Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters presented here and am not making any profit off of this whatsoever.
Story Title: Path of Virtue
Chapter Title: Humble Beginnings
Story Word Count: 536
Chapter Word Count: 536
Rated: T
Romance: Jim x Asuka
Notes: This was written for the 7_virtues Livejournal challenge. The virtue of this chapter is 'humility', and it takes place a few days after episode 107. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.
Summary: A gentle progression of respect for one another leads to something that's more than friendship.

"So you're the champion of the South School." Her voice was quiet and gentle, and Jim liked the sound of it right away. She would get along well with animals, he decided. Not only did she sound quiet, but she had a soothing, kind presence that still caught attention no matter what.

He gave her a kind smile back and tipped his hat. "Jim 'Crocodile' Cook, at your service." Karen said nothing as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate her presence. "And this is Karen."

"Hello, Karen." The pretty blonde girl greeted the crocodile calmly, and that was another point in her favor so far as Jim was concerned. Not only was she not afraid of a creature that was fully capable of biting her hand off, she was treating Karen like a person. Then she looked back at Jim. "Tenjoin Asuka. A pleasure to meet you."

Jim grinned at her cheerfully. "The pleasure's all mine, I assure you." And indeed it was.

"I hope you enjoy your stay here," Asuka said with another slight bow as she started to turn away. He didn't really feel like wanting her to go right away, however.

"Could you show me around?" He wouldn't mind getting to know some of the other people around Duel Academia, but no one else appeared to be very eager to get close to him at the moment. He wondered if the fact he carried a live crocodile on his back had anything to do with it.

Asuka smiled a little as she turned back to him. "It would be my pleasure," she replied, eyes warm and caring and her tone as courteous as any he'd ever heard. It was a definite change from some of the girls he knew at South School. Some of them could be nice and kind, but some of them were insistent that they were incredible and everyone else had better recognize that fact and the sooner the better.

Jim was quick to realize that Asuka wasn't like that at all. There were many different ways he could have described her, but none of them appeared to really sum her up completely. She was too complex for that. She never flaunted herself, either her talent for dueling or her good looks. Jim had traveled a bit in his time, and he had seen quite a few beautiful women during those travels. There were some who had been better looking than Asuka, but she still had a quality that set her apart from them. Perhaps it was her unfailing serenity. Perhaps it was just the way she was. Perhaps it didn't need a name.

Even when they dueled and she won, there was no boasting, no unwarranted pride, only a sense of mutual accomplishment and respect for one another. Jim smiled at her as the last of the holograms faded and decided to do something he only did for a very few people.

"That was a good duel, Tomorrow Girl." He knew enough Japanese to not only converse with them, but he knew what the characters of her name meant. Tomorrow's fragrance. And the smile she graced him with was as sweet as it could possibly be.

To Be Continued