I just don't know… I really wanted to write a Dark SpiritShipping story, and this was based off a legit moment from my life, and then I put the two together and voila! This one-shot was born! Hope you enjoy :)

Warnings: cursing, dark themes, violence, etc. (oh, and a bit of fluff at the end :3 well, in my opinion)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh GX

"Why are we going this way, again?" A brunette boy asked, casting a doubtful glance towards his blue-haired companion. "I don't see how this is gonna get us home faster than usual."

"It is," said Jehu confidently. "I've gone this way plenty of times. Trust me."

"Whatever," the younger of the two said, Jehu grinning and taking his boyfriend's hand with his own as they walked down the back alleyway to leave. "Man, highschool sucks."

"No kidding?"

The two were passing by one of the two-story classrooms near the edge of campus when something suddenly flew through the air, and glass shattered at their feet, causing Haou to instinctively flinch back and stumble to the ground. Shards flew in every direction.

"Haou!" Jehu cried, dropping his text book to kneel beside the slightly trembling sophmore. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," growled Haou, trying to brush off Jehu's attempt to help him up. Feeling something wet drip down his face, Haou wiped it with one hand, wincing at the slight sting and noticing the blood smeared on his fingers. Glancing down, his golden eyes saw that his jeans had been ripped in a couple places, blood already soaking through. "Shit."

"What the fuck!" Jehu snarled, whirling around, his orange eyes blazing as he glared up at the balcony overlooking him and the brunette–the source of the projectile. "That was fucking glass, assholes!" Then he realized who the people up there were.

The highschool junior narrowed his eyes. "Yubel."

Said girl, who had just jumped from the second story balcony and was now advancing, smirked. Her wild half white and half purple hair was slightly mussed from the drop, but the tattoo of a huge eye on her forehead looked just as creepy as ever.

"Well hello, Jehu," Yubel sneered in mock pleasantness. "How's my beloved Haou doing? Alright I hope." Her posse of four older boys–all seniors like herself–sniggered from their position behind her.

"Y-Yubel," stammered Haou, who was still on the ground. His golden eyes went wide and his face paled at the sight of his ex.

"Babe…" Concern clouded Jehu's face as he cast a worried glance down at his boyfriend. He was itching to lace Haou's fingers in his own, but that would mean having to kneel back down again, and Jehu had a feeling getting rid of Yubel wasn't going to be so easy.

"Oh, hello, Haou," Yubel said cheerily, feigning not having noticed the brunette before. "Oh my, it looks like you're bleeding. What kind of boyfriend would let you get hurt so?" As she said this, the highschool senior slid a scathing look over to Jehu.

Walking forward, Yubel began to close the gap between herself and Haou. As she neared, Jehu took a threatening step forward and his orange eyes flashed dangerously.

Yubel just snorted at his protectiveness and, with a nod to her followers behind her, two of them rushed forward. But Jehu was ready; taking a swing at one, he swept the other off his feet. However, the other two managed to pin Jehu's arms behind him and force him to his knees.

Yeah, being outnumbered 4 to 1 sucked.

"Now, now, we can't have any off that," tutted Yubel, standing before Haou, her eyes glinting maliciously.

The boy Jehu had socked in the jaw muttered something that sounded like "Faggot," and spat at Jehu's feet. Jehu retaliated by kicking him in the balls and saying, "Go fuck yourself."

"You really should tell your boyfriend to hold his tongue," Yubel commented, spitting the word out like it was venom. For a moment her face contorted, a mixture of spite and disgust; then it was gone, vanishing under the mask of angelic kindness Yubel now plastered on. Kneeling down in front of Haou, she gently said, "My beloved Haou, oh how I've missed you. Please, tell me you've missed me too." Her yellow eyes sparkled convincingly with genuine sadness and regret.

"Don't fucking talk to him," snapped Jehu, straining against those who held him. "You lost the right to do that when you–"

The blue-haired boy let out a grunt of pain as one of his captors drove his knee into Jehu's stomach. "Shut up," the other boy barked roughly.

Haou, seemingly dazed, didn't even seem to register that Jehu had spoken at all. His eyes were unfocused, his face pale, and his breathing harsh and ragged. His body was starting to go into traumatic shock. Haou only showed any sort of response when Yubel came even closer, reaching out to caress his cheek.

Suddenly, unfocused golden eyes flickered to life as Haou managed to slightly shake himself out of his stupor. At he approach of Yubel's hand, the brunette leaned back a little–just enough to show resistance, but Jehu could see the effort it had taken Haou from the bead of sweat that slid down his face. True and undisguised terror had gripped his being in unrelenting claws, nearly paralyzing the brunette.

And Jehu was helpless to do anything.

Despite Haou's efforts to stop it, Yubel's hand cupped the younger boy's cheek, causing Jehu to growl. Leaning her face towards his, Yubel purred, her tone smooth as honey, "Come on, Haou, just say it. Say it, and everything can go back to the way it was. I promise…" Her voice became more of a whisper as her face neared Haou's, her bright yellow eyes searching his wide, confused ones.

"I-I…" Haou's voice trembled, fear renting him apart.

The petrified look in the brunette's eyes told Jehu that Haou was remembering. He was remembering the reason he and Yubel had split–and it hadn't been pretty.

Blood and tears mingled on the face of a 15 year-old Haou as he gazed at himself in the mirror. His once bright golden eyes were now hollow and exhausted with dark bags under them, and his once flawless face was now the scarred battlefield of over a month's worth of brutal treatment–something that had become the norm. Several new bruises joined those that had been there from before, while a few scratches and a split lip joined the mix.

Haou sighed wearily, wondering, How am I supposed to cover those up? Reaching for the little bag of makeup supplies he'd borrowed from Asuka, the brunette began his now-daily routine of applying makeup to disguise the flaws marring his face–desperately trying to forget last night.

Yet, he couldn't.

Haou knew he'd never be able erase the burning sensation he'd felt when Yubel's finely filed nails had sliced his cheek and the ache he had experienced after every blow she had dealt to him with deadly accuracy. But worse, he'd never fail to recall the deep hurt that had torn through his heart–sharper than any physical pain could–when he'd finally raised his head to meet Yubel's eyes for the first time since the abuse had begun.

Haou had been startled to see how dark her yellow eyes had become in the midst of her anger. They were no longer glittering like the sun, full of warmth and comfort; now they were colder than ice as they glared pure hatred and revulsion at him. The 15 year-old had winced and broken the eye contact, unable to look at his girlfriend, and disgusted with himself that he'd let them stoop so low to become this.

Yubel smirked sadistically at Haou's wince, only one thing on her mind. Pouncing on him, the 16 year-old girl quickly straddled the freshman and her hands found the golden-eyed boy's neck, beginning apply pressure. Yubel laughed maniacally when she saw his gaze go wide as Haou began to panic, wrapping his hands around her wrists to try and get her to relax her grip. Struggling against the older girl was no good, especially when Haou had already been weakened and drained from previous attacks.

Stars were starting to flash in his vision, and Haou gasped for air that just wouldn't come. His grasp on Yubel's wrists were starting to slacken, and shadows flickered at the corners of his eyes. Haou managed to muster enough strength to gaze at Yubel one last time and, almost inaudibly, croak out, "Why?"

Then his sight had gone dark.

Once done, Haou looked in the mirror again. His face almost looked as it had before the beatings had started. Suddenly noticing that a particularly large bruise on his collarbone was peaking under his shirt, the brunette quickly hid it beneath a thick layer of foundation. Satisfied, he left the bathroom to leave for school, silently thanking whatever god was watching over him that his parents were often busy and were never home to witness him concealing the evidence of his abuse.

Nevertheless, no amount of makeup could change the haunted look the brunette had seen reflected in his eyes before exiting the bathroom. Haou's heart gave a painful little twist, though he almost didn't feel it because he was so used to it.

What's wrong with me? Why can't save her and bring back our relationship? Haou wondered, his eyes clouding over while he racked his brain. Why am I not good enough?

"Say…that you love me." Yubel ghosted her lips over Haou's before capturing them in a deep, drawn out kiss. Her yellow eyes closed as her free hand slipped under the bottom of the brunette's shirt.

Jehu gritted his teeth, his mind already having come up with over a dozen painful and agonizingly slow deaths that weren't harsh enough for Yubel.

Then, sneaking the hand that had been under Haou's shirt to the back pocket of her jeans, Yubel slid a small pocketknife into view. Flipping the switchblade open, the silver blade glittered coldly in the light.

Orange eyes widened in disbelief. "No…"

Yubel gazed deep into Haou's petrified golden gaze, seeming to savor their fear and confusion, before whispering something in Haou's ear, something too quiet for any to hear, and driving the knife home.

The brunette's eyes had widened slightly at whatever Yubel had told him, but then they flinched closed as the sharpened blade punctured his chest. "Yes," Yubel breathed out, her face alight with cold-blooded delight.

Jehu, horrified, watched as dark red blood began to seep from where the hilt of the knife was protruding from Haou, the flow of blood growing stronger as Yubel began to drag it across Haou's skin, creating a ragged, scarlet maze on his smooth skin.

Suddenly, the blue-haired boy felt one of the boys holding him flinch a little at the sight of the crimson liquid. That's all Jehu needed.

Instantly, Jehu ripped his arm from the grasp of the boy who had flinched, grabbed him, and threw him into his other captor. Before the two boys who hadn't been holding onto him could even blink, Jehu had swept the feet of one out from under him and shoved him into the last of Yubel's posse.

As all four of the boys tumbled to the ground, Jehu rounded on Yubel, who'd just begun to notice the commotion behind her, his eyes blazing. Just as Yubel was turning her head to look over her shoulder, Jehu grabbed her by the hair and hauled her away from Haou. He snatched away the knife from her grip as he did so, and used it to slash at the tattoo on her forehead as she flew backwards.

Jehu had thrown the older girl so hard that Yubel had actually rolled a little bit upon hitting the ground. Slowly picking herself up, Yubel wiped some blood from the corner of her mouth, smiling crookedly. "Ah, so the little kitty has claws, huh?" Blood dripped into her eyes from the horizontal gash across her forehead.

"Fuck. Off." Jehu growled darkly, standing protectively in front of Haou.

"But where would the fun in that be?" All at once, Yubel rushed at him with a brand new knife in her hand, slipped from her other back pocket.

Jehu met her head on.

Ducking her initial swing, the blue-haired boy uppercut Yubel under her guard with his fist, sending her slamming into the ground again. Jehu smirked; he'd been a drug-dealer on the black market for years, ever since his parents had died, and a 15 year-old boy didn't survive in that part of town without knowing how to defend himself, and well.

After 2 years of fending for himself in the worst slums on the ghetto, a 17 year-old Jehu recognized a newbie when he saw one.

Skillfully throwing his knife so it buried itself warningly in the ground beside Yubel, Jehu calmly said, "I said to fuck off, bitch."

Yubel threw him a glare full of hatred before hissing, "This isn't over, fag," and getting to her feet and retreating down the alley, following her posse's footsteps.

Yubel wasn't even out of sight when Jehu's hate-filled eyes softened and he turned to Haou, who had still yet to respond to anything. Concern and anxiety overshadowed the bluenette's face.

"Haou…" Slipping off his shirt, the highschool junior ripped it and used it as a bandage to staunch the bleeding. It was soaked instantly.

Sitting down, Jehu pulled his boyfriend into his lap sideways, gazing down at Haou's face, now both pale from his traumatic experience and from blood-loss. The brunette's eyes were still dull and unseeing. "I'm sorry," Jehu whispered miserably. "I'm so sorry."

Jehu wasn't sure how long he simply sat there with Haou in his lap, his arms protectively encircling the brunette, waiting for Haou to escape from the nightmare Jehu knew his mind was living through. Being so close to Yubel had probably triggered it. Haou had never been the same after his relationship with Yubel.

"Please Haou," Jehu begged, gently caressing the brunette's face with one hand, "come back, come back to me. I want you, I need you. Please…"

There was no response.

Jehu leaned down and, ever so gently, pressed his forehead against his unconscious boyfriend's. Then two pairs of lips met in a soft, delicate kiss.

Silence.

Tears found their way from orange eyes as Jehu murmured one last attempt to awaken his best friend from his trance. "Haou, I love you."

Nothing.

Jehu's eyes closed, despair washing over him. He had failed. He hadn't been able to protect Haou from his greatest fear, and now he was beyond Jehu's help.

Suddenly, Jehu felt slight movement in his arms and soft fingers found their way to the side of his face, combing through his thick blue hair. Astonished orange eyes opened to see the 16 year-old weakly smiling at him, his golden gaze bright once more. "Hey, dumbass" the brunette rasped feebly.

"Hey." Jehu bit back a chuckle at Haou's version of affection towards him. A nimble thumb wiped away the tears still leaking from Jehu's eyes, and Jehu covered Haou's hand with his own, feeling it quiver.

"Why are you crying?"

Jehu just smiled and shook his head. "No reason." Then he bent down to place his lips on Haou's one more time.

Haou's golden eyes blinked in surprise at the sudden bout of tenderness. Yawning, he murmured, "I always knew you were stupid. Love ya, babe," before snuggling into Jehu's chest and drifting off to sleep. The smallest of smiles graced his face.

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