Yugioh! GX: August Requiem
Joint work-Latimer Baka handles most of the writing, and daisuke151 handles the duels, for Latimer knows squat about them.
Set during season 4-character personalities being experimented on a bit, AU in a sense. Set after 162. Review please.
PART I
CHAPTER ONE: GRAVE UNDERTONES
"Ryo?" he prompted, giving off a tense aura. The blue haired dueller remained motionless, save for his trembling knuckled hands. Asuka rested her hand against her heart, looking increasingly upset. Manjoume sidled his eyes away, while the others were speechless.
The former Kaiser finally whipped his head around to face them, face contorted into a look of pain.
"I'm dying."
---
"Aaron," Daisuke growled, eyebrow twitching, "you promised no one would be around; especially people who could put this whole mission in jeopardy." Amari, upon catching Aaron's frantic eyes merely shrugged.
"I think its ok," she pointed out, chewing her bottom lip. Daisuke's brow mimicked the one already moving.
"Ok?"
"Well, it's not like he's gonna recognise us," she stated, grinning toothily.
"That's not the point."
"Hey, forgive Daisuke. He's been all uptight because he wants to see-"
"Hey! Don't go around letting your mouth run so loosely!"
"Um..." Aaron let his eyes go heavenward, praying for the strength to settle the situation. "The jobs...yes your job."
"Well?"
"Aaron...why were we sent back?" she asked quietly, voice quivering. Daisuke froze at his sister's uncharacteristic anxiety. Aaron clasped his hands together behind his back.
"You two are required to sort out something in this time," he explained, eyeing Daisuke.
The boy remained silent.
"What are we sorting out?" she queried.
"He's followed you, and he's after certain people."
Aaron gauged Daisuke's reaction. His body had gone rigid; shoulders stiff. His teeth were digging into his lower lip. Amari was glancing at him with worry in her gaze.
"Well..." both were surprised when Daisuke spoke, with a fully fledged smirk in place. "We'll just have to sort him out if he tries anything."
---
The sky had darkened considerably, but for the current atmosphere it was fitting. A cheery Kenzan had stepped into a painfully pressurising room. Sho had pushed past him and sprinted away almost immediately, with Judai and a few others in tow.
"What's...wrong?" he asked carefully, looking at Asuka for answers.
The blonde leaning against the wall let out a long, shuddering sigh, playing with her fingers. Unshed tears glimmered in her grey eyes.
"It's very hard to say...very hard..." Her hands clutched each other as she spoke those words. Kenzan blinked in confusion. Why was it so...?
"Manjoume?" he continued searching for answers.
Manjoume, who had not moved from his position, looked very perturbed and uncertain. He muttered something in a strained voice and looked away, refusing to meet Kenzan's perplexed eyes.
Ryo, who had not said a word, strode forward, his face schooled into a calmer expression.
"I don't have very long left..." he said.
Asuka's breath hitched in her throat, and sounds of Manjoume shifting uncomfortably were heard. Still not grasping the concept totally, Kenzan tilted his head to the side.
"You're leaving again? Ah, that is upsetting, but..." his brows burrowed and he took in his surroundings. "Why is everyone crying?"
He swore liquid was trailing down Asuka's cheeks as she sauntered past him, probably to join the others or be alone. Kenzan frowned sadly. Why...?
He caught Ryo's pained gaze, and Manjoume opted to leave.
---
"How...long?" a hoarse voice queried. Judai gave Fubuki a hideously forlorn look, his fingers curling into a tight fist.
"He said..." Judai inhaled deeply and looked everywhere but the person he was addressing. "He said it wasn't too long. Heart problems," Judai rubbed the back of his head and scowled at the ground.
Fubuki drew a breath not dissimilar to the one Judai had prior, before shaking his head and dropping it. He laughed lightly, and had Judai not been more perceptive than people thought, he would have been horrified.
"Things like this..." Fubuki said in a low voice, dark bangs hiding his face. "You don't even consider them, and..."
The usually optimistic man trailed off, and they lapsed into a restless silence. It dangled between them, unsure which way, or even how to break.
"How's Sho?" Judai piped up, cringing.
Fubuki shook his head again, before raising it slightly, sadness reflected in his face.
"I don't know. I haven't had the courage to go and console him. Rei and Asuka are trying their best to help him, but last time I checked not many boy's besides Sho broke into sobs."
Judai sighed exasperatedly, eyes wavering, before he growled and punched the ground.
"I don't know how to handle this," he admitted, clawing the ground. He could feel a certain influence threatening to control him, so he vigorously shook his head to make it go. "But...you know, people have gone before and come back, so..." he paused, flashing Fubuki a large, emotion ridden smile. Fubuki's eyes shot open alarmed. "We're not gonna give up. Doctors have been proved wrong before."
"Judai," Fubuki sighed, resting his head against his hand. "You don't understand. It's not just his heart, it's his spirit too. It's been-"
"We'll save him," Judai cut in firmly, determination replacing the sadness in his eyes.
"Save him?" Fubuki's gaze narrowed. "How?" he quizzed, hope breaking through.
Judai turned his smile into a casual grin, before blushing and chuckling a bit.
"I'm not sure. Opportunities like this just kinda come to me." Judai jumped to his feet, and Fubuki's lips curved in a small smile. "SHO!" he called loudly. The sobbing via three people was stifled a bit. "DON'T WORRY! YOUR BIG BROTHER WON'T DIE BEFORE THAT CREEPY OLD GUY IN THE FOREST!"
---
"Sho..." Ryo stopped, inwardly flinching. Sho was looking at the ground. God, his voice was too formal and-
"Big brother..." Ryo was a bit taken aback by the determination in Sho's voice. "Judai promised you wouldn't die before that creepy old man." Ryo frowned. What did he have to do with anything? "And, whenever Judai makes a promise, he keeps it, so..."
He brought his head up abruptly. Ryo stood there, at a loss for what to do.
He had told his little brother he was dying, and now here Sho was, facing him with such courage filled smile, yet tears relentlessly streamed down his cheeks.
"Sho..."
"You're going to live, right?" Sho's voice left no room for discussion. "You've always pulled through things Ryo. You're going to get through this. We're all here for you."
Ryo managed a smile.
"Alright," he agreed. "I'll be stubborn until the end."
Sho smiled right back, and even though his brother was comforted, Ryo's inner workings were turbulent.
'But I can't tell him I gave up a while ago.'
---
"I can't believe this." Asuka sniffled a bit, wiping her nose, trying to retain some dignity. It wasn't working though.
"Hey," Rei said comfortingly, plonking herself down beside Asuka. "You heard Judai, right? Ryo's gonna outlast that weird man, and," Rei giggled in spite of the gloomy circumstances, "he's centuries old. Heck, he'll probably be leering at us for years to come."
Asuka smiled sadly.
"Yeah...Judai will help him. He always manages to."
"Yup, I bet he's gonna be a sweetheart when we start going out," Rei chimed.
Asuka rolled her eyes dismissively.
"Surely you can't talk about that kind of stuff now," she bit out.
Rei's mind cackled, but she settled for sickeningly sweet smile.
"Jealous?" she jibed.
Asuka didn't reply, but gathered her legs closer to her chest and threaded her hands together. The ground became her scowling target-Rei sweatdropped at her reaction.
After a while, she suddenly clambered to her feet, still scowling.
"I'm going to see Ryo," she announced, storming away and leaving a bemused and amused Rei.
---
"Asuka's cheered up." Judai smiled, before turning back to the ghostly form of Daitokuji.
"Yes, she has." He smiled back. "You'd never guess how."
Judai blinked.
"How?" he asked genuinely interested.
"In due time," Daitokuji replied, mouth twisting into a sneaky grin.
Judai blinked again, before sighing and shrugging.
"What a day," he moaned, gazing at the sky. "And we've still got so much to do."
"So, you're going to go after it in hopes of helping Ryo?" he questioned.
"Yeah, all of us, and we're all calm, because we know we're going to save him."
"Your optimism and your new found seriousness is truly a great combo."
"Ah...thank you?"
Meanwhile, Cronos was occupying himself with thoughts. He was to accompany them on their little journey, and he would make damn sure they received what they sought. None of his students were going to die before their time, graduated or not.
"We've got no time to lose. We're setting out tomorrow at dawn." He smiled to cheer himself up. "That boy never fails. We'll be fine."
---
"Did you hear that?" Daisuke's brows linked together, and he cast his puzzled dark brown eyes on his sister. "There's an object that can save Ryo."
"Brother, as much as I would love to hear, I'm afraid I can't when you're squishing me against a tree trunk, and we're chilling on a perilously high branch," she bit out.
Daisuke rolled his eyes, but obliged and shimmied along the branch. Amari let out a sigh of relief, before cupping her chin.
"So?"
"I know it's weird. I mean, last time there..." she stopped and frowned, before restraining herself from bursting into hysterics. He looked at her in a disturbed manner.
"What the heck is with you?"
"Well, we've only been here for three days, and we're already-Oh, lookit!" she had to clamp her hand over her mouth to prevent a scream. Daisuke stayed blank.
"What are you referring to?"
"Look." She grabbed his hand and tugged at it, pointing downwards. He followed her finger to find a figure resting against the tree. His eyes widened and he nearly toppled off the branch. Amari found it near impossible to stop her sides splitting.
"That's-"
"Enough," Aaron's voice suddenly interjected.
Daisuke flushed and grumbled under his breath, before locating his pocketed communicator.
"Stupid inferior technology," he complained, fumbling in his pocket. "Why they've yet to install it in a watch-"
"Daisuke," Amari admonished.
He rolled his eyes.
"Shoot," he said when he had finally found and brought it out.
"We want you to come back now." Both cocked a brow at this. "You must learn of your rendezvous point."
---
"My brother thinks I can't see it, but..." Sho began to sweat. "I know he doesn't believe he can get through this."
"But he will," Asuka supplied, her voice rising.
Rei immediately flinched, sensing her older friend's frustration. Asuka was one to get edgy in these kinds of circumstances.
"Well, isn't there a way to restore his confidence?" Kenzan wondered aloud.
"If we knew that, where'd you think we'd be; here, or by him?" Manjoume snarled.
Yeah, and Manjoume got snippy, or snippier than usual in these circumstances.
"Well, there has to be something," Rei sighed.
"There is," Fubuki said airily, looking very content.
The gathered group exchanged befuddled looks, before Asuka's transformed into a sharp and questioning one, and she placed it right on her brother.
"How?" she asked him.
"Well..."
"Luckily, it's something I can do," a voice that seemed naturally happy interrupted. Everything except Fubuki blinked.
"Judai?" she frowned. Everyone focused on Rei. "What do you intend to do?"
Ryo was currently away from everyone, strolling around the academy as if it was his last time seeing it. Judai had a gut feeling he knew where Ryo was situated at this very moment.
"I intend to duel him," the boy grinned.
---
"I can't believe we have to follow them. This is insane."
"I know brother, I know."
"I mean, what if they see us? And, and-"
"Daisuke, calm down before you have a seizure; God, sometimes I really can't understand you."
He pouted.
"And sometimes I wonder why you're so immature."
She beamed.
"And sometimes I wonder why it never ceases to entertain me about reminding you of WHO came first."
Red spanned across his face.
"That doesn't count!"
"Your voice is high!"
"You're five minutes older than me! Five damn short minutes!"
"Stop joking you two," Aaron sighed.
Seriousness suddenly gripped their expressions, and they exchanged nods. "Right, they are heading to Sometta Island in the West. You will continue to track them."
"Aaron?"
"Yes Amari?"
"What if we..." her confidence deflated, she fiddled with her fingers. "What if we run into one of them?"
"Simple," Daisuke said in place of Aaron, vehemence laced in his voice. "If it's her, you hide and feel elated, but if it's him, you try everything in your power not to throttle him."
End Chapter One