It was noon, and I was about to head to Risa's card shop again. Manjoume went there fairly often, and Risa had told me herself that he'd be there that afternoon, to buy some spell cards. To be honest, I felt a bit like a stalker, and more than a bit embarrassed – chances were he didn't even know my name, though I'd been helping Risa sell him cards for a month now.

But what could he possibly want with someone like me? I thought ruefully. I was plain, not at all like the pretty girls of Duel Academy – Asuka, for example, had beautiful, flowing blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was fantastically popular – and it was no secret that Manjoume had a "secret" crush on her.

On the other hand, my hair was a dull blackish-blue, my eyes plain brown, my skin oddly pale. I had angles where there were supposed to be curves, and my face was common, unrecognizable. There wasn't anything unique about me – I wasn't hideous, but I wasn't pretty. And that was that.

Still, some part of me retained a foolish hope that I'd come by a fairytale ending, meet a prince, something along those lines.

Maybe.

Meanwhile, Judai walked past a gaggle of fan girls, all of whom were staring at him with undisguised awe. It amazed me how he managed to be completely oblivious to it all – the boy was incredibly dense.

It amazed me even more that he had fan girls. Sure, he was a gifted trainer, but so were the hundreds of other trainers at Duel Academy. You don't see them with fan clubs.

I crept to the side, hoping I wouldn't be noticed. It was unfortunate enough that Judai knew who I was from visiting the card shop (now why couldn't that be Manjoume?), but as long as I remained hidden from sight, maybe he'd think I contracted a mysterious illness and disappeared from Duel Academy, or something.

That wouldn't be such a total loss.

A swarm of girls rushed past me in hopes of catching up to Judai, who was chatting, unsuspecting, with Sho. I almost rolled my eyes at his naiveté. He was either really dense, really stupid, or so condescending, that he wouldn't even acknowledge his own admirers. Somehow, I doubted it was the last one.

The first two, however, were totally viable.

In any case, I was grateful for the extra coverage. It ensured I'd get to the card shop safely, without any distractions, but most importantly, without being noticed—

"Judai, isn't that Aika?"

"You're right, Sho! Hey, Aika-chan!"

I bit my lip and resisted the urge to bang my head against the nearest locker. I'd need to have a talk with Sho, later. Turning around slowly, I smiled tensely and said, "Hi, Judai-kun."

The two of them walked over to me, Judai seemingly oblivious to the cluster of girls around him, watching his every move, and Sho embarrassed and wary as always. "I didn't see you yesterday," the former continued brightly. "Sho here lost his Super Polymerization card, so we had to go to the shop instead of getting lunch like everyone else—and they had a really nice lunch that day, too . . ."

"Sorry," Sho replied, his voice still shaky, but a tad annoyed. "Geez, Judai, all you ever think about is food."

Judai blinked. "No," he argued. "I think about dueling, and soda—which isn't food, it's a beverage—and I think about buying cards, and—"

Sho shook his head. "Forget I asked."

While they were discussing this oh-so-enjoyable topic, I took the opportunity to sneak away, stealthily.

At least, I thought it was stealthy, until Judai called after me, "Bye, Aika-chan! See you at the card shop!"

I groaned inwardly. I'd better find a locker to kill my brain cells with first.

It was a widely known fact that, while Judai was very sweet and upbeat and a little slow, his fangirls were the exact opposite.

The leader of the group, Minami Kiyako, cornered me in the deserted hallway, her three lackeys behind her. "You almost made Judai-sama late today," she said threateningly—or it would have been threatening, had her lips not been such a crazy shade of pink, and her cheeks not so overdosed with makeup. She looked a bit like a clown, and I wanted to voice that—but last time I did that . . .

Did I mention they had a bit of a bullying tendency?

She grabbed my schoolbag. "Judai-sama was almost scolded," she continued, "so we're going to make sure you get scolded, too." She dumped the contents on the floor, and instantly her three friends were sifting through my things like hounds, looking for anything that was of value.

I gaped when they pulled out my homework and shredded it, before tossing it into the trashcan. My pens were next, then my notes—I flinched when they reached for the pouch in which I kept my cards.

The girl who was holding it, however, must've been a little slow, herself, because she glanced at it and tossed it back into the schoolbag, probably not realizing what was in it.

"That's enough," Kiyako said dismissively. "Come on, we have class." She leaned toward me and sneered. "Leave our Judai-sama alone, you hear? He doesn't have time for someone like you."

I don't have time for anyone like him, either, I wanted to snap, but when I blinked, they were gone, leaving me pen-less, homework-less, and note-less.

I prayed I'd be transferring schools again soon.

"U-um," I said meekly, holding out the pack of cards, "here."

Manjoume nodded briskly. "Thanks," he replied shortly, and left.

I slumped against the wall, berating myself for being such a pansy. He only came to the shop ever-so-often, and each time he did, I stammered my way through the entire conversation—on the occasions there even were conversations. Most of the time, he entered without a greeting, but I suppose that was to be expected, with his busy schedule.

Maybe some people put it as arrogant, but I preferred . . . rightfully confident.

Even though that's just a nicer way of putting arrogant.

Risa peeked in. "Is it safe to come out now?" she joked. "You're such a romantic, Ai-chan. He's definitely cute, though."

"He's not cute," I sputtered. "I mean—I don't—that is—"

She laughed. "Save it, kid. I see how you look at him." She wagged a finger at me teasingly. "I'd go for Judai, myself."

"Why him?" I blurted, genuinely confused. "He's two years younger than you."

Risa shrugged, then laughed again. "Age is a state of mind, kid."

I scowled. "I'm not that much younger than you," I pointed out. "If you like him, it's not my problem. Just like Manjoume-kun is none of yours," I added forcefully.

"Speak of the devil," Risa mused, and I whipped around, expecting to see Manjoume, holding out a pack of cards and deeming them unsatisfactory.

Instead, I saw Judai, with Sho close in tow, and heaved a sigh. "Good afternoon," I greeted. "Risa will be with you now." And like that, I prepared to dart out of the room.

"Oh no, I won't," Risa scolded, dragging me back to the counter. "I've got to go out and buy . . . stuff," she concluded lamely. What a bad liar. "So you'll have to help these gentlemen on your own, kid. Later!"

She was the one to dart out of the room this time, and left me facing Judai and Sho, the former who was still grinning widely, and the latter who still appeared nervous—although I bet he could beat me in a fist fight with his eyes closed.

I waved awkwardly. "Hi," I said slowly, really wishing a hole would open up in the floor and swallow me.

"Did you get any new cards?" Judai asked eagerly, and instantly Sho was agreeing, searching the shop—ransacking it.

"Wait, no!" I exclaimed frantically. "Don't touch that—no, you're going to knock that over—that's glass—oh, that was a loud crash—"

"I'll help clean up later," Judai offered absentmindedly, searching through the card catalogues.

"I'd rather you didn't," I replied through gritted teeth. "Maybe you and Sho should go; classes start in half an hour." I began picking up the stray cards and files that Judai had unwittingly knocked over.

"We didn't have lunch yet!" Judai suddenly exclaimed, shooting up. "Come on, Sho!"

In a matter of seconds, they were out the door, with Sho calling back apologetically, "We'll be back to clean up the mess!"

I let out another sigh, and fell to the floor, observing the mess.

Judai Yuki. He went through life a bit like a hurricane.

And that was exactly what the card shop looked like--like a hurricane went through it.

Oh God, Risa's gonna kill me.