Name code: Edo Phoenix-Aster Phoenix, Asuka Tenjoin-Alexis Rhodes, Judai Yuki-Jaden Yuki
Edo paced nervously near the doorway leading to outside of his yacht. It was almost time for his scheduled date with Asuka, and he still didn't feel prepared at all. Despite his popularity with the opposite sex, he had never been in a real relationship with a girl or even on a real date with one before. In a desperate attempt to prepare himself, he had even looked up dating tips online. However, he had quickly become frustrated with what he had read. Everything was about what to say to impress a girl, or how to initiate things like hand-holding or (even worse) kissing. The advice was useless because he wasn't hoping to accomplish any of those things by dating Asuka. Basically, he was just trying to go along with this because of Saio's prediction. Edo knew that he could have very well just have ignored everything Saio said altogether and not trapped Asuka into this charade at all with the duel. But since he had already seen firsthand how Saio's predictions had a way of coming true whether he liked it or not, he had decided to just get the ball rolling as soon as he could instead of waiting around to see just how he would have ended up as Asuka's boyfriend if he hadn't dueled her for it. The very thought of it both intrigued and terrified him at the same time.
Before he had time to think anymore, Edo saw the front door open. Asuka stepped somewhat timidly into the entrance hall of the yacht. Her eyes darted briefly back and forth around room until she spotted Edo.
"Um… Hi. I hope I'm not late." Asuka said awkwardly.
"No, you're right on time, actually. I'm glad you came." Edo said with a smile.
"Well, it's not like I had much choice since I lost the duel. Not that I'm blaming you about it, though. It was my choice, after all." Asuka said sheepishly.
"Thanks for saying that. Honestly, I did feel a bit guilty about that. That's why I'm trying to make this as comfortable for you as possible. Like I said before, there's no pressure here at all since we're only getting to know each other. Whether or not we proceed to follow through with being a couple not just in name only is completely up to you, Asuka. I mean that." Edo explained.
"Thanks, Edo. That's a load off my mind right now, I'll admit. So, I guess we this means we're…friends?" Asuka asked hesitantly.
"Friends, huh? Yeah, I guess we are. But don't think that I'm going to give up on trying for more than that for us." Edo said with a grin, only just remembering to add that last part in to try to keep up the act.
Apparently, Edo was a better liar than he gave himself credit for. Asuka's face heated up from his words.
"Why don't we go to the kitchen so that we can talk more comfortably instead of just standing around here? That way I could get something for you to drink if you want. You are my guest after all." Edo suggested.
"Alright." Asuka agreed.
Xxx
"So, what would you like? Tea, coffee, or water? That's all I've got, I'm afraid." Edo offered.
"Tea would be good, please." Asuka decided. She was seated at the small wooden table in the kitchen while Edo rummaged around the cupboards next to the sink.
"Good, that's what I was going to have, too. To tell you the truth, the coffee's mostly only here for any potential guests. Tea is much better for you, although it has been said that coffee has a small chance of reducing the risk of Parkinson's disease." Edo stated casually.
"Really? I didn't know that… You learn something new every day, I guess." Asuka said in surprise, causing Edo to chuckle lightly.
Xxx
Once they were both seated across from each other with their tea, Asuka spoke up.
"I almost forgot about this earlier, but I meant to apologize to you, Edo. Since we met, I haven't been addressing you very politely. I'm afraid that I've gotten so used to being less formal around Judai and the others that I forgot that I should be using some kind of honorific for you since it's rude to not do so with someone unless they're more intimate." Asuka apologized.
"Oh? So, are you saying that you don't want us to become more intimate with each other?" Edo suggested with a sly smile. He was teasing and he knew it, but he just couldn't resist it this time.
"No! I mean, yes! No, wait. I mean I-" Asuka stuttered helplessly. Her face was redder than ever now.
"Relax, I was just teasing you. But don't worry. I'm not offended with how you addressed me. I'm not usually referred to in other ways here, so just Edo is fine." Edo reassured Asuka.
"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. You're not Japanese." Asuka said thoughtfully.
"That's right. I'm American, actually. I spent a fair part of my childhood overseas in the states since my father worked for Industrial Illusions." Edo explained.
"And then you came here once you started dueling?" Asuka asked.
"That's right. But that doesn't excuse me for not addressing you properly. Would you prefer for me to call you Asuka-san?" Edo asked politely.
"No, that's alright. Since we're going to be spending a lot of time together now, we don't need to speak so formally. Just Asuka is fine." Asuka insisted, echoing Edo's words earlier. Edo noticed that she had a nice, easygoing smile as she said this.
"Well then, "Just Asuka". Since you seemed to enjoy our duel today enough, may I ask where you think that enthusiasm could lead you in the future once you've graduated? Are you thinking of trying for the Pro Leagues yourself after graduation? I'd say you could at least make a good start of it." Edo enquired.
"That's kind of you to say that, but I don't think that that would be for me anymore. At first, I was leaning more in that direction. But lately, I've actually been considering a teaching career when it comes to dueling." Asuka confessed. She was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Edo about this. She realized only now that she hadn't really gone into depth too much with Judai and the others when it came to this type of thing.
"Teaching about Duel Monsters and the game sounds nice. I'm no expert at doing that, but whenever I have events where I meet my fans, I do enjoy taking the time to give advice to kids and go over their decks with them when I can. When they tell me that I've helped them, it makes me feel like I'm doing one good thing in my career. But what made you change your mind about pro dueling?" Edo said.
"For now, let's just say that I saw enough of the darker side of dueling last year and that that was enough to make me start rethinking my views on what it means to be a duelist for some. It's sort of a long story for a first date, I'm afraid." Asuka admitted.
"I can understand that. But I do hope that you'll want to tell me more about it eventually." Edo said. He already knew from his own reason for dueling that it wasn't always used for fun and games.
Xxx
After they had talked a little longer, Asuka finally said that she needed to get back to her dorm to start on her homework for tonight if she wanted to get a good start. To Edo's surprise, she hadn't seemed to be in a big rush or relieved to finally end the date, and she sounded pleasant enough when she said goodbye for the night. And even more than that, he was surprised to find that he had genuinely enjoyed talking with her, despite the fact that this hadn't even been a real date. Was this supposed to happen?
AN: For anyone who was reading this story, I apologize for the hiatus it has been on. Things were kind of crazy for a while for me with a lot more school and getting ideas for other stories. Since one of my readers told me that they weren't completely familiar with the Japanese character names, I've started adding a name translation code at the start of each new chapter for those of you who haven't seen the original version of the anime. Also, for this chapter, I thought I should point out that Edo and Asuka's conversation about the usage of honorifics (san, kun, chan, etc.) at the end of names was brought on by my belief that Edo is in fact, American. Besides how he uses English words and phrases in the Japanese version like "cemetery", "effect", or "Come, on!" and how he is referred to as Edo Phoenix, with his first name before the surname unlike the Japanese way of them being in opposite order, I'm about 90-something percent sure that Edo is American since his father worked for Industrial Illusions, an American-based company founded by Pegasus J. Crawford (Maximillion Pegasus), who is American himself. And Edo was also a student from the American Academy in the GX manga. I just thought I'd explain about that in case anyone was confused.