LostGen – Divergence

A bunch of GX what-ifs that might be expanded upon at some later point in time.

-GX-

Divergence 1 – What if… 1) Manjoume had tried to talk some sense into Judai, and 2) They had gone in with an actual game plan? – episodes 130-131-ish (season 3)

-GX-

Duel Academia is back. They had all made it back. Well, most of them had, but not all.

"It's my fault. Because of me, Johan was‒ Johan‒"

Johan Andersen. Amon Garam.

As for Amon Garam, Manjoume honestly cannot care less, even though he is curious as to how Duel Academia will deal with his disappearance; the Garam Group would probably demand some answers after all. As for Johan Andersen on the other hand‒

Well, for one thing, Manjoume owes him, and he isn't the only one.

Without Johan taking charge, their otherworldly experience would have gone even farther downhill, and that is saying something. Still, though the guy had effectively saved most of them, Manjoume still grumbles over his idiocy; that noble self-sacrifice of his. Noble intentions aside, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before it ends up destroying one of the major things it had been intended to protect.

At this rate, it is also a matter of time before it drives Manjoume himself over the edge, albeit indirectly.

"Are you still saying that bullshit, you idiot? It's not your damned fault."

Manjoume isn't particularly nice or kind for that matter. He is sick and tired of hearing the same thing over and over, and of rejecting the blame Judai is all too willing to shoulder. It has been a week since the incident, but it feels shorter because Manjoume can recall it like it was yesterday and longer because he has forced himself to endure Judai's company for so many hours since.

Granted, no one had really forced him to do it. Manjoume is there because he knows he is needed; because the others can only do so much.

It has been a week since the big incident, days since Judai's first attempt. Odds are that he would have succeeded too, had Manjoume ignored the Ojamas like he usually did.

Naturally, Judai hadn't been very happy about getting foiled. Fortunately, Judai had found other targets for his frustration since that point.

By now, they knew not only about Yubel but also about Judai's past. Manjoume had even had an encounter with Judai's parents when the pair had foregone their apparently busy work schedules to travel to Academia. Though Manjoume had only met them in passing, it had been a quite telling encounter. They had left relatively quickly though, because Judai wasn't receptive to reason or willing to negotiate. Manjoume figured there was also another reason for their quick departure though.

"It is my fault! It's my fault that Yubel‒"

There is sadness and frustration, but that is not all. There is also anger in there, hiding just beneath the despair. Manjoume can understand him though, at least to some degree. On the other hand‒ "If you insist upon playing the blaming game, then fine! Some of this is your fault, yes, because if you hadn't sent Yubel into space, this probably wouldn't have happened. But it was your parents who convinced you, and it was their decision to mess around with your memories. It's also the headmaster's fault for allowing Professor Cobra free reign, and a bunch of idiots' fault for falling for Yubel's scheme. If anything though, it was Yubel who started it."

Judai only glowers at him, but Manjoume is right, so who the heck cares about what Judai thinks? "It's still my fault. Yubel only wanted me. If I had just gone with Yubel, then no one else would have had to‒"

Right. As if.

"Yubel wants you do suffer! He, she, whatever it is, could've just as easily killed us all to ensure that! It wouldn't have been their first betrayal."

There would probably have been much nicer ways of putting it. Manjoume isn't very nice though, is he? Well, for one thing, at least he isn't trying to be soft, because Judai needs the truth more than he needs coddling, and Gods know he has had quite enough of people withholding crucial information from him. That is what Manjoume himself would have felt at any rate.

Classes have resumed; they resumed days ago, but since Judai isn't attending, Manjoume currently isn't attending either. Unlike Judai, Manjoume has official permission though, because school officials finally seem to have realised what a stupid idea it is to leave Judai to his own devices for now. The dimensional rifts are still somewhat unstable after all.

Initially, there had been a few attempts, from Asuka as well as from Sho and even Manjoume himself to drag Judai off to class. It was safe to say that the task had been much easier said than done; Judai had taken to hiding almost right off the bat.

After that, they had managed to ambush him a couple of times at lunchtime, because even though he was obviously grieving, Judai could only stave off hunger for so long.

These days however, they would rather not antagonise Judai any further than they already had. It had also become more and more difficult to find him; for the others, at least.

Manjoume meanwhile retained an edge. Over time Sho's knowledge of Judai's usual slacking spots had become less useful, given that Judai now tended to avoid them, but while Judai could hide quite well from people, he could not hide all that easily from spirits.

For once, Manjoume had found it rather convenient to have a noisy trio at his beck and call.

"Yours."

The first time, Judai had just stared, both at him and at the wrapped sandwich as though Manjoume had been an alien of some sort. Then again, considering Judai's Neo Spacians‒

"You better be thankful; the lunch rush was terrible."

For the first time in days, a decidedly familiar facial expression had crossed Judai's face; confusion. "Manjoume, what's up? You didn't hit your head or anything, right?"

Over time, this had turned into something of a ritual, because buying one or two additional sandwiches had given Manjoume a viable excuse to seek Judai out, and despite initial confusion and suspicion, Judai had put decidedly less effort into hiding from him after that.

As ever, spirits hovered about them at almost any given moment, but they kept a respectful distance for the most part and spoke very seldom when Manjoume was present.

On one hand, Manjoume was relieved. On the other, he grew increasingly unnerved as time went on. Granted, the fact that they did not engage in open conversation saved Manjoume from sounding like a madman in case someone happened to be within earshot. However, the fact that they mostly kept quiet gave Manjoume the uncanny impression that they were expecting something of him.

Manjoume isn't Johan. Johan who had been chosen by the Gem Beasts, who had taken charge in the other world, who had sacrificed himself so that the rest of them could go back; the kind, self-sacrificing, entirely too touchy-feely idiot duellist who could see spirits and had managed to connect so much with Judai in such a short time.

Aside from the spirit thing, there really isn't all that much common ground between them.

Johan would have grabbed onto Judai's shoulder, firmly but gently. Manjoume meanwhile just smacks the back of Judai's head because he has already tried and failed an attempt at the former.

Manjoume had spent the crucial part of their otherworldly experience as a Duelling Zombie, obstructing instead of assisting. Granted, before that, Manjoume had played his part in throwing out the Society of Light and saved the school in the process while holding onto his dreams, his ambitions. These days however, Manjoume's dreams of entering the Pro Circuit are only at the back of his mind, pushed aside in favour of more pressing matters.

"Oh, for crying out loud! Are you done blaming yourself so that we can actually start planning on how to deal with this mess?!"

Judai actually looks at him then, really looks, his eyes widening slightly. Whether it is the force of Manjoume's hand or of his words is irrelevant, because Manjoume has finally managed to get through to him at long last. "We? But I thought you‒"

Manjoume knows well enough what Judai is referring to. "I told you though, didn't I? If you're going, then I'm going too. This isn't just your problem, and we're already involved in it. We stopped you because you tried to head right into it without a plan, alone, without even pausing to think about the consequences."

Back then, Manjoume had been less keen on reasoning and keener on beating some damned sense into him. Thankfully, Jim had stepped in to prevent him from resorting to the latter. Admittedly, things had gone a bit out of hand after that, but still.

"Why now?"

Why now, he asks? Bah. "Our own preparations are just about done, and I don't think I'd last another week like this. It took a while to get everything ready, and for the right time to arrive."

"The right time?"

Well, technically speaking, for the reappearance of the dimensional anomaly and for Judai. Obviously, Manjoume would never admit to the latter.

-GX-

In the evening, they gather at the Red Dorm, filling Judai in and clarifying their strategy once more to be sure everyone knows.

Jim Crocodile Cook. Austin O'Brien. Tyranno Kenzan. Tenjoin Asuka.

They had been in on the plan from the very start.

Tenjoin Fubuki. Misawa Daichi. Marufuji Sho.

They had considered the risks, the unfavourable odds, but had ultimately opted to join.

-GX-

In hindsight, they may have gone just a bit overboard when forcing open the dimensional pathway.

Maybe there had been some slight miscalculation on Misawa's end. It hardly matters very much though, because this time around, they make sure to stick together.

"Judai."

Judai shoots him a somewhat surprised look. "What's up, Manjoume?"

"Don't forget: Yubel's main target is you. If Yubel manages to get hold of you, it'll be over for all of us. We're all anxious about Johan, but it's as O'Brien said: Yubel might be possessing him, so we need to be careful."

Judai nods grimly. For now, they can only remain firm in their convictions that they would save Johan and all return to Duel Academia, and in the hopes that the ultimate outcome won't be far worse than the previous one.

"Ready?"

Judai flashes him a pale smile, giving a thumbs-up. "No need to ask. I'm definitely ready."

Famous last words.

-GX-