"You need me to have designs by tomorrow?" I sigh.
"Yeah, Bolger & Company offered to design and make our Riding Suit for us, alongside our new engine, after everything that happened." Yusei explains. "We convinced them to let you design. They want you to submit the design by tomorrow so they can be finished at the same time as our D-Wheels."
"At least you don't have to make them." Crow says.
"I literally just finished making suits for Kaoru's team." I sigh again.
"They'll pay for you for the designs." Jack adds.
"I'm on it."
I pull an allnighter for the first time in a very long time, willingly of course. I don't count trying to sleep but not actually getting any, because that happens too often. Yusei sits beside me since he doesn't have to work on anything since Bolger & Company is going to be doing all the work for them. I work on Yusei's first, his request.
"Don't bother making me new a design." Jack says. "You can't improve on perfection."
"Okay, I'll just submit the same design and get another one made." I answer. "The leather's starting to wear out, isn't it? Also, we need to put our team logo on it."
"I guess so." He gives me down his riding suit so I can get the details right.
I work through some different designs with Yusei. I keep some elements from his normal outfit. The colour scheme, the pads, the black trim, the design on the shirt. I can't make my mind with the jacket. We agree that we need to get rid of the flared jacket, something to do with aerodynamics or something Yusei says. I draw a more fitted jacket with a zip, no.
"We could just crop the jacket." I say, drawing it out. The image of the outfit suddenly appears in my mind, seemingly from nowhere. "I feel like we need to raise the neckline of the shirt, and a zip."
"That looks a lot better." Yusei says, kissing my temple.
"You good with that?" He nods. "I'll touch it up later, I just want to design Crow's first."
"Do you want to give Crow the fitted jacket with the zip then?" Yusei asks.
"That's what I was thinking. I could match the jacket's colour to his Blackbird delivery or his regular one."
"Match what to what?" Crow asks, coming into the kitchen.
"Yellow or brown jacket?"
"Hmm, brown I guess." He answers.
"Cool." I add long black gloves since his regular gloves don't go with a jacket with sleeves.
I sigh, adding more details. Yusei keeps talking so my sanity remains intact. I'll get samples from the fabric store tomorrow for reference. I throw my sketchbook away from me at about six in the morning, groaning. I lean on Yusei, who laughs.
"Wow! You actually built it!" Bruno exclaims as Rick, the vice-president of Bolger & Company, shows us around the factory floor.
"By increasing Moment's rotation radius, we increased its output by 150%." Rick explains as we watch the new engines being installed in the D-Wheels. "It's due to our company's newest techniques. We already installed Yusei and Bruno's revised program." He walks us over to the computer systems. "This is the result of the simulation test."
"Woah." Crow says.
"We can now use our program to its fullest potential." Yusei smiles.
"You're really doing this for us?" Crow turns to Rick. "Since your president was arrested, aren't you having tough times?"
"Yes." He sighs. "Due to that incident, no one wants to work with our company. But the president wanted to make amends with you."
"You're not firing Bolger? He won't be out for awhile." Jack comments. He'll probably be retirement age by the time he gets out.
"It's true that the president committed a crime, but none of the employees hate him." Are you sure? He committed murder. "Everyone knows that the president truly loved D-Wheels. We'll protect this company until he finishes atoning for the past."
"I see." Crow responds. I'm just more confused.
"Thank you, Rick. We're now much closer to fulfilling our dream." Yusei and Rick shake hands.
We arrive back in the garage, new engines and new riding suits included.
"Yusei!" The twins burst into the garage. "Is it true that the new D-Wheels are ready?"
"Yeah, it's true." Yusei answers.
"Huh?" Rua says, noticing their new suits.
"We also have new riding suits. Looks good, right?" Crow smirks. I smile, I'm glad he likes it.
"Anyone can look good with the right clothes." Jack hums. "It would be pathetic if you wore your usual shabby clothes on the brightest stage."
"Stop being arrogant when you always wear the same clothes!" Crow responds.
"Unlike your clothes, mine is a riding suit!" Jack exclaims.
"To quote Jack himself, you can't improve on perfection." I made air quotes with my hands. Yusei shakes his head at the memory.
"5D's? Is this the team name?" Ruka notices the logo on Yusei's jacket, which I made a couple of days ago once they came up with the name.
"Yeah." Yusei answers.
"Jack chose the name without us." Crow sighs.
"It's much better than your idea, The Fountain Courtyard Friendly Alliance." Jack replies.
"I'm pretty sure that was a joke." I say.
"What does 5D's mean?" Rua blinks slowly.
"Since it's 5D's, there are five Ds." Well said, Bruno. "Umm, D for Devil." Bruno starts counting on his hands. "D for Destroy. D for Dead Heat. D for Dark. And umm... D for Daisuki Bruno?" Jack punches him without a second thought. "I was only kidding."
"5D's is this!" Jack holds up his Signer mark.
"The five marks of the Crimson Dragon." Ruka says, pulling up her own sleeve.
"That's right." Yusei nods. "The marks of the Crimson Dragon forged our bond."
"I don't have a mark, but Ruka's mark was the reason I met all of you." Rua says. I never mentioned the mark I saw on Rua's arm after his duel with Luciano. I don't want to get his hopes up, then again, I'm not even sure that I didn't imagine it.
"You and Ruka together count as one person." Jack answers.
"Hey!" They scream back at him.
"I'm guessing Yusei and I count as one person then?" I say.
"Yeah, you spend enough time together anyway." Crow answers.
"Rude." I reply.
"My name isn't included! Let's name the team Bruno and the 5D's!" Jack swings another punch at Bruno. "I said I was kidding."
"I honestly don't know how you didn't see that coming." I sigh.
"I think it's an excellent name." Aki says.
"I agree." I nod. All of the Signers put their hands in a circle, their marks showing off. Aki and Yusei look back at me. I put my hand in, as well as Rua and Bruno.
"Starting today, we're Team 5D's!" Yusei says as we all cheer.
"They've made the matchups for the preliminaries?" Rua asks as we arrive in the stadium where the WRGP will be held for test runs.
"Yeah." Yusei nods.
"The preliminaries are in a league format." Ruka comments, looking at screen with all the matchups.
"32 teams are participating. They're divided into eight blocks, and they battle in league format in each block. The top two teams in each block make the finals. The surviving teams battle in a tournament format." Aki explains.
"Since there are four teams per block, we can advance to the finals if we win twice." Bruno says as our block in brought up on the screen. I sigh in relief, we're not in the same block as Kaoru's team. So, we won't have to face them yet.
"Hey, is our first opponent Team Unicorn?" Rua stares at our block.
"Team Unicorn?" Ruka echoes. "That name is familiar."
"We met them at the tournament party." Rua explains.
"Oh yeah! Them!" Ruka exclaims. They were the ones who introduced themselves to Yusei.
"Team Unicorn won the Atlantis Tournament." Yusei moves his hand to his mouth. "They're said to be the frontrunners for winning this tournament."
"I wish they didn't put that team in our block." Rua sighs.
"Hmm, it doesn't matter if they're tournament favourites. We'll crush everyone who stands in our way!" Jack proclaims.
"Jack is right." Yusei responds. "If our goal is to win the tournament, we'll eventually have to battle against powerful teams."
"It's just a matter of when." I say. "We would have to face them eventually."
"That's true, but…" Rua huffs.
"Yusei, it's time to practice." Bruno starts walking.
"Right. Crow, Jack, let's go." The guys leave us.
"What practice are they doing?" Ruka asks.
"It's a practice run of the track, so they can get used to it before the competition." Aki explains. "Let's watch from the stands."
"Team 5D's will now use this lane for practice." A voice drones over the sound system. "All other teams are prohibited from using it."
"Is that…" Ruka trails off, looking down at the front of the stands.
"Ushio!" Rua calls out as we walk down towards him.
"It's you guys. Did you come to cheer for Yusei and the others?" Ushio asks.
"Yeah." Ruka answers.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Rua squints at Ushio in the standard Security uniform. Yeah, I've only seen in a shirt and slacks given his high position.
"Look for yourself." Ushio looks back to the track. "Even though each team is scheduled at a different time, all duel lanes are still full for practice. Autopilot isn't allowed in this tournament, so there are many accidents. They recruited me to work because they don't have enough people to help."
"I see."
"Look!" Aki exclaims. "They're coming out!" We wave at Yusei, Jack and Crow as they pass us. A screen of them driving is projected in front of us.
"They seem to be doing well." Ushio comments.
"Yeah, it's because we revamped their engines." Bruno exclaims. "It's on a different level than the previous vehicles."
"Oh, then I'm looking forward to battling them again." Ushio smirks to himself.
"Battle them again?" Bruno echoes. Bruno and Aki look at each other, confused.
"Well, I'll go patrol somewhere else. Say hi to them for me." Ushio mounts his D-Wheel.
"Ushio, are you also participating in the WRGP?" Bruno asks him.
"That's a secret." He laughs before setting off. "See ya!"
We watch as the guys make laps around the course. Their new level of speed is impressive. Maybe if I pout hard enough, they install the new engine in my D-Wheel after the WRGP. The voice comes up on the overhead saying that their practice team is up. Yusei and Jack turn into leave the track but Crow keeps going. Team Unicorn turn out. They pass the stands, which is followed by the sound of a crash.
"What?" Rua asks, looking between us and the track.
"What happened?" Ruka asks immediately afterwards.
"It looks like an accident." Bruno grits his teeth. I hope Crow is okay. I hear shouting further down on the track. Yusei and Jack go down there. They seem to calm down. After a while, Crow and Jack join us in the stands.
"All because you just had to crash into them." Jack says once they explain what happened. Strange how Yusei was the one who got challenged to a duel by this Andore guy, and not Crow. Something's up here, and considering his teammates aren't standing near us at all, I'm nearly certain of it.
"Speed World 2, set on." The automated voice drones from the D-Wheels which wait in front of us to start.
"Riding Duel! Acceleration!" Yusei and Andore chant at the same time, starting the duel. A screen showing their duel is projected in front of us again.
"Alright! That's a good start! He gets to go first!" Crow cheers as Yusei takes the first corner.
"Here I go! My turn!" Yusei claims the first turn. "I summon Max Warrior(ATK:1800)! I end my turn."
"My turn!" Andore starts his turn. "I summon Playful Possum(ATK:800)! I activate Playful Possum's effect! If you have a monster with higher attack points, I can destroy my card! Fake Die!"
"What?" Yusei mutters.
"Huh?" Rua raises an eyebrow. "He destroyed his own card."
"Due to its destruction, I can Special Summon Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest from my hand(ATK:2600)!" Andore declares. "When a Beast-Type monster on my field is destroyed, I can Special Summon Green Baboon from my hand by paying 1000 life points!" That move leaves him with 3000 life points.
"Now I understand." Yusei says. "You destroyed your monster so that you can quickly summon a high Level monster."
"Go, Green Baboon!" Andore shouts. "Attack Max Warrior! Hammer Club Death!" Yusei's life points drop down to 3200.
"That guy fights well." Jack comments.
"I set two cards and end my turn!" Andore finishes his turn. How will Yusei respond to that?
"My turn!" Yusei starts his turn as their Speed Counters increase to 2. "I activate Speed Spell - Angel Baton from my hand! When I have two or more Speed Counters, I draw two cards from my deck. Then, I send one card in my hand to the graveyard! I activate another Angel Baton! I summon Junk Synchron(ATK:1300)! When I successfully summon this card, I can Special Summon a Level 2-or-below monster from my graveyard! Appear, Speed Warrior(DEF:400)! When a Tuner Monster is on my field, I can Special Summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from my graveyard(ATK:800)! Level 3 Junk Synchron tunes Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog and Level 2 Speed Warrior! The roars come together to form an echoing arrow that pierces the sky! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Come, Junk Archer(ATK:2300)!"
"Incredible." Aki says. "He used both of the monsters he discarded due to Angel Baton's effect to Synchro Summon."
"I activate Junk Archer's effect!" Yusei continues. "Once per turn, Junk Archer can remove a monster on your field from play! Dimension Shot!"
"He doesn't have any monsters on his field!" Crow cheers.
"Go, Yusei! Attack him directly!" Rua cheers Yusei on, waving his fist in the air.
"Junk Archer attacks you directly!" Yusei declares. "Scrap Arrow!"
"I won't let your attack succeed so easily!" Andore shouts. "I activate the trap, Battle Instinct! When I take a direct attack, I can Special Summon a Level 4-or-below monster from my hand! I call forth Nimble Momonga(ATK:1000)!" Oh no, not that monster. Emiko had it in her deck once upon a time. I hated that thing.
"What?" Yusei mutters. Andore still loses life points, dropping to 1700.
"Yusei had taken the lead!" Rua shouts.
"But at this moment, Nimble Momonga's effect activates!" Andore continues. "When Nimble Momonga is sent to the graveyard due to battle, I regain 1000 life points!" Andore's life points shoot back up to 2700. "Then, I can Special Summon two cards with the same name in defense position(DEF:100/DEF:100)!" A very annoying effect that I forget many times before being cruelly reminded.
"I set one card and end my turn." Yusei grits his teeth.
"Green Baboon, which was removed from play due to Junk Archer's effect, returns at the End Phase(ATK:2600)." Andore smirks.
"Wasn't Yusei supposed to be in the lead?" Rua questions, blinking at the screen.
"He hasn't lost that many life points, and he also has three monsters on his field. It seems like the flow of battle has changed." Crow talks about Andore.
"Yusei is at a total disadvantage at the end of the turn!" Ruka exclaims.
"Yusei, you attacked carelessly. Your card playing skills have flaws." Okay, that's it. He's insulted Yusei. I'm gonna fight this Andore guy myself. "Here I go! My turn!" Andore starts his turn as their Speed Counters increase again. "I activate Playful Possum's effect! When its own effect puts it in the graveyard, I can Special Summon it during the Standby Phase! Resurrect, Playful Possum(ATK:800)! I tribute Playful Possum and Nimble Momonga to Tribute Summon Behemoth, the King of All Animals(ATK:2700)!"
"Behemoth?" Yusei gasps.
"I activate Behemoth's effect!" Andore declares. "When Behemoth is successfully Tribute Summoned, I can return the same number of Beast-Type monsters in my graveyard to my hand as the number of monsters that I tributed! I return two Nimble Momongas! I switch Nimble Momonga on my field to attack position(ATK:1000)!"
"This is very bad." Crow mutters.
"Yusei will lose if he takes those three attacks." Jack comments. "Yusei only has Junk Archer on his field, which isn't enough to defeat Andore's three monsters!"
"Yusei!" The twins scream out for him.
"Yusei must have a strategy in mind!" Crow is right. We're talking about Yusei here.
"Battle!" Andore declares. "Green Baboon attacks Junk Archer! Hammer Club Death!"
"I activate the trap, Chain Arrow!" Yusei interrupts. "During damage calculation, Junk Archer gains 500 attack points(ATK:2300-2800)."
"What?" Andore exclaims as he loses more life points, leaving him at 2500.
"Since Junk Archer has Chain Arrow's effect and destroyed a monster in battle, your monster loses 1000 attack points until this turn's End Phase(ATK:2700-1700)!" Yusei smirks.
"I can no longer attack." Andore huffs.
"Alright!" Bruno cheers. "Junk Archer isn't destroyed and Behemoth lost attack points!"
"He can't destroy Junk Archer with his two remaining monsters!" Ruka exclaims.
"You did it, Yusei!" Rua cheers.
"Chain Arrow's effect ends and Junk Archer's attack points return to normal(ATK:2800-2300)." Yusei says.
"Yusei, I said that your card playing skills had flaws, but I was wrong!" Okay, I don't have to fight Andore. For now. "I take back what I said, and I'll apologise with this! I activate the trap, Beast Burial Ritual! I destroy one monster on my field and send it to the graveyard to draw two cards! I destroy Nimble Momonga!"
"He destroyed his own monster again." Ruka furrows her eyebrows.
"That means…" Bruno's words trail off.
"When a Beast-Type monster is destroyed, I can Special Summon Green Baboon from my grave by paying 1000 life points(ATK:2600)!" Andore declares, his life points dropping to 1500.
"It appeared again!" Crow exclaims.
"This is bad!" Jack comments. "Junk Archer's attack points have already returned to its original points!"
"Battle! Green Baboon attacks Junk Archer!" Andore's first attack leaves Yusei with 2900 life points. "Next, Behemoth attacks you directly! Take this, Yusei!" His life points drop again to 1200. "I set one card and end my turn. Chain Arrow's effect vanishes, so Behemoth's attack points return to normal(ATK:1700-2700). I was planning to finish you this turn, but you managed to survive. Now, it's your turn!"
"It's time for your counterattack, Yusei!" Rua shouts, but I doubt that's possible in this exact moment.
"My turn!" Yusei starts his turn as their Speed Counters climb to 4. "I summon Shield Wing in defense position(DEF:900)! I set two cards and end my turn."
"He's not going to counterattack?" Rua's brows furrow.
"He can't easily counterattack in this situation. Can't you tell by watching?" Ruka sighs.
"That's right. He has to survive for now."
"That." I say. "Or he didn't get the right card."
"Yusei shouldn't be struggling because he's used to battling my power deck!" Jack proclaims.
"It means that his opponent is very powerful." Bruno counters.
"Don't worry!" Crow gives a smile to Rua. "Shield Wing is a powerful defense monster that can survive two attacks per turn! Even if he summons a third monster next turn, he can't attack Yusei directly!"
"It's time to finish this duel. My turn!" Andore starts his turn. "I summon Nimble Momonga(ATK:1000)! I send a Beast-Type monster in my hand to the graveyard to Special Summon the Tuner Monster Egotistical Ape(ATK:1200)! Egotistical Ape's Level increases by the Level of the monster that was sent to the graveyard(LV:5-7)!"
"A fourth monster!" Aki exclaims.
"Shield Wing has a mere 900 defense points! If three monsters attack, it will be destroyed!" Jack grits his teeth.
"Yusei will lose if he takes a direct attack from a fourth monster!" Crow grips the railings tight.
"Oh no!" The twins scream.
"I activate the trap, Shield Coat!" Yusei interrupts. "When you Special Summon a monster who's stronger than my defending monster's defense points, my monster's defense points are doubled(DEF:900-1800)!"
"Alright!" Crow cheers. "Now, the two monsters other than Green Baboon and Behemoth can't destroy Shield Wing!"
"Level 7 Egotistical Ape tunes Level 2 Nimble Momonga! When the blood of the wild is spilled, earth breaking power will awaken! Awaken! Synchro Summon! Mother Nature's Power, Naturia Leodrake(ATK:3000)!" He has the same Synchro Monster as Emiko? Interesting. Wait.
"3000 attack points!" Aki exclaims.
"He immediately reacted to Shield Wing's increased defense points and changed his strategy!"
"The sign of a good duelist." I answer Crow.
"But Shield Wing can stop up to three attacks!" Jack responds.
"Battle!" Andore declares. "Green Baboon attacks Shield Wing! Behemoth attacks next! I'm not done! I attack for a third time with Naturia Leodrake!"
"Shield Wing was destroyed!" Ruka gasps.
"Don't worry." Bruno says. "He has no monsters left to attack with."
"It's too early to feel safe!" Andore smirks. "I activate the trap, Howl of the Wild! When my Beast-Type monster destroys your monster in battle, you take 300 points of damage for every Beast-Type monster on my field!"
"What?" Yusei mutters.
"There are three Beast-Types on my field! Take 900 points of damage!" The effect leaves Yusei with 300 life points. "I set one card and end my turn."
"Yusei is quickly down to 300 life points!" Rua cries.
"And he doesn't have any monsters." I can hear the worry in Ruka's voice.
"He's incredible!" Crow exclaims.
"Andore is exceptional!" Jack adds.
"My turn!" Yusei starts their turn as their Speed Counters reach 6. Only 6? This duel is going a lot slower than I realised. I suppose that happens when you have two talented duelists facing off. "I summon Debris Dragon(ATK:1000)! When I successfully summon Debris Dragon, I can Special Summon one monster with 500-or-fewer attack points from my graveyard in attack position. Come, Shield Wing(ATK:0)! Since I have 2-or-more Speed Counters, I activate Speed Spell - Vision Wind! I Special Summon one Level 2-or-below monster from my graveyard! Come, Speed Warrior(ATK:900)!" I sigh in relief, knowing what's coming next. "Level 4 Debris Dragon tunes Level 2 Speed Warrior and Level 2 Shield Wing! Wishes cluster together to form a new shining star! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Soar, Stardust Dragon(ATK:2500)!"
"Stardust Dragon!" Rua cheers.
"Battle!" Yusei declares. "Stardust Dragon attacks Green Baboon!"
"Has you lost your mind?" Andore shouts. "Green Baboon has higher attack points."
"I activate my trap, Synchro Strike!" Yusei continues without answering him. "Stardust Dragon gains 500 attack points for every Synchro Material Monster(ATK:2500-4000)!"
"What? 4000 attack points?" Andore exclaims.
"Shooting Sonic!" Yusei declares, leaving Andore with 100 life points.
"He did it!" Rua cheers, waving his fist in the air.
"He has more life points than him!" Ruka smiles.
"Yusei has more than 4 Speed Counters." Aki gasps. "If he has a Speed Spell in his hand, he can use its effect to make Andore have 0 life points!"
"Aki, you're starting to understand." Crow smiles, turning to Aki. "That makes you a D-Wheeler!" Aki returns the smile so I send Crow a cheeky wink and I swear I see him flush a little.
"I activate Speed World 2's effect!" Yusei declares. "For every Speed Spell in my hand, you take 800 points of damage!" Time over flashes everywhere. "What?" Yusei gasps.
"Practice is over. The duel is suspended." Andore smiles. "That was nice dueling." He says to Yusei once they dismount their D-Wheels in front of the stands. He puts his hand out to shake Yusei's, which Yusei returns.
"Yeah, you too." He says.
"We'll settle this during the tournament. Bye." Andore walks back to his D-Wheel and drives off with his team.
"Yusei!" Ruka shouts over to him.
"You were so close!" Rua whines. "You almost won!"
"No." Yusei answers. "He still had a set card on his field. Knowing him, I doubt that card was a bluff."
"So he still had another strategy ready?" Aki grits her teeth, a rarity for her.
"Most likely." He nods.
"If you continued the duel, you could have been in trouble." Bruno says.
"Team Unicorn is a fearsome opponent." Yusei looks around at us. "They might become our greatest rival."
"Hmm, I'm stronger than them!" Jack scoffs. "I'll crush their quick attack power deck!"
"Yeah, we can't lose!" Crow pumps his fist in the air. "We'll show them our strength!"
"There's still something that confuses me." I say. "I remember looking up Team Unicorn after the party. I could have sworn that Andore used a different deck."
"You must be imagining things." Jack pats, more like smacks, me on the deck. I sigh. They're up to something.
"It's been awhile since we've done something, just the two of us." Aki smiles, taking a sip of her tea.
"I know right? If I hear the guys talk about the engine one more time, I'm throwing myself out a window." Aki gives me this scolding look. Any statement that implies harming myself in some way gets me this look. I give her this awkward look back, she just sighs. Those jokes are just part of the package with me.
"I don't think it's that bad." She replies.
"You don't live with them." I roll my eyes.
"You do live with Kasumi and Kaoru, remember?"
"I barely spend time there anymore, honestly I'm just lazy." I shrug my shoulders.
"And Yusei is at Poppo Time." She raises her eyebrows at me as if to fluster me.
"You're right." I nod. "I don't know about you, but I live for cuddles."
"I wouldn't know." Aki throws her eyes up and shakes her head.
"But is there someone you want to cuddle you though?" I put my hand in front of my mouth and lean forward.
"I don't know." She says after hesitating for a few seconds.
"You hesitated." She meets my eyes for a second before avoiding them.
"I mean." She starts but her mouth twists and she stops. I start nodding slowly, egging her to continue. Her eyes widen slightly. Her shoulders slump as she sighs. "I'm not sure how I feel about Crow anymore."
"Care to elaborate?" I raise my eyebrows and grin. Aki's eyes shift awkwardly.
"Well, we've constantly talking for a while now."
"Oh I've noticed." Aki gives me this look for interrupting her. "Okay, I'll shut up."
"Anyway…" She smiles, shaking her head. "I feel like there's something there between us. Like I feel we can just be ourselves around each other, and we can talk about anything. It's just so nice, like I really don't have that with anyone else. Except you of course." She puts her hand out as if apologise, I just nod my head. "But the thing is that I don't know if I'm ready for a relationship quite yet. I'm still not really over what happened with Divine. I'm not sure how I would react if I put myself in that situation again. I think I like him, but I don't know what to do? What do you think, Yuuka?"
"May I just say that your relationship is super cute, first of all." She flushes slightly. "I get what you mean. I felt like that for a long time with Yusei. I technically liked him for years before we got together, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind for a long time. But I just waited it out and then it just happened naturally between us. I think that's what you should do, if you want my opinion."
"That's what I thought too." Aki hums. "The best thing is, I think he likes me too." Her cheeks fill with rouge as she smiles.
"No way." I say as if Crow hasn't made this obvious for months. A woman walks into the coffee shop. A walking goddess if I ever saw one. Her long, dark hair flies behind her as she walks. Her vivid green eyes stand out against her dark skin and high cheekbones. "Aki, that is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life."
"Yuuka, you can't say that."
"Aki, I'm incredibly biromantic, we've been over this."
"No, I meant you're in a relationship, you shouldn't be saying those type of things. I'm bi too, I've told you that." She rolls her eyes. "I thought you said Emiko was the prettiest girl you had ever seen, before that it was me."
"I'm very gay and I love girls." I smack my fist on the table. "But no one will top Yusei as best looking human being alive."
"Oh I know." Aki laughs. "I'm noticing you have a type. Dark skin, dark hair and bright eyes."
"I'm weak okay?" I lay my head on the table. Aki just keeps laughing as I make faces expressing the multitude of feelings that I tend to have when this stuff comes up.