COMPOSED → composer's writings

[11] Little Games (The World Ends With You; PG; Uzuki/Kariya)

2008-07-01T15:39:37Z

Title: Little Games
Fandom: The World Ends With You.
Genre: Humor.
Rating: PG.
Summary: Kariya and Uzuki decide to play a game, but the terms are a bit different this time around...

I guess this is set before Neku's first Game or something. I dunno.

It was yet another boring day at Headquarters.

Kariya was lounging on the couch, Uzuki was doing anything to keep herself busy, Konishi was in a corner scrawling down notes, and who knows where Higashizawa and Minamimoto were.

"Hey, Uzuki."

"Yeah?"

"I'm bored... Wanna play a game?"

"Maybe. Depends what kind of game you're thinking of."

"Oh, just a little race."

"Sounds good to me. But instead of something lame like 'loser buys ramen', how about we make the conditions a bit more interesting this time around?"

Konishi briefly looked up from what she was writing.

"Hm? This isn't like you at all, Uzuki."

"Well, I'm just up for a change of pace, y'know? And for once I'm not in the mood for ramen..."

"Heh. Fair enough. So what did you have in mind?"

"If I win..." The mauve-haired Harrier walked over to him and whispered the rest in his ear. Kariya's expression turned to a mixture of curiosity and terror.

Uzuki giggled. "So, where should our starting point be?"

"How about the statue of Hachiko?"

"Sounds good to me! And our destination?"

"Udagawa?"

"All right. Let's go! This is going to be so much fun!" Another giggle from Uzuki.

The two Reapers were at the starting point for their little game in seconds.

"On three. Ready?"

"Ready!"

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three!"

The pink-haired Reaper wasted no time, quickly weaving her way through the crowds near the statue, the sea of people at the scramble, the narrow Center Street Entrance, and so on until she reached Udagawa. Kariya, however, took his time. He saw no point in expending too much energy for this game. After all, Uzuki WAS the fastest of all the Reapers. Only Minamimoto even came close.

Uzuki had been waiting about half an hour- most of that spent admiring CAT's mural- when Kariya finally showed up.

"Where have you been? Were you even trying?"

Kariya simply took a sip of the soda he'd gotten on a detour he'd taken to Spain Hill. Meanwhile, a grin spread across Uzuki's features.

"... Oh. I get it. You let me win because you wanted--"

"That's not it at all!"

The pink-haired Reaper laughed. "It's written all over your face! You're a terrible liar, Kariya. Now come on. We're going back to headquarters."

"Whoa, what are we going back there for?"

"Well, it's not like I have any place to store handcuffs in this outfit."

Back at headquarters, Konishi idly wondered how Uzuki and Kariya's "game" was going.

[10] moment (The World Ends With You; G; one-sided Producer/Composer)

2008-07-01T15:33:05Z

Title: moment
Fandom: The World Ends With You.
Genre: Romance.
Rating: G.
Summary: All he could do was watch. (One-sided Producer/Composer; two stolen kisses.)

Spoilers for the identity of the Producer.

All the Producer could do was watch at first.

He could never understand the magnitude of His loneliness, His pain.

He could only watch as He watched his proxy, a look of sadness and longing in His eyes.

And it hurt.

Over time, the Fallen Angel had developed feelings for Him. But he knew He only had eyes for that boy.

He overheard Him talking in His sleep sometimes. He often whispered that boy's name.

Neku...

Where are you...

I miss you...

The words broke his heart.

He wanted to wrap his arms around Him, tell Him it would all be okay, that one day He could meet that boy again... But that would be out of line.

One night, though, as he watched Him toss and turn in His sleep, he broke his own rules. He leaned over the Composer, gently taking a lock of His hair in between his fingertips.

And then, he did the unthinkable.

He kissed Him.

It was a brief kiss, but it was just enough to wake the Composer just as the older man's arms wrapped around Him.

Sanae...?

The Producer silenced Him with another kiss. He did not protest; in fact, He moved in closer.

Even if he was punished for this later, if this was enough to alleviate the Composer's loneliness for even a few moments... It was worth it.

[09] listen. (The World Ends With You; G; implied one-sided Composer/Neku)

2008-07-01T15:31:59Z

Title: listen.
Fandom: The World Ends With You.
Genre: General.
Rating: G.
Summary: He loved to play the violin. (Implied one-sided Composer/Neku.)

Despite this involving the Composer, it doesn't really have any major spoilers.

Also, this is pathetically short. 147 words? Way to go, self.

The Composer loved to play the violin. It soothed Him.

The others would often hear Him playing late into the night. They may have thought it unusual, but who were they to question Him?

He had only started playing the violin on a regular basis after that last Game. The one that He had regrettably won.

They all knew that if He had had His way, He would have stayed close to His proxy forever. But it was too dangerous.

He would have given him anything. But the boy was happy back in the RG, and who was He to take that away from him?

There were some things even the Composer couldn't have.

And so, as He watched the boy, he played. He played until well after midnight, the tune growing more and more frenzied as His loneliness intensified.

And all they could do was listen.

[08] pact (Earthbound; PG for some blood; Giygas and Porky- world domination buddies!)

2008-07-01T15:30:44Z

Take a melody,
Simple as can be.
Give it some words
And sweet harmony.

Raise your voices
All day long now,
Love grows strong now,
Sing a melody of love, oh, love...

Giygas opened his eyes. He had a splitting headache. Why had he remembered that horrible song...?

He looked around the room. He looked at the walls of his capsule, the tubes feeding into his arms, keeping him alive here, keeping him contained...

Was this really what he had become? Barely strong enough to lift his head up? How was he supposed to take over the world like this?

He shook his head slightly and attempted to fall back asleep.

---

A few months later, he was finally strong enough to leave his ship once again. One day during his meanderings, he found a boy.

This boy was different from all the other humans he'd encountered. Upon seeing him, they would scream and run away. An alien, they called him. Soon they would be the "aliens". This world would be his.

But this boy didn't scream, didn't run, didn't say a word. He simply stared.

"What are you staring at, boy?" Red eyes glared daggers into the small child.

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke.

"What are you?"

"My name is Giygas."

"I didn't ask who you were. Like I care about that." The insolent brat snorted.

"I'm what your wretched kind would call an alien."

"So you go around killing humans and stuff? Cool."

"You won't think it so 'cool' when this planet belongs to me, boy."

"So you wanna take over this dump, huh?"

"Yes."

"Shouldn't be too hard. People are idiots. I hate them all, and the way I see it, anyone taking over this planet could only make it a better place."

A twisted smile crossed the alien's features.

"Then how would you like to assist me, child? Together, we can bring down these ugly people and make this wretched planet our own."

"... Do I get a cool mech?" The child had a manic gleam in his eyes, visions of himself crushing humans with mechanical claws swimming in his mind.

"That can be arranged."

"Then it's a deal. Oh. By the way. The name's Porky Minch."

Claw met hand in an informal pact. Soon, everyone would remember both of them as their lords and masters.

---

Over the next few months, the two met in secret to formulate their plans.

As time went on, Giygas seemed to be losing himself. His speech became fragmented, and sometimes he would have wounds he couldn't explain.

His boy companion didn't know what to make of the changes. He wrote them off as "probably nothing". After all, as long as the alien survived long enough to fulfill his mission, it didn't matter.

---

"Master... Giygas?"

The boy quietly entered the cavern, not wanting to wake the alien if he were asleep. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

His master was lying in a pool of blood. His ears were tattered, his remaining eye was bloodshot, and one of his arms was completely missing. His tail was falling apart, and his legs were so decayed that he could no longer stand. Half of his torso was completely gone, and green blood was pouring out of his wounds.

"Master Giygas!"

Giygas looked over at him, and Porky felt his stomach turn slightly.

"Boy..."

His voice was barely audible, and shortly after he spoke he coughed up a clot of blood.

"Master Giygas... What's happened to you?"

"Power..."

Porky waited for his master to resume speaking.

"Finally..."

"Is there... anything I can do? Anything you need, Master?"

"Devil's... Machine..."

The boy's eyes widened. He knew what the alien was talking about. He'd seen it only once before. That horrible, pulsating machine... What did Giygas need it for?

"Do you want me to take you there?"

Giygas nodded weakly.

This is basically a what-if, what could have happened in between MOTHER and Earthbound. I am quite possibly warping time and space to make this work. Keep in mind that I'm not done with the game yet, though I've spoiled myself like crazy.

I might continue it at a later date. I don't know.

Also, the lyrics are, of course, from the vocal version of the Eight Melodies by the St. Paul Cathedinal Choir.

[07] nothing. (Earthbound; PG, I guess; Giygas-centric)

2008-07-01T15:28:39Z

He had been safe in his machine, his mechanical womb of sorts. Porky had come to visit him every once in a while, but for the most part he was alone. That was how he wanted things to be.

But of course, they had to try to take that away from him.

When the children approached him, he felt a strange emotion.

Fear.

The fear was likely irrational, but when was he ever rational anymore?

The last time he had felt like this was when--

No. He would not let those memories flood back to haunt him. Not now, not ever. And he would not let history repeat itself.

Of course, his thoughts were far less articulate than this. Some might wonder if the strange creature ever truly thought at all anymore. It might be more accurate to say he felt- felt, and remembered.

He remembered, in spite of himself, the fear he'd felt when Ninten and the children sang that haunting melody. He remembered his overwhelming desire for vengeance as he had left that planet. He remembered all the planning, all the work...

Everything that had destroyed what he was and turned him into this.

He finally saw the boy's face up-close, which only served to frighten him more. He really did look like--

But he wasn't. He couldn't be. And he wouldn't win like the other boy had.

He heard Porky talking to them.

"Giygas will be stronger, a more powerful entity than any other!"

Soon... Soon everything would be the way they wanted it to be... the way he wanted it to be.

"He is the Evil Power."

That's right. He needed no body to defeat them- His current form was powerful enough to do so. But part of him wished he still had claws to rip through their small bodies, pointed feet with which to kick them in the face, a tongue to lick their blood from his claws and taste their anguish...

...

It was time. The battle had begun.

There were loud mechanical noises as Porky made the first move, tearing into the girl with the arms of his spidery mech.

The children were more powerful than expected. They had the ability to reflect his attacks back at him, and Porky was sustaining a lot of damage... and somehow, the one with the topknot had managed to confuse both of them.

Still, the two managed to weaken the children. However, it wasn't long until...

"I understand you guys are already claiming to be heroes. Well, it is a gazillion years too early for you to oppose Giygas!"

The children glared at him.

"You must feel pretty stupid to keep fighting without even knowing what Giygas looks like! If you were to ever see Giygas, you'd be so petrified with fear..."

And with that, the boy turned off the Devil's Machine, exposing the creature.

"So, isn't this terrifying? I'm terrified, too."

...child...

"You will be... just another meal to him!"

...they... will... d . i . e...

His consciousness was all that was left of him. What few fragments of thought he had were mostly unintelligible.

One after another, the attacks came. The children continued to shield themselves as best they could. The first attack he launched did nothing.

The things the boy with the glasses launched at him went through him completely.

...Ness...

This attack didn't hit anyone, either. All the same, the children were gripped with fear, just as Porky, who was hiding nearby, thought they would be.

In spite of their fear, they kept attacking desperately.

Porky came out from his hiding place to taunt the Chosen Ones again.

"You know, my heart is beating incredibly fast... I must be experiencing absolute terror! Do you want to scream for help here, in the dark!? Why not call your mommy, Ness!"

Any last shred of control he had before was gone now. But with that loss of control came incredible strength. Still, the children attacked him.

......Ness...

...It hurts... it hurts...

They continued their attacks in spite of his tortured cries.

It hurts, Ness...

His attacks grew increasingly desperate and incomprehensible.

In the midst of the boys' attacks, the girl had had an idea. She clasped her hands together and looked up into the black abyss.

"...Please give us strength, if it is possible..."

...who... useless... foolish girl...

"... ... ... Somebody... help us..."

After a moment, he felt something strange. Were his defenses... weakening?

Argh... Yaagh! ...

...Ness...

...It hurts... it hurts...

The children picked themselves up, having been rattled after his last attack. The girl clasped her hands together again...

"Anyone who can hear our plea... Help us..."

He felt a sharp pain.

Why was this happening? Why were they hurting him like this? What had he done? He didn't know...

...I'm so sad...
... ... Ness.

The boy's eyes widened, and his grip on the baseball bat he cherished so much loosened, if only for a moment.

...friends...

He wouldn't win, not even with the help of his little friends. If that boy won...

The girl gave the scared boy a meaningful look, a look that hurt the strange creature even more, though he couldn't understand why.

...It hurts... it hurts...

The boy looked from the girl to him with a new fire in his eyes. He would protect her, no matter what.

And she would protect them all. That's what she must have been thinking as she prayed for a third time.

"Speed this prayer to all the people of the earth."

And someone must have answered. There was another sharp pain, a worse one this time.

...Ness...

The boy holding the bat shifted in and out of his focus.

He gave another wilder, more desperate attack. Why wouldn't they stop? Not that he would have spared them if they had, but it would've made things a bit easier.

"Anyone who can hear our plea... Help us..."

Her eyes were filled with tears now. It was useless to hide her fear and desperation now.

"...Please grant us power!"

Her voice was cracking now with every word, her entire body was shaking.

With every prayer, he felt even more pain.

Argh... Yaaagh!...

...go... b...a..c...k...

He wanted them out of his home. He would make them understand that.

But why did his attacks seem to be getting feebler...?

...I'm h...a...p...p...y...

Argh... Yaaagh!...

It hurts... it hurts...

I feel... g...o...o...d...

He had no idea what he was feeling anymore.

The girl prayed again.

He hadn't felt this much pain since... since... when...? He couldn't remember anymore...

Ah, grrr, ohhh...

Why wouldn't they leave him alone?!

"Speed this prayer to all the people of the earth..."

The girl again. He needed her gone. He needed her...

Argh... Yaagh!...

Why was he so weak...?

...friends...

Was it because he was alone? No. It couldn't be... He needed no one.

Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness, Ness...

...go... b...a..c...k...

get out get out get out get out get out get out

The only sounds were his own tortured screams and the girl's sobs. Maybe she had finally figured it out. That it was hopeless. That they should leave. That he had won.

Or maybe she hadn't.

"I can't think of anyone else... Someone, anyone... please help us."

For a moment, there was nothing. No sound, no pain... nothing at all.

In spite of the fact that it looked hopeless, they continued fighting.

It's not right... not right... not right...

...go... b...a..c...k...

...Stop...

"Someone... can you hear me!? Please, give us strength!"

It seemed like the pain would never stop. The children trembled with fear as he let out one blood-curdling scream after another.

He faintly heard some of Porky's speech.

"It's going to seem like I'm running away. But perhaps I'll just sneak away to another era to think about my next plan."

And with that, the child left him.

The last thing he saw was the boy smiling. He wished he'd had the strength to kill him right then and there.

It wasn't supposed to end like this. He should have won. And now he might never get another chance.

And then, once again, there was nothing. He was left with his own disjointed thoughts, memories playing in his head over and over.

A mother's love. A sweet lullaby. His first failure.

Take a melody
Simple as can be
Give it some words
And sweet harmony.

Raise your voices
All day long now
Love grows strong now
Sing a melody of love, oh, love...

A plan.

"Porky... We will teach those ugly people a lesson. I will require your assistance."

What did they have that he didn't? He was power.

Could it really be...

...Maria...

No.

He didn't need love. Love was what had made him weak before.

Love is why he had failed the first time.

What was there to be done now? He had no body, Porky was gone...

All he had left were fragments of thought and faded memories.

And that was all it seemed he would ever have.

Ma... ma...

I l...o...v...e you...

[06] untitled (pokemon; g; originshippy if you squint real hard? okay, not really)

2008-07-01T15:27:36Z

Based on something that happened in Jesus Island, a Pokemon RP I used to be in on LJ.

"...explain this."

His tone was calm... too calm.

Every once in a while, Wallace would look over at Steven, but he quickly returned his gaze to the clearing in front of them... The clearing that, a few hours prior, was the location of his beloved air-car.

"There honestly... isn't a good explanation for it. I don't understand it either."

"...but you said you knew what happened to it."

"I do, but that doesn't mean it makes sense to me!"

"Please, just... tell me what happened to my car."

"...all right. But you're not going to believe it-"

"Please."

"Well... it's like this."

Steven took a deep breath...

"...I think Koko kind of... ate your car."

What followed could very well have been one of the most awkward silences in history.

"...what. But how could- I would never have thought- what."

Steven couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Wallace at a loss for words like this.

For a while they stood, once again, in silence until...

"You owe me, I hope you realize."

"Well, yeah."

After a pause:

"...Metagross."

"..."

"It can fly, can't it?"

"...How long?"

"Until I can get another means of transportation."

Steven sighed and handed the Pokéball containing Metagross over to Wallace, then made a mental note to find a better leash for Koko. Sometimes keeping track of fifteen Aron was a real pain.

[05] weakness (persona 3; spoilers for november)

2008-07-01T15:25:43Z

It had been his idea to come here.

There they stood before the small memorial in silence.

Yoshino Chidori ...

She had been one of them. The three of them had been through hell together ever since they were children, and they supported each other through it all.

They had a plan, and it had already been set in motion. They would be special. They would be something.

All that was left was for each of them to play her part.

She knew very well what her part was, and played it for a while.

But then, one day... she fell in love.

Her feelings made her reckless, and at the last moment... she betrayed them.

"She was a fool. A weak fool."

The young hacker looked over at Takaya, but remained silent.

"She should have known better than to form an attachment like that."

He winced nigh-imperceptibly at the word "attachment".

"... yeah. She was a fool... Takaya."

"Come, Jin. We are wasting time here. Someone like her does not deserve our pity."

As Takaya walked away, Jin took one last look at Chidori's memorial.

"Don't worry... You aren't the only weak one here."

[04] clover (ryuusei; one-sided: tsukasa for hikaru)

2008-07-01T15:23:58Z

... what the hell was I thinking.

Pluck. Four.

Pluck. Three.

Pluck. Two.

Pluck. One.

Pluck.

... Stem.

"Hikaru-kun, why are you tearing apart the clover patch?"

"I'm bored."

"What did the clovers ever do to you?"

"They were there."

"Please... don't destroy them..."

"... Why."

"Because... this garden is my..."

"It's just a place."

"But-"

"That's all."

"Hikaru-kun... You can't tell me this place doesn't mean anything to you..."

"It doesn't mean anything to me!"

"... Y-You're lying."

"So what if I am."

"... Why?"

"Same reason I'm destroying these clovers."

"..."

"... what's wrong with you."

"Why is it that you always seem to save the worst of your hatred for me...?"

For the first time in the conversation, Hikaru was speechless.

"It scares me. You scare me."

Hikaru looked thoughtful for a moment as he crushed a few clovers in his hand; then a wicked smile crossed his lips.

"I scare you, huh?"

The question didn't really require an answer; Hikaru could sense Tsukasa's fear.

"Funny, considering... I'm you."

"I... No... I'm not... I..."

Tsukasa fell silent; the only sound in the field was that of Hikaru crushing more clover.

"... Tsukasa-kun?"

"... w-what..." The voice was barely audible.

"Do you hate me?"

"... No. I- You're..."

"I'm what."

"You're all I have... If I didn't have you, I would..."

"Why, what?"

"Why do you- never mind."

"No... What is it, Hikaru-kun?"

"Why do you need me when you have... Hoshikawa-kun and his friends?"

The last word nearly dripped with venom.

"Because... They're not like you!

"Oh?"

"And I... I l-"

"Really, it makes no sense to me. Why don't you hate-"

"... I love you."

Speaking of things that made no sense...

For a few moments, there was pure silence. Hikaru flopped down and made himself comfortable in the clover patch, staring blankly ahead and absentmindedly combing through the clover.

"So..." Tsukasa's quiet voice snapped him to attention.

"Do you really hate me?"

Hikaru blinked as he noticed exactly what he was looking at.

"... two-leaf clover."

"... what?"

"... nothing."

And with that, the two fell into mutual silence.

[03] untitled (pokemon, originshippy)

2008-07-01T15:22:28Z

Okay, so. This is a prime example of why I should not write in the wee hours of the morning. XD

Pokémon, Originshipping (Wallace x Steven) retardation at its finest (ha).

"You know this isn't going to work, right?" Wallace regarded his powder blue-haired companion with an exasperated look.

"Of course it will! What makes you think it wouldn't?" Steven looked over at Wallace, slightly hurt, though he tried his best not to show it.

He had no idea why he was so set on making this work. He and Wallace both knew the mechanics of breeding groups, and so both knew that trying to breed Milotic and Metagross just wouldn't work.

"The breeding groups. Milotic is part of the first Water group and the Dragon group. Your Metagross can only breed with Ditto."

Steven sighed. He already knew all of this, of course; he didn't need to be reminded. "Well, they could still-"

Wallace cut him off. "No, they couldn't. Your Metagross doesn't even have..." He cleared his throat, not wanting to continue that line of discussion further; it couldn't possibly lead anywhere good.

The former Champion slumped slightly after this last comment, utterly defeated. Wallace allowed Steven a few moments to get over his defeat before speaking again.

"You know, you should really stop projecting."

"Projecting?" Steven blinked; what did this have to do with the topic at hand?

"Yes. You love me and want to sleep with me, but you can't possibly bring yourself to say so, so you try to get our Pokémon to mate instead." Amazingly, the Sootopolis Gym Leader kept an impassive expression on his face during this illumination. Steven, however, now resembled a tomato... a very sharply dressed tomato, but a tomato nonetheless. Wallace noted this with amusement.

A few long moments of silence passed between them until one word cut through the heavy mist of tension that had settled over the two of them.

"Well?"

"...I-I plead the fifth."

Wallace looked vaguely disappointed with this response. "We both know it's true. You know you'll feel better if you admit it, so-"

This time Steven cut Wallace off. "...look!"

"Please don't try to distract me," Wallace replied, slightly exasperated with Steven's seemingly short attention span. Still, he found himself following Steven's gaze to Milotic and Metagross anyway; Milotic had curled up with Metagross and the two were sound asleep.

"That's not what I was going for, but it's a start... and you have to admit it's kind of cute."

Wallace sighed; Steven didn't seem to get the whole "projecting" thing. Still, it was as he'd said; it was cute.

[02] shining star (rockman.exe)

2008-07-01T15:21:04Z

Title: Shining Star
Fandom: Rockman.exe
Rating: G
Genre(s): General/Romance
Summary: Two stars, side by side… What could be more romantic? (Meiru-centric, one-sided NettoxMeiru)
Word Count: 298

A red-haired girl sat on the front step of her house, staring up at the sky.

“Those stars up there…” She spoke to no one in particular, though someone was listening. “They make you feel so small, don’t they?”

She gave an almost wistful smile. Her pink-clad Navi gave her a concerned look from the screen of the PET and then appeared as a hologram on her operator’s shoulder.

“Meiru-chan…”

“Oh. Hi, Roll…”

“Are you okay?”

“I guess so…”

That wasn’t entirely true. Netto was still being as dense as ever and none of the hints that Meiru dropped were working. Quite naturally, she was upset.

Roll also wasn’t convinced. She looked at Meiru, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes narrowed. After a few moments of awkward silence, she unfolded her arms and her expression softened. She had it.

“It’s Netto… isn’t it?”

“Yeah… He just doesn’t get it.”

“He is amazingly dense. But I’m sure if you keep dropping hints, he’ll eventually get that you like him.”

“Yeah, I hope so…”

Then her eyes fell upon a pair of stars. She knew it was silly, but they reminded her of a couple. How romantic…, she thought to herself.

“I hope he and I are like those two stars someday…”

“I’m sure you will be, Meiru-chan.” Roll smiled at her operator.

Meiru got up and stretched. “Well, I’m going to go to bed now,” she said with a yawn, opening the door and making her way towards the stairs.

“Good night, Meiru-chan!” Roll said with a smile, returning to her PET.

After a few minutes, Meiru was in bed and on her way to being asleep. Unknown to both Meiru and Roll, the brown-haired boy next door was gazing up at those same two stars.

Ficlet title and cut text come from "Shining Star" by Nami Tamaki.

[01] blue dolphin (yugioh gx)

2008-07-01T15:18:36Z

Title: Blue Dolphin
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Rating: G
Genre(s): General
Summary: Sometimes she simply wanted to be a dolphin… (light ManjoumexAsuka kindasortamaybe)
Word Count: 408

It was dusk and Asuka was at the lighthouse, alone.

Some people thought her life was perfect. After all, she was beautiful, a powerful and very respected duelist, and so many boys chased after her. What more could a girl want?

In reality, though, those were some of the things that she felt she could do without.

She got a lot of attention from the boys, sure, but most of the time it was unwanted. She couldn’t count the number of times that she had been asked out. Could they not understand that her one and only love was dueling, that that very likely wouldn’t be changing anytime soon?

Momoe and Junko weren’t helping with their comments about her "feelings" for Juudai…

She was quite the formidable duelist, and this wasn’t the part that she minded. The part that she minded was the title that she gained— “The Queen of Obelisk Blue”. The truth is that she really didn’t want to be the queen. She wanted to be treated like everyone else.

Sometimes, though, she simply wanted to be a dolphin. Then she could swim away to be by herself if she wanted to…

It was then that she looked up and noticed that she had company.

“…Manjoume-kun? How long have you been here?”

The black-haired boy stayed quiet for a bit; he seemed to be taking his time coming up with an answer for her question.

“I’ve… been here for a while.”

“…ah.”

There was a pause.

“So what brings you here, Tenjoin-kun?”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“It sure doesn’t seem like nothing.”

Another pause.

“Okay, you’re right. It isn’t nothing.”

The trenchcoat-clad boy remained silent, waiting for the blonde to voice what was on her mind if she wanted to.

“I’m just… tired of people putting me on a pedestal. I don’t want all these boys hitting on me and asking me out. I don’t want people idolizing me. I just want to be treated like an ordinary girl.”

A cool salt breeze blew, causing Asuka to shiver slightly.

“Tenjoin-kun, you’re so much more than just an ordinary girl,” Manjoume said, removing his coat and draping it over Asuka’s shoulders. “But if it’ll make you happy… I’ll treat you like one.”

Asuka looked up at him and smiled, her wish to be a dolphin so that she could swim away and be alone forgotten.

“Thank you, Manjoume-kun.”

Manjoume just stayed silent and looked off into the distance.