Chapter Thirty-Eight


Yuito could barely contain his awe as the man guided him though a giant foyer up a marble staircase. This whole place was enormous, pieces of art or very well kept flowers in every single corner. The man eventually stopped in front of a large door.

"The king is in here," he said, "he's expecting you."

"Thank you," Yuito replied, before he entered a, expectantly huge room that opened to a balcony on the far side. Some couches and tables were draped across it so it looked a lot like a lounge of some sort.

"Do I have to call you Your Grace?" Yuito asked.

"Sounds cool, not gonna lie. So… I'd appreciate it, yes," Keiji turned around and immediately embraced his best friend.

"It's so good to see you again," Yuito said, "two weeks can be very long, especially when we just survived the closest thing to Armageddon ever."

"The closest thing to Armageddon so far," Keiji replied, "I'm sorry, but my dad kept me pretty busy. Did I tell you about this whole mess yet?"

"Not in detail."

"You see, apparently once a monarch legally abdicates they cannot ever resume their previous position. Or, at least that's how it works around here I suppose. And since nobody in their right mind wanted Jeanie remain Queen after two hours with her turned the city into a war zone, I was the last possible fool they could stick that thing on top of," he explained, pointing towards the crown on his head.

"Doesn't sound too thrilled, eh? You're King."

"You don't say," he replied, "at the start it was awesome, like, look at this palace. It's gigantic and its mine. And I've got three more. A summer palace, a winter retreat and another castle in the countryside. And I don't even know if I could pronounce the number I've seen on my families bank account. But like… you have so many responsibilities. You're the head of state, you're supposed to appoint a government, you're supposed to represent this and represent that, go here and go there and… Well its a lot."

"I suppose nothing comes for free," Yuito tried to find the right words, "how did the reunion with your dad go by the way?"

"It was… weird. It was mostly him asking me questions, alternating between questions about my history and asking me if I needed anything. And I suppose anything really means anything when it comes to him. But it was like… I still don't know that man. I mean… its hard to explain."

"You can try," Yuito said, "but it's not like I could offer any advice. I still spent some years with my father before he disappeared. You were almost a baby, you probably don't even remember him."

"Faintly? I guess," Keiji replied, "He's a distant memory. I know his face from somewhere, but I'm not sure if I remember him from my childhood or just on billboards around the streets, you know?"

"That stuff takes time. Give it a few months, I'm sure all that awkwardness will disappear. I'm just glad that you decided to meet with your father after all."

"After a lifetime of telling myself that I wouldn't, it sure didn't take me long to decide when he reached out to me. Maybe it was just my curiosity getting the better of me. But honestly enough from me, let's…"

"May I say one more thing before its enough? You're looking really dashing in your new royal gear."

Keiji now wore an outfit very similar to his father, a white suit with golden applications and a white coat hanging loosely over it, the golden crown resting on his blonde head.

"Thanks," Keiji replied, "I'd say the same but you look just the same as the last time I saw you."

"You're a king and still a dick? Wow," Yuito laughed, with his friend joining in.

"No, for real," he eventually said, "you're a hero. Thanks to your wish, everyone knows what you've done for the world. What's new in your life?"

"Lots of talk show appearances. And people staring when I walk by them in the streets."

"Your dad?"

"Well, as you said, everyone knows what I did, so everyone also knows what he did. The police eventually got a hold of him when he tried to leave the country. He's currently in custody while they figure out if he actually did something they can charge him with. I mean, 'almost causing armageddon' or 'triggering an ancient cataclysmic event' isn't really criminal by definition of law."

"Did you see him since?"

"Well I tried," Yuito explained, "but he refuses to talk to me. He's still mad that I 'destroyed the world' or whatever. And I think that's for the better. Maybe it really took me my whole life to figure out that I'm better off without him."

"Sounds harsh," Keiji replied, "but yeah, considering what he did? I wouldn't want him in my life either. How's business doing though?"

"Thanks for changing the topic," Yuito chuckled, before answering, "I'm going great actually, thanks to your sister. After all that happened with Alessia, I just… I couldn't stay at Mister Sonjuns agency. Came in really handy that Jeanie had to offer a replacement to her agency when she wanted to retire prematurely."

"Wait, she offered you her place in her agency?" Keiji asked, "she didn't even tell me that."

"Yeah, it was pretty nice of her," Yuito said, "and her agency was almost ecstatic about the fact that she knew me. I mean, everyone in town knows me, for better or worse. But speaking of Jeanie, how is she?"

"Doing better. She's in therapy now to talk about her issues."

"That's definitely a step from starting a city-wide riot."

"Plus, she has found a new and less homicidal way to tell our dad to suck it. Wanna see?"

"Obviously," Yuito replied, and Keiji led him out to the balcony.

"Look over there, in the garden, far left," he pointed out.

"No way," Yuito exclaimed upon seeing Jeanie lying on a blanket in the grass, apparently having a small picnic, her head resting on Daichis lap.

"They're dating since the convergence," Keiji explained, "I mean, they didn't officially admit it – apparently, that's what you're supposed to do when you're famous and dating – but they couldn't make it any more obvious. She made him her head of security and basically also made the rest of his gang into his team, so he pretty much stays with her the whole time."

"Your dad must be pretty pissed."

"He's livid," he said, "but I presume he's gonna come around to it. Her therapist also said the relationship really works wonders for her. She's got someone she's the number one for, and Daichi has a hot, rich woman who very willing to step on him, so everybody wins."

"Damn that makes me feel out of touch with everyone, and its only been two weeks."

"You feel out of touch? Man, Jeanie and Daichi were the only decent social contact I had in these two weeks and that's saying something. How are all the others though? Hatsuko and Saburo? And… wait, everyone else is pretty dead. Well, those two regardless."

"Things have been rough between me and Hatsuko, because of the whole… well she tried to have me killed. We're not gonna be best friends right of the bat. But we're trying to get along. Anyway, she's back with Saburo, going steady for two weeks. Nothing like a relationship forged from a near death experience."

"Don't tell that to those two lovebirds on the lawn."

"I wouldn't dare."

"After she graduates, Hatsuko's planning to keep on trying to be a professional Duelist, but she's also planning to do an apprenticeship in her mothers hair salon. Standing on two legs, you know."

"Sounds pretty mature," Keiji replied, "how about Saburo?"

"He's gonna give up the Dueling, had a huge fight with his dad because of it. Guess what he wants to do instead."

"I mean Hatsukos already doing hairdressing, so I doubt he's gonna do that."

Yuito just chuckled, before he answered, "almost, Hatsuko actually got him on the idea. He's gonna be a teacher. There's a pretty exclusive academy abroad, that teaches people how do Duel, he's gonna study and then apply there."

"How do you fill an entire curriculum with a card game."

"I doubt that's a school where you'd need more than one semester."

"True," Keiji said, "sounds like they're doing pretty good. Honestly, I'd think Saburo would be a pretty swell teacher. In theory he totally kicked your ass in your duel back when, it was just that he sucked in practice."

"Looking at it, sounds like we all are. They got their future all laid out, I got a new agency with a lot more resources than the one before and you're the fucking head of state."

"Did that mean you had to move out of our apartment?"

"Yeah," Yuito said, "it was Mr. Sonjun who had rented it after all, so I have to move out by the end of the month. My new agency already offered me a new one, about twice as big and part of the skyline."

"So you do have a place to stay," Keiji said, slightly disappointed, "not gonna lie that sounds pretty awesome."

"Yeah, but I turned them down."

"What? For real?"

"Yeah. I told them I could stay with a friend," Yuito replied, "I hope that wasn't too presumptuous, but I suppose you crashed on my 'couch' as well soooo… you have some catching up to do."

"Dude," Keiji replied, "this place has twelve vacant bedrooms. I'm sure I can pretend you're staying on one of them towards dad."

"Pretend?"

"You're staying with me of course," Keiji pulled his friend into a rough hug, "I had such a bad time sleeping without my best friend the last few weeks."

"Honestly same," Yuito said, "I really missed you. We need to start spending time together again."

"Agreed. I suppose I could use someone to actually talk about the shit that went down in the last couple of weeks."

"Sounds like you need a therapist as well," Yuito joked, "instead of a best friend."

"I mean, I found out I'm royalty and my sister started a civil war, which I subsequently ended after fighting for my dear life against a one thousand year old psycho bitch. Not to mention that someone I considered a friend decided to permanently fuck up my face with a flamethrower, or whatever happened back then. That sounds like therapist material to me."

"My father abandoned me when I was a child as a part of a long con to end all human life on the planet, and I was the one who had stop him in the end, after being manipulated and betrayed by my manager and someone who I thought was a friend. I suppose I could use one as well."

"Do you wanna go to therapy with me?" Keiji chuckled.

"Is it just me or does that sound a little bit like a marriage proposal?" Yuito replied.

"Depending on who you're asking, aren't we already married?" Keiji said, causing both of them to laugh.

"I love you Iji."

"I love you too Ito."