Yu-gi-oh! GX
Lost Blue-Eyed Child

Chapter 2: No, She's Not My Daughter

After a short and lackluster chain of events, Judai found himself having to wait in the nearby Police Station. The little girl he found alone and lost in the trees by the park near his apartment was now sitting in the chair next to him. They were simply waiting until someone told them what to do next. Hopefully her parents or guardians would be on their way soon.

She still had not spoken a word to anyone. Hadn't even told anybody her name or even her age on her fingers. It was possible she was scared, shy, or mute. They weren't sure. A child counselor tried to talk to her for several minutes, and he even just sat with her silently for a bit, while Judai was still in eyeshot at a desk filling out some paperwork about what happened and how he found her. After years of traveling the world, he knew to keep the parts about his spirit partners out of the story when it came to the law enforcement. For some reason, they seemed to judge him harsher when he was completely truthful. Even Yubel thought it was better to go about it this way, especially in Domino City where problems with dueling spirits seemed to be unusually high and the law enforcement were completely incompetent.

"What's going to happen if you can't find her parents?" Judai asked as he finished up the papers.

"Hopefully they can find somebody that knows her that they can temporarily release custody to," the counselor told him. "In the worst case scenario, child services will put her in a foster home until further notice."

Judai nodded as he thought for a moment. "I know she looks Japanese, but is possible she speaks another language?" Judai suggested. "I got her to nod when I asked if she was lost though, but now I'm not so sure if she understood much?"

The counselor nodded and put his hand to his chin as he thought. "There's a lot of languages… and I will admit even my English is lacking these days."

"I've traveled the world, so I can piece together some questions for her," Judai said as he scratched the side of his face with one finger. "And my wife studied abroad in America so her English is absolutely flawless. Her German and Dutch are pretty good too."

"Would you mind if she came here, if she's available?"

"It'll take some explaining," Judai scratched his head. "But sure, I'll just explain when she gets here," he said as he pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial.

It rang three times on the other side before she picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Judai started.

"Judai, I got your text, did something happen? Are you alright?" she asked hurriedly.

"Whoa, slow down," he chuckled. True, sometimes something more serious did happen, so she had a right to be worried after he ran off after Hane Kuriboh right before getting home. "I'm at the Police Station right now, could you come down here?"

"What!?" she exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"It's not like that! I just need your help with something, I can explain in more detail when you get here," he told her. "And can you bring me a snack? I'm hungry."

"Sheesh… fine, I'll be right there and bring you a snack," she said. "See you soon."

"Thanks! See ya!" Judai said before he hung up. He considered himself lucky that she was so understanding. She didn't question him or press for details. Considering his obligations, it was sometimes better to act first and ask questions later. She knew he'd explain everything when the important part was out of the way.

Judai informed the counselor and the police officer that his wife would arrive shortly to help. Then he sat down and let his head fall back for a few seconds. He was kind of tired too.

"What did your wife travel abroad for?" the counselor asked as the blue-eyed girl flipped through a magazine to look at the pictures.

"Huh?" Judai didn't realize the man was talking to him for a second. "Oh, dueling and teaching, she went to Duel University in America and then she had to do a lot more stuff here to be able to teach at Duel Prep. She went there in middle school, apparently the teachers there are really skilled and carefully picked," Judai explained.

"I am well aware of the prestige of teaching at Duel Prep, your wife is actually more qualified than I am to work with children," the counselor chuckled in jest, even though it was kind of true. "She must be brilliantly intelligent."

"Heh, I'll say," Judai nodded. "She worked really hard too," he added.

"Her family must be really proud of her."

"You bet, she deserves where she is now, and she earned it on her own," Judai nodded again.

"I look forward to making her acquaintance," he said. "You're a duelist right? Judai Yuki, regional professional?" he asked.

Judai nodded again. "You were trying to figure out how I'm married to her, what she saw in me, that sort of thing, right?" Judai smirked. He had literally received those questions before, granted, mostly from Manjoume.

"Well, I will admit, I was a little curious," he chuckled as he scratched the back of his head and bowed apologetically.

"Ah, it's fine," Judai shrugged. "We make a good team you know. Made an unstoppable tag team our senior year at Duel Academy," he said.

"Oh so you've been together since high school?"

Judai snapped his head towards the man in surprise. "What? Oh no, we were just good friends and rivals back then, I still had a lot of growing up to do before a girl like her would've been interested in me."

The counselor was about to say something when another officer stepped in. "There have been no reports of a missing child that matches her description, we're contacting the next branch up and see if she's from one of the neighboring cities or towns," he informed.

"Thanks," Judai said just to fill the silence before it could come.

"Hopefully, if her guardians haven't realized she's missing yet, they will report it right away," he added. "Until then, we might have to make other arrangements for her."

"She is near," Yubel's voice echoed from within. Judai looked out the window, and sure enough, Asuka was getting out of her charcoal-colored sedan which was parked in front of the Police Station.

"That was fast," Judai commented and made his way towards the door. The little girl looked at him with wide eyes as he proceeded to open the door as if he was going to leave, but then a woman entered with dark blonde which was gathered at the base of her neck with a navy-colored clip, leaving just her bangs to frame her face. Only a streak of brown eye-shadow accented her hazel eyes. With navy-colored knee high boots, a black skirt, and a fashionable navy-colored top, she looked like a professional and intelligent woman. The only jewelry she wore was a wedding band.

"What's wrong that you needed me to come down here?" Asuka asked.

Judai closed the door behind her and placed his hand on her back as he ushered her to the area he had been waiting at. The social worker's jaw dropped when she stepped into the room. "Well, there's this little girl I need your help with," Judai started.

Asuka looked at the girl and then glared at her husband. "What did you do?"

Judai stepped back. "What?"

"Is she yours?" she questioned.

"Mine? What are you talking about?" Judai defended.

"Judai, if you have a daughter and you didn't tell me…" she didn't get to finish when Judai chuckled.

"No-no, she's not my daughter," he started. "I just found her and she was all alone for who knows how long, so we're trying to find her parents, the problem is that she won't talk so I was asked if you could come ask some questions in other languages," he explained.

Asuka sighed in relief and smiled softly. "Of course I can," she said. "Oh, and I brought you your snack," she said and handed him a small paper sack.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed and looked inside before taking out a rice ball to munch on. "You're the best!" he said with his mouth full.

The counselor jumped to his feet. "You must be Yuki-san, I am Doctor Kouga, a psychologist that works with the police regularly," he introduced himself.

She bowed her head. "My students usually call me Tenjoin-sensei," she mused aloud.

"Oh, I apologize!"

Asuka smiled and stepped passed him, "Nothing to worry about, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said and sat down in the chair next to the little girl.

Doctor Kouga stepped over by the door to stand close enough to Judai to whisper. "Wow," he said in amazement. "First everything you told me about her, and now that I see her too, I have to know… you know… how?"

Judai laughed and looked proud of himself. "How in the world she agreed to marry a guy like me?" he guessed with a grin, leaving the other man to just nod shyly, not wanting to say it aloud, however, Judai seemed to have no problem talking about it. "Good question, wish I had an answer for you," he shrugged.

Yubel scoffed at the man and began to list reasons why it was Asuka who was good enough for Judai, not the other way around. Yubel would accept nothing less than the best for her beloved soul partner. Asuka was one of few people that passed Yubel's strict judgment. Judai wasn't even sure what all that really entailed.

"You seem like you never really questioned it yourself."

"Nope, she's one of my best friends and we're a great team, it just makes sense to me, to us, but it's just hard to explain it to others," Judai said and looked at her.

Doctor Kouga looked too. "You're very lucky to have that," he said.

"Yeah," Judai nodded.

They listened to Asuka try another sentence. Judai recognized it as German. She was simply asking for her name. Just as he feared, the girl looked even more confused and then looked at Judai with a look that was clearly asking for help. Sho Marufuji often had a similar look during freshman year.

"Guess she's not German," Judai shrugged.

"Why try German in the first place?" Doctor Kouga asked.

Judai just shrugged at first. "We once hosted a German exchange student to attend Duel Prep for three months." Judai explained. "Granted they were here to learn more Japanese, so by the end we heard very little German." Judai left out how he was barely present during those months because he was busy running around the world after members of a crooked organization in the dueling world. That was a tough one.

"You hosted an exchange student?"

"Yeah, it was a part of some Duel Prep program that Asuka wanted to try since she was recommended to host," Judai explained. "That was almost a year ago now, so I hardly remember any of the German I learned. Asuka kept up on it better than I did."

"Ah, I see," he nodded and they listened to some sentences spoke in English and then Dutch.

Finally, Asuka stood up and faced the men. "I'm sorry I couldn't help, I think she understands Japanese best, but she either won't or can't speak," she said. "Did something happen that might have traumatized her?" she asked.

"No idea," Judai answered. "If we can't find her parents soon, she'll have to go to a foster home for awhile."

"I see," Asuka said as she thought for a minute. "And there haven't been any reports of a missing child? No one's looking for her?"

"I hope they are and that they report it soon," Judai said. "I planned to wait here until they figure out what to do next."

"Sounds like that's going to be a while," Asuka observed. "And you just got back from Scandinavia, you haven't even gone home yet," she said.

Judai shrugged. "I'd like to go home, but I can't just turn my back on someone in need of my help…"

Asuka sighed heavily before she smiled at him. "I know, that's just the way you are." She stood up, pecked his cheek with a light kiss, and headed for the door leading out the room and into the office area.

"Where are you going?" Judai asked.

"I have an idea, so I'm going to talk with someone in charge here." She left before Judai could ask anything else.

"Wait, what?" Doctor Kouga asked.

Judai simply shrugged and took a seat again. "I dunno, she'll tell us when she gets back." Judai looked at the child sitting next to him. She was staring at him. "What do you think?" Judai asked her, but she looked down. "You know, I think you're being a good girl, kids aren't supposed to talk to strangers," Judai commented and picked up another magazine and gave it to her to look at.

"But even children are taught that they should speak to authority figures like police officers, doctors, and teachers," Doctor Kouga said.

Judai looked at the girl and then at Doctor Kouga. "Maybe she wasn't, and maybe there's a reason," he said.

The former Osiris duelist wondered deeply about it. His own past back at Duel Academy had taught him there were teachers he couldn't trust. Chronos-sensei was awful that first year and a part of the second. The academy chairman, Kagemaru, caused enough problems during the first year too. Then there was Cobra and Kouji Satou during his third year. People of authority couldn't always be trusted, even if those people had reasons for their actions. Even doctors or police officers were not always upstanding as Judai witnessed during his travels. Then, there was himself. He once acted as a king, the highest authority, and yet he used his powers for less than honorable actions at one time.

"I mean, she trusted me enough to get help and now she's here where she's not going to get hurt," Judai said. "So she might have good instincts."

"Interesting," Doctor Kouga thought about it. "I supposed that is pretty lucky. Some children go missing and never turn up again, at least by finding a way here, as soon as she's reported missing, she'll be home again."

Judai nodded in response and they fell silent for a few minutes. Doctor Kouga was obligated to stay in the room so the child wasn't left unattended or alone with Judai. They were all getting bored quickly. Doctor Kouga stared out the window for a minute.

"Is that your car?" Doctor Kouga asked idly.

"The dark gray sedan?" Judai asked.

"Yeah."

"That's Asuka's, I use it sometimes though," Judai answered.

"Use a lot of the public transit?"

"Yeah, but I also have a motorcycle," Judai added.

"Nice, what color?"

"You're making a friend," Yubel chuckled.

"Red," Judai grinned. "It's kind of my color," he said as she stretched his arms above his head and then tried to cover a yawn. "Man, I am ready to hit the hay," he said before he yawned again. "Don't mind me, I'm just going to close my eyes for a bit," he said as he leaned back his head against the wall. Doctor Kouga simply gave a light grunt in response. After years of traveling and wandering the world, he could sleep anywhere and in nearly any position.

Judai listened to the environment around him. Doors were opening and closing, vehicles drove by outside, and a bicycle rang a bell as they passed. He could also hear some voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. He recognized Asuka's voice. For some reason he just remembered he was going to call Johan to let him know he got home alright, and that he didn't get swept up in another adventure on the way home. Judai supposed that kind of happened anyway, otherwise he wouldn't be taking a catnap in a police station.

Time must have escaped him, because he was roused from his light sleep over an hour later. Asuka had gently pinched is ear to wake him up. It worked every time. He didn't like his ears touched much and was pretty sensitive about it for unknown reasons. When he opened his eyes, he had to rub them first before he could see the clock on the wall. It was already getting dark out.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Long story short, she will be coming home with us tonight if no one comes forward for her," Asuka explained.

"With us? Is that allowed?" Judai asked.

"Do I need to explain the requirements of a Duel Prep professor again?" she asked and Judai simply chuckled and sweat a little. "And besides, I just spent the last hour on the phone and filling out paperwork so she could be released into my custody on a temporary basis."

"I guess she will need a place to sleep tonight. I don't think she'd want to stay here or at a foster home, that's just more strangers," Judai laughed and then noticed the girl shake her head quickly. "See, she agrees."

"I still have some paperwork to go over, more of the legal obligations and policies of foster care, but this isn't our first time hosting a stranger's child, so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," she said.

"How much longer until we're all out of here?" Judai asked and glanced over at the girl.

"I don't know, but it could be another couple hours," Asuka said. "You need to sign some papers too by the way, but after that you can head home if you're too tired to hang around."

Judai felt a tug on his sleeve. He didn't need to think about his options. "Nah, I think I'll stick around until it's time to go." He looked around the room and didn't see Doctor Kouga. "Where's the Doc?" he asked.

"He's getting us a copy of his contact information in case anything comes up," Asuka said.

"Oh good," Judai said and looked over at the girl again. "Hear that, you get to spend the night at our place, it'll be a lot of fun, I have a bunch of video games we can play!" She smiled widely in response, but still didn't speak. "I think we're good with that idea," Judai told Asuka, who laughed softly.

As Asuka walked away, she mumbled something about there being two children tonight.

Hane Kuriboh flew out of Judai's deck and chirped happily above their heads before settling on top of Judai's hair. Judai looked up at the small creature and smiled. Hane Kuriboh gently glided through the room and the girl watched the monster closely.

"What do you think, Buddy?" Judai started. There no one was around to see him talking to seemingly empty space anyway. "Feel like entertaining a guest for a night?" Hane Kuriboh landed on the girl's lap and made a happy sound while nodding and flapping its wings. "That means he's happy to have you," Judai grinned goofily.

Author's Note:

Here's an alternate scene (but not really):

Asuka looked at the child and then at her husband. "If I find out this child is actually yours, Judai, we'll be divorceshipping faster than you can blink…"

Basically the girl is young enough and resembles Judai enough, that he could feasibly be her father. However, he doesn't seem like the one night stand type nor the adulterous type, so this is not that kind of story.

So now you should see why I made Asuka an important part of this story. Realistically, unless avoiding the police and social services altogether, Judai would not end up holding custody of someone's child that he just found lost and alone. Asuka, on the other hand, could with a strong background in education and working with other people's children as an elite private school teacher with hosting experience. Hope that makes sense. It might be a stretch as far as real legal matters tend to go, but as I said in my first Author's Note for this story, this shouldn't get too weird.

Wonder where on Earth her real guardians could be and what they are doing?