A/N: A new chapter! Alright, enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.
Aki frantically looked through her things, searching for something to wear on that freaking date Yusei had asked her out on.
"Ooh, that guy!" she said, ending her vain search. "What am I supposed to do now!?"
Briefly, she thought that another woman up here might have something she could borrow, so she headed out to find one. As she walked down the hall, though, she started having second thoughts.
Oh. What am I thinking? Of course the answer's no! They're scientists, for crying out loud! And that friend of Judai's is a little too young! Could this be any worse!?
"Aki? You okay?"
She turned, startled, to find herself face to face with Asuka. "Asuka! D-don't scare me like that! Didn't your mama ever tell you it's rude to sneak up on people!?"
"I'm sorry," Asuka answered. "I didn't mean to scare you, it's just...you looked a bit, and don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you looked...well, a bit frantic. Are you-"
"Frantic!?" Aki cut her off. "Who said I was frantic!? I—" She cut herself off, realizing Asuka was right. With a sigh, she said, "Okay. So maybe I am being a bit childish. It's just, Yusei asked me out tomorrow, and I don't have anything to wear."
"What? Why'd he do that here, of all places?"
"I don't know. It's Yusei. What can I say? Any ideas on what I should do?"
"Hmm..." Asuka thought about it for a moment before saying, "No. Sorry. But, hey, maybe, if we look around long enough, we'll find someone who does." She paused before adding, "Although, I can't help you past noon, okay?"
"And why's that?" Aki asked.
"Let's just say, I owe someone a lunch date..."
"Okay."
"W-what!?" Asuka demanded, taking in the sight before her. "Why's this here!?"
After wandering around for a little bit, she and Aki had found a shopping center—basically a mall—with a shoe store, clothing store, jewelry store...and the sign in front said everything was free. Yeah, she had to be dreaming.
"Don't look at me!" Aki said. "I thought this place was supposed to be a science lab, but it's looking more and more like a city in space..."
"...Yeah..."
The two just stood there for several minutes, staring. Seriously, where were they? A space ark meant to study space? Or a space colony in the making?
"Anyway, Aki," Asuka said at last, "we should probably check it out. After all, you might find something for your date tomorrow in there, and I think I should get something special, too... N-not that I'm going on a date or anything, it's just...something deep down inside me says I should look my best for this lunch... I can't explain it, but..."
Aki just watched her for a moment before saying, "You're having lunch with Judai, aren't you?"
Asuka hesitated before answering, "Yeah... See, we got into this fight earlier today, and he told me some stuff my future self said, and, well..." She trailed off.
"'I will have to live forever with the sadness of having been betrayed by you...' No, Asuka, that's me! It's always been me!"
She shook her head, pulling herself away from the memory. "I just need to make it up to him, that's all."
"Okay. Then let's stop wasting time here and get some shopping done!" Aki said excitedly, giving a playful glare.
"Yeah! But try to be quick. I don't have as much time as you do!" Asuka said with a laugh.
Aki laughed, too. "Okay! Come on!"
She ran into the shopping center, Asuka following along, both of them excited.
The two tried on outfit after outfit, only stopping when they had both found something perfect for their respective occasions—the actual outfit, along with matching shoes, jewelry, and hair accessories. Aki even went so far as to get some makeup. They weren't done until almost 11.
"Well, anyway, Aki," Asuka said, holding a bag with her new belongings, "it's been fun, but I really need to go and get ready. Good luck with Yusei tomorrow!"
"Thanks, you, too," Aki said. "Let's just hope this one actually works out. Otherwise, I'm so done with him." She crossed her arms, suddenly looking mad.
"And why's that?"
"Well, think about it, kid. How can anyone possibly form a relationship with a guy who's cursed!? We can't even start a date, let alone bond on one! Why bother trying? You get what I'm saying?"
Asuka's eyes widened. After a moment, she said, "I know what you mean... It sounds like it's rough trying to love someone like that... But it's not his fault. I mean, so what if he's cursed? He still loves you, right? I'm sure there are ways around it."
Annoyed, Aki demanded, "Like what!?"
"Well, let's take Judai for example," Asuka answered, thinking that was a great example of a guy with a curse that wasn't his fault. "He doesn't age and never dies. That means, one day, you'd lose him forever and be all alone... But he is eighteen and can still have children! So, at the very least, you could have his kids to take with you and love even after he was gone!"
Of course, it felt a bit odd to be speaking of him as being the one who was gone—she'd be the one heading to the afterlife. Regardless, she pressed on.
"I understand my future self's mistake now. She may not have been able to have him afterward, but she could have at least held onto him while she still could. I broke his heart to pieces that day... All because I didn't understand..."
Aki was listening carefully, thinking about what the younger girl was saying.
Looking away, Asuka said, "Why, it's no wonder my kindness hurts him more than helps him. He's still hurting over those regrets and the pain I caused him that day. And I bet, if I don't do something before it's too late, those painful memories will carry over to his other self when he reaches the right age, and that could change how he feels about me forever... I don't want that to happen, so I'd better make things right..."
The idea of Judai remembering things from another life didn't seem so far-fetched when she thought about the fact that she knew him even though they hadn't met yet. Unsure how the space/time continuum worked, Asuka was indeed worried that something of that nature could happen, costing her a good friend it didn't sound like she really deserved.
"You have a point there...," Aki admitted. "I mean, it's not Yusei's fault he's cursed with such bad luck, and I know I'm breaking his heart, so... Okay, Asuka!" she said, sounding confident and excited. "I'll keep that in mind! After all, we can always drag a third wheel along everywhere we go, can't we? We never have problems when someone else is there! It's not perfect, but it will do if it means we can be together, right!?"
"Exactly! We can still form a relationship, even if it's a little different!" Asuka said with a smile.
"Right! So let's both do our best with our dates tomorrow and prove it!"
"Right. But...mine's in an hour," Asuka said, laughing a bit.
"Right. My bad!" Aki laughed. "Well, then, what are you waiting for!? Hurry up and get home so you can get ready!"
Asuka nodded. Running off, she called, "See you later, Aki! And thanks!"
"No! Thank you!" Aki called after her. "And good luck mending the fences! Catch ya later!"
"You, too! Later!"
Feeling much better about this upcoming date, Aki hurried back to her room to try on her new outfit one more time.
While the girls had been shopping, Judai, around 9:14, had been in his room, talking to Sho about the clothing issue.
"No! I swear! I had nothing to do with you meeting Asuka because Manjoume stole your clothes!" Sho said.
Judai crossed his arms, looking stern. "Funny, I don't think I mentioned Asuka, Sho..."
Sho sweat, putting on a huge, goofy grin—a guilty grin. "O-oh! You didn't!? W-well, I just thought, since you had to search in the north block girls' room, I just figured you did run into her!" He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Hmm... I never mentioned that, either."
Sho's grin widened, and he started sweating buckets. "Uh, well, see...I, uh...guessed?" He laughed slightly, nervous. "I'm dead now, aren't I?"
Judai closed his eyes and shook his head. "Ah, Sho, I'd say yes, but..."
Sho looked nervous. "But...?" he pressed, sweating.
"But I'm not that kind of guy. Besides," he said, giving a mischievous grin, "I already know how and when you're going to die."
Sho sweat some more. "Oh...uh... I should run, then, right?"
Judai just grinned in response. Sho backed away a few steps, slowly, before turning and bolting.
Judai let him go. I knew he'd do that. Sometimes, the best way to punish someone is to just let them tremble for awhile.
"Ah, Judai," Yubel said, grinning evilly. "That's mean..." She snickered.
"Hey, it's not my fault if he's so easy to scare. I mean, I was telling the truth, seeing as I'm from the future and all," he answered, grinning.
"True, true," she said, nodding. After another moment, she asked, "So are you still going to this lunch? I mean, you know who that is and how you feel about her. What if you're hit with your regrets again and—"
"I'll be fine, and I'm going," he cut her off, speaking very firmly.
"But what about the pain? You still feel it, even though you're trying to cover it up. I mean, she not only broke your heart badly, but your own regrets are still haunting you. I can feel it, Judai... Deep down, you don't want to do this..."
It took him a little while to answer. "I have to, Yubel."
"Why? You said back in Yusei's place you weren't a glutton for punishment. But, ever since coming here, you've been punishing yourself!"
Judai crossed his arms, looking off to the side. "Well, I clearly proved that statement wrong by agreeing to come back here in the first place, so clearly I am a glutton for punishment. Now...I might as well enjoy the time I can spend with these guys while I've got it, right? I mean, you know, seeing as how I'll never..."
"Judai..."
Winged Kuriboh looked about ready to hit her.
Judai smiled sadly and added, "It's like I said earlier: Don't think about the future until it comes, and leave the past in the past. In my situation, that's probably the best way to live."
Yubel just stared at him sadly for a minute before saying, "I'm sorry..."
Judai didn't answer. Winged Kuriboh hit the loudmouth fiend for depressing their friend again.
"I know, I know...," she muttered.
And the puffball began yelling at her about how they had just gotten him cheered up, and then she had to go and open her big mouth about the possibility of them still failing and remind him of how many regrets he had and broken hearts...
Judai walked off as the little spirit continued, unable to stand his own company any longer. Or the company of those two. He needed to find someone else to talk to—anyone else.
Manjoume was still lounging at the pool when Judai walked by, except now Jack had joined him. Jack was wearing a black speedo, an open white button-down shirt with short sleeves, sunglasses, and a fancy white hat. The two looked like the best of friends, which didn't surprise Judai, honestly. After all, they were both rich—or, for Jack, formerly rich—snobs.
Manjoume saw the brunette wearing his own clothes again and smirked. "Hey, there, idiot. I guess you found your stuff?" he taunted.
Jack looked.
"Yeah, I found them," Judai said. Grinning, he taunted, "Oh, and Asuka's mad at you now, you pervert."
"Hey. What can I say. It was empty, and I just had to do it."
"Do what, exactly?" Jack asked.
Yubel was gaping at the blond duelist. "So hot..."
"Stick my clothes in the ladies' room on the north block," Judai answered.
"You did what!?" Jack demanded.
Manjoume shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. Sho paid me to do it."
Jack gaped, his sunglasses falling off. Yubel was sweating buckets, still staring lustfully at him.
"Yeah, well, you might want to try justifying that one to Asuka, rich boy," Judai said, reminding Manjoume that he shouldn't be taking monetary bribes. "You know, before she gets around to killing you."
"Yeah, yeah," Manjoume muttered, paddling to the edge of the pool.
"And why on earth would your best friend want someone to do something like that to you?" Jack asked. "That makes no sense, coming from a complete wimp like him."
"...Jack sure looks good today... So...muscular and..."
She kept babbling about how sexy Jack was and how she just wanted to bang him and all the things she would do with him if she could, getting into such graphic detail that Judai tried his best to tune her out. She'd suck his dick any day—oh, geez, she was polluting Judai's mind!
Ugh, Yubel, shut up! Still trying to tune her out, he answered, "Trying to make me run into Asuka, although I don't know what good missing clothes will do our relationship." Muttering, he added, "Or lack thereof." Louder, he said, "Also, Yubel says you look good."
Jack humphed. "No surprise there. The ladies all want a piece of this."
Drooling, Yubel nodded mechanically. Manjoume, on the other hand, ran off to face the music.
"Anyway, didn't Akutsu say you shouldn't be forming any relationships with those of the past?" Jack asked, getting back on subject. "Something about destroying the space/time continuum? Are you trying to end life as we know it!?" He sounded annoyed.
Judai shrugged. "I'm not trying to start a relationship with her. Besides, we're already working on destroying the space/time continuum by letting her, Manjoume, and Sho tag along," he said, voicing his suspicions for the first time.
"Then why the devil did you bring them!?" Jack demanded, sounding rather angry. "Are you out of your fucking mind!? What happens now!"
"I tried not to let them come. What, am I the only one responsible? Yusei was leaving the decision to let them come up to me. It's not my fault if nobody else thought to protest. Besides, in case you don't remember, I asked someone to give Manjoume a good reason not to come, and I was protesting the other two at first, too. As to what happens..." He shrugged and started walking off.
Jack sat there, fuming at Yusei. This was, after all, his fault—his crazy idea, his decision to let Judai decide whether the past kids came... I am so going to kill that man!
"Judai? You okay?" Yubel asked.
Yeah. Fine, he answered silently.
"Don't listen to him. They all know Yusei's the smart one, and if he thinks it's okay, then it probably is."
Yubel, what does it really matter to me if the space/time continuum falls apart? I've been thinking it will this whole time.
"W-what!?"
You heard me.
"Then why didn't you say anything!?" She suddenly knew why he was speaking to her in their mind rather than aloud. "Don't you care!?"
Sure, I do. But I can't say I know anything about space/time. I've traveled through time twice in the past, and both times I've met a guy I shouldn't meet until the day of the entrance exams. For all I know, I'm overreacting here. I give up on figuring this stuff out. Let Yusei and the others worry about it.
"Ever the idiot...," Yubel said, shaking her head. "Well, fine, then. Then you might as well get ready for your date with Asuka in an hour... But don't say I didn't warn you."
"Right," he said aloud.
"I still say this is a bad... What are you doing?"
For reasons Yubel couldn't discern, Judai was putting on a different pair of pants—a pair he hadn't slept in, fresh from the laundry.
"Getting ready for my 'date,' like you said to," he answered, reaching for an iron.
"You do realize this isn't a real date, right? So why are you ironing that old, wrinkled thing?" Yubel asked, watching him iron his jacket. "Everyone's already used to how it looks on you."
"Why not?" he asked. He finished up with the jacket and put it on, then grabbed a comb.
"Okay. Seriously. What gives? Why are you acting like this is some super important moment in your life? It's just a friendly lunch, right?"
"I don't know, okay?" he admitted, running the comb through his hair. "I just...feel like it's...more important than that..."
Yubel stared, worried. "So, let me get this straight. You're going to make this into a real date with that girl and cause yourself a mountain of heartache should this plan fail? You're a real glutton for punishment."
"I already figured that out, thanks very much!" he snapped, thinking of his idiocy in accepting Yusei's invitation to live with him and his friends, along with the fact that he'd been befriending the others.
He finished combing his hair, then looked himself over in a mirror to make sure everything looked just right.
"...I can't to this...," Yubel said quietly. Being fused with him caused him so much pain that she couldn't stand it.
"Too late for that. Besides, it wasn't really your choice, now, was it?"
"Judai..." She looked at him sadly, feeling suffocated by his pain.
Judai kept getting ready for this lunch date of his, making some last minute adjustments before deciding he was as ready as he'd ever be and heading out to get the girl.
Judai knocked on Asuka's door. "Hey, Asuka!"
"Oh! Uh, Judai... One minute!" she called.
Twenty minutes later, she was still in her room. Yubel was getting a really bad feeling.
"Judai...," she said, sounding nervous.
Relax. It's okay, he told her.
Asuka opened the door, wearing a dress with a flowing green skirt, the bodice of which was lighter and boasted swirling designs of the same shade as the skirt. She had a white hair clip in her hair and white flats.
"Judai!" Yubel exclaimed.
Judai took one look at her and turned as red as a tomato. "Uh..."
"I'm sorry I kept you. So, you ready?" she asked with a smile.
"Uh, yeah," he answered. "You look...amazing, by the way."
"Judai, you idiot!" Yubel panicked. "Get out of here before—you know! That happens! Judai!"
"Great! Let's go, then," Asuka said, walking off.
As Judai followed her, Yubel smacked herself in the face. "That's it. I'm hibernating til the end of time..."
"Kuri," Winged Kuriboh agreed, not wanting to see Judai so crushed that even he and Yubel could no longer bear it. The two disappeared, intending never to reappear before the brunette.