Yu-gi-oh! GX
Lost Blue-Eyed Child

Rated: K+
Genre: Mystery/Family
Summary: Judai was on his way home after helping out an old friend when Hane Kuriboh finds a lost girl that can see spirits. Judai jumps through hoops to find out where the girl came from. (Set several years after GX. Includes an OC, fianceshipping, and soulshipping.)

(Warnings: Set several years after GX. Includes an OC, already established fianceshipping and soulshipping aka yearnshipping (this is not a shipping/romance fic so it's not about them), as well as Japanese names, but few Japanese phrases or titles. Yubel will be referred to with female pronouns. This is a clean story. If any of these things bother you, this is your fair warning, and you should turn back now.)

Chapter 1: Maybe She's Mute

Judai Yuki, the legendary slacker to come out of Duel Academy had become quite the adult. After high school, he went on to travel the world and have many adventures. He met all kinds of people, good and bad, seen many things, good and bad, and even traveled through time a little. His missions for a while included helping people with their spirits, dealing with spirit problems, and protecting the world. However, besides among the friends he had made around the world, he was most known as the E-Hero Duelist, one of the top professional duelists in Domino City.

That wasn't all he did with his life. He had learned a lot about his past with Yubel's help, who was still fused with his soul, which granted him more powers than what just his Haou side did. He had also joined forces with Yugi Mouto again. Finally, when there were more spiritual duelists around the world to help keep watch against threats, Judai was able to return to Domino more often, where he began the next stage of his life.

Recently, he actually settled down, somewhat, and got married to Asuka Tenjoin, now known as Asuka Tenjoin-Yuki. He had known her for a long time as a friend. After high school, he hadn't seen her for a few years while he traveled and she studied abroad. When he did see her again, he was blown away by the woman she had become. If hadn't been for Yubel, he probably would have thought himself undeserving of such a remarkable woman, but even Yubel, who was hard to please, had deemed her the most worthy woman to become his 'Queen' and wanted Judai to peruse her. Judai still rolled his eyes at those terms, as they were from another lifetime, but appreciated that Yubel was so supportive. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

For the past couple weeks, Judai had been up north working on a case with his old friend and spirit brother, Johan Andersen. Johan was having a problem catching a new spirit trapper and called Judai up for help. Together they were able to track down the culprit and save the day before any spirits got seriously hurt. Johan promised to help on the next mission Judai needed help with.

Judai had just left the airport and looked up at the skies above Domino City. "Good to be home, right Yubel?" he asked as he stretched and adjusted his travel bag on his shoulder.

Yubel appeared beside him. "Indeed, as soon as we get home, I want you to rest, and then if your wife is fertile you should-"

"Hey-hey, Yubel!" Judai groaned. "You know we're not ready for kids yet!"

Yubel rolled her eyes. "If you were King you would have at least two heirs by now," she tried.

"At least I know you're ready for our family to grow," Judai sighed as he began walking. He didn't know where Yubel got the idea about already having two children in his other lifetime when that lifetime was too short to have had kids in the first place. "You know this reminds me a lot of the conversation I had with Johan the other day…" Not to his surprise, Johan's family was growing quickly since Johan always wanted a big family. It was probably due to the fact that the only family he really had were the spirits in his deck, which he didn't get to meet until he was about sixteen, and before that he really just had bugs that didn't talk back. Long story short, Johan and his wife had just had their third child and they planned to have more. Judai had no idea how Johan was able to do it. Though it did make sense, Johan had very supportive spirits on his side to back him up and keep him calm and focused no matter what.

"Judai Yuki!" someone called out and he looked over to see someone he didn't know. It was a kid of about twelve-years-old. "Can I get your autograph? I'm one of your biggest fans!"

"Whoa, sure you can!" Judai grinned as he took the kid's notebook and pen. "What's your name?"

"Hehe, it's Yuki!" the kid laughed.

"Alright!" Judai smiled as he began writing. This happened sometimes. Every once in a while, someone would stop him to say hello or even get a picture ever since he started dueling in the local regional Pro Leagues. To him, the Pro Leagues was really just a good way to earn a paycheck to pay for his travel expenses. Not to mention he loved dueling and seeing his friends that also participated in the pros. Heh, Manjoume still hadn't beaten him yet, even though Manjoume seemed to care less and less about that as each year passed. "Alright, there you go!" Judai finished and gave back the notebook.

Yuki began to read it out loud. "To Yuki, we should get our game on sometime! Your friend, E-Hero Judai Yuki!" Yuki looked up and grinned as Judai did his signature pose. "Thanks!"

"No problem!" Judai said. "Well I gotta go, be careful!" Judai waved as he began walking through the parking lot. As much as he would've liked to stick around and chat about dueling and cards, he did have other plans and someplace to be.

"Bye!" the kid waved and then ran back to his mom who was waiting nearby.

Yubel looked at Judai smugly. "What's with that look?" Judai questioned.

"And you're worried you wouldn't be any good with kids," Yubel began mockingly. "Please, you basically are one at heart. What are you waiting for anyway?"

Judai groaned. Johan had said something very similar to that and Yubel knew it. Yubel had been pestering him about having kids ever since he started dating Asuka! It didn't help when Johan of all people had to also take Yubel's side on the matter, though Johan was a bit more understanding of Judai's anxiety. "Yubel, we're not ready…"

"But you're more ready than ever, I remember, you said that you and Asuka would have to get settled into your new living arrangements and careers first, I think that time has come," Yubel argued.

"Curse your memory," Judai chuckled. Seriously, Yubel didn't forget anything, especially anything he said. "Look, I know Asuka wants to start a family at some point, but she's no more ready than I am, there's still the mental and emotional readiness now that the financial part is ready."

"Very well," Yubel said calmly, letting the subject go for now. "Are you taking a cab home?" Yubel asked.

"Yep," Judai nodded. "Or I could walk, but I'd like to get home on time for once," he chuckled. Yubel smiled at the humor just before she disappeared. Just then his cell phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He looked at it right away. It was a text message.

'From Asuka: Are you on your way home?'

'About to get a cab, see you soon.' Judai replied.

Once he was in a cab, he got another text message.

'From Asuka: How was the flight?'

'Long, but I slept through most of it lol.' Judai replied.

'From Asuka: I believe that.'

'Almost home :D' Judai replied.

He put his phone back in his pocket as the cab turned onto Rolling Green Boulevard and he could see his apartment building through the trees that lined the streets. He told the cab driver that he could just stop at the parking lot entrance and when the driver did, Judai thanked him and paid him before jumping out with his bag. "Ah! Good to be home!" Judai cheered as he looked up at the set of four story buildings. He and Asuka lived on the top floor of the second building. As he stepped up to his building, he was sure his wife was checking the window for him.

"Kuri, kuri!" the duel spirit of Hane Kuriboh suddenly popped out and flapped his wings frantically.

Judai stopped and looked at the floating brown ball of fur. "What is it, buddy? Something wrong?"

Hane Kuriboh flew off and motioned with its little green claw to follow. At this moment Yubel appeared as well. "It is not danger, something else," she told him.

"That's weird," Judai said and looked back up at his apartment building. Guess home will have to wait. He pulled out his phone again and fired off a quick text to Asuka.

'Kuriboh is worried, be back soon.' Judai sent.

"Okay, let's go, Hane Kuriboh!" Judai called as he ran to catch up with the little spirit.

Hane Kuriboh led Judai through the complex, forcing him to jump a fence that separated the complex from the local park. Then he was taken probably half a mile at least before the spirit disappeared around a corner and through some trees and brush. Judai almost thought he had lost the spirit until he heard its familiar voice.

"Hane Kuriboh? Kuriboh? Where'd ya go, pal?" Judai called as he looked around through the trees and brush, slowly pushing through and watching his footing. Then he heard something odd, it sounded like a little girl laughing.

Finally, he saw Hane Kuriboh bouncing in the air above a small child. The little girl could not have been more than four or five-years-old and already had long brown hair along with shockingly blue eyes against her pale skin. She wore a white dress with blue pants of some sort underneath, a light blue jacket, and brown sandals.

Judai stopped for a moment to analyze the situation. This appeared to be what Hane Kuriboh was so worked up about and it was obvious that the little girl could see Hane Kuriboh. In fact, she was quite happy to see the little spirit. Guess it was time to figure out what this was about.

Judai took a breath and stepped into the clearing. Neither the spirit nor the girl paid him any mind. "What are you doing over here, Hane Kuriboh?" he asked and the little girl jumped and looked at him with wide, scared eyes. He stopped walking and looked at them both. "Hi there," he smiled gently, but the little girl shrank away instead. Judai looked at the spirit who just looked worried. "My name's Judai, what's yours?" he tried, but was ignored.

He looked around, but it was just green foliage. There wasn't another person in sight. He couldn't even hear the voices of other people in the park on the other side of the trees. Something wasn't right, he knew that for sure. However, he didn't sense any kind of danger and neither did Yubel. In fact, it was kind of peaceful in the little clearing.

Then a serious problem struck him. "Why are you alone?" he addressed the child. However, she didn't answer and looked away, more interested in plucking the grass beside her. "Where are your parents? Did they tell you to stay here?" Judai tried, but again, she didn't answer.

Judai scratched his head, unsure what he was supposed to do or think. Even during all his traveling, he didn't have much experience with younger children. Johan's kids were one thing, given that those kids were always with an adult, and that they're even younger. Judai wished Asuka was here, she had more experience with children due to her teaching career and would be knowledgeable about what to do in this situation.

It was obvious that this child was alone, and that she was much too young to ever consider leaving alone. He was pretty sure that this girl hadn't even started school yet. Furthermore, he couldn't just leave her here either. Not only would that be irresponsible of him, but his conscious wouldn't allow it. If he had too, he would wait there until her guardian returned for her.

The wait might be a while, so he might as well make himself comfortable. He nodded to himself with that thought and sat down in the grass. After he relaxed his shoulders, Hane Kuriboh glided back over to him and rested on one of his shoulders. Judai smiled at the spirit who made a delighted sound. Then he looked back toward the little girl who had been staring at him in wonder. Though as soon as she realized his eyes were on her, she looked away again.

"Are you lost?" Judai asked. She only looked at him for a second and didn't answer. "It's okay to be shy, you don't have to talk to me, stranger-danger, right? Believe me or not, but I am here to help people, and Hane Kuriboh here tells me that you need my help."

"Perhaps she's mute or unable to hear," Yubel's voice said from within, but she did not appear. Due to her demonic appearance, she is careful to not startle people, especially children that are able to see spirits.

"If you don't want to talk, you can just nod and stuff, do you understand?" Judai tried.

The little girl looked at him for a second and her vibrant blue eyes seemed able to look right through him, or more like into his soul. That thought made him a little uncomfortable. If the girl saw Yubel, or worse, the darkest part of the Haou inside him, she may know how dangerous he could actually be if he chose to to be.

However, she smiled at him. He blinked at her and decided to try to talk to her again. "Are you lost?" he asked, and finally, she nodded. "Okay, how about we try to find your parents?" he said as he stood up. With a wide smile, she hopped up and grabbed two of his fingers. He was surprised by this, but allowed it. The contact would ensure that he doesn't lose sight of her too.

"Kuri…" Hane Kuriboh hovered by her head and she reached for him with a smile. Kuriboh then began to lead the way out of the clearing. It took a little longer for Judai to get out of the brush than it did to get in, but he was making sure the child didn't get snagged on a twig or low hanging branch. He didn't want to have to explain where a bruise or scrape came from to her parents when he found them.

"Your parents must be worried," Judai said as he looked around the park while the child continued to hold onto his fingers. There were people walking about, some were sitting in the grass, and if he looked in the distance, he could see a playground. "Do you know where your parents would be?" he addressed the blue-eyed girl.

She looked up at him and shook her head.

Judai adjusted the bag that was still on his shoulder using his free hand and looked towards the playground again. "Might as well start over there," he said and pointed towards the area and began walking with the girl. The journey was a little slow, since he could only walk as fast as the girl's small legs could take her. He probably wouldn't have noticed the walking speed if he wasn't in a hurry to find her parents.

There were children playing on the playground as mothers, fathers, or other caretakers watched or assisted. Judai looked down at the girl and watched where she was looking. She had looked around and then looked up at him and shook her head again.

"Not here, huh?" he sighed and looked around. "Do you know how long you were in there?" he asked, but she just shook her head again.

"Perhaps she doesn't even have parents," Yubel suggested.

"Were you with either of your parents when you got lost?" Judai asked, but the girl didn't answer at all. "Guess it's time to ask around…" Judai looked around the play area. If someone lost their child, they might have already asked the other parents if they had seen her.

First, Judai took out his cell phone to check the time. He still had time before he'd have to update his wife on when he was going to be home again. Putting his phone back in his jacket pocket, he saw a couple women with strollers sitting on a bench overlooking the play area.

"Excuse me," he began to get their attention. "Has there been anyone asking about a lost child?"

The women looked at each other before one answered. "No, did you lose your child?" she asked.

"Uh, no… I'm looking for someone who lost-"

"If you lost one of your kids, you should ask security and file a report right away," the other woman said.

"No-no, you don't understand, there's a missing child, but she isn't mine," Judai tried.

"But this one is yours, right? What it's like to be a single dad?" one of the women asked.

Judai was stunned with silence for a moment. "Wh-what are you… uh, never mind, thanks for your help anyway…" he said as he began to usher the small child away as quickly as he could. It was obvious that those women didn't know what he wanted to find out. Once he was out of earshot of the two women, he sighed in relief. "Well that was weird and awkward, not even Junko and Momoe are that random, sheesh."

Yubel and Hane Kuriboh shared a knowing look at Judai's ignorance before they both faded away again. Meanwhile, Judai looked down at the child that still held onto him. He supposed they looked a little alike, but he didn't see enough resemblance for those women to assume she was his daughter. Maybe it wouldn't have been as weird if they had asked if she was his sister, though he was starting to get a little old for that, despite not noticeably aging much since he was about nineteen. Still, the only similarity he shared with the girl was brown hair, and it wasn't even the same shade of brown. No matter, that wasn't important at the moment, so he continued to scan the faces of each person that passed by.

"Tell me if you see someone you know, okay?" he instructed the girl, and she nodded. He nodded back and they began walking away from the play area. It was very possible that this girl's caretakers already left and submitted a report. He had hoped she wasn't alone for more than a few minutes. It must have been terrifying if she was alone any longer than that. Judai supposed now he should try to find the nearest security guard or police officer.

Suddenly the girl stopped and Judai wondered if she saw someone she recognized. Instead, she was pointing at a poster advertisement. It had a large dramatic picture of the King of Games, Yugi Mouto, and one of the most famous duelists in Domino City, Jonouchi Katsuya. It had been years since Judai saw a poster with both of them, so he read it.

"Upcoming friendly nostalgia duel between Yugi and Jonouchi at the Kaiba Dome, reserve tickets today at…" Judai stopped. This certainly sounded intriguing and definitely something he would be interested in. He took a picture of the poster with his cell phone. "Hope I can get tickets to that, wonder if I could call Yugi and ask if he has any tickets to give away…" Judai wondered. It had been a while since he had last seen Yugi, and it was a little hard to figure out when Yugi last saw him, considering the time paradox that only gave him a headache to think about.

"You actually spoke to him recently, it was during your meeting with Pegasus only a year ago during the Penguin Solider spirit situation," Yubel reminded.

"Oh yeah…" Judai thought back. Who knew such a weak card could have such an angry spirit? He was able to take care of it though. Turned out the card was just mad, because some young duelists were making fun of it. "Anyway, I think I see a security guard," he said as he approached the woman in uniform. "Excuse me," Judai began to get their attention.

She looked at him and nodded in greeting. "What can I do for you?" she asked.

"It seems this kid here can't find her parents, what should we do?" Judai asked.

The security guard looked at the girl and knelt down to speak to her. "Is that true? Did you lose your parents?"

Judai was a little offended that the security guard asked the girl for confirmation, though he did understand why, sort of. However, why would he lie about that? If he was a kidnapper, he certainly wouldn't be looking for where the girl belongs and certainly wouldn't have asked an authority.

Unfortunately, the girl shrank away from the woman in uniform and hid behind Judai's legs. Hane Kuriboh popped out again to try to console the child. The woman stood up again to address Judai with a serious expression. "I can escort you both to the police station to find out if there have been any missing child reports in the area today, as well as follow other procedures, can I get your name please?" she said a bit coldly.

"I'm Judai Yuki," he said with a straight face. She stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to place the name. "I'm a duelist, so you've probably heard of me before," he told her.

She nodded. "Can I see your ID please?"

Judai sighed. Did this woman seriously not believe him? "Sure, I guess," he said as he knelt down to set his bag on the ground. The girl didn't want to let go of his fingers, but she did eventually and grabbed the edge of his jacket instead. He opened up the front pocket of his bag where he retrieved three forms of ID. First was his driver's license, the second was his recently used passport, and the last was his Kaiba Corp. issued duelist registration ID which he got when he graduated Duel Academy and then updated when he entered the local Pro Leagues. "This good, or do you want to see my dueling deck too?" he asked.

"This is sufficient, please come with me," she said and he quickly put his things away and slung his bag over his shoulder again. As soon as his hand was free again, the blue-eyed girl took his fingers again. She sure had a grip on him too. He wondered if she was going to be willing to let go again. Luckily, she was only holding his left hand hostage, so he could still do everything he needed with his right at the moment.

Author's Note:

What happens in this story is not accurate of a real life situation. I did a lot of research about this topic. However, there was little to be found about what to do if you find someone's child who appears to be lost. Nearly all I could find had to more with what to do if you lose your child. Please forgive any errors in the handling and procedures. Though weird things can happen in fiction, this shouldn't get too weird. This is supposed to be a short story, more of an exercise, so we'll see how it turns out.

I'm not much of a shipper, but sometimes I like to muse about how some ships might work, so if any included ships don't seem very "shippy?", that's why.

Service Announcement type-thing: If you find a lost child, do not touch them in any way. They may touch you. If you are male, you have to be extra careful about this. Talk to the child and find out if they are actually lost or if they were told to wait, even if they cried as a result of being left. If lost, you can wait around with them for at least a few minutes to see if their guardian returns promptly, but then get help. They suggest first finding a mother with her own children to help you so you can call proper authorities or to find an authority if in a public setting such as a mall with cops nearby. There is a risk that the lost/abandon child's guardian may appear and start screaming at you, but you are urged to remain calm and keep a safe distance to avoid physical conflict. In this case, it's best to remember at least the worst didn't happen and the child is safe. Even if the guardian thought you were a kidnapper, they will likely not leave their child unattended in the same way again, so a lesson has been learned.

Notifications of errors/typos should be through PM instead of review so review doesn't become irrelevant after correction is made. Thank you. (This note is on all my newer stories.)