SS: I think I’ve stalled this release for long enough… To be honest, this chapter was finished three days ago, and even a few days before that it was “done”, just not checked over. Don’t hurt me? -hides- Anyway, please review if you like! I enjoy hearing feedback. -shuts up now-

Disclaimer: I don’t own Yu-Gi-Oh GX and I definitely don’t make a cent off this crap.

Chapter 10 In the End, I...

“Gah! Judai, you imbecile! That is definitely not how you do it!” Manjyome huffed, aggravated and annoyed, as Judai hovered above him with a smirk. Ever since Johan and himself had let the red dorm student join, he’d been causing havoc through-out the game, something they’d expected but weren’t enjoying. He’d even forced the two other boys to get dressed once again even though they’d been enjoying this match previously without the articles of cloth.

Johan was laying off to the side, handcuffs binding his wrists behind his back. He started chewing on his lip only a few seconds ago, wondering how the heck he got himself into the current situation he was in. Oh, that’s right. Judai managed to trick him! Sighing, the blue haired teenager grumbled, somewhat annoyed at the fact that his partner was into bondage. Who would ever guess Judai was into such a thing, anyway?

“Hmm? It’s not?” Judai blinked a couple times fast at Manjyome and grinned even more. “Then how come I seem to be winning in your little game now?” A smug look, much unlike himself, moved along his features.

“You’re not winning! You’re a dang cheater! You tricked both of us, damn it!” The richest boy was glaring daggers at his ex-boyfriend, obviously getting more pissed at how things were turning out. Did Judai even have a right to be doing this?! Agh!

Pressing a finger to the lips of the male beneath him, Judai’s grin faltered and he pouted a little. Certainly this wasn’t at all like duel monsters and what he’d said before about there being no rules was completely true, right? “But, in this game, there is no such thing as cheating, right? I was under that impression--”

“You were under the wrong impression, then!” The raven-haired man snapped, interrupting the lesser one before he could finish. “We let you play with us thinking it would make you happy, but in the end, it’s only bothering us! Can’t you see? Besides, my point from before is coming up yet again. You are the prize, you can’t win!!” Obviously angry, Manjyome shoved the brunette off himself roughly causing him to fall back and slam into Johan.

In response, both boys let out a whimper and gave the kicked puppy look to the third. “What?!” He screeched, crossing his arms and looking away. Damn! That look was enough to make most anyone feel sorry for them. He was certainly not going to give into it, no sir re! Not so long as he was the normal, stubborn-ass Jun Manjyome.

Pouting like a hurt dog still, Judai sat up and slipped a key out from one of his pockets, then pressed it to the locks on each of Johan’s handcuffs. With two clicks, the other was free and now found himself watching his lover moving to sulk in a corner of the room. “What do you mean ‘what’?” Judai asked softly, mumbling incoherent things after. “You’re the one who threw me down like the jerk you are!”

Shooting another icy glare at his former mate and feeling somewhat bad for being so cruel, Manjyome shook his head a little and moved to sit behind him. “Listen, Judai, I’m…” He bit his tongue. What the hell was he just about to do? Apologize? For what? For yelling at the idiot?! “Never mind…” He went to rise, but felt a strangely iron grip on one of his wrists.

“We need to talk, simply just talk, I think that’s it.” A mixed expression of sadness and longing looked like it had been painted onto the E-Hero user’s face, and just the way it looked so darn sincere made Manjyome comply and sit back down fully, not bothering to argue.

“And what do you think we need to talk about, hm? How we failed to keep together because of that exchange student butting in?” Manjyome shot Johan a glare and the European only sat there looking a little guilty. “After all, I’m certain if it wasn’t for him, none of this would’ve happened.”

Brown hues twinkled with something that didn’t quite say ‘you are right’. Judai pressed a hand to his chin as if pondering something a moment, then glanced at Johan for a couple seconds before looking back at his ex. “Actually, it isn’t Johan’s fault,” The two-tone haired boy finally commented.

Manjyome huffed and crossed his arms. “I thought you’d say that.”

“Hear me out,” Judai demanded, touching one of the black-wearing student’s arms with a gentle pat. In response, he got not only a sigh, but a look of resent directed towards him, and he couldn’t hide the sorrow in his expression because of it. “Why did you always think of me as a bother, yet still said you loved me? I really want to know the answer.”

Manjyome blinked a few times fast, then looked away. “I… don’t know. I don’t even know how I ended up liking you in the first place, I’ve always been into women.”

Judai frowned. “That didn’t answer my question very well,” He said in a stern voice, looking determined to get the real, true response. “If you want me so badly, then you should have some sturdy reason to hold onto, right? You can’t just want me to hurt Johan and get your revenge, or you wouldn’t have been with me from the start.”

Damn, the rich brunet swore mentally, he’s not as entirely stupid as I thought he was. Still a moron, though, so... “Well, maybe you’re right.” He decided to play with the other’s mind a little to test the brain he surprisingly had in that head of his. “Let’s say you are. What would you do to try to convince me to tell you the truth?”

“Um, I…” Curse Manjyome for screwing around with him like this! He knew he wasn’t the brightest star in the sky and forcing him to think a lot like this wasn’t doing the red-dorm duelist’s composure any good at all. Turning to Johan in hopes he’d have some much needed help handy, he gave him a pleading look.

Sadly, Johan only shook his head slowly. Okay, he obviously wasn’t going to get any help from his recent lover, so how the heck was he going to come up with an answer to Manjyome’s question? Biting his lip, he forced himself to think quickly and smiled big when he found something that seemed to be a good response.

“I would… do this.” The brown-eyed boy rose and stared deep into Manjyome’s eyes, his voice stern and expression suddenly shifting to a serious look. “I’ve always only thought of you as a friend, never a true lover.”

Judai swore Manjyome looked extremely afraid for a split second there, as if one of the things he deeply cherished was just torn to pieces before his eyes. “Y-you… what?” He stammered, his head tilting down so his bangs hid the majority of his expression.

The E-Hero user sighed. “I’ve never thought of you as a true lover. I was with you for your sake alone… I was being nice because I liked you as my friend.”

A choked expression moved along the other’s face as he tilted his head back up. “I see… you’re a stupid, useless, fool! I don’t know what I ever saw in you!” Rising, Manjyome shot Judai a glare first, then Johan as he went to storm out of the room, obviously really pissed off by the brown-haired boy’s words.

Johan raised a hand, intending to stop him, but only got it pushed down by Judai who shook his head a couple times. “If he wants to leave, let him. I’m sure he has a lot to think over.”

“A lot to think over… a lot to…” Manjyome’s voice sounded broken, a mix of anger and hurt as he whipped around and shot the two of them a glare similar to that of a rattle snake. “I’ll give you a lot to think over, you stupid jackass Judai!!” Before anyone could even blink, Manjyome had Judai pinned to the door and raised a fist, intending to punch him hard.

Johan, seeming panicked, rose and went to stop him, but Judai only smiled, giving him a look that said ‘no’. The green-eyed boy stepped back once more. “Give up?” The red-dorm student asked, a shit-eating grin perking his lips.

“I… what?” Bewilderment flooded Manjyome’s features as he lowered his clenched fist a bit. “What the hell are you talking about?” Emotional turmoil was brewing in the pale boy’s head as he seemed to go completely white in the face.

“I was only kidding, I wouldn’t have dated you in the first place had I not liked you. Honestly, you think someone like me, whose main love has always been his cards, would just jump into a relationship without considering my feelings for you first?” Manjyome’s grip on the other loosened. “Manjyome, you’re my friend, you’ll always be my friend in my eyes. I know it must be hard to think of me as just that now and if you don’t want to, that’s fine by me. I’m sorry if I hurt you with this, but I want you to know, I’m ready to move on. Are you?”

Unable to believe this was the same Judai Yuki he’d always had a rivalry with, the same person whom he’d known as a complete loser, the dark-haired young man stepped back, letting go of the confident one completely. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you,” He huffed, the anger seeming to dissolve to something different. “One minute you’re stupid, the next you sound smart… geez.”

Judai chuckled. “Maybe that’s why we didn’t work out.” He peered by his ‘black dorm’ friend’s shoulder and smiled at Johan who returned the pleasant expression. “Johan understands me, he loves me just like you did, and I even think he’ll do me good. We’re a lot alike, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah, I think I finally get it. You’re both like pieces to a puzzle that fit nicely together. I’ll leave you alone.” He reached for the doorknob, ready to leave so he could get rid of his thoughts about the other boy ASAP and forget about how he ever wanted him back. Surprisingly, he felt a grip on his wrist and glanced up.

“I’m not quite willing to let you go so easily.”

“What?” Manjyome blinked, bewildered.

Laughter filled the room and brown orbs flashed with delight. “I mean I still want you to be my rival! I always love a good challenge from you and I don’t think it’d be the same if you suddenly decided to stop.”

Jun smirked. “You think I’m going to get over this in two seconds flat like you, moron?”

“No, but I was hoping you would.”

“You’re a freaking loser.”

“I know, but you know you still love me!”

“Tch. Don’t give me that!”

“Aww, but Manjyome, it’s true, it’s true!”

“Stop annoying me before I hit you!”

“Bring it! I can take it!”

Bickering, joyful sounding at that, echoed through the air like a fleet of birds screeching overhead. Johan stood by, smiling softly as the two ‘argued’ and teased one another, enjoying how easily he could see them slowly repairing the friendship that seemed to be broken permanently. Yeah sure, it was usually always hard for someone to still be friends with the person they’d once loved, but Johan could tell these two would be able to get over it. They appeared far too close not to.

If it weren’t for the sound of knocking on the door, they’d probably have gone on and on for another half hour or so. Flatly, Manjyome called to whomever it was behind it. “Who’s there? And what the heck do you want? We’re busy--”

“Were busy, not anymore, though!” Judai chirped cheerfully, sneaking an arm around his rival’s shoulder with Johan grinning widely as Jun glared.

“Don’t touch me!” He snapped, crossing his arms. He didn’t push the other away though much to both Judai and Johan’s amusement. “What?” Dark hues moved to the brunette first, then the blue-haired boy, staring with a tad bit of anger, but mainly curiosity.

Judai chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Our game’s done, right?” His tone was soft, kind, happy, and he lifted his arm off his ex’s shoulder, walking in front of him instead. “So let’s make up, okay?” He held out a hand, as if intending for Manjyome to shake it or something. In response the raven haired boy sighed and moved one of his own hands to take it when a call to them startled the group.

Oh, that’s right! They’d forgotten about the knocking on the door a few minutes ago. All eyes set to gaze at the wooden, movable panel, while Sho’s voice could be heard on the other side as well as murmuring from a few other people. “Aniki! Manjyome! Johan! Hurry up! You guys have got to see this! Fubuki-san is challenging this new transfer student! It’s a first year who they say is really, really good and she’s from America!”

“America?! Wow! She’s come from far like you and the others, Johan! And wait…” Judai paused, pondering for a moment. “It’s a girl, too? Whoa! I gotta see this! I bet she’s from Amon’s school!” Without taking any more time to think the least bit, the two-tone haired boy dashed to door and opened it up to a smiling cute little side-kick on the other side. Judai only returned the smile to him, which made Sho even happier as it seemed.

What was with them? Why were they always so hyper, bouncy and annoying? Those exact words were spinning through Manjyome’s head as he tried to comprehend what in the heck he should do. Their game ended so abruptly, and, as much as he told himself otherwise, he would’ve liked to continue. Turning his attention to Johan, he gave him a confused look, as if asking indirectly what they were supposed to do.

Johan laughed softly. “Let’s go!” He said in a slightly raised voice, a smile keeping itself on his features. “I think we deserve another type of fun; besides, it’s not like we can’t continue another time, right?” Okay, so maybe that was true, but something deep down in the raven haired boy made him want to drag both Johan and Judai to the bed and lock everyone else out while they…

“…jyome! Manjyome-kun!” The sudden calling of his name interrupted his thoughts, and he blinked a few times fast, focusing his eyes on the boy, no girl, now standing in front of him. “Manjyome-kun, are you alright?”

“A-ah!” Startled, he almost fell backward because Asuka was standing right in front of him, blinking down in a bit of concern, but mainly humor. “T-Tenjoin-kun…” He said softly, his usual sign of showing respect to his crush when she was close by. “You scared me…”

The blonde giggled a little, reaching a hand down to him with a kind smile. “I’m sorry about that. Now come on, the others are waiting.” Manjyome didn’t hesitate to take it and Asuka helped pull him up as soon as he did so.

Sighing, he bowed his head a little as thanks and after she smiled once more, her gaze ended up drifting off to look at Judai as he chit-chatted with the others outside. Jun wasn’t stupid; he could see the way she looked at him, the way she gawked with admiration and affection, and that alone made him feel, so help him he’d never admit it, a bit jealous. It was always like this, Judai the attention-hog. Though he did start to see it wasn’t his fault, he was just the type of person to attract it without much effort.

Again, he’d been drifting off into his own little world, thinking about things he’d considered stupid and was left wondering why he was bothering with them in the first place. Deciding he’d get her attention once more in a way he normally didn’t, he lifted a hand and waved it in front of her face and spoke in a medium tone. “Tenjoin-kun?”

“Ah?” Blinking a few times fast and obviously snapping out of a daze of her own, Asuka turned back to her friend and seemed slightly embarrassed. “Oh! I’m sorry, Manjyome-kun! I didn’t mean to… uh, go into ‘La La Land’ like that.” She smiled sheepishly, giving Judai another quick gaze.

“You… seem to think very highly of Yuki,” Manjyome commented, knowing the girl had probably never been told about the secret love affair of him and the brunette behind the scenes.

Giving him a look that had ‘busted’ written all over it, the female duelist sighed quietly and looked down, a light blush leaving her cheeks pink. “Don’t tell me it’s that obvious…” Manjyome could tell she looked sad, as if knowing the one thing she wanted the most, she couldn’t have. He’d felt the same way more than enough.

“It’s okay.” At this, Asuka looked back up at him. “I know exactly how you feel, Tenjoin-kun. I think many of us really respect and look up to Judai, it’s just, we all don’t like to admit it aloud. I for one know a specific person who’d never say…”

Asuka began to laugh softly and if it wasn’t for that, Manjyome was certain he wouldn’t have known he’d kind of given himself away. “You’re a silly guy. I know you like Judai, I’ve known for a while.” Left gaping, Manjyome flushed very, very faintly and looked to the ground, mimicking the girl’s previous actions. How embarrassing! Asuka was far too smart for her own good at times! “Call it woman’s intuition, but I just knew.” She winked at him before wandering to the door.

Figuring there wasn’t much else to do since Judai, Johan and his game had been put on hold for the time being, he heaved a sigh and followed Asuka to exit the room. Even if he’d been enjoying himself, he realized there were other ways to do so, and maybe, just maybe those annoying people he called friends weren’t so bad, after all.

“Hey, Manjyome!” As he reached the railing, he placed both hands onto it and glanced down at the person calling to him. What could Judai possibly want now? “Just so you know… I’m going to face this new student before youuuuu!” What?! What was he teasing him with the way he said ‘you’?! Scowling, because he certainly wasn’t going to let himself laugh and act childishly, he ran down the stairs being careful not to trip.

“Idiot Judai!” He shouted, as he began chasing the brunette. “I’m not going to let you get there first! You want me to be your rival still, well then I’ll make it worth your while!” Despite telling himself he wasn’t going to act childishly, Manjyome found himself racing after Judai with him laughing the whole time… and Manjyome was enjoying the sound of his ex’s laughter, too. What the hell?

Even though he was a tad freaked out, he pushed his worry for it aside since it actually wasn’t the end of the world. Judai was his former boyfriend and, although he’d never say it aloud, probably one of his best friends. Sighing, his dark hues caught sight of a large crowd in the not-so-distance and he skidded to a stop, basically slamming into Judai’s back. “Ow, ow, ow! You bumbling moron, why’d you stop short like that?!”

“Look,” Judai said, raising a hand and pointing to the Ojama brothers, Ruby Carbuncle and Winged Kuriboh, all five floating around a sixth monster spirit by a tree. “There’s another with them!”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Judai Yuki… I had my hands tied up with a crowd. Thankfully my friend took care of things.” Both boys stood in confusion, glancing over at the mysterious figure who was smirking at them. A girl, at that. “Hey, hey! Quit staring at me like I’m some circus attraction! Duel me!”

Moving a hand up and scratching the side of his head, a modest smile perked itself onto the E-Hero user’s face. “Um, it’s great and all that you want to duel me, and I’ll gladly except but first, who are you?” The female chuckled making Judai blink a couple times fast.

“Well, well, silly, I’m the new transfer student from the States! Pleasure to meet you. My name can come later, for now I want to test your skills. I heard from your friends you’re pretty good.”

“My friends?” Much to his surprise and Manjyome’s, Asuka and the others who had gone ahead of them came up behind the girl laughing. “So that’s what you guys were doing while Manjyome, Johan and me had our game!” Speaking of which… where had Johan disappeared to? Judai glanced around a moment then felt hands over his eyes. “Johan…”

“Yes?” The other asked, smirking as he purred into his lover’s ear.

“Don’t copy me or else I’ll make you pay.”

“Threat or promise, Ju-chan?”

“Promise, precious. A promise.”

“Haha! Sounds fun!” Sliding his hands down from blocking Judai’s seeing orbs, Johan pulled back before walking beside his partner instead, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and neck. Sneakily and before Judai could even react, he pecked a kiss on one of his checks, seeming to forget the group of onlookers standing pretty much right in front of them.

Obviously Mr. Yuki hadn’t because he was faintly flushed while staring ahead at the other duelists. “J-Johan! You’re embarrassing!” He complained, crossing his arms with a timid expression, unlike his usual character.

Blinking a few times fast, emerald hues flashed as the second boy moved around to the other’s front. “Huh? What did I do? A kiss on the check is nothing! Besides… These are nice, understanding people. Right?” His gaze drifted off to the others and they went silent. “Right?” Johan asked again, the corner of his mouth twitching.

None of them had ever seen Johan look as annoyed as he did at the moment -- he actually looked scary for once -- and without bothering to question or say anything, they nodded quickly a few times. This gained them a smile from the European and he patted Judai’s shoulders. “See, see? It’s all good!”

Rolling his eyes before laughing, the red dorm student pulled his friend’s arms off with a large smirk. “Oh, really? I still say you’re embarrassing!” No one really understood why they were suddenly cracking up, or why they always seemed to get along so dang well and resolve problems so quickly. In fact, they were kind of glad they didn’t because they were sure the answer would only confuse them more.

Well, whatever the case, everyone, even the new transfer student, exchanged looks then shrugged their shoulders. It wasn’t exactly something they needed to be worrying about, after all. Johan and Judai fit together like chain links, and that was that. End of story. At least, that’s what they tried to tell themselves, but none could get the overwhelming curiosity to stop nipping at their minds. Everyone but the few who knew the truth about the pair’s real relationship, that is.

“Anyway!” Judai’s cheery voice echoed in the air, making them snap out of their dazes, and he held his arm out, his duel disk in a ready, working position. “How about that duel? I’m eager to see what you’ve got!” Knowing she was being addressed, the semi-mystery duelist stepped forward.

“Hey, hey! What’s up with you and that cute blue-haired guy, eh?” She lifted her arm, her own duel disk snapping into its battle-ready mode.

Judai blinked a few times fast. “Huuuh?” He shoved his deck into the holding area and glanced over at Johan who joined his other friends. “Why do you care?”

“Just curious, I guess,” She replied, loading her deck, mimicking her opponents actions once more. “You seem really close, is all. Maybe lovers?” A slightly devious grin moved across her lips when she noticed Judai’s reaction. How in the heck did she even guess? Was it from the simple kiss on the cheek?

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those crazy yaoi fangirls,” Johan commented from the sidelines, recalling some other things he’d seen on the internet and some of the females he had talked to using an alias. Not that he meant she was literally crazy or something, it was just that the women he had been talking to online spazzed out on him when he told them he had a male crush.

For a moment the girl seemed to freeze and ponder the words. “Mmm, maybe you’ll find out after your boyfriend and I duel! Shall we? You lose and you have to kiss right in front of us all… on the lips. Deal?” Okay, now Johan just proved his statement to be true. Well, it wasn’t like either of them would really mind. She seemed like a nice girl and anyone who didn’t want to look didn’t have to. Then again, there was always the jealousy, rumors, confusion, shock and -- “Hey, you hear me?!”

Sighing and groaning a bit in his usual manner, Judai looked over at her, smiling suddenly. “Fine, we have a deal! You ready?” Johan only shook his head, a humorous expression on his face. It wasn’t like he really cared because he was eager to kiss his beloved ‘Ju-chan’ again as it was.

“Heck yeah!” A shrieked response of joy made its way into everyone’s ears and Judai and the girl shared the same expression for a brief moment before shouting at the same time.

“Duel!”

The end.