Lucarly: So, here comes Chapter two at you. Yay, that rhymed.
Aki: You are an odd person.
Lucarly: I hear that a lot.
Aki: It's no wonder you do. Lucarly does not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's.
Miracles - Chapter 2
Jack's POV
"...Actually, some help would be great..." I said, my gaze set on Aki.
Though Aki and I never really got along well, her guidance on picking out a ring for Mikage might prove to be quite useful.
Aki stared at me incredulously, surprised that I had accepted Yusei's suggestion.
"Right - You'll help Jack, won't you Aki?" said Yusei in a gentle yet pressuring tone of voice as he cast his eyes over at her.
Aki remained silent for a moment, only staring back at him. Despite her stubborn personality and dislike for me, I knew her answer would be "Yes" - Aki would do nearly anything that Yusei asked her to do.
"...Sure. Just let me just get dressed." said Aki, leaving his side and going upstairs.
After Aki left, Yusei turned back to me and gave an apologetic smile.
"Please excuse her. She's-" began Yusei before I cut him off.
"Don't worry about it Yusei, I understand. Aki and I never rubbed each other the right way." I said flatly.
Yusei only nodded and looked away.
What most everyone believed Aki's and my relationship to be was a clash of different opinions - Which wasn't really true. The reason Aki had such a distaste for me, I believe, was the fact that I had once knowingly betrayed Yusei. Yusei had eventually forgiven me for it, but Aki was never able to - Which I found somewhat odd, since Aki was not even come into Yusei's life yet when I had gone against him.
Though, I guess it all just goes to show how much she loves him. Overall, Yusei and Aki were a nearly a perfect match for each other. They seemed happy together too. And ever since the pair got married, both had mellowed out a lot.
After a few minutes passed, Aki finally came down the stairs; dressed in a short, dark red skirt with a pair a of heels to match, along with black tights and a black jacket.
"You look nice Aki - Will you be warm enough?" asked Yusei with concern in his voice.
"Hai." she said calmly, kissing him on the cheek before standing next to me.
Yusei smiled gently at her and then turned to me.
"Make sure she stays safe." he said straightforwardly.
I nodded. Aki only rolled her eyes, obviously embarrassed by Yusei's protectiveness over her, and mumbled "Let's go" to me.
It never snowed a whole lot in the Winters of Neo Domino; At most, the there would only be a thin layer of snow, but the streets usually just stayed slick with ice and chilly with Winter air.
I liked it that way; I never was a huge fan of snow. Too cold for my taste.
Aki walked alongside me down the sidewalk, her arms crossed in order to keep her body warmth well insulated, as well as to send off a signal to me that she really wasn't in the mood to talk.
Yet, I couldn't resist.
"Do you know any nice jewelry stores?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't go off on me.
"Mhm." replied Aki with a quick nod.
"Doko?" I asked.
"Just up ahead."
Of course, the only one who was ever able to lead a conversation with Aki that lasted more that two minutes, was Yusei. After all, Aki wasn't exactly a social person. Although, Mikage had some recent successes with getting Aki to talk to her...
"Mikage's a nice person." said Aki from out of nowhere.
I stared at her for a moment, startled by her sudden statement.
"I know." I said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"I hope you're not just wanting to marry her for sex." said Aki bluntly.
"I'm not."
"If you ask me, she's marrying below what she deserves." continued Aki.
I shot a glare at her, feeling anger rise within me. But I suppressed it, not wanting start a fight with her - especially since she could probably, much to my embarrassment, kick my ass.
"You talk as if we're already engaged. I haven't even asked her to marry me yet - I don't even know if she'll accept or not." I said through gritted teeth.
"She'll say yes."
"What makes you think that?" I said, casting my eyes over to her.
"Because she loves you," she said simply, walking briskly in front of me.
I stopped for a moment, watching Aki walk on without me.
She certainly was an odd girl.
"Are you coming?" said Aki irritably, glancing back at me.
"Mhm? Yes - Sumimasen." I said, snapping out of my thoughts and catching up to her.
"We're almost there." said Aki to me after I was at her side again, pointing ahead to a sign that said "Jueri." on it. I only nodded to her.
We entered into the store together, first noticing the many pompous Christmas decorations that adorned the walls and ceilings of the room.
"Overdone much?" I said quietly to Aki, my eyes scanning the room.
"Mhm." mumbled Aki.
"Ohayou gozaimasu. Welcome to "Jueri", how may I help you?" said the female clerk from the counter.
"We're looking for rings." I said plainly. The woman nodded and directed us to the left of the shop, to where Aki and I immediately headed.
I looked over the various rings by myself for a few minutes, without any idea on which one to pick.
"Any advice?" I asked Aki after a while.
"Hm. There are five things you need to remember when buying a ring; color, clarity, cut, carat, and cost." replied Aki.
"Explanation please?"
Aki rolled her eyes and mumbled under breath.
"You first want pay attention the color of the diamond - The diamond should be white, not gray. Clarity is also important though; You don't want a murky diamond. Then, there's the cut; The shape of the diamond. The cut should be unique and nicely done. Next the is the carat of the diamond; The diamond should be at least 1/4 of a carat. Lastly, cost. The actual cost of the ring itself should not be cheap, but it needs to stay in your budget at the same time." explained Aki.
I stared at Aki blankly. Her explanation had been clear, but I wasn't quite able to comprehend it all.
"Baka." said Aki, turning to look into the glass case.
I narrowed my eyes at her, but didn't say anything, and too turned to look into case again.
My eyes scanned over the jewelry for second time until they stopped at one platinum ring with a modest, but breathtaking diamond.
"What about that one?" I asked, pointing to it.
Aki slowly cast her gaze over to it, examining it.
"It's very nice." she said plainly.
"Would Mikage like it?"
"Hn." mumbled Aki.
"Is that a "Yes" or a "No"?"
"I don't know. She's your girlfriend, not mine."
"But you're female, I'm not."
Aki remained silent, only staring at the ring in thought.
"Let me rephrase the question: Would you have liked it if Yusei had proposed to you with it?"
"...I would have been satisfied."
That was a good enough answer for me.
"Fine then. I'll take it."
Translations
Hai - Yes
Doko - Where?
Sumimasen - Sorry
Jueri - Jewelry (RT)
Ohayou Gozaimasu - Good Morning (Formal)
Baka - Idiot/Fool
Lucarly: Hm. Sorry it was shorter than the last one. And sorry it wasn't too exciting - It mostly just focused out the rough relationship between Jack and Aki. Yet, another conflict.
Aki: Good for you. Please review.