Okay, by popular demand (and because this is pretty much already written anyway) we have a double-header! Don't get used to it, though. I'm not making a habit of updating stories twice a day. Anyway, there should be one more chapter for this. My other story...don't ask. I have no idea how many chapters are left. Anyway, after these, I've got another one that Shadgirl2 and I have been writing that I'll post if people want to see more of us collaborating on stories. So, let us know what you think! Enjoy! I don't own Yugioh GX.

WARNING: possible OOC and definite spoilers.

The next evening, Sho was frantically trying to get ready for his first date, ever.

"Oh, no! My hair is still a mess!" He had combed it twelve times.

"Ah! My clothes make me look like a punk!" So, cue wardrobe change number 15.

"Arg! My teeth!" Yet, he had brushed them 45 times.

Tired of watching Sho run around like a wild child, doing things that he had already done countless times, Judai stopped him in mid-bathroom run. "Sho, relax. You look fine. And if you don't stop brushing your teeth, you're going to knock her out from the freshness of your breath, not the stench. Just breathe, okay?"

Sho took some veeery deep breaths, then said, "Okay, but do you think she'll like these flowers?" He held up a bouquet of roses he had bought for the occasion.

Judai smiled at his friend and said, "I think she'll love them. Don't worry so much. Just be yourself, and you'll be okay."

"But I am being myself! That's the whole problem!" Sho said.

"Look, she fell for you, right?" Judai reasoned. "So you've got nothing to worry about! Take a chill pill, okay?"

Sho's date was at 7. It was 6:00. Judai had been trying to calm Sho down since around 3, when Sho started panicking, saying that he had to start getting ready or he'd be late. Surprisingly, Judai's patience was holding out better than it had yesterday.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Oh, no! That can't be her! Am I running late!?" Sho wondered. Running to the door, he opened it to see... "Big brother!?"

Indeed, Ryo Marufuji was standing in the hallway outside of Sho's apartment. He didn't comment on his brother's frantic behavior; he just got right down to business. "Is Judai really here?" he asked, cool and calm like he usually was.

Judai came over, wondering what was going on. "Kaiser?" he asked upon seeing Ryo.

Sho looked at his watch, which, like every other clock in the building, said that it was 6:00, and said, "I am running late! See you guys later! Bye!" as he ran out the door, leaving Judai and Ryo alone.

Ryo stared after his brother for a moment. "Where's he off to so fast?" he asked Judai.

"He has a date with Junko," Judai answered. "And he's actually early, if I recall. He told me when he had to meet her, like, 50 times at least, and that it should take about 30 minutes to get there, so I'm pretty darned sure he's early. Anyway, what's up?"

"I want you to stop this ridiculous wedding," Ryo said.

"Not you, too," Judai sighed. "Look, Sho's already recruited me for that, and to keep you and Manjoume from killing each other. It's not working, trust me." As an afterthought, he mumbled, "Actually, I want to kill Manjoume now... It backfired."

"You have to. You're the only one who can! The only one I'll surrender her to!" Ryo looked dead serious when he said this.

Judai shrugged. "Sorry, Kaiser, but it's her life. She can choose who she marries. And if she wants to marry an oversized, money-hogging Ojama, who am I to stop her?"

Manjoume had officially made Judai's Least Favorite People list. This was bad, not only because they were friends, but also because he didn't even have any such list, which made it even worse.

"How about her real true love?"

"Nonsense..."

"No, it's true. I knew it from the start. She always talked about me as if I was you. But she covered it up by making it sound like me with certain word changes and praises. For instance, she often used the word 'respect' when I could tell she meant 'fun.' I knew this, but I fell in love with her anyway. I had hoped that I could make her forget you, but when Manjoume showed up on our wedding day like that, it became clear to me that would never happen. Manjoume has more things in common with you, so, in her mind, his love is as good as yours. Every time she sees him, she sees you. I don't want her living her life lost in that fantasy. I don't care how you do it. Confess how you feel? Fine. Say goodbye the right way this time? Okay. Kill Manjoume? I don't care how. Just end her pain. Okay?"

That last suggestion was based off what Judai had muttered earlier and only given as a joke. Judai, however, chose to comment on that part of Ryo's little speech. "That last option sounds like it could be enjoyable, but I probably shouldn't. That would just cause both of us pain. At least, I think it would. Eventually. In a year or two."

"Judai, be serious," Ryo said, slightly annoyed with the brunette. "This is a huge problem, after all. Right now, Asuka isn't any different from a widow of a sailor who was lost at sea. She just stands there, day after day, waiting and praying for his ship to arrive. But it never does. She just stands there, frozen in time, lost forever in the past. Lost with that ship."

"Great. Make me feel worse. Thanks a lot," Judai said. "When is the wedding, anyway? Everyone has conveniently neglected to mention that."

Even the woman who invited me. Wonder if she expected me to read her mind, or if the invitation was just to spite me.

"I wasn't invited, so I don't know," Ryo said. "But you must find out somehow. Or watch that sad scene of the widow dying alone."

Imagining Asuka dying alone, having spent her life waiting on something that was never coming, Judai said, "Aw, man! Thanks, Kaiser. I...I'll do something." He still wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he knew he had to figure out something.

"I wish you luck," Ryo said as he left.

Sitting alone in Sho's apartment, Judai muttered, "Great. Just great. What the heck am I supposed to do!?"

Later that night, Sho came home from his date, again on Cloud 9. "She's dreamy..."

"Aw, get your feet on the ground, Sho!" Judai ordered, having been in a bad mood since Ryo left; he hadn't helped his mood much by trying to think of what to do for the last couple of hours—he'd made it worse, actually. The fact that Sho had just come back from a date probably didn't improve the jealous brunette's mood either. "I'm the only one here, and I'm not calling Manjoume to come get you down if you start flying away again."

"Huh? How?" Sho landed, having snapped out of his daze. "Aniki, are you okay?"

"Sho, that's kind of a stupid question, don't you think?"

"Okay, now what happened?" Sho asked.

"Well, your brother wants me to crash the wedding and fix the mess I made of Asuka. Not that I know how to fix this!"

Sho didn't see the dilemma. "Well, that's easy. You either crash the wedding the same way Manjoume did, or, right before it, you tell Asuka a proper goodbye. How hard is that?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Judai sounded dejected.

Yubel was getting tired of this—jealous type or not, she wasn't one who wanted Judai to spend the rest of his life being upset about that blond woman. "Just confess to the girl already!" she said in exasperation.

Yeah, that's not gonna happen, Yubel, Judai thought, knowing full well that Yubel could hear him. Just leave me alone, will you?

Sho was thinking along the same lines as Yubel, apparently, because he said, "You know, if I were you, I'd crash the wedding and confess. Because, once they say 'I do,' there's no turning back. The guy who doesn't speak up never gets a happy ending."

Judai shook his head. "I don't deserve her anyway, Sho. I'll just...tell her goodbye."

Sho just stood there, trying to figure out why Judai kept saying that he didn't deserve Asuka. Jim, hurry up. I don't understand either of them!

The next day around noon, Sho was ecstatic. Jim had emailed him yesterday, saying that he would be arriving in New York around noon the next day. Well, it was about time.

"Jim should be arriving soon! Here's hoping he can solve this mess!"

Judai was sitting on the couch, watching TV, which might explain his less-than-enthusiastic response. "Uh-huh. Yeah, whatever."

There was a knock at the door. "That better be him!" Sho said as he went to answer the door. Judai was starting to worry him. "Ah, Jim! Great to see you! Do you mind if we talk out here?" He closed the door and proceeded to fill Jim in on the situation.

When Sho had finished explaining, he said, "So there you have it! Aniki says he doesn't deserve her but won't say why; and Asuka swears she loves Manjoume, but we see other signs. Can you help us, Jim?"

"Crikey, that sounds like quite the mess you've got there," Jim said, adjusting his hat. "I think I might be able to help, mate."

"Great! Promise not to get jealous, too?"

Jim cocked his head. "Why would I get jealous, Sho? I'm not here to marry Tomorrow-girl."

Sho let out a sigh of relief and said, "Good, because the last two I talked to did! So, who are you starting with?"

"Well, I'm here, so I might as well talk to Judai, right?" Jim said.

"Okay. Good luck. Let me know what you find out, okay?" Sho opened the door, letting Jim into the apartment. "Aniki! Jim's here!" he called.

Judai didn't answer. Jim walked into the apartment.

"Well," Sho said to Jim, "I think I'll go see what Asuka and Manjoume are doing." He called, "Have fun, you two!" Then, turning back to Jim, he said, "Good luck, Jim!" He left to go see Asuka and Manjoume.

Jim headed into the living room to see Judai sitting on the couch. Judai looked at him and grinned. "Hey, Jim. How's it going?" he greeted.

"That's my line, mate," Jim said, walking over and turning off the TV. "What's this I hear about Asuka and Manjoume getting married?"

Judai didn't look too happy with the topic. "Uh, let's talk about something else, shall we?"

"Sorry, Judai, that's not an answer. I want to know what's going on."

"She dumped Kaiser for Manjoume, and everyone says it's my fault." Turning away from Jim, Judai mumbled, "No surprise, there. Everything's always my fault, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Jim cupped his hand over his ear. "Didn't quite catch it, mate. Speak up."

Judai looked back at Jim with a grin, saying, "Aw, it's nothing!"

Not buying it, Jim said, "Uh-huh. I don't know, mate. Sounds dodgy to me. Are you sure she wants to marry Manjoume?"

"Well, she said she was in love with him. I'm sure he'll treat her right, anyway."

"And what about the whole 'your fault' thing?" Jim asked.

"I'll fix it. I just gotta give her a proper goodbye, is all," Judai answered. He didn't sound happy about it, though.

Jim asked, "Is that really what you want, Judai?"

Judai looked down before answering, "It's what's best for her."

Jim could tell he was getting close to the problem. "Really. What makes you say that?"

Judai looked away, avoiding Jim's question.

"Come on, Judai. I know there's something on your mind. What is it?"

There was a moment of hesitation before Judai looked at Jim and asked, "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

"You have my word," Jim said. Silently, he added, If only so I can get an answer out of you.

Judai hesitated slightly before saying, "The only time Manjoume's ever done anything to hurt her, he was brainwashed by the Light of Destruction. He...he never..."

"At least I didn't sacrifice her for power! Now, let's see, who did do that!? Well, Judai!?" Manjoume's words from the other day echoed in Judai's mind yet again.

Judai gripped his head as he tried to block out the painful memories.

"Judai?"

"He—never used her for his own selfish purposes!" Judai said. He sounded close to tears. "He never...never..." He broke down and started crying, leaving the sentence unfinished. But Jim knew what he was talking about. Or, when he was talking about, at least.

"Judai..." Jim said. He wished there was something he could do to cheer up his friend, but he doubted that anything he said would help.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Judai hiccuped, trying to get control of himself while Jim went to get the door, giving Judai a moment.

Out in the hallway, Johan had Momoe hanging on his arm. "Is anyone there? I've got a problem now..." he said nervously.

"What are you talking about, darling?" Momoe asked.

The door opened, revealing everyone's favorite Aussie.

"Johan!" Jim said. "Well, this is a surprise, mate! What brings you here?"

"Jim! Great! I thought you would be here soon! Then you can help me out, right?" he said, sounding desperate. "You are going to talk to Asuka, right?"

"Darling...why?" Momoe asked. "Why are you so worried about Asuka Tenjoin? You aren't going to leave me for her, too, are you...?"

Nervous, Johan didn't really know what to say to that. "Eh, hehe... Well, Jim?"

Jim looked from Momoe to Johan. "You have a problem there, too, don't you, mate?" he asked after a moment.

Johan whispered in Jim's ear, "Well, this was Manjoume's girlfriend until he went back for Asuka. Now she wants me to be her boyfriend to make Manjoume jealous... She's been with me since late last night! Please tell me you're gonna solve that Asuka thing?"

Jim looked back over his shoulder toward the living room and said, "I'll make you a deal: you get in here and keep an eye on Judai, and I'll go talk to Asuka. I'm worried about him right now, mate. I don't think we should leave him alone."

Don't get him wrong; Jim didn't think Judai was the type to do something stupid. But, given what happened the last time they left him alone when he was upset, Jim didn't want to take any chances. Haou was bad enough; he didn't want to know what else might happen when Judai was distraught.

Johan didn't understand what Jim meant. "Huh? Why not?"

"Well...I promised him I wouldn't tell," Jim said. And I'm gonna keep that promise, except there's one person I need to tell... Maybe she can help.

"Okay...?" Johan said, still confused.

"Oh, Johan-chan! You're soo sweet!" Momoe said, clinging to Johan's arm. "Looking after a friend in need! My stupid ex-boyfriend never did that!"

Freaked out, Johan said, "Okay, okay! I'll stay! Just hurry up!"

"Right," Jim said with a nod before running off.

Johan sighed, walking into the living room of the apartment. "Judai? You feeling okay?" he asked.

Judai smiled at him, any trace of his earlier distress gone. "Yeah, I'm fine! Why do you ask, Johan?"

"Because Jim wanted me to babysit you?" Johan asked, slightly confused. Judai seemed fine to him; why did Jim think he needed a babysitter?

Momoe giggled. "Isn't he the dreamiest? He'd make a great dad!"

"Okay, don't you think that's a bit much?" Johan asked, looking at her. She just giggled.

"I don't need a babysitter," Judai said. "So, what's with your tag-along?"

Johan raised his hand, saying, "Don't ask. Super long story, okay?"

"That's my Johan! Short, sweet, and to the point! Unlike a certain lunatic who yelled at nothing all day long!"

Again, Johan looked at her. "You do know Manjoume's not even here, right?"

"Uh...can we not talk about him? Please?" Judai asked.

"Agreed, 'dear'! Haven't I heard all 100 things you hate about your ex enough yet? Let's please change the subject, okay?"

Momoe crossed her arms, dropping the act. "Okay, whatever, jerk! But if he shows up—"

"I'll kiss you on the lips, okay?" Johan interrupted.

"Good!"

"So, where's Sho?" Johan asked, figuring this was a safe, neutral subject.

"Dunno," Judai answered. "He went to get the door when Jim got here, and he never came back."

"Huh." Johan had hoped this subject wouldn't lead to this topic. "He's probably out checking on you both know who then."

"Oh. That explains it, then."

"Explains what?" Johan asked.

Judai smiled wryly when he answered. "Why Sho vanished into thin air." After all, why would Sho want to tell Judai that he was going to check on the happy couple that Judai couldn't stand?

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