Pas de Deux
Maybe it wasn't the best idea to crush Asuka in that duel. Or the eight duels before it.
And with Cyber End Dragon's last attack, her Life Points scroll down to zero and the holograms around them disappear.
Asuka falls to her knees with a heavy sigh. "I lose again," she says with a weary laugh as Ryou walks over to her from across the duel field.
"You put up a good fight," he tells her and extends his hand. Asuka snorts but takes it and lets him pull her up.
"Yeah right. That was your second turn. I barely even had time to set anything up." Ryou purses his lips as if to object, but decides against it, because she's right, and she doesn't appreciate placation. But it seems wrong not to say anything at all, so Ryou says,
"I still think you've improved a lot." Then he smirks. "You're not getting mad anymore."
"Not letting that one go, huh?" Asuka rolls her eyes and laughs. She looks down at her duel disk and empties the graveyard, putting the five cards inside back into her deck. "One more round?"
Ryou looks at his watch. "Our session is almost up. Willing to risk an audience?" The academy's duel arena stands are open to anyone except when privately reserved—a privilege granted only to the top ten students in each grade. The top students tended to be protective of their strategies, not wanting onlookers to watch and take notes, and in the privacy of the closed off arena, word of any losses could be contained.
In Ryou and Asuka's case though, they just don't want to attract attention. A duel between the Kaiser and the Queen would easily fill up the stands, and neither one wanted their training hour turned into a spectacle.
"I think that's enough for one day," Asuka concedes and puts her cards away. "Same time next week, Ryou?"
"Sure."
Fubuki had always described his little sister as a pretty girl, but with a twisted personality. Like most things Fubuki had said, Ryou filed it away as bullshit, but in the back of his mind, he still always figured Asuka would be a little like her brother. So it's a surprise to him when he finally meets her and finds her to be a calm, serious, and polite young woman, or in other words, nothing like Fubuki at all. Which is, perhaps, twisted in its own way. Ryou wonders what the rest of their family is like.
Asuka's heard a lot about him too, and after the initial introductions, she is quick to press for info—anything he might know about her brother's whereabouts. Unfortunately, even with his own sleuthing, he knows about as much as she does, an answer that makes her expression fall and her shoulders shake slightly.
Ryou is not good with people, even less so with girls, and he doesn't know what to do if he makes Fubuki's little sister cry.
"I'm sorry, I'm fine." But Asuka doesn't cry, and looks up at him with sad but clear eyes. "I expected as much."
"We'll find him," Ryou promises. "Don't give up."
"Thanks."
"If there's anything I can do in the meantime…" Fubuki had been looking forward to his little sister's arrival. He'd told Ryou repeatedly about all of the things he planned to show and teach Asuka once she became a student. Looking out for her a little in his place is the least Ryou can do, he thinks.
"Actually, there was one thing…" Asuka says thoughtfully. "I've heard you're one of the best duelists at the academy. Maybe we can duel sometime?"
They duel.
Asuka loses swiftly and soundly, the gap in their skill levels abundantly clear. But Ryou takes away a few insights from their duel.
From an objective standpoint, she's not yet a duelist. Her technique is rough and unpolished, and while she has a great understanding of the rules and how her cards work together, she doesn't have the deeper insight and respect towards her opponent that would allow her to read the flow of the match. But these are all things the academy would teach her, and she has a good head on her shoulders and a strong desire to learn, so she'll be fine. And while she does have a lot to improve on, her foundation is good and against an opponent of equal experience, she should have no trouble winning.
In short, unlike a lot of the other first-years, her place in Obelisk Blue is earned.
"Well, gee, when you put it like that, I almost can't get mad at that verbal thrashing," she says sarcastically, but from the way she looks through her cards with a furrowed brow, Ryou can tell his words have sunk in and she's already reflecting on her defeat.
"I think in a couple of years, we'd be on evener footing."
"No, in a couple of years, I'll be where you are, and you'll be taking names at the pro leagues."
"Not my fault I'm older."
"No, but your fault you're this good," she smiles and extends her hand. "But thank you for the duel. It was a good experience. Very different from dueling my brother."
They shake hands.
"Oh? How did those duels usually go?"
"I sometimes beat him, but I'm pretty sure he was always holding back on me." It's something Ryou can picture. He suddenly wonders if maybe he was a little too harsh on her. But she seemed to be okay with the results, unlike his own younger sibling who would have just cried. "I do want to duel him for real one day though."
It's sometimes easy to forget that Fubuki is missing and they can only have this acquaintanceship now because of their mutual desire to find him.
"You will," Ryou tells her.
"I have to get stronger," Asuka says, and bows deeply. "If my brother is in any danger, wherever he is, I have to be able to save him. Marufuji-san, please, even if only once more, let me test my skills against you again sometime."
Hey Ryou, I'm bored. Let's do best out of 3 and loser jumps off the lighthouse pier.
She really is nothing like her brother.
"I think I can do a little better than that."
They work out a schedule—one hour, twice a week, at a privately reserved school duel arena. They duel as many times as the hour permits, usually around four to five duels, with Ryou taking a few minutes after each duel to look over Asuka's hand and grade her performance.
Fubuki's little sister is a strong-willed young woman, who brings with her a notebook and writes down his advice to put into practice on her own time later. Ryou doesn't hold back in his criticisms.
"I think yours are the only failing grades I've ever gotten," Asuka notes at some point with a frustrated sigh. "Can anyone pass?"
"Fubuki, probably." The score had been in his favor when he'd disappeared.
From the way she frowns and grumbles under her breath, Ryou wonders if the answer is somehow motivating.
One thing he takes away from their training sessions is that, despite her calm friendly demeanor otherwise, Asuka is fiercely competitive in the arena. She hates to lose, and isn't above a little trash talk and cockiness. She's dueled her way to the top of the Obelisk girls, earning the nickname "Queen", so perhaps a little of the confidence is expected, but if she didn't lose to him once in a while, Ryou thinks she'd get a swelled head.
She is improving though, he thinks, as Cyber Dragon attacks her directly and wipes out the rest of her life points for the fifth time that hour.
"You didn't even use Cyber End that time!" Asuka remarks, when she looks at his hand afterwards and sees another two Cyber Dragons and Power Bond.
"Didn't need to."
"Hey, Ryou-san, this coming Wednesday, do you think we can reserve the duel arena for two hours instead of one?" Asuka says at the lighthouse one evening. Its become their meeting spot, just as it was for Ryou and Fubuki the years before.
"Why?"
"Duel exams this Thursday. I want to make sure I'm ready."
"Against first-years? You're already near the top of your class."
"Yeah, but, I think I may have been a little cocky before. I've realized I'm not as strong as I thought I was."
"Oh?" Ryou looks at her. "Who was it?"
"Yuki Judai. He's that first-year who beat Chronos-sensei."
Ryou remembers him. He was an interesting one.
"So what do you say?"
It's a bad idea.
"Duel arenas can only be privately reserved for an hour at most."
"I asked a teacher, and she said my standing was high enough to do that too. So we can reserve an hour each, back to back."
"Asuka—
"Oh wait, since it's exam time, that's probably a pretty rude thing to do. Can we duel out here instead then? A change of scenery may be nice."
"You'll burn out," Ryou warns her. "That's exactly the wrong thing to do before an exam."
"I can handle it," she insists. "I love dueling. I can never get tired of it."
"Famous last words," Ryou retorts, but reluctantly agrees.
It's a good answer. Even if she's not the best duelist, she has her passion.
She's also wrong, and she does burn out.
However frustrated Ryou may have seen her get after 4 losses, it's nothing compared to 8 losses. By the 9th duel, she isn't even trying anymore. She plays her cards quickly and angrily, knowing she'll lose anyway, and both of them want to get it over with already.
Ryou doesn't need to bring out Cyber End Dragon with Power Bond and double its attack again with Limiter Removal to win, but he's frustrated and does so, finishing Asuka off in record time. He checks his watch. They still have ten minutes, but he doubts she'll want another match.
"So you had a combination like that up your sleeve as well," Asuka scowls. "So what, were you just holding back on me all this time?"
"You're tired," Ryou says sharply. "That's enough for one night."
"We still have time. Once more."
"No." It's what he should have said from the beginning, and puts his deck away. "There's no point."
"Oh, so this pointless for you?"
"For me? Basically," Ryou snaps. "Whose benefit did we set up these sessions for? You weren't even trying the last few rounds. The least you could do is make an effort." It's probably not the best thing to say at the moment, but Ryou has never been good with people.
"I was too trying!" Asuka yells. "I'm trying my best, but all you ever do is criticize and put me down."
"Stop acting like a child. You'll never save your brother with that attitude." It's definitely not the best thing to say at the moment, and Asuka's glare narrows further.
"Whatever," she says icily. "I'm heading back. Thank you for the duels."
She aces her exams the next day, but doesn't show up at the lighthouse that night. She doesn't answer his congratulatory email either.
She's mad at him.
He's not entirely sure if he should be the one mad instead, but she is and it bothers him. It's disappointment, he thinks. Disappointment that Asuka's convictions are not as strong as she claimed, that she's not all that different from Shou, that she looks too much like her brother but isn't him, and isn't catching up to him fast enough.
He's not being fair. He was being too hard on her. No matter how mature she seemed outwardly, she's still younger than him, and still finding her footing in dueling. She had her passion and love for the game, but Ryou's known duelists that have lost it over less. Maybe that's why Fubuki had always held back and let her savor the taste of victory occasionally. Would that have been the better approach?
A couple more lonely nights at the docks is enough to make Ryou consider it, and decide that first thing in the morning, he'll email Asuka to apologize, and challenge her to another duel, one where the odds would be more in her favor. He spends the rest of the evening with the talkative ghost of Fubuki teasingly instructing him how to even write such an email, especially one to his little sister.
Ryou thinks he has a good letter written, but he doesn't send it because first thing in the morning, at the crack of dawn—Asuka suddenly calls him, begging to meet at the lighthouse. She's out of breath, but smiling, and in his half-asleep daze, Ryou first thought is that she found Fubuki.
He gets dressed and rushes over, but she's alone and clutching a square picture frame. Before Ryou can ask though, she says,
"I need to apologize to you. The other day, I lost my temper and unfairly took it out on you. I'm sorry."
Ryou stares. He's not entirely sure how to best respond, so he stands still while Asuka continues.
"I was just really mad about losing so many times. Not at you, but myself. Okay, I was a little mad at you, but that was really unfair and selfish of me. Especially after you took all that time out to try and teach me. And you even warned told me two hours of dueling was a bad idea for my sake, even though you had way better things to do with your time, and I still forced you into it." She clutches the frame in her arms tighter. "I'm really, really sorry about everything."
Ryou isn't used to such directness, and a long pause falls between them as Asuka keeps her head low, and expectantly awaits his response.
"…it's fine," he finally whispers, staring out to the horizon. "I said some things too."
"I needed to hear them," Asuka replies, looking straight ahead too. "You were right. About everything."
"Self-deprecation doesn't suit you," Ryou tells her, and remembers the email he'd planned to send. "And anyone would feel frustrated after so many losses, so in our next duel—
"Oh, um, I don't think we should duel anymore," Asuka cuts him off. "I learned a lot from you, and I really appreciate you teaching me, but I realized our arrangement is really unfair to you. You're just crushing the same weakling over and over and not getting anything out of it."
But I like teaching you, Ryou thinks but this isn't something he can bring himself to say out loud. So instead he just nods. "If that's what you want…"
"Thanks Ryou."
They watch the sunrise for a while longer, until Ryou realizes something.
"Did you really wake me up just to apologize?"
"I woke you? I'm sorry!" Asuka apologizes again, but finally turns over the frame in her arms, and Ryou's eyes widen when he sees Fubuki in the photo.
"Where did you get that?"
"You know that abandoned dorm? So, apparently…"
Their fight is over and they settle back into the comfortable routine they had before of meeting at the lighthouse and swapping information. At Asuka's request, Ryou starts looking into the Shadow Games that may have taken place at that dorm, but they don't find anything more than what Asuka learned that one night.
They don't duel anymore though. Asuka seems content with it, so Ryou doesn't bring it up, though with the situation with his brother looming, she starts to remind him of Shou. Another duelist crushed because of him.
He has to concede she is right though. The duels between them really weren't fun. As frustrating as it is to lose over and over, an easy victory is boring too. It's why Ryou rarely accepts duel requests, and despite his love for the game, doesn't duel any more than he has to.
He misses Fubuki. Fubuki was the only one who could give him a good challenge.
Yuki Judai's name came up many times since the school year began, and it isn't until Ryou finally has a chance to duel him for himself, that he sees what the fuss is.
Judai is interesting. He's a strong duelist with an unrivaled love for the game, and though Ryou defeats him, he feels Judai takes away the real victory.
There are different ways to win, he realizes.
Ryou doesn't need to worry about Shou anymore. And he thinks he knows how to make things right with Asuka now.
"Let's meet at the duel arena tomorrow," he says to her at the crossroad that separates their dorms.
"Ryou, I—
"I know you said you don't want to duel me anymore, but I have an idea. Please?"
It's the "please" that does it, he thinks, because she looks at him curiously and agrees.
The next morning, they meet up as promised, and Ryou explains his idea.
"The problem before was that our skill levels were too far apart for a fair duel. So we need to even the field."
"If you say you're going to hold back, I'm leaving," Asuka tells him sternly.
"I don't hold back. I'll duel the same as always. But I'm changing your victory conditions."
"Oh?" Asuka is interested.
"If you deal any battle damage to me, I'll consider it your win."
"Any battle damage? Even if it's only 50 or 100 points?"
"We'll start from there," Ryou nods. "And as you improve, we'll change things accordingly."
Asuka nods as she considers it. "But isn't it still the same as before?" she says. "Maybe I have a chance at a victory now, but you're still getting an easy boring win against a weaker duelist."
"Not necessarily," Ryou has considered it. "Those Shadow Games you mentioned before sound interesting. If we're going to find Fubuki, we may need to prepare for them. What better way than to learn to better guard my Life Points?"
Asuka smirks. "Figures you wouldn't make this easy for me."
"What do you say? Are you willing to give it a try?"
"Yeah," Asuka slides her deck into her duel disk. "Let's duel."
"Asuka. It doesn't count if you use Doble Passe to wipe out your Life Points just for a cheap shot at mine."
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!
I've had a headcanon of Ryou giving Asuka a few dueling pointers here and there for a long time (as in "this is my first ship in one of my very first fandoms") and am happy to be able to write something for these two. (though I'm not used to writing sub-verse so this probably sounds more like Zane and Alexis than Ryou and Asuka)
but um, yeah, thanks for reading and feedback is always appreciated!