Edit: Midna messed up a bit on the narration, so there's been some minor changes made.
Shadgirl2: I'm back! At long last, I'm back to writing. My other stories will come off hiatus just as soon as I get back to work on them.
Junko's POV
When I woke up in the morning, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was horrifying! Had Asuka totally lost it or something!? She was lying in bed, sound asleep, with Judai right next to her, and she had an arm draped across his chest! What could she have been thinking!? What about her boyfriend, Kyle? There was no way that he would want to hear about this, no matter how patient, forgiving, and understanding he was. This was just wrong!
I gasped, covering my mouth with both hands as I stared wide-eyed at the cheaters. I never knew Asuka was the type! They should both have been ashamed!
"OH, MY GOSH!" I cried.
At my shout, Asuka bolted up and out of bed, rushing over to me with her hands up in surrender. She was white as a sheet, looking guilty. Of course, that made perfect sense. I had just caught her cheating, for heaven's sake!
"Junko, Junko, Junko, it's okay!" she said. "It's not what it looks like!"
In spite of her words, she looked nervous, sweating profusely. This just made it worse! She was trying to deny it all, but I wasn't stupid! I knew what it looked like, and, if that wasn't the case, I wanted to know now.
About then, Judai woke up, as if all the noise was nothing more than an alarm clock for him. In typical Judai fashion, he didn't look like he had a clue. Did he have any morals!? I mean, he was sleeping with another man's girl and didn't seem at all concerned about that!
"Huh? Wha…?"
Okay, he was just as clueless as always, so I turned my attention back to Asuka, who was clearly aware that what she had done was wrong. "Th-then what is it, then!?" I asked. "Does Kyle know about this!?" I gave her a fierce glare, my hands on my hips.
From Asuka's reaction to being caught, the answer was obvious. Kyle knew nothing. As soon as I was done scolding Asuka about loyalty, I planned on telling Kyle. After all, old flame or not, cheating was completely unacceptable.
Asuka's lying response came with a guilty look. "No, of course not! And he doesn't need to know, either! We didn't do anything, alright!?"
Oh, they had done something, and I felt I should point it out. Even if Judai would probably never understand why it was wrong, Asuka would! I glared at her again, pointing at the naive man stupidly sitting in Asuka's bed, and said, "Yes, you did! You slept with him! Oh, if Momoe only knew."
I turned away from them both, my hands folded over my chest and eyes closed in shame. How could my friend have stooped so low? Why, just last year, she would never get in bed with any guy! Any man who ever tried it faced her wrath. So why was she doing this!? Was she really so starved for Judai's love that she'd do anything to get it? That idiot had warped her mind, and he was too stupid to notice!
Judai started to get up, saying, "Junko, that's not—" A cough cut off both his words and his movement.
Oh, so he did know that was wrong. I mean, otherwise, he wouldn't have been feigning illness. When did he get a brain? And, if he knew it was wrong, then why didn't he seem to care!?
A bit calmer now, Asuka started telling me her tall tale. "Look. I only slept with him 'cause he's sick and has no place to go." Glaring slightly, she jabbed a finger into my chest, which made me slightly nervous. I hate when Asuka gets like that! I backed up slightly as Asuka continued, "In case you forgot, Ai moved the barrier so he can't get anywhere sheltered but here!" She moved toward me, jabbing her finger at me again. "And, in case you forgot, Ai's staying here! So, if he were to get his own room, Ai'd be all over him in a second! So I brought him in here to hide, and I slept with him only to keep him warm. There's nothing going on between us, alright? We're still just friends."
Her attitude seemed to say she thought I was an idiot, and she sounded really annoyed. Had I barked up the wrong tree, maybe? I just stood there, stunned into silence. I mean, Asuka seemed sincere, and she was acting as if I'd just insulted her.
"Well?" she snapped.
Well, a closer look showed me what I should have already noticed: They were both dressed. And Judai did look a bit feverish, so maybe that was all it was. Asuka really wasn't the cheating type, after all, and she left the sex hunting up to her brother.
I decided to let it slide. For now, at least.
"Yeah, okay. But you better not do that too often. People may start to wonder if maybe you two aren't up to something dirty, so be more careful, alright?"
Asuka sighed in relief. "Oh, thank you."
There were two ways I could have taken that. The first was that she didn't want to get in trouble with Ai and Kyle for hiding Judai for his own good. The second was that she was a lying, conniving cheat and just didn't want to get caught. But, since she had been so insulted and that wasn't really her style, I decided it was the former. After all, Ai was dangerous, and losing Kyle to save a friend was the last thing Asuka needed. Especially since Kyle was the only guy she had trusted since that jerk had abandoned her so long ago. When Asuka turned to Judai, looking stern with her hands on her hips, it became clear that really was her reason.
"You got that, Judai? We're not sharing a bed anymore, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," he said.
Good. The naive fool realized his mistake. Now Asuka wouldn't have to worry. Kyle and Ai would never find out.
Or so I thought.
Asuka's POV
Oh, was that close! Junko had almost cost me my boyfriend over some silly misunderstanding! And, if that had gotten out, Ai would undoubtedly have heard about it, too, and we'd both be in trouble! And for what? Sleeping with Judai? Taking advantage of him? That was the exact same thing Ai was trying to do and the rest of us were trying to stop! Not to mention I already had a boyfriend, so why the hell would I ever want to do that!? That accusation was insanely low, even if it did look bad. Judai'd hate me for life if I tried that now! How stupid was Junko, anyway?
I had thought I was in the clear, but a knock on the door made all of us tense. The voices we heard on the other side only made it worse.
"Asuka!? Junko!? You girls okay in there!?" Kyle called, sounding worried.
If it was just him, I could have handled it. But it wasn't.
"Asuka!?" Ai called, also sounding worried.
Oh, could Junko have possibly screwed up any worse than this!? I knew Momoe would have been better! She wasn't as light of a sleeper, sure, but she'd never be stupid enough to attract this much attention in a dangerous situation like this!
I sweat, suddenly nervous. How the hell was I going to cover this up!? I cupped a hand around Junko's ear and whispered, "Way to go, loud mouth."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know?" she whispered back.
Clearly I wasn't the only one who was nervous because, right about then, Judai started looking around as though searching for a place to hide. Who could blame him? Ai was out there, for heaven's sake! But he was still sick, and more noise was the last thing we needed, anyway. It would only raise their suspicions more, so I quickly turned to him, holding a hand out to signal him to stop.
"Shh. Don't move," I commanded in an urgent whisper. "I've got this."
Before he could make things worse with more noise, I slipped out the door, opening it just enough to get out as I slid out and shut it behind me. Nothing suspicious about that at all! Just a woman sliding out of her room as though she's hiding something!
Junko was so dead after this.
Junko's POV
Oh, boy, did I ever screw up! I had totally forgotten about Ai and how close she was. That was the one person in the entire world that did not need to know that Asuka had been with Judai that night. What could I have been thinking? The only reason any of us were even there was because of Ai, and I knew how dangerous she was! She had tried to kidnap Asuka the first night we were there! So why had I been so noisy in that hotel room!? Ai was practically right around the corner! I had to cover this up somehow.
I decided to get dressed, hoping that could cover some of the noises. I mean, sure, it wouldn't cover my earlier scream, but it could cover some of the movement sounds, at least. Fortunately I was the only one moving right then—Judai had done just as Asuka said and was staying perfectly still, seemingly hesitating even to breathe. Now, if we could just cover up that scream of mine, we'd be golden!
We were so dead...
Ai's POV
Asuka slammed the door behind her—after slipping out of her room without opening the door much at all—and stood right in front of it, looking surprised and nervous. She hadn't answered us when we had called, either. In fact, she had even taken a little too long to come out, considering that she was still in her night clothes, anyway. How inconsiderate! Both of us were worried sick about her, given all the screaming from Junko, so she could at least have said something! What was she trying to hide, I wondered.
"Ai! Kyle! What's up?" she asked, as if that question were at all sensible.
Kyle just gave her a blank stare for a moment, stunned. Who could blame the poor man? Here he was worried about his friend, and she was acting like everything was fine, even though she was clearly hiding something. "Was that Junko I heard screaming just now?" he asked at last. "Is she okay?"
Asuka smiled and closed her eyes, but there was still a hint of nervousness in her attitude. Besides, according to my research, Asuka hadn't looked like that since she and Judai had their relationship crumble before them. "Oh, yeah, she's fine. Just dreamed she was married to Vice Principal Cronos." She opened her eyes, still grinning like Judai did in the old days, as she added, "I mean, who wouldn't scream if you dreamed about that?"
Kyle closed his eyes and laughed, and I was quite struck by the sound of it. It was such a joyful sound, reminiscent of the laughter I'm told Judai used to let loose, yet more mature. It was a wonderful sound, and probably a lot more common than a genuine laugh from Judai was in those days. He opened his eyes, still smiling, and said, "I see. That is a nightmare." As he calmed down, his smile reflected that as the laughter left his expression. "So that means everything's okay, then?"
Kyle may not have seen the nervousness that was starting to fade from Asuka's face, but I certainly did. I mean, why would someone else's nightmare make her nervous? It didn't make any sense!
"Why do you seem nervous?" I asked, still suspicious of what she was hiding.
Asuka sweat a bit. Not terribly noticeable, but I'm known for picking out little details like that. Her tone still managed to be nothing more than confused when, an eyebrow raised, she said, "Nervous? Why would I be nervous? I'm perfectly fine. And so is Junko. What's there to be nervous about?"
I narrowed my eyes. The beads of sweat on her brow were proof that she was nervous, which meant she was lying. She didn't want us to know about something, and I was seriously starting to wonder what.
Kyle turned to me, showing his confusion as plain as Asuka's fake confusion. The difference, however, is that his was genuine. "Say, are you feeling okay, Ai? She seems fine to me."
I disagreed. She was hiding something, and I was certain of that. However, I decided to let it go...for the moment. "If you say so," I relented after a moment.
Asuka smiled again, all signs of nerves gone now. She must have decided she was in the clear now that I was done asking questions. "Don't worry, Ai. I'm fine."
The conversation might have ended there, with me remaining suspicious but willing to let it drop. However, Junko chose that moment to startle us all by barging out of their room in much the same way as Asuka. The key differences were that she was being more aggressive and was doing nothing to hide her unease. She was dressed, at least, so some of the noises were explained. Like Asuka, she quickly slammed her back against the wall, a weird grin on her sweat-coated face. Asuka stared at her, looking more nervous now than before. I couldn't blame her—Junko was here blowing her whole story by wearing the truth all over. She clenched her teeth at her horrible actress of a friend.
"Hey, guys? How's it going?" Junko asked, then she gave an awkward laugh, sweating even more.
Asuka put a hand to her head, sweating, clearly thinking that her friend was a fool. Not that Kyle noticed Asuka's reactions—he was more interested in Junko, staring at her in wide-eyed confusion and shock. He raised an eyebrow.
I started putting the pieces together. We had heard Junko scream, "Oh, my gosh," then received no answer when we came to check on the two of them. Asuka came out in her night things, looking nervous, without acknowledging us at all. More noise came from behind the door. Asuka mimicked Judai's old look, which she hadn't done since the rift had formed between them. The nervousness faded when Kyle bought her tale, then came back with a vengeance when Junko, much more anxious, had come rushing out. And I hadn't been able to find Judai anywhere the night before. I had told Kyle the truth, and he was close to Asuka. Was it possible Junko had seen a man in Asuka's bed this morning? Kyle probably would have told her what I'd said about Judai.
"Alright, where's Judai?" I asked, my hands on my hips. "I couldn't find him anywhere last night."
Asuka blinked, and her eyes were wider after that. To the untrained eye, she would have looked like Judai when he was younger and confused. To me, she seemed like she had been caught in the act of doing something unseemly. "Judai?" she said, sounding neutral in spite of the sweat on her brow. "Why should I know where he is? What? First you think I'm nervous, then you see Junko recovering from her bad dream and think I'm hiding something? That's mean, Ai. I thought we were friends."
She turned on the guilt there at the end, trying to seem like I had hurt her. But she was still showing signs of unease, and Junko was looking even worse, sweating buckets with a strange look on her face.
"Then why are you both so nervous? Hmm?"
Junko slammed her eyes shut and covered her mouth with both hands, going rigid. She whimpered a bit, sweating still.
Asuka cast a nervous glance at her out of the corner of her eye, sweat pouring down her face as well. Kyle raised an eyebrow, scratching his head in curiosity.
Asuka clenched her fists in front of her, glaring, as she said, "Nervous? I'm not nervous! Why don't you believe me!?"
Gee, I don't know, maybe because she just seemed to get more worked up the longer we talked about this. I mean, she may not have sounded it, but she was clearly as high strung as my mother during final preparations for any ball that Misgarth has ever had.
Even Kyle seemed concerned now. He stopped just staring and actually addressed Asuka, sounding concerned as he asked, "Asuka? Are you sure you're okay? Now you do look to be a bit pale."
Asuka stiffened, looking even worse now. Her tone started to show it, even, when she protested, "I'm not!" Yet she was pinned against the wall, sweating buckets. Her expression, although she was glaring, showed how anxious she was.
That did it! I knew that she was lying to me, and I knew it had to involve Judai because there was no other reason for her to be so worked up when I mentioned him. "What are you hiding!?" I demanded.
Asuka waved her arms through the air, seeming about as freaked out as Sho. "Nothing! There's absolutely nothing going on, I swear!" Her acting, however, was suffering severely. It was becoming apparent that she was lying.
Kyle looked shocked by her reaction. Junko kept trying to pretend she wasn't standing there, whimpering and whining some more.
Looking concerned and worried, Kyle addressed Asuka again. "Come on, my love. What is it?" he asked, reaching a hand out toward her.
She looked around frantically, a sure sign that she was in serious trouble. "I, uh..."
Just then, I heard more noise from inside, although it was muffled quite a bit by Junko and Asuka whining. I heard what sounded like metal or wood moving, then a quiet or distant thump. Kyle seemed not to have heard this noise, though he did reach for the doorknob to check out what was going on in there. It didn't seem as though he was at all suspicious, though—just concerned. Gently, he pushed the girls aside and turned the doorknob.
Asuka and Junko both jumped toward him, eyes wide and hands held out. "No! Don't!" Asuka cried at the same time that Junko said, "I wouldn't if I were you!"
Kyle stopped after only opening the door a crack, turning to the girls in concerned confusion. Tired of this game, I pushed passed him, shoving the door open. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the other two girls cover their eyes.
But there wasn't any reason for it.
Kyle looked even more confused than ever as he peered into the room, followed immediately by the two nervous wrecks. Aside from two messy beds, there wasn't anything about this room that even said it was occupied, let alone any reason to be acting so suspicious.
Kyle stared, stunned into silence. For my part, I was starting to think those two girls were insane and that I had just imagined the sounds I thought I had heard just a few moments ago out in the hall.
"What is wrong with you two?" I asked. "I don't get it!"
Asuka looked instantly calmer—and angry. She put her hands on her hips and said, "See? I told you nothing was wrong!"
Junko had her hands folded over her chest, looking relieved. "R-right. I just had a really weird dream, is all..." She lowered her head and muttered, "Really weird. Geez."
Their behavior still didn't make a lot of sense, but I didn't comment. "Well, okay, then."
Kyle looked around for another second, then raised an eyebrow and headed toward the window. That was when I noticed—it was wide open, no screen or anything.
"Why is this window open?" he asked, turning to the two ladies as he pointed at the window, its red curtains blowing in the breeze.
Asuka kept her cool this time, giving a lame look to Kyle. Junko, on the other hand, looked at her friend with slight concern. Yet another hint that something had been going on here...and proof that I had heard noises from in here a moment ago. "It's a beach. In the summer," Asuka answered. "You tell me."
Junko relaxed again, apparently in agreement.
Kyle looked a little suspicious now, but he quickly covered it up. "If you say so." With that, he headed for the door. He stopped in the doorway, looking over his shoulder with concern once again. "Well, if you girls need anything, you know where to find me, right?"
Junko perked up, all signs of her previous distress now gone. "Okay! Thanks, Kyle!"
He smiled and said, "Later," as he walked out.
Asuka looked angry and insulted. Junko's expression was neutral. I could tell that they were both waiting on me to decide whether they were innocent. Well, far from it. However, I had no proof, so I decided to just take precautionary action.
"Hmm...interesting..." I said to myself. Then I narrowed my eyes and shrugged it off. "Well, whatever. I'm going to go find Judai."
With that, I left. After all, I needed to find Judai, regardless of what I chose to do next.
Asuka's POV
I sweat once more, my nerves shot again. As if the night before hadn't been bad enough! Sure, I had managed to convince Kyle that nothing was wrong, but Ai still seemed suspicious. Why did Junko have to scream like that? I'd almost lost my boyfriend, now we may have been in serious trouble. Ai wasn't someone who was easy to deceive, and she was dangerous! If my suspicions were right, Junko, Kyle, and I had to get out of here quickly. Why was my friend such a bad actress?
Once Ai was out of earshot, I turned to Junko and asked, "Why do I get the feeling she's onto me?"
Junko crossed her arms, glancing at the door out of the corner of her eye. "Knowing her, she probably is."
Great. Junko saw it, too. Staying there was clearly dangerous. Ai was bound to—
My train of thought was interrupted by the screams of a man and a woman down the hallway. Somehow, the voices sounded somewhat familiar.
"YEEK! Natsuko! Do you know what we just did!?"
"Huh!? Was that—"
Junko and I both ran to the doorway and looked out into the hall. Sure enough, Lisa's door was wide open, the screams coming from there. And, from the sound of things, those two were in serious trouble. Especially if my hunch was right.
"Oh, geez!" Natsuko panicked. "We...!"
I sweat, bracing myself for what I was about to find. I knew Natsuko, and casual sex wasn't something to scream about for him. He made a point to have sex with just about every woman he ever met—his friends and their sisters being the noted exceptions. However, there might have been one thing involving a woman that he would consider panic-worthy.
Calmly, albeit awkwardly, I started toward their room. "And that makes two reasons for me to head over to my family's villa now... Hey! Natsuko! Need a hand!?"
Junko's POV
Okay, this morning just kept getting weirder and weirder. First there was that mess with Judai and Asuka, now that hunk Natsuko seemed like he was in a bind. As I watched, he came out of that room with a towel wrapped around his waist, along with his latest flame—lucky girl—who was also wrapped in a towel. Asuka, seemingly disturbed at the naked couple before her, talked to them quietly, and they seemed to agree with whatever she was saying, though they both looked more worried. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but Kyle came running back over after a minute, concerned about them as well. This morning was just too weird for me.
"...Okay?"
No, I really didn't care what was going on. It was way too weird, and I was supposed to be traumatized anyway, so going over there would have ruined everything for sure...assuming, of course, that it wasn't already ruined. Still, better safe than sorry, so I headed back into my room, hoping that Ai would leave me alone if I pretended Asuka had lost her mind if she confronted me again. I mean, she had slept with Judai, even if she was just protecting him.
Ai's POV
I went in search of Judai, plain and simple, thinking that there was a distinct possibility that Asuka was lying to me. My plan was to kidnap him by sneaking up on him and knocking him out. I had disguised myself as a tourist, wearing a floral print dress, sunhat, and sunglasses as I searched for him. Finally I found him, only a few feet away. Acting like I didn't see him, I made my way in his general direction, avoiding making a beeline for him.
Judai's POV
Well, this was a fun way to start a day. Waking up to Junko screaming, then Ai at the door immediately afterward. When it became clear they weren't getting anywhere at convincing her that nothing was going on, I decided to slip out the window as quietly as I could manage—second story or not. Now, after that narrow getaway, Yubel was on guard, covering my blind spots.
Floating backwards beside me, looking around, she suddenly stopped and stared at something, looking suspicious. I caught that out of the corner of my eye as I was walking. "Hey. Heads up. You've got company," she said.
I glanced back slightly, carefully, and caught sight of a woman who looked like a tourist, but you could never be too careful.
Yubel turned to face me, saying, "Don't know who it is, but they're following you. Be on your guard."
Got it, I answered silently.
Yubel vanished then. Knowing her, she probably thought I could handle it now that I was aware of the threat. I usually can, after all, and I didn't figure this time would be any different. I was calm, after all, not distracted by stupid emotions like the day before. I kept walking normally, as if there wasn't anything going on. That woman kept following me, but I just waited. After all, if she didn't strike, I didn't need to worry.
Finally she made her move. She lunged forward, apparently intent on attacking. I dodged with a side-step, then grabbed her arm and pulled off her sunglasses, taking note of the cloth clenched in the hand I held.
"Ai!?"
Of course. Who else would it have been? It wasn't like every woman on that island was stalking me, after all. That cloth was probably drenched in chloroform, knowing her.
"Judai, stop being so stubborn already!" she said, not even bothering to struggle. She knew by this point that I was stronger than her. "You know you aren't getting off this beach until you do as I say!"
"Forget it, Ai," I said, closing my eyes. "I'm not interested." I tossed her aside. "Just give up already. You're not going to win this."
"Oh, are you sure about that? Because I beg to differ. You won't be sleeping with any other girls while I'm around! Heed my words...you will be mine!" Psychotic as always, she stormed off, leaving me standing there to worry about why that was so easy. And what she meant by "sleeping with any other girls."
"...Why do I have a bad feeling about what she's doing now...?"
"Wait. Did she say with any other girls?" Yubel asked. "Now I'm worried. I mean, for your sake, that is."
Ha! Yeah, sure, worried. Maybe a little concerned, but not worried. Yubel's not really that fond of any of my friends, especially Asuka. With the way she'd been treating me lately, Yubel's feelings for her had deteriorated—she used to just be jealous of her since I liked her so much. Now she hated her guts.
I stood there for a moment, thinking about this. Asuka was supposed to hate me, according to the story Ai had heard. And, if Ai had figured out why Asuka and Junko were so nervous, she might do something to get her out of the way...
"Okay, it's no big deal. I just gotta keep acting like Asuka hates me, and sooner or later she'll stop suspecting it, right?"
Overly optimistic, huh? Yubel sure thought so.
"It's Ai, dimwit. You tell me," she said lamely.
She was right. "...Crap..."
I started running back toward the resort to find Asuka, but I saw the Monarchs move as the barrier started shifting again. It started shrinking again, and so did the Monarchs so that they wouldn't crowd each other out.
"Crap, what's she doing now?" I groaned as I kept running.
When the Monarchs stopped this time, reforming the barrier, I looked around, taking in my new limitations. From what I could tell, I was stuck on the beach. I couldn't even get to the resort anymore! Just the beach and enough of the ocean to swim in.
"...Dang it, Ai!"
If this kept going, I was going to run out of room soon.
Yubel sounded seriously frustrated, her tone venomous and barely controlled. "Judai. Please. Let me just—"
"WHAT GOOD'S THAT GONNA DO!?" I bellowed, tired of all of this—Ai, Yubel's insistent desire to attack, being trapped on this damn island!
Winged Kuriboh appeared, kuriing as he tried to calm me down.
I sighed, getting a grip. Yelling at people wasn't going to solve my issue, and it wasn't going to keep Asuka safe from Ai. "Now what do I do?"
"Well, you could still warn the others by calling them," Yubel suggested.
Right. Duh. That was the easiest answer, wasn't it?
Calling Asuka herself was definitely out of the question. If Ai happened to be anywhere nearby, she might find out I was calling Asuka, and that would be a surefire way to get her in serious trouble. So I decided to call the person I trusted most on this island. Seeing as Johan wasn't there anymore and Sho hated her guts, I called Jim. I knew he'd answer and do something about it, after all. Jim was like Ed: loyal to his friends, no matter what they did to him.
Jim's POV
When my phone rang, I knew it had to be something important. After all, my friends were the only ones who had my cell number, and Judai was in trouble at the moment. So, even if I had been in the middle of the ocean getting devoured by sharks, I still would have answered it. As it was, my situation wasn't nearly so dire—I was just wandering around downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, with Johan. Not that I wanted to take a tour of this city, but Johan had insisted on going looking for something, and he said he couldn't go back to the Island of the Maiden without it. What with him being so close to Judai, I decided it was best to stay with him and help him find whatever it was, even if he wasn't willing to say what it was he needed.
So, like it or not, Rei and I were following Johan all around this city, looking for the right store—or stores. Rei kept complaining and demanding to know what was going on. Johan's most frequent answer, though, was, "Trust me, Rei, it's important."
My phone rang just after his third time of saying that. When I pulled it out, sure enough, it was Judai. I answered, saying, "Hey, Judai. What's up, mate?"
Three clothing shops. That's how many we'd been up to that point. And, each time, Johan had entered, looked around, and come back out, claiming it wasn't right.
As you might have noticed, he seemed to be throwing a bit of a wobbly at the moment.
"Jim, Ai's gone off the deep end completely," Judai said, showing that Johan wasn't the only one. "I can't leave the beach. I can't even get to the resort now because Asuka's there!"
"And why does that matter?"
At that moment, Johan saw another store up ahead, pointed, then started running toward it. Rei and I followed, though Rei was clearly annoyed with him.
"It's a long story, but it ends with Asuka helping me out and Ai getting suspicious and catching on," Judai said as I ran. "Point is, Asuka's in trouble, and I can't do anything about it! I can't even get back to the resort to warn her!"
Crikey, that wasn't good. But there wasn't much I could do about it from my end. I reckon Judai had the same idea as me—calling to warn her would just get her in more trouble.
"Sorry, mate, but I can't warn her either. See, I'm in Utah right now."
Johan ran into the fourth store, claiming he would be right back, so we waited outside, with Rei growling.
"What are you doing in Utah?" Judai asked, sounding confused.
"Picking up one of your mates."
I wasn't worried that Judai would think I'd abandoned him or anything. I mean, after graduation, I'd gotten his number from O'Brien and hassled him until he actually answered the phone. We'd talked about what had happened, specifically the duel with Haou, and we'd been in touch with each other ever since. Though, I have to admit, I was surprised to find out he wasn't in touch with most of the others. I'd have thought they would have worked things out before graduation. I suppose I was wrong.
Judai was silent a moment, then asked, "Is it Rei?"
I laughed. "You don't sound too thrilled about that."
"I've already got a stalker! I don't need another one right now!"
Just then Johan—by the way, did I mention he was still wearing that bizarre outfit he'd worn off the island?—came back out, looking glum. Once again, he hadn't found what he was after. And, if he'd been watching where he was going, he might not have bumped into that red-head. Granted, she shouldn't have had so many groceries in her arms that she couldn't see where she was going, but still.
Johan's POV
Well, this was a fine mess I'd gotten myself into! I had hoped I could find a good disguise to wear around the island as a tourist so that I could watch over Judai from the shadows. But I wasn't even sure what kind of look I should go for! I mean, if I was going to be stuck in it for a long time, I wanted to at least find something I'd feel comfortable with, not another mess like what I was wearing! Walking around like a circus freak was embarrassing! But, so far, all I was managing to do was hold up Jim and Rei and anger the girl we needed to help Judai, so maybe I should just tell them to go back without me. After all, Judai was a major mess the last time I'd seen him, and he needed someone there to comfort him. After that "Blame Judai" session, I didn't really trust any of the others to do anything about it. Besides, I could always head back if I ever found what I was looking for.
I guess I was so deep in though that I didn't see the woman until I crashed into her.
"Oops!" I said. "Sorry, miss! Didn't see you there!" I tipped my hat.
This was so embarrassing! Crashing into a girl and nearly knocking her groceries to the ground while wearing sombrero sunglasses, a "Beach Buddy" ball cap, a fluffy scarf... You get the point, I looked ridiculous! She was bound to think I was a nut already! Causing her to drop her groceries on top of all of that would definitely cause me problems.
Then I realized that this girl looked exactly like Ai, aside from her red eyes and slightly less curly red hair. Great. Ai's twin. Just what I needed to crash into!
Huh. Who knew Ai had a twin. Hope they don't act alike.
No doubt about it; somebody was poking fun at me. It wasn't like I needed a stalker to match Judai's, after all! And neither did Jim! What kind of mess had I gotten us all into?
Jim's POV
When Johan apologized for crashing into that woman, Rei smacked herself in the face.
"Was that Johan?" Judai asked. I suppose he must have heard him in the background.
"Well, he came along, too, mate," I answered, thinking that was a perfectly harmless thing to say.
The sheila regained her balance and smiled sweetly, holding her paper bags a bit tighter. She seemed to have Ai's cheery disposition, though I got the feeling she was much sweeter than her lookalike. "No, no! That's so on me. I'm the one who needs to pay more attention!"
Valleyspeak, eh? I didn't think that was common anymore. Good thing she toned it down a bit.
Johan just stared at her, stunned speechless. As well he should have. This was the first person we'd talked to today who hadn't either laughed at him or ignored him because of his outfit. Why he was dressed that way was still a mystery to me, though.
"Okay? And, you guys are...where?" Judai asked.
"Downtown."
Johan's staring made the sheila cock her head curiously.
"If you're picking up Rei, why are you downtown in Utah? Shouldn't you be heading back? Or is the plane leaving later?"
Why did it sound like Judai was starting to wonder? "Well...Johan had something he wanted to find," I said, wondering what had happened between Judai and one of the others to lead to this new-found suspicion.
Johan blinked, then glanced over his shoulder and nodded, looking focused again. The sheila's expression lit up, and she looked a bit too excited. She seemed to be looking at Johan, but...not directly.
Rei rolled her eyes and started tapping her foot.
"Wait, I thought Johan couldn't come back here. Why does that stop you from coming back?" Judai asked to my surprise.
Johan couldn't go back? What had I missed?
"No, really," Johan said to his new friend. "I should have—" He cut himself off, noticing the way the sheila was staring at his shoulder. Her bags were even starting to slip from her grip.
Johan raised an eyebrow, somewhat nervous. I couldn't blame him for that one. After all, that was the look of a stalker he was getting. "What are you doing?"
That was when the sheila started throwing a serious wobbly. She got right up in Johan's face, talking excitedly to him as though he were some sort of movie star. At first, Johan backed up, but then he realized she was talking about Ruby Carbuncle, and he joined her.
Right, I forgot he could see spirits. Clearly, so could she.
Rei turned away, clenching her teeth with impatience. The sound of a car horn, caused by impatience at rush hour traffic, no doubt, echoed in the background.
All was quiet on the other end of the line for a moment before Judai asked, "Where are you again?"
Alright, he was definitely acting as if he didn't trust me. That was a new one for me—I'd thought we'd worked that out during our lengthy conversation six years ago. We had already talked about the event that had left him feeling alone, and he knew full well that I wasn't angry at him. He shouldn't have been directing his abandonment issues at me! What had happened?
"Look, don't worry, mate. We're coming back."
In the background, Johan wasn't helping my case as he and that sheila of his both talked and laughed about their duel spirit partners.
"Yeah, sure," Judai said sarcastically. There was a hint of betrayal in his tone, which made me think I should just leave Johan there and head back right then.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Johan whisper something to the sheila—after saying, "Oh! I totally forgot! I need to—"
So he was spilling his secrets to a complete stranger, but wouldn't ask me for my help? Was I that untrustworthy, according to these blokes? Judai didn't think I was coming back, and Johan would sooner trust a stranger than me.
Ah, well. Nothing I could do about Johan. Judai was my more immediate concern—he was the one with real trust issues, after all. "I'm serious!" I said.
"I should go. You're clearly useless," Judai said. Without giving me a chance to respond, he hung up.
The sheila cocked her head again as Johan finished whatever he'd been saying. Then she shouted, "Oh, that's an easy one! Try this." Then she whispered something back to him as I, irritated and concerned, slipped my phone back into my pocket.
"Was that Judai?" Rei asked. "What's going on?"
"I think we should hurry up and get back there," I said. After all, Judai couldn't deny that I was trying to help and that I cared if I actually did come back. That man's trust was too easy to lose ever since that incident...
"Right. So what do we do about this guy, then?" Rei asked, nodding toward Johan with a glare.
Admittedly, I couldn't help but wonder the same thing. After all, he said he wanted to go back, but there was something he needed before he could, and now he was just standing there talking to this sheila and wasting more time when Judai was clearly suffering from more than just Ai issues. And what did Judai mean, Johan couldn't come back? Why was it that being with Johan meant I probably wasn't going to come back to the island?
Johan nodded, saying, "Great idea! That could—"
"Johan, I hate to interrupt," I said, "but I think Judai's running out of patience." As I continued, Johan and his new best mate turned to me curiously. "So either you hurry up and figure out what you need, or we're leaving without you."
Of course, I used the word "patience" for want of a better word. Judai was running out of many things—trust, for one thing—and I didn't want to join the ranks of those who had caused him to have more problems than a '71 Pinto.
Johan rubbed the back of his head a bit, then pulled out a pen and some paper. The sheila blinked, looking slightly confused.
"Uh, listen, Kathy," Johan said, "I've gotta go. But call me sometime, okay?" He quickly jotted down what I assumed was his phone number and handed it over.
Rei started growling even more fiercely. She was making Karen look like a kitten right then. "Hurry it up already! Judai-sama needs me!"
Kathy, as he had called her, took the paper. "Okay! Well, you better get going, then! See ya! And good luck getting that disguise!"
With one hand, she waved goodbye, then walked off while Rei and I just gaped at Johan. What in the world did he need a blary disguise for!? Was this related to why he couldn't go back to the island? What kind of mess had he gotten himself into this time?
Johan sweat at our reactions. "Thanks, Kathy. For saying it out loud," he muttered sarcastically.
Right, because I don't need to know that one of my mates is trying to find himself a disguise for some reason.
Rei was too stunned for words, but I certainly wasn't! "Alright, mate, what's going on?" I asked.
Johan turned to us, rubbing his head. "Well, uh, you see..."
As he awkwardly explained his story about attacking Ai, Rei's jaw dropped in shock. So did mine, for that matter. What had possessed him to do something like that? We had enough problems without him getting himself on Misgarth's most wanted list!