A/N: Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX.
That night, Judai had another realistic dream. It felt like he had been here before, but something was way wrong. Everything around him was dark—he couldn't see much. The marionette strings from the previous dream were attached to him yet again—he struggled to remove them, but to no avail. In her spherical prison, Yubel was calling out to him, trying to break out.
"Judai, we can't do this alone!" she called. "Try summoning me! Maybe then I can help!"
He woke with a start.
"...Man, those dreams..."
Winged Kuriboh appeared, looking worried yet again. "Kurii..."
Judai thought about what Yubel had said to him in his dream. "Maybe...I should..."
"Kuri?" It looked at him, clearly confused.
He checked the clock—3 A.M. Well, he doubted he'd be getting back to sleep any time soon, so he pulled out Yubel's card, put his duel disk on, and summoned her.
She appeared—humanoid body with hair half white and half purple, two different colored eyes, and a third eye on her forehead. Yet something was wrong—her form kept fizzing in and out, as if his duel disk were broken or she was having trouble appearing.
"...Judai... You must..." It wasn't just her body—she seemed to be having trouble speaking, too.
"Huh? What?" Judai asked.
"...Titan...and Saiou... Remember what they...did to us... We can't...win this...fight alone... You must...tell her..."
Those names...they got his attention. "Titan...Saiou..." He looked at Yubel and asked, "Tell who?"
"T-tell...her how...y-you..."
Yubel fizzled out before she could finish what she was saying.
Judai thought about that for a moment, getting an idea of who and what Yubel wanted him to tell. "How I..."
Winged Kuriboh looked even more worried, slightly frantic, even. "Kuri!"
Judai thought about Yubel's suggestion. "Should I...?"
The next day, O'Brien and Jim were talking in the lobby with Kathleen. Or, rather, O'Brien was scolding Jim about his latest affliction... The rest, besides Akiko and Judai, who hadn't yet arrived, just stood by, watching.
"Really, Jim," O'Brien said. "Is this really the time for that? Your comrade needs your help, and you're looking at girls? Why?"
Jim rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I, uh..."
"I still say it'll never work out," Kathleen said.
Akiko entered the room with Judai at that moment. "What'll never work out?" she asked.
"Nothing, Aki!" Jim answered hastily. "Nothing at all."
Akiko raised her eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling 'nothing' involves me?"
Jim just laughed nervously.
"Ah! Judai! There you are, ya creep!" Rei said, walking over. Without warning, she slapped him across the face.
He looked at her, slightly annoyed, and said, "I'd ask what that was for, but I'm more interested in why you drugged Asuka."
"Because she was threatening to hurt me if I tried to help you, that's why! Honestly, Judai-sama. What do you see in her? She's so mean."
This comment gave Akiko some hope that she wasn't the only one who had noticed. Would have been sad if the only one who could tell he likes her wasn't even his friend...
"Excuse me?" Asuka asked.
"I second that motion!" Sho stupidly said.
Asuka glared at him in response, causing him to back away nervously.
Turning to Judai, Asuka said, "Don't listen to her, Judai. She's lying."
"I am not!" Rei protested. "You told me to 'stay away from him or else!'"
"That's not what I said, and you know it, you little witch!"
"Who are you calling a witch, ya bully!?"
"Why, you—"
"HEY!" Judai yelled, getting between the two before things could get ugly.
"Judai!" Asuka exclaimed.
"Judai-sama!" Rei echoed.
"I knew you'd back me up on this one!" Asuka said.
At the same time, Rei said, "I knew you'd come and save me from that bully!"
The girls glared past him at each other and both said, "Hey! He's helping me!" Because they were speaking at the same time, they both countered, "No, he's not! He's helping me! Stop doing that! I said stop that!"
They growled at each other.
"CUT IT OUT!" Judai yelled. "Both of you!"
Asuka looked back at him. "Judai!"
"Judai-sama! Is something wrong?" Rei asked, oblivious to the discomfort this fight was causing him.
"You two... Stop fighting, okay?"
Asuka humphed. "She started it. If that little witch would just—"
"Hey!" Rei interrupted. "I'm not a witch, so stop calling me one!"
"I said, cut it out!" Judai snapped.
"Then tell her it's rude to use chloroform on someone!" Asuka said.
"No! Tell her it's rude to threaten someone first!"
Judai didn't know who's side to take—he knew that Rei had used chloroform on Asuka, but he didn't know for sure if Asuka had threatened her, but "stay away from him or else" wasn't usually the sort of threat that needed to be heeded, but...
"Both of you, just quit it, would you!?" he pleaded, giving up on figuring out who was in the wrong.
"Aki," Kathleen said, turning to the blond woman, who was watching this with some degree of amusement on her face. "I think you can resolve this one, right?"
"They're gonna make him beg, aren't they?" Akiko mused.
"Tell her, Judai!" Asuka demanded.
"Tell her, Judai-sama!"
Both got up in his face and yelled, "TELL HER!"
Deciding that she could handle this one—as long as she was careful not to say anything that would cause other members of the group to feel compelled to speak up in defense of one of the two ladies—Akiko said, "You know, neither of you has a right to ask him for help. You're both right, yet you're both wrong at the same time."
The two turned to her. "What!?"
"Asuka, you were threatening Rei. Rei, you still shouldn't have knocked her out. Both of you need to apologize. To each other and Judai, seeing as you've dragged him into this now."
Everything was silent for a moment before Asuka said, "I'm not apologizing unless she does."
"Hey, mine was self-defense! So me, neither!" Rei said.
Akiko sighed, "Act your ages, girls. Really, a battle of pride isn't necessary between mature women."
They were both silent for another moment before Asuka looked at Rei and said, "Sorry for threatening you." Muttering, she added, "You little creep."
"Sorry for knocking you out." Rei then muttered, "You stupid blond."
"Better," Akiko admitted.
Judai cast Akiko a grateful look.
"Sorry, Judai," Asuka said, turning to him. "I shouldn't have burdened you with this. You're under enough pressure as it is. Can you ever forgive me?"
"Yeah, sure."
"I'm sorry, too," Rei added. "I should've told you about the threat earlier. Still friends?"
"Yeah," he said, relieved that they were done fighting.
"Well, I guess we should head off to work, then," Asuka said.
"Yeah," Rei agreed. "I guess so."
The two left, clearly embarrassed.
"I don't believe this!" Manjoume said, outraged. "This is so unfair!"
"Hey, look on the bright side. At least you don't have two girls fighting over you," Fubuki pointed out.
"Huh?" Judai asked, confused. He looked at Manjoume.
"You better pick Rei!" he snapped at Judai before storming out.
Judai blinked. "Pick...?"
That afternoon, Judai heard a faint voice coming from his deck.
"...udai...Ju..."
He pulled it out and looked at it, curiously.
"...idiot!...ell...ready!..."
Judai just stared, fairly certain that was Yubel, seeing as she was the only duel spirit he knew that called him an idiot.
"...ummo...e...gain...urry!..."
He pulled her card out and summoned her. Like last night, her form was fizzing.
"Judai... S-snap out...of it and...do as I...told you... D-do you...a-always...w-want t...to be hi...his slave...? T-then te...tell her how...you feel...al...rea...dy..."
And, just like last night, she fizzled out.
"...Slave...? No, I..." He paused, thinking about what Yubel had said, then decided. "I'm gonna go talk to Asuka."
Asuka, meanwhile, was busy grading a ton of homework that David had given to her. I swear, that guy... He's the teacher! Why does he keep making me do all of his work!?
There was a knock on her door, followed by Judai's voice. "Asuka? You here?"
"Sorry! I'm a little busy right now, Judai!" she answered, irritated.
"B-but..." He cut himself off, then said. "Okay..."
That's about when Asuka fully registered who that was. Her head snapped up from the latest paper she was grading. "Wait, Judai!?"
She ran over and opened the door. Sure enough, he was heading down the hall, walking away.
"Judai!" she called, running over to him. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize it was you! So, what's up?"
"Oh, uh..." He seemed pretty nervous for some reason. "Well, I needed to...to tell you...something..."
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Well, yeah, it's just..."
He trailed off, so Asuka prodded, "What?"
Arg, why is this so hard!? Judai wondered, frustrated. "Uh... I..."
Asuka looked at him questioningly.
Why am I even doing this? he wondered. In the next instant, though, he answered his own question. Because she deserves to know, that's why! Besides, I...
"Well, that is, you...I mean..." He blushed.
Asuka looked at him for a moment before saying, "Judai. Not to sound rude, but could you get on with it, already? David's making me grade his students' homework, so I'm kinda busy right now."
"Oh, uh... Well, never mind, then! It's not that important!" Judai lied, smiling.
"Well, okay. If you say so."
She headed back to her room to get back to work. Judai just watched her go. Once she was back in her room with the door shut, he smacked himself in the head.
"Dang it! What's wrong with me!? It's just Asuka!"
Winged Kuriboh hit him.
"Hey!" he snapped. "What was that for?"
It shrugged—or gave the Kuriboh equivalent, at least. "Kuri kuri! Kuri!"
Someone in my deck thinks I'm a major idiot and asked him to hit me for them... Must be Yubel.
"Huh," he said.
As if he wasn't having a bad enough day with the nightmares and the fighting girls and the inability to talk to Asuka—not to mention Yubel being mad at him—Kathleen confronted him later.
"Okay, what's your problem?" she asked.
Startled, Judai asked, "Huh? What did I do?" Silently, he wondered, Am I just offending every girl I know today, human or otherwise?
"How could you just let those girls fight over you like that!? I know you didn't like it! Both yous agreed for once!"
"Both mes?" Judai asked, thinking this girl was insane.
"Yeah, the real you trapped inside agreed, too. So, why didn't you stop them? Hmm?"
"I tried!"
Kathleen stared at him for a moment before asking, "You're not really that stupid, are you?"
"...Huh?"
"Oh my gosh! So you really don't know!?"
He just looked at her questioningly.
She muttered, "Well, both of him's thinking the same thing, so I guess he really doesn't know!" She told him, "Judai. Those girls are fighting over who gets to be your girlfriend!"
His eyes widened. "Huh!?"
"You really couldn't tell? Come on! It was so obvious! Why else would they be getting you involved like that!? They wanted you to tell them which one you liked more and back her up!"
He took a moment to process that. "Asuka's fighting over me...with Rei?" he asked, making sure he got it.
"Bingo!" she said. "We have a winner, folks!"
"So, Asuka..."
"Ah! I see! So that's the one, huh?" Kathleen giggled.
Judai blushed.
"Don't worry!" Kathleen told him. "Your secret's safe with me! So long as you don't go 'round telling everyone I like Johan!"
"You like Johan?" he asked.
She blushed. "Whoops! You soo weren't supposed to hear that..."
"Uh, don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
"It's a deal!"
From his deck, Yubel said, "I'm...onna...ill...you..."
Kathleen's eyes widened. "What!? There's a third presence coming from you all of a sudden! What the heck is that!"
"Uh... What are you talking about?" Judai asked, knowing that there should be two things she's feeling if she was psychic (which, apparently, she was) but unable to decide what the third would be.
"Oh, tell me you didn't just say that! Now not only do we need to free your mind from those psychics, but I've also gotta perform and exorcism, too!"
"Sto...at...idiot...ould...you...?"
That one Judai understood well enough: "Stop that idiot, would you?"
"Now, that I can handle!" Kathleen said, about to run off. "Wait right here! I'll be right ba—"
"Wait, no!" Judai said, realizing that Kathleen apparently thought that Yubel was possessing him. "You've got it all wrong!"
Kathleen stopped. "Come again?"
"No, see, that's just Yubel! She's a friend!"
"You made friends with a spirit that's possessing you?" she asked. "Who do you think you are? Yugi Mutou?"
"Well, that's not exactly what happened. See, she was my friend before she wound up inside me, but something happened, and, to make a long story short, I fused with her," he explained.
Kathleen gaped at him. "Whaaa!?"
"The point is, she's supposed to be there, sort of."
Kathleen, stunned, took a moment to say anything. When she did finally speak, she asked, "What are you...?"
Judai blinked. Well, that's a new one.
"Don't ask," he told her.
"...Okay, then. Well, anyway, you should probably talk to those girls... See ya around, I guess..." She started walking off, then turned and came back. "Hey! Wait! If she's been there all along, then how come I just now noticed her!? And just barely, too! And where is she now!? I don't feel her anymore, and, trust me, if she's always been there, I would've known. Are you sure about that!?"
Surprised, Judai answered, "Positive."
"Then why can't I feel her now!? Why, it's almost like she's buried deep, deep, deep down! But that's not possible, is it!?"
Judai just stared at her, suddenly a bit worried.
"So you don't even know?" she asked.
"Well, she has been having trouble getting through to me...so, maybe..."
He thought about it. He hadn't heard Yubel's voice in his head lately, only from his deck—and even then he just barely heard her.
"What?" Kathleen asked.
"Maybe...there is something wrong with me..."
"Yeah, no duh," she said.
Judai thought for a moment before saying, "I need to go talk to Asuka."
"I said that, too," Kathleen reminded him. "And don't forget about Rei."
"No, just Asuka," he said with certainty.
Kathleen looked at him questioningly, but he didn't say anything else—he just headed off to find Asuka, thinking about those dreams he had been having.