Name Code- Asuka Tenjoin-Alexis Rhodes, Edo Phoenix-Aster Phoenix, Fubuki Tenjoin-Atticus Rhodes, Jun Manjome-Chazz Princeton, Momoe-Mindy, Junko-Jasmine, Saio Takuma-Sartorius, Judai Yuki-Jaden Yuki
Asuka, Junko, and Momoe walked down the hallway of the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm, chatting amiably. Classes had ended a few hours earlier, so they were on their way back to their rooms to get some of their homework finished before dinner.
Once they reached the door to Asuka's room, the trio stopped short. Nestled in front of the door was a large bouquet of red roses wrapped in fancy, expensive-looking paper.
"Oh, my gosh! These are absolutely gorgeous!" Momoe squealed excitedly at the sight of the flowers.
"Asuka-sama, who sent you these!? Is there something you aren't telling us?" Junko asked suspiciously.
"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. It's probably just Manjome again. You know him; he never learns." Asuka said exasperatedly.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense! Read the tag on it. That should tell us who sent these." Junko urged.
Sighing wearily to herself, Asuka picked up the flowers and read the writing on the tag. It was typed, so she couldn't even hope to recognize any familiar handwriting. And the message itself didn't identify the sender either. It simply read: You'll know who this is from.
It's Edo! The realization dawned on Asuka. She didn't know how she knew exactly. But somehow, she could just hear the words on the card being said in his voice.
"Come on, spill! Who is it from!?" Momoe demanded, breaking Asuka out of her thoughts.
Switching to what she hoped was a neutral expression, Asuka held the card out for Momoe and Junko to read. "You see? Like I said, it's Manjome. He's always reminding me that he hasn't stopped carrying the torch for me." She lied.
"I guess it makes sense. But isn't Manjome-kun in that weird organization now? I don't know, but lately he just doesn't seem as interested in anything else anymore…" Junko said thoughtfully.
"Yeah! If it is him, I'm surprised he didn't give you white roses since he got the whole dorm painted in that color!" Momoe said exasperatedly.
Asuka frowned slightly at the reminder of Manjome's more recent behavior. While he did still resemble himself from before in some ways, it was true that the Society of Light had basically taken over his life at this point. But she didn't want to blow her cover about Edo.
"You're right. But I just can't think of anyone else I know that could have sent this…" Asuka lied.
"Knowing how over half the guys around here are delusional to think that you would actually know who they are just from some vague encounter where you probably didn't even talk to them, I'd say it could be just about anyone here if you think of it that way." Junko admitted reluctantly.
"But if anything can narrow it down though, I'd say there's a good chance it's an Obelisk. Flowers like this don't come cheap, so whoever bought them probably has more of a budget to work with, and that is more likely to come with being a Blue." Momoe guessed.
"Well, whoever it is, I'm not interested." Asuka said firmly. But a tiny part of her wondered if she was being completely truthful with herself when it came to Edo.
Xxx
Asuka watched the TV screen vaguely as two duel monsters clashed against each other, exploding into bursts of pixels as they were both destroyed at the same time. Edo had tons of Pro League match videos, and one of their favorite activities after school was watching and analyzing them together. While she was pretty sure she wasn't sold on becoming a pro duelist, it was still fun and informative nonetheless to watch all the different duels. Asuka found that it was easier to talk with Edo about dueling than her other friends since she discovered that he strategized in much the same fashion as herself.
Edo glanced at Asuka out of the corner of his eye. She looked completely relaxed and focused on the video right now, so he wasn't sure if he should bring up the fact that he had sent her the flowers. It was so easy just to talk about dueling or other casual topics with her. But he knew that he had to play up the whole romance angle if he ever wanted to find out if Saio's prediction led him anywhere that was beneficial to his future. A part of him hated himself for deceiving Asuka like this. She was a nice girl and he genuinely enjoyed her company. And with what he had heard about Saio and this whole Society of Light business, Edo wondered if he should even trust him at all anymore? But in the end, he couldn't help himself. If this path led him to a greater destiny that led him to finding his father's murderer and growing as a duelist, he would continue to follow it. But deep down, he knew it wasn't just because of that. It was an excuse to spend time with Asuka and he didn't want to lose that. Who knew how long she would stick around if she didn't feel obligated to go along with the whole dating charade?
"Um, Edo?" Asuka asked tentatively.
"What's wrong?" Edo asked cautiously. He had been so far gone in his own thoughts that he hadn't even realized that Asuka had been trying to get his attention.
"Nothing really. It's just…the flowers I got today. Um, those were from you, weren't they? The tag said I'd know who they were from." Asuka questioned somewhat nervously.
Edo smiled in relief. This saved him the trouble of bringing up the flowers himself. The last thing he wanted to look like was that he was trying too hard to win her over.
"So, you guessed it was me. I admit, I was hoping you'd get my hint. Yup, those were from me. I wanted to see if you would assume that at this point. But more importantly, I just wanted to do something nice for you." Edo explained while putting on what he hoped was his most charming smile.
Asuka felt her face heat up at Edo's words. "Well, I figured you would be considerate enough not to give yourself away where people could find out about us. I appreciate that a lot. And it just…seems like something you would say, somehow. I don't know. I guess you do give off a more mysterious vibe when you want to." She said, trying to explain herself as best as she could.
Edo chuckled a bit at Asuka's reasoning. "I do try to make things more interesting when I can. Can't say for sure that I succeeded with the actual gift itself, though. Did you like it?" He said.
"Oh, um, yes! I did. They're really nice. Thank you, Edo." Asuka said a bit hurriedly. This whole conversation felt like the strangest thing she had ever experienced. She had never thought that she would be having it with a boy, ever.
"That's good. I was worried that they would seem kind of boring. You know, with red roses being used so much already. But if I had asked you beforehand what your favorite flower was, that might have given my plans away." Edo admitted ruefully. He realized that he was surprised by the fact that he actually was worried about what Asuka thought of his gift choice.
"They weren't boring! It's just that I've never even really thought about what kinds of flowers I might like best… I guess maybe I've always just been more focused on whatever things I've been doing to notice things like that around me. It's easier for me to do better that way." Asuka admitted. Even though she felt like she was realizing this for the first time, she knew that it was true. Whether it was dueling, studying, sports or some other extracurricular activity, or finding her brother, her focus had always been laser-like. Fubuki had always teased her about being a tomboy because of this, but maybe she had just always felt the need to push herself to do her best in everything she took on.
"I understand. I've felt like that for a long time myself now…" Edo admitted quietly. Ever since his father died, he had thrown himself into his goals. Dueling, sports, education. It was all a path towards avenging his father. And because of that, Edo had taken less chances to truly stop and enjoy the world around him as much as he used to as a child. Even though his reasoning was different from Asuka's, Edo still felt like he could relate to her. They both had a similar competitive drive that kept them going.
For a moment, Asuka and Edo just stared at each other, not knowing what to say. Then, Edo finally came to his senses and broke the silence. "Well, if you don't know what your favorite flowers are, there's one way I can fix that. We'll have to visit a good garden somewhere in the city sometime. That might help you decide. After all, I think it's high time we started doing more things together." He said, deciding it was now or never to try suggesting they take a step further into their "relationship".
"You mean, you think we're ready to start going public?" Asuka asked carefully. The idea made her feel both nervous and excited at the same time.
"Yes, I do. I want to spend more time with you, Asuka. It's our chance to finally start seeing more of what we haven't always been noticing all this time. We don't have to jump into everything immediately. We can just take one step at a time. Like by going to school together tomorrow. What do you say?" Edo suggested. And he wasn't just trying to follow through with the act either. This newest realization they had about each other along with how much he already enjoyed her company was enough to make Edo really want to start learning more about Asuka. To see how she reacted to things and other people, what she liked and disliked. For the first time in a long while, Edo realized that he had met someone that truly interested him as a person.
Asuka looked thoughtful. "I suppose this was going to happen sometime. I admit, I am a little nervous about the reaction we'll face. Even just at school, people can be so irritating… But all the same, I'm ready to try now. Like you said, we'll start with one thing at a time. So, okay. We can start going to school together. We don't exactly have the same classes, but we can walk there and back together and hang out during breaks. It'll be fun. And I'm sure Judai and the others will be glad to see more of you too, Edo. I'm not sure how my brother will react to this, though…" She said, weighing everything out.
"Oh, I'm sure he won't be upset once I explain everything. Didn't you know? I can be very persuasive." Edo joked.
No kidding. I still can't believe he even managed to talk me into all this straight from the duel… Asuka thought to herself wryly. But at the same time, she couldn't help smiling at the thought.