Okay, after this, there's only one more chapter, which is actually just the epilogue, so this is technically it! Sorry for the wait! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX.
"Hey, Judai!" Johan said, walking into the infirmary to visit his sick friend a couple days later. "So, you talked to Sam, then?"
"Yeah, I talked to him," Judai said with a cough.
Yes, Johan was asking, even though HE had been the one to take Judai back to the infirmary after that little adventure. And he was waiting two days for reasons he didn't want to discuss—even though Sho very much wanted to know.
"Hey! Are you ignoring me or what!?" Sho asked, irritated. "I asked you where you were yesterday!? HEY!"
This was the third time Sho had asked Johan why he hadn't stopped by yesterday—because he hadn't—and Johan kept ignoring the question, seemingly not hearing.
"So, how did it go?"
"Pretty well, actually," Judai answered. "Hey, think you can get your girlfriend to bring in some more of those herbs?" He still felt awful, and those herbs, however weird, had helped last time, so they should work again, right?
Sho sighed, giving up on getting an answer out of their strange friend. What's wrong with him? When I asked the first time, he looked really nervous and started talking about Sam! What's gotten into him lately?
Johan blinked. "My what? Oh. You mean Kathleen? Okay. But she's not my girlfriend, okay?" He winked, grinning.
Not feeling up to arguing, Judai said, "Yeah, okay, whatever." Then he coughed again.
"Okay, then," Johan said. "Hang on, I'll go ask her." He ran out, jokingly calling over his shoulder, "Be right back! Don't go anywhere!"
Sho was still irritated. "What was that all about? Am I invisible or something? I mean, the guy completely ignored my questions from the moment he got here! Is he okay?"
"I'm sure he's fine," Judai said. "It's just his new friend, Kathleen."
Sam poked his head through the door hesitantly. "Uh, may I come in?"
Sho glared at him. "ABSOLUTELY NOT! WHAT ARE YOU UP TO THIS—"
"It's okay, Sho," Judai interrupted. "What's up, Sam?"
Sam walked over, a bottle in hand. "I've got something for you, Judai," he said, holding the bottle out to him. "I-I had my friend Arnie create some medicine for his super flu bug. It took him all of yesterday and half of last night to complete, but it's done. It should help you if you take it. You may even feel good enough to leave here. Please accept it."
"Don't trust him, Aniki," Sho said urgently. "He's gotta be up to something!"
"Please. It's an apology gift to you for causing you so much trouble."
Judai stared at Sam for a moment, searching for any signs of deceit. "Alright," he said at last. "Thanks, Sam."
As Sam handed the medicine to Judai, he said, "D-don't mention it. You did say that, if the talk went bad, I could do anything to you and your friends. Since you were right, I thought I could do something different." He turned to Sho. "Mr. Marufuji? Here," he said, handing him some pictures.
Sho stared at the pictures for a moment. "W-what are these!?" he demanded.
The pictures were clearly from the day the students had stolen his pants—he was running around half naked, trying to catch those brats!
"It's all the pictures my class took," Sam said, cuing Sho into the fact that they had been taking pictures of that event. "You can have them, and burn them if you like. I'm sorry about that."
Sho was too stunned for words.
Sam turned back to Judai and said, "Anyway, according to Arnie, if you take that three times a day, it should clear up in a week, and it shouldn't be as bad as it is now. He says, at this stage, you may even be able to get out of bed."
"Great," Judai said before grinning at the kid. "Though, at this point, a week's about as long as it's got left, isn't it?"
"W-well, it could be two!" Sam said. "Besides, don't you wanna feel better? You've been suffering a lot this whole month, right? This should end all that, starting right now. Again, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you both."
His apology and gifts delivered, Sam took his leave. Sho just stood there, still stunned. He dropped the pictures. Judai looked at the bottle of medicine in his hand, figuring that this was probably one case where the cure couldn't possibly be worse than the disease.
"Well, he's right. This flu stinks. So, how much of this do I take, anyway...?"
As he read the directions, Sho stood there like a statue, apparently trying to do an impression of a Venus Flytrap.
Johan, meanwhile, had found Kathleen. Before he could say anything about Judai, Sam walked over and handed him a copy of the school's newspaper for the day, saying the front page was an "apology gift." When Johan saw the headline—and the picture that accompanied the article—he was stunned. Kathleen, looking over his shoulder at the front page, gaped.
"Kathleen... Is that what I think it is...?" Johan asked, needing confirmation that he wasn't hallucinating. "Sam in a-a dress...?"
The picture on the page showed Sam in a red party dress and makeup. He wore red, high-heeled sandals, a red ribbon in his hair, and a couple of pieces of gold jewelry, one of which was a heart-shaped locket. He was smiling flirtatiously in the picture, as if cross-dressing were a normal part of his life.
"Oh, my gosh," Kathleen said, skimming the article. "He did that all day yesterday?"
Johan stared, stunned, at one word in the article. "...Samantha?"
In Asuka's classroom, Manjoume was just as stunned. An Ojama Black stood before the class—or, rather, Sam in an Ojama Black costume. Manjoume wasn't the only one who was caught off guard...the whole class was gaping at the life-size Ojama.
"OjamaSam!?" Manjoume asked, gaping, when Sam introduced himself by that name. "What the hell!?"
"So, what do ya think?" Sam asked. "Ojama Black sure suits me, huh?"
"Okay, just what the hell are you up to now, ya little brat!?" Manjoume demanded.
"I thought you might like to see a real Ojama fool," was Sam's answer. "It's my gift to you, Thunder, sir." He went and stood front and center, spreading his arms out and grinning as he said, "So, who thinks I look awesome in this!? I'm just like Ojamanjoume now! ALL my dreams have been realized now!"
The class laughed.
"Sam! What are you up to now!?" Asuka demanded as Manjoume gaped, not sure what to make of that.
Sam turned to Asuka and said, "I'm sorry for interrupting, Miss Tenjoin, but the timing was just right. Anyway, I want to give you a gift, too."
"A gift? What gift?"
"Sorry, Miss Tenjoin. It's not quite ready yet. But tomorrow, it should be, so please wear this and meet me at the lake near the mountains. I'll give you your apology gift there." He handed Asuka a box, then left, the other students still laughing in the background.
Asuka cautiously peeked inside the box and gasped when she saw the contents.
"Sam! Wait!" she called after him. "What's this all about!?"
Manjoume looked at her and crossed his arms. "Sheesh! What's he up to, now!?"
Asuka didn't have an answer—she just stared at the box Sam had given her, stunned.
The medicine Sam had given Judai really did work. Judai was out of the infirmary by the next morning, and Sam stopped by and gave him a similar message to that he'd given Asuka, as well as another box, before rushing off to class. Judai didn't know what to make of it, and he still didn't have a clue when he and Sho met up with Johan and Manjoume near the end of the school day to wait for Asuka. The four shared stories about what Sam had been doing, and Johan and Manjoume weren't too happy when they heard what Sam had done that morning involving their still-sick friend.
"Okay," Johan said. "So, any idea what he's doing now?"
"That's what I wanna know!" Manjoume said. Silently, he added, He said almost the same thing to Tenjoin-kun! Something's up. And what's in those dumb boxes, anyway!?
"Relax, guys," Judai said. "Whatever it is, it's harmless."
"Are you sure?" Sho asked for the hundredth time that day. "He's been acting kinda weird lately. What if all of this is just another of his elaborate schemes? Including that flu medicine! Should you really be taking it!? Who knows what it's doing to you!?"
Granted, Judai looked better, and he seemed to be feeling better, but that didn't mean that Sho trusted anything from Sam at all.
"I trust him," Judai said. " We've reached an understanding."
"Hmph. Or so you think, at least." Muttering, Manjoume added, "He's being reckless, again. Some things never change."
That's when Sam came over and said, "Sorry, guys. Miss Tenjoin won't be joining you today. She had something else to do, so she rushed home."
Manjoume raised an eyebrow, suspicious. "Oh, really? And why are you telling us this?"
"Miss Tenjoin told me to tell you," he answered. "Anyway, Judai, that surprise I was talking about should be ready in about an hour. You should probably get ready soon."
As the boy ran off, Manjoume called, "HEY! WE'RE NOT DONE YET! GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE—" He ran after the boy.
Sho stared after Sam for a moment before saying, "Aniki...now I'm worried..."
"Come on, Sho! You've gotta have a little bit of faith in people. Sam's not the devil or anything. He's just a misunderstood kid."
Johan asked, "So, what are you gonna do, then?"
"I'm going to see what this 'surprise' is," Judai answered as he headed back to his room to get ready.
An hour later, Asuka headed out to the lake she had shown Judai earlier. I wonder why Sam wanted me to wear this thing? I hope Judai was right, she thought.
As it turns out, the box had contained an outfit. When she opened it, she found a short, red dress, white elbow-length gloves, red heels, and a rose to wear in her hair.
Dressed like she was going to a fancy restaurant, she was shocked when she got to the lake to find Sam dressed like a waiter. A table had been set out by the lake, set for two. There was a grill nearby, with another student standing by dressed as a chef. Heck, the band was even here, playing romantic music. The sun was setting, so the trees nearby were lit up with strings of white lights.
Well, whatever he's up to, he put a lot of effort into it... And he even got other students involved.
"Ah," Sam said to her. "Good evening, ma'am. And welcome. Your table's ready for you. Please, follow me."
He escorted her to the table, pulling out a chair for her. When she sat down, he even pushed it in slightly.
"Please wait. I'll be with you shortly." With that, he walked off.
As Asuka took another look at her romantic surroundings, she started getting nervous. "W-what is all this?" she wondered, getting a bad feeling.
"Ah. There you are, sir," Sam's voice said from somewhere to her left. "Your table's right over here. Please, follow me."
"Huh?" Asuka turned and blushed at the sight that greeted her.
A two-tone brunette, dressed in a suit—and looking quite handsome—was walking over with Sam. Asuka looked down at the table, even more nervous than before.
Oh, shoot.
A date with Judai. THAT was Sam's "gift" to her.
Sam...
"Hey," Judai said casually. "How's it going?"
Asuka looked up slightly. "Uh, hi, Judai," she said, still blushing furiously.
"Please have a seat, sir," Sam said. "I'll be right back with your menus."
As Judai sat down, Sam walked off. Asuka was slightly stunned—and still seriously blushing.
"You look great!" Judai told her.
"Uh, thanks. You, too..." Silently, she wondered, What is this? Why am I so nervous? It's just Judai, right?
Sam returned and handed them a couple of strangely professional-looking menus. This kid really had gone to a lot of work for this.
"Here you are," Sam said, handing them the menus. "May I recommend the Sushi Surprise? It's our house special."
"Uh, thanks, I guess," Asuka said as she glanced over the menu.
Judai flipped through briefly, then said, "I'll have that, thanks."
"An excellent choice, sir. And for the lady?"
This is so weird, Asuka thought. "T-the same, I guess."
Sam bowed and took the menus back. "Very good. I'll be right back with your orders," he said before walking off.
Asuka was still stunned. What's this all about, anyway? she wondered. "So...Sam sure went through a lot of trouble, huh?" she asked Judai, eyeing the band and the decorations.
"Yeah, he sure did," Judai answered. "Guess this is his way of apologizing for making our lives hell for the past month." He smirked.
Asuka laughed. "Yeah. I guess. Although, a simple apology would have been enough."
Judai just shrugged. "Hey, he's a kid. What are you gonna do?"
"Yeah."
While the evening was great, Asuka still had never imagined her first date with Judai taking place at an open-air restaurant by a lake near an American school with current students of hers as the staff.
After dinner, Judai said, "You know, we've got some great music playing. Want to dance?"
Blushing, Asuka nodded and let him lead her out away from the table.
"You know, you're surprisingly good at this," Asuka commented after a little while.
Judai shrugged. "Well, my mom signed me up for ballroom dance lessons when I was a kid. I hated it, but she made me do it for a couple years. So, yeah, dancing's not that tough for me." He grinned.
Asuka laughed lightly. Judai leaned in slowly, and Asuka's lips parted. As their lips met, everything else seemed to disappear. That is, until Asuka remembered a few things: 1) The students were right there, and she was making out with Judai right there in front of them. 2) It was a school night, so the students had to get to bed. 3) Judai, while he wasn't acting like it, was still sick.
Asuka pulled away. "We should get back to the school soon, Judai," she said firmly. "You're still sick, after all, and our staff here have classes to attend tomorrow."
"Fine," Judai said reluctantly before stealing another kiss.
Asuka was blushing the whole way back to her room.
