It's been a week since Asuka had her Duel with Reggie. While the former had won, it's not without cost. Reggie had been taken hostage by Oogumo, as he wanted to use her as a puppet for his next scheme. It was also the reason that Reggie gave Minerva's card to Kuromu for safekeeping before the temple in the sky collapsed. Not only that, they had recently been informed that David had also disappeared. The group had a bad guess that the spider-masked man had something to do with his disappearance.
Nevertheless, the Seven Star activities had gone quiet as well. No doubt that since two of their members were abducted by a third party and Fubuki was back, it would make sense that the Seven Stars will need to regroup.
Speaking of Fubuki, he was readjusting to life as a Duel Academia student pretty well. Asuka and Kuromu were to help him every step of the way for his recovery. When he had heard what had happened to David and Reggie, he wanted to try and help find his old friends. But given that they have no leads at the moment, they were sitting ducks.
As for Kuromu and Asuka themselves, they too have been on the road to recovery for this past week. Which was extra tortuous for them seeing as they had to catch up on their schoolwork. But thankfully, they had each other and by the time the week ended, they were back to full health, as if they weren't injured in the first place.
So, what exactly are our heroes doing at this time, one might ask?
"Ahhhhhhhh… so hot…" Judai groaned.
Judai, Sho, Rex, and Jun were in their room, using a battery-powered fan in a vain attempt to cool themselves off. It was one of the hottest days and it got so hot, it caused the transformer at the power grid to blow up, and so the school and dorms were left with no electricity.
"I'm being cooked alive in here!" Rex groaned while he had his head stuck in a bucket full of ice to try and stay cool.
"No kidding!" Sho complained.
"My hair's all frizzy and my head is itchy…" Jun growled, scratching his head.
"Least your hair isn't full of sweat." Judai sighed as he was literally sweating up a storm.
"Kuriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…" Winged Kuriboh appeared, its fur so shaggy and matted, you could barely see its eyes.
"Aww, what's the matter? You boys act like you've never been to the desert before." Laquer chuckled, being the only one not affected by the heatwave.
"Says you, ya overgrown housecat…" the mutt groaned, "Look at poor Murmullo, he's pretty much dried fish." He pointed out how the carp gladiator was just on the ground, unconscious and steaming while Diecarii and Bestrouli, as well as the Ojamas, were trying to revive the poor fish.
Meanwhile, at the Ra Yellow Dorm…
"I can't take it anymore! He's taunting us, listen!" A delirious Misawa snarled before looking up to the sun as his mind imagined a sinister laugh, "Stop laughing at us, you solar twit!"
"Get a hold of yourself, man!" Koji snapped, grabbing the lapels of Misawa's jacket before-
*SMACK!*
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." the genius apologized, his mind once more clear, once the disco fan had slapped him.
"Don't worry, you ain't the only one sufferin' in this heat." Koji sighed, "I'm just glad you didn't end up like Kagurazaka, he's practically having an identity crisis."
"And what about Kuromu?" Misawa asked. The two of them looked towards the Rider Duelist who was sitting with his legs crossed and eyes closed, meditating.
"He's been trying his best to meditate the heat away," he explained.
"How is that going?"
"I'm tricking my body with my mind into thinking it's cold." Kuromu answered, eyes still closed, "All I can think about is the freezing cold of the winter. All thoughts of ice, snow, and all things cold."
Koji then counted down from three, two, one…
"UGH, IT'S TOO HOT TO EVEN THINK!" Kuromu roared as he yelled to the heavens.
"Well… it was obvious that wouldn't last." Koji pointed out.
"Ugh, I bet with all of their tech, Asuka, Rika, and Ryo-senpai aren't affected by the heat at all." Kuromu groaned.
At the Obelisk Blue Boy Dorms…
"At least the water's cold." Fubuki said as he and Ryo were in the boys bathroom, cooling off. When the power was out, so was the heater for the bath's water. Meaning it was going to especially be ice cold for them.
"I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse given how hot it is." Ryo mused.
"Just take it as it is." Fubuki said, sitting back.
"Hmm…" Ryo muttered, then decided to change the subject "How are you feeling though, Fubuki?"
"I'm fine but…" he sighed, with the Kaiser knowing why.
"We'll find them. I'm sure of it." he reassured him, though something else was bothering the Kaiser and felt the need to address it. "Also… about Yusuke-"
"It is what it is." Fubuki said suddenly, surprising the Kaiser. "I can't say I'm happy about what he had done, but at the same time I wish we could have saved him from himself."
"We should've reached out to him." Ryo muttered regretfully. "If only we had… held our hands out…"
The two shook their heads. They could ask "What if?" all they want, but both of them knew that nothing they could have done would change the outcome.
At the Obelisk Blue Girls Dorms…
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, this feels good!" Rika sighed in relief as she, Asuka, Junko, and Momoe were all in the large girls dorm bath, feeling the cold water refreshing them.
"Honestly? So glad the water tanks aren't placed outside." Junko commented, "I don't want to be like the poor souls outside having to deal with the heat."
"I feel bad for Kuro having to deal with it though…" Asuka said worriedly.
"You could always invite him over here." Momoe suggested with half-lidded eyes.
"And get all of us in trouble?" Asuka sighed wearily.
"Hey, Junko and I managed to sneak Koji in here sometimes and we didn't get in trouble."
"Eh?!" Asuka gasped.
"That explains why you two aren't around when I needed help with homework…" Rika deadpanned. "Jerks…"
"Hey, if you two want to, we could show you how we get him in." she suggested, "Maybe that'll help you two get it with Judai and Kuromu."
"What? Me and Judai? Psh, no!" Rika laughed off, "Besides, I'm pretty sure he's spoken for."
"Wait, really? That guy?" Junko asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I remember him talking about a promise he made to someone." The chef admitted as she recalled the words Judai had told him on the night of her own duel against David.
"I promised someone when I was a kid that I was never going to let a friend of mine down."
"The way he remembered that promise. I'm guessing whoever that lucky girl is, I'm sure I can't replace her." she admitted.
"But how do you know for sure it's a girl?" Momoe asked. "For all you know, it could be a guy."
"Have you seen him swoon over guys?" Rika reminded them.
Momoe had to pause on that for a bit, unsure of how to retort to that. "Touche…" she said.
"Your head's way too into the gutter, Momoe…" Asuka said dryly.
"Still, that's two boys we know who've promised a girl something." Junko commented. "Speaking of, what's the progress on finding your man's mom?" She said to Asuka.
"She's still missing…" Asuka trailed off.
"So, not much?" Junko asked as the Obelisk Queen shook her head, "Figures." She sighed.
"I know what you should do!" Momoe said, catching the Obelisk Queen's attention. "You two should go on a date!"
"Eh?!" Asuka gasped.
"Why not? It's a good way for him to take his mind off of things instead of worrying about it a lot." Momoe pointed out.
"True, but… we haven't made things official yet." Asuka pointed out. "Besides, I'm sure he doesn't want to rush things, given what's going on right now."
"Aw, don't worry about it." Junko said, "Heck, if you're worried about it being a date, why not have it just be a day at the beach? I'm sure the guys will appreciate finally cooling off."
"The beach huh?" Asuka mused, the gears now starting to turn in her head. She then smiled, coming to a decision, "I think it's a great idea."
Coincidentally, Samejima contacted everyone via his Master Duel PDA, which thankfully were all battery powered, and messaged everyone to meet at the front of the school. While the Obelisk Blue students were refreshed to say the least, the Ra Yellow and Osiris Red students weren't too happy. They were cranky and irritated to say the least.
Kuromu soon saw the poor state the Osiris quartet were in and winced in sympathy.
"You four okay?" Kuromu asked.
"Shaddap…" Rex muttered with gritting teeth.
"Yeesh, you too?" an exacerbated Koji asked to which Judai nodded before wiping off the sweat from his forehead for the upteenth time.
"Alright everyone, settle down." Samejima said, quieting the students as he wiped the sweat off his bald head with his handkerchief. "Now then, I'm sure that all of you know that we don't have any electricity throughout the island. It'll be sometime before the island's power grid is back up and running. Meaning, we are unable to provide lessons. That being said, I propose that all of us spend a day at the beach!"
The entire student body cheered in unison upon hearing that.
"Oh, thank you Principal!" One student cheered.
"Finally! No lessons or homework ever!" Another yelled.
Those cheers got even louder, to Samejima's surprise. That's when the mutt called out, "Last one into the water's a rotten egg!"
And like that, the entire student body stampeded straight for the beach.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Kuromu wailed as he was, once again, the unfortunate victim of being the one to get knocked to the ground and stepped all over, leaving many shoe print marks on his face and clothes. After all the students had run towards the beach, their dust trailing in their wake, Kuromu was barely alive as his fingers and legs twitched every few seconds.
"Not again…" he groaned.
"Wow, that's a throwback." Koji commented.
"No kidding." Rika agreed.
"Shut up and help me…" Kuromu pleaded.
After helping their friend up from the ground, Kuromu, Koji, Rika, and Asuka, all of them prepared for the beach day ahead. After everyone got in their swimwear, they pitched in for what was going to be a beach party. From the large portable grills that will be used for the hamburgers and hot dogs to the sports equipment, particularly the volleyball and nets and other sports they'll be playing. Of course one can't forget the plethora of towels and umbrellas they'll be using. There was even a shack where those manning it would serve flavored shaved ice.
And, because they knew that Judai would likely pull it, they made sure their Duel Disks were set from battery to solar in order to allow their Solid Vision systems to still work.
Once they were set, the group quickly changed up into their swimwear and made their way to the beach. Koji and Kuromu were the first to arrive as the boys saw the beach was bustling with activity.
"Whew… shucky ducky quack quack." Koji whistled.
"I have to agree." Urataros said, appearing. "Look at all these lovely ladies."
"Indeed." Sieg said, appearing next to the Turtle Imagin. "Fine specimens, wouldn't you say?"
*BONG! BONG!*
"Hey! No perving on them, Ero-kame! Tebayaro!" Momotaros snapped.
"It seems we aren't the only ones trying to deal with reigning in their pervert." Diecarii said.
"You too?" Momotaros asked.
The buffalo gladiator nodded as the oni Imagin saw that Besturouli was tied up and blindfolded, likely to make sure he wasn't peeping either.
"Wai~! Beach time!" Ryuutaros cheered, running towards the water.
"Oi, Ryuuta! Do some stretches first before you- zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!" And just like that, Kintaros sat down on the beach cross-legged and slept.
"Finally, relief…" Murmullo sighed, swimming around the water like the carp he was born as.
"Ha ha! Check me out! I'm king of the world~!" Ojama Yellow cheered as he rode on Murmullo's back, with Ojama Green and Ojama Black clinging on for dear life.
"Glad most of the Duel Spirits are enjoying this." Kuromu commented.
"Hey guys!" A voice shouted. Kuromu and Koji turned to see Jun, Misawa, Ryo, and even Fubuki showing up in their swim trunks… and with shovels in their hands.
"Uhh… where're Judai, Sho, and Rex?" Kuromu hesitantly asked.
"Come on boys! That tunnel to China won't dig itself!" Judai said.
"Aye sir!" the Roid Duelist and mutt affirmed as the three continued to dig a large hole in the sand.
"…you're kidding me, right?" Kuromu deadpanned.
"When you're handed a shovel, a hole must be dug. No matter what." Fubuki shrugged.
"And every project needs a foreman after all." Misawa said with a strange amount of pride.
"Okay, I know for a fact that you did not agree to this." Kuromu said. "Come on, Misawa. Even a genius like you knows that you can't dig a tunnel through the world's core and end up on the other side in another country."
"If it keeps Judai's mind off of Dueling for one day. It's a job I sadly must undertake." the genius sighed before looking back at Sho sighing, "Hey, who told you that it was break time yet?!"
"Sorry, I was just switching out shovels!" the Roid Duelist reported as he had just put away a broken shovel (of several) and grabbed a new one.
"Good." Misawa nodded, "Ichiban-kun, stick to your side. Taylor-san, keep your shovel on the south wall, we don't want any more cave-ins!"
"Sir, yes sir!" Judai and Rex affirmed before going back to digging, with Jun and Fubuki quickly joining them.
"Senpai, come on." Kuromu looked at the Kaiser while the genius continued to bark orders. "Don't tell me you're doing this too."
"I will admit, Judai's reasoning was sound." The Kaiser had to confess.
"I think the heat's got to all of 'em." Koji sweat dropped.
"Oh boys~!" they heard Rika call out, prompting the Osiris trio to pop their heads out of the hole to see what the rest were seeing.
Approaching the boys were Asuka, Rika, Junko, and Momoe. And all of them were wearing nice two-piece bikinis. Asuka was wearing, compared to her friends, a simple white bikini top and bottom. Rika was wearing a blue and white bikini that had two flowers on it, Junko had a rather scandalous black two-piece, and Momoe was wearing a blue and white sports bra and bottom complete with a blue beach skirt.
Koji's jaw immediately dropped at the sight of Junko and Momoe, while Rex let out a simple wolf whistle. Kuromu? He suddenly wanted to find something to do to keep his mind off of the sinful thoughts he was thinking of from the sight of Asuka's swimwear. But… he just couldn't stop staring!
"D-Dummy, don't look at me like that." Asuka stuttered, suddenly feeling shy from Kuromu's gaze, covering her chest with one arm.
"S-Sorry…" Kuromu looked away, nervously scratching his cheek.
"Heh~?" Junko smirked slyly. "Someone's embarrassed."
"S-Shut up!" Kuromu stammered with a heavy blush, "I'm gonna jump in the water to cool off!" he soon ran away as fast as he could.
"Ah… ahhh…" Asuka trailed off, as reached out to him, but deflated afterwards, almost looking disappointed.
Rika, with a sad smile, approached the Obelisk Queen and gently nudged her. "Go on, Asuka-chan." She encouraged her.
"Huh?"
"Go on, he'll need some company." the chef encouraged her. "We'll handle things here." She winked.
"Are you sure?" Askua asked hesitantly, to which Rika nodded. "Alright then." She nodded back with a smile, before going after the Rider Duelist.
"Aight Foxy Mamas! Time to show you ladies a good time!" Koji grinned, wrapping his arms over Junko and Momoe's shoulders, to which they squeal, before walking away for their date.
Rika then looked towards the lunacy the rest of the boys were doing and shook her head, in spite of the big smile she had.
"Put your backs into it!" Misawa called out.
"Sir yes sir!" the other diggers chimed in unison.
'Never change, everyone. Never change…' she thought to herself.
*SPLASH!*
Kuromu dove into the water as be said he would before surfacing, shaking his head to rid himself of the excess water. At least he's cooled off from the heat and his blush. Just what was Junko thinking trying to escalate the situation between him and Asuka?
After slapping his hands to his cheeks, the Rider Duelist decided to just focus on the cool ocean water. That is… until someone grabbed him from underwater.
"WAAAGH!" Kuromu cried out, being dragged underwater before realizing that Asuka was the perpetrator, who grinned mischievously. 'Wha?! That's not cool, Asuka!' He thought to himself.
Asuka could only stick her tongue out before swimming away.
'Dooooh, get back here!' Kuromu cried out mentally, before swimming after her.
The two swam past a few beachgoers and even dove a bit deeper before the Rider Duelist finally surfaced with the perpetrator in hand.
"Hah! Finally caught you!" Kuromu said triumphantly. "Thought you could get away, huh?!"
"Oh my. Whatever shall I do?" She faux wailed before playfully splashing some water in Kuromu's face, allowing her to escape.
"Gah, pfffft! Ohhh, you're gonna get it now!" Kuromu said, before the chase resumed. As he chased her, Kuromu couldn't help but briefly forget about the current calamity he and his friends were facing. Perhaps for now, he can be a normal kid for once?
The chase continued on as Asuka swam until they ended up finding a sort of underwater cave where the beach ended. Asuka decided to go in, with Kuromu following her. They swam through this small tunnel before seeing an opening. Asuka was the first to surface before Kuromu followed suit.
"Finally, I gotcha!" He declared before quickly noticing his surroundings. "Huh? Where exactly are we?"
"I… don't know. I've never seen this part of the island before." The Obelisk Queen said.
"A secret cave, huh?" Kuromu mused, examining that the cave had no paths to follow and that the rock walls surrounded this lake.
"Wow, this is…" The Obelisk Queen marveled..
"A great place for a getaway?" Kuromu replied, "Yeah, I think we can make this work."
"You want this cave as a getaway? What for?"
"Away from prying eyes when we want some alone time. The onsen can only do so much." Kuromu grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah. Let's hope that Sho doesn't know about this place. Kuromu said.
"Let alone Judai. Speaking of. Wonder how he's doing with digging that hole?"
"WHAT THE HELL, MISAWA?!" Judai shouted as his whole body except his head was buried.
Apparently, this was a way for Misawa to trap and bury Judai. And his head, alongside a watermelon, were now targets for a beach game favorite. Sho, Rex, and Jun were gonna take turns trying to whack the watermelon… or Judai's head, with the bat… while blindfolded.
"Alright boys! Let me show you what a real roughhouser can do!" The currently blindfolded Jun laughed as he went up to bat.
"Jun no! Don't do this! I don't want my melon broken!" Judai cried comical tears.
However those pleas went on deaf ears after Jun was spun around and soon, the ace stumbled towards his direction.
"Heh, I found it!" He cheered as he raised the bat into the air.
*WOOSH! CRACK!*
Kuromu and Asuka looked around upon hearing an extremely loud cry of pain.
"Did you hear that?" The Rider Duelist asked.
"I think so. For a cave, it has good acoustics." Asuka giggled.
"Heh, yeah." Kuromu chuckled before the two approached the hidden lake. He then checked the water and saw that it was surprisingly clear. The Rider Duelist also was glad it wasn't still water or else what he was about to do what would have been extremely stupid.
"CANNONBALL!"
*SPLASH!*
"Seriously?" Asuka laughed.
"Hey, I had to get one in. C'mon, Asuka." Kuromu smiled. "You know you want to."
"Okay then, here goes nothing!" the Obelisk Queen noted before stepping back and jumping in. "Uwaaaaaah!"
*SPLASH!*
Water splashed all around causing Kuromu to cover himself from the incoming water. The Rider Duelist then saw Asuka resurface. The way Asuka popped out of the lake with her hair flung backwards and her back arched mesmerized the Rider Duelist. She then turned to Kuromu with a look that reminded him why he fell in love with her in the first place.
"Kuro?" Asuka asked, "What is it?"
"…beautiful." He suddenly muttered, much to her confusion and shock.
*SLAP!*
"I-I mean, that was great!" Kuromu backpedaled after slapping himself.
"Oh Kuro… you don't have to retract what you said." Asuka giggled, though looking bashful as she did so.
"H-Huh?!" The Rider Duelist did a double take at that statement.
That's when Asuka swam closer to Kuromu then waded. She tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ears, looking up at him with a shy smile. "You said that I'm beautiful… right?"
"Yeah, I-I did…" Kuromu gulped. "I mean… there's no one else that's prettier than you."
"Even Silent Magician?"
"As much as I admire her, you're the only one for me." Kuromu said.
The two fell silent as they got closer and closer. Both of them realized what was about to happen when…
"YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOWWWW!"
"Crap! Wrong one!"
Kuromu and Asuka snapped out of their trance, sighing as they knew that the moment was ruined.
"Was that… was that Judai-kun?" The Obelisk Queen asked now that she could hear the scream way clearer.
Kuromu groaned, "I swear, those idiots better not be doing what I think they're doing…"
"We… should head back." Asuka suggested.
"Yeah." Kuromu agreed before the two went back out the way they came in.
By the time Kuromu and Asuka got back to the beach, they were greeted by their friends. Though Judai looked… less presentable to say the least. And by that, it meant multiple bruises, lumps, and swollen face, due to being smacked by the bat provided.
"Do I even want to know what happened?" Kuromu deadpanned while Jun walked towards them while holding two watermelons, the first of which he was eating.
"Want one?" the ace offered.
Kuromu looked a couple feet away to see the bat coated in red. "That better not be blood on that…"
"Trust me, there isn't." Jun reassured him.
"And that?" Kuromu pointed at Judai's face.
"Don't ask." Judai groaned.
"Enough about that! How was your date with Asuka?" Koji grinned, arriving with several sticks of kebabs.
"We had a good time." Kuromu smiled.
"You sure nothing else happened?" Rika smirked slyly.
"Need I remind you, that we still haven't had that rematch yet?" Kuromu pointed out.
"Fine, fine." she said, "But you did miss a cool duel between Koji and Sho."
"Aw man, seriously?" Kuromu cried out. "Who won that?"
"In all seriousness? Sho." the chef said.
"Eh?! Sho?!" Kuromu gawked. Even Asuka was shocked as the two looked over to the Roid Duelist who looked embarrassed.
"And how, you might ask?" Rex said, "Dude pulled out the Mobile Base and pulled a Fort Max."
"It-it was nothing!" the Roid Duelist argued.
"Tell me someone recorded it on their PDA." Kuromu hoped before smiling upon the mutt holding his Duel Pilot up. "Nice!"
"Anyways, Asuka-chan, I need a partner for the next volleyball game. We're up against Junko-chan and Momoe-chan! You in?" Rika asked.
"Sure!" The Obelisk Queen said.
Kuromu, chuckling, soon went to Judai with Duel Disk on his arm.
"Hey, you still up for a rematch?" The Rider Duelist asked.
"Anytime!" Judai grinned, brandishing his own Duel Disk.
Meanwhile…
*HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!*
The sounds of burger patties and hot dogs sizzled on the grills as Daitokuji, Kyoshiro, and Samejima were manning them. It was a nice change of pace for the adults to do something normal for once other than grading papers or disciplining their students. They were happy that the kids are enjoying themselves and taking this time to bond with one another.
"It's good that the kids are having fun-nya." The Osiris Red dorm head observed, flipping over a burger patty. Pharaoh tried to paw a hot dog off the grill, but it was still hot.
"Meow~" Pharoah meowed.
"I know that my son definitely needed it." Kyoshiro said, watching his son Duel against Judai. "He's been putting everything on his shoulders after my wife was abducted."
"Kids like him need to remember that they're not young forever. They need days like this to relax and act their age." The principal said. "Only we adults can stress over things like that."
"You got that right." Tsukasa said, approaching them with his camera in hand, taking photos of the various scenes in the party. In particular, the faceoff between Elemental HERO Flame Wingman and Kamen Rider W - Extreme Form. "All of us are preparing them for the future when they graduate. As a man once said, 'The wishes of the children are the future's reality… adults that laugh at such dreams are no longer human.'"
"Now those are words to live by." Kyoshiro commented.
"I agree-nya." Daitokuji nodded in approval.
"Here you go! Thanks!" Fubuki said, handing out flavor shaved ice in a paper cup to a student, which they accepted before leaving. After playing whack the melon, even though Fubuki has had a hand or two in whacking Judai's head, he and Ryo were in charge of the shack, handing out flavored shaved ice.
Fubuki then felt some sense of serenity as he waited for the next customer. Despite that, he couldn't help but worry about his sister and her friends.
"Something on your mind, Fubuki?" Ryo asked.
"I don't know, I just…" The elder Tenjoin couldn't put what he was feeling into words.
"Let me guess, older sibling instincts are flaring off. Aren't they?" the Kaiser guessed.
"Maybe? I guess?" Fubuki winced.
"Fubuki, you can't fool me of all people." Ryo chuckled, "I'm an older brother, just like you."
"It's that obvious, huh?" Fubuki smiled sadly, "I guess it can't be helped."
"It's only natural." Ryo said, before looking back out at the party. "Asuka's okay. In all the times Kuromu-san has interacted with your sister, not once have I seen him do anything to harm her. I can say the same for the others as well, my brother included."
"I see. Although my father may say otherwise." Fubuki chuckled. "I'm sure Kuromu told you the story of what happened after he confessed to my sister back in junior high."
"I have heard." Ryo noted, "Your sister has certainly told the tales of how protective he can be of her. Though… why would your father throw a cat at him?"
"I'd ask, but I'm scared to know the answer." The two third-years got a laugh out of that one.
"So I guess the real question would be… are you alright with him dating her?"
"Honestly the real question is what can I do to help him date her." Fubuki jokes, "Mom's already begging for them to have grandkids, and I think you and I have kind of gotten tired of them skirting around the issue." Then he looked down in sadness, "Besides, he helped Asuka so much to help save me from Yusuke. I feel like I owe him."
"You don't have to owe him anything. Just Asuka reuniting with you is more than enough reward for him." Ryo said. "That's something I know he'd say, if you ever brought it up."
The elder Tenjoin had to agree.
"Asuka-chan!" Rika called out, bumping the volleyball up in the air for the Obelisk Queen to spike.
Asuka, seeing the opportunity, quickly leaped up and spiked the ball down, but Junko dived in and made the save.
"Momoe, get it!" Junko called out.
"On it!" Momoe affirmed as she spiked the ball up and quickly spiked it back down.
"I won't let you!" Asuka said, bumping it back up and spiked it, only for Momoe to bounce it back up for Junko to spike, but Rika dove in for the same, and Asuka right back.
All the while, the boys of their group watched on.
"You got this, Foxy Mamas!" Koji cheered on Junko and Momoe.
"Go get 'em, Asuka! Rika!" Kuromu cheered.
The disco fan smirked, "Let me guess? Flame Wingman did you in again?"
The Rider Duelist sighed, "Despite me using Final Henshin, Judai somehow always finds a way around my game plan."
"Yeah he's always had that stroke of luck with him." Koji chuckled, as they continued to watch the volleyball game. The way they moved, jumped, and bounced… especially their "assets", certainly left tantalizing aspects of the boys' imagination. This gave Koji an opening to tease Kuromu.
"Enjoying the show, my guy?" He asked with a cheeky grin.
"Huh?!" Kuromu looked at Koji in surprise.
"Oh come on, you don't have to hide it. I know you're loving the view." The disco fan said.
"S-Shut up! I don't look at Asuka that way!" Kuromu stammered.
"Then what was with those eyes?"
"You don't know what you're talking about." Kuromu lied.
"Really?" Koji wiggled his eyebrows with half-lidded eyes.
"Yes, really!" Kuromu denied.
"Oh, alright the-Woah, Asuka's top fell off!" Koji called out.
"Where?!" Kuromu asked before he realized he was exposed upon hearing the disco fan's laughter.
*WAPISH!*
"OW!"
"YOU JIVE-ASS BASTARD!"
"Admit it dude, you fell for it hook, line, and sinker!"
*WAPISH! WAPISH! WAPISH! WAPISH!*
'Damn you for seeing through me!' Kuromu growled while he gave Koji a beating.
"Should we break it up?" Sho asked before seeing Jun and Rex break out the popcorn and begin eating.
"Want some?" Rex asked.
"…salted or buttered?"
"Yes."
*PHWEET! PHWEET!*
"Game, set, and match!" Chronos said, as he was sitting on the high chair, refereeing the match between the girls. In the end, Asuka and Rika had won it as the two girls hugged each other in victory. Though the way that their… "assets" pressed against each other…
Kuromu briefly stopped his beating on Koji, "Wait, it's over already?" But then he regretted looking up, the moment he saw Asuka and Rika hug each other. His brain short-circuited and then…
*SPURRRRRRRRT!*
Kuromu fell to the ground in a nose-bleeding heap, his face looking like he had ascended to a higher plane.
"And there it is, ladies and gentlemen." Koji grinned.
"KURO!" Asuka panicked as she rushed over to him. "Are you okay?! Speak to me!"
"Meh… meh… mellorine~" he muttered.
"Yeah, I think he lost it." Rika rolled her eyes.
Soon it was nighttime to set and everyone sat at the picnic tables for dinner, the torches surrounding the area to give light. The boys were wearing Hawaiian shirts and tan shorts, while the girls kept their bikini tops while they covered their bikini bottoms with sarongs. Kuromu grumbled as he chowed on his food, eyes closed, and nose stuffed with small pieces of tissue, and Koji… well, Junko and Momoe were playing nurses.
"Oh stop being such a big baby, Kuro." Rika tried to reassure.
"He made me look like an idiot in front of Asuka…" Kuromu muttered, before pouting.
"Come on, it wasn't that bad." Rika argued, prompting Kuromu to look at her with a "Hmmmmmm~?!". An honest anime sweat drop comically fell down the side of Rika's head.
"You sure you're alright, Kuro?" Asuka asked.
"Yeah, I think so…" Kuromu muttered with a pout. "Sorry if I… looked at you that way…"
"O-Oh… right…" Asuka looked away with a blush. "I-It's fine…"
"Man, I can't get enough of this!" Judai cheered as he kept stuffing his face with food.
"That's attractive…" Jun deadpanned sarcastically, with a twitching eyebrow.
"Aniki, you're going to choke!" Sho scolded the HERO Duelist.
"And save some for the rest of us, dude!" Rex added as the mutt and Elemental HERO Duelist fought over the food.
"Heh, looks like everyone's having a good time." Kyoshiro chuckled.
"Clearly." Tsukasa said before sighing.
"Still worried about other methods being brought to our time?" The elder Kururugi asked.
"Potentially." The dimensional Rider admitted. "After seeing Reggie perform Synchro Summoning, I'm scared of what might come up next. What if one of the Seven Stars tries to use-"
"Er-hem. Let's not break the timeline enough as it is." Kyoshiro cleared his throat.
"Right. Us just being here caused Judai's and Asuka's Decks to evolve into new directions." Tsukasa agreed, "Or have certain people survive things they should have died to and vice versa."
After everyone had their fill of dinner, it was time to dance. When they started playing the music, the sound of trumpets, piano, drums, and guitar played. It was really upbeat and festive. Also like salsa music.
And of course, leading the charge was Koji as he danced effortlessly on the dance floor.
"Why am I not surprised?" Misawa chuckled.
"Dude, it's Koji. What did you expect?" The mutt pointed out.
Kuromu watched on as more and more people came over to the dance floor… or rather beach, and people started dancing to the music. He then looked at Asuka, wanting to dance with her. He was hesitant at first, but after a while, he finally mustered up the courage to ask.
"Asuka." He said, getting her attention. "Do you… wanna dance with me?"
She smiled and accepted the Rider Duelist's hand without saying a word.
As soon as they got to the dance floor, they started to move their bodies to the music, finding the rhythm to the beat. They continued to dance to the salsa music along with the other students. Slowly, but surely, the music became more hype. As the Rider Duelist danced with the Obelisk Queen, he gave her a few twirls here and there, even having her lean back and he leaning forward towards her before both of us went back up. Before long, she and him were really into it. So much, that they didn't notice that everyone else had stopped dancing and surrounded them in a circle.
As the two continued to dance, Koji merely let the two have this moment.
"Hoho? Not ribbing him anymore?" Rika grinned impishly.
"Pretty much. He earned this one."
As the song neared its end, Kuromu had Asuka twirl away from her, but their hands still held onto each other. He then pulled her in, having her twirl towards him, and as soon as the song ended, Asuka made the daring move of raising her left leg up that was exposed from her sarong and wrapped it around Kuromu's thigh.
One of his arms cradled it, while Asuka's arms were around his shoulders and he pulled her in close. Kuromu held her back with his other arm and the back of her head with his hand. Their foreheads pressed against each other, panting from all the dancing we were doing.
Soon everyone in the crowd cheered, much to their embarrassment, as Kuromu let go of Asuka.
"Smooth, Romeo!" Koji called out.
"That was awesome!" Judai cheered.
"Way to go, sis!" Fubuki added.
Everyone continued to cheer for them. Kuromu and Asuka looked at the crowd, then at each other before smiling.
*WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!*
Everyone looked towards the school and dorms where the source of the sounds came from and… the lights were back on! The power was back!
Everyone cheered while the Rider Duelist and Obelisk Queen let out a hesitant chuckle.
"Guess things are back to normal…" he said.
Even though the party ended, everyone decided to hang around for just a while longer. They had already constructed a huge bonfire and no one wanted the effort to go to waste. Meanwhile Asuka was sitting on a log, on the beach with a small bonfire of her own as she gazed out onto the horizon.
"Need a friend?" A familiar voice asked. Asuka turned around to see Kuromu approaching and sat next to her.
"I guess so, it was getting a little lonely." the Obelisk Queen chuckled before the two cuddled up by the fire. "You had fun?" she asked him.
"Oh definitely." The Rider Duelist agreed, "I don't know, I feel a lot more rested than before."
"That's good to hear."
"I'd been so caught up in wanting to stop Oogumo and saving Kaa-san, that I forgot what it's like to act my actual age." Kuromu said, his gaze never leaving the fire. "If I kept up that attitude before all this, I'd probably be really stiff the rest of this year and the next two."
"Yeah, a real stick in the mud." she chuckled.
"Hey now." Kuromu glowered, to which Asuka giggled, "But yeah, I guess I was starting to obsess with what's going on, that I completely forgot that I'm still just a kid."
"There's one you forgot?"
"What's that?"
"That you don't have to do this alone." Asuka answered. "The others and I are here to help you. All of you have to do is let us. You're not a one-man army, Duel Disk aside. There will be times where you'll need someone's help."
"Yeah, I guess so." Kuromu muttered. That was when Asuka leaned her head on his shoulder.
"And you have me most of all to support you." Asuka added. "Whenever I'm with you, I feel more confident in my ability to do anything I put my mind into. It made me want to be stronger and better. So that one day, I can stand by your side as your equal and your other half in whatever the future holds for us… so don't fall behind or get ahead of me."
"Asuka…" Kuromu said nothing for a while before smiling and leaning his head on hers, "Yeah, okay. I'll do just that."
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Judai and the others watched them from afar. Most of them are simply happy to see the two bonding. Rex soon looked to Jun, who seemed a bit melancholic.
"Dude, we both know you weren't meant for her." Rex muttered.
"Shut up, mutt…" Jun grumbled… with a slight sniffle.
"Ah, there's plenty of fish in the sea lightning rod." the mutt reassured him, "I'm sure there's a girl out there that'll take ya."
"Yeah, but unfortunately this lightning rod is gonna electrocute all the fish…" Jun sighed, before getting up to leave.
"What's gotten into him?" Judai wondered.
"Broken heart, my guy." the mutt said, "It hurts not being able to be with the person you love."
"Plus, he disowned his brothers and the rest of his family." Koji pointed out. "So he's a lone wolf."
"Yeah, I guess it's sad that he doesn't have a girl to call his own." Judai said with… a strange amount of melancholy, something the disco fan picked up on.
"Got a girl out of reach too? I mean, I didn't think you of all people would have someone like that." Koji commented.
The mutt however could see the same look in the Elemental HERO Duelist's eyes that told him all he wanted to know.
"Hey, Judai. It's alright. You can tell us when you're ready." he reassured him.
"Yeah, thanks." Judai smiled sadly.
"Alright, I think that's enough spying for one night." Rika said, standing up. "Back to the dorms, boys. Go on. Shoo. Shoo."
"Alright, we're going!" The mutt groaned before they all left.
However, as everyone shuffled back to their dorms, the mutt stopped to look up to the sky. It's then that the warning Wally had sent him came to mind.
'The stars will damn my path… what the heck does that even mean?' He thought to himself.
Was he talking about the Legendary Planet Monsters? No, it couldn't be possible; as Terra Firma's the only one left and is a full-on hero. Perhaps the Synchro Summon method Reggie had shown off.
The mutt shook his head and went back to walking. This riddle was confusing and would hurt his head in the long run. But one thing he was certain of, was that he hoped that it wasn't some kind of omen.