That boy, Yubel said. They had materialized into view the moment Johan left earshot. Yubel was shuffling, their wings folding and unfolding in anxiety. I'm sure he felt me.
Judai looked at Yubel curiously. Yubel didn't need to materialize for them to communicate; they must have felt particularly disturbed to do so. "What makes you say that?"
He said 'spirit.' Not 'spirits.' He wasn't referring to Winged Kuriboh, he'd say 'partner,' and he'd refer to Neos or the rest of your monsters by their names.
"Hm," Judai said, as he turned to stare back out at the black mass of the sea. He could barely make out the outline of horizon, but the sound of crashing waves soothed him nonetheless.
In his soul, he could feel Yubel's discontent. He loved Johan; there was no question about the dull ache that still throbbed in his heart. But Judai had promised Yubel his love, and after what it took for him to remember that promise, he was not about to break it. He tried to send Yubel's soul a wave of calmness.
He's different, somehow.
"Well, he's got the legendary Crystal Beasts, of course he's different. Are you jealous?" Judai teased.
He immediately regretted teasing when Yubel's aura flared. I'm serious! No ordinary human can do what he did. Any human with a strong enough will can be the master of the Crystal Beasts, but that boy was strong enough to resist being possessed by me. I had to remove his entire soul to get into his body. And his spiritual eye is strong; he knew we were coming long before he could see us.
Judai hummed to himself. "Mm, he's really something." He pulled Yubel's card from his deck and held it up to the sky, smiling at the way it seemed to be framed by the stars. "You're definitely jealous."
Yubel dematerialized and nested back in his soul with an annoyed hmpf. The two of them — no, the one; they were one now and forever — shared the same thought.
He's beautiful.