Look Both Ways

It's shocking to find out you're adopted. It's more shocking when after years your real mother returns to take you away after seeing you named as duelist champ on tv. Judai is in for more trouble than he wants...JxA

...

Judai woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of water dripping off of the roof and onto the cement. It was raining. He slowly brought himself to a sitting position. The sound was eerie, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. It brought back memories that Judai could not completely remember; memories of a young brunette boy and an angry mother. The mother was yelling at the young crying boy; no matter how he tried to remember, Judai was never able to see the face of the lady. He could picture the flow of long wavy fair hair, the red lipsticked mouth. But nothing else.

He sighed. Although Judai didn't want those sad memories, he still wanted to ease his curious mind. He just wanted to figure it all out.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Judai stood up, still shirtless and uncaring about his state of appearance. It was Judai's third year at the Duel Academy; he was finally 17 and not at all worried of who might be visiting him while he was undressed. Upon reaching the door, he shivered slightly from the cool room and opened the door.

"Hi," whispered Asuka, who was in her blue nightgown. As Judai stared at her, he blushed slightly at what she was wearing. Suddenly, he felt very revealed.

"Hi," he muttered back.

Although it was not obvious to a stranger's eye, Asuka and Judai had officially begun dating a month ago. Even those who knew raised their eyebrows, for Judai and Asuka had hardly been seen together.

"Um...I couldn't sleep..." said Asuka, knowing it was a weak excuse to use to visit Judai at a time like this.

"Come in," Judai invited, opening his door wider for the Obelisk Blue student to step in. As she stepped in, Judai could smell the familiar sweet scent that Asuka always had. He leaned towards Asuka slightly to breathe in the fragrance with a slight, "mmm" as he did so.

Asuka smiled at him as she walked over to the bed. "Don't worry, I won't stay too long. I just wanted to talk 'til I got tired." she informed.

"Why didn't you go to Momoe or Junko, your friends?"

Frowning, Asuka said quietly, "Well...we haven't been spending that much time together..." When she said this, she intertwined her fingers together and twisted and turned them, as if she was worried that her words were too out there.

Judai looked at her with surprise. There was an awkward silence that followed and Judai filled it with a cough. "Um...er...but we can't er...sleep together..." he said, blushing at his words. "I mean, er...with our clothes on..." he feigned another cough.

Rolling her eyes, Asuka stood up and took Judai's hand, pulling him down to sit beside her on the bed. "Don't worry! We're not that stupid." she said, smiling. "You know, sometimes you're so immature. But it's cute...I like that." Asuka whispered, kissing Judai on the lips.

As Judai returned the kiss strongly, an unwanted memory suddenly hit him. The lady was grabbing his arm, wrenching him away from his father's protective embrace. She was saying words that he could not hear for he could not remember, but the red lipsticked mouth that spoke the words were curled into a horrible smile. The small boy was sobbing and crying out something inaudible. The lady's open hand came down hard and sharp, smashing against the boy's cheek and sending him against the brick wall of the alleyway.

He felt one of his ribs snap as if the moment was happening right then. The pain was excruciating and it was as if someone had finally turned the sound on full blast, for he could hear his own raggard breathing echoing through his mind, causing his ears to ache. He heard the stab of high heels into the concrete and saw the lady approaching him. He tried to back away from the woman but could not, for he only managed to slam into the wall, pain shooting up his back.

"No one's here to protect you anymore. You're mine." the lady's smooth voice said as she brought her foot forward and kicked the boy as hard as she could, snapping more of his ribs. He could hardly breathe now, each breath was burning his lungs. His screams filled the air and his head was spinning. He didn't know how long he could take this. The lady dug her high heel into his ribs, slowly cracking the next one.

"Judai! Judai!" called a distant voice. "JUDAI!"

Judai gasped and opened his eyes. Asuka was looking down at him while he lay on the bed, covered in cold sweat. "Judai, are you ok?" she asked in a gentle voice. "You were screaming so loud and you were...it was like you were having a fit...it was so scary..." Asuka whispered and Judai saw the fear and relief in her eyes.

"I'm s-s-sorry to have scared you...but I'm all right now..." he said hoarsely, stroking her cheek.

"It's all right...are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah."

Asuka's eyes suddenly reflected hurt and sadness. "Judai...if there's anything troubling you...you know I'll do whatever I can to help you..." she whispered.

Judai flushed, realising that he was betraying Asuka's trust by lying and she could tell. But this thing was something that Judai did not want to share with anyone; a chapter in his life that he kept locked away and some of it he did not even know himself. Turning towards the window to watch the falling rain rather than watch the pain in Asuka's eyes, his heart ached dully. "No...there's nothing I'm keeping from you..." Judai lied, swallowing thickly.

There was silence and Judai continued to refuse to even glance at Asuka. Suddenly, the bed rose slightly and Asuka stepped softly onto the floor. "I'm going to bed." she muttered.

"Now?" Judai asked, surprised.

"Yes, I feel sleepy." she said in a rather cold tone.

Judai was suddenly angry. Why did she feel that she needed to know his personal stuff? Why was she nosing into his business? "Fine. Go to bed. I didn't want you here to nose into my business anyway." Judai said, equally as cold. He watched Asuka as she walked over to the door.

She turned to him, her eyes oddly bright and her cheeks flushed. "I was only trying to help! That's what people do in a relationship! They have a thing called trust!" she shouted angrily before storming out.

"Asuka!" Judai called but Asuka slammed the door before he could continue. "Damn." he cursed before falling onto his back on the bed. He suddenly regretted what had said and done.

...

Well, I have finished the first chapter. No mean reviews AKA flames or there won't be updates! Constructive criticism is welcome. NOW REVIEW PEOPLE!