance to speak.
"Well," Junko snapped out of her current state, only to trail off since she was unsure if her reason was legitimate to be considered valid proof.
"Go on, I'm listening…" the blonde urged, crossing her arms against her chest.
The auburn-haired girl nodded. "I guessed it all started on the night you first dueled Judai, back during the beginning of the term."
"What about that night?"
"You seemed…different then."
"Different?" Asuka asked quizzically, "How so?"
"Um…it's sort of hard to explain…" Junko took a moment to try and find the right words, "You gave Judai a weird look after he complimented how strong you were— I mean are, and you acted strangely around him. I've never seen you like that before. Also, why did you risk breaking curfew just to duel Judai if you were never going to report Shou to Chronos-sensei?"
Asuka sighed, closing her eyes, "I still don't know what you mean by 'different'. I'm the same person as I was before and now."
"Then explain wanting to duel Judai so hastily after hours?"
"Judai defeated Chronos. No first-year with the exception of Kaiser has ever done that! He also would have defeated Manjoume-kun back during their first duel if it hadn't been for the interruption. As a duelist I needed to test my abilities, so I saw my chance, even if it did include exploiting Shou, and used the situation to my advantage." She explained reasonably. "Even with my advantage, he still managed to somehow defeat me… Judai's an interesting guy, wouldn't you say?"
"Ah-ha! You called him 'interesting'!" Momoe pointed out eagerly.
"Spare me," Asuka said sardonically, uncrossing her arms to place her hands on her hips. "That's hardly enough for me to love him."
Momoe and Junko frowned, "That may be so…"
She was right in saying 'interesting' wasn't a strong quality by itself for romance to spark. Especially since Asuka isn't an average girl with an average fantasizing desire of a knight-in-shining-armor. It would take a lot more than looks or a great personality for Asuka to fall head-over-heals in love with a guy. But Judai was the exception! He was very different from most males. Behind that idiotic exterior, there's something mind-boggling about him which probably made Asuka smitten in the first place.
"Good," Asuka returned back to reading the long forgotten textbook, "Now can we please put this nonsense behind us and move on?"
The other two girls sighed bitterly. Asuka may have won the first round (again), but Junko and Momoe weren't going to throw in the towel yet. If they thought long and hard they could come up with more plausible reasons, which hopefully Asuka didn't have a convincing explanation for. (Then again, what were the chances of that ever happening?) They tried to recall another memory hinting Asuka's denied love for Judai.
After a moment of reminiscencing, Junko snapped her fingers together in triumph. A smug smirk was plastered on the auburn-haired girl's lips. She had Asuka cornered now…
"Asuka-san," she sang in a sing-song voice. "Aren't you engaged to Judai?"
THUMP
A heavy object fell to the floor.
"E-Engaged?!" Asuka stuttered, almost falling off her seat, uncharacteristically. Her textbook already slipped out of her hands, falling to the floor. She quickly regained her composure, cursing herself inwardly for being ungraceful. "What on Earth are you talking about now?"
"The time Judai dueled Ayanokouji Mitsuru." Junko stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, "They dueled for your hand in marriage! Judai won, and now you're his fiancée."
"Ayanokouji is so handsome!" Momoe gushed, becoming starry-eyed.
Asuka ignored Momoe's comment for the sake of her sanity. "Judai didn't know what a fiancée was!"
"But he had no objections!" the auburn-haired girl prompted.
At that moment, something in Asuka's mind finally snapped…
She abruptly stood up from her seat, looming menacingly over a frightened Junko and Momoe. If looks could kill, the two girls would burst into flames from the intense glare they received from the blonde.
"He still doesn't know what a fiancée is! Do you honestly believe I can romantically love an idiot with ebi fry constantly on his mind? That's ridiculous!" she snapped. It might be harsh but Asuka had had enough with the nonsense. "Get your mind out of the gutter—I'm in love with one thing only, and that is dueling! No man owns my heart!"
Once again Junko and Momoe dared not utter a sound. Asuka could be very scary when angered. It's true she wouldn't be the kind of girl to shallowly date an idiot because he happened to blessed with looks, but to Junko and Momoe there was a first time for everything. Asuka did have soft spot for the Osiris Red, that much was known.
Besides, although Asuka is generally very confident, Junko and Momoe knew when it came to girl-talk she wasn't open; sometimes she was even shy, which could only be the reasonable explanation for becoming so defensive. That had to be it!
"Awe she's shy."
"Talk about denial."
"Shy? Denial?!" she spluttered. Didn't they pay attention to her speech given barely two seconds ago? Or did everything she said go in one ear and out the other?
"There's no need to be shy Asuka-san, we're not the only ones who think this. Everyone knows you like Judai!"
…WHAT?!
"Look we'll show you!"
"Wait, wait! Let's forget about all this. Why don't we duel instead, ne?" Asuka tried one last-ditched tactic.
Junko and Momoe gave her an 'are you crazy?' look. Of course they didn't want to duel when they rather do this… She glared but they ran off before they could see it.
"Momoe, Junko—don't—ugh!" Asuka groaned, sinking back onto the sofa as her friends ran away somewhere. She rubbed her head due to her headache worsening.
Asuka fought a losing battle with Momoe and Junko. They were too persistent for their own good sometimes. Why couldn't they accept the fact she had no passionate feelings for Judai? Why were they so dead-set proving her wrong? Only Asuka knew herself better than anyone else! Who were they to say who she loved? How did such a crazy idea form in the first place—and they said everyone knew! Not that she cared what others thought in the first place, but everyone thinking she loved Judai could become very troublesome eventually. She didn't need anymore irritation in her life! Those two friends of hers probably spread the rumor… She would have a serious talk with them later about herself being the main topic of their gossiping. Honestly, didn't they have anything else better to do? In the time spent doing whatever they usually did, they could have brushed up on their lacking dueling skills!
Sometimes Junko and Momoe were worse than Fubuki when it came to matters of love…
…No scratch that! Fubuki was by far worst, although Junko and Momoe came close second… No, Fubuki still had them beat. Well they were somewhere in the top ten…
Maybe she could make a run for it before Junko and Momoe returned…
Damn, they're back already… Bringing with them about a dozen girls… Asuka paled.
Momoe stepped up onto the chair, in doing so she could easily grab the attention of the Obelisk Blue Ladies. "Ahem," she waited patiently before the murmurs within the crowd died out. The girls curiously stared up at Momoe, giving her their undivided attention. They all wondered what they called there for.
"Okay ladies, let's cut straight to the chase by taking a poll," The dark-haired girl began, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the sound, "Does Obelisk Blue's very own lovely Tenjoin Asuka love Osiris Red's rough-around-the-edges Yuki Judai?"
At that, Asuka brought her hand up to her temple again, feeling another headache coming on. Her cheeks were tinged with a faint rose-pink color from the embarrassment. Why must Momoe and Junko humiliate her so?
"Of course she does!" A girl replied to Momoe's poll.
"Yes!"
"Aren't they going out now?"
"They make a cute couple, ne?"
More 'yeses' followed in pursuit, the murmurs of the crowd flared up. Junko and Momoe looked absolutely thrilled at the positive responses; however Asuka was ready to strangle something. An unfortunate pillow met her wrath, the closest thing within her range.
Another girl shook her head disapprovingly, crossing her arms in the process. "Do you know how ridiculous you guys are? Tenjoin-san doesn't love Yuki-kun…" the girl boldly proclaimed, earning a few surprised stares (and some glares) from the other girls.
Asuka sighed in relief, glad to hear there was at least someone sensible to know how loony the whole escapade was. "Thank. You."
"…because she has a thing going on with Kaiser!"
Asuka felt her stomach churn. "Come again?" she deadpanned.
"Wait, I thought she was an item with Manjoume-Thunder." Another girl said.
"You're confusing him with Misawa Daichi."
"No way! She's in love with Marufuji Shou!"
"WHAT?!" the group exclaimed, outraged by the farfetched statement.
Arguing soon broke out between the girls, and all hell broke lose from that point on when bitch-slaps were tossed. Asuka could not believe her eyes at the scene unfurling before her. What was wrong with everyone?! Whatever happened to the prideful Blue Ladies? Dueling is supposed to be their main concern, not her nonexistent love life! Did they all have the same silly obsession with boys as Momoe and Junko did? The Blue Ladies were supposed to crush the boys with their cards, not worship the ground they walked on or argued repetitively over!
This was sheer madness!
Asuka stood up and hurriedly stalked away from the fighting group of girls, undetected. She had enough already and didn't feel like watching the end of the feud where there would be consequences to suffer afterwards by the head teacher of the Obelisk Blue girls. It was her perfect chance to escape to a neutral territory where no one would bother her about Judai. She didn't know whether to be glad the fighting did spark or to be repulsed by such poor unruly behavior. Oh well, whatever. She just wanted to get the hell away.
"Asuka-san!" Junko called out, having lost sight of her. Her eyes scanned the crowd but she didn't spot the familiar flaxen-gold hair.
"Where did she go?" Momoe wondered, worriedly.
"Asuka-san?!"
x.X.x.X.x
Asuka ran as fast as her legs allowed her, far away from the girls' dorm. No distance was safe from the mad mob of love-crazed teenaged girls back there. Hopefully they didn't notice her absence. She kept running, pass the boys' dorm, pass the main lobby of the Obelisk Blue House, bursting through the doors of the front entrance, and knocking over a few unlucky souls who didn't have time to get out of the way. However, she did not stop there. Asuka continued to run towards the main building of the Academy, despite the burning pain in her chest, legs, and feet. They screamed in protest to stop and rest, but her brain ignored the desperate cries in reminder of the insanity that took place. So, she pursued further—if not faster.
Finally, she came to a halt in the courtyard. Her knees almost buckled beneath her weight but she willed herself to remain standing. Asuka took deep breaths to return precious oxygen to her sore lung. Her chest was on fire, her poor legs felt like jelly, and her feet were aching unbearably. Running in heals wasn't one of her better ideas. To top it all off, she still had a headache from before, now only worst! She was borderline dizzy. As if anything else could go wrong…
Her body automatically tensed after the thinking the taboo words, waiting in a false sense of preparation for something bad to ironically happen. She found herself sighing in relief when nothing did.
Asuka frowned, she was acting silly again. She really needed to clear her mind with a game of Duel Monsters.
Briefly scanning her surroundings for a worthy opponent, she disappointingly realized the courtyard was empty when usually it was packed with bustling students, and the frequent duels. Everyone else must have retired to the dorms for the afternoon. However, her hopes grew high when she heard distant voices of straggling students exiting out of the main building, only to come crashing down.
Asuka huffed, recognizing the group of boys as Osiris Reds…not that that was the problem, she'd challenged them regardless of being Reds… More specifically, this particular group of boys was known to cowardly reject duels from Obelisk Blues (Asuka found out firsthand when she challenged the boys to a duel one late afternoon such as this, which they declined. That didn't stop one of them from boldly (foolishly) asking for a date with her instead, which she gladly declined.)
The Osiris Reds walked closer, waving at her. Asuka couldn't help to notice a wolfish gleam in their eyes. She didn't bother to return the greetings. Instead she stomped away disgustedly, before either of the boys could come near her or ask her out again. It would be in vain anyway, save them the trouble and the embarrassment.
Instead of a duel, Asuka settled for a long walk despite the lingering pain in her legs, albeit it wasn't as bad as before. She'd preferred to duel rather than to walk though; at least with dueling it distracted her mind from everything else. Groaning, Asuka had a hunch the past events wouldn't seize to plague her so easily. She solemnly walked out of the courtyard down a dirt path.
The nerve of everyone making such assumptions of her and Judai—never assume in life! Didn't these people ever learn that lesson from their parents, guardians, teachers, or whoever else watched over them? Asuka knew it shouldn't bother her so much what people thought, but why did it? In her heart she knew she didn't love the moron, and that alone should make everything all right. Who cared what everyone else said about her? What only Asuka thought of herself mattered…
…Perhaps she finally had enough keeping silent after the countless times people prodded into her nonexistent love life? Maybe she grew tired from it all—it made sense she'd feel this way after awhile, and it explained her sudden odd behavior.
Sighing for what seemed to be the umpteenth time today, she felt a newfound pang in her chest. Guilt. She didn't mean to make it sound like Judai was such a horrible person below her standards, and she felt ashamed she called her good friend names in the midst of her anger when really Judai had done no wrong to her. He was a victim too…though too oblivious to realize it…
Regardless, she'd still never date Judai. He was like a little kid—practically similar to a younger brother if you will, and at the very thought of being romantically paired together with a little kid brother was somewhat disturbing to think about. (Borderline pedophile incest was it not?) And it's clearly obvious Judai didn't have an interest in girls when he tended to prefer a guy's company instead. Besides, they were also polar opposites. He was warm and carefree. She was cold and calculating. To hell with opposites attract!
Plus it took a lot of patience to be in the presence of Judai all the time, and Asuka wasn't willing to test how far her patience went… She applauded Shou and Hayato.
She much rather be Judai's friend. Why couldn't others accept that?
In Asuka's own opinion, she was too young to be thinking about finding someone to love intimately. She only recently turned sixteen for the love of Kami-sama! She had plenty of time to find a life partner. Right now she only wanted to live what was left of her teenage years to the fullest, and enjoy playing Duel Monsters. She was in no hurry to grow up.
The scent of the salty sea air grew stronger, overwhelming Asuka's senses. In the midst of her musing, she unintentionally ended up in a very familiar place.
I'm at the pier…
Her legs had dragged her to the pier by the lighthouse where Kaiser Ryou and herself would routinely converse about the whereabouts of her once missing brother. Sometimes even casually talk or just stand side by side gazing out into the ocean, silently enjoying the other's company. Ryou was her comfort in those months when she felt empty inside, knowing the possibility she may never see her beloved brother again. However, once Fubuki returned Ryou and Asuka slowly drifted their own separate ways. The daily meetings between them grew sparse. She didn't know how exactly that happened, it just did though she felt a little guilty it had. It's not like she was busy; she could have easily spared the time to see him but she didn't. After Ryou had done so much for her too…
Great, another thing to add to her conscience…
Then again, Ryou was probably busy with studying for final exams and preparing for the upcoming graduation. Asuka made a mental note to try to spend more time with him before he left the shelter of the island for good to be released into the real world as a grown adult.
It couldn't hurt to see him now, could it? If she knew Kaiser, which she did, he would currently be by the lighthouse. Asuka hoped he wouldn't mind her presence, not that he ever did. Right now she really needed someone of intelligence to talk to.
As she came closer to the pier, the blonde-haired girl vaguely spotted two small figures in distance. Asuka deduced one figure obviously being Ryou, and the other her brother.
Her inference was confirmed once she had a better view of the two boys. It was indeed Duel Academia's Kaiser Ryou and King Fubuki (alias Blizzard Prince so-called by Fubuki himself). To her mild surprise, Fubuki had his arms latched around Ryou's slim waist… But she cast all thoughts of the scene before her aside, deciding best to hold her tongue… for now. (2)
Fubuki first acknowledged Asuka by greeting her with once of his famous genuine smiles as she came closer. His arms, she noted, did not detach themselves from Ryou's torso.
"Hey sis,"
"…Hello Asuka," Ryou greeted as well in his usual tone of voice that held the power to intimidate anyone he desired. But his air of intimidation did not have that affect at the moment since his porcelain cheeks were tinted pink as he helplessly tried to wriggle free from Fubuki's grasp. (Besides, not that it mattered but Asuka was one of the selected few who weren't intimidated by Kaiser outside of dueling.)
Ryou's…blushing…? Well that's a first. Interesting,
"Good afternoon," Asuka replied distractingly, "You seem…clingy today, niisan."
"I tend to be like that a lot lately," he responded rather coyly.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Fubuki only grinned mischievously while Ryou's blush only darkened. The Kaiser gently elbowed Fubuki in the stomach, causing him to make an 'oof' sound. The Blizzard Prince pouted, reluctantly releasing Ryou from his hold. Asuka swore she heard him whimper at the lost of contact, but before she could say anything, Fubuki once again turned his attention to his younger sister.
"How are you on this beautiful day, Asuka? You have to beat the boys back with a stick, ne?"
Asuka sighed. "I'm fine, niisan." She purposely ignored the second question asked to her.
Ryou studied Asuka's facial feature discerningly while she responded; something was off with her.
"Really? My brotherly instincts and the sullen look on your face tell me the exact opposite."
Asuka flinched. She had no intentions of telling the boys of the earlier events, but why bother trying to get anything pass Fubuki or Ryou. Asuka expected them to be expecting an explanation soon…
"Is there something wrong, Asuka? You seem troubled." The Kaiser stated, never once looking away from Asuka, making her nervous. In all the years she knew Ryou, now had to be the time to be intimidated by him. She cursed inwardly.
"It's a long story…"
"We have time. Dinner isn't until three hours from now."
"…Fine."
Asuka told the story about Momoe and Junko insistently accusing her of loving Judai, and how they dragged the whole Obelisk Blue girls' dorm into the problem, causing the dorm to erupt into chaos. By the end of the story, Fubuki was laughing, earning him a glare from Asuka, and Ryou only remained impassive.
"Can you believe those two?" Asuka spat, referring to Momoe and Junko. Needless to say she's still frustrated… "I'm still wondering where they came up with it! Me loving Judai… Tch..."
Silence drifted over the small group soon afterwards. Asuka didn't mind the rare chance of peace. She turned to face out towards the ocean, enjoying the soft breeze playing with her long hair. It felt relaxing. She inhaled deeply, taking in the familiar salty scent as she stretched her arms over her head, working out kinks in her shoulders and back. What was it about the ocean that made you enter a hypnotic calm state of mind even when all things went wrong?
"Do you? Ryou's voice broke through the silence. Asuka almost forgot Ryou and Fubuki were standing next to her. They were being so quiet. Ryou she could understand but Fubuki? Now that's weird…
"Pardon?" she turned to face the Kaiser.
"Do you like Judai?"
Asuka blanched. "Ryou… Not you too…" she beseeched in despair.
"I'm not accusing you of anything, Asuka, and you shouldn't accuse me either. But generally for someone to get an idea in their head, they received it from a source." The Kaiser explained reasonably. "You have to admit, you do have a special liking towards Judai—I know for a fact but whether its love, admiration, or friendship, I won't say or think otherwise. It's clear that you're angry from the predicament, which is unlike you to get defensive over something trivial, but I didn't hear you deny anything in person, making me assume you might be upset about your friends figuring it out so easily."
"No. No I do not love Judai. No, no, NO." she retorted testily.
"Okay then. That's the end of it. I believe you."
A small smile graced Asuka's lips. It eased her to know at least Ryou believed her, and that she didn't have to defend or repeat herself. She sighed contently. "Thanks, Ryou."
"I agree with Asuka." Fubuki popped up between Asuka and Ryou, snaking his arms around their shoulders and reeling them closer to him, much to their dislike. "Judai-kun doesn't have the mature mentality to pleasure my sister's needs. That's why she's needs a guy like Manjoume-kun!"
SMACK
Fubuki almost fell off the pier by the force of Asuka's slap. Ryou saw it coming…no really, he did, which is why his reflexes reacted fast enough to grab onto the tail of Fubuki's white trench coat before he fell into the water, thus saving the King.
"Phew… My hero," Fubuki grinned sheepishly before tending to his sore cheek. "Itai… Imouto, did you have to hit so hard?"
"Quit your whining. You deserved it." She barked whilst crossing her arms.
"Must be that time of month again… Are you 'PMSing'?"
x.X.x.X.x
"I'm sorry Ryou." Asuka apologized sincerely sometime later.
The aftermath of the incident mistakenly ended Kaiser up on the receiving end of a punch, ultimately landing him with a bloody nose—the only causality to Fubuki's stupidity and Asuka's wrath.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hit you..." Her eyes shifted towards the idiotic brunette standing only a few feet away, helping Kaiser to stand.
"It was an accident. Don't worry about it." Ryou said, somewhat muffled. His head turned upwards with a tissue to his nose to prevent anymore blood from falling on his already blood-stained trench coat. Luckily there wasn't a lot of blood so the stains should come out easily with hot water or bleach.
Asuka still felt traces of guilt despite Kaiser's acceptance to her apology. He tried to help her feel less horrible with herself and as thanks to show her gratitude, she almost broke his nose. How was she supposed to not feel bad?
"You need to watch that strength of yours, sis. You almost took Ryou's head off!" Fubuki winced when recalling the sickening way the Kaiser's head snapped back at impact, and his body crashing to the ground.
The blonde girl gave him a hard glare. "You're the reason why Ryou is in a bloody mess!"
"Me? What did I do?"
Ryou rolled his eyes. The sad part is he truthfully didn't know whether Fubuki was feigning innocence or not…
After Fubuki's "wisely selected" words about a woman's menstrual cycle, it took all of Ryou's strength to block a raging Asuka from castrating a cowering Fubuki. Not that he didn't deserve it…Asuka had every right to hand his head to him on a silver platter for his vulgar comment. But considering Fubuki was his best friend, he felt obligated (not by much though) to protect Fubuki from the danger called Asuka, even if that did mean being unwillingly used as a human shield at first. Ryou would never admit it but he'd sort of miss not having Fubuki around again. He'd take a bullet for him, even a punch… and boy did Asuka pack a powerful punch.
Fubuki owed him big time.
"You pulled Ryou in front of yourself! You're the one who should have the bloody nose right now!"
"Asuka I'm wounded." The King made a motion with hands on his chest as if he was shot through the heart.
Asuka's clenched her hands into fists, shaking visibly as if she were contemplating to strike again. Fubuki back away at the killer intent he felt coming from his little sister.
"Hey, hey imouto, you wouldn't want to do anything rash again, do you?" He nervously smiled, trying to smooth-talk his way out of trouble.
"Enough." Ryou voice took on an irritated tone, preventing anymore bloodshed between the siblings. Asuka and Fubuki turned to face him, with relief clear on their faces when they both noticed Ryou's bleeding finally stopped. They've forgotten everything else about trying to kill a certain someone and avoid being killed by a certain someone.
"Is your nose broken?" Asuka asked, timidly. It probably wasn't but she wanted to ask anyway.
"No, it'll only be tender for a while."
"Want me to kiss it to make it better?" Fubuki suggested.
Ryou narrowed his eyes at him with a look of 'are you effing serious?' "No."
Fubuki pouted, crossing his slender arms across his chest, mumbling something incoherent underneath his breath. Asuka stared back and forth between the two boys, her thoughts racing a mile a minute. Sometimes she wondered…
"Are you—"
"—Yes."
She really, really wondered…
Feeling awkward, Asuka decided to state her leave.
"There's something else bothering you, isn't there? It's not just about Judai." Ryou said before she had the chance to walk away.
"I guess… Lately I've been feeling… fatigued… It seems like nobody has the dueling spirit anymore…"
Ryou frown, he was slightly surprise to hear her say such a thing. "Care to elaborate further?"
"What I mean is that everyone is forgetting the passion of being a duelist to instead worry about other ridiculous things… I don't feel challenged anymore on this island. The last duel I had, my opponent was Manjoume-kun and even then he wasn't dueling me as a duelist, he was dueling to win me over…" At this she glared halfheartedly at Fubuki who was standing a ways away, whistling innocently as he tuned in to his own little world. "I despise nothing more than people trying to win me over in duels as if I were a trophy to be betted."
The Kaiser remained impassive, listening to Asuka intently. He sympathize the girl for being the center of unwanted attention. He experienced it himself one too many times before, but never was he put up for stakes in a duel to be won over. Ryou lost count of the duels that involved men pitting against each other to try and win Asuka's unrequited love. She was an intelligent, beautiful girl who deserved more respect from the male population. All she wanted was to obtain the dream countless true duelists dreamt of, living to face the ultimate duel. Ryou couldn't see anyone on the island except for a small selected group of students who had the same ambitions.
"I guess I just need a challenge… or inspiration…"
Silence fell upon them. Asuka felt uneasy waiting for Ryou to respond to anything. She fumbled with her hair nervously but stopped once she realized she had nothing to be nervous about. Her fingers coursed through her hair to untangle the golden strands.
Finally, Ryou spoke, saying the last thing Asuka expected yet so obvious for him to say.
"If it's a challenge you want, Asuka, we can duel right now."
She perked up. It wasn't a right, but a privilege to duel the Academia's Kaiser. "Really? You don't mind." She grinned, getting a little excited.
"Never,"
"Wait!!"
Ryou and Asuka confronted Fubuki, giving him an annoyed yet puzzled look. "Sorry imouto, Ryou can't duel with you right now—"
"Why can't he?"
"I would like to know why I can't as well..."
"Because," Fubuki emphasized, "Ryou promised a duel with me first."
Asuka wasn't sure what Fubuki's problem was. "Well… I'll just duel the winner then, we'll have a short tournament."
The King chuckled. "As tempting as that sounds, our duel is a much more… Private…? Intimate one?" Fubuki turned to Ryou. "What's the word, Ryou-kun?"
"Drop it."
He turned back to Asuka. "Some other time, okay?" he grinned cheekily.
Ryou placed a hand to his forehead, embarrassed. Asuka blinked.
"Fubuki not now," Ryou's voice became strained. Asuka just complained how people were busy with other pointless things rather than dueling, and now Fubuki was proving her point. Wasn't he paying attention?
"I won't take no for an answer! You know that thing you like so much that I do with my—"
"—Fubuki!"
"Well kiss it goodbye!"
Ryou's left eye twitched slightly. Sighing, he regrettably listened to Fubuki. "Sorry Asuka. Fubuki and I have some unfinished business to take care of…" he glared at the King which went unaffected. Damn Fubuki had immunity to his glares… "We can duel tomorrow."
"…Okay?" She asked rather than stated. Never in her life had she been more confused. Everything was happening too fast.
"Ja ne, Asuka!" Fubuki exclaimed as he left the pier.
Before Ryou left, he gave Asuka one last look.
"Try not to trouble yourself anymore. Things will turn out for the best. Just wait and see." He paused, debating whether he should say the next few words, "Destiny works funny that way."
She offered him a smile. "I thought you didn't believe in destiny."
"Normally I don't, but now it seemed like a good thing to say if it'll help you feel better."
"Thank-you," Sometimes beneath that cold exterior, Ryou was sweet when he wanted to be.
He returned her smile with one of his own rare ones.
Ryou did make her feel somewhat better but she couldn't ignore the uneasy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. He was right, she shouldn't trouble herself anymore.
"RYOU!" Fubuki called out. The Kaiser rolled his eyes and walked towards the awaiting King.
"Sayonara, Asuka,"
Asuka shook her head at their retreating figures. She would have to remind them next time that they should try to be more discreet if they didn't want anyone to know they screwed each others brains out. Yeah she knew… unfortunately she knew…
Turning sideways to the darkening ocean, it was clear on her face a look of longing as she gaze out into the horizon.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Words to Know:
Ebi Fry: Fried shrimp
Imouto: Younger sister
Itai: Ow
Ja ne: See you later (or something of the sort...)
Niisan: Older brother
Sayonara: Goodbye
(1)- Duel Academia's first term starts in October, so that's when Asuka first met Judai.
Do you guys know how freaking hard it was NOT to use "Denial is a river in Egypt" as a chapter title?! I saved you guys from a bad pun! .::sweat drops::
So yay! Finally this chapter is done… As I was editing it, I couldn't help but to feel disgust about thinking about my current ex-boyfriend… -.-;; I'm not entirely happy with the chapter since it's a little rushed at the end and probably has more mistakes in it, but I swear if I spend anymore time writing it, I'm gonna crack::twitch::
I would appreciate if you guys could help me out by pointing out OOC, spelling and grammatical errors. (I do not trust Microsoft or my eyes…) Thanks! Please leave a review, and I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!! Chapter two won't be out for a while, since it's not even written down yet… ::sweat drops::
One last thing (I swear!)… Sorry for the author's note in the middle of the chapter, couldn't resist… O.o (At least let me have that since I didn't put in the God-awful pun!) X3
Cya!