Title: Not Worth The Effort
Characters: Yuuki Juudai, OC||Ship: N/A
Word Count: 500||Chapters: 1/1
Genre: Drama||Rated: G
Challenge: Diversity Writing: Reversal AU: A095: write about a major character; GX Flash Bingo, #137, hatred
Notes: This takes place in my reversal world, where Juudai's powers are those of the Destructive Darkness.
Summary: True hatred and true appreciation of hatred requires effort. Not just anyone can make the cut.

Haou inspected the latest line of captives for potential uses. There weren't any rebels in this batch, which meant no new information. He didn't care; he had all he needed right now anyway.

None of these were duelists, which meant their use for Super Fusion would be extremely limited. Not absolutely impossible, just limited.

That was also fine with him. He fought enough duelists and warriors in any given day that Super Fusion was coming along quite nicely.

Which really lent these captives just one purpose so far as he was concerned: entertainment.

"Arena for them," he declared. "Have them ready to fight when I give the word."

All of his servants bowed without hesitation. "As you wish, Haou-sama!" They declared in unison.

As they began to herd the captives off, one clear voice rose up from the middle of the pack.

"I hate him! I hate him so much!"

Perhaps they hadn't thought he'd hear, let alone care. But now Haou gestured, and Guardian Baou reached into the depths of the pack of slaves – not captives now that he'd made his decision – and dragged one of them out to stand before Haou.

"What was that you said?" Haou asked, staring down at this one. She didn't look like anything special. Brown hair and eyes, that was it, practically blended into the crowd, and that was probably why she'd said what she did.

At the sight of him, she flinched back, trembling for a few heartbeats, before she pushed forward, at least verbally.

"I said I hate you! All you do is hurt other people! You wreck homes and families and there's nothing about you that's good at all!"

Haou tilted his head slightly to the side. "Is that all?"

Apparently it wasn't.

"You're mean and evil and everything you do is wrong! Why don't you get that no one likes you?"

Haou's lips curved. Some people would've called it a smile, if it didn't look so much like terror incarnate. "You need to understand something. Your little rant would work so much better if I cared if anyone liked me or if I cared that anything I'm doing is 'wrong'. But I don't."

She flinched again then stared at him harder. "So what are you going to do, just kill me now for defying you?"

"Defying me? I have better people than you defying me every day of the week and some of them do it twice a day." Haou flipped one hand. "Take them all away."

His people escorted the new slaves away. Haou scoffed at the thought of that last one. Expecting me to care because people hate me? Everyone's always hated me. Why should now be any different?

He was destruction incarnate. He thrived off hated and loathing. If people liked him, then he would've been doing his job wrong.

Besides, he had Johan waiting back at the castle, still not tamed, ready to defy him with every breath. His hatred mattered.

Time to go home.

The End

Notes: Reversal world is so much fun to write in.