A/N: I don't want to write tsunderes, but Chazz is one. And I apologize if I write Jaden instead of Judai or any other names that came from the English dub. I grew up with that dub.
._._._.
Chapter 2
The second morning came, and Judai was up early because he looked forward to spending another day with Jun! He quickly got ready, but accidentally slipped when he tried to put on his pants. Yubel chuckled at his sloppiness. "I don't think Princess Jun would mind if you are late. I doubt she even cares."
"Don't say that! We had so much fun yesterday!" But Judai was a lot more careful in putting on his clothes, and made sure he smelled good after the quick bath he took. "And last night, I saw her dancing."
"Dancing?"
"Yeah! Last night! She looked amazing!"
"She must be because you never cared for dancing unless it was funny or dramatic. Were you laughing?"
"I like all kinds of dancing, and no! I wouldn't laugh at her! The way she danced was really cool..." He fell silent when he reminisced her dancing in the dim red light in the ballroom. His heart beating strongly by desire to experience watching the moment again.
Yubel didn't like that look. "Prince Judai, you do remember that she's engaged, correct? We may live in a time when polygamy is acceptable, but-"
"What?! NO!" The boy blushed bright red. "I don't have a crush on her!"
"Are you sure? Because you look a tad red." She teased.
The boy flinched at being caught. He covered his cheeks with his palms. "Really?! I guess I kinda do like her."
"Oh no. Please don't tell me that your type of queen is someone like her."
"It wouldn't be that bad! She's smart and bossy! Shouldn't queens be like that? Anyway, let's get going! I heard from the streets yesterday that tomorrow's events will involve swimming!" The boy ran out of his room to go see the princess. He soon found her walking along side who looked like a skinny, well dressed, effeminate looking golem.
"You see, Princess Jun, it's important that we go over these lessons so that you will be at the top of your game if you were to participate in the duelists war event." The golem told her.
"Princess Jun!" Judai stopped in front of her. "Let's do something fun today! I heard there's a swimming event today!"
"Excuse me, young prince." The golem spoke. "I'm afraid that princess Jun has to be at practice this morning. As the princess, she is expected to enter in at least two events for each festival. She is attending the duelist war event, and the dance final! She must be at her very best, but she will reconvene with you this afternoon after she awards today's winners and losers."
"Oh. You're attending the festival?" Judai was surprised.
Jun answered, "It's important for the princess to express her efforts in front of her people, and accept my wins and losses. It's a request by my parents and my people since I have the habit of spending most of my time studying and working by my parents." Her tone was formal and respectful that Judai and Yubel wondered if this was someone else or if they were being pranked.
Her teacher agreed, "Yes, you are such a hard worker, Princess Jun. You need to be also recognized and have fun in the festival, too!"
"Yes, Cronos De Medici. We should head to my studies. I will reconvene with you, Prince Judai and Yubel, after the swimming contest this afternoon."
The two left the bewildered foreign duo.
"That was...unexpected." Yubel was shocked by not having an insult thrown at her. "She must be putting up a show for that tutor of hers."
"That was pretty creepy. Do I have to act like that?"
"In certain situations, yes. It looks like we will have to get a tour guide again."
Judai pouted. He was really looking forward to spending time with Jun! But duties were duties. Him and Yubel were given a tour guide who helped them get to the gigantic lake that was deep enough to fit several gigantic water-type duel monsters inside. They enjoyed shows of different humans and duel monsters doing amazing tricks together and having a musical and a concert performed.
While this was going on, Daichi sat next to them. "Oh, there you are. May I sit with you here."
"Of course! What's up, Daichi?" Judai inquired.
"Nothing much. I take it that the lack of a princess is because said princess is busy with preparing herself for her participation in the festival."
"Yeah." Judai answered sadly. "But she'll be able to play with us after this is over!"
"Indeed. So how are you liking your visit here?"
"It's totally awesome! I saw dead people come out of the ground yesterday!"
"Ah yes. It was Princess Jun's responsibility to wake them. It was nice seeing Uncle Beno again."
Judai didn't know this Beno, but he was more curious at asking, "Hey, does Jun always act so uptight around her tutors?"
"Oh, you must've met Cronos De Medici. Not always. Cronos is her tutor in nearly everything. Especially on her acting skills. When you take on royal duties, it's most important to hide your true feelings for the sake of civility even when things are not swaying your way."
"If that's true," Yubel started, "Then he's not very good at his job after how she acted in front of Prince Judai."
"Oh, come on, Yubel! I'm glad that Jun acted like her true self since that means that we really are friends!" Judai was even more psyched that Jun was being honest with him! He looked even more forward to seeing her!
._._._.
"Perfect! Just absolutely perfect!" Cronos applauded fervently! Jun was covered by a black and white aura that dimmed away. "You never fail to succeed my expectations, Princess Jun! You are beloved by your people, picked out the most suitable fiance for yourself, and even mastered your aura projection for the duelist wars event! You absolutely deserve a break!"
"Thank you, Cronos De Medici. You have been a wonderful teacher." She gave him a similar curtsy that she gave to Ryo yesterday.
"Yes. Yes. Now that we can move business aside, I speak as one of your dear guardians. How was your time with the prince these past two days since his visit?" The two of them took a seat on a comfortable sofa.
Jun replied with her regular tone, but still spoke maturely, "The adopted idiot is a gluttonous portrayal of strength. He's under a lot of pressure with him becoming king, and he not fit to rule."
"Oh, I'm sure he has the potential."
"I am potential. I am the one working hard and owning up to my destiny, and willing to take the fight it gives. He wants to avoid it."
"That's hardly fair to judge since you're both only children, na no ne."
"Ten years can fly by fast, and the days are short. I applaud him for having a mask of confidence, but he's...he's scared to feel. To hold in his dread, even among his trusted peers, is not good for his health. "
"Our kingdom's customs are not the same as those outside. I hear men are expected to act that way beyond these mountains. I can only imagine the internal damage that they must be suffering from." Her tutor shivered at the mere thought. His femininity was well accepted and even praised by those around him. To express emotions was a strength. To be able to control them in certain situations was well appreciated, but not encouraged to be practiced consistently.
An actor must not entirely be themselves on stage, but they should be who they believe they are with confidence off the stage.
"And he can easily influence that sort of thinking to not be tolerated among his people, but he's too scared." She sighed. "But it's not my place to fix. My focus is on the kingdom, and yesterday, I believe that the schools needs an upgrade in the research department. Students needs an easier way to get the information that they need. The time spent to find it takes up too much of their homework hours. It depletes their time to exercise and relax."
"I'm sure your parents would love to hear that at the upcoming meeting, but I'm not your parent, Princess Jun. Don't try to switch the subjects just to avoid telling me that you've come to care about this young prince."
"That's preposterous! I am not one who's soft at heart to manifest any feelings for an foreigner!"
"Smart words won't make you sound smart when I can read your tone." The golem pointed out.
Jun glared at him with her golden eyes, but they softened. She drew her knees to her chest to hug them. An expression of concern halfway hid behind them.
Her tutor placed a comforting hand on the shoulder farthest from him. "You have a gracious heart, my princess. You challenge those around you, and help those in need, but only with an extended empty hand because you believe in the strength of others. With only a few days with a boy who you worry deeply for, it's understandable that you deny how you feel. In a permanently decided situation such as this, it's best to just let them go, and only cling to hope."
Jun was both tortured and comforted by those words. She did worried deeply for Judai, but refused to express it. No surprise that her tutor saw through her, and her parents must have done so as well. No wonder she was practicing so early for an event that was not until four days later.
"Thank you for speaking the words that I needed to hear, Cronos De Medici. After hearing them, I have the resolve to do my best to be a good influence for the boy." She promised, but then added with a deadpan, "If he doesn't make me want to kill him first."
Her tutor laughed!
._._._.
"Whoa! This is the competition?!" Judai was already off his seat and cheering for the contestants. The contestants were made out of several teams with several different types of people. Members of the teams were to either splash in the water at any height they desired, and the other members were to freeze parts of the splash in order to make a sculpture.
Daichi answered, "Yes. It's called the Ice Splash, and as you can see, they need to make ice sculptures out of the water that was splashed upward. There are several ways they can do this, but it requires a lot of concentration, mathematics, and endurance. The easiest way is to make the water droplets that jump award become ice and manipulate each drop to create a sculpture. But that takes time, and that's why there is a timer, so not a majority of them will use that technique and take up everyone's time for the finish project. Monsters who can manipulate water can only take a certain amount of the water that was splashed upward. It all depends on the size of the one doing the splashing. The bigger, then the lesser of course."
Yubel couldn't help being both entertained and impressed by this. It was similar to watching chefs at work. It's both calming, and the finished product was something to look forward to. "I must say that this is quite an ingenious sport. I can see one of them creating a sculpture of the Legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon."
While the three of them watched, the Dark-End Queen could see them from the balcony that she sat at. "It looks like the prince is enjoying himself."
The foreign king said, "I'm not surprised that he is. This sport is quite intense, and beautiful. I am impressed that the witches are capable of keeping the splashes from creating an earthquake, and keep the waves from ruining the other sculptures."
"Thank you! It was my idea!" The Light-End King gloated.
"Yes. Speaking of ideas. I heard that your daughter is already betrothed to one of your citizens already." The foreign king did want to speak of this.
The queen answered, "It was her decision that she made by herself. She knew that she should have a husband, and she believed that it was best to have a fiance at this age, so her king would also be ready to take on the upcoming turmoils in the future."
"That is a very smart move that your daughter made. I must also ask...You've shown me your kingdom. Your offenses, defenses, and the trust that these people instill in you. You have enough number of soldiers to conquer other lands. Expand your mountains."
The Dark-End Queen smirked at the unspoken question. She answered with a tone that sounded whimsical but honest, "In all that is power, your majesty, we are well aware, but we do not care. We created this kingdom for acceptance of life. Not power or bloodshed. You may think we are at peace and boredom here, but the real war is in these very mountains. There are law breakers among us. There are still new diseases out to kill us. There is still hatred, and peace may appear like a strong rope, but the material is made out of frail threads. A single tense weight could break it, so it's always important to ease matters here."
Her husband added, "As the oldest and wisest had said, 'it takes a village to raise a child!' And the same logic applies here. It takes us and our most trusted advisers to care for this entire kingdom, and it's still not enough. There's still too much to do. It'd take several generations before our own problems are finally fixed!"
"But your kingdom could gain so much from taking more land. There's riches out there beyond your wildest dream!" The foreign king reminded them.
But the queen shuts down his reason with a proverb, "You get the most out of a visit when you knock at the door. Not kick it down and only take what's valuable by sight. You'll miss the trash that actually cost a fortune. In other words, my people can still travel out of these mountains, and come back with their riches, and their diseases. Some of the inventions, such as vaccines, do not originate from us."
"But don't your people fear discrimination out there?"
The king explained, "The world is dangerous no matter where you go, but if you can thread about it carefully, then its a worthy risk to take. The number one rule is to never say that you came from this kingdom. We are proud of ourselves, but that pride is not worth your life." He spoke his last words with utmost seriousness that the king thought that he turned into a dark-type creature for a second, but the king had that addictive smile.
The queen concluded, "We are a powerful kingdom, but that's only because we put our citizens as our first priority."
Then there was a loud, yet soft jingle that notified the audience that the contest had come to an end, and it was time for the judges to inspect. The sportscaster of the competitions described each and every one of the different, completed ice sculptures. There was an ice sculpture of the Dark Magician girl, one of the Gemini elves, a miniature version of the castle, the Cyber-End Dragon and so much.
While the judges were deciding, the crowd was allowed to get down from the stands and marvel at the beauty of the different sculptures from a certain distance since the judges shouldn't be interfered.
When the judging was done, the crowd went back to their seats. Then the sportscaster announced the arrival of Princess Jun!
Judai searched all around the place, but he didn't see her anywhere.
"She's in the water." Daichi told him.
That confused the boy. "Water?"
Just then, Jun sprang out of the lake in a yellow swimsuit with a ribbon behind her back that looked like a goldfish tail. Mermaids and other swimmers appeared from out of the water, and did a synchronized swimming performance with Jun as their star.
The princess was graceful despite the fact that moving through water was difficult. She looked like she was obviously trained from a very young age to be able to dance with these professional swimmers who also looked graceful and effortless.
Judai was excited to see his friend dance on the floor. "You see, Yubel! Didn't I tell you that she was amazing!"
Yubel did notice her great skill, but that only filled her chest with heat that burned her.
Jun ended the performance with a summery landing on the stage. She formally announced herself, and introduced the synchronized swimmers and expressed deep gratitude for their hard work while at the same time convincing others to join them. She then presented the first prize to the one who sculpted the Blue eyes White Dragon, and then presented the prize to the other winners for their efforts.
The crowd cheered, and then went out to celebrate the winner.
Judai hurriedly got down from the stands to go see Jun. "Hey Jun! Long time no see!"
"Don't be sappy. I just saw you this morning!"
"Yeah, but you missed out on all the awesome performances earlier! There was-"
"I already know, loser." Jun cut him off out of annoyance. She felt embarrassed for what she declared earlier. "I live here, so I see them every year! Besides, I don't have time for you." She walked past the boy to hold Daichi's arm. "My future husband and I need to spend time together!"
"Can't we all spend it together?! You two spent a lot of time together yesterday!"
"Hmph! You do what you want to do!" She pulled Daichi towards the exit of the place.
Judai proclaimed, "If that's the case, then I'm spending it with you guys!" He ran after them.
"No, you dolt! Go away!"
"But I don't wanna, and you can't make me!" Judai grinned goofy with his hands behind his head.
Yubel watched them leave before following. She felt conflicted, but she was sure that these feelings would go away once they leaved this wretched kingdom.
The three kids had fun with the various games presented, ate different types of free food, and then found themselves mixed up in a random dance at a paved street. It seemed like people were into it and others were thrown into it like Ryo who wasn't one for dancing, but was caught in the arms of jolly citizens going around and around. The uncomfortable expression on her face made the children laugh, but they stopped when they joined in. Judai and Jun still looked like they were enjoying themselves while Daichi wasn't since he was known to dance like he had two left feet. He nearly fell but Jun caught him, and the two were caught in a messy waltz. When Daichi decided that he needed to sit, Judai quickly took Jun's hands and the two were in their own messy waltz. Jun didn't mind. She was high on the joy and the music around them.
Yubel had stayed away from the crowd by hovering in the air. She liked seeing her prince happy, but she hated that it was with the princess. It didn't look right. It wasn't right.
When the dancing and music faded away, and traveled to other places, Jun was still on her feet and twirling around. She was following the music while Judai was on the ground exhausted. "Man...I never danced so much." He sounded parched.
Yubel came to him with a bottle of water that the prince thankfully drank. "Pwuah! That was so much fun! We should do that again, Ju-" He realized that the girl was gone.
Daichi informed him that she traveled with the music, and is most likely dancing with another crowd. "Princess Jun was born a dancer. She could never hold her body still even when she was developing in the queen's womb. She did develop a sense of control and style now, but it looks like she can still dance throughout the day. It makes the shoemakers happy because she ruins pair after pair."
"Really?! And I thought that I was the hyperactive one!" Judai grinned at discovering something else about Jun. "Is there anything that she isn't good at? She's so smart, and brave, and awesome!"
"And rude, and pretentious, and egotistical." Yubel added scornfully.
"But that just makes her pretty confident!" Judai pointed out.
"More like a snob if you ask me." Yubel grumbled.
Both boys didn't catch that. Daichi chuckled. "It sounds to me like you've been caught in Princess Jun's web."
"Web? She's a spider?"
"No. That was a figure of speech. What I mean is that you've been charmed by Princess Jun like many are. It's true that Princess Jun is quite the overwhelming company, but she's very appealing and praiseworthy. She's like a star. Get close to it and you'll be sucked into its gravity and burned alive, but is beautiful and mysterious from afar. It's a good thing that you are leaving after a week if you are this smitten with her."
"Prince Judai is not smitten with her!" Yubel roared.
The prince was confused. "What's smitten?"
"Not a word that you need to familiarize yourself with now, my prince! What this boy is saying is unsubstantiated!"
"Unsubstantiated? Are we still speaking our language here?"
Daichi snorted. "I think we should go find the princess."
"Yeah! Oh wait, what do you mean that it's a good thing I'm leaving after all this?" Judai asked as they walked.
"I don't mean any offense. Only that although Princess Jun does let people in her world, she disregards - I mean - She abandons concepts like romance."
"Romance? You mean like kissing and stuff?"
"Sort of like that. What I'm saying is, if your feelings do become romantic, she'll never admit to liking you back that way."
Judai wasn't thinking about ever being in a romantic relationship at all, but he was confused by what this kid was saying. "But you two are getting married in the future."
"That's a political strategy. We're not romantically in love with each other."
"Oh...So you're saying that if I wanted Jun as my girlfriend, it'll never happen even if she likes me back."
"That's the deal. That's why many boys my age, or parents looking for an advantage, don't try to appeal to her through promises of romance. I hope that my saying that you may fall for Princess Jun wasn't pretentious."
"Not at all/Yes it was." Judai and Yubel answered simultaneously. The prince wasn't bothered at all, but the duel monster seemed to want to object any notions at all.
Daichi chuckled again. These two were amusing.
._._._.
The third day came, and Jun was being tutored in the morning again, so Judai had to go with Yubel and Daichi to the Eating Contest. Judai wanted to join, but Yubel and his adopted father both denied. He was allowed to eat all the food that was presented at the competition afterwards.
He ate happily with everyone. Jun reminded him as he swallowed his food, "Don't forget to chew."
Jun drank her tea peacefully until she spilled a bit. Not thinking that anyone was looking, she wiped it with her sleeve.
"HA!" But Judai caught her. "Yo-ACK!" He began choking on his food.
"PRINCE JUDAI!" Yubel caught him and did the Heimlich maneuver. The food shot out immediately, and landed on the Dark End Queen's face.
"MY QUEEN!" Her husband screeched. Everyone else's jaw dropped.
Judai was wheezing for air while Yubel was horrified and wished that they were facing another direction. She was already planning what to say to Judai before her execution.
Bello gave her a napkin which she used to wipe her face, and then burst out laughing! Jun also burst out laughing. The Light End King was somewhat amused by the situation as he used his napkin to properly clean his love's face.
Judai weakly laughed while everyone else was still pretty horrified and confused. Daichi didn't like abrupt situations like these.
After the laughter died down, the queen recommended that they continued their feast. The foreign king and Yubel were too frightened to ask if that was alright. They decided to just play along, and continued to eat, but slowly.
Judai also ate at a better pace. He then snickered at Jun as he whispered, "I saw what you did!"
Jun blushed but hid it behind her tea, and then said in a composed matter, "I don't know what you're talking about."
That made the boy snicker more.
Afterwards, Judai needed to use the restroom, and had Daichi help him find it again, so he could ask, "Hey, does Jun use her sleeves to wipe the tea off the table?"
"What?" Daichi was confused. "I don't think she does."
"Oh, okay!" Judai sported the brightest grin he ever made since his visit. He knew something about Jun that Daichi didn't know! That made him really happy. So happy that his cheeks were hurting by all that grinning!
Jun was with her parents at the library again, and her mother was still giggly about what happened earlier. "It just absolutely amuses me that he got too excited knowing that you use your sleeves like a napkin." She giggled. "That boy is quite the entertainment!"
Her giggly father agreed. "I absolutely agree! Let's keep him around for another week!"
"No!" Jun absolutely denied. "I can't stand him for another week!"
"I was merely joking, baby." Her father giggled.
Jun scowled at them. She excused herself, and went to the flower fields. It was cool at night, but her wings kept her covered from the light blow of the winds. She went to one of the trees to find her hammock. It was high enough so the red light around her castle didn't distract her from staring up at the night sky filled with stars.
She enjoyed her moment of silence and peace. As a princess, she had to be surrounded by people constantly. She loved the attention, but she was an introvert, meaning that she needed time to recharge her energy to be sociable.
A few hours went by without too much ruckus until "So there you are!"
Jun felt her heart pound hard when she heard the annoying boy's voice. She looked down to see Judai sitting on Bello's shoulder in the air.
The prince was all smiles, "I saw you flying away earlier, and I got curious of where you were going, so I got my man, Bello, here to help me find you! Thanks a lot, Bello."
The servant nodded its head.
Jun felt an eye twitch. "You numbskull! Ever think of a reason why I flew away!"
"Because you wanted to?" Judai figured.
"More than that! I wanted some peace and quiet at a place where no one can easily come and bother me! Especially someone like you!"
"Oh, I get it! But you've been out here for hours! Aren't you bored?"
"Sometimes doing nothing is fun." Jun declared. "Bello, go back, and while you're at it, drop him on your way there. We'll make it look like an accident."
The servant nodded.
Judai wasn't on board, and hopped off to the hammock. "Wait! I just wanted to talk! We never got to talk alone since the day before yesterday! Please!"
Jun felt that she shouldn't but at the same time that she should, and this was an opportunity to fulfill her duty. But she wasn't going to be nice about it! "Fine! Bello, you may go. I'll drop him off myself, but if he provokes me to do anything, we'll make it look like an accident."
"Oh come on, Jun! You don't mean that."
"Get the shovels ready." She deadpanned.
The servant nodded and flew away. Judai still thought she was kidding. Jun wasn't sure herself.
"So," She started, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Hm? How about the fact that you use your sleeves as a napkin! URK!" Judai was caught in a choke hold by the princess!
"How about we keep that as our little secret, or I'll push you off this hammock, and even if we both fall, I'm the one with wings!" She threatened as she tightened her hold.
Judai wasn't able to speak, so tapped at the girl to signal that he gave in. She understood, so let him go to breath.
When the boy could properly breathe, he commented, "Man! You know how to hurt someone!"
"Of course! It's important that someone of our position knows how to fight for themselves in battle!"
"Like how you're going to do that in the duelist wars?"
"Idiot! The duelist wars are more complicated than that, and it's a pain to explain it to you, so wait until Daichi comes around to do it! Is there anything you actually wanted to talk about, or did you just want to annoy me?!"
"Ah, you caught me! I came here because I like being with you."
Jun blushed bright red! "Yo-You-YOU IDIOT!" She accidentally pushed him off the hammock, but at the same time slipped off. She quickly grabbed him, and had themselves floating in the air. She yelled at him, "Idiot! You don't tell someone like that! They'll misinterpret it!"
"Misinterpret?"
"Augh! I mean that they'll mistake it as a love confession or something. You gotta make it clearer like 'I like talking to you' or 'spending time with you'. Not 'be with you'. Those words go too far!"
"But I like being with you!"
"No idiot!" She headbutt him.
"Ow! That hurt!"
"It's your fault! You're not listening!"
"I am, but I still don't understand why you're mad!"
Jun wanted to drop him but instead settled them on the hammock again. She tried explaining it better, "You see, Prince Judai, when you say 'be with someone', it holds the same meaning as 'I like dating you'. You don't mean it that way, but that's how other people hear it. Get it, doofus?"
"OOOOh! I get it! But really Jun, I like being with you. I like talking with you."
"You're only saying that because you think I understand you. I do understand you to some extent, but not entirely. Plus, don't you have Yubel to confide in?"
"I know I can talk to Yubel. She's my very best friend, but I don't think I can talk to her about that kind of stuff. I don't want to say anything bad about her, but she's also depending on me to fulfill my role as the Supreme King. But you don't care about that, and that makes me happy."
Jun inwardly sighed. "I guess that would be a comfort. But you're only here for a week, and then you have to live with going back to the way things were."
Judai frowned. "Yeah. I don't want to, though."
"Don't be an idiot. You have a country to rule, and if you want someone to confide in, then be honest with Yubel. Tell her how you truly feel about being Supreme King, and what you want from her."
"But-"
"Look here Judai. You met someone like me who sees you as someone more than the Supreme King, but that's only because I don't care. But it would be better if you had an ally who did care, but still see you for you. You can't get someone like that unless you're honest. Maybe it'll hurt Yubel's feelings when you talk it out, but success isn't accomplished without problems arising. If Yubel truly cares about you, and you truly care for her, then you need to be honest and depend on each other. That's why I'm forward with Daichi. I trust him to understand and not reject me for it, but instead try to work it out if it's a really big problem, and you have a really big problem."
"I still don't know if I can." Judai felt his chest feel uncomfortable, and spiders crawling on his back.
Jun held his hand, and squeezed it. The boy looked at her to see her sport a serious expression for a seven year old, and then a lovely, encouraging smile. An expression that Jun saw on her parents face many times when they needed support. "I know you can, Judai."
Judai stared at her in awe for a few moments before smiling back. "I guess I can try!" The boy still wasn't sure, but he sure felt more confident than before! Then he began bombarding Jun with questions! "Hey! Hey! What's your favorite color?! Mine is red!"
Jun figured that she should comply. She answered that hers was purple. The boy's favorite type of duel monsters were heroes while Jun's own were dragons. His favorite catchphrase was, 'Gotcha!'. Jun didn't have one, but she made one on the spot that went by 'One! Ten! Thousand! Ten Thousand Thunder!' (Sounds cooler in Japanese). Judai's favorite food was fried shrimp, and Jun embarrassingly admit that they were her favorite, too. The boy got way too excited knowing that they shared similar likes. They talked throughout the night, even when they were tired. In the end, Jun fell asleep first, and since she was the trip home, Judai just smiled and hugged her as he fell asleep, too. Jun's wings kept them warm.
._._._.
"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" A flustered Jun shouted at Daichi while the two were walking down the hall with Judai and Yubel. Today was the fourth day, and it was the Fears Relish competition. It was a courage trial where competitors had to either enter a forest or a building and face their fears. Only people with fears was allowed to enter, and they lose if they run back out, but win if they can cross it and exit from the back. The first one out wins.
"Oh yes. Finding you in the embrace of another boy this morning isn't suspicious at all." Daichi was not mad at all, but he found his fiancee's reactions quite comical. He loved playing around with her like this.
Yubel on the other hand was beyond furious inside, but she didn't do anything for peace sake. Judai was just grinning like an idiot.
"It's not! The idiot wasn't supposed to be there in the first place!"
"And he was because..."
"I don't know!" She pointed at Yubel. "How about you ask him! Aren't you his keeper?! Come on, Daichi!" She grabbed her fiance's arm to get away from the two.
Yubel forgot her anger to focus on her prince who looked like he was pushed to a corner. "What did she mean by that, Prince Judai?"
The prince frowned deeply. "Uhm..."
._._._.
The competitions went on, and Judai and Yubel hadn't arrived at all to watch. Jun felt guilty for putting Judai in that situation, but it's better now than never!
"So what is the story between you and the prince?" Daichi asked. He wasn't really amused by the horrific reactions displayed on the giant screen provided.
Jun glared at him. "What do you mean story? He saw me fly to my favorite spot, and he ruined my night."
"But something must've happened for you to force a much needed conversation between those two." The genius seven-year-old saw the motive easily.
The princess knew that, but she liked being stubborn. Yet she knew better than to be that. "He doesn't know how to depend on his comrades. It's absolutely important to form unbreakable bonds at this age. We are at our purest and happiest because we have the least responsibilities at this time, and knowing that someone can remember those stuff can be our remedy during our most stressful times."
"And you think that Yubel can accomplish this? She's quite duty bound, don't you think?"
"We both are, but we still have fun, and cherish these moments for both our sake." She held his hand tightly. "Like moments like these." She smiled gratefully at him. "I'm having a lot of fun with you, Daichi. Even if you're a complete nerd."
Daichi smiled back. "Same. Even if you're a complete drama queen."
"Hmph! That's drama Princess Jun to you!" She silently giggled.
"Yes. Yes. All hail the drama princess! Her first demand is that everyone has to have her name embroidered on everything! Everything! Plates, doilies, baby products and toilet paper! Especially the toilet paper!"
Jun punched his arm, but she was still silently laughing. "Idiot!"
They both laughed to their own jokes while contestants were screaming in the background.
._._._.
Judai and Yubel sat at the prince's room where they had the talk. Judai was really uncomfortable and felt like backing away at first, but he remembered Jun's words last night. He still wanted to back out, but he knew this conversation had to happen eventually. Might as well get it over with, so he forced words out, and tried to sew them together, and he felt fake. Yubel also looked absolutely confused.
Then he stopped, took a deep breath, and spoke the truth. And like he expected, Yubel was hurt, but she looked...understanding.
She said, "I see. I made a mistake then."
"Mistake?" Judai didn't know how to narrow that.
Yubel clarified, "I thought that I would be more helpful with your transition to the Supreme King by treating you as such, but now I realized that you will become the Supreme King no matter what, and I should've paid attention to who you are now because you're only a child once."
"So...you're not mad?"
"Mad?! Why would I be mad?!"
"Because I told you something awful! I mean, I was fine with it, but I guess, I did...want you to stop doing that. Once in a while, I'd like to forget that I'm the Supreme King and just be Judai. A kid who can have fun."
"I understand. I also want to have fun." Yubel held his hand. "I promise never to treat you as the Supreme King again until true duty calls."
At the sound of that, Judai absolutely beamed!
The two went to the competition to see that the competition was over and a winner was made. The people were partying with scary masks on, and some of them did scare the goosebumps out of the duo. Yubel almost hit one of them, but the scary offender ran off in a chaotic matter. It felt like they just entered a world that was trying to catch their hearts by making it launch out of their chests.
The duo eventually found Daichi and Jun who were waltzing through a frightening forests with animate limbs that tried to capture the dancing pairs, but they breezed through their extended blades. The two tried to catch up to them, but they got either caught by the limbs, slipped into traps, or accidentally angered some passerbyers. When the two noticed them, they giggled, and decided to help them by taking their hands. Jun took Judai's own and Daichi took Yubel's own despite the males being too short to take the lead. The dancing started out awkward since the foreign duo were stiff, but after some warming up, they began going with the flow til the end of the forest. The four of them continued the day with eating, rowing a boat down a river of chocolate down a mountain, bouncing on a big chubby tummy of a large cat, getting their portraits drawn in a goofy style, and then eating again until nightfall.
The next day, the competition was called Team Break, which was a game where different obstacles were made and suited for a specific type, so each team needed someone that matched that specific type. This was to encourage unity between different duel monsters and humans. However, the reason that the competition had the word 'Break' was because in certain obstacles, there were opportunities to drag back anyone who was actively going through their obstacle. If this were to happen, and the one targeted needed help, they could call up another team member to give them that push. But that team member could only push them to their original spot, and they could not be called upon twice.
The game was so intense that the kids were mostly silent at a hotel room as they watched the competitors fight with all they got to get to first place. They were either jumping off their seats, grunting, groaning, screaming 'Yes' or 'No', and then throwing pillows at each other when they realized that they're rooting for different teams.
The one that Judai was rooting for won, and he was jumping on the couch. Jun threw a pillow at him, but Judai caught it and threw it at her face. That got her to lunge herself at him, and wrestle on the floor. Jun was the one winning since she had better training and rage while Judai was laughing! After the two got separated, they decided to make up by drinking smoothies and eating delicious snacks. They then just had childish fun by playing a laser game with harmless laser toy guns, painting each others faces, dressing up in goofy clothes, and do weird, funny dances when music began playing. When they felt their energy depleting, they decided to end it by riding the carousel.
Judai sat on the shoulders of a fake Bubbleman while Jun sat on the curved back of the arm dragon. Bastion and Yubel settled at the carriage. When the ride moved, Judai was crying out his joy while Jun was yelling at him with whatever insult she haad because she didn't want to show her own childish excitement. Judai just grinned at her because he knew what she was doing. It made her blush bright red in embarrassment, but she couldn't help softly smiling. These last few days were fun. Judai's childish grin slowly faded into a soft smile aimed directly at her.
The two smiled at each other without any discomfort. They just stared at each other until the ride ended. Jun broke eye contact first and got off her ride. He also got off and wanted to hold her hand, but Jun held Daichi's hand instead and looked at her fiance' with a satisfied smile. The two walked away from the carousel.
The seven-year-old boy frowned at the sight. Disappointed that he wasn't holding her hand. He could, but he...didn't want to hold it like that.
"Is something wrong Prince Judai?" Yubel inquired. She didn't know what to think of that complex expression the boy sported.
Judai answered, "I'm just really tired...and happy...I'm going to miss this place." He said his last sentence while secretly glancing at Jun. He knew he liked her, but he didn't understand why it felt so...strong but...awkward. His chest hurt.
Yubel comforted him, "It's not like you'll be gone forever. You'll see her when you become the Supreme King, and she'll be the queen of this kingdom that's not as bad as I thought."
That made Judai feel a happiness that he didn't know was hope. "Yeah! And we'll be the best we can be! I'll be a king who can stand by her side!" He promised.
Yubel softly gasped. It was the first time she heard Judai happily wanted to become the Supreme King.
...and it was for her.
Jun gave Daichi a kiss on the cheek before letting him go home. She went to her room, and was tired, but her heart was not content, so she went to the ballroom to dance her heart away in the silence. Her beating heart and happiness was her music. She kept leaping in the air because she felt like flying, so she began dancing in the air. She didn't care about her form. She just closed her eyes and let her body work itself until her emotions could calm down!
She kept dancing and dancing until she could take a decent deep breath with her mind whining for rest. She then opened her eyes and-
"WHAT?!" She looked around her and saw that she was surrounded by a bunch of brown fur balls with purple eyes and green...paws?
"Did...Did I make you?"
One of them rose to the air, and approached her. It explained that it was the first one who popped up and accidentally multiplied asexually, and some of them had different colors, but it was most likely due to a rapid evolution reason. It seemed that they have very strong genetic adaptation.
Jun was shocked that she did this. She knew she could create one since she had a human ancestor, but she noticed the way their fur was styled! She wanted to crawl in a hole and die! This was so embarrassing!
She was happy all because of JUDAI!
She groaned for a second before immediately taking charge. "If you claim to be the original then you'll have wings, so I can keep track of you! And since you keep speaking 'Kuri Kuri', then your species will be called 'Kuriboh' since 'boh' means 'sound creature'! It's clever isn't it!"
The kuribohs chirped in agreement!
Then there was a loud knock.
"Jun?" Judai opened the door.
Jun felt her heart nearly jump out of her chest! She quickly flied kicked Judai's eyes, and then shut the doors behind her! "Don't open the door without permission idiot! Ever heard of privacy!"
"I-I'm sorry. Ow..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Didn't feel like anything broke. He's been hit harder by accident anyway. "I just wanted to wish you a goodnight."
"Fine. Goodnight." She told him with a frustrated tone. She was afraid that the kuribohs may populate in the room to the point that they broke the doors open and flood the kingdom, and then they would all figured out her true feelings about the prince.
"Oh c'mon, Jun! You can give me a better one than that! Say 'Gooood niiiight, Judai'!" He sang.
"What makes you think that'll I'll refer to you so casually?!"
"You did the other night!" The prince vividly remembered!
Jun also did, too, so slid through the slightly opened doors, closed them, and took him in a chokehold! "No I didn't and you better just go to bed or I'm gonna do what I should've done that night! Understand?!"
"I understand! I understand! Well then, good night!" Judai snuck a kiss to her cheek, and grinned at her flabbergasted expression! But then it almost dropped when she took a flail that was put on display at the wall, and tried to use it to kill him! She kept yelling, "IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!" They kept running until Jun lost sight of him. She remembered what she left at the ballroom, and ran there, hoping that no one found them! But to her dread, the one person she was hoping wouldn't find them was there.
"Oh Jun. I didn't know you could create something so cute." Her mother smiled so sweetly as she affectionately patted the kuriboh with wings. A stranger would think she was acting lovely, but Jun knew better, so her blood ran cold. That sweet smile was definitely how her mother would pull a devilish smirk.
._._._.
The day of the Duelist wars came, and Judai was stoke to see what the game was about! He had Daichi try to explain it to him, but it sounded too difficult to wrap his head around!
The tournament was taking place at several locations throughout all three rings of the nation! Nearly everyone was a contestant, and Judai saw what Daichi meant by 'aura projection'. It looked like with the advanced technology of the kingdom, they were able to scan nearly every duel monster and human with skills, and apply it to the cards they used. This duplication somehow protected the duelists from going to the stars. This meant that they were free to fight with all they got without the worry of death.
His eyes marveled at the sight of people using their cards for fun.
"Intrigued are you, little prince?" A flamboyant dressed man with long silver hair asked with a smooth, teasing tone. The two were standing near a duel that was currently happening in the middle of a street. One of the duelist threw up a card that unleashed a monster, and then threw up another one to equip it.
"Totally! I wanna join!"
The man chuckled. "Perhaps you may. I do plan on expanding my creation beyond these mountains."
"You will? Wait! You're the creator of this!"
"The one and only Pegasus J. Crawford! And I know that you are the one and only Prince Judai! The boy who will become the Supreme King and unite several kingdoms! I hope that the product that you see before you is to your liking!"
"Absolutely!"
"Prince Judai!" Yubel scolded him, "Don't answer out of whims! Especially when one is talking of business!"
"But it really is cool! People are dueling without dying! Don't you see the possibilities that this could bring to our world! People can duel for fun! No one has to die!" The boy was truly overjoyed by this!
"But how was this accomplished?" Yubel asked the important question. It's best to truly understand the product.
Pegasus chuckled. "My. My. So you must be Yubel. The prince's best friend and guardian. It's charming to meet you. I assure you that the process of creating this beautiful device came with a few sacrifices."
"A few?" Yubel immediately lost trust in him.
But he wagged his finger as he said as a matter-of-fact, "Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, and there was a contract involved, so no one who didn't understand the risks died in the process. Those who did served a great purpose to allow this to happen. This way our citizens can make decisions among themselves since it demonstrates a person's tactical and strategic skills, or perhaps that they have better luck."
"Sweet! Can I play?!"
"I'm afraid that you can't, my dear prince Judai. You need to first be registered in the data and go through other several requirements before you become eligible to be one of the duelists. But like I said before, you may have a chance outside of these mountains once my business spreads like wildfire. So how about that?"
"I'm totally game for that!"
"JUDAI!" Yubel screeched.
"But Yubel-"
"I understand your excitement, but you cannot be sold on a product without thorough investigation!"
"But they're obviously working in front of us, and Jun's parents wouldn't allow this if it wasn't already investigated!"
"We are in a different country with different standards! Do I have to pull out the history lessons and philosophy books to understand why jumping on board with an agreement too soon is one of the worse things you could do as someone who will lead a country in the future!" Yubel threatened, and Judai was absolutely spooked at the possibility of a loooong lecture!
Pegasus contained his laughter, and suggested, "Then how about a tour at my factory? It's not far from here, and I'll be your high esteemed tour guide. What do you two fine people think of that?"
Judai's eyes gleamed. "Really?! Heck yes!"
Yubel wanted to deny, but it was a good suggestion, so conceded to let the inventor bring them to the factory.
The building wasn't that far after all, and they expected a large scientific building, but what they were welcomed into was a cartoon-looking mysterious castle. The inside was filled with creatures who looked smaller and more goofy looking then the duel monsters and humans they looked similar to. They were introduced to a beautiful woman named Cecelia who turned out to be the foppish man's wife. They looked truly in love that as the tour was given, it was mostly filled with giggles and flirts between the couple. Yubel and Judai would often look at each other with furrowed brows when they did that. At the end of the tour that proved the their product was harmless, and that those who died were deeply honored for their sacrifice, Cecelia had Yubel help her move some stuff in her office since her assistants were out dueling.
That left Pegasus alone with the prince. "You know, Prince Judai, I've been informed by my queen that you have been having fun with the princess. Between men, do you plan on making her your queen?"
"What?! No! Dude, I'm seven years old! I don't think about girls at all!"
"Jun darling is more of a young lady than a girl, and she has that charm to her that makes people proud to have her as their future queen despite her faults. But do you want a word of advice?" The older man offered.
Judai felt that the way he offered sounded a bit odd though. "Uh...sure?"
"Never marry her."
"What?" Judai was caught off guard by this sudden demand that sent shivers under his skin.
Pegasus was smiling innocently though. "I'm sorry for how that sounded, but you see, I have a gift given by time, and it's because this gift is given to many that this kingdom was created in the first place. But I'm...different with this gift. I see further into the past and future than any wise old sage you may meet with the same gift."
"Why...why are you telling me this?" Judai couldn't see the future, but he felt a premonition.
Pegasus smiled at the young child. It looked like it could be from either amusement or pity. "You don't know do you. That the reason this kingdom was created was because of you. The fact that your very existence is the reason that what Jun is, is hated by the rest of this dimension. Because other people with gifts similar to mine dared to only see the greater things in life, and never once saw a single spark that made this all come true."
He looked away from the boy as if gathering his thoughts. Judai didn't know what to say. He didn't understand what was happening other than the fact that hatred was being caused because of him, and that hatred was directed towards Jun.
The creator with the power of retrocognition and precognition concluded his words, "The past I saw is filled with love, but the future I see beyond what these eyes will see is filled with pain and sorrow for Princess Jun, and she'll need you as a friend."
Judai understood that! He passionately declared, "I'll definitely be there for her! You can count on that!"
"But you need to promise me one thing. It's a very important promise." Pegasus knelled down to Judai's height to show the seriousness in his eyes. "By keeping this promise, you can live a long happy life with Princess Jun. Do you understand?"
Judai felt like he was being given a big responsibility, but it sounded better (easier/safer) than his responsibility as the Supreme King. He nodded.
Pegasus gave an indecipherable smile with an equally bewildering tone, "Promise me to never confess your love for Princess Jun."
"Confess my love?"
"You don't understand it now, but when you grow up, and discover the love that I'm talking about, you must keep it a secret."
"Why?"
"Because it's Pandora's box, dear Judai-boy. If you confess your love for Jun darling, then chaos will break loose. A chaos like the Light of Destruction cruising in to destroy everything in its path...So will you take the promise?"
Judai didn't quite understand, but he did know that by making this promise, then Jun was protected! He wanted that more than anything at that moment. "I promise, Mr. Pegasus! You can count on me!"
The man held that indecipherable smile. "So much passion, and now I see tha-" He closed his eyes and stopped speaking when he heard the females approaching them. "Aah, so our most beautiful company is back. Shall we end the tour and get back to the tournament?"
They agreed, and Cecelia believed that it was time that the ten finalists must be dueling already at the arena.
Yubel noticed the distant look on Judai's face, and asked of what was wrong quietly. Judai answered that he was just taking the dueling business seriously. He felt bad for lying, but he felt like even if he could be honest about the Supreme thing with her, he wasn't sure if he could be honest about Jun. He knew that Yubel didn't like her much, so he didn't want Yubel to confront her or Pegasus. He just buried what he promised inside him, and put his whole concentration on the duels taking place at the arena.
From the balcony that he mostly stood at by the edge of the rail, he watched with an ecstatic expression at the intense duels that took place! He cheered for Jun who fought with dragons in her deck!
She was an inspiration! She stood tough against the attacks while never losing her composure. Using her cards to the best of their abilities, and being a step ahead of her opponents. The crowd cheered for her, and she welcomed their attention and gave it back with a display of her star quality! It was no surprise that she ended up as one of the final two, and was up against Ryo.
The two females took up the space of the arena with their monsters and face down cards that were used at their opportune moments. The duel was heart racing or stopping because no one knew what the other would pull. The crowd thought they were pulling all the stops, but then Ryo said, "I get the feeling that you're finally pulling out your top weapon. I held back just to watch it come to life for the first time." She smirked confidently by her educated guess.
The princess smirked back. "Me too, so we both can bring out our souls on the field! Then here it comes!" After playing her cards right, she announced her top duel monster with a powerful speech, "In this competition, everyone poured out their hearts and minds; the very essence of who they are, and put it in this battle! Maybe to win, but most of all to prove that they have a fighting spirit within themselves! And it may not win this battle, but it's not out of the war! So everyone, here comes mine! LIGHT AND DARKNESS DRAGON!"
She didn't throw a card up in the air. Instead, it looked like her aura left her body, and took the shape of a dragon that was half black and white with wings just like Jun. Their eyes gleaming gold by their competitive spirit. Everyone screamed out their approval. Judai was silent as he stared at the terrifying beauty that represented Jun's soul.
Ryo was also impressed and proud by the reveal of the fight of her life. "I am most honored to be the one to go up against your magnificent spirit, but I'm afraid that it won't be enough for Cyber End Dragon!" She unleashed her monster.
The two dragons duked it out, and Jun knew her dragon wasn't stronger than Ryo's, so she had her cards ready to back this up, but it wasn't enough against Ryo who played her cards like the warrior she was. She defeated Princess Jun without mercy, but that only made the princess burn in a blaze of glory. Princess Jun lost that day, but the crowd cheered for her as if she was the winner because she displayed a great amount of effort that moved her people. Ryo as well knelled down before her princess as if she had lost. Jun smiled at her people, but fell to the ground unconscious. Ryo immediately checked her and reassured her people that she only fainted. Pegasus explained that the strain of pulling such a daring move without a card had worn her out, but she would be fine by tomorrow morning.
"If she was going to be weakened because of that, why did she go through with it?!" Yubel demanded an answer!
Daichi answered, "That's because Princess Jun hadn't mastered being able to shift into a dragon like how I mastered being able to shift from a tiger to a human, So Pegasus and her had tried an alternative. She wanted her first duel to be memorable. Even though it was a needless risk, it did produce the desired effect to raise the spirits of those who lost during the several competitions before, and inspire those to start being productive."
"Will she be okay?" Judai asked warily.
Daichi reassured him with a warm smile, "Princess Jun is far too resilient to let something like this hold her back from being fine for tomorrow. After all, it's the Arts Alive event."
"Arts Alive?" The two foreigners questioned simultaneously.
Daichi explained, "Tomorrow is the last day of the life festival, and everyone agreed that the best way to end it is by displaying beautiful but not destructive or permanent art throughout the town. There will be paintings, sculptures, films and many other art crafts displayed at different places, models strutting around in new and probably impractical clothing, and street performances all around. But the most anticipated at the end of the day is Princess Jun dancing for her people."
Judai's eyes lit up at that. "She'll dance in front of the whole crowd? Is that possible?"
"It's definitely the concert of the life time, and the one who gets to see her dance up close will be us and a few other special people. The rest will watch her by the special eye wear provided by Pegasus. It will look as if you are seeing her dance from the front row."
"I'm not interested in seeing her dance. It can't be anything that special, other than to stroke her own ego." Yubel was not at all convinced that a snobbish, dramatic princess like her would make everyone want to watch her to that extent.
"Maybe you won't be moved by it, but when I watch her..." Daichi reminisced the experience. His eyes looked dreamy and his soft smile provoked a reluctant curiosity in the duel monster. "It's just...so raw."
"Raw?" Judai was thinking about uncooked eggs on a skillet.
"You'll understand when you watch her under the spotlight." Daichi promised them that they were in for a delightful performance.
._._._.
The next morning, Jun woke up just as the sun was rising. Its rays that touched her father's statue next to the clock tower made the statue be engulfed in the beautiful colors that were hidden within the sunlight while her mother's statue became darker and thus looking far more wicked and mysterious. Jun, in her dimly lit room, looked neither wicked nor beautiful. Just a lovely case of normal, and that was comfortable.
However, she realized that today was the last day that she could be with the prince, and wished it wasn't true.
Judai also realized that when he woke up, and he sat up on his bed with a far away look. He didn't want to leave the kingdom. He didn't want to leave Jun. He then realized that he was wasting precious seconds, so he jumped right out of bed, and ran to her room.
Jun exited her room just as he was about to knock on it, though he looked like he was about to just crash through like a bull instead. The princess was also planning on seeing him, but she was actually dressed in a lovely one shoulder, chiffon dress that started out black at the top, but gradually faded to a warm sunset purple at the bottom. Crystals that looked like silver stars adorned her gown and the upper outer corners of her eyes. Her spiky mohawk was tamed into voluminous curls with braids. She also wore silver heels, earrings, and an intricate circlet that also shone like starlight.
Judai stared at her. Completely lost in the new transformation.
"Princess, don't forget your scarf." The one responsible for this work of art handed her the matching purple scarf that she was to have on either sides of her shoulders or over her elbows. The two heads looked over to Judai. "I believe it's your turn." They snatched the boy, and dressed him in what looked like an elf costume.
Jun laughed at his ridiculous appearance! It wasn't so much the clothes that was ridiculous, but how Judai wore them. The way he tried to move in them like a lost, confused fellow was hilarious to her who had always walked with natural grace and attitude.
She decided to teach him that morning on how to present himself, so he wouldn't be laughed at by the rest of the nation. Judai thought it was ridiculous, but he liked seeing Jun smiling at him. It made him grin like a fool.
When he learned enough, the seven-year-olds went out to the kingdom with Yubel and Daichi who didn't dress for the occasion. Yubel cared only about packing to leave for the next morning. Daichi simply didn't want to go through the trouble of dressing up. He had an important experiment to do in the morning.
The children spent most of their time sightseeing, hearing, tasting, taking in the scents, touching, and reacting to the different arts that was at every corner they turned to. It was a very stimulating event that even Yubel was drawn to the teachings of some artists who were either drawers, bakers, scientists, performers, or any of the kind.
Jun and Judai received many compliments for their appearances, and they gave theirs, too. Many told Daichi of how jealous they were that he was engaged to such a beautiful young lady who showed potential to become a magnificent woman. Judai also voiced how jealous he was which got him a vicious glare from Yubel, a slap from Jun, and a laugh from Daichi.
The day was just filled with light, warm feelings because when the seconds were ticking by without a care, there was nothing else to do about it other than bask in every one of them. However, it still felt like the sun was setting too soon. They were sitting at a bench facing the clock tower, enjoying the transitions of the dragons' appearances with ice cream.
"They really looked like they're both coming alive no matter what time of day." Judai commented.
"That's the beautiful works of art." Daichi said. "The very symbol of our nation is indeed a forever rising endeavor."
"Life and Acceptance." Jun lied on her fiance's shoulder. Enjoying his warmth as the wind became cooler. "Maybe we should have a tradition that each married royalty should have a statue similar to theirs. The mountain is big enough to fit generations worth."
Daichi thought that was a good idea, too. Judai silently ate his ice cream. He was happy for Jun and Daichi, but he felt...left out.
The night soon came, and Jun needed to be excused to get ready for her performance. The rest of them were to go into a packed theater, and took their front seats at the mezzanine section. The kings and queen were present with them.
"How has been your days, my king?" Yubel asked her own king.
The foreigner replied, "It's been very enjoyable. I almost feel ashamed to keep such a place a secret."
The Dark End Queen grinned, "You say that because you've seen my kingdom at its brightest and darkest." Her grin turned into a coy smirk that made the foreign king guiltily look away. The Light End King held a joyful, yet also suspiciously coy smile. The queen's next words was hitting a nail that had words that was too advanced for the children to understand, "But the usual days are delightfully dull with a few surprises here and there. Either way, I've really enjoyed our time together."
"It's definitely a week to never forget! I'm surprised you could take so much!" The Light End King full heartily agreed.
Yubel and Judai could see their king looking nervous and even perspiring a bit. They looked at each other, and then shrugged.
Their attentions were then grabbed by the curtains opening, and revealing several dancers in different costumes. Jun was not among them since she was the last act, so the audience enjoyed the lively and colorful dance performances for the next few hours until everyone knew that they reached to a point that all fun had to come to an end and end with a satisfying note.
The curtains closed for a few minutes, and then they reopened to reveal Jun lying on the floor on her side facing the audience. She looked like she was sleeping, but then the music rose ever so gently to wake her from her peaceful slumber.
Jun got on her feet effortlessly, and stood on her toes. The stance was bizarre but refreshing for the eyes that were not familiar with difference dance techniques. Under the spotlight, Jun was wearing a very simple blue lyrical dress with no special makeup or hairstyle. A drastic change from what she was wearing earlier, but one simple step transformed that simple blue lyrical dress into an instrument of art painting the story she wished to convey, and thus moving the atmosphere.
Everyone within the theater and those watching by the eye wear were completely engrossed by her performers for whatever reason they were. Daichi appreciated her form. Her parents appreciated her passion. The foreign king was caught like many others including Yubel by her overall performance that tugged at their emotions; inspiration and wonder being bought forth to the front of their minds.
For Judai, it was something else completely different. He was...
...remembering a spark of light. The way she moved across the darkness with so much energy and wonder that they practically spoke words to him. He could read them like a book, and it filled him with a feeling that took away the word loneliness from reality.
He stood up from his seat with golden glowing eyes. Jun felt his stare and looked to him with eyes that shone silver.
Her performance slowly came to a stop as the music died down. She gave a delicate curtsy before the curtains drew to a close.
Afterwards, everyone partied to their hearts content for the last night. All citizens including the kings and queen were having fun at either rings of the nation.
Everyone except for Jun who stood at the ball room of her castle. Judai also entered the ball room. The seven-year-olds faced each other with evinced nervous and awkward feelings.
Judai started, "So...what happened back at the theater...that was really weird!"
Jun snorted with her arms crossed. "So you also have no idea what happened. Figures. I guess it has to do with the fact that I am part dark-type. Maybe your Supreme King powers saw how amazing I was that he couldn't help wanting to see me for himself!" The girl gloated!
Judai fully agreed, "That makes total sense! You really are amazing, Jun. I'm jealous that Daichi gets to marry you."
Jun blushed, and found herself stuttering angrily, "Wh-wha-wha-what are you saying, i-idiot! You shouldn't say things like that! It'll give someone the wrong idea!"
"But I'm really jealous! You're the most amazing girl who I ever met."
"You're just saying that because you're leaving tomorrow!" Jun hated how she was reacting to his compliments. No boy had ever got her this flustered so many times! It made her really upset, but she felt really happy to be this mad! She was really confused!
"Maybe..." Judai seemed to also be a bit confused, but had a better crutch on the situation. "But I know that I really wanna dance with you. Can I?"
"Can you even dance?" Jun was used to being asked this, but the people who asked were actually dancers.
But that wasn't a no, and that made the boy grin happily. "Not sure, but it doesn't hurt to try!"
Jun cannot believe the gall of this boy, but...she loved being better than him at something, and she had to teach him since she was highly qualified! "Fine! But step on my feet, and I'm throwing you out the window!"
"Don't worry! I got this!" The prince promised with a competitive glint in his eyes.
Jun decided to stick with the simple slow waltz as a start.
And so for the rest of the night, the two danced and talked until the sun rose. They separated to finally get some needed sleep.
._._._.
The next morning, the two kids stood at the throne room. Yubel and the foreign king were ready to leave, but Judai wanted to say goodbye a little longer.
Jun tried not to look happy about it. "Idiot, don't hold up your family! You have a country to look over! Who knows if someone in your father's circle is already planning to take over!"
"Then we'd just have to beat them!" Judai answered as if it was the easiest answer in the world, which got him a slap.
"It's nice that you're so confident, but don't give people grief because of your stupidity!" She scolded him.
"Alright. Alright. I promise that I'll definitely come back after I become king!"
"Don't you dare!"
"What?!"
"Unless its simply a visit. If you come here wanting to unite my kingdom with others under your rule, I swear that I will personally deal with you by myself once and for all! Do I make myself clear?!" She threatened!
Judai understood and promised, "I will definitely come just to visit, but if your kingdom is facing any trouble, then I'll definitely come help you! With or without an army!"
"Dumbo. You practically are an army once you become the Supreme King." Jun pointed out, but with not an impressed expression. "Now that we got that covered. Leave. I can't wait to finally have some peace and quiet with Daichi."
"I hope you two are happily married when I next visit, eve-" Judai stopped when he remembered what Pegasus told him. He was warned that marrying Jun could cause chaos, and he felt that even joking about it was a bad sign. "Also tell Daichi that I look forward to seeing him again! It was fun hanging with you two. I wish I could continue talking with you Jun, but I was told that sending letters was a bad thing since your kingdom is hated by everyone else in the world. I hope that changes in the future."
"Better not bother hoping for that. Even if you do become the Supreme King and try to change that, not everyone will feel the same. You can't force that. The world outside will always be dangerous, so our mountains won't ever fall."
The Dark End Queen stepped in. "My little Jun speaks the truth, the future king, but there is one hopeful wish that we can fix." She took out the winged Kuriboh out of nowhere. The little thing looked frightened from being in the woman's clutches.
Jun was equally horrified. Her father laughed at her expression.
The queen happily embarrassed her daughter. "Isn't he precious? Jun created this creature that she calls a Kuriboh, and he's a weak but very tough and humble creature. He can act as your secret messenger. You two can write each other letters, but after he takes a trip, you have to keep him around for a week to rest before sending him out again. Doesn't that sound like a marvelous plan?!"
"TOTALLY!" Judai was already on board! He greeted the duel monster. "Hey little guy! I like your fur! It's shape looks familiar!"
Jun was completely red, and her heart jumped at the thought of Judai putting the pieces together in front of her! "GREAT! GOOD! YOU GOT YOUR MESSENGER! MAKE SURE YOU KEEP HIM HEALTHY AND SEND ME A LETTER! BYE NOW!" She pushed him out the door and slammed it behind her.
Judai was confused by her attitude, but she was always weird. He shouted, "Okay! I'll definitely write you a letter a week after I get back! I promise Jun!"
Jun couldn't stand on her feet. She sat on the ground with a contorted expression. Her feelings were all over the place!
Then her own mother just had to ask, "So...When did you two drop the titles?"
Jun angrily whispered, "Shut up."
Laughter erupted!
._._._.
After the festival and Judai leaving with his family, everything died down to a normal day with minimal troubles. Jun refused to admit that she missed the prince. She even denied that the Kuribohs that now lived in the kingdom were inspired by him, but she would hug almost all of them when she had the free time and felt wistful feelings. She refused to admit that she was waiting for a letter from the boy, and claimed that the only boy she needed was Daichi. The genius would simply smile coyly at this. She refused to admit that she was excited and relieved when a letter came over a month later, and she treasured the letter to the point of framing it to keep it safe and a reminder. She would also not admit to spend night after night of the first week that the winged Kuriboh had to rest to write the perfect letter back.
She refused to admit that she enjoyed doing it when a year went by.
Judai was secretly verbal about it to his adopted father and Yubel. He wanted to write about how much he already missed Jun after he finally got back home, but Yubel advised him to wait at least after a month. The boy only lasted for a week and a half. He wrote to Jun about how much he missed her, how he was doing, and how he began to get into attending the dances at the balls of his kingdom, and her teachings really helped him get started. But none of the dancers were as amazing as her.
He would get back a letter of how much of a idiot he was and get a scolding for his word choices. It would go on for paragraphs, but at the very end she would tell him how she was doing with everyone, and in a very quick subtle way admit that she missed him to. Judai made sure to keep the letter safe in a chest that he only had the key to. He would read it and the other letters that was stashed with it when he had the free time and couldn't stop thinking about Jun. Even when a year passed, his feelings still felt strong.
The letter exchanges went on for almost seven years. Thousands of letter were written and they were sent faster when not only winged Kuriboh was used. The kuribohs didn't mind since the trip was challenging, and they loved being the connection between the two royalties.
Judai was almost turning fourteen, and his kingdom had been built just like how the Dark End Queen planned it to be. He was soon to become the Supreme King and find a way to unlock the potential.
The frightened prince wrote about his concerns to Jun who wrote back to him that he shouldn't since his heart would override the terrible side of the darkness. She may have only witnessed him growing up through his letters, but his letters always held and hid the truth in plain sight for her to discover. She was proud by how his handwriting, word choices, and grammar had improved that very little mistakes could be found.
She then teased at the end of the letter that she would marry a man who could write such beautiful letters to her that only get better each time.
Judai read this, and he wrote back just one sentence, 'Let's get married.'
Jun was surprised to get a letter so soon, and was taken off guard by the proposal. She compulsively wrote back, 'The Supreme King must be already taking over your mind because you're crazy.'
That wasn't a no by how the king read it, and he wrote back just as he was ready to get on his horse to make the ride alone. 'Yup! And I know I'm set up to have like a hundred wives, and you have Daichi, but you're the only one who'll secretly count, and I'm going to be the one who counts for you or rule an entire nation trying! I love you, Jun.'
Before he did ride off, he left a letter stating a lie that he had a mystical Supreme King trial to go through alone and won't be back for at least half a year!
Jun waited at her castle for the Kuriboh to come back with the response letter to her short one. Her heart was beating with anticipation because since she grew up with Judai's letters, she could always tell what the fourteen-year-old was bound to write sometimes.
She knew she was engaged to Daichi, but a secret wedding wouldn't hurt to have. Her future husband, tutor, Ryo, and her parents did root for them.
"Love of Dawn, you are biting your bottom lip." Her father pointed out. The three of them were sitting at the throne room where they were going through several problems to work through for their citizens.
Her mother teased, "She's waiting for Judai to confess his love."
"Mom! We're not in love! Two people falling in love with only letters and kuribohs as their form of contact is outrageous!"
"She's using polite speech. It must be serious." Her father joined in on the teasing.
Jun cursed because she knew she had that habit of turning too polite in front of her parents when she tried to hide her deeper feelings. "I-" She stopped when she felt an ominous presence. Her golden eyes turning silver and shining brighter than the room. She gasped when she felt that presence get closer as if it was right above her.
She wasn't wrong when something crashed through the roof and landed in front of them. A strange creature with a triangular lizard-like head with golden chameleon eyes stared at them. It's body looked as if it was shifting within a black smoke.
Her mother immediately got in front of her. "You're not a normal dark-type creature. What are you?"
The creature stayed silent for a minute before speaking with a child's voice, "I'm sorry. It took me a while before I could form the correct organs to speak. I want the speck of light to hear me in this very air that she created by her death."
"You will leave my daughter alone!" Her father cried out angrily.
"Speck of light?" Jun was confused.
"Jun. Go to Pegasus." Her mother ordered.
"But-"
"Now!" Her parents took on their dragon forms.
Jun had never seen them do this before in front of an opponent, so understood that it would be best if she followed orders. She ran off with Bello to get to Pegasus.
The dark creature spoke when she was out of sight, "So you're aware that you've given birth to the creator of this world filled with hatred and pain, and yet you still love her."
"She gave this world free will. We are the only ones responsible for our actions." Her mother told it. "You are not one of her creations, but neither are you a piece of the gentle darkness."
Her father said, "Our people with extraordinary yet limited gifts have been aware of the dangers out there, and we are fully aware that you're just as dangerous as the light of destruction."
"I supposed this is the moment that I give myself a 'name'. Then how about this one. Since the darkness that embraces you is referred to as 'gentle', then mine will be unkind. The legends that will never be spoken shall hold my name 'The Harsh Darkness'. I would go with 'callous' or 'unfriendly', but harsh sounds a lot like 'hush', and that's exactly how I like my victims. Hushed."
Jun reached Pegasus who was explained the situation by Bello. The inventor quickly escorted the girl to a pod where she was put in.
"Wait! I can't be in here! What about my parents!" She cried out.
"I'm sorry, princess, but your safety is a number one priority right now! This pod will put you to sleep."
"What?! No! I won't let you!" She automatically changed into her dragon form for the first time. The pod was strong enough to hold her, but that was killing her. Her lack of space to breathe caused her survival instincts to kick in and activate a power inside her that she only felt once in her lifetime.
That night with Judai watching her dance made her heart feel a strong, painless light in her chest. Now she could feel it engulf her, and every thing turned white.
"Mom...Dad..." She reached out to them. She saw a vision of them fighting the darkness in the sky above their kingdom.
"He is called the Harsh Darkness." A voice told her. It sounded light like a woman's, but deep like a man's own.
"Harsh? NO!" Jun just witnessed her parents being killed by a dark fire. "No! I-"
"It's alright. They're souls will go to the stars. The Harsh Darkness doesn't have any jurisdiction in this world you created and gave free will to. I don't know if the free will gift was one of your greatest or stupidest ideas. But then again, a fleshed out idea didn't start until you were created."
"Me? I am...the speck of light...and my parents died because of that."
"Oh, don't be over dramatic. That darkness was killing your creations as much as I was trying to make them destroy each other. Except unlike me who can absorb their energy, he can only kill them like a simple buffoon. But don't worry about that either. I only absorb the energy from the natural scums within this creation of yours. It's my way to show appreciation for creating this fun playground for me. Anyway, do you know who I am?"
"You are the Light of Destruction...My parent."
"Yes. And it looks like your great knight Ryo is going to face the dark creature now."
"No. She can't. I won't let her." Her vision disappeared into white.
"Ooh, you just used your powers. You're pretty powerful, but the weakest among us. It's really too bad for you that I'm stronger since I will block your memories of this conversation."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because this darkness loves to keep its existence hush hush among everyone except for me. But do not worry. I'll distract him so you may live your life a little longer. I have plans for you."
"Plans?"
Jun couldn't get an answer before she found herself sitting among the rubble of her kingdom. Her heart expanded and flattened within her chest, which made it hard for her to breathe. She tried to remember what happened, but all she could remember was a dark creature came and she was put into a pod by Pegasus so she would survive.
"JUN!" She heard a woman cry out to her. She tried to turn to the voice but something grabbed hold to the base of her wings.
RIIIIIIP
Jun entered into shock before she could register the clumsy laceration on her back. Seconds later, she felt it. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Dammit, Dark! You bastard! That wasn't my plan!"
"Oh please, Light. You love this destruction."
"Not on her! Anyone but her! She's my love! She's my heart!"
"And I gave her freedom to walk this dimension of hatred now that her kingdom is gone. She's no longer a duel monster. She's no longer a princess. She's only a worthless girl breathing, but...there's hope."
Jun heard a clash between skins, and felt the blood splatter hit her face, and then there was the sound of...loud kissing.
Then the woman spoke, "I guess I do like seeing her like this. Someone who's at their lowest has nothing to lose, and it'll be interesting to see what she will do. So darling." The woman spoke to her. "Right now, the gentle darkness is coming here, and he might find you. How sweet of you two to fall in love again in this life time. I don't care if you two do continue being lovers, but I love to see what you'll do when I lay down your situation."
Jun was helpless when the woman caressed her back, but the pain seem to disappear and blood stop pouring down her back.
The woman told her with a nonchalant tone that mocked the situation, "You can have the prince find you and reveal who you are. Then he'll see that you survived a catastrophic event, but at the same time failed to protect the people you love: Ryo. Cronos. Pegasus. Daichi. Your parents. They're all dead while you survived because your parents put you in a pod only meant for you. You survived because of them because they knew you were weak. Now you're alive only because of me. You're lucky it was your wings that was pulled off, or you may have had it harder."
She got to the next point, "Or you could walk away from this place, and become someone else, so you don't have to look at your true love's face when he sees your failures."
"He wouldn't care." Jun spoke with an emotionless voice. "He's that kind of guy. He would overlook my faults in this situation, and think 'she needs me. I have to be there for her. Nothing else matters.'" She now felt her internal pain. Her head burned with a heat that pierced her. Her face was flooded that it contorted to squeeze the acidic liquid emotions out of her. Her heart was trying to claw out of her since her arms and legs wouldn't move to get her away from all this. "But I can't give him this burden. I don't deserve him when I can't protect the people I love!" She then found the strength to get on her knees and then her feet.
Slowly she walked until she felt her legs burn in pain to wake and let her run. She ran away to the opposite direction of the gates, so she wouldn't accidentally run into Judai's castle.
She ran.
Kuriboh arrived at the rubble, and immediately flew back to the castle to report to Yubel of what happened at the place. She read the letter that Kuriboh was supposed to send, and realized where her prince really went off to. She quickly tried to reach him with some of her men.
However, Judai arrived at the rubble, and the first thing he thought about was that Jun or someone with information on her could still be in there! He ran into the rubble and used the heroes in his deck to help him find her. They spent the whole day searching for her, and Judai wasn't ready to give in despite what his heroes said. He won't believe it! He didn't want to believe it! Because that meant that the warning that Pegasus gave was true, and he just doomed Jun because he didn't heed it!
Jun was dead because of him.
He kept searching until Yubel finally came and held him as he finally shed his tears and screamed in agony.
Jun also stopped running and wailed out alone.
BEEP!
"CLEAR!"
BRRR!
THUMP!
._._._.
A/N: Wow! That was long! And I think the last song pretty much sums it all up.
So yeah. There was Cronos being Jun's tutor, and is a very strict but supportive one. Pegasus is happily married to Cecilia, and made dueling safer for their dimension, and has his future telling gifts, which may or may not have made things worse by telling Judai about what would happen if he confessed his love. THE FUTURE MUST REMAIN A SECRET! The Light of Destruction and The Harsh Darkness have a weird relationship, and the Light has a weird love for Jun.
The Light is a woman in human form, and her love for Jun is...complicated. It's like that psychotic parent who does love their child, but the way they show it is not good. In Kiss the Crossdresser, the Light was furious about Jun feeling pain and wants vengeance for that. The reason it contrast from that scene at Chapter 32...comes later.
