Chibi: Okay, after reading the fic Secret or Misconception by the talented KlonoaDreams, I had to write this! Here is my gift to you KD! This is the rewrite, focusing on the main heroes in the Dark World Arc.
Warnings: Female!Jaden, Female!Haou, Caring!Protective!Johan
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh GX
His name was Johan. He was a being of darkness. He knew that. His main purpose was to serve and be a scout for his creator. He would never forget that. He was not supposed to show emotion, for he was the best soldier Yubel had at his disposal.
He would never acknowledge that.
When he saw those tears streaming down her face, he just knew it in his heart that she was the one he should be protecting, to be sheltering from all the evil this world that had been twisted by Brron had to offer. So when she fled the sight off her failure he followed her. Sure, he might have been spotted by her crocodile totting guardian, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that she was safe.
When she finally stopped, she was dehydrated from all the tears that she had shed over her comrades. He flinched. Would she cry like that over me? he wondered. He took a step towards her, audibly cursing when he stepped on a twig and gave away his location. He squashed his anger, however, when he saw the joy lighting up her eyes.
Even after explaining who he really was, she did not care. He gave her hope. If the body of Yubel's prisoner was alive, then so was the soul. He could not help but smile warmly for the first time since he had been created when she embraced him.
His name was Johan. He was created by Yubel. He was supposed to be perfect and never fail...
...but he did.
He had merely left to get some more firewood for the meager heat source that his small fragile charge had made. When he came back, he looked on in horror to see that she had been forced to bring out her true power...only to be corrupted by Yubel's generals.
Dark Energy. From that day on he hated that magic card to no end.
Now his precious charge is a cruel and wrathful ruler, cutting down everything in her path for the sake of Super Fusion.
Yubel's plan. Not hers.
It was all Yubel's sick, twisted little plan.
That was when he vowed to serve her.
His golden-eyed mistress. The one beneath all of the madness.
He knew this was not her true nature. Sure, she was a bit rough around the edges, but it was nothing that a little love and care could not smooth out.
As he looked on the duel between the Queen and her second challenger of the day, he prayed. He prayed that they would return to him.
The little light he grew so fond of in a short period of time-
-And the golden eyed watcher he knew he was destined to protect.
He would never fail again, especially not her.
Her name was Haou, Supreme King of Gentle Darkness. Despite her true gender, she was just as powerful as any man who dared set foot in her court and challenge her otherwise. Her destiny was to rule over all twelve dimensions with an iron fist, her childhood guardian ruling by her side.
She had been a fool to think that she needed a companion from that place that her hikari treasured so much. Duel Academy, was it? Now it only held memories of pain for her other. Her reincarnate. Her first and only real friend. The one who would never leave or hate her.
Perhaps I shall destroy that place once Super Fusion is complete, she mused, and then no more reminders of a painful past will exist. Despite her rough exterior, she cared for her other side and would do anything to shelter her from pain. But one memory kept nagging at her mind.
That pair of orange eyes, filled with so much love and care. There was a bit of lust hidden deeply in his gaze, but it was mostly a look that promised protection from all the horrors any dimension had to offer.
Even now she still saw those eyes, watching her from the shadows like a hawk. He never did anything to harm her, nor did he help in her conquests. He would just watch her. At first it was difficult to spot him, but now he would watch her in plain sight. He would just stand there, whether it be on a windowsill in her court, the roof of the citadel, the top of the gate, or even on the outskirts of a battlefield.
She did not know why he did what he did, but for some reason, she was grateful for his presence in this cold desert of a kingdom.
Her name was Haou. She was the best friend, past life, and protector of a girl named Jaden Yuki, who in turn was the best friend of one Jesse Anderson.
Johan's hikari.
Her watcher.
Her stalker.
Her knight.
He was a pervert around her, saying the most ridiculous things that would end with him on the floor clutching his head in pain and her with a definite blush on her face.
He had helped her clear her name in the Dark World, for he knew what the real reason for her genocide was. He stayed at her bedside when she overexerted herself in returning everyone that had been killed for Super Fusion from the stars. He answered her every beck and call when she and the Nature E-Hero's set out to reverse Brron's damage and make the Dark World to look more like the World of Light where their friends and surrogate family dwelled.
Whether it be watching movies or playing video games with their new friends, that idiot would always do something that would earn him the glare-of-doom-whenever-Johan-did-something-stupid-slash-perverted, as Shou had named it. The result was always the same, he would get a fist to the head by her surrogate parent Jim, a bite from her other surrogate parent Karen, or a Haou Chop to the head.
But no matter what he did or said to her, a small part of Haou was always overjoyed at the fact that he didn't treat anyone else, including her hikari, like he treated her.
And that was something she would never regret.
His name was Jim Cook. Jim "Crocodile" Cook to everyone who knew him well. He had only one girl that would ever be number one in his heart was Karen, and she was a crocodile. He shrugged this off; who cares what they thought? Karen was an important member of his family and nothing would ever change that.
When he met Jaden Yuki, he had a strange feeling that would change very quickly. The girl had managed to befriend Karen in a matter of minutes after meeting her, something he had never seen before. While others had looked at him strangely because of his "missing" eye, Jaden had accepted him, just as he accepted the spirit that lived inside her and would occasionally pop up to talk.
The feeling he had around her was love, but a different kind of love.
When Jaden had lost all of her friends to Brron, he did what he could to salvage the remains of her torn-up heart. She had run off, wanting to be alone, and he respected her wishes. The only thing that bugged him was the cloaked figure following her.
He better not do anything to her. He thought. She is a part of my life and I'd rather die than give her up.
He blinked, not knowing where the last comment came from.
The next time they saw each other, Jaden and Haou were one being bent on complete destruction. His eye showed him what had happened and he did his best to bring back his girls. His efforts were all in vain. He lost the duel, and his life.
Before he disappeared, he swore he saw the transparent forms of the two girls he had become attached to crying out for him.
His name was Jim Cook. He was the best student at South Academy, but not anymore.
He was now a member of Duel Academy and surrogate mother of two.
After news of Jaden's had miraculous return, Jim cried tears of joy. He did not know why, but he was relieved beyond relief to hear that the female Osiris had returned. He was one of the first to visit her, or rather them. His eye told him that Haou was back, along with Yubel. He did not mind about the later as long as he did not hurt his girls.
His parents refused to pay the tuition for his Obelisk Blue dorm, so he moved to Osiris Red with Jesse and O'Brien to keep a closer eye on Jaden.
His days were filled with chasing off boys who found out the student's real gender and the pressure from the other students about his last adventure. He would cook, clean, and look after all the members of his family. He had forced Jaden into the room built for her freshmen year while he and the other two moved into the old room she shared with Shou and Kenzan. They even sawed a hole in the floor and installed a ladder to access each other's rooms quicker. After a couple of weeks he saw the old Jaden come out of what seemed to be an empty shell of the teen. The same with Haou.
While some days he wanted to pull out his hair, some things made it worth the hassle. Whether it was the laugh he got from Jaden when he would cook while wearing he mother's old pink apron or the slurred "'Night Momma" he got from Haou when he would put her to bed after she would fall asleep from a night of movies or video games, he would never take back anything that had happened to him this past year.
His name was Austin O'Brien, son of a mercenary. He was known by his family name by all those who knew him. He was raised by the laws of the unforgiving wild and was the champion of West Academy. He was stoic and rarely showed his emotions.
He was the perfect pawn for Cobra, until he met her.
His first he had at Duel Academy was with the student that had beat the "ghost passenger" Jesse Anderson. To lure out Cobra's target, he kidnapped someone special. Her little brother. Though he lost the duel, he couldn't help but feel a small pang out guilt worm its way into his heart when he saw her go down, but he quickly dismissed it.
He was ordered to get closer to his target, but it was hard because of her close friends, and some other miscellaneous boys dressed up in red ninja outfits with a black version of the Winged Dragon of Osiris stenciled onto the fronts. Seriously, what was with this Academy?
Little did he know it would only get stranger.
He would later find out when he saw his target running toward him. In a red kimono. Being chased by two other boys. His eyes widened. His target was a girl!
He had his morals, and it was against said morals to harm an innocent girl. He would still take Jaden seriously, but now he would try to protect her from what Cobra had planned.
Why was he feeling like this?
When he found the answer to this question, it was too late. Jaden, the all-forgiving and all-accepting friend he held close, was his enemy. She was the Supreme King. It was up to him to succeed where Jim had failed. He had to get Jaden back.
Though it was a draw, he could go on knowing he reversed the damage done by Demise and the others.
After his return to the Academy, that was when he knew what Jaden was to him. His younger sister. The younger sibling he always wanted but never would have. He packed up his things and moved in with Jim and Jesse. He would never forget the looks on their faces when he sawed a hole in the floor and installed a ladder to get to Jaden's room in case of emergency.
He was not a pervert by any means. He even put a manhole cover on the hole for the sake of her privacy.
His name was O'Brien, unofficial member of Osiris Red. Big brother of Duel Academy champion Jaden Yuki. His previous days of strenuous training were now willed with laughter and emotions he thought he had long forgotten. He would help Jaden in any way it could, whether it be from behind the scenes or right at her side.
He would not abandon her again, that was a mistake he could not afford in this world.
Their names were Shou and Ryou, the first official friend that Jaden had made at Duel Academy. Shou was a shy little thing, desperate to step out of his older brother's shadow. Ryou was the Kaiser, the top duelist of the school. Despite her misconceived gender, Shou would still refer to Jaden as his aniki, his big brother.
His protector.
After graduating, Ryou had become a Pro Duelist, only to fall into the savage realms of the underground Circuit. Shou sought comfort after his duel in Jaden, only to have her comically pulled away from him and thrown into a trap set up by Saiou.
Ryou disappeared for a while, and Shou felt lonely. He still had Jaden, but a darker cloud was brewing.
He felt alienated when Jesse first showed up at the Academy, and somehow the blue-haired boy had some sort of hidden past with Jaden.
He didn't like how clingy the transfer was to his former roommate. Something just didn't sit right with him. When Jesse was left behind in the Dark World, he felt a small twinge that everything would go back to normal.
He hadn't counted on Jaden's tears, nor his own future actions.
He had forsaken his best friend in a world of nothing but shadows and sand. He unwittingly pulled the last shred of sanity that she had left from her heart. It was all too easy for Yubel's supporters to find her, bind her, and bring out the chaotic darkness that had been brewing in her heart since childhood.
Their names were Shou and Ryou, and they fought to get her back.
Ryou reappeared a few weeks after everyone returned, and was put under Shou's care. Shou had tried his hardest, along with the others, to bring back the old Jaden. Unfortunately, it was futile. The old Jaden didn't come back until near the end of the year, at graduation.
The two Marufuji brothers would go on to make their own Circuit with Edo and Manjoume, but they had no idea what happened to Jaden, except for the various pictures that she would send them.
Also, the fact that downtown Venice was destroyed by some sort of unknown force after the Cyber End and Rainbow Dragons had been stolen tipped them off big time.
Their names were Jesse and Jaden.
They were red and blue, light and dark, boy and girl.
Eternal friends. No matter what lifetime they were in.
The two had gotten along better than any comparison poetry could come up with. The two got along that well.
The two had a past, but Jaden had forgotten what it was due to a childhood trauma. It was only after Jesse was lost to the Dark World did she remember.
She fought tooth and nail to get her friend back, only to shatter when her entire world was pulled from under her.
She lost Jesse. She lost her friends.
She lost her sanity, emotions, and free will.
Jaden went on a genocidal rampage, but not of her own choice. It was as if she was a mere puppet in a grand web of strings and pulleys.
The two were not truly the same after the incident.
Jesse played everything off with a smiling mask and joking around, but Jaden developed a complete 180 in personality. It was as if she and Haou had traded personalities.
He would see the old Jaden from time to time when he was watching her.
Not spying, watching. There IS a difference.
The old Jaden had come back in the fight against Darkness and at graduation, much to his joy.
He was a bit perplexed when he heard on the news that dragons had attacked Venice, and he nearly had a conniption when he saw Elemental Hero Neos in the battle fray.
He welcomed Jaden back with open arms and settled down for a tale about the duel of a lifetime. He got worried in some parts, but felt relief knowing everything had worked out.
How else would Jaden be sitting in front of him?