Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Red To Black: Chapter 3: Rethinking Strategy
Characters: Juudai
Word Count: chapter: 1,134||story: 3,240
Genre: Drama, Angst||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Yu-Gi-Oh GX Non-Flash Bingo; Diversity Challenge, section I, #19, chapters between 1000-2000 words
Notes: This begins in episode 136, just after Jim and O'Brien leave to follow Shou. Juudai's mind did not fracture into Juudai & Haou and this will be a retelling of how he came to power.
Summary: Juudai's always won before and it always fixed everything. But now that he's won and it's fixed nothing, what can he do?

Juudai wrapped his cloak a little tighter around himself and wondered how long he wanted to stay in this place. There wasn't much to recommend it for an overnight visit. Like the dozen other taverns he'd run across in the last few days, it was dimly lit, the floor could've used a good scrubbing, and most of the patrons spent their time punching each other instead of...well, instead of doing anything actually useful with their lives.

Like becoming part of Super Fusion. That wasn't a thought he especially enjoyed, but the more he saw of this world and how the people here treated one another, the more often it slid to the forefront of his mind. At least if they were a part of Super Fusion, they wouldn't be beating each other up or trying to shake down random passers-by for whatever they could take out of their pockets.

He'd already had to fight three groups of monsters who thought he was easy prey for them. That was a mistake they wouldn't ever make again, as it was more than a little difficult to do so when one's soul had gone to fuel the most powerful card in existence.

More and more he wanted Super Fusion to exist in all of its proper glory. His logic on it, such logic has Juudai had ever bothered to use in his life at all, was simple. He couldn't go back to his own world. The thought of facing Rei and the Kaiser, Saiou and Edo, Principal Samejima and Tome-san, Professor Chronos, all of those who waited there, and trying to tell them that not only had he failed to rescue Johan, but he'd lost almost everyone else who came with him? Who came after him in his stupid desire to do this all on his own?

No. He wouldn't go back. Couldn't. Which meant this was his world now and he had to make the best of it.

And the longer he stayed here and saw what was going on, the more he became convinced that the best thing he could do for this world was to rule it himself. He hadn't ever really liked the idea of leading anyone. People had called him the school's leader for the last year or so, looking to him during the Seven Stars' attack and when the Society of Light took over, and he'd never liked it.

Yeah, and see what happened when you didn't do anything about the Society? He should've done something sooner then. He knew it. That was part of why he'd wanted to go look for Johan now, to make up for those mistakes somehow. But when that fell through...

Well, one thing was for certain, there wasn't any way he could do it like he'd done everything else in his life. That would just lead to where he'd been going up against Brron: failing to save anyone. He would have to rethink his strategies completely.

And he couldn't do that here. Not in this musty little tavern where three fights had broken out in the last half hour, most of them over ridiculous causes like 'exactly which shade is the comet' and 'who did Mmother think was the pretty one'.

He got up and headed for the door, avoiding the rolling forms as they punched one another back and forth across the room, knocking tables and chairs everywhere.

"Hey!" The call came from behind him and Juudai ignored it, focusing more on getting out. "Hey, you! In the cloak! Where do you think you're going?"

Juudai stopped. He didn't look around, one hand curling into a fist where it could not be seen. "Out." He would give them one chance not to interrupt him again.

Armor jingled as whoever it was came closer. "Well, I think you should stick around and have some fun! Haven't you had a drink yet?"

Juudai started toward the door again. "I don't want one." He hadn't had anything more than water or tea since getting here and he didn't want that to change. He'd seen some of what they served in places like this bubbling through the table.

An armored hand landed on his shoulder and he found himself jerked around to stare into a face partially shielded by something that reminded him of sunglasses. It took a moment for him to recall the proper name: Prominence Knight.

"Whoa, you're just a kid!" The warrior stared down at him for a heartbeat or two, then grinned widely. "And you're way old enough to have a few drinks! Come on!" He started to drag Juudai back through the throng of cheering monsters, most of whom still remained focused on the fights to notice what was going on.

Juudai dug his heels in, a low growl sliding between his teeth. "I said that I'm leaving." He hadn't killed anyone in this world who looked as human as Prominence Knight did. The longer this idiot kept yanking at his proverbial chain, the more the idea appealed in ways that he'd never, ever thought it would.

"Why don't you want to have fun?" The knight looked more upset than anything else. "You look like your best friend died!"

Manjoume. Asuka. Fubuki-san. Kenzan. Johan. Names and faces spun around in Juudai's mind, the names and faces of those he'd lost to Brron's tricks. Shou. O'Brien. Jim. Misawa. The four who lived but who would never look at him again without hate.

And this idiot was making fun of that.

Juudai threw his cloak back. Some words could only bring one action in response, and his heart bled fury and fire.

"I challenge you to a duel." Only rage. Only hate. Only anger. All of that built to a crescendo inside of him and he no longer cared that defeating this man would mean his death.

More than did not care, he welcomed it. That was what someone who insulted the memory of those who'd been taken from him deserved.

Prominence Knight stared at him as he activated his duel disk. "What? Kid, did you already have something to drink? You want to duel me?" He started to reach out, hand aiming for the top of Juudai's head. "Look, I changed my mind, go home and take a nap or something."

Juudai's hand closed around his wrist. "Can you duel?" He'd never heard his voice sound like that before. Cold. Angry. Furious beyond anything he could remember feeling. He welcomed it. This idiot needed a lesson, and Juudai ached to teach it to him.

"I...kid, you don't..."

"Can. You. Duel?" He saw the duel disk on the other's arm now. He would not back down. There would be justice, and his would be the sword that brought it. "Duel!"

To Be Continued