iii. three; reverse

With his fishing rod held over his shoulder, he walks down the hallway.

"Off fishing again?" he hears when he passes by the kitchen where Asuka is rinsing her mug.

Brightly, he beams her a languid smile. "Yup! It's a sunny day, so I wanted to do something." He also had in mind to take a walk or explore a bit, but his laziness steered towards fishing. And speaking of fishing… Feigning thoughtfulness, he wears a teasing smile and asks, "Are you coming along again?"

She must have caught on, because she huffs and looks away. "I don't know. I just managed to wash out that fish and lake smell from my clothes this morning, and I don't want my hard work to be for nothing."

The way she said it makes it sound like she's sulking again. At least this explains why there are clothes being hung outside on the balcony today. "You say it like it's my fault for everything," he chortles lightheartedly, keeping the rod steady over his shoulders. "I'm sorry that you caught a giant trout for your first time fishing."

"Apology accepted," she deadpans, simply.

Yeah, she's definitely sulking. His smile is easygoing. "You should still come along, though. Be my good luck charm instead, and give me your luck that you stole from me."

Asuka replies seriously, "You almost tempted me until you mentioned that I'm a thief. How rude."

As she starts wiping her mug with a towel, he shakes his head at her back. Stubborn. "Okay," he dramatically sighs in defeat just to pander her, the deep enunciation prominent. "You're no thief. Just reeeeally lucky. Now, last chance: are you coming or not?"

Contemplatively, she takes a few moments to think before she gives him a nod. It makes him blink. Twice she wants to come with him? What a pleasant surprise. He wasn't really being serious, so he was honestly going to leave her alone to her business if his offer was shot down again. "Let me grab a book first."

Somewhat accustomed to this, he pretends to be horrified: "Another one?"

Still, he leans against the wall to wait for her because he's a nice guy. But for some reason, she is taking it slower than usual to pick her book this time. He exhales soothingly to himself on the inside, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. I can't believe books are stealing daylight from me.

But he's a nice guy, so he'll wait. He'll wait.

Silence.

Silence…

It was a valiant ten seconds of patience, but even nice guys have limits. Johan is a special case, but this certainly does not apply to Judai. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

Asuka asks innocently, "Doing what on purpose?" She moves her fingers across a row of books, brushing against the spines as she surveys them. Pfft, surveying. Yeah, right. She 'surveyed' the same row twice now.

"Being slow on purpose!" he whines indignantly, swinging his rod at her back halfheartedly.

He can respect that they have different interests, but geez, it shouldn't have to be so much work to choose a book! It makes him antsy just standing around, doing nothing, when he's perfectly aware that there is a fishing rod in his hands and he isn't doing anything with it.

"All right," laughs Asuka indulgently, finally picking a book after, what feels like, ten years to him. "Good books take time to choose," she replies, like it's great ancient wisdom. She meets him by the wall and they start walking to the front door together.

His eyes roll, feeling grateful that the world of books does not welcome him. It seems pretty complex so far. "How do you even know if it's good if you didn't read it yet?" he inquires, the both of them slipping into their shoes.

Giving a hum, she answers, "I wouldn't have it on my shelf if it wasn't." He also gives a hum, sounding more halfhearted than hers. It sounds like a brain teaser to him. "Don't judge a book by its cover, after all. Give it a chance." Lifting up her book, Asuka pretends to look disapprovingly at him. "And for your information, I was already reading this one until someone convinced me to try fishing."

From the way she keeps bringing it up, he doesn't really have it in him to be offended. Just really amused. Neither Johan nor Jim ever acted this way to him—the most they did was laugh (Johan) or sigh (Jim) and take a turn with his rod if he ever extended the fishing offer to them. Meanwhile, Asuka still acts like fishing is war to her. A peaceful hobby is war to her. "Hey, at least you caught a big one! Do we always have to go over this again, Asuka?" He tries to stifle a laugh, but he's probably failing miserably because she looks exasperated. "You make it sound like it's the worst thing possible! Wasn't it fun, at least?"

Silence. He stubbornly waits for her to respond.

Eventually, she sighs in defeat with a small smile. "Yes, it was," she answers, shaking her head as he victoriously beams back at her.

She enjoyed fishing and thought it was fun! That's honestly good enough to make his day. He just hopes that she meant it, and not just because she wanted him to stop pestering her about it. It makes him happier to know that he can share his hobby with others from time to time.

And now that he thinks about it, it's sort of different with Asuka.

When he convinced Jim to try fishing, Jim merrily went along with it—despite having a preference for other things—and it didn't seem like Jim ever really needed pointers or help when he gave it a shot. He even snagged some good catches too without much problems. Asuka, though. She was completely brand new, so Judai felt like it was interesting to teach her about it. In a way, it was fun helping her and seeing her progress even though it was only one time. It's a nice memory to look back on, he thinks. It's a memory that sticks out to him. Imagine. Him actually teaching Asuka something that isn't related to dueling. It's definitely a one-of-a-kind memory for him.

Given her unfamiliarity with fishing, he's glad to have broadened her perspective on it because he feels like she just doesn't get those opportunities to discover new things anymore since her job requires a lot of attention and hours. He showed her a bit more about himself with fishing, and he doesn't really get that opportunity nowadays either. She showed him books, and that's pretty fair to him. He can tell that day with the trout left her sour about fishing, which makes him laugh, but she also laughs at him about books.

Yet despite all of that, they both acknowledge that they like different things and neither have a real problem with it. Her reading doesn't get in his way while his fishing doesn't get in her way. He supposes that's why he deals with letting her bring books along when they go to the lake together, even if he gives her a look for it. It'd be unfair if she couldn't do what she likes while he's doing something that he likes. She finds enjoyment this way and that's fine with him. A good compromise. Balanced.

Still, she gave fishing a shot and she actually liked it!

"See? You didn't want to fish, but you did—" Judai simpers. "—and it was fun! Like what you said: don't judge a book by its cover!" But he doesn't read, so... "Or maybe I should've said 'don't judge a fish by its scales' instead?"

In response, she lifts up her book to him once more and thumps her fingers against the cover. "Then one day, you'll learn to not judge this book by its cover and you'll actually look through it for me."

Indulgently, he puts on a thinking face. "Not this specific book, but other books I can look through." He adds a teasing, "Probably," because had they still been in Duel Academia, he probably would've just brushed it aside altogether and complained along the way. They both know this is the closest to a yes that she'll ever get with him about books.

Content, Asuka nods.

Truthfully, he has absolutely no idea where to start with finding a book to go through, but maybe he'll find it eventually if he's out on the road again. He has lots of time for that, after all. He never said anything about it being a promise because promises hit a sour spot for him, but he does know that she'd be sad if he didn't try this and he doesn't want her to be sad. He had enough of Asuka being sad yesterday, and it wasn't a sight he wanted to see again. Actually, he had enough of Asuka being sad ever since the Dark World.

He'll find that book one day, for her. It's not a solid promise, but this is just something he wants to do for her.

The rest of the walk is peaceful, their paces matching. It's a peacefulness that Judai hasn't experienced in a while. It's really nice.

.

.

When they got to the park, the first thing Asuka did was stare him down and made him vow to not 'distract' her again with another attempt at fishing, to which he had to roll his eyes at. He personally wouldn't mind it if she gave it a shot again, but it's not like he'd go around shoving fishing rods at her and demanding her to go fish. Fishing is supposed to be fun and relaxing. Catching fish for the heck of it is supposed to be fun and relaxing.

Fun and relaxing.

...And slow.

He sighs, currently staring at his unmoving hook in the water.

For the past thirty minutes, Judai had to wonder if he was starting to run out of things to actually think about because of how lifeless the lake seems today. Whatever happened to all of the bluegills, perches, and trouts in this lake from the other day? They can't be taking the day off because they're fish. It's too bad he didn't think to get fish bait this time. He caught plenty of fish before Asuka had her shot at fishing—

"What's the matter?" she asks behind him, about eight feet away under some tree's shade. (She probably doesn't want to get splashed again.)

Legs criss-crossed on the grass, he reels back his empty hook before he throws his line back out disappointedly. "Oh, nothing. Just wondering if you really did steal my luck. I haven't gotten a bite in a while." Maybe the fish like her better? Can fish even be biased?

"What would you like me to do about it then?"

Not letting the opportunity slide, he hums, "Fish for me?"

An instantaneous response: "No."

Snickering, he laughs quietly to himself. "Then sit closer. Maybe your good luck waves haven't reached me yet because you're too far." Not looking at her, his hand welcomingly pats an empty spot next to him.

While he lazily observes the water, she mumbles, "I-I like it here! The shade is refreshing."

"Asuka, you gotta bless me with something to give me luck over here!" he whines, rocking back and forth. Maybe he'll just bring bait next time? There should still be some leftover in his bag unless Pharaoh somehow swallowed everything. He'll have to see if there's a store around this neighborhood that sells fishing gear eventually. Maybe he can get a new lure while he's at it. This is his only lure and it's probably wearing out from the years.

After a brief pause, Asuka suggests, "Then how about we talk to pass time? Maybe it'll be faster that way."

His head tilts back in thought. He enjoys occasional light conversation while waiting for bites if he has company with him. He and Johan could talk for several hours while he waited for bites, to be honest.

"Okay," he agrees, but he doubts Asuka would like talking about stuff like how Ruby Carbuncle—despite being a carbuncle creature-thing—could qualify as a housecat way better than Amethyst Cat can ever be, or talking about how hearing 'salmon pink' makes him hungry. Wait, salmon pink? Colors! "What's your favorite color?"

Thoughtfully, Asuka answers, "I used to like red because that's the color of the scarf my mother gave me for my birthday." Her scarf? Oh… He could sort of remember that, but it's a little fuzzy to Judai since that incident never involved him. It was a day where he got to see Asuka duel with someone that's not him, and he paid more attention to that duel than the scarf. "But thanks to our school uniforms, I really like blue."

Nodding, he also answers: "I liked green when I was younger. Don't remember why, though, but it's probably because I thought it was cool." Probably because, as a kid, he sometimes saw photos and read things that featured Yugi-san in it. In some of those pictures, Yugi-san's friend, Jonouchi, stood with him. The Jonouchi in those pictures wore a green jacket, and Judai supposes that it influenced himself to wear his own blazers and jackets unzipped while appreciating green as a color. (Feels comfier if his jackets are unzipped anyway.) "I like red now, also because of school. Doesn't feel right without it."

There's silence afterward.

"It's your turn to ask something," he whispers helpfully, in case she's still thinking.

She sounds unsure, but still asks, "Favorite foods?"

Immediately smiling, he exclaims, "Fried shrimp!" It makes him miss the monthly fried shrimp special. He liked it so much that he sometimes took some of Sho's portions, which he got yelled at for, but it's not his fault! The complaints should go to the one who decided to make it a rule to only serve it once a month! It's like a crime, in his opinion! No, scratch that— It is a crime! "The food at the Osiris dorm was really good in general, so I'd go with any of that too. Oh, and fish!" He's not really that picky so he likes any food as long as it's tasty, honestly. In fact, he always eats everything when he's over at Asuka's place.

"I like most foods as long as I can eat them." Judai nods. So, they have a similar opinion about food? He doesn't recall seeing Asuka eat a lot back in Duel Academia, so he just assumed she ate elsewhere whenever they weren't hanging out together. "Nii-san told me, when I was little, that I should eat more to be healthy. So, I did."

Huh… The oldest time that he can remember seeing Asuka with food is probably when they were scouring for the Golden Egg Bread. There was also that time when Daitokuji-sensei took them out on a small picnic of sorts and she packed a lunch like everyone else, but it's not as memorable to Judai.

"It's your turn," Asuka reminds him.

"Hm?" Stirring back, he replies, "Yeah, I know. I'm just thinking about that time you found the Golden Egg Bread at school. You were there pretty early before Taizan and I even showed up." It shocked the life out of him since she broke his lucky ten-days drawing streak for it. Technically, Taizan broke it first by stealing it, but still. His luck started plummeting again after that. First the Golden Egg Bread and now fishing… Gosh, it's like Asuka drains all the luck from him or something for herself. "You jumped up and down, and you looked really happy. I thought that was your favorite food."

"It is… I-I heard it was really delicious, so I wanted to try it too! I hadn't gotten it again after that time," she admits, sounding sheepish like she's embarrassed, but he doesn't see what's so embarrassing about having a favorite food.

"If I had known, I could've shared with you. I remember I bought out most of Tome-san's supply with Sho because I really wanted it."

"No wonder I could never buy it again for a while..." This makes him raise an eyebrow because hadn't she told him that day that she wasn't interested when he asked her if she wanted the Golden Egg Bread? Pfft. She's like Manjoume when it comes to admitting how she feels. "We're straying from the conversation, though."

"Right, it's my turn," he distractedly says, smiling. "Favorite place?"

"The lighthouse back at Duel Academia. Ryo and I were always there when we had free time."

Just like how Johan is his best friend, Judai wonders if Kaiser is like that with Asuka since he remembered those two used to spend a lot of time together before Kaiser graduated. He knows that Junko and Momoe are her best friends, but maybe Kaiser is her male best friend or something. Judai himself can classify her as his female best friend pretty easily.

He hums. "My favorite place was the school roof or the clear spot near the cliffs."

"Because you liked skipping class?" she quips knowingly, whimsical. It makes him smile broader.

Fairly humored, he corrects her, "Because I like fishing and taking naps. Johan and I sometimes hung out on the roof too." Those two places were always just right to him. Quiet, peaceful, but still close enough to everyone. "I also liked looking at the sky, and cloud watching." He sees ripples in the water and his hook finally twitches. Judai reels it in, letting the perch fish go. Darn, he was hoping for a fish he hadn't caught yet. Apologetically, he tells Asuka, "Sorry. Go ahead."

Oddly, she takes longer to come up with a question this time. He's about to ask if something's wrong— "Am I boring?"

This time, Judai just has to look over his shoulder to carefully scrutinize her face.

Why would she bring that up out of the blue? Her face seems normal enough, but her eyes look like there is something more than that. He still needs to get used to Asuka expressing her insecurities to him, which is still really strange because she always seems so confident that it just didn't seem like insecurity was even a thing for her. She can be unsure about stuff, yeah—but to him, confidence is still a defining trait for her.

It's just him and her, so he wonders why Asuka would even feel insecure here with him anyway? It's not really his style to nitpick and judge others anyway. What's the point of it? Sure, she likes books and he thinks books are sort of boring, but those are his thoughts about books. Not her. Why would he think his own friends are boring? Would they even be friends if she was boring? Would he even visit her at all if she was boring?

If anything, she's different. Not boring. Every person is a little different from each other, right? If everyone was the same, then it'd be like talking to a clone of yourself. People already tell him that he and Johan are like twins, but he thinks one Johan is enough just like how one Judai is enough. That also means one Asuka is enough for him. There could be ten Asukas out there for all he cares, and he'd still be able to distinguish her out of all ten because she's the Asuka that he knows. Because he values their friendship, and not because he thinks she's boring.

So she's a quiet person? Big deal. Sometimes, doing the most mundane and boring things can be most relaxing and enjoyable, like sitting down to read or fish. By the implications of her question, he would also be a boring person for sitting down to quietly fish. He would think 'peaceful' and 'boring' don't really coincide much, despite the first-impression similarities. He finds books boring, but he finds this moment between them peaceful.

'Am I boring?'

Honestly, it's like a trick question or something with the way she worded herself about it.

"No," he answers with truth, looking at the lake again. "Nobody's boring. You're you, Asuka. Not boring." She's being quiet again, so he hopes his words were comforting to her because it's the truth, in his opinion. Softening his expression, Judai tries to lighten the mood: "Am I boring? You gotta answer too since it's a part of the game." Maybe she'd say yes because he thought about it just now—

"You're never boring, Judai."

Clamping his mouth shut, he blinks in surprise.

That sounded sincere. Very sincere. It caught him off-guard for a moment.

He composes himself. "My turn!" he says, trying to be perky while catching another perch. (At this rate, maybe he'll catch nothing but perches today.) Judai fixes his hook and busies himself with his lure. "Favorite Duel Monster?" That should be enough to steer the conversation away from the unknown heaviness of earlier. Throwing his line back out, he mentions, "Mine is still Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, but Winged Kuriboh and Neos are close behind."

Ahem.

Taking a pause, Judai rolls his eyes and sighs dramatically. "And Yubel."

That's more like it. Carry on, Yubel says casually, like they didn't just interrupt him to assert their 24/7 presence.

Psh. He was going to continue anyway regardless, thank you very mu—

Asuka stifles a laugh. Great, now she's laughing at him because of Yubel! She can't even see Yubel, for goodness' sake. "Cyber Tutu for me."

Letting Yubel win this time, he rolls his eyes again before commenting, "I thought it would be Cyber Blader." That's her ace monster, after all.

"You could say I have sentimental attachments to Cyber Tutu." Idly listening, he wiggles his fishing rod a bit to see if he'll catch the attention of another fish. "I love Cyber Blader, but I also don't think a card is your favorite just because it's your strongest."

"Fair point," he concedes politely. Some people try to ridicule his deck of Neo-Spacians, but higher attack points don't necessarily mean better. He sees her point quite well. "Your question?"

"Favori—"

A large shadow snags onto his hook, pulling him forward. "Woah!" Teetering closer to the edge of the lake, he forcibly tries to reel in the catch of the day. "I think your luck finally reached me, Asuka!"

There are footsteps behind him crunching the grass, and he can tell it's Asuka. She extends her hands to help him, but he gives a sudden tug of his rod and bumps his elbow at her on accident. She gives a yelp as she tumbles back, him also falling backwards as he gives a final tug of his rod. He grunts, feeling the solid ground against his back, the grass somewhat cushioning him. Unlike Asuka, at least he didn't crash directly into her like she did to him. That's good because he's not sure if crashing into her would result in her suffering or him suffering like last time.

Although, he has to wonder if the concept of karma really does exist, because it didn't occur to him that he caught the trout.

Not a random trout, but the same one he helped Asuka catch.

The trout.

Judai complains, "Hey! Isn't this the exact same trout you caught last time, Asuka?"

Given that this is a lake within a local park, they probably wouldn't have fish that are monstrously large, so this trout is probably the closest equivalent to being the king of this lake—

Wait.

Asuka's first catch was the king of this lake? King? On her very first try? And she's never even gone fishing before until he convinced her to? Never held onto a fishing rod until he lent her his? He's been fishing for years, but he's never caught the king of anything before on his first shot! Asuka not only caught the king of this lake, but she did that within ten minutes!

Okay, it's official. Asuka's luck is way better than his. She may not think that herself, but he knows the cold, hard truth now!

The trout wriggles on his pants, and he sighs deeply before letting himself plop back on the grass in defeat. First he caught nothing but small perches, and then he finally caught something big only to have the revelation that Asuka is a star pro-fisher in the making. Forget teaching. She should just enter fishing competitions to earn money! He'd watch! "I think I know how you feel now, about the fish landing on you."

Star Pro-Fisher smiles in response, also lying down next to him. "Doesn't feel good, hm?"

Sarcastically, he continues lying on the grass and deadpans while looking up towards the sky: "It's fish-tastic. Trout-tacular."

Asuka laughs. "I'll wash your clothes for you since I won't forget to add detergent." Ouch. "I'll look for some extra clothes for you when we get back."

Feeling like she won't ever let him live it down that he only forgot the detergent due to third-party animal distractions, he rolls his eyes. "Thanks."

Sitting up, Judai warily eyes the trout on him before he takes it by the tail. Securely holding it, he carefully leans over the edge of the lake to let it leap into the water. Miraculously, it doesn't splash him in the face. Maybe the trout just doesn't think he's much of a threat when compared to Asuka's pro-fishing skills? Still, to catch it twice within a week...

"That fish sure likes us," he mutters, watching it swim away underneath some lilypads.

Asuka remarks, "Remember last time we were here? I told you that you'd catch something big. You wanted luck, so it came to you." He pouts. Yeah, he said that, but he didn't ask for the king of the lake to come! Especially the king that she caught! Judai's sore loser streak isn't as bad anymore when compared to his younger self, but to know that Asuka is better than him at one of his favorite hobbies that's completely irrelevant to dueling— "At least it didn't splash your face like it did to me," she consolingly says.

A tad bit grumpy, he keeps sulking. "Yeah, but my clothes are still soaked. Karma must hate us." Or just hate him. Luckily, he came without a blazer or jacket this time since the summer heat is sweltering, but his pants and shirt are not so fortunate. Daitokuji-sensei was right when he said that he needed to go shopping soon, because he compared Judai to a hobo sometimes. This is probably one of those reasons why. (That hobo comment offends him, by the way.) Running his hand through his hair, Judai considers their options. "I guess this means we can head back now. I can't really fish like this."

"All right." Standing up, Asuka brushes the grass off her clothes and goes to fetch her book.

Judai fetches his rod before they start walking.

Reflecting the events of today in his head, it occurs to him: "By the way, what were you going to ask me earlier? I got distracted by the fish."

"I was going to ask about your favorite season," Asuka replies, looking thoughtful.

"Ah." He contemplates.

Let's see… Winter's pretty cool with all the snow, but it sort of limits what he can do outside.

The previous winter breaks he spent at Duel Academia were interesting because something crazy always happened, but when it's actually calmer, Judai often found himself staying indoors while trying to convince Sho or Hayato to do something together. It made him restless. Now that they graduated and all, he doesn't really have a Sho or Hayato to hang out with during winter anymore. It's hard to make do with Yubel and Daitokuji-sensei when they're transparent, so he just keeps wandering or takes an occasional photo of the scenery on his phone. Winter also indicates that public transportation gets delayed, which means he visits everyone the least during that time if something ever happens to the usual ships and trains he takes. Fall is neat, but it's still pretty cold while spring seems okay with infrequent weather changes.

Making his choice, Judai answers brightly: "Summer! I can be lazier during summer." He laughs, grinning and thumping his fishing rod against his shoulder. "I don't have to worry about the lakes freezing up during summer, so I can fish a lot. And I guess it's easier to travel during warmer seasons too."

For her turn, she answers with: "I like winter since it's calmer during winter. Nii-san also used to bring me outside to play in the snow when we were younger." She looks nostalgic and fond. "I enjoy taking winter break off too, and I suppose hot chocolate is also a nice bonus."

He comments lightly while tapping his chin, "Summer and winter… So we're opposites?"

"Mhm."

Man, he sometimes forgets how different they are. He and Johan get along very well because they're alike. He and Asuka also get along, but they are different. It's sort of strange to him now that he thinks about it.

With Johan, Judai can find a deep understanding with him—it makes him feel that there is someone out there who knows what he's struggling with, what he's been through. It helps that Johan can also see duel spirits like him, which reiterates how much spirits mean a lot to the two of them. They share similar beliefs, but in a way, Johan is more firm about his ideals since he never really became lost like Judai did. The two of them experience different things, after all. But despite that, he thinks it's still pretty easy to relate with Johan when they talk, given their laid-back personalities. With Asuka, it sort of changes.

She's perceptive and respectful. When they duel, she's relentless. She's daring and tries to come up with clever counter-attacks if the disadvantage is hers, which really shows itself best in the way she plays Doble Passé. Like her, he also tries to duel quickly by making use of his Neo-Spacians and their special effects, along with any combos and fusions he has. Their way of dueling is probably why it's so much fun to duel each other; he can never forget the first time he dueled her that night at the girls' dorm. She threw him off his guard—surprised him a lot with her strategies—and it colored him impressed. The thrill from not knowing what she'll act on for her turns is what makes it so interesting.

Her personality is also a lot more serious and polite. He's still easygoing when he's with her, and it's pretty fun exchanging witty remarks with Asuka because of how she thinks of stuff to say. (Johan usually just plays along or mercilessly teases him for the heck of it.) Being studious is also something she excels at while Judai's always been pretty lazy, but the two of them have a balance where he can get her to loosen up a little while she can keep him from acting out of line. Opposites, and balanced.

Today's question session left him thinking about how they rarely disclosed stuff like this to each other, and it's actually pretty nice. Since he already established to himself that reading and fishing are both quiet activities, maybe he and Asuka aren't that different after all? He appreciates her as a friend and a rival, but also as a partner. They had been partners before, since that tag duel. And being a tag team is a two-person dance, right? He's learned his lesson by now.

"Day and night," he hums absently. Judai smiles nostalgically, stride languid. "We're like a duo then. I got you and you got me." Because friends always have each other.

"We do," she replies, slowly. "We have everyone."

And that won't ever change, he thinks with conviction.

Absently looking at her, he sees green in her hair and blinks curiously as he lifts up his hand to take the blade of grass from her hair. That must've been from earlier when he bumped into her. Oops. "Yeah. We're lucky people," he replies, distractedly. Teasingly, he waves the grass at her face when she turns to face him. "You have some stuck on you."

She copies him, lifting a blade of grass from his own hair. "So do you."

Blankly, Judai stares at the grass in between her fingers for a moment. First they played Twenty Questions, then he caught her fish, and now he gets grass stuck in his hair? Wow, none of this ever happened to him before. It makes him laugh at the oddity of it as he pats his hair just in case he has more grass stuck on him. (He has to let Yubel know that he's still sane.) "See? We're a duo, after all! Grass duo!"

His cheerfulness must have rubbed off on her because Asuka also laughs with him, patting her hair free of grass too. "We are!"

The rest of the way, they leave behind a trail of grass as they walk back to her apartment. He smiles through the whole trip back.

Yeah, things are interesting with Asuka.

She's not boring.

Someday, he'll be able to make her believe this for real. Someday.