Series: Passion's Flight||Title: A Moment With Friends
Characters: Asuka, Momoe, Junko
Chapters: 1-1||Words: 1,000
Genre: Friendship||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing, YGO soulmates wings, B13, 1,000 words
Notes: This takes place in the same universe as True Passion: a person develops their wings in one of two situations, either encountering their soulmate or discovering their true passion in life. Asuka found her true passion: dueling. So, now she has wings. It's about a week after the previous story.
Summary: When something interesting happens, one often wishes to share with one's friends. When Asuka develops her wings, she's no different.
"Oh, Asuka-sama, they're beautiful!" Momoe stared at the glorious wingspan spread out before her. She reached one hand outward, then pulled it back. "Can you fly? I mean, have you had lessons yet?"
Asuka spread her wings out to soak in the afternoon sun. She'd learned very fast that she liked being out like this. "Lessons start next week."
Junko sighed rapturously. "I wish I could get my wings. They're amazing."
"Just keep working on finding something you love with all your heart," Asuka advised. She tilted her wings a little and folded them in, then unfolded them, repeating the motion a good dozen times. Her future flying teacher had told her that she would need to exercise them like that multiple times a day. It might take time to get to a point where she could actually fly, but the more practice the better.
Momoe settled herself more on the cushioned sofa. "What's it going to be like going to Duel Academia with these?"
"It shouldn't be any different than if I hadn't," Asuka pointed out, still waving her wings back and forth. "I'll get one of the rooms on the top floor, with the balconies, though."
She looked forward to being able to fly over the school. She'd seen pictures of it on the school's website and a lot of them were from the points of view of those who had their wings. The smell of the ocean and the trees, even the hint of danger that came from soaring over the volcano. She might not be bale to do that until her second or third year, but she looked forward to it regardless.
She was still two years away from attending there herself but big brother Fubuki had already sent her a few pictures and even though he still didn't have his wings – she still held out for him to find a soulmate of his own – he found places that she knew she could hardly wait to see for herself.
"Oh, the rest of the class are going to be so jealous when they see you," Momoe squealed. "I don't think any of them have their wings yet!"
Asuka held back a sigh. She knew they probably would be. For the first few weeks, until her new wings became less of a surprise, she would have to sit in a different area of the classroom, where no one could bump into her wings. There were even people who said – things – about those who gained their wings so young.
She wouldn't listen to them, though. She would rather listen to those who taught her how to duel and how to fly. For now, she just shrugged.
"They'll get theirs eventually." Be it by a true passion like she had or a true love. Even if they didn't, Asuka wasn't going to listen to whatever insults they threw at her.
Junko wrinkled her nose. "We can hope." She eyed Asuka's wings for a few moments. "What about bathing? How do you do that?"
"I have wing-covers," Asuka told them. "My parents got those the same night I sprouted. "It's easier for me to take a shower than a bath now, though."
That got a pout from Momoe. "But what about hot springs? Can you still go to those?"
"If I use my wing-covers, yes," Asuka told them. She fidgeted a little and waved her wings up and down as the wind brushed past her. It felt almost as good as when the sun sank into her. She'd read that those who had their wings enjoyed soaking in the sun on a regular basis. She'd just never realized how truly good it would feel.
"What about molting?" Junko wondered. "When do you molt? Are we going to have to do anything?"
"Probably. I'll need help when I molt." Asuka wasn't sure how she felt about that. She'd read about how it felt but just like she hadn't guessed how it would feel to have the sun on her, she wasn't sure how it would be when the molting time came. She'd heard about itches. She'd heard about how it could drive one mad with annoyance over the roughly two weeks it could last. "And I'll probably molt in the spring."
Human feathers and scales weren't quite like birds or lizards. There were parallels but it wasn't a perfect alignment. Birds molted from anywhere over the course of weeks to months, while feathered humans molted over approximately two weeks.
"I'll molt about three times a year til I'm about eighteen," Asuka recalled from the books she'd read. Fubuki had made a point to get her all the books possible on the subject, ranging from Solitary Wings to So You've Sprouted Your Wings and several in between, spending most of his spare money on them. "After that, once or twice til I'm about twenty-rive or so. Then it's definitely once a year for most of the rest of my life."
Momoe sat up straighter, her eyes bright with the spark of an unexpected idea. "You know what this means? Costume parties We could be the Harpie Lady Sisters! And you wouldn't need fake wings!"
"Or she could be Lightlord Angel Cherubim!" Junko pointed out. "I know your wings aren't white, but they make feather dye, don't they?"
"They do," Asuka admitted. She didn't know if she wanted to dress up like any of them. She didn't know if she even wanted to go to one of those parties. She'd never been very fond of those, and with her wings, she didn't think that would change. At least not any time soon. "We can think about it later," she promised. Much later. And hopefully they would never talk to Fubuki about this.
For now, she found herself a lot more interested in soaking up the sun, waiting for the next e-mail from her brother, and the snacks her parents were bringing out to the three of them as they enjoyed the afternoon together.
The End
Notes: Anyone want to hear about how Ryou got his wings?