Name code: Edo Phoenix-Aster Phoenix, Asuka Tenjoin-Alexis Rhodes
A week had passed since Edo had started "dating" Asuka. They were obviously still very much in the "getting to know each other" phase with asking and telling each other about the more casual details about themselves. Edo found himself not worrying as much about how to go about setting up the "romance" and just genuinely enjoying Asuka's company. He didn't normally tell other people about himself or try to get to know either. But Asuka didn't pry or get overly excited like his fans usually did during his meet and greet events. She was curious and genuinely interested in hearing details about his life as a pro duelist and other career ventures of his. But the difference was that her interest was in hearing about a celebrity pro duelist's lifestyle, not Edo Phoenix's. It was easy and relaxing to talk to her, and for that, Edo was thankful. In the beginning, he had been worried that this whole arrangement would be awkward and uncomfortable for them both. But now, Edo felt like they could probably call themselves friends with how naturally the conversation was flowing between them right now.
One thing Edo had quickly discovered to be a surefire way to get any fast conversation between him and Asuka going was the subject of dueling. Whether it was about his pro league matches, the different decks he used and how he teched cards in, or how the divisions in the league worked in general with the different subdivisions and such. Asuka found it all endlessly fascinating. They had started watching videos of Edo's duels and going over all their different decks and ideas for them. And he was always happy to listen to her talk about her duels and relate their experiences and give advice if she wanted it. One thing Edo was certain of was that Asuka had a passion for the game that rivaled his own.
Today like usual, Edo and Asuka were having another "date" on his yacht. He had decided to show her some of the computer simulation programs he used on occasion to train for his matches.
"Of course, it isn't the same experience as dueling a real opponent since the AI programming hasn't reached the level of being able to anticipate as many different situations yet. But I've found that this can still be quite good for practice when you just want to test out a new deck and you don't have time to find a real opponent for whatever reason." Edo explained as he showed the program to Asuka.
"Do you mind if I try it then?" Asuka asked.
"Sure; knock yourself out." Edo replied.
"Okay, I'll do my best." Asuka said with a determined smile.
Once the game had started after Asuka had built her virtual deck, she quickly discovered that the computer-controlled opponents had access to more different types of powerful cards than she was normally used to seeing during one duel at school. After she had summoned a decent monster on her first turn, the computer immediately activated the spell card, Heavy Storm, to wipe out all her set trap cards. And then it immediately followed up with the Snatch Steal spell to take control of her monster. After two direct attacks from it and another monster, the computer set three cards facedown in the spell/trap zone and finally ended its turn.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Asuka said wryly.
"I'm afraid not. It also has Mirror Force, Penguin Soldier, Hane-Hane, Torrential Tribute, Jinzo, Lightning Vortex, among other things." Edo said wryly.
"What!? No…" Asuka said in slight horror.
"Yup. They got all the goodies… But don't worry. It's not as bad as it sounds since the decks themselves aren't very good. It's just everything they have in-between that can be intimidating for people who aren't used to it. But I can give you some pointers, if you like." Edo said reassuringly.
"That would definitely help. I'm not used to dueling people who have all of these cards." Asuka admitted ruefully.
For the next few minutes, Edo went over his strategy for dealing with the game. He taught Asuka about "flushing out the traps" whenever she didn't have anything to remove them all from the field. Cards like Compulsory Evacuation Device and Book of Moon could help to rescue her monsters depending on what was used. Sometimes, it was even beneficial to only attack with one monster first and either wait until the end of the turn to bring another or leave the rest in defense position. The programming wasn't advanced enough to think too far ahead and almost always activated cards whenever it could. So Asuka could take advantage of that to weed out an attack or summoning trap card. He also went over a few other details, like making sure to include a couple low-level monsters that could get rid of other ones with an effect.
"Keep in mind that these things aren't always going to be enough on their own in real duels. If you get to the league, they won't be using just the good staples like this. Everyone's deck themes will be even better formed than what you are used to facing so far." Edo cautioned.
"And that is what you deal with every time in your duels." Asuka said thoughtfully.
"It can be very stressful if you're not used to it. So, I don't blame you for considering being a teacher instead." Edo said.
"Well…I haven't ruled it out completely yet. So, maybe studying how things work in the league by doing things like this will help me to make a decision." Asuka said thoughtfully.
"I'll have to take you to a real match one of these days. Since you're with me, we could even hang out afterwards for awhile and talk to some of the other duelists." Edo said.
"Really!? You mean I'd get a sort of "backstage pass"? That would be amazing, Edo!" Asuka said excitedly.
Edo couldn't help smiling at Asuka's reaction. The way her face had lit up as soon as he mentioned a chance to see more about real pro dueling was the same kind of enthusiasm he had seen from a lot of his and other duelists' fans whenever they talked about the game to them. It wasn't always about them being celebrities. There was a genuine love for dueling that shone through a lot of these people. And Asuka was one of them, too. He realized just how refreshing it was to spend time with a girl who was only truly interested in him as a duelist and not for his celebrity status and looks.
"Well, then I guess we have ourselves a date. But it might take a little time to find a good time for both of us while I'm dueling in town." Edo said.
"Oh, you're right. And then everyone will know about us…" Asuka trailed off somewhat apprehensively.
"Don't worry. There's no big rush. We still have plenty of time to get to know each other better before we tell anyone, if you want." Edo said softly as he tried to reassure Asuka.
"Thanks, Edo. You're right. I do still want to go. I guess I just sort of forgot that people will see us together. But I'll handle it when the time comes." Asuka said confidently.
"Glad to hear it. It would be fun to go with someone else to these occasionally. So, thanks, Asuka." Edo said with a gentle smile.
Asuka couldn't help blushing a bit at Edo's response. She didn't know if he really liked her as much as he said. But seeing him that happy about her coming with him to one of his matches made her wonder if perhaps Edo had maybe just been a little lonely all this time. Basically, his career didn't allow for much free time, so this had to be quite a change for him. She had a feeling that she just might end up seeing more sides to Edo than she knew existed the more things they did together like this. And for the first time, Asuka realized that she actually wanted to after seeing that smile that he gave her…
AN: I'm sorry for the long wait here. There was originally supposed to be more duel training in this chapter. But I split it up since there isn't more than casual conversation and a little fluff in the next chapter to come. Keep in mind that this is more of a slow-burn romance, so I'm sort of letting the pace flow however it must here.