It was the next day in the early morning after Aoi ran off during her session of love with Yusaku. "I feel really bad about doing this, but I don't have the courage to face Yusaku right now… I need to go see Miyu. She's the only one I can go to for help with this situation." The brunette said as she quietly snuck out of the house while her boyfriend was still asleep.
It was now one hour later and the 17-year-old young man woke up. *I hope that Aoi slept well after last night. I know I dilated the wine but she still drank quite a bit of it so I should check on her." Yusaku said to himself as he then walked to her room.
"Aoi, are you awake- no way… where did she go?" Yusaku asked himself as he noticed that his girlfriend was not in her room."Oh, God...Did I really mess it up that bad? But...Art said everything will be fine, and everything went according to what he predicted will happen. I have to go see him." Yusaku stormed off towards the shop.
Meanwhile, Aoi arrived at her best friend Miyu's house and knocked on the front door. "Miyu, it's me! Can I come in?" Aoi asked outside the door.
"Aoi?" Miyu said as she went to the door, seeing her friend there as she opened it. "Of course, come in."
"Thank you. Sorry to come by unannounced like this. There's something I really need help with and you're the only person I can think of that can help with this." Aoi said as she walked inside her friend's house.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well… me and Yusaku last night… did stuff… and I couldn't handle it so I walked out in the middle…" Aoi said as she struggled to say what's on her mind.
Miyu was shocked to hear it. She wouldn't have imagined Aoi would be ok with doing stuff. "Did you at least enjoy it?" She asked.
"Yes..." the brunette replied.
"Then...Why did you run off?" She asked again.
"Because I felt it was unfair. He was so good at pleasing me… But I had no idea how to please him back… So I couldn't allow our first time to be so one-sided towards me and not making him just as happy… I'm sorry if that sounds stupid to you... " Aoi explained shyly.
Miyu sighed. "I understand why you'd feel that way, but there is also the issue of HOW he knew those things." She pointed out, then one name came in the head of both.
"Art." Both said in unison, then Miyu continued. "I remember him saying something once about having the holy grail for men. At the time I didn't believe him, but from what you just said about Yusaku's skills, he must have been saying the truth."
"So what now?" Aoi asked, but Miyu grinned and chuckled.
"Glad you asked. You see, one day, Art got a bit tipsy and said stuff about the holy grail again, but then I asked in sarcasm if he had one for women as well…" She giggled. "Turns out he did. Written based on the tips of every woman he has been with since his own first."
"Really? Do you know where it is?" Aoi asked in curiosity, but then Miyu reached under the pillow of the couch, pulling out a book. It was the 1001 Arts of Getting a Good Lay: Feminine Edition, by Art. "You have it?!"
"Well…" Miyu said with a blush. "I found it in his man cave and…" She cleared her throat. "The tips and information in here is golden material."
"Um… i-is it ok that I borrow it?" Aoi hesitantly asked her friend.
"Hold it." Miyu stopped her. "Look, if I know Art well, I think he helped Yusaku study. Now, I might not have his experience, but I think you need the help." She offered.
"Are you ok with that? This is a really embarrassing subject after all… I don't want to bother you with this." Aoi said.
"It's ok…" Miyu replied.
Back to the shop, in Art's man cave, the guys were having a chat with Yusaku looking rather stressed out.
"Art… I don't know what to do…" Yusaku said to Art. The young man had explained to Art what happened the previous night and how Aoi randomly left in the morning.
Art took a mouth full of beer and answered, another bottle in front of Yusaku. "Look, Kid, it was not your fault. She got spooked, it happens. I am not saying you or her were not ready, because from what you told me you both were, but rather something must have crossed her mind"
"Crossed her mind? What do you mean? You're not saying that I… scared her or made her hate me are you?" Yusaku asked in a scared tone.
"No, Kid, no!" Art quickly replied. "Look, women are complicated and there isn't really any solid way to know what goes on in their head. It was not your fault." He took another swing of his beer.
"But… what should I do? I… I love Aoi more than anything… so what should I do to make her happy? To fix this situation?" Yusaku asked.
"That's the thing, Kid, you can't!" Art replied bluntly. "As I said, it was not your fault, so stop beating yourself about it like it was. Just go back to your house, give Aoi some space, then see how things go between you 2. I am going to be drinking some more tonight."
"Are you really sure? That's all I need to do and she'll feel better?" Yusaku asked as he really wanted to help Aoi feel happy.
"You already did your part, Kid. It is no longer just about what she feels, but also what you feel. It's like a mad sea, storming, and waves crashing around. Just let it calm down and see what happens. BUT! If she is not home tonight and sends you a NO message, then you are in deep shit." Art stated.
"I understand… Thank you Art for speaking with me like this. I'll be going home now."
"What's the hurry?" Art asked. "Sit down, have a drink with me! You will feel better, relieved. But don't drink too much unless you want a hangover."
"I suppose it's better than going home and possibly not seeing Aoi there… I guess I'll have a few drinks." Yusaku said as he sat down next to Art.
After an hour, Art was pretty drunk while Yusaku was a bit tipsy. "Yo, so...What happened to you after the whole incident with the Ignis? Heard stuff from Aoi during her shift."
"Well…" Yusaku leaned back. "I guess I cannot keep it a secret forever. My parents sent me a letter shortly after the Ai incident." Art raised his eyebrow at him. "I didn't reply to them, however, as Ai's passing affected me quite a bit. I then waited a while and logged into Vrains to make sure nothing was falling apart in my presence, but I remembered what happened during my duel with him. I got lost and depressed, and ended up in the state Aoi found me in when she ran to my place."
"So, are you going to reply?" Art asked.
"I don't know...I have no intention of meeting them, as I am almost certain they don't really care for me. Or else they would've looked for me." Yusaku said.
"Damn, Kid, that's pretty dark."
"I hate to ask this but… what would you do in this situation?" Yusaku asked curiously.
"Well, I say you meet them. If things go bad, then you can never talk to them again. They are your parents, after all"
"I honestly don't know if I have the heart to meet them. I just don't see what good it would possibly do since I haven't seen them in so long." Yusaku replied.
Art tried to think, but he nearly fell over. 'Haha...I drank too much…" He got up. "Look, you do what you think it's best. I need to go to sleep…"
"This is what happens when you drink too much you idiot," Yusaku said as he grabbed Art and laid him down on the couch.
"Remember...Have patience…" He was drifting to sleep. "Before you know...She'd be rocking that sexy lingerie for ye…" He passed out, leaving Yusaku with a message.
"I guess I might as well go back home. Hopefully, Aoi is back by now." Yusaku said to himself as he left Art to sleep.
The young man then arrived back home to find that his girlfriend had yet to return. "Aoi… Damn it! No… I need to be patient. She could have just left to see Miyu or something. She's free from her brother's prison now so that would make perfect sense. I guess I'll just take a nap until later and then see what happens…" Yusaku said as he got in his bed and fell asleep.
An hour later, Aoi arrived back home and was carrying a paper bag with a small box in it. "Yusaku… I hope that I've become good enough to make you happy…" The brunette said to herself as she opened the front door and entered the house.
"Yusaku fell asleep… the only reason he would do that at this hour is if he was depressed… I'm really sorry… please forgive me…" Aoi said as she checked Yusaku's room and then went to her own room to sleep as well. " I'll go to sleep for tonight too because I'm going to need to feel fully awake tomorrow…"
The next day, however, neither of them showed up for work as Miyu was the one to go to the shop instead of Aoi. She entered the shop and felt a whiff of alcohol, knowing what happened and went to Art's man cave, finding the man laid on the couch with his head back and a bottle of aspirins in front of him on the table.
"Hello, Art!" She said cheerfully, but loudly, making the man groan and grab his head.
"Miyu! Damn it! Volume! I drank a bit too much last night and now I have a killer hangover!" Art shouted as he took an aspirin, again. "What is it with you here anyway?"
"I am covering for Aoi, she won't be coming," Miyu said as she looked at him, a grin of amusement on her face.
"And why is that?" Art asked as he looked at her, then Miyu got out the book she had, showing it to him. Art raised his eyebrow at it. "I see. So you had it." He chuckled. "I guess Yusaku is in it for it now…"
"Aoi as well if you taught him right." Miyu added. "Seriously, didn't you think about giving her lessons as well?"
"Hey! I don't teach girls to become women, I MAKE them into women." Art said, and Miyu caught on to his words. "Still, I wonder what she is doing. She pretty much blew it from what Yusaku told me."
Back at the house, Yusaku was currently staring speechless at his open door, taking in the image before him.
"I'm sorry about running back then, but now I am ready," Aoi said as she posed in a light blue corset which made up the only thing she was wearing apart from her bottom piece of underwear. "Please be gentle with me"