Notes – For the gx_100. Set the night after the graduation match Ryo had against Juudai.
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Asuka was not a person who was used to the feel of anything much.
She was a very solitary person who had a large value for personal space. If someone was so much as five feet away from her than as far as she was concerned that space was invaded.
As a result of this not a lot of people ever touched Asuka.
She was thankful that she'd obtained this sort of respect. Though she'd gathered a horde of male admirers during her first year all of them kept at least some distance from her. Even her closest female friends Momoe and Junko, though they were touchy-feely sort of girls who liked hugging generally gave her that distance. The only time she could recall one of them touching her was when Junko had hugged her after escaping from her kidnapping by SAL. Other than that no one touched Asuka.
Because of that she didn't have much of a feel for textures. The female Obelisk Blue uniform didn't have much of an impact in regards to texture. It was so small that it hardly even counted; she'd thought a lot of time when she'd felt like complaining about it. Though it was comfortable to wear she wanted to look respectable. Which is hard to do when the world is staring at your bare legs.
Right now though, she did feel the material that was put over her shoulders. It felt soft, like new cotton that had never been worn before, but it smelled homely. Like the living room of her own house, so far away from the academia. She mused that it had been a long time since she'd thought about anything that wasn't at Duel Academia.
Looking up from where she was sat she saw the figure of her brother sit down next to her, swinging his legs over the edge of the dock.
They were at a lighthouse, and it was nighttime. The flare of the bulb shown around, illuminating the dark waters out to sea. This was where she wanted to be more than anywhere else. She hadn't told anyone she was coming here, and to anyone else it would seem like an odd place to go but people who knew Asuka knew the lighthouse. Her brother Fubuki knew her better than anyone.
She pulled the blanket close, it was cold out here, but chose to be difficult and not start a conversation with him.
No matter, Fubuki was an expert at conversations.
"I thought I'd find you here after the match was over. Not looking forward to the time off?" he asked.
She sulked for a few moments, but inevitably answered, "Things are going to be different in the second year." She left it that that.
"Well of course, but things are going to be different every year," said Fubuki, "There'll be a new first year who you might find friends among, and when you graduate in your third year they could be sitting out moping about you going too."
…How had he somehow hit the nail on the head that she was upset about Ryo from the vague statement she'd made?
"But this isn't right…" it was all she could reason in her mind, "If things had happened how they should have done than you'd be graduating with him, and…"
And she would have never had a reason to become close to Ryo. Their friendship had been formed over the mutual goal of wanting to find Fubuki.
For someone who had just been accused of being held back for two years due to reasons that weren't his fault Fubuki looked very understanding. He stood up, putting one hand against the side of the lighthouse thoughtfully.
"If things had gone differently than it would have been me standing next to this lighthouse with him instead of you, or maybe even all three of us here together. But there is not a right way for things to happen and we must accept that the world might push us in a direction that's unexpected and work with that."
The statement hit Asuka home, but didn't surprise her as much as it would have done someone else. She knew that Fubuki had some depth to him when he wanted to. He just rarely showed this to others.
"But not now, because he's gone now," she said stubbornly, pulling the warm blanket around her shoulders and over her chest.
A hand was put on her shoulder.
She started. That was the second time today that she'd felt a touch that was unexpected to her, she didn't want there to be a third.
As she turned to tell Fubuki to back off she was greeted with the face of Ryo. A blank face, but eyes that contained understanding and some pity. She flushed, unused to being touched by him of all people, and by the time she looked up again he had taken his hand off her shoulder.
"We can be together for one night," he said, looking from one sibling to the other.
"But I thought you were coming over to mine tonight, like old times," pouted Fubuki. The Tenjoins could be as stubborn as each other sometimes.
"I'd rather be here with the both of you, like present times," said Ryo smiling fondly at Fubuki.
Asuka looked up at them from where she sat. They were willing to give up the last chance they'd have to relive their first year together for her. Well, Ryo was. And she knew that deep down Fubuki would do too. That was probably why he'd come out here in the first place.
Suddenly she felt selfish.
And she did notice how Ryo's hand rested momentarily on Fubuki's arm before he jerked it away, remembering she was there. But I'm not blind or stupid Ryo, she thought to herself.
"You don't have to do that," she said, standing up herself now.
"But we want to," said Fubuki quickly, and she appreciated that they didn't want her to feel unwanted.
"Yes, but this is also the last time that I'll get to see my other friends before the end of term," she said firmly, "Junko, Momoe and myself will be talking about girly stuff, the two of you won't be interested at all."
She turned to leave, and heard Fubuki start to protest that whatever a girl was going to talk about he would be interested in, but was silenced by Ryo.
"I hope to see you again soon Asuka, regardless of what the future holds," Ryo said finally.
She nodded, though she didn't turn to look at him. Whatever him and Fubuki were planning to do for the rest of the night was outside of her hands now.
But, as she left, she did keep the towel that Fubuki had put on her. The soft, homely feel would forever make her think of the special friendship the three of them had shared.