How to Ask a Girl Out

Akiza walked into the guy's garage like she did almost everyday. Only this time, it was empty. The four men who usually habited the small building were no where to be found. Akiza walked farther into the home and finally heard something back near the bedrooms.

First, there was the sound of running water. Then, there was another sound Akiza had a hard time figuring out. It almost sounded like singing. She went upstairs towards the source of the sound, until she found herself right outside the bathroom door.

The Black Rose put her ear up against the wooden door and tried to make out the words. It was not very good singing, but at least it was on key.

Suddenly, the running water stopped and the voice became much clearer. It was Yusei. Akiza recognized the song perfectly now. It was a new one that a annoying, young male signer just released. It was one of those summer songs that no one liked, but was always stuck in everyone's head. Yusei must have not been an exception.

Akiza tried to stay quiet, but found herself trying to hum along.

Then, the door opened.

"Ah! Akiza!"

"Yusei!"

The door slammed shut. Akiza stepped back and tried to process what she had just witnessed. Yusei had just opened the door on her and was not wearing any clothes.

"Akiza, what are you doing here?" She heard Yusei yell from the other side in distress and confusion.

"I'm sorry. I just came over to visit you guys. But when nobody was downstairs, I came up here looking for you." Akiza tried to act innocent.

"Okay. Well...all my clothes are in the dryer downstairs." Yusei explained.

"I'll just wait in the garage." Akiza darted away from the door. She felt so embarrassed.

A few minutes went by, when Yusei finally met the girl who was waiting on the couch in the garage.

"I'm sorry, Akiza. You just surprised me is all."

"No. I shouldn't have barged in like that." Akiza could feel the awkwardness in situation. She should have just left. "Where is everyone else?"

Yusei stood besides the couch and leaned his back against the wall, trying to act like Akiza had not just seen him naked. "Crow is doing some delivers. Bruno went across town to pickup some engine parts. And Jack disappeared earlier this morning."

Akiza tried to make some small talk. "It must be nice to have the whole place to yourself for awhile."

"Yea. Nice and quiet. I don't even remember the last time I was in a home this peaceful."

Akiza cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Yusei smiled and took a seat next to her on the couch, stretching out his legs. "Every since I was little, every placed I lived in was filled with a bunch of other people. Someone was always talking or fighting. Didn't help that we were all basically living in a dump."

"Do you miss them?" Akiza cut in.

"Who?"

"Your old friends from the Satellite. I've been told you all went your separate ways after the bridge was built. Except for Jack and Crow."

Yusei thought back. What Akiza said did have some truth in it. "I visit Martha and Crow's kids once and awhile. My friends that Goodwin kidnapped all got jobs in Satellite. I barely talk to them. Kalin started traveling. I don't even know where he is right now. We still talk...sometimes."

The young girl sensed a change in tone of Yusei's mood. "I still write letters to Misty. She sends me pictures of all the places she goes for work."

"Women." Yusei mumbled under his breath, not realizing Akiza was an earshot away.

Akiza stiffened up. "Excuse me?"

Yusei quickly tried to come up with an excuse for his statement. "I mean...I don't...understand them. They never say what they mean. They think us guys are supposed to read their minds. They never seem know what they really want. Hell, the last time I tried to help a girl carry something, she slapped me."

Akiza almost laughed. Even though he was just blabbering, it was all so true.

"I never knew many girls near my age growing up. They were almost a rarity in Satellite. To tell you the truth, you and Luna were the first girls I ever had real friendships with."

"Yusei Fudo, you are not alone. If every guy wrote a book on what they understood about women, you might get a sentence at the most."

Yusei laughed. He loved how easy it was to talk to Akiza and who knew she had an interesting sense of humor. "So, you're a girl. Do you think you can answer a few question for me?"

Akiza pulled her legs up to sit criss-cross. "Like what?"

"Well, for starters, why do women gossip about others and everything they do?"

Akiza only took a moment to think. "It's basically a form of gloating. Guys waved their junk around, while girls exaggerate stories to make themselves seem better and everyone around them seem worse."

"Alright. So...why is it okay for guys to look at a girl wearing a bikini, but if it's their bra and underwear, we're perverts."

Akiza just shook her head. "Because when a girl is wearing a bikini, she feels proud and wants you to notice her. But, in her bra, she might not be feeling pretty or even notice that a guy is looking at her."

"Like when you saw me at my most vulnerable state." Yusei started laughing, while Akiza just buried her face into her hands. She could feel a redness growing on her checks.

"Next question!"

"Okay. Does having a baby really hurt that much?"

"And how am I supposed to know that."

Yusei started laughing even more. He never knew Akiza could be this funny. It was nice to just relax and talk to someone about thing less stressful than saving the world. "Okay. Last one for now. It maybe more personal, but what is your idea of the perfect first date?"

Now Akiza did have to take sometime to think about that one. She never really dated anyone, let alone went on a date before. "Well, for me, it would probably have to be a nice lunch at a cafe or something. Then, we would walk around the city and just talk. Then, we would end up at the docks, right by the water. He would offer to take me home on his runner." Akiza quickly stopped, wondering if Yusei might have link the word runner to himself.

"Well, if that's the case, would you like to have lunch with me? Then, maybe we could walk around the city and just talk."

Akiza could not believe he just asked her that. "Wait. Did-did you just ask me out on a date?"

Yusei smiled. "Well, since you just saw me naked, I figured I should at least buy you lunch. Maybe we could get the base order right."

Akiza bent over laughing. Yusei stood up and helped his date from the couch. The two walked to the cafe across the street and spent the rest of the day together.