Chapter 8
I sighed as I tried to replay everything that just happened this morning, and the night before. I know it's my fault, that's for sure, but how am I supposed to make her love me now? This is bad. The only solution I could come up with right now is the romantic getaway. I still have that option. That is, if the Leagues give me the money I've been saving up for; that's why I was working overtime for the past few weeks in the first place.
I'm pretty sure they'll give it to me when I ask. Well, at least I'm quite sure that they will. Hm, maybe I'm somewhat sure?
Oh, c'mon, Edo. You know that president is strict. He'll never give it to you; he'll never give the only hope you have left to save your relationship with your wife. That's how strict he is.
"Hey! Phoenix! Draw your card!" someone called.
"Wha-?" I snapped out of my trance. I looked around me. I was in a duel field; all around me was a stadium full of people; in front of me were my monsters, and in front of them were my opponent and his monsters. "I'm… in a duel?" I told myself.
"Does it take you that long to draw one card?" my opponent jeered, "No wonder you're unbeatable- your opponents just give up because you're too slow!"
I frowned. The truth was, I had no clue on what's happening. I have to analyze the situation…
I looked up at the scoreboard to see the difference between our lifepoints. He had a perfect 4000, and I had 2100. I looked at my hand, then my field. I had one D-Hero Dasher on the field, and a Thunder Crash on my hand. Then, I looked at my opponent's field; he had one Gate Guardian. Finally, I looked at my duel disk. Clock Tower Prison was active on the field, and it had 3 clock counters. Alright. I'm ready. "Draw!" I declared. I looked at the card I drew. D-Hero Dread Servant.
"I summon D-Hero Dread Servant to the field!" I said. In an instant, my monster appeared to my field, alongside with Dasher.
"Summoning a monster with an attack of only 400 won't help you, Phoenix." My opponent said. "You, of all people, should've known better."
I smiled. "Obviously, you don't know Dread Servant's effect. When it is normal summoned to my field, it gives my Clock one more Clock Counter."
"So what?" he said, "you still can't destroy it."
"Think again! Because I go into my Battle Phase. Dread Servant, attack Gate Guardian!" my monster attacked, but it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. "Luckily, I take no damage, because my Clock Tower protects my life points. Furthermore, when Dread Servant gets destroyed, I get to destroy one spell or trap card on my field… and I choose the Clock Tower!" I said.
My opponent seemed to know what was going to happen next. He fell silent, as if he was waiting for his inevitable defeat.
"Because the Clock Tower is destroyed, I Special Summon D-Hero Dreadmaster from my deck- and because Dreamaster is Special Summoned this way, I get to reborn two more Dashers from my Graveyard. Dreadmaster's attack goes up to 6300, enough to destroy your Gate Guardian. Also, my 3 Dashers can directly attack you." I said finally, finishing the duel instantly.
It was an OTK. A D-Hero One Turn Kill.
And, as always, the crowd cheered. My opponent was ashamed, but he nevertheless congratulated me. This was usually the part when I felt happy and proud. This time, however, I felt something different… I felt empty.
After the duel, I went straight to the president's office. I knocked on his door three times before twisting the doorknob and walking in. The president turned his chair to see who had just came in.
"Ah, Mr. Phoenix," he said, "I was expecting you."
I arched an eyebrow, "You were?"
"Yes, actually," he said, "you seem to be working overtime a lot recently. I was assuming this sudden surge of hard work wasn't to impress me, so I figured you'd be seeing me sometime… to ask for a favor, perhaps?"
"You're pretty sharp," I remarked.
"I've been in the business longer than you, Mr. Phoenix. I'm pretty sure I would know if something is up." He said.
"Alright," I said, taking a deep breath, "Mr. Takahashi, I'm doing everything I can to earn money for a trip to New Zealand with my wife. I need you to give me my payment- and a little bonus- so that I can take her to that trip."
"I see," he said, "And how much is this trip, if you don't mind me asking?"
I paused for a moment, almost too ashamed to say it, "…60,000 dollars."
"60,000 dollars?" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"Please, Mr. Takahashi! I've worked hard for this. I'd work even harder when I come back from the trip if I had to. But I need the money now- my anniversary is a few days away."
"Do I look like someone who cares about your personal life, Phoenix? 60,000 dollars is a lot of money! Working overtime for a week wouldn't pay the price. I can only give you 1,000 dollars at the most."
"What?" I shouted, "That's not enough!"
"Do you have any idea how much money you're asking me to give?"
"But I'm the champion! I deserve this! I worked hard! I abided by the rules for 20 years! Please!"
"Mr. Phoenix, I'm sorry. But 1,000 dollars is all I can offer."
"No…" It was getting harder and harder to breathe by the moment. I can't believe it: the only chance- the only hope for my marriage to work out… was not going to happen. I was going to lose Asuka. Forever.
"No!" I shouted in desperation, "Mr. Takahashi, I beg you!" I finally knelt down on my knees.
"Phoenix!" he yelled, "What are you doing?"
"Please," I pleaded, "Please… I need this… I need this trip. My marriage depends on it. I need it. I really really need it…"
"Stand up, Phoenix!" the president exclaimed.
"My marriage will die without this trip," I continued, grabbing the hem of his pants.
"Mr. Phoenix!" he shouted.
"I need this, please!" I persisted.
"Get up!" he demanded. "Get up before I decide to demote you from your champion status to a mere rookie."
I stopped, hearing those words. After telling him that my marriage was at stake, he still expected me to care about my god damn status? I stood up slowly.
"Now that's better," he said, "I knew you would come to your senses when I-"
"-What do you take me for?" I shouted angrily. He stared at me in shock. "You still think I care about some stupid duelist rank?"
"Mr. Phoenix!" he said, "I have officially lost all my respect for you!"
"You know what? I don't give a shit!" I said. He fell silent.
I continued, "I don't care if you demote me down to a rookie, or a novice, nor do I care if you kick me out from the Leagues! If you're just going to squabble on and on about ranking and dignity, then the hell with that! This damn thing isn't even worth it!" I turned my heel and walked away, ignoring my name being called continuously.
Back at my dressing room, I looked at myself in front of the mirror. My reflection stared back at me, as if to rub in the failure that I have become- no, I wasn't talking about the squabble I had with the president of the Leagues; I was talking about me as a person, as a husband- because even though I kept winning all these duels, it still didn't change the fact that my marriage was going downhill. I wanted to make things right, but somehow, it was as if the world was against me.
I'm sorry, Asuka…I thought, I always let you down…I forced back the tears that wanted to escape my eyes. This wasn't over… it couldn't… it shouldn't.
I continued staring at my reflection in the mirror. I wondered what to do next, now that I didn't have the New Zealand trip option anymore.
I thought of how life would be if Asuka and I continued to fight and not get along. I thought of what would happen if she finally decided to leave, since she was fed up with all my mishaps. I thought of my life without her, without the only person who provided happiness in my life.
Then, I sat down, placed my arms on top of each other on the table, and let my head fall on top of them. I shut my eyes tight and gritted my teeth in frustration. The tears that I've been holding for so long fell at last, and I knew it wasn't going to stop for an awfully long time.
- - -
I arrived home early, at around 4pm- and boy was I surprised when I opened the front door. There, I saw Asuka, cleaning the living room with the vacuum. She had the Ipod playing on the dock, and it was playing "Seasons of Love". Asuka was singing along with the song, and this strongly reminded me of my parents' first date. She looked happy, so carefree, that I momentarily forgot how stressed and tired I was.
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand journeys to plan…"
I stared at her, amused at her singing with the matching dramatic hand movements. She looked strangely… sexy. Well, to me at least. She continued singing as if she were the only person who existed in the world; and I doubt it that she even knew I was there, watching her.
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?"
My amusement reminded me of my own father's attraction to my mother when he heard her sing the same song. I smiled and, remembering that my father joined my mom with the singing, decided to join Asuka with the singing as well. I went behind her, placed my arms around her waist, and sang.
"In truths that she learned, Or in times that he cried,
In bridges he burned ,Or the way that she died..."
She gasped. She turned her head to look at me. "Edo!" she exclaimed.
I laughed, amused. "Hi!"
She was stunned. When she didn't say anything, I moved in to kiss her- but she pushed me away before I even reached her lips.
"I'm still mad at you." She said, trying to sound snappy.
"I told you I was sorry…" I muttered.
"Humph!" she uttered, folding her arms and turning her back on me. I smirked. "Oh, c'mon honey. Don't be so grumpy."
For a moment, we didn't talk to each other. I went to the Ipod dock and turned off the song. Asuka remained facing the opposite side of where I was. I stared at her closely. I examined the curves of her body. I'm serious… my wife's really very sexy.
"Honey, have you been working out?" I asked, "you look hot!"
"Don't try kissing up!" she said angrily. "The bitch still hates you."
"Yeah, I know… I've been such a jerk, haven't I?" I said, "But you know something else? The jerk has no idea what he should do. He tried to apologize, he tried to compliment her, he tried to kiss her, he tried to be all sweet on her, he tried to sound as if nothing ever happened…" as I continued, I observed her movements. She remained her I-hate-you-so-I'm-turning-my-back-on-you-and-folding-my-arms-together position.
I sighed. "What do you want me to do, sweetheart?" she was silent. I thought for a moment. "I love you." I said. Still, she didn't react.
"Hm… perhaps, you'd want me to serenade you?" when she didn't react, I began to sing. "Five hundred twenty-five thousand eight hundred minutes…"
"It's six." She said.
"What?" I asked. She turned to face me.
"Six! Six hundred. Not eight-"
I took this chance to go up to her and kiss her. I was holding her face and keeping my eyes open to see how she would react. She was staring back at me in shock. But after a while, I knew that she liked it. Slowly, she was closing her eyes and returning the kiss. She placed her arms around my neck. Relieved, I closed my eyes and treasured the moment.
We broke off, but we retained being trapped in each other's arms. She smiled. "Seasons of…"- I joined in- "Love…" we both laughed at each other, then a brief moment of silence followed.
"I was touched with what you wrote on the napkin." Asuka admitted.
"Oh, were you?" I asked.
"Yeah. You know what, Edo? You may be a big jerk sometimes…"- she leaned in to give me a quick kiss- "…but at least you're my big jerk, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
I smiled. "I love you sweetheart," I said, "and I don't want to fight anymore."
"Me neither," She confessed, "I absolutely hate fighting with you."
I hugged her tight. She hugged me back. Despite our reconciliation, I still had this nagging feeling that if I didn't do something special for her soon, I would lose her. The thought of not having her in my arms terrified me, but I knew full well that this was a problem I had to carry and solve on my own.