A/N: A little weird, I don't quite know where this came from. Angstiness… and Japanese names. I thought it was about time I used them, since they're the proper ones and all. Slight spiritshipping.
It had been another long day. Judai couldn't be sure, but it seemed as if the classes were more bland and unrelated to dueling than ever. He knew if someone had asked him to recite even one lesson that had been taught today, he wouldn't be able to do it. In the back of his mind, he wondered if his lapsing attention had anything to do with the lingering worry of Johan's approaching departure date. Of course, he would never fully register this and would go on believing that it was because he had no need for the pointless classes anymore.
"Aniki!" Sho's voice sounded urgent and Judai figured he must have been calling him for a while.
"Huh?" He responded lamely, settling himself in a comfortable position on his bed.
"Aniki, are you up for a duel?" Sho sounded hopeful.
"Not tonight, sorry." Judai said, trying not to appear too uncaring, "It's been a long week. How about on the weekend?" He said it a bit guiltily, knowing that this probably wouldn't happen either. Instead of waiting to hear Sho's disappointed response, he rolled over and pulled the covers over himself, forgetting to change out of his blazer as always.
"Alright. Well, I'm going to head back to Ra. Night." Kenzan said, clapping Sho quickly on the shoulder before turning towards the door.
Judai, having forgotten both that Kenzan now used the Ra dorms, as well as that he was in the room, mumbled "Night." into his pillow.
There was silence for a moment then, but Judai could feel Sho's eyes on him. "If everyone else is so tired… I suppose…" Sho finally spoke. He padded over to the light switch, and flipped it, surrounding them in darkness.
"G'night Aniki," Sho murmured as he climbed into the bed above Judai's. There was no reply, for Judai was already sound asleep.
"Judai…" It was a whisper, but it was somehow loud enough that Judai had to clap his hands over his ears.
"Judai, open your eyes." This sounded more like a demand.
"No." Judai replied defiantly. If there was one thing he'd learned, voices like these never could mean anything good.
"You have to. If you don't, I will result to harsher methods."
"Fine." Judai groaned, opening his eyes at last. What he saw surprised him greatly. Instead of being safely in the Slifer Dorms, he was somewhere in what must have been outer space. The most unnerving thing, however, was that did not see the source of the voice that had been calling him. "What's going on?" He asked the atmosphere.
"The spirits are hungry, Judai." The voice sounded as if it was coming from behind him, so Judai spun around, only to see more empty air. He did not respond to the voice either. Judai had dealt with his spread of spirits, and was not too excited about encountering another.
"They are hungry. Very hungry." The voice felt nearer now, and Judai hugged his jacket close, happy he had not taken it off. "They need souls to feed off of, and the souls would taste so much better, if they were hand picked by you." Although he could not figure out exactly what this meant, Judai knew it could not be good.
A strong wind from his left, quickly swept in the answer. Judai choked painfully on his spit, as the bodies of his friends settled slowly in front of him.
"The spirits want to eat their souls?" He said hoarsely, not quite being able to wrap his mind around how something else so horrible could happen in such quick succession with last year.
"Not all of them." The voice said. "You may choose one, who will be spared."
"O-only one? But I can't do that, I love all my friends!" Judai did not need the snarl of derision to tell him that this was a downright lie. A few of the bodies in front of him Judai was not even sure he trusted much.
"You must choose quickly however, or they all shall be devoured while you are forced to watch."
Judai cleared his throat. He would have to be as matter-of-fact about this as possible, so that someone, anyone, might be saved. He could not take his eyes off of their faces though. Their expressions were frozen in mid-shock, and Judai was slightly disturbed to realize that they all looked vaguely panicked. Even O'Brien and Edo, whom Judai never would have thought to be afraid of a mere voice.
He would decide this by process of elimination, Judai declared to himself. He knew, however guilty it made him feel, that Edo, Jim and O'Brien he would never choose. He felt worse after remembering all they had done for him, but he knew there were those who were more important to him.
"No!" Judai cried, as their bodies suddenly became pixels, and then vanished from the sky. He had just killed three of his friends…
Then he knew, that Fubuki, Rei and Hell Kaiser were also not the ones he wanted saved. Judai had known from the beginning that he would not pick them either, but thought perhaps he had wanted to hang onto them for a few moments longer because of their connections to him. He did not want to think about having to tell Asuka or Sho that he had chosen to kill their sibling. And Rei… she had fallen quite in love with him. He did not like the idea of repaying that with her death.
After they faded away, he was left with only the hardest ones. Manjoume, Asuka, Kenzan, Sho and Johan. It made Judai's heart heavy to think that he would never see four of them again. Suddenly, the expressions unfroze. They did not speak to him, but he could see them watching him. Watching him with fear and anger in their eyes. He saw tears running down Sho's cheeks and suspected that he knew the fate of his elder brother.
"Sho… Asuka… I'm sorry!" He called to them, hoping they could hear him. They appeared to, for both of them frowned and turned away from him. Judai did not think he could bear to make the choice.
"Do it now," The voice called, after having gifted Judai with silence for a little while.
"Please," Judai heard himself begging, "They've already been hurt too much because of me… You don't know what I did! I-I can't have anything else be my fault."
The voice did not reply, it merely sat there, silently informing Judai that it was not about to show mercy. "Choose now." It said finally.
Judai only caught glimpses of Kenzan, Manjoume and Asuka's expressions as they disappeared. Asuka's looked heartbroken, and Manjoume's unsurprised. Kenzan's face was unreadable. Judai had to try very hard to control his breathing as he saw the only two left. Sho and Johan. His best friend and his… something else. Judai knew as he stared at them, that he'd known it would come down to this from the beginning. Finally, he had his decision.
"Sho, please, if you can hear me, know that you will always be my best friend. And I always want to be your Aniki." His voice broke on the last word, and he knew that Sho's last expression, one of confusion, betrayal and sorrow, would always be engraved into his memory. After Sho had faded from the world, Johan suddenly came to life and glided effortlessly over to Judai.
"What happened here? What's wrong?" He placed his warm hands on Judai's shoulders, and Judai did not reply. Behind them, the bodies were beginning to reappear, along with savage looking creatures. Judai hid his face in Johan's collarbone so that he would not have to watch them be devoured. It was Sho's scream that awoke him however.
"No! No!" He sat straight up, nearly banging his head on the headboard. He was completely drenched in sweat, and panting heavily. It had been a dream, only a dream. His friends were still alive, confirmed quickly by the sounds of Sho breathing steadily in the bed above. They had not been lost again by his hand. Everything was alright… Perhaps, Judai thought, as he wiped a palm against his forehead, it had only been a matter of time before he was faced with a decision like that one. And he should feel lucky, that it was merely a dream and not reality. Judai knew this, but he couldn't bring himself to be grateful. He was now afraid. Afraid about the future and about what would happen when Johan would not be around to be his comforting bolster. Then Judai realized, that amongst the fear and unpredictable nature of tomorrow, he ought to feel proud. Because somehow, Judai knew that he'd made the right choice.