Happy holidays everyone! This is a Christmas gift for Higuchimon. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

Warnings: Implied and on-screen killing.

Killing Time

The village was much like all the others: in ruins, almost abandoned except for a few people who hadn't been fast enough, and when Haou arrived with his army, he wasted no time tracking down the last few survivors and killing them. He looked on as the village burned and the people fled. One small boy fell and twisted his leg. A girl, no older than ten, with hair far too red for this world without color, ran back to help him. Haou only said two words.

"Kill them."

There was a scream in the distance, a howl of rage as the girl was run through and dissolved into thin air, followed by the boy mere seconds later. Another parent screaming for revenge. None of them ever succeeded, and Haou didn't doubt that this one too would find his end at the hands of one of his soldiers. He turned away, leaving the army to chase after the survivors. He was wasting valuable energy.

He tried to guess what day it was, but the Dark World had no real concept of time. There was no night or day, and the ever-present comet made it so that no change ever took place. Still, with an instinct born from seventeen years of watching the seasons change, Haou knew New Year had already passed. January. How many days had it been since they'd died? How long had it been since Johan-

"We shall return," he commanded. The survivors would seek shelter in the next village. The next village would fall soon enough.

"Haou-sama," said Guardian Baou, riding up next to him. Haou looked straight ahead, eyes distant. "The villages in the south are banding together. We must act soon."

"Tell me something," Haou said. There was a memory tugging at the edges of his mind, but he didn't want to look at it. "If someone you believed to be dead suddenly turned out to be alive, what would you do?"

Guardian Baou hesitated, and Haou felt like laughing. Baou was a coward and a murderer, but for now he was still useful. Haou did not kill people because their answers didn't satisfy him. There was no practical use in killing off one's own army for a perceived slight.

"Is this person important to Haou-sama?" Guardian Baou asked. Haou looked up at the sky, his eyes narrowing as he saw the comet.

"No."

"Then I would kill them to further Haou-sama's goals."

"Yes." Haou nodded, finally looking at Guardian Baou. "Good. You may leave."

"Haou-sama, the southern villages!"

"Leave. I will not repeat myself."

To his credit, Guardian Baou did as he was told. The journey back to the castle wasn't a very long one, and Haou spent all of it steadfastly ignoring the thoughts running through his mind. It was only when he was back in his private chambers that he allowed himself to think. January of a new year, and everyone was dead. He'd seen them all die, except Johan. But Johan, fragile and human as he was, would never have survived in this world. There was no good in this world, so there was no room for someone like Johan.

Unbidden, the memory from before returned. It was a good memory, one Juuda- Haou had clung to when he'd been alone in this world. Long before Cobra and Yubel, when the weather had still been summery and he and Johan had spent their time wandering around Duel Academia.

"August 31st? That's a good day for a birthday," Johan had said. Ruby'd chirped in agreement. "You didn't have school, right?"

"No one ever came to my birthday parties." Juudai had frowned, deep in thought. There had been another reason, but he hadn't been able to remember what it was. The day had been too nice to remain sad, however, so he'd smiled and grabbed a rice ball from the basket they'd brought along with them. "Now I get lots of presents every year, though. Shou sent me this really amazing gift last summer!"

"I'll send you a gift from Norway next year," Johan'd said. Juudai had grinned and tossed him another rice ball.

"What about you?" he'd asked between bites.

"Right after New Year." Johan hadn't looked happy about the date either. "Do you know how many people don't bother to send separate cards when your birthday's that close to New Year? I don't really like being a footnote on someone's Christmas card."

Juudai had frowned in his friend's place. "When it's your birthday, I'll make sure you'll get a birthday party!"

But that had been several months ago. Now New Year had passed, and Johan would have turned eighteen if he'd still been alive. He wasn't, and Haou would turn eighteen without getting a present from Norway. He'd turn eighteen in this world, and then he'd officially be older than Johan had ever been.

Johan had never gotten his birthday party. Haou told himself that it didn't matter to him. He took out his deck and shuffled it, just to give himself something to do. Then, instead of drawing his opening hand, he took the card at the very bottom and turned it over. Hane Kuriboh, as always. There was no better place for a monster that had abandoned him long ago. At least with Hane Kuriboh there, he'd never miss out on a card that was actually useful.

He reshuffled, and after a brief glance that confirmed that Hane Kuriboh was still the last card in his deck, he drew an opening hand and looked at the cards. There it was: Super Fusion, fully completed. It was his most powerful weapon in the fight to eradicate evil. No one could beat him as long as he had it. All was as it was supposed to be. He would destroy all the evil in the world, so that no one would ever have the chance to kill people like Johan, and Asuka and Manjoume, and Kenzan and Fubuki-san. Even Shou was probably long dead by now. Shou hadn't understood his decisions. However, Haou knew that the only way to eradicate evil was to make sure that no one would ever be able to commit crimes again.

An image of the girl with the red hair flashed in his mind. She'd gone back to help her friend. Had she been evil?

She would have grown up to be, Haou decided. No one alive was truly innocent. He'd done her a favor by killing her before her soul would be corrupted. Now he got to carry the weight of the crimes she'd never commit. It was better this way.

Even his own army would die at his hands. After all, they'd already proven themselves to be murderers, so there was no place for them in the world. Once he'd conquered the south, he'd do away with them. Then he and he alone would be the one to bear the evil in the world. No one alive was innocent. That was why they had to die. Haou had to be the one to do it, because only he could bear that evil. The dead couldn't commit crimes.

What if Johan is alive?

Where did that thought come from? Haou frowned down at the cards he was still holding, and almost viciously shuffled them back into his deck. If Johan was alive, it would mean that someone who wasn't evil had spared his life. It would mean that some people who were innocent weren't alive anymore. He would have killed innocents. Johan being alive would mean that everything he'd done would've been in vain.

But no, Johan wasn't alive, because no one alive could ever be truly innocent. If he really was alive… If Johan Andersen had turned eighteen even though he never should have, then Haou-

Then Yuuki Juudai would kill him.