Yu-Gi-Oh GX; Asuka Tenjoin x Jun Manjoume

[cynthia_harrell]

Title: Reflection of the Heart
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Pairing: Tenjoin Asuka x Manjoume Jun
Theme Set: Delta
Rated: PG-13
Warnings: General spoilers for all four seasons of GX.

1. End: As the graduation party wound down, Asuka found herself dancing with Manjoume, and the longer it went on, the less she felt like ending anything, especially the relationship that really wasn't that they had shared for so long.
   
2. Head: She tried so hard to get her head wrapped around why he would feel that way about her when she'd never knowingly encouraged him, and just couldn't get it; why would someone keep caring about someone who wasn’t interested?
   
3. Taboo: Romance was not taboo for those of the Society of Light, provided that it was with another of the group, but Asuka still could not bring herself to look at Manjoume directly: out of the corner of her eyes now and then, when Saioh-sama wasn't there to see, was good enough for her.
   
4. Poison: As her life points dwindled down to zero, she could feel the power of the Light seeping into her veins, sweet addictive poison, and her last free thought for months was, Manjoume, how could you?
   
5. Peace: Sometime after the duel that freed her, Asuka found a little note, in oddly familiar handwriting, shoved under her door; it simply read, I'm sorry, and it brought a little peace to her heart, and the next day in class, she smiled a little more warmly at Manjoume.
   
6. Winter: Snow fell one February night, bringing a rare coating of white to the school grounds, and Manjoume quickly made arrangements for some white hot chocolate and other snacks to share with Asuka as they watched it together and plotted for the glory of the Light.
   
7. Summer: Manjoume tried to tell himself that it was just because of the heat wave that Asuka was wearing the swimsuit, and he kept his attention above her neck at all times, and tried to tell himself that the way his cheeks were flaming was just because of the heat as well.
   
8. Roses: "It's for you," Manjoume said quietly, as he held the freshly bloomed blue rose, just that perfect shade of Obelisk blue, out to her, and she tried to figure out what to think, "I mean that, I had it grown just for you at one of the Manjoume Group's labs; do you like it?"
   
9. Foot: "I'm all right, Manjoume-kun, I just sprained my foot!" Asuka held back a laugh as he fluttered around trying to make her even more comfortable and offered to do anything that she might need done and threatened unspecified revenge against the viscious staircase that had caused her injury.
   
10. Food: Asuka looked down at the food served in Obelisk White, and was about to ask Manjoume if he wanted to share some of the rice with her when she remembered he wasn't there anymore.
    
11. Snakes: "Don't move," Manjoume whispered as his gaze went behind her; she was about to ask why when he moved forward quickly and knocked a snake that had been about to fall on her shoulder from a tree away with his Duel Disk.
    
12. New: Manjoume could not help but glow with pride as Asuka walked beside him in her new Obelisk White uniform; now that they both served the Light, perhaps she would reconsider going out with him.
    
13. Rain: Asuka made a very displeased face as she stepped outside into the pouring rain and tried to cover her head with one hand, very unsuccessfully; the downpour stopped suddenly, and she looked up to see Manjoume there with a black umbrella held over her.
    
14. Spring: It was so obvious; the extra spring to his step, the slightly silly smile on his lips, the way he laughed at some of the younger students: Asuka had already crossed Manjoume's field of vision for the day.
    
15. Apples: Some of the rowdier Osiris students started to throw apples around during dinner after Asuka moved into Manjoume's new room; he quickly stood between her and them, not caring that he was getting bruises and apple juice all over his dirty jacket; what was one more stain compared to sparing her?
    
16. Hope: Manjoume looked down at Ojama Black before he handed the card over to Juudai, and with it all of his hopes of making up for the greatest mistake that he had made while under the Light's control.
    
17. Fire: This new Asuka, a creature of ice and light, a mere extension of Saioh's will, just as he had once been, wasn't someone that Manjoume could care about, so he would do anything that he could to help light the flame that would burn through to the real her asleep within, and possibly burn out his own regret as well.
    
18. Earth: Manjoume didn't want to tell anyone, but the greatest treasure on Earth in his opinion wasn't his deck or his bank account, but the memory of those few special times he had spent with Asuka over three years.
    
19. Stable: Staying around Asuka helped Manjoume to keep his feet on the ground in some senses: though in other senses, all he could do was float when she looked at him.
    
20. Air: More than one person had declared that Manjoume was full of hot air, but Asuka was more of the opinion he was simply full of himself, and he likely enough would have agreed had she mentioned that.
    
21. Wood: During a campout early in their second year, Manjoume and Asuka went to gather wood together; or to be precise, he gathered wood while insisting that she should not risk scraping her hands on dry branches.
    
22. Flexible: Manjoume’s deck was very flexible, shifting easily between Ojamas, Armed Dragons, the various Union fighter monsters, and possibly others with easy; Asuka could only admire it and wish at times that her own deck was that versatile.
    
23. Flying: One of the few regrets that Manjoume had about their time in the other worlds was that he didn't get a chance to find out if Asuka would like to go flying on his Armed Dragon Level Seven.
    
24. Dark: The two hunters of Dark World stood ready to attack, and Manjoume moved quickly in front of Asuka; to get her, they would have to go through him first: and they did.
    
25. Drink: One of the first things that Manjoume asked when they returned to Duel Academia was if Asuka would care to share a drink with him; after everything that had happened, she was more than willing to do so.
    
26. Pretty: Manjoume knew quite well that Asuka was pretty, but even if she'd been as ugly as a troll, he wouldn't have cared: as long as she had that soothing spirit that calmed the storm within him.
    
27. Grave: Their graves were side by side, sandwiched in between Kenzan and Fubuki's; Jim thought that perhaps Tomorrow Girl and the black Osiris would like it that way, even if he couldn't ask them.
    
28. Fall: Manjoume walked backwards, shaking his fist as he ranted at Juudai about something that he couldn't even remember or care about the next day: but he never forgot that when he lost his footing and started to fall, Asuka was there to catch him.
    
29. Despair: Manjoume drooped in deepest despair; Asuka would never go out with him now; he'd lost the duel and lost his chance at her heart: and then she started to say something else that sounded as if it might give him a brief flash of hope, but before he could learn what it was, the Spirit Keys around his neck started to pull him away.
    
30. Secret: If it hadn't been for Fubuki's insistence, he might have kept his feelings for Asuka hidden for quite a while, enjoying her peaceful presence without anyone knowing the truth, and he was never quite certain how he felt about them being out in the open.
    
31. Duty: Asuka took only one look at what Manjoume was doing, and knew exactly what it was that she had to do: duel him to protect Obelisk Blue from whatever madness had overtaken him (and frankly, if this was another attempt to get her attention, she was going to kill him where he stood).
    
32. Green: After seeing her in nothing but the blue and white Obelisk uniform for three years, Manjoume was not prepared to see Asuka in a warm green sweater and black slacks a year late, and all he could do was stare at her.
    
33. Water: Rainwater spilled off of the edge of the umbrella, soaking the sleeve of Manjoume's jacket; he paid no attention, since he was too busy making sure none of it got on Asuka.
    
34. Ugly: "If you got rid of that ugly jacket, I bet Asuka would go out with you," one of the Obelisk girls told him one morning, and a moment later, Asuka herself replied, "No, I wouldn't."
    
35. Snow: The longer the duel went on, the colder everything around them became, and Manjoume wished that he could find a way to personally melt all of that cold that had wrapped Asuka's heart.
    
36. Welcome: As he walked over to where she lay, mostly unconscious as the Light worked its will on her, Manjoume could not help but feel a bit guilty: a guilt that was quickly suppressed as he reached down to welcome her to her new life as part of the Society of Light.
    
37. Bugs: Manjoume leaned back in the stands and watched as the Insect Princess of Obelisk Blue and Asuka dueled one another; he didn’t need to cheer for her to know that she knew he was there for her, and he couldn’t wait to see her stomp those bugs of Ran’s into the dirt.
    
38. Beginning: He could feel her; he could feel what she was thinking, feel that wonderful sense of her spirit, so calm and at peace, a perfect contrast to his own stormy interior, and emotions that had been quiet and restrained before suddenly burst into blazing life.
    
39. Light: While Manjoume wanted to beat Juudai in a duel and still be his friend, there was something else underneath all of it that he also wanted, which the Light offered to him: Asuka's heart.
    
40. Honor: If Asuka had lost the duel, she would have went on a date with him; what she never had the chance to say was that she would have went out if he'd simply asked her to.
    
41. Coffee: Some people had to have a stiff dose of coffee to be ready for the day; Manjoume only had to catch a glimpse of Asuka in order to get ready.
    
42. War: If there was a war between the sexes, then Manjoume would happily consider himself to be a prisoner of that war: as long as it was Asuka who had taken him captive.
    
43. Old: Asuka was not at all surprised when Manjoume eventually did replace his black North School uniform, with one that looked exactly like the old one.
    
44. Solid: Manjoume was quite grateful for Duel Monsters and solid vision technology, because watching Asuka duel any other way just wouldn't be the same.
    
45. Lost: "All right, I lost fair and square," Manjoume tried to keep the smile out of his voice as he put his deck back together and looked over at her. "That means you get to pick what we do tonight."
    
46. Regret: Manjoume remained quite proud of the fact that while they were both under the spell of the Light, he never did anything to Asuka that he would wind up regretting: either when her brother found out about it later, or if she did.
    
47. Metal: Gold was a poor metal to compare the hue of Asuka's hair to; gold was cold and without any sort of life, and from the few moments that he had been near it, Manjoume was certain that her hair was nothing of the sort.
    
48. Strange: It was not so strange that someone like Manjoume, dirty and scruffy and proud of it, would fall for someone like Asuka, so strong and clean and independent: what was strange was that she would fall right back.
    
49. Hollow: All those empty places inside of himself, aching and hollow since his brothers had abandoned him (or he abandoned them, it amounted to the same thing) were filled in different ways by those who bore the name Tenjoin.
    
50. Doors: Manjoume would have liked doors that he could open, instead of automatic ones, just so that once, he could open one for Asuka: if she would have allowed it.

The End