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Judai's POV

Later that night, I was still thinking about my run-in with Asuka that afternoon. As I often do when I need to think, I was sitting on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. What was wrong with her? I mean, she wasn't exactly acting normal, coming over and getting angry at me for doing exactly what she had wanted me to do. It wasn't like I had any choice! I needed a girlfriend to ever get off this dumb island!

"Oh, really, Judai," Yubel said inside my head, sounding exasperated. "Can you be any stupider? It's not that hard to figure out."

"Well, then, what was going on? Tell me already!" I asked. Hey, if she thought it was so obvious, why wasn't she sharing?

"Ever heard of a time in some girls' lives where fantasy mixes with reality? They want something that's not real. But to get it means giving up something that they have. And, of course, if they do, they may never get it back, and they're not sure how they feel about it, either. This creates a tug of war between the fantasy and the reality that just goes back and forth until something happens that makes things easier for them or they figure out what they really want. You just witnessed one side of that tug of war, boy. Three guesses what the other is."

As she finished, I could almost see her smirking, taunting me.

Now, to figure out what she was saying. A tug of war? Not sure what she wants? Fantasy?

"...Wait, are you saying...?"

"Wait for it..." Yubel muttered to herself.

If I was hearing Yubel right, she was saying that Asuka was interested in me. But she had a boyfriend. She was trying to decide if I was worth taking a chance on, or if she should just stick with Kyle?

"So...she actually...and she's thinking of..."

If that was right, then I actually had a chance!

What happened next is a great example of what can happen if you're not aware of your surroundings. Somebody walked up behind me while I was still lost in thought and asked, "Judai? Will you please sleep with me?"

Three guesses.

I didn't notice her standing there, so my cheer sounded like an answer when I said, "Yes!"

"Great!" Ai responded, pleased that her new idea had seemingly worked. "Then let's do this!" I heard fabric behind me and can only assume that's when she started taking off her shirt.

I turned quickly to see Ai pulling her shirt over her head, apparently eager to get right to it here on the cliff. My eyes widened as I realized that I had actually just said I'd have sex with her. "...Wait, what?"

Jim's POV

Well, that was a long day! Around sunset, all of us headed back to the Tenjoins' villa after a long day of "building" a summer house for Natsuko. Fubuki was quite tuckered out. He'd had a full day...of sending people to the hospital by making mistakes and causing injuries. As a matter of fact, he'd had such a full day that he fell asleep right there on the beach, leaving Dino-Boy and Natsuko to haul him home. The best part about that was they were both more than a little cranky, considering the mess he'd caused.

I couldn't blame them, either, thinking about what all he'd done. Here's a list:

1. Fubuki had dropped a wrench on Karen's tail, which had caused it to swell up badly enough that I'd had to take her to the local vet around noon. Not exactly easy to get a live crocodile looked at by your traditional veterinarian, but I talked my way into it. Then I'd spent the rest of the day keeping Karen strapped securely to my back, keeping my distance from Fubuki so she wouldn't take a bite out of him...or worse.

2. Fubuki had somehow stepped on Manjoume's right knee. Nobody was quite sure how, but he'd left a large bruise that was causing Manjoume a fair bit of pain. It also caused him to spit the dummy.

3. Fubuki had rammed a large wooden beam into one of the professional workers while he was trying to turn around with it. This had led to an injury that included a broken arm. Kyle had to take that bloke to the hospital, which shows you how bad that was.

I have to say, if Fubuki ever decides to go into construction as a career, I'm going to head over to his boss and tell him to chuck the bloke before he can cause any deaths. He's a hopeless case with construction equipment.

When we got to the villa, we saw Tomorrow-Girl there, waiting on us. She saw her sleeping brother and came to trade places with Natsuko, much to his relief, and helped get her brother inside and put to bed for the night.

Could we just tie him down there? Then he wouldn't be able to injure anybody else. I'm bloody serious.

Natsuko, having been relieved of Fubuki duty, headed to the kitchen to make dinner for everyone. Manjoume headed for the freezer for another ice pack, then sat on the couch, rubbing his knee and grumbling about Fubuki until dinner was ready. I went to the freezer for some ice for Karen, then massaged her, hoping to calm her down so she'd stop going for Fubuki. To my relief, it worked.

Trust me when I say that there's nothing harder to deal with than a crocodile chucking a wobbly.

After putting Fubuki to bed, Tomorrow-Girl joined Natsuko in the kitchen, working twice as fast and seeming completely consumed by her work. She seemed a bit frantic, as if she was trying hard not to think about something. I wasn't one to pry, though, so I bit my tongue and waited for her to decide if she wanted to bring it up...and who she wanted to talk to about it.

I was worried for a bit, I'll admit, but she didn't leave me worrying long. About the time everyone decided to turn in for the night, Tomorrow-Girl came to me, looking guilty, and asked to talk in private. Well, if she wanted to tell me what was going on, I'd take her up on it. After all, she needed to talk to somebody. So I agreed, and we had a seat in the lounge, waiting for everyone else to get to bed before starting this conversation.

She didn't say a word until no lights were visible under the doors down the hall. Finally, after the last one went out, she told me what had happened that afternoon. I didn't like the sound of it—I mean, she was saying she'd yelled at Judai again, this time in a jealous rage (from what I could tell, at least). Likely he didn't understand anything that had happened and was trying to figure out what he'd done wrong this time. Judai wasn't as emotional as he'd been when I first met him (the fusion with Yubel seemed to have changed that), but he was more sensitive to any issues with his friends. Those could cause a whole slew of problems for all of us if left alone. Hopefully he wasn't too bothered by it.

"And after that, I ran off," Tomorrow-Girl finished. "Oh, Jim, what was I thinking? He probably hates me for that one." She lowered her head, guilty and upset. Considering what she'd just told me, I couldn't blame her. As it was, at least she admitted she'd done something wrong, not like the Judai Blame Festival we'd had earlier. So, to prevent any issues with another friend, I told her the truth.

"I'm sure that's not true, Tomorrow-Girl. Why, knowing Judai, he's just wondering what you were doing."

And, maybe, wondering what he did to deserve that. But she didn't need to hear that part. She was already feeling bad enough without my help.

She just kept staring at the floor, lost in her troubled thoughts, from the look of her. "So am I..."

Well, when you don't know what you were doing, you might have a reason for concern. I was bloody sure it was jealousy, but I didn't know that she was fully aware of her own emotions. Still, it wasn't my business. If she wanted advice in that area, she could ask. I'd focus on the part she was asking about for now.

"If you're feeling so guilty about it, why don't you go talk to him again?" I asked. "And this time, don't assume he's in love with Rei. He's still getting over someone, last I checked."

"Yeah, I know, but..."

There was clearly something wrong besides what she had said. For a moment, I wished I still had the Eye of Orichalcum. If I did, I could have found out what it was. Come to think of it, that eye could have been useful with everyone in this group. Nobody liked sharing their worries, fears, problems, or anything else.

"Then don't worry about it," I advised. "Chances are, he doesn't view Rei as anything more than a friend right now. Just keep calm when you're talking to him."

She stared at the floor for a moment, thinking. Finally she asked, "Jim? You forgetting something here? Because it sounds like you are."

Tomorrow-Girl, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were upset about having a boyfriend. After all, she sounded unhappy about the "something" I was forgetting. She didn't seem at all annoyed at my suggestion that she liked Judai more than Kyle. Just depressed. Then again, I wasn't exactly a love expert—single men with my track record with sheilas rarely are.

I laughed and said, "I never said ask him out. I'm just saying not to bite his head off about Rei. I wasn't offering love advice—single men tend to avoid that, sheila. I was just offering advice on your friendship. As for your love life, you're going to have to figure out which one you want on your own."

There, I'd dropped the hint.

Tomorrow-Girl got nervous, flustered. "I...I..." She sighed and closed her eyes, finally saying, "The truth is I don't know." She opened her eyes and continued, her gaze on the floor. "They're both great guys." Eyes closed again, her next comment sounded annoyed. "Heck, Kyle's so perfect he puts all other men to shame."

Just as I was thinking that "perfect" wasn't what she wanted, her eyes snapped open, and she lifted her head, turning to me and sounding defensive as she said, "But Judai's got his good qualities, too!" Was the fire in her eyes my imagination? I know the love-struck look, the blush, and the slight smile weren't just me. "He's fun and caring, a bit reckless," she said, closing her eyes and shrugging a bit on that last one, then turned a defensive look back to me as she finished, "but that's because he cares!"

Sorry, had I somehow made you think I questioned that, Tomorrow-Girl? I already knew Judai's recklessness came from concern for his friends. During our time in Dark World, I'd seen his undying determination to save Johan...and to get us all home safe and sound. Judai didn't need a defense for me to trust him.

I suppose she wasn't done telling me about Judai, though, because Tomorrow-Girl looked at the ceiling and giggled a bit. "Then there's the way he gets so easily confused. He's so naive about so many things, you'd he was born yesterday."

Now that was deadset. I couldn't deny he was naive.

Tomorrow-Girl closed her eyes again and giggled. "It's hilarious. I can't stop laughing at him sometimes for it." She opened her eyes and lowered her head again, saying, "But, then, on the other hand... We fight a lot more than Kyle and I, so..."

I waited a minute to see if she'd finish that thought, but she never did. Once I realized she was done, I decided it was time to lend her a hand here. She needed help decoding her own emotions, so I figured I'd give her the outline. Hopefully she could find the conclusion herself.

"Alright, let's take a look at what you just said," I started. "You don't seem too thrilled about how 'perfect' Kyle is, for one thing. For another, you actually giggled when you were talking about Judai's downsides. And, on another note, the best couples aren't the ones that never fight, but the ones that manage to stay together regardless."

Tomorrow-Girl's head snapped up as she turned to me, her expression now more nervous and unsure than before. "W-what are you saying? You saying I should—"

"I'm just saying it sounds like you've already made up your mind."

She looked down again and said, "Well, maybe. But..."

Crikey, talk about denial!

"Tomorrow-Girl, you know I'm right."

"I guess..." She looked at me, concern and doubt on her face. It was clear to me she wanted it to be that simple but wasn't sure Judai would stick around. Now, don't you start crying on me, Tomorrow-Girl! "But what if the same thing happens again? What if I leave Kyle and start missing him all the same? What if Judai runs off again and never returns?" She lowered her head again, but the threat of tears seemed to have left. "I don't know, Jim. Maybe I should stick with Kyle..."

If she was struggling this much, Judai's actions six years ago must have really hurt her. She was clearly not happy with what she had, just settling. Now the one she really wanted was right here, but she was afraid to even try it, all because Judai had taken off in the dead of night without so much as a goodbye.

That was a sad thought, but, unlike the rest of our group, I wasn't so eager to blame Judai for it. He wasn't the type to take off and never be seen or heard from again—not if he cared about someone. After all, Johan, O'Brien, Ed, and I had all been in touch with him. I'd even met a new bloke through Judai—Hayato Maeda. Clearly Judai wouldn't just abandon his friends, so what had caused that to happen?

"I suppose that's a risk," I admitted. "I'd still like to know why Judai ran off in the first place. Everyone seems to think it's just how he is, but I can't shake the feeling there's more to it. If we knew what that was, maybe we could keep it from happening again."

If Judai would just talk to me about what's bothering him once in awhile, maybe I could help.

"...I may know..." Tomorrow-Girl said.

I looked at her, hoping her lifeless tone wasn't something I needed to be concerned about. "Really? What is it, then?"

Judai's POV

You know what's more awkward than having a girl try to undress herself in front of you? Having a girl undressing in front of you because she thinks you said you wanted sex. I really should have been paying more attention.

Once freed of her clothing—which took so little time, I still wasn't totally sure what was going on—Ai walked over to me and slipped my jacket off. I tried to shrug it back on, saying, "Uh, Ai, I think there's been a misunderstanding..."

She ignored me, tossing my jacket aside and sliding her hands into my shirt and up my chest. "You agreed to this, Judai. Come on, don't tell me you've changed your mind."

I gripped her arms, but that didn't do anything to stop her. "Yeah, well, here's the thing...I didn't know you were there. See, I wasn't talking to you..."

And, then, too busy being stunned by my own idiocy, I actually let her push me to the ground, which left me lying on the ground under her.

"Ai! Get off!" I snapped.

"Quit playing hard to get, honey," she said, tugging my shirt off over my head and tossing it aside, too.

Oh, come on! Couldn't she take a hint!?

I pushed her off, got to my feet, and ran, shirt or no shirt.

"Judai! Get back here!" she called.

Then, because my life is weird and crazy things happen (like Misawa running around school naked), Ai chased after me, wearing nothing but her birthday suit. She probably wouldn't have...if the beach hadn't been completely deserted that night. See, the president of Mexico was, apparently, visiting the island for his anniversary. Just my luck that he had invited the public to a party at the resort! Also just my luck that everybody was there! I mean, I'd been hearing about this event for a few weeks now, but I hadn't expected the beach to be a ghost town because of it! The only people there were me and Ai.

Just imagine it: a half-naked man being chased by a completely naked woman across a beach in the moonlight. Looking back, I guess it was funny. Embarrassing, but funny. Seriously, though, why was the beach totally deserted just because the president was there?

Jim's POV

"Well, according to what he told me, he left because he thought we all hated him or something," Tomorrow-Girl said, staring at the floor and sounding ashamed. "That we wouldn't care if he was gone..."

Crikey. That was the obvious answer, and the one I should have figured out already.

I'd talked to Judai about the events in Dark World. I'd made it clear that I didn't blame him for anything that happened. But I had thought he'd made up with the others before graduation. After all, he'd gone back to school with most of them, so talking to them shouldn't have been an issue. It wasn't until Fubuki's story about Tomorrow-Girl's betrayal that I even knew Judai hadn't said anything to the others before leaving, but even then...I still thought he'd at least tried to make up with them.

Now Tomorrow-Girl was telling me that Judai had thought they all hated him—meaning he hadn't made up with them before graduation. The way all of them were acting, I supposed I should have figured as much. They didn't even realize he was hurting after Dark World. All of them thought he had "changed." I'd noticed something different about him, sure, but his main change seemed to be his trust issues. If I'd known that he was still having problems with everybody else because they never talked about what happened, I'd have dragged them over one by one and made them talk to him about it. As it was, I had thought his trust issues were left over from Dark World and would get better with time.

I wasn't sure if this whole thing meant I didn't know Judai very well or if I just didn't understand how the others' heads worked.

"Ah," I said, keeping my internal dialogue to myself. "That would explain it, then."

"Yes. Assuming that's the truth..."

Ah, come on, sheila! Don't you start having trust issues now, too! How often had Judai lied to these blokes? Nobody believed a word he said. I was used to hearing lies about how he was doing or how he felt, but that was for our sake—he didn't want us to worry about him, and he was tired of getting his friends in trouble. But they were acting like even things that would hurt them could be lies! Judai wouldn't tell a lie with a goal of hurting his friends! That much I knew.

"Why wouldn't it be?" I asked. "I mean, he did have good reason to believe that after what happened... I wouldn't know if any of you talked to him about that afterward, but, if you didn't, then it makes sense that he'd feel that way, don't you think?"

After all, I'd been there. I remembered what you said: He betrayed you, you were idiots for calling him a friend, he'd wanted to save others at your expense, he only cared about himself... So he'd come back and cared so much about them that he didn't even include them in his life anymore, apparently. Well, I suppose that was one way to make sure he didn't get them in trouble. Come on, Tomorrow-Girl, you had to know I was right!

Her gaze remained on the floor, but she seemed to be thinking about it. "Yeah, you're right..." She sat there quietly for a bit, and I just let her work through her feelings. After a minute, she closed her eyes and shook her head, saying, "Oh, Jim. What am I gonna do? This isn't the first time I've had trouble knowing whether to choose Judai or not. Heck, the last time, I almost confessed anyway, but I..." She sighed, leaving that statement right there.

Bloody mess, wasn't she? Well, I suppose that meant she fit right in with this mess I called my friends. Maybe we should all set up some sort of group therapy, see if we can't work out these issues we've all got.

"Do what you think is right. That's all I can say."

About that moment, I noticed Karen was asleep on the floor. Good, she wasn't after Fubuki anymore. Now I just had to keep her that way.

Tomorrow-Girl sighed again and uncertainly said, "Well, I guess there's only one thing to do now..." She stood up, her tight muscles testifying to her nerves. Then she gave me a serious look.

That's more like it, Tomorrow-Girl. There's the strength I'm used to with you.

"Now you're sure he's not with someone yet?" she asked me.

"Positive."

Tomorrow-Girl nodded, looking determined now, although her nerves were still showing. I didn't need the Eye of Orichalcum to tell me she was nervous. "Good." Before I could say another word, she ran out, calling back in a rush, "Catch you later, Jim. I'm gonna go find Judai!"

And, with that, she was gone. Hopefully those doubts she was still holding wouldn't affect her judgment too much. This could go either way, with how she was feeling, and both she and Judai could end up the worse for it if things went south. I hoped she knew what she was doing. After all, both of them were enough of a mess without adding anymore to it. Judai's trust issues were a full time job, and it didn't sound like Tomorrow-Girl was any better. After all, Fubuki was fully occupied with her emotional shifts.

On the other hand, if this went well, we might all get our own lives back instead of spending every waking hour worrying about one of our emotionally wrecked friends.

"Good luck, Tomorrow-Girl."

Since it was late, I got up, picking Karen up as well, and headed to my room for the night. Although Karen was asleep and seemed to have calmed down some, I decided that, for safety reasons, I should lock my door. After all, if somebody let Karen out and she went for Fubuki again, that could end poorly. When you keep a live croc, you learn quick that it's better to be safe than sorry.