Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Ambassador of Ice Cream
Characters: Johan, Yubel, Juudai
Romance: Hints of Yubel x Juudai, Juudai x Johan if you want to view it that way.
Word Count: 2,705||Status: Complete
Genre: Humor, Friendship||Rated: PG-13
Feedback: All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Summary: Who Juudai buys ice cream for is Very Serious Business indeed. Just ask Yubel and Johan.
Him again. Yubel flexed her clawed hand, a flicker of a smirk rippling across her lips for a moment. She always knew when he was near Juudai. How could she not? She'd wielded his deck, if only by borrowing his body to do so, and Rainbow Dragon's power could not be ignored. Too much power for him, in her opinion, and power he hardly deserved, but there all the same.
Awareness wasn't knowledge, however. Being aware of his presence didn't mean she knew what they were doing, not unless she looked, which she hadn't yet chosen to do. She trusted Juudai with every shard of her being.
That didn't mean she didn't get a little curious now and then, of course. This was that thief.
Oh, wait, she wasn't supposed to think of him like that anymore. He hadn't stolen Juudai from her. Juudai loved her. Just her, like he'd always promised.
That still didn't mean she would just let him wander around Juudai without keeping some kind of an eye on him. If he and Juudai were friends, it was still in Juudai's best interests for her to make certain he was worthy of the position. Not just anyone could claim such an honor.
"It's hot!"
Complain, complain, complain. Heat or cold meant nothing to her, of course. Another notch on the list of why she was better than he was.
"No kidding. I feel like I'm going to melt!"
Yubel wondered if a cool breeze might improve matters for Juudai. Perhaps she'd check into creating one if he needed it. Or she could find a lake suitable for a swim. Does he have swimming trunks? Something to consider, should a lake turn up.
She folded her arms across her chest in preparation to searching out such a place when his voice interrupted.
"Hey, I think that guy over there's selling ice cream!"
"I think you're right! Come on, my treat!"
She hadn't heard that precise type of joy in Juudai's voice in some time. She knew what ice cream was of course; Juudai'd tried to share it with her when he was just a child, before...when he was a child.
"Come on, Yubel, try some! It's really good!" He held the spoon up to her lips, eyes bright with innocence and joy. All he could think of was sharing one of his favorite treats with his favorite monster.
She shook her head with a faint sad smile curving her lips. "I can't, Juudai. I wish I could." Indeed she did, just to take away the adorable pout on his lips.
"Why can't you?"
"I'm only a spirit, Juudai. Spirits can't eat food."
She bit off the memories, shoving them deep within herself. She could reminisce some other time. What mattered was Juudai might possibly buy ice cream for that person and she couldn't let him do that.
Not without something of a fight, of course. Like anything else the thief dared to look at, he would have to earn it.
It took only a flicker of her power to appear before the two of them and Juudai's eyes widened when he saw her. "Yubel!" A fraction of a second later and his eyes narrowed, a frown appearing between them. "Is something wrong?"
She wasn't surprised; she generally only appeared like this when there was something he needed to take care of. But now she shook her head and turned most of her attention to the other one. She'd appeared in good time; they hadn't actually reached the ice cream vendor yet.
"What makes you think Juudai should spend his money on you?" She liked being able to look down on him. It would put him on the defensive and that would sharpen his wits in and of itself.
He didn't appear startled or even annoyed by her presence, despite not having seen her in close to a year. Yubel wondered if he'd tried to pretend she didn't exist. Whether he did or not, right now he just rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask him to. What business is it of yours, anyway?"
"Do you really have to ask?" She arched up one eyebrow and stared even more intently down at him. "Or did you forget I was even here to hear you two?"
"As if I'd ever forget about you."
Oh, that was a lovely taste of acid in those words. She granted him just a hint of approval in her smile. "I would hope not." Still, she didn't move from her position between them and the vendor. He hadn't earned that right yet. "But you didn't really answer my question."
His eyes narrowed even more than Juudai's had. "I did. It wasn't my idea for Juudai to offer. If he wants to get anyone ice cream, that's up to him. It's not my decision." He paused for a moment, choosing words with the greatest of care. "I'm not sure how much of it is yours, either."
"Uh, guys?" Juudai shifted behind the two of them, waving one hand in between them. "Yubel? Johan?"
Neither of them glanced at him, their attention focused on one another for now. Yubel knew he'd spoken, of course, but since there wasn't anything dangerous going on, she knew he just wanted to say something about this little situation. He could wait.
"Everything Juudai does is my concern." Really, hadn't he learned that already? She didn't think she needed to teach him that lesson once again.
He tilted his head back and stared up at her without fear. That earned him another small mental mark in his favor for her, as did the fact none of the Gem Beasts had yet interfered. He could deal with her on his own, his body language said.
"Even when it's just buying ice cream for a friend?" His lips twitched into something that wasn't necessarily a smile but she classed it as one nevertheless. "Can I call him that now? Is that all right with you? Or do I still need to ask permission?"
Oh, throwing her own words back at her, was he? She liked this. "I'll consider it carefully. Don't expect an answer in the near future."
"I can't say I'd expect an answer at all since that still isn't your concern."
Juudai cleared his throat, trying his best to inch between the two of them. She thought he also looked like he wanted to break out into laughter. "Guys, really. I can buy you both ice cream if you want it. I've got enough."
Both of them shook their heads in near unison. Yubel shot him a glance; how dare he mimic her even more! Tolerating his existence was one thing, but copying her? Hadn't he done that enough already? "You don't need to waste your money on him, Juudai."
"You do whatever you want, Juudai." His words fell fast on the footsteps of hers. "I can get my own if I want to."
"Then why don't you?" Yubel shot back in a heartbeat, refusing to give a single speck of ground she didn't have to. "Shouldn't you take care of yourself?"
Juudai buried his face in one hand and shook his head. "Guys, once you get this sorted out, I'll be over there." He gestured vaguely to a tree not that far away; apparently he wasn't going to get any ice cream until they'd settled this. That was quite fine with Yubel. She didn't know what the other's opinion was and cared even less.
"You can claim what Juudai does is your business, but what I do with my money is mine! So whether I buy some for myself or not is up to me!"
Yubel tossed her head proudly. "So you'd rather save it for a 'rainy day' instead of making sure Juudai doesn't need to spend something he doesn't need to on you. Is that your idea of friendship?"
"Do you have a problem with how good of a friend I am to Juudai?" He held his head and shoulders high, every bit as proud and fierce as she was. "If you've got complaints, let me hear about them!"
"Oh, I have complaints." Yubel sniffed, mismatched eyes glittering. "I don't believe there's anything about you I can't complain about if I wanted to. Juudai could do so much better for a true friend than you."
"Like you?"
"He already has me, in ways that you can't imitate, no matter how hard you try." Yubel smiled one of her best vicious smiles, seeing her words strike deep into his heart. Had Juudai told him of their bond, of the vow sworn before this fool's first ancestor walked the world? "He's had me and I've had him for eons."
"I know." He simply shrugged, as if the matter meant little to him. "Juudai told me about it after he got back last year."
Was that sorrow in his eyes? Her hands clenched and unclenched; how dare he act as if the fulfillment of their vow was anything but wonderful!
"I still don't see how that makes me and Juudai being friends any less."
Yubel lashed out with all the harshness she could. "Juudai needs someone who is as strong as he is as a true best friend! Someone who won't succumb to the lures of Light or Darkness!"
His lip twitched up just the faintest bit. "So that would put you out of the running, wouldn't it?"
All that kept Yubel from strangling him where he stood was the fact Juudai was in plain sight at the moment and would likely enough disapprove. How dare he even bring that up! Then a sudden flash of a smile warped her lips. "And you as well, since the Light controlled you through me." Oh, the look in his eyes at that!
From the corner of one eye she noticed Juudai, Hane Kuriboh, and Neos all underneath the tree together. That was strange; Neos almost never emerged except during a duel. His words floated over toward her in the moment of silence.
"I would grade that a five."
Juudai tilted his head, a thoughtful expression across his face. "I don't know. It felt more like a six to me." He glanced down to Hane Kuriboh, the flying fluffball perched on his lap. "What do you think, partner?"
"Six!" Hane Kuriboh trilled; his words clear enough to Yubel, though she doubted many others would've heard more than an unintelligible noise. She glanced at the other, a hint of smugness in her eyes, until he snorted.
"Are you kidding? That was a three, at best."
Oh. Of course. He understood monsters almost as well as Juudai did. Almost. Her lip curled. "I suppose you could do better?"
"In a heartbeat." He squared his shoulders and met her eyes full on. There weren't many who could do that, even among those who could see spirits or who were monsters themselves. Even Brron hadn't been able to. "You said Juudai has you in ways that I can't imitate. You're right."
Good, at least he understood that much. She approved of that.
"Well, it goes both ways. Juudai has me in ways that you can't imitate either." Imitate? Her? Yubel's claws flexed for a brief moment, her eyes glowing. He kept on talking. "It's not just about what we can do for him. It's about what he wants and what he needs. You can do a lot of things that I can't, and I can do things you can't."
He...what? Ever since Juudai fused the two of them, she hadn't felt any need to face this one directly until now. They'd both been aware of the other's presence, but this was, she realized, the first time they'd spoken face to face. And she'd started it. Perhaps it was time, at that.
"Such as buy Juudai ice cream yourself?" Yubel suggested with a hint of dryness. He rolled his eyes.
"I could, but that's not the point either. It's not just about the ice cream." He tilted his head for a moment in thought. "But that's kind of it, too, I think. See, you can't get him ice cream. But I could. Or he could. There are a lot of things that we can do that would be hard for you to do. That doesn't make what we can do better or what you can do better. It just means everyone is different, so we can do different things. They're all important things, though." He scratched his head, thinking harder. "I guess you could kind of say that I'm an ambassador for people. For humans, I mean. To Juudai. And you're like that for Duel Monsters. So, we're the same, but different."
Yubel kept her arms folded over her chest, eyes still glowing with fractions of annoyance. She hated it when he made sense. It shouldn't be allowed. "I'm still not going to let Juudai buy ice cream for you." Something else crossed her mind and she could not help a smirk. Not that she would have if she could. "Though I wouldn't call you an 'ambassador' myself."
"Oh, really? What would you call me?"
There were more answers to that than stars in the sky and most of them would've annoyed Juudai to hear. For that reason alone she only chose one. "A servant. Someone who works for Juudai and tells him what he needs to know."
The other groaned, breathing in deeply, as if this were some kind of joke. "Fine. If that's what makes you happy, then you can think of it like that. Can we get this ice cream thing settled now? I'll buy if you don't mind, Juudai."
Scarcely had the words passed his lips before Juudai stood next to them. "Actually, I already did. It looked like you were just about done." He offered a cone to Johan, who took it with a warm smile, before he looked at Yubel. "Do you want one? I can..." For a brief moment, her own eyes looked back at her, and she could feel his tug on her power. She shook her head.
"No, Juudai. I don't need one." Though in truth, it might have been nice to eat with Juudai. She hadn't done that in more years than she cared to count. Not needing to eat didn't mean one didn't want to, once in a while.
The other leaned over and whispered something into Juudai's ear; she probably could have tried to hear, but didn't bother. What could he say that was worth trying to find out? Juudai blinked once or twice, then nodded, taking the ice cream he'd just given to him back. Yubel frowned; if after all this he didn't want what Juudai offered, then she had several more words to give him.
He strolled over to the vendor and came back a few moments later with a fresh cone. Yubel started to open her mouth when once again there was that tug and she realized she stood in full flesh beside them. A few people stared and started to move quickly away before Juudai looked up, his eyes brown once again, and waved his duel disk, not saying anything else.
"Oh, it's just a hologram." Words to that effect sprang up and Yubel sneered. Hologram. Indeed. Still, better that they didn't run screaming and spoil Juudai's day.
"Here." The cone that he'd bought he now held out to her and she stared in surprise. "I bought it for you, Yubel."
Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head up to look down at him. "I don't need to eat." He shrugged as soon as she spoke the words, mischief she'd felt in her own heart glowing in the depths of his eyes.
"All right. I'll have two, then." And he started to pull it back to himself, only for a clawed hand to fold around his wrist.
"Don't take my ice cream away." She paused before she spoke the last word, eyes of green and orange burning down into warm emerald. "Johan."
Johan smiled back at her. "I wouldn't dream of it, Yubel."
Juudai glanced at Neos and Hane Kuriboh. "Ten...for both of them."
The End