Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX. Kyle belongs to Shadgirl2.
Judai's POV
Johan, Manjoume, and I had been watching Ed's latest match on TV when the Kaiser and Fuyuko dragged their two drunk friends in.
Fubuki's first words were, "Hi, guys, my fiery kitten sister is here!"
Well, I guess Asuka had arrived.
As Fubuki and Natsuko kept yelling frantically, Manjoume turned off the TV and went to wake up the others. Johan went to help with the two drunks. I just sat there, staring at them. Real helpful, huh?
Once we were all gathered, they started telling their story. I'm not going to detail it…at all. Trust me, you're better off not hearing what those drunks came up with.
Once they finished, Johan, disturbed, said, "Okay, the rocket ship dancers aside, you guys really saw Asuka? Where is she now?"
See? See what I meant when I said that you'd be better off not knowing?
"Still at the resort, as far as we know," Fuyuko said.
Meanwhile, for obvious reasons, Akiko was trying to sober up her brother and Fubuki. At the moment, she had a funnel in Natsuko's mouth and was pouring coffee down his throat. Fubuki was doing the hula, and Akiko cast him a look that said he was next.
"Th-the resort!?" Sho demanded. And that was a good question, too! "Why!? Shouldn't she have come straight here, like the rest of us!?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's part of her plan to get closer to Ai," the Kaiser said.
Manjoume had been listening in from the bathroom around the corner, where he was getting ready for bed. At that moment, he poked his head out. "Yeah, but is that really a good idea? I mean, Ai's there, too, isn't she?"
Exactly true. And exactly why Asuka shouldn't be staying at the resort.
"Any plan that puts her that close to Ai is dangerous," I said. "If Ai knows what I think she knows, then she might go after Asuka."
Not that I needed to tell them what she probably knew. It wasn't their business.
"Great," Kenzan said. "So what do we do? Drag her back here or something?"
"But what if being here ruins her plan?" Sho asked.
Like her plan was gonna work, anyway!
"Any plan she's got going on right now isn't gonna work if Ai tries to use her! And that's what she's gonna do!"
I wouldn't put it past Ai to kidnap one of my friends, or something.
Now wearing blue pajamas, Manjoume headed for his room. He stopped with a start, his eyes widening, and I figured that somebody had just gone in there…again.
He ran to his room, yelling, "Haruko, for the last time, GET YOUR THINGS OUT OF MY ROOM! We are not sharing it! UNDERSTAND!?"
Yeah, Haruko was a bit of a pain when it came to that. At least she wasn't trying to force him into bed with her, though—I'd seen her setting up a futon for herself earlier.
"But—"
"Go sleep with Fuyuko! He's your boyfriend, isn't he!?" he yelled, pointing across the hall at Fuyuko's room.
"No," Fuyuko said. "I'm not. But I do think your attitude is a bit much, Manjoume. She's not going to try anything during the night."
The way he said it, I got the feeling he knew something the rest of us didn't. I wondered if it was about Haruko or Manjoume. Fuyuko struck me as the kind of guy who knew everything you did, especially if it involved his friends. Weird, huh? I mean, he was just a duelist! Albeit not a very well-known one. It wasn't like he had any special skills or information sources.
Manjoume glared back at Fuyuko, saying, "I don't care! I've told her countless times to get out! I've got a steady girlfriend, and this makes me look bad!" He ran into his room, apparently trying to deal with Haruko for the third time that night.
Johan stared for a second. "Wow…" He turned to me and asked, "Anyway, pal, what should we do? Should one of us go get her before she gets hurt? I thought you said she can take care of herself?"
Uh, well…yes, she could. But it was Ai. But Asuka could take care of herself. But it was Ai!
"I don't know," I said after my brief internal struggle. "Ai's…gotta be up to something by now…"
"Hmm. That's odd…" Yubel said, crossing her arms and looking thoughtful.
"What?" I asked.
"Why are we still here, if that's the case? I thought you liked that girl."
Well, she was right. What was I still doing there? I had to go make sure Asuka was okay!
"…Good point…"
I ran for the door. Yeah, it may seem stupid, but Asuka needed me!
"Aniki!" Sho called, sounding worried. He must have thought Ai might find me, which was a distinct possibility.
"I'll be back!" I called as I ran out the door.
Sho's POV
I watched my Aniki run out the door, unable to stop him. I couldn't help but worry, though. What if Ai found him while he was out there? It wasn't safe for him to leave the villa!
"Aniki…"
"Don't worry, mate," Jim told me. "I'm sure he'll be fine."
I didn't answer. I wasn't so sure.
Akiko had gotten Fubuki and Natsuko sobered up, so she and my Nii-san dragged them both off to their rooms. Everyone else also headed to bed.
I couldn't sleep, though, because I was too worried about Aniki. And Asuka. I mean, Ai was a crazy, vicious monster! What if something happened to him while he was out there? What if something happened to Asuka? Then again, if Asuka was here, there was a chance she'd be okay. I mean, if she'd brought him with her, she wouldn't need any protection at all, even from Aniki. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, after all.
I just couldn't sleep. Not until I knew they were both okay.
Ai's POV
I planned to kidnap her that very night. I'd knock her out with sleeping gas, have my guards carry her to a secret location, and leave a ransom note addressed to Judai in her place. Sooner or later, Judai would get wind of this, probably when the police tracked him down to clarify the note. Once he figured it out, he'd track me down, most likely with the police tracking his movements. I wasn't worried about the police, though—diplomatic immunity and all that. I was above the law, especially given the sorts of weapons my family had.
Unfortunately, that plan didn't go so well.
Asuka had brought a friend, a girl with auburn hair I didn't know. She must not have been that close to Judai, I supposed. But, when my smoke bomb entered their room, that girl heard it immediately, sat up, and screamed when she saw the smoke. I swear, everybody within a ten-mile radius heard her!
Sounds came from other rooms as people got up to investigate. Even though the girls were both unconscious soon, it wasn't worth the risk. After all, I may not have been worried about the police, but I couldn't have everybody seeing me do this! They wouldn't just stand by and watch, princess or not!
I got out of there as quickly as I could, cursing my luck.
As I was leaving, though, I saw a blond man come bursting out of the room across the hall. "What's going on here!?" he demanded.
Seeing the smoke coming from under the door across the hall, he swiftly pulled a phone out and called security.
Yes, this was certainly not the time to try this.
?'s POV
I saw the smoke coming out from under Asuka and Junko's door, and I called the hotel security as quickly as I could. When Asuka had asked me to come with her for this, I hadn't expected it to get quite so dangerous this quickly.
Security evacuated the area as soon they saw the situation, and I told them that there were two women inside the room. The police were called shortly after. Nobody could discover the source of the smoke, although it did manage to make several of the security officers drowsy. I informed the police of this, and they put on gas masks before going in after the girls, who were rushed to the hospital, just in case. As I didn't want to leave my partner and her friend during their time of need, I went along to make sure that they were both alright.
Ai's POV
Well, that was interesting. Was that Asuka's boyfriend or something? He was a pretty good-looking guy. Great figure, golden hair, a strong jaw line… He was quite handsome, honestly. Looked European, I thought.
But, still, this wasn't going at all according to plan! Curse my rotten luck!
The resort was on high alert after that one, so there was no way I'd be getting my hands on her.
"Hmm… She's a smart one. I'll need a new plan…"
Judai's POV
When I got to the resort, there was a police barricade keeping people out, along with a crowd of scared and worried people, some of whom were in their pajamas or robes. There were even some guys in hazmat suits.
Shit! What did Ai do!?
"What?"
I needed to know if Asuka was okay. I needed to know what was going on.
I headed over to a nearby officer and, in English, said, "Uh, excuse me, sir? My friend was staying here. What happened?"
I got lucky. The officer spoke English.
"Well, there appears to have been an attempted kidnapping," he answered.
Attempted? Meaning it wasn't successful? Okay, that was good, then.
"But, luckily, one of the occupants noticed the problem and called security. The victims were taken to the hospital, but we're pretty sure everyone else is okay."
Wait, hospital!? Okay, never mind, this wasn't good!
"By any chance, was one of the victims a woman with long blond hair?"
"Sir, I'm not allowed to go into details other than what I just told you. If you think your friend's in danger, though, you could come down to the station with us for questioning."
No, that was the last thing I wanted to do when she was in the hospital! I didn't need an answer to know it was probably Ai trying to kidnap Asuka, which meant Asuka was one of the victims! Who the other one was, I didn't have a clue.
"Oh, forget it! Where's the hospital!?"
Yeah, yeah, that was dumb. He was bound to be curious after that, I know.
The officer turned to me, sighing. "Sir," he said, his tone telling me he was going to take me down to the station for questioning, anyway. Granted, he didn't sound like he thought I was involved, which was a good thing.
"Stuff happens to her sometimes. She's been kidnapped before, but that guy's not around anymore. Okay? I'm probably just paranoid. She's probably fine," I said, though whether I was talking to the officer or myself was a mystery. I mean, I wasn't quite sure I did think she was fine.
"Sir, I need you to come downtown with me," he said, reaching for my arm.
"Uh-huh. I'm not doing this," Yubel said lamely. "Nightmare Pain."
She snapped a finger as she initiated her attack. Normally I'd have tried to stop her—like I did every time she tried to use it on Ai—but I was in a hurry to go find Asuka, so I didn't even protest. Besides, her "attack" was only strong enough to knock the guy out, and she'd learned to control it so that it was subtle. Nobody saw a thing, the officer included, before he fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Thanks, but that's gonna make things difficult…" I said. I hoped I didn't have to deal with the police on this island ever because that wouldn't be any fun. Then again, it wasn't like I'd even talked to the police since I'd gotten here, so it probably wasn't an issue.
I ran off to find the hospital.
The island was small enough that I didn't have too much trouble finding it. It was right in the middle of town, and there was a bar across the street. Talk about a poor choice of location.
Either way, I wasn't worried about that. I headed into the hospital and right up to the reception desk.
"Hey, is there an Asuka Tenjoin here?"
"That depends," the woman behind the counter asked me, a sweet smile on her face. "Who's asking?"
Okay, they weren't going to tell me unless I was either family or…
"Her boyfriend," I answered.
Hey, I was just trying to find out if she was okay. I know we weren't together, but they weren't going to talk to me unless I had some sort of really close relationship with her, and "good friends" doesn't count in a hospital!
To my surprise, the lady seemed suspicious when she said, "Really? That's kind of funny, considering that he's already here."
W…wait. She actually had a boyfriend? There was somebody on this island that was dating Asuka?
"…Huh?"
I must have seemed totally surprised because she looked concerned suddenly. She pointed to the emergency room doors and said, "He came in with the girls when they arrived. Why? Didn't you know she was seeing another man?"
Well, honestly, after six years, I should have known she'd find someone. Hell, she'd probably had a few by now! But, clearly, telling her how I felt was out of the question now. She was already taken.
"…No, didn't have a clue…"
"Well, if that's the case, I suggest you wait for them over there," the woman said, pointing over to the seats in the waiting room. "They're resting now but, due to the circumstances, should be discharged shortly."
"So she's okay?"
"Good day, sir," she said, ushering me away. That smile was back on her face. Clearly that was her work face or something.
Guess that was the only answer I was getting. I walked off, a little annoyed that I couldn't get a straight answer from anybody.
"Huh. A boyfriend. Who'd have known?"
"Anybody with a brain," I said. "I mean, she's an awesome girl, and whoever it is is a lucky guy. I should have known she'd find somebody sooner or later."
I had just, recently, been hoping it would be later instead of sooner.
"So are we waiting, or…" Yubel trailed off, looking at me with concern.
There was no reason to worry about me. So the girl I liked had a boyfriend. So what? It wasn't like it was the end of the world. Hell, it probably just saved me the trouble of telling her how I felt and getting shot down.
But…should I wait? Or just get out of there before she saw me? I mean, clearly, she was okay since they'd be letting her go soon. Besides, if she already had a boyfriend, she really didn't need me around.
"…I dunno."
"Hey. Are you okay? She's not hurt or anything, from the sound of it."
"Yeah."
"Well, look on the bright side. You'll always have me."
Oh, that pep talk again, huh? Yeah, if that hadn't helped the last fifty thousand times she said it, why would it help then!?
"Yeah," I said.
Yubel stared at me for a minute, then waved a hand in my face. "Hello? Anybody home?" she asked, her tone slowly migrating from caring to annoyed during those three words.
Uh, well, sort of.
"Huh?" I looked at her, dragged away from my thoughts (which revolved around Asuka), and asked, "Say something?"
She smacked herself in the face. "Honestly, Judai. Get over it. It ended six years ago. The night after that senior duel."
Yeah, she was right. I mean, sure, we hung out a few times again after that, but I gave up on any sort of romance. I was more worried about trying to get our friendship back to the way it used to be and keeping it from falling apart completely. Granted, I always wondered if I'd even come close to succeeding in that.
"…Yeah…"
"Get over it. You've still got me."
When was she going to realize that wasn't a very good motivator?
Before I could even decide if I wanted to see Asuka, I heard her call, "Judai!? Is that you?"
I turned with a start, dragged from my private conversation with my other half.
Asuka was standing there, along with Junko. Guess that told me who the other girl was. Junko had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and looked unnerved. Beside her, there was some guy, his hands on her shoulders.
All I cared about was that beautiful blond woman, though. Seeing as she was dragged here straight from her bed in an ambulance (I guessed), she was wearing a light blue night gown, though she'd thrown a jacket on over it—I figured the guy with them had brought it for her. Those hazel eyes were just as beautiful as I remembered, looking surprised to see me.
"Asuka!"
"Well, this is a surprise," she said. "What? Worried about that Ai girl? 'Cause, in case you forgot, I can take care of myself."
Thank heavens she was okay!
"I know, but…Ai's…really crazy…"
"I know. Manjoume used to complain about her a lot. That's why I brought these two with me!" She gestured at her companions, saying, "Junko's a light sleeper, and Kyle here's tough. He could probably take you in a fight, even." She giggled a bit.
Kyle, huh? I figured this guy was probably the boyfriend I'd just learned she had. I guess he wasn't too bad, just from looking at him. He was about my height, looked like he worked out some, with really sharp facial features. His lighter skin and the shape of his eyes marked him as either European or American. He had short blond hair and green eyes. Somehow the guy managed to look good in a white T-shirt and worn jeans.
I didn't like him.
Kyle held up a hand, smiling. "Please, dear. That's going a bit far, now, isn't it?" he said in a heavy British accent.
And he was modest, too! Great.
"I'm sorry," Asuka said. "Where are my manners? Judai, this is Kyle. Kyle? Judai."
"A pleasure to meet you, Judai," Kyle said, his culture showing as he held his hand out for me to shake. "Asuka's told me so much about you."
Shit. He was smiling, but that didn't necessarily mean she'd said good things about me! I wondered what she'd told him.
Meanwhile Asuka stood there smiling, her eyes closed. From looking at her, she seemed to think Kyle and me meeting was a good thing.
I smiled, though it was forced, and shook Kyle's hand. "She has, huh?"
"Oh, yes. Specifically about how much you saved the world back in your days of schooling with her. Did you really do all that?"
Oh, she told him those stories. Okay, I could live with that.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Anyway, guys, we should go make those statements now," Asuka said. "Just remember what I told you, okay?"
Junko nodded, though she still looked pretty shook up. "O-okay…"
"Easy, girl," Kyle said, going to massage her shoulders. "I know."
What a nice guy.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Judai!" Asuka said, smiling at me. She started for the exit. "Stop by sometime when this is over, and we'll catch up, okay?"
Kyle bowed like some sort of English aristocrat, making me wonder if he was. That would just make things even better, wouldn't it? "A pleasure making your acquaintance. May we meet again." He smiled and waved at me before taking hold of Junko's shoulders again and guiding her out.
What a perfect guy he was.
…Where was all of this coming from? These bitter thoughts?
I stood there for a moment, watching after them. Only once they were all out the door did that false smile slide off my face.
"Well, he seemed nice," Yubel said. "A little too nice. Yuck." She made a gagging gesture, letting me know just how disgusting she thought Kyle was.
"Yeah," I said. "She's in good hands."
I might not have liked losing any chance at Asuka to that guy, but it wasn't his fault I had messed up. He was a nice guy, and he'd treat her way better than I ever did. If he made her happy, that was good enough for me. Even if a part of me didn't agree.
"Well, Judai, shall we go?" Yubel asked. "You know, before Ai finds us here."
Oh. Yeah. Ai.
"Right. Yeah. We should go."
So I headed back to the Tenjoins' villa.
When I got back, I found Sho waiting up.
"Aniki! You're okay!" he called, running over, relieved.
"Yeah," I said, and I'm not too proud to admit I was glad to see he'd been worried—hey, nothing says "I care" like worrying about somebody. "I know how to avoid Ai, Sho."
"Really!? You do!?"
…He was stunned. Really stunned. What, did he think I couldn't take care of myself?
"Yep. Not too hard at night. Speaking of, I'm going to bed."
I didn't feel like talking after finding out that Asuka had a boyfriend.
"So, then, that mean everything's okay? And where's Asuka, come to think of it?"
"With her boyfriend. She's fine."
"Oh. So Kyle's here? That's good."
Wait, what?
"Yeah. She's in good hands, alright. Remind me, in the morning, to tell the others, okay?" Sho said, then he headed to bed, once again relieved.
So Sho knew Kyle, too? And thought Asuka was in good hands with him. Why was I starting to get the feeling I really wasn't going to like Kyle?
Scratch that—I had the feeling I'd hate him soon enough.
"…Yeah, okay."
"Seriously, Judai," Yubel said. "Grow up. It's been six years. Move on."
You're right.
"Look, quit dwelling on that for now. You've got bigger problems. Like breaking free from Ai."
Right. That is a problem…
Just like that, she got my mind off Kyle.
"So? What'll we do?"
I shrugged and, seeing as nobody was there to hear me talking to myself, said, "Go to bed?"
"Right. Leave it to Asuka. Okay, then. See ya in the morning."
So, with that, Yubel dove deep into our mind to rest. Great. That would leave me free to think whatever I wanted without her there to hear it.
