AJ: Yeah…sorry for ruining the last chapter with that ending. I originally thought of something else to happen, but I thought the ending I did put made more sense. Maybe not.
Bil: Definitely not.
AJ: Yeah, well, for any consolation, as I said last chapter, Evil Judai makes another appearance, so its not like I'm done with him yet.
Bil: You still suck at typing stories.
AJ: That's enough out of the peanut gallery. By the way, I blatantly took Arch Villain King from Rave Master…and if you've seen the show, there may be something familiar in this chapter as well. I dunno yet, at this point.
Chapter 28: Teardrop
"No! Jaycen, there must be another way!" Judai begged, tears forming in his eyes.
"I'm afraid there isn't. An old fool like me who can't change his views to equal the times isn't needed anymore. I have outlived my usefulness. Make sure you protect those friends with your life. Maybe if I had friends like them, I would have lived as good a life as you have and will." He beamed warmly at the young Osiris duelist, and then looked to the side at Asuka.
Asuka gulped; slightly frightened by his stare, before being surrounded by a warm presence that only Judai had given her. She then heard Jaycen's voice in her head, 'Take care of Judai. He may be the hero, but you are the force that drives him.' She gasped at this, and looked back from Judai to Jaycen.
Having finished that, Jaycen closed his eyes. "It was an honor to duel you, my brother." The older duelist then pressed the button and ejected the deck from his duel disk.
The holograms on the field disappeared. Immediately after, the platform beneath Jaycen split down the middle and gave way. Jaycen dropped from the light of the arena down into the depths of the darkness to die, alone.
"Jaycen!" Judai yelled. No response. "JAYCEN!" he called louder, to no avail. "JAAAAAYYYYYYYYCEEEEEENNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!" the younger boy shouted, his voice echoing as the epitaph to his older brother.
Judai fell to his knees. "No…this wasn't supposed to happen," Judai whispered. "DAMN IT ALL!!!" He punched the platform he was standing on. He covered his eyes to hide the tears that had begun pouring down his face.
The floor slowly moved back into place, soon making the arena whole again. Judai soon heard footsteps approach him.
"Excellent duel, Judai," Saiou sneered. Judai didn't move. "No response? Have you lost your voice from reliving your past?" Saiou continued to taunt.
Manjoume kicked Judai in the face. "You'll respond when Saiou-sama speaks to you!"
Judai rose up and grabbed Manjoume by the scruff of his jacket. He glared at Manjoume, but it wasn't the same glare he had moments earlier. His eyes were full of tears. He was glowering, but it was from pain and emotional torment, not anger. Judai released Manjoume as suddenly as he had grabbed the rival.
Saiou looked at Judai's gaze, and turned around. "You will face your destiny at the Finals. We'll duel then," Saiou informed him. Judai nodded, and turned to his friends, who were standing behind him, were ready to react if they needed to, but Judai's sudden grasp at Manjoume stopped them.
"Judai…Are you alright?" Asuka quietly asked.
Judai approached them, his head lowered at them. He picked his head up, revealing a slight smile. "I'm fine. Let's go back to the Academia…" he told them. He suddenly lost the strength in his body, and fell forward. Fubuki and Kenzan grabbed him.
"Judai!?" the group screamed.
"I'm…I'm alright…" he gasped.
"No, we better help him up the steps," Misawa said. "It's as I thought. Judai for most of that duel was running on the adrenaline that ran through his body. Now that the duel has ended, his body has lost its energy it had been running on."
"Really…I'm…" he tried to push away from the group but found he had no strength to stand himself up. Fubuki and Kenzan threw the boy's arms over their shoulders.
"Let us take care of it, Judai," Kenzan stated flatly.
"Yeah, it's not everyday one wakes from a coma and immediately begins to duel," Fubuki informed the boy.
"Heh…guess you're right…" Judai breathed. The slowly began their trek towards the stairs. Asuka was following behind, when she felt a gust of wind, and heard paper ruffling. She whirled around, and saw a white envelope float towards her. She looked around, wondering how a gust of wind could blow through the basement of a building, when the letter fluttered into her range. She grabbed the envelope, and looked at the back of it. She turned it over, and saw it was addressed to Judai.
"What's this…?" she wondered aloud.
She was about to open it when Junko called to her, "Are you going to stay down here the rest of your life!?"
She was snapped out of her train of thought. "Sorry, I'm coming!" the Obelisk Blue Finalist called, and ran up the steps to join her friends.
"Saiou-sama, forgive my brashness, but shouldn't we have challenged Judai right there?" Manjoume asked. "I mean, he was weakened tremendously from his duel with Jaycen, so wasn't that a supreme chance to defeat him?"
Saiou turned his gaze onto his remaining duelist. He smirked evilly. "Sanda, I know how much you want to destroy Judai, but right now is not the time to do so. He was weakened, but we need to defeat him while he's conscious, and the way things were going, he wouldn't have lasted. Not only that, but his friends wouldn't have let him duel again even if he wanted to."
"I'm sorry for questioning you, Master," Manjoume apologized.
"Don't worry, Sanda, your chance to destroy Judai will come, as he will face you when the Finals start, I'm sure of it. Destiny has chosen you to be the only remaining duelist to face Judai. You shall do so, and you shall win."
"I can hardly wait," Manjoume said through an evil grin. He began cackling madly, unable to contain his eagerness.
'No matter who defeats Judai, I will be the victor in the end,' Saiou thought with a snicker. 'When he joins the Light, he will become my Instrument of Destruction. Him and Edo.' A smirk grew on his face.
The group hauled Judai up the stairs. Ayukawa, Chronos, Napoleon, and Samejima awaited along with two ambulances at the entrance for them to exit. They saw Judai, causing Ayukawa to immediately call for a stretcher. "We need to get him upstairs," she ordered worriedly.
"Nonsense…I feel fine…" Judai said, trying, and failing, to give a reassuring grin. He struggled to escape the grasp of Fubuki and Kenzan, but didn't have enough strength to do so.
"You're skin, which was already burned, has been electrocuted even more. You're hurt, and you're going to the infirmary," she glared.
"I'm telling you I'm…" Ayukawa had enough. In one motion, she slid his jacket sleeve up his arm and injected him with an anesthetic. Judai felt the last of his strength slip away, and felt the world around him spin. His world then slipped into darkness.
"Get him onto the stretcher," Ayukawa ordered. A few moments later, Judai rested peacefully on the stretcher. They soon were riding back to the Academia, Asuka, Fubuki, Ayukawa, Judai and Areka in one ambulance, while the rest traveled in the other
"How did you guys know where we were?" Fubuki questioned.
"Well, Chronos and Napoleon had raced to my office after their encounter with Judai, after he had awoken," Samejima explained. "They told us what had happened, and that Judai went into the forest after the rest of you. I remembered where Misawa had told us that they were going after you, and figured that it was the only place he could've gone in the forest. We rushed over here as soon as we could. When we arrived, we found an Obelisk duelist lying on the ground, and called the ambulance. Since then, we had been trying to find an entrance, but had found none. We waited for you to come out."
"Now it's your turn. What happened here?" Samejima asked.
Fubuki told them what had happened. Judai's brother's reappearance, Judai's past that was revealed, the Death-match duel the two had, the shocking conclusion the duel. Samejima listened intently, but none of it seemed to surprise him. After the story, they rode in silence.
"So," Samejima began, breaking the five or so minutes of silence, "you now know of Judai's past."
"Indeed," Fubuki stated. "Apparently, you knew of it, as well?"
"I didn't know the whole story, just that he was part of the DDL and that he was abused when he was younger. I never learned of his brother. He was able to get here because of a new program we started three years ago. We held the Academia Tournament, I'm sure you heard of it."
"Of course," Fubuki answered.
"Well, three years ago, the prize was a full scholarship to Duel Academia, but it was only for those children who had come from less than expensive homes. Judai came in and ran all over the competition. He won the prize money handedly. On the way back to his house to tell the grandfather the news, he explained to me that he had a rough time of it. When we went back to Judai's house, however, we learned Mr. Yuki Tsudu had a heart attack. No one had been around to help him, and he had passed on as well. Judai disappeared after they took Mr. Tsudu to the hospital and pronounced the elderly man dead. I didn't expect him to come back, but then saw him after the first day of classes. I almost half-expected him to commit suicide, and was thankful when I saw him," Samejima explained.
Asuka only paid slight attention to the story, instead watching Judai being treated by Ayukawa more closely. Her mind traveled through the last couple hours Judai and the rest of them had experienced. She wondered how from such a poor background could have built up such a strong will to live and win. She remembered the several times she had given up in her life, but Judai seemed never ready to call it quits.
She slid her hand into her pocket, and felt the envelope that was addressed to Judai. She wondered whom it was from, and why it was addressed to Judai. She yawned, and realized how exhausted this whole experience made her.
When they arrived back at school, the group took Judai back to the infirmary, and placed him onto a bed. Ayukawa asked for one of them to stay and help watch Judai for her, so she could take care of the Ra Yellow, and the Obelisk Blue students that had just came. Sho immediately volunteered, while the rest returned to their dorms.
Asuka, however, couldn't sleep. She rolled back and forth on her bed, but couldn't get comfortable long enough to fall asleep. She knew why, of course. Anyone with half a brain could have figured out why. Despite the fact Ayukawa had told them Judai would be fine after a good night's rest, she still couldn't stop worrying over the boy. She rolled over to the clock sitting on her nightstand, and saw the time was four in the morning.
She finally decided to get up, and go check on him. She switched her clothes, and silently slipped out the door, so as to not awaken the others resting in her private room at the Osiris Dorm. She hurried down the steps and towards the school. She rushed through the entrance, and up to the infirmary. She saw that Sho was sitting next to Judai, but had fallen asleep.
Ayukawa saw Asuka enter, and looked mildly surprised, but smiled warmly at her. She went to check on Judai, and Asuka walked up behind her. Ayukawa turned around, and whispered, "Could you help me get Sho into another bed? The poor child could barely keep his eyes open as soon as he sat down."
Asuka nodded at her, and they soon had Sho snoozing on a futon. Asuka covered him with a sheet, and took off his glasses, placing them on the nightstand next to his bed. She then went and sat down next to Judai. "Oh, no, dear, I can watch him," Ayukawa told her.
Asuka shook her head. "I'm not that tired, anyway. You look like you could take a break, though, Ayukawa-sensei," she told informed teacher.
Ayukawa stifled a yawn, and finally agreed to take a short rest. "But wake me up immediately, if anything happens," she sternly told the student. The school nurse then walked into the quarters she was given next to the infirmary, and the door locked behind her.
The only light in the room was from the lamp next to Judai's bed. Asuka watched the youth intently, as he rested. She watched his chest rise and fall to the tune of his breath. She soon became almost mesmerized, as the silent peaceful breaths soon made her tired. She felt her eyelids become heavy, and soon drifted off to her own dreamland.
Judai found himself back on the platform across from Jaycen again. He wondered what was going on, when Jaycen pointed at Judai, ordering an attack against him from Arch Villain King. The monster sliced his Darkness Flare Wingman apart again. Judai stared across the duel field, wondering what was going on. "Jaycen, what the hell is this!?" the boy shouted. "I don't want to duel you again!"
"Jaycen?" the voice, which sounded so familiar, inquired mockingly. "I'm not Jaycen." The figure picked up his head, revealing the same scowl Judai remembered was on his face when he was dueling Jaycen. Then, the figure transformed into an exact replica of Judai. "I am you!" the voice cackled.
"No, I'm not controlled by you anymore! Jaycen said I don't need you to defeat Saiou!" Judai screamed.
"It doesn't matter what that fool of a brother said. I'm still here; I'm still a part of you. Always have been, always will be. You better get used to it. I'll just bide my time. I know the most opportune moment will come soon enough," the Dark Judai stated, before erupting in laughter. A bright, white light soon surrounded Judai's world, before it disappeared.
The boy snapped awake and sat up. He was drenched in sweat, and his heart was racing. "No…I've got to control it…" Judai whispered. He opened his eyes, and noticed the jean jacket was no longer on him. He raised his head, and didn't know where he was for a moment. Then he remembered, he was injected with something that made him drowsy. He must've been taken to the infirmary. He heard someone snoozing, and looked into the direction of the noise.
He saw Asuka sitting in a chair next to him, her head resting back against the wall. A smile spread across his face. He felt much better, or at least good enough to move around, so he placed the sheet that was on his bed over her. She responded with a low sigh of appreciation. He yawned and stretched some and grabbed his deck, before deciding to take a walk. He opened the door to the infirmary, and walked out the door.
He walked past the Girl's Dorm, and remembered he left his jacket on a tree branch. He looked over in the direction of the tree he hung his jacket on, and saw a drop of red midst the new blooming green of life. He sneaked over to the tree and grabbed the jacket. He placed his arms through the sleeves, and felt the blazer, which seemed like he was missing his second skin before he put it on, warmed him up immediately.
He continued on past the Girl's Dorm, and down the dirt path. He finally arrived at his favorite cliff, thinking about his duel with Jaycen. 'Why'd you have to kill yourself? I don't understand.' He sighed. The duel ran through his mind, every move, every shock, every painful attack. He then remembered how he pushed away Winged Kuriboh.
He shuffled his deck a few times, and drew the top card from his deck, revealing Winged Kuriboh. "I'm sorry, Aibou. I wasn't myself, could you forgive me?" Judai whispered. He heard a cooing, though it was harsh. He looked to the side, and saw his partner floating next to him. The Duel Spirit appeared to be hurt emotionally, but he appeared happy that Judai was regretful.
"Don't worry, Aibou, I'll try to restrain that part of me from now on," Judai assured him. "You may have to help me, though." The floating Kuriboh chirped a happy response, then turned serious. "Tell her? Are you nuts?" Judai nervously asked. The small creature peeped at Judai. "I'm not going to tell her." The Duel Spirit sighed, and twittered its thank you for his apology and disappeared. The duelist breathed a sigh of relief, happy that one of his best friends was longer angry with him.
He sat down on the cliff. He looked out to the sea, and saw the sun rise from its peaceful slumber. "Wow," was the only thing that could escape his lips. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 'Well…second most,' he reminded himself. He felt a cool wind rush past him, and breathed in deeply. He felt better than he had in a long time, he had to admit, but he still had one more person he had to bring back from the Light, as repetitive as it sounded to him. He heard a twig snap behind him, and whirled around.
Asuka stirred slightly, feeling something warm envelope her. She slowly opened one of her eyes slightly, and saw a figure placing something over her. She opened her eyes a little more, not really wanting to awaken, but then saw the figure was Judai. She wanted to respond, but all she managed to do was give a deep breath. Her body was still heavy and tired. She soon found herself asleep once again.
She felt the sun touch her face gently, and sluggishly opened her eyes. She yawned, and stretched. Something slid off her, and she noticed someone had placed a sheet on her. She picked up her head, and saw that Judai's bed was stripped of its sheet, and of its owner. She gasped, and immediately stood up. She looked around, searching for the youth. Then something clicked in her head. She smiled and tapped her forehead with her palm. "Of course," she whispered, exasperated at her stupidity.
She rushed out of the room, and down the steps. She raced out of the entrance and onto the dirt path towards Judai's favorite cliff. She tore through the less-traversed path, and finally reached the cliff. She saw the boy standing at the edge of the cliff with the boy's Duel Spirit floating next to his shoulder. She heard Judai laugh nervously, before he sternly said something that she couldn't hear. The Duel Spirit disappeared.
She then saw the sun rising in front of the duelist, giving the boy a bright outline, like a halo. Asuka gasped at the beautiful sight, and absentmindedly stepped into the clearing, and onto a twig. Judai whirled around at the sound, but breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed it was Asuka.
"Hey Asuka, what's up?"
"You know, you shouldn't be walking around in your condition," Asuka told him sternly, as she pursed her lips.
Judai smiled warmly at her. "Sorry, just needed to get a stretch going," he immediately confessed. Asuka's fake mad face immediately melted away. That boy wouldn't allow her to stay angry with him. She wondered if he knew that.
"What were you doing out here, anyways?" she inquired, walking up to join him.
"Just thinking," Judai responded.
"About Jaycen?" She questioned, sitting down next to him.
"Yeah."
Asuka looked at the boy's sad face, wishing she could do something for him.
"Judai?"
"Hmm?"
"Where do you get your support from, besides your friends, I mean. What makes it so you never quit? I mean, many people would've committed suicide, either intentionally, or not. What gave you the strength to go on?"
Judai stared at her, making her wonder if he was thinking of a response, or thought it was an odd question. He smirked at her, before saying, "Well To tell you the truth, I thought of committing suicide many times. It's not an exactly happy thought, but I'll tell you anyways."
"Don't put my thoughts ahead of yourself, Judai," Asuka quickly said.
"No, it's ok. Remember when Jaycen told you guys how my Foster-mother was killed?" Asuka nodded. "Well, she didn't die instantly, as he had stated. He was ahead of us, running away from her husband, but she fell next to me. I ran over to try to help her, but she said, 'Run…Judai…Never give up…You will…Live a good life…Judai.'With that, she passed on."
They sat in silence, as Asuka turned the story over in her mind. Absentmindedly, her hand rushed into her pocket. She then remembered the letter she had gotten when they exited the basement. She pulled it out of her pocket, and looked at it. "Judai, I found this…well, actually, it kind of fluttered over to me…"
Judai looked at the envelope. His eyes widened when he saw his name on it. "That's Jaycen's handwriting!" he gasped. Asuka handed it to Judai, who tore it open moments later. He grabbed the item that was inside. "Photos?" Judai gasped.
"Lemme see!" Asuka begged. She looked over his shoulder, and saw a picture of five people. The black hair and the brown hair, along with the gravity-defying hairdos, revealed the two boys to be Jaycen and Judai, respectfully. "Aww…look at how cute you were as a kid!" she breathed. Judai blushed deeply. "Are those your foster parents?"
Judai nodded. He pulled out another one, this one of him holding up his white jacket, trimmed with red on the collar and the cuffs of his jacket. The back bore a Giant golden 'H' that signified the E-Heroes. The name Richter Davis imprinted in kanji on the above and below the letter. "Wow…is that jacket…?"
"The one Jaycen wore during our duel? Yep. I thought it was cool. But looking back now, it signified more than that. It came from my foster-mom, who was the most important person in my life, back then. So I guess it signified the love I had for her," Judai told his friend.
"Oh…hey, there's another one!" Asuka squealed. Judai took it out. It was a picture of Jaycen and Judai, one arm over each other's shoulders. They each held up their favorite cards; Judai, his Flame Wingman, and Jaycen, a Jinzo.
"Wow, I haven't seen this picture in years," Judai whispered. His hand rose to the light, and noticed something was written behind it. He turned it over, and he caught his breath.
'To My Little Bro, I'm Sorry I Couldn't Be A Better Hero.'
Judai let the photo fall to the ground. He lowered his head, and began wiping his eyes. A lump rose in his throat that he tried desperately to keep down. He felt the urge to cry a good cry rise from within him. He began to sob, revealing he was failing in his attempt to stop himself from crying.
Asuka had read the sentence, immediately feeling a wave of emotion rush into her. She looked at Judai, and saw him trying to be strong. She felt that she needed to say something, but what? "You know…at times like this, I don't think men need to hold back…"
Judai finally lost control. He began to sob uncontrollably, and tears slowly poured from his face down his cheek. He growled a few times, desperately trying to keep the dam closed, but the urge was too much. The floodwaters burst through, and he thrust himself into the arms of the only person around to comfort him. Tenjoin Asuka.
Judai cried. The boy had the first good cry he had since he was young. All the emotions from the last year, all the pain, all the sorrow, all the anger, all the sadness, all the suffering, poured from his eyes like water from a faucet. He hugged the girl tightly, as he let go of everything he kept bundled up inside.
Asuka hugged the boy tightly, realizing for the first time, that despite the mask he put on, he was still just a sixteen year old. He shouldered more torment than any one person should have to in their lives, and he covered it up in an attempt to make it so no one would worry about him. He always thought of others, but he still had emotions. He still felt pain. He was still a person, hero or not. She finally understood Jaycen's last words.
She felt herself sobbing on instinct, and instantly placed a hand up to her mouth, to muffle it up. She needed to Judai's support right now. "Damn it…Damn it…Why'd he have to die…It wasn't supposed to happen like that…Why'd he have to die…" She discerned through his sobs. She did the only thing she could do; hold him close, and be the pillar Jaycen told her to be.
AJ: Ahh…I think I brought the story back on track. I'm sure Those of you who read the manga or seen the anime of Rave Master recognized part of the story. I'm sorry if it offended you somehow.
Bil: -sobbing-That was magnificent!!!!
AJ: Awww…Master has a soft side!
Bil: Sh-shut up…D-damn f-f-fool.
AJ: So cute…Anyways, sorry for the long chapter, but I wanted to cover a lot, and I felt if I had rushed it, it would've sucked majorly…I think it came off quite well, how I did it.
