365 Days of Starshipping (Part 2)

Judai's Realm

8/20/19

"Here we are," Judai said, a happy smile on his face as he entered through the portal he'd torn open with Yusei, "Ah... it's cooler, I'm glad we brought jackets now. It'll be nice to finally enjoy a day that's not filled with blazing heat."

Yusei nodded back, though his attention was immediately drawn to his surroundings - Judai's realm, as he remembered him stating before, was indeed looking like a forest-y plains more than a desolate wasteland. It looked really pretty, actually, especially with the morning sun that was slowly rising into the sky.

His breath caught a little when he finally noticed the castle in the distance, having expected it to be big but not... not that big. It was something right out of a fantasy novel, with the drawbridge and layout, and he couldn't stop staring at it in wonder.

He startled a little when Yubel spoke up next to him, not having noticed that she and Haou had popped up yet, "It's quite the sight, isn't it?"

"That place is huge," Yusei replied, glancing over with slightly-wide eyes in amazement, "You guys lived there? I can't imagine..."

"It's always populated in some way," Haou stated, looking out with a nostalgic look in his eyes, "Used to be even more so, but that was when there were always soldiers and commanders constantly going through it. Now there's mainly just servants who live there to upkeep it."

"Butlers and maids, Haou," Judai reminded with a grin, taking his jacket off from around his waist and putting it on, "They're paid with more than just food and a bed now, plus half of them actually live in one of the nearby towns. Y'know, with their family."

"I know that," Haou grumbled back, giving him a side-eye in annoyance, "We've gone over this how many times?"

"I know, don't worry," Judai replied, "'Servants' has been practically drilled into your brain, it's a hard habit to break after so many years. Still, I gotta tease you about it a little bit."

Yusei shared an amused look with Yubel, asking, "Is this a common thing for them in regards to anything here?"

"Yeah, with all the changes Judai went through and made it's better now, but it's difficult to remember," Yubel said before snickering, "Makes for some funny arguments between them, but Haou always ends up conceding in the end."

"Oi, I can hear you," Haou glowered, crossing his arms defensively before letting out a sigh and starting to walk forwards, "Either way, let's go Yubel."

"We'll see you two later," Yubel waved, following after him immediately and tossing a smirk over her shoulder, "Don't have too much fun by yourselves!"

Judai snorted at that, while Yusei simply gave her an exasperated stare that earned him a bark of laughter before they disappeared down the path.

Judai turned to him with a smile, threading their hands together and asking, "So? Initial impressions?"

"It's beautiful here," Yusei answered, squeezing his hand and taking another look out at the view, "I can only imagine how it'll look a year or two from now when everything's finished growing."

"All the flowers will finish popping up and there'll be color everywhere," Judai agreed, tugging lightly on his arm to get his attention back, "Well, what'd you wanna do first?"

"I'm the guest here, you tell me," Yusei retorted, raising an eyebrow at him, "You didn't want to tell me anything more, so you're the only who knows what there is to do in the first place." Suddenly he yelped, his weight falling as Judai swept him up into a bridal carry before he could even register that he'd moved, "J-Judai!"

"That look on your face will never get old," Judai hummed, pressing a kiss to his cheek before continuing, "Also, I decided what we're doing first - we're doing a loop of the towns. And you know what the best part is?"

Yusei heard and felt the wings appear more than anything else, only barely managing to see part of a wing past Judai's head before he was hanging on tight and burying his head into the other's chest as he launched into the sky not even two seconds later.

"I can fly as much as I want here!" Judai laughed joyously, letting out a whoop as he stalled in the air for a moment to let Yusei get his bearings.

Once he had, he looked out at the new view, gaping slightly at how expansive the place was - from their position in the sky, he could see at least three of the towns, spread out in a vague circle around the castle, and they were relatively big for towns.

He looked up at Judai, who was looking down at him with an expression of pure happiness at the freedom of the situation, and suddenly they were sharing excited laughs and smiles as they slowly made their way to the closest town, playing around in the air in the meantime.