So this first chapter is just a prolog to set the story. It is split into two sections. The first part focuses on Johan and the second part on Judai! I hope you enjoy my story! There will be more author notes at the bottom! Enjoy 3

Disclaimer: I don't own GX or any of the characters in the Yugioh franchise!

Prolog Part 1- Johan

Graduate high school, travel the world with his deck, and join the pro leagues, dueling as many people as he could, while helping people become closer to their duel spirits. Yes! That was the future Johan had seen for himself. It was the one thing he dreamed of ever since he was young and found that he had the ability to communicate with duel spirits, but reality had a way of biting you in the butt. As much as he tried to deny it, he knew that could never be his future.

Why you may ask. Well it all had to do with a promise he wished he had never made with his parents. Johan had never really shared the relationship he had with his parents with other people. His parents were very busy people, his father was a world renowned brain surgeon while his mother was a famous chef with restaurants all over the world. Their jobs kept them very busy and ever since Johan was young they spent little time with him. They were always on business trips, being gone for up so several weeks. When he was in elementary school they would leave him with his aunt and uncle, but once he was in middle school, they would leave him home alone for several days straight. Because of this, Johan learned how to care for himself. They would often leave him notes on the fridge and messages on the answering machine to remind him that though they were busy, they still loved him but as he grew older the notes and messages appeared less and less. He often found himself very lonely as a child though he never admitted it allowed.

Now, you are probably wondering about the dreaded promise that was mentioned earlier. Ever since a child, Johan found joy and fulfillment through dueling. He started dueling and communicating with duel spirits in elementary school. As a child, dueling helped ease the pain and loneliness when his parents were gone on long trips. Dueling became his life. At first his parents did not pay much mind to it but after a while they started to become worried about their only son's obsession with the game. To them dueling was just a game and nothing more. It was not a career or a future. They thought the idea of becoming a pro duelist was preposterous and silly, only lowlifes with no talent or future would go the rout of a duelist.

Johan knew his parents did not agree with dueling but he felt drawn to the sport. Around middle school dueling became more than just a game. It was his passion, it was his life, he lived and breathed dueling. It was his one true love and without it he would die! As he grew older he had the need to meet other duelists and connect with them. When he found out about the many duel academies in the world he knew he had to attend one, he just had to… He would do anything! However, he also knew his parents would never approve.

One day during his last year of middle school he approached his father and mother with the idea of letting him attend the Northern European duel academy. It was close to where he lived at the time. At first his parents refused to even listen to him, telling him that dueling was not a future and no son of theirs would waste their time going to a 'school' that's main focus was dueling. Johan was devastated at first but knew he could not give up. He told his parent he would do anything to attend that school. At this they decided to make a deal. If they enrolled him into the academy then he had to promise that once he graduated said academy he would drop the dream of becoming a duelist and follow a more 'normal' path and get a 'real' career. At the time Johan was young and dumb and agreed to it.

Now he wished he hadn't. If he had only said no and thought of his future he would not be where he was now. He knew that if he approached his parents with the idea of becoming a pro duelist now they would kill him. They always reminded him of the promise he made and never let him forget it. As much as he hated it he knew they only cared about his future and as much as he wished he could go against his parents' will, he knew he still depended on their financial support. He was not a famous duelist and it was preposterous for him to believe that he could just waltz into the pro league and make enough money to support himself. That was stupid! So he did the only thing he could do and carry on with the promise he made to his parents.

In just a few weeks he would be moving to university. His university was located in the northern region of California. The name of the university was Mist University or MU for short. It was a small University but was renowned for its growing science department. His parents were not as please with it due to it not being a big name university but they ended up supporting him going there in the end. Johan was able to get into MU with a sports scholarship. Ever since he was young he had been a good swimmer. Water polo was his sport of choice and he did a bit of competitive water polo during high school, when he was not studying abroad in Japan and did well enough to get a scholarship.

Johan was quite happy with the school. Though his major was in the sciences the school also had a small dueling program that was relatively new. He hoped to take some dueling courses on the side if he had time, though he would keep that a secret from his parents.

There was also a secret Johan had been keeping from most everyone he knew. The only people who knew of his secret were not people but the gem beasts. Despite having a real mother and father, Johan viewed the gem beasts as his true family. He knew he could tell them anything and they would always support and love him. Despite the situation he was in, he was able to get through it all because they were there for him and that is why he felt comfortable telling them anything. Sometime over the summer he discovered that he had grown feelings for one of his closest friends.

Just a few weeks ago his best friend, Judai had come to visit him in Norway. During that time his beloved rainbow dragon card had been swiped away by some villain and Judai had put his life at stake to get it back for Johan. At the time, Johan thought that he not only lost one of his beloved family members but also his best friend. While Judai was gone getting his card back Johan had finally realized that Judai meant more to him than a friend and the idea that he could possibly be destroyed by the masked duels had put Johan into a small panic attack. When Judai had arrived back with the card in hand, Johan could barely believe it. He thought for sure that he would never see Judai again. He had swung his arms around Judai giving him a big hug. It was then that he knew that the feelings he had for Judai was not just friendship but love.

Judai has spent about a week and a half at his place after and Johan so badly wanted to confess to him but could not bring himself to do it. The gem beasts knew Johan had fallen for Judai. They prompted him to confess but Johan knew Judai did not feel the same way and did not want to jeopardize their friendship. If he confessed it could possibly scare Judai off and then he would never see him again. The idea of not having Judai in his life was almost as bad as not having the gem beasts in his life. He could not afford to risk it.

He also could not bring himself to tell Judai why he chose to go to university instead of focusing on dueling. He was a bit embarrassed. He didn't know how Judai would react. Would Judai laugh at him? Think less of him? It sounded quite silly but Johan was truly devastated by how Judai would react. He didn't even really tell Judai what he planned to study. He just gave Judai a vague answer and was happy when Judai did not push the subject.

So here he was, just a week away from moving to his new home. He had packed most of his boxes and the idea of his new life was a bit exciting. He had accepted that though his future was not going quite as he planned, he was going to make the best of it. He knew that there had to be other duelists going to the school that he could meet and duel against. With a sigh and a small smile on his face he wrapped tape around his last box.

"Just one more week… I wonder what this new life will have in store for me?" he said mostly to himself as he patted Ruby on the head.

Prolog 2- Judai

Graduate high school, travel the world with his deck, and join the pro leagues, dueling as many people as he could, while helping people become closer to their duel spirits. Yes! That was the future Judai had seen for himself and it was still the future he wanted to achieve but reality had a strange way of biting you in the butt. Judai had never really expected himself to go to university. He always assumed that he would just be able to carry on with his dream of helping duel spirits while traveling the world but boy was he stupid.

When he approached his parents hoping they would give him money to get around they looked at him as if he were crazy. As much as they wanted to make their son's wishes come true they just didn't have the money to support his dreams. Reality was also quite cruel. It was hard for him to find a way to achieve his goal without financial support. He realized that traveling the world took money and he also realized that with just a high school education it would be hard for him to find a fitting job.

"Why don't you just go to university and get a BA" Yubel suggested one day. Daitoguchi sensei also agreed with Yubel telling Judai that a higher education could open many doors for his future. Judai totally brushed it off. Him! Go back to school! No way! He was done with that but as much as he tried to deny the fact that furthering his education was not necessary, something inside him told him maybe going to university was not such a bad idea. He just could not make up his mind.

As an early birthday gift his parents had surprised him with a plane ticket so that he could visit his best friend Johan for a few weeks. While he was there Johan's beloved rainbow dragon card was stolen by a masked duelist named Paradox. Johan was the most important human in Judai's life. Johan had sacrificed himself on several occasions to save Judai. Judai could not stand to see his best friend's devastation of losing his beloved card so he risked his life to get it back. He knew he had nothing to fear with Yubel on his side. He thought it was very cute how Johan worried over him so much. While he fought against Paradox to get rainbow dragon back he thought about his future. He was able to team up with two great duelists, Yusei and Yugi.

After defeating Paradox he had been able to get to know them a bit before going back to his time. Yugi talked about his high school life and Yusei talked about his beloved city. Judai admired them. It seemed like they were so sure about their futures. When it came to his life, he talked about his dream of helping duel spirits and traveling and how he didn't know the best way of going about it. He told them about how Yubel was prompting him to further his education. Both Yugi and Yusei seemed to find that to be a good idea as well but told him that when it came down to it, it's Judai's life and he had to make the decision.

Once Judai was back to his time he was surprised to see how worried Johan had been. He was able to spend the next week and a half at Johan's house. He was also surprised to find that Johan had decided to go to a university in America. He had expected Johan to carry on with his dream of dueling and helping duel spirits. When he asked Johan why he decided to go to university Johan became very quiet and was quite vague about why he made this decision. Judai did not want to push the subject too much seeing as it made Johan so uncomfortable.

Throughout this week and a half Judai felt like he noticed a change in Johan's attitude. Sometimes he would catch Johan staring at him for a long time with a dazed look in his eyes. Other times Johan would get flustered and stumble over his word when talking to Judai. When Judai got physically close to Johan he noticed that Johan would become quite fidgety. When he made eye contact with Johan, he noticed that Johan's cheeks would become pink. Judai did not understand what was wrong with his friend. Maybe he was sick or maybe he was just nervous about going to university. Judai did not worry too much about it in the end because Johan was probably fine. If something was really wrong he would tell Judai, right?

During his week with Johan, Judai thought deeply about his future. He thought about how Johan was furthering his education. Though Judai was not one to be prompted by what others do and say he wondered if going to university was good for him too.

Judai was sad when his time with Johan was over but he had to go back to Japan. When he got back to Japan he decided that he had to make up his decision about his future now. He didn't like the feeling of being lost and needed to find a path so that he could carry on with is life. He had to talk to someone, someone logical that he could trust and the only person he could think of was his friend Asuka. She was a very level headed girl and would surely be able to point Judai in the right direction.

A week after being back in Japan he met up with his dear friend Asuka at a cafe in the city on a humid mid July afternoon.

"So why did you want to see me so bad?" she said with a slight blush on her cheeks. Though she had resolved in her mind that her and Judai would never really work out she still harbored some feelings for the boy.

Judai sat there awkwardly for a second not saying anything. He didn't know how to start the conversation without it sounding too odd. He scratched his nose with his index finger looking to the side a bit and decided to just tell it to her straight. "It's about my future Asuka. I don't know what to do anymore. As you know when I graduated I wanted to travel the world and help duel spirits but…" he trailed off with a weak sigh.

Asuka had a surprised look on her face at first but quickly replaced it with a gentle smile. "But it's not turning out quite the way you expected," She said finishing his sentence for him. "So what exactly has caused you to fall so low?" She asked jokingly.

"I…. ummmm," Judai stammered as he looked up at the girl surprised at how well she could read him.

She gave him a smug smile "What? We have been friends for three years now! It's not that hard for me to read you," she said with a bit of sass in her tone.

Judai looked at her quite surprised once again. "I guess we did become close friends over the years." he said gave a small chuckle.

"So out with it! I can tell there is more you want to tell me," she prompted.

Judai paused for a second trying to find the right words. "Well… Many people have been telling me that I should go to university, ya know, to further my education and broaden my horizon." he said the last part mocking Daitoguchi sensei's voice.

"What? You! Go back to school," Asuka said jokingly. "But in all seriousness, Judai, going to university is not such a bad idea. It might be easier for you to find a secure job with BA so that you can achieve you dream." she said in a more logical tone.

"Yeah…." Judai with a sigh, "that's kind of what Yubel… I mean… what I was thinking. But isn't it too late for me to apply to any universities and what about the tuition?" Judai said sounding a bit exasperated.

Asuka was quite surprised to see that Judai had put so much thought behind this. She never really viewed Judai as one to plan, but she guessed even Judai worried about his future. She sat for a minute and thought. Then it hit her. She perked up with a wide grin on her face. "You know, you should get in touch with Samejima Sensei. I am sure he can help you! He has connections all over. Maybe he can find a university that can take you in." she said feeling quite proud of her self.

Judai perked up. Why didn't he think of this himself? He felt a rush of joy serge through his body. He didn't realize how hopeless he was feeling until now. "You're brilliant Asuka," he said as he leapt across the table and gave the girl a big hug.

Asuka blushed wildly as she lightly patted Judai on the back. "It's no big deal Judai," she said with a nervous laugh. She pulled Judai off of her and looked him strictly in the eyes. "Judai, time is running out and so you should contact him soon. He will probably pull a lot of strings for you so you really need to think about this before you go through with it and make sure it's what you want. It will be bad for Samejima Sensei if you pull out half way," she said wanting to remind Judai that this was not a game anymore and he needed to take this seriously.

Judai gave her a nod and a confident smile. "Thanks Asuka! I knew I could trust you opinion."

Asuka blushed a bit and cleared her throat looking down.

"So, you will be moving to America soon to study abroad and become a teacher, correct. Are you excited?" Judai said deciding to lighten up the mood a bit.

He enjoyed the rest of the day with Asuka catching up with the girl. It felt nice to see an old high school friend again. He felt like he was back on track.

That night when he got home he contacted Samejima Sensei with his conundrum. In just a few days he received an email back from said teacher with good news. It turns out that a small university in Northern California had opened up a new program that focused on dueling. It was a small program that still needed more people to join so that it could grow. Samejima Sensei, knowing that Judai was a great duelist, had contacted the head of the program and told them about Judai. The head honcho of the program was very excited to hear about Judai and was able to offer a full ride scholarship to Judai granted that Judai majored in the dueling program. Judai was more than happy to comply. He signed up for the university immediately excited to see that his life was on some sort of a path again.

So here he was, just a week away from moving to his new home. He had packed most of his boxes and the idea of his new life was a bit exciting. He was quite surprised himself at how excited he was to go back to school. But it was not the idea of being back in school that made him so excited. It was the idea that he was one step closer to achieving his dream. He was very excited to meet the other duelists at this school. With a crocodile smile on his face he wrapped tape around his last box.

"Just one more week… I wonder what this new life will have in store for me" he said mostly to himself as he smirked up at Yubel and Daitoguchi Sensei.

So this is the end of the prolog. I hope you enjoyed it. I am in no way a professional writer so please excuse any mistakes I have made! This is also my first try at writing a story that is not a one shot! I am very excited about writing this story and already have a pretty good idea of where is it going and how it will end. Please review and let me know what you think 3

I want to give a special thanks to my beta Judaisbutt for helping me! Love you 3