Shadgirl2: So...Midna forgot to put something in last chapter, and I forgot about it, too.

Midna: Yeah. It's okay, though! We fixed it. Basically it's just saying that you can get more information on Natsuko's cat on my page in the story Halloween Madness. It's another collab, though it's also a prequel to another story, which, also, is a collab (note that these stories aren't at all connected. The cat's just an easter egg for anybody who read that story). But check out Halloween Madness, anyway, if you're curious about the cat!

Shadgirl2: So, anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.

Fubuki's POV

My family's villa was on the other side of the island, so we had a good, long walk. Even though there was plenty of time to talk, none of us really had much to say along the way. No surprise, given that Judai seemed to have a serious problem. I know I didn't really want to talk about anything else right then, and I didn't think we should have that conversation on our way through town and across the island.

Judai seemed much more sober than he had before—and not just because he hadn't had anything to drink. I mean he seemed tense or apprehensive—more like how he'd been the last time I'd seen him back in school. Well, it seemed he hadn't changed much in the last six year, unfortunately. I was almost hoping he'd be back to normal the next time I saw him.

Anyway, when we arrived at the villa, most people would have commented on the size or something. As it was, I took Judai to the private beach and made him wait there. After all, talking privately was only part of my motivation for bringing him here. The rest involved his little girl problem—if she was what I thought she was, Judai would need a safe place to hide from her. Which meant I needed to talk to the servants, who tended to gossip.

I went inside and, when the staff greeted Natsuko and me, I told them all to take a month's paid vacation, offering them a little extra cash for getting out that night. Needless to say, everybody up and left, though I was willing to bet most would be staying at the resort until they actually planned that vacation.

"Dude, sly trick," Natsuko said, grinning.

I waved it off with a smile, saying, "Well, seeing as I have my own money now, it's a lot easier to bribe the staff. I don't have to ask my parents for money, after all!"

Natsuko laughed. "Too true!"

After that, I checked the security system to make sure it was up and running—did I mention we had a state of the art security system that anyone would be hard-pressed to get through? Especially since we had guards stationed outside—and we headed out to get Judai.

I should probably mention, the guards are the only people I didn't send away. They're better at keeping secrets.

Once we were in the spacious lounge—a high-ceilinged room with one wall that was nothing but windows overlooking our beach—I flopped down on one of the two brown couches set up there and said to Judai, "So, details, man. What's happening?"

Judai eyed the windows for a moment as if they were threatening him. Ridiculous, really! After all, the beach was private—you could only access it from the villa. Then he said, "I'm being stalked by a crazy red-head."

That much I'd gathered.

"She's managed to put up a barrier that keeps me from leaving the island."

Okay, now that would explain the lack of any restraints. It wouldn't, however, explain how she did that. I raised an eyebrow and asked, "A barrier?"

"Uh…" Judai eyed Natsuko, and I knew he wasn't sure he should say it around him.

Who could blame him, really? It was a startling thing, and even his friends hadn't accepted it without some shock. Why would a complete stranger react any better?

"Dude, it's cool!" Natsuko said without any hint of apprehension. In fact, he sounded cheery. "You can say whatever it is!"

Now that was a surprise! I stared at him for a second. "You really are hard to rattle, aren't ya, bro?"

"Dude, you have not met my cat," he said, his tone…a bit unusual. "Let's just leave it at that."

…I didn't really want to know, did I?

"Okay. You were saying, Judai?" I asked, disturbed, with a great eagerness to get back to a less disturbing topic.

Judai seemed a bit confused by Natsuko's reaction, but more at ease. Well, I guess that was a good thing, then!

"Well, she…set up an invisible barrier that traps duel spirits."

"Okay? And this affects you…how?" Natsuko asked.

Oh, boy… I looked away, whistling. This wasn't an easy topic to discuss, and I don't care how weird your cat is! It can't compare to talking to a man who fused with a Duel Monster in another dimension to save all of his friends after finding out that none of them who were dead were really dead! See!? That sounds weird already!

Apparently, with Judai, "more at ease" does not necessarily mean "willing to talk." Because he gave a lot of thought to how to answer before simply saying, "It does, let's put it that way."

Well, he clearly wasn't interested in talking about it. Understandable, since it wasn't exactly normal.

"Anyway, now she's saying she won't lower the barrier until I agree to marry her. She also keeps randomly showing up in the middle of the night half naked."

Half naked!? Did he seriously say she kept showing up in the middle of the night half naked!?

I couldn't help it—I sat up with a start, my eyes popping out of my head. "W-what!?"

"Dude, that's messed up," Natsuko said.

Hell, yeah, I'll say! That's seriously messed up! I mean, he wasn't even interested, so why couldn't she take a hint!?

"Yeah, I know," Judai said. "Now she keeps threatening to trap me in an even smaller area, and, at the rate she's going, she's probably gonna decide to just force me to stand in one place or something!"

Okay, sounded like it was about time to get some things straight.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, waving a hand. "Back it up a bit. So you're saying you have a stalker…"

Judai nodded.

"And she's been trying to force you in bed with her…"

He nodded again.

Now for the confusing part.

"And put up some sort of barrier to keep you here when you refused? Is that even possible?"

"It happened before," he said, crossing his arms. "During that thing with the Society of Light, the Four Emperors put up a barrier to trap duel spirits."

"Dude, I think you've left out some details," Natsuko said.

Yeah, I'll say so. I shook my head and said, "Sorry, bro. I'm as lost as you are. I mean, sure, the Light could do some pretty nasty stuff to people, but…"

"Ugh…" Judai put a hand to his head. "Look, the point is, it's possible! And, all things considered, it's a huge problem for me."

"Yes? And how do you know it's not just a bluff if it's invisible? The Light's one thing, but ordinary humans can't—"

"I crashed into it."

Oh. Well, here I was thinking Judai might have overlooked the possibility that she was lying. I mean, he could be a little slow sometimes, to put it nicely. As it was, that was a bit startling.

"What!?"

See? Startling. That was me, by the way.

"Wait, doesn't it stop duel spirits?" Muttering, Natsuko added, "Whatever those are. How did you crash into it?"

"Because I'm part duel spirit!" Judai snapped.

Yeah, he really didn't want to say that. But I wasn't concerned about that right then.

"B-but that's impossible!" I cried. "Ai's only human! Why, to do something like that, you'd have to be—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Natsuko cut me off. "Back up! You're…"

"I fused with a Duel Monster back in high school, and that makes me half Duel Monster!" Judai gave the simplest summary possible for that story. "Since they only take on a spiritual form on Earth most of the time, I call them duel spirits. Alright, Natsuko? And, Fubuki, I don't know what Ai's deal is, but she seems to think she's got magic powers or something."

Oh, I figured there was more than just her thinking she had them! I mean, how would you just up and create a spirit barrier to trap somebody without some sort of otherworldly power?

"And, with that in mind, maybe she does…" I said.

Yeah, I was pretty darn stunned.

Natsuko seemed equally stunned by his own discovery, and I wondered if this topped his cat—whatever was up with that. Judai didn't say anything, though his seemed to be more of an uncomfortable silence—whether because he was worried about Ai's powers or because of Natsuko's reaction to his confession, I would probably never know.

Eventually I came to my senses and broke the silence, asking, "So…how exactly does one take down a spirit barrier? Do you break her wand or something?"

"She doesn't have a wand," Judai said. "I don't know if there is a way to break it. You'd have to ask her, and I don't think she'd tell you."

Well, he probably had a point. "Well, have you tried breaking it yet? I mean, with your powers, surely there's something you can do."

"I tried. Nothing worked."

"What? Is that thing designed by gods or something? What do you mean, nothing worked?"

"Everything I did bounced back at me."

Well, that wasn't good. So he'd tried using his powers on it…and had it backfire, literally? Man, he was seriously trapped here! This...

I suddenly realized I was staring at him and asked, "Can we do anything to help?"

"Yeah, bro!" Natsuko added. "Like, there anybody we should call or something?"

Did he mean besides the police?

"The only thing that's gonna get her to lower that barrier besides me marrying her is another guy she likes more, and then that guy would be in trouble," Judai said. "So, no."

Suddenly an idea hit me! Just because we couldn't think of anything didn't mean that nobody else would have any ideas! Besides, many of our group had this feeling that Judai hated them after what had happened during third year, so this would be a great opportunity for them to make up with him. The only person I didn't think would benefit from this was…well…

She had already moved on. There was no point in dragging up the past again. Let her be.

Either way, I stood up, saying, "Okay! Then maybe our friends can help! They're just full of ideas, after all!" I pulled out my cell and dialed the first one.

"I'll call my buddy Fuyuko!" Natsuko said, pulling his phone out as well. "Maybe he'll have an idea!"

Judai stared at us for a second before saying, "Okay, sure."

Ouch. Maybe he did hate them. After all, he didn't seem too eager, and I doubt he would have agreed if he wasn't desperate.

Judai's POV

When Fubuki suggested calling the others, I thought my heart was going to explode. My friends… I hadn't seen most of them in six years. Then again, most of them didn't really like me all that much these days…and they had a right. After what I'd done to them in school, they were right to hate me. They'd be crazy not to. Some…more than others.

Fubuki waited for a second, then, "Manjoume! Hey, my man. How's it hanging?"

"You, bro!" Natsuko said. "I need your skills in Mexico!" He said "Mexico" with the X sounding more like an H, so it came out "Mehico." He also sort of pumped his hand through the air in front of him, with his index finger pointing. Weirdo.

"Judai? Is this a good idea?" Yubel asked. "What if Ai takes a liking to one of your friends next?"

Shit! She was right, that might happen! And I'd done enough to them already! I didn't need to risk giving them a crazy stalker!

"Yes," Fubuki said. "I said her name was Ai. Why? What's—" He cut himself off, listening to Manjoume, and his jaw dropped after a moment. "Really!?"

"Well, call Kiki, if you wanna! The more help, the better!" Natsuko said cheerfully, waving a hand around like it didn't matter at all who else came.

"So you're saying you'll… Uh-huh… Great! Can't wait to see ya, then! Bye!" Fubuki hung up and turned to me, saying, "Manjoume's coming. Apparently he knows Ai and wants to get to the bottom of this."

Crap. Manjoume already knew her? How? Hopefully he wasn't her first victim… Damn, I couldn't let them call in anybody else! So what if I was stuck? It was better than burdening someone else with my problem!

"You know, this might not be such a good idea…" I said. And, really, since most of the guys they'd be calling were, well, guys, it wasn't.

Natsuko hung up his phone and, totally ignoring me, said, "Fuyu's coming! And he's bringing my favorite little lady!"

Fubuki got excited all of a sudden, so I guess this girl was somebody they'd talked about a lot. "You're kidding! You mean—!?"

"Yup! You get to meet Kiki!"

Fubuki pumped a fist in the air. "Alright! Finally! I can't wait!"

Well, it was almost like I hadn't said anything to begin with…

"Guys, what if she decides she'd rather stalk somebody else?" I asked, trying again.

I must have been hearing things when I thought my voice was working—Fubuki called somebody else, as if he hadn't heard me that time, either. "Hello? Is this the Marufuji residence?"

"Don't worry, dude!" Natsuko said to me, showing that it was only Fubuki who was deaf. "It'll be fine! I mean, the rest of us are a little less vulnerable to invisible barriers, so we can at least run, right?"

Oh, hah hah, funny. Well, I guess teasing me about that meant he was okay with the weirdness that was me and Yubel. That, at least, was reassuring.

"Not funny."

Natsuko just laughed.

"Yeah, Judai," Fubuki said, turning to me. Apparently he was on hold. "Relax. It's cool. Why don't you run along and get some rest for now? We can handle the rest, okay?" He started waving me off when he said to get some rest.

"But what about Ai? She's crazy, Fubuki!"

Sure, that sounds paranoid, but you need to know what Ai had done over the last couple of weeks before you go judging me. She'd found me in plenty of places where I thought I was safe, even when I hadn't thought she was following, and she'd managed to slip into my bed with her shirt off once without me noticing until she was on top of me! It seemed to me like she had eyes around the whole island.

"Relax," Fubuki said in typical Fubuki fashion. "She won't find you here. This is a private villa! Tenjoins and guests only."

Yeah, and the room I'd gotten in the resort with a deadbolt where I'd pushed the furniture against the door and put Yubel on guard duty should have been pretty safe, too. But she got in!

"Yeah, well, I don't think that'll stop her," I said.

Fubuki held up a finger, telling me to wait. Then, "Ryo! Just the guy I wanted to talk to! Is Sho around, by the way?"

…Great. The Kaiser and Sho. The Kaiser had once given me his stalker, so he was at high risk, and Sho… Well, he wasn't in any danger from Ai, I didn't think, but…there wasn't any reason to bug him about what was going on with me…

"There are guards, Judai, and a highly advanced security system," Natsuko said.

"…Yeah, okay…" I said, still not totally convinced. After all, Ai was sneaky.

"Relax," Yubel said. "I'm pretty sure, if Ai knew about this place, she would have already tried breaking in. Since the alarms haven't gone off, I'm thinking we're okay."

Okay, if you say so, I answered silently—never talk to your familiar when there are other people around. It weirds them out. Besides, thought communication worked just fine between the two of us.

"Well, I'm gonna head to bed, anyway," Natsuko said, getting up and stretching. "Night, you guys."

"Okay! Night, Natsu!" Fubuki said, waving a bit. "See ya in the morning! Take Judai with you, too, okay!? He still doesn't know where the guest rooms are."

"Right. Come on, Judai," Natsuko said, waving for me to follow as he headed for a door off to the right.

Well, what else was I supposed to do? I followed, not really sure if there was anything else I could do. You know, besides hand myself over to Ai, which was definitely out.

Ai's POV

It was pointless—I'd searched the entire island for that guy, and I couldn't find him anywhere! After running into him with his friends in the bar, I'd given him a chance to finish with his guy's night out, then gone to find him and see if he was ready to change his mind yet. But he wasn't anywhere to be found! I'd checked everywhere but the villa on the other side of the island, and I couldn't get in there! Besides, why would his friends have been here at the resort's bar if they were staying at a villa on the other side of the island? That was ridiculous! So, in the end, I found myself back in my room at 2 am, complaining to myself.

That no-good—The next time I see him, I'm making sure he can't get away from me! I'll find him, and then I'll make him mine! Out loud, I vowed, "Count on it, Judai! You will be mine!"

With nothing else to do, I went to bed. I'd find him in the morning, I was sure.