Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX. Also, flashbacks are bold.
Asuka took Judai to town for the day. They started off with a movie—a choice Asuka soon regret.
"Please tell me that doesn't say who I think it does," she begged, looking at the name that had just popped up on the screen: Fubuki Tenjoin.
"Huh," Judai said. "A movie star... Didn't see that coming."
"Yeah, well, I bet he didn't, either! That guy's gotta make up his mind what he's going to be, already! I've seen him in music videos, and on bulletin boards, advertising things, too! Honestly, nii-san. This is getting embarrassing..." She put a hand to her head, sweating.
With a grin, Judai said, "Hey, at least he isn't dragging you along for it."
"If he tried that, I'd kill him," she said seriously. Judai just laughed.
The movie was a romantic comedy, with Fubuki playing the leading role. He spent the better part of the movie trying to get a princess to quit ignoring his existence, making a huge fool of himself in the process. When an enemy kingdom invaded the castle, Fubuki—or Atticus, as his character was called—was the one who saved them all, finally earning the princess's attention and affection.
When the movie was over, Asuka was sweating. "Yep! That's about right," she said, thinking that her brother wasn't even acting—all he had to do was be himself for that role.
Judai laughed a little. "Well, hey, at least nobody knows that was anything other than acting," he reassured her. "I mean, besides us."
"Yeah, for now, at least..." she muttered.
Judai wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, you can always change your name and pretend you don't know him," he joked.
"Yeah, I guess. Assuming he doesn't tell everyone about me! Do you know how many times I've had an awkward discussion about him with his fan girls because they wanted to trade places with me!? They all say I'm lucky to have a brother like him. It's getting really old, really fast..."
"You could pretend you've just got one of those faces... Let's see, you'd need an alias, though..." He looked thoughtful.
"Ha, ha. Funny, Judai."
He grinned and looked at her. "Well, you've gotta admit, it could work."
"Whatever. So, now what do you want to do?"
"Hmm... I'm hungry. Why don't we go get something to eat?"
"Okay. Sounds good to me," Asuka said. "Where do you want to go?"
"So, what are you going to order?" Asuka asked Judai. They had found a nice, quiet restaurant to stop at for lunch.
Judai looked over the menu—everything sounded good. "Hmm...good question," he said.
Asuka just shook her head, smiling. Knowing Judai, he wanted some of everything.
He finally decided—after the waiter had to scribble out five orders—and Asuka took advantage of the wait for their food to enact her plan.
"So," she asked, "other than hanging out with Rei all day, what have you been up to?" Silently, she added, I've only got one day to win his heart! Every move I make counts!
"Traveling the world, getting fired at by dragons, traveling through time," he answered casually. "The usual."
"Oh, really? And how'd that go?"
"Great! I dueled alongside the King of Games and a guy from the future!"
"Really!? That's so cool! Now I'm jealous!"
Judai laughed a bit at her reaction. "So, what have you been up to?" he asked. "Besides dating Manjoume, I mean."
"Well, I've started teaching at Duel Academy this year. I graduated from college at the beginning of the year, and Professor Cronos saw to it that I got hired right away! I get the feeling he's still upset about our graduation." She laughed a bit.
Judai laughed. "Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me, considering what he did our third year."
Asuka let out another laugh. "Yeah, I remember that one!" She smiled at Judai as she thought, Glad to see you've still got that sense of humor, Judai. She blushed a bit.
"So, how's everything going back at Duel Academy?" he asked.
"Oh, the usual. Kids that sometimes skip class, or work hard, or even both sometimes. Nothing too special. There is this one kid who makes me think of Manjoume, though," she admitted. "Bad attitude, yells at Catnipped Kitty, flirts with the cutest girl in school. You know."
Judai laughed again. "Yeah, that sounds a lot like Manjoume!"
"Yeah, the only differences are he's not rich and he can't pass a test to save his life! He's a real handful."
"Sounds like."
Judai frowned, suddenly feeling a slight twinge of guilt for cheating on Rei.
"Judai?" Asuka asked. "Is something wrong?"
Judai shook his head sadly. "No, nothing's wrong. Just the usual."
"Even now, huh?" Don't worry, Judai. I'm putting an end to that tomorrow.
"Yeah."
"So, what, you're not going to walk out on me, are you?"
His eyes widened slightly. "No way!"
"That's good," Asuka said. "At least it's not too bad right now. Just try to ignore it, and let's enjoy this."
"You got it!" he said, smiling.
Hmm. He seems a lot happier all of a sudden, she thought. I wonder...
Even with the spell trying to influence Judai, the two managed to enjoy their meal. They had a chance to catch up while they were eating—though Asuka wouldn't talk about that Halloween night in America, no matter how many times Judai asked.
Having finished her meal, Asuka wiped her mouth. "Well, that sure was good."
"Yeah, it was," Judai said, putting down his napkin. "So, now what?"
"Well, I've been thinking—we're in Great Britain! It's full of historical landmarks, and so far, all we've seen is Manjoume's fourth house and those dumb shops. We can't just let an opportunity like this pass! Let's go sightseeing! What do you say?"
"That sounds good to me!" Judai said excitedly. He stood up. "Come on, let's go!"
So Asuka paid the bill, and the two spent the rest of the day wandering around town, visiting places like Big Ben, the London Tower, and the Courtauld Gallery.
That night, the two were standing side by side on a bridge overlooking the river. The moon had just come up and was reflected in the water below, a beautiful white crescent rippling on the surface of the water. From here, the lights of the city were quite a beautiful sight, too.
"Wow," Asuka said. "What a day, huh? I especially liked those paintings in the Courtauld Gallery. What about you, Judai? What did you like best?"
"Just spending time with you," Judai answered, smiling warmly.
"Judai..." She blushed.
"Asuka...I'm glad I got the chance to spend some time with you before..."
"Don't finish that. I don't want to hear it! There's no way I'm letting that happen! I don't want to lose you again!"
Her own words startled her—she blushed. What am I saying!?
Judai raised an eyebrow. "Asuka?"
"Please disregard that last statement," she said hastily.
Judai slid closer to her. "Well, what if I don't want to?"
Asuka was blushing furiously. "Huh?"
"I'm glad to know you care so much," he said. "I mean, I know there's no chance of it ever working out, but...I think...I love you."
"Y-yeah. I think so, too..."
Slowly, Judai leaned in for a kiss. Asuka blushed brighter, if possible. She closed her eyes and puckered up, but the spell interrupted. The guilt Judai had felt during their meal was overwhelming. He couldn't resist.
Judai stopped. "...Damn... Almost forgot about that." He pulled away.
"Judai?" Asuka opened her eyes.
Judai was leaning against the bridge, depression showing clear on his face.
"Judai..." I can't let this happen!
He smiled—a forced smile. "We should be getting back soon."
"Judai. I'm going to end this. Count on it," Asuka said with determination.
Judai looked at her, then shook his head. "Please don't get my hopes up," he said before heading back to Manjoume's place.
Asuka stared after him, slightly stunned.
Ah! I almost forgot!
She reached into her pocket, pulling out a note.
The woman handed Asuka a note with what she called the counter spell on it.
"Here, dear," she said. "If you manage to win his heart, then recite this to the girl who cast the spell originally. Make sure he hears this, too."
Asuka read the note silently, then looked at the woman. "This doesn't sound like a spell to me."
"Ah, you're thinking that spells have to rhyme or use strange words, yes? Well, they used to, but, after the witch burnings, we decided it would be best if we made our spells harder to notice. It makes us more difficult to find, you know. But, I assure you, once you say that to her, the spell should be broken."
"Okay," Asuka said with uncertainty. "Thank you, ma'am."
Asuka clenched the note tightly in her hand. Okay. So, Rei will be back tomorrow, huh? Hang on, Judai! This nightmare's almost over!
She made her way back to Manjoume's mansion as well.