Yu-gi-oh! GX
Lost Blue-Eyed Child

Chapter 3: The Extra Room

It was getting late by the time the three of them arrived back at the apartment. Asuka pulled the car into its usual parking space and they all got out of the car and headed up the stairs. With just a press of a remote button, the car beeped as it locked and set the car alarm. The halls and stairways were open and illuminated during part of the evenings.

"We're on the top floor," Judai told the girl as he walked behind them, while carrying his travel bag over his shoulder.

No one had showed up to claim the girl and she was falling asleep along with Judai in the waiting area at the police station. With businesses closing up and the sun going down, it was time to send the girl home with her selected temporary caretakers. Hopefully, everything would be resolved by morning. Asuka was on standby and was requested to keep her mobile phone handy at all times in case something happened during the night.

Asuka unlocked the door and they went inside a somewhat spacious apartment of mostly grey and blue. The furnishings were Western and fairly simple with a slightly modern touch. Asuka slipped off her shoes and continued through the apartment to turn on the lights. She left her bag on the dining table as she walked by it.

"I'm going to get the clean covers for the bed in the guest room, I'll only be a minute," she said as she disappeared into the hallway.

"Alright," Judai called. He had already closed the front door behind him and was slipping off his own shoes. "Go ahead and take off your shoes," he instructed the girl.

As she worked on getting her brown sandals off, Judai left his travel bag in the front area and hung up his jacket. Then he plopped himself down on the sofa in the nearby living area and heaved a large sigh as he relaxed and put up his feet on the table. He looked ready to go nowhere and perfectly content about it.

"Good to be home, and it looks like we might actually get to stay awhile this time with the way things have been trending, right Yubel?" Judai looked over expecting to see Yubel's spirit manifestation seated beside him as she usually was when they got home after traveling. She wasn't showing herself and Judai remembered why. "Oh right," Judai said as he looked at the girl still standing in the doorway. "Come sit down and we'll watch some cartoons," Judai offered as he reached for a remote to turn on a wall mounted television.

"As long as a new threat doesn't appear, I would like you to take it easy for a while, you need a break," Yubel's voice told him. "You're not… as young as you used to be," she added humorously. Sometimes they joked about that since he often spoke of how easily he got tired lately. He was still in very good shape though, but the frequent travels eventually wore him down and he required a vacation just like anyone else. Then there were times when old injuries were already coming back to haunt him.

As he found some cartoons, the blue-eyed child slowly proceeded further into the apartment until she reached the sofa and climbed up on it. He turned up the volume a little and placed the remote on the armrest before relaxing again. After a yawn escaped he let his head fall back and closed his eyes.

"The guest room is ready," Asuka said as she came back in. "I put a shirt on the bed for you to sleep in," she said to the girl. "I can put your clothes in the wash so they'll be clean for tomorrow."

The girl looked at Judai for reassurance or guidance, but he wasn't paying attention. He wasn't asleep yet, but he was certainly checked out mentally for the day. Asuka stepped behind the sofa and placed her hands on his shoulders. He cracked an eye open and look up at her standing behind him.

"I heard you," he said.

"I was going to go ahead and make us something to eat for a late dinner," she told him.

"Sounds good, thanks," Judai smiled.

"You sure are tired. I thought you said you slept on the plane?"

"I did, but it was lightly and frequently interrupted," he explained. "Want some help?"

"That would be nice, but if you're so tired you should probably just head to bed," she told him.

"I'll be fine, I'm more hungry than tired now anyway," he chuckled as he stood up.

"If you say so, you can start setting the table," she offered.

"What are we making?" Judai asked as he followed his wife to the kitchen.

She was about to answer and then paused. "Honestly, I planned to go out tonight since you were originally going to be home so early."

Judai scratched the back of his head. "Heh, sorry," he apologized about the inconvenience. This wasn't the first time he brought home a near-stranger to sit at their table for an evening. Sometimes he would make a random friend and want to talk for hours about dueling, so eventually Judai would invite them home for dinner. Asuka was prepared for situations such as unexpected dinner guests, but this was the first time they had a young child dining with them.

"Perhaps we have something a little more kid-friendly to make tonight," Asuka pondered aloud as she opened a couple cupboards. Judai looked in the freezer and then the refrigerator.

"Should we order delivery?"

"Maybe, it's kind of late for that though, and we would still have to decide," Asuka said. "What did you eat recently?"

"I've been getting sandwiches on the go," Judai answered. "How about you?"

"Just the usual." Asuka suddenly spotted something in one of the cupboards. "Ha, perfect," she smiled as she reached for it. Judai watched as she started taking out items and place them on the counter. When he figured out her idea, he smiled and nodded in agreement.

Rice, tempura, and some fruit should be agreeable to the girl. They would just ask her, but she hadn't answered many other questions today. Asuka was also going to fry some carrot wedges. There wasn't going to be any time to make some soup too, but they were probably going to head to bed soon after dinner anyway.

Judai put some water on for tea and got the dishes ready before sitting back down to watch cartoons. "So we didn't get to play video games today, so we'll play some tomorrow, okay?" he asked. She looked at him for a second and then turned her attention back to the television. He felt like he was just brushed off, but remembered she has been like this all day, besides the little communication she's had only with him. She has ignored everyone else to a further extent.

Everything was prepared in little time and they set everything on the table. Asuka asked the girl to eat with them, and she did, albeit wordlessly. As Judai cleaned the dishes after they finished, Asuka got the girl ready for bed.

Asuka hoped the girl didn't require any medication, but had a guest pack of travel toiletries so the girl was at least able to brush her teeth and wash up. The clothes Asuka had found for the girl were still too big, but acted as a night gown while Asuka got her clothes in the wash. They were quite dirty from her time alone in the foliage. As Asuka started the washing machine, she mused that her husband's laundry was going to have to wait until the next day, not that he took many clothes with him on his travels. She didn't really like to think about that though. Long ago she decided she was better off not knowing how many days he would go before changing his underwear while he was on an adventure. Therefore, she tried not to think about it. He had always been a little more lax about his hygiene than she was, and she accepted that before she married him. It was no mystery, but still not something she particularly liked about him. However, he was fairly on top of his cleanliness while he was home, so at least she didn't have to worry about that.

When Asuka put the girl to bed, the child fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Asuka was glad for that as she turned the lights out and headed to her bedroom that she shared with her husband. She noticed while still in the hallway that all the other lights in the apartment appeared to be turned off other than their bedroom light.

She entered the room after turning off the hallway light and saw Judai collapse on the bed heavily. He sighed into the covers since he was lying face down.

"Aren't you going to at least change first?" Asuka said as she closed the door and then made her way over to her dresser so she could retrieve her night clothes. She heard him mumble into the covers and he didn't budge. He was exhausted and she knew it. "You know you can't take up the whole bed either, right?" she said since he was sprawled across parallel to the pillows.

Judai pushed himself to roll over and yawned. "So tired…"

"I know," Asuka said sympathetically. "But if you can't get up, then I'm going to have to take your clothes off for you." She immediately regretted saying that when she saw him smirk. "Not like that you prev," she sighed and smacked his leg as she walked by.

"Ow," he said, even though it didn't hurt. He sat up and saw her begin to dress before he finally stood up and got changed himself.

He even managed to brush his teeth before getting back into bed. Asuka was only going to be another minute as she finished washing up. He did his best to wait up for her, but he was fading fast. Their bed was the most comfortable bed he'd ever been in. It was one of the things he looked forward to the most on his journeys back home.

Asuka returned and slid into bed by getting under the covers. She didn't reach for her digital reading device or even a crossword as she went straight for the remaining lamp on her end table and turned it off, leaving the room in gentle darkness. Moving closer to him, she rested up against him on her side. He could barely keep his eyes open more than a crack, but still wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, urging her to use him as her pillow. He was asleep within seconds after she got situated and she followed soon after.

As per usual, Asuka was the first to rise. Like most first mornings right after Judai got home from his travels, she was surprised to find him in their bed. There was always a second where she wasn't sure who it was. By the second morning, they always returned to their normal lives.

She sat up and looked at him. He was still sleeping, so she brushed his bangs to one side. This only caused him to stir a little and stretch out his legs. He made a noise as he kind of said something, but he wasn't going to wake. Asuka shrugged and then got up and picked out her clothes for the day before she left to wash up and start breakfast.

On the way to the kitchen, she remembered the clothes in the washer and put them in the dryer. She could get Judai's laundry started later, or he could start it himself if he remembered first, as long as he remembered how to use the machine.

Asuka put on water to boil and got the rice cooker ready. When she turned around to set the table, she saw the mute nameless girl that her husband found yesterday coming out of the extra room. The girl probably heard that Asuka was up.

"Good morning," Asuka greeted, but didn't wait for the girl to respond. She knew the girl was either set on not saying a word or mute. "Your clothes are in the dryer right now and will be done before breakfast is done. Do you want to help set the table?"

The girl fiddled with the edge of her large shirt and looked around the apartment with concerned eyes.

"Judai is still sleeping, he'll be out for breakfast when it's ready," Asuka smiled, guessing that's what the girl was looking for.

Asuka wasn't surprised when the girl remained silent, but was surprised when the girl quickly entered the kitchen and reached for the stack of bowls on the counter and took them to the table. Asuka thought it was cute how the girl had decided to help so it would be done sooner.

"Judai likes fish, but I can make you some chicken or extra sausage if you like those better," Asuka offered, but the girl shook her head. "So fish is fine?" Asuka asked and the girl nodded. "And do you like fried eggs?" Again, the girl nodded. "Alright, while I cook those, how about you wash some vegetables and peel a few mandarins?"

Asuka didn't cook meals for three often, but it wasn't a challenge and does not take lot of extra time. She even made sure to prepare a smaller portion of fish for the guest. She wished she had something simple like cereal that she could offer the girl. However, even if there was any cereal in the pantry, it wouldn't be the sweet kind that kids tend to like more. Neither she nor Judai had much of a sweet tooth, and when they did, they didn't partake in it for breakfast. Mandarins were sweet enough at breakfast.

Once the table was almost set, Asuka decided to give the girl another task. "Would you get Judai for me while I get your clothes out of the dryer?" she asked. The girl nodded and ran off down the hallway. Asuka forgot to consider how the girl was going to wake him up without speaking.

As Judai still lingered between dreamland and waking, he thought he heard someone say his name. He didn't think anything of it, he was still asleep after all, but not for long. Judai woke up when someone pinched his ear, causing him to only smack himself when he tried to stop them. Groggily, he cracked open a blurry eye expecting to see Asuka frowning down at him for sleeping in.

He had to blink a couple times when instead he saw brown hair and deep blue eyes. Even he tried to remember his life and if had a child of his own already before yesterday's events came rushing back to him. Judai sat up with his feet on the floor while he rubbed his eyes for a second.

"Did Asuka send you to come get me?" he asked and the girl nodded. "Is breakfast ready?" he asked and the girl nodded again. Judai grinned at that. "Alright!" he said and stood up. He hurriedly opened a dresser and grabbed clean clothes for himself. "I'll be there in just a minute!" he said before disappearing into the bathroom to get ready.

Asuka stepped out into the hallway and found the girl standing outside the bathroom. "Your clothes are dry, so how about you get dressed too?" she offered. The girl wordlessly took her clothes and went back to the room she was using.

Asuka wished the girl would communicate little more in some way. Maybe she would in time. However, she hoped that time would not be necessary and that she would be returned home soon. Asuka was actually rather surprised that she hadn't received a single call about the girl and the status of finding her parents. She desperately tried not to think of the worst, but what if the girl came from an abusive home and was abandoned? Who could do such a thing? What if being found by Judai was the best thing that could have happened to her? What will happen to her if they don't find her home? There were so many questions.

Asuka's mind continued to ponder the possibilities while at the same time she tried not to. She went back to the kitchen and poured some tea, but simply stared into the liquid.

"Are you alright?" Judai's voice came from behind her.

She turned to face him and gave him the cup she was holding. "I'm fine," she said before pecking his lips and turning back to get another cup of tea.

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty worried," he pressed.

"Just thinking about when we might hear from the police about the investigation," she said and they both sat down.

"I'll head back there later to talk to them," he said.

"I have to work tomorrow, so unless I can get her in the daycare nearby, you'll have to stick around and provide supervision," Asuka said.

"Well, hopefully another day won't be needed, good to have a plan though," Judai said. "Anyway, it's time to eat," he said and started with the first bite. "It's good," he praised when he swallowed. He really did appreciate how she cooked for him.

The girl came back in and looked at them. "Come sit," Asuka gestured an empty chair. The girl did as she was told. Judai was already eating enthusiastically and not really paying as much attention to the girls. "You better hurry up and eat something, otherwise Judai will get to it first," Asuka laughed causing Judai to pause and pout at her.

"What? I wouldn't do that," Judai defended. Asuka simply looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "It happened once," he muttered and she looked at him again in the same way. "Okay, twice, but that was a long time ago!"

"I know, kidding," Asuka laughed softly before she went back to eating.

Judai saw the girl beginning to eat as well and went back to finishing his own food.

After only a couple minutes, Asuka's phone rang so she excused herself to answer it. Judai didn't listen in and kept eating since he was almost done. He remembered he still needed to call Johan to let him know his trip back to Domino was successful. Sometimes weird things happened which put Judai on a whole other adventure when he was supposed to be home bound. It hadn't occurred in a while, due to Judai's massive ally network around the world helping him in his quest to not only bond the humans with the spirits, but also keep the peace so he is only called for more serious or world threatening problems these days. This didn't mean he got to relax between his travels though. There were always weird things happening in Domino that he found he needed to address. This city seemed to attract trouble and people who needed help with spirits.

Asuka returned to the table. "They investigated all night and didn't find anything, no one has come forward either, and I'll be updated again later today," she said. "It's likely her guardians don't know she is missing yet, like if she was supposed to be with a babysitter or at a birthday party, that kind of thing, so we need to give it some more time."

"Weird," Judai said. Honestly, he wasn't expecting any good news. His intuition told him the investigation wasn't going to help. This left one thing. "After I'm eating, I'll head out with Hane Kuriboh and Yubel and we'll see what we sense in the area," he said.

"Do you think this is related to monster spirits?" Asuka asked. Every once in a while a seemingly unrelated matter did in fact involve monster spirits.

"Not really, but it doesn't hurt to check," Judai explained. "Will you be okay here with her?" he asked his wife.

"I think we'll be fine, like you said yesterday, there's lots of video games we can play until you get back," Asuka smiled at the girl. "Just remember, I have to work tomorrow, so if this isn't solved by tomorrow morning, you're going to be in charge."

Judai saluted. "No problem," he grinned. He finished up his meal and rinsed his dishes before gathering his keys, deck, duel disk, and mobile phone. "Alright, heading out!" He stopped at the door while Asuka took her dishes to the sink.

"Good luck," she said.

Judai got his motorcycle and rode it to the police station. He updated the counselor in person about the girl's behavior and that she still wasn't speaking. The investigation was currently looking into foster and group homes to find out if any of them lost the girl.

When he left not long after arriving, he tossed his keys in the air and caught them as he strolled back to his bike. Next he was going to check around the place he had found the girl for any more clues that he, Yubel, or Hane Kuriboh could pick up on. There has to be something somewhere that would point him in the right direction and he found out long ago that the authorities could and would only do so much.

"Let's see…" Judai wondered as he drove by the park he was at yesterday. He was trying to find the cluster of trees the girl was hidden in.

Eventually, he parked back at home when he decided to retrace his steps and how he found her. Hane Kuriboh was able to remember the path that was taken, but this time they took their time to look around. Judai reached the trees and had found nothing thus far, but he was optimistic since his search had just begun.

He wandered around through the trees a bit and passed through the clearing he was in yesterday. "Sense anything?" Judai asked. Both Yubel and Hane Kuriboh felt nothing out of the ordinary. "Hey, the street is over on his side," Judai noticed and started through the brush.

As he walked, he noticed the already broken stems and twigs of plants. They were all low to the ground. The girl might have come through this way. Judai originally thought she got there from the park on the other side, but now it appeared there was a chance his first assumption was incorrect.

He got to the end of the cluster of trees and found himself at a chain fence up against a sidewalk and a low-traffic street on the other side. When he looked over, he found a place where the fence was split at a pole and one of the connecting links to hold on the pieces to the pole was broken towards the bottom. Judai knelt down to get a closer look. With the back of his hand, he pushed against the fence to test out far it could open. Then he grabbed some of the links and pulled it towards him carefully, finding that it indeed opened wider going into the trees than out.

"Interesting," Judai said aloud and stood back up. "Yubel, wanna help me over this fence?" he asked.

"You can get over it yourself, can't you?"

"With some effort, but I'm tired, please?"

Yubel sighed. "Of course," the spirit said with a slight roll of her eyes, but she smiled nonetheless. By lending Judai some strength and stamina for just a few seconds, he was able to jump straight up without a running start to catch the top of the fence and pull himself over to land smoothly on the other side.

"Phew, thanks," he said. He looked around again to make sure no one saw him.

It appeared to mostly be businesses on this side. He already knew that though. The drycleaners he and Asuka used was up the street on the corner. Further down where he stood now, he could see an antiques shop, an art gallery, a dance studio, and a bicycle shop. He was pretty sure a convenience store was next to the drycleaners, so he headed up the street that way.

He had asked to the cashier in the shop if anyone had come through asking about a missing child, and they said that the police were in there the night before asking the same thing. No signs were put up, even though there was space for one in the window. Due to the situation, there weren't any signs to put up because they already found the child, now they just needed the legitimate guardians to come forward. Judai thanked them before purchasing an iced tea that he could drink as he strolled back down the other way.

There didn't appear to be anything suspicious around here, but he kept an eye out nonetheless. He knew how to look like an idle tourist or shopper and was able to take his time and appear to be window shopping while he was really checking out the area for spirits or anything out of place. There was a mental note made of every face that passed by in either direction. Every once in a while he would pay a little closer attention to someone whenever they looked like they were looking for something or were in a visible mood.

Judai made it down to a shop that sold infant and baby supplies, like clothes, toys, learning tools, and furniture. He didn't know a shop like this was so close to where he and Asuka were living. It got him thinking. For all he knew, he could be back at this very shop within the year. They were close to ready to start their family. Settled into their lives and the world was in another time of peace concerning paranormal and dueling-related matters, all they had to do when they were ready was start trying. Judai didn't know how much longer this time of peace would last, but he sensed it was going to last a while, so maybe a year or two before another serious threat came along that he would have to personally take care of.

With Asuka's teaching career, Judai knew he would be the one to set aside the dueling tournaments for a while to look after their infant after her maternity leave would end. If anything came up that required Judai to be away from home as well, both his and Asuka's parents could help them out, and those weren't their only options.

Still, after thinking about it time and time again, Judai had a hard time seeing himself as a father. He wasn't sure why. It seemed to come so easily to Johan though. Judai wondered if it would be anything like that for him as well. Though he was almost sure he would make every classic mistake in the book.

"We already searched this area three times, she must be long gone by now," a male voice said in passing. Judai listened in as he continued to drink his tea and look interested in the shop windows.

"I can't believe we lost her," a second male voice sighed. "What else are we supposed to do?"

"At least we found the woman, but we need to find that kid," the first voice added.

This conversation certainly perked Judai interest. When he sneaked a glance at who was walking by, he knew he had already seen both men in passing on just this stretch of the road. First they were seen separately, now they were together.

Judai reached into his pocket, feeling for something he hoped was still in there from his last mission. He smirked when it was. Ready, he turned and followed the two men and quickly caught up to them. Reaching up, he patted the shoulder of one, causing them both to turn and face him. They were both taller than him. Judai was used to that though. He grew a little taller in his young adulthood, but he still wouldn't be considered tall.

"What?" the first man said gruffly. Both men were wearing duel disks. Judai was itching to duel, but he had to be more subtle than that.

Judai put his hand behind his own head and bowed politely. "Uh sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear that you lost something?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I can tell you're not from around here, in general the people of this neighborhood are kind, so you might try lost and founds or the police station if you lost something really important," Judai offered.

"Sure, we'll do that, thanks," the man nodded and quickly turned back to keep walking.

"You're pretty good at that, neither one noticed you planted one of O'Brian's trackers on him," Yubel praised.

"Yeah, well so far they are the only suspicious things I've come across today, so I'm going to find out what they're up to," Judai said. "You heard what they said, maybe they're looking for… the kid." He really wished he knew her name.

"They do not appear to be related to her," Yubel pointed out.

Judai nodded. "You're right. This is why I directed them to the police if they are willing to go. Even if I did find her guardians, I can't just hand the kid over to someone anyway since Asuka and I took legal responsibility for her, they have to go through the police."

Yubel agreed there. These men were their only lead so far, so it was worth looking deeper into. Still, there might still be some clues around that he could sense or find that the police could not, so he was going to continuing looking for a little while longer.

Author's Note:

Looks like Judai and Yubel found a clue. What else might they find?