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Judai's POV

Rei could be persuasive when she wanted to be, really. After the mess with Ai, she said we should go do something fun to get my mind off Ai's attack. Her words, not mine. She invited the others, but Manjoume, Jim, Kenzan, Natsuko, and Kyle were all wanting to keep Fubuki out of trouble and help with the building. In fact, Natsuko seemed desperate to keep Fubuki out of trouble. I guess it wasn't surprising, considering how badly he'd been hurt the day before. Probably wanted to make sure nobody else got hurt worse.

As for the rest of the crew, Akiko was still at the villa with that cold Sho had given her, and Fuyuko was, apparently, spending most of his time entertaining Haruko the love-struck tourist. So, once again, it was just Rei and me, even though she wasn't doing it on purpose. It was almost like everyone else was doing it on purpose, but I couldn't really blame them. I mean, they all knew I needed a girlfriend if I was going to get off this island without Ai for a wife, so of course they'd leave me alone with a girl.

Rei started to say something about swimming, but I saw somebody familiar heading toward the cliffs, so I went, too. I mean, he didn't look too good, so I was worried. Rei followed me, and, sure enough, it was Sho. He was sitting there on the edge of the cliff, staring at something in his hands and looking upset, his head down. As we approached, he glanced up, looking lifeless in his despair, then stared back down. I sat down beside him, wondering what was up, and Rei sat on my right. Glum, Sho told us his story.

Rei's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with a gasp after Sho mentioned his weird condition.

"The doctor said that this was the strongest stuff on the market," Sho finished, still staring at the bottle of medicine in his hands. "Was I really that bad?" He looked up at me, questioning and still down in the dumps.

So my best friend was a werewolf, and he was deadly if angered on a full moon. Violence would ensue if you made him angrier. This condition was serious enough to have put him in the hospital before! Geez, suddenly, I was glad he was my friend and not my enemy. How did I never know about this condition before? We were roommates for over two years!

And, of course, the last time he'd had an attack was when he was going after Ai, the demented princess of Misgarth. That was definitely not a good time for a mental issue.

Still, I couldn't lie to him. He needed to know the truth. "Yes," I answered without hesitation.

Rei stared at Sho, leaning past me. Her eyes were filled with amazement. "I still can't believe you did that. Sho, in all my years, I've never even heard of someone doing anything like that. What was wrong with you?"

He just told us, Rei. Maybe it hadn't sunk in yet—I had to admit, it was a bizarre tale fitting of a Duel Academy graduate. At least, for one from my class.

Sho shrugged and closed his eyes. "I was mad. And it was a full moon..." He lowered his head so it was practically leaning against the medicine bottle as he continued, "When am I gonna learn to stay in bed when a full moon's looming overhead?"

He looked ashamed in addition to his glum expression, and his tone was self-condemning, too. I couldn't blame him for being upset about this. I mean, it was pretty bad. I felt the need to try to cheer him up somehow, even if it was just by pointing out that it wasn't always that bad.

"I don't remember you ever being like that at Duel Academy," I said. "Never knew you were a werewolf..."

Sho raised his head a tiny bit, but his eyes were still closed. "That's because I never got that mad before. But, with Ai threatening you like that, well..." He cracked his eyes open a bit and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Alright," I said. "Note to self: Don't get in trouble around you during a full moon."

Rei turned her concern from Sho over to me, reaching for my neck gently as she said, "Speaking of, Judai, how's that neck of yours doing, anyway? Is it feeling any better now?"

Kenzan had changed the bandage before Rei and I had left, apologizing for missing me yesterday. He said he had run out of bandages because of all the workers that were injured. I decided I probably should keep away from Fubuki whenever anything involving hammers, cement, or any kind of tool was going on. Hell, Captain Perfect had brought seven first aid kits in a wheelbarrow that morning! Sad fact: I didn't think that was overkill. Fubuki was just that bad.

Either way, I was pretty resilient ever since fusing with Yubel, and I healed quickly. I was feeling fine. There wasn't any reason for Rei to worry about me.

"Yeah, it's fine," I answered.

Sho looked down again, and his nose was officially pressed against the bottle. "Sorry about that, Aniki. I didn't mean to. Honest."

He was still looking down, and he sounded about as ashamed as Manjoume had after everybody accused him of adding Asuka to the Society of Light—or, worse, as bad as I felt after turning into Haou. But it wasn't his fault he was sick! That was why he needed the meds. I had to find some way to convince Sho that this wasn't his fault. Why did he always hate himself?

"It's not your fault, Sho," I said, giving him a reassuring smile he couldn't see since he was still staring down. "Don't worry about it. Besides, like I said, I'm fine."

Rei's POV

Poor Sho. He sure had an issue with this whole "turning savage on a full moon" stuff. He just kept staring at that tiny bottle of his, looking worse than Judai-sama had after that trip to Dark World. I couldn't help but feel for him, but maybe his misery was a good thing, in a way! After all, he clearly needed to get his mind off this stuff, and I had the perfect idea in mind on how he could do that! It was a good thing I'd wanted to go swimming that morning. Otherwise I wouldn't have had that life jacket shoved in my travel bag that I'd lugged all the way up that cliff!

Reaching into said bag, I grinned a bit mischievously at Sho and Judai, preparing to implement my plan. "Say, who wants to go swimming?" I asked, pulling out the life jacket. I leaned around my darling toward Sho, both hands held high over my head. "I vote Sho first," I added, slamming the thing over Sho's head before he could even blink.

Judai-sama leaned away, startled. His eyes widened a bit at my unexpected action. Sho threw his hands up above his head, sending the medicine bottle into the air as his eyes widened in complete shock. Oops. Forgot about that. Oh, well. At least my darling was there to catch it (which he did, still looking stunned, as I shoved Sho into the water).

"In ya go!" I said cheerfully, pushing Sho over the edge of the cliff to slide into the water. The way the cliff face looked, it was like a steep water slide, so Sho slid down it on his back. Hey, I wasn't going to knock a guy into a long fall without some signs that it was safe! Besides...

"Hey! Whoa!" Sho cried as he slid down.

It was kind of comical, really. He drew out his cry, arms above his head the whole way down, and stared at the oncoming water with mouth and eyes both wide open. Not exactly smart to approach a huge body of water with an open mouth, Sho. This was just so cute to watch!

My darling's reaction was almost as adorable as Sho's. Bottle still in hand, he leaned over and watched Sho slide down, a surprised look on his face. Classic. I grinned to myself, giggling slightly and closed my amused eyes as Sho hit the water. Somehow he had managed to turn himself upside down, though, right after falling off the bottom of the cliff. This kind of made him drop the life jacket that wasn't actually strapped onto him or being held by him, like I thought he would. Because of this, he went under the waves for a moment, and the life jacket flew away from him, making me worry. Sho hadn't learned to swim, had he?

Judai-sama must have been worried about that, as well. His eyes widened, and he half rose from his spot on the cliff, as if he were going to jump in after Sho. "Sho!?"

Fortunately for us both—me for being dumb enough to push a non-swimming spaz off a cliff in the first place—Sho resurfaced on his own, spat out some water, and glared up at me in anger. He yelled up at the top of his lungs, "VERY FUNNY!" Grabbing the life jacket from nearby, he waved it at me and added, "I CAN SWIM NOW, YOU KNOW!"

Well, no, I hadn't. Not until that very moment. Still, good to know that he was safe. And his mind was off his troubles! Perfect! Sho's mood had changed, he was down there and out of the way, and I had Judai-sama to myself until Sho found his way back!

Happy my evil plan had worked out after all, I grinned teasingly down at Sho, cupping my hands over my mouth so he'd be able to hear me better. "Oops! My bad!"

I giggled. This was great! Sho was way down there, my darling and I were alone up on the cliff, and it would take awhile for Sho to find his way back! Everything was working out perfectly until my darling gave me a similar look to what I had just given Sho.

He grinned mischievously, a glint in his eye that implied playful payback was on the way. Oh, no. Was he going to...?

My chain of thought was abruptly cut off by his next action.

"Okay," he said, moving to sit behind me. "Now it's your turn!" I felt his hands press into my back as, still grinning, he shoved me over the cliff down the same route Sho had just taken.

Startled by the sudden "attack," I cupped my hands to my hands to my chin, pulling my legs up into a fetal position, braced for impact. My eyes were probably as wide as Sho's had been. Even worse, my reaction was about the same.

As Judai-sama pushed me, I cried, "Hey! Wh-whoa!"

Ooh, that guy! I'll get you for that, Judai-sama!

Sho wasn't too far from me when we were sitting up there, so, when I made impact with the water, I landed half on Sho, too, and we both went under! Naturally, this meant that Sho...flung that life jacket again.

Quickly, Sho and I untangled from each other and swam back up to the surface. No doubt about it—Judai-sama was going to pay for that! We both emerged, taking a big gasp of air. Then Sho glared up at Judai now, waving a fist in the air and looking just as annoyed as when I pushed him in.

"HEY! JUST 'CAUSE I CAN SWIM DOESN'T MEAN I NEED DIVING LESSONS! WATCH IT!"

Judai-sama's response was to grin playfully, with his silly little eyes closed. "Sorry!" he called.

Ooh, that guy! I could tell he was lying! He did that on purpose, and he knew it, too! I was so gonna get him for that!

With Sho pouting in annoyance beside me, I grinned back up at that dirty trickster, cupping my hands to my mouth so he could hear me. "Okay! Now why don't you come down here, also!? You knocked us down here!"

Still grinning, Judai-sama cupped a hand around his mouth and called down, "What do you mean I knocked you both down there!? You knocked Sho down!"

Ooh, he thinks he so smart! Well, I was going to get him down there somehow after that one! Fortunately for me, at that same moment, that weirdo Natsuko I'd met at the Tenjoins' villa came strolling our way, carrying some broken pieces of timber shoved up under his arm. Why had he brought that all the way up to that cliff? Was he planning to chuck it in the ocean? Wasn't that littering?

Regardless of what that oddball was up to, his timing was absolutely perfect! A goof like that would be glad to help me get my revenge! I'd just need to get him to go over to Judai-sama, and...

I cupped my hands again, grinning mischievously. This earned me a confused look from the annoyed Sho. I called out, loud and playful, "HEY, NATSUKO! Judai-sama really wants us all to go swimming right now, but he's too shy! So can you give him a push!?"

The moment I saw Natsuko's face, I knew my plan would work. He turned at the sound of his name, and, as I finished, grinned, dropping his load and approaching Judai-sama.

Judai-sama started and looked over his shoulder at Natsuko. He was so in for it now! "Wait, no!" he protested, waving his hands in front of him.

"Sure thing!" Natsuko answered me as, still grinning, he pushed Judai-sama off the cliff.

"Whoa!" Judai-sama exclaimed, sliding down Mother Nature's water slide.

Well, that did it. Judai-sama was coming down hard. As he started to slide, I saw him toss the medicine bottle toward Natsuko, who caught it with some degree of confusion and started reading the label. Sho's medicine was going everywhere that day.

As Judai-sama headed our way, Sho panicked, eyes bugging out of his head, and quickly swam off to the left. I grinned and quickly swam right, which meant both of us got out of the way just in time for Judai-sama to make contact with the ocean water.

Sho must have found that one funny because we were both laughing at my foolish little darling when he emerged for air. Still grinning and laughing, I waved back up at Natsuko, sounding cheery and grateful. After all, he'd helped me get my payback. "Thanks, Natsuko! You're the best!" I winked at him.

"No problem!" Natsuko called back. Then he went on his way. Not sure if he picked up his load or just left it there, but he was gone.

With Natsuko gone, I turned my attention to my annoying would-be boyfriend. If he'd just stuck to the plan, we'd be getting him off this island a lot faster! So I knocked Sho in the ocean. So what?"

"Well, I'm in. Happy?" Judai-sama asked, his wet hair hanging in his eyes.

No, I was not happy with this plan-ruining doofus! He'd have been mine by now if he wasn't so childish! But, then again, that's what I loved about this guy! You never knew what he'd do next!

Grinning, albeit somewhat annoyed, I pointed an accusatory finger at him, glaring playfully, and said, "Hey. You asked for it. You pushed me in, remember?"

We must have been really entertaining because Sho was still laughing.

"Yeah, but you started it!" Judai-sama retaliated, grinning. "You pushed Sho in first!"

Ah! How dare he? My darling pushed me in to get revenge for Sho? Couldn't he see I just wanted some time alone with him? Besides, Sho could get his own revenge. He didn't need someone else to do it. He was a grown man, after all!

Said grown man turned away from us in annoyance, facing the beach. "Alright, guys. That's enough of the blame game. Let's go see if we can dry off." Still very much annoyed (in spite of the laughter he'd just been letting loose), he started swimming. The cliffs near us were too steep to climb back up, so I guess that made sense.

"Okay," Judai-sama answered easily, and we both swam with Sho toward the beach.

We reached the shallow parts of the ocean soon after that and walked back to good old dry land. Once we were farther from the water, we all sat down on the beach together, drying off with a little help from the hot summer sun. As we sat there, I momentarily wondered if Sho really was okay now. He'd been so upset about having to take that stuff of his, after all.

I turned to him, grinning some, and said, "Seriously, though, you feeling better now, Sho? That was some swim, now, wasn't it?" I was trying to keep his mind on the swimming trip. He'd needed a fun distraction, after all.

Sho must not have found my joke very funny, though. He glared at me, crossed his arms, and started pouting. "Hmph!" He closed his eyes and stuck his nose in the air.

Well, clearly, he wasn't thinking about being a mental case anymore, so my evil plan had worked on him, at least! My darling Judai-sama, however...was about as clueless as always. To prove it, he laughed at Sho and started teasing him.

"How old are you, five?" he asked.

Sho's response was a sarcastic tease of his own. He gave an even louder humph, pouting in an over-exaggerated way.

Okay, these guys were in their mid-twenties, right? They were both acting so childish right then. They were so cute!

I grinned at the two "children" before me, teasing the "youngest" one back, "I'll take that as a yes."

Sho gave me an annoyed glare again, still pouting, I'll add. "Oh, shut up."

Judai-sama and I laughed out loud at that one. But, as we were busy enjoying our five-year-old friend's behavior, someone walked up to us slowly.

"Um, am I interrupting something?" the blond invader asked.

Oh, great. She was here. The whore who'd made my darling sleep with her for no good reason. The truly selfish one of the lot! Never mind the nervous sound to her voice or that unsure look on her face! I knew what she was after, and she wasn't getting it again!

Or, at least, that's what I was thinking. My darling Judai-sama, however, wasn't as bright as I was because he looked at her and smiled. "Asuka! Hey! No, you're not interrupting anything. What's up?"

See what I mean? Clueless, as always.

The horrid whore selfishly kept up her dumb act, however, rubbing an arm and speaking nervously. Well, gee, I wonder why? "Um, well…" She sighed, closing her eyes. Good. Maybe she was here to fess up, finally. She opened her eyes and looked right at my darling, a look of discomfort in her eyes. Duh! "Judai, can we talk?"

Talk, huh? Yeah, right. She was after something more, I could feel it! And I'm fairly sure I know what that was!

On the other hand, if she wanted to apologize, it would mean something I said to these jerks finally got through! Not that I'd spoken to many of them about my darling's mental state, but still.

I decided it couldn't hurt to ask. Glaring, still mad at her, I crossed my arms, aiming to find out what her angle was. And it had better include the words, "I'm sorry," too! "Hmph. What about? Decide to apologize for—"

Unfortunately, before I could unravel the hidden intentions of the slut in question, Judai-sama got the brilliant idea to agree! "Sure," he said.

See!? Not only did he cut me off, but he was getting up as he said that! The only glimmer of hope I had that he wasn't a gullible fool was that little bit of worry in his eyes. Something that could help him with her, but still, I had to stop him. He was letter her do it again!

Eyes wide with worry and shock, I reached out my hand to him, trying desperately to get my feelings across. "Judai-sama! She's a—"

Surprisingly, Sho cut me off, sounding downright hostile as he said, "I know." Looking over to him as he spoke, I couldn't help but wonder who I was talking to. His eyes were closed and his arms crossed, but what concerned me most was his attitude. "But you're wasting your time telling him that. He doesn't care. Trust me. It won't change anything."

Now, normally, whenever Sho said something like that, he'd be full of discouragement, hopelessness, and sometimes even despair. But this time, he was sounding and looking angry, fed up as if he thought my darling couldn't get any dumber, and the way he was acting...greatly reminded me of someone else we all knew… I stared at him for a moment, stunned. since when had he turned into Manjoume?

I'd have to worry about that later, though. Asuka Tenjoin was aiming to mess with my darling again, and that was not acceptable. Getting back on track, I pulled my eyes away from Manjoume Sho and returned my death glare to Asuka as I said, "Fine. But you better not try taking advantage of him again, you—"

Asuka quickly walked over to my sweet darling, cutting me off mid-sentence. Why was everyone doing that all of a sudden? "Yeah, that's great, Rei. Come on, Judai. Let's go."

Her tone towards me wasn't as unsure or nervous as it had been with Judai-sama. No, to me, she sounded a bit hostile and annoyed. What the hell?

After rudely brushing me off like that, she quickly grabbed my Judai-sama's arm, surprising him a bit, and dragged him off! Just who did she think she was!? I've met some pretty messed up sickos in my dak, but Asuka Tenjoin had to be one of the worst. Most of them had the decency to act the part, but Asuka? She was acting more like a Mary Sue, those annoying characters nobody ever likes! You know what I'm talking about, the ones who can commit murder but nobody seems to care. I hoped that my darling would realize that before it was too late. He couldn't be that stupid.

Judai's POV

Asuka led me just far enough away from Rei and Sho that we couldn't see them through the crowds of tourists. We were also close enough that I could almost see the construction site, though I doubted any of our friends would see us.

I'll admit, I was a little nervous. I mean, sure, Asuka was a friend, but we'd been on again-off again with that for awhile. Her sounding nervous just made me wonder what was wrong this time and if it would end in trouble again. Still, she'd grabbed my arm, so maybe I wasn't in trouble right now.

Once we were away from any of our friends, Asuka let go of me and whirled on me, making me very curious about what was going on. She gave me a serious look, her tone matching when she said, "Judai, I've got a question for you, and I want you to answer truthfully, okay?"

A question? What kind of question?

"Okay," I said, confused as well now. "What is it?"

She hesitated a moment, making me all the more curious and confused. Then, bizarrely, she asked, "How do you feel about Rei? Honestly. You like her, don't you?"

Where was that coming from? It almost sounded like she was mad, for some reason! Why did Asuka always get mad at me for doing nothing? Okay, running off without saying goodbye wasn't "nothing," but I know I didn't do anything this time! So what did Asuka think I had done?

The question was a surprise, so my eyes widened a bit. "What? Well, she's a good friend," I answered, hesitating a bit.

The truth was, I wasn't so sure how I felt about Rei anymore. I mean, back in high school, she scared me a bit, but I still thought of her as a friend. Now she seemed to have grown up and wasn't stalking me, so it was easier to like her. Still, there was someone else I liked, though I knew better than to hold out for her—she had a boyfriend.

Asuka turned her back to me, crossing her arms and closing her eyes. "Oh, honestly, Judai, that can't be all," she said, and she definitely sounded mad now. Great, I didn't even do anything, Asuka! Regardless, she turned her head to glare at me out of the corner of her eye as she said, "You think she's attractive, don't you?" Turning away again, she went on, "Might make beautiful music with her, too, right? I mean, clearly, she's all a guy'd ever want." She turned to face me, but she wasn't looking at me—she was looking back toward where Rei was. "Just look at her," Asuka said, gesturing.

Was it just me, or did she almost sound jealous? I blinked, feeling about as lost as I had ever been. I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

What, was she trying to talk me into dating Rei? Come on, Asuka, the fact that I was hanging out with her more often meant I was trying to find a girlfriend!

Asuka glared at me next as she answered my question with, "You need a girlfriend, don't you? Why do you think?"

...Okay, most people would take that to mean I should go for it so I could get out of this mess. But Asuka still sounded and looked angry, as if I'd personally wronged her somehow. I wasn't sure if it was because I was getting on her nerves because I hadn't started dating Rei...or if she, for some reason, didn't want me with Rei.

I decided to ask. "...Yeah, okay. So, what, you telling me to hook up with Rei?" I asked, my tone and expression neutral.

If anything that made Asuka glare even more fiercely, and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Well, why not? She's beautiful and a good duelist! Just what you're looking for, no doubt." She turned her back on me again, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air as she added, "You two were just made for each other, really." And she humphed, angry.

Geez, come on! What did I do now!? Seriously! Was there anything I could do that wouldn't make her mad?

"...Yeah, maybe," I said. "But why do you sound mad?"

What can I say? I think I deserve to know what I did wrong.

Asuka whirled on me again, waving an arm and leaning toward me. She was glaring daggers as she yelled, "Mad!? I'm not mad! Why would I be!? I've got Kyle, remember!?" Another dramatic arm wave followed at the mention of her dumb boyfriend.

Seriously, what the hell did I do to deserve this? I was trying to do what everyone, including Asuka, wanted me to do! She didn't have any right to be getting on my case! Beggars can't be choosers, and, as she had just pointed out, I didn't have a lot of options that were interested in dating me! All I had was Rei, so could she just lay off? And stop dragging that creep into every conversation we had?

"...How could I forget? You having fun rubbing that in my face?" I asked, angry myself now. I'm pretty sure I was glaring at her.

Asuka ignored me as she threw her arms in the air and screamed to the heavens, "I mean, clearly he's a lot better than you are! He's funnier, braver, stronger, more caring, and, of course, is always there for me! What's not to love!? He's perfect! Absolutely perfect!" With those last few statements, she sounded furious as she made some more irritatingly angry gestures. Seriously, why was she being such a jerk? She turned away again, crossed her arms, and looked almost like she was pouting. She muttered something else that sounded like, "Maybe too perfect, really."

Oh, so now Kyle was too good, huh? Geez, that wasn't my fault! You hate perfection that much, then break up with the guy! Don't take it out on me! And another thing, what did she mean he was better than me!? I didn't think he was funny, I was the one who kept risking life and limb to save the world, I was fused with a damn Duel Monster, I was at least as concerned about her and the rest of my friends as that jerk, and she didn't have any right to complain about people not being there for her! Where was she when I needed her after that mess in Dark World!? Yeah, that's right, avoiding me like the plague and worrying about her future! As if she had any right to complain!

"Well, if he's so 'perfect,' then why are you wasting your time talking to me!?" I demanded, furious, as I leaned forward slightly, glaring at her.

She whirled on me again, getting in my face. Her hands were clenched into fists again. "I don't know! That's a good question, isn't it!?"

...Ugh, this was getting old really fast. Just when I thought we were good, she went and proved me wrong! What? Was she lying earlier? Did she still hate me? How the hell was I supposed to know what was going on in that head of hers?

I straightened up, figuring one of us should try to stay calm, and put a hand to my head. I was sick of this-sick of not knowing where I stood with her, sick of the roller coaster ride she always took my emotions on, sick of her attitude. If this was some sort of payback for our third year, I guess I deserved it. But was this really the best time?

"Is there a reason you're yelling at me?" I asked, exasperated.

Asuka blinked, looking momentarily surprised. Then she closed her eyes and relaxed her stance with a sigh. "Just go hang out with Rei. She's beautiful and more your speed, anyway. You're both pretty immature, after all." She turned to walk away, sounding upset now.

Why was she upset? She started it this time for sure! Why was there always something wrong between us anymore!?

"Then wouldn't that be a bad combination?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow. Hey, I wasn't going to ask her what was really on my mind. She'd probably explode again.

She stopped for a second, but she wouldn't look at me. "Later," she said after a moment, and she ran off, sounding upset.

I just stood there, feeling about as lost as Johan on just about every day of his life. Yubel appeared beside me, her arms crossed and cast a suspicious look after Asuka.

"...What was that about?" I wondered.

Yubel closed her eyes and shook her head, muttering, "Ever the idiot."

I hated it when she said that, especially when it didn't make any sense to me. "What?"