A/N: Next chapter. One of my all time favorite Yu-Gi-Oh characters.

Disclaimer: As much as I love it, I'm afraid I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.


"The side of you success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.The size of your success is measured by the" - Robert Koyisaki


She was next. And in the moments he was willing to admit it, she was a lot more. She'd always been different. Unlike the majority of female duelists at Duel Academy, she didn't care for makeup and hair and beauty pageants. She didn't want love. She wanted respect. She craved it. She wanted to be seen as a great and powerful duelist, not the simpering weakling that her beauty made some believe she was. She may have looked the part of the damsel-in-distress, but she never played it. The Kaiser would not have become friends with a first-year student, even if they were an Obelisk, for nothing.

Their first duel was a clear example of that. Though her method of getting him there had been unethical, she had done it in the name of a good duel. She was the Queen of Obelisk Blue and the Queen always got what she wanted. Judai could respect that. She was aggressive from the start, taking whatever pain was necessary to win. She had a fiery nature and would never back down from a challenge. It was no suprise that she drew Sho, Manjoume, Kaiser, and many others. Even him. She gave pain, felt pain, and took it all in stride. It was after that first duel that they had cemented their friendship. It had lasted.

When she showed love, she showed so much it encompassed you. She had stayed at her brothers bedside days on end. Even as Darkness she had recognized him, because their bond was just that close. No matter what trouble Fubuki got himself and ultimately Asuka in and what he made her do to get him or them out, they still loved each other. He'd always hated how many times she'd been used as bait for him and how much trouble he got her in. It was his fault Taitan had kidnapped her and taken her to the Abandoned Dorm. The Gravekeeper's Chief had taken her and his other friends for victims as well. Brron, the Dark World's Mad King has killed her off because of him.

But despite this, they had stood by each other in one way or another, through everything and anything. He had come to save her in the Abandoned Dorm. He watched her go under Saiou's control, and had later saved her from it. She had stood by him during the Seven Stars, and had stood by him when he was Supreme King, before he'd caused her destruction. He would always regret that.

And after that pair-duel, he had been a little stupid to act the way, but he didn't know that then. Hormones had just caught up with him a little later than they should have. Judai still wondered why Kenzan had taken a few steps back every time she'd come near him for the next few days. He would always remember those kind and gentle words, outside the Osiris Red dorms, thanking him for how he had influenced her life in the direction it took. He would always wonder what it was she had hesitated and then refused to say.

...

He hoped Asuka was happy, wherever she was.


"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender that is strength." - Arnold Schwarzenegger