What Aki didn't know, is that Fudo Yusei is fighting the same hopeless battle, against another large, bony dragon. The said dragon is looking a little pathetic presently, and pulling that puppy dog eye expression remarkably well for a reptilian face that technically can't even produce facial expressions.

"Stardust," Yusei sighed again. It was probably a good thing that he has a famous poker face, so he could still manage to look calm at this point despite his exasperation.

"Master Yusei, this is going to be a most important day for you, and I really want to be there for you!" Stardust lowered her head a bit more yet, so her large and watery blue eyes were mere inches away from Yusei's face, "I promise to be good, house-trained and well-behaved. I will not make any loud noise; I will not frighten any guest; I will not move unnecessarily and break anything…"

Yusei cut her off here. "Stardust, that's not the point! The point is…"He paused a second, and thought for a moment, before saying with another sigh, "I have gone over the point too many times. How about this: since Aki is doing most of the wedding planning, why don't you go ask her whether you can fit into the ceremony and reception venue? How is that?"

"I can do that? Oh thank you, Master Yusei, I will do that!" Stardust threw her head into the air in sheer joy, wings spreading wide. She probably didn't notice just how frightening a sight she was.

Stardust has always been a sensible, clever dragon. She tried her best to understand and accommodate what humans find attractive or frightening in order to be accepted by more people, in more situations. Sure, in a dueling arena every audience member loves her, but she always wanted to be able to accompany her Master Yusei to other human things as well—especially a very important human thing known as the Wedding. And right now, in order to do that, she needs to convince her Mistress-to-be, Izayoi Aki.

Well, that shouldn't be too hard; there is a standard set of things that human females find irresistible: miniature, fluff, pink, and maybe bells.

So it was on a beautiful Friday morning, Aki walked into her office and found a large and ridiculously pink gift box sitting on her desk. She couldn't not help but blink twice. Gifts from Yusei aren't normally packed in a box, and would never be packed in that ridiculous colour. While she was staring bemusedly, she saw the box rattle and move just a little. She started, and then hurried over to open the gift box: if there was some animal inside the box, she didn't want the poor thing to be shut up for too long.

When the lid came off, a pair of intensely blue eyes stared up at her. Inside the gift box was a miniature Stardust Dragon. The creature was less than eight inches tall, wide silvery wings folded demurely behind the back. A red ribbon wrapped around the little dragon's neck, folding into a complex bow, with a silver bell hanging off the end, and the dragon was holding a single red rose in her claws.

Aki stared for a long time, then: "Stardust? Is that really you?"

"Yes it's me, Miss Aki."

Okay, that's Stardust Dragon alright, even if she was reduced from her normal size to an eight-inch miniature. Aki took a deep breath and exclaimed, "How can Yusei make you do something like this? No wait, Yusei would never! He loves you too much. Whose idea is this?" Seeing Stardust Dragon's eyes becoming wide with worry, Aki hastily added, "Not that I don't like this gesture. Oh Stardust, I didn't know you could be this cute!" she laughed a little, and continued, "That red ribbon and silver bell go well with your colouring. But Stardust, you are a dragon; I don't want to see you saddled with 'cute' tasks like a lovebird."

"But Miss Aki likes this look?" Stardust Dragon extended her claws to give Aki the rose and asked hopefully, "May I attend your wedding if I look like this? This wouldn't frighten other guests, right? May I come?"

"Eh?" Aki stood still for a long time, and then she laughed again, this time with a little puff of a sigh. "Oh Stardust! I guess Yusei was having the same problem as I in the past few months then. Stardust, before we get to the wedding attendance part, tell me first, how did you manage to turn into this size?"

Stardust Dragon's blue eyes glittered with the light of a smile. She exclaimed proudly, "I used the Shrink spell card!"

Aki looked thoroughly impressed. "Indeed?" She said, "That is very clever of you, Stardust!"

"So can I come?"

Aki looked thoughtful, and after a long moment of pondering, she said with a smile, "Stardust, I guess it's really important for you to be there with your master on an important day, and I think it would mean a lot for Yusei too. You know what, if you can attend the wedding in your current form, then sure, I think you would be a welcome addition."

Stardust Dragon spread her wings and roared with sheer joy. Aki could not help but wince, for even if Stardust was only eight inches tall right now, she was still loud. Mini Stardust Dragon flapped into the air and landed on Aki's shoulder, head leaning close as if to give her a kiss on her cheek. Except Stardust Dragon still had that spike-like bone jutting from her head (which, in Aki's mind, made Stardust resemble a pterosaur, just a little), so an attempted kiss was just awkward and somewhat painful on Aki's part.

During that awkward moment Aki noticed something, and asked bemusedly, "Stardust, are you glowing? No, the light is on and off; you are… blinking? What is going on?"

"Oh," The little dragon pondered for a second, and said, "I think maybe Shrink is wearing off."

"What? Stardust, this office is small, and filled with expensive equipment!"

Even as Aki exclaimed the last word, she scooped up mini-Stardust in her arm, pushed open the window, and promptly threw her out. It was an eleventh story window, but oh well. Only a few seconds after Stardust went tumbling out of the window, ka-boom! In a flash of blinding white light, a full sized dragon was circling between skyscrapers.

And it wasn't much longer after when Aki was also in the air, riding on the back of Blue Rose Dragon and screaming beside Stardust's head, "You silly girl! You didn't even think about how long the spell would last before settling down in my office?"

At this Stardust could only cower. After a few moments, she asked timidly, "So does that mean I can't come, Miss Aki?"

Aki face-palmed.