Chapter Sixteen
When She Hung Out With Them
Waking up to her friends' screams instead of just the alarm clock wasn't exactly the type of wake-up call Asuka enjoyed…especially since her head was throbbing from a major headache from all the sugar she consumed from eating those snacks. Neither was waking up to an alarm clock that was right by one's sleeping location, but that was Junko's and Momoe's own fault…somewhat.
Asuka rubbed her head as Junko scowled at the ringing alarm clock and threw it into a pile of pillows while Momoe tried to calm her pounding heart. A few moments later, both girls glared at their dark-blonde roommate for not having mentioned the use of the clock by their sleeping location on the floor.
"Asuka-san!" exclaimed Junko and Momoe.
So much for a good morning…wait, hold that thought for one minute. Junko blinked and looked around as she realized something was wrong. Asuka and Momoe looked questioningly at Junko as she got up from the floor and ran over to the door. After a few moments of fumbling with the knob, Momoe and Asuka realized what their rufous-haired roommate was doing…she was checking if they had locked the door or not.
"Damn!" swore Junko. "We forgot to lock the door!"
Momoe tightened her fists and whined.
"Aww, please don't tell me she…" said Momoe.
Junko sighed and shook her head.
"Jaden-kun left," said Junko.
Asuka covered her mouth as she yawned and froze when she heard a slight rustle close by. Coming to realization that a Red-Eyes Black Dragon plushie that belonged to a certain Nii-san of hers was missing, Asuka climbed out of her bed…or tried to as she found out too late that her legs were entangled in her own blankets.
THUD!
Asuka muttered as she lifted her head off the pillow she landed face-first on after falling out of her bed. How she ended up tangled up in her own blankets, she'll never know but what she did know…was that this was quite annoying. And it seemed that her friends were ignoring her and well… that just made it more irritating. Asuka turned over onto her back and sat up to pull off the blankets entangled around her legs. At least her fall wasn't that bad thanks to the pillows and blankets covering the floor softening her landing…
That reminded her…Asuka, Junko, and Momoe still had a mess to pick up. Asuka narrowed her eyes as she picked up a few pillows and threw them onto her bed. Not much of difference to the mess that was around the floor, but it was a start! Sigh…
Few moments later,
Momoe and Asuka helped each other pick up the blankets and pillows on the floor while Junko took over trash duty. Momoe crawled on the floor to pick up scattered feathers after gathering up all the pillows. Asuka wiped her forehead after neatly folding up a blanket.
"Jaden could've at least stayed long enough to help clean up," murmured Asuka.
Junko nodded as she picked up the pieces of popcorn on the floor by the television.
"Looks like we're going to pay Osiris Red another visit…" sighed Junko.
Momoe sighed and lifted up the covers to Asuka's bed to look for any trash or feathers that might have been forgotten from their late night activities. However, what she found wasn't exactly what she was looking for…
"I don't think we'll have to," said Momoe.
Junko looked at Momoe with one-eye open as she continued to pick up trash.
"Hmm?" said Junko. "What do you mean, Momoe?"
Momoe giggled softly and motioned at Junko and Asuka to come over.
"You'll see!" said Momoe.
Asuka and Junko looked at each other with perplexed expressions and shrugged. They stopped what they were doing as they walked over to Momoe and crouched down to her level.
"What is it, Momoe?" asked Asuka.
Momoe placed her finger on her lips.
"Shh!" said Momoe. "Just look!"
Asuka and Junko blinked before looking under the bed where Momoe was pointing at. Immediately, Junko resisted the urge to squeal while Asuka just gave an amused smile.
"So, she was here all along…" said Asuka.
Momoe clasped her hands together as a blush tinged her cheeks.
"She sure was!" said Momoe.
Right under the bed, nestled among a pile of pillows, was the girl that they thought had left earlier…Jaden. Surprisingly, she was still asleep despite the rather loud awakening that happened half an hour ago. Junko and Asuka couldn't help but feel a bit envious to how Jaden was sleeping so calmly and peacefully…and looked rather adorable as well.
"How the heck can she be so calm!" said Junko.
Jaden fidgeted a bit before moving her arms out from under the blanket closer to herself. Surprisingly, she was still asleep and Asuka finally figured out where her Nii-san's plushie went…it was currently nestled among Jaden's arms as she gently tightened her embrace on it. On a side note, Winged Kuriboh was curled up by Jaden's side on the pillow her head rested on, still asleep as well.
Few moments later,
Voices began to rouse Jaden from her sleep as a bright flash accompanied a soft squeal from a certain raven-haired Obelisk Blue.
"She's so cute!" squealed Momoe.
"Shut up and take another one!" hissed Junko.
Another flash and Jaden's eyes slowly opened, blinking a few times before she finally adjusted to the current lighting. Sleeping under the bed had its advantages…one being that it kept the sunlight or anything bright from waking one up. Jaden yawned as tears welded up in her shut eyes. After a few moments of moving about under the blanket, Jaden finally found the motivation to pull off the blanket…which she did once she gently woke up Winged Kuriboh, of course. She wasn't just gonna suffer the ungodly waking of…
"Asuka, what time is it?" Jaden asked sluggishly as she rubbed her eye.
Asuka turned her head to the clock and looked at Jaden after getting a glance at the hour.
"Fifteen past ten…" said Asuka.
Continuing on from the last three dots…suffering the ungodly waking of fifteen past ten alone—who the hell is even awake at the hour on a Sunday?
A/N Uh…ehehe…*raises hand shyly* Woke up at 8 AM yesterday…
Jaden glared at Asuka as a bright flash momentarily blinded the Osiris Red girl. Winged Kuriboh picked himself off the pillow he was sleeping on…only to fall back onto it as he found out, flying in a sluggish state of consciousness was a rather bad idea. At least he fell back onto a pillow…
Rubbing her eyes, Jaden slowly crawled out from under the bed before reaching back under for the Red-Eyes Black Dragon plushie and her very sluggish, winged furball of a partner. Jaden yawned as sat cross-legged on the floor with Winged Kuriboh still trying to adjust to the consciousness that is awake. The gender-mistaken girl brought the plushie into a one-armed embrace as she rubbed her eye with her free hand, not noticing how her disheveled appearance caught the eye of Momoe and Junko.
Jaden's hair tousled up from turning in her sleep and due to that certain action, some of it was either in her face, sticking up in various places, or covering her eyes. Her chemise's strap hung loosely from her right shoulder, exposing a different strap that belonged to a lacy, yellow undergarment the girl had come to hate. Despite this, Jaden was the perfect picture of cute…no, that's too modest…
"She's downright adorable!" Junko thought as she elbowed Momoe in the side.
Momoe yelped and immediately fumbled with the camera she had in her hands before taking a picture of Jaden. And yet another bright flash blinded Jaden for the current time as Winged Kuriboh perched himself on his partner's shoulder. Doing so, he took the liberty of adjusting the girl's loose, hanging chemise strap for his partner.
Jaden rubbed her eyes and glared at Momoe as the raven-haired girl beamed at her. Asuka tapped Jaden on the shoulder as she remembered what they had been doing in the past twenty minutes.
"Jaden…could you be as so kind to help us clean up?" asked Asuka.
Nodding sluggishly, Jaden dived under the bed and pushed out various wrappers as well as blankets and pillows. Winged Kuriboh pitched in by collecting the feathers underneath the bed and leaving them in a neat pile for Jaden to pick up.
Approximately fifteen minutes later, the girls had finished cleaning up Asuka's room. Jaden sighed and flopped onto the ground, her arms never once releasing the grip it had on Fubuki's Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Asuka was very unpleased with this…she rather liked that plushie and it had been the only thing of Fubuki's she had left of him that she knew he was capable of being responsible in the past years she spent with him before he disappeared. And she knew that Nii-san was rarely responsible unless it involved her or the plushie.
Sometime later after breakfast and at least fifteen attempts at separating Jaden from a plushie,
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Jaden's face as she stared at the looks Momoe and Junko gave her. Jaden turned to Asuka, who was currently searching her wardrobe for something.
"Jaden, I have something that you might want," said Asuka.
Jaden blinked and pushed herself through Junko and Momoe to get to Asuka.
"What is it?" asked Jaden.
Asuka pulled out the dress that she found in Jaden's room the other day. Jaden looked at the dress. It was pale, pink color with a light carmine pink trim and a small red ribbon on the chest…the design was simple, yet feminine and rather pretty. Narrowing her eyes, Jaden stuck her tongue out at the dress in distaste.
A/N Just think Haruhi's dress from episode 8 of Ouran High…only without a shirtless, non-glasses wearing Kyouya Ootori…crap, I think I just made a fangirl faint from blood loss after giving her a severe nosebleed. Well, back to story!
"Bleh, too girly for my tastes," remarked Jaden. "Do not want."
Asuka sighed and took out a note as she said, "I wasn't talking about the dress…I was talking about this."
Asuka handed Jaden the note as Junko and Momoe took the dress out of her hand. Jaden read over the note, her eyes widening after coming across a certain name. Winged Kuriboh popped up and perched himself on his partner's shoulder as he curiously looked at the note.
"Okay…I'm gonna make a call," said Jaden. "…Asuka! Can I have my PDA back?"
Asuka nodded and walked over to her desk. After a bit of rummaging through the drawers, the dark-blonde walked back to Jaden and handed her the PDA. Jaden turned on her PDA a pressed buttons as she began to dial a number.
Few moments later…
Jaden tapped her foot on the floor impatiently as she waited for the other line to pick up. Winged Kuriboh looked curiously at his partner before flying on top of her head.
"C'mon, Midori…" said Jaden.
Junko and Momoe looked at Jaden curiously as they laid down outfits on Asuka's bed. Asuka rummaged through her wardrobe a bit before taking out a light blue sweater and a pair of black jeans. It had been almost a full minute before Jaden heard a voice from her PDA and responded with a 'hello'.
"Hey, Midori!" said Jaden. "It's Jaden…yeah, I got the dress…No, I'm not wearing it!"
Asuka, Junko, and Momoe stayed quiet as they tried to hear what Jaden and Midori were talking about. Call it eavesdropping, to them…it was fun. (1)
"What do you mean it was a birthday present?" exclaimed Jaden. "My birthday isn't until next month!"
…
"Uh-huh…" said Jaden. "Uh-huh…wait, what? Look at the note?"
Jaden held up the note to her face and read it.
"Oh, yeah…what about Kouyou-san you wanted me to call you for?" asked Jaden. "…What? No way… Kouyou-san is…are you serious?"
A few moments later in a place that is NOT the TOOLSHED,
A loud, shrill shriek from Jaden could be heard outside the girls' dorm while her voice echoed through the halls.
Back inside Asuka's room,
Junko, Momoe, and Asuka were currently rubbing their ears as they glared at Jaden, who was currently smiling ecstatically. Winged Kuriboh's fur was bristled from the shock Jaden gave him when she screamed. After shaking himself, he hopped off Jaden's head and perched himself on her shoulder.
Jaden nodded as she listened to Midori on the other line while she gently scratched Winged Kuriboh in between his wings as some sort of apology for scaring him or just because she enjoyed hearing him purr. Whatever the real reason was, Winged Kuriboh didn't care…as long as his partner kept scratching him there, he was happy!
"Have you told him about Duel Academy?" asked Jaden. "Huh? My father told him…and about the screw up? What do you mean he wasn't surprised? You guys suck!"
…
"Yeah, laugh all you want…" said Jaden. "Can you pass me on to him? What? Are you telling me he's listening to me right now? Give him the damn phone!"
Asuka, Junko, and Momoe were trying their hardest not to laugh…seriously, they weren't. Though, they were still curious as to what caused Jaden to scream and smile so ecstatically. A few minutes later, Jaden sighed and nodded.
"Okay, got it!" said Jaden. "Oh…have you checked by your pocket? No…the other one, the one on your shirt! Yeah! That one…so, what do you think? Yeah, he missed you a lot…I did, too."
Jaden blinked and diverted her eyes on Winged Kuriboh as he nuzzled against her cheek, purring affectionately.
"What's purring?" asked Jaden. "Try scratching in between your partner's wings and you'll find out…"
Jaden looked around and spotted the looks on her friends' faces. After a few moments, Jaden laughed and smiled as she rubbed her nose before nodding her head.
"Yeah, I still have it minus that one card," said Jaden. "It's good to have you back…well, I gotta go. I think my kidnappers are getting a bit impatient…yeah, I'm being held hostage by my so-called friends…they tried to get me in a maid outfit! Don't you dare laugh—so help me if you hang up, I'll…"
Jaden blinked and looked at her PDA for a few moments before turning over to Asuka, Junko, and Momoe.
"He hung up on me," said Jaden. "Why I oughta…aw, it's just good to have him back! Yeah…I'll get him back once I get out of Duel Academy."
Junko crossed her arms and looked questioningly at Jaden.
"Who hung up on you?" asked Junko. "Hold on…a more important question is what was up with the scream?"
Jaden laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head.
"Oh, sorry about that," apologized Jaden. "I was just so happy! Kouyou-san finally woke up and he's okay!"
Momoe clasped her hands together and smiled.
"That's good to hear!" said Momoe.
It had been at least seven years since Jaden last spoke with Kouyou without him being unconscious and in a coma. Of course it would've been good to hear! Jaden couldn't be any happier than she was now. Winged Kuriboh bounced up and down happily on his partner's shoulder, having heard the good news and sensed his partner's current happiness. Asuka crossed her arms and smiled as she felt happy, Jaden's joy having been contagious.
Too bad that ended rather quickly as Junko held up an outfit, a red cheongsam, for Jaden to wear that Momoe helped out by blocking the door. After some struggling and attempts to make it out the balcony again only to find out that the door was locked, Junko finally got Jaden into the cheongsam.
The cheongsam was a brilliant red as if to match Jaden's dorm color. It was sleeveless and the length cut off right above the knee, however…it had a small slit on one side. Jaden used her hand to tug slightly on the top of the cheongsam while she used her other hand to keep the slit closed.
A small blushed tinged her cheeks as she found the dress rather tight…Jaden wasn't used to wearing clothing that fit her figure and the slit made it embarrassing since she wasn't wearing shorts this time.
"This dress is so tight…" said Jaden. "I can hardly move!"
Momoe giggled as she held up a pair of scissors in her hand and snipped them a bit. Junko grinned and crossed her arms.
"All right, then!" said Junko. "Momoe, let's get daring and move the slit up!"
Jaden blinked a bit before realizing what Junko meant and yelped as said rufous-haired girl held her in place.
"Hey!" said Jaden. "Let me go! Help me, Asuka!"
Jaden got no answer from Asuka, who was currently busy pulling on a sweater. And since no one was helping her, Jaden had to endure Momoe's adjustment to the cheongsam's slit.
"Up, up, up!" Momoe said as she snipped the slit upwards until it reach the top of Jaden's thigh.
Junko let go of Jaden after Momoe pulled away and set the scissors down on the desk. Winged Kuriboh popped up onto Asuka's bed and looked at Jaden. After a few seconds, Winged Kuriboh used his wings to cover his eyes as a small blush tinged his cheeks. Jaden blinked a few times before a bright flash from a camera, courtesy of Momoe, snapped her back into reality.
Jaden looked at herself and shrieked as she used both hands to keep the slit on the cheongsam closed. She glared at Junko and Momoe as her face burned red from embarrassment. The slit was waaay to high for her tastes!
"Oi!" said Jaden. "What the heck, Momoe?"
Another flash from the camera momentarily blinded Jaden as Junko looked over the dual-colored brunette.
"So I take it you don't like the cheongsam…" said Junko.
Asuka overheard Junko and turned her head to Jaden. She sighed and crossed her arms as she closed her eyes.
"Did the fact that she's currently glaring at you give it away?" remarked Asuka. "Or was it her reaction to how high the slit is? I think you overdid it on the slit…"
Junko placed her hand on her chin as she looked at Jaden, who was currently being photographed by Momoe.
"You're right…I can see everything," said Junko. (2) "All right, Momoe! Next outfit!"
Jaden turned to Junko and looked at her with wide-eyes.
"You mean there's more?" exclaimed Jaden.
Few moments later,
Jaden narrowed her eyes as she let out a puff of air. She was wearing light pink, sleeveless Lolita dress…a pink dress decorated with ruffles, lace, and frills… Pale, pink-colored lace crossed one another in a fashion similar to a corset on the front of the dress. A ribbon of the same color as the lace was tied into a bow at the top of the ties on the chest of the dress.
Momoe had just finished tying the back bow one the dress when Junko took a picture of Jaden. Jaden was not pleased…sure, the dress was cute, but that didn't mean she wanted to wear it! The pink headband with a bow of the same color that was currently in her hair was one thing, but the dress was where it crossed the line and that third flash from the camera…
"Okay, that's it!" snapped Jaden. "I want this dress off!"
Jaden pulled off the headband and threw it onto the ground, her fists tightened as she panted heavily. Momoe and Junko were taken aback with Jaden's reaction…who knew the girl could snap like that? And did her eyes just turn yellow?
Junko and Momoe shook their heads and looked at Jaden again. No yellow eyes…just big, chocolate brown ones that were currently flashing with anger. Okay, that was the last time they watched Twilight, though that wasn't exactly going to stop them from watching the sequels! Asuka just sighed and shook her head…her roommates brought this onto themselves.
Sometime later after various outfit changes with photography done by Junko and Momoe,
Asuka was waiting patiently for her roommates and Osiris Red friend so they could go out, having already changed out of her nightgown into a blue sweater and black jeans. She arched her eyebrow at Jaden, who was currently wearing the dress Midori sent her. It wasn't that it looked odd on the dual-haired brunette, because it actually looked cute on her and suited her figure…especially since Junko decided to give Jaden a break from the padded bra.
More to the point and off that subject, Jaden was awfully calm for someone who was subjected to various outfit changes.
"Wasn't she just struggling and complaining a while ago?" thought Asuka.
Indeed she was…but Jaden decided to stop and act calm for once after being forced into the dress Midori sent her. She had a feeling if she continued to complain, it would only encourage Junko and Momoe to continue what had been going on for the past hour and a half.
"Besides, better this dress from Midori then one from Junko and Momoe…" thought Jaden.
Junko and Momoe looked Jaden over for a few moments before nodding in approval.
"All right!" said Junko. "Momoe, get the make-up!"
Jaden sighed in dismay as Momoe ran out of Asuka's room towards her own room across the hall. Asuka walked up to Jaden and patted her reassuringly on the shoulder.
"Don't worry," said Asuka. "They'll be quick this time…"
Jaden diverted her eyes on Asuka.
"And that's supposed to make me feel better, how?" asked Jaden.
Asuka shrugged and said, "I just thought I'd tell you."
Jaden narrowed her eyes on the dark-blonde.
"You know…sometimes I think you're messing with me," said Jaden.
Asuka laughed a bit and shook her head.
"You're just too interesting…" commented Asuka.
Later,
Jaden sighed as she walked out of the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm with her friends. She was wearing the same amount of make-up like yesterday, a pink dress, and for some reason…she felt rather calm. Part of the reason must've been from the good news from Midori and the conversation she had with Kouyou, but the other…Jaden wasn't sure, but she assumed it had to do with her winged furball of a partner.
The dual-colored brunette diverted her eyes on Winged Kuriboh, who was currently perched on her shoulder. Always adorable and there to keep her company, Winged Kuriboh chirped happily at his partner. Feeling slightly better, Jaden looked back at Junko and Momoe, Asuka having been walking right by her side.
Junko was wearing a sleeveless, green t-shirt with a black skirt and a pair of white boots with a brown belt tied around her waist. She had on two blue bracelets each on both of her wrists and a simple necklace with a single pendant around her neck. The rufous-haired girl was currently talking to Momoe, who wore a red halter-top with a pair of khaki shorts and strapped sandals.
Boredom began to strike and its first victim was Jaden…not much of a surprise, there. Jaden looked at Asuka and tugged on the dark-blonde's sleeve.
"Asuka!" said Jaden. "What are we doing?"
Asuka blinked and looked at her roommates.
"Oi, Junko, Momoe…what are we doing?" asked Asuka.
Momoe and Junko stopped walking and looked at each other. After a few minutes of silence, Asuka sweat dropped.
"You didn't get that far after this, didn't you?" asked Asuka.
Junko twiddled her fingers a bit whilst Momoe rubbed the back of her head, laughing awkwardly. At this point, Asuka resisted the urge to fall back anime-style or even face-palm. Jaden let her shoulders slump as she let out a mushroom sigh in annoyance.
"To think…I could be trying to attempt at defeating Red the Ultimate Trainer," said Jaden. "And yet, I'm stuck with you guys for a full day…where has my life gone to?"
Junko and Momoe narrowed their eyes at Jaden while Asuka just crossed her arms.
"And what does that mean, Jaden-kun?" asked Momoe.
Jaden froze and quickly looked around her surroundings before sighing in relief. She turned to Momoe and scowled at her.
"Oi, Momoe!" said Jaden. "Look around before you go calling me 'Jaden'! Reizo and Taniguchi could've been close by!"
Junko closed her eyes and crossed her arms.
"I doubt it," she remarked. "They're probably—"
Jaden shrieked and hid behind Asuka, earning strange looks from said girl, Junko, and Momoe. Jaden noticed these looks and carefully peeked out from behind Asuka to point out what had caused her to shriek.
"Guess who's wrong!" exclaimed Jaden.
Junko, Momoe, and Asuka turned their heads towards the direction Jaden was point at. And sure enough, there was Reizo and Taniguchi…walking about as they talked in a casual manner. It seems they haven't spotted the girls, but that wasn't the point! The fact that they were even there freaked Jaden out!
"It's like they're stalking me…" cried Jaden. "But they're not…"
Junko blinked and snickered as she patted Jaden on the head.
"Relax, Judai-kun," said Junko. "We'll keep your name secret."
Jaden sighed in relief, only for her bubble to be burst the second Momoe let out an outburst.
"That's good, because they're coming this way!" said Momoe.
Asuka turned her head and immediately pushed Jaden gently behind herself to keep her out of sight. Junko and Momoe helped out by standing by Asuka's sides. Thank the Egyptian God that was Osiris that Jaden was as small as Shou…it just made hiding her even easier.
Meanwhile with a currently heartbroken, yet still love-stricken Obelisk Blue that was Reizo Fuwa…he was actually doing rather well despite the recent discovery that his crush taken…by a Ra Yellow, no less! Something was wrong with this picture…it was probably Taniguchi, who was currently helping his friend think of a way to steal away Judai from Daichi.
It wasn't because he was worried about Reizo, no…Taniguchi was actually thinking ahead afterwards to how he himself would steal Judai away or at least ask for her number! And…hold that thought! Was that brunette in a pink dress and white sandals who they thought it was? And did she just shriek and hide behind that dark-blonde who was unmistakably the Obelisk Blue beauty, Asuka Tenjoin?
Taniguchi held his arm out to stop Reizo as he immediately directed the dark-brown haired Obelisk Blue towards the object of his attention. After a few glances at the hiding girl, Reizo looked at Taniguchi.
"Is that who I think it is?" asked Reizo.
Taniguchi crossed his arms and turned his head.
"Well, I ain't saying that it isn't," remarked Taniguchi.
Reizo looked back before turning to Taniguchi.
"Wanna find out?" suggested Reizo.
Taniguchi grinned at Reizo.
"Thought you'd never ask, Reizo-san," replied Taniguchi.
And so that's how both Obelisk Blues ended up walking towards the girls, Momoe and Junko currently ignored. If they ever knew…ohh, there would be hell to pay. Reizo and Taniguchi waved at the girls.
"Morning, ladies!" greeted Taniguchi.
Junko, Momoe, and Asuka responded back with a somewhat unenthusiastic greeting. Reizo tried to peer over the girls, only for Junko to look him in the eye.
"What are you doing, Fuwa-kun?" asked Junko.
Reizo backed up a bit from Junko and cleared his throat.
"Just wondering who's behind you," said Reizo. "So…is that Judai?"
Jaden swallowed hard and gripped Asuka's sweat, hoping with all her might that the Egyptian God that her dorm was named after would help her… Too bad Kami-sama (3) decided to ignore her pleads by scaring the crap out of her when Taniguchi tugged on the back of her dress.
"Hey, it is!" said Taniguchi.
THUD!
Taniguchi keeled over onto the ground after getting a back kick to the stomach from Jaden. Jaden was somewhat hyperventilating as she her grip on Asuka's sweater tightened. Wait, did she just…? And apparently, she did as she was now face-to-face with Reizo.
"Crap…" muttered Jaden. "Smooth, Yuki-kun…we could've done a lot better without the fail!"
Jaden sighed and narrowed her eyes.
"Great…now I'm scolding myself," thought Jaden. "What is it, Reizo?"
Reizo smiled widely at Jaden, causing her to sweat drop.
"You're looking rather beautiful today, Judai," said Reizo.
Jade-er, Judai…narrowed her eyes and Reizo and turned her head away from him as she distanced herself from him.
"Not interested," said Judai.
Reizo blinked and smirked.
"Oh, sorry…forgot about your Ra Yellow boyfriend," remarked Reizo. "What was his name? Daichi Misawa?"
Judai clenched her teeth as she glared at Reizo, who continued on.
Meanwhile with a certain Number Two,
Daichi sneezed and rubbed his nose as he had a feeling something just went on involving him. After a few seconds, he shrugged it off and continued to walk. The sun was shining and the breeze was rather nice combined with the warm sunlight…it may have been Sunday, but with weather like this, it would've been a waste to sleep in. So Daichi decided to walk around Duel Academy just for the heck of it to enjoy the pleasant weather.
Back with our Obelisk Blue group plus one Osiris Red,
"What do you see in that Ra Yellow?" asked Reizo. "Honestly, you could do better with Kaiser Ryou. I heard he thinks you're cute…"
Taniguchi got off the ground and looked at Judai and Reizo while rubbing his stomach. For a rather small girl, Judai can hit…speaking of Judai, she looked rather enraged. Judai was almost shaking in anger as she glared at Reizo.
"Shut…up!" snapped Judai. "No one talks about Misawa like that!"
Judai lifted Reizo up by the collar of his shirt and held her fist up to his face.
"If you got anything to say…say it now!" exclaimed Judai.
Reizo blinked and smiled nervously at Judai.
"You look nice in that dress…?" said Reizo.
Wrong choice of words to say to Judai… So that earned Reizo a kick below the belt…a rather hard kick to teach him better than to badmouth Judai's friends and try to flirt with her afterwards. Judai dropped Reizo onto the ground and huffed when he landed onto the ground keeled over. Taniguchi immediately ran to his friend's side while Asuka, Junko, and Momoe decided it was a good time to walk away and dragged their friend along with them.
After the girls were a good distance away from the Obelisk Blue boys, Jaden (we're back to her real name) inhaled deeply and exhaled. Asuka, Junko, and Momoe stared at Jaden, not knowing what to do with their Osiris Red friend. Although, her reaction to Reizo badmouthing Daichi was rather amusing and not to mention rather sweet to how she defended him…well, in Momoe's opinion, it was.
"Aww, that was cute!" Momoe said as she latched onto Jaden. "You defended Misawa-kun after all the bad things Fuwa-kun said about him!"
Jaden blinked as Junko crossed her arms and smiled slyly.
"I think Fuwa-kun's jealous," said Junko. "Jaden-kun, you heartbreaker…"
Jaden furrowed her brow and looked perplexed at Junko as Momoe began to pinch her cheeks.
"Eh?" said Jaden.
Asuka sighed and shook her head. Typical reaction from the girl who didn't know what a fiancée was…
"How the heck does Hayato and Shou do it?" thought Asuka.
Jaden blinked a few times before batting away Momoe's hands. Afterwards, she rubbed her cheeks.
"Don't do that again, Momoe…" said Jaden. "Oi, Junko! Wanna duel?"
Junko arched her eyebrow at Jaden and nodded as she gently elbowed Momoe in the side. Momoe reached into her pocket and handed Junko her deck whilst Asuka did the same to Jaden.
Sometime later on Main Campus,
Junko and Jaden sat on opposite sides on a bench facing each other as they dueled. Despite having not been given any shorts because of her dress's long skirt, Jaden still had no problem sitting in a cross-legged position…much to the dismay of her friends. Asuka sighed and shook her head at the Osiris Red as said girl set down her white sandals onto the ground.
A few moments had passed when a very familiar Ra Yellow walked by the girls. Daichi had to backtrack his steps after he walked pass something that caught his attention. After a few moments of backtracking, Daichi stopped and focused his gaze on a group of four girls sitting on a bench. He recognized them as Asuka, Momoe, Junko, and…was that Jaden?
"Ichiban-kun?" exclaimed Daichi.
Jaden blinked and turned her head from her hand, having been dueling Junko. She smiled and waved at Daichi as she said, "Hey, Number Two!"
Daichi found himself waving back at Jaden in response to her greeting, though in a somewhat timid manner. Junko and Momoe had turned their heads to Daichi and saw his reaction to Jaden's greeting. They giggled softly as they had a feeling the Ra Yellow's behavior was caused by the way Jaden looked. That meant both girls have done their job well when it came to bringing out their Osiris Red's feminine charm.
Asuka gave Daichi an amused smile. It was rather rare for the Ra Yellow to act a little timid around a girl…especially one he came to see as a rival. Then again, Jaden wasn't like other girls and with how she looked at the current moment, who could blame him?
"What's going on?" asked Daichi.
Asuka gestured at the current duel that was going on between Jaden and Junko. On Junko's field in attack mode, was Harpie's Brother and on Jaden's…Elemental Hero Avian, also in attack mode. Apparently, what had gone on last night was now being settled in this duel. Jaden and Junko had their gaze locked on each other, a crackling stream of lightning arcing back and forth between their eyes. Daichi arched his eyebrow at them and looked at Asuka.
"What's with the intense stares?" asked Daichi.
Asuka sighed and crossed her arms.
"Last night, Ja-Judai…was offered a Harpie's Brother for one of her Hero Kids by Junko," explained Asuka. "Long story short, Junko told Jaden her Harpie's Brother could beat Elemental Hero Avian. By the way, your girlfriend had another run-in with her suitor."
Daichi blinked and stuttered at what Asuka just referred Jaden as. Asuka grinned and laughed a bit.
"Relax, I was kidding," said Asuka.
Daichi inhaled and exhaled as he held his hand over his chest.
"Please don't do that, Asuka," said Daichi. "So…what happened?"
"The usual," said Asuka. "She kicked him down."
Daichi looked at Jaden and noticed the pink dress she wore.
"In that dress?" asked Daichi.
Asuka nodded whilst Daichi realized the sitting position Jaden was in.
"Please tell me she's wearing something under…" said Daichi.
Silence…
Daichi sighed and rubbed his temples.
"She is just too interesting," said Daichi.
Asuka closed her eyes and nodded.
"Tell me about it…" said Asuka.
"Gotcha!" Jaden said as she winked and pointed two fingers at Junko. "That was a fun duel!"
Junko frowned and picked up her cards. She and her Harpie's Brother had lost…to Elemental Hero Avian no less.
"Damn Skyscraper…" muttered Junko.
Jaden cleared her throat to catch Junko's attention and held out Elemental Hero Avian's card in her face.
"Apologize to Avian," said Jaden.
Junko sighed and said, "Sorry for doubting your strength."
Jaden nodded in approval as Winged Kuriboh perched himself on his partner's shoulder. She looked at the card in her hand and smiled at Avian.
"I couldn't have done it without you!" Jaden said before lightly kissing her Elemental Hero Avian card.
While Jaden might've missed Elemental Hero Avian's slight blush, Winged Kuriboh didn't. Winged Kuriboh puffed up as a vein popped out on his forehead at what Jaden just did.
"Kuri kuri!" snapped Winged Kuriboh.
Jaden diverted her eyes on Winged Kuriboh and stared at him, perplexed.
"What is up with him?" thought Jaden.
Jaden lifted her hand over Winged Kuriboh and gently scratched in between his wings. This immediately changed Winged Kuriboh's somewhat hostile behavior to his usual affectionate one as he purred. Jaden gathered up her deck and moved repositioned herself so she was now sitting on the bench properly as she faced Daichi. She stood up from her seat and fixed her dress a bit before looking at Daichi.
"Oi, Misawa!" said Jaden.
Daichi looked at Jaden as she started walking towards him…only to step on her dress's skirt, trip, and fall forward. Daichi reacted quickly by catching Jaden, though by doing that…it earned him potential relationship points that Junko and Momoe began to tally.
"Stupid dress…" muttered Jaden. "I'm gonna complain about it to Midori!"
Daichi arched his eyebrow at Jaden as he helped her regain her footing.
"Midori?" question Daichi.
One explanation later,
Daichi was rather calm after learning about Kouyou Hibiki's passing his deck onto Jaden. Though, unlike Junko, Momoe, and Asuka, Daichi was already shocked with Jaden being the owner of a certain Elemental Hero from when he dueled her for Asuka's number. After hearing the explanation, it made so much sense to why she owned the Hero.
"That explains why you had Elemental Hero Terra Firma," said Daichi.
Asuka looked questioningly at Daichi.
"You mean you already knew about Terra Firma?" asked Asuka.
Daichi nodded and replied, "Sure…Ichiban-kun used it in a duel against me when we were-er, dueling for the Pegasus' Island DVD."
Asuka blinked and nodded.
"Oh, must've missed it, then," said Asuka. "I did come right after you guys finished."
Jaden looked at Asuka.
"Then how did you know about the duel?" asked Jaden.
Asuka closed her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Shou-kun," replied Asuka.
Jaden blinked and nodded as she turned to Junko and Momoe. Smiling widely as she closed her eyes, Jaden held out her arms.
"Hey, can we go to the store?" asked Jaden. "I want to buy some Drawbread!"
Junko, Momoe, Asuka, and Daichi all sweat dropped with Jaden's sudden random outburst that involved food.
"Weren't we just talking about how you know Midori and Kouyou Hibiki?" asked Daichi.
Jaden put her hands behind her head and looked at Daichi as she said in a very cute manner, "Yes."
A/N Think episode 16 dubbed "Yes." cute.
"Then, what's up with the Drawbread remark?" asked Asuka.
Jaden diverted her eyes on Asuka and replied, "I'm hungry…plus, I want to buy a card pack."
Daichi and Asuka sighed is dismay while Junko and Momoe shook their heads.
A little later at the store,
Shou, having feeling hungry and wanting to try his luck a bit, decided to go to the Drawbread cart. Today was one of those days where Ryou had time to spend with his little brother and Shou had been making the most of it by talking about the 'Duel Spirit' incident along with another few interesting things. Ryou was quite amused to how Jaden owned a card that previously belonged to the Duel King, Yugi Mutou.
Ryou leaned against the wall while he kept a close eye on Shou as the blue-haired Osiris Red walked over to the Drawbread cart. He arched his eyebrow when he spotted a somewhat familiar face by the cart. It was a brown-haired girl in a pink dress and white sandals. Now it wasn't unusual to see students wearing something else other than their usual uniform on a Sunday, in fact…it was rather common. It was that he recognized the girl as the one who bumped into him yesterday whom Reizo and Taniguchi were chasing after.
Shou didn't seem to notice her as he reached into the pile of unmarked packages and pulled one out. Blinking a few times he slowly opened the package and bit into it. After chewing a few times he frowned and slumped over a bit.
"Curry bread…" lamented Shou.
The girl, Jaden, standing next to him was currently reaching into the packages when she overheard Shou. Having recognized his voice and seen his blue hair, she smiled as she searched through the packages.
"Better luck next time, Shou," said Jaden.
Shou looked up and blinked.
"Aniki?" Shou said as he looked around.
Jaden picked out a random package and looked at Shou. Shou was about ready to exclaim at his Aniki's rather different appearance followed by the fact that she was wearing a pink dress. Jaden prevented him by clamping her hand over his mouth.
"Shh!" said Jaden. "Call me 'Judai'."
Shou blinked and nodded, to which Jaden released her hold on his mouth. Jaden looked at the package of bread she picked out and opened it. She looked at it for a few seconds before biting in. Afterwards, she smiled and happily exclaimed, "I got the Golden Egg Bread!"
Insert annoyed groans and a few swears from students around the Drawbread cart here…
Some of the students around the Drawbread cart glared at Jaden with a murderous intent until they gotten a good look at her. Afterwards, they just went back to their casual talk despite their dismay at not drawing the Golden Egg Bread. Shou looked at Jaden and sighed.
"That's the sixth time in a row you've gotten it, Ani-I mean, Judai-kun," said Shou.
Jaden looked at Shou as she chewed slowly in thought. A few moments had passed when Jaden swallowed and tore her Golden Egg Bread in half. Shou arched his eyebrow at Jaden and exclaimed slightly when she handed him the unbitten half of her Golden Egg Bread.
"Judai-kun…" Shou said as he looked at the Golden Egg Bread half in his hand.
Jaden looked at Shou and smiled at him.
"I thought I'd give you half!" said Jaden.
Shou blushed slightly as he smiled back at Jaden.
"Thanks, Judai-kun!" said Shou.
Jaden laughed a bit and ruffled Shou's hair. This earned Shou many death glares from jealous male students who had seen Jaden give him half her Golden Egg Bread. The majority who were angry at the gender-mistaken girl for giving half her bread to an Osiris Red were Obelisk Blue students with superiority-complexes.
Ryou had seen everything and walked over to his younger brother and the girl he knew as Judai. His sudden appearance followed by his actions that involved him placing his hand on Shou's shoulder caused the murderous glares to immediately stop and had caused some Obelisk Blue students to walk away. Staring sternly at the remaining Obelisk Blues, Ryou focused his gaze back on Shou as the blue-haired Osiris Red looked questioningly at his Onii-san.
"Onii-san?" said Shou.
Judai looked up at Ryou after taking another bite out of her Golden Egg Bread.
"Hey, Kaiser Ryou," Judai said as she chewed.
Ryou looked at Judai and gave her a small smile. She looked rather familiar now that he had gotten a closer look at her. If he didn't know any better, then he would've think she looked like a female version of—Ryou's eyes widened slightly as came to a conclusion after putting two and two together. He chuckled a bit afterwards.
"So that's what Asuka meant by interesting," thought Ryou. "Never would've thought it."
Ryou ruffled Judai's hair as he looked at Shou.
"You sure do have an interesting Aniki," said Ryou.
Shou blinked and nodded.
"Yeah!" said Shou.
Judai bit into her bread again while Ryou and Shou talked a bit.
"Aren't you going to invite Judai?" asked Ryou.
Shou blinked and rubbed the back of his head as he turned to Judai.
"Judai-kun, you want to come along?" asked Shou.
Judai looked at Shou as she chewed slowly in thought before nodding.
"Sure…it'd give me a reason to ditch Asuka, Momoe, and Junko," Judai said before swallowing.
Shou closed his eyes and laughed awkwardly as Judai placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Oi, Shou!" said Judai. "Do you mind if I buy a card pack?"
Ryou placed his hand on Judai's head to earn her attention.
"Mind if I buy it for you?" asked Ryou.
Judai looked questioningly at Ryou.
"Hm?" she said.
Ryou looked over at the counter and replied, "It's the least I can do for a friend of Shou's."
Judai blinked and shrugged.
"Uh, sure…?" said Judai.
Ryou nodded and started to make his way towards the counter, where Tome was currently standing at by the register.
"Hello, Ryou-kun!" Tome greeted. "What can I do for you?"
Ryou reached into his pocket as he replied, "Can I get one card pack?"
Tome blinked and smiled at Ryou as she reached under the counter for a packet.
"Sure thing, Kaiser!" said Tome. "Are you buying it for yourself or is it for someone else? You rarely buy card packs anymore."
Ryou directed Tome at Judai and Shou. Tome spotted Judai and smiled.
"So, it's for a girl," Tome said, giggling softly afterwards.
Ryou stayed calm and collected as he handed Tome money for the packet she gave him.
"It's not in that way," said Ryou. "It's just a little gift for Shou's friend, Judai."
Tome accepted the money and punched in a few buttons on the register before handing Ryou his change.
"So that's Judai-chan…" Tome said, already having been told about Jaden's alias by Asuka.
Ryou arched his eyebrow at Tome as he placed his change into his pocket.
"You've heard about her?" asked Ryou.
Tome nodded as she replied, "I've heard about a girl by the name of 'Judai' rejecting a boy and kicking him down when he wouldn't leave her alone. I just never thought that cute little girl was Judai-chan."
Ryou nodded and looked at Judai.
"Looks can be deceiving," remarked Ryou. "Oh, Tome-san…would you mind giving Asuka and her friends a message? I left my PDA in my room."
Tome blinked and nodded as she smiled at Ryou.
"Sure, Kaiser!" said Tome.
Sometime later,
Asuka, Momoe, and Junko walked up to Tome at the counter, each girl holding a cone with soft serve ice-cream. They were meaning to eat lunch with Jaden, but decided to give her a break by leaving her by the Drawbread cart, but not before telling Tome to keep a close eye on her. Asuka greeted the older woman and looked around for Jaden, but saw that she was nowhere in sight.
"Oi, Tome-san, where's Judai?" asked Asuka.
Tome blinked and handed Asuka a folded piece of paper.
"Ryou-kun told me to give this to you," replied Tome. "Don't worry, Judai-chan is okay."
Asuka nodded and accepted the piece of paper. She unfolded the paper and read the small message on it. Junko and Momoe looked curiously at the paper as Asuka read it.
"Asuka-san, where's Judai-kun?" asked Momoe.
Asuka looked up from the paper and smiled at her friends.
"Oh, she's with Ryou and Shou," said Asuka.
Junko blinked and puffed up her cheeks a bit.
"So Judai-kun ditched us, eh?" said Junko.
Asuka shrugged and folded up the paper.
"We should've seen it coming," said Asuka.
Junko sighed and nodded before taking a lick out of her ice-cream.
"Good point," said Junko. "Might as well get her stuff ready to take back to her dorm…Momoe?"
Momoe was currently smiling happily as a blush tinged her cheeks.
"Judai-kun is so lucky!" exclaimed Momoe. "Be able to spend a day with Shou-kun and Kaiser Ryou…it's almost like a date!"
Junko blinked and smiled slyly as she crossed her arms.
"You're right," agreed Junko. "It is almost like a date."
Asuka looked at her friends and sighed while Tome just laughed a bit.
"So, have you gotten the pictures?" asked Tomoe.
Asuka blinked and reached into her pocket and handed Tome an unmarked packet. Tome accepted the packet and opened the flap at the top as she looked at one of the many pictures stored inside.
"You girls sure know how to do a good job on Judai-chan!" complimented Tome.
Asuka, Junko, and Momoe nodded as they thanked Tome.
Meanwhile in Jaden's secret spot,
Shou and Jaden sat by each other on the grass while they leaned back against the big, shady tree. Ryou stood by them, his back against the tree as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes to enjoy the pleasant breeze. Shou had just finished tearing his Curry Bread in half to give the unbitten part to Jaden in return for the Golden Egg Bread she shared with him. Jaden was currently muttering about how everyone knew about her secret spot…well, everyone except Ryou, but still!
"This just defeats the point of being a secret…" said Jaden.
Shou handed Jaden the unbitten half of his Curry Bread, to which she accepted and immediately started eating. He closed his eyes and laughed a bit at her as he lifted his half of Curry Bread to his mouth.
"Maybe if you didn't always come here, it would've stayed a secret!" Shou said before taking a bite out of his bread.
Jaden looked at Shou with one eye open as she chewed and swallowed.
"I think you're right…well, too late for that!" Jaden said as she used both her hands to shove the rest of her Curry Bread half into her mouth.
Shou looked nervously at Jaden, her habit of stuffing her mouth with food beginning to concern him. He should've been used to it by now, but it still made him worry about his Aniki choking on her food. A small tap on his shoulder made the blue-haired Osiris Red look up to see that it was Ryou holding out a water bottle for him. Shou blinked and took the water bottle Ryou gave him.
"T-Thank you, Onii-san," said Shou.
Ryou nodded and returned to looking out at the ocean as Shou twisted the cap on the bottle. Jaden had just swallowed and let out a content sigh when Shou offered her an opened bottle of water. Blinking a few times, she took the bottle and patted Shou on the head.
"Thanks, Shou!" said Jaden. "Hey, want to help me look over the cards I got?"
Shou blinked as Jaden held up the card pack Ryou bought for her. After a few moments, he nodded.
A few moments later,
Jaden poked her tongue out as she carefully opened the card pack. The cards were emptied out of the packet and landed on the skirt of Jaden's dress. Afterwards, Jaden and Shou began to look over the cards. Jaden picked one up and looked at it, inwardly squealing at the cute monster that she got.
"Aww, it's White Magician Pikeru!" exclaimed Jaden.
Shou's curiosity was piqued and he leaned closer to Jaden's side to get a good look at the card in her hand. Sure enough, he also found White Magician Pikeru cute, but not cute enough to match Dark Magician Girl's charm. Ryou overheard Shou and his friend and decided to say something, having known about White Magician Pikeru.
"That's a rather rare card you have right there," said Ryou.
Jaden diverted her eyes at Ryou as Shou continued to look at White Magician Pikeru's card.
"Hm?" she said.
"White Magician Pikeru can increase your life points by 400 points for each monster on your side of the field during your Standby Phase," explained Ryou. "In other words, it's a good card to have on your field while you're in a pinch."
Jaden blinked and looked back at White Magician Pikeru.
"Really?" asked Jaden. "That's sweet!"
Jaden set down White Magician Pikeru and went back to looking at the other cards. After a few seconds, Shou picked up a card and turned it over to look at it. A small blush tinged his cheeks as he stared at the card in his hand. Jaden stared at Shou for a full minute before curiosity got the better of her. She gently grabbed Shou's wrist and pulled it closer to herself to get a good look at the card in his hand.
"Thunder Nyan Nyan…" said Jaden. "She's got a good ATK of 1900."
Jaden looked at Shou, who was still blushing, and realized something. A devious smile formed on her lips as she let go of Shou's wrist.
"You like her, don't you?" asked Jaden.
Shou snapped back into reality and his face burned red as he stuttered. Jaden laughed and shook her head. Ryou looked at them with a faint smile on his lips in amusement.
"I thought you liked Dark Magician Girl, Shou," remarked Ryou.
Shou turned to Ryou and frowned as his own brother was teasing him.
"Onii-san!" whined Shou.
A few moments later after various teasing,
Jaden calmed down and looked at Shou, smiling.
"You can have her, Shou," said Jaden.
Shou turned to Jaden and immediately handed back Thunder Nyan Nyan, not wanting to put up with anymore teasing.
"T-That's okay!" said Shou. "Besides, she's your card."
Jaden blinked and closed her eyes as she placed Thunder Nyan Nyan into the small card stack she made.
"Fine…" she said. "So…wanna duel?"
Shou reached into his pocket and held out his deck.
"Do you have your deck?" asked Shou.
Jaden blinked and was about to search her pockets when she realized something…she didn't have any pockets in this dress and what's more…
"Ra dammit!" swore Jaden. "I left my deck with Asuka!"
Jaden groaned and looked down. Shou patted his Aniki on the back reassuringly.
"It's okay, Judai-kun," said Shou. "We'll think of something…"
Jaden diverted her eyes on Shou and focused her gaze on his glasses.
"Maybe there's another way to pass the time…" said Jaden. "Mine!"
Shou blinked as Jaden snatched his glasses and distanced herself away from him. Oh, not again…
"Aniki!" exclaimed Shou.
Ryou diverted his gaze on his younger brother and his friend. It never ceased to amuse him when it came to watching Jaden playing keep-away with Shou's glasses. Especially since his earlier conclusion about Judai really being Jaden with an alias and a mistaken gender was true. Though, this did make it a bit awkward when it came to his assumption when Jaden bumped into him the other day.
"I'm still glad she wasn't confessing," thought Ryou.
"Aniki, give them back!" exclaimed Shou.
Ryou snapped out of his thoughts and saw that Shou was currently chasing after Jaden for his glasses. Sometimes he wondered why Shou even needed glasses…then again, what Jaden usually wore stuck out like a sore thumb through his younger brother's blurry vision. A pink dress…yeah, definitely screams, "I'm here!" like a red target marker.
After at least an hour full of playing keep-away, Ryou began to wonder where the two first-years had gone. Apparently, Jaden decided to take this game into the forest the secret spot wasn't an exactly safe place, what with being by a cliff and all…Anyways, more to the point, Ryou decided to see what had taken Shou and Jaden long. What he had come across wasn't exactly what he expected…hell! He had to think fast before he ran over to help his brother, Shou.
Apparently, Jaden's dress's long skirt proved its annoyingness by causing her to trip and almost fall into a thorn bush...almost being the keyword had it not been for Shou's quick reaction skills and fortunate accuracy through his blurry vision. Shou was currently pulling on Jaden's dress to keep her from falling into that bush. It happened once before, he wasn't gonna let it happen again!
Thankfully, Ryou helped Shou put by pulling Jaden back…somewhat forcefully, but hey! It got the job done. Jaden yelped as she landed rear-first onto the ground, but for what it was worth, she avoided thorny pain and a visit from Ayukawa (and not to mention another lecture). Ryou sighed and walked over to Jaden as she rubbed her backside. He held out his hand to her and instead of her grabbing onto his hand, Jaden gave him back Shou's glasses. Blinking a few times, he got the feeling Jaden didn't want any help getting off the ground.
Damn straight she didn't! Jaden landed onto the ground too many times to need help from anyone. She was far too stubborn for that…especially since her stubbornness was backed up by her pride. Though, that didn't exactly mean Ryou was going to stop trying and a look from Shou made Jaden think twice before taking Ryou's hand.
Later,
Daichi was somewhat annoyed. He was just walking by and he had happened to come across Asuka and her friends. And for some reason, Asuka gave him the job of giving Jaden back her possessions, which meant he had to go look for her. In the past hour, he had been searching for the gender-mistaken girl. I mean, it wasn't like finding a girl in a pink dress was that hard, right?
He was wrong…so, so very wrong. The only thing he knew was that she was currently with the Kaiser and his younger brother, Shou. Sighing, Daichi decided to start looking for Jaden in her 'secret spot'. Nothing on the top of the Main Academy Building, so that just left the tree…
And coming across a rather calm Ryou standing by a sleeping Shou and Jaden wasn't exactly what Daichi expected to see, but he wasn't complaining. Ryou diverted his eyes on Daichi and arched his eyebrow at the bag the Ra Yellow held in his hand.
"What's that?" asked Ryou.
Daichi held up the bag as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Asuka wanted me to give this to Ja-er, Judai," said Daichi. "Ichiban-kun's deck, PDA, and uniform are in it."
Ryou nodded as Daichi gently nudged Jaden awake. Jaden yawned loudly and stretched her arms, accidentally waking Shou up in the process. Shou rubbed his eyes and turned to his Aniki, who was getting a bag handed to her by Daichi.
"Your deck is in the bag," said Daichi.
Jaden blinked and immediately started looking through the bag for her deck. After a few seconds, she happily exclaimed in joy as she held up her deck.
"Shou, get your deck out!" said Jaden. "We're dueling!"
And that's how Ryou spent the next hour watching his brother and his friend duel. Daichi decided to stay and watch as well, talking a bit with Ryou to pass the time..
"So, have you run into Reizo and Taniguchi, yet?" asked Ryou.
Daichi looked at Ryou before focusing his gaze on Jaden.
"I'm not sure who they are, but I think I might've met them the other day," replied Daichi. "He challenged to a duel where the winner has the right to court Ichiban-kun."
Ryou blinked as a faint, amused smile formed on his lips.
"How did it go?" he asked.
Daichi closed his eyes and shook his head as he answered, "I don't know…he backed out after his friend told him something."
Ryou diverted his eyes on Jaden.
"Jaden is certainly an interesting Osiris Red," said Ryou.
Daichi opened his eyes and looked at Ryou.
"You don't know the half of it," said Daichi. "So, I take it you already found out?"
Ryou shrugged and replied, "Figured it out by how she acted around Shou today despite her different appearance…so, how did you find out?"
Daichi's face burned red at the memory of his discovery. He turned his head away from Ryou as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I rather not talk about it…" said Daichi. "It's something better left unsaid."
Sometime later, Ryou walked the Osiris Reds back to their dorm before making his way towards his respective dorm. Jaden and Shou were greeted by a rather amused Hayato, who was in his bed, the minute they entered the room.
"So, flat-chest actually has some appeal…" said Hayato.
Jaden growled as she closed the door behind her. Shou took off his shoes and immediately backed away from Jaden afterwards. He didn't want to be by her when she snapped…which she just did at this very exact moment.
"Shut it, Koala-man!" snapped Jaden. "I'm not in the mood for this!"
Hayato grinned at Jaden as she kicked off her sandals.
"I never thought you'd ever wear a dress," said Hayato. "Did you buy it yourself?"
Jaden tightened her fist as she walked over to Shou.
"It was a gift…that Junko and Momoe forced me into," said Jaden.
Shou blinked and looked closely at Jaden. Earlier, he had noticed something different about her, but he wasn't too sure and Jaden wouldn't let him ask about it. So now was a good as any to ask…
"Aniki, are you wearing make-up?" asked Shou.
Jaden froze as both Shou and Hayato stared at her. Hayato blinked a few times as he looked at the gender-mistaken girl in disbelief.
"No way…are you serious?" asked Hayato. "Jaden is actually wearing make-up?"
Shou looked closely at Jaden once more and looked up at Hayato.
"Yes," said Shou.
Hayato shook his head and started to climb out of his bunk bed.
"I gotta see this for myself!" said Hayato.
Jaden clenched her teeth and glared at Hayato.
"Don't even think about it, Koala-man!" snapped Jaden. "I am not in the mood!"
Hayato ignored Jaden and as a result, he ended up having to chase after her as she avoided him. Though, he managed to corner her when she tried to run out the door only for Daitokuji to block the exit. Jaden looked up at Daitokuji as he looked down at her.
"Hello, Jaden-kun," greeted Daitokuji. "Where do you think you're going-nya?"
Jaden blinked and replied, "My room?"
Daitokuji smiled and ruffled Jaden's hair as he handed her a key and a bottle filled with a clear liquid. Jaden stared questioningly at the items Daitokuji handed her. The professor noticed her confusion and spoke.
"Just thought you'd want the key to your room-nya," said Daitokuji. "As for the bottle…you'll figure it out on your own-nya."
Jaden nodded and smiled at Daitokuji.
"Thanks, Daitokuji-sensei!" she said.
Daitokuji nodded and was about to make his way back to his own room when he stopped and turned to Jaden.
"By the way, you're looking rather cute today-nya," said Daitokuji. "It's a nice look for you…"
And with that said, Daitokuji closed the door behind him. Jaden blinked a few times before being turned around by Hayato to face him. Hayato looked closely at Jaden and smirked.
"So you are wearing make-up!" said Hayato.
Jaden narrowed her eyes and pulled away from Hayato.
"No crap…" she remarked. "Now, I wonder what this bottle's for…"
Jaden looked at the bottle's label and read it. Afterwards, she looked at her nails and found out why Daitokuji gave it to her. And while she spent the next few moments removing the red nail polish painted on her nails, Daitokuji was currently sending certain pictures of a gender-mistaken girl to a certain father of hers. How Jaden's father reacted to pictures of his daughter in various outfits, we will never know. But let's just say… he now had something to show to his coworkers at his job and to his good friends Midori and Kouyou.
In other words, we can interpret this motion as a way for Jaden's father to show off how adorable his daughter could be. And so ended a very eventful Sunday, which meant that was one day closer to Valentine's Day…
"Might as well figure out how I'm going to do this…" Jaden thought as she sighed.
A/N End of chapter and sorry about the ending…I kinda didn't know how to end it. Anyways, yes, I know it's been ten days since the last update, but I was busy! I have less than a week of vacation, chores, and distractions like trying to make the most of my remaining vacation time. Anyways, credit goes to Hestic for giving me the idea to have Jaden dressed up in various outfits, have the girls take pictures of her in those outfits, and have Daitokuji somehow get a hold of some of these pictures to send to Jaden's father. Yup! That was all Hestic idea!
Now aside from that, I would like to say something…does anyone bother reading these A/N's? I swear! When I say if you want to know when the next chapter will be up, gugure kasu, I mean, "Go Google it!" That means I'm not answering! And please don't ask me about the plot or who will end up with Jaden!
I'm keeping pairings secret for a reason and that's so I don't focus much on them! Besides, it's too early in the story to even THINK about pairings! Now quit asking, or I'll start ignoring you…sheesh, I think I know how LittleKuriboh feels like when people ask him when the next episode will be up, which episode 48 was uploaded just six days ago. Best episode ever…well, all of them are, but whatever! Well, now that I'm done ranting…
(1) A little reference to DarkSideIncorporated's Yu-Gi-Oh GX the Abridged series…you know? The "Eavesdropping is so much fun!" part…yeah…
(2) Got the adjusting the cheongsam's slit and some dialogue off of episode 5 of Maburaho, which is an anime I found interesting except for the ending and my friends and me would all agree…the ending sucked.
(3) No, I'm not referring to that Kami-sama…why would Haruhi Suzumiya be in Yu-Gi-Oh GX, anyways? Exactly! No, it's not me in Haruhi cosplay, either. I'm only Kami-sama when I'm with my friends and that's it…okay, maybe it was me a bit, but that was because I was typing it and I was referring to Osiris! Ugh…
Anyways, as you can see there was foreshadowing in the chapter about the next one and also…I'd like to thank Yuri n' Chuka for being Reviewer #50! I would like to also thank A Neverending Dream of Flight, heartlessneko, Layne Locket, WoNdY Alice especially, BTW, I LOVE your stories! Anyways, where was I? Oh right! Luving Randomness, PrincessAnime08, Hestic (again), Yuri n' Chuka (again), digiwriter1392, Lightmagegirl4437, ThePathUntaken, nekozr, and TyKaXLoves for all helping me reach 56 reviews in the past month this story's been in existence! I feel special knowing you guys love my story! If I forgot anyone, please tell me in a review since I'm rushing through this a bit…I have chores, dammit! DX Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter and PLEASE don't ask me when the next chapter will be up! Also, NO FLAMES! You already know the drill! Constructive criticism is always welcomed, and reviews are just things that make me happy! And sorry if anyone was OOC!
Now, I must go and do my job and clean up my house…oh, this is rather ironic being Super Daichi's maid, also… heartlessneko, you're needed as a sidekick at the current moment! XD Okay now wait patiently for the next chapter!