Chapter 7

Shinjuku. I just arrived. Now… where is she?

I looked to my left. Then to my right. How hard could it be to look for a gray-haired pro duelist and a voluptuous blonde walking around this place?

"Aaah!"

That's a sure fire sign whenever a pro duelist is nearby; wherever he goes, there's got to be a squeal from a deranged fan girl. Yup. That's the life of a pro. I looked around. They must be near.

Sure enough, there was a crowd of women bundled up in one place. I went closer.

It wasn't long before I saw the couple, surrounded by a swarm of paparazzi (as if the fan girls weren't enough).

Apart from the nosy bees, the couple looked calm. They entertained them for a little while, but the distraction eventually led Asuka to reach her limit. She stormed off, dragging Phoenix behind her. The crowd followed. So did I.

"You better get used to this if you're gonna marry me, you know." I heard Phoenix remark.

"Honestly, I don't mind the paparazzi, but our schedule is pretty hectic right now. We've only got a month to make things perfect!" Asuka exclaimed.

"Don't you think making things simple would be much better?"

I didn't hear the rest of their conversation after that. Alright. Their first conflict. Asuka recognizes every detail. Phoenix prefers to see the big picture.

--

I continued tailing after them. By this time, I was the only one following the star couple.

"Hm… white or dirty white?" Asuka asked.

"Um… white." Phoenix replied.

"Really? But it would clash with the color of the chairs."

"Okay… then dirty white."

"But if we picked dirty white, we'd have to look for a tablecloth that would have a nice design."

Phoenix sighed. "Listen, Asuka. It's the same color. It doesn't really matter, you know? People won't notice."

"Well, I'll notice." Asuka remarked.

"I just don't see the point on choosing over two of the same colors."

"It's not the same!"

Wow. I think I've found their second conflict. Asuka cares. Phoenix doesn't.

"Asuka… we've been here for hours. How long do you exactly plan on picking the right color for the silverware and the tables and everything else?" Phoenix asked.

"You better get used to this if you're gonna marry me, you know." Asuka said with a smile, intentionally mirroring what Phoenix had told her earlier.

"Oh, haha. That's very funny." Phoenix said sarcastically.

Asuka turned and faced him. "What is your problem anyway? Why can't you just help me out so we could do this faster? Do I have to make every single decision around here?"

"Help you out? I tell you what I think and you just pick the exact opposite. You think everything I say is wrong. What's the use in lending you a hand if I know you'll be turning it down anyway?"

Asuka tried her best to stay cool. "Okay, in the first place, you wouldn't know if I would agree with you or not-"

"-I have a duel in the Kaiba Dome in 15 minutes! Do you have any idea how far the Kaiba Dome is from here?"

"Don't interrupt me like that!" Asuka scolded.

"Well don't raise your voice on me!" Phoenix exclaimed.

"Raising my voice?" she said, "who's raising her voice? I'm not raising my voice!"

"Then what are you doing now?"

"Shut up!" Asuka shouted. "I don't need your wise guy remarks right now, okay? Geez!" She turned her back on him. "Just go to your stupid duel."

"…Asuka-"

"Go!"

"Asuka..." Phoenix said. The girl fell silent. Phoenix placed his hands on Asuka's shoulders. "Hey…" he said softly, "you know I won't be able to concentrate when I know you're mad at me… So it's basically useless going there if we don't make up."

Asuka didn't answer. She just stood there, refusing to look at him. "C'mon. You know you can't stay mad at me!" he said teasingly, "C'mon, Asuka. You know you want to kiss me... and hug me… and love me…"

Asuka smirked. "You idiot." She shook her head. Asuka finally turned to him, then looked at him, expecting Phoenix to say something.

"Okay. I'm sorry." Phoenix said with a smile. "You happy now?"

Asuka narrowed her eyes. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes, I do." He said, kissing her on the lips.

Yuck. Disgusting. Surely, Asuka would never fall for something like that? To my surprise, she did. Damn. Phoenix has totally manipulated her. Damn that kid.

"Go." Asuka said. "You said it yourself. The Pro life is very demanding. If you miss a duel, your ranks goes down three places."

"Yeah. But what about you?" Phoenix asked, "Are you going to be fine?"

"I'll be alright, don't worry." She reassured.

"Okay." He said, giving her a quick kiss. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah." She said. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Finally. He left. Asuka's finally alone. Now's my chance.