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Judai's POV

Sho and I went to the Tenjoins' private beach and built a sand castle. Yeah, I know, that's kid stuff. Except Sho was going on about how it was going to be the greatest sand castle in the history of the world. What we built wound up looking like something that would win a sand castle contest, with five realistic towers, sturdy walls, a flag, and windows.

Incidentally, Sho might not have packed anything, but the Kaiser had his little brother covered. He must have brought stuff for Sho because Sho had actually been wearing more beach-worthy clothes lately.

"Who says sand castles are only for kids?" Sho asked. "Ours has a working drawbridge, a moat full of water, and even a dungeon! I'd like to see some little kid do this. Right, Aniki?"

He was grinning at me, playing with the string that controlled the seashell drawbridge. But I wasn't paying a lot of attention—I was still thinking of Asuka and her boyfriend Kyle.

"Yeah," I said.

"So, what do you think? Should we get some fish to serve as guard monsters to help protect our castle?"

Fish? Guard monsters?

"…Are we sticking them in the moat?" I asked, looking at him.

"Uh-huh! That's where guard monsters go, silly!" Sho said, then he laughed.

Well, at least one of us was having fun. I wasn't about to bring him down, so I said, "I dunno. Whatever you think."

"Aniki? You okay? You're not hungry again, are you?" Sho asked, looking at me with concern.

Whoops. Guess I wasn't doing so great at hiding my distraction.

"No," I said. "No, I'm fine."

If anything, Sho looked more concerned. Dang it, why was I having so much trouble hiding my thoughts!? Normally keeping things secret from these guys was easy! They were normally too dense to notice anything was wrong!

Fubuki came walking over, a surfboard under his arm. "Uh, has anyone seen Natsuko? We were supposed to meet up at the public beach and go surfing, but I can't find him anywhere." He looked around, a hand shielding his eyes.

Thanks for the distraction, Fubuki. Sho stopped looking at me and turned to him, saying, "Sorry, Fubuki. Haven't seen him."

Fubuki parked his surfboard in the sand and crossed his arms. "Huh. That's odd. Wonder where he went." He perked up and said, "Oh, by the way, I saw Kyle today! He was helping out down at the resort. Apparently something big happened over there last night that's got folks round here in a panic. Wonder what that was."

Great, so Kyle was just helping every person he met? Who did he think he was, me? Only…better.

"It was probably Ai," Sho said. "Asuka was a bit too close to her last night. But don't worry! Kyle took care of her! He came along to make sure she was safe, so there's no way Ai's gonna get her way! You know how Kyle is."

When he mentioned Kyle, Sho sounded confident and…similar to how I'd once heard he talked about me. What was this guy? My replacement?

Fubuki laughed and said, "Too true! Sissy couldn't be any safer with him on guard if she tried!"

So she was safer with Kyle around than she was with me?

I didn't want to hear another word about Kyle, so I decided to change the subject. "Hey, is that Natsuko over there?" I asked. I didn't really see him—I just didn't want to hear any more about the perfect guy who seemed to have taken my place.

It worked. Fubuki looked around, excited. "Really!? Where!?"

"He just went inside."

"Great! Thanks a lot! Natsuko! You better be getting ready in there! The waves aren't gonna surf themselves, you know!" He picked up his board and ran back to the villa, chasing phantoms.

At least the Kyle conversation was over.

"Aniki?" Sho asked. "What was that about? Natsuko's not in there, or I would have seen him."

"Yeah, well, maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me. Are we gonna get guards for our castle or not?" I asked, getting up and heading for the water.

After a second, I heard Sho say, "Yeah, okay."

He followed me, and I ignored the concerned look in his eyes. There wasn't anything to worry about, anyway. It wasn't like I had been replaced by some stupid guy from Europe.

We caught a few small fish for our moat, putting them in a bucket of water we'd brought along. When we headed back for our castle, we saw Johan talking to Asuka on the beach.

"Really!? That's great news!" Johan was saying, excited, as we walked over. "Nice work, Asuka! I can't wait to tell him!"

"Tell me what, Johan?" I asked. I mean, it was probably me he was talking about, given what the both of them were on this island for.

Johan and Asuka both turned to us.

"That Asuka here's found out what we need to do to take down that barrier!" Johan answered. "Well, what you need to do, that is."

Great! Then I could get out of here and never hear about Kyle again.

"Really? And what's that?" I asked.

Asuka answered, "Well, as awkward as this might sound, she said you'd have to get a girlfriend."

…What?

"Don't ask me why, though. I'm not even gonna try to understand how her head works." She closed her eyes and shrugged, shaking her head.

A girlfriend? I needed a girlfriend?

"A girlfriend?" Sho asked. "But that's easy!"

Yeah, sure it was.

"There are plenty of single girls around here."

So?

"And, with Aniki being so attractive, it's only a matter of time before one of them makes a move."

Again, so?

"Are you sure that's it?"

Sho made it sound so easy. Asuka made it sound so easy. Even Johan made it sound so easy. All three of them were pretty excited, as though this solved all of my problems. Damn, Johan, did you forget something!? Or did you not know about Asuka's boyfriend, either!? How the hell was this going to be easy when I wasn't interested in getting my heart broken again so soon!?

Besides, I'd been here for two weeks. Girls had already been flirting with me. But none of them could compare to Asuka. None of these beach-goer were even close to her level.

Asuka shrugged. "That's what she said, at least."

"Well, it's better than nothing," Johan said. "So why don't we head over to the beach, and you can—"

"Enough!" I cut him off, not interested in that idea. "That's not gonna happen, Johan."

"Huh? But why?" Sho asked.

Why? Why? Well, one of these guys should have known why! I'd told him why!

Johan kept up the ignorant act when he said, "Yeah, I mean, it's not like you're a bad guy or anything, so why—"

"Judai?" Asuka cut him off, moving forward. "Are you okay?"

I had all three of them looking concerned and confused now. But I didn't care. I wasn't interested in dating anybody right then. Besides, it wouldn't have been fair to use some poor girl to get me off that island.

"I'm perfectly fine. I'm just not in the market for a girlfriend right now."

Seeing as I didn't want to talk about this anymore, I turned and walked off.

"Aniki! Wait!" Sho called, running after me.

Couldn't he just leave me alone?

Asuka's POV

"Wow," Johan said as we watched Judai walk away. "What was that all about?"

Johan may not have known, but I had a guess. Probably our runaway hero didn't want to endanger another innocent by risking getting her in trouble with Ai. Either that, or he didn't want anything distracting him while Ai might still be after his friends.

Somebody had to do something about him, though, or he'd be stuck here until Ai finally got him.

"…I'll talk to him," I said, going after him.

Judai's POV

I managed to convince Sho to leave me alone when I refused to answer any of his questions. In the end, I found myself sitting alone on the Tenjoins' beach, just staring out at the ocean and thinking about it.

I had to get a girlfriend to get off this island? Well, maybe someday. It would have been a whole lot easier, if not for that stupid Kyle. I could have just told Asuka how I felt and tried starting something with her. But, with Kyle in the way… Well, I didn't really feel like going looking for a girlfriend right then. That blow was a little too fresh. Maybe, once I'd had a chance to get over it, I'd give it a shot. But that wouldn't be happening that very day.

I heard soft footsteps behind me, then Asuka's voice said, "Judai? Can we talk?" She sounded gentle.

"Huh?" I looked over my shoulder, seeing her concerned expression. How could I say no to that look? "Oh, yeah. Sure."

She walked over and sat down beside me, like she'd always done back at Duel Academy if she found me upset. Talk about nostalgia. "Something on your mind? You kinda blew up back there. Is it because of what I said?"

Well, yeah, it was because of what she said! What else would it be?

"Hm?" I asked, playing dumb. I was staring out across the water again.

We sat in silence for a moment, with Asuka staring at me. Finally, she said, "This is about last night, isn't it?"

Yeah, it was. Specifically what I'd learned last night.

"Last night?" I asked, as though nothing was wrong. I mean, I couldn't tell her that she was the reason I wasn't interested in finding a girlfriend right now. That wasn't fair to her.

"You know. That thing at the hospital, with Kyle and Junko…"

Crap. Did she already know?

"Yeah, what about it?"

"You're worried, aren't you?"

Worried? So she didn't know? Well, I guess that was a good thing.

"Worried about what?" I asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, Judai."

Why not? It was real easy, given that she wasn't even on the right track.

"I know how you feel about Ai. You're worried that she's gonna do something terrible to me, am I wrong?"

Okay, so she wasn't totally wrong. She was just wrong about what had me saying no to a girlfriend.

After a moment, I admitted, "Yeah." Hey, better than telling her what was really bugging me.

"You don't have to worry," Asuka said. "I'm fine."

Was this where Kyle was going to come up again?

"Like I said, that's why I brought backup; and Ai's backed off, anyway, after our little chat, so I think I'm good, okay?" she said, trying to reassure me. She was grinning at me, like I was some sort of cute little kid.

Well, he didn't come up by name, but he came up again! Seriously, was that guy everywhere? And the girl I liked was looking at me like I was a toddler! Talk about infuriating!

"Yeah, okay," I said. Hey, I'm good at hiding my emotions.

"Good. Then let's stop worrying about that and see about getting you out of this mess, okay?"

Couldn't I do that on my own time? I didn't need my high school flame trying to help me find a girlfriend!

When I didn't answer, Asuka put a hand to her chin, looking thoughtful. "So? You need to find yourself a girlfriend. What kind of women are you into, or do you need the definition of the word first?" she asked, giving me a look of either genuine curiosity or concern.

Seriously? Like hell I'd tell her what kind of women I liked!

"…I know what it means…" I said instead.

"Really?" she asked, clearly surprised. "You do? Well, who taught you that, 'cause, last time I checked—"

Last time she checked? Last time she checked!? When had she ever bothered to check in the first place!?

"Yeah, well, you never did a very thorough check!" I snapped, finally looking at her.

I know it wasn't fair to snap at her. It wasn't her fault I never said anything. It wasn't her fault Ai had forced me into this position. But I wasn't in the mood for this right then. Especially not from a girl I had actually liked.

She glared at me, which made sense, given my attitude. "Sorry, but what was I supposed to think? You didn't understand the word 'fiancé,' and any duels we had on the subject, you—"

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I say that to her!?

"Look, I can't have this conversation with you right now," I cut her off, my tone neutral again as I turned away. "I'm worried I'll say something I'll regret later, so let's just drop it, okay?"

I mean, at the rate this conversation was going, I'd probably get her hating me if we kept talking.

Fortunately that must have worked. She sounded concerned again when she said, "Judai…"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a look I'd seen more than once after Dark World—she was worried about me again. Why did I always do this? Why did I always make people worry about me?

I figured it was time to change the subject to something safer. Something that wouldn't make her worry about me. "So, what have you been up to these past years?" I asked, trying to perk up a bit. I even looked at her, so I really was trying.

"Not much," Asuka said, her tone telling me it was too late to salvage this. Man, I'm an idiot. "Staying out of trouble for one thing. Speaking of, don't you think this stuff's getting a little old? Maybe it's time you settle down, like the rest of us."

Now she was the one with an attitude. Oh, yeah, I'd made her mad! Why was I such an idiot!? Why did I always do stuff to make them mad at me!?

Either way, I knew what she meant. Everybody else had settled down, getting all the weirdness out of their lives. Nobody but me had anything to do with, say, time-traveling duelists on motorcycles with duel disks attached.

But somebody had to help these people, and who better than the guy with supernatural powers and inhuman strength? Besides, after what I'd done in Dark World, it was only right that I use my powers to help people instead of hurting them.

I shrugged.

"Really, Judai? Aren't you tired of always having to save the day yet? We all are."

Her tone kept switching from annoyance to concern. I couldn't tell if she cared or if I was just a nuisance. Seriously, she couldn't seem to make up her mind! At that moment, she sounded concerned, but who was I to say?

"Yeah, well, I'm not you guys," I answered.

It seemed like a safe answer. But I must have been wrong.

Asuka glared at me again. "I can see that. Why do you think we're here?" She pointed at herself, saying, "I wasn't planning on taking a vacation at this time of the year. And this island belongs to my family, so the others wouldn't even be here if—"

So it was my fault again. Like everything ever was. I was messing up her life, and everyone else's at the same time. What else was new?

"Excuse me for living!" I snapped. "You didn't have to come, you know! You could have stayed at home with your work and Kyle! Fubuki's the one who thought he should call you guys! And you can leave any time, too!"

"Hey, what's Kyle got to do with this!? You don't even know him! And, besides, it's not our fault you love walking into people's traps like this! Or did you forget what you did twice in Dark World!?"

Damn it, did she have to bring that up? As if I didn't feel guilty enough about it already! I cringed, that one comment feeling like a fierce blow.

She pointed an accusing finger in my face as she added, "Not to mention that thing with Darkness and Domino City, then there was Saiou in Domino City, and the abandoned dorm in first year, and the—" With each thing she mentioned, she flicked her finger at me, emphasizing her points.

Who told her about those first two? I was gonna hit him.

"I wouldn't have gotten in trouble in the abandoned dorm if that creep hadn't kidnapped you," I pointed out. I mean, it wasn't fair to blame me for a trap where she'd been used as bait. That is, unless she'd rather I hadn't helped her. "And, if I didn't stop Darkness, who would? You guys were focusing on getting your lives in order, and I already figured I had no future, anyway."

That wasn't an attack on them. It was true. We were months away from graduation. They had better things to do. I'd never paid much attention in school, anyway, so it wasn't a big deal. Besides, after that incident with Yubel, I'd decided to help people to try and make up for the harm I'd done in my life.

"But, you know, she has a point," Yubel said, "Your memories even show you getting kidnapped by a sailor after you stupidly decided to—"

Did she have to mention that one? That was a ridiculous adventure I didn't want to think about!

Oh, shut up, I told her. To Asuka, I said, "Fine, maybe I should stop. Okay?"

Asuka waved her hands, confused, as she said, "Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean you had no future?"

Whoops. Wrong words.

"You're one of the best duelists I know! Surely someone could have—" She cut herself off, looking at me with concern again. Aw, great, would I ever stop worrying her? "What's wrong, Judai?" she asked after a second. "Why'd you leave Duel Academy like that? You wanted to be the next King of Games, remember? What happened?"

What happened? That was a good question. With a complicated answer.

Yubel had shown up. She'd hurt my friends while trying to get to me. She'd taken Johan. And then, trying to save him, I'd caused my own friends to get hurt, even hurting a couple of them with my own hands! On top of all of that, I'd hurt hundreds of innocent people as Haou!

I'd gotten a dose of reality. I realized that there were people out there that needed help, and I'd decided to help them, maybe in a vain attempt to repay my debt to society. Besides, if I didn't do it, who would? It wasn't like there was anybody in the world who would want me to stick around, anyway. I mean, aside from Sho, but he traveled all the time, anyway, for his duels. Besides, at the time, I didn't know he still cared.

The point was, me running around helping people didn't hurt anybody because there was nobody who wanted me around badly enough to be bothered by it.

But I couldn't find the words to explain it to her. I wasn't even totally sure what had happened myself. I wasn't sure if it was guilt that had me being a traveling hero, or if that was really what I wanted to do. I mean, I did enroll in Duel Academy so I could become a duelist. But, now, I wasn't doing anything with that education. And, to think, I'd once told Hayato not to give up on his dreams.

That was a depressing thought. Even worse, I wasn't sure if I'd given up my dreams, or if my dreams had changed.

I just gave Asuka a tired shrug, staring out at the ocean again.

"Judai…" Asuka said, her tone sympathetic.

"Ah-hah! There you are, Aniki!" Kenzan called, running over.

Well, time to perk up, Judai. It was bad enough you were bringing Asuka down.

I turned, doing my best to hide my emotions from Kenzan. "Hey, Kenzan!" I said. "What's up?"

"I just talked to Johan! And I think I know the perfect girl for the job!" he said, looking excited. "Come on! I'll introduce you to her!"

Ah. It was about that stupid idea.

"…Oh."

Kenzan must not have noticed my look. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet. "Come on! You'll love her! Trust me!" he said, dragging me off.

"Kenzan!" I protested.

Asuka's POV

"Wait til you meet her," Kenzan said as he dragged Judai away. "She's so…"

That was the last I could hear of that conversation.

"…Okay…"

That was…stunning. Kenzan was acting a bit odd.

But…I didn't think this was going to work out, given how Judai was acting. His heart wasn't in this, for some reason. What did he mean, he didn't have a future? Had I missed something back in school?

I wished there was something I could have done to help Judai, but he'd turned into a completely different person after Dark World. I didn't know who he was anymore, so how was I to know how to help him?

I gave up on worrying about that, leaving Judai in Kenzan's hands as I headed back toward the public beach by the resort.